Chapter Text
In all honesty, Brett should’ve known better.
He was a born wolf for fuck’s sake, his senses should be flawless. And he should’ve picked up the bitter scent of wolfsbane mixed with the suffocating smell of triumph as he was out on his run. He should’ve.
But he didn’t.
His head was too preoccupied, too caught up in thinking about how the pack had fallen apart. The McCall pack, the supposedly indestructible pack with a true alpha, had been torn to pieces. They hadn’t talked to each other in days, though it felt more like months. Brett was used to daily hangouts at Scott’s house, movie nights on Fridays, and the intoxicating smell of pack that always comforted him.
But it was all gone.
It had happened so fast, Brett had barely processed it when it did. It started with something so small, he never would have imagined that it would lead to something so big. Scott let a hunter that they had captured go.
That was it. It seemed so insignificant, given Scott’s forgiving nature, it seemed like something the true alpha would do.
But Alec hadn’t taken it that way.
The hunter that was released was one that apparently had a hand in killing Alec’s family all those months ago, had murdered them in cold blood. And maybe this wouldn’t have been as big of a deal if Scott didn’t know.
But he did.
Alec had stiffened as soon as he had seen the hunter, had whispered quietly to Theo how he knew him when the chimera noticed his tense shoulders, had stared at the hunter with a broken look on his face. And Brett didn’t know how Scott had looked at Alec and still managed to let the hunter go free, because all Brett had wanted to do was kill after seeing the younger werewolf’s expression. Wanted to put the hunter through the same pain that Alec had been through, make him suffer.
Theo and Lydia had both noticed that Alec wasn’t really okay with the alpha’s plan of freeing the hunter, taking Scott to the side and trying to explain to him that maybe this was one enemy they shouldn’t let go. But it was Scott, the true alpha who saw the best in people, believed everyone deserved a second chance, and couldn't see it from Alec’s perspective.
And Scott let him go.
The next couple of days were normal, the pack had gotten information about the hunters from the one they captured, and had started planning. Everything was fine.
But it wasn’t.
It happened during one of the meetings with the whole pack, from Scott to Lori to Parrish, everyone was there. Scott was looking at a map along with Argent, Derek, and Parrish, tracing a finger where the last group of hunters was known to be seen. The rest of the pack was all quietly conversing in their own little groups, taking a break from the hours of planning they had done already. Alec had been talking with the Puppy Pack, their conversation switching from one random topic to the next like the wind, because that’s just who they were.
And everything was fine. Until Scott opened his mouth.
“I know he’s the enemy and everything, but that hunter we captured was pretty helpful.” It had been a joke, a lighthearted quip meant to lift their moods. But Scott had forgotten who that hunter was and what he did.
“You mean the hunter that murdered my parents, my older brother, and my younger sister, who was two years old? That hunter?” Alec had said, his voice deadly calm, his face completely closed off.
Everyone tensed, the mood dropping instantly, a dark weight hanging in the room.
“Wait, Alec, I didn’t mea-” Scott tried to say, but the younger werewolf didn’t let him finish.
“The hunter that stalked us for two weeks, all because I recently got turned. The hunter that heard my parents plead not to kill them, but did it anyway, and laughed after. The hunter,” Alec’s voice had been rising as he talked, and now he was screaming, “that didn’t hesitate to kill my entire family, even though they weren’t supernatural. The hunter that you had in your hands, and you let go! ”
Pin-drop silence filled the room. Scott placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder, but he stepped back with a jerk, the alpha’s arm dropping in between them.
“Alec, I know what he did was wrong, but we couldn’t have killed him. We’re not like that,” Scott said, his voice soft and gentle, but Alec’s eyes flashed.
“Right, I forgot you’re the true alpha, so righteous and noble. Can’t kill anyone, even though they don’t seem to have the same problem.”
“Guys, let’s all just take a deep breath,” Stiles interjected, his eyes shifting nervously between Scott and Alec. “We can talk about this calmly.”
“What if it was your family?” Alec asked suddenly, ignoring Stiles. “What if that hunter had murdered your mom in her sleep? Would you still have let him go, huh? Would you, Scott? ”
Scott’s eyes flashed red, and Theo and Derek both stepped up to the two werewolves, ready to intervene if needed. Brett took a second and used his senses- everyone else in the room reeked of panic and shock, the scent suffocating in the McCall living room.
“Alec-”
Theo was cut off by Alec’s growl. “Theo, please. Let me finish.” The chimera stared at him for a few moments, but eventually nodded.
Alec turned back to Scott, who had regained control, but was still visibly mad at what the werewolf had said. “You knew who that hunter was, you knew what he did to me. And you didn’t care. All you cared about was figuring out where the rest of the stupid hunters were,” Alec’s voice was hoarse from yelling, scratchy in a way that cut to the bone, put the rest of them on edge. They had never seen Alec like this before, and it frightened them. “You didn’t care about me.”
“That’s not true,” Scott said, annoyance flashing on his face at the accusation, “I care about you, letting that hunter go doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. We had to let him go, Alec.”
He said it like it was something obvious, like he didn’t know why it was a topic of discussion, and Brett immediately knew it would rub Alec the wrong way. Like it would seem like Scott was talking down to him. Because that’s exactly what it felt like to Brett, who wasn’t even part of the conversation. Theo stiffened, and Brett knew that the chimera had felt it too.
“No, you didn’t!” Alec snarled, his claws extending, and Lori, who had been standing next to him, squeaked at the sudden movement. “He murdered my family, Scott! You didn’t have to let him go-”
“They’re dead, Alec,” Malia cut in bluntly to defend her boyfriend. “You can’t bring them back, and I know it sucks but you can’t hold onto it forever. If we go around killing everyone that’s done something bad to us, we’d never be able to sit down.”
Alec let out a growl, and Brett saw it coming a second before it happened, and reached out to grab the werewolf, to hold him back from attacking the werecoyote. Theo had sensed it too, and the two of them each latched onto an arm, stopping him from jumping at Malia. Alec struggled in their grip, telling them to let him go, but they held on tight.
Everyone else had jumped up when Alec attacked, and unease loitered in the room, bouncing off the walls, trapping them in its harsh scent.
“Malia, that wasn’t necessary,” Liam said, glaring at the werecoyote, who had shifted when Alec leaped at her.
“Yes, it was,” Malia answered, “We can’t kill every person who harmed us, and he needs to understand that.”
“Alec, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Scott started, giving his girlfriend a stern look before turning to the younger werewolf. “But the deal we made was that we’d let him go if he gave us information, and we needed that information.”
Brett winced. Scott basically just admitted that information was more important to him than Alec. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t exactly what he said, and a small part of his brain understood where the alpha was coming from, but Brett knew Alec. And he knew the Puppy Pack. What Scott just said had pushed every single one of them over to Alec’s side, if they weren’t completely on it already.
“Okay,” Alec said quietly, shaking out of Theo and Brett’s grasp, and they let him. “It’s obvious that you cared about that information more than me, so I’m done. I’m leaving the pack.”
Gasps echoed around the room, everyone immediately talking over each other, trying to get Alec to stay. But the werewolf shrugged everyone off, gave Scott one last withering look, and walked out the door.
All conversation stopped when the door slammed shut. Theo was the first to move.
“That was cold, Scott,” the chimera whispered, his eyes still glued to the door. “He didn’t deserve that.”
And the chimera walked out too. Slowly, the Puppy Pack filed out, following Theo’s lead, their expressions a mix of anger and shock. Scott may have been their alpha, but their bond was strong. Hurting one of them felt like a personal attack on all of them.
Brett was the last one to leave, lifting his head to meet Scott’s stunned face. “If you cared, you would’ve listened. But you didn’t.”
And with those final words, he left the alpha’s house, getting inside Theo’s truck, where the rest of his pack was waiting for him.
__________________________________
And now Brett was tied up to a fence, electricity coursing through him as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Blood dripped down his face, the metallic scent overwhelming his senses as he tried to listen for any other heartbeats.
There were none.
Apparently, the hunters had decided that the wolfsbane already in his system was potent enough to kill him and had abandoned him. The warehouse was completely empty, a somber silence filling the air. And it reminded Brett of the ride to Mason’s house after they had walked out of the pack meeting.
The truck was quiet after Mason had told Theo to drive to his house, saying that he had enough space to accommodate all of them, because none of them really wanted to separate after what happened. Alec was turned to the window, and the rest of the pack didn’t know what to say.
“Alec-” Theo began, but the werewolf cut him off.
“Don’t.”
“No, Alec, listen to me,” Theo raised his voice, still looking at the road, but Brett could see from the rearview mirror that his eyes were hard. “We’re on your side, okay? Don’t forget that.”
Alec finally turned away from the window at those words, his eyes shifting from person to person, as if he was verifying that what Theo had said was true. Brett knew that every single one of them was silently saying that it was. The young werewolf sighed, his head dropping. “I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?” Lori retorted, her voice strained with fury. “This is completely on Scott, not you.”
“I made you leave the pack.”
“We’re pack,” Corey said gently, giving Alec a small smile. “No matter what, we’re your pack.”
Alec hesitated, still not fully believing that they weren’t mad at him for what he did. “But Theo, that was your hom-”
“And it was yours too,” Theo interjected, as he pulled into Mason’s driveway. “It was all of ours, in a way, but what Scott said was wrong. There was no doubt in my mind about what I was going to do after seeing you walk out, Alec. I knew that I was going to follow you no matter what.”
The pack got out of the truck, heading into the large house. Mason explained that his parents were away on a cruise for their anniversary, and that they’d have the house to themselves for a while. Brett was grateful- as much as he was trying not to show it, the fight left him on edge, and he desperately needed the feeling of pack to calm him down. And he knew the others were in the same boat.
Mason sent Alec and Lori to the guest room, saying that Alec really needed to get some rest, and the two hadn’t even argued, just dragged their feet up the stairs. Five minutes later, their heartbeats were steady, falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
The rest of the pack stayed downstairs in the kitchen. They needed to talk about what happened, without Alec in the room.
“This is bad,” Liam noted bluntly, and the obvious statement cut a little bit of the tension in the room, the pack breaking down in quiet laughs. The situation wasn’t really that funny, but they were all a little skittish, and they needed something.
“We all agree that Scott was in the wrong though, right?” Nolan asked hesitantly, as if he was nervous that someone would disagree.
But everyone in the room nodded, and the human let out a small breath of relief. He looked around at all of them. “What are we gonna do?”
Theo sighed heavily, massaging his temple lightly. “I don’t know. Obviously, we stay with Alec- he needs us right now, more than ever. But, we need to contact Scott too. I don’t know what’s going down over there right now, but it’s probably not pretty.”
The chimera looked exhausted, as if the day’s events had all just sunk in at this moment. Liam intertwined their fingers together, squeezing gently, and Theo’s shoulders relaxed a little.
“He’s right,” Brett broke the silence that had settled. “We need to talk to them. Now. We might not like him at the moment, but we can’t go radio silent.”
Liam pulled out his phone, ready to call the alpha, but Theo stopped him. “I’ll do it,” he stated firmly, and no one argued with him. The chimera put his phone to his ear, and Brett let out a breath when he heard Scott pick up.
“Theo, thank god,” the alpha breathed out, concern evident in his voice, “Where are you guys?”
Theo’s eyes flickered around, silently asking if it was okay to reveal their location. At Mason’s slight nod, he answered. “Mason’s. But don’t come here.”
“But I need to-”
“No,” Theo hissed, some of his previous irritation leaking into his voice again, “What you need to do is give him space. That was harsh, Scott. You knew who that hunter was.”
“But we couldn’t kill him!” Scott yelled, and Brett heard voices in the background telling the alpha to calm down. “No, Lydia, I need them to understand where I’m coming from.”
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Theo said, his voice hard. “But you didn’t have to let him go free.”
“And what if we did that to you, huh?” Scott asked abruptly, anger dripping from every word. “You killed people, what if we-”
The rest of the pack inhaled sharply as he broke off suddenly, like he realized what he just said. “Wait, Theo-”
Theo’s eyes had gone cold at Scott’s words, his face completely stoic. “Clearly, you don’t want me or Alec around you anymore, so we’ll stay out of your way,” he stated with no emotion, but Brett knew that he was tamping down on his hurt. “Bye, Scott.”
The chimera hung up the phone, placing it on the counter. He stared at it blankly, as if he didn’t know whether to believe what just happened. Liam pushed his shoulder so that he turned slightly, and wrapped his arms around the chimera’s waist.
“We’re with you. And Alec. We’re not leaving, we don’t leave our pack behind,” the beta said, as if he knew that Theo was sinking into his thoughts again.
“How could Scott even…” Corey trailed off, and Mason put an arm on his shoulder. “You and Alec were basically his brothers.”
Theo’s head had dropped onto Liam’s shoulder, his eyes closed as he breathed in his anchor’s scent. “Doesn’t matter now. Maybe it never did.”
Theo’s words hung in the air of the silent kitchen, filling the room with the smoky scent of anguish and betrayal.
__________________________________
Brett was going to die.
He had accepted it a few minutes ago, when he realized that he was completely alone and no one would come to save him. They didn’t know he was taken- he was out on a run, they probably assumed that he still was. And it’s not like the older pack had any contact with him for the last few days, they were even less likely to come save him.
The wolfsbane was running through his bloodstream, weakening his body to the point where he could barely hear the birds outside. The soft hum of electricity, although contributing to his weakened state, brought him back to reality every few seconds, preventing him from losing consciousness completely.
He didn’t even know where he was- the hunters had ambushed him and the next time he opened his eyes, he was in the warehouse, alone.
So, Brett had accepted that he was going to die. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want the last time he saw the whole pack to be when they fought, splitting ways. He didn’t want the last time he saw the Puppy Pack to be this morning, the air tense as everyone avoided the elephant in the room when Alec and Theo came down. He didn’t want the last time he saw Nolan to be today. He wanted to wake up to Nolan’s face everyday, wanted to feel the human’s arms wrapped around his waist as he snuggled deeper into his chest. He wanted to get married, maybe adopt a kid or two, and grow old with him. He was eighteen, and he didn’t want to die like this. Before he got to live his life.
But the sudden jolt of pain in his stomach shook him out of his thoughts, reminding him that he didn’t have a choice in the matter.
But suddenly, Brett heard voices. A sliver of hope burst in his chest when he recognized Theo’s, a distinct hiss that was so characteristic of his best friend.
“Brett!” Theo yelled, but the werewolf didn’t have the energy to lift his head up. The chimera ran over, his claws immediately slicing at the bonds holding him hostage, and he angled his head back to yell at Liam, who was quickly making his way over to them. “Liam, we need the lighter, now. The wolfsbane needs to be burned out.”
The beta ran back outside, while Theo gently lay Brett on the ground, his hand wrapping around the werewolf’s wrist to siphon his pain. “Don’t you dare fucking die on me, asshole,” the chimera muttered as black lines slithered up his arm.
“I- I thought I was going to,” Brett whispered in a low voice, too weak to do anything more. “How did you even find me?”
“Stop talking,” Theo hissed, grabbing the lighter from Liam’s hand as he rushed over. Corey was the only one that followed the beta, and Brett assumed that the rest of the pack was still at home. “Your runs are usually an hour, and you were gone for an hour and ten. We knew something was wrong,” the chimera answered as he brought the lighter to Brett’s wound. “Liam, take his pain.”
The other werewolf immediately took Theo’s place, while the chimera mumbled a warning before igniting the lighter. Brett jerked, squeezing his eyes shut at the pain, and a cry left his lips when Theo brought the fire closer.
A few minutes later, all the wolfsbane was burned out, and Brett was feeling slightly better. The werewolf slumped against the fence, his head tilting back in exhaustion. “I thought I was as good as dead.”
Theo’s head snapped towards him, and he shifted closer to his best friend, so that their legs brushed. “You’re not,” he said, as he copied Brett’s position. Liam and Corey joined them on the floor, as they waited for the injured werewolf to regain at least some of his strength.
Unfortunately for them, the universe never lets them rest.
Voices filled their ears, and Theo, Liam, and Corey jumped up, standing in front of Brett. Scott burst through the warehouse door, his eyes widening as he took in the sight before turning back around as he fought a hunter. Derek, Malia, and Peter entered soon after, all caught up in their own battles. The hunters kept coming, a never ending stream of violence following.
“Corey, get Brett to the truck,” Theo said quickly, handing over his keys to the other chimera. “He can’t stay here.”
Corey grabbed his arm, helping him to his feet, but he didn’t follow Theo’s orders. Instead, he walked Brett over to one corner, turning them both invisible. “I’m not leaving Theo and Liam alone here,” Corey whispered, and Brett nodded, agreeing. And the two invisible supernaturals watched as Theo and Liam joined the fight.
The pair was indestructible, but even they couldn’t stay fighting together the whole time. Liam’s attention was pulled in one direction by one hunter, while Theo ran to the other side of the building, helping Derek with the three hunters he was fighting.
And maybe that was their downfall.
Theo was running around, taking down hunters but not killing, his claws tearing through skin, but not too deep. Scott was surrounded by multiple hunters, he was the true alpha, he was the threat. The alpha was quick, his eyes red as he fought. But with his attention focused on the hunters in front of him, he left his back vulnerable.
The hunter was quick, Brett thought he was almost supernaturally quick, and the werewolf’s eye caught the glint of a knife laced with wolfsbane making its way to Scott's back. He shouted out a warning along with Corey, but the alpha didn’t stop it in time.
But Theo did.
Right as the hunter was about to stab the alpha, Theo stepped in front of him.
The only sounds Brett could hear was the squish of the knife penetrating Theo’s stomach and the chimera’s loud gasp as it did.
“THEO!” Corey and Brett screamed, watching in horror as the chimera fell to his knees in front of the hunter. And Brett wasn’t up to his full strength yet, but a rush of adrenaline jump started his limbs, and he used the newfound energy to run over to Theo, Corey following close behind.
Liam reached there first though, slashing the back of the hunter that stabbed Theo, and knocking him out with a hard punch. He dropped to his knees next to the chimera, and silence filled the warehouse as the last of the hunters was knocked unconscious by Peter.
“Theo,” Liam said gently, his hands on either side of the chimera’s face. “Theo, c’mon, you’re okay.”
Scott was frozen in shock at the sight. He stood staring at the chimera as Brett and Corey finally reached Theo, quickly dropping down next to Liam.
“Theo, you asshole, you just told me not to die,” Brett snarled, his hands going to the chimera’s arm to take his pain. “If you die right now, I’m gonna bring you back to life and kill you again.”
Theo let out a weak laugh, blood bubbling out of his mouth. “Okay, Brett.”
The older pack formed a circle around the fallen chimera, all with expressions of sorrow on their faces.
“No, Theo, you’re not dying,” Corey cried, tears building in his eyes. “You can’t.”
Liam was on the verge of tears too, siphoning as much pain as he could, but the stab wound was deep. “Theo, please, keep fighting it.”
Theo’s head was on Liam’s lap, and his eyes fell on Scott. “I’m sorry for killing, I really do wish I could change what I did, every single day,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
And before Scott could say anything, Theo turned his head to Brett, Liam, and Corey, trying to put a smile on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and the blood on his face made it look more like a grimace. “Take care of Alec for me, okay?” he breathed out, and Liam exhaled sharply.
“No, you’re gonna be there to take care of him, Theo,” the beta growled. “You’re not dying.”
“Theo,” Brett fumed, not able to hold his tears back anymore, “Don’t you dare fucking die on me.” The chimera’s mouth tilted up at the words he had said to his best friend not even ten minutes ago.
“Take care of him, he deserves it…” Theo said, his voice trailing off as his eyes closed.
“NO!” Liam screamed, his voice cracking. “Theo, wake up.”
“Liam, he still has a heartbeat, but we need to get him to the hospital right now,” Scott said gently, his voice filled with grief.
Liam lifted Theo off the floor, carrying him as fast as he could to the truck. Brett and Corey stood up hastily, about to follow him, when Brett’s eye landed on the hunter that had stabbed Theo.
It was the same one that Scott had let go. The one that had murdered Alec’s family.
A humorless smile made its way onto Brett’s face, as he stared down at the hunter’s closed eyes, before looking up at Scott, who had stilled when he realized who the hunter was.
The bitter irony twisted in Brett’s chest as he ran out to the truck.
__________________________________
“Where is he?” Alec’s panicked voice filled the hallway, the werewolf running towards them, followed by Mason, Nolan, and Lori.
Brett met the young werewolf’s eyes, and it made his heart twinge. “He’s in the room, but we can’t go in yet.”
Mason ran to Corey’s side, who was trying to comfort Liam. But the beta was a wreck, and the chimera wasn’t having any luck.
“Are you okay?” Nolan asked Brett, grabbing his hand. “They went out searching for you because they thought something happened.”
“I’m fine,” Brett answered quickly. “The hunters left me alone, so they didn’t have to fight anyone, just burn the wolfsbane out.” Brett squeezed Nolan’s hand when the human gasped when he heard the poison. “I’m fine, seriously. I’m worried about Theo.”
“What happened?” Alec’s voice was quiet, his head low as he stared at the ground. He had completely ignored the older pack members, not even looking at them once.
“Stabbed, with a laced knife,” Corey mumbled, as if he didn’t want to think about the events that had occurred. And Brett was definitely on the same fucking page. “The hunter was aiming at Scott’s back.”
Alec’s head snapped up at the sound of the alpha’s name, and Brett let out a bitter laugh. He was past caring about Scott’s feelings, and he knew that what he was about to reveal would push Alec even further away from the alpha, but he was over it. Scott had hurt Theo too, and Brett was so fucking done. Theo deserved better. “And you wanna know what’s even better? The hunter was the one that he let go.”
Liam and Corey exhaled sharply, because they hadn’t known either. Alec’s face turned to stone, his mouth tightening. “What?” he whispered, his voice strained with rage. “You asshole.” Alec’s head was turned to Scott.
“Theo got hurt saving you, and I don’t even know why he did, because the last thing you told him was that maybe you should’ve kept him hostage,” Alec hissed, and Brett’s eyes widened. If Alec knew what Scott had said, that meant he hadn’t been sleeping that night, and one glance at the rest of the Puppy Pack confirmed that they were just as shocked. “And the hunter that was about to stab you was the one you let go? You fucking asshole.”
The young werewolf pushed off the wall he was leaning against, making his way to the door to Theo’s room. “Fuck you, Scott.” He opened the door and went in, ignoring the protests that he wasn’t allowed to yet. The door shut quietly, but the sound was deafening in the silent hallway.
“Guys-” Scott started, but Brett stood up. But it was a little too fast for his injuries, and he stumbled, before Nolan caught him.
“If he dies,” Brett said softly, but the emotion in his voice was too much to hold back, “It’ll be your fault.”
And he turned around and followed Alec into Theo’s room. A few moments later, the rest of the Puppy Pack entered, solemn expressions on their faces as they took in the chimera on the hospital bed. Theo’s breath was steady, but his eyes stayed closed as the heart monitor beeped in the corner.
Liam pulled up a chair to sit next to the chimera’s bed, running a hand through Theo’s hair gently. “C’mon, Theo, wake up. We’re all here for you.”
The silence after was louder than anything Brett had ever heard.
__________________________________
Theo wasn’t dead.
A few hours after they had entered the room, his eyes had opened, causing chaos to ensue as they all jerked up in surprise. The next ten minutes were emotional, everyone crying as they realized that Theo almost died.
But Alec couldn’t let go of the fact that Theo had almost died for Scott.
“Why the fuck did you run in front of Scott?” Alec snarled, and Theo looked taken aback until he realized that the others had probably filled him in on what happened.
“Because he’s still our alpha,” the chimera responded weakly, and Liam immediately noticed his discomfort and started to take his pain. “And our brother. He messed up, but he can’t die. He’s the true alpha.”
“And what about you?” Liam fumed, his eyes flashing angrily. “You thought it’d be okay if you died?”
“I didn’t want to die, Liam,” Theo whispered, turning his head to look at the beta. “I didn’t want to die.”
The words struck a chord inside Brett. Because he had thought those exact same words when he thought he was about to die a few hours ago. And something pushed in on his heart at hearing his best friend say them. Because they didn’t deserve to have to worry about dying when they were barely out of high school. It wasn’t fair.
Theo drifted off to sleep again soon after, and the Puppy Pack stayed in the room, not wanting to leave him alone. But a couple of hours later, there was a knock on the door. And Brett, along with the rest of the pack, stiffened when they realized who it was.
“No,” Alec said bluntly, not even letting Scott speak.
“Alec, please, I need to talk to you,” the alpha pleaded, opening the door a little more to reveal Stiles, Malia, Derek, and Lydia. “Just hear me out, and you can kick me out after.”
“No-”
“Alec.” Everyone’s heads whipped around at Theo’s voice, frail and rough from sleep. “Let him talk.”
The young werewolf let out a frustrated sigh, before slumping into his chair again. Scott and the other older members made their way into the room, which was now a little too crowded for Brett’s liking, but he wasn’t about to leave.
“I’m sorry,” Scott said, and cut Alec off when he started to talk. “I know that’s not enough, I know it won’t make everything okay, but I need to say it. I’m so fucking sorry, Alec. And Theo,” the alpha blurted out, turning to the chimera.
Scott let out a quiet breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a second before opening them to look at Alec. “What I said that day, I didn’t mean it. But I know how it sounded to you, thanks to them,” he gestured at Lydia and Stiles, “and I understand why you got mad. I care about you more than some information, and I should’ve shown you that properly. I… I was wrong. Wrong about the hunter, wrong about letting him go. I should’ve listened to Theo when he told me not to.” The alpha angled his head towards Theo. “And what I said that night, it was out of anger and frustration, but that doesn’t justify it.”
Theo tried to interrupt, but Scott didn’t let him. “You’re not that Theo anymore, and I shouldn’t have brought it up. Ever. You don’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”
The room was quiet as everyone took in Scott’s apology. Theo was the first to speak. “I can’t speak for Alec, but I already forgave you. You don’t have to apologize to me.”
“Yes, I do,” Scott pressed, his eyes narrowing at the chimera. “I was wrong, and what I did was not okay.”
Theo looked like he wanted to argue, but he snapped his mouth shut at Scott’s glare, and turned to Alec instead. Brett twisted to look at the young werewolf too. His mouth was in a straight line, mullish as he contemplated Scott’s words. But eventually, he talked. “I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you yet, especially when the hunter was the same one that stabbed Theo. But… I accept your apology.”
Brett knew that was as good as Scott was gonna get, at least for right now. Alec was right- forgiving the alpha would take a while because of what the hunter did to Theo. Scott seemed to understand, because he nodded once, his expression still a little sad.
The silence dragged on, no one knowing what to say. The awkwardness was suffocating- this was their pack, but here they were, uncomfortable as if they were strangers.
“So… did Isaac and Cora get together yet?”
Theo’s abrupt question broke the tension, Derek rolling his eyes as Stiles let out a frustrated no . The mood in the room got a bit lighter, and Brett appreciated Theo’s quick-thinking.
The pack still wasn’t fully united, and it would take some healing and time to get there, but Brett knew that they’d get there eventually.
They always would.