Work Text:
Liam was a bit different. He would admit that he was a little more agitated and jumpy than usual, but it was because it was the full moon tonight. He had lost control a long time ago. So, he just ignored it. Tonight, the pack was hanging out since it was a special night. Tonight was going to be the first night in years that there was going to be a blood moon.
Mason was concerned about what the blood moon would do. “Do you know if the blood moon will affect werewolves differently than the full moon?” He asked Corey out of curiosity. He just got a shrug in response. Mason internally knew that Corey didn’t know, but he might as well try.
After school, Mason finally met up with Liam. “You good man?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” Liam was confused by the question. He knew it was going to be a full moon, but they were way past the point of being worried about him during it.
“I just wanted to make sure. I’m concerned about the blood moon.”
Liam appreciated the concern. “I’m all good.” He gave a warm smile to try to reassure his friend. “Come on. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.” With that, he bumped Mason, who bumped Corey, as he started running towards the car. They followed the beta, clearly being slow for the two of them, but it was something they hadn’t really experienced in a while.
Later that night, as everyone was slowly gathering for the pack, Liam felt his mind slowly become cloudy. He shook his head, pushing it away, but it soon came back right after.
“We have to watch Chucky.” Stiles was adamant that they watch his movie.
“No. We should watch A Quiet Place,” Isaac countered. The rest of the pack didn’t really care about what they watched—mostly minding their own business, waiting for the two to settle it.
“How about we let Scott decide?” Stiles suggested as he and the other beta turned to look at the alpha.
“I heard my name.” Scott turned around, confused, seeing his best friend and boyfriend staring at him.
“You choose. Should we watch Chucky or A Quiet Place?” Stiles proposed the question to the alpha.
“Yeah, Scott. Pick one.” Isaac glared at his boyfriend. Making him choose between the two of them.
“Nope. You two leave me out of this.”
“Fine.” Stiles let it go. “Malia. Which one should we watch?”
“I don’t care. I just want to eat. We could watch Barney for all I care.” The girl went back to her food and growled at the pair as they were about to ask for another opinion.
“Lyd-” Stiles was cut off before even finishing saying Lydia’s name.
“Nope.” Plain and simple. They weren’t going to bother with Mason or Corey since they looked quite invested in something else. Which only left one person. Liam.
“Hey, Liam.” Stiles slowly approached the boy. Sliding next to him to put his arm around his shoulder. “Which movie should we watch? Chucky or A Quiet Place?” Isaac could see Stiles trying to butter up the beta. But Isaac still had some pride.
Liam was not really paying attention. Stuck in his head. “What?” Liam noticed the two intensely staring at him.
“What movie should we watch?” Stiles asked again, slower. “And don’t say that you don’t know or don’t care. You HAVE to pick one.”
“Uhhhh.” Liam really didn’t know which one to choose. He didn’t really like horror movies. Despite everything he had experienced, he was still easily frightened. Something he would never admit to anyone. “A Quiet Place?” It was more of a question than an answer. He didn’t know much about the movie, but he wasn't about to watch one about a haunted doll.
“Ha!” Isaac yelled. Clearly happy about beating Stiles. Stiles only let out a groan of defeat.
“I am disowning you,” he said to Liam as he got up and sulked.
Out of distance, Liam could hear Isaac and Scott talking. “Oh, thank God. I hated Chucky,” Scott said with a sigh of relief.
After a few more minutes, everyone started to settle into place. Liam began to feel weird as the movie started. After 10 or so minutes, he began to have visions of himself losing control. It was almost as if he was watching himself. Every time he would come back, everything would be normal, but he felt less like himself. After half an hour, he felt something inside him snap.
Out of nowhere, the pack started hearing a quiet growl. Scott was the first one to notice and instantly paused the movie. “Does anyone else hear that?” Scott only asked it out of habit as he slowly started to follow the source of the sound. It was dark, but Scott knew exactly who was sitting there.
The lights flicked on courtesy of Stiles. As light flooded the room, they could all see the beta who was slowly shifting. “Liam? Are you okay?” Mason was the first one to speak. Liam only let out a louder, more aggressive growl. Corey slowly pulled Mason back from Liam, sensing something was wrong. Scott was the first one to stand up and approach him.
“Liam? What’s wrong?” He was soft, but firm with his question. Liam’s eyes had a new look in them. Scott could see the aggression in the boy’s eyes. It was something so primal. Scott outstretched his arm as he slowly approached the boy.
Liam lashed out in response, slashing at Scott, causing the boy to fall backwards at the unexpected outburst. With his alpha’s blood dripping down his claws, Liam slowly started to stalk towards the rest of the pack.
Malia growled back. Clearly intended to stop Liam. After she shifted, she lunged at the boy, only to be thrown to the side. As Malia’s anger grew, she rushed at Liam, only to be thrown across the room, breaking the couch. With that, Malia was knocked out cold.
Isaac pushed his boyfriend and the rest of the pack behind him, protecting them from Liam. Mason tried to plead with the beta but was being restrained by the chimera. Corey knew that Mason would try to do something irrational, but also knew that this wasn’t going to play out like it did in the movies.
“Liam. Calm down. You’re okay.” Isaac's voice was soft, as if he were trying to tame a wild animal. “I know you have been working on your self-control.” Like Scott, he slowly tried to approach the beta. It looked like it was working. That was until Isaac let down his guard for a split second.
Liam was the one to lunge at the other beta, knocking him to the ground. With his fangs bared and claws still dripping with blood, he slashed at Isaac. Isaac did his best to protect himself, which resulted in his arms being covered in marks. Liam grabbed Isaac’s arms and threw him against the wall. Isaac stood up a little disoriented. Liam was now the one prowling towards him. The boy lunged again, which Isaac was able to deflect, but didn’t expect him to recover so quickly. This gave Liam the opportunity to slash at his sides and left significant claw marks across his chest. Isaac was delirious from the blood loss, still trying to protect the rest of the pack. Before Liam could go for the final blow, Stiles threw mountain ash at Liam.
It only caused Liam to growl and run out the back door, which wasn't precisely what Stiles had in mind.
With Liam gone, they all focused their attention back on Isaac. If Isaac wasn’t a werewolf and Stiles didn’t step in when he did, the beta would surely be dead. Even with the advanced healing, they all knew that Isaac would take a few days to heal.
“This is bad,” Scott said, pacing around the room. “This is very bad.” The stress is evident in his voice.
“Another spotting of a rabid wolf boy,” Stiles said from the corner as he followed police radios. “We need to do something soon.”
“Yes. I know Stiles.” Scott continues to pace around. The pack continues to juggle different options. The tension in the room was growing as the minutes passed. The pack continually proposed various solutions, all of which ended in less-than-desirable outcomes.
They were all so focused on finding a solution that no one noticed the chimera walking right into the house.
“We have been at this for half an hour, and we haven’t gotten anywhere,” Mason yelled as he flopped onto the couch.
“You all shot down my idea to tranq him,” Malia commented from her corner. She gave up trying to help after that recommendation.
“We already told you why that wouldn’t work. One. Where are we going to find enough tranquilizers to knock out a rampaging werewolf? Two. Who is going to get close enough to inject him with that, because I know for a fact none of us have good enough aim. And three. Even if we do happen to have someone with that much tranquilizer and good enough aim actually to hit him, that will take ages, and it doesn’t look like we have much time.” Mason was about to give up. If it wasn’t Liam, he might’ve.
“I like Malia’s idea,” Theo said, sitting next to Mason.
This caused Mason to jump in his seat. “Theo!? When did you get here?”
Theo sometimes wonders how this pack has survived this long. “Like a solid few minutes. Been watching you all freaking out about Liam.” He just shrugged, getting comfortable.
“Why didn’t you come sooner? Why have you just been watching us struggle?” If Mason was thinking straight, he knew that those were dumb questions. But since he is the one apparently being the only brain cell left in the room, he was allowed to ask dumb questions.
“I didn’t think I was invited, but it’s funny.” The chimera sits, not really looking at the rest of the pack. Mason hit Theo in the arm. Theo faked pain in response as the humans attempted to express his annoyance. “Have you idiots been sitting here the whole time?”
“We’ve been trying to come up with a plan,” Scott offered.
“You have all been sitting here for a while. When I first heard the racket, I thought it was just some omega going wild due to the full moon. That the great Scott McCall would’ve dealt with it. But 10 minutes ago, I heard that a wolf boy was running around naked, which reminded me of a certain beta we are all familiar with. So, what have you all been doing for the last hour?”
“Why does Liam get naked when he wolves out during the full moon? This is the second time,” Stiles was focused on all the wrong things, but it was a great question.
“How about we ask him when we get him back?” Theo shot. “Why didn’t you just chase after him?”
“Because he is not the same this time. He incapacitated Malia and, to put it simply, beat the shit out of Isaac.” Scott gestured to the boy lying in the other room, being cared for by Lydia and Melissa. Theo let out a laugh at the lingo Scott decided to use.
“So, you let Liam. Who did you say did that?” Theo gestured to Isaac. “Rampage through town for an hour?” Theo sighed in annoyance. He couldn’t even blame Liam for all the dumb shit he says, being surrounded by these idiots. Actually, yes, he can, but at least Liam is cute when he says dumb shit. This is just annoying.
No one responded to Theo, realizing how foolish they sounded when he put it that way. “Okay. You guys can continue to sit here on your tails, and I’ll go get our little beta back.”
“Wait, what is your plan?” Scott reached out, not wanting Theo to get himself hurt.
“He’s heading towards the school. If I leave right now, I can lead him towards the field and deal with him there.” Theo didn’t offer any more details about his plan.
“How do you know where Liam is going?” Scott was surprised. He wondered if they might have a special connection.
“If you’ve been paying attention, Stiles' radio has been going off with reports of where Liam is.” Theo was definitely losing brain cells the longer he stayed there. “Give me an hour. I’ll bring your precious little beta back in one piece.” Theo walked out the door with a salute as he closed the door behind him.
Theo’s intuition was correct as he saw Liam running into the school. Imagine if he got caught. Theo will think about that later after he deals with this issue. Theo knew that he would get the beta’s attention in due time. He thought about all the different things he could be doing instead of hunting the boy he liked. Theo still wonders why he sometimes likes him—chasing him naked around town during a blood moon. Being a good person took a lot of work. Liam has a whole pack, and he is the one out here in the middle of the night getting it back.
Theo continued his stroll towards the field. He had his hands in his pockets just waiting. After a few more minutes, he knew that Liam had finally caught his scent. “Finally,” he proclaimed. Theo just paced around a bit, acting as if he didn’t hear the roaring steps that were coming for him.
“In 3, 2, 1…” Precisely on time, Theo was tackled to the ground. “Hey. Little Wolf. Didn’t expect you out here.” Theo knew that Liam wouldn’t respond, but he still felt a little hurt by not at least making some acknowledgement.
Liam growls at Theo with his fangs on display. His claws are ripping into Theo’s shoulder, but Theo doesn’t really notice it.
“This is not how I expected to see you naked for the first time. I thought it would be after a fight, and your clothes were ripped to shreds. Or accidentally walking in on you taking a shower. Definitely not in the middle of the field during a blood moon. I can’t complain, though.” Theo continues talking, as if Liam is not completely wolfed out, pinning Theo to the ground. Theo doesn’t bother putting up a fight because he knows that Liam doesn’t want to hurt anyone. It was just the wolf taking over.
Theo knew more than most. He knew that Liam’s wolf wasn’t homicidal, only scared. Theo was surprised that Scott, his alpha, couldn’t see that. The slight tremor in Liam’s arms. The fear in his eyes. It was all so clear to Theo.
“The grass is kind of cold. You want to let me up now?” The growl continued. “Fine, but you’re washing my clothes later.” Theo just stayed quiet for a bit. They don’t move from that position for at least 5 minutes.
Theo could slowly feel the grip weaken and the beta’s arms giving out. Theo let out an oof as the boy flopped on top of him. “Well, that was faster than I thought it would take.” The chimera could feel that the boy on top of him was asleep. “You definitely wore yourself out. Probably from trying to keep it under control all day and the running you’ve been doing for the last hour or so.”
Theo knew that the other boy couldn’t hear him, but he continued talking to fill the silence. He moved the boy off of him, setting him on the grass. He got up and looked down at the boy, who looked very different from how he had 5 minutes ago. “Okay, I have to get you back to Scott’s before he thinks I murdered you or something. Or that I got murdered.”
He leaned over to pick up Liam, putting his head on his shoulder and holding his body close to him. One of his hands supported Liam’s legs, while the other one was supporting Liam’s head, running his hands through Liam’s hair.
When he got back to the truck, he placed Liam in the passenger seat and put him in some of his spare clothes. Liam was completely dead to the world as Theo got him warm and secured. Once Liam was comfortable, Theo walked back to the driver’s seat and let out a long sigh.
Theo rubbed his face with his hands, just thinking about everything that had just happened. “You are really something else,” He chuckled to himself. “It’s probably why I love you.” Theo didn’t mean to let those words escape his lips, but he doesn’t regret it.
Theo pulled up into the McCall’s house, surprised that Liam had not woken since he collapsed on the field earlier. He unbuckled Liam from his seat and carried him into the house. As he walked into the house, the stress and anxieties from earlier were dulled. Drowsiness and fear lingered, but it was almost calm. Once he got into the living room, he saw the pack sitting around waiting and falling asleep. Scott was leaning on his arm, watching over Isaac as if someone was going to take him away. Lydia rested her head on Stiles's shoulder as he played on his phone. Malia was sitting in the chair with her arms crossed. Mason had his head on Corey's lap, while Corey petted him.
“Hey. They’re back,” Corey was the first one to point out the pair. Everyone’s eyes moved to look at Liam in Theo’s arms. Mason was the first to welcome his best friend back.
Theo brought his finger to his lips, telling everyone to keep it down. “He’s fine. He’s just exhausted now.”
Everyone accepted it and returned to what they were doing. They couldn’t explain it, but when Theo brought Liam in, they knew that he was safe. Theo walked towards the alpha and his mate and kneeled next to them.
“How’s he doing?” Theo asked softly.
“He’s going to be fine. He just needs to rest. Thank you for bringing back Liam. I really owe you.” Scott was clearly tired. His dopey smile was filled with exhaustion.
“You don’t need to thank me. I would do anything for Liam.” Theo was being more vulnerable than he had ever been before. It was probably a combination of Liam rubbing off on him and everyone being so calm around him.
“I know you would. That’s why I called you that one time,” Scott grinned as if he had insider knowledge. “You really love him, don't you?”
“Yes.” Theo felt too vulnerable. If this were any other time, he would have run out the door by now. Despite everyone in the room, he knew that this was a private conversation, only between him and Scott.
“That’s good. Liam would’ve been destroyed if you didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to play dumb with me. I know you are not that dense. We both know that Liam is in love with you.” Scott rubs Isaac’s arm as an anchor.
“You aren’t mad?” Theo inquired.
“I forgave you the moment you answered my call because at that point I knew you had changed. You could have easily blocked my number or not answered, but there you were. Plus, Liam would kill me.” Theo knew that Scott wasn’t lying. He was as bad at lying as Liam was.
Theo had a weight he didn’t know he had lifted from his shoulders. He took a deep breath and felt safe for once. “Take him upstairs. There are towels and extra clothes for you to shower and change.” Theo nodded at him. He stood back up to bring Liam to the room.