Chapter Text
Werewolves.
“—move on to the next thing. Carpenter and Rowe, you’ll be focusing on cases involving werewolves. Do not approach the victim before the scene is clear. McCarthy, you’ll be investigating the new wendigo case with Parrish. Remember, our job is to protect anyone in this town from being harmed, whether it’s from a human or a supernatural—”
Sheriff Stilinski’s voice rang throughout the whole station, like a drill too close to the ear. Liam had to squint hard, trying to partially shut the words out of his mind. His pack stood beside him, listening to the speech, but apparently they were just pretending. The war had knocked all of them out, and some of them hadn’t even recovered from their wounds, physically or mentally.
Liam needed to recover too. He didn’t have to worry too much about his body. His werewolf healing abilities had guaranteed that he would be able to run around like a normal teenager in a few weeks. But his mind was a different story. Of course, he had been having nightmares since the wendigo, the assassins, and the Ghost Riders, and he was already so used to them that he could simply brush them off with a forced smile.
This time had hit him differently. It would haunt him like a chronic disease, and he couldn’t figure out which he should be more afraid of—the torments to come, or his own certainty.
Hunters.
“—be extremely cautious. There are still hunters out there. We managed to arrest some in Beacon County, but a good chunk of them fled immediately after the war. Some of our informants have tracked their movements, and the FBI’s also—”
Liam flinched as the lights flickered. Had he become this sensitive?
Maybe he had. The whole town had turned on them, under the influence of the anuk-ite, but the death of the creature couldn’t erase the fact that they’d once been put on the evil side. The fear was gone, but the hatred was still there. Even though no one had said it out loud, Liam still shivered every time someone stood too close to him or stared at him for too long.
Sydney was back at school, and Nolan had become their friend. They were even co-captains, but he could still feel the tension during practices and games. The human had probably noticed as well, and the only thing Liam was grateful for was that he hadn’t pointed it out.
His lacrosse stick felt heavy, just like a gun carrying the weight of too many lives.
Monsters.
They were monsters, or at least that was what he used to think. Scott had made it very clear that they were not, but Scott was also the one who had become a True Alpha, the one who always jumped into the fire just to save everyone, like it was engraved somewhere in his body. Scott was a good person.
Liam was not. He was unable to be. He didn’t want to be a monster, but he’d almost killed the hunters during the fights. He could always blame it on his IED, but somewhere deep down, he knew he was already broken.
But in the end, he hadn’t killed anyone, and he didn’t want to think about why.
I will fight with you.
His eyelids flickered. Blinking a few times, he glanced around. The desks and the police badges faded into white walls, and the acrid smell of medication drifted into his nose. A figure crouched down at the end of the hallway.
Theo?
He focused his vision. Theo’s arm, webbed with black veins.
“Hey, you alright?” Scott’s voice came from behind, snapping him back to reality. He hesitated, then turned around and tugged the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“Yeah.”
“It’s just routine. Sheriff has to restate everything to the new officers every other week to prevent the whole thing from happening again.”
“Then why are we here?”
Scott threw him a reassuring look. “Just for backup. In case some of those monsters are still hidden somewhere within law enforcement.”
Liam didn’t reply. He nodded faintly before turning back.
What even were monsters? Were they those with claws and fangs? Or those with a corrupted core buried beneath an innocent surface?
Were they both?
The familiar face flashed before his eyes again. Hazel irises. And a faint smile. He shook his head quietly, trying to brush it off.
“Alright, get back to your work, kids,” the sheriff announced, and the officers quickly headed back to their respective desks. The speech had ended, so they should be able to leave now, but no one in the pack moved.
The sheriff walked toward them and stood beside Liam and Scott. The temperature dropped slightly as the sheriff cleared his throat. Liam turned toward him hesitantly.
“Scott, Liam, follow me to my office. The rest of you can go. And Stiles, get back to Washington. I don’t want to get another notice from the Academy.”
“C’mon, dad.” Stiles grimaced before following the others out of the station, and the sheriff strode toward a door at the very end of the hallway. He turned around and waved them over. Scott gave Liam’s shoulder a few pats as he saw the confusion on Liam’s face.
“It’s okay. Sheriff just wants to tell us something. It’s probably not a big deal.” He walked toward the door.
Liam bit his lower lip, eyes settling on the floor. He had known the sheriff since he’d transferred to Beacon Hills High School, and the man had been a great source of support for them throughout the war. He was a good guy, but he could also be quite serious sometimes.
Liam looked up at Scott and the sheriff, who were both standing by the door now, then he swallowed before stepping forward.
Not a big deal. Everything stopped being a big deal after enough time had passed. At least that was what he hoped.
They stepped into the room.
“So,” the sheriff said as he closed the door. “Scott will be moving to Davis in two weeks, and Malia to LA in about three. After that, the town still needs someone who can protect everyone.”
Liam gripped his jeans. He knew exactly what the sheriff was about to say.
“Um, Sheriff,” Scott said tentatively. “Liam’s not an Alpha yet.”
“It’s okay.” The sheriff walked around his desk and stood behind it. “I’m not really familiar with your hierarchy. I just need someone with enough experience to help us with our cases. Liam, don’t worry. I won’t send you into a fight. That’s law enforcement’s job, but it’ll be very helpful if you can assist with some of our investigations.”
Liam’s ears rang. He glanced at the sheriff, whose expression was completely relaxed, but something told him there was no room for refusal. He wasn’t ready for this responsibility. He would rather be sent into a fight. He was built for that, after all.
The sheriff coughed a few times, sounding like he was cuing something.
Liam gritted his teeth.
Scott’s eyes still flashed with concern. He glanced at Liam for a second before turning back toward the sheriff. “Sheriff, I don’t think—”
“Okay, Sheriff. What would I be doing?” Liam cut him off, surprised by his own answer. Scott’s eyes widened slightly, and Liam could hear him breathing harder, but the sheriff seemed pleased with the response.
“Nothing dangerous, Liam.” He grinned. “Just...use your senses more. If you smell something off, call me or Parrish. Also, I’ll hand you some case reports we suspect have something to do with the supernatural. Run through them in your free time and tell me if you find something.” He rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a pile of files, then placed them on the table.
Liam’s entire body relaxed a little. He picked them up. The files felt like they were at least fifty pages altogether, but he nodded and shoved them into his backpack anyway.
He could never be Scott, but at this point, maybe he could at least do something good. Maybe that something would also make him feel better about himself.
The sheriff gave him an approving look, then continued.
“Take it easy, Liam. I don’t want to stress you out. I’m just asking for assistance on behalf of the whole department. I know you’re still a kid, and I’ll never give Stiles a chance to get his hands on those files, but I trust you.” He paused, glancing at Scott before turning back.
“And you’re Scott’s Beta.”
Liam stumbled, but he quickly balanced himself.
Scott’s Beta.
Liam had been called many things throughout his life, mostly bad. Angry boy. IED. Time bomb. And he had become so numb to those names that his body wouldn’t even react to hearing them. But this felt way different.
The sheriff studied him, seemingly waiting for a reply, so Liam sighed and nodded. “Thank you, Sheriff. I’ll do my best.”
He and Scott walked out of the sheriff’s office. The door closed, and Scott immediately grabbed his arm.
“Liam, you don’t have to do this,” he said softly, just like a good Alpha would.
“It’s okay, Scott.” Liam smiled, though exhaustion and uncertainty crept onto his face. “It’s just some investigations, and Sheriff definitely needs help with the supernatural cases.”
“Okay.” Scott sighed. “Just be careful, and call me anytime you need me.”
“I will.”
Scott squeezed his arm and walked toward the front door, leaving Liam behind in the station.
His eyes darted around. The new officers were studying a pile of printouts, discussing the new cases. Parrish lifted his head and grinned at him before diving back into the documents. It looked peaceful enough, as if they hadn’t been put on the kill list a few weeks ago.
The 80-degree weather felt unusually cold.
He composed his expression and walked toward the front door, then something on the bulletin board caught his eye. He stepped over to take a closer look.
It was an old, crumpled piece of paper, with a big ‘WANTED’ at the top. He scanned the paper, then a face and a name came into view.
Theo Raeken.
Liam paused. He hadn’t seen Theo since the war had ended. It was like the chimera had just decided to vanish from this town. It made sense, especially since he’d been forced to fight a battle he didn’t even have to. But Liam still couldn’t help but wonder where he’d gone.
Little wolf. Theo’s voice rang in his ears.
He stilled, unsure where it had come from. He shook his head, but his eyes were still fixed on the picture. It was a snapshot from surveillance footage. The chimera sat in the driver’s seat of his truck, but he was facing the camera, like he’d known someone was looking for him.
Someone wanted him.
This was ridiculous. Liam huffed.
He glared at the smirk on Theo’s face, then turned around, not realizing why his hand snatched the paper off the board and shoved it into his pocket, but he just did. No one in the station seemed to see anything, or they just didn’t care about an outdated wanted poster.
He paused for a second, then quickly walked toward the entrance.
*
Despite being assigned as an unofficial investigator at the sheriff’s station, Liam was still a student. School had become much more stressful, and he really hoped he could pass every class without needing extra assignments. How had Scott survived this?
He sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria before pulling out a sandwich from his backpack. The students around him were sitting with friends, chatting about the games, gossiping about the boys and girls. They all seemed so far away, even though half of them shared his classes.
A sharp screech snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Hey, Liam.” Corey’s voice sounded as bright as usual. “I heard you’ve got a new job.”
“Of course you have. Scott definitely told everyone to babysit me,” Liam replied evenly.
“We’re not gonna babysit you, Liam.” Corey sat down and plopped his lunch box onto the table. “You’ll be fine, but it’s not your responsibility to protect this town. We’re all gonna help.”
“Yeah, right,” Liam said. Corey paused for a second and raised an eyebrow, but Liam ignored it and took a bite of his sandwich. Right now, lunch was his top priority. The town had to wait.
He glanced up when he noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Mason?”
“He’s preparing for the party.”
“Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about that.”
The pack had decided to throw a party before the older members left town. It would be held at the McCall House like it had always been, and Liam had mixed feelings about it.
Stiles was already gone. Scott would be leaving in two weeks, followed by Malia and Lydia. And Derek was still nowhere to be found. Liam wasn’t even sure if the older werewolf would show up at the party. He would be happy to see everyone again in the same room, but it also meant everyone would be scattered across the country afterward.
Corey seemed to smell something. He rested a hand on the table. “Liam, you still have us.”
“I know,” Liam said. “But it still feels different, you know. Like, we used to work together as a pack, like a real team, but now everything’s falling apart just because of the stupid education system.” He pursed his lips.
“It’s inevitable, Liam,” Corey said softly. “Pack members don’t always stay together, but they’re still out there. They’ve still got your back whenever you need them. They're just a call away.”
Just a call away. If only a call could save someone’s life. Liam’s hands curled into fists.
“How do you know that?” Liam’s voice came out sharp, startling Corey for a second. “You weren’t even in our pack a year ago. You were with—” He broke off, panting lightly.
It wasn't Corey’s fault that he’d said that. He was always the nice guy in the pack, but he’d also been the hardest one for Liam to open up to, no matter how friendly they seemed now.
Liam shoved a hand into his pocket. The crumpled paper was still tucked inside.
“Never mind,” he muttered.
They didn’t talk for the rest of the period, and as the bell rang, Liam grabbed his backpack and ran toward the entrance.
The afternoon sessions were dull. Mrs. Finch was pacing around the podium and talking about DNA and RNA, but Liam couldn’t make out any of it. He had to force his eyes open every few minutes just to avoid getting hit by chalk.
His backpack sat beside his desk, slightly open. He glanced at it, noticing the corners of the files sticking out. Responsibilities. He let a hand fall onto the desk with a thump, sounding loud enough to draw the entire room’s attention. His teacher paused the lecture and eyed him.
“Is there something you want to tell us, Mr. Dunbar?” Mrs. Finch said, voice stern.
Liam looked around. Every student was outright staring at him now, just like the time he and Corey had been exposed in the hallway.
“Sorry, Mrs. Finch,” Liam managed.
Mrs. Finch didn’t press any further, keeping a poker face, but softness still leaked from her gaze. The Alpha teacher turned around to the blackboard and resumed her lecture, but whispers began spreading through the room.
The files were still sticking out of his backpack. Liam let out a long sigh before pulling them out. He could really use some distraction now, even though the distraction was also dragging him into a hole.
He carefully placed the documents on the desk before scanning them.
The pictures all looked so familiar. The shapes of the wounds showed werewolf attacks, and the scattered body parts told a story of a wendigo. Liam flipped through the pages absently. A normal teenager would scream if they saw those pictures, but he just glanced at them like they were textbook diagrams.
The rustling of paper continued until a name popped up.
Quinn Finch?
He blinked a few more times.
He lifted his head and looked up at Mrs. Finch, then lowered his gaze back to the desk.
Quinn was dead. She should be.
He carefully studied the case details. The girl was found lying in the woods three days ago with no apparent injuries. Her body was stored in a restricted area in the hospital morgue. The autopsy would be performed—
He shook his head. This shouldn’t be real. He swore Quinn had been consumed by the anuk-ite. He swore the creature had vanished in a puff of smoke. He swore they had walked out of the library in victory and there had been nothing left, which Scott and Stiles and the sheriff and Parrish could confirm.
They had all walked out together. There should’ve been no one else—
The windows exploded, then screams burst out in the classroom.
Liam whipped his head up, only to see his classmates stumbling, shoving, scrambling behind anything they could find, trying to find a place to hide. He stood up as shards of glass slid off him. Blood filled the air.
“Liam!” Mrs. Finch yelled, eyes flashing red. “Behind you!”
He turned around. Something glared at him.
It had fangs like ice picks lining its mouth. And unusually big eyes. And spikes on its back.
“What—”
The thing roared, lunging forward, and Liam’s claws snapped out almost automatically. He growled back, but the creature was abnormally fast. Liam crashed onto the floor as it pounced on him, knocking over a few chairs and desks.
The students began running out of the classroom, still screaming.
The creature clambered onto Liam, gripping his shirt with its claws. Deep growls rumbled in its throat every few seconds, and its claws scraped Liam’s skin. Its mouth hovered above his face, and he winced as its saliva began dripping onto him.
He growled back, trying to break free.
Another roar thundered through the room.
The creature jumped up, sprinting toward the podium. Liam rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up. The classroom was a mess, and Mrs. Finch, in her werewolf form, was grappling with the creature.
“Liam,” she snarled. “Come and help me!” She grabbed its front limbs and slammed them against the floor.
Liam didn’t hesitate before lunging toward the creature and grabbing its back limbs, trying to pin it down. His muscles and tendons felt like they were tearing, and he tasted blood in his mouth as his fangs cut through his lips, but his grip only grew tighter.
“Liam, what happened?” Corey rushed over from the hallway, followed by Mason.
“Call...” Liam gasped between breaths. “Sheriff...”
It took five officers to chain up the creature, and another three to drag it into the police van. Luckily, no students were killed, but six ambulances still came to transport those in more serious condition.
The classroom remained a battlefield.
“What was that?” Mason broke the silence, still trembling from the scene.
“No idea,” Liam said weakly. His forearms were clawed, and his shirt was completely ripped. Blood had stopped dripping from his wounds as his healing started kicking in. “But definitely not something you’ll see in a zoo.”
“You okay?” Mason stepped closer.
Liam gave him a reassuring look, but pain still made his muscles twitch. Not that he wanted anyone to take away his pain, but he really hoped Scott was here. That Alpha would do it immediately so that he wouldn’t even have time to feel bad about it.
“Students.” The principal’s voice came through the loudspeakers. “School dismissed. Go straight home. Do not stick around.”
“I guess we’ll have to go,” Corey said.
“Do you need to go to—” Mason began.
“I’m okay, Mason,” Liam cut him off, walking toward the school entrance.
“—Deaton’s?” Mason finished with a sigh.
Liam froze. Yeah, Deaton. The druid should know something about the creature. Not that his enthusiasm for the investigations had grown over the past few days—if there had been any at all—but the sheriff’s promise not to send him into a fight had ended up being broken anyway, so why not just go all in? It was his new job, after all.
He turned around with a faint smile. “You’re right. We’re going to Deaton’s.”
“Great, you should really get him to take a look at your—”
“Without medical assistance,” Liam said firmly before heading outside. Mason and Corey quickly followed.
“Kids, you heard the principal. No sticking—”
Parrish’s voice faded into the background.
*
“It’s a chupacabra,” Deaton said, his head still buried in a pile of books.
“Chupa—what?” Corey exclaimed.
“Chupacabra,” Deaton repeated.
“I thought that was a mythical creature.” Mason walked closer to take a look at the book.
Liam threw him an unamused look. “Yeah, so are werewolves, kitsunes, hellhounds, wendigos—”
“Okay, Liam. I get it,” Mason shot back. “So, chupacabras. Are they common? Have you seen one before?” He turned back toward Deaton.
“Not that I know of.” Deaton closed the book. “As far as my supernatural knowledge suggests, they went extinct almost two hundred years ago.”
“Extinct? Then why did one just show up here?” Mason asked.
“I’m not sure.” Deaton sighed. “I can only come up with two possible explanations. Either they’re still living in some parts of the world we don’t know, or someone made one.”
“How did someone make a creature that hadn't existed for two hundred years?” Liam said, even more confused. “Is this Jurassic Park?”
Deaton furrowed his brow. “Liam, you’ve seen one before.”
The room fell silent. Corey gave Mason a concerned look as the human’s face turned pale, and Liam was still figuring out what Deaton meant. His brain was still not functioning well enough to connect the dots.
“What...?” Liam said quietly. The other three people turned toward him immediately. Liam stared at his best friend’s face. Two glowing eyes flashed before his eyes. His mind buzzed. “It’s you—”
“The Beast,” Deaton finished for him. “The Beast of Gevaudan.”
“But the Beast was made by the Dread Doctors, and they’re already de—”
Liam cut himself off, not wanting to think any further. He knew where this was going, but he didn’t know if he had the courage to say it out loud. Memories began flashing through his mind, like something was piecing itself together, only to shatter at the last second.
“Someone isn’t,” Mason said.
“No, Mason.” Liam’s voice came out cracked.
“I’m not saying it’s the truth, but it’s possible.”
“No. It’s not possible,” Liam muttered before turning on his heel and heading for the door.
He stormed out of the clinic before hearing Mason and Corey’s hurried footsteps rushing after him, then a hand grabbed his shoulder, the weight and size so familiar that he didn’t even have to guess whose it was. He didn’t stop, but the hand didn’t move away either. He finally let out a grunt before turning around.
“What do you want, Mason?”
“Woah, hey, Liam. Why are you suddenly throwing a tantrum?” Mason dropped his hand immediately.
“Throwing a tantrum? I’m not—” He broke off as Corey hurried toward them and stepped beside Mason. Why did he snap so easily now? Was it because of his new responsibilities? Or...
He lowered his head. Heavy breaths escaped through his nose, and hot blood rushed through his veins. His fingertips itched, as if something were trying to come out.
He took a few deep breaths.
“Sorry, Mason.” He finally managed to speak, and the human’s face gradually relaxed. “I—I think I’m just having a bad day.”
“No worries, man.” Mason grinned. “You fought the chupacabra, so you must be pretty exhausted. I’ll drive you home.”
“Thanks.”
Mason was right. As the car rumbled through the streets, Liam fell asleep somewhere between a pothole and a stop sign, the rocking seat kind of reminding him of the hammock from his childhood. He stirred awake as the car slowly pulled into the Dunbar-Geyer driveway, and he thanked his best friend before hopping out of the car and trotting toward the front door.
Time seemed to move slower in an empty house, and his day had already been long enough, so he decided to skip his assignments and flopped right onto the bed. His eyes closed on their own.
*
A few days dragged by, then another few. The town seemed to have settled back to normal after the chupacabra attack—if that wasn’t already normal in a town like Beacon Hills—and Liam was happy to keep it that way.
Or at least—again—he hoped.
Corey called in sick during afternoon classes, which would only happen when hell froze over, since he was a chimera, but he just told Mason and Liam he was feeling under the weather and left the school alone.
They watched him get on the bus before heading for Mason’s car.
“What did he tell you?” Liam asked, buckling up in the passenger seat.
“Not much,” Mason replied. “But I’ve got a feeling this is gonna be really bad.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Too many. And none of them are supernatural, which is even worse.” Mason pulled out of the parking lot.
Liam watched the trees flash through the side mirror, thinking about what he should do about his absence from the rest of the classes, but soon discovered Mason was driving too slowly as the cars behind them started honking. He turned toward the front and gasped as the back of the bus Corey had taken came into view.
“Mason?” he asked tentatively. “Why are we following the bus? You know where he lives.”
“I do, but I don’t know where he’ll go.” Mason’s eyes were still fixed on the road.
Liam paused, then gasped even more sharply as he realized what Mason was getting at. “No, Mason. You shouldn’t think that way. Are you seriously telling me you think he’s seeing someone else or what?”
“Or he could be dealing drugs, or gambling, or—”
“I don’t think that's what he’s up to. He’s not that kind of guy. He’s probably just tired,” Liam cut him off, though his voice shook slightly.
They followed for fifteen more minutes before arriving at Corey’s neighborhood. Mason parked the car a few houses away, then they watched him walk toward his house, holding their breaths. The tension in the air eased as Corey disappeared behind the door. They both exhaled.
“He’s just tired, right?” Liam said, but Mason ignored him and opened the door before stepping out. Liam immediately jumped out of the car.
“I knew we were gonna do this.” Liam went after Mason as the human marched toward the house.
“Checking can’t hurt.”
Corey’s room was on the first floor, which made it a lot easier to peek inside. Liam and Mason slipped to the side of the house, and found that the curtains of Corey’s room were open, but he was nowhere to be seen. Liam focused on his hearing.
“Where is he?” Mason whispered.
The sound of running water drifted into Liam’s ears. “Bathroom.”
They waited for thirty minutes, but the sound never stopped. Right when they were about to break in, the bathroom door opened. They immediately hid behind the wall, only their heads visible through the window.
Corey looked completely normal, but something caught Liam’s eye. He shivered as Hayden’s face flashed through his mind. He turned toward Mason, who seemed not to notice anything, and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Mason raised an eyebrow. “What did you see?”
“Um...” Liam hesitated for a moment, then swallowed hard. “Mason...”
The human froze, his expression turning worried. Liam’s stomach dropped, but he pushed down the nausea. “There’s mercury on his face.”
Corey jumped as they both started banging on the window. He walked over, smiling, before opening it. “Hey, guys. What are you—”
“Corey, what the fuck!?” Mason snapped. “Are you...”
“You’re bleeding mercury again,” Liam rushed the words out.
Corey went still for a second, then his face darkened.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I guess my body’s still resisting it.”
A few heartbeats later, the air began to freeze.
Mason didn’t come to school over the next few days, and Liam texted him every hour for updates on Corey. The chimera was normal most of the time, but fatigue hit him on and off, and mercury still dripped from his nose a few times a day.
Liam’s mind was all over the place. His life had been revolving around chimeras since last year, and it still scared the hell out of him. Of course, he could just pretend they were still humans and treat them as normal friends, but as his attachment deepened, the fact became harder and harder to ignore.
Being friends with a chimera, he’d signed up for the fear.
He found himself staring at the phone. Mason hadn’t sent him a single message for almost three hours, and that only made Liam dizzy. What happened to Corey? Mason wasn’t the kind of guy who would hide things and suck them up himself, and Liam couldn’t think of a single explanation that would slow his racing heart.
School seemed pointless at this point, so he skipped the rest of it.
He lay on his bed all afternoon, until his back started to ache. Beacon Hills was his home, but sometimes he still wondered if he could just get the fuck out of this town at midnight and leave everything behind just like Hayden had. He couldn’t, though. No matter how much of a shithole this town was, he still belonged here.
But when everyone he cared about filled him with fear, he’d probably never feel safe again.
The doorbell rang.
Slightly startled, he jumped to his feet. His parents were still at work, so who would be visiting at this time?
He opened the door tentatively.
“Mason? Corey?”
“Hey, Liam,” Corey spoke first. “How was your day?”
“How was my day? Are you feeling okay?” Sometimes, Liam was so done with Corey’s kindness.
“Well, actually.” Corey smiled. “I’ve stopped bleeding mercury since last night. Not even once.”
“What...” Liam’s tongue stopped working.
“It’s good news, right?” Mason said weakly, looking like he hadn’t slept for days.
“Yeah, I guess...”
Liam couldn’t focus on any of his friends’ words, not because the information was too stunning or because of the vortex still spiraling in his mind. His eyes were fixed on Corey’s neck. It was barely noticeable, so tiny that they probably hadn’t noticed, but Liam caught it immediately.
A hole. From a syringe.
“Corey,” Liam said after a long moment when his friends were probably talking or staring, but he really didn’t know. He forced a grin. “It’s good news, but I think—I think we still have to be careful.”
“Of course,” Mason said firmly. “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
Liam couldn’t make out anything his friends were saying anymore. They chatted for another few minutes until David’s car pulled into the driveway. Mason and Corey left as Liam stepped inside with his dad. He’d never realized the ringing in his ears could give him a headache.
Be careful.
*
“So,” the sheriff said as he and Liam entered his office. “How’s our little supernatural detective doing?” He dropped a pile of files onto his desk.
Liam flinched as the files landed on the desk with a loud thud. He stared at them, hoping they weren’t more new cases he would have to dive into.
“I’m doing fine, I guess,” he muttered.
The sheriff threw him an unconvinced look. “You know, Liam, this isn’t your responsibility, so just tell me if you don’t want to do it. And you still have to graduate, so school comes first.”
Yeah, school came first. Now Liam didn’t even know what came first in his life anymore. Friends? Corey seemed to be doing fine. Pack? The party tomorrow only reminded him of loneliness. Family? The town?
He shook his head. “No, Sheriff. I can do this. I just need to figure out how to balance everything in my life. A lot of bad stuff has happened lately.”
“I know.” The sheriff nodded, looking straight into Liam’s eyes. “I’m sorry you got injured fighting that chupacabra. I promise my guys will react faster next time.”
“Where’s the chupacabra now?”
The sheriff sighed. “It died. Mercury poisoning.”
Liam’s mind flashed back to the day in Deaton’s clinic. Someone made one. This was probably the case, and Liam was so desensitized that he wasn’t even surprised anymore, but there was a question buried deep down that he was still too afraid to confront.
“Sheriff,” he said. “Thanks for calling me here, but you don’t need to worry about me right now, and I’ve still got homework to do.”
The sheriff let out a small laugh. “Of course. Let’s not keep you here for too long. School first, right?”
“Yeah.” Liam gave a small smile before heading out of the office.
He walked past a row of desks. The station was crowded with officers. It looked like there hadn’t been any major incidents so far today, which, for a town like Beacon Hills, would only happen once in a blue moon.
Passing the reception desk, he glanced at the bulletin board out of the corner of his eye. Plenty of posters occupied the entire surface, but the empty spot remained.
Something clicked.
“Um, Parrish?” He turned toward the deputy, who had just walked in the front door. “Could you help me with something?”
“Should I be concerned?” Parrish already looked concerned as he walked over and stepped in front of Liam.
“Probably. Or probably not,” Liam said quickly. “But I might need you to pull up some surveillance footage.”
Parrish stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “Look, Liam. I can’t just pull up some footage for you. It’s against the law.”
“It’s supernatural stuff,” Liam argued. “And human laws sometimes don’t apply to the supernatural. I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced that yourself.”
Silence fell between them, then Parrish finally gave in. “Fine. My career’s already been turned upside down anyway.” He walked toward the reception desk and sat down at the computer. Liam gave him Corey’s address and the date he seemed to have recovered, then Parrish pulled up a video.
It looked normal enough until a truck parked outside Corey’s house.
“Stop!” Liam shouted, and Parrish immediately hit pause.
Despite the video being blurry and dim, Liam recognized the truck in a split second.
“No,” was the only word he managed to say after a long moment.
“You alright?” Parrish asked, eyes still fixed on the truck. “Whose truck is that?”
“It’s—it’s—” Liam stuttered. Memories of himself in that truck began surfacing from the back of his mind. This shouldn’t be happening, but it did. He forced his eyes to focus before hitting the play button.
The driver’s-side door opened, and a figure climbed out of the truck.
Liam’s hand slid into his pocket, even though nothing was in there anymore.
The figure strode toward Corey’s room carrying a bag before opening the window and climbing inside.
“Okay, stop!” Liam exclaimed. Other officers turned toward him in confusion, but his mind couldn’t register any of it. Parrish stopped the video.
“Was that Theo Raeken?” he asked, and Liam’s face twitched as the name hit him.
“Parrish,” Liam said in a weak, almost whispering voice. “Could you help me with something else?”
“Anything, Liam.”
After asking Parrish to track every single place the truck had gone, Liam left the station and headed for Mason’s house. Even though Mason had looked tired over the past week, he still took this party seriously. Liam still had some gifts to wrap, which he’d intentionally left at Mason’s because he couldn’t do it properly without his best friend’s help.
Corey answered the door, then noticed something the moment Liam stepped inside.
“Hey, Liam. Why do you smell...” He sniffed a few times. “...off?”
“Oh, um...” Liam hesitated for a second. “I’m just worried about you.”
He wasn’t lying, though. He was definitely still worried about Corey, but that wasn’t the only reason.
The chameleon broke into a bright grin. “Thanks, Liam. But I’m fine now. I think I’ve recovered.”
“Okay...that’s awesome.”
That wasn’t exactly the right response, but Liam couldn’t think of better words, and this was probably not the best time to tell Corey that maybe, just maybe Theo also had something to do with it.
He glanced at Corey’s neck. The hole had completely healed.
“I’ve still got, like, ten gifts to wrap. Let’s get on with it,” he said before heading toward Mason’s room, scratching at his own neck as if he were the one with a hole.
*
Parrish texted the moment Liam left Mason’s house. Liam pulled his phone out, but the vibration didn’t stop as notifications kept popping up at the top of the screen. He furrowed his brow slightly and waited.
Parrish: This is the last location where his truck was parked. He’s possibly still there.
Liam opened the messages, and almost twenty screenshots of surveillance footage showed up, with a map attached at the very end. He skipped all the pictures and clicked on the map.
His phone almost slipped from his hand.
The sewers. He recognized it immediately.
Still standing on Mason’s lawn, he gripped his phone, eyes closed. He resisted the urge to call Scott, even though the Alpha had told him to do that. Responsibilities. The word echoed. He’s my responsibility.
Parrish was a great resource, but Liam had to handle this alone, at least until he actually saw Theo.
He opened his conversation with Mason and texted.
Liam: Hey dude, I got caught up in something. You know which gifts are mine if I don’t show up tomorrow. Thanks :)
Without waiting for a response, he ran.
*
The truck was still parked at the entrance of the tunnels, just like Parrish had predicted. Liam’s heart stuttered as the scent reached his nose, but he pulled himself together and kept walking. He pushed the tall grass aside and stepped into the sewers.
Scott, help me!
He walked along the endless pathway, his shoes splashing water onto his jeans, following his instinct deeper into the darkness. The cold air scratched his face, and the stench assaulted his nose, forcing bile up into his throat.
The memories began falling into place, as if he were living in the past again.
Send him back.
The light grew dimmer as the entrance shrank in the distance, and his feet just kept moving. The place was a maze, but he didn’t even think for a second whenever he came across a fork. His skin crawled as the silence became louder.
Water dripped onto his shirt as he pressed a hand against the wall. The rugged surface stung him, and he felt a faint tremor from the other side.
There's nothing worse than what I've been through.
He pushed a door open and stopped. Large tubes lined the wall, with glowing liquid bubbling inside them. He ignored the shivers running through his body and headed for the other side of the room. He passed something that looked like a cage and immediately halted.
A heartbeat.
Followed by a growl.
He craned his head and stared inside, then two glowing eyes appeared from the darkness.
“Oh, God.”
Before he could react, the thing sprinted forward and slammed into the metal bars. Liam stumbled and fell onto the concrete. The creature rammed the bars repeatedly, seemingly trying to break free, growls and roars thundering through the room. Liam clutched his hip, clenching his jaw against the pain.
The only thing holding that creature back was the cage, and Liam swore he could see the bars bending a little.
“What...the hell is that?” he asked aloud.
“He’s a chupacabra, Liam.” A voice rang out, snapping him back. “I’m pretty sure you’ve seen one lately.”
Liam whipped his head around and froze.
“Nice seeing you again, little wolf.” Theo walked in the door and strode forward. “Congratulations. You found my little dungeon.”
“What...” The word caught in Liam’s throat. He stood up as Theo walked closer.
“What what?” Theo scoffed. “You wanna ask me what I’m doing? Or why I’m here?”
Liam stared at him, unable to make a sound. The roars from the chupacabra still sliced his eardrums, but he didn’t move a muscle.
“I can tell you if you ask nicely, but it’s probably too late.” Theo continued. “You should be grateful that I’m no longer interested in your pack.”
“What are you doing here?” The first question slipped out, and Theo laughed immediately.
“It’s obvious, Liam. Why do you think there’s chupacabras in town all of a sudden?”
“You made them?”
“Apparently.” Theo snorted. “Who else do you think would have the ability to revive something from two hundred years ago?”
“I’m the one asking questions, you fucking murderer.” Liam shot him a glare.
“Am I?” Theo raised an eyebrow. “I thought that ship had sailed a year ago.”
“Theo, you’re turning humans into supernaturals. How’s that not killing? The chupacabra just died a few days ago.”
“That only means he’s a failure, and he was already dead anyway.”
“That’s the same thing. You still killed them.”
“I brought them back to life. I thought that was the opposite of killing. It wasn’t my fault they couldn’t take the chemicals.” Theo stepped forward.
Liam glared at the chimera, whose expression went cold and blank. He breathed heavily. Only a few steps separated them, but Liam didn’t back off.
“Theo.” He swallowed. “I thought you’d changed.”
“I have.” Theo scoffed. “Wanna talk about what happened?”
Liam’s entire body stiffened. He was stunned Theo had brought that up, but he knew Theo also had the right to do so.
“Look, Theo,” he managed. “I know it was unfair to you, and I’m sorry we sent you down there, but I thought you weren’t that person anymore.”
Theo didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed as if he were trying to understand Liam’s words. His face remained blank, but Liam saw something flicker in his eyes.
Liam took a deep breath. “I mean...you did save me.”
“I was only doing it because I didn’t want to get killed by those goddamn hunters.”
“Were you? ‘Cause I don’t think—”
“For fuck’s sake, Liam,” Theo snapped. “Stop acting like you know me. You have no idea what I’ve been through, and that’s good for you. Can you just get the fuck out of here?”
“Then tell me why you’re killing people again!”
“I told you I’m not.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, then Theo turned around and walked to a table at the far end of the room and picked up a controller. “Liam, leave.”
“I won’t.”
“You will, Liam. Don’t make me release that chupacabra,” Theo said coldly.
Liam closed his eyes, standing his ground. The fight with the first chupacabra replayed in his mind like a film. His healed wounds began to sting.
Footsteps echoed from the doorway. Liam’s eyes snapped open.
“Liam!” Scott stormed in, then stopped short as he saw Theo standing at the other side of the room.
“Scott?” Liam asked tentatively. “Why are you here?”
“Parrish told me. He thought you were gonna look for Theo yourself.”
“Apparently he was right,” Theo said, sounding amused. “And your dumb little Beta really should learn some common sense.”
“Theo,” Scott turned toward him, eyes flashing red. “You know what’s gonna happen if you hurt him.”
“I won’t if I don’t have to.” Theo lowered the controller. “If your little Beta stops poking his nose into my business, you’re both gonna walk out unscathed.”
“C’mon, Liam.” Scott rested a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“No.”
“What?” The Alpha frowned.
“I’m not going anywhere if he’s not gonna tell me why.”
“Like I said,” Theo growled, voice low. “It’s none of your business.”
“It is now.”
“You’re really taking that detective job seriously, huh?” Theo let out a snort. “How about we see if a little werewolf cop could fight a chupacabra alone?”
Liam tried to shoot back, but Scott’s growl cut him off completely. The Alpha lunged toward Theo, who dropped the controller and growled back. They crashed to the ground as Scott pounced on Theo, the two of them scuffling with claws and fangs bared.
“Don’t make me do this, Theo,” Scott said, his voice still calm despite everything.
“Do what? I know you’re not gonna break your stupid no-murder rule by killing me.” Theo smirked even while pinned to the ground.
“I’ll reconsider it if you try threatening Liam again.” Scott raised an arm.
Liam’s eyes widened as he saw the dim gleam of Scott’s claws. He inhaled, mouth opening on its own.
“Scott, stop!” he shouted.
The Alpha and the chimera froze immediately. Scott turned toward Liam, concern written across his face. “Liam?”
“Let him go, Scott.”
Scott hesitated for a second, then stood up, releasing his grip on Theo’s shirt. The chimera grunted as his back hit the ground.
“What? Are you returning a favor?” he yelled, his voice wavering slightly. “Because I saved your stupid ass a few times?”
“I’m not.”
“Then thanks.” Theo pushed himself up before snatching up the controller. “You’re making the job easier for me.”
“Don’t do it, Theo.”
“Why should I listen to you?” Theo said flatly.
“Because you won’t.” Liam walked closer.
The chimera stood there, eyes fixed on Liam’s, but Liam didn’t hold back. He stepped in front of Theo.
“You won’t. Not after you just saved Corey.”
Theo’s face remained cold, but his body twitched as Liam finished the words. The room fell silent. Even Scott didn’t say anything.
“You’re not a monster, Theo.”
Liam felt his heartbeat steady. His breathing calm. His muscles relax. Just like every time Theo had calmed him down during the war.
He closed his eyes, then opened them before fixing his gaze on Theo’s. “You’re a chimera.”
He heard the chimera’s heartbeat spike a little.
After a long moment, the controller hit the concrete with a sharp clang. Theo huffed before glancing at the chupacabra, which was now lying weakly on the ground.
“Failure.”
He walked away, disappearing from sight.