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“Theo, Theo, Theo, you really think I’m stupid enough to capture you without making sure you’re too weak to fight back?”
The chimera strained against his bonds, growling.
“Such a pity, all this rage and power, and you let it all go for a place in the pack,” Monroe tsked. “But they’re not here right now, Theo. So, once again, I’m asking you, where is Scott hiding the witch?”
Monroe’s voice echoed in the room, but Theo didn’t have the strength to lift his head to look at her. The IV connected to his arm shot wolfsbane into him, not at a dosage to kill him, but just enough that he was pretty much immobile.
“I’m not...telling you...shit,” Theo weakly muttered, black liquid leaking out of the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, his head was tilted up, and Monroe looked at him with a sinister smile.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” she pressed a button and electricity coursed through the wires tying him up. Theo jerked, pain running through every nerve in his body, but he managed to hold back the scream building in his throat. “Why be so loyal to a pack that won’t even come to save you?”
And a part of Theo believed her. Believed that the pack wouldn’t come, wouldn’t save him, because really, why would they? But a bigger part of him knew that wasn’t true. Scott and Alec were his brothers- they wouldn’t leave him for dead. Brett was his best friend and the rest of the Puppy Pack wouldn’t abandon him either. And Liam. Oh god, Liam, Theo thought. He was going to miss their date. Well, at least the werewolf would know something was wrong.
Yet every logical reason why the pack would never desert him didn’t comfort Theo. Because he was here, in Monroe’s grasp, almost dead. And he was all alone.
The hunter seemed to pick up on the chimera’s thoughts, because she laughed- a cold, mocking laugh that sent a chill down Theo’s spine. “You really think they’d come save you? The one who tried to kill them all last year, who manipulated all of them and played them like puppets?” Monroe turned up the electricity again and this time, Theo couldn’t help but scream. “You’re alone. No one will ever come save you, Theo. You don’t deserve it, because you,” she paused, taking in the chimera’s pitiful state.
“Because you are a monster.”
And Theo couldn’t help but agree with her.
__________________________________
Theo didn’t know how many hours had passed since he was captured. All he knew is that one minute he was on the way to the store to pick up some groceries and the next he was tied up, Monroe asking him where Elina was. Theo knew why she wanted the witch- Elina was powerful, and if she was on the hunter’s side, there was a decent chance they could defeat Scott. The chimera knew Elina wouldn’t betray them like that, but he knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure it never got that far. But the wolfsbane in his body weakened all his senses, and he couldn’t even pick up Monroe’s scent when she entered.
“Are you ready to talk?” she asked him, and the chimera let out a flimsy laugh.
“I will never,” he gathered all his strength and lifted his head to look into her eyes, “betray my pack.”
Monroe’s face tightened at his words, her eyes turning cold. “Well then, I no longer have a use for you.”
She walked up to him, reaching for the IV drip next to him and grabbing a syringe of wolfsbane from the table. “I hope you enjoy hell, Theo. I’m sure your sister will be glad to see you.”
The extra dose of wolfsbane was injected and the chimera struggled in his bonds. The poison was seeping into him, and Theo knew that he only had minutes before it reached something important.
Monroe stepped back and stared into his eyes- a stormy clash of black and gold. “You know, I’m almost sad to watch you die. You would’ve made a perfect ally.” She brought her hand up and casually glanced at her nails, as if she was talking to her friend rather than her enemy. “It’s too bad that you suddenly decided to be loyal.”
Theo tried to talk back, he really did, but he could barely keep his eyes open. His vision blurred, dark spots appearing at the corner of his sight. Every slight breath he took caused pain to erupt everywhere and he didn’t know if he could hold on anymore.
I’m sorry Liam. I’m sorry Scott and Alec. I’m sorry Brett. I’m sorry Melissa and Argent. I’m sorry everyone. I’m sorry for everything.
"I'm sorry."
And with that final whisper, Theo let his eyes drop closed, welcoming the darkness.
__________________________________
The first thing Theo sensed was voices. He couldn’t open his eyes, but he registered voices all around him.
“Theo, wake up,” he heard a voice plead. Liam.
“Guys, give him some space. You’re crowding him.” Scott.
“He’s been injected with wolfsbane, and based on the drip next to him, it was lethal.” Stiles.
“Shut the fuck up, Stiles. You’re not helping.” Brett. Theo felt his lips quirk up at the sound of his best friend’s rude words.
“He moved!”
“He’s smiling!”
“Theo, wake the fuck up.”
The words all clashed together in his head, and Theo felt the beginning of a migraine take root. But suddenly, the pain disappeared, and the chimera realized that his body didn’t feel so weak anymore. He slowly blinked open, the bright lights causing him to squint at the dark figures surrounding him.
“Oh, god, Theo,” Liam breathed out, throwing his arms around the chimera. Theo yelped. The injuries on his body hadn’t completely disappeared, no matter how much pain the other supernaturals had taken. The werewolf jumped back quickly, mumbling apologies, helping him sit up slowly on the couch.
“You guys came for me,” Theo remarked, his eyes taking in everyone around him at the McCall house. The whole pack was there, and the chimera felt something warm bloom in his chest at the sight of his friends.
“Of course we came, you dumbass,” Liam hissed out. His angry tone was subdued by the tears in his eyes. “We will always come for you.”
Theo’s heart picked up at the resolution in his boyfriend’s voice, and he let a genuine smile light up his face. It dropped just as fast.
“Monroe?”
Scott sighed heavily, his arm still on the chimera’s, siphoning as much pain as he could. “Dead.”
Theo’s jaw dropped at the word, and he glanced around, wondering who did it. It couldn’t have been Scott or any of the older pack. And even though Liam and Brett would probably have been furious, they wouldn’t have broken the alpha’s one rule.
The alpha seemed to understand Theo’s unsaid question, and a small chuckle burst out from him. “It was Peter.”
Now Theo was completely dumbfounded. “Peter? ” The older werewolf was standing near the back of the room, leaning against the wall.
“Don’t get all sentimental on me,” Peter drawled. “The bitch has had it coming for a long time. You just happened to be the one that had to be taken for it to happen.”
Theo smirked. “Yeah, I guess this was a good thing in the end.”
A small noise came from Brett. Theo turned to his best friend to see his watery eyes, clearly struggling to blink back tears. “A good thing? Do you know how it felt to see you hanging there, eyes closed, not even breathing? ”
Theo was stunned at the sudden outburst. “Brett, I-”
“No,” the werewolf barked loudly, and everyone jumped in surprise. Nolan and Scott were trying to calm him down while Liam grabbed Theo’s hand, but Brett continued. “You were dying.”
Theo shakily stood up with Liam’s support, ignoring Scott and Melissa’s protests. Before Theo could open his mouth to say anything however, Brett cut him off.
“You were dying, Theo. And you say it’s a good thing? ” The werewolf grabbed Theo’s collar in his hands, glaring at the chimera with wet eyes. Liam immediately complained, trying to get the blond away from his boyfriend, but Theo stopped him. Brett needed this, just like Theo would if it was Brett in this position.
“You left for groceries. You were supposed to be back in ten minutes,” the tall werewolf growled, his grip tightening on Theo’s shirt. “And then we see you with Monroe, blood everywhere, wolfsbane being injected into you. How do you think that feels, Theo? How do you think it feels, seeing you there, not knowing if you were alive? ”
Suddenly, everything clicked in Theo’s brain. The chimera had asked him if he wanted to come to the store, and Brett had refused. Brett thought it was his fault.
“Brett, it’s not your fault,” Theo said gently, and the werewolf paused his rant. He could smell the guilt and anguish coming off his friend. And so, he opened his arms wide.
The blond took one look at Theo and crumpled. He fell forward into the chimera’s arms, and they both went crashing into the crash behind them. Theo could feel the tears on his neck and mumbled again that it wasn’t Brett’s fault. He glanced up at Liam, who looked a little miffed that it wasn’t him hugging the chimera, but Theo knew that he wasn’t really mad. His boyfriend understood, because if it was Mason, he would be the same, probably worse. Brett continued to hold on to the chimera, and Theo let him.
“If this doesn’t prove that you’ve gone soft,” Stiles' voice cut through the silence, and Theo heard the click of a camera, “I can’t believe you’re willingly letting someone hug you.”
Theo groaned when the picture was instantly uploaded to the pack group chat and Brett finally untangled himself from Theo’s arms.
“You good?” Theo asked him, and Brett nodded. “It’s not your fault. Monroe would’ve done the same thing no matter who was there, okay? Don’t blame yourself.”
His best friend still looked hesitant, but seemed to accept it. He stepped back from the chimera, and Liam instantly took his spot, curling up next to Theo. The older boy laughed, but wrapped an arm around him.
“Theo, you need to rest,” Melissa stated firmly, and Scott nodded in agreement.
“She’s right, we can have a pack meeting tomorrow. Right now, you need to recover. Your healing is slowly kicking in, but you’re still not up to your usual strength.”
Theo was given no choice in the matter- Scott and Liam helped him up the stairs, while the rest of the pack crashed in the living room, too shaken up at the moment to leave.
Liam settled into the bed next to him, wrapping his arms around him. Theo sank into the touch and pushed his face into the werewolf’s neck, taking comfort in his anchor’s, his boyfriend’s, scent.
“I love you, Theo,” Liam mumbled, and Theo grinned widely. Fuck, he loved this boy so much.
“I love you, Liam.”
And Theo knew that Monroe was wrong. He was part of the pack, part of the family, and they wouldn’t abandon him. Ever. And with that comforting thought, Theo drifted off to sleep.
__________________________________
Theo woke up to voices. Again.
He tried to sit up, but he suddenly registered the heavy weight on his torso. He glanced down quickly to see Liam’s arm around him.
“This is so cute,” Lydia shrieked quietly, her phone in her hands, taking pictures. Theo was confused. This was normal, why was the pack freaking out about it?
But then he felt the weight on his legs. His gaze moved down, meeting Brett’s sleeping form, curled up at the foot of the bed on Theo’s legs. Before the chimera could say anything, his eyes widened at the sight of the rest of the room. The entire Puppy Pack was in his room, sleeping. Brett was the only one on the bed, but Mason and Corey were tangled up in each other on the floor to the right of Theo’s bed. Lori and Alec were to the left, while Nolan was spread out, limbs everywhere, next to them. Sometime during the night, apparently everyone decided to join Theo and Liam.
Scott caught Theo’s eye from the door, the rest of the older pack fanning him. “Guess they need you more than you think,” he said, smirking, and Theo flushed.
“He’s their pack mom, of course they need him,” Stiles quipped with sparkling eyes.
“Fuck off, I’m not the pack mom.”
Isaac snorted. “You drive them to school and pick them up, buy groceries for them, and help them with their homework,” he retorted, eyes gliding over the Puppy Pack, who were all still miraculously sleeping. “You’re the pack mom.”
Theo considered the werewolf’s words. “Oh my god, I’m their pack mom,” he whispered in horror, and the older pack cracked up.
The room was filled with loud laughter, and the Puppy Pack all grumbled at the rude awakening as they all eventually sat up in confusion.
“Why is the entire fucking pack here this early?” Brett asked rudely, yawning.
“First of all, why are all of you here?” Theo raised his eyebrow at the pack, and Brett's cheeks turned red.
“Brett woke up from a nightmare, he wanted to come here, and we just followed him,” Mason answered bluntly, and Brett threw a pillow at him. The human dodged it, stuck his tongue out at the werewolf, and continued. “Sleeping here just helped everyone feel safe.”
Theo felt the tips of his ear turn pink, heat blossoming in his chest at the knowledge that he made the pack feel safe. Theo Raeken, the chimera that almost destroyed the pack last year, made them feel safe. Liam seemed to read his mind, because he intertwined their fingers, anchoring Theo back to reality.
“Um, well,” Theo stammered, not really knowing what to say. “Thank you for saying that.”
Melissa walked past at that moment, noticing the entire pack crowding the hallway and Theo’s room. “Why aren’t you guys at school?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at the Puppy Pack.
“Oh, come on,” Alec whined, “Can’t we skip for one day?”
Theo got out of bed, his body having healed overnight, and smacked the back of the werewolf’s head. “You have a biology test today.” The chimera yanked Liam out of bed, ignoring his protests about the cold. “And you have an english presentation. And the rest of you…”
He didn’t need to finish his sentence- the rest of the pack started to get off the floor, grumbling about stupid chimeras that cared too much about school as Theo went to his bathroom to brush his teeth.
Stiles snickered loudly when the last of them had left and Theo came out of the bathroom.
“And you say you’re not pack mom,” the human grinned. “You memorize their schedules and force them to go to school.”
Theo flipped him off as he shoved his way through the pack to make his way downstairs. “Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure if they miss any more days of school, Lydia’s mom would kick them out.”
The banshee smirked in agreement. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re their pack mom.”
“Oh my god, I get it, I’m the pack mom!” Theo shouted, and the house fell silent. Shit, they were still here.
“If you’re the mom, does that make Liam the dad?” Corey called out from the kitchen, and the older pack giggled as they all entered the room.
“Shut the fuck up, Corey,” Theo said, but the other chimera just grinned.
“No, no, I wanna figure this out,” Brett drawled, his lips pulled up in the widest smirk Theo had seen. “You’re the mom, so Liam’s the dad. That makes me the uncle, because I’m obviously like your brother-”
“Hey, I’m actually Theo’s brother,” Alec cut in, glaring at the older werewolf. “So, I’m the uncle, and you’re the annoying friend that the mom keeps around but no one knows why.”
Theo dragged a hand down his face, listening to Isaac and Stiles’ snickers, Derek and Scott’s quiet laughs, Malia and Lydia’s giggles, and the Puppy Pack’s continued argument about who was who in this fucked up family dynamic.
“You guys need to get to school, so-”
“Theo’s the mom, Liam’s the dad, Brett’s the uncle because he is like Theo’s brother, making Nolan also an uncle,” Mason interrupted Theo, his voice firm and everyone stopped talking. “Alec and Lori are the kids, because they’re the youngest. And me and Corey are the cool friends who are just here to judge you guys on your messed up family.”
The entire pack stared at Mason in disbelief. And then everyone exploded.
“I’m the kid? ” Alec hissed, while Brett smirked happily at Mason’s words.
“We’re not messed up Mason, you’re messed up,” Liam retorted, and Theo snorted. Mature, Liam.
All the voices overlapped over each other, rising in volume, until Scott finally yelled for everyone to shut up.
“Theo’s right, you guys need to get to school,” the alpha stated after the room had quieted down. The chimera sighed in relief. Finally. He knew he could count on Scott. And then the alpha opened his mouth again. “And Mason’s wrong- Alec’s the brother, and Brett’s clearly the cousin.”
Theo took back what he said about counting on Scott.
“But if Brett is the cousin and Alec’s the brother, that would make Lori and Alec incest,” Stiles noted, and Theo has had enough.
“Everyone shut the fuck up,” he barked. “No matter how you cast this family dynamic, it’s fucked up. So, stop.” He glowered at the Puppy Pack, and narrowed his eyes. “Get in the truck.”
“Go pack mom!” Stiles cheered, and Theo elbowed him in the gut as he left the room. The human folded in half in pain, and Theo felt a little better. Not completely better though, because the entire pack was still laughing at Stiles’ words.
Theo rolled his eyes as he got in the driver’s seat, but smiled as he felt Liam grab his hand as soon as he sat down.
The Puppy Pack was silent as Theo pulled out of the driveway, and the chimera relaxed. Finally. Some peace and quiet.
“I’m the brother.”
Brett’s words started the argument right where it left off, and Theo groaned loudly. So much for peace and quiet.
__________________________________
“I heard you’re the pack mom now.”
Theo whined loudly at Argent’s words as Melissa laughed. The three of them were sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the rest of the pack to come home from wherever they were. Scott had left a few hours ago with the older pack, saying he needed to show them something. “Not you guys too. I get enough of this from Stiles and Scott.”
“I think it’s adorable,” Melissa said, grinning at him. “I’ve honestly been thinking about it since even before you moved in here. You always helped the Puppy Pack so much, staying even when you didn’t need to.” She blinked, and her face suddenly grew a little more serious. “You were a part of this pack before we even realized it.”
Theo felt his heart grow at Melissa’s words. Though he didn’t want to admit it, Monroe had gotten into his head. But this pack was good at knowing things that went unsaid, and Theo couldn’t have been more grateful that Melissa knew exactly what he needed to hear.
“Thank you,” Theo whispered quietly, and Argent and Melissa froze.
“You don’t need to thank us for anything,” Argent said firmly. “We’re your family, and we take care of each other. That’s what family does. And you take care of everyone else so much-”
“So let us take care of you too,” Melissa finished.
Theo smiled shyly, and Melissa enveloped him in her arms. “Now, don’t you have some puppies to pick up?”
Theo rolled his eyes and got up. “Alec told me to tell you that he’s staying at Lori’s tonight,” he said, and Argent snorted.
“Too scared to tell us that himself?”
Theo laughed. “Pretty much,” he exited the room, moving to the front door. “And Brett’s coming over because Liam and Nolan are both working on some chemistry project and banned us from distracting them.”
“Good for them, they’re self-aware,” Melissa joked, and Theo smirked. The chimera yelled out a bye and made his way to his truck.
__________________________________
Theo dropped off Alec and Lori at Lori and Brett’s apartment, Mason and Corey at Mason’s house, and Liam and Nolan at Liam’s house. He barely touched his boyfriend’s lips in a goodbye kiss before the werewolf was running into the house, saying he had to work on his chemistry project. What the fuck?
“Does Liam seem off to you?” Theo asked Brett as he drove to the McCall house, who was lounging in the passenger seat, scrolling through his phone.
“It’s Liam, when is he not off?”
Right, he shouldn’t have expected an actual answer from the werewolf. Theo dropped it as Brett started to talk about his plans for his and Nolan’s anniversary, nodding every now and then.
Four hours later, Brett had finished his homework early for once, and they were playing video games in Theo’s room. After the sixth time losing to the chimera, Brett threw the controller across the bed.
“You’re cheating, I’m done,” Brett muttered childishly.
Theo smirked. “Yeah, okay.” The chimera suddenly checked the time on his phone. “Shit, we should start making dinner.”
Brett jumped at that, his eyes widening a fraction. “I’m in the mood for a burger.”
The older boy looked at his friend, eyebrows furrowed. “I think we have burgers, I can make those if you want-”
“No!” Brett shouted suddenly, and Theo stepped back in surprise. “I mean, I want the burgers from that diner we always go to.”
Theo was suspicious. “Brett, what’s going on?”
The blond sighed. “I’m just in a bad mood because of Nolan ditching me to work on a project. Can we just go to the diner today?”
The chimera looked at his friend’s drooping shoulders and downward tilted lips. “Yeah, okay. Let me just grab my keys.”
As they were leaving the house, Theo called out to Melissa that they were going out, but there was no response. The chimera suddenly realized that there were no other heartbeats in the house.
“She’s probably working late, and Argent probably went to drop off her dinner,” Brett stated logically, and Theo nodded.
Ten minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of the diner, which was eerily empty.
“Are they closed?” Theo asked, looking at the closed blinds of the dark building.
“Nah, they’re open,” Brett got out of the truck and started walking to the door. Theo quickly followed his friend.
“I’m pretty sure they’re closed, dude,” Theo declared. “We can have burgers another day, why don’t we just pick up some pizza?”
Brett shoved the chimera towards the door. “Shut up, they’re open. I called and asked them before we left.”
Theo sighed and opened the door, stepping into the dark room.
“SURPRISE!”
The chimera staggered back into Brett, startled. The lights had turned on, and Theo saw the whole pack standing there. There was a banner hanging up with the words “Happy Birthday, Theo!” and the chimera felt an ache in his chest.
“How- how did you guys know?”
Liam stepped forward, hugging his boyfriend. Theo melted into his touch, wrapping his arms around the werewolf’s waist. The younger boy suddenly pulled back and smacked the chimera’s chest. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us. I had to find out from Scott.”
“In all honesty, I kinda forgot until halfway through the day, and you guys were already at school,” Theo responded, rubbing his chest.
Theo suddenly remembered something. “Wait,” he said, turning to the older pack. “Is this why you left?”
Scott’s eyes squinted as a wide smile covered his face. “Yep. Once Liam found out, he wanted to throw you a huge surprise party, but he couldn’t ditch school. So we did the work for him.”
Theo’s heart soared and he suddenly launched forward and pressed his lips to Liam’s. The werewolf stumbled back with the unexpected movement but recovered quickly and kissed back. They broke apart after a few moments, remembering that there were other people in the room.
Something else clicked in Theo’s head. “Wait, your chemistry projec-”
“We lied.” Nolan grinned at the chimera, snuggled into Brett’s side.
“You said you were pissed off because Nolan ditched you,” Theo accused Brett, and the werewolf smirked.
“Also a lie.”
“And I’m assuming Melissa is not working late, and her and Argent are here too?” Theo said dryly.
“Look out you guys, we have a genius over here,” Stiles mocked, as Melissa walked out from another room holding a huge cake.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” the nurse said, placing the cake on the table. She hugged him tightly, and Theo sank into it.
“Okay, I wanna eat cake, can we move this along?” Lori whined, and Theo and Melissa pulled apart.
“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Liam whispered next to him as he went to blow out the candles.
Theo closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them and blowing out the flames.
“What did you wish for?” Corey asked him, and Theo smirked.
“If I say it, it won’t come true.” The pack all rolled their eyes before Melissa moved to cut the cake, and handed Lori the first piece, to the girl’s delight.
As the pack all sat around the diner, eating cake and conversing casually about random things, Theo looked around him, thinking back to his wish.
I wish I can be a part of this pack forever.