Chapter Text
Liam had really hoped for things to remain calm over the summer. With Scott abroad for a summer internship, and Stiles away for FBI-training, that left Liam solely in charge of the pack. Luckily, he had Mason and Corey to help him, and Lydia was home over the summer. Malia too, occasionally. However, Liam was still the leader. He had final say in decisions, he was the one that had to act if something were to go down, and the responsibility alone was eating him alive. Scott had asked him several times if he was okay to take over for the summer, but Liam knew he couldn't refuse his Alpha even if he wanted to. He felt that he owed it to Scott, and he didn't want to disappoint. Scott had reassured he was only a phone call away, but Liam had already decided he'd handle everything that came his or the packs way. Knowing how much responsibility Scott carried, Liam felt he deserved a break too.
Mason was probably the only one who knew how anxious Liam really was over the whole ordeal.
"And what if somehow a new murderous supernatural killer comes out of nowhere-" Liam had exasperatedly spoken over the phone.
"Dude, it's fine. It'll probably be an easy summer. And if something happens- which I don't think it will, we'll help you handle it." Mason reassured him for (probably) the seventh time. It didn't really work.
And only a week after Scott had gone, Liam got an urgent call from Lydia. The beta immediately knew something was up. Fucking shit. There goes the 'easy summer' Mason had talked about.
"Hey, Liam." Lydia had spoken, voice laced with something Liam could only describe as anxiety. "We have a problem. I had a vision and I think we need a pack meeting. I spoke with Chris Argent as well, he's confirmed some of my suspicions. Call everyone. We need as many fighters as we can get."
Liam had only been able to gulp and reply okay before Lydia had said she was on her way to his house, again urging him to call the others.
Liam scrambled through his contacts, calling everyone he could think of. Mason, Corey, Malia. Were they all? Liam's thumb hesitated as he scrolled by Theo's contact. We need as many fighters as we can get. Liam hesitated. Technically, Theo wasn't pack. Liam wasn't sure if the Chimera would ever be accepted to the McCall pack even if he wanted to. It wasn't like the guy had the best reputation in town. But then again, Theo sure as hell was one heck of a fighter, there was no doubt about that. Liam had lost count of how many times Theo had saved his life. It was a bit embarrassing, but at the end of the war Liam had almost relied on Theo to have his back. It was stupid, knowing Theo. You could never rely on him, and Liam had beaten himself up about how trusting he'd been of Theo's presence afterwards considering the damage the Chimera had brought to the McCall pack prior. But then again, not calling Theo when in the need of a fighter was probably as stupid as trusting him in the first place. Liam hit the dial button.
-
Theo woke up at the sudden buzzing sound under the sweatshirt he was using as a pillow. Weird. Nobody ever calls him. He huffed, annoyed at the somebody who'd thought it a good idea to call him this early. For once, he'd given himself the luxury of sleeping in a bit before changing the location of his truck. Theo suspected the Police had put a tracker on his truck at this point, given the amount of times he'd been awoken by a stark light in his face during the last week. It was annoying, but not as annoying as someone who wasn't the Police disturbing his sleep. Not that his sleep was any peaceful, nightmares seemed to haunt him more than that stupid police flashlight.
Rubbing his eyes groggily, Theo scrambled to get his phone out of his tangled sweatshirt. It didn't help that it was lightly damp from sweat due to his nightmares, or that the phone kept jumping around due to the buzzing. Finally, Theo was able to get a hold of his phone, but only had time to read the contact name before the signal went dead.
Liam.
Theo froze, blinking at the now black screen. He was pretty sure he was hallucinating, or maybe dreaming, even going as far as to unlock his phone only to get the notification: 1 Missed call from: Liam. Nope, not a dream. Theo wasn't sure how to react. He hadn't heard from the beta since their last encounter in the elevator. When the war ended. everything went silent on both ends. Sometimes, Theo thought about reaching out. He still had Liam's contact after all. However, knowing how much problems he'd caused Liam in the past, he didn't want to be a pain in the ass. He knew their time spent together was solely to defeat the Ghost Riders and Monroe. He didn't want to assume his help had built a friendship between them. He didn't want to assume anything at all, and figured if Liam wanted to reach out he'd do so. Obviously, he hadn't. And Theo figured it was for the best. He'd convinced himself that he shouldn't rely on anybody, and his destiny after all was to be alone. After everything he'd done, he figured himself lucky to even be apart of this world. Being alone was better than Hell, that was for sure. Unfortunately for Theo, he still hadn't found a good enough excuse for himself to be staying in Beacon Hills, especially considering all the Police that were on his tail. Either way, he was still around. He'd tried to leave many times, but when he'd arrived at the infamous Leaving Beacon Hills sign, he'd always turned around. Theo had quickly realized that leaving would feel like leaving the one place he'd ever felt like he somewhat belonged. The one place where he for once hadn't felt completely alone, but instead somewhat understood at times. He couldn't bring himself to leave the familiar feeling of Beacon Hills, but had a hard time convincing himself the familiar feeling was the town, and not a person.
Theo swallowed harshly, cursing himself for once again going down this train of thought. So what if he was staying in Beacon Hills? Did he really need a reason? Not that Theo had much gas money to be able to get anywhere anyway. He didn't have a job, and had an incredibly hard time finding one as well. He'd tried, but realized not many places were willing to take a homeless teenager. Much less a high school dropout without previous experience. His days were usually spent driving around, if his gas tank allowed, and occasionally getting something cheap to eat. Theo didn't remember the last time he had a proper meal, nor the last time he slept in a proper bed. But he figured it was what he deserved after all.
Just as Theo was about to throw his phone away again, it started buzzing violently. And once again, the contact undeniably read Liam. One call was fine. Two were for emergencies. They'd established that a long time ago.
"You can't just call anytime you want." Theo had huffed, clearly annoyed when he'd picked up the phone and realized Liam wasn't in a life-threatening situation.
"You're in my contacts, I can call you whenever." Liam had said pointedly.
"I guess. But when you call, I usually assume you're dying. So please refrain from it." Theo could almost hear Liam rolling his eyes over the line.
"I don't almost die that often." He argued.
Theo had smiled. He loved agitating Liam, the beta was so easily irritated, and Theo lived for it. "Maybe a thank you for saving your life a lot?"
"The day I thank you is the day I've lost my pride." Liam huffed.
"I'll keep that in mind when you do." Theo replied.
"Okay then, how about this;" Liam changed the subject. "If I call you once, I'm not in danger. Twice, it's probably an emergency."
"Deal," Theo smirked. "So one call, I can decline. One more, you're dying."
"Not what I said. But deal." And Theo could almost picture the beta rolling his eyes once again.
Theo didn't hesitate from accepting the call this time. The line was quiet for a while.
"...Theo?"
"I assume you consciously clicked my contact, obviously it's me." Theo replied dryly.
"Yeah, right..." A pause.
"What is it?" Theo inquired, irritation slowly bubbling inside him. Was this some sort of prank? To see if Theo still cared? To see if he would still jump at the mere thought of Liam needing help? Theo quickly corrected his mind. He didn't care. "You called twice." Theo stated.
"Yeah, uhm- It's kind of an emergency." Liam said uncertainly.
"Really? Because you're not screaming like a girl over the phone. But elaborate."
"I do not scream like a girl." Liam was quick to shoot back at him.
"Get to the point, Liam."
"Right, er- I need you at my house. Like now."
"For all you'd know I could be in another state right now." Theo pointed out, immediately regretting it.
"Well, I just kind of assumed you aren't." Liam said.
Another pause.
"I'm right, aren't I?" He added.
Theo mentally cursed himself for now needing to admit that yes, he was in fact still in Beacon Hills. And no, he couldn't seem to leave even if he tried.
"Yes."
"Great so uhm- you'll be here? Like soon?"
"Sure, Liam."
Theo hung up the phone before Liam would be able to reply. He really hated himself for not being able to say no to the younger boy. He also hated himself for not having anything more important to do than drive to Liam's immediately as requested.
-
Pack members had started to arrive at Liam's house despite the early hour. Everyone he'd called was there, except Theo. He said he'd be here. Liam asked the voice in his head to kindly fuck off. He'd already established with himself that relying on the Chimera was a no-go.
Expectant eyes were watching him where the pack had gathered around his dinner table. In reality, Liam didn't know how to do this and was lightly panicking inside. A pack meeting was something always held by Scott, in Scott's house, and usually with the help of Stiles. Liam was lucky that he had Lydia to speak for him as she knew more than he about the matter at hand, however he was still the one expected to come up with a plan on how to battle whatever it was coming their way. Just as Liam was about to ask Lydia to start the meeting, Liam's door was opened with a firm swing.
Everyone around the table tensed as Liam excused himself to see who was at the door. Liam wasn't sure if he expected it to be Theo, standing there yet again to help him with anything he needed. But there he was, looking as annoyed and Theo-like as ever. Liam noticed his disheveled hair, it had grown longer since he last saw him, hanging over his vacant eyes. The rings under them were prominent against his pale skin, Liam figured he'd awoken Theo with his call and felt slightly bad about it. But only slightly.
"Didn't think you'd show up." Liam managed, awkwardly fiddling with the end of his t-shirt.
"And yet, here I am." Theo replied.
Liam thought he almost sounded disappointed in himself. He could see the debate in Theo's eyes, the Chimera was probably considering leaving any second, most likely regretting ever answering Liam's call. But Liam was desperate to have him stay.
"Come in. Everybody's waiting in the kitchen."
The reaction went just as Liam had expected. Malia was the first to shoot out of her chair.
"What the hell is he doing here?"
Mason eyed Liam suspiciously. "Look, Liam, I know you sort-of trust the guy. But seriously, did you think this through?"
Liam sighed exasperatedly, looking back to see Theo growing more tense by the second. "Look guys, I know what you think. But I'm in charge now, and Scott trusted me to make the right decisions. Lydia told me we needed fighters, and without Scott, Theo's the second best option we have right now."
"Gee, thanks." Theo muttered behind him, only loud enough for Liam to hear.
"I don't trust him." Malia crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well, Scott trusted my decisions enough to put me in charge. So do you trust his judgment?"
Malia went quiet, but sent a warning look Theo's way, as if to say her opinion still stands. Liam was surprised when he heard Theo's voice.
"I'm fully aware that none of you trust me, and you have all the reasons for that. But I want you to know that my motive has changed, and the only reason I'm here is to help. Me being here is putting myself at risk by fighting whatever-the-hell it is we're fighting, and I'm doing so willingly. But if you don't want my help because of my past I'll accept that."
Liam opened his mouth to say something, but was quick to close it again as he realized he probably looked like a fish, and no sound was escaping his throat. Luckily, Lydia spoke for him.
"That's settled then. I think we should move on to the problem at hand."
Liam sent her a grateful look and sat down at his previous seat. Theo stayed standing in his spot, closest to the door, quietly observing.
-
"So another notorious killer is after super-naturals then?" Theo drawled. "Nothing new."
Malia rolled her eyes and Lydia cleared her throat.
"This is more than that." The red-head argued. "It's an ancient beast created to keep the world balanced. It's designed to take out those super-naturals who could be a danger to society. It can feel everything you feel, and anything could become a target for it. Lack of empathy, lack of control, a killer-instinct, anger-issues. If it can feel that within you, then you naturally become a target as you could be a danger to regular humans."
"Oh wow, you just described Theo." Malia snickered.
"At least I'm in control." Theo retorted. "You're the one with the killer-instinct."
"Oh really? Who of us has killed more people?"
"Shut up!" Liam interrupted. "That's not important, Lydia basically just described all three of us, so maybe we should just listen to her."
"Thanks Liam," Lydia sighed. "I got a bit of backstory on this beast when I talked to Chris Argent. The beast was created by ancient hunters. The intention was to create a super-hunter. A hunter who could identify those super-natural who were an actual danger and could take them down in order to have balance between the super-natural and regular world. However, this beast quickly became uncontrollable and it ended up going on a murder-spree instead. Basically, the hunter was flawed, as it searched for potential dangers in every super-natural, it always found something and always acted on it as every super-natural potentially could be dangerous. We don't know how, as old records have been destroyed- but the beast was somehow contained."
"And now it's back and wants to kill all supernaturals." Mason summarized.
"Yeah, basically." Lydia nodded. She took a few papers with symbols scribbled on them out of her bag and spread them across the table so everyone could see. "I've been scribbling these symbols unconsciously for two weeks. When I took them to Chris he recognized them as the symbol of the beast. This mark is supposed to show up somewhere on your body if the beast has acknowledged you. If you're marked you're on the kill-list."
"How does it kill you then, can't you simply defeat it?" Corey asked intriguingly.
"As I said, the beast can feel what you feel, and it can also search through memories. It finds a weakness and acts on it. There are not many records of how killings happened, but it's supposed to use weaknesses against you."
"So how do we defeat it?" Theo crossed his arms over his chest, and Liam noticed the way his shirt stretched around his muscular biceps.
"Well," Lydia sighed. "As many of the records are destroyed I'm unsure. But Chris has promised to help me research. In the meantime, I suggest we keep some sort of lookout for any signs of the beast. My theory is it's best to stay in pairs now that we know so little about it as the beast almost always acts when you're alone.
"Well, Corey can stay at my place." Mason said immediately. "My parents are out for the week so it'll be fine."
"Great." Lydia nodded. "And Malia you'll help me and Chris with research?"
"Sure." Malia shrugged.
All eyes went to Theo and Liam. Liam scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"I- we will figure something out." Liam didn't dare spare Theo a glance, and fortunately for him nobody seemed to question his phasing of we will figure something out. The long silence that followed was thankfully saved by Malia who announced she was far too hungry to stay and chat, and dragged Lydia out the door. Mason and Corey were also quit to say their goodbyes, which left Theo. Liam turned to face the chimera.
"So- I think I should go then." Theo said. Liam cringed at the awkwardness in the air. Why couldn't conversations with Theo just be easy? Why did Liam somehow always forget how to think and speak properly when Theo was around?
"No-" The beta blurted. Immediately regretting how desperate it sounded. "I mean like... where will you go?"
Theo rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "I'll be around, Liam."
"That's not answering my question." Liam insisted.
"Well what do you want me to say, Liam?" Theo's voice had raised now, hands flying in the air, the irritation in the tone very much clear. This, Liam could do. Fighting with Theo was so much easier than trying to lead a normal conversation.
"I don't know!" Liam exasperated. "You never tell me things, Theo. Never. You give vague answers and then just disappear somewhere, and I never know if you'll ever actually show up again."
"Oh, don't act like you actually care!" Theo shot. Liam was so close to shoving him. "You keep saying shit, like I don't tell you stuff. But you don't care Liam. You don't. You don't call and never text. I'm only here because you needed someone to fight, not someone to hang out with your stupid pack. So don't throw that bullshit on me."
Liam bit back what he was about to shout back and looked down at his shoes, because it was true. Everything Theo just said was very much true. Liam never called or texted Theo, not since the war with Monroe ended anyway. It wasn't like they'd ever hung out just to hang out. However, it wasn't like Theo had called Liam either. But then again, that wasn't a fair argument.
Liam felt uncomfortable. Being confronted like this wasn't something he liked dealing with, and feelings and shit wasn't exactly his strong suit either. He felt the anger bubbling inside him.
People only feel one emotion at a time. It's why you get angry when you're afraid.
And when I'm put in situations like this, Liam thought to himself.
Theo evidently took Liam's silence as him giving up this fight, and went to the door. Liam didn't say anything, instead focusing on calming the boiling anger inside him.
"See you around, I guess." Theo said. When Liam didn't respond he added; "Unless I'm killed by the beast first."
Liam hated Theo's sense of humor.