| A DREAM AND A NIGHT |
It was two weeks before Christmas. Danger still lurked around every corner of Beacon Hills. Yes, the Dread Doctors were gone, including the Beast, but the Nazi alpha had eluded them and a new unfriendly was in town—not to mention all other manner that crept in the shadows. The war between the hunters and the supernatural was starting up again. While the Argents were still in town, a new family had moved in: the Midani family.
But none of the present danger nor the impending war was what crept into Scott's bedroom on that December day. It was one figure. A shadow that was meant to be gone. He closed the door just as quietly as he'd opened it. A twist of the lock. A step forward. A listen for the heartbeats in the house—two slow resting heartrates. Theo Raeken just watched Scott for a minute, his head tilted. Scott was peaceful as he expected, pure and innocent as always. The plaid blanket was pulled all the way up his shirtless torso, only his neck and a shoulder revealed from the tattooed arm that was draped over the cover.
"Hello, Scott," Theo muttered with a twisted smirk, one that had been demented beyond what he'd shown before. "Didn't think I'd climb out of that hole, did you?" Scott didn't stir, only continued to slumber. "Why didn't you save me? Why did you let them take me? You could've saved me. You were right there. That's what you do. You save people. But you didn't. Not me."
Theo stopped for minute. His mind was racing, frantic, on par with the speed of his pumping heart. He stepped forward again, this time all the way to the bed. He gently set on the edge, glancing down at the true alpha. He listened, and when no change in heartbeat, breath, or chemo-signals came, his expression shifted from despair to amusement once again. "I get it, though. Deep down I do. I killed you. I tried to do it again. I tried to take it all from you. Your pack. Your trust. Your love. I betrayed you."
With that, Theo balled his fist and squeezed. He held it over Scott's ajar lips and let his kanima venom fall between them. "How could you love me after that?" He watched as the remaining venom absorbed back into his palm before folding it into his hand. His frown returned and his vitals raged again. "But there's no such thing as yin and yang. The darkness always wins. The light eventually goes out. One day, even the sun'll explode and tonight, tonight another star's gonna' die."
"If we're talking in metaphors…" Scott said suddenly, his eyes shooting open. Theo had not only startled, but he leapt back up towards the bathroom. Genuine fear had actually taken over for a moment. "I wish the light could warm the dark. I wish I could bring it into the light." His gaze shifted slightly into the chimera's eyes, noting the lack of use of his body. "Theo, I wish things could've been different. I wish they could be different. I wish the story you told me, told Stiles and I, about the skate park and the alpha and the twins, I wish that had been the truth. I was hoping that you truly wanted a place in the pack. With us. With me. If you wanted, if you asked me, you still could. You can change if you want to. I could help you. I would. It wouldn't be easy, and there'd be a lot of obstacles, but I would help you."
Theo clearly looked taken aback. Dumbfounded. His eyes were searching Scott's. But then there was a noise, subtle and singular: the door down the hall opened. Theo's confused expression immediately disappeared, replaced by his menacing look that had evolved from simple mischief. "There's no hope for that anymore, Scott," Theo whispered before stepping forward into the moonlight. There Scott could see what'd happened: on the right side of Theo's neck, creeping up just above his jawline, was his skin—his peeling decayed skin, just like the skinwalkers.'
Footsteps began to slowly make their way towards Scott's room. "Get rid of her," Theo whispered, head turning to look at the door before looking back at the true alpha, "or else I'll slit her throat right in front of you." The alphas exchanged an understanding glance before there was a knock.
"It's too bad," Scott simply said. Theo's eyebrows scrunched in confusion when the thick door burst off its hinges. Before Theo could react, or rather react fast enough, a pistol had appeared from the shadows of the hallway and fired. Instead of a bullet hitting him square in the chest, though, a red-feathered ballistic syringe now stuck out of him near the base of the chimera's sternum. Theo charged his attacker, but the tall curly blonde in the hallway was ready and dodged the other's outstretched electric claw. While Theo persisted, it took Isaac Lahey only one turning kick to Scott's attacker's back to send the other flying face first into the wall in the hallway.
Isaac turned to watch Theo, at the ready, crouching down in a defensive-position unfamiliar to either alpha. The brunette got up from the ground and rounded on Isaac for a second attempt. But moving forward, he struggled. He hesitated, blinking his yellow eyes several times, as if dazed before their lights went out. So, too, did his claws and electric charge disappear. He looked down at his hand, that recent fear spiking and surging back into him. After a moment he looked up at Scott, the true alpha looking at him the best he could. Theo wobbled again, even more so this time before falling back hard against the wall he'd collided with before, his back slinking down as his knees gave out.
"I always thought you'd crawl out of that hole, Theo," Scott said, his tone opposite of how he'd spoken only seconds ago. "I knew you'd be back and that you'd come after me and my pack. So we planned ahead, just in case. Deaton made a few calls, got some people together. They went through everything the Dread Doctors left behind. Everything on chimeras. They were at it for weeks; even Stiles, Lydia, and Kira jumped in to sift through it all. But eventually, after some trial and error, they found it: a cure." Theo's focus shot up to stare at Scott, Isaac's eyes flashing yellow. Panic started to take over Theo's emotions, his chemo-signals dripping with it. "Sure, you can walk through mountain ash and you can absorb all these different powers, but you're vulnerable to something we're not."
"A virus," Theo said knowingly. He tried to stand again, rage now boiling inside him. He tried to use it, fuel himself. But not only did he feel too weak to do so, he felt as if a flu was surging into him. His forehead began to sweat, feeling a fever coming, and the whole of his joints began to ache mercilessly.
Scott just looked down at Theo over Isaac's shoulder, with his red alpha eyes. Once again, Scott spoke plainly. "Really, it's too bad."
/ | * ! * | \
Melissa looked up at the wall clock near the front door and breathed out through her nose. She swallowed before taking a sip of the juice before her. Waffles are sticky. She cut another piece from the whole on the plate in front of her and took another bite when she looked at the boys on either side of her and smiled. Scott and Isaac smiled back, each of their mouths stuffed with larger and stickier and butterier pieces than her own. Breakfast was quiet. No phones out. No TV on. It was normal, even the gentle caresses between the sock-clad feet of the alpha and his beta fitting. The stolen looks and smiles between them, despite being kept under wraps from a very present Melissa, was more grounding than anything going on outside their front door.
Until there was a knock at the door, that is. Melissa frowned and started to get up to answer it. Scott and Isaac's feet quickly shot apart, both pairs planting under their chairs. The woman of the house almost made it to her feet when the deadbolt unlocked and Stiles walked in. Melissa plopped down into her chair unhappily as he pulled out his key and smiled at them.
"Stiles," the nurse greeted.
"Morning," the boy answered chipperly.
"What's up, Stiles?" Scott asked, mouth full of waffle; he clearly was the only one actually happy with Stiles' arrival.
"I'm glad you asked," he replied, pulling out the fourth chair at the table and taking a seat. "Have you seen the paper today?" They all shook their heads. Stiles retrieved a folded newspaper from inside his coat and spread it before his best friend. The headline read 'IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS: LOCAL SHERIFF'S ASSAILANT CHARGED AND ARRESTED.' As they read, Stiles just grabbed a plate and finger-handled a waffle on top it, eliciting a scowl from the woman across from him.