Work Text:
“Augh!” Theo Raeken slams his fists against the reinforced bars currently trapping him. The only reaction he gets is a smirk from the hunter standing guard.
“You think this is funny? We’re part of the McCall pack, asshole, and they’re going to tear this place apart to find us,” he snaps. The hunter laughs.
“You’re the chimaera, aren’t you? You really think they’ll miss a monster and a traitor?” she asks, a sneer in her voice. The boy in the corner raises his head.
“She’s right, Theo,” Nolan Holloway says. “Scott wouldn’t risk the pack for just the two of us.”
“I’ve known him longer than you have, kid. He’s coming back.” Theo gives the bar one final shove. They burn his hands, and Theo knows they are what’s keeping him from shifting. He sinks down next to Nolan. “Scott McCall isn’t someone who would abandon anyone.”
Nolan just closes his eyes, head falling back onto the wall behind him. Theo turns his head as he hears the faint buzz of a radio. The hunter raises her hand.
“Change of plans, Janson. Monroe can’t make it until tomorrow,” the voice on the other line says. The hunter, Janson, shifts her weight uncomfortably.
“That wasn’t what we agreed, I said I’d keep them alive for a few hours,” she growls under her breath. “If she wants to kill this pack so badly, tell her that she needs to do her own dirty work
“Listen, rookie. She just finished a pack in New York, I’m sure you can keep a coyote and a human restrained for one day.” The call ends with that, and Janson swears. She looks at Theo from the corner of her eyes. He’s grinning wolfishly.
“Your hunter buddies left you alone, huh?” It’s his turn to smirk, eyes flashing gold. She coughs, turning back around.
They can’t keep track of the time, fluorescent lights keeping them awake for what feels like days. Theo feels like he’s about to break when he notices the bars are shaking slightly. He pokes Nolan, who cracks open a bloodshot eye. Theo tilts his head slightly, motioning towards the bars. He knows he can probably see it better then Nolan, so he mouths a single word.
Scott
Nolan’s eyes widen, before he shakes his head softly. “This is California, Theo. It’s probably just an earthquake,” he whispers, barely audible to Theo’s advanced hearing.
As the seconds tick by, Theo starts to believe him. And then he hears it.
It’s a roar, the soul-shaking kind he’s only heard a few times before. It’s the kind that pricks all of his hairs on end and raises his hackles. It’s the kind that an alpha makes when he’s calling for his pack.
The roar followed by the sound of gunshots, finally spurring the hunter to movement.
“Janson calling any available backups, code black. I repeat, code black ,” she snarls into the radio. She’s met with silence.
Theo and Nolan are scrambling to their feet when Janson turns her gun on them.
“Monroe wanted to kill you two herself. Especially you, traitor,” she growls at Nolan. “But I’m not about to die for her petty revenge.”
Everything moves in slow motion, then. Theo sees her shaking finger tighten on the trigger, sees Nolan’s eyes squeeze shut, sees his own hands move to shove the boy behind him.
Then he hears Scott again. It’s more feeling than hearing, actually. He feels his bones shake as every cell in his body responds, burning. He feels that awkward stretch that comes just before shifting into his full form.
The door flies open, and Theo hits the bars just as a giant wolf tackles the hunter. He knows it’s Scott when she’s merely knocked aside, unconscious. He then crashes into the bars, already bent from Theo’s full weight. Each swipe of his claws tears a deeper gash into them until they crumple as if made of tinfoil.
“Theo, Nolan, are you okay?” Scott asks as he and Theo shift back, brown eyes swimming with worry.
Theo nods, then hears a sob. He turns around just in time to catch Nolan, who is gaping at Scott.
“You… you actually came back,” he stutters, trying to push away from Theo to steady himself.
Scott looks confused. “Of course I did, we couldn’t leave you with the hunters.” He offers a hand to pull them out of the cell. “I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner, we had to wait until the guard change. Come on, Stiles is waiting outside,” he says, ushering them out. Nolan stumbles, still in shock, but manages to make it out. Theo takes in the damage in the bunker.
Hunters are collapsed through the halls, and he can still hear some fighting in the distance. Scott turns to them.
“Okay, we’re almost out, Liam’s still handling the ones at the front. We just have to make it there.” Scott’s about to start running, when Theo grabs his arm, tilting his head towards Nolan.
“He didn’t think you were coming back,” Theo murmurs. “I don’t think he’s okay.”
In all of the chaos, Theo knows Scott probably didn’t have a chance to discern Nolan’s distress from the hunters’, but he clearly does now. Theo watches as his steady hands move to ground Nolan.
“Hey, we were always coming back, alright? You know I won’t leave you behind.” Nolan mumbles his response.
“Why?”
Theo looks to Scott for the answer, too. For all his bravado, he wasn’t completely sure the alpha would actually come to their rescue.
“We’re pack, Nolan. Both of you,” he nods to Theo. “I’d never leave you to the hunters. You’ve both proved yourselves over and over, but even if you hadn’t, nobody deserves to be left to the hunters.” Nolan finally lifts his head, meeting Scott’s eyes.
“I deserve it.” There’s no emotion to his voice, only a cold truth.
Theo watches as the gears turn in Scott’s head. The confession shocks him, and the scent of sadness rolls off of his shoulders.
“You think any of us are perfect?” Scott finally asks. “We’ve all messed up. I’ve messed up more times than I can count. The point is, all of us work every day to make up for it. You’re doing it too, even if you can’t see it. Every time you help us find another werewolf, or a weakness in the hunters, that’s making up for your mistakes. We’re not just pack, Nolan. We’re family, and that means we all help each other fix our mistakes. I know it’s hard to accept, I couldn’t for a long time. It’s okay to take baby steps, but you have to take the first one.” He lets his hands drop from Nolan’s shoulders, and Theo watches as he considers his next words. “You don’t have to stay with us. But if you do, I promise you won’t be alone anymore,” Scott pauses before turning to Theo. “The same goes for you, you know.”
The air is heavy as Nolan thinks. Finally, he nods.
“Okay,” he says, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s get out of here.”