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Liam was running. He felt his chest burn, his breath short, eyes watery as the wind whipped his face and hair. He was running. The feet that trampled hard on the forest floor, raising dust and dry leaves. His heart was bursting, while the adrenaline amplified every his sense. He was running. And for the first time he wasn't running away from anything. He was just running. A smile tilted his lips slightly, while, lowering quickly to avoid a branch, he saw less than a mile away Lockout Point.
He tried to catch sounds of footsteps behind him, but his eyes widened when he clearly heard the clammy sound of paws hitting the ground. He raised his eyes upward, just as a large black-haired animal surpassed him with a leap of several feet.
Liam stopped short, slipping on the dry leaves, and watched the big wolf run away.
"Hey! Asshole! That's not fair!" He addressed him, but a half smile tilted his lips. He shook his head, then with a jerk reached the final destination of their race.
He stopped at the edge of the trees, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. He put his right hand to his forehead to wipe away the sweat, and gasped before lifting his head to look at the big wolf walking toward him.
Liam gave him a stern look, tilting his head. "You cheated, Reaken. Full-shifting is not fair"
Liam could almost swear he heard the wolf snort amused. He did not even know if wolves could do something like that. Or maybe it was just Liam who had learned to know Theo so much in the last few months, that he could almost know his possible reactions without him even doing anything.
He saw the big wolf twitching, the fur almost seemed to boil for a second. And Liam figured out that Theo was turning back human. He stood looking at him, wide-eyed, while the figure slowly took back human features. It was the first time that he witnessed Theo's transformation first-hand. So he was shocked when he realized that Theo didn't have any clothes on. Liam's eyes widened and he turned quickly, turning his back to him. "Dude! Why don't you have clothes on? "
He heard Theo's laughter behind him. And he was tempted to turn around. It was so rare to hear Theo really laughing - not the sarcastic laugh he'd do when he wanted to mock you, which was also the most frequent - but the genuine and sincere one, oozing with happiness, even though Theo struggled to hide his chemosignals. "Damn, I felt I had forgotten something when I left home," he said sarcastically. Liam rolled his eyes, a faint blush that dyed his cheeks as he heard Theo take a step forward behind him. He closed his eyes for not having the temptation to turn around. "Ah-ah funny- So now what are you going to do?" Liam asked lightly
"I don't know, I think I'll walk like that to the car, after all it seems like you said it was not fair full-shifting"
"It's not fair because you won the stupid race by cheating," Liam said irritably, turning angrily, forgetting for a second why he had been given Theo his back until then. He remembered when he met his eyes with too much skin for sure, and put a hand to his eyes to cover them. He heard Theo's crystal giggle, while with a clumsy gesture, having only one free hand, he took off his jacket and threw it at him. "Cover up, you idiot"
Liam waited a few seconds to shove between his fingers, meeting Theo's amused eyes, shining with joy, the laughter that softened all the features of his face. Here, it was precisely the expression he liked to see on Theo. "You're ridiculous," Theo teased him, "You take a shower with at least ten other naked guys in the locker room almost every day! What's your problem now? "
Liam thanked that it was dark, and that the moon - though almost full now - was covered by large black clouds approaching, so probably Theo did not notice his embarrassment.
"If I were you, I wouldn't call me ridiculous, especially looking like that." Liam raised his eyebrows, lowering his hand and looking at Theo, who had tied his jacket like a skirt.
Theo snorted, raising his eyebrows in turn and walking beside him, making their shoulders touching "Why? You know, I'm hot whatever I wear ... or don't wear "
Liam watched him leave, before mumbling an "Idiot" and following him with great strides. However, he did not really feel like contradicting him.
As they walked back to Theo's truck they had left at the entrance to the preserve, a restful silence reigned. Liam moved his gaze among the surrounding trees, avoiding in every way to look at Theo's bare shoulders. So he concentrated his thoughts elsewhere.
"Are you going back to school?" He asked from nowhere.
Theo slowed, turning to look at him. "Where is this coming from now?"
Liam shrugged. "I was thinking that tomorrow school will be finally reopened after the battle with the Anuk-Ite and the hunters, and I was wondering what you will do"
"I won't go back to school," Theo answered, looking back. "I'll look for a job. As tempting as it is, I don't wanna sponging off of you at your house"
Liam felt a slight discomfort at those words. Two weeks earlier, just after the end of the war, Liam had found out that Theo lived in his truck, and had literally forced him to move in with him. It made no sense that Theo was in the cold, and exposed, with hunters possibly still on the loose, when he had an empty and safe room available in his house. Or at least it was what he had said himself. It was a logical thing to do. Stiles had instead defined it as something absolutely insane. But surely Stiles was not the best yardstick when it came to Theo. Scott had simply looked at him carefully and then made a gesture that could be a tacit assent. He knew that none of the pack wanted to overreach in judging Theo, they could tolerate him, they could consider him an ally, but they preferred to keep themselves at a distance. Liam couldn't do that. He had observed Theo, they had been practically sticky since he had come back from Hell. He had fought with him, and Theo was the reason he was still alive probably, and the reason his eyes were still yellow and not blue. He could always be an asshole, he could be arrogant and sometimes dark, but Liam clearly saw the difference between the present Theo, the one who had challenged him to a stupid race in the middle of the night just because Liam had complained for an hour about how bored he was, and the seven-month-ago Theo, the one who had manipulated him, had manipulated everyone for power. Theo, on the other hand, did not seem to care particularly about what others thought about him, he seemed satisfied as he was. And Liam sometimes liked to think that his friendship was enough for Theo. Not that Scott and the others had stayed very long to worry him actually. After the battle was over, they had all slowly left Beacon Hills, Stiles had gone back to Virginia to his Pre-FBI program, Scott and Lydia had left for college, and Malia had flown to France. Now it was Liam in charge. And Liam liked to know that he still had at least Theo to rely on, and Mason and Corey of course. However, surely, another pair of claws could certainly be useful. And as a result, it made him uncomfortable to hear Theo talk about leaving his house. Not that he meant to leave Beacon Hills, Liam felt that Theo had already made his choice. To stay. But the fear of losing him too, as he had lost Hayden, as he had lost Brett and Lori, as he had now lost the support of the rest of the pack, was almost visceral.
Liam cleared his throat "You know you can stay as long as you want, don't you?" He said slowly. Theo looked at him briefly, then gave him a half smile "I know" he just said.
They stepped over the wooden fence and walked toward the truck. Theo opened the door, reaching for his clothes and quickly slipped in them, while Liam took back his cell phone from the drawer in the dashboard. He frowned when he saw two missed calls from Mason and one from Corey.
Theo had to feel his sudden change of mood, because he took a few steps to see him better. "Is everything ok?" He asked
Liam looked up at him, and shook his head "Mason and Corey, they called me several times"
Theo retrieved his cell phone and saw that he too had a couple of calls missed by the two guys. He looked up at Liam again and saw that he had brought the phone to his ear.
A rustle came to his supernatural ears, and he turned back to look in the trees warily. He looked to the right, then to the left. Maybe it was the wind? The smell of rain brought by the wind covered every possible smell. Somewhere nearby, it must have been raining heavily.
"Damn," Liam cursed softly, attracting his attention again.
"What?"
"It seems that the phone lines are down" Liam replied uncertainly, sighing heavily and raising his eyes to the sky. He stiffened, his expression turned in a bewildered frown, frowned eyebrows.
Theo noticed him and imitated his gesture "Northern lights", he whispered.
Liam looked down at him slowly. "It reminds me about the night of the Ghost Riders' come" he said. "That night also there were the northern lights" he added thoughtfully. Liam pulled out his cell phone quickly, "What are you doing?" Liam's eyes widened and he turned the phone around so that Theo looked. He had opened the compass, the needle that turned like crazy without being able to geolocate.
Theo looked at the lights again. "It's an electromagnetic storm. That's why mobile phones do not work. The solar wind affects the Earth's magnetic field and hinders communications. And it causes the Northern Lights" Theo explained quielty, and he looked back at Liam with a reassuring frown ''It's not unusual "
"We are in Beacon Hills, dude"
Theo sighed. "If I see a Ghost Rider, I swear to you that this time I will really run in the other direction"
Liam snorted, turning back to the crazy needle of the compass, while Theo went around the car to go in. He had just laid his hand on the handle, when he looked up, and saw in the faint reflection of the window, a figure behind him. A figure raising his fist. Theo widened his eyes and fastly lowered himself. The fist smashed the glass, the noise that echoed throughout the silent clearing.
Liam looked up in shock as Theo jumped back, watching the man in front of them. "What the hell-?" He exclaimed. The man turned slowly toward them, seemed not to be stable on his legs, the expression crazy, his face contracted and wet by sweat. The hand with which he had hit the window was full of blood, some glass shards still stuck in the skin. Judging by the black uniform, he was a hunter. But there was something different. Something wrong.
They had not heard him coming. He had no smell. He had no weapons. He had just smashed a window with his bare hands. Before the two managed to get out of confusion, the man lunged at Theo at a surely inhuman speed, and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground, and with a furious cry he threw him several yards away. Theo hit the floor, rolling on the muddy ground, and gasping for air. Meanwhile his brain was trying to analyze the situation. All this made no sense.
Liam didn't stop at thinking. He made his eyes glow, and he let fangs and claws out, growling in the direction of the hunter. He hurled himself at him, his fist already tensed middle-air. The man turned to him impassively, raising a hand.
It was like bumping into an invisible wall. Liam stayed motionless, his fist still raised, less than half a meter from the hunter, but he could not move. He tightened his grip and tried to move and felt his claws hurt his palm. No muscle responded to his control. "What the hell-?"
Theo watched the scene in shock as the hunter moved his hand in the air with a sharp gesture toward the right, and at the same time Liam's body was thrown in the same direction. Theo snapped to his feet, and ran to Liam, kneeling beside him as Liam sat down, "Theo- what the hell is that?" He cried in astonishment.
"I have no clue" Theo answered. The man stepped forward, slowly, as if in a kind of sleepwalking. The wind seemed to accompany him, blowing harder every second longer, shaking the trees, lifting the leaves off the ground. "Theo Reaken" he hissed then, the voice almost witty, cavernous. Theo widened his eyes even more. "You are beyond the limit" The hunter's green eyes became completely black for a moment, then turned green again. Theo pulled Liam up by taking him by the arm "Liam, run!!"
And they ran, coming back into the trees again. "Theo- what the hell is that?" Liam cried again, standing on his heels and realizing that he was probably becoming repetitive.
"I do not know, but I do regret the Ghost Riders," he replied curtly, stopping suddenly and pulling Liam behind a large trunk.
They pushed their backs against the bark, breathing back, hearts in their throats. "Did you ... have you seen his eyes?" Liam panted in a whisper, while Theo leaned his head to look. "He seemed ... possessed? Is it possible? "Liam mumbled in despair." Now I also have to believe in ghosts? "
Theo turned to Liam, with a sarcastic expression "We're in Beacon Hills, dude," he mimicked. "Could not you just shut up?"
Liam made an offended face "Would it be my fault?" Theo returned to peek over the tree. "That hunter called out your name"
"Shut up, Liam, or you'll get us killed"
"You will get us killed"
Theo glared at him, his lips tight. Liam narrowed his eyes in his direction.
A noise in the distance caught their attention, causing them to whirl around. "Someone is coming," Theo whispered, his body still against the trunk, as he moved his head to recognize the source.
"Is it him?" Liam asked, holding on to a flap of Theo's shirt.
''You think I know?!"
He felt something tremble against him, like something vibrating. It took a few seconds to realize that it was actually the tree against which they were leaned. Liam used the grip on Theo's shirt to pull him away, while slowly the tree began to come off the ground, the roots emerging from the ground, raising clouds of dust. Liam and Theo followed wide-eyed its movement. When he was two meters above the ground, they could see the hunter, his hand again stretched out in the air toward the tree, a few yards away from them. Before they could react, with a dry gesture, he directed the tree to the right. As if obeying an order, the tree crashed to the ground with a roar, knocking down at least three others in doing so, and raising a thick earthy fog. Liam and Theo closed their eyes, shielding themselves as possible with their arms. Liam coughed as the dust landed in his nostrils, leaving him breathless. He realized late that this had probably betrayed his position. He opened his eyes just as something that looked like a shock wave overwhelmed him, causing him to fly backwards and crash into a tree trunk. "Theo-" he exclaimed, breathless. He coughed, while slowly the cloud of dust cleared, allowing him to see at least with the supernatural sight
He saw Theo, his yellow eyes and fangs on display, snap to the hunter, taking advantage of the better sight he had right now. He grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, slamming it violently against a trunk, then crushing him to the ground. The man did not even let out a moan of pain, he seemed only slightly stunned. Theo, straddling on him, punched him in the face. "Let's see if you can still use your tricks with a broken arm" Theo growled, before hitting the joints of the hunter's elbow. This stayed impassive. His gaze on Theo. His eyes went from green to black and then green again. And his lips folded into a half-grin. "Theo Reaken" he spoke again, monotonously "You are beyond the limit" Theo growled, while Liam stood up, holding his right shoulder, probably broken. The chimera grabbed him again from the collar by lifting it a few inches and then slamming it back to the ground "What does that mean? Which limit? What are you talking about? Who are you? What do you want from me?"
The hunter kept staring at him, the grin still on his face, his left arm falling limply along his side, the blood dripping from his nose and mouth. Theo growled again.
"They are coming for you"
"Who's coming?" Theo asked again, more angry as much as more confused. Liam took a few steps forward, to take action in case of need, his face contracted in a shocked expression.
The hunter's grin became even bigger. "You'll find out soon," he whispered, and Theo released his grip on his shirt to hit him wih another punch. The expression on the chimera's face was so similar to pre-hell Theo's one that Liam winced. "Theo" he called him. Theo, at the sound of his voice jerked his head up to look at him, standing a few feet away, and seemed to slowly regain clarity. His eyes moved on Liam's wounded body, and then they stopped on Liam's eyes, and let out a trembling sigh.
The hunter laughed again "... or maybe not," he concluded. Theo, still on top of him, looked down at him confused. Probably he had momentarily lost the thread of the situation. But Liam saw the hunter grab something at his belt with his good hand. Liam shivered when he saw what the hunter had tied to his waist.
“Theo!” he cried, before his body moved by itself. He threw himself on Theo the moment the hunter hit the button on the remote he had on his waist.
The roar of a detonation echoed throughout the forest, the ground trembled and so did the surrounding trees. The shock wave pushed Theo and Liam forward, which rolled several meters.
Theo coughed, while Liam groaned. The chimera sat up urgently and approached Liam. "Are you okay?" He asked anxiously.
"Yes," Liam moaned, while Theo helped him turning on his back. The left side of his body was half burned and wounded.
"Liam, you're not okay" Theo whispered, his eyes widening in horror.
"It's nothing, I will heal" Theo met his eyes, and Liam gave him a reassuring smile, which did not come out at best considering his sweaty face and his lips clenched in pain.
Theo exhaled and turned to the spot where the hunter once stood and where now there was only a charred corpse. Theo shivered and looked back at Liam. "You saved me," he said slowly, as if he did not believe it was possibile.
"-Welcome" Liam teased him, moaning again.
Theo looked at him half angrily and pursed his lips, gripping his hand and closing his eyes.
"What are you doing?"
Liam held his breath as he felt the pain gradually leave him, he could literally feel the wounds begin to heal at a faster rate. The broken shoulder was already back in place. Theo looked almost reverently at the black lines that came from his fingers to his forearm. Liam sighed and smiled, this time less forcibly "Thanks"
Theo looked at him again, his expression indecipherable, and nodded. Then he snorted, relaxing his muscles "The next time you get bored, I'll take you to the cinema"
Liam laughed in turn, releasing the tension "Deal"
There was a rush of running footsteps, and Theo looked up in alarm, only to see Mason, Corey and Argent stopping a few yards away from them. Argent, the rifle in his hand, moved in a circle to check the situation, then when he probably decided it was all right, he lowered the weapon and focused on the corpse. Mason and Corey approached them with wide eyes. "What the hell happened?" Mason exclaimed.
"I would like to know that too," Theo answered. Mason's eyes fell on their intertwined hands and Theo hastened to release his grip. Nervous, he looked first at Mason and then at Corey, while Liam sat up slowly. The wolf looked at his best friend "How the hell did you find us? How did you know-? "
Mason exhaled trembling "Lydia" he just said.
Theo and Liam shared a confused look. "Lydia?" Theo replied. Corey nodded, while Argent reached them.
"Lydia has seen that hunter's death?" Theo asked, frowning.
"No," Mason said, eyes wide open "Theo ... she has seen yours"
TO BE CONTINUED
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The drive back was strangely quiet. It was as if something had suddenly burst the bubble of happiness they had been locked up in the last few weeks, making them crash again against the reality of things. The carefree and free running of just two hours before had turned back to be a running for their lives. And Theo's face, who seemed to be just learning to relax and let his emotions show, had turned back to being an impassive mask.
They greeted Mason and Corey at the entrance of the preserve, promising about meeting the next morning at school. Argent assured he'd take care of the corpse, and he'd call the sheriff and Melissa personally, to find out as much as they could about the man who had attacked them.
Left alone, Theo turned his back on Liam and stopped in front of the driver's door, looking with a sigh of annoyance at the pieces of glass on the ground. Just what I really needed. He opened the door with a sharp gesture and took a seat behind the wheel, under Liam's worried look, still standing, looking at him through the windshield. Theo looked up at him. "Do you want to stay there forever or we can go?" He asked abruptly, his voice muffled. Liam seemed to shake out his trance and hurried to follow him, his movements still awkward as the burns healed slowly. When he sat down, he groaned and pulled his head back against the seat, his face twisted in an pained expression.
Theo looked at him sideways, before starting the engine and leaving.
Liam let out a soft sigh, looking out the window. "He has seen yours, Theo" He could still hear Mason's voice whispering those words. "They're coming for you." The hunter's haunted voice echoed in his head, causing him a shiver long his spine. What did he mean? Who was coming? What did they want from Theo?
"Stop it." Theo's voice sounded distant, but it pulled him away out of his thoughts. Liam turned abruptly towards him. Still impassive, the face facing the street.
"Doing what?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Freaking out. You smell like crap, it's disturbing "
"And you're far too loose for someone who was almost blown up" Liam protested defensively.
Theo shrugged. "He is not the first person who wants me dead, and will not be the last for sure"
Liam shook his head, rolling his eyes "Sorry if I'm freaking out for the crazy guy with full-black eyes, and a voice from the other world, which uprooted a tree with only the power of his mind and that apparently wanted you dead at any cost"
Theo laughed. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel, beating the steady rhythm of his heart. Liam looked at him. He was learning a few things about Theo, and he knew that that calm was only apparent, as he knew that that half-laugh was forced, so different from the genuine one he had done at Lockout Point. He sighed and looked back out the window. He heard the phone vibrate and took it to read the message he had just received from Mason. He informed him that he had reported to Lydia, and that she wanted to talk to them the next day.
Well, after school we'll meet Deaton, maybe he knows something more than us
He replied, waiting for Mason's ok, which promptly arrived within seconds.
Liam took another deep breath, then spoke "Tomorrow after school we'll have a pack meeting at Deaton"
"So?" Theo just looked at him for a second before turning to the street.
"So I'll see you there?" Liam said as if it were obvious
Theo made another empty laugh "I'm not in the pack, Liam"
Liam barely held back a growl, but he could not keep the annoyed tone out of his words "Well, but since you're the hunted one, for some reason, maybe you should be there"
"Or maybe you could just stay out of it" Liam looked at him wide-eyed "They want me, so you have nothing to do with it. You can just not get involved this time"
This time it was Liam's turn to laugh exasperated "If you think I'll let you face someone else like that guy alone, you're out of your mind more than I thought"
"Why do you care?" Theo asked suddenly, turning to him. Then he stopped the car suddenly. Liam thought he just wanted to be dramatic, but then realized that they had reached his house. "Why the hell did you save me, risking to die in your turn?" He continued halfway between confused and upset, making his eyes sway on Liam's still visible wounds.
Liam stood looking at him for a few seconds, without knowing exactly what to say. Why does he care?
"Maybe I just did not want to see you blow up, or maybe I'm just an helpless idiot-" he exclaimed nervously
"There is no doubt about that-"
Liam ignored him, talking over him "Or maybe it's for the same reason why I let you live in my house"
There was a moment of silence, then Theo laughed again. That cold laugh again. And Liam shuddered. "What?" He asked in a whisper.
Theo shook his head, almost amused, but there was bitterness in his voice when he spoke "We all know you asked me to stay over just to keep an eye on me, and check that I don't fuck this up"
Liam took a few seconds to elaborate Theo's words. That asshole thought seriously that he wanted him there to control him? Liam felt the rage mount inside. He had thought that in those two weeks they had slowly come closer, and instead that idiot had considered him all the time ... what? A jailer? An eye always on him ready to judge him? Maybe even Liam did not know because he was doing that, but it wasn't for that reason for sure.
"Yeah" Liam mumbled, barely holding back a growl and trying to keep calm "You're out of your mind any more than I thought" He opened the door and rushed out before he felt like punching him on his face, slamming the door behind him. He had taken a few steps along the driveway when he realized he had not heard Theo's door. He turned to the car. "What the hell are you doing? Come down or not? " He muttered altered.
Theo avoided his gaze "I think it's better that I do not sleep here anymore"
"What?" Liam took a few steps back toward the pick-up.
Theo turned looking at him through the open window and blurted out before realizing "If something is really coming to look for me, I will not drive it to your house, where there are your parents, whe-" -re you are. Theo clenched his lips to shut up, and shook his head in frustration, then taking a deep breath, and returning to his usual impassive expression. "If I'm not here because you're checking me, then you'll let me go"
Liam frowned at the challenged tone with which Theo said the last sentence. "What will happen if someone attacks you again?" Liam asked slowly.
"I will fight"
"You will call me," Liam replied firmly. Theo looked up, eyes wide open, to meet Liam's determined one. Now the rage seemed to be faded, and there was only a shadow of worry left. "Call me, and I will come to help you"
Theo swallowed, and tried to look away "Why?" He whispered
“Because I will”
Theo gave him a skeptical expression, halfway between amused and annoyed "Good answer"
"And tomorrow if you're not at Deaton after school" Liam admonished him, rolling his eyes "-I swear I'll come looking for you and lock you back in jail"
"Kinky" Theo giggled, and Liam tilted his lips in a half smile when he felt he was again a little closer to the genuine one he had come to know.
He took a few steps backwards, keeping to look at him, before turning around. "Be careful" he just told him.
Theo stood looking at him for a few seconds as he walked away. He sighed "You too" And started the engine, leaving without looking back.
Liam stopped in his tracks and watched the pick-up disappear, ignoring the way his heart had skipped a beat at Theo's words. "Idiot" he murmured fondly between his teeth, before stepping in the house.
*
"Dude, your face sucks"
That was how Mason greeted him when he and Corey reached the lockers. Liam stared at him, narrowing his eyes. "You always tell me the sweetest things, Mase," he said, turning to open the locker and quickly pull out the books for his first period.
Mason and Corey shared a quick look, then Mason took a breath and looked back to his best friend. "I guess you did not sleep at all tonight"
Liam shrugged tiredly. It was just like that. "What does Theo think of this whole story?" Corey asked, grabbing Mason's hand as they walked to the biology class, but keeping his gaze on Liam.
"I do not know, the idiot did not want to sleep in my house tonight." Liam let out a frustrated sigh. "He thinks I invited him over to keep him under control!" He snapped, still annoyed at the idea.
Mason and Corey looked at each other again. Liam moved his eyes from one to the other. "What?" He snorted.
"Well, is not like that?" Corey asked weakly.
Liam looked at them with wide eyes. "No!" He held back a growl. Why did everyone take this for granted? It's true, Theo had a bunch of errors behind him, but he was obviously a different person now. It was months since he had literally crawled out of hell and since then he had done nothing but help them. He had saved Liam more than once. Why nobody saw that? But what made him angry more, he realized, was that apparently even Theo himself could not see it. He did not consider himself a person who deserved help, did not consider himself worthy of being invited to pack meetings. Liam remembered the way he had looked at him in surprise the night before, whispering, "You saved me," as if he did not believe it, as if he did not believe he deserved to be saved.
"Okay okay," Mason said, noticing Liam's agitation, which usually did not bode well. "What we want to say is that he may be even less murderous now, but it's always Theo, is not it? I mean, remember how he played us the first time, we've been thought of him as a friend for weeks before he betrayed us "
"I know, I was there too, I remember very well," he protested sourly, as they stepped in the class, slinging at the last desk. "But-" Liam paused. Corey and Mason kept staring at him waiting. "Listen, I do not even know how I know, but it's not the person who was before, seriously - how can you not see it?" His voice lowered as Finch went it.
"We see it, Liam." Mason reassured him. "Or yesterday we would not have done everything to warn you that he was in danger. Just- be careful, play it safe. Do not take him for granted, keep an eye on him. This is what we meant "
"Yep" Corey gave him a quiet smile "And if someone chases him, we will help him. He may be what he is, but he's the reason I'm alive, and he saved Mason in the tunnels against the Anuk-ite "
"Yes, we owe him." Mason shrugged. "But forgive us if we do not run after Theo, professing our love for him" Mason looked at Liam sideways
"I don't run after him, professing my love" Liam snorted stunned, cutting off the conversation and opening his book with a slam.
Corey looked at Mason "For now" he whispered in his ear without making himself heard.
*
Theo had decided to stay away from the preserve. For obvious reasons. So he had parked around Derek's loft, making sure before there was nobody around there. He had slept no more than two hours, for the rest he had done nothing but turn over in his seat, looking for a comfortable position. In the end he gave it up, and stood still staring at the pick-up roof. He sighed.
He was used to having his own bed in the last two weeks. He had grown used to falling asleep with the steady and light rhythm of Liam's heart, and his parents, which echoed in his ears, also beating his own. Probably it helped him to sleep, knowing that he was not alone, because in the last two weeks his nightmares had drastically decreased.
That night, however, after a while, Tara had returned to visit him. Vindictive and unstoppable as always. And he had looked at her, crying and regretful, letting her do it again and again. He did not know when he had stopped running from her. When the guilt had suddenly begun to flow into his veins, something he had never felt before in those ten years. He didn't know. Just like he did not know how to send it away. Probably it would have been there forever. A reminder of the person he really was.
He thought of Liam, his burned body. He had wanted to save him, and he could have died for this. He had risked dying, because he was with him. It was only him that they wanted. Who they were he didn't know. He had certainly hurted so many people in those last few years. But he did not want others to hurt because of that. Since when did he care about others? Since when did he care so much whether Liam was safe or not?
''Call me, and I will come to help you''
Yet it was like that. He cared when he pushed him into the elevator to be the bait. He cared when he had stopped him from killing Nolan. He cared when he talked him down in the locker room. He cared when he pulled him out of Gabe's line of fire.
And he cared when he came back to help Scott against Douglas. And when he had protected Mason from the Anuk-ite, then trying to take his pain. And when he had mercy on a dying Gabe. No matter that no one believed it, no matter that he even believed it sometimes, he cared.
''Be careful''
Or maybe someone did?
*
Liam and Corey were already seated at lunch, when Mason joined them in a hurry.
"Where were you?" Corey asked, looking at him in surprise.
"Library," he murmured, sliding beside him. "I was looking for something about that man, if you can call him like that"
"Found something?" Liam asked anxiously, dropping his sandwich.
"No, we do not have much to work with. From what you told me, he would look like a telepathic or maybe a druid." Mason muttered, pulling out his cell phone. "But it does not explain the eyes, the monstrous force or the spirited voice" he continued ironically. "And Melissa sent me these." He turned the phone.
"Ew," Corey protested, looking away. "Why did Melissa send you the photos of that corpse?"
"See here?" Mason zoomed and turned the phone to them
"I'd rather not, I'd like to keep lunch in my stomach," Corey protested, but Liam took the phone. Mason had zoomed in on what was supposed to be the hunter's neck.
"What's that? A tattoo? "
"Not really, more an engraving. It stayed imprinted on his skin, like werewolves tattoos. As if it had been imprinted on fire "
"What was it? Is it important?"
"It's not visible due to the severe burns. But Melissa did some tests, and that man was one hundred percent human "
Liam moved his finger to the phone to look at the next photo. It was a facial reconstruction of the hunter done with a computer. "And this?" He asked curiously.
"It's for the police report," Mason explained, pulling out his lunch, just as Corey looked up to look at someone behind Liam. Liam turned to meet Nolan. He seemed nervous.
"Hey guys," he murmured faintly, the lunch tray in his hand, avoiding making eye contact with them, or anyone else. Probably he hadn't passed very well in the last few weeks.
Liam looked at him "You alright?" He asked.
Nolan nodded "I-" he stopped.
Mason looked at Corey and then Liam, before looking up at the former hunter. "Do you want to sit down?"
Nolan looked up hopefully. And Liam laughed a little, before removing his backpack from the chair next to him to make room for him. Nolan hurried to sit down, a light smile on his lips.
"Anyway, I wonder if we should even worry about Monroe at this point. That hunter has certainly not come from nowhere, may they still be around this area?" Corey resumed the speech.
"There have been no recent sightings, I know it because Peter and Argent often make night patrols for the preserve," Liam said. "Maybe it was just an isolated case"
Nolan first looked at Corey then Liam. "Are you worried about Hansen?" He interposed. Mason looked at him wide-eyed. "Do you know who he is?"
"The one in the photo? Yeah, he was in the Monroe ranks from the very beginning. But I do not think he can give you problems" he let out a bitter smile. "He's dead. During the battle at the hospital. I saw him "
"What?" Liam exclaimed in shock. "Is he .. is he dead? Are you sure?"
Nolan nodded. "I remember him well, because there were no so much dead among the hunters. Well ... except for Gabe" His face went limp to that name, but after a few seconds he looked back at Liam." But I saw him on the ground, with a bullet on his head. Probably a stray bullet hit him "
Liam breathed deeply. And he looked at Mason and then at Corey "Now we have to believe in zombies too?"
*
Deaton looked, his expression tense, at the pictures on Mason's phone, while Liam, Mason, Corey and Nolan surrounded him. Nolan had agreed to follow them, but kept his distance, back against the cold wall, almost uncomfortably.
"Do you say he was already dead?" Deaton asked.
"Well now he is for sure," Liam rolled his eyes. "And he did everything to bring Theo with him"
"What do you think he was?" Mason asked hesitantly.
Deaton just turned to Nolan, who caught his eye. "Are you sure you saw him dead at the hospital?" Nolan stirred uncomfortably, but then nodded firmly. "Sure"
"Could you surely state that he was a mere human being at the time?"
Nolan's eyes widened "I doubt that a supernatural creature would have acclaimed Monroe as he did, he certainly was"
Deaton sighed, Mason looked first at Nolan then back to the vet, who looked down at the cell phone again, zooming in on the tattoo. Mason came up to look at it too. "This cut ... you can't figure out what it is ..." Deaton began. "But it reminds me about the checking that the Oni did on the guys when they were looking for the Nogitsune"
"What does it mean?"
"They went into their minds to look for the dark spirit, and then marked those who were clean with an ideogram," he said.
"Could that be a mark too?" Liam mumbled
"A visible sign of a mind control," Deaton added, nodding
"Someone would bring him back to life just to use him?" Nolan asked terrified
"Who could do such a thing?" Liam asked, widening his eyes
Deaton looked at him with wide eyes "Nobody who belongs to this world"
TO BE CONTINUED
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
After trying in vain to sleep for hours, Theo had given up. So he had started the engine, and had let the road flow in front of him. Without thinking about where he wanted to go. It was ironic that after three hours, he was pulled out of his thoughts, by the sight of the 'Welcome to Beacon Hills' sign as he passed it slowly.
Theo snorted. Apparently not even relying on chance and instinct he was able to leave that damn place. He always ended up going back there. Theo had lost count of the times when he had parked the truck in front of that sign in those last few months, and had been watching him for hours, never really having the gut to cross it.
He had thought it would be easy to do it, to just go away. During the Ghost Riders mess, he had promised himself that if they had solved the problem with the Wild Hunt, he would have gone away as far as possible from there, far from trouble, far away from a pack that hated him, away from the sword who could send him right back to his sister. And for a while he had succeeded.
Actually, he had kept away from trouble, had kept away from the pack, but had not completely left the county. He was always around, refusing to ask himself the damn question:
Why?
Maybe partly he hoped someone would come looking for him, somebody,
anyone
. But nobody did. Neither while he was traveling around the county sleeping in his car, nor when the hunters took him prisoner. He was alone, he knew it. There was nothing for him, neither there nor anywhere else.
But he was back anyway. He could have let Jiang and Tierney go back to Beacon Hills alone, and run away in the other direction. But he had not done it. He had chosen to follow them. Then things went south, of course, as always happened in Beacon Hills. He had thought that running away was really the smartest thing at that point. And he had tried. He had almost done it this time.
Until Scott called him, asking him to go help Liam trapped in the hospital with hunters. From that moment on, every time he sat in front of that sign, he saw Liam again, with Gabe pointing his gun at him. He felt again the crazy rhythm of his heart, the heart of someone who knows it's over. He felt his body in his arms as he pulled him safely into the elevator. He saw his expression again as he told him he would not die for him. But that he wanted to
fight
with him. And looking at the sign, he wondered what would happen if he had left that night, if he had not got there in time.
Liam would be dead.
He did not know when it happened, but that thought had become unbearable for Theo. And it was at that point, that he started the engine and came home, to the bed
Liam
had offered him, even if maybe he had only done it to keep an eye on him. Because he could not bear the idea of not being there the next time Liam would be in danger.
And as he pulled his car into a hidden alley at the crack of dawn, he told himself that this was the same reason why he had to stay away now. If he could not bear not being there for Liam in case of danger, he could not even bear that Liam risked dying because of him. Also, this thought was even worse.
Theo sighed, running a hand through his hair, and unlocking his cellphone. His finger ghosting on the chat with Liam, full of insults that they sent to each other in moments of boredom, often from one room to another, or trivial things like 'tonight pizza for dinner?' or 'come and get me that I missed the bus'. He blocked the phone again, and looked around. It was silent and deserted, perhaps because it was just dawn, but he thought he could stop there for a few hours before leaving. He looked back at the phone for a few seconds, and then turned it off, throwing it into the dashboard drawer. He knew that Liam would call him in the afternoon for the meeting, but he did not want to be tempted to answer. He already knew he would not go there.
*
He was awakened suddenly after what it seemed only minutes, but probably was hours, by someone beating against the back window of his car. Theo opened his eyes, cursing internally. "Yeah yeah, I'm leaving," he grumbled, putting his hand over his eyes to cover them from the sun, and sitting down.
"
Actually, I was just wondering what are you doing in my back," said a bored woman's voice. Theo whirled around to find a brunette woman who was now looking at him, eyebrows frowned, through the destroyed window. Theo looked at her in confusion, probably still half asleep.
"
Who the hell are you?" Okay, maybe it was not the right tone to use with someone that you had just invaded the property of. Which property again? Apparently the woman seemed to deduce his thoughts, because she snorted a smile, and pointed to a metal door ajar behind her.
"
You're parked at the back of my diner," she said quietly.
Theo tightened his lips. He was not in the mood for arguing right now. He would start the pick-up and leave, looking for another place to sleep for a few more hours. So he went down, sighing annoyed, without even looking again the woman. When he opened the front door, he heard the roar of the glasses twisting inside, and she followed the movement with her eyes.
"
I did not mean you had to leave, you know," she said lightly. Theo looked at her suspiciously. And he took a moment to study her better. She seemed common, not too old or too young. Dark hair, dark eyes. Her heart was beating steadily and quietly. Her smell was light but hard to tell. Theo narrowed his eyes even more.
"Well, I really think I'll leave," he said, finally averting his eyes, rolling his eyes and climbing into the car. She stood watching him as he put the key and turned it. Uselessly. The engine struggled, roaring, but stayed dead. "What the hell-?" Theo exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel with his hands. "No way..." he hissed between his teeth.
"
Well, looks like you'll stay here, Theo," she giggled, looking back at him through the window.
Theo looked at her again. "I do not remember I told you my name."
She shrugged, pointing to his driver's license on the car visor. "I read it on your driving license"
Theo was not sure it was true. But her heart did not waver. "Let’s go, come in, you might be hungry," she continued, turning and pointing toward the door.
Something in Theo was screaming not to trust, that she was strangely suspicious, but in the end, he was
really
hungry. And he did not hear the presence of anyone else in the building. So in case of danger, he could get rid of only one opponent. So he followed the woman inside.
The place was small and rustic. Every furniture, from the counter, to the tables and chairs, were made of wood. Theo studied the place, before settling down at the counter on the stool in front of the woman, busy drying glasses. "So, how come you were sleeping in my back?" she asked, a casual tone, as she put the rag and a glass down, pulling out a clean plate.
"
I do not think it's your business," Theo answered, crossing his arms on the counter.
She gave him a half smile. "You're not very nice," she commented, then bending down to get some bread from a shelf on the bottom. "Is a sandwich enough?"
"
At this moment I would eat anything"
"
Good to know." The woman put the plate with a sandwich in front of him and filled a glass of tap water. "Because that's what’s on the house"
"
You know, you're not very nice either" Theo said lightly, taking a sip of water and then grabbing the sandwich.
"
I know," she said quietly. "Finding strange teenagers sleeping in cars in front of my place usually upsets me"
Theo chuckled. "Happens a lot?"
"
It might surprise you." She bent down to get a pack of packaged chips and poured some into a bowl that she pushed toward Theo. "A little extra," she said, at Theo's glance. "I could add a dessert to the menu if you tell me why a nice young guy like you is sleeping in his car"
"
Not many other places to go, not much else to do," Theo said vaguely, taking a chip.
"
Your parents?"
"Dead"
"
Relatives?"
"Not that I know"
She looked at him with a strange look "Friends?"
Theo's grin wavered slightly "I don’t have any friends"
She snorted. "I do not believe it."
"Why should I lie?"
"No one is never completely alone. And if you were, you would not be here yet."
Theo looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Why are you here?
Still
here? If you have nothing? "
Theo held the woman's intense gaze. He had the strange impression that there was something implied in her speech, something he could not catch.
"
I just have something to do here," he said slowly.
"
What? Let’s hear "
"Something to protect" he replied, then finally averting his gaze to focus again on his sandwich left in half.
"
Something or
someone
?" She asked amused. Theo did not answer, but mirrored her half smile as he glanced at her. "I think I already know the answer," she snorted then turning around facing the wall. "Well ... Everyone has something to protect" she added sadly.
"
You too?"
"
Yeah," she whispered. "Me too." She turned back to Theo, as if studying him carefully. "Although I haven’t decided yet whether it's worth it or not" Theo beats on the counter with his fingers, without looking away. "And yours? Is it worth it? ... Sleeping in the car, in the cold, in some dark alley, being woken up by annoying women ..." Theo snorted. "... to protect it?"
"Yeah... it's worth it. I worry more about the idea of not being able to do it" At that point Theo fell silent. He had said too much. But apparently it was true that it is easier to confide in strangers than in acquaintances. Somehow he felt lighter, to admit it aloud. It was more like he was talking to himself than the strange woman standing in front of him.
It was like that. He had stayed in Beacon Hills for Liam. He had stayed to protect him. He had often put the life of the beta before his. He had changed all his way of being for Liam.
Ifit was because he thought he owed it to him after having freed him from Hell, if it was because the wolf in him had recognized in the other one an Alfa, if it was because he saw in Liam the same purity of the pre-Doctors himself ... or if it was for some other reason he was not aware of now ... this he did not know. But it was just like that.
"
There's an attic here" He was pulled out of his thoughts by the woman's voice. "If you want a more comfortable place than a car to sleep in, it would not be a problem for me." Theo looked at her wide-eyed.
What?
"Maybe you can give me some help in the kitchen, I might even decide to pay you"
"
Why would you do something like that?"
She shrugged. "What other reason must there be aside that is the right thing to do?"
"
You do not even know me"
"
Exactly. Maybe I’m looking forward to know you. "
"
I don’t even know your name" Theo observed, raising his eyebrows.
She laughed. "You can call me Hana. People call me that, it's nicer than my real name "
"
What would it be? "
She leaned towards him, with a half-grin" It's a secret", before turning around and disappearing into the kitchen.
Theo stayed still looking at the place she was before, wondering what the hell was going on those days.
*
The number you have dialed is not available at the moment, please tr-
"
Fuck off," Liam snapped, hanging up for the millionth time. Deaton raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Sorry"
"
Still nothing from Theo?" Mason asked.
Liam shook his head moped, putting the phone back in his pocket. "That fucking idiot ... When I find him, I’m going to crush him."
"
Did not he tell you anything about all that?" Corey interjected from his seat against the wall, next to Nolan.
"
No apart ...
it's my problem, stay out this time,"
he repeated in the best imitation of Theo that he managed to get. "And then he's gone, in that piece of crap that does not even have a window anymore ... can you be such an idiot?" Liam growled, then gave an exasperated sigh and pointed towards the door "Enough, I'm going to look for him "
Mason's eyes widened, catching him on the fly from his collar. "No,
now
you’re going to wait that Lydia call, and
she
explains exactly what the hell she saw. And
you
explain her exactly what the hell
happened
, and then
we
decide what we suppose to do. And if we have to catch Theo and lock him up again in jail, you will have all my support "
"
There’ll be no need, because I will kill him myself when I find him" Liam let himself be dragged beside Corey without protesting.
"
When should Lydia call?" Nolan asked, with a half smile on Liam's pouty face.
"
Her lessons ended at 6PM" Mason looked at his watch "She will call in moments"
In fact, not even ten minutes passed, that Mason's laptop resting on the operating table, trilled indicating an incoming call over Skype. Mason hurried to answer back, and Lydia's tired face appeared on the screen.
"
Hey" the human greeted her.
"
Hey guys," she greeted them with a smile, looking around as if to see what other familiar faces there was. "Are you all there?"
"Yes" "No" Mason and Liam said together. Lydia frowned. "Missing the jerk who is almost dead blowing up" Liam added dryly, standing next to Mason.
"
I guess you mean Theo ..." Lydia said, confused. "Did you just say he almost blew up?"
Everyone looked at Lydia now. "You're the one who saw his death, should not you know it better than us?" Mason asked, bewildered.
"
Wait, what are you talking about?" Lydia shook her head. "I have not seen any explosion"
"
What's going on?" Corey asked weakly, looking first at Mason then Liam.
"
You said that Theo was in the preserve, and he was going to die. We went there and found Liam and Theo barely surviving a hunter who blew himself up" Mason said slowly.
"
This ... this is not what I saw," Lydia said, eyes wide open
"
What did you see Lydia?" Liam exclaimed upset
"
There was Theo in the preserve, he seemed hurt. He was tied up. It almost seemed like an execution. It was not very clear" Lydia mumbled quickly. "And there were three figures"
"
Three? And who were they like?" Deaton interjected
"
I did not see them in the face, they actually looked more like three black shapes, nothing more ... I would dare to say they had human shape, but I may be wrong "
Mason looked at his friends "Maybe that hunter was referring to them when he said that 'they were coming' "
" Wait, this means that Lydia’s vision has not came true yet, it means that ... "Nolan began nervously.
"
They will attack Theo again. But we do not know where or when... nor why ... " Liam said weakly.
"
Wait, there's another thing," Lydia said. "Here- I saw ... one of the figures ... pierce Theo ... in his chest ...
with Kira's sword"
Liam's eyes wide
"What?"
Liam looked at Mason "No no ... it's not possible, the sword was destroyed. I broke it myself. And you need a Kitsune of electricity to fix it "
"
Where are the pieces of the sword? " Deaton asked.
"
I gave them back to Noshiko when the Wild Hunt ended" Liam replied.
"
Okay, so let's get them back. Maybe we can prevent Lydia's vision from happening." Mason muttered. "And we must find Theo. We have to warn him about what's going on. "
"
Guys ... be careful, I do not know who they are or what they want ... but I do not like what I've felt from them ... it does not sound like anything good" Lydia said, troubled.
Liam sighed distressed "When ever in Beacon Hills something sound like good?"
TO BE CONTINUED