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“I have to say I’m disappointed, Mr. Raeken. You don’t seem to have made many improvements to your life in the past two years.”
Theo laughed, turning his head to spit a mouthful of blood onto the concrete. The gesture didn’t seem to phase Monroe in the slightest—she was confident. Maybe overconfident. He filed that information away for later, and covered the fact that he was watching her by leaning his head back against the chain link fence. “I don’t remember making an appointment with the guidance office.”
She raised an eyebrow. “We all need guidance. You just have to be self-aware enough to seek it.”
“That go for you, too?”
Monroe didn’t react to that, either, though one of the two guards in the room—a woman, sitting by the apparatus that controlled the electricity—shifted uncomfortably. A nerve to push on, maybe.
Time he addressed the guard directly. He flexed his fingers against the slight current running through the fence and winced, making sure she saw the motion.
In reality, he was fairly certain he could push through it, but there was no need to reveal that fact just yet.
“You’ve thought about that before, right? Why your fearless leader is somehow the only person who has it all together?”
The guard glanced down, and Theo very carefully did not betray the surge of victory he felt at that motion.
Monroe sidestepped slightly, blocking the guard from his vision. “What about your fearless leader, Mr. Raeken?”
Scott had been missing for two weeks now, and they weren’t even sure Monroe had him. Getting himself captured off of a rumor was probably a terrible decision—after all, there was a reason why he only told Stiles before putting his plan into action—but he couldn’t sit by and do nothing.
“If you’re talking about Scott, I don’t know where he is,” Theo said, “and I don’t care.”
The cult leader raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe you.”
“Y’know, that’s really not my problem.”
He poured every ounce of real frustration into the words, even if they weren’t where the frustration was coming from.
It wasn’t a feeling he was used to, yet—caring about something besides his own skin. Or maybe he was only recently ready to stop lying to himself about it.
Whatever his motivations might be, practically they had no effect on his current course of actions. That was all up to Monroe.
“You’re smart,” she said. “Smart enough to know that I can make it your problem very easily. I read your file, you know.”
“Really? Academic record or arrest record?”
“Both, actually.” Her mouth thinned ever so slightly, likely frustrated by the banter. “I’m going to give you one chance to tell us the truth.” She drew herself up as she said this, gesturing broadly to the two followers in the room. “Why, exactly, are you here?”
He shook his head, letting a little fear and defensiveness seep into his eyes and posture. “Seems like a question you should be asking yourselves, isn’t it?.”
Monroe nodded to the woman at the controls.
“Wait, wait!” Theo tugged at the cuffs—enough to show he was struggling, but not to snap them free entirely. “Please, I’m useless to you, I’m not even like—”
The woman turned the dial, and Theo screamed.
When something already hurts like hell, it’s not hard to emphasize that just a little more. Really make sure everyone within earshot knows you’re suffering. Of course, the downside to being tortured is that it’s hard to focus on other people’s reactions when your vision whites out, and all you can think about are the muscle cramps and burning pain caused by electricity coursing through your system.
When his vision cleared, he was slumped forward, half of his weight directly on blackened and burned wrists. Despite the added pain, he was exhausted, and standing up straight wasn’t exactly high on his list of priorities. He took the opportunity to observe the room instead.
Monroe still wore that same, placid expression, entirely unbothered by the order she had given. If anything, her head was tilted in curiosity. The body language reminded him strongly of the Surgeon, and an involuntary chill ghosted up his spine. He looked away quickly.
Thankfully, the two militia members in the room looked much less sure of themselves. The man standing by the door was fidgeting with his rifle, hands tight around the barrel. The woman actually in charge of the controls looked like she’d seen a ghost.
Good. That was good, he could use that.
But fuck that hurt.
“Care to try again?”
At a glance down, his burns had already started to heal—something that wouldn’t be possible if the electricity was working like they thought it was—which meant that this little break was over. Time to get back in control of the situation.
Theo straightened up, leaning into the pain, and groaning audibly.
He had a reason, of course. Appearing too resilient or too other would be pretty counterproductive at this moment, and it was technically easier to give into the pain he was already feeling.
But he really hated emphasizing his vulnerabilities like this—exposing his true feelings, even to manipulate. Years ago, back when he thought he was invincible, this would’ve been easy. But now that he knew that those soft parts of himself existed, now that he had started cultivating them, deliberately exposing those things to his enemies felt uniquely dangerous. Wrong, even.
After all, last time he’d done that, he’d fallen in love.
He hadn’t even noticed he’d done so until he had sunk his claws deep into his own heart.
“Mr. Raeken?”
Right. Tamora Monroe. Finding Scott before his heart was torn to pieces a second time.
Fuck, this whole love thing was a load of bullshit, actually.
He swallowed, dragging his eyes up to meet Monroe’s. “What do you want me to say?” His voice was far hoarser than he expected, and he hated that, too.
“Theo, all I want is for you to tell me the truth.” Her voice was calm and centered, and Theo suddenly understood why so many people wanted to follow her. She no longer reminded him of the Surgeon—instead, perversely, she reminded him of Scott. “You’re here looking for him, aren’t you?”
He didn’t clarify who she meant, as he was entirely sure they both understood each other.
For a long moment, he didn’t answer, and they held each others’ gaze. In the silence, he wondered what Scott would do in his place—if he was captured, and Scott was trying to find him.
He’d probably have an earnest, impassioned speech already prepared. Urging Monroe to remember that they don’t have to be enemies. That this war could end right here. And it might’ve worked, too—when Scott talked like that, it was so easy to forget yourself and compress the world down to that one moment in time.
But Theo wasn’t Scott. Instead, he swallowed and looked away first, staring at a point on the floor.
“Yeah.” He dragged the answer out slowly. “Yeah, I am.”
He might not be very good at impassioned speeches, but in his experience, sometimes the best lie was the truth.
He knew he had played his cards right when the unmistakable scent of satisfaction filled the room. Not only that, but the guard by the door widened his eyes, and readjusted his grip on his rifle.
“Thank you for your honesty.” Even without looking at her, he could hear the victory in her voice. “You thought you could be the hero—rescue your Alpha from certain death. Did you even think about your own safety?”
Theo tried to laugh—it turned into a cough. “Is that your way of asking if anybody knows I’m here?”
“If no one’s come for you yet, then I hardly believe it matters.”
“Yeah, you might be right.” He took a breath. “So, if you’ve got all the time in the world, what are you planning on doing with me?”
Monroe smiled. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry, Mr. Raeken. I’m sure we’ll find a use for you.”
The man by the door approached then—his nervousness clearer the closer he got—apparently to pass on a message. He whispered, though of course Theo could hear; he was always amazed that, despite this sort of persons’ hatred of the supernatural, they always seemed to forget what a werewolf (or someone very close) was capable of doing.
“I got a text,” the man said, and Theo could hear his voice waver. “They wanted me to tell you: he’s awake.”
Theo felt his heartbeat increase, and was suddenly glad that everyone else in the room was human and couldn’t hear it. Except an elevated heart rate always caused other physiological responses, so he took an exaggerated shaky breath, and spent a moment trying to bring it under control.
It never used to be this difficult.
He wrenched his focus back to Monroe and her lackey in time to see her mouth thin. “That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Maybe someone should tell him that.”
Monroe seemed to make a decision then, and turned to leave the room, directing the man to follow her. Before leaving, she caught the eye of the woman at the controls, and pointed at Theo. “Watch him.”
Once she was gone, the woman left in the room with him looked so terrified that he almost felt sorry for her.
He didn’t, though, as even after they were left alone, she didn’t turn down the voltage.
Theo made a show of struggling anyways, only to slump back against the electrified fence in defeat, ignoring the discomfort. To his relief, the woman spoke first. “You care about him a lot, don’t you?”
He froze, and not due to any intentional decision or ploy. He only realized after a beat too long that this was it—the moment he had been waiting for. “Who?”
“The one you came here to rescue, right? The Alpha?”
He glanced briefly at the door, but the woman shook her head. “This is a new facility for us, there’s no cameras or anything set up yet.” She swallowed. “Tamora was right, wasn’t she? You’re here for him.”
“He has a name.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Off his look, she continued quickly. “They’ve um— they’ve been keeping him drugged mostly. But the pack—your pack—is the McCall pack, right?”
The drugged comment was worrying, but also the first real piece of intel he’d had in—
Well, honestly, in weeks. The only reason he resorted to getting himself captured was because the previous intel had been little more than rumors, and no one actually believed they held any weight. Or at least, not enough to risk the lives of anyone else in the pack.
Theo nodded. “His name’s Scott. Scott McCall.”
He had her full attention now, but a mix of confusion and fear still radiated off her, and she looked physically tucked as far as she could into the hard chair. “You said you’re not really a wolf, so what is he to you?”
Lying, Theo realized, would be easy. Spin a tale that the woman would believe and would motivate her to help him find Scott. He could tell her that Scott saved his life, or that the famous Alpha simply decided to accept him as a member. Both were even technically true, even if they didn’t encompass the entirety of the situation, and the first option would likely even appeal to this woman. After all, she seemed like the type whose weakness was a heart that wanted to be soft—empathy that kept bubbling to the surface in spite of her hate-filled ideology.
But maybe it was all this talk of Scott that urged to make a decision much more Scott-like than any decision he would have made years earlier.
Theo decided to tell the truth.
“Three years ago, I betrayed and murdered him. Against all reason or logic, he accepted me back anyways. Two weeks ago, I woke up in bed beside him, and not for the first time. I haven’t seen him since.” He swallowed, words suddenly caught in his throat. “No idea what I am to him, but I would do anything to get him back.”
For a long moment, the only sound was the quiet hum of electricity through the wires, fence, and cuffs. Then the woman stood and took a long, shaky breath. “I didn’t know—”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Theo could imagine any number of continuations, none of which spoke well of her. In fact, most of them made him want to tear into her.
Except, the unmistakable scent of guilt and shame was already bleeding out from her. All she needed was a little push, and maybe—
“What’s your name?” He said it abruptly, hurriedly, as if afraid she would leave.
She stopped, standing stock still. Names were like that, in Theo’s experience. Sharing them with someone you otherwise wouldn’t trust tied you to them. It was as close to an alliance as they were likely to get.
After several excruciating seconds, she made a decision. “Ann. I’m Ann.”
Theo made sure not to vocalize his sigh of relief. Before, there was still a chance that she would leave and tell Monroe everything. Now, they were practically co-conspirators.
“Ann, I need you to help me. This isn’t a trick, there’s no grand plan. I just need him back.”
She twisted a ring on her finger, and he wondered who she was thinking of.
“Tamora went to check on him,” she said, finally, “but she has a meeting with the French cell soon, so if we move fast, maybe she won’t—” After a much shorter pause than the previous one, she nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
“You said he was drugged, right?”
“Yeah, to keep him docile. Until we’re ready to show him to the world.”
He didn’t let himself focus on that—he couldn’t afford to get angry, not now. “Can you unhook him from them?”
She nodded again. “I think so. But then what?”
“Then you do whatever he tells you.”
Her eyes widened, and he wasn’t sure if it was due to the prospect of following the orders of her sworn enemy, or by the implication that Scott would be perfectly capable of escaping on his own. She swallowed. “What about you? I can’t get you out, and we’re on the other side of the facility from where they’re keeping—”
Theo grinned, then tensed his arms and snapped the cuffs away from the fence, ignoring the sparks flying at the motion. “I think I can figure it out on my own. I’ll meet you at the entrance.”
Fighting his way to the entrance wasn’t difficult. There weren’t many guards stationed between here and there—though Theo hoped that had something to do with public enemy number one breaking out somewhere else in the facility—and the ones he ran into were easily dispatched with a few efficient slashes. His immunity to wolfsbane didn’t hurt either.
Simply waiting for Scott, now that there was nothing more he could rationally do, turned out to be far more difficult. Not to mention the fact that he had no way of knowing if reinforcements were coming.
So he hotwired a truck, slumped down in the driver's seat so as not to be completely visible, and waited.
And waited.
Theo thought vaguely that he might prefer the torture to this—at least then the pins and needles and feeling of electricity racing through his muscles would’ve come from a source. Or maybe loving someone was really just torturing yourself.
Just as he thought that, a roar echoed through the air, loud enough that he could still hear it outside the building, and the unexpected wave of relief that washed over him made all the torture worth it.
Scott was alive .
Well, at least for now. After all, Monroe’s fanatics had ears, too. Though, with any luck, maybe they would back down at the sight of the famous alpha, free and—to any outsider’s view—at the height of his power.
Theo knew from first hand experience the amount of power the Scott was always somehow able to muster, even when he was close to death.
Minutes passed, and Theo had almost decided to rush back inside, despite the fact that wasn’t likely to go well for either of them, when the heavy doors slammed open. Ann ran out first, with Scott close behind, his hand on her arm protectively, as if preparing to shield her with his own body, if it came to it.
Because of course he was. Stupid, self-sacrifical bastard.
He jumped out of the cab to meet them, barely looking at the (former, he assumed) militia soldier, snapping at her to get in the truck while he ran straight to Scott. He smelled of blood and wolfsbane, and Theo felt his anger spiking.
Scott slowed as he reached him, exhaustion now clear in his face and body language, Despite that, a smile spread across his face, relief mixed with something else Theo couldn’t quite place.
“I knew it was you.”
He was about to say something witty and only slightly dismissive when Scott’s knees suddenly buckled, his burst of energy finally giving out. Theo caught him around the chest, and they stood like that for a moment, Scott leaning his weight against him in order to stand.
When Theo spoke his voice sounded, to his own horror, practically raw. “I was starting to think that terrible motel would be the last time I saw you.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
Theo growled under his breath, glaring daggers at the building they had emerged from. “Not your fault. Though, it might be a reason to dip into those Argent funds, so next time this happens at least the bed will be better.”
Scott snorted, and Theo found he had the sudden, desperate urge to kiss him. Not seeing any guards chasing them yet, he gave in.
Hunger, desperation, and relief passed between them, and there was something satisfying in the realization that Scott’s chemosignals matched his own as their lips met.
As soon as it began, the moment was over, and Scott broke the kiss first, “Thank you, Theo.”
“I had to,” he responded. Because, really—there had been no other option that he could see. At least, none that he was willing to consider. “Let’s get you home.”