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"Are you done, or do I need to break your nose again?" Liam's voice echoed through the preserve. He knew it was pointless to raise his voice any louder than speaking level but he enjoyed the rise it got out of the one he was looking for.
As predicted a black wolf slunk round from the side of a tree, lips pulled back over his teeth in an attempt to look threatening. It might've worked, if he were doing it on anyone but Liam.
"Are you done?" He reiterated, not feeling like being the chimera's chew toy again.
As the wolf neared his lips slowly dropped to cover his teeth again, packing away his snarl for another day. Theo padded closer to his Alpha, lifting his snout for pets he probably didn't deserve but wanted anyway and chuffed out pleased breaths when he was granted them. Once his required quota had been filled he snapped his teeth around the sleeve of Liam's shirt and tugged, pulling the wolf to sit cross legged next to him in the grass.
Pride filled him when he felt Liam drop willingly, stretching out languidly to lie beside him on his front paws with his head slightly raised to scan their surroundings.
"You feel better now?"
Theo looked over to him in confirmation; even he could admit he might've taken the crazy schtick a little too far this time. He could see the other wolf had healed from his various bites and scratches (courtesy of one Theo Raeken) but the wolf still shifted over even further to press his side along the edge of Liam's leg in a form of apology.
"Yeah I know, don't get mushy on me." Liam reached across and gave him a few strong pats to his flank, resting his hand back on his knee afterwards. "I still want you to apologise to Corey and Mason when we get back. I don't care about Brett but Corey and Mason are non negotiable dude." Considering he'd nearly cut Corey's head off and was about two inches from permanently disfiguring Mason, Theo supposed it was a fair price to pay.
"They aren't going to hurt me, you know? You don't need to treat everyone around me like a threat."
Theo, looking freakishly human even in his animal form, tilted his head even further at the younger wolf in a really? kind of gesture before looking out at the forest again.
"I mean it, that was one time in school and Nolan apologised for it after. And I know you know his name is Nolan, not Norman, even though you call him that every time."
The wolf huffed but gave no further reaction.
It was peaceful for a while, sun shining down through the trees to warm the patch of grass they'd claimed. Theo's head dropped to rest on his paws and his eyes slipped shut, trusting his senses to alert him to any danger. Not that he didn't trust Liam, he was the first person and wolf he'd trusted since he was a child, but it was clear there was something else weighing on his mind that was causing him distraction.
That's okay, Theo would look after both of them so Liam could look after himself.
At some point between the birds chirping and the leaves falling from the trees Liam's hand worked its way back into the soft strands of Theo's fur; methodical, almost clinical strokes aiding whatever mental blockade he was facing. The wolf used Liam's petting to his own advantage, allowing the rhythmic pressure to distract him from how badly his eyes wanted to water at the stench of stress chemo signals radiating off his Alpha.
"I think Nolan's talking to Gabe again." Liam admitted to the wolf, eyes focused on a daisy growing out of the ground a few feet in front of them.
Theo grumbled. He never liked Norman, he thought he'd made it clear enough after he found out what he'd done to Liam in his classroom. It made his blood boil (more than usual) imagining how alone his werewolf felt, having to take each punch while his whole class stood idly by and watched as he coughed up his own blood.
"But I don't know if he's working for Monroe as well. And if he is, what I'm meant to do about it. Or not do about it."
Theo lifted his head off of his paws and rested it back down on Liam's lap, curling his upper body around his werewolf. "I know Scott would say not to do anything, don't engage until we have all the facts. But we did that last time and it didn't work, they killed so many of us just for existing. They killed Deucalion."
Liam's eyes flashed without him knowing, chemo signals flipping from stress-sadness-grief to white hot rage.
Theo gave him a playful bite on the inside of his thigh. You didn't lose me, I'm still here. The werewolf blew out a few choppy breaths trying to calm himself down, claw tipped fingers digging into the skin around his knees, the familiar comfort of pain helping to control his shift. He was careful to avoid the pushy snout of Theo's wolf trying to burrow its way under his hands again in a way that said I'm right here why aren't you using me?
Which was fair enough in Theo's mind, he had practically plastered his canine body along every inch of skin available to him and the beta still dared to try and 'self soothe' by causing himself pain. What was the point? The only one who deserved pain were the ones who were causing his werewolf such emotional strife, and even then Theo would take care of them, he wouldn't let Liam lift a finger. Or a claw.
"Alright, okay I'll stop if you get off. You're like a 150 pound walking heater. Off."
The black wolf snarled at the now human hands trying to shove him away.
"I know but you're too hot and I'm not taking my clothes off in front of you again, that was one time and an emergency."
If a wolf could possibly look smug, that was the expression on Theo's face right now. At one more shove that landed right in his ribs the wolf finally moved off of Liam's lap, back to the cold patch of grass next to him.
"If she's really back we need to deal with her before she can become a problem again. She got away last time because we were too distracted with Gerard but I can't let it happen again. You saw how prepared they were when they got me, maybe we could set up a trap of our own this time? I'll cause a distraction to get them away from their base-"
A far less friendly bite sank into his thigh.
"Well what do you suggest because I don't know what to do! I tried calling Scott but he won't pick up the phone, Stiles is in California with the FBI and I love Mason but he isn't really on the same page when it comes to this stuff. I need-" Liam stopped himself from admitting it out loud.
I need your help. I need the advice of a killer.
The wolf bent its head and licked a possessive stripe over the back of Liam's hand. He knew exactly what it was he was about to say.
"I can't actually believe I'm going to say this, but do you think you're ready to shift back now? You're way nicer to be around as a wolf but I-I need the Theo back who can talk." Liam muttered, clearly regretting the words as they came out of his mouth.
With a final lick over his hand the wolf stood and padded behind one of the bigger trees, the cracking and crunching of his bones, tendons and muscles reforming still made Liam wince even though he knew it didn't hurt. A very human, very naked Theo walked over to the younger wolf, pulling him in closer by his pockets and burying his nose into the short hairs on the side of his neck.
"Just say the word little wolf, you know I'll do it for you."
"Do what? I don't want you to do anything."
Theo lifted his head and aimed his besotted gaze at his Alpha. "You know what. You want them taken care of and I can take care of them. No one has to know and you can tell the others you handled it, shove it up that stupid beta's assho-"
"Don't start about Brett, please. I'm pretty sure you did enough damage earlier."
"Liam," Theo cut his rambling short, using a hand to lift his chin and wait until their eyes met to continue, "Let me take care of them for you. It's not worth the amount of stress you're putting yourself under when your solution is right here. I'm the one with experience, I can do this and I won't get caught."
The werewolf groaned and tilted his head to the sky, ignoring the earnest look on the face in front of him.
"If I let you do this and you get caught, you're on your own-"
"I won't get caught-"
"No one finds out about this conversation-"
"I don't talk to anyone besides you-"
"And you do it as quickly as possible, I don't want them to attack first."
The chimera nodded, a small smile starting to form on his lips. "So, is that a yes?"
With a token final attempt at convincing himself this was a bad idea, Liam nodded.
"I don't want to know the details, just tell me when its done."
Theo's eyes bled yellow as he used his grip on Liam's chin to pull him in for a kiss, taking his time to make sure his appreciation was obvious.
"Go home and wait for me, I won't be long." The chimera turned away and transformed instantly back into his wolf, sprinting through the forest in the direction of the most recent siting of the hunters.
Liam was sure he was going to regret this.