Sweet Dreams, Ms. Romero

Hayden grunted in pain as she struggled against the restraints that held her to the cold metal table. The blinding light from above assaulted her eyes as she tightly closed them and mumbled, "Where?"

The eerie, melodious voice answered as the burn of a blade cutting into the skin of her chest was felt, "Why, you are awake, Ms. Romero. I didn't anticipate my solution would wear off quite so quickly, but your genetic make-up is fascinating."

She flinched against the pain as she remembered the hunters storming into her apartment and the shoot out that occurred between them and her sister. The smell of gun powder, sweat, fear, and blood brought her memory from hazing to painful reality. Her mind replayed the round that caught her sister's chest and Valerie's desperate plea for Hayden to run.

She'd lost control. She remembered that much. Vague splashes of claws through sinew and blood coating her hands flashed. She asked, "My sister?"

The creepy man replied, "Dead. Like so many of the hunters sent to retrieve you. Truly a shame. I wanted no bloodshed, but these hunters are incredibly dense. I was almost concerned they would damage your body beyond use."

The rage surged, and she felt the shift as she snarled towards the figure. His scalpel clinked against the stone floor as he stepped away from her. In a chiding tone he replied, "Ms. Romero, if you insist on behaving wildly, I'll have no choice but to administer another round of the serum."

She growled, channeling her wolf, "What are you doing to me?"

He cackled lightly as he stepped away from her and started, "I'm finding a way to unlock the potential of humanity and you, my dear Hayden, may be that key. I don't know what made you this way, but your physical composition is radically different from the other wolves I've experimented on in the past."

She felt the icy touch of fear as he stepped back towards her and whispered, "Don't worry. I've got big plans for you. Your body shouldn't react negatively to the enzyme I've manufactured."

"What happened to the other wolves?"

He almost laughed, a bittersweet noise that preluded his statement, "Oh, they died. Their bodies went through accelerated hyperactive apoptosis. Even their advanced regeneration couldn't compensate. By the end, they collapsed into a puddle of disjointed and dead cells."

Her eyes shot open, and she met the gaze of the doctor, his beady, blue rimmed eyes, staring into hers, "Did I frighten you, Ms. Romero? You should be excited! Your cells react favorably. You might become the herald to the next step of human evolution."

She violently twisted against the restraints, contorting her body and feeling the tear of the skin of her torso. He shook his head and reached for the IV drip she didn't realize was connected. He reached into his pocket and administered a clear injection into the port, "I warned you. For now, Sweet Dreams, Ms. Romero."

Theo paced in the examination room of the clinic. The building was empty but still carried the stale scents of the animals that were treated here before Deaton disappeared. This was his meet up point for his employers, though now just a singular employer. A week had passed since the pack found Lydia's body. He was here to present what information he had gathered so far but all his contacts and his tracking were able to uncover was Clark's body, with the remains of the hunters sent to deal with Hayden. His former packmate was nowhere to be found and he could reasonably conclude that she was being held or worse.

The back door flew open and Stiles glared at the chimera, his face still tender from the funeral, "I don't know why I have you working here. Have you even found anything of use? Or are you going to tell me it's going to take more time?"

Theo clinched his jaw and bit back the anger in his response, "Hayden has been captured by the hunters. She killed four of them. Her sister is dead."

The agent pushed past him and stared at the walls. He could smell the anger, sorrow, concern, and frustration. Stiles' tone softened as he asked, "And the tunnel?"

Theo hated this part. He didn't want to admit something to Stiles that would wound the agent, but he had to speak, "Closed circuit camera system. The tunnels don't extend further than the final room. It was a trap, specifically built to capture or kill a banshee."

Stiles lowered his head and asked, "But her premonition. Deaton. How could she be wrong?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. From the video we can tell he was planning on ways to attack the pack. He's utilized the powers of druids to mask and redirect. Deaton and Morrell most likely are dead as well. There's something else. The video. Occurred over an hour before the pack arrived."

He caught the break in the agent's voice as he mumbled, "So, she died alone."

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to answer the question that wasn't asked but the word died on his lips.

Stiles faced him and sneered, "Do you ever bring good news? Melissa, Lydia, Deaton, Morrell, Hayden? Who's next Theo? What do you know besides how to fuck and fuck up?"

He knew Stiles was in pain. It didn't stop the barb from landing and he quieted the anger in his chest, "Another facility was found. Not far from where Peter's body was found years ago. This doctor is targeting and experimenting on supernatural beings."

Stiles argued, "Didn't Lydia kill him?"

Theo answered, "No. It was a doppelganger. No doubt about it. He's using the magical power within druids to craft these beings. We managed to capture the Peter clone but in transport, the doppelganger fell apart. I think they might have a built-in self-destruct."

Stiles sighed and lowered his head as the weak words left his lips, "I'm sorry, Theo." He slowly lifted his gaze, the stern resolution returning, "So we have something to work with. Is Monroe in the area?"

He nodded, "She's back in the area. She managed to evade our tracking briefly, but we can confirm she is back. They have a stronghold between Beacon Hills and Sun Valley."

The agent paced away from him, and stared at the wall, "He is working with her. This much we know. I want you to look into the facility and find her. If we can capture her…"

As the agent's voice trailed he added, "We either get the information from her or use her as leverage to flush him out of hiding. In a perfect world, both."

Stiles turned to him with a huff and spoke in a distant voice, "This world is far from perfect."

He lowered his head slowly, "I'll leave immediately. You can brief the pack."

He turned and walked towards the door. Stiles called out, "Theo, Wait."

He shifted his head and met the intense gaze of the agent, "Don't go alone. Their plan. Divide and conquer. It's working, and we can't afford to lose anyone else."

He tilted his head and chuckled while the smallest grin formed, "Stiles, are you worried about me? I'm just the hired help."

Stiles looked to the floor as he admitted, "To me, yeah, you are the hired help and if some hunters or the mad scientist killed you, it'd be no real loss."

He snorted before Stiles continued, "But it's not just me. Liam, Mason, Corey, Isaac, Crystal, Darren, and Lindsey. They care about what happens to you." Stiles slowly raised his head, his whiskey browns glistening with tears yet shed, "I lost the woman I loved to this madman because I let him divide us. I don't want them to feel anything close to that pain."

His grin faded, and he walked over to Stiles. Without thinking, he pulled the agent in for a hug. Stiles hiccupped against his shoulder, the tears breaking through. He whispered, sincerely, "I'll be alright. Don't worry, I won't go alone. And Stiles."

He leaned back from the embrace, "I'll make sure he pays." With a small smile he followed, "You and Scott. Take care of each other and your pack. Leave the rest to me."

Stiles nodded slowly and released the hug. He caustically laughed, "I never thought I'd see the day when I would trust those words leaving your mouth. You're different, Theo."

He nonchalantly shrugged as he backed towards the door, "Times change. I'll brief you when we return."

Isaac loosened the tie from around his neck and slid it over the wooden bedpost in the guest bedroom of the McCall house. The eerie silence of the once boisterous house caught him by surprise. Melissa was gone. Scott no longer lived there. It was empty. Only he stayed there, catching faint lingering scents of the joys and pains that happened over the years within those four walls.

He shed his jacket, leaving it on the bed, and unbuttoned his dress shirt. He walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, his mind flashing memories of Melissa and Lydia. He couldn't believe they were gone. His stomach churned from hunger and disbelief. The ground didn't feel as solid as it once was before his return shook him.

The sorrow pulled at him but gave the awful sensation of flight, just the same as it had when Alicia had passed.

He shook his head, forcing away the thoughts, and set the knife down. He glanced to the counter and didn't even notice that he'd made himself a sandwich. He took a bite as he walked to the living room. He knew he should call his pack, let them know what was happening in Beacon Hills, but he couldn't find the words.

He was their alpha. He was their leader. And yet, he hadn't felt more lost, more confused, more empty for as long as he could remember. He needed to find a grounding force.

The loud set of knocks at the door pulled his attention. He glanced to the wooden frame, listening to another set, his body choosing not to make a move. The smug, annoyed voice travelled through the frame, "Come on, Wolfy! I know you're in there."

He stared at the door and it took a moment before his mind caught up and he muttered, "It's open."

The knob turned, and Theo stepped through the doorway, leaving the door open, in a beaten-up black t, jeans, and boots. The chimera grinned widely as he walked towards him, "Alright, Wolfy, ready to go have some fun?"

"Fun?"

The chimera nodded, his enthusiasm flowing through his words, "Hunter compound. Between Beacon Hills and Sun Valley. Mess these guys up and capture their leader."

He shook his head, trying to push the emotions of the funeral away, "But. Shouldn't we wait? The pack- "

"The pack can stay back and help each other. I need to bloody this group's nose and if I'm lucky, a certain mad scientist. And I'm not allowed to go by myself, client's orders."

Isaac scanned Theo's face, looking for something, some intent besides the obvious. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Liam's voice, from just beyond the threshold. The beta walked in as he stated with burning conviction, "Then why didn't you ask me, Theo?"

He looked to Liam, still in his suit from the funeral, as Theo replied, "I figured the pack needed more time. We can handle this."

Liam's eyes blazed gold, "Not without me."

Theo elbowed him, and he looked to the chimera trying to impersonate a puppy, "So Wolfy, plan on joining in on the fun?"

Feeding off the energy from the two, a small smile graced his lips, "Yeah. Let's do it."

The three men rode in Theo's truck. The chimera drove while they argued. Following his GPS, they closed in on the location, far from the main road, the dirt from the barren landscape kicked up alongside the truck. Liam growled from the backseat, "I can't believe you were going to leave me behind."

He glanced to Isaac before meeting the beta's gaze in the mirror, "I figured you might've wanted to spend time with the pack. Help through this trying time."

"And miss out on a chance to stop Monroe. You know her hunters have tried to target Lindsey."

His mind went to Sophia before he replied, "Alright. I'll keep that in mind for the future."

Isaac asked, "Lindsey?"

He glanced to the alpha with a smug grin, "Yeah, little blonde tyke. Looks just like Liam only without the beard."

Isaac glanced back to Liam and giggled, "Yeah. I remember him now."

Liam rolled his eyes before he pointed along the road, "There."

They drove closer to the large cement structure built into the earth to look like a hill. A simple metal door flanked an open vehicle entrance. They approached the structure slowly, surveying the area for hunters. When they parked in front of the entrance, and exited the vehicles, Isaac commented, "There are no guards."

He caught the scents, munitions, sweat, fear. He looked to the loose dirt before the entrance and saw a fresh set of tire tracks. As he walked closer he noticed a line of mountain ash from one side of the door to the other. He looked back to Isaac and Liam, "Whoever was here, they left in a hurry."

Liam stepped up next to him and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Locking something out or something in?"

He looked back to the beta, with a bit more concern in his voice than he meant, "Do you want my hope or my thoughts?"

Isaac looked to them and flashed his eyes red, "Are we going to wait outside for them to find us? I figure that might not help the whole infiltration thing."

He smirked and kicked aside the mountain ash, breaking the line. The three walked into the vehicle entryway. They slowly walked down the decline, noticing the line of a dozen military style trucks parked along the left wall. The sounds of their footsteps carried through the tunnel. They could only make out the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats. As they continued to the door past the vehicle bay, a scent caught them before the sight, blood. Fresh blood. Theo looked left and saw a body slumped against the driver's side of the vehicle closest to the door. He looked to the two and nodded his head towards the hunter.

He slowly approached the man and heard no sounds of life. As he closed the distance, he saw a ragged puncture wound, almost half the size of his fist on the left side of the man's chest. The front of his black fatigue top was soaked in blood and it pooled into the gap just beyond his lap. Theo knelt and examined the wound. He glanced back to the two when he noticed the hole travelled through the man's torso. The last thing that he caught. The body was still warm.

Liam rapidly asked, "What is it? Your heartrate."

Theo stood and lowly whispered, just loud enough for the two to hear, "Something impaled him. I'm thinking lock something inside."

As he walked back towards them and the door, Isaac asked, "What could do that?"

Liam offered, "A pissed off Alpha?"

He shrugged, "I know it wasn't a firearm. No burns. No powder."

He steeled his nerves and actively controlled his chemo signals. The survival center of his brain screamed at him to leave but he quieted it to a faint whisper. After taking a deep breath, he glanced to each of the two, "If either of you want to sit this one out, I wouldn't hold it against you."

He caught the brief scent of fear from both men before they shook their heads. He reached for the door and opened it. It fought against him initially but with slow pressure, it opened. The hallway was dark but the moment he stepped across the threshold, the overhead lights came to life. After a series of flickers, they illuminated the once pristine, sterile white hallway. The walls were streaked with bloody handprints and the acrid scent of firearm discharges, blood, and death assaulted his nose.

He slowly stepped inside, methodically placing his feet, stepping around spent casings and trying not to create a sound against the tiled floor. He noticed the pools of congealing blood as he navigated the hall and headed toward a T intersection. When he glanced back towards Liam and Isaac, his eyes caught the object behind the door they walked through. The bisected torso of another hunter, his weapon pushed away from the door, no doubt from when he opened it.

He followed the right wall as he approached the intersection and tried to look down the left turn. The overhead lights attempted to flicker but quickly died, casting the turn in a low glow from the bulbs that struggled to work. The floors appeared to be dark tile, but the rounded edge of the shift in color told a different story. He focused on the floor and saw foot prints in the blood. Something with human like bare feet but longer talons walked through the pool.

With his eyes glowing and his claws ready, he button hooked the intersection and gazed down the hallway. Bodies littered the sides of the hallway, with weapons crumbled against the tattered remains of the hunters that carried them. The floor almost glowed golden brown from the sheer number of casings that covered it. He glanced back to the two and motioned for them to step into the hallway.

Liam gasped as he surveyed the carnage. The scent of fear rolled from the beta while Isaac appeared to be more in control. He leaned behind Liam's ear and lowly whispered, "It's okay if you head back. I don't think we are going to find Monroe."

Liam almost jumped as he faced him. All the color had drained from his face, those clear blue eyes locked in fright. His voice trembled as he croaked out a question, "W-W-What could do this? There has to be at least a dozen bodies. Armed hunters."

He shook his head. In all his years working with the Calavera, he only saw this level of carnage when groups fought each other but the single set of bloody footprints suggested only one.

Isaac pointed towards the shallow hallway to the left that ended with a door and back to the longer path to the right with several doors to the left and one at the end. "Left or right?"

Before he could answer, the sound of a shotgun being discharge was heard from the door to the left. Their eyes widened, and he ran towards the door without a second thought. He threw it open and maneuvered down the rusted metal stairs, chasing the memory of the sound before another shot was heard.

He rushed down several flights before reaching the bottom and yet another discharge was heard. He glanced back to see Isaac and Liam rushing to catch up. He grabbed the handle and threw the door open.

As he walked into the shallow corridor, he barely dodged the ricochet of another slug as the gun echoed loudly. A short figure, in a blue hospital gown stalked towards the hunter pressed against the door. Vicious curved bone spurs jutted from her shoulder and arms. The gown was forever stained red with blood and the woman's long dark hair was matted to her head and shoulder. She growled before raising her arm and striking the hunter. Tamora flew into the wall and crumpled with a sick thud.

He lowered himself and roared at the figure. Liam and Isaac flanked him and released their roars. The woman turned, the talons on her naked feet clicking against the floor and faced them. Her eyes were deep, Alpha red. Her cruel maul dripped saliva and blood from elongated feral fangs. She snarled at them before releasing a powerful roar the vibrated through the facility and shook the door.

Liam gasped, the anger replaced with horror, "Hayden?"

An unearthly screech left her throat before she charged them. He ran to meet her charge. He glided underneath her forearm swipe towards his head and managed to slash across her gut. With a speed he didn't anticipate, she pivoted and kicked him in the center of the chest, sending him flying into the door with a strength beyond an alpha. The metal dented from his impact as he slid down.

He shook away the stars and saw her claws cut across Isaac's chest after the Alpha sank his under her ribs. Isaac screamed in pain, the sharp deadly claws separating muscle and tissue from bone as easily as a knife could slice through butter. Liam rushed towards them and jumped, spinning his body and landing a kick to the side of her head. Isaac's claws pulled free as she stumbled from the two.

Liam desperately called out, "Hayden! Please! Stop!"

She recovered quickly and rushed them. He ran to follow but couldn't reach her before her forearm spike slammed into Liam's shoulder and sent the beta to the floor, cracking the tiles under him. Before she could slash towards Isaac, he grabbed her bone spur and used it as a fulcrum to sling her body into the wall.

Isaac followed the momentum and grabbed the back of her neck and slammed her face against the cold concrete after she bounced off. He slid to Liam and grabbed him, "Little Wolf! It isn't nap time."

Isaac wrestled to control her, stabbing his left claw into the back of her rib cage. She tried to slash back towards him, but he kept dodging just before the blow would land. Isaac growled, "She's healing faster than we can stop her."

Liam struggled to his feet and whispered, "Theo. We have to. Save her."

He shook his head and growled loudly as he fully wolfed out.

A bone spur shot through Isaac's hand and the Alpha screamed as she spun and struck the side of his head with her arm spike. The Alpha collapsed to the floor and slid towards the door. He stopped just as Monroe managed to crawl into the room and the lock clicked.

Hayden spun to face him, her body lowered to attack. He smugly remarked, "Come on, Romero. Are we going to do this again?"

She ran towards him, her right arm raised as he watched her movements, unflinching. As she slashed towards him, he sidestepped her attack. Her spur hit the floor and the moment it made contact, he brought his boot down where it jutted free from her forearm. The bone splintered, and mercury tainted red sprayed from the marrow, the weaponized end tumbling away from them. She staggered and for a moment, her eyes returned to normal. Hayden managed a weak, "Theo?" before a howl erupted from deep within her.

Her eyes flared, and she spun and struck him against the left side of his head. He barely remained conscious as his vision blurred. Only when he struggled to his feet did he notice that he had hit the far wall and cracked the cement there. His equilibrium was shot, his feet didn't want to move with any coordination. He stumbled as he walked back towards the fight, Liam's scream pulling the anger from deep within the reserves. His hands desperately reached, and he grabbed the fragment of her bone spur.

Pain had brought her back. He could bring her back again. He shook his head and held the spur with both hands and looked to the fight. Liam and Isaac had managed to grab her arms, but she was beginning to overpower them. He couldn't miss the opportunity. He ran and pushed himself with every ounce he had left and sunk the sharp end deep within her gut and continued to push until she slammed against the back wall and sunk to the floor.

Her body tried to expel the object, but he held it firmly in place. She groaned in pain but when her eyes opened, they weren't red. She gasped and called out, "Liam. What? Is Happening?"

The battered and bloody beta ran to her side and grabbed her hand. He instinctually began to pull pain as tears formed in his eyes, "I'm right here Hayden. We- We are going to save you."

She looked to his eyes and chuckled mirthlessly, "You look good. The suit. Like Prom."

She contorted in pain and he said, "I need to know what happened. So we can help you."

She shook her head, "Li. The doctor. He did this. I. It hurts. So much."

Liam nodded his head and pulled her hand to his face, "Hayden. I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't- "His words choked out as he began to sob.

She cried out, "I hurt you. I. Killed all those people. The pain. So much pain. Please."

He looked to Hayden and asked softly, "You want us. To end the pain?"

Liam snarled at him almost immediately, but Hayden gently shushed him and nodded, "You can't. fix this. He made me. This."

Liam shook his head as tears rolled down his face, "No, no. Hayden. Don't say that. We can find something. Find a way."

A single tear of blood and mercury ran down her cheek as she reached around and grabbed the spur, pulling it deeper against her own healing, "There isn't. Another. Way. I don't want. To hurt you. Not again."

Liam pressed his forehead against Hayden's and whispered, "You're my first love. I can't."

She leaned into him, "It's better. This way. I'm glad. I got to. See you. One last. Time."

Liam's eyes widened as she smiled softly, "Stop him. Stop him from." Her words stopped just as another spur shot from her arm and tore through her sternum. The light in her eyes faded as Liam screamed for her.

Theo stepped away from her, the struggle to hold her ended. He didn't know when the tears streaked down his face, but he felt the cool lines as Isaac embraced him. The alpha's voice shook, "Why? Why does this have to happen?"

He returned the embrace and watched Liam cry against the body of his first love. He didn't have an answer. He didn't know if he'd ever have an answer. He could only hope to end this.