Chapter Text
There’s something strangely comforting about Liam’s scent that Theo can’t help but find himself drawn to. It’s honestly terrifying, because just a whiff of that citrusy smell is enough for him to drop his guard, lay himself bare for everyone to see. And that’s… that’s something Theo’s never had the liberty of doing.
But Liam… Liam’s different from everyone else.
He’s the one who barges into the room when Theo’s napping and rolls onto him, surrounding him with his scent. He’s the one who wraps his arms around Theo’s waist with whispered praises as the chimera shakily learns to cook an unburnt omelet. He’s the one who decides to settle on Theo’s lap every time they do an impromptu movie night. And it… it scares the fuck out of Theo because he’s starting to grow dependent; he finds himself aching for that singular touch, the press of Liam’s hands against his, the warmth of his breath against his neck.
But, so far, it’s been Liam who’s doing all the initiating. It’s Liam who reaches his hand out, opens up his arms, presses their cheeks together without prompting. He’s always there, scent tickling Theo’s nose oh-so-pleasantly, and Theo knows—though Liam doesn’t say anything—that the younger boy wishes he’d do the same. That Theo would be the one to press forward.
And he wants to. Really, he does. But doing that would mean… doing that would mean…
Theo’s shoulders slump, as he stares at his reflection in the mirror. Staying cooped up in the bathroom when your boyfriend’s literally outside the door, sprawled across your shared bed, is not the normal thing to do. The normal thing to do would be to own it, walk through the door with his head held high and arms open for cuddles.
Theo hates to admit it, but he really does like the cuddles, so it shouldn’t turn out too bad.
Steeling himself, he pushes open the door, managing to stumble his way across the room and collapse onto the bed, cursing himself for forgetting that the lights are off.
“Everything okay?” Liam asks, voice rough from sleep, and Theo freezes, unsure of how to respond. He’s already fucking this up. And, when Liam mumbles something tiredly and pulls Theo in by the waist, he gives up. Liam already beat him to it, as always.
“I’m fine.” He sighs, letting Liam essentially manhandle him till he’s comfortable. “Go back to sleep, Liam.”
“Mhm.” Liam snuggles closer, pressing a quick kiss to Theo’s jaw, before his breathing evens out.
The worst part about this, is that Theo feels warm inside. Like his chest is doing its own rendition of springtime, complete with tulips, rainbows and jumping leprechauns. He isn’t supposed to feel things at all, but there’s Liam, taking apart every last bit of his weakened armor until he’s left bare.
Theo curls his fingers shakily against Liam’s bare skin, and presses his nose into Liam’s throat. He’ll get his opportunity again, soon.
Except he doesn’t. This grows painfully apparent when they’re lounging on the couch.
“I’m going to be gone a week.” Liam says suddenly. Theo freezes, mind processing the words slowly. “For… for my lacrosse team? I know it’s the break, but it’s a national thing, and it’ll only take a week and a half at the most, but I get if you don’t want—”
And Theo’s tired of Liam wanting to sacrifice things for him all the time. So, he leans over, cards his hand through his hair, and tells him it’s okay. The feel of Liam’s soft strands against his palm weakens his resolve, but he holds on.
“Are you sure?” Liam’s pretty blue eyes are intense, and Theo can’t bring himself to look at them any longer, so casts his gaze away.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” He says shortly, tamping down on his scent, shutting it down. He’s good at that. “Don’t worry about me, baby wolf, just make sure not to trip over your feet when you’re on the field.”
He doesn’t expect Liam to actually growl at him, albeit playfully, and pounce, knocking him back onto the couch. Theo’s mind spins for a minute when Liam’s skin brushes against his own, and he discretely tries to keep the contact… though, judging by Liam’s knowing smile, Theo isn’t as sneaky as he once was.
He chalks it up to them being mates. It makes sense that his chimera would like the touch, but he also knows he’s just lying to himself.
“I’m gonna miss you.” Liam murmurs, pressing his nose into Theo’s neck, and Theo can’t help the hitch in his breath.
He tries to ignore the sudden tightness in his throat, just lets his head flop to the side as he teases, “Speak for yourself; I’m not gonna miss your stink.”
Liam gapes at him in mock affront, and Theo can’t help the easy smile that comes onto his lips when the beta pouts.
“Aw, what’s wrong?” Banter is easy, and it slips from his lips without resistance. “Did I hurt the baby beta’s feelings?”
“Oh, that’s it.” Liam seethes, and Theo gives him a smirk; it quickly dies out when an evil little smile takes over his boyfriend’s lips instead.
“Say, babe,” Liam looks positively gleeful, and that worries Theo more than he’d like to admit. “I wonder what’ll happen when I do this!”
Theo isn’t given any time to react when Liam’s fingers dig into his sides, feather-light and quick. A helpless giggle leaves his lips that has his cheeks turning red, but he isn’t granted even a short reprieve as Liam lets his fingers lose and ugh, can’t breathe, holy fuck Liam stop!
The tickle attack eventually turns into them sharing lazy kisses, rolling around on the carpeted floor. Theo’s back aches, but the buzzing under his skin is gone, kissed away by Liam’s soft lips. He feels… sated, for once, and scarily enough: content.
“It’s only a week or so.” Liam tells him in between kisses, and Theo can’t gasp in enough air to formulate an answer, as his boyfriend trails his lips downward. “You’ll hardly notice I’m gone.”
Theo doesn’t answer, but wishes.
Alright, so the first two days aren’t so bad. Theo hugs a pillow close to him when he sleeps, content with the knowledge that no one’s around to see him like this. He still hates himself for it, though; he’s just so used to Liam’s chest being pressed against his own, the concept of personal space entirely lost between them, that it feels weird to be able to actually stretch his legs out in bed without feeling Liam’s toes brushing them.
His chimera whispers to him that it wants their mate back, but he tamps it down. He knows they need Liam, but Liam has things to do, more important than just Theo.
When he showers, he swears he can feel Liam’s hand drag down his back, over his aching muscles; but, of course, reality strikes, hot and quick. It’s not Liam, it’s just the water running down the course of least resistance. Liam’s in another state, playing the sport he loves. Theo’s not going to be salty about this, he’s not.
When has it become so hard to keep control?
Day 3 is when things start getting a little bad. Theo can handle it, though.
He has to haul his ass to school for the first time since Liam’s left, but it’s okay. He manages to work in the kitchen, pour himself a cup of coffee and gulp down the acrid liquid in painful, burning gulps. It doesn’t usually taste this bitter, but Theo figures it’s probably because he didn’t add enough milk in or something, and he’s too lazy to actually get more.
That’s when he actually checks the time, and his heart drops. He’s late by an entire fifteen minutes. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re teaching the Juniors-From-Hell first thing in the morning, it’s best to be on your A-game.
Theo showers as quickly as he can, before he barrels to his truck, laptop bag slung carelessly over his shoulder. It reminds him of the past, when he was constantly moving around, sneaking into unsuspecting people’s houses for a quick snack, sometimes for his laundry if he was lucky.
Huh. That’s funny; it’s been years since he’s thought of that.
When he finally makes it to his class, he’s heaving, gasping for breath. He stops for a couple of moments outside the door, trying to control his breathing so that it’s acceptable, and his hand brushes his hair back so that it doesn’t fall into his eyes.
“Good morning.” He greets tersely, wincing when his voice wobbles; he hasn’t recovered quite as fast as he thought he would. “I take it you guys have your homework out?”
Surprisingly, no one calls him out on being late. Instead, he watches in slightly horrified fascination, they don’t speak at all, with the homework being placed neatly on his desk.
He eyes them, finding their neutral expressions highly suspicious.
“Is something wrong?” He finally lets out, when it’s evident no one’s going to speak. “You kids are being way too quiet, even for a Monday morning.”
No one says anything, and Theo rolls his eyes. Of course they’re not going to make this easy for him. Whatever, it’s not like he cares anyway.
“Alright, so let’s get to it.” He sighs, wiping away the sweat collecting at his brow, before slowly moving to lean against the desk. “We’re talking about angular displacement, last class…”
After class, Theo’s completely exhausted. He rubs at his eyes as one of the girls in his class walks up to him, intent written clear across her face. He wants to shrivel up into a ball and disappear forever—he really doesn’t feel like interacting with anyone right now—but duty calls. He has to address concerns, as a teacher; especially if he wants to get paid.
“Yeah, Amyra?” He asks patiently, shutting his eyes briefly for respite, before they blink open again. “What d’you need?”
“Um,” She anxiously twists her hands, and Theo’s immediately drawn to her hunched in posture. His eyes narrow as he sits up; is she in serious trouble or something? Bullying, perhaps? “I just wanted to know if… if you’re okay?”
Theo blinks. Oh. Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting that.
“I’m fine.” He says carefully, mouth pursing as he appraises her nervous countenance. “What makes you ask, though?”
“It’s not just me!” She blurts out nervously. “Everyone else noticed it too!”
“It’s fine.” He soothes; ha, Evil Theo Raeken being soothing. “Noticed what?”
“You look kinda sick?” She wheedles, fiddling with the ends of her shirt. “Like, you’re really pale and stuff, and we’ve never seen you with a hair out of place—n-not that that’s a bad thing!”
“Relax kid.” He gives her one of those rare smiles he reserves for moments like this. He knows it’s not easy to admit some things; hell, Theo practically invented the fucking handbook. “I’m fine, don’t worry. I just didn’t get to eat breakfast today, but I’ll be good to go after lunch.”
Not a complete lie so, by his standards, an A-star answer. Amyra looks at him, bites her lip, and nods.
“Thank you!” She rushes out, before fleeing through the door. Theo watches her retreat, bemused.
While they may be straight from Hell, his students do have their moments.
Theo checks his watch during lunch break. Liam hasn’t called or texted since he left, and… ugh, it’s stupid. Theo shouldn’t be so hung up about it, he’s not some teenage girl pining after her S.O or anything. He’s being ridiculous. But they’re recently mated, so it makes sense for him to want to hear from Liam, right?
He also knows that he can technically text Liam first, but he doesn’t… alright, so he doesn’t want to be a bother. Liam’s busy anyway, he’s got a lot of games to go to, practice to put in; especially with him being the captain. Theo just doesn’t want to distract him, that’s all. And it’s not even a bad thing; in fact, this is Theo being considerate. Something he rarely ever does, so it just goes to show how much he…
Theo bites his lip.
How much he loves Liam.
“Hey Theo.” He looks up when Nolan slips into the seat opposite to him.
“Hey.” He greets back, by now used to sitting with the younger boy at lunch.
Interestingly enough, Nolan decided to become… you guessed it, a guidance counselor. He says that he doesn’t want for kids to be misdirected like he was ever again; manipulated into believing something out of ignorance and fear. Theo understands, and has to offer his grudging respect for that decision. Dealing with children as a counselor of all things just sounds like pure torture, but Nolan’s managed to hold out just fine.
“You okay?” Nolan asks, brow furrowed in concern. “You’re looking kinda pale.”
“I didn’t get breakfast.” Theo rolls his eyes. “Everyone’s been asking me that since morning anyway, so relax.”
“I’m just worried.” Nolan offers, and Theo hears his heartbeat thrum steadily. He’s not lying, and that’s… that’s a kind notion, really. “Especially since Liam’s not around.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Theo’s appetite dies, and he reluctantly sets down his sandwich. “Liam has a life, and so do I. I don’t need to be around him constantly to survive or something.”
“I’m not saying that!” Nolan immediately protests; normally, Theo would find it amusing how his eyes light up in poorly-concealed panic, but the human doesn’t mean any harm, so Theo lets it slide. “I’m just… is it bad that I’m on your side?”
Theo can’t hide his surprise at that, eyes widening.
“Uh.” He says, and Nolan quickly shakes his head.
“Forget it!” The human meeps, letting his head fall to the table with a loud thunk that even has Theo wincing. “Anyway, I was seeing that kid you referred to me the other day and…”
Theo doesn’t sleep well, that night. He tosses and turns, feeling a strange ache in his chest that feels like it’s expanding outward, reaching far into his body to consume it whole. He huffs out a laugh.
He’s being unnecessarily overdramatic, as always. Liam’s starting to rub off him.
Thinking about Liam makes it harder to rest, though. His mind kicks into overdrive, wondering why the Beta hasn’t called him yet, or even messaged. Theo can’t even begin to count how many times he’s rolled over, taken ahold of his phone and typed out a sad, pathetic I miss you before deleting it and flopping back.
He feels completely stupid, acting like the teenager he never got the chance to be. Liam’s his mate. He’s not going anywhere, so why does Theo’s head constantly need to screw with him?
He knows the answer why, but it’ll never leave his lips.
“Okay, I’m calling it: you look like shit.” Mason tells him when they meet on the fifth day, and Theo glares; it’s weak, though, and he knows it, especially when the human only raises an eyebrow at him. His mouth feels like sandpaper—coarse and disgusting—but he swallows uncomfortably anyway.
“Thanks.” He says sarcastically instead of answering the unasked question, the elephant in the room. “Do you flatter everyone like this, or just me?”
“Cut the shit, dude.” Mason interjects, not rising to the bait. Theo thinks petulantly that it’s so much easier dealing with Liam than this blockhead. That just makes the presence in his chest wither a little more.
“Can supers get sick?” Mason asks, when it becomes apparent that Theo isn’t going to grace him with an answer. “Because, seriously, you look like you’re getting pneumonia or something.”
Theo glares at him, and bites angrily into his burger. The grease lies heavy on his tongue as he swallows it down, and finally speaks.
“Are you always this intrusive?” He lets annoyance bleed into his tone, before diverting. “I’m fine; now, tell me about that Omega you were talking about on the phone.”
Mason stares hard at him, before he relents.
“Alright.” He says stonily, like he expects Theo to blurt out his feelings in guilt; well, that’s not going to be happening any time soon. “We think they’ve gone rogue, since there are lots of mutilated animals lying around and stuff.”
It’s amazing how Mason manages to say that last sentence with a straight face. Theo grudgingly finds himself impressed.
“So?” He drawls out, arching a brow. A dull ache starts up at the base of his skull the longer he looks at the shiny table, so he meets Mason’s eyes instead. “Let me guess, you want me to take them out?”
“Basically, as soon as possible.” Mason shrugs. “Corey already went in to check—against my better judgment— anyway, so it’s basically confirmed. Scents all match up, apparently.”
“Great.” Theo takes a sip of his smoothie, feeling relieved the instant the cool liquid soothes over his burning tongue. “I feel like a hitman, but okay. Consider it done.”
“Thanks man.” Mason claps him on the back gratefully, and Theo barely manages to hold back a wince at the sting of his palm. “I owe you one.”
“Damn right you do.”
Theo’s skin tingles when he thinks that Liam wouldn’t have let him go alone, but he doesn’t let the feeling win. Besides, he needs to focus.
He’s got a rogue to take care of.
He goes home, first. Normally he’d get on task right away, but he’s just exhausted, and he doesn’t want to pass out in the middle of the woods or anything. That would suck.
Theo doesn’t really like being at home, nowadays. It’s always cold and empty, makes it feel like the chill’s seeping through his clothes, straight into his heart. Like a real-life rendition of Frozen or something, except this is hallucinated and the movie wasn’t.
Details notwithstanding, Theo hates having to unlock the door with trembling fingers, before he walks in. His eyes feel like they’re about to roll out their sockets from exhaustion; looking at the table, on which homework papers are stacked for grading just makes him want to puke. So does eating, actually. A shower will do, then.
Theo smiles slightly at that.
A shower and then heading straight to bed sounds amazing. Just a fifteen-minute crash nap wouldn’t hurt anyone anyway; the rogue isn’t going to go Super Saiyan on him for taking a tiny break now, would it?
Theo shrugs off his shirt, stepping into the shower and shuddering when cold water comes spraying down on him. It should make him feel more awake, like it usually does, but… it doesn’t help. Theo gives up after a while, shutting off the tap. Warm water would just make him fall asleep on the spot anyway.
He stumbles out of the shower, drying himself off and wrinkling his nose at his washed clothes. They smell too cold, stale, just… wrong. It’s not what his chimera wants, so he discards them on the floor, deciding to pick them up later. He makes it to his closet, grabbing a sweet-smelling hoodie and a pair of his jeans, giving the dark blue fabric a good sniff before deciding it’s good enough, and shrugging it on.
It smells like home, and brings an ache to Theo’s heart when he realizes it smells like Liam. Why must he do this to himself?
His head hits the pillow as he curls up slightly wishing, not for the first time, that Liam were here with him. The sheets are chilly against his skin, and the coolness pressing to his forehead isn’t as soothing as it normally would be.
Just fifteen minutes. And Theo would find that stupid Omega and gut them, because he could really use the distraction.
His eyes droop shut.
He’s woken abruptly by the sound of his phone going off, and he winces at the volume. It’s kind of dark outside, but that’s to be expected, so he pays it no mind, grabbing at his phone mostly just to shut it up.
“Hello?” His voice is croaky and weird, and he doesn’t like it. Theo cracks out a yawn as he waits for an answer.
“What part of ‘ASAP’ didn’t you understand dude?” That’s Mason’s voice, angry and urgent, and Theo’s eyebrows furrow at the unwarranted aggression. “Because of you—”
“Whoa, whoa, hold up.” Theo presses a hand to his head so that his brain hurries and gets in gear. “It’s only been—”
“An entire day?” Mason interrupts, ticked off, and Theo’s eyes grow wide as he slowly pulls his phone away from his ear, unable to believe it. “Yeah, I know!”
Theo’s throat is dry, and his breath catches when he sees the date.
“It’s been a day?” His voice cracks in disbelief. “I don’t—”
“And Alec’s ass is busted because of you.”
That catches Theo’s attention and he answers sharply, heart in his throat. “What?”
“It caught him when he was running track.” Mason’s voice is tight, and so is Theo’s windpipe, slowly being crushed. “It’s moved across a larger area than we expected.”
“I’m on it.” Theo doesn’t think, cutting the call as he stumbles to his feet, reaching for his keys and barreling out of his apartment.
As he drives, he rakes his hand through his hair carelessly, knowing it probably looks terrible. There are so many things wrong with this scenario that Theo doesn’t even know where to start. The Omega takes priority, though, especially if it’s hostile.
Theo swallows. Alec got hurt. Because of him. And as much as he hates the loud-mouthed little shit, he’s… he’s come to care for him. For everyone in the Pack. Ha, that’s something he thought he’d never admit: not even to himself. But it still stands.
His fingers tighten their grip on the steering wheel, turning white-knuckled.
He let this happen, after he promised that he’d watch their backs.
He parks his truck near the preserve, shrugging off his clothes before letting the shift overcome him. Halfway through the change, though, he has to bite back a scream because thick spikes of pain stab into his spine, sparking all over his skin. He reverts back quickly, breathing heavily and mind whirling.
“What…?” Theo breathes out, as he struggles to calm his racing heart. He hesitantly holds out his hand, breathing a sigh of relief when his claws come out and he’s alright. His chimera’s being extra weird, and he’ll figure out why but: priorities. Right.
It still makes him uneasy, though.
Theo pulls on his clothes again quickly, shuddering when Liam’s scent grows stronger. It’s almost easy to lose himself in it, to let himself sag against the truck and let his eyes shut, but he doesn’t have the liberty of doing that.
He sighs at how pathetic he’s become.
This is going to take a lot longer than usual, half-shifted, but he’s got to do this before he’s got any more of their blood on his hands.
The Omega is surprisingly not covert when it comes to covering their tracks. The foreign scent in the air is strong, as Theo follows it deeper and deeper into the preserve. He knows rogues don’t usually do so well in the mental department, but their animal usually guides them in protecting themselves, at the very least, so this is more than a little baffling.
In any case, though, it makes his job easier and he’ll hopefully get to go to sleep soon.
His eyes narrow as moves deeper into the woods and the scent thickens, practically bathing him; that’s weird, why would it—
“Fuck.” His eyes widen. He’s walked right into their territory.
That doesn’t sound too bad in theory—it’s still one on one—but their scent is literally everywhere and Theo’ll have no idea where they’re coming from. He tenses, knowing it’s too late to walk away now that they’ve probably sensed him here—sticking out like a sore thumb—and that the only thing he can do is be ready. He’s walked straight into their trap.
He focuses his hearing, listening for the crunch of leaves or the soft thumps of footsteps and there—
He doesn’t react quickly enough, as a shape barrels into him, knocking him against the trunk of a tree and pinning him there. Theo kicks out, instinctively, but the Omega steps hard on his foot—hard, so much that it feels like his ankle’s sprained from the strain.
“Come to kill me?” The Omega purrs and, judging from the tone of voice, it’s a guy. Theo growls warningly at him: back off. His body turns rigid when the other man noses at his throat, scenting him—that’s something intimate, only reserved for Liam—before pulling back and smiling sharply at him. “I’m a little insulted: I expected to see the Alpha here, not his beta, even if you are a pretty face.”
There are lots of things wrong with this scenario. One, that the Omega’s clearly coherent so is not rogue; Two, that he uses some disgusting pet names; and Three, that he’s evidently here for a purpose.
“Yeah, well.” Theo heaves out, blinking a little rapidly to focus his eyesight. “It’d help if we knew what you wanted.”
“Isn’t that obvious, sweet thing?” The man grins, pressing a hand to Theo’s throat and making him gasp for air. “A Pack.”
Theo’s vision is starting to speckle with black, dots dancing across his vision. At this rate, he’s going to black out, so he does what he has to do. Even though it still stings like a bitch, he gathers the strength in his dominant leg and kicks up, kneeing the Omega in his balls.
Now that he can breathe and actually move around, Theo can get the fuck out of here. Theo’s also an idiot, though, so doesn’t factor in the fact that his ankle’s obviously not healed. Which, in itself, is kind of worrying because, while Theo’s healing takes a little longer than the regular Were’s, it shouldn’t be taking this long.
Pain, blistering cold pain, shoots up his leg as he falls to his hands on the dirt, scraping his knees in the process. The Omega yanks at his injured ankle, and Theo’s ashamed to admit he actually screams at that, the sound being torn from his mouth without any preamble.
“Fuck!” He yells out, limbs heavy as he tries to buck off the man’s weight. This isn’t working: time for a new strategy that’ll probably also get him killed.
Theo lets his limbs relax as he glares up into the piercing blue eyes of the man’s wolf.
“Let me guess.” He smirks, “Your old Pack kicked you out?”
He winces when claws dig into the sensitive skin of his wrists, but he needs to feed on that anger, let it goad the Omega into making a mistake, so he powers on.
“What, they really did?” He snickers, eyes locking on the man’s. “Why, you didn’t catch a big enough rabbit for breakfast? Oh, wait, let me guess: bad breath. That’d probably explain it.”
“You’ve got a bit of a mouth on you, huh?” Theo’s eyes widen when the man only smirks down at him; those grubby fingers are circling his left hand. “Okay, then, why don’t you use it to scream?”
And then he pulls, and Theo’s wrist burns, burns, burns. Theo bites his lip to the point where it starts bleeding. He’s not going to scream, not going to howl. He can’t let the others know where he is.
“Wow.” Theo pants out finally, laughing mirthlessly. “That the best you can do?”
“You’re not even curious how I knew about this?” Theo chokes out a silent moan of pain when the Omega prods at his puffy wrist, jostling it even in its unnatural angle.
“Observation?” Theo grunts. “Assuming you actually have a brain in the first place.”
The punch to the face is expected, and Theo can feel the bruise starting to form at the corner of his mouth. He still hurts all over though; he hasn’t felt this way since—
Since he was a child.
“What I don’t get is why you haven’t healed yet.” The Omega looks strangely curious, and Theo’s breath hitches when fingers press against the purpling marks around his throat. “Unless…huh.”
Theo can’t breathe again, as the man presses hard against his windpipe; his claws come out, though the force his right hand exerts is pitiable compared to his dominant hand. It just serves to amuse the man, not injure.
“Fuck…you…” Theo manages to wheeze out, legs curling up as the Omega continues to throttle him. It’s really cold, and he’s all alone in the middle of the Preserve with an Omega strangling him to death; is this really how it’s going to end?
Liam…
“Your mate left you all alone, huh? Didn’t want you anymore?” The Omega’s words are mocking, digging and cruel, and, unbidden, tears spring into Theo’s eyes. He doesn’t even know why, but his heart feels so cold and his skin is prickling with goosebumps and there’s so much pain. “Poor thing. Let me take away that pain for you.”
Theo can’t move anymore, limbs heavy and gaze lidded. The chill’s starting to spread, numbing him, and the darkness starting to creep into his vision is of no help.
“Nighty night, half-breed.” The man smirks down at him. “See you in hell.”
Theo’s eyes roll up into his head as his skin ices over.
He’s shivering hard when he wakes up.
Theo’s teeth chatter as his heart thumps loudly in his chest; he wants to get up but he can’t, it’s too cold, and he needs to be warm again. He’ll do anything to be warm again.
He can’t think, mind far too muddled for that, but he can tell he’s in a bed. There’s a blanket wrapped around him that he pulls closer, trying in vain to make the cold go away, but of course it’ll stay. He can feel the chill sinking deep into his bones, settling inside him and making his lips tremble, bruised and cracked.
He wants Liam. He needs Liam.
Tears gloss over his eyes and he can’t stop them from clinging to his lashes, travelling down his frozen cheeks. He doesn’t want to be here, alone. He needs Liam, needs him to hug him and kiss him and tell him that someone loves him even though it’s impossible.
Theo lets out a choked out whine when he remembers that Liam’s busy and, besides, Liam’s a good person who shouldn’t waste his time on something as fucked up as Theo in the first place. Liam doesn’t deserve to be saddled with a broken toy when he could do so much better.
Theo deserves this, deserves the icy cold gliding up his body and making his skin sting. Deserves to be left for dead, abandoned like the Omega said. Still, Theo can’t help it. He can’t stop it.
Theo just wishes.