#the way theo kills josh right in front of tracy and then asks what she thinks.

[bericas]

yeah, sometimes we're high and sometimes we're low; put up with me then i'll make you see that things are better when you're with me.

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XXXVI

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist   Prev. | Part 36

Word-count: 4.1k+

A/N: hello friends i am indeed alive 💕 i hope you enjoy this!!

After a lot of arguing about what to do with Josh and driving in circles, the three of you decided to take Josh to the animal clinic. The windows were opened as Stiles drove because the smell of Josh’s drying blood was making you sick. Compared to your nausea and Stiles’ agitation, Theo was unusually quiet in the backseat next to the dead body. 

Theo took Josh inside while you threw up in the bushes and Stiles called Scott. Despite every bad feeling you had about trusting Theo had to be pushed aside for now. Sure, he could have handled things differently but Josh was going to kill Stiles. Stiles. Would you have handled it any differently?

“Hey,” Stiles said softly, putting a hand on your lower back when he was done on the phone. “You okay?” 

No. You were processing about a million different stimuli and all the months you’d been training with Scott was for nothing. You were the worst not-a-werewolf around. And your classmate just had his throat ripped out.

You forced a small smile as you straightened back up and took his hand in yours. “Just a long day, I guess. How are you doing?”

“Pretty good, you know, except for the dead body I just had in my car,” Stiles said with a sigh. He used his freehand to snub the bridge of his nose. “Let’s just get in there and finish this.” 

You had the feeling that this wouldn’t be finished anytime soon, but you followed Stiles inside anyway. 

When the two of you got there, Theo had already laid Josh down on the exam table and covered him with a sheet. At least you didn’t have to look at him again, and Theo didn’t say anything else while you waited for Scott to get there, which was another small mercy. The three of you just stood in silence and stared at the white sheet in front of you.

You were still staring when Stiles lifted the top of the sheet to show Josh’s face to Scott. It was covered in dried blood and still looked terrified. Scott recognized him - of course, he recognized him - and then Stiles covered Josh up again. 

“Which one did it?” Scott asked. You squeezed Stiles’ hand lightly in your lack of understanding. Then Scott went on, “The one with the cane?”

“Yeah,” Theo answered almost instantly, heart steady all the while.

“What are we going to do with him?” Stiles asked, eyes flicking from yours to Scott’s. “We can’t just set the alarm and leave.” 

“That’s how they got Tracy,” you said quietly. 

Stiles back looked over at you for a second and you tried not to draw too much attention to it. “Alright, so someone’s gotta stay here with him,” he said.

Theo sighed and shifted across from you. “I’ll do it.” You tried not to look at him like you were going to choke him again. “It’s not like I had a big Saturday night planned,” he said, ignoring you doing your best to ignore him. 

Scott’s phone started going off before the four of you could discuss and he frowned at it. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. 

“There’s another one,” Scott said, looking up from his phone. “Another Chimera.”

“You guys should go,” Theo said without hesitating. “I can stay here. I can watch him.” 

Scott thought about it for a second and - when neither you or Stiles argued - agreed to let Theo stay. He gave Stiles the phone to look at the text but still explained what happened to Liam and Hayden anyway as the three of you hurried to the Jeep. 

After the attack on them, Liam brought Hayden back to your house. She’d locked herself in Scott’s bathroom and that’s when Liam started texting him. Now Scott was trying to get Hayden to open the door and the rest of you were waiting. 

Always waiting. 

“And you’re sure she’s another chimera?” you asked. 

“She said she heard a voice saying ‘Your condition improves,’” Liam said. 

“Okay, that’s unsettling.” Stiles sighed and pushed past to get to the bathroom door. “Hayden-” he tapped the door lightly “-This is Stiles. Your sister works for my dad down at the station. Look, just open the door, okay? You can trust us.” 

Stiles took a step back and Scott moved forward to try again. As Stiles stepped back, you put one hand on his shoulder and wrapped your other around his arm. A quick hug was better than nothing, and right now you just wanted to hold him.  

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk right now or if you’re not ready to believe us,” Scott went on. “But I just … I gotta know that you’re okay in there.” After a second of not hearing anything, he got ready to kick in the door but then it clicked open. 

Scott pushed the door open and there was Hayden - doing her best not to stay in control as the rest of her body started changing, alone and in the dark.  

“I believe you,” she said.

Watching Scott in action as an alpha was a strange experience. Even though he was confused a lot of the time (okay, most of the time), he always knew what to do when it came down to this part - to the helping. He got Hayden breathing normally and back to human again in no time, and then he took her hands and talked her through it all. He told her about all the ways her life was going to change, for better and for worse. 

But he was also your goofy older brother who’d confused ‘bestiary’ with ‘beastality’ for a solid month. None of that immaturity was there when he was with Hayden. He was so grown up … When did that happen? 

Arguably, Scott grew up the night he got bitten but you knew that wasn’t it - he was still so naive when you came back to Beacon Hills and the bite happened before that. Stiles thought he grew up so he could be with Allison. Derek thought it was the night Allison died, like a flip was switched. You didn’t weren’t so sure about either of those options. 

Maybe Scott didn’t grow up because of one, single moment. Maybe- 

Stiles touched your shoulder lightly to get your attention. “Hey, what are you thinking about so hard?” He rolled his eyes when you shrugged. “Come on, you’ve been staring off into space ever since Liam and Hayden left.” 

You gave him a sad smile and shook your head. “Just thinking about how things have changed,” you said. Stiles sighed as he sat next to you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “You ever miss it?” 

“I miss people not always trying to kill me,” Stiles said as you settled. “But, uh, I don’t know. As much of a dumpster fire as this place is at times … it’s home, you know? What about you?” 

“I miss them,” you said. You leaned your head against his. “Things were really simple when it was just me, Erica, Boyd, Isaac, and Derek. They were-” Your voice broke off slightly and you shook your head. “I miss our friends.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Stiles said quietly. “Me too.”

---

As always, the plan went off the rails almost as soon as it started. Hayden and Liam were way too nervous, Kira wasn’t there, Malia wasn’t good at working alone, Lydia was worried about Parrish, you were worried about Stiles, Scott was worried about everyone else, and Stiles and Theo were watching over Josh’s body at the animal clinic. You hated splitting up almost as much as you hated Stiles not answering his phone. 

You found Scott and Lydia in the locker room instead of staying on watch in your hallway to talk through your anxieties. “Hey,” you said, frightening them both. “Sorry! Uh, listen, do these signal jammers block our phones?”

“Yeah,” Lydia said. “We mentioned it in the meeting, remember?” 

“Honestly? I wasn’t listening.” You ran a hand through your hair. You should have listened, but you’d been so distracted lately that it was hard to listen to much of anything. “But I can’t get through to Stiles and Theo and it’s really stressing me out.” 

“Crap, I didn’t even think of that,” Scott breathed. 

“Me either,” Lydia said quietly. “So we’re waiting for guys in masks and breathing tubes to show up, but who - or what - are Stiles and Theo waiting for?” 

“I’d really like to find out,” you said. 

“Okay-” Scott took another breath and wiped his face. “Okay, why don’t you go check on them? We should be fine here.” 

“Are you sure?” you asked. 

Scott nodded and you didn’t stick around for him to change his mind. After hugging Lydia and saying goodbye to Liam, you got out of there as soon as you could. You couldn’t shake the guilt of leaving your friends at the school as you drove to the animal clinic, but all that faded away when you saw the Jeep flipped on its roof and covered in flames. 

“Shit!” 

You threw open your car door when you stopped and dove down to the driver’s side, ignoring the gravel digging into your knees and fire burning your skin. Stiles was covered in blood and it didn’t look like he was breathing. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him out, but the movement didn’t wake him up and his pulse was still weak. 

“Stiles, wake up.” You started compressions and leaned down to breathe some air into his lungs. “Stiles-” 

You were cut off by someone trying to pull you off. Moving into the attack, you twisted and threw a rear hook that knocked whoever it was to the ground. Thank God it was only Theo and not someone you cared about. 

“What the hell are you doing?” you yelled while Theo pulled himself together. 

“You were on fire,” Theo said. “I figured that was pretty important.” 

You were ready to argue some more when Stiles started coughing and sputtering next to you. His heart rate spiked. Spinning back around, you cupped his face gently to get his heart rate to drop back to normal. “Hey, I’m right here. It’s me. It’s okay.”

“Where is he?” Stiles asked. He started sitting himself up but he hadn’t moved to wipe away the blood that was splattered across his face.

“Theo’s fine,” you said. “He’s over there.” 

“No, that’s not what I-” 

“The body’s gone,” Theo said. 

“Shit.” Stiles took an attempted deep breath and started coughing again. He struggled into a sitting position. “Can someone please put that damn fire out?” he asked when he recovered. 

Theo said he would handle it and you and Stiles went to check out what happened inside the clinic. The body was gone, just like you’d been told, but nothing was damaged except for the Jeep. You grabbed one of Deaton’s towels and wet it to clean the blood off Stiles’ face while you were inside. Pressing a kiss to his temple, you made a joke about how the two of you had to stop meeting like this. 

Stiles lifted a hand to your arm and ran his thumb across your wrist. “I love you,” he said quietly. “Could you- could you call Scott? I don’t know how to explain any of this to him.”

“If I do, can I take you home to my mom to get checked out?” you asked. 

“If I say yes, can I stay over tonight?” Stiles asked. 

“Definitely.”

He gave you another smile before you disappeared into the waiting room to call Scott. When you got back out, Stiles and Theo told you that the cops had taken Kira in for homicide. After double checking that he actually said ‘homicide’ and another frantic phone call, the three of you piled into the car and you rushed back to your house to meet the others. 

They told you that the Dread Doctors had taken Liam and Hayden. The plan failed. 

Scott was with Kira at the station until the sun came up again, but the rest of you sat down and went over everything that happened. Mason had figured out that Corey was a chimera, so the two of them were with you guys too, waiting for Scott in his room as Stiles explained what happened to Josh and Lydia explained what happened to Liam and Hayden. 

And then Scott came home. He blew past everyone and went straight to Corey and Mason.

By the time you and the others got upstairs, Scott had his claws in the back of Corey’s neck and they were both frozen. Scott’s eyes flickered horribly as he searched and Corey was so still that you almost thought Scott had killed him. He was paralyzed, mouth open and empty eyes staring at your brother.

“Scott…” 

“Don’t get too close,” Lydia warned. 

“I can’t-” Scott stopped talking as soon as he started. He shook his head and kept searching through Corey’s memories. 

You reached for Stiles’ hand and found it reaching for yours instinctively. You knew he was just as worried about Scott as you were, if not more. Theo took a step closer to them and Stiles’ hold on your hand was the only reason you didn’t pull him back. 

“Is it as dangerous as it looks?” Theo asked, still watching Scott more closely than you’d like but not making any moves to disturb them.

“Probably more,” Stiles said next to you. 

“Does anyone know if it’s working?” Mason asked. 

“No,” you said. “But Corey’s heart rate is too high. He’s in pain- Stiles, you need to grab Scott. They’re gonna crash.” 

“What? How do you-” 

Scott pulled his claws out of Corey’s neck and they both collapsed away from each other, blood splattering slightly. Metallic. Stiles caught Scott and you dove to catch Corey. He was so young that your heart ached to see him looking so hurt and confused. 

“What the hell did you do to me?” Corey asked, pushing you away to focus on Scott. His hand flew up to his neck. 

“You’ll be okay,” Scott said. His heart was picking up from the crash but he still looked like he was in pain. Peter never looked like when he did it to Isaac. It made you worry.

“There’s blood,” Corey said. 

“You’ll heal,” Scott said while he dug for something in his desk. 

He was frantic and you needed to calm him down before he had another panic attack. You took a step closer and reached to put a hand on his back. “Scott-”

“He’ll be fine!” Scott yelled. 

The sudden noise made you flinch and Stiles reached out to pull you out of the line of fire. You shook your head slightly to let him know that you were fine but you hated seeing Scott like that. It made your stomach turnover.

“Listen, I …” Scott took a breath, trying to calm himself down. He shot you an apologetic look that you ducked. “I think it worked. I saw something.” He turned as he spoke, sketching out something on his notepad. “There were tunnels, pipes along the walls … There were these huge blue pipes at the entrance. Two on both sides.” 

“Wait a second,” Stiles said as he moved to look over Scott’s shoulder. You wrapped your arms around your middle in his absence. “I know this. I- I’ve seen this before. Hey, Y/N, come take a look at this.” 

You and Lydia both walked closer but you didn’t recognise it. It just looked like a bunch of rectangles, and you told him as much.

“You don’t remember?” Stiles asked. You shook your head. “That’s one of the tunnels we used to skateboard in. Remember you hit your head and my dad had to come pick us up?” 

“He told us never to go back there,” you said as you thought about it, more to yourself than anyone else.

“It’s the water treatment plant,” Lydia said.

“That’s where they are,” Scott said. “That’s where we’ll find Liam and Hayden.”

He was out the door and heading down the stairs before anyone could stop him, just like when he went after Corey. Whatever he was planning on doing, you didn’t want him doing it on his own. You rushed after him and caught his arm at the base of the stairs.

“Scott, would you just stop for a second?” you asked. He was trying to shrug you off but you tightened your grip. “Don’t. I want Liam back just as much as you do but you can’t-” The others were stampeding down the stairs so you took a breath and lowered your voice. “Please. You can’t go alone.” 

“He’s not going alone,” Mason said. “Liam’s my best friend. I’m going.”

“Oh, did you suddenly get super wolf powers?” Stiles asked. Scott used your momentary surprise to slip out of your grip and keep moving towards the back door. “I wasn’t aware of that development.”

“Well, if you’re not going, I could use the help,” Scott said. 

“Who said we weren’t going?” you asked. “We just need to figure out a plan and then we’re all going to get them back.”

“Yeah, and I’m coming as soon as I talk to my dad,” Stiles said. “They’re moving the body and he wants to make sure that this time no one steals it.”

“How’s he gonna do that?” Malia asked.

“I don’t know, but whoever took the last one was strong enough to flip my Jeep,” Stiles said. 

Malia and Scott looked at each other as you shifted uncomfortably. “We should bring Theo,” she said.  

Just as you were about to argue, Theo said, “Maybe I better stay here. You know, in case the Doctors decide to make a house call for Corey.” 

“Scott, Stiles is right,” Lydia said. “We need to slow down and think.” 

“I am thinking,” Scott argued. “I’m thinking about how Hayden and Liam could already be dead.” 

“You could’ve hurt him, Scott,” Lydia said. “Really hurt him.” 

“I have to find Liam,” Scott said. He gave an apologetic shrug before heading out the door, followed by Mason and Malia. 

You looked at Stiles for a second, asking too many things from a nanosecond of an expression. I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go with them. At least that’s what you hoped it said.

Stiles squeezed your arm and nodded. It’s okay. Bring them home. Or something like that. 

Instead of waiting for clarification, you squeezed Stiles’ hand before letting go and racing out after your friends to find Liam. They were almost at the car when you grabbed a hold of Malia’s arm. She only slowed slightly to allow you to catch up with her, but not enough to break off from the group. 

Despite your late arrival, you got into the passenger seat while Mason and Scott got into the back. Four of you and not a single plan among you; the best you could come up with was that you’d split up in teams and hopefully one of you would find him. It’s not like every time you guys split up something horribly bad happened or anything. This would be great. 

So you got to the water plant, fully intending to go in one direction with Malia, when you lost any scent other than chlorine and a host of other chemicals. After all this time trying to block out your heightened senses, it was unsettling to have one of them taken away. Or rather, not taken away but completely overwhelmed and suffocated. 

It got worse the deeper into the tunnels you went. Trying to slow your heart rate, you sent an update to Stiles that refused to travel through who knew how many stories of infrastructure. After five minutes, you gave up and put your phone back in your pocket before calling out for Liam and Hayden again. 

And then you walked straight into Mason and the two of you started looking for Scott and Malia. The four of you needed to regroup because all you were doing at the moment was wasting time.

When you did find them, Scott’s breathing was laboured. If these chemicals were messing with your lungs, then something had to be going on with his newly-asthmatic lungs. 

“You need your inhaler, don’t you?” Mason asked before you could. 

Scott looked like he was going to argue but all he said was to be quiet. “I think I hear something,” he said after a second. 

You tried to focus but it was difficult with all the chemicals getting in the way. All you could hear was electricity humming and Scott’s breathing. 

“It’s just the lights, isn’t it?” Malia asked, looking just as unsure as you felt. 

“Come on,” Scott said instead of answering. “It’s this way.”

He didn’t wait for any of you to back him up, and soon the four of you were running down a very familiar tunnel. All the tunnels felt familiar, but this one was just lit a bit better. 

“I’m telling you guys-” Mason stopped running to catch his breath. After a gulp of air he continued, “We’ve been down this one before.”

“What the hell are we doing?” Scott asked. “We’re running up and down this place. Up and down tunnels. And there’s no way …” His breathing was worse. “There’s no way that we’re gonna find …”

You put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. “Scotty, there’s nothing else we can do. We’re doing the best we can,” you said. He shook his head, taking another shaky breath in preparation to argue some more. “Hey, do you have your inhaler with you?”

Scott shook his head but you knew that was his way of saying he wasn’t going to use it, not that he didn’t have it. He was already hunching over.

“Scott, use your inhaler,” Malia said, not giving him another option.

It took Scott crumpling to his knees before he’d use the inhaler. The absence of heavy breathing was deafening in the wake of the inhaler. “This is all my fault,” he said. “We’re never going to find them. And it’s my fault.”

Mason shook his head and held out a hand to your brother. “Scott …” He nodded at his hand and Scott took it to help himself up. “We should keep looking. We should keep trying.”

After picking up the pieces of Scott, you started moving again. Slower this time, but still moving. 

---

By the time you convinced the group to head back to the surface so you could check in with the others, the sun had gone down. A minute passed and then you all got an onslaught of messages saying that Theo brought Liam and Hayden back to the house. All of you were relieved but none of you said much of anything. 

The drive home was a quiet one, full of you texting Stiles about his dad and trying to figure out how Theo found them before you did. Lydia said he pieced it together with more information from Corey, but it didn’t sit right with you. Just like with Tracy, Theo always figured something out at the last minute and saved the day. It pissed you off. 

When you got inside, Lydia was watching over Liam and Hayden in the living room. They were passed out on the couch and she had been sitting in an armchair. Theo was waiting a few feet away, leaning on the back of one of your chairs, but he walked towards you guys when you came in. He hugged Scott and something inside you twisted. Then it was Mason and Malia’s turn. He turned to you, reading himself to hug you before stopping to keep his distance. 

It was awkward following everything that happened during the day, but your friends started moving so quickly that it went almost unnoticed. Almost. Your phone started ringing and it gave you an excuse to leave the room. 

“Hey,” you said quietly into the phone, wrapping an arm around yourself in the dark. “Liam and Hayden are safe.” 

“Yeah, I heard,” Stiles sighed. He sounded so tired that it made your heart pang. “Someone stole the body.” 

“Is everyone alright?” 

“Mostly,” Stiles said. “I think I know who it is but there’s a few more things I’ve gotta sort out. Can I come over and tell you about it?” 

“After the day I’ve had …” You shook your head. “I’d love that.”

Tagged: @ietss​

[wideeyednarcoleptic]

I’ll be there (when it all comes crashing down)

Theo has nightmares. Time in his own personal hell, being killed time and time again will do that to a guy. Admittedly, he deserved it. He resigned himself to his fate, his sister ripping her own heart out of his chest, taking back what rightfully belonged to her. If Theo closed his eyes all he could see were the walls of that hospital. All he could hear was his sister calling his name. So he didn’t. He stayed awake, refusing to let himself fall asleep. Because he didn’t want to open his eyes and find himself back in the body locker.  

This is why, when Liam stumbled across Theo at the lookout point (which happened to be his campout location for the night), the older boy hardly noticed the fellow wolf approach. It wasn’t until Liam was right next to Theo’s truck that he even heard or recognized the other being. 

“You look like shit, Theo” were the first words Theo heard as he opened the door. 

Theo reluctantly began pulling himself out of his truck, “You really don’t pull your punches do you?” he said as his feet hit the ground. He turned around and the door clicked shut before he gave Liam his full attention. 

The younger boy shook his head, a short laugh escaping his lips “just calling it how I see it.” Liam looked over Theo. Theo looked exhausted. Dark bags were forming under his eyes, his shoulders were hunched over, the Chimera could barely hold himself up. That, however, didn’t seem to stop Theo from flashing Liam his signature smirk. It pissed Liam off. Honestly. How despite everything, Theo was cool and suave and a constant annoyance.

“What are you doing here, Liam?” Theo huffed, leaning against the driver's door, arms crossing across his chest “just couldn’t stay away? Here to break my nose for the 4th time?”

Liam ducked his head, a chuckle rumbling through his chest as he took a similar position next to Theo. His eyes wandered over the truck before landing on Theo himself. “I could,” he laughed. “Might want to keep in that mind.”

Theo laughed beside him. Liam stole a glance at the were-wolf/coyote. He wondered when the last time Theo slept in a bed or slept at all for that matter. He didn’t look good at all. He looked like he could collapse at any moment from pure exhaustion. 

 Liam was torn from his thoughts, however, when Theo broke the silence, asking again “Liam, why are you here?”

“Why are you?” The words came out of Liam’s mouth before he could really stop them. The threat from Monroe was over, Liam was rescued from the hospital, Scott and Argent had taken off, something about a pack who needed help. Theo had no reason to stay in Beacon Hills, yet here he was. 

Theo huffed out a laugh “Because it’s where I parked my truck.”

Liam shook his head, annoyed “I mean, what are you still doing in Beacon Hills?” Theo turned to look at Liam, with a small scowl.

“Scott asked me to keep an eye on you and the pack,” He answered like it explained everything. He glanced back over the edge of the rocks, looking at the quiet city. His gaze stayed fixed on the lights and the moving cars. 

“Right,” Liam drawled, annoyed. “Because you are full of selfless intentions.” Theo snapped his gaze back to Liam, glaring at the beta. Liam pretended not to notice, he simply continued to talk. “I came out here to get some fresh air, get away from everything you know?” Liam came out to the lookout point to clear his head. The stress of taking Scott’s place began piling up, now that the Alpha was at college. He just needed an escape. His anger was starting to build up and he needed a breath of fresh air before he exploded. He was stressed and angry. Then he stumbled across Theo. “I just needed to get away.” He said honestly. “But then I saw your truck and...” 

“And you decided to come and make sure I wasn’t up to any evil schemes?” Theo laughed humorlessly, officially cutting Liam off. Liam seethed as Theo pushed himself off the truck, before standing in front of the beta. “What? Still, don’t trust me?” 

Honestly, Liam did trust Theo. And it was terrifying. Trusting Theo lead to the fall of the pack. Trusting Theo got people killed. Scott trusted Theo and he got killed for it. Tracy and Josh trusted Theo and they were dead because of it. Trusting Theo was a bad idea. But Liam did, and it scared him and pissed him off. Theo pissed him off. So instead of admitting it, Liam denied it, “I shouldn’t.” He shook his head, his voice rising. “You’re Theo. You destroy things, kill people, you tear people apart from the inside. You tried to get me to kill Scott, you did kill Scott! Along with Tracy and Josh. So no, Theo. Trusting you is a really bad idea.” As he spoke, Liam could feel his anger rising to the surface. Liam didn’t realize how frustrated Theo was making him until this moment. He was confused by the chimera, the same boy who claims to be selfish, and care only about himself, took a dying boys pain. He had saved his life, countless times over. Theo had thrown himself into danger to protect him. Theo confused the hell out of Liam, which only angered him even more. 

Theo smirked. In his anger, Liam missed that the smirk didn’t reach the chimera's eyes. “So you here to threaten me again?” Theo shoved Liam to the side, effectively pushing him off his truck “Don’t bother,” Theo growled, “I am well aware that you don’t trust me, despite how often I risk my life saving your dumb ass.” 

Liam barked a laugh. “Like you don’t have some ulterior motive. You are selfish and arrogant and you would do anything to save your own ass, regardless of what would happen to everyone else. You don’t risk your life for anyone Theo. You don’t care about anyone but yourself, which is why I don’t believe that you are here simply because ‘Scott asked you to.’”

Theo simply continued to glare at the wolf, before he began reaching for the door, as he announced, “You know what? This conversation is over.” As his hand touched the handle, Liam howled. He hadn’t come looking for a fight, but he sure as hell wanted one now. He was pissed. Theo was pissing him off, and he didn’t get to just walk away. He grabbed the chimera by his shoulders, spinning him around and pinning him against the truck. Theo let out a small huff of surprise, as the breath was forced out of his chest.

“No” Liam snarled, “It’s not. I’m not done and you are gonna listen to me” 

Theo flashed his eyes, as he growled. “Why? So I can listen to you threaten me? Again? You gonna put me back in the ground if I don’t do what you say?” 

Liam bared his fangs, hissing “I’m thinking about it” It was then that Theo flinched. Not a small subtle one, but one that rocked his whole body, as he tried to pull away from Liam. Surprised by the reaction, Liam leaned back slightly, a short laugh burst from his mouth “Oh does that scare you? What? You don’t want to see your sister again?”

Theo’s response was murmured so quietly, Liam would not have been able to hear it without his werewolf hearing “she took it back.” Liam was shocked, as he heard Theo’s voice quiver, allowing himself to be pushed away. He expected the chimera to bite back, to hit him. He didn’t expect the normally cold boy to suddenly give up. He sounded so broken. 

Theo’s gaze was focused on his shoes as he toed the dirt. He didn’t want to fight anymore. He was too tired to fight. He took a small, shaky breath before repeating “She took it back, her heart, she took it back. It’s hers, she should have it. So she took it back. Over and over again. I tried to run at first, but it was never enough. She always took it back, ripped it out. And then it started all over again. I was back in the body locker. I couldn’t outrun her, I couldn’t fight her, why should I? I took it from her, and she just wanted it back” his voice cut off with a small sob.

 Liam watched as the calm, collected, methodical Theo he had always known began to shake and fall apart right in front of him. Liam was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say. He had no idea, no one did. Theo never talked about what happened after Kira sent him away. Not to anyone.

Theo was always so Theo: cunning, evil, selfish, arrogant. He always seemed so sure of himself. He was cocky and annoying and just Theo. Liam had never seen him like this: vulnerable, emotional, and scared. Theo, for the first time that Liam had known him, seemed scared. 

Liam desperately tried to find the right words to say. Guilt filled him as he tried to comfort the other boy. He had done this. He let his anger get the best of him. He pushed and he yelled and caused Theo to break. He hadn’t meant to take it out on Theo. Theo looked exhausted, and Liam probably just made it so much worse. Theo fell back, his back slamming against the truck once more, sliding down the side of his truck, until he was sitting on the ground. He had his knees to his chest and his arms limply at his side, while he buried his face in his knees. 

Determined to fix this, Liam quickly dove in front of Theo. However, he was at a loss of what to do. As he landed on his knees, he could hear Theo mumbling something. Unable to make out what he was saying, Liam put one hand on Theo’s shoulder, and one hand cupping his face, slowly nudging the older boy to look at him. 

“Please don’t send me back” The words spilling out of Theo’s mouth becoming understandable once his face was no longer hidden. Over and over again, like a mantra. Theo finally moved his eyes up and forced himself to meet Liam’s gaze. It was then that Liam realized that Theo had tears in his eyes, on the verge of spilling over and down his face.

“Oh, Theo.” Liam sighed, having a sudden urge to wipe away the tears as they threatened to fall. He moved his hand off Theo’s shoulder, to mirror the position the other held, fulling cupping his face. “Theo, I am so so sorry.” Tears began to trace their way down the chimera’s face, as the young beta wiped them away. Liam thought back to all the times that he or Scott or Malia or anyone else would joke or threaten to put Theo back in the ground. He thought back to all the times Theo would flinch, or lose his carefully constructed mask every time they did. He didn’t notice at the time, but Theo was terrified of being sent back, and they just threw it around like it was no big deal. 

“I won’t send you back. I won’t let anyone send you back” Liam promised, “You’re not going back there.” 

Theo took a deep, shaking inhale, before slowly letting it out. He looked down again, looking at his hands. He concentrated on keeping them from shaking and steadying his breath. He slowly lifted a shaking hand. Liam expected to be shoved away, but instead, Theo set his hand on top of Liam’s and leaned into the touch.

Liam thought about the last time anyone touched Theo in a non-violent way. Sure, Theo had been punched, thrown against the wall, hit, he had plenty of physical interaction with others. But when was the last time someone had pat him on the back, gave him a hug, or gave him any positive physical interaction. Without really thinking about it, Liam threw himself down next to Theo. He pulled him into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around Theo. Half expecting to be hit, Liam was pleasantly surprised to see Theo simply melt into the hold, burying his face in Liam's chest, right above his heart. 

The two simply stayed there, holding each other. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. Liam simply held Theo until he stopped shaking. Till his breathing evened out and his heartbeat returned to normal. 

Once Liam was sure Theo had calmed down enough to listen, he began to apologize. “Theo, I didn’t mean what I said. I was angry and confused and stressed with everything that has been going on. I shouldn’t have lost it like that. I was wrong Theo. You aren’t selfish, or arrogant. Not anymore. You proved that when you saved my life. You proved it when you took Gabe’s pain. Even after what I said to you, how I treated you. Even after I broke your nose 3 times and beat you up, and yelled at you, and insulted you. You stayed, you fought, and you saved people other than yourself. You are not the same person you used to be Theo. And I trust you completely. It scares me and confuses the hell out of me, but I trust you and I am so so sorry for what I said.” 

Theo pushed himself off of Liam, not enough for Liam to lose his hold on the other boy's torso, just enough to look him in the eye. “Thank you” was all he managed to get out before collapsing into Liam’s chest once more. Liam clutched him tighter as he said: “I am sorry. There is no excuse for what I have done, but for what it’s worth,” he paused, “I am so sorry.” 

Liam wanted to pull Theo closer, but that wasn’t physically possible. Liam hadn’t realized how much his past actions were weighing on Theo. Things were finally starting to add up. Theo was trying to make up for what he had done. “I know.” He whispered into Theo’s head. Everything Theo had been doing was in repentance for what he had done. Theo still had a lot of work to do, but the Theo that had come back from the ground was most definitely not the one that went in. And that was enough for Liam. 

“Theo?” Liam whispered. Theo didn’t respond, but he hummed into Liam’s chest to let him know he had heard him. “When was the last time you slept?” 

It was then that Theo finally pulled away, out of Liam’s grasp. Liam desperately wanted to pull him back but kept himself from doing so. Theo looked at his hands as he explained, “I can’t remember. Every time I close my eyes, I’m back there, with her”.

Liam reached over and pulled Theo’s hands into his. “So come home with me.” Theo’s head shot up, looking Liam in the eyes. “So that when you wake up, I’ll be there, and you know you aren’t there with her, you’ll be here with me,” Liam explained. Theo, too tired to vocalize a response, simply nodded. Liam pulled him to his feet. After a bit of maneuvering and manhandling, he managed to get Theo to the passenger side, get him in the truck, and get the keys. 

After a quiet drive, Liam pulled into his driveway. Theo had dozed off during the drive, exhausted by the night’s events. He helped Theo out of the truck, and into the house. Liam’s parents were out of town for the month, his father having some medical conference in Idaho. So Liam didn’t have to worry about asking permission or them asking questions.

Once Liam maneuvered Theo into the room, and onto the bed, he pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie of his own, before climbing in next to Theo. Theo instantly pulled Liam closer to him, laying his head on the beta’s chest. Liam chuckled, before wrapping his arms around the older boy. 

“I’ll be here when you wake.” He whispered into Theo’s hair. 

“Thank you.” Theo barely managed to mumble before sleep finally overtook him. 

And for the first time since Liam had brought him back, Theo slept. He slept without his sister tormenting him. He slept safely in the arms of Liam, who felt a burst of affection for the boy in his arms before he too, gave in to the calls of sleep. 

[localbicryptid]

Dread - Second Chance sequel

“I thought I’d find you here.” The voice was soft and Liam hadn’t even realized someone had been sneaking up on him, so much for supernatural hearing.

He jumps, turning around nearly dropping the vat of chemicals in his hands. The figure in front of him just smiled and stepped forward.

“Hayden…” Liam breathes her name like its the answer to everything and he puts the chemicals down and rushes forward to pull her into his arms.

He really had missed Hayden, with Theo around it was easy to forget just how much. She fit into his hold easily, melding against his body. Hayden’s the first to pull away and then she’s hitting him.

“Your parents are worried sick and I’m pretty sure you’re making Scott prematurely grey.” She glares and Liam realizes he even missed this part of their relationship.

“I’m busy.” He murmurs, turning back to the table in front of him and just stares at the dread doctor's tools.

“What are you doing here, Liam? They said you stole Theo’s body, what are you planning?” She asked, careful as she approached him and looked at the tools distastefully.

“I’m gonna bring him back like he brought you and Corey back.” He replied, not looking over at her.

“You can’t.” Her response causes Liam to tense and sigh, finally looking at her.

“I know you didn’t like him, you won’t understand I…” He clenches his fist, looking away again. How do you tell your first love that you’re in love with the dead guy who nearly ruined her life? “He…” Liam’s eyes fall shut and he takes a deep breath.

“That’s not what I meant, Liam. You can’t bring him back because Theo used the last of whatever brought us back to bring us back in the first place.” She murmured, putting a hand on Liam’s arm.

“Did he tell you what was in it?” He asked, opening his eyes and staring down at the table.

“I mean..yeah, he gave us the gist of what had been in it.”

“So we recreate it, we bring him back,” Liam said, hitting his fist against the table and turning to look at her. Eyes burning with tears. “We bring him back.”

“Okay, Liam…..okay.” It was that, the whisper of a promise they got to work.

Days had passed, Liam working tirelessly on the chemical concoction that he thought could bring Theo back. Hayden slipped away from the lab and met up with Mason and Corey above the surface.

“Okay, so he’s just….mixing chemicals together? How do we get him to stop and come home? I don’t know how much longer Scott can keep his mother from stomping her ass down here and dragging him home and taking care of his ‘werewolf butt’...” Corey murmured.

Hayden shook her head, “There’s no way he’ll give up, not if we don’t at least try.” She whispered, looking back towards the tunnels as if Liam might walk out any second.

Mason nodded, he knew his best friend. Knew he’d work himself to the bone to bring Theo back. “Alright, so let's do this.” He agreed, letting Hayden lead the way into the tunnels.

The four of them worked for days, barely getting enough shut-eye to be considered normal human beings. It was on the eleventh day that Liam was overwhelmed by a panic attack, sinking to the floor and gripping his chest as short gasps left his mouth.

“Liam!?” There was a figure kneeling beside him. “Come on, Liam. I need you to breathe. Use your mantra. You know the one?” Mason, the figure was Mason.

What was his mantra? God, he couldn’t remember anything, he couldn’t even remember how to breathe.

“Liam, focus! The sun, The moon, The truth. Right?” Mason said, pressing fingers into his shoulder to try and ground him.

Liam’s lips trembled as he tried to form words, struggling to breathe. A hoodie was thrust into his arms and he buried his face in it. Inhaling deeply, allowing Theo’s scent to fill his nose. Suddenly he could breathe again, eyes going wide as he looked up at an extremely concerned looking Corey who was staring down at him, he looked towards Mason who had tears in his eyes.

“You were turning purple, we thought you were gonna pass out….” Corey whispered, moving to comfort his boyfriend.

“Thank you...for getting this.” He held up the hoodie but Corey shook his head and looked to his left.

Liam looked up and saw Hayden staring at the wall, arms crossed over her chest. “Come on….we have to finish this.” She whispered, moving back towards the table where they’d been working.

Pushing himself up, Liam followed pulling the hoodie over his head. “I don’t know what else to do.” He admitted, staring down at the concoction they currently had. It was the wrong color and consistency. Much too thin and much too pale.

Suddenly Mason spoke up, “There’s gotta be something we’re missing, otherwise it’d be what we need right?”

“I wish Tracy and Josh were here, they’d know what we were missing. They always helped Theo with stuff like this.” Corey mumbled, causing Hayden to look at him sadly.

“Wait, why would Tracy and Josh help?” Liam asked, furrowing his brow.

Mason snapped his fingers, “Tracy was part kanima and Josh had that electricity! What if that’s what we’re missing?” He asked.

Liam pulled his phone out, dialing a number and waiting as it rang. “Jackson, can you meet me in the tunnels? We need your venom and uh...if you could bring something we could use for electricity that’d uh..be great.” He sighed after a few minutes, “Please, Jackson? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t...really...really important.”

It was another minute or so till Liam hung up the phone, another twenty before Jackson and Kira entered the lab. Liam turned to thank Jackson when he froze at the sight of Kira, Kira who had put Theo in the ground, had condemned him to hell. The one who had lost her control and had to leave to get it back.

“What is she doing here?!?” He snarled, eyes glowing dangerously.

“Liam, calm down.” Mason warned, placing a hand on Liam’s arm. But he shrugged it off angrily.

Kira frowned at her old friend, wondering why so much had changed. She’d only gotten back a few days ago and had been bombarded with so much new information. Now she learned that Liam intended to bring Theo back after he’d already raised him from hell.

“I’m here to help, Liam. I want to help.” She whispered, sad and nervous.

Jackson for the most part just rolled his eyes and flicked out his claws, “I brought the venom and she brought the juice, now what do you need and why?”

Liam was silent as he leads them to the table where a vat of gloomy looking liquid sat. “We need you to add your kanima venom to this and then Kira just needs to electrify it.” He mumbled, looking away and thinking of Theo again, tears sprung to his eyes. “Just...please.”

Jackson scoffed, stepping forward and holding his claws over the vat. Watching his venom drip down into it, turning the liquid a sickly green. Next Kira held out her hand towards the large jar. Electricity flying from her fingertips as it surrounded the vat, lighting it up and congealing the liquid ever so slightly so that it was much more syrupy looking than before. Hayden and Corey’s faces lit up when they saw it and Liam knew they’d done it. He stared at the liquid in awe, stunned before he was jolted out of his reverie by Mason gently nudging a large syringe into his hands.

He stuck it into the liquid, pulling the plunger back and filling it. Once they had it Liam thanked all of them before leaving them to climb into Theo’s truck. He wanted to be alone when he brought Theo back.

He traveled alone, heart racing and too keyed up to focus on the roads. Luckily he gets there without any issues. He’s sure Theo would kill him if anything happened to the truck. When he finds the nemeton he’s scared to approach it, unsure of whether or not the magic actually preserved Theo’s body. It’d been weeks since he’d brought him out here, exposed. To animals and bugs. But when he gets there he finds that nothing touched Theo’s body, he looks exactly like he did when he left him there. Cold as ice.

He sits on the nemeton and pulls Theo’s body into his arms, repressing the urge to shudder as he gingerly lifts the syringe and presses it gently to his neck before hesitating.

“I’m sorry, Theo…” He whispers, shoving the needle into his skin and pressing the plunger down.

Nothing happens. Ten seconds pass, then twenty, and Theo's still as cold as ice in Liam's arms. This was his only chance, he doesn't have any other options. Forty seconds."I'm so sorry," Liam croaks, tears falling from his eyes and onto Theo's face. He places Theo's body back on the nemeton, takes one last look at him and walks away. Sixty seconds. Theo bolts upright, gasping and clutching at his heart. "Liam," he tries to say, but his throat is so dry that it turns into a racking cough. Liam turns around, shocked, and runs over to Theo, bringing him into an embrace. "Hey, hey, you're okay. You're alive, Theo. You're alive."

Theo’s gasping still, tears streaming down his face. He’s in shock and he’s so fucking cold. His teeth are chattering and Liam realizes he’s still in just the t-shirt and jeans he wore in the hospital that night. He tugs the hoodie over his head, pulling it over Theo’s and just wrapping him up in it as he holds him close.

“I’ve got you, The. I’ve got you.” He coos, rubbing his arms up and down to create friction in order to warm the chimera up.

Theo’s looking around frantically, eyes wide and glossy. “W-Where is she? Where’s Tara?”

Liam’s heart breaks all over again when he hears Theo ask where his sister is, “She’s dead Theo, has been for a long time.” He whispered, cupping Theo’s face.

Theo stares up at him, looking lost and scared. There’s confusion on his face as he searches Liam’s soft gaze.

“We were in the hospital.” He finally says.

Liam can only nod as Theo grips at his chest where the bullet holes were, Liam touches his hand and stares down at him. He lifts the hoodie and can see that Theo has begun to heal.

“I got shot….trying to save you.” He whispered, shock covering his features.

“But you’re alive, you’re okay now Theo.” Liam says, bringing his head down to press his forehead against his.

“So much for ‘I’m not dying for you,’” Theo laughs weakly.

“Don’t, Liam says sternly. “Just... don’t. Don’t joke about it.” He wraps his arms even tighter around Theo. He’s still not over losing him, even holding him in his arms right now feels fleeting. Almost like a dream.

Theo stares up at him, frowning. “Liam..."

“I don’t want you in another lifetime….I want you in this one.” Liam whispered, tears of his own pouring down his face again.

“How long…..how long was I gone?” He asked, unable to say the words dead. It felt...surreal.

“Almost two months.” He whispered, suddenly he realized just how tired he was.

He’d been gone from home for a long time, he hadn’t properly rested in god knows how long and its taking its toll on him. Theo reaches up to gently touch one of the dark circles beneath Liam’s eyes.

“Baby wolf...you’ve been neglecting to take care of yourself.” He whispered, confused once more.

“I needed you, Theo. You’re….fuck you’re my anchor and I didn’t even realize it until the moment you were gone. As soon as you were dead I just...I had no control, I wanted to fight everything and everyone...it was awful, The.” He sobbed, pulling Theo into him and inhaling his scent. It still smelled so wrong, the scent of death was slowly staving off but he still smelled like blood, gunpowder, and fear. “You stink.” He complained softly.

Theo’s body shakes with laughter as he buries his face in Liam’s neck, pressing a soft kiss to Liam’s neck. So soft that it's barely there. “Yeah, well so do you.” He smirked.

“Asshole...can we go home? We have...a lot to talk about and a lot to explain to my parents and the pack. But for now, I just want to shower, eat, and sleep.” He murmured, too tired to argue.

Theo heaves a soft sigh but it turns into a snort, “Okay but I’m showering first. I feel disgusting.”

“You can fight me for the shower.” Liam growled, helping Theo up as they walked to the car.

They get to it and Liam’s about to open the driver's door when he feels a pair of lips press against the shell of his ear. “We can always shower together, baby wolf.”

[imaginefan]

Face From The Past *Part 11*

Theo Raeken X Reader

Word Count: 1774

Tags: @pollyyates24 @shayx5

<< Part 10

You sat in the front of the truck, Theo linked his hand with yours “you know you didn’t need to come.” Theo said softly keeping his eyes on the road. “Yeah well, I don’t trust her.” You answered. “You don’t have to trust her, you have to trust me.” He answered and you looked at him. “I don’t trust anyone.” You admitted and he smirked over at you bringing your hand up to his mouth. “You know that I’m right behind you,” Tracy spoke and you rolled your eyes. “That was the point of the conversation.” You reminded her. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to make an enemy of a girl that can paralyze you?” Tracy asked and you heard the soft growl that came from Theo in warning. “You can’t paralyse me I’m dead.” You informed her “your toxin doesn’t work on me, anything else or are we done?” You heard her shuffle in the chair and then there was nothing.

You walked into the hospital room after some compulsion and a lot of avoiding Melissa.  “Tracy?” The man asked and you watched smirking as tried to reach for the call button. “Looks like he remembers you,” Theo said walking up behind her and moving the button away from him. “I'll take care of it if you want me to. All you have to do is ask.” You gritted your teeth as you watched them. “My dad defended someone on death row once. You know how lethal injection works? One of the drugs they use paralyzes your diaphragm.” Tracy explained pushing her claw through the bag on the drip stand and then waited as the man suffocated. “Makes it impossible to breathe.” You gave a sarcastic clap. “First step to being a murder can we skip the celebration because we need to go find Josh and you need to be away from me.” You pushed off the wall and walked towards the door Theo caught your arm. “Are you jealous?” He asked and you rolled your eyes. “I don’t get jealous.” You informed him before pulling your arm away and walking out.

You drove up to the club and got out of the truck. “Wait here,” Theo ordered as he walked around to the back of the car and took out the jumper cables. “What are you doing with those?” You asked. “I’m not doing anything with them.” He answered as he dropped them to the floor and opened the hood of the car, he leant against it looking at you. “What’s wrong with you sweetheart?” “Nothing.” You answered. “Don’t lie to me.” He reached out grabbing your hips pulling you towards him. “The feelings that I have towards you are the only feelings that I have and they are overwhelming and they get more intense the more that you spend time with other people.” You explained. “Other girls.” He smirked and you looked away from him, he directed your gaze back to him “Don’t worry so much okay?” The door behind you opened and Theo’s eyes drifted over to it. “How much did you take, Josh?” “A lot,” Josh answered walked towards you both. “And I don't feel a thing.” “You won't. Your body heals too fast.” Theo informed him. “Yeah? Then maybe you should have left me dead.” Josh suggested. “I’m starting to think that might have been the better option.” You mumbled as Theo looped an arm around your waist. “Or maybe you just need to feel something else. Something better.” Theo answered kissing your neck before moving around you to pick up the jumper cables and handing them to Josh, he connected the other end to the car battery and watched as he seemed to get the fix that he wanted. Theo walked around you taking his place where he was before looping his arm back around you. “How does that feel?” You leant your head back against his shoulder and you felt him shift, he was looking over at Liam who was watching the whole thing but that didn’t seem to bother anyone else.

The next morning you came back to Theo looking for you. “Where were you?” He asked. “Um feeding.” You answered. “We need to go and find Hayden.” He said gesturing for you come over to him. “Why?” You asked. “You want me to go alone?” He asked you made a noise of irritation before you followed close behind him.

You and Theo walked into the back entrance of the Sheriff office walking into the room where the holding cells were, you weren’t sure how but Theo managed to get Hayden attention and she came to meet you. “You shouldn't be here,” Hayden warned. “Why not? My record's spotless.” Theo answered and you looked at him. “Mine is not.” You informed them and he looked at you for a second before deciding to talk about at a later date. “Are you going to tell me what you saw last night?” Theo asked turning back to Hayden. “It was exactly like the painting. Exactly what you said.” Hayden answered. “Have you told anyone else?” Theo asked. “I didn't think you'd want me to,” Hayden answered “You're right.” Theo nodded as he looked at her. “But I don't know why.” Hayden looked confused and in all honesty, you didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle either. “And you don't have to. Look, that thing out there is going to kill a lot of people. But it's not going to kill us. Not if we're together.” Theo explained as he walked towards her his voice taking on a false kindness, Hayden’s phone rang and she took it out to look at a text. “It’s my sister I have to go,” Hayden said. “Anything else you want to tell me?” Theo asked. “Not really,” Hayden answered turning to walk away but she was stopped by Theo grabbing her arm. “Look, I don't want this to sound like a warning, and I definitely don't want it to sound like a threat. But you can't hide anything from me, Hayden. Remember that.” Theo warned her before letting her go. “That was an interesting conversation that I know nothing about.” You spoke and he looked over at you rolling his eyes. “Like I said, you don’t need to you just need to trust me,” Theo said softly turning to you. “There’s someone else that we need to see.” “Cory right? The little one with the cute face,” You said and he took your hand chuckling softly as you both walked out the way that you came. “What do you mean cute?” He asked. “I mean he looks like a baby.” You answered. “He’s cute.” “What am I then?” He asked. “Your hot huge difference.” You answered and he glanced at you. “There better be.” He decided as he pulled you towards the truck.

You walked into the school and you could hear his heart beating but you couldn’t see him, you knew that he was there but before you could say anything Theo did “You don't have to hide from us, Corey.” “I was trying to do something nice.” Corey justified and you shook your head. “You were trying to do something normal. But you don't have to be normal anymore, and you definitely don't have to be nice.” Theo explained. “Well, I'm not going to hurt them,” Corey argued well sort of. “Look, I don't want you to. In fact, they don't know it yet, but we're going to protect them. Just like I'm going to protect you.” Theo said as he put his hand on your shoulder. “So you're going to come with me and you're gonna do everything that I tell you because I know you don't want to die again. Do you, Corey?” Theo asked and he shook his head. “Okay.” Theo smiled resting his arm on his shoulder as he linked hands with you and left.

You and Theo watched at Tracy, Josh and Corey unsuccessfully tried to fight Scott. “I could just go help ‘em out.” You suggested. “You don’t want to help, you just want to fight,” Theo smirked. “You got me.” You shrugged and he shook his head. “Okay! Maybe they're not ready to take on an Alpha. Especially one that can smell fear.” Theo looked over at Corey. “He's got fangs.” Corey tried to defend himself but even his words seemed weak, Theo gestured for them to get Josh and leave which they did. “What did you do?” Scott asked, his eyes moving to you for a second. “I found some new friends. I don't take rejection well.” He stepped down from the ledge before lifting his hand for you to take as you stepped down as well. “Hey, Theo!” Stiles greeted looking up at. “Stiles.” Theo looked down at him for a second before looking at where the light was shining and cracked the concrete getting rid of the clue. “You're going to leave here thinking that you need to worry about me. But you're wrong. We're actually back on the same side. Because that thing That's what we need to worry about. Your pack and mine. We're gonna go back to school and pretend like we're normal teenagers, but at night, we're going to be fighting for our lives.” Theo explained walking around them to follow the rest of his pack. “What is it?” Scott asked and Theo looked at him. “It's not a Chimera,” Theo answered. “But it's just a kid underneath. Someone like us.” Scott said. “Not anymore.” Theo answered he looked over at you for a second before smiling “don’t be too long.” “I won’t.” You winked as you blew him a kiss before he was gone too. “Did you bring them back?” He asked. “What? Oh no that’s not how that works they have to die with my blood in their system for me to bring them back and if I did I would have brought back Scaly.” You explained. “Tracy?” Stiles asked. “That’s the one.” You nodded. “What do you want?” He asked. “Nothing from you, it’s just funny to watch you squirm.” You giggled. “What about if I call Klaus?” Stiles asked. “Call him and find out.” You taunted as you turned to walk away. “(Y/N) we never meant for this to happen,” Scott said stepping forward. “No one ever does.” You mumbled. “My whole life has been a series of everyone else's bad decisions, no one else is deciding for me, this is my life now.” “(Y/N) wai-” “Bye boys.” you waved over your shoulder as you walked away.

Part 12 >> (Coming Soon)

[onlymorelove]

fic:  the quality of mercy (1/1)

Title: the quality of mercy (1/1) Fandom: Teen Wolf Relationship: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken Characters: Theo Raeken, Liam Dunbar, Gabe, Mrs. Raeken Summary:  Liam tells Theo something he desperately needs to hear.

"You're not a monster, Theo."

"Are you sure?"

[Episode tag for S06E20: The Wolves of War] Rating: T  Read under the cut or on AO3. (Link has been fixed.) A/N:  Please note that since, thanks to a quick lesson from Deucalion, Theo took Tracy's and Josh's pain in Season 5 of Teen Wolf, I'm not interpreting Theo's inability to take Mason's pain as a lack of caring on his part. Sure, Mason said, "You can't take pain if you don't care," but that may have been out of spite, lack of knowledge, or the Teen Wolf writers not realizing they were violating their own canon.

If you read this, thanks. Feedback is treasured; constructive criticism is welcomed.

The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes…

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

When he was five-and-a-half-years-old, Theo Raeken ran down the stairs of his family’s small house to do what he did every morning before he did anything else—say hello to Mr. Blue, his parakeet. But on that day, brushing the sleep from his eyes with impatient hands, Theo found Mr. Blue lying still and silent on the scraps of newspaper that lined the bottom of his cage, surrounded by scattered birdseed.

“Mom,” he called, “Come here.”

His mother walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel dotted with blue flowers. “Honey, we need to get you ready for school. I already have your breakfast on the table.”

“Mom,” he said again. “Why isn’t Mr. Blue moving? Or chirping?”

She stepped into the room and stood next to Theo, bending until she was level with the birdcage. After peering inside, she turned to Theo, her mouth turned down at the corners. “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry...Mr. Blue is dead.”

“Dead? Does that mean he’s sleeping late today?”

With a sigh that ruffled Theo’s hair, his mother sat on the floor and pulled him down into her lap. “No, Theo. I wish that’s what it meant.” Her arms tightened around him, holding him closer. He didn’t mind. “Dead means that he won’t sing anymore or eat anymore or fly anymore when we open his cage door.”

“But we can make him not dead, right, Mom?” he asked, shifting in his mother’s warm lap to look into her soft, blue eyes. She was the prettiest girl he knew. Way prettier than his sister, who liked to roll her eyes and make faces at him whenever he asked to play with her and her friends. Prettier than every girl in his kindergarten class.

His mother’s hand shook a little when it brushed his hair out of his face. “We can’t. But we can think about him. And we can talk about him. Is there anything you want to say about or to Mr. Blue?”

“Like what?” Theo replied.

“Like goodbye, maybe?”

A tear spilled down his mother’s cheek; Theo smeared it with his thumb before speaking again. Why was she crying? “Bye, Mr. Blue. You’re a good bird. I like how you sing.” His mother smiled a tiny smile before rubbing a slow circle over his back.

“Goodbye, Mr. Blue,” she whispered, gently rocking Theo.

At eighteen, Theo found himself sprinting down a Beacon Hills Hospital hallway that was scented with a thick perfume of bleach, fear, and anger. Arm outstretched, he shoved Liam Dunbar ahead of him, trying to make sure he didn’t get shot by a stupid, confused kid named Gabe. (What a shitshow Theo’d turned his life into.) He got a bullet to the shoulder for his trouble and a near heart attack as he watched Liam risk his dumb ass anyway, trying to wrestle a machine gun away from Gabe.

That was Liam: brute force and a heart so fucking big it was all Theo could see or think about every night as he lay in his truck trying to pretend a mattress covered in cool, clean sheets cradled his tired body. (He’d never tell Liam that.)

When the shooting stopped, leaving a vacuum of eerie quiet, Theo’s eyes sought Liam. Liam, with the lips that smiled as easily as they frowned. Liam, who asked him questions and waited, listening like he might care about the answers. Always Liam. Theo’s eyes found him next to Melissa McCall, struggling to get up, his movements slow and stiff, but his heartbeat thrummed steady and strong, like the man Theo saw him growing into. A better man than Theo. Satisfied that Liam was fine, Theo filtered out the other sounds in his environment and cataloged the remaining heartbeats. That done, Theo’s attention turned to Gabe.

As he dragged himself on his belly, Gabe left a long, crimson smear on the hospital linoleum. The copper and iron scent stung Theo’s nose; he tried not to breathe too deeply. Blood.Theo hated it, having seen and spilled so much of it that the smell of it made his gut churn.

Gabe ended his painstaking pilgrimage and propped himself against a glass-walled cabinet. Blood dripped from his mouth and the gunshot wounds in his chest. His breath scored the air, harsh, labored, a dry death rattle echoing in his chest like claws scraped across slate. Theo didn’t know much, but he knew death and had witnessed it or caused it enough times to recognize the futility of thinking Gabe would survive his injuries.

“It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts,” Gabe said, the words rendered into an awful chant that ricocheted in Theo’s skull and yanked him back to the moment when Kira had used her sword, and his sister had dragged him down, deep into the bowels of hell. His nails had broken off as he’d scrabbled for purchase on the ground, knowing with a terrible certainty that no one would help him. Why should they?

Scott! Help me, Scott!

Theo gritted his teeth and let his claws emerge just enough to cut into his palm. The flash of pain punched him back to the present. Ignoring the blaze of heat sparking in his slowly healing shoulder, Theo walked to Gabe. Brows drawn together, Theo gazed down at the boy with the faint shadows ringing his eyes. A boy not so different from him—not so different from Liam, who’d fractured the earth to bring Theo back from hell. Who’d shown Theo more kindness than he’d ever expected. Certainly more kindness than he deserved.

The space around Gabe stank, sour with pain, fear, and the urine Gabe hadn’t been able to contain. It should have disgusted Theo; it would have disgusted Theo, once upon a time.

As Theo knelt, two tears spilled down Gabe’s cheek, adding salt to the mix of smells already coating the air. Throat and chest tight as the restraints the Dread Doctors had used on him, Theo watched this dark-haired boy with the haunted eyes, this fragile, wholly human boy without any supernatural healing abilities, as he struggled with the pain inflicted by people he’d trusted.

Gabe had chosen the wrong side; maybe he deserved the brutal consequences.

Theo had chosen the wrong side before, too; maybe he’d deserved the injections that burned like both fire and ice in his veins as the Dread Doctors strapped him down to a steel surgical table and sliced into him with their scalpels, again and again and again, while he screamed...until no more sounds crawled out of his raw throat. Until he learned pleading for mercy was about as useful as wishing he could rewind his life.  

Theo had lied. He’d manipulated. He’d killed. He’d turned his back on things like goodness, kindness, mercy, hadn’t he?

Still, with the weight of Liam’s gaze on him like a tangible thing, and each sure pulse of Liam’s heart an anchor at the edge of his awareness, Theo realized those things hadn’t completely turned their back on him.

Maybe, just maybe, if someone had been able to help him when it all started, back when he’d been a clueless, misguided child who hadn’t understood nearly enough about consequences as he’d thought he did...

But all the wishful thinking in the universe couldn’t unwind the tangled skein of the past. It was too late to save the boy Theo had once been; he only existed in his aching chest, where his sister’s heart beat, a constant reminder of his crimes. It was too late to save the broken boy gasping in front of him. Was there nothing he could do?

No god existed for Theo to pray to for help. God hadn’t been there when the Dread Doctors had come calling. God hadn’t been there when his sister had come to reclaim her heart. God hadn’t been there when Theo had helped the Doctors find fresh victims to test their findings on.

There was only Theo and the twisted, Frankenstein-like creature he knew he was.

He could fill volumes with what he knew about how to inflict pain. This time he wanted to take it—and not so he could steal someone else’s power along with it. He just wanted this boy not to hurt anymore. It hadn’t worked when he’d tried to help Mason. What had Theo expected? He’d been engineered to kill, not heal.

Still, if there was even a slim chance he could help Gabe, he had to try. He had debts he could never repay, after all. Perhaps he’d add this to the long list of his failures. Or perhaps—

Theo’s hands trembled as he clasped Gabe’s forearm, easing his sleeve up, trying not to add to his torment. Let me help him. Let me do this one good thing. Let me help him.  

Black ribbons snaked up Gabe’s arms and threaded through Theo’s. He stifled a gasp as the banked fire in his shoulder flared anew and swept through the rest of his body. The intensity of it made it impossible to ignore entirely, but Theo shoved it aside.

Gabe’s pulse was a light, thready thing under Theo’s fingers, fluttering like the wings of the butterflies his sister had loved; he knew it wouldn’t be long then.

“Does it hurt anymore?” Theo asked, and it didn’t sound like his voice.

“No.”

“Good.”

As Gabe’s agony continued to travel into Theo, Theo watched the light and the life in Gabe’s eyes dim until they were left, finally, dull and flat.

After placing Gabe’s arm in his lap as gently as he could, Theo sat back on his heels. Head bowed, breath shallow, he stared at his hands without seeing them. He felt himself start to shake, the adrenaline that had driven him since Scott’s phone call wearing off and leaving him feeling weak; he couldn’t afford weakness.

The air behind Theo shifted until a hand, calloused and warm, stroked across the back of his neck, settling at his nape. “Maybe I’m not a complete monster?” A hot flush splashed over his chest and rose up over his throat and cheeks when he realized he’d spoken his thoughts aloud, and even worse, colored the words like a question. For a moment, he almost wished the ground would open up and swallow him again. Almost.

Liam kneeled in front of Theo, and when his fingers left his neck Theo made a small noise in his throat. But Liam reached for him then, tugging him forward with one arm curved around his good shoulder and the other wrapped around Theo’s lower back. Touch, Theo knew, was synonymous with pain. But Theo went, unresisting, letting himself be pulled until his chest was flush against Liam’s.

He should let go. He shouldn’t lean on Liam. He shouldn’t tuck his head into Liam’s broad shoulder and turn his head in toward his neck, where his pulse drummed a little faster than it should. He shouldn’t inhale, long and slow, drawing the scent of Liam’s skin, which smelled like sweat, comfort Theo would never deserve, and wild, green, growing things, deep into his lungs.

He shouldn’t, but he did.

Touch, Theo knew, was synonymous with pain. But this—touching Liam—didn’t hurt.

“You’re not a monster,” Liam murmured, his lips brushing Theo’s forehead with each word he spoke. “You’re a chimera.”

“Are you sure?” Theo asked, hating himself for the way his voice wavered.

Liam drew back and lifted his palms to either side of Theo’s face, and when Theo looked up from the green of Liam’s shirt, his gaze caught in eyes as endlessly blue as he imagined the water in Mykonos must be.

Head tipped to the side, Liam said, “I’m sure.” Then he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss next to the corner of Theo’s mouth.

Theo ignored the shocked gasp that reached his ears. Sure, it wasn’t the kiss he had imagined when they’d been in the elevator, but they had an audience now. Even so, his sister’s heart beat embarrassingly fast, like a wild thing running in his chest, and his fingers twitched with the need to tangle themselves in Liam’s long hair and hold him in place for a kiss Theo could taste.   “You’re not a monster, Theo,” Liam repeated.

Look, I’m not dying for you.

Theo didn’t want to die. Not anymore. Not for anyone. But he would, for Liam. Oh, he would. He would. He would. He would.

Later, much later, after they’d done the necessary things like tending to the injured and burying the dead, Theo lay on the grass at the Beacon Hills Preserve, with his head in Liam’s lap. He closed his eyes against the vast blue of the sky and let himself be lulled until the world narrowed to the feel of Liam’s long fingers stroking through his hair and curving against his scalp.

Goodbye, Tara. Goodbye, Gabe. Goodbye, Tracy.  I’m sorry.  Goodbye, Josh. Goodbye, Mr. Blue. Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad. Goodbye...

A/N:  Thanks for reading! Please comment if you feel up to it. :) If you want to send me a prompt about Liam/Theo, feel free.    

[imnoshakespeare]

Taking a Risk Pt. 2

Summary: The reader is faced with the decision of having to choose one soulmate over the other.

Word Count: 4.1k

A/N: I finally finished it! I hope you all enjoy!

Tagging: @sierrastilinski  @amylillian22  @alphaallie

READ PART 1 HERE

Theo stood before me, looking back and forth between Liam and I. The discomfort was far too palpable to handle. I, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), had two soulmates. This shouldn’t be possible. Not too long ago, I wasn’t ready to have any soulmates and now two stand before me. One ready to kill the other, while the other had no idea what was going on.

“I think you’re a little confused kid. Hate to break it to you, but she’s my soulmate, so anything you two have had before is pretty much obsolete”, Theo smiled

Liam hands were at his side, balled into fist. He was ready to explode at any given moment and Theo still had no idea what was going on.

“I think you’re the one that’s confused kid. I met my soulmate weeks ago and she happens to be (Y/N). Maybe you’re necklace is broken”, Liam seethed

“I highly doubt that’s be true”

Both eyes landed on me. Suddenly my mouth was dry and I was at a loss for words. If something wasn’t said, I feared the entire student center would be destroyed by two young men fighting over a soulmate.

This was going to be a disaster.

“Liam is my soulmate”, I began as a triumphant smile spread across Liam’s face, “But I’m pretty sure Theo is mine as well. I can feel it”

“How!? You just met me and now you have another. How does that even work!?”, he nearly yelled

Theo stood there taking it all in. Clearly this was more than he expected when he thought he would be meeting his soulmate and not his soulmate’s soulmate as well.

“Liam I’m just as confused as you are--”

“I’m not”, Theo finally said, “Everything about you feels right to me and if that means having to deal with you having another soulmate, then it’s a risk I’m willing to take, but you have to be willing to”

My heart was racing a mile a minute. Of all people, it had to be me. I’m not at all surprised either. This is what I get for complaining about the entire soulmate ordeal for so long.

“This is a lot to take in for one night. I think we should get together later or meet individually to talk this over”, I let out, “I…we need some time to think about what’s going on. It’s a lot to take in”

Theo nodded in agreement, sending a small smile my way, which didn’t go unnoticed by Liam who visibly tensed.

I grabbed my bag and made my way to the door, “Goodnight Theo. It was nice to meet you”

In two strides he was right next to me. He was absolutely beautiful. I chastised myself for thinking that way in front of my soulmate, but he was my soulmate too. A smile crept along my face as we awkwardly said our goodbyes and he left.

The moment soon ended when my eyes landed on Liam’s. A mixture of pain and agony etched his features and I was at a loss again. When I reached out to hug him, he quickly pulled himself out of my grip.

“Liam, I--”

“He needs to stay as far away from you as possible”, he coldly stated, “There I thought about it”

He brushed past me, leaving on my own.

For the next four days, Liam was attached to my hip. I had no chance of telling our friends that there was someone else destined to be apart of my life with him breathing over my shoulder the way he did. Although, I’m sure he already told Mason who undoubtedly already told Corey. The looks of pity were always being sent my way. No one noticed that Liam was staying by my side throughout the week and it wasn’t because of love and affection. It was fear and jealousy.

I knew how I felt about him and that has yet to change, but these feelings for Theo have peaked my interest. I needed to know where this was headed and why I was destined to be with the both. I can’t spend another day knowing my soulmate was here on campus and I wasn’t even allowed to utter his name.

As we sat in the cafeteria, my mind started to wonder. There was little to be known about Theo Raeken. Was his personality similar to mine? Liam? A little of both? If he was my soulmate, where did that leave Liam and I?

“(Y/N)? (Y/N)!”, Kira called

“What?”

“We were asking how things are going with you and Liam”

“It doesn’t seem that bad given he hasn’t left your side for four whole days”, Lydia snickered

“Oh. We’re...we’re good”, I mumbled as Liam tensed right beside me

Lydia eyed us quizzically before giving up, “That’s good to hear”

With the knowledge of who her soulmate was, I knew this wasn’t the last I would hear of it. The direction of the conversation steered towards our plans for the upcoming Friday night, but I could care less.

Liam kept his eye on me majority of the time, while the others argued over going to the movies or bowling. I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my head as I fiddled with my necklace. It was already warm because he was right next to me. As my thoughts trailed off to Theo once more, the necklace burned hotter. Slowly, I look across the room to see Theo taking a seat not too far from us. As soon as his eyes are on mine, he gives me a small smile, then gives his undivided attention to Tracy and Josh.

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest as the butterflies in my stomach start to flutter. I just wanted to talk to him. How would anyone react if they knew who their soulmate was, but couldn’t even talk to them?

“(Y/N)? What are you doing?”, Liam asked so only I could hear

“What? I haven’t done anything”

“You’ve been staring at him this entire time!”

“Liam, I don’t know what’s going on. I told you before that I didn’t even want to meet my soulmate and now I have TWO!”, I yelled, “I didn’t ask for any of this!”

The entire room grew silent as all eyes were on me. Our friends watched in shock as I ran out the cafeteria to distance myself from Liam.

Avoiding him wasn’t that difficult, especially with Malia, Lydia, and Kira staying by my side. They walked me to class as well as to and from work just to keep Liam at bay. They wanted to know everything about my other half, but they didn’t want to push me. It’s not like I could hide it from them forever.

“You know you don’t have to come out with us tomorrow, right?”, Kira suggested

“We know you’ve had a lot on your mind lately”, Lydia chimed in

“I want to come with you guys”, I said as I unlocked my door, “I’ve had time to think about it, but I’ve been thinking about it too much. I just want to forget about it for one night”

“I have a feeling Mason will drag Liam there for the same reason”, Lydia said sending me a sympathetic smile

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine”

Malia sat across from me fiddling with the contents on my desk, “So (Y/N)...”

“Do you plan on asking about Theo?”

“Theo? As in Theo Raeken? He’s your other soulmate!?”, Malia nearly shrieked

“Yeah, why? Have you seen him?”

“He’s hot”, they all said in unison

We all burst out in laughter. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining how I met Theo in the first place and how Liam has been ever since their encounter.

“I have no idea what I’m doing. Theo and I haven’t spoken to each other since then. I want to talk to him so bad and get to know him, but…”

“Liam”, Malia finished, “It’s because he’s afraid he might lose you. Somehow your heart belongs to the both of them”

“Of course he does, but he can’t keep her from him. It will cause problems in the end”, Lydia responded

“What kind of problems?”

“You met Theo, yet you haven’t had your time with him like you did with Liam. Remember you avoided us for days after you met?”

“Yes?”

“It happens to all soulmates after they meet. They live in their own little bubble for a few days...weeks even. It’s a chance to get to know them better. You’ve already met Theo, yet you haven’t seen him since. It won’t be long before your chest starts burning and you’ll start having a lot of mood swings. It only worsens until you actually--”

“So that’s what that was”, I said as I gripped my chest, “It started yesterday morning, thought it was heartburn”

Lydia’s eyes widened, “What college students do you know that get heartburn?”, she sighed, “Maybe it feels that way now. Eventually, it starts to feel a lot worse. You have to work things out with Liam and talk to Theo”

Friday night finally came and I had yet to see Theo anywhere on campus. Liam decided to stay out of my way for a while. The burning sensation in my chest has slowly intensified. It’s nothing I can’t handle for another night.

“You want another round of shots?”, Scott asked as he downed his beer

I nodded excitedly.

“Alright another round of shots!”, Scott called to the bartender as all of us cheered

We spent majority of the night dancing and drinking. Even if everyone was paired off with their soulmate, I was having the time of my life...just a little. A part of me still felt lonely as I watched Kira grin from ear to ear as Scott whispered something to her.

As I downed my shot, I was already began to feel the affects of drinking all night.

“I think you’ve reached your limit (Y/N)”, I heard a familiar voice chastise me from behind

I smirked at Liam before turning my attention back to the bartender, “One more shot please”

“I didn’t think I’d catch you here tonight”

“Is that what you really thought? We have the same friends”, I said as I downed another shot

“You really should stop. You’re way past your limit”

“There you go again with telling me what to do. First, I’m not allowed to talk to Theo. Now I can’t even drink”

“I see you haven’t stopped thinking about him yet”, he scoffed

The pain in my chest intensified as I glared at Liam.

“Why would I? Whether you like it or not he’s my soulmate and I can’t change that. The longer I stay away, the more pain I’m in”, I grimaced as I grabbed my chest

It was beginning to feel unbearable.

“What are you talking about?”

“The longer I stay away from Theo, the more I--”

It felt like flames were engulfing my chest. I let out a groan and tried to make my way out the bar. Combining alcohol with being pushed away from a soulmate was going to be the death of me. I was soon regretting those final shots.

My vision began to blur as I  made it to the door and passed out in someone's arms.

Unlike most mornings, I didn’t wake up with my face buried in a soft pillow. I managed to peel my eyes open only to realize there wasn’t a pillow insight. For some reason I was resting my head on someone’s chest. A firm chest I might add.

Whoever it was managed to get me out of the bar and away from Liam. Just as I began to panic, I finally noticed the heat from my necklace. The pain I felt in my chest the night before had vanished. I vaguely remember drinking, seeing Liam, then nothing. I didn’t recall seeing Theo that night.

Given that he’s my soulmate, I shouldn’t be this nervous to speak to him. I’ve hardly had the chance to even have a full conversation with him and here I am in his bed.

“Are you up?”, a sleepy voice asked

I nearly jumped out my skin as his voice broke the silence.

“Y--yes, I’m up”

“I’ve been awake for about an hour now. I didn’t have the heart to move you”

Silence took over yet again as pulled myself away from him and sat up with him.

“You should know that nothing happened between us. I caught you when you passed out. You were--”

“Arguing with Liam? I remember that part”, I recalled

“I was going to stay out of it and give you your space, until you started gripping your chest. I already knew what was happening because it’s been happening to me too. I thought if I kept my distance until you knew what you wanted to do, it would make it easier on the both of us, but clearly I was wrong. Seeing you go through the same pain I was going through made it so much worse. So I took you away from the party”

“Liam let you take me away?

“Let you?”, he scoffed, “He didn’t have a choice. Who knows what would have happened if we kept it up (Y/N). Even if you decide that you only want one soulmate, I’ll still do everything in my power to protect you”

I hated the thought of having to choose one soulmate over the other. Judging by the look on his face, he didn’t want me to. I don’t think I’d want to either because that would mean hurting someone and I don’t think I can deal with that.

“It is nice to finally talk to you again”, he said as his began to grin

“Me too Theo”,  I giggled, “What do we do now?”

“Clean up, eat, and talk. In no particular order”, he says as he swings his legs over the bed and makes his way to his closet

This was the moment I’ve been waiting for. Theo and I spent the entire day in his room catching up on things we never knew about each other. His confidence took me by surprise. He wasn’t too cocky, but there were many things he was so sure about.

Every time we made eye contact, my heart leapt in my chest. He sat across from me on his bed, his focus on me refusing to waiver.

Theo and I spent the next week, lasting all of fall break, together. I never thought I would ever end up feeling this way about anyone ever again. We talked about anything to came to mind. Things were easy with him, just like they were with Liam. Falling for them was so effortless.

“I don’t want this to end”, he said later that night as I grabbed my clothes

“I don’t either, but I have to catch up on my homework. I haven’t spoken to my friends in a week. That’s a long time for me”

“And Liam. You haven’t spoken to him either, he says softly

There was no malice in his voice, just understanding. He knew my heart belonged to the both of them and it didn’t even phase him.

“No, no I haven’t”

There was no doubt in my mind that Liam was losing his mind.

“Well regardless of what happens between the three of us, I’m always going to be here”

It certainly didn’t go unnoticed that he was now inches from my face, waiting for me to tell him if this was alright or not. I closed the gap between us and pushed my lips against his. He pressed my back against the door as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our bodies were closer than before as he picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

As his hands slid up my waist, he slowly pulled away. I rested my forehead on his, trying to catch my breath as he did the same. My legs moved from his waist and my feet finally touched the ground, but I was still in a daze.

“I didn’t mean for it to go that far”, he apologized

“Theo it’s fine. It’s not like I didn’t want to”

He looked me in my eyes and leaned forward once more, only for someone to knock on the door. Irritated, Theo pulled the door open and relaxed when he saw who came to visit.

“Hey Liam. I take it you need to speak with (Y/N)?”

“Uhh...yeah. I had a feeling she was still here”, Liam affirmed

I backed away from the door as Theo pulled it all the way open.

“Come on in”

Liam slowly walked into the space Theo and I occupied for the last seven days. He looked around until his eyes landed on me. Not only was he in pain, but he was confused as well. He didn’t know what to do and neither did I.

“(Y/N). How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine”

“If you’ve been having a good time, you can tell me. I do know the feeling”, he mumbled

“She’s not going to tell you that”, Theo said as he shut the door, “She doesn’t want to hurt you”

Liam sat in the chair by the desk as Theo and I sat on the bed, no where near as close as we were before.

“Are you still in pain?”, Liam questioned

He took in my expression before answering, “I overheard Lydia talking about it after you left”

“No, I’m not in pain anymore. Thanks for asking”

“I’m sorry. I’m the one that did this to you. I promise you it wasn’t my intention”

“Liam, it wasn’t you. It was because I was separated from Theo--”

“I was the reason you were separated in the first place. I was so jealous and scared that I would lose you that I never paid attention to how this would affect you in the end. The decision i made was for the both of us and never asked how you felt about it. If you want to choose him over me”, Liam paused as looked up at me, tears reaching the brim

“Then...then I’m fine with it. As long as you’re happy I’m happy”

Liam kissed me on the forehead. As he leaned over, a tear fell and touched my cheek. He walked out the room without saying another word.

Why did this have to happen to me? Liam was my first soulmate. There was this pull to him that I wouldn’t dare deny. I opened up to him in ways I couldn’t imagine. Theo may have been the second, but I understand why he was soulmate as well. In the end, I could only spend the rest of my life with one.

“I think I should give you some time alone. Come find me if you need me”, Theo softly said as he kissed my cheek and left me in his dorm

The necklace was still warm, but I didn’t dare take it off. A few minutes after he left, I walked out of the room to get as far away from campus as I possibly could. Eventually the heat from my necklace faded and it was freezing cold.

I didn’t want to repeat what I’ve already been saying to myself over and over. I just wanted to be by myself for once and not have to think about it. Ever since Liam and Theo came into my life, I haven’t had a second to myself whether it was mental or physical.

Honestly, I even with everything going on, the one person I missed the most was my mother. She always has the best advice and I should’ve called her sooner. I reached for my phone in my back pocket and was surprised to notice it wasn’t on me.

Maybe it was a sign that I needed to make my own decision or that I could just call her when I got back to campus.

Somewhere along the way, my legs grew tired and I was forced to turn around. The area became all too familiar once I lost my train of thought. As the lake Liam took me too came into view, I realized how much I needed to rest my legs so this was as good a place as any.

The sun was beginning to set when I took a seat under a tree. It was one of those few moments where I could stay in the same spot forever without moving a muscle. It was still warm out, the sun was beginning to set as crickets began to chirp, yet it never bothered me. I was at peace.

“What are you doing here?”, a familiar voice asked on the other side of the tree

“I always come here. The question is what are you doing here? You followed me?”

“Maybe”, Theo replied as if that was supposed to be a normal response, “I followed you because I wanted to talk to you about (Y/N)”

“What about her?”, Liam sighed

“I just want her to be happy, regardless of the decision she makes. In the end one of us will end up hurt, but as long as she isn’t stressing over this anymore I really don’t care. I may have only known her for a few weeks, but she means everything to me. Whoever she doesn’t choose..”

“Can’t try to get her to change her mind, but we can still be there for her like we already are”, Liam finished, “I never realized how difficult this must be for her. She didn’t want any of this and now she has to choose between TWO of us”

I looked past the tree to see Liam and Theo sitting side by side watching the river. Both of them had the same expression etched into their features: confusion.

As if a lightbulb went off in Theo’s head, he jumped to his feet with a smile spreading across his face.

“What if she didn’t have to choose?”

Liam sat still for a moment as he processed what Theo just said. I never thought of that before. I always believed there was only one soulmate per person. Maybe there was an exception. There had to be a reason why I could see myself being with both of them. The question is would they be alright with that? How would that even work out without the two of them being at each other’s throats?

“You think she would go for it?”, Liam finally responded

“There’s only one way to find out. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We need some rules so we don’t overstep any boundaries, you know?”

“Yeah we should also--”

Theo paused as his eyes landed on me. I was so caught up in their conversation, I forgot to keep myself hidden.

“(Y/N)”, they said in unison

“How much of that did you hear?”, Theo asked

“All of it”, I answered as I moved away from the tree

Liam and Theo gave each other a fearful look, unsure of what I would say next. They were right. What’s the worst that could happen?

“These past few weeks haven’t been that easy for me and I’m sure you know why. The thought of having to choose and end up hurting one of you was torture. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with having to be with one knowing what I’ve done to the other”

“So what are you saying?”, Liam asked

“I’m saying we should give it a try. You, me, and Theo. We’ll work out the details sooner or later”, I grinned

As the shock wore off, Liam wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I felt another pair of arms wrap around me as well as I noticed Theo smiling at me.

Not too long ago, I swore off trying to find a soulmate because I thought it wasn’t for me. Then I met Liam and my whole world changed. He was all I ever wanted and I was fine with that until Theo came along and I realized how much I never wanted to be without the both of them ever again. It might not be perfect, yet it was perfect for us. We’ll figure it out because it was a risk we were willing to take.

[allisonbaelfire]

Decision - Love?

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At Eichen House:

“You don’t wanna do this, Theo. She’s safe here.” Dr. Valack said with a serious face. “The Dread Doctors don't know how important she really is yet.” 

He stood still. Didn’t even slightly feel threatened by Theo’s Pack, that was until Theo gave Tracy that dangerous look. Tracy had it covered, so Theo walked around them and went into the room where Lydia was. Once he saw what Valack actually did to her, he made the decision to take Lydia with him.

“What does a pack, full of Chimera’s, want with some Banshee?” Valack asked ignoring the fact that Tracy is holding him up at his throat.

“I don’t want a Banshee. I’m looking for a Hell hound.” Theo explained. 

Suddenly they heard the door squeaking and noticed it starting to melt. “You wanted a Hell hound? I think you just found one.” Dr. Valack replied satisfied.

The Hell hound came over while Josh tried to attack him. Josh was no match for Parrish.   *************************************** “Stop!” Scott growled at Parrish. 

Scott’s eyes became that dark crimson red we all new too well. Parrish turned around, growled and moved towards Scott, ready to attack. You came up behind Scott, along with stiles, Malia and Isaac. You walked even closer, you're eyes glowing the same red as your big brother.

“Stiles and Y/N bring Lydia out of here. While we take care of them.” Scott said with a serious tone, while the two of you nodded. 

Scott, Malia and Stiles started to fight with Parrish, while Stiles immediately ran towards Lydia. Theo’s Pack didn’t know what to do. Theo was too distracted to even say a word. He hasn't  seen you for years, and now all of a sudden you were standing in front of him as a True Alpha. You walked over to Stiles as Theo gently grabbed your arm.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Theo whispered.

“And you shouldn’t have tried to kill my friends or try to capture my best friend.” You said with a threatening look on your face. “Stiles, bring her to Scott’s. None of them will follow us.” Stiles nodded as you looked back at Theo. “Or I’ll break every bone in your bodies. Twice.” You threatened his entire pack. 

Once you realized your point has been made, you turned around and followed Stiles outside.   *************************************** Scott’s House: After they beat Parrish unconscious, Scott brought him back to the house. Stiles was in Scott's room with Lydia, waiting for her to wake up. Everyone knew Stiles wouldn’t leave Lydia’s side, not for one second.

“Okay, I’m really glad that we had some help out there, but who are you two?” Malia asked curiously. 

You smiled softly and sat next to Isaac on the couch. “Well, that's Isaac, my- my best friend.” You paused as Isaac’s eyes met your’s and you both smiled again. “I’m Y/N. I’m Scott’s sister. Twin sister actually.”

“Younger twin sister.” Scott added grinning. “Isaac was in my pack before Y/N became an Alpha.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about her? At least me or even Liam.” Malia asked a bit pissed. “She would’ve been really helpful. Theo is kind of afraid of her.” She smirked.

“I wanted-” Scott started and looked at you.“

“-He wanted me to have a normal life.” You added. “I got turned by Derek Hale when I had a huge fight with Scott, about how I wanted to be a werewolf too. I moved out and went to Derek because of Isaac.”

Malia still didn’t understand a thing.

 “I have been Y/N’s best friend ever since,” Isaac grinned. “Since forever I think. I told her about what I am, why and how. When they had a fight, she didn't know where to go and Derek wanted a Beta. It kind of worked out perfectly.”

Stiles came downstairs and you saw his worried expression. You walked over to him and gave him a huge bear hug. You felt his tears falling on your cheek and you had him even tighter. As you let go, he took a deep breath.

 “I don’t know what to do. She’s like.. like she’s in trance or something. I don’t know.” Stiles said, shaking. 

Scott walked towards us and touched his shoulder. “We’ll figure out a way to help her.”

Parrish started waking up and only remembered a few things. He tried to stand up, before you stopped him.

“Please don’t go. It’s an honor to finally meet a hell hound.” You smiled at the man.

“Honor? You have got to be kidding me. I am a monster.” Parrish replied, with a sad tone etched in his voice.

“Nearly all of us are, but you, you're a really awesome one.” Isaac laughed. 

“What do you two know about him?” Scott asked curiously. “Not that much-” You started.

“Please tell me.” Parrish said weakly as he fell on the ground. You were checking to see if he was still breathing. 

“Dog’s apparently need a hell of a lot sleep these days.” Stiles said sarcastic.

“We all should rest.” Scott suggested as everyone was nodded in agreement.

*************************************** It was midnight. You didn’t want to sleep, you didn’t feel save. You were looking out of the window, up in the sky while the moon was shining back on your skin. You noticed Scott coming down the stairs.

“Can’t sleep either, huh?” You asked softly.

“It’s not that.” Scott looked into your eyes. “I can hear you thinking.” He smiled.

“No. You don’t.” You grinned. “Just because we both are Alphas doesn’t mean you can read my mind.”

“Yeah, but I’m your brother.” He replied and sat next to you. “When you tried to protect Allison and became an Alpha, I- I just wanted you to get as far away as possible. You lost your best friend, your life, and I thought you wouldn’t survive that. That’s why I wanted you out of Beacon Hills.”

“And I understand that Scott.” 

Scott looked towards Isaac who was sleeping on the Couch. “He also felt something was wrong when you saw Theo.”

“I became an Alpha because I pushed an Oni away from her and a sword cut my stomach. It’s nothing to be proud of, she died anyways.” You replied sadly and also looked at the sleeping werewolf. 

“And he doesn’t know the whole Story does he?”

“You became an Alpha because you were willing to die for someone you love. Just like Isaac would do for you. Don’t let your mind think about Theo. You deserve better. You always did.” Scott said and kissed your forehead.

Once you were sure that Scott was upstairs and sleeping, you decided to take a walk. A walk to find the one and only, Theo Raeken. *************************************** In the Woods:

It didn’t take you long to catch Theo’s scent. He's always had a very distinct one. As soon as you found him, it seemed as though he was already waiting for you.

“Why are you doing this?” You asked holding in your tears while Theo's back was still towards you. “Trying to kill my friends, my brother.. What happened to you?" You asked softly, worried that if you spoke any louder you wouldn't be able to hold in your tears anymore.

“Some would say I’m only doing this because I’m pure evil.” He finally turned to face you. “I would say it's because I had no one to be good to for a very long time..“

“You had me once, and then you left.” You replied.

“And what if I said I would never leave you again. I'd stay with you for better or worse, forever. Y/N, would you stay?” Theo came closer and looked into your eyes. He grabbed your jacket and gently pulled you closer to him.

“No she wouldn’t.” Isaac shouted from behind. “She doesn’t need someone like you.” He came closer, eyes glowing.

Theo laughed. “Let me guess, what she needs is someone like you?” He grinned and his eyes glowed yellow. “You couldn’t even protect her if you were her Alpha.” Theo stepped back from you and walked over to Isaac.

You didn’t know what to do. While the boys were acting like idiots, all you could do was think about all the memories you had with Theo. You still couldn’t find one bad vein inside of him, but as you saw how he was acting now, while Isaac provoked him, you saw a whole different person in front of you. All of sudden they started to attack each other. You rolled your eyes and your claws came out. You ran between them and as Theo raised his hand to scratch Isaac, you ran right in front of him, causing Theo to scratch you with all his might. You fell to your knees, clutching your bleeding stomach. Both of them wanted to help you, but they continued to fight about who should be the one to help you, resulting in you becoming even more furious. Your eyes turned red and you growled as loud as you could until both of them feel to the ground as you slowly and painfully stood up again. *************************************** “I wouldn’t choose either of you.” You said as you clenched your teeth, trying to heal yourself. “Up!” You yelled to Isaac.

“Y/N!” Scott stood breathless behind you. 

“What happened?” Malia asked confused.

Isaac was standing next to you, he was looking into you red eyes while Theo was still laying on the ground.

“I'll give you one chance Theo. Leave now.” You growled. “Run as fast as you can, as far as possible. If you stay, I will no longer be a True Alpha.” Your eyes turned normal again as a tear fell down your face. “We’re going home now. All of us.” 

You were looking at Isaac, who nodded. You then looked at Theo into his confused eyes. He noticed that you were hurt, emotionally, and that you were hoping all of this was just a bad dream. Theo knew you more than he knew himself. He knew that you still had feelings. You turned around and walked away. *************************************** Scott’s House:

When you came into the House, Stiles was there waiting. He was worried sick about you, you were always like a sister for him. You didn’t want to talk to Stiles yet, so you told him that everything was fine and that he should go back to Lydia. Scott noticed that you didn't want to talk to him or Isaac either, so they both went upstairs and left you alone.

“Why?” Malia asked. 

You sat on the Couch and looked at Malia. “What?” You asked annoyed.

“Scott noticed that you were gone. That’s why we both woke up.. But he didn’t want to follow you, he wanted you to decide what you really wanted. He said that you had to make a decision. What decision?”

You smiled. “Too choose love or to choose my pack.” You replied softly. “Theo left when he was little, but we.. we weren’t really apart. There was something special between us. Everyone said I would marry him someday.” You slightly smiled. “Theo came back without anyone knowing. He always came back for me. I can’t even describe how much I loved him, I didn’t care that I couldn’t see him everyday because I loved him so much. I would’ve waited years for him, only him. I think that some part of me will always wait for him and a part of him would do the same.” 

“And why didn’t you choose him? Why is all of this happening now?”

“Because I chose my life, not the one we were building together. When I got turned, I focused on my pack. For the first time ever, I focused on myself, and then I listened to my brother and I left town. It was the right decision my brother made for me.” You paused. “Theo was my first love and as I saw him again, my feelings came back. Even after what I heard about him. About what he had done. I think, maybe, if Isaac wouldn’t have been there, I would be with Theo right now. But when he showed up and Theo attacked him, I knew that I had to choose my pack. Even when though it's just us two.” You laughed softly.

“I’m not just your pack Y/N. I’m your family.” Isaac said while he came downstairs with Scott.

“Get in the line.” Scott said grinning at Isaac and you laughed as you noticed Parrish coming downstairs as well.

“He won’t leave. Theo wants me and I don’t know why.” Parrish said and sat next to you.

“We’ll figure this out as one pack.” Scott smiled.

“One pack with two McCall Alpha’s? Now that's interesting?” Lydia laughed weakly while Stiles helped her down the stairs. 

You stood up and hugged Lydia. Then you helped her sit down. You walked up to your brother and stood next to him.

 “I know Theo won’t leave, but Scott is right. We’ll fight him together.” You said and your brother wrapped his arm around you. 

The pack smiled, knowing we were unstoppable as long as we are together. --------------------------------------------

Hello Alli’s!  I’m back again and I hoped you liked the Story. Some of my old followers could now this One Shot because its one of my oldies but thanks to @star-gazer178, are my grammar mistakes out of this one! So you can thank her, that my stories are getting better. :p

We choose to rewrite this One Shot for Cody. His video was leaked and this is definitely not okay. He’s human, he does those thing like everyone else. If you do a video about it doesn’t matter. He did this for a person who had no respect and leaked it. I think he don’t has to be ashamed of anything and that we should help him to get through this!

  I’ll try to post some more stories, so requests are open!

[ellewritesathing]

So Close - S.S. XXXIX

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist   Prev. | Part 39

Word-count: 2.6k+

A/N: guess who straight up forgot what day of the week it was but a day late is better than never right?? hope you guys like it!! 💕 (also i couldn’t find the gif i wanted to use so have some alpha!scott)

Though it had only been a few days, you’d been staying at Stiles’ house ever since he and Scott had gotten into their fight. Melissa was hardly impressed with the decision, but she relented when Noah got hurt and she realized that he'd be staying alone if it wasn't for you. Part of the deal you'd struck, however, was that you’d check in with her every day. Seeing as how you needed some new clothes and the Stilinski's washing machine was busted, you decided to make it a house call. 

Melissa didn’t seem to be at home, but you could tell that Scott was there thanks to your fancy new werewolf skills. You tiptoed up to his room and stood in the doorway while he attempted to pin photos and post-it notes to a new corkboard. He was using the same red yarn that Stiles used on his conspiracy boards. 

The only problem was that Scott attached one of the strings to his jacket as well as at least five other pins. As soon as he tugged on the yarn, every photo and post-it note came clattering down. He let out a sigh and threw the piece of yarn towards the ground. 

“It’s easier to stick the details to the photos before you pin them up,” you said. “Once you've pinned everything up, you can connect them with yarn.” 

Scott seemed surprised to see you as he turned around. Maybe his senses were slipping. “Thanks,” he said uncertainly, sliding some of the fallen papers behind him with his foot. 

“Stiles has perfected the art of the conspiracy board over the years,” you said as you pushed yourself off of the door jam and started heading towards your room. “Maybe you should ask him about it sometime.”

“Y/N, wait!” Scott called after you. You stopped in the hallway and turned back to look at him. He looked kind of pathetic as he stood there with the remnants of his would-be board around him. “Is he- you know, how is he?” 

“His dad is still in the hospital so not great,” you said. It came out snippier than you meant it to. You let out a sigh and shook your head as you walked over to him. “How could you do that to him, Scott? You left him.” 

“I thought he killed someone.” 

“He did kill someone. In self-defense.” You got close enough to him and poked his chest as you finished. “And he needed you to be there for him.” 

Scott didn’t mean to yell, but he did anyway. “How was I supposed to do that when he didn’t even tell me about it?” He took a breath and looked away for a second, trying very hard to regain his cool. “Sorry, I- I didn’t mean to-” 

“I know,” you said quietly. You wrapped your arms around yourself and tried to think of how to say what you needed to. “Look, Scott … He’s mad because you didn’t believe him from the start. He said we shouldn’t trust Theo and you dismissed him as being paranoid. Then this happened, and Stiles was so scared that you would kick him out completely that- that he didn’t tell you.” 

“I know.” 

“I know you know.” You took a breath and uncrossed your arms to put a hand on his arm. “You’re making a good effort. Just don’t give up on him again, okay? He’ll come around.”

Scott dropped his gaze and nodded a few times. A memory flashed in your mind from just after you'd returned to Beacon Hills when Scott was comforting you thought you'd ruined your relationship with Stiles. Scott snapped you back to the present after a few seconds. “And what about you?” 

That caught you off guard. You frowned slightly as you thought about it. “If you couldn’t forgive Stiles for self-defense, I was scared about what you’d do when I did something worse,” you said slowly. “Don’t look at me like that. You’ve seen me out there; it’s only a matter of time. For me and Malia both.” 

“Malia?” Scott asked. “What does Malia have to do with any of this?” 

“You seriously haven’t noticed?” you asked, rolling your eyes when he said he didn’t. “She’s been hunting her mom down since she found out her name from Peter. I’m pretty sure she’s gonna kill her.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Scott asked, starting to lose his cool again. 

“Scott, not everyone has a family like ours," you said. "Especially not the Hales. Plus, I mean, the Desert Wolf kills people. If Malia wants to kill hee, that's not really my business.” 

“But she’s still a person! You can’t just-” Scott took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew he needed to stay calm or you'd leave. “Okay. But we … we’re okay?”

You gave him a small smile and squeezed his arm before letting go. “We’re getting there, Scotty.”

“I can work with that,” Scott said with his goofy, hopeful grin.

In a weird kind of peace offering, you started helping Scott set his board up. The two of you didn’t talk very much as you did, but it was nice to be alone with him for a little while, even if what you were doing was pretty morbid. When he reached to pin up the last photo, Scott winced and lowered his arm before he got the chance. 

You reached out to steady him, looking down at where his wound was. “That’s taking a pretty long time to heal.”

“Yeah, I know,” Scott exhaled. He put the photo on his desk very gently. “I think it’s because it’s from Liam. Because we’re not … you know.” 

“I know,” you said quietly, still holding onto him. “You need some help cleaning it up?”

Scott took a breath and winced at how much his chest moved. “No, I can handle it. Do you wanna get your stuff and I’ll drop you off at Stiles’ house?” 

No. You wanted to help your brother. Instead you just gave him a weak smile and pulled your hand away. “Sure. Yell if you need any help.”

Scott promised he would but you doubted that he’d follow through with it, so you kept an ear out for any surprises. The sounds of Scott struggling to clean his wounds weren’t that surprising, but Stiles coming over to ask for Scott's help was. Scott agreed immediately, like you knew he would, and the two of them were off before you knew it. 

Though it was a little disheartening that Stiles hadn’t picked you to be his werewolf partner in crime, you were relieved that they were both making an effort to patch up. You followed them anyway, just in case, but you kept your distance so they wouldn’t spot you. 

They were investigating what happened at the relay station with Hayden, her sister, and the new chimera at the relay station. You listened closely to what was going on inside and waited maybe five minutes before following them down when they found a secret tunnel underground. 

Following them without them noticing was harder down in the tunnels - everything echoed off the walls - but you managed to stay hidden until they were attacked. 

Seeing Tracy alive and trying to kill your friends was as bizarre an experience as seeing her dead body, but not any more bizarre than punching your formerly-dead classmate Josh in the mouth. You wondered if the others felt like this after you died. 

Josh’s electricity made your heart race but you still managed to slam him against the wall and Scott shoved Tracy’s claws between Josh’s shoulder blades a second later. You sliced Tracy with your claws as you let go of Josh and she collapsed to the ground a few feet away from where Stiles lay paralyzed. You pressed the sole of your shoe into her back to keep her on the ground and looked up at Scott for advice on how to handle it. 

Scott was shining his alpha eyes at a spot along the pipes. He let out a low growl and Corey materialized a second later, very much still afraid of him. 

“Okay!” Theo called out from the shadows. Your heel dug further into Tracy's back as you turned to face where he stepped out from another part of the tunnels. “Maybe they’re not ready to take on an Alpha just yet.” You threw one of your knives at him and he looked minorly inconvenienced as he dodged it. “Though I didn’t expect you to have help. Or to smell fear.” 

Tracy started moving under your foot and you started pushing her further down when Scott shook his head at you. Reluctantly, you took your foot off her back and took a step back. Tracy got to her feet without taking her eyes off you. 

“He has fangs!” Corey argued. You had to admit, sending cute little Corey after Scott seemed idiotic.

“What did you do to them?” you asked Theo. 

Theo gave you a nauseating smile. “Jealous of the newer model?” 

“What did you do?” Scott repeated. 

“I found some new friends,” Theo said as he looked back over at Scott. “I don’t take rejection very well.”

“Haven’t you had a lifetime of practice?” you asked. Tracy and Corey picked up Josh and you held a hand out and stepped in front of them. Sure, he just tried to kill your brother but you were still protective over him. “Where are you taking him?” 

“Somewhere where he's not gonna get stabbed in the back,” Tracy said venomously. “You got a problem with that?” 

“No,” Scott answered for you. “Get out of here.”

You moved out of their way so they could leave, but you didn’t say anything until you were sure that they were long gone. You took a deep breath and returned your focus to Theo, who was dangerously close to Stiles. 

“Hey, Theo,” Stiles said with fake enthusiasm from where he lay paralyzed. 

“Stiles,” Theo said. He lifted his foot and smashed the floor in front of Stiles, the part of the floor with Latin written on it in Mercury, but it was too close to him for you to be comfortable. Theo sighed and walked closer to you and Scott. “You’re going to leave here thinking that you need to worry about me.” He circled you and Scott as he spoke. “But you’re wrong. We’re actually on the same side.”

You looked over at Scott for a second and he looked just as distrusting as you did for once. 

“But that thing …” Theo said as he came to a stop, looking up at the ceiling. “That’s what we need to worry about. Your pack and mine.” You scoffed under your breath. His pack. “Now, we’re gonna go back to school and pretend like we’re normal teenagers, but at night, we’re going to be fighting for our lives.”

“What is it?” Stiles asked.

“It’s not a chimera,” Theo said. 

“But it’s just a kid underneath,” Scott argued, always noble. “Someone like us.”

Theo tilted his head and gave Scott one of his secretive smiles. “Not anymore.” He started turning again and walked off into the darkness after his new pack of chimeras. 

You took a deep breath and let out a long exhale as you put your head in your hands for a moment. “Well, shit, guys. That sounds awful.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Stiles said as he looked you up and down (which looked very interesting considering his collapsed position on the floor). “What are you doing here, by the way?” 

“Hi, babe, good to see you too,” you teased as you crouched down in front of him. You moved some hair out of his face and smiled at him. “I came to make sure neither of you killed one another. Can I sit you up?”

Stiles let out a sigh and rolled his eyes to the best of his paralyzed abilities. He looked ready to say something sarcastic before deciding against it. “Yes, please.”

You smiled at him and looped his arm around your shoulder while Scott took Stiles’ other arm. The two of you dragged him to a wall and propped him up, Scott sitting on his one side and you on his other. As Scott settled in, you picked up Stiles’ hand and moved it into yours. 

“He knew what it meant and I can’t even remember the words,” Scott said after a while. 

“Damnatio Memoriae,” Stiles said. Scott looked at him a little incredulously and it made you smile. Of course, Stiles remembered the ominous Latin writing. “It means the condemnation of memory. I think it also means that whatever the Dread Doctors created, whatever this last chimera really is ... it’s not something new. It’s something old. Really old.”

“So they didn’t create a new creature,” Scott said slowly. 

“They resurrected one,” you said, turning so you look at both of them clearly. “Like how Theo resurrected the others.” 

“Not exactly, but …” Stiles took a deep breath. “Yeah.” 

“That sounds bad,” you said quietly.

“Really bad.” Scott waited a minute and then pressed his index and middle fingers to the dirt and drew a circle, the beginning of his pack symbol. “We need help,” he said. “If Theo’s got his own pack now then we need ours. We have to get the others back.”

“The others?” Stiles repeated. “You mean Kira who’s currently battling a homicidal fox spirit inside of her, Malia who isn’t even speaking to us, Lydia who’s stuck in Eichen House, and Liam who almost killed you?” 

“Also known as our best friends,” Scott said. 

You snorted and Stiles pulled a face at you, which only made you laugh harder. It felt wrong to laugh in these tunnels. “And how do you plan on getting the gang back together?” you asked.

“One by one,” Scott said. His eyes flicked from Stiles to the incomplete pack boob in the dust.

“You’re not seriously going to make me do it,” Stiles said, frowning at the dirt on the floor.

“You’re part of the pack, right?” Scott asked. 

“Here,” you said as you moved to grab Stiles' other hand. You held two of his fingers in your hand. “Just until you get your feeling back.”

Stiles took a reluctant breath but nodded anyway for you to do it. You moved his hand to make a bigger circle around Scott’s and held in a laugh at how exasperated he looked. You bumped his arm and smiled at him. 

“Let’s get out here,” you said. “This place gives me the creeps.” 

Both Stiles and Scott laughed, but Scott got to his feet and offered you a hand up. You let him help you up, and then you each took one of Stiles’ arms and pulled him to his feet. 

The two of you supported most of Stiles’ weight while you walked, but it wasn’t much of a burden to your superhuman strength. You couldn’t say the same for Scott though - the smell of his blood got stronger the closer you got to the exit - but at least Stiles was regaining some feeling by then. 

You helped Stiles into the passenger seat of the Jeep and buckled him in before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “See you at home, okay?” 

“Okay,” Stiles said with a smile. “Thanks for looking after me. I know it’s not the easiest job.” 

“Yeah, but it’s the only job I care about,” you said softly. You were going to kiss him when you heard Scott squirming around as he tried to get into the driver’s seat. You sighed and looked over at him. 

“Sorry, the seat is like really squeaky,” he said awkwardly. “I know you guys were having a moment.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Yeah, emphasis on ‘were.’”

You laughed again while Scott stammered out ten thousand apologies and Stiles gave him a hard time. There was still a long way to go, but this was a start. And this was enough.

Tagged: @ietss​  @used-avocado​