Liam cannot sleep that night. He tosses and turns all night. He thought he was going to lose his mind.
He finally gets up out of frustration He slips into the hallway and enters the kitchen. He sees Josh sitting at the table. Liam has not really spoken to Josh since he got here, but he does make him a little weary. The whole electricity thing is a little scary.
Josh looks up at him and nods. He then goes back to his coffee he is drinking.
Liam determines if he should find another place to go, but maybe he can actually talk to someone in this pack. Theo seems to have vague answers to everything, and the rest of them seem to be unconcerned with anything that is happening.
Liam sits down across from him and pours himself a cup. He drinks his coffee and cringes. He is not really a coffee drinker. Josh raises his eyebrows at him and shakes his head.
"So, how are you?" Liam asks.
He does not know what to say or how to start the conversation. He is trying to be friendly, but he feels he is coming off as more uncertain.
"Fine." Josh says, with no emotion.
Maybe Liam should just get right to what he wants to know. Clearly, Josh does not seem interested in talking anyway. He determines the best way to go about it. He does not want to upset anyone, and he does not want anyone to be suspicious of him. He knows asking questions can sometimes be seen as mistrust depending on who it is. Although, Liam does not really trust anyone in this pack. He sort of trusts Mason, but that is about it.
"So, have you heard from Donovan?" Liam asks, as innocently as he can.
"Nope." Josh says, with no emotion again.
Liam sighs.
"Ok, are we going to look for him? He is in your pack right." Liam points out.
"I am not worried about it. If we are not looking for him then there is a reason." Josh says.
Liam stares at Josh. That does not seem to be very comforting. Why would there be a good reason to not look for a pack member? He feels uneasy. Everyone is so weird here and Josh seems to know a lot more than he pretends to. He takes another sip of coffee and determines his next question.
"How do you feel about Theo?" Liam asks.
"He is my Alpha." Josh says.
"Josh, I am really trying here." Liam points out.
"Great, what do you want?" Josh says sarcastically.
"I just want to know what is going on. Donovan is missing and no one seems to be concerned. In Scott's pack we look for people. I get there may not be a reason to look, but that would imply you already know what is going on. Can you tell me what is going on?" Liam asks bluntly.
"We had a few more pack members before all of us, including Donovan. 2 other Chimeras. I forget their names now. They were here for like 2 weeks when everything started." Josh says.
Liam studies Josh. That seems vague like Theo, but he will take anything he can.
"Where are they now?" Liam asks.
"I suppose with Donovan." Josh says shrugging.
"No one has asked?" Liam asks uneasily.
"Liam, I know you were with the noble Alpha or whatever, but not everyone has that luxury. I do not ask questions. I do not try to get information that is not volunteered to me. I keep my head down and it has worked. I suggest you do the same." Josh says.
Liam does not like the sound of that. Keep his head down? He is just supposed to just sit around and assume that everything is fine. He is supposed to not ask any questions or wonder what is going on. That sounds like a dictatorship.
"I cannot just sit by if someone may be in trouble. Especially if Theo could possibly be hiding something." Liam says.
"Theo still brought us back to life. He killed the dread doctors and got us out of that awful place. I still appreciate that. I know we all do. "Josh says.
"So that means no one asks any questions or challenges anything?" Liam asks.
"It means that we do not need, or want to know everything. Also, my understanding is Donovan has been complaining for a while. He was unhappy with everything and kept voicing it." Josh says.
Liam does not like the sound of that. So, someone may have been unhappy and voiced some concerns. Is that a bad thing? Does that mean Liam cannot voice any concerns or he could go wherever Donovan is? That is assuming Donovan is anywhere. Liam shudders.
"I just want to make sure everyone is ok." Liam says.
"I think you are safer than anyone. I would not worry about it. Also, I do not see you shying away from hanging out with Theo." Josh points out.
Liam frowns. That sounds very judgmental to him. Yes, he has allowed Theo to help with some of his fighting skills, but that does not mean he is just going to allow Theo to do whatever, with no questions asked.
"That doesn't mean him and I are friends. I still want to help if something is being hidden." Liam says.
"Are you sure about that? I never implied Theo was the only one hiding anything." Josh says.
"What does that mean?" Liam asks.
"Josh don't you think you should be getting some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow." Tracy says from the doorway.
Josh quickly gets up and puts away his cup. He leaves the kitchen before Liam can say anything.
Liam looks at Tracy, who is scowling at him. He does not know why she hates him so much. He never did anything to her. He knows she probably hates Scott, but Liam is not Scott. He attempts to be friendly.
"Hey Tracy." Liam says.
"I am going to give you some advice since you clearly do not listen. Answers do not help make things better. They just cause more unrest in a pack. Just stay out of it. You just got here." Tracy snarls and storms out of the kitchen.
Liam has more questions than he did before.
The next morning, he walks downstairs to see Mason cooking breakfast. He sees Corey attempting to make eggs. They do not resemble eggs anymore.
"You guys need any help?" Liam asks.
"Liam yes! Corey cannot follow directions." Mason says, smiling at Corey.
Corey looks embarrassed as Liam moves him away from the stove. Liam throws out what is in the skillet and starts to make new eggs. He sees Mason making cinnamon rolls. It is pretty impressive. He has never had cinnamon rolls from scratch before. He puts some bacon on and continues cooking.
"So, Mason." Liam says.
"So, Liam." Mason teases.
"I just was wondering if you remember anything about 2 other chimeras in the pack? Guess they were not here long." Liam says.
He figures Mason and Corey are more likely to tell him anything they know. He waits and looks over at Corey who looks uneasily at Mason. He seems to be nervous and waiting to see what Mason is going to say.
"Not really. I mean I was not here then. I just know they were here for like 2 weeks and then they left. Or that is what Corey said." Mason says, looking at Corey.
Liam looks at Corey who is avoiding his gaze. That is suspicious. He studies Corey for a few minutes. He may have to talk to Mason alone.
He sees Theo standing in the doorway. He hates that. He always seems to show up unannounced and freak Liam out. It not a good look really. He scowls and goes back to cooking the bacon and eggs.
Theo walks over and reaches over Liam to grab a coffee cup. He does it way too slowly for it not to not be intentional. He grabs the cup and brushes Liam as he pulls the cup out of the cabinet.
Mason gives Liam a questioning glance but does not say anything. Liam shakes it off and continues cooking. They finish cooking breakfast, and everyone eats. Well, almost everyone. Tracy refuses and is scowling at Liam.
"I am going to go see Stiles today. I am bringing Mason." Liam says.
He does not ask, he just states it as a fact. Theo looks at him and continues to drink his coffee. Corey looks annoyed, but does not say anything. He may have overstepped on something Corey had planned.
"Then I am going to take today off." Hayden says.
Theo frowns and glares at Liam.
Liam normally does not like to make any waves, but he decides he is going to test Josh's theory. He claimed he was safer than anyone else, but he does not know why. Clearly, the trade was made for a purpose. He looks back at Theo staring him down.
Theo smirks and does not say anything.
Liam helps Mason and Corey clean up and gets ready for the day. He steps out into the hall when he sees Theo standing there.
"I do not appreciate your little displays of rebellion." Theo says.
"Oh, I am sorry. I did not realize this was a kingship." Liam says sarcastically.
"You are only trying to be difficult to prove a point." Theo smiles amused.
Liam growls.
"You ready Liam?" Mason calls from down the hall.
"Yes." Liam says and starts walking away.
"See you later tonight Little Wolf." Theo says.
Liam does not look back, but wonders what the hell that means. What is tonight? No plans were made tonight.
He gets outside and gets in the car with Mason. Mason is looking at him.
"What?" Liam asks.
"Uh, so what the hell is going on?" Mason asks.
"Nothing. What do you mean?" Liam asks.
"I am getting some major vibes with you and Theo." Mason says.
"Vibes of what? Hate." Liam grumbles.
"I wouldn't say hate." Mason says chuckling.
Liam directs Mason to Stiles house, and they walk up to the door. He probably should have called, but Stiles is normally here during this time and he did not want to alarm him. He rings the doorbell and the Sheriff answers.
"Hey Liam." Sheriff Stilinski says.
"Hi. Is Stiles here?" Liam asks.
"Yes, Scott is too. Go on up." Sheriff Stilinski says.
Liam frowns. He is not ready to see Scott, but he goes upstairs with Mason. He knocks on the door. Stiles open it. He looks really tired. He has bags under his eyes and looks like he has not slept in weeks. He looks very agitated and nervous. He does light up when he sees Liam though.
"Hey Liam!" Stiles says.
"Hey, I wanted to say hi. This is Mason." Liam says introducing them.
"Hey." Mason says.
"Come in." Stiles says holding the door open.
They walk in and Liam sees Scott sitting there. Scott looks unsure about what he should say. That makes two of them.
"Hey." Scott says.
"Mason, this is Scott. He is involved with human trade deals." Liam says.
Mason smiles awkwardly at Scott.
"Liam, can we talk a minute?" Scott asks.
Liam begrudgingly walks outside into the hall with Scott.
"I am sorry. I know it was a terrible idea. I just did not think that it would be this long." Scott pleads with Liam.
What do you mean this long?" Liam asks.
"I tried to talk to Theo about just getting out of it, or giving him something else, but he won't budge." Scott says.
"Scott. I am not person that can just be shipped back and forth. Are you kidding me?" Liam snarls.
"I know you are not. So then just leave and come back? I doubt anything would happen. Maybe just a ruined alliance." Scott says.
"You traded me for an alliance? I thought it was for Deaton!" Liam says in disbelief.
"I mean it was, but then I thought an alliance would work too. We both agreed to not bother each other's packs because you were there. We have something in common now. He seemed to be ok with it, because he said you had a lot of potential as being good during times when we need to fight. "Scott explains.
Liam just looks at Scott in disbelief. Is this real life. He cannot believe that Scott is trading off people to form an alliance. Like Liam is some sort of chess piece to be used to form bonds. It makes him sound like he is easily disposable.
"What the fuck Scott! This is not how packs are supposed to go. This is not a dictatorship. You may be the Alpha, but you should have talked to me. You made a deal and did not involve anyone else. Is that all I am. A deal?" Liam asks.
"Of course not! It was a tense situation." Scott says, trying to explain.
"Mason let's go!" Liam says.
Mason comes out of Stiles room. Stiles follows him.
"What is going on?" Stiles asks.
"Did you know Scott traded me off as an alliance? Like we are in medieval times." Liam says angrily.
"What? No. Scott what the hell?" Stiles says, looking upset.
"Look, I can explain. I think we should all meet as a pack and then we can work this out." Scott offers.
"I am not in the pack anymore remember. Or did you think that you could just trade me off and somehow, I would still be in the pack. I will call you later Stiles." Liam says, walking down the stairs.
Mason follows him.
"Liam wait!" Scott says.
"You know what Scott. I actually was really upset that people kept making fun of you and your noble ways. However, I realized something. You are not any more noble than anyone else. At least I know who Theo is. You just hide it all. Have you even asked Stiles what is going on with him?" Liam says and storms out with Mason.
They get into the car and Mason pulls out of the driveway.
"Intense." Mason says.
"I cannot believe this! Theo also did not tell me I was part of some weird alliance." Liam growls.
It is not like he is surprised, but like what the hell. He assumed Theo would at least be more honest about it.
"I don't know. I talked to Corey who talks to Theo a lot. When everything first happened, Corey claimed that Theo just asked to talk to you about possibly joining the pack. He was going to give Deaton back for a deal to just talk to you about it. Then Scott had the idea to try to mend the packs or something. He said he could have you join for a while. I am assuming he was going to try to get you back into his pack at some point. Maybe now Theo says no, but before it was only supposed to be a conversation." Mason says.
"Are you sure, because Theo doesn't scream honesty to me." Liam says.
"Well Corey doesn't lie to me. He would not have said that if him and Theo did not talk about it. I do not know if he lied to Corey about that, but I mean it seems more likely that he was not lying. Theo always denied Scott's requests before of peace. Why would this be different?" Mason asks.
Liam growls.
They get back to the house and Liam decides he needs some time to digest this entire fucked up situation. He goes to his room and lays down.
He feels betrayed by Scott. He feels so used. Would he have traded Stiles or Malia? He very much doubts it. He tries to sleep, but it does not come again. He starts to get angry and feels the rage take over. He starts growling and loses track of time.
He hears a knock on the door. He walks over and throws it open. Theo walks in and looks around.
Liam looks around and sees torn sheets and pillows. The bedframe is split in half and the ceiling fan is almost torn off.
"Well, I guess I should have insured the room." Theo says sarcastically.
Liam feels somewhat better and sits down on the bed. He withdraws his fangs and claws. Theo sits down beside him. He doesn't say anything. He seems like he is waiting for Liam to start talking. Liam does not want to talk.
He hits Theo in the nose.
Theo grabs his nose and glares at Liam.
"Feel better?" Theo asks annoyed.
"No. You're an asshole." Liam snarls.
"I did not force Scott to trade you off Liam. That was Scott's idea. Yes, I talked to Mason." Theo says.
Liam frowns.
"Well, you should have told me. Also, how can you condone that?" Liam asks.
"I do not condone anything. I do not care what people think of me. I figured this way you can draw your own conclusions." Theo says.
"What conclusions?" Liam asks.
"About our pack. You never would have come here otherwise. I just wanted a conversation, but Scott said it may work this way. He said that way you can talk to him about what we do here. He thought maybe that can help everyone trust each other more. Between packs I mean." Theo explains.
"I am a spy." Liam says in realization.
He cannot believe this. What else has Scott been hiding. He feels angry again. He starts to snarl. Theo seems to catch on that Liam may be losing it.
Theo pulls Liam into a kiss. Liam freezes as he does not expect it. He does not respond immediately. He assumes that Theo is doing some weird calming down method. Liam feels Theo's slide his tongue onto Liam's lips. He deepens the kiss. Liam feels his claws and fangs withdraw and allows Theo entry. Theo licks into his mouth and Liam feels his wolf confused again. It is not that Liam has not kissed anyone before, but he has never kissed a guy. Plus, the kiss is very overwhelming. Theo is rough but will gently ease up after a few minutes. It is very demanding, and it has Liam's head spinning. Liam growls in annoyance to the confusion he feels.
Theo smiles and continues to kiss him and slides his hand up his shirt. He slides his hands back and forth but does not go any lower. Theo's scent is intoxicating and overwhelming at the same time, just like the kiss. Theo pulls back and does the weird rubbing of his lips on Liam's pulse point again. He gets up and walks over to the door.
'"I will see you tonight Angry Wolf." Theo says, and leaves the room.
Liam sits there and just stares at the door for a few minutes.
What the fuck is tonight? He scowls and tries to make sense of the situation. He assumed Theo was doing some weird power play and trying to calm his anger down, but he does not think the tongue thing or that the hands in his shirt would be needed to do that. His wolf growls and he feels a sense of unrest now that Theo is gone.
He hears a knock.
"WHAT." Liam cries.
"Uh, Sorry I can come back." He hears Mason say.
Liam gets up and opens the door.
"Sorry, I just had a weird day. Come in." Liam says, letting Mason into the room.
"You okay?" Mason asks.
"I think so. I do not know. How many people has Theo tried to make out with in this pack?" Liam asks.
He does not really feel embarrassed talking to Mason about it, and judging by the looking on Mason's face he seems to already know what happened.
"I do not think he has made out with anyone else. Or at least I do not think so. Corey would have told me if he knew. Tracy liked Theo I think, but he never returned her feelings." Mason says.
Liam does not know if that is what he wanted to hear. It is great that Theo is not using his pack that way, but why is he using Liam like that? He feels frustrated.
"Is that what that growling was?" Mason asks.
"What. You heard that?" Liam asks, eyes wide.
"Dude, EVERYONE in the house heard that. Corey almost came in here because he thought you guys were hurt or something. It got quiet after a while. Plus, Josh claimed everything was fine. He said it was not an angry growl." Mason says.
Liam feels his face go red. What the hell. Now he must face everyone knowing they all heard his weird growling of confusion when Theo was in here. He never had to have these confusing situations in Scott's pack. He lays back on the bed and throws a shredded pillow onto his face.
Mason chuckles.
"Mason, since we all know everything now, can I ask you something?" Liam asks.
"Sure." Mason says.
"Do you know what it means when a werewolf like I don't know? Growls when another werewolf is being affectionate?" Liam asks.
"Um…" Mason starts to say.
"Oh my God, never mind. Just kill me." Liam says embarrassed.
"It is okay. I just am not a werewolf. I know Corey has said stuff about like normal wolves being territorial with the wolves in their packs. He said that growling sometimes signifies a content thing." Mason says.
Well, this further implies to Liam that he is losing his mind. He groans and throws the pillow across the room.
"I don't like Theo. My wolf seems to be confused on the matter, but I am not." Liam says.
"Is it not like apart of you?" Mason asks confused.
"Just go with it, Mason." Liam grumbles.
"Ok." Mason says smiling.
"What is happening tonight?" Liam asks.
"Oh, Corey and I have a date. Josh, Tracy, and Hayden are going to scout for some hunters we heard about. That is it. I think." Mason says.
"What are Theo and I doing?" Liam asks.
"I am not sure. I think you guys were just going to be here." Mason says.
"Take me with you." Liam pleads.
"What? On my date?" Mason asks.
"Just drop me off somewhere. Like anywhere but here." Liam pleads.
"Liam, I know he is rough around the edges, but I doubt after today Theo is going to kill you." Mason says.
"I know that Mason. I just do not think I should be here tonight." Liam says.
Mason sighs.
"Ok, well I can drop you off at Stiles?" Mason offers.
"OK, thanks." Liam says.
He feels his wolf whimper at leaving the house, but he ignores it. What the hell is going on with him.