Work Text
Liam:
I inhaled sharply as I managed to unlock the sliding door, and winced deeply as I rolled it open enough for me to squeeze through. I winced again as I used the rest of my strength to roll it shut, and lock it. I then leaned against it, my vision blurring as I panted through the agony spreading throughout my entire body. I closed my eyes, and groaned as I wrapped an arm around my stomach, before feeling myself slowly drifting to the ground. Suddenly, I heard the sound of distant running footsteps, and someone calling my name. Liam? Liam?! Someone grasped my face. Come on, little wolf, open your eyes! I struggled to open my eyes and they fluttered. That’s it, Liam, keep trying. I felt a rush of relief from my pain, heard someone let out a small gasp, and I finally managed to pry my eyes open. They instantly met deeply concerned green eyes. “Theo…hey” I said hoarsely, and gave a weak smile.He swallowed, and used his hold on my face to gently help me lean my head back on the door. He removed his warm hands, and started inspecting my injuries. “Jesus, what the hell happened?” he asked incredulously. I tried shrugging and the movement made me groan at the fiery pain that spread throughout my body, causing him to instantly glance back up at me. “Hunters” I managed to get out before I closed my eyes again. I was so tired.I felt him grasp my face again. “Damn it, Liam, why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come to you” I heard him say, his voice starting to sound far away again. I coughed and then winced, grasping my stomach. “I didn’t have…time” I said weakly. “You didn’t? Little wolf…hey, stay with me, okay? Just keep talking to me. Come on, Liam, please” was the last thing I heard before I slipped away into darkness. The next time I woke up, I was gasping for air as I bolted upright. I instantly cried out, and clutched my stomach, trying to pant through the painful soreness I felt everywhere else. Suddenly, Theo appeared beside me. “It’s okay, little wolf, you’re safe. You’re still at my place, so let’s just take it easy, okay? You’re still healing” he pointed out, and stuffed a couple of pillows behind me. “Still?” I croaked, and winced as Theo gently helped guide me back against the pile of pillows he created. He handed me a small plastic cup of water to drink, and I took a couple sips to soothe my dry throat before handing it back to him. He nodded and placed the cup back on his worn-out nightstand, then his eyes briefly traveled down to my bandaged torso, and paused at my stomach. I searched his face, trying to read the multiple emotions that flickered across them, when he looked away. I tried picking up on his scent, or get something from his chemo signals, but he was hiding both. That’s weird. I thought we got past the whole hiding-my-emotions-from-Liam thing. “You, uh, you haven’t fully healed, even with all the wolfsbane being burned out” he explained. My eyebrows furrowed. That’s also weird. “Teddy, what happened after I passed out, and how long have I been here?” I asked. He raked a hand through his hair. “Two days. Deaton said to give it another day and you should be fully healed, but that you're on bed rest until then” he answered. Geez, those hunters really did a number on me. I tilted my head. “Deaton? I thought he was out of town for the week” I pointed out. He went out of town to gather more information on my…situation. A situation I haven’t told Theo about. He cleared his throat, and looked back at me. “After you passed out, I called Derek to come help, he was the closest since he’s staying in one of the other apartments for the summer. He called Deaton, who instructed us on what to do and what supplies to use, until he could come in person to check on you, which he did yesterday” he explained, and then looked away again. What’s going on? He’s acting like he does when he wants to say something to me, but doesn’t know how to bring it up. I arched an eyebrow. “You’re being more weird than usual, did something else happen?” I questioned. He raked his hand through his hair again. He got a haircut a couple months ago, but it was getting a little long like it did during the War, and I definitely didn't mind it. “Do you remember what happened before you showed up here, barely alive?” he asked, changing the subject. He wasn’t ready to bring it up yet. I sighed. Right now, any attempt to dig through my mind for what happened that night, hurt my head for some reason. “I don’t know, there’s these gaps in my memory. But I do remember that I was on my way here, because you told me you were finally back from your super secret spy mission with Argent-” I started to reply. “-it was a week-long stakeout” he interrupted, and rolled his eyes. That’s more like the asshole I know, and have feelings for. I huffed. “Whatever. You texted me that you were back, and since my car’s in the shop again, I figured I’d just walk here” I finished replying. His eyebrows furrowed. “Why didn’t you just call me? I would’ve picked you up from your house” he pointed out. It feels like he’s asked me that before. I shrugged, ignoring the brief flare of pain that caused me. “I wanted to surprise you” I said casually. I also needed the time to work up the nerve to tell you what’s been going on with me. He searched my eyes, causing my heart to skip a beat. “Were you coming here to tell me something? Something important?” he pressed. I started to chew on my bottom lip. He doesn’t know, does he? “Like what?” I questioned. He sighed. “Don’t do that, little wolf, not with me” he argued. With how he's been acting since I woke up, I think he does. I swallowed as my heart pounded in my chest. “You know...don’t you?” I asked. His gaze lowered to my stomach. “I heard the heartbeat that night..." he started to answer, and then glanced back up into my eyes. "At first, I thought maybe there was an off chance that I was hearing things, but when Derek showed up, he heard it too. Then Deaton’s instructions were more specific than usual, and things started adding up” he finished answering. I scoffed. “Especially when you think about the way we’ve been spending every full moon the past couple months” I reminded him. Six months ago, we sort of figured out a different…method of getting me through the full moon that didn’t involve fighting with our fists. Not to mention the times where it wasn’t on a full moon. He narrowed his eyes. “I think about that a lot more than you realize” he argued. I raised my eyebrows. “How am I supposed to know that?” I argued back, and he rolled his eyes. “Every time I’ve tried to bring it up, to figure out what we are, you changed the subject” I continued to argue. The potential answer always terrified me, but I still asked. He groaned in frustration. “I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know if you wanted what I wanted, if it meant more than just sex to you” he argued back. And here I was thinking that I was being too obvious about my feelings for him. I rolled my eyes. “You would’ve known if you actually talked about it with me” I snarked. He sighed. “Maybe I wasn’t ready for things to change, and maybe you let me change the subject over and over again because you weren’t ready either” he challenged. Maybe I wasn’t ready…at first. I scoffed and shook my head. “You’re an idiot if you think it was just sex for me. It was always more than that, Teddy-” I argued but halted when all of a sudden, I felt a painful tightening sensation in my stomach, and I inhaled sharply. What the hell? He rushed to my side. “What’s wrong, little wolf?” he asked. I winced as I felt another tightening sensation, and grasped my stomach. “I don’t know” I groaned. I did everything I could to guard my stomach, so what does this mean? He quickly reached for my hand, closed his eyes, and his eyebrows pinched together in concentration as black veins crawled from his hand, and up his forearm. The relief from the pain washed over me, and I sagged against the pillows behind me. I squeezed his hand to let him know that he could stop, and he opened his eyes as the black veins on his hand and forearm disappeared. He rarely reacted or even flinched when he took pain, like the way I’ve seen Scott, Malia and Derek do. I hated thinking about why that was, and why his pain tolerance was so high. “You shouldn’t be getting worked up, especially now” he scolded, and sat on the bed next to me. I sighed. “I know, I just still can’t believe that this is even possible. I’ve been feeling off for a while, and that’s why I had Deaton run a bunch of tests a week ago” I admitted. I had Deaton run that one test over and over again, until I couldn’t be in denial about it anymore. Not when the result was always the same. He looked down at my stomach. “It is possible, it’s just not really talked about in smaller packs like yours. It also has to happen under the right conditions too, it’s not like unprotected sex between a male and a female. If it’s between two male werewolves, it has to be on a full moon, and they have to be mates…” he started to explain, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Wait…does this mean we’re mates? “…and I just never thought it would happen to me, seeing as I’m only part werewolf through science. As far as I’ve known, chimeras aren’t supposed to have mates, and we’re not supposed to be able to conceive no matter who we have sex with. Trust me, the Doctors tested those theories” he finished explaining, and looked back up into my eyes. My heart clenched in my chest seeing the sorrow in his beautiful green eyes. Did they test those theories on you, Theo? I swallowed. “It’s yours, you know, I haven’t been with anyone else” I reassured him. I don’t want to be with anyone else. He chuckled. “You don’t have to convince me of that, little wolf. Even if I didn’t know you better than anyone, it’s in your scent, and I’m a dumbass for not noticing it sooner” he pointed out. My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?” I asked. He briefly bit his bottom lip, and my lips couldn’t help but look down at them. “Your scent has been different lately, it’s like my scent never leaves you no matter how long it’s been since we’d last seen each other” he answered, and I looked back up into those hypnotizing green orbs. Focus, I can’t lose sight of what I want to talk about. I gave him a pointed look. “Well, now we have to talk about it, about what we want” I argued. He sighed. “I don’t want you to think that what I feel for you is because we’re going to have a kid together” he admitted. I scoffed and shook my head. And everyone says I’m the oblivious one. “I’m not going to think that, genius. I want to be with you and only you, okay? I have wanted to be with you since the War, and I don’t want to hide how I feel anymore. So if you don't feel the same, you need to say it right here, right now” I declared. It’s now or never. I don’t want to avoid this conversation or let the fear of change stop me. He playfully rolled his eyes. “I want to be with you too, you moron. Clearly, you don’t realize how long I’ve waited to hear you say that” he said and his lips lifted into a soft smile. My heart nearly burst in my chest, and I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face. I used my free hand to grab the back of his neck, and closed my eyes as my lips met his. He instantly grabbed the side of my face to press our lips harder together, and moved his lips against mine.Kissing Theo felt like a wildfire that started in my mouth and quickly heated up the rest of my body. It's felt the way since our very first kiss six months ago on the full moon, when we were in the middle of an argument (eyes flashing, fangs and claws out) and he pushed me up against a wall, before slamming our lips together to apparently finally “shut me up.” I whined when he went to pull away, causing him to smirk before he bit my bottom lip, and then slammed our lips together again. I parted my lips to let our tongues meet, and we moaned in unison. I always felt like I could never get enough, not with the way he devoured my mouth. I moved my hand from the back of his neck to the front of his shirt, and tugged him along as I leaned further back. I tried to hold back a grimace from the soreness of my injuries, but failed, and he broke apart from the kiss. He dropped his hand from the side of my face, and rested his forehead against mine as we caught our breath. “As much as I want to, little wolf, we can’t get carried away right now” he said in a raspy voice. Maybe when I’m fully healed, we can hopefully get “carried away” over and over again. Mainly now that we don’t have to make up bullshit excuses for why we want to. I sighed in exasperation. “I know. Plus, we still have so much to figure out” I pointed out. Which is an understatement. I have so many questions. He lifted his forehead from mine, and I almost got lost in the green in his eyes. “I know, I never even considered that I was going to have kids, and I always thought that due to who ‘raised’ me, that I was doing the world a favor. I mean what do I have to offer besides trauma, murderous tendencies, and countless enemies?” he said and scoffed. There’s so much more to him than that. I raised my eyebrows. “And you think I have better things to offer a kid? I’m a constant target for hunters and the supernatural alike, I've got the issues that my biological father gave me, and I still struggle with control thanks to my IED. But there’s more to us than those things, we are more than what we've done or what's been done to us” I argued. He shook his head. “You’re different, little wolf. You haven’t exploited peoples’ weaknesses, you haven’t torn packs apart, you didn’t lose your humanity in your obsession for power. I’ve done plenty to earn my Omega status” he argued back. I wonder how many times we’ll have this argument. I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not an Omega anymore, you’re a part of the pack, my pack and whether you want to accept that or not, it’s true. You can’t change or erase what you’ve already done, but you can do better, change, do things differently, and you have. Remind me again, who did you call after I passed out?” I questioned, and arched an eyebrow. He sighed in defeat. “Derek” he replied. “Exactly, Derek doesn’t show up for just anyone” I pointed out, and then my eyes widened. “Wait…you said before that Derek knows, which means he might tell Lydia or worse, Stiles, and Stiles will definitely tell Scott, and then the whole pack will know. Teddy, Mason will try to kill me if he doesn’t hear this from me first, okay? I-I don’t think I’m ready for anyone to know yet, I’m pretty sure you aren’t either, so what are we gonna do if everyone finds out before we’re ready?!” I rambled on. There’s so much to figure out, so much to unpack, so much to think about. I love my pack, but I don’t want to deal with their opinions and judgment yet. That’s not even considering that at some point I’ll have to tell my parents, and I have no idea how that will go. They only found I was werewolf seven months ago, and are still getting used to that. He used his free hand to grab the side of my face, and gently rubbed my cheek with his thumb. I took a deep breath, and let it out as I let his touch anchor me. “You’re going to get yourself worked up again, so take another deep breath, little wolf” he ordered, and I complied. “You don’t need to worry, okay? Derek’s not going to tell anyone, he said it’s not his place to say something, and to let him know if we need anything” he reassured me. I nodded, and looked down at my own stomach. “Did Deaton say if everything was okay with the…baby?” I asked. The first time I said the word out loud. I had been avoiding even thinking of the word. “Yeah, everything’s fine. If you want to check, at least on the heartbeat, try focusing your hearing and listening to it, it’s what I've been doing” he answered. I closed my eyes, and drowned out all sound until I heard a tiny rapid heartbeat echoing from my stomach. Holy shit. That-that definitely makes it more real. My eyes popped open, and widened as I glanced back up at him in shock. He chuckled softly. “That’s probably how I looked the first time I heard it too” he remarked. I blew out a breath. “That’s going to take some getting used to” I commented. He glanced down at my stomach, and his eyes furrowed. “What?” I asked. He glanced back up, warily. “I’m just wondering if you remember anything yet about that night” he replied. I tilted my head. “I know I looked at my phone when I was halfway here, and then I heard a scream. It sounded like maybe someone was in trouble, and I started heading towards it, but that’s the last thing I remember” I said honestly. I wonder why that was. He let out a noise of exasperation. “You should’ve texted or called me right after you heard that scream. You shouldn’t have gone off on your own, little wolf” he started to argue, but suddenly my head started throbbing as a memory pushed itself forward, and I grimaced.
I winced as I leaned against the side of Theo’s truck for support, my arm guarding my stomach, and the blood dripping from my shoulder wounds smearing blood behind me. I inhaled sharply as I tried taking a deep breath, but the horrible pain in my chest made it difficult. I just need to get inside. Once I’m with Theo, I’ll be safe, and we can figure out a plan.
“Do you see him?” I heard the female hunter ask.
“No boss” I heard the short male hunter reply.
“Damn it, I could’ve sworn I saw the beta run into this particular parking lot. We were lucky he likes being a hero, and fell for the screaming trap in the first place. It probably won’t happen again, so we need to find him before the others do” the female hunter said anxiously.
“Nah, we sent the others off in a different direction, it’ll take them a minute before they circle back” the short male hunter reassured her.
“Do you really believe the rumors that Monroe told you?” the tall male hunter asked.
“I’m not sure, maybe. She was run out of town a year ago, but she still has some loyal followers left in Beacon Hills, and they're all claiming that the best way to get to Theo Raeken is through Scott McCall’s first beta Liam Dunbar. I’d like to see for myself if that’s true or not” the female hunter answered.
My heart raced in fear, and I grimaced as I slowly moved closer to the hood of Theo’s truck. I’d have to thank Theo the next time I saw him for choosing to park closer to the side door of the building. I winced as I crouched down, grabbed a handful of pebbles that were scattered on the ground, and threw some of them in different directions.
“What was that?” the tall male hunter asked.
I briefly stood up, ignoring the way my body screamed in protest, and tossed the rest of the pebbles at a car across the parking lot from Theo’s truck.
“Was that the beta?” the short male hunter questioned.
I quickly bolted to the side door.
“It might be a distraction of some sort” the female hunter warned.
I opened the door, rushed inside, and locked it behind me. A wave of nausea came over me, and I gripped my stomach. I’m almost there. I just gotta make it to the elevator.
I suddenly felt Theo holding my face in his hands. “Hey hey hey, what’s wrong? Where’d you go just now?” he questioned, worry coming off of his scent in waves. I searched his eyes. “I remembered a little bit of it. The scream I heard-it was a trap made by this group of hunters, but I'm pretty sure some of them had a different agenda than the others” I explained. His eyebrows furrowed, and he dropped one of his hands from my face to hold my hand. “What do you mean?” he asked. I started to nervously chew on my bottom lip. “After I tell you, you need to promise that you won’t go off on your own, and disappear on me because you think that’s what you have to do” I said firmly. We never break promises to each other. He raised his eyebrows. “Wow, it must be bad if you’re making me promise that again” he commented. I arched an eyebrow, and he rolled his eyes. “Fine, I promise I won’t go off on my own and disappear” he reassured me. I sighed. “They mentioned Monroe, and how she still has followers in town that have spread these rumors that the only way to get to you is by using me” I explained. His lips curled and eyes briefly flashed gold as the scent of anger permeated the air. “So it's my fault that you're in danger?” he said in a low tone, and removed his hands from me completely. I shook my head as I reached out to grasp his hand again. “No, I’m in danger because people are assholes, and want to hunt me down for just existing” I argued. He opened his mouth to say something, when the text message notification sound on his phone went off a few times, and he reached over to his nightstand to grab it. He swiped at his screen, and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After he stayed like that for almost a minute, my impatience kicked in. “Is everything okay?” I asked. “Yeah, Deaton texted me the address to this clinic he found that supernaturals can go to for any kind of medical treatment. He says we should check it out, and that maybe it can give us more information on our ‘situation’” he replied. “Is it a secret clinic or something? It has to be…right? Especially if you’re treating the supernatural?” I questioned, but he kept staring at his phone screen. I sighed. “Teddy, what is going on?” I demanded. He glanced back at me, eyes hardened. “Derek says that there have been a few people lurking in the parking lot for the past two days, reeking of wolfsbane and gunpowder” he explained. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “If those are the same hunters who attacked me, then why haven’t they tried to break-in and look for us?” I asked. He tilted his head. “I don’t know, maybe they’re waiting for something. I haven’t left your side, which means I haven’t left the apartment building, so they might not be sure that I’m actually here. They might be waiting for visual confirmation” he speculated. I sighed. “Which means we have to come up with a plan fast, before they change their minds, and decide to draw us out instead” I pointed out, and clutched my stomach protectively. “Don’t worry, little wolf, we’ll come up with something. For now, we’re staying put until you’re all healed up” he ordered. I started to nervously chew on my bottom lip. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? It seems a little risky to wait until then” I said warily.He placed his hand on top of mine on my stomach. “It is a risk either way, but I feel like this is the less risky option. No matter what, I won’t let anything bad happen to you or our baby, okay? I promise” he reassured me, and briefly flashed his gold eyes.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam:
Theo arched an eyebrow. “If you don’t stop walking in circles around my coffee table, and sit down, I’m going to tie you to this couch” he threatened. I rolled my eyes, and stopped pacing to face him as he sat down on the couch in his small living room. My parents bought him that couch as a “house-warming” gift six months ago when he moved into the loft, so I definitely didn’t want it to be ruined by whatever means Theo used to tie me. “Aren’t you nervous? Mason and Corey are almost here, Lydia and Stiles are with Derek in his apartment as backup just in case, and you know what I'm thinking about?” I questioned, my breathing getting a little faster as my heart started racing. "What if I give it away? What if I see Mason and spill my guts?" He rolled his eyes, leaned forward to reach for my hand, and gently pulled me towards him. I let him pull me down next to him, and turned to lay down with my legs stretched out over top of his. “You’re overthinking it, little wolf, everything we’re doing is just a precaution. Derek said no one suspicious has been in the parking lot today, but we’re having Corey walk with us to my truck despite that. You might not even see Mason, he’s staying in his car as another lookout, but it’s not the end of the world if you do spill your guts, okay?” he reassured me. I sighed and leaned my head back against the arm of the couch. “It just feels like so many things could go wrong” I said softly. He scoffed. “Maybe, or it’ll go just fine. If I have to maim and potentially kill every hunter who attacked you so that you get to this clinic safely, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make” he said matter-of-factly. I lifted my head, and raised my eyebrows at him. “You sound really torn up about it” I said sarcastically. He shrugged. “The less you have to worry about, the better, and yeah, Deaton did clear you to leave the loft, but he said repeatedly that you still need to take it easy. We also don’t know if there’s going be delayed or lasting effects from all the wolfsbane that was in you” he pointed out. I was now fully healed of my injuries, but I was still having pain on and off in my stomach. Deaton thinks it’s due to dehydration and blood loss, that the baby is messing with my healing factor, and that’s why he wants us to go to the secret mysterious supernatural medical clinic sooner rather than later. He has told Liam that the wolfsbane out of me in time, but Theo isn't convinced. I rolled my eyes, and sat up. “I’m fine, Teddy. I think you are worrying too much” I argued. He narrowed his eyes. “You not having had any pain in a few hours doesn’t equal you being perfectly fine” he argued back. I never expected him to worry this much, let alone show it. I arched an eyebrow. “Are you going to be like this until we get to that clinic, and they run tests or whatever?” I questioned. He shrugged. “Probably” he replied, and I scoffed and shook my head. “Remember, you’re the one choosing to be with me, little wolf” he pointed out, fondness radiating from his scent. “Is it too late to change my mind?” I said dryly. “Yes” he playfully growled, and then grabbed the side of my face to pull me into a searing kiss. I briefly smiled into the kiss, and moved my hands up his neck to grip his soft hair. He quickly pulled me onto his lap and I adjusted to straddle his hips as he moved his lips against mine. Arousal surged in the air as I rolled my hips, and he moaned. I moved my hands from his hair, and trailed them down his torso until I reached the bottom of his shirt. I started to push his shirt upwards, and we breathlessly broke apart, so I could pull it over his head. After I tossed his shirt aside, he rapidly stripped me of mine, then grabbed my waist and pulled me flush against him. We gasped in unison when our naked chests touched, and he groaned when I leaned down to bite and tug his bottom lip between my teeth. I released his bottom lip and smirked at his reaction, he then narrowed his eyes. In one swift motion, I was flipped onto my back with him hovering over top of me, my legs naturally wrapping around his waist, and he leaned down to crushed our lips together again. He let out a low growl when I dragged my hands down his muscled back, digging my nails in as I went, and then frantically reached around to the front of his jeans. Suddenly, we heard a loud shriek, and we instantly broke apart. I protectively covered my stomach, and Theo’s eyes flared gold as we both turned our heads to see where the noise came from. His eyes immediately returned to normal as he arched an eyebrow, and I let out a sigh of relief. There stood Stiles with one hand covering his eyes, while Corey stood next to him with raised eyebrows. “Well now we know why neither of you have been answering your phones” Corey said dryly. “You couldn’t have knocked?” Theo questioned, grabbed his shirt behind me on the arm of the couch, and fully sat up to tug it on. Heat rushed to my cheeks as he grabbed my shirt from the other arm of the couch and tossed it at me. “I could've gone my whole life without seeing you two, of all people, in the throes of passion” Stiles said in a horrified tone. Theo rolled his eyes, and I tugged my shirt back on. “Are they decent? Or as decent as Theo can be?” Stiles loudly whispered to Corey. I sighed. “Yes, Stiles, besides we weren’t even naked” I argued. “You were about to be” Corey quipped, and I glared at him. Stiles sighed. “Now I know why Derek had that smug look on his handsome face when he forced me to come down here, and use his key to check on you guys. Obviously he thinks that I haven't seen enough traumatic things” he said sarcastically. Damn it, Derek. “You’d also never think that you guys were in mortal danger with the way you two were about to fu-” Corey started to say, but stopped when everyone glared at him. “Alright, geez, anyway we came here to tell you that everyone's here, and we're ready” he explained. “And now I need to go bleach out my eyes, and yell at a sour wolf. Corey, do your thing. Liam, try not to die, and Theo, make sure Liam doesn’t die” Stiles ordered, and walked out of the loft through the open sliding door. Theo stood up, and reached a hand out to me. I grasped it, and let him bring me to my feet. Theo grabbed his keys plus our phones from the worn-out coffee table, and we followed a smirking Corey out of the loft. “Please let me be the one to tell Mason that he was right” he pleaded as Theo slid the front door shut, and locked it. “Right about what?” I asked as we strolled to the elevator, and Theo pressed the down button. The elevator dinged before the doors opened, and we all stepped inside. “He’s been saying that you two have been hooking up for the past six months, and no one in the pack believed him, but me” Corey answered, and the elevator doors closed. How the hell did Mason figure that out?! My jaw dropped, and Theo’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “What?!” I exclaimed. Theo shrugged. “Yeah, Derek said he figured it out a couple months ago too” he added, and my eyes widened in shock. Who doesn’t know at this point?! “I mean it’s not like there aren’t bets on when you two would get together or hook up, they just didn’t think that either of those things happened yet. Mason and I knew differently, and Derek apparently” Corey explained as the elevator slowly dropped downward. Wow, there’s so much to unpack there. There are bets? A wave of nausea suddenly came over me, and I inhaled sharply as I braced a hand against the elevator wall. Theo instantly turned towards me with furrowed eyebrows, and concern taking over his scent. “You okay, little wolf?” he asked. I tried nodding, when I was hit with another wave of nausea, and groaned as I instinctually clutched my stomach. I felt like I was about to throw up. Corey also glanced worriedly at me. “I thought you were all healed up?” he questioned. Theo briefly glanced down at my stomach, before glancing back up to search my face. “He’s supposed to be” he said warily as the elevator slightly shook as it reached the ground floor, and the doors opened. I swallowed. “I’m fine” I insisted and stumbled out of the elevator. Theo and Corey looked at each other unconvinced when I had to quickly lean against the wall across from the elevator for support. Theo stood in front of me, and gently grasped the back of my neck. I let out a breath of relief as my nausea slowly eased up, and then I searched his gorgeous green eyes. “You’re not doing what I think you’re doing, are you?” I asked. “I don't know, am I?” he countered, quickly planted a kiss on my lips, and removed his hand from my neck to grab my hand. We headed towards the side door, with Corey leading, Theo in the middle, and me behind Theo. Corey quickly pulled out his phone to glance at it, and shoved it back into his jacket pocket. “Mase says it’s all clear” he whispered, and slowly opened the side door. He disappeared from sight for a couple seconds, before reappearing, and nodding. We stepped out, and walked to the passenger side of Theo’s truck. Theo reached to open the passenger side door, when I picked up on a familiar scent, and looked to see the female hunter and her two male sidekicks from three days ago stroll into the parking lot. Theo instantly picked up that something was off. “Is that them, little wolf?” he asked, and I nodded. His eyes briefly flashed gold, as anger drifted from his scent. The three hunters glanced around in every direction, but either hadn’t noticed us yet, or were pretending not to notice us to lure us into a false sense of security. I suddenly felt a tightening pain in my stomach, and turned to face the truck as I inhaled sharply. Theo and Corey glanced at me in concern, and I tried not to grab my stomach or react when I felt the pain a second time. After the third time, I couldn’t help but clutch my stomach, and I let out a small groan as I started to hunch over. “We need to get you in the truck, now” Theo whispered. I winced. “How? We can’t…draw attention…to ourselves” I said in between panting through the pain. I really hope something isn’t wrong with the baby. “I’ll text Mason to send in reinforcements” Corey said quietly, and pulled out his phone. Theo quickly leaned down and scooped me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder, and held my stomach as I tried taking deep breaths. After almost a minute, Corey shoved his phone back into his jacket pocket, and glanced worriedly at me. Another minute later, the side door burst open, and Derek, Lydia and Stiles walked out. They instantly headed toward the three hunters and engaged them in conversation, while standing in a way that blocked us from the hunters’ view. Corey opened the passenger door to Theo’s truck, and Theo gently placed me down on the passenger seat, before shutting the door. I slumped back against the seat as the pain slightly eased up. Theo pulled the hood of his jacket up and over his head, before Corey grabbed his forearm and they disappeared from sight. A couple seconds later, the driver’s side door opened, with Theo reappearing to hop in, and closing the door afterwards. “What's wrong, little wolf?” Theo asked as he shoved his truck key in the ignition, and turned it on. I opened my mouth to reply, when I got hit with another pain that was more intense, and a groan came out instead. Theo moved the gear shift backward, and backed out of the parking space. He quickly moved the gear shift forward, and drove out of the back entrance of the parking lot. He pressed hard on his gas pedal. “I might have to take you to Deaton, I don’t know if you’ll make it to that other clinic since it’s supposed to be a farther drive” Theo informed. I inhaled sharply. “No, I’ll be-I should be able to make it to the clinic” I tried arguing, when the world started spinning, and I closed my eyes. “It hurts” I whispered. “I know and you’re barely conscious, so I’m taking you to Deaton” he argued back, but fear and worry twisted together in his scent. I groaned and tightened my grip on my stomach. “The farther away…we are…from the hunters…the safer…” I trailed off, everything sounding muffled. “But you and the baby can’t wait, little wolf, you need help now. Liam? Hey, open your eyes sweetheart. Come on, keep talking to me, please…” was the last thing I heard him say before I drifted off into unconsciousness.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam
:
Sound returned to me first, and I stretched it to hear two specific heartbeats. I opened my eyes when I found both, and saw that I was lying on a familiar metal examination table. “Teddy?” I said softly, and turned my head to see him sitting on a chair beside me. He was holding one of my hands in between both of his, and he instantly stood up as soon as our eyes met. He let out a shaky breath. “Hey, little wolf” he said softly back, relief flooding his scent, and he bent down to press his forehead against mine. I reached my free hand up to tuck some of his hair behind his ear. “What happened?” I asked, and attempted to sit up. He stood straight, and gently helped me sit up. “You, uh, you passed out in the truck, and I brought you to Deaton. He said your blood pressure was high, and you were really dehydrated, so he gave you some IV fluids” he explained. My eyebrows furrowed. “Shouldn’t me being able to heal keep me from getting an IV?” I questioned. “He thinks that the baby might be taking up at least half of your healing factor” he answered. I then raised my eyebrows in surprise. “If he’s right, that would explain a lot” I commented, and swung my legs over the side of the metal table. He arched an eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing, little wolf?” he asked. I scoffed. “What does it look like I’m doing?” I countered, and hopped off the table. The moment my feet touched the ground, I stumbled, and I grabbed Theo’s bicep for balance. “We need to get going” I reminded him. His eyebrows furrowed. “Can you try to remember that three hours ago, you were in so much pain that you passed out from it?” he argued. I’m okay now, we can’t waste time waiting for me to feel one hundred percent. I sighed. “Teddy, for all we know, those hunters are out there looking for us, so we need to go somewhere they won’t think to look, and this secret clinic might be our best bet” I argued back. He raked a hand through his hair. “I just don’t know how much moving you should be doing right now” he protested. I searched those beautiful green eyes, and my heart ached at the fear that reflected in them. The past few days have really done a number on him. He’s probably been in a constant state of worry. “I’m feeling better, okay?” I tried reassuring him, and I dropped my hand from his bicep to grasp his hand. "Just because my healing factor isn't like it used to be, it doesn't mean I'm made of glass." He slightly bent down to rest his forehead against mine. “I know that, but does mean we have to do things differently, so I’m carrying you to the truck at least” he said firmly. I rolled my eyes. “Fine” I reluctantly agreed. “I called ahead, and let the Artemis Clinic know that you two will be on your way” Deaton said as he entered the room, and we turned to face him. “Artemis, like the Greek goddess?” I questioned. Deaton nodded. “She was one of the main inspirations for this clinic being the goddess of hunt, the moon, wild animals, nature, childbirth, among other things” he answered. Theo’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why haven’t we heard of this clinic before?” he asked. If he’s asking, then the Dread Doctors either didn’t know about it, or if they did, they didn’t tell him. “It’s fairly well hidden, it won’t look like your usual clinic, and it appears entirely different to the human eye. There are others just like it here and there, but the Artemis Clinic is the closest one to Beacon Hills” Deaton explained, and turned around to walk to the backdoor. I took a step forward when Theo suddenly swooped me into his arms, and I let out a small gasp. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he just arched an eyebrow in response, and followed Deaton while carrying me. Deaton opened the door, and held it open for us. “You two will be safe once they let you inside the gate, until then, keep an eye out for suspicious activity, and Liam, attempt to keep your stress levels down as best you can” he said after we stepped outside, and shut the backdoor. Theo and I looked around as he headed to his truck, our senses on high alert. He opened the passenger side door, and gently placed me on the passenger seat, before closing the door. He circled around the front of his truck to the driver’s side, and opened the driver’s side door. He hopped inside, shut the door behind him, and glanced at me as he shoved his truck key into the ignition. “Are you okay so far, little wolf?” he asked, and turned the key. I raised my eyebrows as the truck roared to life. “How many more times do you plan on asking me that?” I asked. I know he’s worried, but he’s also starting to drive me a little crazy. He leaned back in his seat to grab his phone out of his front pocket, typed in his pin number to unlock it, and put in the address for the Artemis Clinic in his GPS. “Seeing how much it seems to annoy you, I might ask every five minutes of this forty minute drive” he retorted, set his phone on the center console, and drove out of the vet clinic parking lot. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t dare” I threatened, as the GPS began to voice out directions. His lips lifted into a sexy half-smirk. “Try me” he challenged, a hint of fondness coming from his scent, as we drove off, and I huffed. “Teddy, do you know if Derek, Lydia, Stiles are okay?” I asked, and nervously started chewing on my bottom lip. He nodded. “They’re fine, little wolf. According to Derek’s texts, once we left the parking lot, Stiles threatened to call his dad on them for trespassing. It pissed off the hunters, but they left, and yes, Mason and Corey are okay too” he answered. I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay that’s good. It’s weird that the hunters just left though, I didn’t think trespassing is where they drew the line after what they did to me” I pointed out. His eyebrows furrowed. “They must have a specific agenda. You said that you heard them mention Monroe and her followers that night, right?” he questioned, and I nodded. “They don’t act like how Monroe’s followers usually act, so they probably haven’t aligned themselves with her, at least not yet” he explained. I raised my eyebrows. “How do you know how her followers act?” I asked. Without the Anuk-ite’s influence, her stronghold on Beacon Hills supposedly ended. I never believed it, but it was like pulling teeth to get the older pack members to tell me anything. Scott wanted me to have a normal senior year, and didn’t want me (and the younger pack members) involved in whatever Monroe was doing outside of Beacon Hills. I still did a daily patrol in the Beacon Hills Preserve none-the-less, with Theo joining me on them once he figured out that I usually patrolled alone. He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it” he said nonchalantly. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that what you’re doing on your super secret spy missions with Argent?” I questioned. He sighed. “Stakeouts” he clarified. I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. When you’re gone for a week or a couple weeks at a time, does he have you going undercover?” I pressed. He took a hand off the steering wheel to run a hand through his hair. “I do more than just that” he vaguely answered. My eyebrows furrowed. “What else do you do?” I asked. He shrugged. “Surveillance on those who used to be followers of Monroe, track down certain lackeys who still follow her, among other things” he explained. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “I hope you’re at least getting paid for it” I commented. More importantly, I hope that you’re being careful. Are you doing these things by yourself? What if you get caught? Why haven’t you asked me to come with you as backup? He scoffed. “I wasn’t in the beginning, Argent tested me first, and I had to prove that I was trustworthy” he remarked. What kind of test? That could literally mean anything. He glanced at me sideways, and sighed. “I can literally hear your mind racing a mile a minute, get some of your questions off your chest before you spontaneously combust” he ordered. I started nervously chewing on my bottom lip again. “Does Scott know?” I questioned. He nodded. “He, Stiles, Malia, Lydia, Derek, Parrish, Scott’s parents, Stiles’ dad, Deaton, and obviously Argent all know. Derek goes with me on certain stakeouts, Scott or Parrish will be my backup sometimes, there has been situations where Lydia comes in as a distraction, Malia is sent in when we want someone threatened and Argent doesn’t want to send me in for it, Scott’s mom and Deaton patch us up, and depending on what I find out, Stiles and Scott’s dad or just Stiles’ dad will get involved. The plans usually depend on who’s available” he explained. Wow, that’s a whole operation going, and I didn’t know a thing about it. It was hard not to take that personally. It’s not like I didn’t ask what they were up to, but everyone always told me to focus on myself and school. I swallowed. “That’s, uh, that’s a lot to take in. You have this whole part of your life that I didn’t even know about” I said, and turned to look out the passenger window. “Hey, don’t think of it like that, little wolf. You deserved to finish out your last year of high school without being involved in all of this, you earned that after everything you've been through. Now that you, Mason, Corey, and Nolan have graduated, maybe things could change. It all depends on Argent, since he’s mainly in charge, but the same could also go for Alec when he graduates next year” he pointed out. I groaned in frustration. “I didn’t want a break, I wanted justice for Brett and Lori, and everyone else who died or suffered because of her, I wanted to be a part of taking her down. I still do” I argued. I felt his hand grab mine, and squeeze it. “We’ll talk to Argent once he gets back, and after we get some things figured out. Even when he agrees, you’re probably going to be limited on what you can do” he warned. I rolled my eyes. “I know, I just want to help however I can, and I want to be there when she's taken down” I said, using my free hand to settle on my stomach, and turned my head to look back at him. “You know, we haven’t talked about if we want to keep it or not” I pointed out. I felt his hand briefly tense in mine, before he pulled it away to grip the steering wheel. “It’s whatever you want to do, little wolf” he said vaguely. I studied the side of his face, but it was void of emotion. His scent and chemo signals were closed up. “What about what you want?” I asked. I have a feeling I already know the answer. He shrugged. “I want whatever you want” he replied. I sighed. “It’s okay to want to keep it, you know. What you want matters too” I said softly. He briefly used one of his hands to rake it through his hair, before placing it back on the steering wheel. “I don’t want to add more pressure onto you, okay? What you want matters more, you’re the one carrying our baby” he pointed out. I leaned back against the seat, and looked down at my stomach. “I think I want to keep it too, but I also only found out a little over a week ago, so what if I’m deciding too soon?” I questioned, and lifted my head to look at him. I have wanted to be a dad since I was a kid. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be the pregnant one, but here we are. “Once we find out how far along you are, then we’ll know how much time we have to think this through. One step at a time, little wolf, isn’t that what your mom always says?” he reminded me, his lips forming a gorgeous half-smile that made my heart skip a beat. I scoffed. “I wonder what she’ll have to say about this” I commented. My mom has been by my side no matter what, she stuck by me after what happened at Devenford Prep, she didn’t look at me any differently when I finally told her I was a werewolf, but I can't help but be terrified of her reaction about this. He reached over to grasp my upper thigh. “Come on, you know your mom. She’ll probably laugh and not believe us at first, then she’ll eventually realize we’re serious, and then pour herself a big glass of wine” he said and we both chuckled in unison. “Your dad-he’s probably going to kill me” he said slightly grimacing. I shook my head. “Hey, my dad loves you, you’re the only one who instantly understands his medical terms when he talks about work, and you’re the one who complains with him about medical inaccuracies in movies and TV shows” I pointed out. He shrugged. “That might change, little wolf. Everything’s going to change. Who knows? The pack might go back to hating me again” he said quietly. Anger bubbled up inside of me at the thought. “That’s not going to happen. It’s not like you did it on purpose or something, we didn’t even know this could happen” I argued. He scoffed. “I don’t know if that’ll matter to them or not, so I’m just trying to prepare myself for the worst when they inevitably find out” he said defensively. I narrowed my eyes. “If they think that you did this on purpose, or have bad intentions, or whatever bullshit they try to come up with, I’ll just punch them in the face” I declared, and shrugged. His lips twitched. “Liam, punching can’t always be the solution to your problems” he scolded, but I got a hint of amusement in his scent, like he was picturing me punching Stiles or someone else. I furrowed my eyebrows. “Not even some of the time?” I asked, and he chuckled. That’s better. Suddenly, a car abruptly cut in front us, and Theo slammed on his brakes to keep us from crashing. I went flying forward into the dashboard, and winced when my arm got pressed slightly into my stomach. “Shit, are you okay, little wolf?” he asked, slight panic in his voice. I carefully pushed myself back in my seat. “I think so” I answered. I took a deep breath and let it out when a wave of nausea washed over me. He glared at the car in front of us, his eyes flaring gold. “I’m fine, Teddy” I said firmly. He let out a low growl as he slowly pressed on his gas pedal again. “The baby and I are okay” I insisted. I felt like I was about to throw up, but he didn’t need to know that. His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “That guy’s lucky we have somewhere important to be” he growled, anger permeating the air in the truck. My eyebrows furrowed. “If we didn’t, what were you planning on doing?” I asked, ignoring another wave of nausea. He narrowed his eyes. “Things that aren’t McCall pack approved” he replied. Oh geez, that doesn’t sound good. I then raised my eyebrows. “All because some random asshole cut us off and almost caused an accident?” I questioned. What is going with him? He doesn’t usually show his anger like this. “Yes, you and the baby nearly got hurt” he argued. You could’ve gotten hurt too. I searched his face as his eyes shifted back to hypnotizing green. “It bothered you that much, huh?” I commented, ignoring another wave of nausea. He sighed. “Anything that hurts you or almost hurts you has always bothered me, little wolf, I just can’t seem to hide it like I used to” he admitted. I opened my mouth to say something, when I was hit with a strong wave of nausea, and inhaled sharply instead. His eyebrows furrowed as I grasped my stomach, and tried fighting the urge to vomit. “You smell like you’re about to be sick, do you need me to pull over?” he asked. I groaned in response as the urge became stronger, and he instantly pulled the truck over to the side of the road. I barely opened my door, and jumped out in time, before I was bent over heaving on the grass in front of me. I heard Theo hop out of the truck, and race around the front of it to be by my side. He gently rubbed my back as my stomach cramped, and then more came up. He moved his hand to the back of my neck, and seconds later I felt my nausea easing up, finally stopped heaving, then stood up to lean against his chest for support. My stomach cramped again, and I winced as I clutched my stomach. He placed his hand on top of mine on my stomach, and I saw black veins crawling up his hand. I let out a small breath of relief, tilted my head back against his shoulder, and after a minute, I squeezed his hand. The black veins disappeared on his hand, but when I stood up and stopped leaning on him, the world started to tilt. In one swift motion, I’m in Theo’s arms, and he’s walking back to the truck. He placed me in the passenger seat, and I closed my eyes as he shut the door. A couple seconds later, I heard the driver’s side door open, him jumping inside, and then the door shutting. I opened my eyes to see him reaching over to the glove compartment, grabbing a bottle of water, and then closing it. He twisted the cap open and handed it to me. I took a gulp, felt my stomach clench in protest, and immediately handed it back to him. He grabbed it from me, and twisted the cap back on, before dropping it into the cup holder in the center console. “We’re about halfway there, little wolf, so why don’t you try getting some rest? I'll wake you up when we're there” he suggested, unable to hide the concern in his voice. I nodded, and leaned back against the passenger seat, closing my eyes. I heard him shift the truck into drive, and pulled onto the road again. I focused all my hearing on both Theo and the baby’s heartbeats, allowing that to anchor me, and I drifted off to sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Theo: I briefly glanced over at Liam once I heard his breathing even out, indicating he fell asleep. I didn’t like how pale he looked, but hoped that resting for a little bit will help him feel better. I turned back to look at the road, letting muscle-memory take over as I listened to the directions of the GPS, but focused on Liam and the baby’s heartbeats. I still can’t believe it. I remember the moment I heard the heartbeat for the first time, how it shifted my whole world on its axis, and something that I thought was never going to happen to me was now within reach. It was exactly how it felt when I kissed Liam for the first time, and he kissed me back. I didn’t know how to tell Liam that since I first heard the heartbeat, I wanted to keep it, and raise it with him. I don’t know what makes me think that I, of all people, is qualified to be a parent, but it doesn’t stop me from longing for it. It doesn’t stop me from yearning to build a life with Liam and our baby, no matter how far-fetched that seemed. I wish Liam felt the same way. It’s not that I blamed him for being hesitant and not wanting to rush to decide, he just graduated high school, while I’m a high school dropout. He’s the first bitten beta of a True Alpha, and I’m a science experiment. He’s got one of the biggest hearts out there, and the one that beats in my chest is stolen. I know that I don’t deserve Liam, or to raise a child with him, but it doesn’t stop the desire from being there. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to pinch myself to see if this is all a dream. I glanced at my GPS when it announced that we were about to arrive at our destination, and quickly looked over at Liam to see that he was still asleep. I looked back to the road, and noticed a black fence with trees behind it that stretched the whole way of the road that led up to the Artemis Clinic. I turned right where the GPS told me too, and parked in front of a black gate. “We’re here, little wolf” I announced, looked at him again, and reached my hand over to gently shake his shoulder. He sucked in a breath, and slowly opened his eyes. His beautiful baby blue eyes widened when they saw what we were in front of. “Is this it?” he asked, and I nodded. His eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t see a building or anything” he pointed out. I was about to say something in agreement, when the ground made a noise, and a pole with an intercom system attached to it suddenly popped out next to me. “What the hell?” I questioned, and then pressed a button on my door to roll down my window. A static sound went off that pierced me and Liam’s ears, and we winced before a female voice loudly called out “Name?” I arched an eyebrow. “Theo Raeken” I replied. “Supernatural status?”I slightly grimaced. “Chimera.”“Reason for visiting?”I briefly glanced at Liam, who still looked pale. “My boyfriend’s pregnant, and he’s been having complications.”“Name?”“Liam Dunbar.”“Supernatural status?”“Bitten Beta Werewolf.”“Pack?”“McCall, Scott McCall’s pack.” “Are you a part of this pack?”I opened my mouth to answer, when Liam beat me to it by calling out “yes.” I couldn’t help the half-smile that formed on my face, as I looked at him. My stolen heart skipped a beat seeing a mirroring half-smile on his face. “Did someone recommend the Artemis Clinic to you?”I turned back and nodded. “Alan Deaton." There was a couple seconds of silence. “I see that he called earlier, you may enter.” I raised my eyebrows as the pole with the intercom system disappeared into the ground, and one of the gate doors flew open. I lightly pressed on my gas pedal, and drove past the gate. Once we were past the gate, a circle driveway suddenly appeared that led to a mansion. Liam’s eyes were comically wide, and my eyebrows were practically in my hairline at this point. “What the hell is going on?” Liam whisper-yelled as I drove down the driveway. “I’m not sure. The only thing I can think of is that they must’ve had some powerful druids put some strong wards in place to keep this place hidden like this” I speculated as I pulled up to the front entrance. I definitely have some questions for Deaton the next time I see him. “There’s Artemis” Liam said and pointed at the two bronze statues at either side of the front doors of a woman wielding a bow and arrow. I shifted the truck in park, and looked around wondering where I was supposed to park, when one of the glass entrance doors opened, and a young man with black hair, and light brown eyes walked out wearing a white dress shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Liam and I’s eyes flared gold as he approached my truck. The guy’s eyes briefly flashed gold as a friendly greeting. “I’m Atlas, I’m not here to harm. I’m the valet” he said calmly, his heartbeat steady. Liam and I’s eyes returned to normal, and I narrowed my eyes. “Why can’t I park my own truck?” I questioned. “It’s against the rules we have in place here” Atlas answered, seemingly unfazed by my question. I glanced at Liam-who still looked pale-and he nodded. I turned the truck off, grabbed my keys, hopped out, and rounded the front of my truck. “I don’t let just anyone drive her, so be careful” I warned Atlas as I reluctantly handed my keys to him. I turned to see that Liam didn’t wait for me to open his door, and he stumbled out. My stolen heart raced in fear at seeing him a shade paler as he stepped towards me. “Don’t worry, sir, I’m a professional. Also, there are wheelchairs inside that I think you should utilize for your mate” Atlas commented, and circled the front of my truck to get into the driver’s seat. I got more concerned as I smelled the nausea coming from Liam’s scent, and he grasped his stomach at the same time he reached to grab my bicep. “Let’s get you inside, little wolf” I said gently, and went to lift him into my arms when he shook his head. “It’s not that far of a walk” he argued. I sighed. “This is not the time for you to be your cute, stubborn self” I argued back. He raised his eyebrows. “I can do it with or without your help, you decide” he challenged. I rolled my eyes before grabbing the hand that was on my bicep, and pulling his arm around my neck. I circled my arm around his waist, and we slowly made our way to the entrance. One of the glass entrance doors automatically opened, and we hobbled inside. We made our way across the smooth dark green floor, and stopped in front of the bronze reception desk. A woman with golden blonde hair and light blue eyes wearing a short-sleeved dress the same shade as her eyes, was sitting in a brown rolling chair, and glanced up at us. “Hi, I’m Dawn, are you the ones that Dr. Alan Deaton called ahead about?” she asked, her voice sounding different from the woman on the intercom, but I nodded. “Okay, how can I help you guys today?” she asked, and looked between the two of us. Her eyebrows furrowed when her eyes focused on Liam. “You don’t look so well, sweetie” she pointed out. Liam removed his arm from around my neck, gently moved my arm from around his waist, and braced a hand heavily on the reception desk. “Yeah, I kind of need to see a doctor” he said and winced as he clutched his stomach. My eyebrows furrowed in worry, and I reached up to grasp the back of his neck to take his pain when he turned to look at me and shook his head. “Teddy, you’ve taken enough, I’m fine” he tried arguing. “You’re not fine, little wolf, and I don’t care how much I’ve already taken, all that matters is you feeling better” I argued back, concern evident in my voice. “I can help you see a doctor, I’ll just need you to answer a few questions first-” Dawn started to say, when Liam groaned and hunched forward. I saw his eyes glaze over with pain before he shut them, and I reached for him as he began to fall to the floor. I quickly scooped him into my arms, and cradled him against my chest. My stolen heart pounded in fear, and I desperately focused my hearing on Liam and the baby’s heartbeats. Dawn immediately stood up. “Is he pregnant?” she asked, and I nodded. She grabbed the corded phone next to her, pushed some buttons, and then held the phone against her ear. “I need the OB team to the front desk stat, I have an unconscious pregnant male werewolf in distress, bring a gurney” she said in a no-nonsense tone, and slammed it down. She glanced seriously at me. “I need you to answer a few questions for me” she ordered. I clutched Liam tighter in my arms, as I heard him and the baby’s vitals slipping. “I’ll tell you anything you need to know” I said, trying to hide my panic. She quickly grabbed a clipboard, a piece of paper with writing on it that she attached to the clipboard, and a pen. “Your mate’s name and age?” I swallowed. The second time someone’s called Liam my mate since we got here. “Liam Dunbar-he’s eighteen." She quickly jotted that down using the pen. “Do you know how far along he is?” I shook my head. “That’s one of the reasons we came here, to find out.”“Are you the father?”I nodded. “Your name and age?”“Theo Raeken-I’m twenty.”“Are you a werewolf?”I swallowed and shook my head. “I’m a chimera.”She didn’t miss a beat as she continued writing. “What kind?”“Werewolf and coyote.” Suddenly, a couple of people in different colored scrubs came rushing down the hallway, pushing a hospital gurney towards me. The one brunette woman in purple scrubs gestured for me to place Liam on the gurney, and I did so gently. They immediately started hurrying back down the hall they came from, throwing medical terms back and forth amongst themselves, and I jogged to keep up. My mind was racing too fast as I tried to stay focused on two specific heartbeats for me to decipher what they were saying. Dawn darted around the front desk, and rattled off the information I told her to the team of people. I grabbed Liam’s hand, and held on until they stopped at two double doors. Dawn slammed her hand on a silver square button on the wall, and the doors opened up. They pushed Liam through, and swiftly turned down a smaller hallway that had doors lining it. They stopped in front of one, Dawn opened the door to reveal that it was empty, and they charged into the hospital room. I reluctantly let go of Liam’s hand as they moved the gurney inside, and went to step into the room when Dawn stopped me. I glanced at her with furrowed eyebrows, but she shook her head and closed the door. “I should be in there with him” I argued. Understanding filled her eyes and scent. “You will be, but they need to stabilize him and the baby first” she explained, and I sighed. I know she’s right, I just feel so helpless here. I need to be in there taking his pain, and being by his side. I looked through the small rectangular window on the door, as they hooked Liam up to different wires. “The more things you can tell me, the better” she pointed out. I turned to look at her. I’m not known for being easy to read, so either she’s good at reading people, or I’ve accidentally left my emotions on display. I took a deep breath, and let it out, reining in my emotions. “What do you need to know?” I questioned, and folded my arms against my chest. “Well, I’ve got a few more standard questions to ask, but I’m also going to need to ask some fairly invasive ones” she warned. I shrugged. “I can handle it” I said nonchalantly. What’s the worst she can ask me anyway? She didn’t look convinced, but pulled out the clipboard and pen from behind her back anyway. “Okay, let’s start with an easy one. How long have you and your mate known about the pregnancy?” I swallowed. The third time he’s been called my mate. “He found out a little over a week ago, I only found out a couple days ago.”“How did you two find out?”I ran a hand through my hair. “He, uh, he was feeling off for a while, and he went to Dr. Deaton about it, who ran some tests that confirmed the pregnancy, that’s all Liam told me. I found out when Liam showed up at my apartment a couple days ago, severely injured from a hunter attack.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “What kind of injuries did he have?”I cleared my throat. “He had wolfsbane bullets in the back of both of his shoulders, his arms and legs were bleeding from being grazed by other bullets, and it appeared that he got shot in the chest with a poisoned tipped crossbow bolt. His stomach was unharmed.”Her heart rate picked up as she quickly opened Liam’s hospital door, and some of the doctors/nurses turned to look at her. My stolen heart clenched in my chest as I saw Liam in a hospital gown, with an oxygen mask over his face, with a blood pressure cuff around his left bicep, and pulse monitor on his right index finger. “Dr. Ophelia, the patient was recently attacked and poisoned by werewolf hunters” Dawn called out, shut the door again, and commotion sounded in the room. “Now, here comes an invasive question: how long have you two been intimate?” she asked. I raised my eyebrows. Not surprising, that’s a pretty important thing that they probably need to know. “Um, six months.”“Did you ever knot inside of him?”I blinked. Okay…that’s not something I thought she’d ask. “Is that important information?”“Yes, it’s the only way male werewolves can get pregnant.”My eyebrows furrowed. “I thought that unprotected sex on a full moon was all that was necessary.” She shook her head. “No, you have to knot inside your mate on a full moon to conceive.”So did the Doctors lie to me, or did they actually not know something for once? I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “It’s only happened a handful of times, I didn’t think much of it because I’m a chimera” I confessed. That would explain why Liam is the only person that’s ever happened with. Is it truly possible that he’s my mate? “Were any of those times on a full moon?” I nodded. “It didn’t happen on the first full moon we were together, but it happened on every full moon after that.” I wonder why that is. Maybe our mating bond had to snap into place, and during our first time, it did without us realizing it. “Okay, that narrows down how far along he could be. I’m going to head inside and give this clipboard to Dr. Ophelia, she’s the obstetrician in charge of Liam and the baby’s care. She’ll be out soon to update you” Dawn informed me, then opened the door and strolled inside. I glanced at Liam, noticed he was getting IV fluids, then focused on him and our baby’s heartbeats. I let out a small sigh of relief at how improved they already seemed. Dawn rushed back out of the room, with a folded chair underneath her arm, and closed the door behind her. She unfolded the chair, and placed it against the wall right next to the door. “I have to go, but I thought that you could sit while you wait. I’ll be at the front desk if you have any questions” she said, giving me a small smile with empathy in her eyes and filling her scent, and walking away before I could think to say thank you. I slowly sat down on the chair, and closed my eyes as I leaned my head back on the wall. I concentrated on my two favorite heartbeats, letting them anchor me, keeping the panic at bay. I am Theo Raeken, I don’t panic, and I don’t lose control of my emotions. I’ve been in hell with my dead sister ripping my heart out over and over again-a punishment I deserved-but seeing Liam in pain is the definition of anguish, and it's been difficult to shove that down. I used to be a master at hiding how much he worried me, how much I feared for his safety, but ever since I started letting my walls down around him, that’s been changing. Showing panic and emotions always meant weakness, it meant the Doctors could exploit it. But Liam freely shows it and he’s the opposite of weak, he’s not afraid to showcase how worried he is about someone, whether it's a stranger he thinks needs help, his elder next-door neighbors who he checks on periodically, his parents, the pack…me. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I opened my eyes, and reached down to pull it out of my front jean pocket. My eyebrows furrowed as I saw Derek’s name floating on my screen, and I swiped to answer it before pressing the phone to my ear. “How’s Liam?” he asked. I ran my free hand through my hair. “Are you alone?” I questioned. “Yeah, I have a few minutes before Stiles decides to be nosy, and Lydia follows to stop him” he replied.Under different circumstances, that image would get me to chuckle, instead I sighed. “He’s not doing great, he passed out again, but he’s in a room being looked out right now” I explained. “How’s his…condition?” he asked. “The heartbeat’s better since they put Liam on oxygen and started giving him fluids. The doctor’s supposed to be coming out soon to tell me more” I answered. “Liam’s one of the strongest werewolves I’ve encountered, so that’ll definitely apply to his condition. He’ll be fine, Theo” he reassured me. I don’t know how Derek knew I needed to hear that, but I’m grateful that he did. It helped cut through my chaos of emotions, and attach itself to the logical part of me. “Hey big guy, who are you on the phone with?” I heard Stiles ask in the background.“Theo” I heard Derek answer.“Did they make it to that secret safe place Deaton sent them to?” I heard Lydia ask.“Yeah, they’re there now” Derek answered.“Can you ask Satan why his lover isn’t answering his stupid phone? I’ve called and texted a couple times, and I’ve gotten nothing” I heard Stiles demand with a hint of concern in his voice. I rolled my eyes at being called Satan, and Derek paused, waiting for me to say something. “Tell him that Liam’s asleep right now” I said quietly. It’s technically not a lie. “Liam’s asleep” Derek repeated. “He better be. I won’t appreciate it if I’m being ignored because they’re in the middle of doing the devil’s tango” I heard Stiles say in disgust. “Did you look up different ways to say sex on the internet?” I heard Lydia ask. I heard Stiles scoff. “No, I wouldn't do that again” he defended. “That was a lie” Derek said matter-of-factly.“Did you use your wolf powers?” I heard Stiles ask in a suspicious tone. I heard Lydia scoff. “Hun, you don’t need those to be able to tell that you were lying” she sassed, and bickering ensued. Suddenly, Liam’s hospital door opened, and a woman with black hair, and dark brown eyes wearing dark blue scrubs walked out. “Theo Raeken?” she questioned. “I gotta go” I declared to Derek in the midst of the bickering. “Keep me updated” he said quietly.“I will” I said, and pulled my phone from my ear to press the hang up button on my screen. I stood up, and shoved my phone in my front jean pocket. “That’s me.” “I’m Dr. Ophelia, I’m the OB in charge” the woman in dark blue scrubs introduced. I swallowed. “Is everything okay with Liam and the baby?” I asked. She nodded. “They’re both stable. We did take some blood work, so we can run a few tests, and once I get the results, I’ll go over them with you and Mr. Dunbar. You probably saw that we’re giving him fluids, and once that’s done, he’ll be given a blood transfusion to make up for the significant amount of blood he lost” she answered. My eyebrows furrowed. I remember Deaton mentioning something about blood loss too. “So after he gets that, he should be okay?” I questioned. “For now. Due to your chimera nature, it’s made his pregnancy high-risk, so he could have complications throughout the entirety of it” she replied. My stolen heart clenched in my chest, guilt snaking around it. “You said he could, it doesn’t mean it’s a definitive thing, right?” I said, concern evident in my voice. She shrugged. “Exactly, sadly I can’t guarantee anything as this is a unique case, but at thirteen weeks, the baby seems healthy” she reassured me. Our third full moon together is when we… I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Wait-if he’s that far along, why didn’t we notice sooner?” I asked. Liam only said he’s been feeling off for the fast few weeks, not three months, and I didn't observe the difference in his scent until recently. “Well, the baby is part coyote and will be smaller than the average born werewolf, which will most likely cause certain symptoms for Mr. Dunbar to appear at a slower rate. Even as he becomes further along in the pregnancy, he'll be showing on the smaller end” she answered. Suddenly, Liam’s hospital door opened again, the brunette in purple scrubs from earlier came out, followed by the rest of the team of people, and the brunette waved at me. “Hi, I’m Diana, I’ll be Mr. Dunbar’s nurse. You can go ahead and sit with him, there’s a chair inside” she informed me. “We’re going to keep the patient overnight” Dr. Ophelia said to me, and then looked at the people behind the nurse to make sure they heard too. They all nodded, some of them leaving to go down left of the hallway, while the others went with Dr. Ophelia who went right. I nodded at Diana, and stepped into Liam’s hospital room. I noticed the chair next to his bedside, headed towards it, and stood in front of it to look at Liam. “Hey, little wolf” I said softly, and couldn’t help but brush away some of his hair that fell over his eye. I let out a quiet sigh of relief at seeing some color return to his face, and plopped down on the chair. I instantly grasped his hand, and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. I looked up and studied his beautiful face. He looked exhausted, but I know he’ll be okay. He’s the strongest werewolf that I’ve ever known.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam:
The beeping of machines was the first thing I heard. I naturally sought out two specific heartbeats, and was flooded with relief when I found them. I then felt someone squeeze my hand. “I’m here, little wolf” Theo reassured me. I forced my eyes open, and sought those gorgeous green eyes. My eyebrows furrowed at my surroundings though, white ceiling and walls, bronze colored floor tiles, a small circular window that showed it was early in the morning. How long have I been out this time? “You passed out, and they kept you overnight” he explained, and my eyes finally landed on their destination. I sighed. “Since I got attacked, I feel like I've been unconscious more than I’ve been awake” I commented. He then sighed. “Hopefully that will change now that you’ve gotten more IV fluids and a blood transfusion” he pointed out. I glanced down at my stomach, and found that I already had a hand resting on it. “Is that why I feel better than I have in days?” I asked, and glanced back up at him. He nodded, and then looked down at my stomach, causing my eyebrows to furrow. “Is everything okay, Teddy?” I questioned. He raked a hand through his messy hair, and looked back up at me. “While you were unconscious, your doctor told me a few things…” he started to say, but stopped himself. I searched his mesmerizing green eyes. “Like what?” I pressed. He sighed. “That you’re thirteen weeks along” he said abruptly. I instantly raised my eyebrows. “What?” I breathed. I had only been feeling off for a month max before I finally went to Deaton. I thought it was the stress of finals, the pressure of college and being separated from my own formed pack (annoyingly nick named the Puppy Pack by Theo and Stiles), my feelings and complicated relationship with Theo, all catching up with me despite my werewolf status. My dad always tells me it’s mind over matter, so that’s what I went with until I found out what was actually going on. He briefly bit his bottom lip, which was distracting, but I didn’t mind that right now. “And it wasn’t just us having unprotected sex on the full moon, it was the fact that I knotted inside you that caused the pregnancy” he explained. My eyebrows raised even higher. “Wait what?” I breathed, and felt heat rush to my cheeks. Our second full moon together was when that first happened, and we didn’t talk about it afterwards. Didn’t even acknowledge that it happened. But that third full moon, when it happened again, we argued about it while we were in the shower cleaning up…which led to more sex, and him knotting inside me a second time. He arched an eyebrow. “Is that all you’re going to say, little wolf? Because I can see, hear and smell what you’re probably thinking about” he said, his lips lifting into a sexy half-smirk, and that snapped me out of it. Damn him for being able to read me so well sometimes. I rolled my eyes. “That’s not the only thing I’m thinking about, asshole. Give me a minute to figure out what I want to ask first” I argued. He raised his eyebrows. “Only a minute? You probably have at least an hour’s worth of questions” he pointed out. I narrowed my eyes. “So what if I do?” I challenged. “Then get started” he retorted. I nervously started chewing on my bottom lip. “Are we mates, Teddy?” I asked. He briefly glanced down at my lips, and chuckled softly as he glanced back into my eyes. “That's kind of hard to deny at this point, little wolf” he said dryly. My heart skipped a beat, and the monitor I was hooked up to made a noise. A full smirk spread across Theo’s face, and I rolled my eyes as I felt heat rush to my cheeks again. “What does that mean?” I questioned. Scott and the others didn’t seem like they knew about mates, or if they did, they didn’t tell me. At this point, I didn’t know which one it was considering the secret operation they had going on for the past year. His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure. I didn’t think it was possible for me to have one, so I haven’t done research on that in a couple years, and what I do remember might not even be true” he replied. “We could probably ask my doctor or something, right?” I said hopefully. I really wanted some answers. He nodded. “Yeah, and Derek, he’d probably know considering that he grew up in a massive pack” he added. I ran a hand through my hair. “How didn’t I notice something was off with me sooner?” I asked, more to myself than him. He sighed. “It’s my fault” he said softly, guilt spilling out of his scent. I searched his face. “What do you mean?” I questioned. He looked down at my stomach. “The baby’s smaller than a typical born werewolf, it’s why you didn’t show symptoms sooner” he explained, and looked back into my eyes. Because it’s part coyote. I arched an eyebrow. “I don’t see how that’s your fault” I argued. He’s gotta put the blame on himself for everything. Even his own DNA. He scoffed. “I’m the one who put the baby inside you, so the blame is on me. I chose to be a chimera, remember?” he argued back. I rolled my eyes. “You were a kid, I highly doubt that at eight years old, you thought about the repercussions that would have on your future child” I pointed out. He scoffed, and a smirk formed on his face. I used all self-control to keep my heart from skipping a beat. “Repercussions, huh? That’s a pretty big word there, little wolf” he teased. I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t make me punch you in the middle of this clinic” I threatened. He chuckled. “Careful, we both know where that will lead us” he said suggestively, and briefly glanced down at my lips. My stupid heart betrayed me, and the heart monitor made a noise in response, causing his smirk to widen. Suddenly, the door to my hospital room opened, and a woman with brown hair in a ponytail and hazel eyes wearing purple scrubs walked in. She briefly glanced at a now-serious looking Theo, before glancing at me, and smiling warmly. “It’s nice to see you awake, Mr. Dunbar, I’m Diana, I’m your nurse. How are you feeling?” she asked as she headed to check my monitors. I cleared my throat. “Better” I answered. Hospitals made me more nervous and on edge than I’d ever admit. I had been to a lot of them before I was finally diagnosed with IED. Not to mention all the other traumatic things that have happened to me at hospitals. I felt Theo squeeze my hand, and I squeezed back. “Your vitals have been steadily improving since the blood transfusion, are you up for seeing Dr. Ophelia?” she asked. I nodded, and a woman with black hair and dark brown eyes wearing dark blue scrubs underneath a white lab coat stepped into the room. Diana and her made eye contact, before Diana nodded. “I’ll be back, I’m going to go get your discharge paperwork” she said and hurried out of the room. Theo and I glanced at each other in confusion. “Discharge? Does that mean I’m okay to leave?” I asked as Dr. Ophelia shut the door behind her. She nodded. “We have a few things to go over first, but yes you are. We’ve been carefully monitoring you and the baby, and both of you have been stable for most of the night” she explained. I let out a small sigh of relief, and smiled softly at Theo, who was glancing at the doctor with furrowed eyebrows. Someone’s worrying too much again. “What do we need to go over?” he questioned her. She glanced between us, before focusing on me. “Do you know what your options are?” she asked, and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Do you know if you want to keep the baby or not?” she clarified. I nervously bit my bottom lip, and looked at Theo, who was avoiding eye contact by looking down at my stomach. I couldn’t help, but notice how tense his hand was as it held mine, and it seemed like he was hiding his scent from me. He really meant it when he said he didn’t want to pressure me. I looked back at the doctor. “I think I want to keep it” I said quietly, but knew she heard me when she nodded. “Okay, that’s fine. You are still in your first trimester, so you do have time to change your mind, but we’re going to move forward with your decision” she said calmly. I felt the tension leave Theo’s body, and I glanced at him to see him studying my face. “Are you sure, little wolf?” he asked. I squeezed his hand. “I want to do this with you, I want to figure out how to make it work” I replied, and Theo’s eyes softened. Dr. Ophelia cleared her throat, reminding us that we weren’t alone. “Well, due to the high-risk nature of the pregnancy, you’ll definitely need to reduce as much stress as you can, your lowered healing factor means you could be more prone to complications and prolonged symptoms like cramping, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, so being hydrated will be key here. This is a unique case, so we will be learning more the further along you become” she answered. I took a deep breath, and let it out as what she said really sunk in. “Now, it’s time to discuss how it’ll affect your mate” she started to say as she focused on Theo. His eyebrows raised. “Me?” he questioned. She nodded. “You might have been experiencing some without realizing it. I don’t know you personally, but something tells me that you’re very protective over your mate, correct?” she asked him. I scoffed. “That’s an understatement” I remarked, and Theo briefly glared at me, before nodding at the doctor. “Well, that’s going to be magnified as the pregnancy goes on, which isn’t uncommon. It might be even harder for you to control your shift at times as you have two animals to contend with, instead of just one” she began explaining, and looked between the two of us again. “Neither of you are going to want to be away from each other, and if you are away from each other for too long, it will start to have a negative effect” she continued explaining. I nervously started chewing on my bottom lip, and Theo placed his free hand on top of mine on my stomach. “Negative...how?” I asked. She tilted her head. “Patients have usually described it as a physical pain, such as a flaring pain in the chest, a stabbing feeling in the stomach, or a throbbing sensation in the head are the most common” she replied, and I slightly grimaced. I really didn’t want that to happen. “How long can we be away from each other without things like that happening?” Theo questioned, worry peering out his scent. “A week is the longest, and that’s likely pushing it. More close to three days, but it all depends on how long you’ve been together, how long it’s been since you were first intimate, and if you have claiming marks” she answered. My eyebrows furrowed. “Claiming marks, like biting each other?” I asked, and she nodded. “I thought that was just a rumor” Theo pointed out. She shook her head. “Once the mating bond is accepted by all parties and then has been consummated, the…urge to mark eventually happens. The bite mark can be anywhere on the body, it doesn’t have to be on the neck. A majority of mates want to keep their marks hidden for their own protection” she explained. Huh, Theo and I have bit each other plenty of times, but it always healed. Maybe it’s because we weren’t officially together yet, like we are now. Before Theo or I could ask anything else, my hospital room door opened and Diana strolled in with a small stack of paperwork in her hands. “Okay, I have all your discharge papers ready finally” she declared. “I want you to be seen again three weeks from now, you can make an appointment with Dawn after you’re discharged. My office’s phone number is on one of your papers in case you need to be seen sooner” Dr. Ophelia informed us, before she waved, and left the room. The next hour flew by as Diana unhooked me from my monitors, and pulled out my IV, then I signed some of the paperwork she had, before she left so I could get dressed. Theo rolled his eyes at me, before helping me when I struggled to get my jeans back on. While I was in the bathroom, Theo went and got a wheelchair for me. It was my turn to roll my eyes at him, and we argued until he said it was either that or he carried me, so I reluctantly sat down in the wheelchair. Theo pushed me as we followed an amused Diana back to the front desk, she handed me my stack of paperwork before waving goodbye, and heading back down the hallway. I stood up so that I could see Dawn as I talked to her, and she gave me a relieved smile. “Do you want to schedule an appointment with Dr. Ophelia, or do you want to see someone else on her team?” she asked. I shrugged. “No, she’s fine” I replied, and I glanced at Theo. “Are you okay with her?” I asked. His eyebrows furrowed. “Why does that matter?” he then questioned. I rolled my eyes. “Because your opinion matters to me, Teddy” I said like it was the most obvious answer, because it is. He shrugged, but I could tell that what I said meant something to him. “I agree with you, little wolf” he said softly. I looked back at Dawn to see amusement dancing in her blue eyes. “Are you two always like this?” she asked. Theo and I briefly glanced at each other in confusion, before glancing back at her. “Like what?” we questioned in unison. She chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes. Anyway, Atlas already has your truck parked out front with the keys inside, so after we schedule the appointment, both of you are good to go” she informed us, and I nodded. We quickly made that appointment that she thankfully wrote down on a sticky note, which I stuck on the top of my pile of my paperwork, and glared daggers at Theo when he tried to tell me to get back into the wheelchair. He rolled his eyes, grabbed my hand, and we walked to the entrance. He pushed open the other glass door, and sighed in relief at seeing his truck. We headed to the passenger side door, when he suddenly released my hand, and grasped my face to pull me into a fiery kiss. He quickly broke away to rest his forehead against mine. “I swear you live to give me constant heart attacks” he whispered, and chuckled softly. I scoffed. “I could say the same thing about you” I whispered back, grabbed the back of his neck, and leaned forward to crush our lips together again. He instantly turned us, and pressed me against the side of his truck. He moved his lips against mine, and I used my other hand to grip his waist and pull him closer so there was no space between our bodies. I moaned as his hands found their way under my shirt, and trailed up my sides. He parted his lips and let out a low groan when my tongue met his, and I started to lift his shirt up. Suddenly, we heard someone clear their throat, and we immediately broke apart to see Atlas standing behind us with raised eyebrows, and a stack of paperwork that looked a lot like mine. “Sorry to interrupt, but I do need you to move your truck, we have other people waiting” he informed us, and reached his hand out to hand me my paperwork. My face felt like it was on fire as Theo-wordlessly-took the paperwork in one hand, stepped away from me and opened the passenger side door. I quickly hopped in, and closed it after me, purposely looking down to avoid eye contact with Atlas and the two cars behind us. A minute later, Theo was in the driver’s seat, throwing the paperwork in my lap, shoving the keys in the ignition, shifting gears, and driving down the driveway again. The gate opened, and he drove through it, turning left to get back onto the road. I let out a noise of exasperation. “Why does that keep happening?” I whined. He chuckled. “You’re the one who went in for the second kiss” he pointed out. I looked up to glare at him. “You were the one who pushed me against the truck” I argued. He shrugged. “What’d you expect, little wolf?” he said and his lips formed a sexy smirk. My heart, of course, skipped a beat at the sight. I sighed. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked. He arched an eyebrow. “That we might mark each other permanently the next time we have sex?” he suggested, and I bit my bottom lip as I nodded. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What?” I questioned. His eyes briefly flickered gold. “Someone’s following us” he replied. I turned in my seat to look behind us and squinted my eyes. “I think that’s the same car that cut us off yesterday” I pointed out. “I think so too” he said calmly, and I turned to look at him. “Promise me that you’ll stay in the car” he ordered. I raised my eyebrows. “What are you planning on doing?” I asked. He glanced pointedly at me. “Promise me, Liam” he demanded. I scoffed. “I’m not promising that, especially if you’re about to do something stupid” I argued. He suddenly pulled over to the side of the road, and parked the truck. The car that had been following us immediately mimicked his action. “I need you to be safe, little wolf” he argued back, and he reached to open the driver’s side door handle. I grabbed his forearm. “What about your safety, Teddy?” I countered, and he tugged out of my grasp as he opened the door to jump out of the truck. I huffed as he shut the door, and he circled the back of the truck. I glanced at the driver’s side mirror and noticed a familiar looking hunter sitting in the driver’s seat of the car. One of the male sidekicks that attacked me, the shorter one with jet-black hair and russet-brown eyes. My heart raced as I instantly opened my door, and hopped out of the truck. I closed the door in time to see Theo now standing beside me with an arched eyebrow. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t listen” he argued. I rolled my eyes. “Right, because you expect me to let you face a hunter on your own” I argued back. He scoffed. “I’ve handled worse, little wolf” he reminded me. I glared at him. “I know that, but it doesn’t mean that I ever want you facing any kind of danger alone” I argued, and his gorgeous green eyes softened slightly. “Not to interrupt this lover’s spat, but you should probably be more aware of your surroundings” a male voice abruptly said, and my heart pounded seeing him point a crossbow at us. I couldn’t help, but remember the last time one was aimed at me. The bolt embedded in my chest before I had to painfully pull it out. Theo’s eyes flared gold and his fangs dropped as he instantly turned to face him, almost hiding me completely from the hunter’s view. I resisted the strong urge to protectively cover my stomach, and attempted to step out next to Theo, but he put his arm out to stop me most of the way. “I know we haven’t met before, Mr. Raeken, I’m Damian. I’m only here to deliver a message from my boss” he explained. “Put down your weapon, and maybe I’ll let you deliver it” Theo growled. “I figure it’s only fair since it’s the two of you against one of me” Damian defended. I didn’t pick up on any other heartbeat in his car, so he might actually be telling the truth. “You didn’t care about fairness when you almost killed Liam” Theo argued, his voice becoming more animalistic. Damian chuckled darkly. “Someone’s mighty protective over this little beta” he said smugly, and I narrowed my eyes. I’m not little. Theo gnashed his fangs together as he took a menacing step forward, and flicked his claws out. “Last chance, put your weapon down, or I’ll make you” he ordered. Damian raised his eyebrows, and aimed his crossbow at the ground. “You seem to live up to your reputation” he commented, and I saw Theo’s hackles rise. I stepped out to stand next to Theo, and folded my arms against my chest. “Deliver your so-called message already, asshole” I demanded. Damian dug into his pants front pocket, and pulled out what looked like a business card with information on it. “My boss, she wants to have a face-to-face meeting with you Mr. Raeken” he explained. I glanced in confusion at Theo, who arched an eyebrow. “She planned an attack and then executed it on my boyfriend, and somehow expects me to show up to a meeting with her?” he questioned suspiciously. My eyebrows furrowed. “And if all she wanted was a meeting, then why didn’t she go to him in the first place?” I asked. What was the point in attacking me? Damian scoffed. “You don’t go looking for a meeting right out the gate, you gotta find out what a person’s weakness is first, and now we know what that is” he replied, and smirked. Theo let out a growl, and I made my eyes briefly flash gold. “Is that all you came here to say? Because if that’s the case, then I’m fine with going back into the truck, and letting my boyfriend do whatever he wants” I threatened, and the smirk fell from Damian’s face as Theo took another step towards him. Damian sighed, and held out the hand that grasped the business card to Theo. “This should have all the information you need on it. If you come to the meeting, we won’t attack Mr. Dunbar again, but if you don’t come to the meeting…there will be consequences” he warned, and barely held back a flinch as Theo abruptly swiped the business card from his fingers. Theo glared at him, seemingly letting Damian’s words hang in the air, before jabbing his fist into Damian’s nose. Damian cried out as blood spurted from it, dropped his crossbow completely, and went to cover his nose, when Theo instantly knocked him out with one punch. “Get in the truck, little wolf” Theo ordered as he picked up the crossbow from the ground, stood up, lifted his knee and brought it down over it. I raised my eyebrows as he tossed the broken pieces at Damian’s unconscious body. “Will he stay alive if I do?” I questioned. Theo shrugged, his features returned to normal. “Maybe, maybe not” he replied. It felt like he was testing me. I nodded, and opened the passenger side door. “I guess I'll have to take that chance” I said casually, and jumped back into the passenger seat. I closed the door, and leaned back against my seat. Damian’s words echoed in my head. What happens if Theo goes to that meeting? What happens if he doesn’t? Will they hurt him if he doesn’t go? There are too many things that are considered "consequences." I suddenly got this tightening pain in my stomach, and inhaled sharply. My heart rate picked up immediately. No no no. I clutched my stomach, and tried taking a deep breath. It’s probably just stress, I need to try to relax. I also don’t want to worry Theo more than I already have. I let out the deep breath as Theo hopped into the driver’s seat, and closed the door after him. His eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at me. “Everything okay?” he asked. I nodded, ignoring a second tightening pain in my stomach, and he moved the gear shift before he pulled back onto the road again. After the third time, I couldn’t hold my wince, and he sighed. “You’re a terrible liar, little wolf” he commented, concern evident in his voice. I took another deep breath and let it out. “It’s fine, I think it’s just stress related” I tried reassuring him, and inhaled sharply as the tightening pain came back a fourth time. He took one hand off the wheel to grab my other hand, and I felt a brush of relief from my pain. I squeezed his hand once I felt the tightening pain starting to ease up. “You’re supposed to be avoiding stress” he pointed out. I rolled my eyes. “That’s kind of hard to do when we’ve had a hunter following us since yesterday, who works for the other hunter who tried to kill me, who wants to meet with you face-to-face” I argued. He sighed, and squeezed my hand. “I know, I need to come up with a plan” he said tiredly. I searched his face. “You’re not seriously thinking of going to that meeting alone, are you?” I asked. He scoffed. “I don’t have a choice, little wolf” he replied. “Yes you do, we can come up with a plan, or you can just not go to the meeting” I tried suggesting. He narrowed his eyes. “That’s not an option, I’m not letting something else happen to you” he said firmly. I swallowed. “There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” I asked. He shook his head. “Not when it comes to something like this, little wolf” he answered. I sighed. “Will you at least talk to Derek about it? Argent too, maybe even Stiles or Scott” I suggested. He briefly glanced over at me. “If I talk to at least one of them, will that help reduce your stress?” he asked, and I nodded. He pulled his hand from mine to rake it through his hair, and push it out of his tired-looking eyes. “Did you get any sleep last night?” I then asked. He shrugged. “Some” he answered vaguely. That’s a no. I raised my eyebrows. “Should you even be driving right now?” I questioned. He rolled his eyes, and took one hand off the steering wheel to grasp my hand. “I’m fine, Liam” he insisted. I narrowed my eyes. “We’re going straight to your bed the moment we get into the loft” I ordered. His lips lifted into a sexy smirk. “Are we going to do more than sleeping, little wolf?” he said huskily, and my heart skipped a beat. I bit my bottom lip. “We’ll see” I teased.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam:
I narrowed my eyes as I used a towel to help dry my hair. “No” I said firmly as I glanced at Theo in the bathroom mirror. He arched an eyebrow. “No to what?” he questioned. I turned around to face him, and leaned against the sink. “To whatever it is you’re thinking” I replied, and threw the towel at him. I was doing everything I could not to notice the droplets that were trailing down his bare chest, or how low his navy blue sweatpants hung on his hips. His lips formed a smirk as he caught the towel. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, little wolf” he said huskily as his intoxicating green eyes traveled down my body. I was wearing one of his black sweatpants, and a dark gray t-shirt of mine that I left at his loft, but that didn’t stop him from looking at me like I wasn't wearing anything. I bit my bottom lip and my heart started to race, but then I shook my head. “Don’t do that, Teddy, we just got cleaned up” I argued. He tossed the towel aside as he stepped closer to me, and put both of his hands on either side of me, blocking me against the sink. “So?” he said and glanced down at my lips, before glancing back up into my eyes. He’s making it impossible to think here. I swallowed as he moved his face closer to mine. “Isn’t, uh, Derek supposed to be here soon?” I reminded him, and myself. Be strong. “We’ve got some time,” he pointed out, and stared hungrily at my lips. I licked my bottom lip, and his eyes briefly flickered gold. The scent of arousal thickened in the air around us, and I gripped the back of his neck to pull him into a heated kiss. He quickly lifted me onto the edge of the sink as I moved my lips against his, and parted my legs to let him step in between them. His hands found their way underneath my shirt, and trailed up my sensitive sides. I shivered at his touch before we briefly broke apart, so he could haul my shirt over my head. He threw it onto the floor, and was back to devouring my lips with his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and we moaned in unison as our bodies became completely pressed against each other. I let out a whine when he pulled away again, and he smirked before diving head first into biting the side of my neck. I threw my head back and loudly moaned as his teeth had a hint of supernatural sharpness. We haven’t marked each other yet, but that hasn’t stopped us from trying. He let out a low sexy groan as my hands moved to tightly grip his hair, and nipped up my neck until he met my lips again. I dragged my hands down his back, lightly digging my nails in as I went, and he let out another groan against my lips. I started to push his sweatpants off his waist, and down his thighs until they pooled at his feet, when there was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door. We abruptly broke apart, and Theo glared while I glanced in confusion as a familiar scent shined through. “Guys, it’s me” Stiles suddenly announced on the other side of the door. I let out a noise of exasperation. “Stiles, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked, and let my legs fall from Theo’s waist. Theo sighed as he bent down and pulled his sweatpants back on. “Me? What the hell have you two been doing? I’ve been knocking on the front door for almost ten minutes, before I decided to stop being nice, and just use Derek’s key” Stiles argued. “I told Derek I only wanted to see him” Theo argued back as I hopped off the sink, and crouched down to pick up my shirt to slip it back on. “Yeah, well I thought I’d come over first and scope the place out, maybe spray some air freshener or open some windows. I mean I don’t need heightened senses to know there's been some debauchery going on around here” Stiles explained. Theo rolled his eyes, and I sighed. “Okay, how about you meet us downstairs? We’ll be down there in a minute” I suggested. “Don’t get distracted again” Stiles ordered, and we heard his retreating footsteps down the spiral staircase. I leaned against the sink, took a deep breath, and let it out. Theo’s eyebrows furrowed. “You okay, little wolf?” he asked. I ran a hand through my still semi-wet hair. “I’m fine, I’m just worried about trying to hide everything from Stiles” I replied. He nodded. “Yeah, you are a terrible liar” he remarked, and opened the bathroom door. I scoffed. “I’m not that bad” I defended as I stopped leaning against the sink, and walked out of the bathroom. He chuckled as he joined me, and shut the bathroom door. “It’s not a bad thing, little wolf. Besides, you’re not hiding the truth to be an asshole, it’s only until you’re ready” he reminded me, and reached up to tuck some of my hair behind my ear. I nervously chewed on my bottom lip. “What if I’m never ready?” I asked. He used his hand to grasp the side of my face, and searched my eyes, causing my heart to race. “Then they don’t find out, and in a couple of months, we just show up to a pack meeting with our baby without warning. Either way is fine with me” he answered, his lips forming a sexy half-smile.I chuckled and leaned up slightly to briefly kiss him. That was the plan anyway, but the moment our lips touched, I ended up pinned against the bathroom door with Theo’s body was pushed against every crevice of mine. He then licked my bottom lip, begging for entry, and groaned when I parted my lips to let our tongues meet. He pulled at my shirt, slowly lifting it up when-“Guys, I’m still here!” Stiles yelled from downstairs, forcing us to part again. I narrowed my eyes at Theo’s smirking face, and shoved him towards his dresser. “Put a damn shirt on” I said breathlessly. Theo arched an eyebrow. “What happens if I don’t?” he challenged, and my heart skipped a beat as his eyes roamed my body. I raised my eyebrows. "Then it'll be you against that door" I warned, and swallowed thinking about the image I created. I swear he's making me insatiable at this point. Theo's eyes briefly flickered gold, and he sucked in a breath. "Is that a promise, little wolf?" he said and bit his bottom lip. “I’m seriously considering texting Lydia, and asking her if she can bring me a spray bottle full of cold water because clearly you two need it” Stiles called out. Theo rolled his eyes, opened a drawer, grabbed a light gray t-shirt, and tugged it on. I started walking down the steps of the spiral staircase with Theo following me, and stopped at the bottom when I noticed the front door wide open. Theo instantly moved me behind him. “What the hell, Stiles?” he growled. Stiles briefly glanced at us in confusion, and then turned to look where our eyeline was. He scoffed, and walked over to slide it shut. “I thought I’d air out the place before my sour wolf got here” he explained. I ran a hand through my hair, and Theo glared at him. “Right, because it’s such a great idea to have my front door wide open when the hunters who attacked Liam are still out there” he argued with a hint of sarcasm. I stepped out from behind Theo, and grasped his hand. “It’s fine” I tried reassuring him. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed. “Relax, I got my dad on the lookout, and Derek had some more security stuff installed today” he reassured us. I squeezed Theo’s hand, and he looked at me. “See, we are fine” I said firmly, hoping he would catch my meaning. He squeezed my hand back to let me know he did. Stiles looked suspiciously between the two of us, and opened his mouth to say something, when the front door slid open enough for Derek to come through. Derek left it cracked open, and raised his eyebrows at Stiles. “Hey, I only came here to make sure you didn’t get traumatized like I did” Stiles defended. Derek folded his arms against his chest. “I would’ve been fine” he pointed out. Stiles scoffed. “You don’t know that, I’ve interrupted them twice since I got here” he argued, and heat rushed to my cheeks while Theo chuckled. Derek sighed. “I think you’re forgetting that I’m the one who stopped you from coming down here three times today” he argued back. My cheeks felt like they were on fire at this point, and Theo smirked as Stiles blinked in shock at us, and then looked back at Derek. “So you’re saying that every single time you stopped me, they were in the middle of…?” he let the question trail off until Derek nodded, and his jaw dropped as he looked back at us with raised eyebrows. “What are you, rabbits? Wait…are were-rabbits a thing?” he asked and glanced at Derek. Derek arched an eyebrow. “Lydia’s waiting for you” he informed him. Stiles let out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank God. Okay, I’m leaving, who knows what I’ve touched that’s been defiled by other things. I might need to wash my hands with bleach before touching her” he said as he left, rushed through the crack Derek left, and slid it shut after him. I let out my own sigh of relief, and used my other hand to grasp my stomach. Theo instantly glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows. “You okay, little wolf?” he asked. I nodded. “Yeah, that was just a lot” I answered. Theo scoffed. “That’s Stiles for you” he commented, and then glanced at Derek. “No offense.” Derek shrugged. “None taken” he said nonchalantly, and then looked seriously at us. “Now what did you want to discuss with me?” he asked. We all headed to the small living room, Theo and I sitting on the couch, while Derek sat on the reclining chair. Theo and I immediately dove into what happened earlier today with Damian, and Derek’s eyebrows were furrowed afterwards. “Was he one of the ones Lydia, Stiles, and I distracted?” he questioned. I nodded. “He was the shorter guy, and he works for the woman that you also saw” I replied. “Anastasia Jerome, according to the card he gave me” Theo added. Derek abruptly sat up in the chair. “Jerome? She’s the one who wants to have the meeting?” he asked. Theo nodded, and I couldn’t help the worry that bubbled up inside of me. “Have either of you talked to Argent?” he then asked. I shook his head. “No, why?” I questioned, and Theo glanced warily at Derek. Derek sighed. “They’re a rival clan to the Argents” he answered. My eyebrows furrowed. “Do you think that she wants to meet Theo, because she knows that he’s been working with Argent?” I asked. If that’s the case, and Theo goes alone, something bad could definitely happen to him. Who am I kidding? Something bad will definitely happen. Theo raked a hand through his hair. “What does that have to do with the important information on Monroe that she supposedly has?” he questioned. “You really should talk to Argent, he might know something that gives you an advantage” I insisted. “I agree, you need to get into contact with him before that meeting” Derek pressed. Theo sighed. “I know” he said quietly. “Did you confirm that you were going to the meeting?” Derek asked. “Not yet, I was planning on doing that after you left, but now I’m probably going to wait until I talk to Argent” Theo answered. Suddenly, the front door slid open, and a panic-stricken Stiles and Lydia raced inside the loft. Derek, Theo and I immediately got to our feet, and rushed to their side. “What happened?” Derek asked them. “We got a security alert on the cameras that are in the parking lot” Stiles started explaining, and glanced at Lydia. “We saw that there was something tucked on the front window of Theo’s truck, so we went out to see what it was” Lydia continued explaining. Derek ran a hand through his hair. “Neither of you should’ve gone by yourselves, you should’ve come and gotten me-” he started to argue. “Save the lecture for later, big guy, we’ve got a problem” Stiles interrupted, and held up a picture that was in his hand. My heart nearly stopped beating. It was a recent picture of my parents hugging me. “That was us before they left for vacation two weeks ago” I said in fear, then anger joined it. What the hell? Lydia swallowed. “There’s more” she said warily, and handed me a couple pictures that she had in her hand. My heart pounded in my chest as I went through the pictures. One was of me waving goodbye to my parents as they drove off two weeks ago. The second one was me hanging out with Theo, Mason, Corey, Nolan, and Alec at the Beacon Hills High School lacrosse field the day after my parents left. The third one was of me walking at night to Theo’s loft right before I was attacked. The last one was of me getting out of Theo’s truck this morning. Each picture had a bright red target drawn directly around my face, except for the last one which had the target around my stomach, and I turned the last picture to see that there was writing on the back of it. It had “I can get to him anytime, anywhere” written in red. I looked down as I dropped all the pictures on the floor, and backed up away from everyone as my thoughts spiraled in my head. Anger, fear, anxiety and stress twisted up inside me. How long has this been going on? Why didn’t I see something, or notice someone taking pictures? The last picture had the target around my stomach, do they know about the baby? “Someone’s been watching Liam, the question is for how long?” Derek said suspiciously, suddenly sounding far away. “And why?” Stiles questioned, as my back abruptly hit the end of the couch, and I flinched. “Liam, honey, you’re looking a little pale, how about you sit down?” Lydia suggested, and I looked up at her to see the world starting to tilt. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but everything’s going to be okay, little wolf” Theo said calmly, concern evident in his voice, as he walked to me, and black spots started popping up in my vision. “Liam, we’re going to give those pictures to my dad, alright? And then we’ll look through the security records to see who planted the pictures” Stiles tried reassuring me. I closed my eyes as the black spots took over my vision completely, and the last thing I felt was Theo reaching for me.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Theo: My stolen heart clenched in my chest at seeing Liam crumpling to the ground, and I slid onto my knees to catch him in time. I held him in my arms, and looked up to see Derek and Lydia with their eyebrows furrowed in concern, and Stiles with wide eyes. “What just happened?” Stiles questioned. “He passed out” I replied matter-of-factly, and tightened my grip on Liam before standing up with him still in my arms. Stiles rolled his eyes. “I know that, smartass, I mean why? He’s a werewolf, they don’t usually pass out unless something serious is going on” he argued. “Our bodies can shut down due to sensory overload” Derek suggested. Lydia sighed. “And those pictures, that message, that’d be overwhelming for anyone to process, even someone with a healing factor” she added. I walked around to the front of the couch, and gently laid Liam down on it. I grabbed one of the couch pillows, lifted his head slightly, and pushed the pillow underneath. I then focused my hearing on him and the baby’s heartbeat, and found them both a little slower than usual. I ran a hand through my hair, and tried to shove down my emotions. The look of terror and fury on Liam’s face was etched into my mind. I wanted to tear those pictures apart or set them on fire, but I knew better. It was evidence that we needed. Suddenly, a phone started to ring, and we all glanced around in confusion. “That ringtone doesn’t sound familiar” I said suspiciously. “It’s not any of ours” Lydia pointed out, then headed to my small circular dining room table. She picked up a black smartphone, and my breath caught in my throat. “Whose phone is that?” Stiles asked. I glanced at Derek. “It’s Damian's” I replied. Derek raised his eyebrows in surprise. “The hunter who followed you and Liam? You took his phone?” he questioned, and I nodded. I took his phone after I threw his keys into the woods, and then broke his leg in three different places. I would’ve done more, but I heard Liam gasping in pain after he got into the truck. “Wait-who’s Damian, and why was he following you and Liam?” Stiles asked, while Lydia hurried over to hand me the phone. The word Boss floated on the screen, and I swiped across the screen to answer before pressing the phone against my ear. “Am I speaking to Theo Raeken?” a female voice asked. My eyes flared gold, but I looked down at an unconscious Liam, and my eyes shifted back. “Yes” I said emotionlessly.“You’re speaking to Anastasia Jerome. I’m assuming you got my message.”“Message received” I said in a bored tone, despite the fury that burned inside of me.“So I presume that I’ll be seeing you in two days' time.” “As long as nothing happens to Liam, or anyone he cares about” I warned.She chuckled darkly. “My cousin wasn’t exaggerating, you are overprotective of the little beta, or your boyfriend as you called him.”“Do we have a deal?” I pressed. “Tell me, Mr. Raeken, would you do anything for the beta?”It was my turn to chuckle darkly. “Ask your cousin” I snarked. “Now do we have a deal or not?” She sighed. “Yes. Keep this phone, I can use it to contact you if I choose” she ordered and then ended the call. It took everything I had not to crush the phone in my hand, and instead place it on my small coffee table. Liam should be safe for now. I ignored the confused facial expressions Stiles and Lydia had, and glanced pointedly at Derek. Derek cleared his throat. “We should probably head to the sheriff’s station, and show the pictures to Noah and Parrish” he suggested to them. Stiles briefly looked at Liam with furrowed eyebrows, worry fusing with the confusion that was coming from his scent, and then scoffed at Derek and I. “We can’t just leave, I have so many questions. I still have no idea what’s going on. I mean what the hell was that cryptic phone call about, and why does it seem like you two know some things that we don't?” he argued, and gestured between him and Lydia. Lydia glanced down at Liam with widened eyes, and then intensely stared back up at me. “Do not take anyone supernatural with you to that meeting, it won't go your way if you do” she warned, and Derek and Stiles glanced at her warily. I searched her eyes. “I won’t” I reassured her, especially because that sounded like a banshee warning. Lydia tilted her head. “Liam shouldn’t be alone, especially in two days when your meeting begins” she cautioned. Before any of us could question what she meant, Liam groaned from the couch, and I instantly turned towards him. He opened his beautiful baby blues, his heart rate picking up as anxiety and stress took over his scent, and he looked around the room. I knelt down beside him, and grabbed his hand as his eyes found mine. “It’s okay, little wolf, everything’s fine” I reassured. Anger flooded his scent, and he rolled his eyes. “No it’s not, not when something bad could happen to the people I care about” he argued and used his other hand to force himself to sit up. I shook my head. “You don’t need to worry about that, okay? Right now, you are the one in danger, and I just took care of that” I argued back, despite how worried I still felt. His eyebrows furrowed. “How?” he asked. “I just talked to Anastasia Jerome on Damian’s phone, and officially agreed to the meeting” I answered. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “You did what? Teddy, what were you thinking? You haven’t even had a chance to talk to Argent yet” he argued, and then suddenly winced deeply as he clutched his stomach. “Ow” he gasped, and then winced again. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What’s wrong, little wolf?” I questioned as he let out a pained groan, and clutched his stomach harder. I grew even more concerned at the spike in his and the baby’s heartbeats. “I don’t know” he whimpered, and inhaled sharply. “Okay, does someone want to explain what's going on? First fainting, now stomach pain, what am I missing here?” Stiles questioned no one in particular. Liam let out another pained groan, and I quickly helped him lay back down on the couch. I then grasped the hand that was on his stomach, and my veins on my hand turned black as I started siphoning his pain away. He let out a small breath of relief, but didn’t squeeze my hand until another minute had passed. “That didn’t seem like your previous pains” I whispered, feeling like I was drowning in worry at this point. “I know, but it’s fine, I just need a minute” Liam whispered back tiredly, and closed his eyes. I glanced at the other three. Derek stood there staring at the ground avoiding eye contact with Lydia and Stiles, Lydia stood there with her eyebrows furrowed, and Stiles’ eyes were centered directly where me and Liam’s hands were joined on his stomach. I reluctantly let go of Liam’s hand, and cleared my throat as I got to my feet. “Okay, I think it’s time for you guys to go, and get those pictures to the sheriff” I ordered. Now is not the time for Stiles and Lydia to find out about the baby. Liam’s overly stressed as it is. Derek nodded, and bent down to grab the fallen pictures of Liam on the floor. “Yeah, it’s getting late, and we should head out before your dad leaves for the night” he said to Stiles, as he stood back up again, purposely bumping into Stiles who accidentally bumped into Lydia, and snapped them out of whatever they were thinking so hard about. Lydia tucked some wisps of her hair behind her ears. “Well, I’m not sure if we should go when something’s still clearly wrong with Liam” she argued with Derek, concern evident in her tone, and scent. “I agree with our strawberry-blonde beauty here, I don’t think we should leave either” Stiles added. “I’m fine” Liam insisted tiredly from the couch, despite still having his eyes closed, looking pale, and exhaustion reeking from his scent. I sighed. “On top of going to the sheriff station, you guys need to find out who planted those pictures on my truck window” I reminded them, and glanced pointedly at Derek again. He handed the pictures to Lydia for her to hold, and grabbed Stiles by the bicep to tug him towards the front door. “Hey-wait-I haven't gotten any answers to my questions yet!” Stiles protested as his shoes squeaked on they dragged on the floor, and Derek slid open my front door. I rolled my eyes. “That can wait, Liam’s had enough stress for the day” I argued. “Call Deaton to see if he can check on Liam!” Stiles called out as he was dragged through the doorway. “I hope you feel better” Lydia said to Liam, and then narrowed her eyes at me. “I want updates on how he’s feeling” she ordered, and didn’t budge until I nodded in agreement with her. She rushed to catch up to Derek and a still protesting Stiles, sliding the front door shut behind her. I ran a hand through my hair, and glanced at Liam just to see his face scrunch in pain as he turned to lay on his side. “What’s wrong, little wolf?” I asked. He inhaled sharply and tightened his grip on his stomach. “I think I’m dehydrated” he groaned. I instantly took off to the kitchen, heading straight for my refrigerator, quickly opened it, grabbed a bottle of water, shut it, and raced back to the couch. He was wincing through another pain when I leaned down to grasp his hand, and siphon his pain away again. He let out a small breath of relief, and squeezed my hand. I let go of his hand to help prop him up slightly using the couch pillow, then twisted open the cap on the bottle of water, and handed it to him. “You need to take it easy” I scolded after he took the bottle of water, and gulped down half of it. He handed me the bottle of water, and I placed it on the coffee table. “You keep saying that, but that’s still kind of hard to do. I just found out that someone’s been watching me for at least two weeks, and I didn't even notice” he said and sighed, stress overwhelming his scent. I sat on my coffee table, and reached for his hand to hold. “I know, I’ll find a way to make sure it doesn’t happen anymore” I reassured him. If I have to track down the one who took the pictures myself and take them down, I will. “How do you plan on doing that?” he asked. I shrugged. “I’ll know what I’m doing soon” I replied. Once Stiles, Lydia, and Derek see who put those pictures on the front window of my truck, I’ll know what my next move is. Until then, Liam should be safe here. He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. “What do you mean?” he questioned. I briefly glanced over at the black phone on the coffee table next to me. “Remember how I said that Anastasia Jerome called me using Damian’s phone?” I asked, and he nodded. “I made a deal with her, so you and anyone you care about are safe as long as I meet with her in two days” I explained. He raised his eyebrows. “Two days? Teddy, I don’t think that’s going to be enough time to come up with a solid enough plan” he argued. I scoffed, and leaned forward to tuck some of his hair behind his ear. “Come on, little wolf, we’ve had less time than that before” I reminded him. And it almost always nearly ended up disastrous, but that’s not the point. He sighed. “Just promise me you’ll talk to Argent first thing tomorrow” he said firmly. “I promise” I reassured him, and got to my feet. “Come on, let’s get you to bed” I announced, leaned down, and scooped him into my arms. He huffed. “You know, you can’t keep carrying me everywhere” he protested as I walked towards the spiral staircase. I scoffed. “I will when there’s a chance of you passing out again” I argued as I slowly ascended the steps. He rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m fine?” he argued back as I stepped into my bedroom, headed straight for my queen size mattress that Mrs. McCall got me, and gently plopped Liam on the right side of it (his spot). He scooted underneath my comforter, and laid down on his side, tucking his one hand underneath my pillow. I turned to walk away when he grabbed my forearm. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, and pulled me down onto the bed beside him. I scoffed as I fell onto my back. “I’m not as tired as you, little wolf” I argued, and turned my head to look at him. “Not my problem” he argued back as he moved over to lay his head on my chest, and yawned. I chuckled and tucked my arm underneath his shoulders to bring him completely against me. “I’ve gotta do some research on some things, you know” I pointed out. “Too bad” he mumbled into my chest, and I scoffed and shook my head. “There’s so much to figure out, it feels like it’s never-ending” he said softly. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I know, but don’t worry about it right now, save it for tomorrow, okay? Just get some sleep, little wolf” I said quietly, and he nodded. I stared at the ceiling, listening to his and the baby’s heartbeats, and waiting for Liam’s breathing to even out. I eventually closed my eyes, and drifted off in the comfort of my mate’s warm scent.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Liam: “I feel fine, Teddy, I don’t need to be put on bed rest” I argued from the couch. Theo scoffed as he walked back into the living room. “You already tried having this argument with Deaton earlier, little wolf, and it’s not going to work on me either” he argued back, and handed me a plastic cup full of water. I narrowed my eyes. “I think you two are overreacting” I argued as I took the cup. Theo arched an eyebrow. “Sure, you passed out yesterday, and you almost passed out again this morning, but we’re overreacting” he said sarcastically. I only almost passed out after I was woken up this morning by the sudden urge to throw up, and barely made it to the toilet in time. I rolled my eyes, and gulped down the water. Annoyingly enough, water was the main thing that helped me feel better other than Theo taking away my pain. “Has Argent called you back yet?” I asked, and handed him the empty plastic cup. He sighed as he set the cup on his coffee table beside his phone. “Not yet, his text just said he was in the middle of something and that he’ll get back to me” he replied, and plopped down on the couch next to me. I nervously chewed on my bottom lip. “The meeting’s tomorrow, Teddy, what if he doesn’t call back in time? What if he doesn’t call back at all?” I questioned. He used his hand to grasp the side of my face, and rubbed my cheek with his thumb, warming me with his touch. “He will, have some patience, little wolf” he tried reassuring me when a notification noise sounded from his phone, and he rolled his eyes. I arched an eyebrow. “Is Stiles texting you nonstop too?” I asked. I had to put my phone on silent for my own sanity. He sighed in exasperation. “If he asks me one more time if he can come over, I might either kill him the next time I see him, or change my phone number, maybe both” he remarked. I chuckled. “You know it’s only a matter of time before he stops asking, right?” I pointed out. He rolled his eyes. “I know, I’m just hoping he won’t interrupt something again” he commented, his lips lifting into a sexy half-smirk. I raised my eyebrows. “Twice today isn’t enough for you?” I asked. I have no room to talk. I did initiate the first round this afternoon in the kitchen by teasing him while he was making me lunch (in my defense, he was cooking shirtless), and I ended up lifted up onto the counter with my legs wrapped around his waist as he pounded into me. But he’s the reason round two happened afterwards in the shower with me flipped to face the shower wall, his one hand holding my wrists above my head, and the other hand tightly gripping my hip as he started off with shallow thrusts before building up to mind-blowingly railing me. He scoffed. “I can never get enough of you, little wolf” he said huskily, and my heart started to race. Suddenly, his phone started to vibrate, and he dropped his hand from my cheek to reach over to grab it. Argent’s name floated on the screen, and Theo swiped his thumb across the screen before holding his phone to his ear. “What’s going on? Your message said it was urgent” Argent’s deep voice questioned. “Do you know that Liam was attacked a couple days ago by a group of hunters?” Theo asked. “Derek told me.”“That group of hunters was the Jerome's” Theo explained. Argent sighed. “Of course it was.”“Derek said that they’re rivals of your family.”“Something like that.”“Well, I’m supposed to have a face-to-face meeting with Anastasia Jerome tomorrow.”“So the attack on Liam was to get to you, and she’s used that to get you to agree to a meeting?”“Pretty much.”“Listen, you need to be careful, if she has her sights set on you and Liam, you’re both in serious danger.”Theo scoffed. “Tell me something I don’t know,” he said sarcastically.“Do you know if there’s something specific that she wants from you?”“Not yet. All I was told is that she has some important information on Monroe, and if I don’t go, she’s going to find a way to attack Liam again” Theo answered.There was pause. “Okay, let me make a few calls, ask around and see what I can find out. Do not leave your place until you hear from me again” Argent ordered before he abruptly hung up. Theo placed his phone back on the coffee table, and raked a hand through his hair. “I was hoping to get more answers” he said, frustration evident in his voice. I grabbed his hand, and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. “I know, but he said he’ll call back so, just have patience” I said, saying the last part in a deeper voice in my attempt to sound like Theo. He arched an eyebrow. “Is that how you think my voice sounds?” he questioned, amusement floating in the air. I shrugged. “Kind of” I admitted, and bit my bottom lip to keep myself from smiling. He scoffed, and shook his head. “Don’t get me started on your voice” he commented. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?” I asked, and his lips formed a half-smirk. I narrowed my eyes. “Teddy, what’s wrong with my voice?” I demanded. He moved his face closer to mine, and I swallowed at the intense way he looked into my eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, just the way you say my nickname-something only you call me-drives me crazy” he started to explain, and his eyes briefly drifted down to my lips. I raised my eyebrows, and tried to ignore my racing heart. “You want to talk about nicknames?” I challenged. I still remember the first time he called me “little wolf”, and I remember that I hated that I liked it. But I eventually stopped hating that I liked it, and admitted to myself that I liked that only he called me that, that it meant something between us. He chuckled softly, and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “What? You don’t like yours, little wolf?” he teased. “I didn’t say that” I protested. He playfully rolled his eyes as his hands grabbed my waist, and pulled me into his lap. I hated the noise of surprise I let out as I instinctively straddled his hips, and grasped both sides of his neck. “Make up your mind, sweetheart” he said in exasperation, but amusement peered through his scent. I sucked in a breath as I wasn't prepared for the surge of arousal that came over me, and my heart skipped a beat. Of course, a smirk spread across his stupidly pretty face the moment he picked up on all of that. “Oh, you like that?” he said huskily. I scoffed. “I-I didn’t say that” I argued, my voice sounding a little too breathless. Definitely wouldn't mind being called that more often though. He moved his hands from my waist to my lower back, and pulled me flush against him. “You didn’t have to” he said, and was about to kiss me when there was a sudden knocking on the front door. “Hey guys, it’s me, let me in!” Stiles called out, and kept furiously knocking. I sighed, and Theo groaned in frustration. “Go away, Stiles!” he snapped, and I chuckled at his grumpy tone. “Derek hid the key from me, and Lydia took the copy I made, so come unlock this door!” Stiles demanded. Theo rolled his eyes. “Not my problem, and not happening!” he called out. “I have some information on who took those pictures of Liam” Stiles announced. My heart raced in both fear and anger as I slid off Theo’s lap to sit back on the couch, and I got to my feet a little too fast. A wave of dizziness came over me, and Theo quickly stood up behind me to grasp my waist to steady me when I swayed. “I got this, little wolf” he said, and gently moved me to sit back down on the couch. I was tempted to protest, but I was still feeling slightly dizzy, so I held my tongue as Theo walked to the front door, and he rolled his eyes as he unlocked it. “This better be quick” he growled as I slid the door open enough for Stiles to squeeze through. “It was two different people” Stiles declared as he headed over to the couch where I was. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?” I questioned. Theo stood behind the couch where I was sitting, and rested his hands on my shoulders. Stiles looked between me and Theo. “Two different people placed pictures of you on the front window of Theo’s truck at different times, only a couple minutes apart from each other. Now we know why the first picture didn’t have a red target drawn on it like the others” he answered. Two stalkers?! Theo’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who were they?” he asked. Stiles sighed. “The second one looked like one of Monroe’s followers...Simon Hayes” he replied, and glanced knowingly at Theo. I felt Theo hands tense up on my shoulders, before he removed them, and I turned around to see him rake a hand through his hand. “Who’s Simon Hayes?” I questioned. “He’s one of Monroe’s latest recruits” Theo explained. “He allegedly has a history of stalking, but there was never enough evidence to charge him. So it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why he was chosen for this ‘mission’” Stiles added. I swallowed. “Who was the first person who placed the pictures?” I asked. Stiles ran a hand through his hair. “It’s, uh, the other taller hunter guy that Derek, Lydia, and I distracted a few days ago. Apparently his name is Elias Jerome, cousin to Anastasia Jerome, and both of them are obviously from another hunter family” he answered. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “So I have two hunter clans that have been stalking me? Great” I said sarcastically, and leaned against the back of the couch as my body tensed up. Stiles briefly glanced warily at Theo, before glancing back at me. “Dad and I think you should come down to the station to make a statement” he suggested. “No” Theo said firmly as he rounded the back of the couch to stand next to me. Stiles sighed. “Look, I get why you probably don’t want him going anywhere, but we have a chance to build a case against one of Monroe’s people, which is another step towards taking down her operation. It also seems like the Jerome's are up to the same tricks as her, so this could be two birds, one stone” he argued. “It’s too much of a risk right now, he needs to stay here where he’s safe” Theo argued back, the tangy scent of anger permeating the air. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed in irritation. “It wouldn’t even take that long, we’d be back before you know it” he said and reached for me when Theo growled loudly in protest. Stiles looked taken aback as Theo’s eyes flared gold, and his fangs dropped. Oh no. My eyes widened, and I immediately got to my feet to stand between them. “Teddy, you need to calm down, I’m not going anywhere” I tried reassuring him. Theo glared daggers at Stiles as he took an angry step towards him, and I pressed my hand in the middle of Theo’s chest to stop him from taking another step. Stiles raised his hands up in surrender. “What the hell is up with him?” he questioned, and Theo flicked out his claws. Whoa, is this what Dr. Ophelia meant about his protectiveness being magnified? I turned to look at Stiles. “You need to leave, now” I ordered, and glanced over to see the front door sliding open. Derek charged through, leaving it cracked open, and raced over to where we all stood in front of the couch. Stiles let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God you’re here, Theo’s acting weirder than usual, and I don’t know if I should leave Liam alone with him” he admitted. Theo let out another growl and pushed against the hand I still had on his chest. Derek shoved Stiles behind him, and his eyes flared blue in warning. “He’s being protective, and right now, he sees you as a threat” Derek explained. I turned completely towards Theo with my back to Derek and Stiles, and cupped the side of Theo’s face to force him to look at me. “We’re fine, Stiles isn’t taking me anywhere” I reassured him, and his eyes flickered between gold and green. “We’re staying right here, until Argent calls us back, remember?” I pointed out. He closed his eyes as he leaned down to rest his forehead against mine. “They need to leave, I can’t gain complete control until they do” he whispered, and sucked in a breath as I noticed a rare moment of him struggling for control of his shift. I turned my head slightly to glance at Derek, who seemed to have heard what Theo said and nodded as his eyes returned to normal. “Let’s go, Stiles” he ordered, grabbed Stiles’ forearm and rushed to the front door. “What? Why?” he questioned as he struggled to keep up with Derek’s pace. “His wolf and coyote won’t calm down with us here” Derek replied, and pulled Stiles through the crack that he left when he arrived, sliding it shut behind them. Theo let out a small breath of relief, and I glanced down to see his claws shifting back to his blunt human nails. “We’re okay” I whispered, and reached for his hand to place it on my stomach. He opened his eyes which were still flared gold, and searched mine. “I just don’t want something else happening to you” he whispered back. I felt my eyes shift to gold. “I know” I said softly, and he cupped my face before surging forward to kiss me deeply. My eyes fell shut, and I moaned at the desperate way his lips moved against mine. In a matter of minutes, we stripped each other of our clothes, and fell back naked on the couch. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and we groaned in unison when he rolled his hips against mine. While he peppered his lips down my neck, I gasped as he nipped at my sensitive skin, and hurried to reach for the handle of the small drawer the coffee table had, grabbing the small bottle of lube that was in it. I nearly slammed my fingers shut in it when he suddenly sucked on the pulse point of my neck, and I moaned as I tilted my head back to give him more access. He grabbed the lube from my hand as his lips peppered their way along my jawline before reaching my mouth again. I whined as he bit down on my bottom lip, tugging on it with his teeth, before letting it go, and hungrily kissing me. This time was more heated and rushed compared to our earlier rounds, there was a heightened urgency as we grabbed and clung to each other, intensely craving to be as close as possible. “You want to talk about what happened?” I asked, after we cleaned up, then laid naked on the couch with his arm around me as I was pressed to his side, my head on his upper chest, our legs tangled together, and a blanket pulled up to our waists. He sighed. “I just-I never lose control like that, little wolf” he replied. It must be so different for him. I constantly struggle with control, and used to lose it more often before Theo started helping me by finding a way to work off or work through whatever caused me to lose control in the first place. I tilted my head back to look at the side of his face as he stared up at the ceiling. “I know, but you didn’t mean to” I tried reassuring him. He raked a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter, I’m supposed to be different from my old self. I wanted to kill Stiles the moment he reached for you, and I might have if you didn’t step in when you did” he argued. I know exactly how you feel, Teddy. “You let me stop you. You could’ve pushed harder, you could’ve even fought me or Derek to get to Stiles, but you didn’t, because deep down, you didn't actually want to kill him” I argued back. He sighed. “I don’t know if Stiles is going to see it that way, little wolf” he said quietly. I moved my hand up his bare chest to cup his face, and turn his head, so he would look at me. “Don’t worry about that, if he doesn’t see it that way, then Derek or I can explain it to him” I reassured him. “You know, the old you wouldn’t be feeling guilty over almost hurting someone.” He scoffed slightly. “That’s true, I didn’t think about it like that” he said, and his lips lifted into a half-smile he searched my eyes. My heart skipped a beat, and I furrowed my eyebrows at the way he was looking at me. “What?” I questioned. He tucked some of my messy hair behind my ear. “I don’t think I’ve had someone believe in me the way you do” he replied, his voice soft, and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. Suddenly, Theo’s phone vibrated on the coffee table, and we both turned to glance in that direction. He quickly stretched to grab it, and swiped at the screen to answer, before holding it against his ear with his hand. “What have you got?” he asked. Argent cleared his throat. “Anastasia and some of her family arrived in Beacon Hills a month ago, but none of my contacts know why, or why Anastasia wants to meet with you. I suspect that it has to do with you working for me.”Theo ran a hand through his hair. “Does she have any connection to Monroe?”“Anastasia’s supposedly still deciding whether she wants to align with her or not.”Theo sighed. “It can’t be a coincidence that both Elias Jerome and Simon Hayes took pictures of Liam for the past two weeks, printed them out and put them on my truck window at almost the exact same time.”“When did that happen?”“Yesterday. Stiles and Lydia found the pictures, and took them to the sheriff’s station.”“Do they know about the meeting?”“They don’t know the details.”“Good, the less they know right now, the safer they are. Do you have a time and location yet?”“No, but I’m expecting a text either tonight or tomorrow morning.”“Let me know when you get that information, and make sure you and Liam are being aware of your surroundings” was the last thing Argent said before hanging up the phone. Theo tossed his phone on the coffee table, and right after there was an abrupt ding that came from Damien’s phone. I glanced warily at Theo as he reached for Damien’s phone, and held it up. A text with an address and time was floating on the screen from “Boss.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Liam:
“I still think I’d be fine staying here at the loft” I argued as I dragged Theo’s red t-shirt over my head, and pulled it down my chest. Theo sighed as he hauled his black jeans up his thighs. “Even if Lydia didn’t give me a banshee warning yesterday, your cute ass would still be going to Derek’s until I get back” he argued back and clicked the top button of his jeans before pulling up the zipper. I rolled my eyes, and threw the black t-shirt that I wore to bed last night at him. He caught it, and quickly tugged it on, before grabbing my light gray jacket to throw over his shoulder. I ran a hand through my hair. “You know there’s a serious chance that Stiles is going to question me like crazy” I whined, and he tossed his black jacket-the one that matched my black sweatpants-which I grabbed to slip my arms through the sleeves. He was texting me like crazy last night, and I had to put my phone on silent again, so who knows how it’s going to be in person? He arched an eyebrow. “I can knock him unconscious before I leave to remove that chance altogether” he suggested, his lips lifting into a teasing half-smirk that made my heart skip a beat. I scoffed and shook my head. “I don’t know how Derek and Lydia would feel about that” I pointed out. He shrugged. “I think they could look past it” he retorted, and I chuckled softly. “Come on, little wolf” he said and stretched his hand out to mine. I grasped it, and let him lead me down the spiral staircase. Anxiety swirled around me as I constantly thought about Theo’s face-to-face meeting, and thought of all the things that could go wrong. “I can hear you overthinking, you know” he pointed out as we made our way to the couch, and grabbed our shoes with socks in them that were next to the side of the couch. “So many things can go wrong, Teddy, even you can’t deny that” I argued as I pulled white socks over my feet before pushing my feet into my black shoes. “You just have to remind yourself that this isn’t my first time doing something like this, little wolf” he argued back, slipped on his black socks, and pushed his feet into his worn-out black shoes. He stood up, put on my light gray jacket, then reached his hand out which I grasped, and he pulled me to my feet. That should comfort me more, but it makes me more nervous. What if this is the time where something awful happens, and I’m not there to help? “I know, but I won’t be there as your backup” I said, and used my other hand to pick up my phone from the coffee table, before stuffing it into my jacket pocket. Not that I've gotten to be your backup on your secret missions, but that's not the point. “I won’t be alone, Argent’s going to be there like he usually is when I do this kind of thing” he reminded me while grabbing his phone, wallet and keys, shoving them all into his jacket pocket. Argent is a badass, and so is Theo, but it doesn’t stop my anxiety. I sighed. “But he’s not going inside the warehouse with you” I argued, and we headed to the front door. “Ninety-five percent of the time that’s how it is, but we do take precautions” he reassured me as he unlocked the front door, and slid it open enough for us to walk through it. I narrowed my eyes. “Okay, what kind of precautions?” I questioned, and he slid the door shut behind us. “Don’t worry about it, little wolf” he replied vaguely as we headed past the elevator, and towards the stairs. We already discussed earlier that we should probably avoid using the elevator considering how I felt the last time we were in it, and thanks to how much water I drank last night and today, I was feeling up for going down the one flight of steps to Derek’s floor. “I’m definitely going to worry about it” I said and started nervously chewing on my bottom lip as we made our descent. He raked his other hand through his hair. “I know, but let’s focus on something else, like what could happen once I leave for the meeting. We know about the extreme pain symptoms, but we don’t know if they happen right away or not, so let's keep an eye out for other symptoms to show up beforehand” he pointed out when we reached the bottom of the first flight, and turned to walk down the hallway to Derek’s apartment. I nodded in agreement. “This is going to be our first time away from each other since my attack” I commented. He sighed once we reached Derek’s apartment door. “Don't remind me. I hope you know that I’m going to be thinking of you the whole time I’m gone, little wolf” he said softly, and lifted his other hand to press against my stomach. I reached up to cup the side of his face. “We’re going to be fine, Teddy” I reassured him. He leaned down to rest his forehead against mine, and let out a shaky breath. “I shouldn’t be gone for more than two or three hours, okay? Derek said that he bought some bottled water for you, Stiles said that he’ll put on a movie to distract you, so hopefully that’ll get his mind off of his potential questions and Lydia got the guest bedroom ready in case you get sick of Stiles” he informed me, and I chuckled softly before pulling his face closer to mine. “Please be careful” I whispered, our lips only an inch apart, and he quickly closed that gap. I groaned at how much emotion he poured into the kiss, and grabbed his jacket to pull his body closer. He turned us and pinned me against the wall right beside Derek’s apartment door, moving his lips against mine as my hands desperately gripped the back of his jacket-my jacket that he was wearing. He never ceased to look sexy when he wore my clothes. I nibbled on his bottom lip, causing him to let out a low moan. “Huh, so this is what Stiles has been rambling about” Lydia’s voice suddenly rang out, and we abruptly pulled apart to look at her as she stood in the front doorway after apparently having opened the front door, which we didn’t even notice. My face felt like it was on fire, and Theo and I dropped our hands from one another. “We-we were, uh, just saying goodbye” I tried explaining, and rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. Theo chuckled, and I instantly glared at him. Lydia looked unconvinced as she arched an eyebrow. “Right, I’m sure that’s all this was” she said sarcastically, sounding a lot like Stiles, and turned around back into the apartment. Theo briefly planted one more kiss on my lips. “I gotta go, little wolf. I’ll text you when I’m there” he said and rushed down the hallway to the elevator. I didn’t move until I saw him step into the elevator, then I walked into Derek’s apartment, and shut the front door behind me. I leaned against the door for support, and closed my eyes as I focused all my senses on Theo as he sighed heavily while in the elevator, stepped out of it when it landed on the bottom floor, walked to the side door like he always did, and pushed it open. He whistled as he strolled to his truck, unlocking it, his hand pulling open the driver’s side door, hopping inside, shutting the door after him, and sighing again. “I miss you already, little wolf” I heard him whisper, my heart skipping a beat, and he shoved his key into the ignition, his hand moving on the gear shift as he pulled out of the parking space, and drove out of the parking lot. My eyes popped open, and I gasped as I felt a tugging in my chest as he drove away. “Is everything okay?” Derek asked as he approached me. I furrowed my eyebrows. “I don’t know, I just feel a little off” I replied. Derek nodded. “That’s not uncommon for mates to feel when they’re separated” he reassured me. “Hey Liam, I’m doing something real quick, but I’ll be right out!” Stiles called out from a room. I couldn’t help, but be curious, and walked past Derek to follow Stiles’ scent past the kitchen-where Lydia was drinking tea out of a pink mug-and to the first bedroom in the hallway. I stopped in the doorway as I saw Stiles-with his back facing me-failing to cover up a white marker board with a black sheet that hung up on the wall. “What are you doing?” I questioned. Stiles jumped, and dropped the black sheet on the floor, revealing the white board completely to me. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at seeing pictures with names underneath them like: Anastasia Jerome, Damien Jerome, Elias Jerome, Tamora Monroe, Simon Hayes, Theo, Argent and I all scattered across it with notes written here and there in marker. “What’s this?” I asked. Stiles stood in front of it, trying to block it from my view. “This? This-it's just something I’ve been working on for the past few days” he vaguely answered. I furrowed my eyebrows as I stepped into the room to get a closer look at the board, Stiles stepping aside so I could view it clearly again. “Why?” I questioned. He sighed. “I think there’s more going on that we haven’t figured out yet, the Jerome's and Monroe have to be connected somehow, and the Anastasia lady has to have a connection to Theo, I mean why else would she pull the oldest trick in the book and go after the person he cares about the most? But she hasn’t been in Beacon Hills that long, so how did she learn that targeting you would-of course she’d have to be blind and deaf in order to not notice how you and Theo are around each other, always making googly-eyes” he rambled, then made a gagging noise, and rolled his eyes. I scoffed. “We don’t make ‘googly-eyes’ at each other” I argued. Do we? He arched an eyebrow. “Sure, whatever you say ‘little wolf’” he said sarcastically, mocking Theo’s nickname for me. Asshole. I narrowed my eyes. “Anyway, I can tell you that Anastasia knew that hurting me would get to Theo through rumors from Monroe and her followers, I heard her talking about it the night of my attack” I explained. His light brown eyes widened, and he pulled a white board marker from his jacket pocket. He popped the cap off, held the cap in one hand, and started writing with his other hand. I watched his jot down the information I just gave him, and then drew a line connecting Anastasia Jerome and Monroe. “I knew there was some kind of a connection!” he exclaimed as he turned back around to face me. I sighed. “If only we knew why she wanted a meeting with Theo of all people” I commented. He tilted his head. “It probably means that she needs Theo to do something only he can really do, something nefarious or evil or nefariously evil, and she’s using you as leverage to make sure he does it” he explained. Which could mean that she’ll probably want him to do something he doesn’t want to do, or hasn’t done in a long time, and he’ll do it if it means protecting me and our baby. I started nervously chewing on my bottom lip when a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I braced a hand on the wall beside the white board. His eyebrows furrowed. “You alright?” he asked. I grimaced and used my other hand to rub at my chest as the tugging feeling in my chest worsened slightly. “I’m fine” I tried reassuring him, and moved to lean my back completely against the wall. He took a couple steps towards me. “You don’t look fine, in fact, you look the exact opposite of fine” he said warily, his scent reeking of concern. My heart started to race as it got a little harder for me to breathe. “Hey, is everything okay?” Lydia asked as she came to the doorway, and glanced at me in worry. “Your scent is all over the place” Derek pointed out, and stood next to Lydia with his eyebrows furrowed in concern as he also glanced at me. “Like I just told Stiles, I’m fine” I snapped and rubbed at my chest some more. I just think Theo’s getting further away from me, and the mate bond is protesting it, but only Derek will get that. Stiles sighed in exasperation. “Why do you keep saying that like two of us don’t have eyes and the other doesn’t have super senses?” he argued back. Because I’m not ready for you and Lydia to know the truth! Derek stepped into the room, and towards me. His blue-green eyes searched my face, and understanding seemed to dawn on his face. “Is it getting worse?” he asked quietly. I grimaced. “I think he’s getting further away” I replied softly. “What are you two whispering about?” Stiles questioned, while Lydia just observed. Derek tilted his head. “Are you wearing anything with his scent?” he asked, and I nodded. “Okay, whatever it is, you need to bring it up to your nose, and inhale his scent to help ease the symptoms” he explained. I brought the sleeve of my jacket up to my face, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I let it out, took a couple more deep breaths, and the tugging in my chest mostly eased up, becoming more of a slight ache. I opened my eyes, and let out a breath of relief. “Thanks” I said quietly, and Derek nodded. “I feel like a broken record at this point, but what just happened?” Stiles demanded, and glanced helplessly at Derek and I for answers. “Considering that Theo’s jacket, and Liam seemed to feel better after smelling the sleeve, he’s probably experiencing some kind of separation anxiety” Lydia said nonchalantly, and glanced at her fingernails, but her scent still held a hint of concern. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. That’s not a bad way to explain it actually. Stiles scoffed. “Separation anxiety? You and Theo have only been together for like five minutes” he said in disbelief. So there’s a chance that Stiles didn’t notice that me and Theo were secretly hooking up? “Well, it’s more like the werewolf version of separation anxiety” Derek tried clarifying without actually revealing anything. Lydia rolled his eyes. “Also, Liam and Theo have been together for much longer than five minutes” she pointed out. I swallowed nervously as Stiles turned to look at her with furrowed eyebrows. “What are you talking about?” he questioned. “Hun, they’ve been together for the past six months” Lydia answered. Wait what? She knew too?! Me and Stiles’ jaws dropped. “Say what now? But-but I thought they'd only been together for like a month?” he said in utter confusion. I’ll question that in a minute. My eyes widened as I glanced at Derek. “Theo said besides Mason and Corey, only you knew” I said in shock. “You knew this whole time?!” Stiles gasped. Derek chuckled at his reaction. “Lydia was the first non-werewolf to figure it out” he said, and glanced proudly at her. Now my eyebrows furrowed. “But Corey said that no one in the pack believed Mason, and it’s been driving him crazy. I mean Corey was so happy when he thought Stiles had just found out the other day because it was proof that Mason had been right all along” I pointed out, and glanced at Lydia and Derek. Derek chuckled. “Yeah we know” he commented. Lydia smirked. “Don’t tell Mason yet, but we’ve all been kind of messing with him. Everyone in the pack knows what you two have been doing for the past six months” she admitted. EVERYONE?! “Six months!?” Stiles repeated. My jaw dropped once again. “Wait-Stiles, how long have you actually known? When did you find out?” I threw my questions at him. Stiles raised his eyebrows in an unimpressed manner. “You can’t seriously be that oblivious to how much you two eye-fuck each other, and in the most angsty way imaginable?” he argued. I laughed awkwardly. “We don’t-I mean we didn’t-we’ve never done that” I stammered, not feeling confident in my statement. Stiles, Derek and Lydia scoffing in unison definitely didn't help. Damn it, they're right, aren't they? How have I been this oblivious? I have so many questions. “When did you two find out?” I asked Lydia and Derek. Derek arched an eyebrow. “Do I really need to answer that?” he said sarcastically. Wait-so that means he probably knew almost immediately… I blinked. “But we would shower, like twice, before being around you guys, and we would eat really strong smelling foods and-” I started to argue, but stopped once I saw that the look on Derek’s face didn’t change, and gave up. Lydia sighed. “I’m going to go set up the living room” she said nonchalantly, and turned the corner. “Wait-Lydia-you never answered my question!” I called out. “Trust me, you don’t want to know my answer” Lydia called out. I ran a hand through my hair, and thought of when Lydia could’ve figured it out. Did she see something or walk in on us? Derek glanced at Stiles, and they seemed to be having a silent conversation based on their facial expressions. “She probably needs some help in the living room” he said pointedly. Stiles narrowed his eyes. “I better get some answers later” he said suspiciously. Derek sighed. “We’ll see” he commented. Stiles rolled his eyes. “Don’t take too long” he threw at me, before walking out of the room. “‘We’ll see’ he says” we heard Stiles said mockingly under his breath as he turned the corner. I let out a ragged breath. “Everyone!?” I whisper-yelled. Derek arched an eyebrow. “Yes” he said firmly. I grimaced. “Does that include Scott?” I squeaked. Derek nodded. “Scott and Stiles found out together a month ago” he admitted. I couldn’t help but be taken aback. I've gotta be the most oblivious werewolf in supernatural history. How did I not realize that literally everyone knew at this point? “What?! How?” I questioned wildly. Derek sighed. “It was in the movie theater parking lot, you and Theo were…next to his truck” he replied, and my eyes widened. I remembered that night. It was a rare day that the entire pack was in town, and Scott decided we should all go see a movie to do something normal and bond or whatever. Theo had just come back from another secret spy mission with Argent, and he picked me up from my house. We argued the whole way there because he wouldn’t tell me what he did while he was gone or why I couldn’t go with him on one of his “missions.” He parked as far away from the entrance as possible just to spite me. We bickered while we were in line to buy tickets when Stiles said that if we were going to fight, we should take it outside. Theo decided that meant that he needed to leave altogether, and took off, I naturally followed him. I caught up to him just as he reached his truck, and asked him what his deal was. Him glancing at my lips was all the warning before he grabbed my face and devoured my lips, then slammed me hard against the passenger side door. Our shirts were off in less than thirty seconds before Theo opened the back door, and shoved me into the backseat of his truck. He climbed in behind me, shut the door behind him, and frantically pulled me into his lap after he sat down to finish what we started outside. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “Were we, uh, inside the truck or outside of it?” I asked. Please say outside. The last thing I want to find out is that Scott and Stiles saw me riding Theo. “Outside, they apparently turned around after they saw you take Theo’s shirt off” he responded. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Well that explains why Scott has been awkward around me and Theo lately, and why Scott keeps reminding me over and over again that I can talk to him about anything. Stiles had been making more disgusted faces whenever he saw Theo and I together, but that didn’t seem unlike him. Suddenly, the way everyone had been acting started to make sense, and I was overwhelmed by the moments that I didn’t get before now clicking into place. My heart pounded in my chest, and I leaned against the wall behind me again as I got light-headed, needing support. Derek’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s going on?” he questioned. I swallowed. “If Theo and I couldn’t keep us a secret, how are we supposed to keep…this a secret?” I asked, and brought a hand to rest against my stomach. A thoughtful expression fell on his face. “I honestly don’t know if you should, Liam, I think it puts more unnecessary strain on you and Theo, and no one else knowing means less protection and support from the pack” he pointed out. I started nervously chewing on my bottom lip. “It also means less judgment, opinions, and pressure” I argued. Not that Derek didn’t make some decent points. He nodded in understanding, but I grimaced as I felt the tugging in my chest again. I quickly pulled the hood of my jacket over my head, a wave of Theo’s scent hitting my face, and I let out a small breath of relief. “Does this ever happen to you when you’re away from Stiles and Lydia?” I asked. He cleared his throat. “It’s different for me, Stiles is human, and even though Lydia is supernatural, she’s not a werewolf” he replied. I furrowed my eyebrows. “So you don’t get those painful symptoms in your chest, stomach or head?” I questioned. He folded his arms against his chest. “There are build-up symptoms to those you mentioned, but what I feel is a dull ache compared to what regular mates experience” he answered. “Everything okay?!” Stiles called out from the kitchen, sounding like he was putting a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “Everything’s fine, he’ll be right out!” Derek called out-the distinct sound of buttons being pressed on the microwave rang out-and then glanced at me. “Listen, I need to do some paperwork for Hale Auto, and then I’ll join you three. There’s some bottled water in the fridge, try to stay hydrated. Stiles is determined to find out what you’re hiding, and Lydia’s incredibly perceptive, so be on your guard” he warned. I sighed. Okay, so I need to act normal, and show them there’s nothing to be suspicious about, how hard could that be? Turns out it was harder than I thought as I left the bedroom and resisted the urge to gag at the smell of popcorn that permeated the air, which was so odd because I love buttered popcorn but Theo doesn’t, he likes white cheddar popcorn. I went straight to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water, and then hurried to sit in the reclining chair that was closest to the hallway. Lydia was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone, and I couldn’t help glancing at her, wondering if she had a similar moment as to how Scott and Stiles found out, or if she just guessed, Derek’s not wrong how perceptive she is. A notification sound went off from my phone, and I pulled it out of my jacket pocket to look at it. It was a text from Theo saying that he just got to the warehouse, which meant the meeting was starting soon. I debated about asking him if he felt the tugging in his chest too, but I decided not to. He needs to have a clear head, and worrying about me might screw that up. “Was that Theo?” Lydia asked. I looked up at her. “Yeah, he’s there” I replied, and nervously chewed on my bottom lip as I glanced down to send Theo a “be careful” text. I shoved my phone back into my jacket pocket. “He’ll be fine, you know” she reassured me. I sighed. “I hope so” I commented. Stiles scoffed from the kitchen as he poured the bag of popcorn into a big red bowl. “Come on, if there’s anything that asshole is good at doing, it’s being annoyingly calm in high stress situations” he said as he grabbed the bowl and slowly walked towards the couch, bringing the smell of popcorn nearer, and my stomach turned. “Derek, are you coming?! We’re about to start the movie!” he yelled. “I’ll be out soon, just start it without me, I can hear it from here!” Derek called out. Stiles plopped down the couch beside Lydia, spilling some popcorn onto his lap, and he handed the bowl to Lydia so he could start eating the popcorn that was in his lap. Lydia grabbed the remote that was next to her, and pressed play. “You can sit next to us if you want” she suggested. I shrugged. “I figured there wouldn’t be enough space for all of us” I pointed out. I mainly don’t want to be closer to the popcorn. The movie started its opening credits, and Stiles rolled his eyes. “There’ll be enough room, dumbass, just get over here” he ordered. I couldn’t think of an argument to that, so I rolled my eyes, got to my feet, and headed over to the couch. I sat next to Lydia, but left space for Derek to sit in between us. We all were staring at the screen, Lydia and Stiles were munching away on the popcorn, but I was hit with a strong wave of nausea, and it took everything I had not to grasp my stomach. Then Lydia tried handing me the bowl of popcorn, and when I shook my head, Stiles glanced at me with his eyebrows raised in surprise. Right, I’m supposed to act normal. I reluctantly took a handful, and gave the bowl back to Lydia. I shoved the handful of popcorn into my mouth, and chewed on it as fast as I could, but the moment after I swallowed, there was instant regret. I leaned back against the couch, not being able to resist bringing a hand up to my stomach, and grasping it. Derek sauntered into the living room, and sat between Lydia and I. He lifted his arm to prop on the back of the couch, Lydia and Stiles shifting so they could lean back against it. Derek then glanced over at me with furrowed eyebrows, probably smelling the nausea rolling off of me. My phone vibrated again, and I moved to grab it when suddenly, my stomach turned in the worst way, and I instantly stood up. “I’ll be right back” I said in a rush, and then walked as fast as I could to the bathroom, figuring that breaking out into a run would be more suspicious. I pushed the door to the bathroom open, shut it, quickly turned on the faucet as I raced past the sink, and slid onto my knees as I barely made it to the toilet before I threw up almost everything that was in my stomach. Once I was done, I wiped my mouth with some toilet paper, tossed it into the toilet and then flushed. I leaned against the wall behind me, not having the energy to get up, and closed my eyes as I caught my breath. I must've dozed off because I jumped when I suddenly heard knocking on the bathroom door, and forced my eyes open. “Dude, is everything okay in there?” I heard Stiles ask on the other side of the door. I was about to respond when I got a cramp in my stomach, and groaned as I clutched my stomach. “Okay, not to invade your privacy or whatever, but, uh, Lydia’s getting pretty worried so we’re coming in” he warned before I felt a gust of wind from the door opening. I looked up to see Stiles standing in the doorway with furrowed eyebrows, and Derek behind him. Stiles took a couple steps toward me, and turned off the sink faucet. “Okay, you have to tell me what’s going on now because I’m not going to pretend to buy that ‘I’m fine’ bullshit anymore” he demanded, concern flowing from his scent. I glanced tiredly at Derek, who nodded. “Go get him some water” he ordered Stiles. Stiles scoffed. “I’m pretty sure he threw up, which is a bad thing for a werewolf, so I don’t think a sip of water is going to help” he argued. Derek sighed, and then looked seriously at Stiles. “Trust me, it will, and while you’re gone, maybe I can convince Liam to tell you what’s going on with him” he argued back. Stiles’ jaw dropped. “I knew that you knew something!” he exclaimed. Derek rolled his eyes. “Just go” he ordered again. Stiles sighed dramatically, and then raced out of the bathroom. Derek walked to where I sat, and crouched down. “Are your symptoms from your condition or the mate bond?” he asked quietly. I winced as I got another cramp in my stomach. “I think both” I whispered. “Then we might need to take you to Deaton” Derek suggested. I shook my head, which was a bad idea as it made everything around me look like it was tilting back and forth. “We can’t-we can’t leave your place” I argued. Who knows if that hunter lady will keep her word? For all I know, there are hunters in the parking lot, waiting to stage an attack again. Derek sighed. “We might not have a choice, and it help to get you in closer proximity to Theo until the meeting is over” he pointed out. I winced again as everything suddenly just sounded too loud to my ears and closed my eyes. “I don’t know” I said tiredly. I heard Stiles’ stomping footsteps approaching, followed by Lydia’s own quick footsteps. “Okay, I got the magical healing water you said to grab-did he pass out again?” I heard Stiles ask. I heard Derek sigh again. “He’s close to it” he replied. “I think we need to take him to Deaton, something is clearly wrong” I heard Lydia suggest, her voice starting to sound further away. “Something’s been wrong!” Stiles said in frustration. I groaned as the cramping in my stomach got stronger. “It’s the baby” I gasped. A loud "WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!" from Stiles was the last thing I heard before I drifted into unconsciousness.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Theo:
Forty-five minutes after I drove away from Derek’s apartment building, I pulled up to a small abandoned warehouse, and rubbed at my chest, something I was used to doing, so it didn’t bother me as much as it probably would Liam. There was no doubt he was feeling the same tugging and pulling feeling in my chest that I was. I just hoped that was all he felt. I moved to park my truck behind Argent’s SUV, and turned it off. I sent Argent the address last night right after I got the text last night, so it’s not surprising that he got to the warehouse before me. He probably came here earlier to scope the area out. I snatched my phone out of my cup holder, and sent a quick text to let Liam know that I arrived. I briefly smiled at his “be careful” text, and then pulled my keys out of the ignition before stuffing both them and my phone in my jacket pocket. I wasn’t sure how long this meeting was going to take, but I hoped that it wouldn’t drag on, and Anastasia would get right to the point. I hated being away from Liam, and so far, all I've been feeling is some annoying chest pain, which might not be the agonizing kind Dr. Ophelia described, but who knows when that could change? I opened my door, jumped out, and closed the door as quietly as I could manage, leaving my doors unlocked just in case I needed to make a quick getaway. I circled the front of my truck to walk around to the passenger side of Argent’s SUV, quickly opening the passenger door, climbing inside, and quietly shutting the door behind me. Argent didn’t say anything at first, just handed me my usual gear: a tiny recording device that I placed on the front of my shirt, a listening device that I would plant somewhere in the chosen room I was having the meeting in, and a small communication earpiece that I placed in my left ear so Argent could talk to me, all undetectable. Argent cleared his throat. “She likes to hear herself talk, keep her focused on why she requested this meeting to begin with, and get out as soon as possible. There has to be a reason she chose this location” he informed me. I nodded. “You seem like you know a little bit about her” I commented, stuffing the listening device in my other jacket pocket. He turned in the driver’s seat to face forward again. “We had an arranged marriage by our fathers…I said no” he cryptically explained. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but he didn’t further elaborate. “You need to go or you’re going to be late” he ordered. I was ten minutes early, and he knew that. “If there’s something that you can tell me that gives me any kind of advantage, you should say it” I pointed out. He sighed, and looked out of the driver’s side window. “The Jerome’s have always valued their family above all else, even the code, and Gerard planned on using that perceived weakness to ambush them at the wedding…I didn’t agree with that course of action” he vaguely admitted, and then pressed the button on his car door to unlock all the doors in his SUV. I understand that was all I was going to get out of him, and took my cue to leave. I opened the passenger side door, climbed out, and quietly shut the door behind me. I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket to text Liam that I was going into the meeting, and shoved it back into my jacket pocket. I used my hands to yank my hood over my head, Liam’s scent washing over me, and easing the tugging at my chest. I strolled down the gravel road until I found a worn-out concrete path that had weeds popping out of its cracks, to the front door. I stretched out my senses as I headed for the front door, a blond haired man and a black haired woman guarding on either side of it, and they reeked of wolfsbane which told me they weren’t carrying regular bullets in their guns. I raised my hands up in surrender and the woman waved a metal detecting wand up and down my body, before nodding at the man, and he opened the door for me. I shoved my hands casually in my jacket pockets, briefly thinking of how Liam always did that whenever he wore a jacket or a hoodie, and strolled inside. I was nearly overwhelmed by the different scents as I walked down a hallway that had eight guards on each side of the walls, and they all pointed me towards an old-looking mahogany door. I opened the door, stepped inside to see the room looked deserted except for a brand new desk and two chairs on either side of it, one was a shiny black leather chair and the other was a brown fold-out chair. The ceiling light flickered above as I immediately noticed a woman who looked to be in her mid to late-thirties with wavy jet-black hair that reached her shoulders, and honey-brown eyes sat in the leather chair, wearing what looked like a bright red pantsuit, and her teeth were brightly white as she smiled at me like a huntress meeting her prey. She clearly thought this was going to go her way. “Mr. Raeken, I didn’t expect you to arrive early, I’m Anastasia Jerome” she declared, and gestured for me to sit. “Someone close the door!” she ordered, and the door was closed swiftly behind me. I shrugged and sat on the uncomfortable fold-out chair. “I just want to get this over with” I said nonchalantly, and leaned back in the chair. She arched an eyebrow. “Got somewhere more important to be?” she questioned, a dark amusement coming off of her. I need to be cautious, this already seemed like a game to her. I tugged my hood off my head, and arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you?” I countered. She rested her elbows on the desk and clasped her hands together. “I’d like to start off by extending an olive branch, and ask how is your mate doing, Mr. Raeken?” she asked, and I ignored the urge to rub at my chest again. She clearly wanted me to react a certain way to her knowledge about me and Liam being mates, but she wasn’t talking to an amateur. I scoffed. “Recovered, no thanks to you” I responded nonchalantly, and lifted my arm to run a hand through my hair, briefly inhaling the sleeve of my jacket to get a whiff of Liam’s scent to ease the tugging in my chest. She tilted her head. “Really? He didn’t seem that way the other day in the parking lot, or when he was vomiting on the side of the road” she said suspiciously, but there was this underlying amusement in her voice. She was fishing for something, and was confident that she was going to find what she was looking for. I shrugged. “I didn’t say how long it took for him to recover” I said in a bored tone, and sat up. “Look, if you don’t have anything useful for me about Monroe, then this is pointless and a waste of my time” I said and shook my head before getting to my feet. Everything in my vision briefly tilted before settling. “Monroe is back in Beacon Hills” she said abruptly, her heartbeat steady, and I used all my self-control to hold in my reaction. I raised my eyebrows. “Is that so?” I questioned. It doesn’t match the intel that Argent and I have been gathering, so the real question is who’s lying? Hunters aren’t past training to control their heartbeats to hide when they’re lying. She leaned back in her chair. “If that’s not…useful enough for you, then you’re free to go” she said coolly. I arched an eyebrow. “Is that all you have? I mean that’s not much” I challenged. It’s more than what we have, but she doesn’t need to know that. She leaned forward in her chair. “Only her trusted inner circle knows that, the rest of her followers don’t know that particular detail…yet” she elaborated. I sat back down in the fold-out chair. “So are you admitting to being a part of her inner circle?” I questioned. A small smirk formed on her face. “Let’s just say that I like to keep tabs on what my potential enemies or allies are up to” she replied slyly. So is Monroe an ally or an enemy? “She apparently plans on letting the rest of her followers know of her presence shortly-supposedly through hosting her own meeting of sorts” she admitted. I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why didn’t she let them all know right away?” I questioned. I had my own theories. Like the more of her followers who know, the more likely Argent and I would’ve found out sooner, and not from Anastasia. “She’s waiting on Scott McCall’s return to Beacon Hills, rumor has it that he’s currently in Paris with his feral girlfriend” she replied, and it took everything I had not to react to her description of Malia. She’s not wrong, the pack finally convinced Scott to let himself spend spend more than a few days in France with Malia, and take a much needed vacation there. They were planning on coming back to Beacon Hills for a few weeks next month, so this means that Liam isn’t the only one being stalked-which is a big problem. I tilted my head. “What if he doesn’t plan on coming back?” I challenged. Knowing Scott, he’s definitely coming back when he finds out about everything that’s been going on. She chuckled darkly. “Going off of Monroe’s reputation, she’ll find a way to lure him back. He is the True Alpha, and everyone knows that naturally leads to his pack members being walking targets, particularly his first bitten-Beta, who might as well have a red bull’s eye painted on his back” she pointed out. I narrowed my eyes, and used all my will-power to control my wolf and coyote’s bristling to the idea of Liam being subtly threatened, and the reminder of the pictures she had her cousin take of Liam. “It sounds like she’d be going for the obvious play” I argued. She fully smirked. “More like the most effective play” she argued back, and I resisted the urge to growl at her. “Focus, she’s using Liam to distract you” Argent’s voice rang in my ear from my earpiece. I forced my shoulders to relax as I leaned back in my chair. “What’s the purpose of this meeting?” I asked. She sighed. “Everything I’ve told you about Monroe is all I know so far, and I want to know more. I think you can do that for me” she answered. I furrowed my eyebrows, genuinely curious as to where she was going with this. “Why me?” I questioned. She didn’t need me to get what information she has now, so what changed? She brushed some of her hair out of her face. “I believe that working for Chris and being a part of the McCall pack stifles your set of skills, they restrict you in a way that I won’t” she responded confidently. So she’s trying to…recruit me? That doesn’t fully add up. She tilted her head. “Tell me, does your mate know about your past? Does he know of your reputation?” she accused. I didn’t show how much her words affected me, how they got underneath my skin, and how much it annoyed me that it did, seeing as she was trying to get to me. Her words did hint at something though. “Who was it for you?” I asked. Her eyebrows pinched together. “Excuse me?” she asked. I arched an eyebrow. “Who did I indirectly or directly take from you when I was with the Dread Doctors?” I clarified. They held me against my will for the most part, but no one would ever believe that. Surprise flashed across her face for a split-second before it disappeared like it was never there in the first place, and her eyes darkened. “My niece” she admitted. I sighed. “Let me guess, your family were one of the hunter clans who tried to take down them down, failed miserably and she was a casualty?” I offered. Since Anastasia can’t get revenge for her niece from who she really wants, she’s going to want to get it through me. I’m not an idiot, with my past, I always knew something like this would happen eventually, I just never thought I’d be at this point in my life when it did happen, finally being with Liam and having a child on the way. I actually have something to lose now. The way she swallowed and looked away, along with the sorrow taking over her scent let me know that I was correct. “What do you want from me?” I pressed. She cleared her throat, and looked back at me with a determined expression. “I was going to bide my time, but why wait? I want to take Monroe down, and I think you could be a key factor in that happening” she confessed. I furrowed my eyebrows. Not exactly what I was expecting. “Why?” I asked. She sighed. “I’ve lost several family members to her zealot and extreme views, she got them killed by supernatural creatures just like my niece was, the only difference is my niece was murdered by fake supernaturals instead of the real thing” she explained, a bite to her words, and they stung more than I’d like to admit. I narrowed my eyes. “Yet you want this fake supernatural to help you” I snarked. She rolled her eyes. “You to have specific abilities such as not being susceptible to mountain ash, and most wolfsbane not being as potent or harmful to you, so someone would have to get more creative in order to cause serious damage, which will be an advantage when it comes to Monroe’s potential agendas. You don’t even have to stop working with Chris, just feed me whatever information you give him, and I’ll take care of the rest” she said calmly. It seems like she’s zeroed in on me, but I need to warn Corey in case she tries to "recruit" him too. I scoffed. “What if I say no?” I challenged. She tilted her head. “I suspect something else is going on with your mate, a condition you and him are probably desperate to conceal, and I will make sure my suspicions reach Monroe” she threatened. Liam’s already in the line of fire, but if she’s implying what I think she’s implying, that might make Monroe pull a bold move like trying to attack Liam herself, or worse. Shit. “What does she mean?” Argent’s questioned in my ear. My stolen heart skipped a beat as I forced myself to keep my composure, and I furrowed my eyebrows. “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about” I said in false confusion, my tone of voice surprisingly even. She smirked. “I have to hand it to you, Mr. Raeken, you’re good, and if I didn’t know better, I’d actually believe you. But when you come from a big family like mine, and most of your siblings are married with children, you tend to notice certain details, and I certainly didn’t miss how your mate did everything possible to protect his stomach when he was attacked. I have to admit that I was impressed that he succeeded, but the question is can he succeed more than once?” she said smugly, the threat hanging clearly in the air. It took everything I had not to get up and throw the desk against a wall, the animals inside of me demanding we tear her throat out, but instead I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets and slowly stood up. “For someone who keeps mentioning my reputation and my skills, you seem pretty certain it’s not going to be used against you” I said eerily calmer than how I felt internally. She scoffed. “Not only have I been a hunter longer than you’ve been alive, but it’s clear that you’re attempting to reform, and I highly doubt you would do anything to ruin that” she said confidently. She has no idea what I would do to protect Liam and our baby. I smirked. “If I were you, I wouldn’t make that assumption, I know you would hate to be proven wrong” I said darkly, and she narrowed her eyes. “Theo, this has gotten off track, you need to leave” Argent ordered in my ear, and I resisted the urge to growl at him. My wolf and coyote demanded blood, which meant I needed to wrap this up before I gave into their instincts. My phone oddly chose that moment to start vibrating in my one pocket, and I used that opportunity to pull my hands roughly out of my jacket pockets, purposefully spilling everything that was in both pockets on the floor. I sighed in exasperation. “Shit” I muttered, and rolled my eyes, pretending to be frustrated, before I crouched onto the floor in front of the desk. I quickly moved my phone and truck keys over the listening device in my “attempt” to grab them, and purposely moved them further under the desk. “Damn it” I said in fake annoyance as I quickly attached the listening device underneath the desk, and grabbed my phone and keys. I backed out from underneath the desk, and got to my feet in time to see Derek’s name flashing across my phone screen. Why would he be calling me? Did something happen with Liam? I’d have to call him back the second I got back to my truck. I shoved my phone and keys in both of my jacket pockets. “This meeting is over” I said abruptly, and turned to leave. “You have three days to accept my offer, Mr. Raeken, or I follow through on my threat” she warned when I reached the door. I’d like to see her try. I lifted my hand to grip the doorknob, my back to her, and scoffed. “Which one?” I said sarcastically. “Both, it will be interesting to see who can get to your mate first” she said smugly. I turned my head to look at her, and flashed my gold eyes. “Theo, get out of there-something’s wrong with Liam” Argent suddenly said, stopping me from responding to Anastasia. I instantly turned away from her, rushed to open the door, almost tearing it off its hinges, and bolted down the hallway, ignoring how all the hunters in the hallway pulled their weapons on me. “Hold your fire” Anastasia ordered behind me, but I continued running until I reached the front door. The front door is the one I kicked down, not caring as I raced over it and past the two hunters stationed by it. “Hold your fire!” Anastasia repeated to them. I raced to Argent’s SUV, and the window for the passenger seat rolled down. Argents’ eyebrows were pinched together, and a hint of concern peeked out of his scent. “Get to the animal clinic, I’ll meet you there” was all he said before the window rolled back up again. I dashed to my truck, opening the driver’s side door, furiously climbing inside, and slamming the door shut after me. My hand weirdly shook as I briefly struggled to shove my keys into the ignition and turned it to start my truck. I ripped the communication earpiece out of my ear, and tossed it into one of the cup holders. I grabbed my phone out of my jacket pocket, Lydia’s name floating on my phone screen, and I swiped to answer before tapping the speaker button, and placing my phone in the other cup holder. “Finally” she said in relief. I rested my hand on my gear shift, and moved it backwards so that I could reverse and be far enough away from Argent’s SUV. “What the hell is going on? You guys weren’t supposed to leave the apartment” I argued, moved my gear shift forwards, and pressed down on my gas pedal so hard that my tires briefly protested before I zoomed out of the warehouse parking lot. Lydia sighed. “Trust me, we didn’t have a choice” she said, concern heavily evident in her voice. I turned onto the road, and sped down it. “What does that mean? What happened to Liam that you needed to leave a place where he was almost guaranteed to be safe?” I questioned. “He passed out on the bathroom floor, and hasn’t woken up since, what did you want us to do?” I heard Stiles argue in the background, it sounded like he was driving, which let me know that I was on speaker. I groaned in frustration. “I don’t know, maybe wait until I got out of the meeting, and then we could’ve figured something else out” I argued back. But if something was seriously wrong, I can’t blame them for their decision. Lydia sighed. “We didn’t think that was wise given Liam’s…situation” she pointed out. My stolen heart nearly stopped beating, and I had to slam on my brakes to keep myself from hitting the car in front of me. They know? It must’ve gotten bad for Liam to let it slip, shit, what happened? Was it the mate bond? “They know” I heard Derek confirm what I suspected. “And since it’s obviously yours, I just want to say that you, Liam, and sour wolf are all jackasses for hiding it from us!” Stiles yelled. I speeded around into the other lane to go around the slow car that was in front of me, and pressed almost all the way down on my gas pedal again. “Liam wasn’t ready to tell you and Lydia yet, he wanted to wait until he was. He only found out two weeks ago, and I’ve only known for like a week, so it’s not like we knew for a while and didn’t say anything” I defended. “You better prepare yourself for all of my questions!” Stiles warned. Yeah, because that's completely out of the ordinary for you. I sighed in frustration. “When don’t you have questions?” I argued. “Theo, we’re almost to the animal clinic” Lydia announced. I swerved into the other lane to go around another slow as hell car. “I’m on my way, just keep an eye out for hunters okay? Anastasia made some threats against Liam before I left” I informed them, and flipped off the driver as he beeped his horn at me. “Try not to drive too dangerously, okay? We’ll keep Liam safe” Lydia reassured me. “Yeah, none of us want to explain to him how his baby daddy got into a car accident because he was driving like a maniac” Stiles commented. I rolled my eyes. “Keep me updated” I ordered, and took one hand off of the wheel to hang up the call. My phone instantly started to vibrate again, and it was Argent’s name now floating on my screen. I swiped to answer. “What?” “I called Sheriff Stilinski and Parrish, you won’t be pulled over despite how recklessly you’re driving” Argent explained. I nodded and then remembered he can’t see me. “Thanks” I said as I pulled onto the highway. “You won’t be any good to Liam if you crash” he pointed out. I rolled my eyes. “So I’ve been told” I said sarcastically. “Remember that he’s in good hands, they won’t let anything happen to him if they can help it” he reminded me. I took a deep breath and let it out. “I know” I reluctantly admitted, and took one hand off the wheel again to hang up the call. I removed the tiny recording device from my shirt, and tossed it into the other cup holder. I raced around the vehicles on the highway, hating that I didn’t ask them for more details. How’d Liam end up on the bathroom floor? How long has he been unconscious? The tugging in my chest eased up more as I got closer to the animal clinic, and I debated about trying to call Lydia instead of waiting for updates. Once I got off of the highway, and was at a stop sign, I tapped my fingers against my steering wheel in impatience. I was still deciding whether or not to call Lydia, but decided against it as I turned at the stop sign. What if she was in the middle of helping Liam? I didn't want to interrupt that. My stolen heart skipped a beat when I saw the clinic coming into view. I pulled into the back of the parking lot, nearly let out a breath of relief at seeing Stiles’ jeep parked there, and moved to park next to it. I quickly turned off my truck, grabbed my keys and phone, rushed to open my door, and jumped out, closing the door behind me. I stuffed my phone and keys in my jacket pockets and let Liam’s scent guide me as I bolted to the front door, used a ton of restraint not to rip the front door off its hinges, stepped inside, and raced past Lydia and Stiles who were in the waiting room. I pushed open the mountain ash gate to get to the examination room, and my stolen heart nearly stopped beating from the relief I felt at seeing Liam again. Concern and fear slowly seeped in at seeing him lying on the metal examination table as Deaton was setting up an IV on top of Liam’s hand, with Derek standing behind where Liam’s head lay and watching for a reaction from Liam when the needle went in. I rushed to Liam's side, and leaned down to rest my forehead against his as I gripped his other hand in one of mine. I held in a gasp the tugging in my chest disappeared, and closed my eyes for a couple seconds to just take in Liam and the baby’s heartbeats. “It’s good to see that you arrived here in one piece” I heard Deaton say dryly. Normally I’d chuckle or dryly respond back, but I was too worried about Liam, and I think Deaton understood that. I opened my eyes, and stood back up, but still maintained my grip on Liam's hand. “What happened?” I asked, briefly glancing at between Deaton and Derek, before focusing my gaze back at Liam. His face looked pale despite how steady him and the baby’s heartbeats were. Derek cleared his throat. “Stiles and I found him in the bathroom, it smelled like he got sick, and it clearly drained him because he was just sitting on the floor, barely awake. He started to have pain in his stomach, and I tried to have Stiles grab him some water, but he lost consciousness before he could have any” he answered, and I used my other hand to run it through my hair. What happened that made him sick? He didn’t wake up this morning throwing up like he has been for the past few days, and he managed to actually eat breakfast. Deaton hung a bag of IV fluids on a hook on a metal IV pole. “It sounds to me that he had symptoms from the pregnancy and the strain of the mating bond protesting your separation all affecting him at the same time, add in the stress he’s been experiencing, and it wouldn’t have taken long for his body to become overwhelmed” he explained, and hooked the fluids to Liam’s IV. “Do we know what made him sick?” I questioned. “We’re pretty sure it was the extra buttery popcorn I heated up, he had some and it wasn’t that long after that he headed to the bathroom” Stiles replied as he strolled into the room. I furrowed my eyebrows. “That’s weird” I commented. He goes through every bag I buy him almost immediately, but he hasn’t lately. He hadn’t been craving it for the past few weeks actually. “It’s not too weird when you consider that you don’t like that kind of popcorn” Lydia pointed out as she strolled in after Stiles in the room. Liam always brought a bag of white cheddar flavored popcorn for me to snack on for pack movie nights, and I never ate popcorn at the movie theater. I then arched an eyebrow as I glanced at her. “You think him getting sick has something to do with me?” I asked. Lydia raised her eyebrows. “Liam is carrying your child” she replied. Deaton nodded in agreement. “That does add up, food aversion is one of the most common symptoms, so for now, his body might prefer things that you like to eat, and dislike what he usually consumes in his regular diet” he added. Stiles raised his hands up to silence us. “Okay, can we pause talking about this for a minute? I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that Theo planted a baby inside of Liam, like how does that even work? How is it possible?” he rambled. Planted? I raised my eyebrows. “Do you need me to explain to you how sex works?” I said sarcastically, and I couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on my face. Stiles rolled his eyes, and dropped his hands. “No smartass, I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend, so I know how it works. What I mean is that Liam’s a guy and a werewolf, just like Derek, but you don’t see me getting knocked up” he argued. Derek shook his head. “It’s different for us, you’re human” he pointed out. “You also need multiple factors to be in play for male-on-male werewolf pregnancy to take” Deaton added. Stiles tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Like what exactly?” he asked. He’s taking this better than Liam and I thought he would, that’s for sure. I raised my eyebrows. “Well, first off, you need to be mates, and then you need to have unprotected sex on the night of a full moon” I answered. I’ll leave the knotting part of the equation of my explanation for now, I don’t really need Stiles-of all people-knowing that detail. “So you and Liam are mates?” Lydia questioned, and I nodded. Suddenly, there was the sound of a car pulling into the back of the parking lot, and I heard the driver put the car in park, but didn’t turn it off. I picked up on Argent’s familiar scent, and wasn’t suspicious until I noticed that he didn’t turn off his SUV. Derek and I glanced warily at each other. “Who’s here?” Stiles asked, but before Derek or I could answer, the back door suddenly burst open, and Argent rushed through it. “Theo, you need to take Liam and go” Argent said urgently, and my stolen heart nearly stopped beating. “Wait-what? We just got here, what’s going on?” Stiles questioned. I searched Argent’s face, and my stomach sank. “Who’s on their way?” I asked Argent. “Monroe’s followers, one of my contacts got ahold of me to let me know, but they didn't say how many are showing up, just that they’re most likely coming for Liam” Argent explained. “How long do we have?” Derek questioned. Argent sighed. “Five minutes, maybe less” he answered. Deaton instantly got to work on safely and sterilely removing the IV in Liam’s hand. “He’s still not out of the woods, and at the very least, will need more fluids. I recommend taking him to the other clinic” he suggested, knowing I would know what he meant. I nodded and gently moved my arms under the back of Liam’s knees and shoulders to bring him into my arms. Lydia suddenly gasped, and we all glanced at her. “We all need to leave” she whispered with wide eyes, then the sound of cars turning into the front parking lot reached my ears, and I held Liam tighter in my arms as my stolen heart pounded in my chest. Anger and protectiveness took over me, and I felt my eyes glow gold. “They’re here” Derek growled as his eyes shifted to an eerie bright blue.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Liam: I winced as I woke up to the loud sounds of gunshots. Gunshots?! I forced my eyes to open, and discovered that I was lying on the backseat of Stiles’ jeep, my chest was covered in another jacket-my jacket-the one Theo was wearing the last time I saw him, and there wasn’t a tugging in my chest anymore. Theo had to be around here somewhere. I grimaced as I slowly sat up to see Lydia sitting by my feet and wide-eyed staring out of the backseat window, and Stiles was sitting in the driver’s seat, tapping away at the steering wheel as he peered at his car’s side mirror. “What’s going on?” I questioned, startling Lydia and Stiles, and they turned to glance at me. “Lay back down or bend slightly, so the hunters-or in this case the morons who work for Monroe-don’t see you” Stiles whisper-yelled, a hint of panic in his voice and I blinked at him in confusion, so many questions popping up into my head. What are Monroe’s followers doing here? How long was I out? Wait-are we at the animal clinic? “You probably shouldn’t move more than you already have” Lydia ordered, fear and worry twisting around her scent. I turned my head to look out of the back window of Stiles’ jeep, and my heart pounded in fear at the scene that was unfolding. Theo fighting two hunters at once, slashing one across the chest and jabbing the other in the face, with Derek grabbing the hunter with the slashed chest and launching them onto the hood of a car, Argent crouched behind a car and reloading his gun, Deaton stealthily grabbing a random gun from off the ground and hurling it like a projectile at the back of another hunter’s head to stop them from shooting at Argent. They seemed like they were doing okay, but it also seemed like having some backup wouldn’t hurt. “Don’t even think about it” Stiles snapped. I turned to look at him in disbelief. “I can’t just sit here” I argued. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed angrily. “You can and you will. Lydia and I have managed to stay put, despite feeling exactly how you’re feeling. If we go out there, we’d just be a distraction” he argued back. “You also need to think of what could happen to you and your baby if you go out there” Lydia scolded, and my heart nearly stopped beating until I remembered the last thing I remembered saying. Wow, the words actually came out of my mouth, and they heard it, so they know. I don’t even have a second to process this, there’s too much going on. I sighed in frustration. “I can guard my stomach, I’ve done it before, and I am thinking about what could happen if I don’t go out there. Right now my boyfriend is out there, my pack, and I’m not staying here when I can be doing something” I argued, quickly tossing Theo’s jacket onto the seat, opening the back door, jumping out, and closing the door, ignoring Stiles and Lydia’s protests. The world immediately started to spin, and I squeezed my eyes as I leaned back against the jeep for support. It was harder than usual to summon my wolf due to how weak my body felt, but once my hearing picked up on Theo wincing in pain, I pushed past my fatigue to let the adrenaline flow through me. I opened my now shifted golden eyes, and squatted down slightly, quietly moving to the end of the jeep. I slowly peered my head over the corner to assess what was going on, and rapidly moved my head back when I saw two hunters close to me. I knew I couldn’t do what I would normally do, and charge in, acting as the main target. No, I had to be more careful, and not repeat what happened when I was last attacked. Suddenly bullets were flying in my direction, and I covered my stomach protectively as I swiftly rolled onto the ground towards the middle of the jeep to avoiding getting shot. I heard footsteps approaching me, the scent of the person unknown to me, and I instantly got to my feet just as a guy-who didn’t look that much older than me-stood there smirking as he pointed a gun at me. “I can’t believe it, I never thought it’d be me bringing her the Liam Dunbar” he said smugly. I turned to the side, still covering my stomach protectively with one of my arms, and gnashed my fangs at him. “You’re not taking me anywhere, asshole” I growled, and my heart raced in dreaded anticipation. He only took a step towards me when he cried out in pain, dropped his weapon, and fell onto his knees as he tried desperately to grasp the back of his now bleeding neck. Theo was standing behind him with a raised hand, his claws coated in blood, and glowered down before using his foot to push the hunter completely on the ground. “Not on my watch” he snarled, and brutally kicked in the face, knocking him out. I had only a few seconds of feeling relief at the sight of him up close, before more bullets started firing in the air, and Theo and I both ducked. “What the hell are you doing out here, little wolf? You’re supposed to be with Stiles and Lydia” he argued. I raised my eyebrows. “Are you serious? I woke up to this, Teddy, there was no way I was just going to stay in the jeep, not when it looked like you guys could use some help” I argued back as bullets continued to soar above us. His gold shifted eyes narrowed. “We were managing just fine without you, and you’ve already almost gotten shot twice, which proves that you need to be in there!” he yelled and pointed at the jeep. “I’m not going back in there when you’re out here!” I yelled back. “Can you two please save this argument for later?!” Stiles exclaimed from inside the jeep. The bullet firing finally stopped for a moment, and Theo slowly stood up, glancing pointedly at me when I tried standing up with him. Of course when he glanced away from me, I stood up next to him anyway, but I couldn’t help letting out a surprised gasp when I suddenly felt a cramp in my stomach. Theo instantly turned to look at me as I braced a hand against the side of the jeep, and my eyes flickered between gold and baby blue. “What’s wrong, little wolf? Were you hit?” he questioned as his eyes scanned up and down my body. I winced, and used my other hand to hold my stomach. “No, I just-just need a minute” I replied, and inhaled sharply. This can’t be happening, not now, the timing couldn’t be worse. Theo didn’t look convinced as he briefly glanced down at my stomach. “You need more than a minute, being out here is too stressful, and when the adrenaline wears off, your pain might become more severe, so you need to get back inside the car” he argued. I opened my mouth to argue back when a gunshot rang out, and my eyes widened as I watched Theo grimacing before raising a hand to grip his right shoulder, blood quickly soaking hand and the top of his shirt. My heart pounded from the absolute fury that took hold of me, and my eyes fully flared gold as I eyed the hunter who fired the shot standing only a few feet away. I roared and he ran off, the instinct to chase him was almost too strong to ignore, and I was about to give chase when the sound of Stiles and Lydia screaming my name pierced through my fury. I turned to look at them, but I didn’t spot another hunter in the reflection of the jeep’s windshield in time to stop him from grabbing me from behind. Without hesitation, he wrapped his one thick arm tightly around my neck, and shoved his gun into my side as he struggled in his attempt to drag me away. I dug my heels into the ground, and was about to take my claws to the arm around my neck when the hunter abruptly stopped in his tracks. I looked up to see Theo with his arm raised, a gun in his hand pointed at the hunter’s head, the same gun that the young hunter aimed at me earlier. “I’m only going to say this once, let him go” Theo growled menacingly, eyes a fiery gold, but my heart clenched at seeing so much blood trickling down his right arm. The hunter scoffed, pushing his gun harder against my side, and I tried to hold back a wince, failing slightly, but Theo narrowing his eyes let me know he noticed. “No way in hell, not when I can be the one to bring her Scott McCall’s beta. Besides what are you going to do? You can’t stop me without hurting him, and I bet you don't even know how to use that” he taunted. Looks like Monroe hasn’t learned her lesson in not underestimating us, and neither has her followers. Theo arched an eyebrow. “You’d be surprised” he said, and fired off a shot that was close to the side of the hunter’s head. He moved his head hastily to dodge, slightly loosening his hold on my neck, and I quickly used my claws to slice deeply down his whole arm. He howled in agony as he finally released me, and I elbowed him in the face, leaving him to cry out as I sprinted to Theo. The moment after I reached Theo’s side, he fired a second shot that hit the hunter’s shoulder, which caused him to drop his gun to grasp his wounded shoulder, and the sound of metal clanging against the back of his head had him toppling forward onto the ground. I raised my eyebrows in surprise at seeing Stiles standing a few steps behind the unconscious hunter holding a metal baseball bat in his hands. “I knew having this would come in handy” Stiles commented, and flashed a relieved smile at Theo and I. I scoffed and Theo tossed the gun in his hands onto the ground. Stiles’ relieved smile fell, and his eyes widened as he seemed to look behind us. “Look out!” he warned. Theo caught on to where Stiles’ eyeline was faster than I did, rapidly turning his head, and then immediately pinning me against the jeep, shielding my body with his. Stiles yelped as he dove in front of his jeep to save himself from the spray of bullets shooting at the side of it. Theo grimaced as a bullet went clean through his left side, blood splattering on both of us, and my heart sank. Another injury because of me. Just as Theo started to lean a little more heavily on me, a loud piercing scream filled the air, and Theo and I instantly brought our hands up to cover our ears. The scream continued for another minute before stopping, and Theo and I removed our hands to see Lydia a couple feet away from us, her hands briefly elevated in the air in front of the last hunter, who was now passed out on the ground, and shakily lowered them down. “Is-Is everyone okay?” Lydia called out, a little breathless. Theo inhaled sharply as he lifted a hand to press against his bleeding side, and I swallowed as I ignored a cramp in my stomach to glance down to see how bad it looked. We suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and I looked up in worry as Theo forced his eyes to glow gold, but they returned to green when we both picked up on familiar scents. I looked over to see Argent and Derek running towards the jeep, Derek rushing to Lydia’s side to pull her into a tight hug. “Deaton and I can handle the aftermath with the police, and Monroe’s people. You all need to go, and get as far away from here as you can, I’ll get into contact when it’s safe” Argent ordered, blood smeared on multiple parts of his face. Stiles stood up, and smacked the top of the jeep's hood. “Come on, we don’t have time to waste” he said urgently and rushed to the driver’s side door. Lydia and Derek separated from their hug, and briefly glanced at each other before Lydia raced to the back door on the driver’s side, while Derek started to limp to the passenger side door. Theo and I moved, so that I could open the back door we were leaning against, and forced Theo to go inside before me. He glared at me as I climbed in after him, and shut the door. Derek opened the passenger door, and grimaced as he stepped inside, grimacing again as he closed the door. Stiles looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed in concern, and Derek nodded his head before leaning back against the seat. Stiles quickly started the jeep, gripped the gear shift before moving it to completely reverse out of the parking space, narrowly missing hitting the unconscious hunters on the ground, and moved the gear shift again before his foot pushed down hard on the gas pedal. His tires screeched as he sped out of the back part of the parking lot, and onto the road. “Okay, we need somewhere to lie low, does anyone have a clue where we should go?” Lydia asked as Stiles began to drive us as far away from the vet clinic as fast as possible. “The Artemis Clinic” Theo replied, and then winced. I tugged off the jacket I was wearing, and Theo moved his hand, so I could hold the jacket against his bleeding side. Lydia balled up Theo’s jacket that I tossed earlier and brought a hand up to push pressure down on his shoulder wound. “What the hell is that?” Stiles questioned. Derek rolled his eyes. “What it sounds like, and I know where it’s located, I’ll set up the GPS” he answered, and inhaled sharply as he stretched his arm out to snatch Stiles’ phone out from his cup holder. Theo closed his eyes and leaned his head back as sweat trickled down the sides of his face. My level of worry was sky high, like it always was when he got hurt. “You’re losing so much blood” I said quietly, and my heart clenched in my chest. It’s my fault, you were too focused on me. Theo scoffed. “Better me than you, little wolf” he said nonchalantly. I swallowed. “I’m the reason you even got shot” I said, and ignored another cramp in my stomach. Lydia looked away, Stiles kept his eyes strictly forward, and Derek’s gaze stayed focused on Stiles’ phone in his hand. Theo opened his eyes, and lifted his head to arch an eyebrow at me. “No, it was those idiot hunters who shot me, they’re the only ones to blame, but I would like to know why you thought leaving the car was a good idea in the first place” he argued. I rolled my eyes. “I told you earlier, I wanted to help” I argued back. Theo raised both of his eyebrows. “We had it handled. Argent and Deaton know how to fight and hold their own, and in case you’ve forgotten, so do me and Derek, and we have the added bonus of being able to heal” he argued. You take longer to heal though. I glared at him. “I know that, okay? But Teddy, you know that I can also hold my own in a fight, and I can heal too” I argued back, and I stuffed down a wince when I felt more cramping in my stomach. Theo sighed. “You’re supposed to be taking it easy, sweetheart, and you can only partially heal right now, you know that” he growled, and narrowed his eyes. My heart involuntarily skipped a beat when he called me sweetheart, and it made me more irritated. My eyes briefly flared gold. “What did you expect me to do, sit on my ass while you were risking your life?!” I yelled. His gorgeous green eyes briefly flickered gold in response. “Yes, that’s exactly what I expected-or more like-hoped you would do, but I know you, so I should've known better!” he yelled back. I groaned in frustration. “I wasn’t going to just watch and do nothing. I mean it’s my fault that they even showed up, they were after me, I was the target” I argued. Theo’s mesmerizing green eyes searched mine, and I swallowed at the intensity in them. “Listen to me, it’s not your fault that some lunatic guidance counselor is fixated on using you to get to Scott, you don’t have control over that, okay? No one would’ve blamed you if you sat this fight out, you were unconscious before it even started, little wolf, I had to carry you to the car” he argued back, and I softened at seeing the turmoil swirling in his green orbs. Theo and I didn’t take our eyes off of each other as he raised his hand to tuck some of my hair behind my ear, and my heart skipped a beat again. Lydia cleared her throat. “Maybe you two can continue having this…conversation later” she tried suggesting. “Maybe not in my car” Stiles commented. “And in private” Derek added. I ran a hand through my hair. “We, um, we need to try and get the bullet out of your shoulder” I said abruptly to Theo, when I got another cramp, and barely managed to hold in another wince. I gripped my stomach tighter, and Theo’s eyes glanced down. “Do we have any lighters?” I asked, hoping to stop Theo’s scrutiny, and looked over to see that Derek had apparently already placed Stiles’ phone back in the cup holder, and GPS had been giving directions the whole time Theo and I were arguing. Derek shifted forward to open Stiles’ glove compartment, but he grimaced afterwards, and Stiles took a hand off the wheel to smack his hand away. He shuffled through the glove compartment until he found a light blue lighter and tossed it over Derek’s shoulder at me. I extended my hand to catch it, when I got a cramp that was too strong for me to ignore, and I winced as I firmly clutched my stomach. The lighter bounced on the floor and landed in between Theo and Lydia’s shoes. Stiles briefly looked back in confusion. “What's going on?” he questioned, but the cramp hadn’t eased up enough for me to say something. Lydia’s eyebrows furrowed. “Something’s wrong with Liam” she replied. Theo glanced up into my eyes. “You’ve been having pain in your stomach this entire time, haven’t you?” he asked like he already knew the answer. I let out a ragged breath. “Maybe” I confessed, and winced again. It was definitely a mistake to ignore the cramps for this long. What if there was something wrong with the baby? Theo sighed. “Come on, little wolf, let me see what I can do” he suggested, fear and anger swirling with the worry in his scent, and he grimaced as he tried to reach for me. I inhaled sharply. “But I need to get the-” I started to protest, and let out a small surprised gasp when the next cramp I felt was stronger than the last one. I ended up removing my other hand from his side, so that I could hold my stomach with both of my hands. Why does it hurt so much? “Liam, don't worry about, I can get it when we need it” Lydia reassured me. I took a deep breath and let it out, as Theo gently helped me lean back against the seat, and then his eyes scanned up and down my body, finally settling on my stomach. He started to reach for my hand, and I shook my head, causing him to look up at me with furrowed eyebrows. “You shouldn’t, not when you’ve been shot twice” I said tiredly. Theo raised his eyebrows. “That’s the last thing I’m worried about, I’m more focused on your pain” he argued. But what if you take some of mine, and it makes yours worse? “Don’t be-I’m fine” I tried arguing back, and let out a shaky breath when I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. No no no, I already threw up once today, I don’t want to again. “None of us believe that” Derek mumbled. Theo grimaced as he raised his hand to cup the side of my face, and turned it so I was looking at him. “Hey, is there something else going on besides stomach pains?” he whispered. I was about to say no, repeat that I was fine because I didn't want him to worry, but another wave of nausea washed over me. I swallowed, and tried desperately to hold back a groan, but it slipped out. Theo briefly searched my eyes, and then glanced forward. “Pull over” he growled at Stiles. “What? But we’re only halfway there” Stiles argued, and Theo dropped his hand from my face as I pressed my forehead on Theo’s shoulder trying to take a deep breath, and it came out ragged. A much more forceful wave of nausea came over me, and a second groan escaped my lips. Theo glared at Stiles. “Liam’s about to be sick, pull over now” he demanded. Stiles turned his wheel too sharply in a panic to park as quickly as possible onto the side of the road, causing my stomach to lurch horribly, and I couldn’t back anymore as I shot forward to throw up onto the floor in front of me. There was so little left in my stomach, but it didn’t stop my body from trying to heave more, and I groaned again before I felt Theo place a hand on my lower back underneath my t-shirt, and felt a small brush of relief. My body finally stopped trying to force something to come up, and I leaned back against the backseat again. “I’m sorry, I tried not to” I said a little out of breath, and winced as I grasped my stomach tightly. “You have nothing to be sorry for, little wolf” Theo tried reassuring me. “Just try to take it easy, your body’s been through a lot in the past few hours” Lydia said gently. Stiles sighed. “It’s my fault anyway, I should’ve pulled over sooner, and I shouldn’t have swerved like I did, damn it” he said in frustration, then opened his door, got out of the jeep, and headed to the back of it. He opened the truck door, and seemed to be rifling through it. “I know I have some towels around here somewhere” he muttered. Theo inhaled sharply as he moved his hand to rest on top of my hands that were on my stomach, and I struggled to keep my eyes open as exhaustion attempted to take over me. “I’m so tired” I said softly. “I know, little wolf, just close your eyes” he said softly back, and I let myself lose the fight in keeping my eyes open. “Don’t leave” I whispered, and I felt him squeeze my hand. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart, I promise” he whispered back, and exhaustion took over me completely as everything faded away.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Theo:
My stolen heart clenched in my chest as I watched Liam lose consciousness again, with him and the baby’s heartbeats both slower than usual. The fiery, burning throbbing in my shoulder and side were nothing compared to the agony of seeing Liam in any kind of pain. I’ll never forget the dread I felt looking over and seeing Liam’s head peer out behind the back of Stiles’ jeep, the terror that went through me at seeing him almost get shot. What if I wasn’t there to stop the hunters from trying to take him or shoot him? How much could his body take? What if something’s wrong with the baby? After Stiles seemingly gathered some towels in his arms, he hurried to the other side of the jeep to the back door beside Liam. He opened it, and grimaced heavily as he looked at where the floor by Liam’s shoes. I glared at him, daring him to make some kind of comment, and he rolled his eyes. I clenched my jaw as I slid an arm underneath the back of Liam’s knees to slightly lift his feet off the ground, and Stiles silently draped two towels onto the floor to cover it entirely. He closed the door as I panted a little to slowly drop Liam’s legs back on the toweled floor, and he circled back to the driver’s side. He climbed back inside, shoved the other towels into Derek’s lap, then closed his door, and sighed. “Okay, before we get back onto the road, does anyone else have the urge to upchuck? Considering what just happened with Liam, I don’t think we should pull over a second time, and I’m limited on towels” Stiles pointed out. “We're fine, just shut up and drive” Derek said tiredly, and Stiles glared at him before doing exactly as he said. After Stiles was back on the road, he, Derek and Lydia rolled their windows down halfway to air out the car. Lydia sighed. “I hope we get to this Artemis Clinic soon, and that they’re able to help you, Derek and Liam” she said solemnly. I then sighed. “Me too, Liam, especially” I said and leaned back against the seat, disregarding the stinging I felt on my back. I had more injuries than just my shoulder and side, but they were just grazes and slashes hidden throughout my body, which is why I’m glad Liam didn’t notice them. He felt enough (unnecessary) guilt about my bullet wounds. Stiles’ suddenly slammed his one hand on his steering wheel. “I should’ve tried harder to stop him from getting out of the car” he said in frustration, guilt trickling out from his scent. “I should’ve too, but he rushed out once he had his mind set, and we all know how stubborn Liam can be” Lydia reminded him. I rolled my eyes. “That’s putting it nicely ” I mumbled. If you looked up the definition of headstrong, a picture of Liam would be right next to it. “Liam always wants to help in a fight, he can’t help himself” Derek added. It drives me crazy, but it’s a part of who Liam is, if his loved ones are in danger or someone innocent, he wants to jump in head first no matter the odds. Stiles ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, but this time-this time he’s carrying a kid inside of him-so I should’ve thought of something” he argued. I scoffed. “I should’ve tied him up like I was thinking of doing” I confessed. Lydia arched an eyebrow. “Why do I have a feeling that it wouldn’t have been the first time?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. My lips lifted into a half-smirk. “Do you really want me to answer that?” I said dryly, Lydia looked down to hide an amused smile, Derek let a small chuckle slip, and Stiles made a dramatic gagging noise. Liam and I’ve only tied each other up a few times (due to Liam’s impatience), and it always ended up with us tearing through the ropes or chains, followed by the breaking of furniture and destroying half the room we’re in. It’s why we’re banned from a motel or two… Stiles drove over a pothole, jostling the entire car, and Derek and I winced at the movement, with Liam making a small groan. I instantly turned my head to glance at him, raising my hand to cup the side of his pale face, and rubbing his cheek with my thumb to coax him awake. Liam’s beautiful baby blue eyes opened halfway. “Are we there yet?” he asked, his eyes glazed over with pain. My stolen heart squeezed. “Almost, little wolf, just hang on” I answered. His eyes fell fully shut, and he rested his head on my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to put our baby in danger” he whispered. I swallowed. “I know, sweetheart” I whispered back, and I inhaled sharply as I briefly took some of his pain, causing his breathing to even out. I could only manage to take some of it at a time, my body protests each time I do. Lydia cleared her throat, and I dropped my hand from Liam’s face to look at her. “Isn’t that the second time you’ve taken his pain?” she questioned, and raised her eyebrows. I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about” I denied. Stiles’ jeep suddenly jerked forward as he pushed down harder on his gas pedal. “This Artemis Clinic better be some mystical healing place for werewolves, otherwise driving there is pointless” he grumbled. “They’ll be able to help, Liam and I have been there before” I admitted. “It was the secret safe place we helped you escape to, wasn’t it?” Lydia asked, and I nodded. “I’m glad that Deaton sent you two there” Derek pointed out, and the three of us glanced curiously at him. “I haven’t been there in a long time though.” My stolen heart nearly burst from relief at seeing the familiar looking black fence that stretched down the whole road Stiles’ was driving on, but Stiles’ breathing quickened as he neared the entrance. “Why do I feel like I shouldn’t be here? Should we turn around? Yeah, we should probably turn around, and go somewhere safe” he said, high pitched and panic-stricken, his heart rate spiking as fear and unease took over his scent. “It's safe, what you're feeling is the wards that the druids have in place, it's different for a human” Derek explained, and rested his hand on Stiles’ thigh which seemed to help relax his breathing, and calm his heart rate. Lydia shivered, and Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed when he turned into the entrance, in front of the doors of the black gate. The GPS announced that we reached our destination. “This is it? You're sure we're safe?” Stiles questioned Derek. The ground shook slightly, and made a noise before a familiar looking pole with an intercom speaker attached to the top of it popped out from the ground. Stiles and Lydia jumped in surprise, and Stiles rolled down his window. A static sound went off that pierced all of our ears, and we grimaced in unison. “Name?” a female voice called out through the speaker. “Me?” Stiles asked, and we all rolled our eyes at him. “No, the vehicle…yes you sir” the woman sassed, and Lydia, Derek and I did everything we could to hide our amused reactions. Stiles raised his eyebrows. “Stiles, which is a nickname by the way, it’s from my last name, Stilinski.”“Supernatural status?”“I don’t have one-I mean-I’m just regular old me.”“Unless you’re a staff member, you’re not allowed to enter.”Stiles looked taken aback. “But I’m a part of a pack.”“Name?”“McCall-Scott McCall’s pack, ya know, the True Alpha. I was his first member, so that’s gotta count for something, right?” Stiles argued. My stolen heart pounded in my chest when he didn’t get a response. “Look, I’m not even here for myself, I'm here for my boyfriend and my friends-I drove them because they needed help. One of them is pregnant, and unconscious, and he really needs to be looked at” he pleaded. “Names?”“Uh, Derek Hale, Liam Dunbar, and Theo Raeken. My girlfriend is also in the car, but she’s not hurt, her name is Lydia Martin” Stiles rushed to answer. “Are you all a part of the same pack?”“Yes, Liam is the unconscious pregnant one, and Theo is the father-well the other father in this case-but he’s been shot, so was Derek.”There was a couple seconds of silence. “You may enter.” Stiles, Lydia, and I all let out sighs of relief as the pole with the intercom system plummeted back into the ground, and one of the gate doors flew open. “Next time, Lydia does the talking” Derek commented, and Stiles side-glared at him as he hesitantly drove through the opening, and past the gate. The circle driveway appeared that led to the mansion, and I glanced at Liam. I lifted my hand to grasp the side of his face, and rubbed his cheek with my thumb to try to coax him back to consciousness again. “We’re here, little wolf, you’re going to be okay” I said softly, hoping he heard me as he remained silent. “What is this place?” Stiles said curiously as he pulled up to the front entrance, where the bronze Artemis statues were that Liam pointed out the first time we came here, and Stiles put the car in park. “It looks different from the last time I was here, it’s bigger” Derek pointed out. One of the entrance doors opened, and I was relieved to see a familiar face in Atlas as he jogged out. “Who’s he?” Stiles asked. “The valet” I replied. Stiles turned off his jeep, but Atlas briefly flashed his gold eyes in greeting and then raised his hand up. “A medical team is on their way, so if any of you choose to leave the vehicle, you need to stay by it until they arrive” he ordered. “How long are they going to be?” I asked. “They should only be a couple more minutes” Atlas answered. Lydia sighed. “I think I’ve done enough waiting in this car” she said under her breath, glanced apologetically at me before removing her hand from my shoulder, turned to open her door, and slipped out. Stiles followed her lead, and closed both of their doors as Lydia rounded the back of the jeep to open my door, and Stiles circled the front to open Derek’s passenger door. I grimaced as I undid the jacket on my shoulder, and used the sleeves to tie around my wound to hold pressure, I repeated the same action with my side and tied the jacket around my waist. I gritted my teeth through the fiery agony in shoulder and side as I pulled Liam into my arms. “Theo, what are you doing?” Lydia questioned. “What I have to do” I said determinedly, and she stepped aside as I avoided stepping onto the toweled floor, and slowly slid out of the car while securely holding Liam. Once my feet touched the ground, I struggled for a couple seconds to stand up with Liam in my arms, the amount of blood that I've lost making me feel weak, and light-headed. Lydia furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for you to be carrying him” she remarked. “Yeah, what if your shoulder gives out?” Stiles questioned as he tried to help Derek out of the car, but Derek scowled at him and limped out of the car himself. I glared at him, ignoring how much worse my shoulder and side was feeling from holding Liam up in my arms. “I would never drop him” I argued. “We know you wouldn’t let that happen, but just consider giving yourself a break, and laying him on the backseat for now” Lydia suggested. My coyote and wolf bristled and roared at the idea of letting go of Liam, causing my eyes to flare bright gold, and Lydia took a step back as she glanced at me in confusion. “Lydia, get away from him now” Stiles warned. “We don’t want her moving too suddenly, and he shouldn’t hurt her as long as she doesn’t try to take Liam from him” Derek explained, but a small amount of wariness floated from his scent. Lydia swallowed and raised her hands in surrender. “Theo knows I wouldn’t do that, I’m just worried about him and Liam, that’s all” she said evenly. I tilted my head as her heart pounded in my chest, but it was steady. Not lying. She won’t take him from us. Suddenly, both of the front entrance doors burst open, and Dr. Ophelia and her team rushed out with a hospital gurney, followed by Dawn and an unknown woman each pushing an empty wheelchair. They were definitely going to take Liam away. I turned forward and flashed my fangs when they got close. They stopped a few feet from me, but they didn’t look scared, just cautious. Stiles' eyes widened. “Theo, you have to give Liam to them!” he exclaimed, and I turned my head to snarl at him. We don’t have to do anything. Derek’s eyes flared a bright eerie blue in warning. “Stiles, I know you're worried, but you’re not helping” he said in a low growl. “Your mate needs assistance” Dr. Ophelia said calmly, and I turned my head in her direction. Her eyes flickered to red, and I started to feel the effects of an Alpha presence as I bowed my head slightly. “Listen to his heartbeat, and your unborn child’s” she gently ordered. I instantly looked down at Liam’s paler face, my hearing picking up on how his heartbeat was lower than it was in the car, so was the baby’s. The smell of distress had taken over his scent. What are we doing? We’re wasting time that they don’t have. “You’ve done your part, you got him here, now it’s time for us to do our part” Dawn added. I swallowed as their words sank in, and then I winced as my fangs retreated back into my gums, then my eyes shifted back to green. I looked back up, and nodded at Dr. Ophelia whose eyes had returned to normal. I started to walk towards them at the same time her team pushed the gurney to me, and grimaced as I gently laid Liam on it. “We’re going to take him to a room to begin stabilizing him, so we won’t be going far. Please give Dawn as much information as you can as fast as possible” Dr. Ophelia ordered, and then her and her team whisked Liam away inside the clinic. “What just happened?” Stiles questioned. I lost control. “It was his wolf and coyote again” Derek answered, and I ran a hand through my hair. I promised I wouldn’t leave Liam. “Was it like this when it happened with Stiles?” Lydia asked Derek. Derek shook his head. “The reaction was similar, but we had to leave him and Liam alone for him to regain control” he explained. Liam and I also did other things that helped. Dawn approached me with a wheelchair, and I arched an eyebrow. “I can walk” I said firmly. “Okay, how about we use it as a precaution? You can’t give me the information I need on your mate if you faint from blood loss trying to make your own way to the front desk” Dawn reminded me. I narrowed my eyes, and then reluctantly turned around to sit on the seat of the wheelchair. I glanced over to see a blonde woman with indigo blue eyes that I hadn’t seen before approach Derek with a wheelchair, and Lydia and Stiles bickered with him, until he rolled his eyes and reluctantly sat down. Stiles tossed his keys at Atlas-who had been observing silently and completely unfazed this whole time-and we all went inside the clinic. We met up at the front desk, where they stopped our wheelchairs, and Dawn rounded the desk to grab a clipboard, a piece of paper, and a pen. “Okay, my sister, Aurora, works for the main trauma center, and that’s where she’ll be taking the four of you” she explained and gestured to the woman who pushed Derek in his wheelchair. I shook my head. “She can just take them now, I don't need them to wait for me, not when I join them in a little bit” I suggested. Lydia folded her arms against her chest. “We’re not just going to leave you” she protested. I sighed. “Derek needs to be looked at, and I need to talk to Dawn about Liam” I reminded her. Stiles scoffed. “Liam would be pissed and probably try to punch us if he found out we left you here alone” he argued. Dawn cleared her throat. “I completely understand, but the sooner I get the information I need, the faster Mr. Raeken will be on his way” she reassured them. “I can also easily come back for him” Aurora added in a softer voice than Dawn’s authoritative sounding voice. The phone suddenly rang at the front desk, and Dawn swiftly picked it up. “This is Dawn speaking, who’s calling?” “This is resident Dr. Galen calling from Room Six, the patient is Liam Dunbar. Dr. Ophelia wanted to know if you have acquired the necessary information yet?” an unfamiliar male voice asked. “Not yet, but I was about to get started on it in a few minutes” Dawn replied. “Hurry” the male voice said and then the line clicked. My stolen heart raced in fear, and I briefly looked at Derek to see if he was listening in too, and I got my answer by seeing his furrowed eyebrows. Dawn’s eyebrows furrowed as she placed the phone down, and then glanced at Aurora. “Take the three of them to the trauma center” she ordered. Aurora nodded and swiftly turned Derek’s wheelchair to push quickly down the opposite hallway. “Come on, he’ll be fine, this is Theo we're talking about” Derek called out, and Stiles and Lydia took one last glance at me, and then had to jog to catch up. I untied the jackets on my shoulder and around my waist, and tossed them onto the wheelchair after I stood up from it. I ignoring the light-headedness I felt, and leaned against the front desk as Dawn held the pen in her hand, preparing to write. “What brought your mate in today?” she asked. I swallowed, and went into a brief summary about the hunter ambush and then what happened in the car on the way here. Her hand flew as she wrote everything down. “Did he shift at all before, during or after the ambush?”I nodded. “During, and after.”“You mentioned that you had to leave him to go to a meeting, how far away were you from him?”“Forty-five minutes.”“Did either of you experience symptoms from the mating bond?” “I had this tugging feeling in my chest, and it felt like he was feeling the same thing.” Dawn’s eyebrows pinched together in concentration. “Okay, so you weren’t split up for an extended period of time, but it now means you two can’t be separated for the next twenty-four, possibly forty-eight hours.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, trust me.” Dawn rounded her desk with her clipboard in hand. “Okay, I have to run and give this to Dr. Ophelia, but I’ll be right back. Don’t move, maybe think about sitting back down in the wheelchair” she hurried to say, and then dashed down the hallway. Suddenly, the word started to spin, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to keep holding onto the front desk for support. My legs felt like they were about to give out, the stinging in my back got sharper, my shoulder ached from how much it had been utilized and I swallowed past my new-found nausea as it felt like fresh black blood was leaking out of all my wounds. It was like all of the pain I had been pushing aside was finally catching up to me, and it wasn’t long before I felt myself falling to the side, and darkness overtaking me. The scent of burning flesh reached my nose, followed by a horrible fiery sensation in my side, and eyes popped open bright gold. I instantly growled at the unknown woman sitting on a stool and using a small blowtorch to burn out the wolfsbane, and struggled against the borderline supernaturally strong straps that were restraining me to a hospital bed. This isn’t usually how my dreams go, maybe my sister’s getting more creative. Beads of sweat rolled down my face and covered my now bare torso, and I was about to growl again when someone grasped my restrained hand. I turned to see that it was Lydia, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Lydia’s not usually in my dreams, and when she was, she never held my hand to support me through my pain. Usually she had wolf claws and was digging them into the back of my neck like I had so awfully done to her. So then this was real. Everything that was happening was reality. Thankfully, the woman using the blowtorch on me stopped, and set it at the top of a supply cart next to her. “Hi, I’m Phoebe, I’m one of the trauma nurses, and I’m sorry about retraining you, it’s what we usually do when we extract bullets” the woman explained, and stood up to undo the straps that were over my chest, arms, thighs, and ankles. I glanced at my shoulder to see that it was already bandaged up. “You removed the bullet in my shoulder already?” I questioned, and looked at her in slight disbelief. Phoebe grimaced, and ran a hand through her short russet brown hair. “Yeah that one was pretty lodged in, I had to make a bigger incision than planned. You must have an insane pain tolerance to only wake up now, your side was actually the last injury that needed to be taken care of” she answered, and I noticed that I was only wearing my boxer briefs underneath the blanket that was pulled up to my waist. Lydia raised her eyebrows at me. “Yeah, apparently you were covered in wounds, a couple of bullet grazes up and down your right leg, knife marks on your back. The other three nurses that were here were amazed that you didn’t pass out sooner” she pointed out. I sighed. “Yeah, let’s not tell Liam about that” I remarked as Phoebe pulled on a fresh pair of gloves, and then taped a large patch of gauze to my side. “You should be fully healed up in a few hours, your shoulder and side are going to take the longest to heal though, but that’s to be expected” Phoebe informed me, and stood up to tug her gloves off to throw them away in the trash can next to her. I nodded. “Thanks” I said tiredly. Phoebe gave me a small smile. “Sure, I’ll give you some time to catch your breath” she said and dragged her supply cart after her as she left the room. I glanced at Lydia. “What’s been happening with Liam? Where’s Derek and Stiles?” I asked. Lydia pushed the plaid privacy curtain behind her all the way against the wall, and revealed Derek laying elevated on his own hospital bed, also laying in just his underwear with his chest bandaged up, his one side, along with both of his calves, and arching an eyebrow at Stiles, who was showing him something on his phone. “We need it” Stiles said urgently. “No, we don’t” Derek argued. “Says who?” Stiles argued back. Derek rolled his eyes. “Says me. We don’t need rope, I hold you down plenty on my own” he pointed out. That was more than I wanted to know about them. I raised my eyebrows. “And you’ve been judging me and Liam” I said sarcastically and smirked as a startled Stiles dropped his phone onto the floor. Stiles glared at me as he bent down to pick up his phone. “I liked you better when you were unconscious” he snarked. I scoffed. “Same here” I retorted. Lydia sighed. “And I sadly don’t have much information on Liam. I’m not biological family or his mate, so all they were willing to tell me was that they were stabilizing him” she admitted. I furrowed my eyebrows. “How long ago did they tell you that?” I asked. Lydia tucked some of her hair behind her ears. “Twenty-five, maybe thirty minutes ago, you've been out for a little over an hour. The one woman who brought us here, Aurora, found you passed out by the front desk, and rushed you here. The nurses had been working on you and Derek for a while, but when they were down to just your side, Phoebe sent the rest of them to get some clothes for you two” she answered. I was debating about not waiting, and going to see Liam anyway, not really caring if I walked around in just my underwear, when Dawn knocked on the side of the doorway, and then stepped inside. “Nurse Phoebe let me know that you’re awake, are you up for hearing a little bit about your mate’s condition?” she asked me. I nodded, and she glanced warily at Lydia, Stiles, and Derek. “Do you want me to update you in private?” I shook my head. “No, it’s fine” I replied. Dawn nodded. “Okay, well Mr. Dunbar is stable at the moment, it did take some time to get to that point due to the severe dehydration, and extreme amount of stress he went through prior to arriving here. When they first brought him to his room, he was in and out of consciousness, and seemed to be experiencing additional cramping in his stomach, causing his body to become more and more tense. But Dr. Ophelia and her team did administer pain medication that wouldn’t harm the baby, so that his body could begin to relax, and he’s been unconscious since. They believe that the combination of pain medicine, and the IV fluids he’s currently being given should stop the cramping altogether. There is another medication that can be given if the cramping returns after he regains consciousness again” she explained. I ran a hand through my hair as I took in everything she said, feeling kind of like my head was underwater, and I just wanted-more than anything-to be by Liam’s side. “How’s the baby?” I asked, forcing my tone to be even. “Stable as well, but Dr. Ophelia wanted to discuss your mate and the baby’s conditions further in person, so I will inform you when she returns to Room Six” she answered. “I can go to Liam now, and wait for her there” I declared, and started to sit up. Dawn waved me off. “There’s no rush, you need to keep your own recovery in mind” she gently pointed out, and I sighed. I knew she probably meant well, but what she doesn't know is that the annoying soreness and aching in my body doesn't even compare to the amount of times the Doctors performed surgical and invasive procedures on me without anesthesia. I can handle walking to wherever Liam's recovery room was, and I didn't want to be separated from him any longer. I need to know what else Dr. Ophelia wanted to talk to me about.Dawn suddenly glanced at Lydia, and tilted. “Are you a banshee?” she asked. Lydia nodded. “That isn’t a problem, is it?” she questioned. Dawn shook her head. “Of course not, just don’t leave either of your mate’s side under any circumstances, specifically your werewolf mate” she warned. Lydia swallowed, wariness taking over her scent. “I wasn’t planning on it” she said, and nervously smiled. “Hey, just curious, what would happen if she left Derek’s side?” Stiles asked. “She would get…lost. His presence and close proximity is currently helping keep her from becoming overwhelmed by her powers while she’s here, he's essentially an anchor to both of you, but especially to her. I don’t recommend staying here for more than a few hours at a time, and never overnight” Dawn replied ominously, and then glanced at me. “I’m going to let Dr. Ophelia know that you’re conscious, and check back in with you shortly” she informed me, and left the room. Stiles and Derek looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows before looking at Lydia, who's head was tilted as she glanced at the floor. “I was wondering why I felt different here” she said quietly, her scent all over the place. The nurse, Phoebe strutted back into the room with a metal cart that had multiple piles of shirts, pants, socks and slippers. “Okay, so the other nurses and I didn’t think we should try our hand at guessing sizes, so I just thought I’d bring a bunch of different options, and figured you guys could go through them to find the right ones” she explained, smiled at us, and then left the room, closing the door behind her. Lydia straightened her head, glanced up, and walked confidently to the cart. Stiles followed her as she quickly sorted through the sizes, and piled a navy blue shirt, matching sweat pants, and a pair of white socks onto his open arms. “That’s for Derek, go take it to him” she ordered, and Stiles stumbled as he tried not to drop anything while walking to Derek’s hospital bed. Stiles narrowed his eyes at me, and I arched an eyebrow as he pulled the privacy curtain from the wall between Derek and I’s hospital beds. Lydia grabbed a dark gray t-shirt, matching sweat pants, and black socks to hold in her arms, and walked to me to place at the bottom of my hospital bed. “You okay?” I asked. She scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I be? I get to have a break from hearing voices in my head, and all I need to do is not leave Derek’s side, things could be worse” she replied. I arched an eyebrow. “That’s one way to look at it” I said sarcastically. She gave me a small tense smile. “I’ll be on the other side to give you some semblance of privacy, but don’t be afraid to ask for help, I’ll send Stiles over” she informed me, and then walked to Derek’s side of the curtain. “Please don’t” Stiles and I complained in unison. I held back a grimace as I slowly sat up, and reached for the dark gray t-shirt. I tugged it on, swiped the blanket off of me, held back another grimace as I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and then grabbed the dark-gray sweatpants. It took a couple minutes, but I got both of my legs through, and used the bed for support when I stood to haul them all the way up. I sat back down to ease some of the light-headedness I was feeling, and then grabbed the black socks next. I slipped them on, and stood up a second time, taking some time to lean against the bed again for support. I knew I was probably pushing it, the soreness in my shoulder and side protesting all the moving I just did, but I couldn’t wait anymore. I need to see for myself that Liam was okay. I need to know what else Dr. Ophelia has to tell me. The whole time I was getting dressed, I heard the other three bickering amongst themselves, Derek arguing that he didn’t need any help, and that this wasn’t the first time he’d been injured like this, Stiles and Lydia arguing that they weren’t going to tell anyone if they helped him put on his pants, and that there was nothing wrong with needing help. I tried not to scoff because it’s probably how Liam and I would be if he was here trying to help me. There was a sudden knocking at the door. “Are we good?” I asked. “Yes” Derek said in an exasperated tone, and Lydia pushed the privacy curtain aside again. “Come in!” I called out, and the door opened to reveal Dawn pushing a wheelchair into the room. I arched an eyebrow as she pushed it in my direction. “I know you probably won’t want to use it, but it’ll be faster considering that you’re still recovering, and you shouldn’t be going anywhere, but Dr. Ophelia is on her way back to Room Six right now” Dawn explained. “You do look like you’d fall flat on your stupid face if you walk more than a couple feet” Stiles commented, and I rolled my eyes. “The last thing you want is to pass out again before seeing Liam” Lydia added, and I glanced at Derek, wondering how he deals with being ganged up by this two on a regular basis. His lips twitched, like he heard my thoughts, and then I sighed in defeat before turning around and plopping onto the wheelchair. Lydia quickly bent down to grab a clear bag full of stuff in it from the floor, and handed it to me. It had my bloodied clothes, phone, keys, and wallet all squished together in it, and I rested it onto my lap. Dawn was definitely in a rush, almost more than I was, as she pushed me in the wheelchair out of the room, and whirled down a smaller looking hallway. We passed a different front desk where her sister sat in a chair behind it, and reached two double doors. Dawn stopped, pressed a silver square button on the wall to open them up, and we hurried through. We then glided down a familiar looking hallway, passed Dawn’s front desk, and down the longer hallway to another pair of double doors. Dawn once again pressed a silver square button to open them, we charged through and she turned down a smaller hallway. My stolen heart started to race as I picked up on Liam’s scent, and Dawn parked my wheelchair outside of a room with a big number “6” next to the door. “I’m sorry if I, at all, pressured you into coming here before you were fully healed, I just believe that you and your mate’s recovery could benefit greatly from each other’s presence” she said apologetically. Liam’s hospital door opened, Dr. Ophelia stepped out, and closed the door too fast for me to get more than a glimpse of him. My stolen heart ached for him, and my wolf and coyote whined at having to wait longer to see him. I quickly moved the bag in my lap onto the floor before I inhaled sharply, and got to my feet. I glanced at Dawn. “Thanks.” Dawn gave a small smile. “Of course, I hope you and your mate start feeling better soon, and if you need anything, you know where to find me” she said, nodding at Dr. Ophelia, and then took the empty wheelchair as she left. I glanced warily at Dr. Ophelia and leaned against the wall beside me for support. “She said you wanted to discuss a few things with me” I pointed out. She nodded. “Yes, the intensity of Mr. Dunbar’s cramping was quite concerning. We did perform an ultrasound, and I didn’t see any signs of abnormalities on the baby, which is good, but while the heart rate has improved, it's still a little lower than I would like” she explained. Shit, how close was he to losing the-no I shouldn't let my mind wander in that direction. I swallowed. “Is there a way to bring it back up?” I asked. Please say there is. She tilted her head. “Well, my hope is that the IV fluids, the pain medication and having him on complete bed rest for, at least, the next twenty-four hours will help improve it, and Mr. Dunbar’s vitals as well” she replied. I furrowed my eyebrows. “I thought that he was stable” I said suspiciously. Dawn said he was. She nodded. “He is, but his own heart rate, and oxygen level are on the low end” she clarified. I ran a hand through my hair, and my stolen heart clenched in my chest. “Is there anything else that you can do for them?” I questioned. She shook her head. “Right now, it’s all about monitoring and waiting, and when he does regain consciousness, he needs the least amount of stress possible. It’s critical that his body remains in a calm state, or the cramping may very well return” she answered, and I nodded in understanding. “Your presence, alone, can make a difference in improving both of their conditions.” “I don't plan on leaving his side” I reassured her, and she nodded. I cleared my throat. “I didn’t mean to lose control before” I said quietly. She scoffed. “Trust me, I’ve seen worse. On a scale of one to ten on losing control, I’d rate you a two, maybe a three” she said and ch2uckled. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Really?” I said in disbelief. She arched an eyebrow. “Do you think that was the first time that something like that’s ever happened? You’re not the first supernatural to lose it because their mate is injured, and you didn’t attack, you just tried to scare us off. It doesn’t always go that way with other mates that have come here” she explained, bent down to grab my bag of belongings and handed it to me. “We took some blood work, so I’m going to go check on the lab’s progress” she informed me, and walked past me. I held onto the bag tightly, and opened Liam’s hospital door. My stolen heart squeezed inside my chest as I stepped inside, and shut the door behind me. I dropped my bag onto the floor, and grimaced as my side protested me rushing to Liam’s bedside. He was in a hospital gown, with a blanket pulled up to his waist, and he was unconscious. He had an IV on the inside of his arm that connected to a bag of fluids hanging on an IV pole, a tube with two prongs into his nostrils that was giving him oxygen from an oxygen tank that was hanging on the wall, a heart monitor, and it looked like something was wrapped around his stomach underneath his hospital gown that connected to a different monitor that seemed to be keeping track of the baby’s heart rate. I swallowed as I reached for his hand, and held it tightly in mine. “I’m here, little wolf, and I’m not going anywhere” I said softly, and rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Theo:
The sound of my phone vibrating startled me, and I slightly jumped as my eyes jolted open. I blinked and waited a couple seconds for my vision to clear. I must’ve dozed off at some point without meaning too. I then sat up and rubbed my eyes with my hands to help clear my disorientation. I remember refusing to sleep, and Dawn brought in a comfortable reclining chair for me last night anyway, to replace the uncomfortable one I had been sitting on since I got to Liam’s room. I glanced at an unconscious Liam, and my heart ached as I reached for his hand. He and the baby’s heart rate had improved, and they took him off of oxygen a few hours ago, but he still hadn’t woken up yet. Dr. Ophelia and the nurses said it was perfectly normal, that his body needs the rest, but it didn’t stop me from worrying. Stiles, Lydia, and Derek left early last night, but they said they were planning on visiting Liam today, with them preparing to stop by the animal clinic first so Derek can drive my truck here. Maybe one of them was calling me. I looked over at the side table next to Liam’s hospital bed, and grabbed my phone with my free hand. Argent’s name was flashing on the screen. He called last night, but it was a brief call. He said to not tell him where Liam and I were, but asked how we were doing, and that was it. I furrowed my eyebrows before I swiped to answer. “Any updates?” Argent asked. I sighed as I held the phone against my ear, and looked at Liam. “He’s better, but still unconscious” I replied. “Maybe that’s a good thing right now” he commented. “Why?” I questioned. He sighed heavily. “Scott and Malia were attacked by hunters in Paris, they’re okay, but they’re lying low at the moment” he answered. Two ambushes? That’s not a coincidence. I let briefly go of Liam’s hand to run that hand through my very messy hair. “Shit” I said quietly. “They’re going to be coming back to Beacon Hills sooner than they originally planned” he added.I scoffed. “It’s not any safer for either of them in Beacon Hills, especially Scott” I argued. Not when what Anastasia said about Monroe could actually be true. “Try telling him that” he said dryly. “Does Scott know about what happened at the animal clinic or about the meeting with Anastasia?” I questioned. “Stiles told him, which is why he and Malia were on their way to the airport, and that’s when they were attacked. He does know a meeting took place between you and her, but not what was discussed” he replied. I sighed. “You know he’s going to want to know what she said” I pointed out. “I know, but I think we should concentrate on one problem at a time. Only you and I know what was said, and it should stay that way for now ” he ordered. I glanced at Liam. “I only have two more days to decide about her ‘offer’” I reminded him. “I haven’t forgotten, I’m looking into what she said about Monroe secretly being in town, and why her followers chose to attack yesterday, they’re all in the hospital so the sheriff department hasn’t gotten much out of them yet" he informed me. Suddenly, Liam’s heart monitor made a noise, and then his hand squeezed mine. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll call you later.”“Theo, if you choose to tell Liam about the meeting, make sure he doesn’t tell anyone else, at least not yet. We need to come up with a plan first” was the last thing he said before I hung up. My stolen heart raced in my chest as I saw Liam move his other hand to rest onto his stomach. “Liam?” He slowly opened his beautiful baby blue eyes, and my stolen heart nearly burst from relief. He blinked a few times before his eyes seemed to be searching for mine. “Hey, I’m right here, little wolf” I said calmly, despite the worry I still felt, and finally baby blue met green. “Teddy?” he said hoarsely, and winced as he tried to sit up. I gently pressed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Take it easy, you've been unconscious for almost an entire day” I pointed out. He rolled his eyes. “Of course I have” he said with frustration in his voice, and cleared his throat. “Is the baby okay?” I nodded. “Yeah, the heart rate was low when you got here yesterday, but it came back up last night, and it’s been strong and steady since” I explained, and he let out a small breath of relief. He then swallowed, and searched my eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked. I squeezed his hand. “I healed, little wolf, don’t worry” I replied. He doesn’t need to know how long it took. “What about Stiles, Lydia, and Derek?” he questioned. I tilted my head. “Stiles was typical Stiles, Lydia’s banshee powers prevent her from being able to stay here for long periods of time, and Derek’s used to getting into fights with hunters, so he bounced back pretty fast” I said nonchalantly. I know I was leaving out some details, but the last thing I wanted was to overwhelm him. He ran a hand through his hair. “Did they make it back to the apartment safely?” he asked, and I nodded. “Anything else happen?” I shrugged. “Not much comes to mind” I said casually, controlling my heartbeat, but I couldn’t help looking away from his eyes. I hated lying, but I wanted to wait until he was at least out of here, before telling him about Scott and Malia. I still have no idea if I should even mention half of what was said at the meeting, let alone all of it. He sighed. “Look, I know that I’m supposed to take it easy, but I don’t think that means you should keep things from me” he pointed out. “I just want to wait until your body can handle more stress” I defended. He scoffed. “That isn’t fair for you to just up and decide” he protested. I raised my eyebrows. “Yeah, what if I tell you something that stresses you out so much that you start cramping, and you or our baby’s heart rate drops again? That’ll be on me, little wolf” I argued. He furrowed his eyebrows. “No it won’t, Teddy, and you shouldn’t be putting that kind of pressure on yourself” he argued back. There was a sudden knocking on the door, and Dr. Ophelia opened it. “Hi, I just wanted to quickly check in, and see how you’re feeling now that you’ve regained consciousness” she said as she stepped inside. Liam swallowed. “I feel fine so far” he said nervously, and I squeezed his hand. She nodded. “We did take you off oxygen a few hours ago, and removed the baby’s heart monitor an hour before that, but it seems like neither of your conditions have declined, which is good” she said confidently. Liam ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, when can I get discharged?” he asked. So impatient. I scoffed. “Little wolf, you just woke up, you’re probably not going anywhere for a while” I argued, and he rolled his eyes. “Your mate isn’t entirely wrong. You’re still on bedrest for at least three more hours, but depending on if you and the baby’s condition remain stable for a few hours after we let you off of bedrest, you could get discharged tonight or early tomorrow morning” she answered. “He should still avoid stress, right? And everyone around him should make sure that he stays calm?” I questioned, and arched an eyebrow at Liam. He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, but they shouldn’t hide things from me just to keep me calm, right? They should know that it’s probably more stressful for me to not know what’s going on” he questioned. I then narrowed my eyes. “Maybe they need to be reminded that this is the second time they’ve been hospitalized in less than a week” I argued. Dr. Ophelia cleared her throat. “They need to remember that they can’t protect me from everything” he argued back. “They need to remember that I promised to keep you and our baby safe” I reminded him. Dr. Ophelia cleared her throat again. He made a noise in frustration. “I do remember, you got shot keeping that promise, and it’s not the first time that’s happened. Even before the baby, you didn’t hesitate to put yourself between me and something that could get hurt me” he pointed out. I ran a hand through my hair. “Every time you get hurt, little wolf, it’s like my sister’s shoving her hand in my chest all over again” I surprised myself by admitting, and Liam’s eyes softened significantly. Dr. Ophelia quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her. “Teddy, come here” he ordered, and with the way he was looking at me, I was helpless to listen as I got to my feet, so that I could lean down to rest my forehead against his. “We’re okay” he said softly, and brought our joined hands to his stomach. I reluctantly let out a shaky breath. “Whenever I let myself believe that for even a minute-” I started to say softly, but stopped. -I’m almost proven wrong. He searched my eyes, like he heard the unspoken words, and my stolen heart skipped a beat. “I know, but right here, right now, we’re okay, and that is what we should focus on” he pointed out. Easier said than done, but… I sighed. “I’ll try, little wolf” I said honestly. His other hand cupped the side of my face. “You need to trust that I can handle whatever you tell me” he insisted. It’s not about trust, you and the baby’s health are just so unpredictable, and that terrifies me. I searched his eyes, and then sighed. My stubborn little wolf. “Can you, at least, wait until you’re medically cleared and out of here first?” I offered. Hopefully by then, he’ll be more up for it than he would be now. He rolled his eyes. “Only if you promise that the latest you clue me in on everything is on the drive back to our-I mean the loft-your loft” he said nervously, and his heart monitor made a noise. My stolen heart raced at him saying our, but I couldn’t help smirking slightly at how it affected him to say it. “Shut up” he playfully growled. I moved my forehead off of his, and bumped his nose with mine as my smirk widened. “I didn’t say anything, sweetheart” I teased and glanced down at his lips. His monitor made another noise. “If that keeps happening, the doctor’s going to come back in” he whined. Our lips were only a few centimeters apart. “It sounds like you need to do something about your heart rate, little wolf” I said huskily, and his gaze lowered to my lips. His tongue poked out to lick his bottom lip, and my stolen heart sped into overdrive. “Or you need to stop talking” he challenged. “Couldn’t agree more” I murmured and crushed my lips against his. We hadn’t kissed since yesterday, when we were up against the wall next to Derek’s apartment door, and heat pooled in my stomach as I remembered what I wanted to do before Lydia interrupted us. I used my other hand to grab the back of his neck as he quickly opened his mouth so that his tongue could meet mine, and we moaned in unison. Somewhere I thought I heard multiple approaching footsteps, but Liam’s teeth briefly nipped my bottom lip, and I groaned, not caring as a surge of arousal spiked through me. He then gripped the front of my shirt and started pulling me down hard, and I had to swiftly lift a knee onto the bed to keep myself from falling completely on top of him. His hand moved from the top of my shirt to the bottom, and I couldn’t help but shiver as his hand slid underneath to touch my bare stomach. He whined in impatience as he rushed to push my shirt up- “-babe, five minutes is plenty of time to-oh my God?!” Stiles cried out after he opened the door to the room, and Liam and I broke apart. I sighed in exasperation as I took my knee off the bed, and tugged my shirt back down as I stood next to Liam’s bed. Liam’s heart monitor made another noise as his face became adorably flushed. “You were supposed to text me when you were here, before you came to Liam’s room” I argued. Stiles raised his eyebrows. “I did, but you didn’t reply, and I thought innocently like maybe you were sleeping, temporarily forgetting that this is you two we’re talking about. Of course now that Liam is awake, you guys were about to have a roll in the hay on his hospital bed” he argued back. I rolled my eyes while Liam’s face flushed a deeper red. “We-we weren’t about to have a ‘roll in the hay’ or whatever” he denied as if he weren’t the one who was just trying to take my shirt off. I arched an eyebrow at Liam. “You sure about that, little wolf?” I said dryly, and Liam narrowed his eyes, as Stiles gawked at us. “For the record Stiles, five minutes is not that long” Lydia added as he entered the room, Derek following her. “I’m considering changing the Wi-Fi password at the apartment” Derek threatened. Stiles appeared completely taken aback. “What? Listen, sour wolf, it’s not my fault that I have to find creative ways to say sex, it’s theirs. If they didn’t look like they wanted to bang every time they made eye contact, I wouldn’t be running out of ideas. Besides, unlike these two, I can keep my hands to myself” he argued. Derek arched an eyebrow, while Lydia looked at him in disbelief, and Stiles flipped them off. I chuckled darkly. “You know, one of these days, I’ll interrupt you for a change” I warned Stiles, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “Did you just wake up?” Derek asked Liam, and he nodded. “How are you doing?” Lydia asked. “Especially with what happened to Scott and Malia” Stiles added before Liam could answer, and my stolen heart almost stopped beating as my head whipped to look at Liam. Liam’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean? What happened to them?” he asked, and glanced at me in confusion, but I whirled my head back to glance pointedly at the other three, and hoped they’d realize that I hadn’t told Liam about that yet. Lydia tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Stiles didn’t phrase that right, he just meant that what happened was that they decided to cut their trip short” she tried covering up. “Oh, why?” Liam questioned. Derek cleared his throat. “You know how Scott is” he replied. Stiles scoffed loudly. “Mr. True Alpha can’t take a vacation to save his life, ya know, or if his life depended on it” he said nervously and looked around the room to avoid eye contact with Liam. Liam glanced at me, and arched an eyebrow. “Why are they being weird?” he whispered. Because they don’t like lying to you, and they’re not the greatest at it. I sighed. “It has to do with one of the things I don’t want to tell you yet” I whispered back. He then sighed. “Can I have some context, please?” he whined, knowing what it did to me when he said please. I ran a hand through my hair. “Stiles told Scott about the ambush at the animal clinic” I confessed. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed. “Wait-how do you know that?” he questioned. I shrugged. “Argent” I replied like it was obvious, and Stiles tilted his head. Liam started chewing on his bottom lip. “Is that all Scott knows?” he asked, his monitor making a noise, but Derek and I didn’t need it to tell us that Liam’s heart rate was picking up from anxiety. “He is aware that you, Theo and I were shot and wounded, and that you were the intended target” Derek answered. “But he doesn’t know about the baby” Lydia reassured him, and Liam let out a breath of relief. “Not that anyone asked, but I think he should know” Stiles said abruptly. No surprise there, but this isn’t the time to get into that. I narrowed my eyes. “Good thing it's not up to you” I said coolly. “Yeah, I’m not ready for him to know” Liam said apprehensively. “But the three of us know, so what’s the point in hiding it from Scott or the rest of the pack?” Stiles questioned. “I mean they’re already aware of the debauchery that you two have been up to. None of them are going to be shocked that a baby happened, they’ll probably be more shocked that it’s even physically possible like I still am.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise when I noted the lack of surprise on Liam’s face. “Something you want to tell me, little wolf?” I asked. I suspected that everyone knew by now, most of the pack wasn’t really the best at masking their reactions, body language, scents or chemo signals, but now it’s been officially confirmed. Liam arched an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll save it for the ride home” he said and then shrugged. “Who knows?” Oh? Is that how we’re playing it? Okay, two can play then. I leaned down to get closer to him, and smirked. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, you don’t need to save it for the ride home, I already presumed that everyone knew” I pointed out. His jaw dropped slightly. “There’s no way, why wouldn’t you tell me that?” he questioned. I shrugged. “Where would be the fun in that?” I said nonchalantly, knowing it would drive Liam crazy. The main reason I didn’t reveal that to him is that I didn’t want him to freak out and overthink everything like he tends to do. Stiles sighed in exasperation. “Can we get back to the original topic at hand?” he demanded. Liam rolled his eyes at me. “You should’ve told me that you figured that everyone knew” he argued. I scoffed. “It’s not my fault that you’re more oblivious than me, little wolf” I argued back. “I’m not that oblivious” he denied. Could’ve fooled me. “You are the definition of oblivious” I emphasized. Liam narrowed his eyes. “Take that back” he ordered. I shrugged. “Can’t take back the truth” I retorted. “You’re such an asshole, if you would’ve said something, maybe we would’ve gotten our shit together sooner, and stopped sneaking around” he argued. I don’t know about that, knowing us, it might’ve taken longer. I arched an eyebrow. “Are you trying to say that you didn’t enjoy sneaking around, almost getting caught a couple times?” I challenged, and briefly looked at his lips, before looking up into his pretty baby blues. He bit his bottom lip. “I think you enjoyed it more” he said as his eyes lowered to my lips. “Is that so?” I murmured, and glanced at his lips again as I leaned down even closer to him. Stiles threw his hands in the air. “Guys, no one left, we’re still here…in the room!” he proclaimed. My control almost snapped when Liam pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. “Little wolf” I warned, and lifted my hand to his lips, using my thumb to pull his bottom lip from his teeth. His lips formed a half-smirk afterwards. “Sorry, Teddy” he said, sounding the complete opposite of apologetic, and I narrowed my eyes. If he wasn’t still recovering, I would’ve already pinned him to the bed and wiped that smirk right off his pretty face. Tease him until he moans out a real apology. “Are we invisible?!” Stiles exclaimed to Derek and Lydia, who were both looking at Lydia’s phone, with her showing him something. “I was thinking of getting this for the bedroom” Lydia whispered to Derek, who nodded his head in approval. Stiles sighed. “Okay, on some level, I get not wanting the whole pack to find out, but I stand by the opinion that Scott should at least know about the kid” he declared, and we all instantly glared at him. “Finally, do I have your attention now?” he said sarcastically. Lydia raised her eyebrows. “Stiles, they didn’t even find out that long ago” she pointed out. Derek’s eyebrows pinched in irritation. “And if or when they want to say something, it’ll be their decision” he said in a low growl. Stiles groaned in frustration. “How am I supposed to keep something this big a secret, let alone from my best friend?” he questioned, and I rolled my eyes. It’s not about you! Liam sighed. “How do you think I feel? I was the first to find out, my best friend doesn’t even know yet, and Scott’s my alpha” he argued. “But I’m going to tell them and everyone eventually.” I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, I doubt you realized this, but we haven’t had much time to process the news ourselves” I snarked at Stiles. “Okay, then I can be the one to tell Scott” Stiles offered. I rolled my eyes. “What part of ‘we don’t want other people knowing yet’ are you not understanding?” I argued, and then turned my head back to Liam as I heard him start to breathe faster. “Take it easy, sweetheart” I gently ordered. I’ll gladly kick Stiles out if this keeps escalating. Liam scoffed and shook his head at Stiles. “You’re just proving why I don’t want anyone else knowing. You’re acting like you’re the one who’s most affected by this, when it’s my body that’s going through it. You don’t have to worry about what happens to your unborn baby if you are too dehydrated, if you get too stressed, if you get attacked by hunters, or worse, almost kidnapped by them” he argued, frustration evident in his voice, and my stolen heart ached at his words. Stiles ran a hand through his hair. “Liam, I-” he started to say. “-seriously , what do you think will happen after Scott finds out? It hasn’t crossed your mind that he might give himself up to Monroe?” Liam interrupted. “He might do that now, even without knowing, it’s who Scott is” Stiles pointed out. “Yeah, he might, but the baby would change that into a guarantee” I argued. “You can’t be sure about that” Stiles argued back. Derek narrowed his eyes. “This isn’t the time or place to be having this discussion” he reprimanded. “We came here to see how Liam was doing, not stress him out further” Lydia scolded. “What? I’m not allowed to disagree with their decisions?” Stiles said defensively. Liam groaned in frustration. “Just try to have some patience for once, Stiles” he snapped, and then his monitor made a noise as he let out a wince. I furrowed my eyebrows as he gripped his stomach, and he took a deep breath before letting it out. “I’m okay Teddy-I just need a minute” he admitted. The last time he told me that, he had more stomach pains. Actually something bad usually happens after he tells me that. “See, this is what I mean, how do you plan on hiding this?!” Stiles exclaimed. “Not your problem” I growled, and Liam inhaled sharply. “That’s enough Stiles, Liam is still recovering” Derek firmly reminded him. “They’re not going to change their minds on this right now, so you need to back off” Lydia said adamantly. “Or get out” I snarled, and then glanced down as Liam squeezed my hand harder, and clutched his stomach tighter. “Someone go get Dawn or a nurse” I ordered as Liam’s face scrunched up in pain. “What’s going on?” Stiles asked as Derek rushed to open Liam’s room door. Liam gasped. “Ow” he winced, and started to curl up. His monitor made another noise, and started to light up. “Go!” I briefly turned to growl at Stiles, Lydia, and Derek, before focusing back on Liam, and they sprinted out. “It’s going to be okay, little wolf” I tried reassuring him, despite the worry that was rising inside of me. He inhaled sharply. “I tried Teddy-I didn’t mean-mean to get worked up” he said and winced deeply. My stolen heart clenched in my chest. “I know, sweetheart, I know” I said gently, and squeezed his hand before my veins began turning black as I started to siphon his pain away. I heard the sound of running footsteps, and twisted my head to see that Derek reached the doorway first. “The doctor and some of her team were already on their way, but they’re hurrying” he explained. Stiles and Lydia then appeared next to him. “Is he having stomach pains again?” Lydia asked me. I nodded as Liam squeezed my hand slightly to convey his pain had eased some, and I let out a breath as the blackness of my veins disappeared. I carefully used my other hand to help him sit back against his bed, and furrowed my eyebrows as his eyes fell shut. “Liam?” I questioned. “I’m okay” he said tiredly, and Stiles, Lydia and Derek stepped aside so Dr. Ophelia could enter the room, followed by another doctor and two nurses. I swallowed, and lifted my other hand to cup his cheek. “Hey, I’ll be right back, okay?” I informed Liam and rubbed his cheek with my thumb. His beautiful baby blue eyes opened halfway. “Where are you going?” he asked, wearily. I searched his eyes. “I’m not going far, little wolf, I'll just be outside your room” I answered, and he nodded. I reluctantly dropped my hand from his cheek, and let go of his hand as I started to walk out of the room. “We shouldn’t be long, Mr. Raeken” Dr. Ophelia reassured me, before the other doctor closed the door behind me, and movement in the room commenced. I sighed, and stood right next to the door, while Stiles, Lydia, and Derek stood in front of the wall opposite of me. “What the hell was that, Stiles?!” I snapped as I glared at him. Stiles ran a hand through his hair. “How was I supposed to know that would happen?!” he said defensively. I scoffed and shook my head. “What did you think was going to happen?” I said resentfully. Stiles sighed. “I don’t know, not that. I just don’t think we should be keeping secrets. We’ve come so far as a pack, and I don’t want us repeating our past mistakes” he explained. I raised my eyebrows. “This isn’t like how it was before, there’s no hidden agenda, or ulterior motives. Liam just wants more time to adjust, and he deserves to have that” I argued. Lydia’s eyebrows furrowed. “What about you, Theo? What do you want?” Lydia asked. I want to be with Liam for however long I’m alive, I want him and our baby to be safe, and I want to raise it together. Am I worried about the rest of the pack’s reaction? In a way, maybe. I know that I don’t want there to be more stress piled onto Liam, and maybe I don’t want the pack to voice concerns that I have in the corners of my mind. But at the same time, I wouldn’t mind ripping off the band aid and getting the reactions over with. I sucked in a breath. “I don’t know” is what I said instead. Lydia tilted her head. “I think you do, but maybe you don’t want to say anything around certain people” she remarked, and side-eyed Stiles. Stiles looked taken aback. “What? I’m the problem?” he said in outrage, and Derek glanced at him with an arched eyebrow. Stiles rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ve been a prick, but I didn’t mean to upset Liam, okay?” he confessed. I rolled my eyes. “Come on, you seriously didn’t think to consider why I didn’t want you three mentioning what happened to Scott and Malia?” I challenged, then Liam’s room door opened, and the other doctor and one of the nurses shuffled down the hallway while Dr. Ophelia stayed behind. “How are they doing?” I questioned. “Well, what was showing up on his monitor was concerning, which is why we were already on our way with the medication that specifically targets the cramping, and we did arrive in time to administer it before the cramping worsened. Him and the baby are fine, the medication has begun to take effect, so he will be fairly drowsy for the next few hours, but that’s to be expected, and we’ll keep an eye out for other potential side effects. Also I’m sorry, but I’m going to limit his visitors to just you, his mate, and the clinic’s staff until he’s discharged” she replied, and glanced apologetically at Stiles, Lydia, and Derek. The other nurse quietly stepped outside of the room, shut the door after him, and proceeded to jog past us while Derek nodded in understanding, Lydia sighed, and Stiles looked down at the ground. Dr. Ophelia made a move to leave, when Stiles abruptly looked up and raised his hand in the air. “Okay, before we go, can I ask you a quick question?” he asked her, and she nodded. Stiles dropped his arm. “So how is it possible that Liam is able to be pregnant?” he questioned, and she arched an eyebrow. Stiles sighed. “I mean besides the ‘having sex’ part, how is he able to physically carry a baby inside of him?” he tried to elaborate. “He wants to know how it works when Liam has a male reproductive system” Derek clarified. “I have to admit, I’m also curious” Lydia remarked. Dr. Ophelia nodded in understanding. “Well, I’m not sure what you all are already aware of, but I’ll try to simplify it to the best of my ability. So if two male werewolves are mates and the mating bond has been snapped into place on the previous full moon, then on each full moon after that, one of their healing factors will be slightly lowered so that their bodies can temporarily form female reproductive organs-which dissolve and disappear the next day-their healing factor fully restored. The other werewolf mate will knot inside and attempt to impregnate during intercourse, and the more times they do so on the full moon, the higher the chances of conception. Now, if or when that happens, the pregnant male werewolf’s body keeps the female reproductive organs to help them carry the unborn child to term, with half of their healing factor being used to further assist their male body in maintaining the pregnancy” she explained. Lydia tilted her head. “So Liam has some kind of artificial uterus and placenta and everything until he has the baby?” she questioned, and Dr. Ophelia nodded. “I’m assuming that he’ll end up having a c-section? “Yes, it’s mandatory for a male pregnancy, and soon after their body regains their full healing factor” she replied. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed. “So you’re telling me that Liam got knocked up because Theo…knotted inside him more than once on the same night of a full moon?” he asked, and Dr. Ophelia nodded again. I only knotted twice on that third full moon, but apparently twice was enough. I arched an eyebrow. “I could’ve told you that” I pointed out. Stiles narrowed his eyes. “You had your chance. Also, she’s a doctor who works on pregnant people all the time, so she knows more about this kind of stuff than you do” he argued, and I rolled my eyes. Dr. Ophelia cleared her throat. “Well, this pregnancy is different due to Mr. Raeken’s chimera nature, which causes Mr. Dunbar’s pregnancy to be at higher risk. It’s why you’ve seen Mr. Dunbar experiencing more severe symptoms, symptoms that I’m hoping will lessen in their intensity once he enters the second trimester, which is only two weeks away” she explained when her phone started ringing in the front pocket of her green scrubs, and she reached in to grab it. “I hate to interrupt this discussion, but I have another patient that requires my attention” she said after she glanced at her phone screen, and rushed down the hallway. Lydia's eyebrows pinched together in surprise. "He's three and a half months along?" she asked me, and I nodded. Stiles’ eyes widened. “Wow, that’s a lot to process” he muttered. I raised my eyebrows. “Are you finally understanding how Liam and I feel? Everything she explained was in the paperwork we were given the last time we were here” I argued. He sighed in defeat. “Okay, yes, I get it” he relented. “Well, we sadly need to go, someone got us kicked out” Lydia said and side-eyed Stiles. Stiles threw his hands in the air. “I said I get it, what else do you want me to say? That I’m an asshole?” he said defensively. Derek arched an eyebrow. “How about you tell us something we don’t know?” he said dryly, and Lydia bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling, while I chuckled. Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Shut up, you’ve basically been silent this whole time, big guy” he argued. Derek rolled his eyes. “This isn’t brand new information for me” he argued back. Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed. “Wait-if this isn’t new-then is that why since we got together, you’ve been avoiding me and Lydia on the night of every full moon?” he questioned. Lydia’s eyebrows raised as the realization seemingly came over her. “You didn’t want to potentially get either of us pregnant” she commented. Derek nodded. “Not when we haven’t had a real conversation about having children” he explained, and then glanced at me. “Atlas parked the truck, so it’s here when you need to leave” he informed me, and then started to stroll down the hallway. Stiles looked down and cleared his throat. “Tell Liam that I’m sorry” he said quietly, and jogged to catch up to Derek, who was already halfway down. Lydia walked over to where I was standing. “Keep us updated, and let us be there for you and Liam, okay? And don’t just focus on taking care of Liam, take care of yourself too” she said and raised a hand to lightly squeeze my shoulder, before turning to saunter down the hall. She didn’t seem to be in too much of a rush, with Derek and Stiles slowing down so that she could eventually be in the middle of the two of them. I took a deep breath and let it out as I opened Liam’s room door, stepped inside and quietly shut it behind me. I walked over to sit on the comfortable reclining chair, and leaned back as I looked at a sleeping Liam. Thankfully, he and the baby’s heartbeats were beating steadily, the baby's a little faster, and I closed my eyes to concentrate my senses only on them. The next time my hearing came back into focus, there was a slight creaking sound as Liam’s room door opened, my eyes snapped open, bright and gold until I saw that it was dark out through the window in Liam’s room. I relaxed slightly, and my eyes shifted back to green. The animal clinic ambush happened during the day. I must've dozed off for a second time. I turned to see a short red-headed woman with hazel eyes wearing dark pink scrubs entering with a couple of white towels in her arms, and she stopped in her tracks when we made eye contact. “Hi, I’m Nora, Mr. Dunbar’s new nurse for the rest of the evening and overnight. I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just bringing in some towels to go with the shower supplies that’s in the bathroom. Dawn at the front desk thought maybe you, him or both of you might want to clean up while you’re here. It’s fine if you don’t, but I did disconnect him from his monitor, and was cleared to remove his IV in case he wants to” the woman hurried to explain, and then walked to the bathroom. Honestly, a shower didn’t sound like the worst thing right now. I glanced to see that Liam was still asleep, a hand resting on his stomach, and his head facing me. I stood up, and raised my hand to gently brush his bangs aside. I then turned my head when I heard Nora coming out of the bathroom. “Can I take one now?” I asked. “Of course, I’m probably not going to come back in here to check on him for another two to three hours” she replied, and walked out of the room, closing the door after her. I glanced back at Liam, and leaned down to bring my face closer to his. “I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me, little wolf” I said softly, grazing my lips against his forehead, and then headed to the bathroom. I left the door slightly cracked open, avoided looking in the mirror as I headed to the standing shower to turn the nozzle on, and stripped out of my clothes while I waited for the water to heat up. I placed my clothes in a neat pile on the sink counter, grabbed the travel size hair and body wash bottle, and took a deep breath before stepping into the shower. I planted the travel size bottle on the indented shelf on the corner of the shower wall, tugged the white shower curtain all the way, and stepped underneath the spray of water. I grimaced slightly at the heat, then dropped my head, and braced my hands against the shower wall in front of me, letting the water wash over me. The water around the drain briefly changed pink from all of the dried blood speckled throughout my hair and body, and I closed my eyes. Multiple moments flickered in my mind…Liam inviting me to live with him.Disagreeing over which pizza place to go to.Beating him at his favorite video game.Going on patrols just the two of us.Arguing about him thinking I need a TV at the loft. Accidentally falling asleep in the bed of my truck.The first time I kissed him. The third full moon we spent together. Him stumbling into the loft after he was attacked. The moment I heard the baby’s heartbeat. Him telling me he wanted to be with me. Seeing him almost get shot.His face after I was shot in the shoulder. Watching him start to be dragged away. The water started getting more on the lukewarm side, and I opened my eyes as I moved one of my hands to rotate the nozzle to make it warmer again. All of a sudden, the shower curtain was pulled back, and I twisted my head in surprise to see a naked Liam stepping inside. “Little wolf, what are you doing out of bed?” I questioned. He pulled the curtain closed. “Looking for you” he replied, and I turned around to face him completely. “I can’t believe you didn’t hear me” he commented, and my stolen heart started to race as he took a couple steps towards me. I moved and backed up against the side of the shower wall, so that he could get underneath the spray of water. I then lifted a hand to push my wet hair out of my eyes. “Guess you’re getting more stealthy” I said dryly. He closed his eyes and sighed as he let the water start to run down his body, and my eyes couldn’t help but follow the water’s path. “Or you’re distracted” he pointed out. I bit my bottom lip. “Maybe” I murmured and stopped leaning against the shower wall to stand behind him. He chuckled softly. “Not that kind of distracted, not before I got here anyway” he said lightly. I couldn’t resist grabbing, and pulling him against me. He gasped as the entire back of him was fitted against the front of me, and opened his mesmerizing baby blue eyes as he cranked his neck back slightly to look up at me. “So, um, what were you thinking about?” he asked, his voice becoming breathless as I trailed my fingers up and down his one side. “You” I said huskily as I dipped my face in the crook of his neck, my fangs itching at my gums as I nosed the slope of his neck. His eyes fell shut as pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. “Teddy-you can’t just say that-we’re in the middle of a public place” he tried protesting as he reached up to grab the back of my head and grip it tightly. “If we do anything…someone could hear.” “That hasn’t…stopped us…before” I pointed out as I slowly kissed my way back up his neck. He moaned and rubbed back against me, causing me to bite back my own moan. He suddenly turned around in my arms to face me and surged up at the same time I surged down. Our teeth clacked, followed by our tongues fighting for dominance, and I swiftly turned us to pin him against the shower wall. I used my hands, then my mouth to pull out all kinds of pleasure noises from him, eventually having Liam arching as his hand flew to his mouth, and he tried desperately not to scream my name.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Liam:
“How are you feeling, little wolf?” Theo asked. I rolled my eyes. “The same as I did five minutes ago” I replied. We only left the Artemis Clinic ten minutes ago, but Theo has been on edge since we got back onto the road. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we were followed last time, or he’s worried I’ll start cramping again, or he’s thinking about how I’ll react when he tells me what’s been going on. Knowing him, it’s probably all of the above. He took a hand off the steering wheel to rake it through his hair. “Just making sure it hasn’t changed” he said tiredly. I searched the side of his face as he stared ahead at the road, weariness and worry peeking out of his scent. “Teddy, you know they wouldn’t have discharged me if I wasn’t okay to leave” I tried reassuring him. He sighed. “But the full moon is coming up, you’re supposed to be on light bed rest for the next couple days, and you still need to be under the least amount of stress possible” he pointed out. I was also supposed to check in with Dawn the day after the full moon, and relax as much as I can until I saw Dr. Ophelia at the Artemis Clinic a week from today. “We still have two days until then, and I’m fine, okay? Right now, I just want to know what actually happened with Scott and Malia, and about the meeting” I pressed. He briefly glanced warily at me. “Promise me that the second you feel some pain, that you’ll say something?” he asked. “I promise” I replied. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “After Stiles told Scott and Malia about the ambush, they went to the airport, and they were attacked” he admitted, and my heart nearly stopped beating. “They’re okay, according to Argent they’re still lying low except now they’re staying with someone he trusts, but they’re going to come back to Beacon Hills soon” he explained. I ran a hand through my hair, and tried not to let my mind wander into worse case scenarios. “Do you or Argent know who attacked them?” I questioned. Was it Monroe? “It was some of Monroe’s people, just like at the animal clinic, Argent confirmed it this morning” he answered. That’s why he rushed off the phone this morning after I woke up, he did the same thing yesterday. Argent and him seem to know a lot more than they’re saying. I started to nervously chew on my bottom lip. “Does this have anything to do with Anastasia Jerome and your meeting with her?” I asked. He sighed heavily. “Yeah…she claimed that Monroe is secretly in Beacon Hills” he replied. It felt like someone squeezed my lungs in my chest, and I blinked repeatedly as I processed what he said. “What? You can’t be serious” I argued. He scoffed. “Apparently Monroe is trying to lure Scott back to Beacon Hills, and the two ambushes seem to be trying to accomplish that, even if it’s pretty sloppy” he explained. I furrowed my eyebrows. “Sloppy how?” I questioned. He shrugged. “If she wanted to lure him back, the ambush at the animal clinic would’ve done it. She didn’t need to attack him directly, that sets back her supposed plan” he answered. I tilted my head. “Unless someone else set up the attack on Scott and Malia, and are pretending to be Monroe’s followers. Maybe it’s someone that wants to throw a wrench into this plan of hers” I suggested, and he briefly glanced curiously at me. “What?” His lips lifted in a half-smile, and my heart skipped a beat. “I’m impressed, little wolf” he said and my heart started to race at a memory from the zoo that his words reminded me of.
What? I like history.
I’m impressed.
“See, this is why you need to keep me in the loop” I pointed out. He arched an eyebrow. “Do you want to know more or not?” he challenged. “Yes, please” I said innocently just to get a certain reaction from him. I heard his heart stutter, and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Little wolf” he growled. I bit my bottom lip to keep myself from smirking, and rolled my eyes. “Sorry, Teddy, I’ll behave” I said nonchalantly, and Theo’s eyes briefly flickered gold. He narrowed his eyes. “Wait till we get home, sweetheart” he warned. I glanced at his lips. “If we can wait that long” I said under my breath, and he turned his head, lips lifting into a half-smirk as his eyes dropped to my mouth before he stared forward again. Suddenly his phone started to ring in the cup holder, and we both glanced down to see that it was Argent’s name flashing on the screen. Theo took one hand off the steering wheel to swipe and answered, before he had to grab it again. I reached to press the speaker button. “Hey Argent, you’re on speaker” I declared. “How are you doing, kid?” he asked. “Better, Theo and I are on our way back to the loft” I answered. “Be careful, and make sure you’re aware of your surroundings” Argent warned. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked to see Theo mirroring the same action. “What did you find out?” he asked. Argent sighed. “Damien Jerome is the one who tipped off Monroe’s people. They were already planning an attack and taking Liam, but he’s the one who provided them with a location” he replied. I brought a hand to rest on my stomach, and glanced in concern at Theo, whose lip curled as tendrils of anger spilled out of his scent. “It was probably to get back at me” he said with a hint of a growl in his voice. I reached out my other hand to grasp his upper thigh. “You don’t know that, he could’ve been following orders” I pointed out. “We won’t know for sure yet…unless Theo is willing to contact Anastasia” Argent suggested. Theo sighed, and I furrowed my eyebrows. “I haven’t accepted her offer yet” he admitted. Offer? What offer? “Then use this as a way to get some information, and buy yourself more time” Argent ordered. Theo nodded. “Okay, I’ll contact her tonight” he said determinedly. “Okay, let me know how that goes, I’ll be in touch” Argent said and then hung up. “What offer did Anastasia give you?” I asked. Theo cleared his throat. “You want to put on some music, little wolf? We haven’t listened to some in a while” he said, trying to change the subject. He usually puts up a fight before eventually giving in and letting me choose what we listen to. I narrowed my eyes. “That distraction isn’t going to work” I said stubbornly. Not this time anyway. He sighed. “She wants me to work for her. Whatever I find out about Monroe for Argent, she wants me to give her the same information” he explained. Doing what he does for Argent in trying to take down Monroe is risky enough without him having to play double agent. My heart sank, and I shook my head. “That’s putting you in more danger, Teddy. I mean she had me attacked and stalked, she’s not even close to trustworthy, and for all we know, she’s worse than Monroe” I argued. He took one hand off of the steering wheel to rake through his hair. “I know, but I don’t have much of a choice, little wolf” he argued back. I scoffed. “If she’s threatening me again, tell her to fuck off and get in line” I said sarcastically. I'm sick of being used. He sighed deeply. “It’s not just you she’s threatening” he confessed quietly, and glanced over at me to peer at my stomach. I felt like it was getting harder to breathe as I followed his eyeline, and looked down. That one picture she had taken of me, with the red target drawn around my stomach. “She knows, somehow, doesn’t she?” I questioned, and looked up at Theo. “She hinted at it” he answered, and glanced forward. “Then she probably doesn’t have any proof” I argued. Right? “She’s a hunter, just implying that you’re pregnant is dangerous” he argued back. I groaned in frustration. “I know, I just hate that she’s using that against you, okay? And why you? She has her own people to do shit for her, why does she need you to do this for her?” I questioned, and he swallowed, but didn’t answer. I felt his thigh tense up underneath my hand, and studied the side of his face. “Does it have to do with your past?” I asked, and he reluctantly nodded his head, but still avoided my gaze. He never talked about what it was like for him, being with the Dread Doctors for half of his life before coming back to Beacon Hills, and what he did for them. I had my own ideas, but I never brought them up to him. “Teddy, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to” I said softly, and I meant it. At least I’ve had my mom by my side my entire life, through the good, the bad and all things life-altering, with my step-dad and Mason joining her, and then the pack. I don’t think Theo ever had anything genuine like that until after the end of the Anuk-ite’s influence a year ago, when I found out he was homeless, immediately told my parents and then I invited him to live with us. He cleared his throat. “There were hunter clans that used to try to take down the Dread Doctors and failed, having a certain amount of casualties usually would get them to back off” he started to explain. I continued to not take my eyes off of him, my instincts screaming at me to be patient, and Theo’s body relaxed a fraction. “Anastasia’s niece was one of those casualties, and she can’t get her revenge on them since they’re dead, so she’s taking it out on me” he finished explaining. “That’s not fair” I protested. He swallowed. “I’m far from being innocent in all this, little wolf” he admitted. I started gnawing on my bottom lip. “Do you remember what happened to her niece?” I questioned. He shook his head. “I wasn’t given much detail, but I don’t remember crossing paths with the Jerome family beforehand” he answered. That's weird, Theo has an amazing memory. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What if she only thinks you’re responsible for her niece’s death? Could someone be framing you?” I suggested. He tilted his head. “I don’t know, I’ll have to look into it when I get the chance. Maybe their family went under a different name at the time, and that’s why I don’t remember, but if that’s not the case, you might be onto something” he commented, and let out a breath he seemed to be holding. I lifted my hand off of his thigh and ran it through my hair. “How long did she give you to accept this ‘offer’?” I asked. “Three days” he replied. I widened my eyes. “But the meeting was two days ago” I pointed out. He sighed. “I know, it’s why I’m going to try to buy myself more time” he explained. I furrowed my eyebrows. “What if you can’t, Teddy? You’re not thinking of actually taking it, are you?” I questioned. “One step at a time, little wolf” he said vaguely. Suddenly, my phone started ringing and I glanced at it in the other cup holder to see Mason’s name popping up on the screen, calling me. I had plugged it into Theo’s phone charger for the truck because it was dead, but before that I had been avoiding talking to Mason the past couple days outside of texting here and there. I nervously chewed on my bottom lip again as I decided whether to answer or not. “Should I…?” I asked. Theo nodded. “He’s been pretty worried about you since the ambush” he replied. I sighed, and grabbed my phone to answer at the last second. “Hi Mase” I said cautiously, and held the phone against my ear. “Finally!” Mason exclaimed, and I grimaced slightly at how loud he sounded. “Dude, how have you been?” “Fine, I’m on my way back to Theo’s loft” I informed him. Mason sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear. I mean Theo did say you were okay, but he’s also the same guy who says he’s okay when he’s bleeding from multiple stab wounds, so I wasn’t sure how ‘okay’ you were.” I chuckled at what he said, and how Theo rolled his eyes. “You’re not wrong, but like I said I’m fine, don’t worry” I reassured. Mason scoffed. “I’m going to worry, Li, you’ve been acting weird ever since you saw Deaton two weeks ago, and you’ve been dodging my calls and most of my texts this week.” Theo’s eyebrows furrowed, and I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I’ve been staying with Theo, and I haven’t really been on my phone” I tried vaguely explaining. I heard Mason scoff. “Corey told me all about what he and Stiles walked in, and let me just say, I’m glad you two got your heads out of your asses, stopped sneaking around and finally got together. But I just wish I heard it from you.” I chuckled nervously. “I’ll tell you everything the next time I see you, I’ve just had a lot going on.” “I wish you would talk to me about it. It’s not always you against the world, Liam, or you and Theo now against the world. You have me, Corey, your parents and the pack” he pointed out. I swallowed as guilt formed like a stone in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t know if I’m ready to” I admitted. Mason sighed. “I get it, okay, you don’t have to tell me yet, but please don’t shut me out. I’m always here for you dude…actually from here on out, I’m not letting you and Theo isolate yourselves anymore.” Theo glanced curiously at me as I furrowed my eyebrows. “What does that mean?” I asked. “Uh, I gotta go, I’ll be seeing you soon” Mason proclaimed and then hung up. My heart started to speed up as I looked at Theo. “Maybe I shouldn’t have answered” I whined, but only half meant it. The other part of me is dying to spill my guts to Mason. Theo’s eyebrows furrowed. “How does Mason know about you going to see Deaton?” he asked. I rubbed the back of my neck. “So I know I said that I went to see Deaton because I was feeling off, which is true, but there’s a little more to it…” I started to confess. “…Mason and Corey were over at my house, and we were playing lacrosse in my backyard…I, uh, didn’t really eat that day, and it was really hot out, so I kind of ended up passing out.” His eyebrows rose in surprise. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?” he questioned. I shrugged. “You were on your latest secret spy stakeout with Argent that week, and I was only out for a couple minutes, it wasn’t a big deal. But it’s why I decided to go see Deaton in the first place. I told Mason and Corey that Deaton said it was just stress wearing me down, and it was affecting my healing factor, which wasn’t a complete lie. I made them promise not to tell anyone” I answered. He sighed. “I think you should consider telling them the truth, little wolf” he suggested as he turned into the apartment building parking lot. I started to chew on my bottom lip. “I don’t know, Teddy” I said, feeling doubtful while he pulled into his usual parking space next to the side door. He put the truck in park. “Is this still about not being ready or is it something else?” he asked, and turned the truck off. I sighed, and he turned his head to look at me. “What are you so afraid of?” he said softly, and searched my eyes. My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced down at my stomach. “So much has happened, and changed and is going to change, I think I kind of want some things to stay the same a little bit longer. I don’t want to be treated like a freak or like I’m made of glass, which is probably what’s going to happen” I explained. “Look at me” he ordered, and I glanced up into his gorgeous green eyes. “People can surprise you, little wolf, and they might not react the way you think they will” he said and lifted a hand to tuck some of my hair behind my ear. “Stiles knows, and he hasn't stopped being an overbearing asshole” he said dryly. I chuckled, and he cupped my cheek, warmth spreading in my face. “Derek and Lydia also don’t treat me that differently” I agreed. “There, point proven” he said and his lips formed an infuriating smirk. I playfully rolled my eyes, and then brushed my lips against his. His hand quickly moved from my cheek to the back of my head, and deepened the kiss. I moaned as I grasped the sides of his neck, and bit down on his bottom lip. I briefly pulled away to tug it between my teeth, before slamming our lips together again, and he groaned as his hands pulled at my hospital borrowed light gray t-shirt. He let out a low growl when I broke away again, but he licked his slightly bruised bottom lip as I started to crawl into his lap. “Careful, sweetheart, we’re in a public place” he whispered with a teasing glint in those darkened intense green eyes. I gripped his shoulders and arched an eyebrow as I settled onto his lap, with my legs on either side of his hips. “That hasn’t stopped us before” I whispered back, repeating what he said to me last night in the shower not that long before he got on knees, and made it almost impossible for me to keep quiet. He chuckled lightly. “That’s the spirit, little wolf” he said huskily, and wrapped an arm around my waist to hauled me against him, inhaling as he ran his nose along the right side of my neck. I shivered and tilted my head back to give him more room. I bit my bottom lip to hold in my moans while he alternated between biting and licking his way up my neck. I tightened the grip I had on his shoulders when he reached a sensitive spot underneath my jawline. My own teeth slipped from my bottom lip, and I let out a loud moan before his mouth quickly enveloped mine to muffle it. His one arm dropped next to his seat, searched for a lever, and then pulled it so that the driver’s seat moved all the way back, us falling with it. Having that extra space meant I could settle more firmly onto his lap, and we both groaned in unison when I grinded down at the same time he lifted his hips up. We started to get into a delicious rhythm as we kept repeating that pattern, breaking apart to pant in the curve of each other’s necks, arousal so thick in the air it was difficult to not breathe it in. The notification sound on my phone went off. I bit down on Theo’s dark grey t-shirt covered shoulder to keep myself quiet when his hands moved to my ass, and he pushed me harder against him as he rolled his hips. But I desperately needed more, to feel more of him without barriers. I moved my mouth from his shoulder, and started grabbing the bottom of his shirt to drag it up his stomach. He raised his arms when I pushed his shirt past his chest, and I yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it into the passenger seat. “Your turn” he murmured, ignoring his phone going off, and I sat up slightly so he could tug my shirt up and over my head. His mouth instantly going for my nipple, and I whined as he pulled it between his teeth before releasing it, then soothing the sting with his tongue. I narrowed my eyes and pressed myself completely against his body, then smashed my lips to his when he groaned. His hands gripped my lower back, one of them slipping underneath the waistband of my light grey sweatpants to grab a bare ass cheek, and I moaned against his mouth. He let out a low growl when I dug my nails in as I dragged my hands down his chest, leaving faint red lines as I went, until I reached the top of his waistband. All of a sudden, there was a knocking sound at the driver’s side and backseat window. Theo and I broke apart, both of our eyes flashing gold until we saw who it was that knocked. Outside of the truck stood Mason with his hands raised in the air in surrender, and Corey with his eyebrows raised practically to his hairline. “You two realize you’re only a few feet from the loft, right?” Mason pointed out. “Would waiting less than five minutes to walk to it have been so hard?” Corey quipped. This time, Theo and I sighed in frustration as he moved his hand to the side of his seat and pulled up at a lever so the seat would raise back up. “Why does this keep happening to us?” I whined under my breath as I reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed our shirts. “This is why I didn’t mind sneaking around for six months” Theo whispered while he slipped his shirt back on, and I tugged mine back on. “I get it now” I whispered back, and he gently lifted me off his lap, and onto the passenger seat. Theo adjusted himself, then pulled his keys out of the ignition, snatched his phone from the cup holder, and unlocked all the doors in the truck. “Wait for me to open your door” he ordered quietly. He’s probably worried about me getting potentially dizzy or something, but still. I rolled my eyes as I adjusted myself. “I can open my own door, Teddy” I insisted as he opened his door and hopped out. I snatched my phone from the other cup holder, and leaned back to shove it into my side pocket. “Your timing couldn’t be better” Theo said sarcastically to Mason and Corey, and then closed his door. “Right, obviously we should’ve waited until you were inside him” Corey retorted, and Theo narrowed his eyes as he circled the front of the truck to the passenger side. “Yeah, we’re so sorry for keeping Liam from riding you in the driver’s seat” Mason said dryly. Theo’s lips lifted a half-smirk. “Don’t assume that it would’ve been the first time Liam’s done that” he said smugly as he opened my passenger door. I raised my eyebrows at him as I jumped out, causing his smirk to widen as he shut my door. Mason arched an eyebrow and then glanced at Corey. “That’s kind of hot” he whispered to him, and my jaw dropped slightly while Theo chuckled. What?! Corey nodded. “Maybe we shouldn’t have interrupted them” he whispered back, and my jaw dropped more as Theo used his keys to lock the truck. What?!?! “There’s always next time” Theo remarked as we all headed to the side door, and I felt heat rush to my cheeks before I lightly punched his shoulder. Suddenly, Theo stopped in his tracks right as we reached the side door, causing the rest of us to follow his lead, and I was about to question him when my nose picked up on familiar scents. Theo and I glanced in the direction that we heard approaching footsteps, and I grasped his hand as he took a step forward. He glanced back at me with furrowed eyebrows, and I shook my head. Corey glanced between Theo and I, before quickly opening the side door and shoving Mason inside. “What-” Mason started to protest. “Bad guys” Corey rushed to say before closing the door, and then placing a hand on me and Theo’s shoulders. The world had a green filter over it, and I knew he camouflaged us. My heart pounded in my chest as Elias and Damian Jerome with two female hunters beside them strolled to Theo’s truck, Damian was slower than the rest as his right leg was in a full white cast, and he was using a crutch underneath his right armpit to help him walk. The two female hunters, one black haired and the other auburn haired, and my heart nearly stopped pounding when I recognized them from the night of my attack. They circled around Theo’s truck, looking inside the windows, and underneath it to inspect it. “I think we just missed them” the black haired woman said. “Take a look around” Elias ordered, and the two female hunters started rounding the corner of the apartment building. Damian was out of breath by the time he reached Theo’s truck, and Elias’ side. “Why can’t we storm this place like we normally would?” he questioned irritably. Elias sighed. “The sheriff’s son lives here, remember? The first of Uncle’s Stavros’ rules to us being in Beacon Hills was to not attract the attention of the police. The second rule was to not mess with anyone in the Hale family, Talia Hale saved his life and he still feels indebted to her” he answered. Theo, Corey and I glanced curiously at each other. Does Derek know about that? Damian groaned in frustration. “It’s such bullshit, and my luck that Theo Raeken lives in a building owned by a Hale, when he should pay for what he did to me” he growled, and Theo rolled his eyes. Elias raised his eyebrows. “You’re lucky that’s all he did to you when you pulled a crossbow on his mate. You weren’t even supposed to alert him to your presence” he argued. Damian rolled his eyes. “Relax, he didn’t figure out that there’s a tracker under his truck, we’re still in the clear” he reassured him, and I blinked in shock before I glanced at Theo again, whose lip curled in anger. Elias scoffed. “You better hope the boss doesn’t find out that you tipped off Monroe’s brainless followers” he warned. So Anastasia didn’t order him to do that… Damian narrowed his eyes. “Are you planning on saying something, brother?” he asked. Elias shook his head. “No, but you can’t do something like that again, it could’ve ruined her plans, and who knows what she’ll do to you if she finds out? You need to put aside your personal vendetta for now, and remind yourself that we still need Mr. Raeken to accept the offer and collect the necessary information” he argued. Damian rolled his eyes. “She shouldn’t have given him three days to begin with. If I was allowed at the meeting, I would’ve gotten him to agree right then and there” he boasted. Elias sighed. “Uncle Stavros put her in charge for a reason, she proved herself. Besides, he was the one who broke your leg, I doubt your threats would’ve worked” he pointed out. Damian scowled. “It might’ve if she let us in on the whole plan, we should be in the know on whatever she’s holding over Mr. Raeken” he argued. Elias scoffed. “She tells us what we need to know, and I think you’re thinking too deeply about it, the only things she needs to hold over him is what happened to Thea and his mate” he argued back. Thea? Is that the name of Anastasia’s niece? “Maybe we need to attack his mate again to really drive home the message that he doesn’t have a choice, and that the offer was just a dumb courtesy” Damian insisted. I brought a hand to my stomach protectively out of instinct, not aware that Corey caught that, and Theo’s eyes briefly flared gold. Elias threw his hands in the air. “This is why you’re not in charge. His mate was just attacked for a second time in the span of a week, and they disappeared for two days. A third attack would send them completely off the grid, or he could decide to live up to his reputation, neither of those work in our favor” he said firmly. A notification sound on my phone went off in the side pocket of my sweatpants, and I held my breath as Elias and Damian’s heads whipped in the direction of the side door. “Did you hear that?” Elias questioned, before he started to head in our direction. Damn it! “Hear what?” Damian asked. Corey’s hand stiffened on my shoulder, and I quickly snatched my phone out of the pocket to turn it on silent, before quietly shoving it back in. “I thought I heard something, like a phone” Elias replied, and Theo swiftly repeated what I just did with his phone just as Elias approached us, only a foot away. Every muscle of mine tensed up from Elias’ proximity even though he couldn’t see us, and I grasped my stomach tighter as I did everything possible to not make a sound. The two female hunters suddenly appeared and came into view. “No sign of them” the auburn haired woman informed Elias. “They have security cameras, so we should leave before we look suspicious” the black haired woman suggested. Elias tilted his head. “I guess they’re already inside the building” he said warily. Damian sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, let’s go, this was a bust” he ordered, and started hobbling away using his crutch, the two female hunters running ahead of him. Elias narrowed his eyes. “Don’t think that I don’t want revenge on Mr. Raeken for what he did to you” he said and jogged to join Damian’s side, then slowing down to match his pace. Damian rolled his eyes. “But the boss’ revenge matters more” he pointed out. “She’s technically getting revenge for the family, and that needs to be enough. No more tipping off Monroe’s people on Liam Dunbar’s location unless she gives the order like in Paris, okay? Remember, we’re supposed to be working against that lunatic, not assisting her in getting what she wants” Elias argued. So she's the one behind Scott and Malia's attack? Damian scoffed. “If I say fine, will you shut up about this?” he argued back, and Elias nodded. Damian rolled his eyes. “Fine” he said reluctantly as a dark blue SUV pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of them. Elias opened the back door, and helped Damian inside before climbing in himself. The SUV flew out of the parking lot. “Are they gone?” Corey whispered. Theo nodded first, and then I nodded. Mason slowly opened the side door, and Corey removed his hands from me and Theo’s shoulders to make us three visible again. Corey, Theo and I rushed inside, with Mason shutting the door behind us. I was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness and had to lean my back against the wall next to the door. Theo moved to stand in front of me as I clutched my stomach. “Take a breather, sweetheart” he said softly. “Li, you okay?” Mason asked, as he and Corey wore matching worried facial expressions. I took a deep breath and let it out, trying to relax my tense muscles. “I’m-I’m fine, I just need a second” I tried reassuring them. Theo searched my face. “Hey, take more than a second, okay? We should be safe” he said quietly. I took another deep breath and let it out. “We need to call Argent” I pointed out, and leaned more heavily onto the wall. Theo raised his hand to cup my cheek, and rubbed his thumb back and forth, and I sighed as I felt a brush of relief. He gave me a brief, but heart-skipping kiss, and dropped his hand to grasp my other hand. “Is everything okay?” Mason questioned. “You kind of look a little like you did the other day when I helped you and Theo to his truck” Corey pointed out. “I’m fine” I said casually as I moved from off the wall and started heading to the elevator, pulling Theo along with me. I haven’t used the elevator since that day Corey was talking about, and I didn’t want to risk possibly getting nauseous, but I also didn’t want him and Mason to be more skeptical than they already were. “I don’t think this is a good idea, little wolf” Theo said under his breath, so that only I could hear, and I pressed the elevator button with the arrow pointing up. “It’ll be fine” I whispered as Mason and Corey followed us to the elevator, and the doors opened with a ding. We all stepped inside, and Theo pressed the button for the floor of his loft as the doors closed. The elevator ascended, and almost instantly, I had to brace my other hand against the elevator wall as I swallowed back the feeling of nausea that came over me. “Okay, that’s exactly how you looked the last time we were in the elevator” Corey said suspiciously, concern taking over his scent. Mason furrowed his eyebrows again. “You haven’t had a problem with elevators in like years” he remarked, reminding me of something I hadn’t thought about in a while. I used to have issues with motion sickness, like on elevators, boats, roller coasters, that sort of thing, and I took medicine for it if it got bad…before Scott bit me. Other than my parents, only Mason knew that. I inhaled sharply as I started to feel more nauseous. “I, uh, forgot about that” I said nervously, and let go of Theo’s hand to clutch my stomach. I closed my eyes, and leaned the side of my head against the coolness of the elevator wall. The elevator announced that we reached our floor, and the doors dinged open. I cracked my eyes open in time to see Theo slightly bend down and scoop me into his arms, before carrying me out of the elevator. I didn’t have it in me to protest. The elevator doors closed after Mason and Corey stepped out after us, and I rested my head on Theo’s shoulder as he walked down the hallway to his front door. We all stood outside of the front door, and Theo cocked his head slightly to the side. “What?” I asked, and tilted my head back to look at him. “Do you need me or Corey to get your keys out of your front pocket?” Mason questioned. “See if it’s unlocked first” Theo ordered cautiously, and stepped aside to let Mason stand in front of him. Mason easily rolled the door part way open, and looked back at all of us warily. Corey moved to be by Mason’s side, and they disappeared from sight. “Put me down” I whispered to Theo. He shook his head. “Not with how pale you look right now” he whispered back. When don't I look pale? “I’m fine, I’m not in any pain” I argued. Just feeling annoyingly dizzy and a little nauseous. “That could change and you know it” he argued back. Ugh, I hope it doesn’t. Corey and Mason reappeared further in the loft, and looked at us while smiling. “Guys, we think we have an idea on who was here” Mason teased, and Corey chuckled. Theo and I glanced at each other cautiously, and then Theo hesitantly strolled inside the loft. He turned us to follow where Mason and Corey were staring, and my eyes widened as Theo’s eyebrows rose. There in the living room was a brand new TV, and remote on top of a mahogany TV stand with an electric fireplace in the middle of it, there were two yellow sticky notes on the bottom of the TV with some hand-writing on it. Theo walked over to the couch, and gently placed me on it, before heading over to grab both of the sticky notes off of the TV. Mason and Corey sauntered over to the front door, rolled it shut, and then locked it. “What’s on the note?” I asked Theo as Mason and Corey made their way to the living room. Theo rolled his eyes. “Stiles wrote them. The first one says: ‘sorry about yesterday, Lydia says to consider this a late house-warming present, what kind of person doesn’t have a TV anyway?’” he replied, and I chuckled. “The second one says: ‘P.S. Derek did pay for it all, but it was my idea.’” “Wait-what happened yesterday?” Mason questioned as Theo tossed the sticky notes on the coffee table. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “It’s kind of a long story” I said vaguely, ignoring a slight twinge in my stomach. Corey arched an eyebrow. “Is it longer than the story behind what those two hunters guys were talking about in the parking lot?” he asked. Theo shrugged. “It’s all tied together, so who knows?” he answered. I tightened my hand on my stomach when I felt another slight twinge, and he glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows. “Maybe you should lay down, little wolf” he suggested. I rolled my eyes. “I should be fine sitting up” I tried reassuring him. “We still need to call Argent, and you need to call Anastasia.” Theo searched my eyes. “That can wait, I’m more worried about you” he argued, and his eyes briefly lowered to my stomach. “I feel like I’m missing something” Mason pointed out, thankfully not noticing how my other hand clenched the couch cushion as the slight twinge in my stomach got a little stronger. Corey arched an eyebrow. “Definitely. Theo, you’re being more protective than usual, which is saying something” he commented. “What’s going on?” Mason questioned. “Both of you go get two bottles of water from my fridge” Theo ordered before I finally let out a groan at the next twinge in my stomach, and hunched forward. Mason and Corey’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, and they seemed frozen from confusion, but they took off towards the kitchen when Theo turned his head and flared his gold eyes. I took a deep breath and let it out, then Theo gently helped me lie down on my back. “Damn it, little wolf, you need to say something before it gets this bad” he scolded. “I know” I gasped out, and clutched harder at my stomach. Theo knelt on the floor beside the couch, and clenched my hand that was on my stomach. I let out a ragged breath of relief as he started to siphon my pain away, and Mason and Corey skidded to a halt right beside the couch where Theo was kneeling. Theo stopped taking my pain, and gestured for them to place the two bottled waters in their hands onto the coffee table. “I don’t know how this will help, but whatever works I guess” Corey commented as he placed his on the coffee table. “I think it’s a dehydration issue” Mason speculated as he decided to give Theo his bottled water directly. Theo grabbed it with his free hand, and I started to sit up, but had to stop halfway, and take a deep breath. Corey jogged to the other side of the couch to grab a couch pillow, and tossed it into Mason’s hands. Mason fluffed it behind me, and I slowly leaned back against it, being more elevated. Theo opened the cap of the bottle of water, and handed it to me. “Don’t chug it, the last thing you need is to throw up” he warned. I rolled my eyes. “That was one time” I muttered, and took small sips. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was also worried about that happening, especially when I was nauseous not that long ago. “Are you still a werewolf?” Mason asked. I briefly flared my gold eyes to prove it without words while I took a couple more sips, and the twinging in my stomach started to ease up a little bit more. “Why have you been holding your stomach this whole time?” Corey questioned. I was starting to feel weary and tired, and handed Theo the bottle of water when I drank half of it, which he placed on the coffee table. He then searched my eyes, silently asking me if I wanted to tell them the truth. I started to nervously gnaw on my bottom lip, and glanced between Mason and Corey. “I don't know how you guys will react if…if I say what’s been going on, or if you’ll look at me differently” I said hesitantly. Mason scoffed. “Dude, you’re a werewolf, and when I look at you, I just see my best friend, okay? That’s not going to change. I just want to be here for you, especially when something is clearly bothering you” he reassured me. Corey shrugged. “I just want to know what’s going on, I hate being out of the loop” he commented, and I chuckled at his honesty. Mason side-eyed him, and he rolled his eyes. “Okay, maybe I’ve been a little worried too” he admitted. I glanced at Theo and searched his eyes, silently making sure he was okay with what I was about to say. He nodded, and squeezed my hand. I took a deep breath, and let it out before I looked back at Mason and Corey. “I’m pregnant.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Theo:
I watched Liam hold his breath while Mason and Corey blinked repeatedly, attempting to process the bomb he just dropped on them, and on some level, I think I was bracing myself for their response too. In the past year, Liam slowly had me spend more time with Mason, Corey, Nolan, and eventually Alec, so I think a part of me (I’d never admit it out loud) cared about Mason and Corey’s reaction (same goes for Nolan and especially Alec when they inevitably find out). The silence started to drag on a little as Mason and Corey glanced at each other with furrowed eyebrows, and I resisted the urge to grimace as Liam’s grip on my hand tightened. I had to say something to break this silence before Liam broke my bones or stopped breathing altogether. I got to my feet and cleared my throat. “I’m the father” I declared, and Liam incidentally released the breath he’d been holding, clearly not expecting me to say that. Mason rolled his eyes. “Dude, that’s so obvious” he commented. Corey scoffed and shook his head. “There was literally never any doubt” he added. Mason then narrowed his eyes at Liam. “Okay, so when you say you’re pregnant, you mean that there’s currently-presently-an unborn child growing inside of you that Theo put in there?” he questioned and raised his eyebrows at me. I arched an eyebrow. “I guess that’s one way you can put it” I replied. Liam swallowed. “That’s-that’s what Deaton actually found out two weeks ago” he nervously explained. “But I’ve only known for a week” I pointed out. Mason’s eyebrows furrowed again. “So have you two been super weird and avoidant because you’re afraid of how we will feel about it?” he asked, and used his hand to gesture between him and Corey. I’m not afraid, just cautious. Cautiously wary. I shrugged. “More Liam than me” I answered, and Liam glared at me. I raised my eyebrows, daring him to deny it, and he looked away. Corey arched an eyebrow. “Liam, do you seriously need me to remind you that three out of four people in this room were experimented on by creepy mad scientists and one of them was like hundreds of years old?” he challenged. Liam sighed. “No, that’s kind of hard to forget” he muttered. That’s an understatement. Corey scoffed. “Don’t get me wrong, you two having a kid is a weird plot twist that I didn’t see coming, but it isn’t the craziest thing that’s happened to us” he said casually, and shrugged. Liam glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows, like he didn’t expect it to go this way. Mason nodded. “I agree, this is more on the normal side of things” he remarked, and also shrugged. Liam’s eyebrows furrowed even more as he looked back at the two of them. “This is not how I thought this would go” he admitted. Corey arched an eyebrow. “How’d you think this would go?” he asked. Liam started to chew on his bottom lip. “I don’t know” he replied softly, and I squeezed his hand. Yes you do. Mason shook his head. “Come on Li, we’re your friends, we’re not here to judge you or whatever” he reassured him. Corey raised his hand slightly. “I mean I’m going to judge a little-” he started to say when Mason smacked his shoulder to interrupt him. I chuckled, and Liam playfully rolled his eyes, the tension easing from his body. “Oh, if you want to know how it’s physically possible for Liam to carry our child, there’s paperwork on the dining room table” I pointed out. Corey tilted his head. “You have…paperwork?” he questioned. Mason threw his hands in the hair. “That’s not even my first question, I have so many other ones that I don't even know where to start” he commented. Liam sighed. “How much time do you guys have?” he then questioned, and started slowly sitting up. I used our joined hands to assist him, causing him to glance at me in exasperation, and I rolled my eyes. Mason looked at Corey for a couple seconds before Corey shrugged. “We don’t have anywhere to be” Mason replied. I let go of Liam’s hand, plopped down on the couch next to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Then take a seat, this is going to take a while” I said bluntly, and pointed at my reclining chair. They made their way over to it, with Corey sitting first, and pulling Mason into his lap. Liam dived into a summary of the events that have happened so far, with me chiming in every so often, and relief flooded my senses at seeing the tension completely leave his body. Multiple different emotions flipped through Liam’s scent as he talked, but there were no signs of distress or physical pain. Mason and Corey’s opinions floated through here and there, but they primarily listened, like they knew that was exactly what Liam needed. Liam was mentioning how Stiles had pushed hard to tell Scott the truth when there was suddenly a knock on my front door. I couldn’t help but furrow my eyebrows as I picked up on the scent, and looked at Liam to see his facial expression matching mine. I moved my arm from behind his shoulders, got to my feet, and made my way to the front door. I heard Mason stand up, with Corey standing up after him, and they hurried to the couch. “Who is it?” I heard Mason whisper. “Derek” Liam whispered back. I unlocked my front door and rolled it open enough to see Derek standing outside the door, his eyebrows pinched together, and a whiff of concern peered out of his scent. “Do you have a minute?” he asked me. I tilted my head. “What’s going on?” I said quietly. Derek cleared his throat. “Have you looked at your phone?” he questioned. My stolen heart skipped a beat as I remembered that it was still on silent, and I quickly shoved my hand in my side pocket to pull out my phone. My screen showed multiple missed calls from Stiles, Lydia, and Derek, but only two missed calls from Argent. Argent rarely called more than once. I made sure the sound was back on my phone, and glanced up at Derek with furrowed eyebrows. “Teddy, is everything okay?” Liam questioned, and I smoothed out my facial expression before looking back at him. There still wasn’t any hint of distress in his scent, but it didn’t stop me from worrying about that potentially changing. I nodded. “I’ll be right back, little wolf, I'm not going far” I replied, shoved my phone back into my side pocket, and Liam narrowed his eyes. “Do not listen in” I ordered, and he rolled his eyes. Mason coughed to get Liam’s attention. “Hey Li, how about we set up the TV for you guys?” he suggested. Liam ran a hand through his hair. “I guess” he mumbled. Mason and Corey flung themselves onto the couch next to Liam. “Maybe now Theo’s place will be less boring” Corey said dryly, and Mason chuckled while Liam scoffed, trying not to smile. I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I wanted it to be boring” I commented. My reasoning is that the less interesting and “fun” the loft was, the less likely people would come around. Of course it didn’t work, the pack still stopped by, particularly the Puppy Pack (especially Liam), who stayed for a minimum of an hour each time they showed up. I glanced apologetically at Liam before stepping out in the hallway, and rolled the front door shut after me. Derek and I walked towards the elevators for some distance, before I looked at Derek expectantly. He sighed. “You need to talk to Argent” he said quietly. I narrowed my eyes. “What exactly did he tell you?” I asked. “Parrish called him, and gave him a lead on the rest of Monroe’s local followers” he answered, and glanced warily at me. He probably needs me to either track them down or go undercover, which takes me away from Liam. But this lead could mean taking down Monroe sooner, which is a step closer to Liam and our baby being safe. I sighed. “Is that all he said?” I questioned, despite already guessing the answer, and he nodded to confirm it. I ran a hand through my hair. “Derek, have you looked at your security cameras in the past hour or two?” He folded his arms against his chest. “Yes” he replied. I tilted my head. “Did you hear what Elias and Damian discussed…about your family?” I asked, and his eyes hardened before he looked away. That answers my question. “Look, I don't need to know details, I just want to know if what they said is true." He cleared his throat and looked back at me. “A Stavros was mentioned in passing, but I never knew his last name. I do know someone that I can ask for more information” he admitted, and then sighed heavily before pressing the down button next to the elevator. A sigh reserved specifically for his uncle. Narcissistic-and-always-has-an-agenda Peter. I couldn’t help but grimace slightly. “Let me know how that goes” I commented, and turned around to start walking back to my loft. “Theo?” Derek called out just as I arrived at my front door. I turned my head to look at him as the elevator doors opened. “Lydia and Stiles need to be kept updated, otherwise it’ll be one of them at your door next” he warned, then stepped inside the elevator. I sighed before sliding my front door open, stepping silently inside, and sliding it behind me. I couldn’t help the fondness I felt at seeing Liam laughing at something Mason said while he used the remote to search for something to watch on the TV, Corey playfully rolling his eyes at them. I didn’t want to disturb the moment, and headed for my spiral staircase. “Teddy, where are you going?” I heard Liam ask just as I reached it. I briefly bit my bottom lip before turning around to look at him. “I was just going upstairs real quick, little wolf” I replied. I needed to call Argent back. Liam tilted his head. “Hey, what did Derek say?” he questioned. I searched his beautiful baby blue eyes. He definitely had more questions than that. “We’ll talk about it later” I said vaguely, and marched up my steps. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew more. After I made it to the top, I walked through my bedroom and straight to the bathroom. I closed the bathroom door behind me, switched on the sink faucet, turned the knob on for the shower, and swiped the curtain closed so water didn’t get all over the floor. I hated taking these precautions, but I didn’t know what Argent was going to tell me. A lead could mean anything. I leaned against the wall next to the toilet, pulled my phone out of my side pocket again, and swiped at my screen to return Argent’s missed call. I held my phone against my ear, and it rang twice before he answered. “Are you alone?” Argent asked.“For now” I replied. “Derek said you got a lead on Monroe’s followers.”“I have a location for a meeting that the other local ones are having tomorrow.” My stolen heart nearly stopped beating, and I stopped leaning against the wall. This is what we’ve been waiting for. With Monroe potentially back in Beacon Hills, this meeting could reveal where she’s hiding. “What do you need me to do?”“I need you there.” I used my other hand to run it through my hair. “I don’t know if I can leave Liam right now.”“You’ve been talking about bringing him on board for months, tomorrow can be a test to see how he handles himself.”Memories from the animal clinic ambush briefly popped into my head, but I pushed them aside, and cleared my throat. “I don’t think tomorrow’s the right time to start. He’s Monroe’s primary target other than Scott.”“I’d have him doing surveillance, he wouldn’t be going inside with you.”My wolf and coyote bristled inside of me, and I resisted the urge to growl. The thought of Liam and our baby being in close proximity to a room full of unhinged people, who would gladly take him to their equally unhinged lunatic of a leader, made me tighten my grip on my phone. “I don’t know if he’s ready.” He sighed. “Discuss it with Liam…can I count on you for tomorrow?” I swallowed. “Send me the address.”“Did you contact Anastasia?”“No, I haven’t had the chance yet…I’ve been delayed.”“What happened?” I rushed into a summarized version of what Damian and Elias revealed in the parking lot, and started mentioning what Derek said in the hallway. I had just finished telling Argent about Peter possibly knowing something when the bathroom door burst open. There stood Liam in the doorway with his eyebrows pinched in anger, and frustration curling around his scent. I arched an eyebrow at him as he stepped inside, and glared at me while shutting off the sink faucet. “I need to go” I said to Argent while Liam pushed the shower curtain aside, continued to glare at me, and switched off the shower knob. “Keep your phone on you, and do not turn off the sound” Argent said before hanging up just as I started making my way to the sink, brushing past Liam, and placing my phone on the sink counter. “When did Mason and Corey leave?” I asked due to my senses not picking up on their presence. “A couple minutes before I came up here, they said something about stopping by Derek’s apartment” he answered, and moved away from me to close the bathroom door, deciding to lean his back against it. “I thought you were done keeping things from me.” I narrowed my eyes. “I am, little wolf” I argued. He rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t seem like it when you go off to talk to Derek away from the loft, and now you’re hiding in the bathroom to have another secret phone call with Argent” he argued back. I sighed. “I was going to tell you everything once I had all the information first” I defended. He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Really? You weren’t going to wait until you felt like I was ready again?” he argued. I scoffed. “Is it a crime to not want to add more onto your plate?” I argued back. He groaned in frustration. “No, but Teddy, I just want to know what’s going on. You come back to the loft smelling stressed, and that doesn’t seem to have changed since you’ve talked to Argent” he explained. I sometimes forget how well Liam knows me. I ran a hand through my hair. “He needs me at a meeting tomorrow” I confessed. His eyebrows furrowed. “But we’re not supposed to be separated until at least the day after the full moon, doctor's orders” he pointed out. Argent wouldn’t mind you coming with me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, and if he knew about the baby, he would agree with me. But I never confirmed that what Anastasia implied at her meeting was correct. I sighed. “I know, little wolf” I said softly and leaned heavily back against the sink counter. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to do it. “I’ll have to come with you this time” he declared, and my stolen heart nearly stopped beating. Memories from the animal clinic ambush briefly flashed through my mind again. They wouldn’t hesitate to try to take him a second time. It’s why I shut Argent down about bringing him along. “No” I said firmly. He rolled his eyes. “Will you just think about it for a sec? I can be outside somewhere, or in a secret spy car with Argent while you’re in the meeting” he suggested. Both of those scenarios are too risky, especially when he’s shown that he can’t stay in a car if he thinks I’m in trouble, which is another reason he shouldn’t come. I narrowed my eyes. “Neither of those things can happen” I argued. He searched my eyes, and my stolen heart skipped a beat. “Okay, what aren’t you telling me then, Teddy?” he questioned. “The rest of Monroe’s local cult members will be there, and you shouldn’t be anywhere near them” I answered. He appeared taken aback. “Wait-what? Hold on, you shouldn’t be anywhere near them, what if someone recognizes you?” he argued. I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine, little wolf. Those lackeys who were at the animal clinic attack are either still in the hospital or have been arrested, but even if that wasn’t the case, I’m not their main target” I argued back, and glanced at my phone when the notification sound went off. The screen lit up from a text from Argent with a time and address. “You could be used against Scott too” he protested, and I glanced back at him. I then shook my head. “Not like you can, especially if they found out about our baby” I pointed out. He ran a hand through his hair. “We don’t really have any other option” he said stubbornly, stopped leaning against the bathroom door, abruptly opened it, and rushed out into the bedroom. I didn’t hesitate to follow him. “Maybe we do, maybe you could be a couple miles away instead of a couple feet” I tried suggesting. He stopped in his tracks at the end of the bed, and turned around to face me. “You know that’s probably not going to work, not with the night of the full moon being so close” he dismissed. Dr. Ophelia said we had to be within a certain proximity, that we would feel the effects if we were too far from one another, and shouldn’t try testing the mating bond via separation until after we permanently marked each other. Since it hasn’t happened yet, it’s guaranteed to happen on the next full moon (the one in two days). I sighed in frustration. “There has to be another way that keeps you and our baby safe” I argued. He scoffed and shook his head. “Teddy, we don’t have time to come up with something else” he argued back, and huffed. “You know what, I think you’re giving Monroe’s idiots way too much credit. One of them didn’t think you knew how to use a gun, remember? I doubt they’re going to expect me to be anywhere near their not-so-secret meeting, let alone notice me in a parked car, they’re not that perceptive.” I arched an eyebrow. “Perceptive, huh?” I commented. He glared at me. “It’s not that big of a word” he protested. “Big for you, sweetheart” I said and couldn’t help the half-smirk that formed on my face. My half-smirk became a full smirk when I heard Liam’s heart skip a beat, and he rolled his eyes. “Don’t do that, okay? It’s not going to work. I’m going with you tomorrow, no matter what” he said firmly. My smirk fell slightly, and I tilted my head. “We’ll see” I said nonchalantly and turned around to stroll towards my dresser. I slipped off my hospital borrowed shirt, folded it and placed it on top of my dresser, before opening the top drawer to grab another shirt. I chose a dark green graphic t-shirt that was Liam’s, and shoved the drawer closed. I was about to put my arms through the sleeves when Liam rushed over, grabbed it, and threw it across the room. I raised my eyebrows. “Is there a reason you did that?” I questioned, but already knew why based on Liam’s racing heart, and flushed cheeks. “I know what you’re doing” he commented, and bit his bottom lip. I briefly glanced at his lips. “Do you now?” I challenged. His gorgeous baby blue eyes dropped to my lips before he pushed me into the front of my dresser, and I inhaled sharply as arousal surged through me. “We’re not done talking about tomorrow” he growled. I grasped the side of his face with my hand while my other hand gripped his waist. “I know” I growled back, and slammed my lips to his. His hands instantly went to teasingly roaming my chest, setting my skin ablaze as he made his way down my stomach to the front of my waistband, before lightly digging his nails in as he moved his hands back up. I growled against his lips, and flipped us so he was now the one pinned against my dresser. He moaned, and I broke away, so I could swiftly rid him of his shirt. I then took a step back from him, and licked my bottom lip as an idea came to mind. His eyebrows furrowed. “I want you to take off the rest of your clothes” I said huskily. I heard his heart rate pick up as he tilted back towards the dresser, and my eyes followed his hands as they went to the waistband of his borrowed sweatpants. He pushed them down until they pooled at his ankles, used his feet to take them off the rest of the way, and kicked them aside. I narrowed my eyes at seeing him still wearing his boxer briefs, and his lips lifted into a pretty half-smirk. “It’s your turn to take something off” he ordered. Oh? I arched an eyebrow, and debated about whether I wanted to listen to him or not. I smirked when I realized what I wanted to do, and he eyed me suspiciously. I did not stop making eye contact with him as I shoved both my borrowed sweatpants and underwear off at the same time. He sucked in a breath, pupils blown and his eyes raked down my naked body. My stolen heart raced as I took a teasing step towards him, bracing my hands on either side of his head against the dresser, and lowered my eyes to stare at his lips. “Satisfied, sweetheart?” I murmured. I watched as the words "not yet" escaped from him breathlessly before he grabbed the back of my neck, and crushed our lips together again. I groaned, pressed my body into his, and dropped my hands to his waist. He whined as I quickly ripped his underwear apart at the seams, removing the last obstacle between us, and lifted him up so he could wrap his legs around my waist. I rushed us to my bed, which was closer to my nightstand that had lube in the top drawer, and finished what we started earlier in my truck. Forty-five minutes later, while we were cleaning up in the bathroom, my phone began ringing on the sink counter. I couldn’t help but furrow my eyebrows at the word “Unknown” calling appearing on my screen, and glanced skeptically at Liam before picking it up to answer. I held the phone to my ear, and waited a few seconds for the other person to talk. “Hello, Mr. Raeken” Anastasia Jerome’s voice floated through the other line. Liam looked at me in concern when I tightened my hold on my phone. “What do you want?” I asked in a bored tone, expertly controlling my emotions. “Can’t I check on a potential future ally?”I scoffed. “Not when you’re the probably reason behind why Monroe’s minions attacked me and almost kidnapped my mate.”There was a moment of silence. “That’s quite an accusation.”“It’s not an accusation when it’s most likely the truth." “I want you to accept my offer, assisting her henchmen would defeat that purpose, especially if you didn’t survive whatever injuries you sustained.”“What about your cousins? After what I did to Damian, I wouldn’t put it past him or Elias to go behind your back, and give up my mate’s location to her merry band of lunatics.”“First you accuse me, now my family, who’s next on your list, Mr. Raeken?”“I don't know, maybe I’m wrong, and maybe someone else is behind it…or maybe I’m not, and your people aren’t as loyal as you think they are” was the last thing I said to her before hanging up.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day, Theo:
There was a soft knock on my front door, and I tilted my head in curiosity at the floral scent that floated through. I quietly set the plate I was rinsing off at the bottom of the kitchen sink, switched off the faucet, and picked a kitchen towel to dry my hands. I glanced at my phone that was on the counter, tapped on my screen to pause my music, saw what time it was, and noted that Argent would be here soon, before making my way over to the door. I unlocked it, and rolled it open to see Lydia standing there with furrowed eyebrows. “Where’s Liam? Is he okay?” she asked. He’s a stubborn pain in the ass, but other than that he’s fine. I sighed. “He fell asleep on the couch a while ago, which is why he stopped answering his phone. If you want to come in, try to be quiet” I replied. Liam was cramping a few hours ago, but after drinking two bottles of water and eating the grilled cheese I made, he ended up falling asleep while watching a new medical show he had been dying to watch with me. “I won’t be here long” Lydia reassured me as she breezed past me, and I rolled my front door closed. “I’m here to tell you that you’re insane for having him go with you and Argent.” I ran a hand through my hair, and turned around to face her. “I know, but I don’t have a choice, we can’t be separated right now” I pointed out. I feel like a broken record at this point considering I explained this to Mason, Corey, and Stiles via text this morning. “Does Argent at least know about the baby?” Lydia asked. “Not yet” I answered, and leaned back against my front door. She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you think that’s important for him to know?” she challenged. Yes. Liam and I keep going back and forth on whether to mention it. I sighed. “Probably, but Liam’s not ready to tell him, and Liam’s going to stay in the car, so it’ll be fine” I defended. Something that I have to keep telling myself. She rolled her eyes. “Right, because Liam has really proven that he’ll stay put when you are in danger” she said sarcastically. Don’t remind me. I scoffed. “He has to this time, or Argent probably won’t let him help take down Monroe” I pointed out. Which was one of the things I repeatedly told Liam last night, and this morning. “Theo, he shouldn’t be going at all, he’s pregnant” she scolded, and tucked some of her hair behind her ears. “I actually don’t think either of you should go.” I shook my head. “I have to go, I can blend in better than anyone else” I argued. She sighed. “Just please be careful, and consider telling Argent. I understand waiting on the rest of the pack, but this is different. You know that without all the vital information, something is more likely to go wrong” she pointed out, and headed towards the couch. I ran a hand through my hair again before following her lead, and reached her just as she leaned down to readjust the blanket that I had covered Liam in. “How long has he been asleep?” she asked quietly. “Two hours” I answered just as quietly, and didn’t take my eyes off of Liam. The day before a full moon, he’s usually extremely restless, irritable and antsy, but since he threw up this morning, he’s been more exhausted than anything. Lydia nervously bit her bottom lip. “I don’t think he should be going anywhere” she said softly. “We’re on the same page” I admitted. She looked at me, and tilted her head. “Liam needs to stay with Argent in the car at all times, no matter what occurs, or something bad will happen” she warned, her voice sounding slightly haunting. I nodded in understanding. “If I have to tie him to the back seat, I will” I said determinedly. She moved her head back and cleared her throat. “Mason and Corey are coming over Derek’s again, and we’ll be on stand-by as a precaution until the meeting is over” she informed me, and walked around the couch to get to the front door. “Watch out for sharp objects” she said while rolling my front door open, flashed a worried look at me, then stepped out into the hallway, and rolled it shut after her. I sat on the coffee table, and ran both of my hands through my hair. I glanced at a sleeping Liam, his and the baby’s heartbeats steady, when he shifted and let out a small gasp. I furrowed my eyebrows and watched as one of his hands moved to grasp his stomach. “Little wolf?” I questioned, and he moved his head back and forth. His eyes abruptly popped open, flashing gold and he gasped before bolting upright. “Theo!” he called out. I quickly got to my feet. “I’m here, sweetheart, I’m right here” I reassured him. His eyes shifted back to their pretty shade of baby blue, but were still wide when they found my eyes. “We’re at the loft, you’re safe” I said gently. His eyes dropped to my shoulder, and then to my side, before he let out a breath of relief. I sat down on the couch next to him, and gently pulled him to lean back against my chest. “Was it the same dream?” I murmured. Since being in the hospital, Liam had been having nightmares again, especially about the animal clinic ambush. My dreams involving my sister had new material to work with since Liam’s first attack, so neither of us had been getting much sleep. I was, of course, used to not getting that much sleep in the first place, but Liam’s presence had been helping me be able to fall back asleep. He swallowed and nodded. “This time-this time it was the hunter who tried taking me…that shot you over and over again” he shakily explained. My stolen heart clenched in my chest, and I pulled him closer so that I could rest my chin on the top of his head. “I’m okay, that idiot didn’t get a chance to do that, and he’s in jail, so he’s not coming near us” I tried reassuring him, and squeezed his hand. And if he ever does, I’ll be the last thing he sees. He started to nervously gnaw on his bottom lip. “What if something happens to you at this next meeting, and I can't do anything about it?” he questioned. I raised a hand to hold the one that was on his stomach. “If something happens to me, remind yourself that I can heal, and I know what I’m doing” I answered, but I still picked up on the stress in his scent, and sighed. “If you’re this worried, sweetheart, maybe you should stay at Derek’s, and we can deal with the side effects from the mate bond.” He shot forward, and turned to glare at me. “Teddy, we’re not getting into this again, okay? I’m going with you” he argued. “We already told Argent that I was coming.” I sighed in frustration. “I can easily tell him that you can changed your mind” I argued back, and he shook his head. Obstinate as usual. “Then maybe we should tell Argent…everything.” He used his other hand to run it through his adorably messy hair. “Mason and Corey just found out yesterday, and I don’t know if I’m ready for another person to know yet” he argued back. I was about to point out that it wouldn’t hurt for Argent to know too, that keeping the baby a secret is starting to look less and less like a good idea, when the notification sound went off on my phone from the kitchen. I reluctantly got to my feet, and rushed to the kitchen. I snatched my phone from the counter, and saw that it was a text from Argent saying that he was a few minutes away. I shoved my phone into the front pocket of my jeans, and glanced up to see Liam putting his shoes on by the front door. “You’re supposed to still be on light bed rest, little wolf” I said while I hurried to the fridge, opened it, seized a bottle of water, and shut it. He sighed before grabbing my navy blue jacket that was hanging on a hook on the wall, and I walked up next to him to snatch my keys that were hanging beside my jacket. “I’m stuck doing surveillance with Argent, I’m pretty sure that counts” he argued, tugged my jacket on, and rolled open the front door. I rolled my eyes, and handed him the bottle of water which he stuffed in his jacket pocket. “That’s if you don’t leave the car” I argued back and followed him as he stepped out into the hallway. I swiftly rolled the front door closed, and locked it. He narrowed his eyes, and started to head down the hallway. “I’m capable of doing what I’m told” he said, and pressed the down button for the elevator while I glanced at him in disbelief. Maybe in a parallel universe. I then grabbed his hand to pull him away from the elevator, and towards the door that led to the stairs. “So if something happens to me, you’re going to stay in the car?” I challenged, pushed the door open and began the descent down the steps with him. His eyebrows furrowed. “You can’t seriously expect me to do nothing when I’m able to help you” he protested. “You have to, little wolf, that’s what ‘doing what you’re told’ means. I can handle whatever I need to as long as I know that you’re safe in the car with Argent” I explained. He started to nervously chew on his bottom lip. “Did Lydia stop by the loft?” he asked, changing the subject as we hurried down the steps. I nodded. “She just wanted to check on you” I replied. And give cryptic banshee warnings. “And she also thinks we should tell Argent.” He sighed, but went quiet until we reached the end of the stairs. Liam then inhaled sharply and leaned against the wall beside them. I picked up on the stress prominent in his scent, and worried about how much more stress he could take. He took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s okay if you’re not up for this, sweetheart” I said softly, and lifted my hand to brush some of his hair behind his ear. He swallowed. “I’m fine, I just need to take a breather” he said softly back, and the worry I felt began to form like a pit in my stomach. I couldn’t help moving closer to him, and kissing him deeply. My stolen heart raced and I desperately wished we could remain in this moment, my lips on his, and his hand gripping the front of my shirt, but I had to reluctantly break away when a sound went off on my phone. Presumably it was Argent saying that he was here, reminding me that we still had somewhere to be. I rested my forehead against his. “I’m going to act a little differently than I normally do” I warned. He scoffed. “I figured, Teddy, just do what you have to do” he said and angled his face so that he could kiss me again. A low groan escaped from me as the kiss became more heated, and I pinned him firmer against the wall. A sound went off on Liam’s phone, and he pulled away. “We-we probably need to go” he said a little breathlessly. I arched an eyebrow. “Then don’t kiss me again, or there will be…repercussions” I said huskily, and my eyes dropped to his mouth when he bit his bottom lip. I had to force my eyes back up, and smirked at how pink his cheeks turned. He playfully rolled his eyes, hitting my shoulder as he brushed past me, tugging at our joined hands, and opened the door so we could leave the stairwell. We headed for the side door, and I pushed it open to see Argent’s SUV parked next to my truck. I heard the click indicating that Argent unlocked all of his doors, and strolled over. Liam went for the back door on the passenger side, and I opened his door for him. He narrowed his eyes at me before letting go of my hand to jump inside, with me hurrying in after him, and closing the door behind us. Argent turned around and glanced between the two of us. “Are you both ready for this?” he asked. I nodded before looking at Liam, who nervously nodded. Argent turned back around, lowered the radio volume, moved the gear shift and backed out of the parking space. He moved it again to shift it into drive, and rushed out of the parking lot. Liam took the bottle of water out of his jacket pocket, twisted it open, and started to drink it. He stopped when he drank half of it, put the cap back on, and stuffed it back into his jacket pocket. I couldn’t help glancing at him in concern while Argent sped along the road. “I feel fine, Teddy” Liam whispered, grasped my hand and squeezed it. He then turned to look out the window, and I leaned back against my seat to look at him, my thoughts filled with worst case scenarios. The location was not that far from the loft, and Liam glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows when Argent turned into the parking lot of a dive bar called “Nowhere.” Last night, after Liam had fallen asleep, I looked up the address Argent sent me to do some research on the location. I was curious why this bar was picked for the meeting, it was definitely unusual, and the name was pretty on the nose considering how isolated this place seemed. Argent chose a parking space farthest from the entrance, and put the car in park. He reached over into the passenger seat, and one by one handed me things that I would need such as the tiny camera I pressed on the front of my black t-shirt, a small communication earpiece that I placed into my left ear, and my black leather jacket that I only wore when going undercover that I quickly slipped on. “Code word is ‘wild animals’ and they’re going to test your healing factor in some way. Look out for traces of wolfsbane in the drinks” Argent informed me, and I nodded. I looked at Liam when I heard his leg shaking while his heart thumped loudly in his chest. “Hey, I’ve done this plenty of times” I tried reassuring him. He started to gnaw on his bottom lip, and searched my eyes. “Just be careful” he whispered. I raised my hand to tuck some of his hair behind his ear. “Always, little wolf” I whispered back, and then cleared my throat when I remembered that we weren’t alone. “Stay here, and do what Argent says, okay?” I ordered, briefly glanced at his stomach and was comforted by the steady heartbeat of our baby, before I opened the back door, silently hopped out, and closed the door as quietly as I could. As I made my way to the entrance, I grabbed my sunglasses out of my leather jacket pocket, discreetly pressed a small button on the left temple to activate the camera they had, and quickly put them on. There were two tall men on either side of the wooden entrance door, both of them dressed in jeans and plaid while wearing sunglasses themselves. One of them lifted his hand to stop me in my tracks. “Private party” he said in a surprisingly deep voice. “Well, I was hoping to get a drink and avoid the wild animals out here” I said casually, and shrugged. He narrowed his eyes and then motioned for me to move forward. “Show me your hand” he ordered, and I held out my hand, palm facing up. He whipped out a worn-out pocket knife, flipped the blade out, and grabbed my hand so he could slice the tip of my index finger. I used all of my self-control to temporarily suppress my healing factor, and pretended to wince. After he saw that I allowed myself to bleed, and the cut didn’t instantly heal, he let go of my hand while nodding at the other guy at the door. It took everything I had not to react in some way to him pulling out a band-aid from the front pocket of his jeans, and handing it to me. I took it and nodded at them, like I was grateful, before the guy with the deep voice opened the entrance door to let me in. Once I was inside, I stopped repressing my healing factor, so the cut slowly healed, and I swiftly wrapped the band-aid around my index finger to avoid suspicion. I slowly sauntered past the bar, glad that the bartender was busy with others, and headed into the room connected to the barroom. There were people scattered around the room, either sitting at circular wooden tables or standing and talking in small groups. There weren't many people yet, but it was likely that would change. I decided to choose a small empty table in the furthest corner of the room, and sat down on a metal chair. I pretended to have a relaxed demeanor as I observed the room, noting a stage at the very front of the room with a mic in the holder of the microphone stand. It didn’t take long for more people to pile in, and I tilted my head as I recognized some people from around town. Like Kathy, a cashier who worked at the supermarket, or Mr. Thomas, who was Liam’s American History teacher. I narrowed my eyes under my sunglasses when I saw Tyler Warrick, a classmate and lacrosse teammate of Liam’s who bullied him even after the war was over, who I put in the hospital after he poisoned Liam with wolfsbane. My wolf and coyote became restless at the sight of him, and I had to shove down their instincts, especially as Tyler sauntered over to where I was. “Hey, do I know you somewhere?” he asked, and I resisted the urge to smirk at seeing the scar that cut through his eyebrow. One of multiple scars I gave him. I shrugged. “I don’t know, probably not. This is only like my second or third time being at one of these, I’m still getting to know people” I replied. His eyebrows furrowed, but there was a high chance he remembered me, so I need to keep an eye on that. “Huh, me too. Maybe you just look like someone I’ve seen” he said and then shrugged. Mr. Thomas walked over to the table with two drinks in his hand. “You look like you’re underage, and Tyler, I know you’re underage, so these Coke’s are for you two” he declared, and handed me a drink that held a hint of wolfsbane while he handed Tyler one that smelled normal. Both of them probably came over to test me. Well, this sadly wouldn’t be the first time I’d be forced to drink wolfsbane. I took a gulp from the drink, expertly resisting the slight urge to gag and not acknowledge the partial burning that my throat felt from the wolfsbane. Mr. Thomas’ shoulders relaxed as I casually set my drink on the table, and nodded at Tyler. “What’s your name?” Mr. Thomas asked. “Cody” I answered smoothly. Liam chose it last night. “I’m William” Mr. Thomas stated. Tyler waved his hand. “I’m Tyler” he announced. I nodded. “Nice to meet you guys” I said and grimaced slightly at the sound of someone tapping loudly on the mic. Mr. Thomas and Tyler turned around to see a man standing on the stage, and I narrowed my eyes when I recognized him. Simon Hayes. The one who stalked and took pictures of Liam for Monroe. “Hey, it’s your favorite member, Simon. I need all of your attention for just a little bit, so hopefully you all aren’t too drunk yet” Simon said into the mic, and people laughed here and there. “I’ve got a couple of announcements to make courtesy of the Inner Circle, as they like to call themselves, so sit your asses down.” People shuffled around to find seats, some gathered on the pool tables, and lazily sauntered over from the bar, while Mr. Thomas and Tyler took the two other seats that were at my table. It took a lot of self-control to not snarl at them to go somewhere else, and get away from me. “First order of business, our leader has finally made her grand return, and she will be calling upon us for help soon. She’s got a plan in the works, so be ready and available to drop everything at a moment’s notice in the next two weeks” Simon explained, and adjusted his glasses. What is she planning that’s going to take two weeks? “Why doesn’t she just put her plan into motion now?” Kathy, the cashier, asked. Definitely have to tell the pack to avoid going to the supermarket when she’s working. “The True Alpha or whatever he is, hasn't come back in Beacon Hills yet, and his first beta has been in hiding since the amazing animal clinic ambush, so that has put things temporarily on hold” Simon answered. So she’s lying in wait for Scott to arrive before she tries to take Liam again. Damn it. Tyler raised his hand. “Should we try luring the beta out somehow? He’s probably the key to her plans, right?” he suggested, and I immediately wanted to break the table, once again shoving my animal instincts aside, so I didn’t expose myself. But if he says something like that again, he’ll be lucky if he makes it to the hospital. Simon shook his head. “A bunch of our people were caught and arrested trying to do the right thing, and she wasn’t particularly happy about them not succeeding, so let’s wait for the go ‘head from her. But by all means, if any of you happen to spot him somewhere, don’t hesitate to nab him. I’m sure she won't be upset if she’s given one of the things she wants most” he said nonchalantly. As if Liam didn’t have a big enough target on his back, this prick has to make it bigger. I tilted my head to the side, and contemplated if anyone would notice if he suddenly disappeared.“Okay, onto the other order of business, let’s give a warm welcome one of our newest members...” he started to say, and gestured for someone closest to the stage to come up. I furrowed my eyebrows when I picked up on the familiar scent, while they hobbled on the three steps to get onto the stage, then used his crutch to assist him in walking to Simon’s side. “...everyone, welcome Damian!” Simon exclaimed. Damian Jerome waved with his free hand while the rest of the room clapped and cheered, including Mr. Thomas and Tyler. I arched an eyebrow, and forced myself to clap to blend in. Is he playing double agent or is he actually a part of this? He did give up Liam’s location but that was to get back at me, not to help these morons out. Simon handed the mic to Damian, who leaned heavily on his crutch for support. “Hey, I’m honored to be here. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a part of the Jerome hunter clan, and I’m ready to be a part of this cause” Damian explained, and the room clapped once again, while I rolled my eyes, but continued to clap anyway. “But I disagree with this guy here, I think we should hunt down Liam Dunbar. The sooner we capture him, the better!” Damian declared, and the roar of cheers and yells drowned out the low growl I let escape. Simon cleared his throat, and snatched the mic from Damian. “When our leader gives the order, then we will gladly look for the first beta, but until that happens, we’re on stand-by” Simon reminded everyone, and glared daggers at Damian. Damian scoffed, and grabbed the mic back from Simon. “No need, I know exactly where he-” Damian began to reveal when the sound of a gunshot went off, interrupting him as he fell backwards onto the stage. The scent of blood filled my nose as people gasped and ducked, then the screaming and yelling followed as more gunshots went off. Mr. Thomas and Tyler dropped to the ground from their chairs, and I flipped the table to crouch behind it. “Theo, you need to get out of there” Argent’s voice echoed in my ear. People started scrambling out of the room, and out of the bar, creating chaos as everyone struggled to escape. I needed to get to Liam, and we needed to get the hell away from here. I stood up, and ducked my head as I started towards the herd of people. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain go through my bicep, that briefly stopped me in my tracks, and I inhaled sharply as I looked down to see that a bullet had grazed me. “Liam, do not move” I heard Argent say. Damn it, little wolf. I glanced around the room and found that there was a side door that no one seemed to notice. I turned in that direction when something became agonizingly embedded in my side, and I grimaced before I looked behind to see Tyler was holding the handle of a hunting knife. “I knew I recognized you” he said smugly.