Chapter Text
It had been a few months since they’d defeated the Anuk-ite and ran Monroe out of town. She was still out somewhere, though. Scott, Malia and Argent were looking for her, while Derek had been left in charge of protecting Beacon Hills along with Peter and the puppies. Not that any of that should have concerned Theo, except that he was apparently considered a potential threat, and that Scott had told him to stay in Beacon Hills. So he had been living on what was left from the money stashed away during his last years with the Dread Doctors. Which meant sleeping in his truck, and prioritizing food over gas. A situation nobody in the McCall pack seemed bothered by. Even Liam, as much as he proclaimed to everyone who would listen that Theo was his responsibility, hadn’t done much more than offering him food when they’d found themselves at Liam’s house for dinner. He did give Theo his sweater this one time, but that was basically it, despite the fact that they saw each other every few days. Theo had been left to fend for himself. Which he was used to, so everything was going fine.
Things stayed this way until one day where Theo got “invited” to come to Derek’s apartment for a Very Important Debriefing. Liam’s words, not his. Apparently Derek was done cleaning up the mess left in Beacon Hills by the hunters and finally had the time to get the pack together. Which for some reason didn’t include Mason or Corey - Liam had complained about them being free to go on a date - but included him. Probably to make sure he wasn’t up to no good. So, to the loft he went, intending to just lean against a back wall and watch the Little Wolf explain whatever needed to be explained. A plan that was immediately foiled as Derek’s first question was directed to him.
“So, Theo, you’re a wolf, hm? When did you get bitten?”
Theo softly snorted. Someone had clearly been out of the loop… “I wasn’t bitten.”
“... you’re born then?” asked a confused Derek. “Strange, I never heard of a Raeken family.”
“Nope. Wasn’t born either.”
At that, Derek did a double take. Then looked at Peter, who looked about as confused. Then at Liam, who also looked confused but probably more about the fact that those questions needed to be asked. Did the McCall Pack never communicate? In any case, Derek looked and smelled like he didn’t even know what to ask and the only thing going through his head was “The fuck is this?”. Theo decided to put him out of his misery.
“I was made, same as Corey. Except the Dread Doctors took him last year. I was 9 when they got me. Manipulated me into killing my sister, watching her die of hypothermia. Made me into a genetical chimera by giving me her heart, then a supernatural one by experimenting on me. Raised me. Used me. Sent me back to Beacon Hills to infiltrate the McCall pack. That was a success, until I killed Scott.”
Derek’s immediate “WHAT?” almost drowned out Peter’s interested “How?”.
“Tricked Anger Wolf over there into fighting his Alpha on a Super Moon. He couldn’t finish the job, so I did. Scott’s better now, though.”
At this point, Derek had gotten his expression back under control. His scent though betrayed his suspicions. Good. Maybe then he’d leave Theo alone. Except they weren’t the only ones in the room. Liam, of course, had to intervene.
“Wait, no, Derek. You need to hear the full story. That was the beginning, when Theo was a major a-hole. But he redeemed himself! I mean, he’s still a jerk, but not an enemy anymore.”
“You know what? I’ll be the judge of that,” answered Derek. “I clearly missed a lot. You two, fill me in.”
Theo snorted. Had Derek never witnessed Liam telling a story? This was going to be fun.
"So, you see, after Theo brought the chimeras back to life… You know what? I'll draw you a diagram. It'll be simpler."
Liam confidently headed back to his school bag, from which he fished out a handful of pens and a notebook he tore a page out of. Heading back to the table, he settled himself on one side, with Theo crowded on the other one. He didn’t even pay attention to whether Derek or Peter could see, and just started talking and drawing at the same time.
"So, there were the good guys. That was Scott, Malia, Lydia, me…”
“Kira”
“Thanks, Theo. Kira. Also, Mason. He wasn’t reaaally a part of the pack, but kinda. You’ll see. Oh, and Parrish. At first we didn’t know, but he’s a Hellhound. And then, there was the chimera pack. The bad guys. Led by Theo. Baddest of the bad-”
“Yeah, we’ve got it” interrupted Theo, who’d been staying unusually quiet since Liam started on this part of the story.
“And in his pack he had Corey, Hayden, Josh and Tracy. Well, until he killed Josh and Tracy for power.”
“He did What ?” interrupted Derek.
“I never denied being an asshole, did I?” Of course Theo couldn’t resist digging himself a deeper hole. One Liam was not falling into, ha! He would even get Theo out of it.
“Theo, shut up. Derek… I’m getting to it. Anyway. Those were the enemies. Which of course didn’t stop Mason and Corey from fraternizing. Disgustingly in love, those two. No concern for the rest of the world.”
“Not like you and Hayden were any better” snorted Theo.
Of course the guy couldn’t shut up. Liam rolled his eyes and kept going, “Right. That. But it’s over now. And Theo’s my responsibility!”
“Not before I got sent to Hell then brought back, Little Wolf.”
“Right. Not yet. Soooo. Those were the two packs. But that’s not it. There were the very bad guys as well. The Dread Doctors! The Surgeon, the …”
Theo was looking at him, smirking and clearly not intent on helping. That was when he decided to shut up, of course.
“Chemist? And the Anesthetist! And like, we told you they were making chimeras, but there was a reason to it! Not sure exactly about the how and why but their goal was to resurrect the Beast of Gévaudan.”
“... How come you don’t remember the names of the Dread Doctors but you know how to perfectly write Gévaudan?”
“Hm? I looked it up afterwards.”
“Right, you and History…” teased Theo with a soft smirk.
Liam’s heart skipped a beat, for some reason. He didn’t let himself get distracted though, and kept going. “And so it turned out that Mason was the Beast in the end! But Lydia saved him, so it was fine. But not before he killed the Dread Doctors. Also, turns out the Beast’s nemeses are Hellhounds. So. That was helpful, what with Parrish being one. And I think that’s it?”
“... Deucalion.”
“What do you mean, Deucalion?” interrupted Derek, sounding slightly frantic.
“Riiiight… Deucalion. Who was working with the Dread Doctors… I think? Not sure… Remind me what happened there?” asked Liam to Theo, as he’d always been confused about that part.
“I thought I captured him and was pumping him for information. Turned out he was working with Scott. And tricked me into killing my pack.”
“... Tricked you into killing your pack. While working with Scott?” slowly asked Derek.
Liam looked at Theo, but the chimera was intently looking at Derek. Concentrating on the latter, Liam realized his heartbeat was speeding up slightly. And he smelled… something uncomfortable. Something Theo had analyzed better, cos he started smirking before even opening his mouth.
“Yeah. Why? Surprised by the True Alpha’s underhanded techniques? Or that the big bad chimera could get tricked?”
Derek took a deep breath, clearly composing himself. “Deucalion has been tricking alphas for years, you’re not the first. Though I wouldn’t have expected Scott to call him for help. What happened next?”
“Deucalion broke my neck. McCall pack sent me to hell.”
Liam shook himself from where his eyes had drifted to… Theo? “Hey, not fair to blame us all. Also, you were an asshole. But yeah, that’s pretty much it for the Dread Doctors. Look! Diagram!”
Theo laughed softly, “Diagram, right. Way to go Little Wolf, if this in any way represents the inner workings of your brain I’m scared. And impressed.”
Liam elected to be the bigger person and ignored him, turning back to his masterpiece which Derek and Peter were silently looking at.
“So, that’s it for the Dread Doctors. And then… Hm. I probably need a new piece of paper.”
Derek stopped him before he could get back to his bag though, “We’re good Liam, just tell us.”
At some point, while Liam was very talentedly telling the story of how they had brought Theo back and he was helping them to defeat the Ghost Riders and did he mention the Nazi Alpha Werelion who was also their Physics teacher, Peter decided to interrupt him. Which. Rude.
“This is getting ridiculous. Chimera, you were there, right? This’ll be much more efficient…”
At the word “chimera”, Liam turned towards Theo. A look of surprise flashed on his face before it switched to… resignation. As Liam opened this mouth to ask what was going on, he heard Peter swear then ask Derek to let him go. As surprise once again crossed Theo’s face, Liam realized that Peter had intended to use this claws to directly look at Theo’s memories. He rounded on him, intent on teaching him why, exactly, Theo wasn’t to be hurt, but Derek was already holding him back and talking to him.
“What are you doing, Peter?”
“Getting answers.” Peter grabbed Derek’s wrist, wrenching it away and freeing himself. He didn’t try to attack again though, now that he had lost the element of surprise. “This is taking way too long.”
“And you’d risk the kid’s life?”
“Don’t worry, dear nephew. I know what I’m doing.”
Liam couldn’t take it anymore. He intervened, angrily. “And we’re supposed to trust you?” He turned to Theo, “Sorry. I should have known he would pull a dirty trick.”
“Calm down, Liam.” said Derek. “Peter, we are not using the claws on anyone.”
Liam threw one last suspicious glare Peter’s way, then turned back to Theo. Theo, who looked like someone had just given him something unexpected but possibly nice. This was only for a second, before he went back to his usual arrogant smirk.
“Not like you’d get anything out of me anyway. Science experiment, remember?” Theo shrugged, then gestured at Liam. “And you wouldn’t dare touch Scott’s precious Beta. I guess you’re stuck listening to the whole tale." The corner of Theo's lips lifted in a smirk. "What a shame...”
Before Liam could get offended, Derek sighed, “Theo, don’t taunt him. And you two, get back to the story. As straightforwardly as possible, please.”
Liam grumbled under his breath about untrustworthy and creepy ex-Alphas for a few seconds, before Derek’s sharp “Liam…” shook him out of it and he got back to telling the story of the hospital fight against the Ghost Riders and the Nazi they captured and did he mention he stole a Ghost Rider’s horse?
“So, that’s it! We defeated Monroe, and now Scott and the others are running around hunting hunters, but you probably know more about it than I do.”
Finally, it was over. Less fun than Theo thought it would be. Especially the part where Peter wanted to put his claws in his neck… But now that everyone was caught up on what happened, he would be able to just go back to his truck and nap.
“I do have a few more questions.” Or not. Apparently Derek still wasn’t happy.
“Theo, I understood that you were with fake parents while working with the Dread Doctors… But that was months ago, and before you went to Hell. Where do you live now?”
So not only Derek wasn’t letting him leave, but he decided to get concerned about him? This meeting was just getting better and better… “I manage.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I asked, kid.” scoffed Derek.
Theo rolled his eyes. Looks like they were going to make him admit it. “I live in my truck.”
“What? You live where ?” shrieked Liam.
So they were making him repeat it? Theo was starting to get annoyed by this whole discussion. “In my truck! It’s a type of car, Liam. I’m sure-”
“Why didn’t I know this?” asked Liam, apparently offended. “You’re my responsibility, why didn’t you tell me?”
Theo had had enough of this. “Because I couldn’t! What would you have done? Tell Scott?”
“I would have helped you!”
“You’re a kid! I know what position I’m in, okay? There is nothing you can do for me!”
“He’s right, Liam.” Of course Derek was agreeing that Theo had to live in his truck. Generous McCall pack, for sure… Theo internally scoffed. Less arguing, at least.
“See! Plus, I’ve been doing alright. I can take care of myself.”
Derek intervened again, “No, you clearly haven’t bee-”
“And it’s my fault!” cried Liam, before storming out of the loft, eyes flashing. It took Theo no more than a few seconds to register the smell of blood, probably from where Liam’s claws were digging in the soft flesh of his palms, before he ran out after him.
Theo caught up to Liam in the middle of the parking lot, before the angry wolf could get too far. When Liam didn’t react to him calling out his name and asking him to stop, he grabbed his arm to force him to, intent on calming him down, as usual.
“What’s your problem?”
“You are living in your truck, Theo!” said Liam, as if Theo needed to be reminded.
“ Liam , it’s fine.”
Those were apparently the wrong words, as Liam just exploded. “No, it’s not fine! Scott left me in charge, and I can’t do anything right! Hunters still come and go, I can’t unite all local supernatural creatures and now it turns out that I’m too dumb to notice someone being homeless!”
“And where the fuck did you think I was living?” Theo was starting to get angry as well.
Liam started to open his mouth to answer but Theo cut him off, “In the house the Dread Doctors set up for me? With the fake parents they terrorized into working for them? Or maybe in my old house. The one I lived in with my sister, before being kidnapped when I was 9 years old? Yeah, clearly you didn’t think this through.”
Liam again tried to get a word in, but couldn’t. Being vulnerable made Theo angry, and being angry made him talkative. “You know what, though? It’s not even a question of you being too dumb to think about this. Your problem is that you claim I’m your responsibility but only act on it when you feel like it, usually because you got ditched by Mason. You’re either there 110%, or ignoring me for days. Of course you didn’t notice a thing.”
“See? You’re saying it as well! It’s all my fault!” Of fucking course this is what Liam would latch on.
“Stop. Bringing. Things. Back to you.” spat Theo. “Did you kidnap me from my parents when I was 9? No? Then it’s not your fucking fault. So get off your high horse. I’m not your charity case. You’re not even my friend.”
This left Liam speechless, for once. Theo took advantage of the quiet to just turn tail and walk back to his truck, leaving the beta standing there in the middle of the parking lot.
Derek’s first reaction was to go after them, but this time it was Peter who held him back.
“Just give them a minute. The fuzzball of fury needs to cool down.”
Derek sighed, then went to sit down on the couch. He didn’t like feeling helpless, but Peter was right, the boys needed to sort it out. Keeping an ear on them, he looked around his apartment. He hadn’t come back after the whole Kate fiasco in Mexico. Everything was still the same, the cleaning lady he had paid to come dust the place while he was away having done just that. His bed was still in the corner of the loft. The couple of cupboards and old stove top he called a kitchen hadn’t seen any use in a long time. The hole in the wall was still there, a reminder of past times. So were the stairs leading upstairs. He hadn’t been to what used to be Isaac and Cora’s old rooms since they left. His mismatched pack of teenagers… He had called himself an alpha, but he was nothing compared to what his mother used to be. Even his loft didn’t hold a candle to the Hale pack house, with it’s welcoming atmosphere and numerous rooms to welcome everyone. Like it did, the night of the fire… Derek shook himself out of those thoughts. The boys’ conversation was over, and though it hadn’t gone well, no blood had been shed and both were on their way home. Reassured, Derek focused back on Peter, who had been playing with his phone.
“So, what do you think?”
“About what? Need to be more precise, nephew. Lots of things were told in the past hours.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Theo.”
“Well, he’s definitely interesting. Managed to infiltrate the pack, got little Beta to attack Scott, finished the job… And then got himself back into the pack’s good graces?” wondered Peter. “I’m honestly curious as to how he did it.”
Derek looked at him warningly. “Peter, no.”
“I’m not saying I want to do the same! So little faith in me, Derek.” Peter shook his head. “I’m just curious! As another reformed villain who’s trying to get pardoned by Scott ‘True Alpha’ McCall.”
“Maybe stay reformed and don’t betray us this time? That should help.” snorted Derek, before pausing for a minute, thinking. “Do you think he will?”
“Betray the pack? No way. He doesn’t have the drive for it anymore. Also, have you seen the way he looks at the Beta? There won’t be any betrayal here… I’d be more worried about him fading away.”
Derek raised both brows questioningly.
“Well, you’ve heard him. Kid lives out of his truck. Liam might be calling him his responsibility, but he didn’t even know Theo’s homeless… Also, did you see Theo’s reaction when he realized I wanted to claw him? He didn’t even care.”
“So, you’re saying…?”
“Yes, my dear, big-hearted nephew. I’m saying the kid is a lost cause, like you so love helping. And that he probably won’t stab you in the back.”
Derek scoffed, “That’s reassuring.”
“Well, 90% sure he won’t betray you if you invite him into your apartment. Pretty good odds for someone who invites hunters and witches in his bed, wouldn’t you say?”
Derek felt a pang of remorse at being reminded of his past mistakes. That was a low blow, lower that he’d expected from his uncle. “Okay, that’s enough.” Derek scowled. Peter took his cue and headed for the door. Right before he got out of earshot, Derek, remembering the whole conversation, added a single word, “Thanks.”
If you’d asked him, he probably wouldn’t admit it. But he had missed this side of this uncle, able to understand him with just a few words. And his insight into people and situations was as good as it used to be. Peter was right. Theo was not taking care of himself, contrary to what he said. And Derek couldn’t just leave him like that, now that he knew. He took another look around the room, assessing what would need to be changed. Fix the hole, put up a door. Make that his bedroom. Maybe get a kitchen? And the hardest, clean up one of the upstairs rooms. Oh, and convince the kid to move in.