Work Text:
“Hey it’s me again,” Liam let out an unsteady breath trying to mask the worry in his voice, “Calling for the 80th time, we haven’t seen you for a few days.” He paused glancing around Theo’s room, the previous guest bedroom which the missing chimera has since inhabited when Mama McCall more or less forced him to move in once she found out Theo was living out of his truck. Liam continued praying that his voice didn’t break, “Please Theo, I need to know if you’re okay. Please call me back, I love you.” And with that Liam hung up sadly.
Sitting down on the bed the young beta grabbed a pillow from near the headboard and brought it close to his chest. Theo’s scent immediately filled Liam’s senses, the aroma of citrus and fir allowed his wolf a moment of peace before it continued to claw pathetically and whine inside Liam. His wolf started to feel the effects of not having his mate and anchor around on the second day of when Theo disappeared during the day, and soon enough Liam started to feel himself lose control. Not having Theo around to reign in his anger, Liam found himself lashing out more often.
It wasn’t unlike Theo to disappear for a few hours or even a day but it wasn’t like him to not leave a note saying he’ll be back, Theo always gave Liam that least bit of comfort and hope. This time though Theo disappeared without a note, during the day while Liam was in school. Thousands of scenarios rattled through his head, the next one being worse than the last. His wolf became unsettled and the dread was building inside of him, something was wrong but Liam just didn’t know exactly what.
A soft knock at the door was what dragged Liam from his thoughts. Glancing over he was met with the gentle yet powerful gaze of his alpha. The two exchanged a conversation without ever uttering a word. Liam sullenly shook his head and dropped his eyes back down to the pillow at his chest. Scott let out a sigh and moved to sit next to his beta.
“Don’t lose hope, it’ll be okay” Scott sounded so sure, so hopeful as always. “We’ll find him.”
“What if we can’t?” The lump in Liam’s throat has grown, his thoughts still racing. “What if he left for good this time? What if he no longer has a reason to stay in Beacon Hills?”
“Liam,” Scotts voice was ginger but it boarderlined a warning, “Don’t do that to yourself. You know he loves you.” His beta’s only response was a dull nod. Liam’s hands started to fidget with the edge of the pillow that he held. His heart was pounding at an irregular rate, it sounded almost deafening to the alpha. Scott placed a solid consoling hand on the wary shoulders of his beta, trying to give him any sort of comfort he can. “I called Argent, he said he’s going to check some of his sources to see if they know anything.”
That brought comfort to Liam’s wolf as it had since stopped scratching and whining but instead favored to curl in on itself and held a low growl in its throat. Needless to say the wolf won’t be docile for long.
Liam released a soft breath and finally put down the pillow. Looking up he was still met with the stare of his alpha. A sad smile was exchanged between the two and then they got up only to retreat to the living room to be met with the rest of the pack. Liam was grateful to leave Theo’s room for a bit, his nose was no longer assaulted with the strong smell of his lover. Instead the intoxicating scent clung to his clothes and lingered for a bit giving Liam the right amount of peace.
Malia was the first to greet them and she gave Liam an uncomfortable squeeze to his shoulder that was supposed to be some sort of comforting gesture. Liam gave her some credit though, she was trying her best to be understanding despite still having a grudge against the chimera.
Stiles was the next to come up as he fidgeted with the phone in his hands, “Okay I just got off the phone with my dad. He still has an APB out but the good news is a deputy was able to locate Theo’s truck.”
“Where was it?” Liam asked his hope increasing at the new information.
“The preserve.” A voice that didn’t belong to Stiles said. It was Derek who was now walking into the front door with Argent following behind him. “The sheriff's department has the truck in their custody but I was able to pay a visit to it thanks to your dad.” Derek nodded in Stiles direction.
“What did you find?” Lydia asked sensing there’s more to Derek's statement.
“There was a struggle. To a normal person nothing may seem out of the ordinary but to a werewolf the chemo signals were pungent.” Derek said in a confident voice, which made Liam’s stomach drop slightly. Liam’s feeling of something being wrong was right and his wolf was back on its feet and paced inside of him. “There were other scents I didn’t recognize they belonged to someone else but the overwhelming scent was of anxiety and fear.”
“You’re telling me he may have been taken?” Liam asked cautiously not wanting believe it but it was the only clue they had to work off of.
“No,” Argent spoke up for the first time, “He was taken. I found a solid lead.” Liam’s heart skipped a beat and a growl rumbled low in his throat.
“Who took him?” Mason asked sensing his best friend was too upset to even ask the simple question.
“The collectors.” Argent responded filling the room with confusion, getting the impression that no one knew who they were he continued, “They are a group of hunters but they don’t kill their prey directly. They capture supernatural beings then auction them off to hunters and the hunters take if from there. They can keep their “prize” as pet or even as a game of hunt. The rarer the being the more money they are worth.”
“Theo is the first chimera, and there aren’t many of us.” Corey spoke up from his spot next to mason.
“He’d be worth a lot and would be sold quickly.” Malia said bluntly, Scott gave her a side glance when he noticed Liam’s hand started to twitch. His anger was rising and his mantra was doing hardly anything to help keep his calm.
“So we need a time and place of when this auction is going down.” Stiles said eyeing the Argent suspecting he was already steps ahead of them.
Argent smiled and reached into his back pocket pulling out a piece of paper. “Already got it, and it’s going down tonight.” Liam almost let out a snarl at how lightly Argent seemed to be taking this, but he held back only barely. His wolf started to claw inside of him again but instead of pathetic little pawings, it was viciously trying to be let out just to tear whoever dared to touch his mate to bloody pieces.
Liam was going to get his mate and lover back then make everyone responsible pay for what they did.
~~~~~~~~
When they arrived the expectation was to be met with a dingy rundown building that had mold and garbage everywhere, not the clean mint condition warehouse they were faced with. Getting out of their cars everyone paired off, Scott & Liam, Stiles & Lydia, Malia & Derek and Mason & Corey. Argent was placed outside the place and was to circle around while being on the general look out for anything and everything. Malia would have preferred to have been paired with Scott but he made it evident that he should be with Liam incase the beta wasn’t able to hold in his anger and blow their whole plan out the window.
Finally in pairs they broke off and took different positions across the main area of where the auction was to be held.
The smell of pure liquor and grim mixed with the extinct scent of gunpowder, infiltrated Liam’s scenes forcing himself to dig his nose into Theo’s sweatshirt that he was wearing just so he didn’t throw up from the horrific odor. Citrus and fir once again calmed him but the smell was fading more and more. Liam’s wolf pounded inside of him, pacing vigorously in search of his mate.
The hunters that surrounded them ranged from mediocre to experts, most having a gun slung across their shoulder and a mean look permanently engraved on their face. They seemed to be trying to intimidate each others but Liam hardly gave any of them a second glance. Slowly he was being filled with pure rage, how dare these people think it’s okay to treat the supernatural like trophies to be won and prizes to be bought.
A growl accidentally left Liam’s throat when a particular hunter stared too long at the young beta, but before Liam could even give a second glare Scott was already guiding Liam away closer to what seemed like a makeshift stage that held nothing more than a few chairs and a microphone placed on its stand.
After a few more minutes of standing arounding and surveying the area, a man with a huge beer belly along with 3 burly men came onto stage and greeted the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, man do we have some prime picking for you tonight.” The man leered across the crowd with a creepy sadistic smile on his face, “Let’s get this auction started now shall we.”
And with that more burly men, who Liam assumed were the muscle of the group, dragged in 3 people who all were struggling with their hands tied behind them, they were thrown into the chairs. They seemed to have looked clean but their bodies were decorated with bruises and cuts all over. Some tried to escape but with a stern look from one of the bodyguards and the sound of a gun being cocked, they settled into their seats glancing around with fear clearly written on their face. Every single werewolf in the building could smell the pure sour scent of anxiety and terror coming from the captured peoples chemo signals.
The beer belly man gave a short description of each of the supernatural beings. 2 alphas and a once feral werecoyote. The first alpha was called out and the bids started in seconds. Quickly the number climbed to the thousands and the alpha was sold for $10,000.
Liam felt absolutely disgusted and the feeling of undeniable anger was burning inside of him fueling his wolf more at just the thought of what condition was Theo in. He solemnly swore a painful death to those who dared to bring this kind of pain and humiliation to his kind.
The young beta had to look away while each person was sold. Repeating his mantra over and over again hoping his eyes wouldn’t betray how angry he felt. Round after round more and more supernatural people were sold and finally it seemed like they were at last getting to the last of what was being sold.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, this last prize sure is a rare one!” The crowds interest seemed to have peaked. Liam looked at Scott and the alpha gave him a small nod, silently telling the beta to get ready. Scott looks across the room and made eye contact with the rest of the pack, telling them to be ready as well.
Liam returned his attention back to the stage just in time to see two men drag a slumped figure to a chair. The person between the two men stumbled on his feet trying his best to stay standing. His hands were tied in front of him and he was slumped forward, his hair hanging loosely blocking his face from the crowd. He was then thrown into the chair heavily and once his head shot back his face was finally revealed to everyone. Liam couldn’t help but growl when some members of the crowd whistled at his mate. His Theo.
Theo looked beyond exhausted, his chest rising and falling tiredly, he blinked slowly as if trying to focus his vision. He didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, but he was still trying to evaluate the situation. Physically Theo was clean with his hair made only slightly messy but his body was decorated with many cuts, burns, and bruises. His clothing was shredded in a few too many places. Theo’s chest still huffed heavily and his head now rested on his chest.
Liam’s breath hitched when one of the men came up to Theo with a knife but to his relief all he did was cut the bonds that were keeping his hands together. Liam was just waiting for the chimera to shoot up to slash at his capturers throat in one swift move, but he didn’t. Theo’s hands fell to his side and the rest of his body remained unmoving except for his head, he lifted it slightly trying to meet the eyes of who was in front of him but his eyes still remained unseeing. A soft noise came from the weakened chimera, it almost sounded like a growl but it came out more of a whimper.
“Something’s wrong. He’s too docile” Scott said taking the words right from Liam’s mouth. The young beta’s claws dug deep into his hand as the blood dripped from the open wounded. His wolf hollowed and growled, demanding to be let out, to wipe that creepy grin from his mates capturer. The wolf bloodthirsty, bared its fangs in a snarl. Clawing desperately inside the wolf almost made Liam lose it in that moment but was stopped by the strong hand of his alpha on his shoulder.
“Now, right here, we have the first chimera. A chimera in of itself is very rare but the first? Now that's 1 in a million!” Liam’s chest rumbled as a growl was let out at the way the speaker was talking about Theo like an object. The speaker went over to Theo and grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged it so the chimera would look at the crowd. Theo let out a wince and his eyes continued to flutter trying to concentrate but they remained dazed and unfocused. “How about we start the bidding.”
Liam turned to Scott only to see Derek along with Malia rushing over towards them, “If we’re gonna do something we need to do it soon.” the former alpha said once he reached the two, “He’s been given a mixture of wolfsbane and a sedative, no telling what it’s doing to him. We need to get him out of here and to Deaton.”
Scott nodded and turned to Liam with red eyes. Liam didn’t even need to question the stare. His eyes turned bright yellow as claws grew from his nail beds and an animalistic roar ripped from his throat through razor sharp fangs. More howls and roars followed in suit as the others shifted but Liam was lost in a fit of rage. The pure burn of fury flooded his senses and his wolf gave him everything it had as Liam pounded his was to the stage.
Ripping through and between hunters who stood in his way as he got closer and closer. The men on stage were slightly taken back but they quickly recovered, reaching behind them and withdrew a stun baton. The taser crackled intimidatingly with electricity but Liam only narrowed his eyes and jumped onto the stage ready to tear out their throats. His vision turned red as Liam lunged towards the man, electricity coursed through his body from the taser but did nothing, only fueled his rage further on.
The men held no chance, they were quickly knocked down and remain unmoving on the ground. Liam’s wolf was still thirsting for blood but before he could finish the job his alpha came up behind him and roared at him to stand down. The beta turned to him challengingly but his rage dissolved away when he heard a faint whimper coming from somewhere near him.
Stiles and Lydia were the first ones to get to the chimera, trying to assess the injuries he sustained but anytime any of them tried to touch him he pawed away their hands and with a laced pain whisper he begged them, “Please.. stop… no more.. Please.”
Liam could feel the blood trickling in his veins and the burn of anger washed away within him and worry took its place. He rushed over and tried to sooth his lover, “Theo, Theo! Its me, it’s okay. It's all over we’re here for you.”
His reasurances was met with deaf ears, Theo kept begging “Please.. Liam.. I want Liam… don’t hurt him please.” Theo looked around blindly and as quickly as he could, which wasn’t very but everyone still saw how panicked the chimera was. His breathing went rugged and his eyes flutter rapid only for them to roll back into his head suddenly. He went completely limp and almost fell out the chair if it wasn’t for Liam and Scott grabbing him in time. His breathing calmed down and his face looked lax, almost peaceful.
“We need to get going now,” Derek said looking between Liam, Scott and the unconscious Theo, “The sheriff is already on his way to deal with who’s left.”
Liam didn’t even realized what happened to everyone else. So consumed with his fury he completely missed the rest of the pack knocking out the hunters who tried to fight back and capturing the ones that tried to escape.
“Where are the others?” Liam said as he shifted his body to hook his arms under Theo to hoist his limp body into his arms, “The other supernaturals?” He felt a slight pang of guilt within him for only really caring about his mate and not the others who were trouble but the guilt was quickly brushed away when his wolf reassured him that his mate was more important.
“They’re okay, Argent is with them right now.” Mason reassured Liam once he got to the rest of the group with Corey.
Liam nodded his head, glad he can now give his full attention to Theo who still layed limp in his arms, “We need to get to Deaton.”
The young beta barely gave the room another glance before he was rushing out to the cars. Scott was right alongside him, pulling open the back door to Stiles’s jeep and helped Liam get Theo into the car as safely and gently as they could. Liam got in next to the unconscious chimera and maneuvered his mates body so that his head laid on his lap. Stiles and Scott got into the front seat and quickly sped off towards Deaton’s, trusting the rest of the pack to finish up there and find their way to the veterinarian's office.
Being able to finally see Theo up close after so long, Liam saw how pale the chimera looked. The only color that was apparent on his face was the nasty black and blues that littered his features. Liam’s hand trailed through Theo’s unkempt hair subconsciously. The fear that was gnawing away at him dissolved slightly due to finally having his lover, his anchor back in his arms. But Liam wasn’t stupid, Theo wasn’t out of the woods just yet. His wounds were not healing and he still remained unconscious to the world.
Time slipped by and soon enough the jeep was pulling into a parking spot outside of Deaton’s. Stiles and Scott got out of the car and went to help pull Theo out. Scott took it upon himself to carry the chimera in and quickly Deaton was there assessing his injuries.
The next hour was all a blur to Liam, the most he remembered was Theo being placed on one of the examination tables and Deaton hurrying around him giving him an oxygen mask and checking all his injures. Scott was alongside him assisting anyway he could. They cut open his already torn shirt to reveal even more wounds, long and deep, it made Liam sick. Stiles was trying his best to comfort Liam but he soon became sick too once Deaton pulled out an IV needle.
“Okay,” Deaton finally said wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, “Okay, I’m done here.”
“Is he going to be okay?” Liam asked when he for the first time stood up and made his way over to his lover and grabbing his hand that didn’t have an IV in. Theo was now wrapped in many bandages and had now only an oxygen tube that went to his nose only opposed to the previous mask he had that cover his nose and mouth entirely.
“He’s already showing signs of improving, so in my professional opinion I’d have to say yes he will be okay.” Deaton said causing Liam to let out a breath he didn’t even notice he was holding. It felt like a weight was lifted from his heart and he could finally breathe properly for the first time in a week. Relief washed over him in a wave and tear actual started to fall from his eyes, his lover was alive and okay.
“Why is he taking so long to heal though?” Stiles asked from his spot near the wall.
“It would seem that the wolfsbane and a special sedative he was given to keep him docile is affecting his healing and slowing it down.” Deaton answered and looked at each of the boys, “That and along with being severely dehydrated and exhausted. The IV he has is helping him rehydrate and flush out the drugs he was given.”
Liam looked sadly down at Theo, the color in his face seemed to be coming back but only barely, “Do you know when he should be waking up?” the beta asked hopefully.
“It’s hard to say but I’d have to guess anywhere between 2-5 hours. Give or take.” Deaton saw the disappointment that rose in the beats face, “Don’t worry Liam he’ll wake up eventually.”
Liam only nodded and brought Theo hand close to his chest holding him tight, feeling as though if he let go he’d lose him again.
“Scott help me move Theo to the cot I keep in the backroom, he needs to be as comfortable as possible, no telling what mental state he’ll be in when he wakes up.” Scott and Deaton made quick work of moving the chimera to the cot and pulling a blanket over him.
Liam pulled at spare chair lose to the side of the bed and once again latched his hands into his lovers hand. Scott and Deaton left the room once the rest of the pack arrived to fill them in on Theo’s current state.
The thousands of thoughts that once raced through his head soon left with no trace at all and Liam was finally able to think properly again. The familiar scent of citrus and fir was faint but still there comforting Liam and dulling the ache that he felt in his heart. Soon enough without even meaning to Liam drifted off into a quiet slumber, still with his hand wrapped firmly around his lovers he was able to rest.
Liam woke up to the sound of movement next to him and when he opened his eyes he saw Theo sitting up in the cot looking around frantically. Liam was quick to place his hand on his shoulder and tried to grab his attention as Theo fought back weakly against the hold, “Hey hey Theo, babe, its me. It’s Liam. Babe look at me it’s okay your safe.”
Theo’s eyes finally met his, the once electric blue spark has been replaced with a dull pale blue that was laced with fear. “L-Liam?” his voice sounded weak but it was one of the most beautiful things Liam has ever heard.
“Yes it’s me, I’m here.” Liam choked out as he grabbed Theo’s hands and held them softly.
“Are you real?” Theo asked softly, his voice etched with skepticism. Liam heard his heart pounding in anticipation for his response.
“Yes i’m real,” Liam reassured, he pulled one of Theo’s had to his chest right about his heart, “Feel that? That’s my heartbeat, I’m real Theo and you are safe.”
Theo’s frame visibly relaxed as he let out a breath and looked back at his lover with tears in his eyes, “I missed you so much, they threatened to hurt you. To sell you.” Theo’s body shivered at the memory causing Liam to stand up and sit down next to him shifting his body to be as close as he could be to his boyfriend.
“It's all over, everyone is safe now.” Liam said confidently wrapping his arms around Theo and just holding him, knowing Theo needed the bodily contact to ground him even more.
“I heard all the messages you left me on voicemail.” Theo said out of the blue a few minutes later, looking up at Liam, “They would play the messages and mock me. Taunt me with them, threatening to come after you next once they sold me.” Liams only response was a soft whisper of sweet nothings and a tighter squeeze to their embrace, “They kept giving me sedatives so I couldn’t fight back, I would have ripped their throats out if I could have. I would have saved everyone else.” Theo was rambling at this point but Liam let him knowing he needed to get these things off his chest. The chimera seemed like he came to a sudden realization, quickly turning towards Liam with panic. “Everyone else, the supernaturals what happened? Are they okay?”
“Yes they are okay, Argent is working on getting them safely back to their packs and families.” Theo let out a sigh in relief at his boyfriends response. He settled back into the side of Liam and let out of yawn, causing Liam to look at him lovingly.
“Go to sleep love, I’ll be right here the entire time.” Liam suggested while running a hand through Theo’s hair how he knew he likes.
Theo nodded and sighed again, this time in content. “I love you, Liam. Thank you.”
Liam smiled softly and placed a kiss on the top of his head, “I love you too, now rest I’ll be right here. I’m never leaving your side ever again.”
Theo’s heart fluttered at his words and slowly he was being lulled into a peaceful slumber, sleepily Theo said “Do you promise?” Sleep coated his words making them come out in a slur, and finally he fell into a deep restful sleep next to his lover, his mate, his anchor.
“I promise.” Liam spoke gingerly and allowed his eyes to slip close too, he himself being pulled back into sleeps hold. With a final sigh of relief and content Liam fully drifted away into a dream filled slumber.