I don't own Teen Wolf.

Married to Darkness- Chapter 2

Theo placed his clawed hand into the lock and slowly slid the door to his den open. As light poured from the room into the tunnel, things looked and smelled different. The floors was soft and carpeted, the lights didn't hang from wires with bulbs attached but seemed to be built into the ceiling. His cot was replaced with a couch and his workout station with a large flat screen TV with a gaming console and several games in front of it. His work station looked similar. He saw Corey and Nolan sitting on the couch, a controller in each of their respective hands as they played a round of Call of Duty. Mason sat at the work station behind the laptop and typed furiously as he shifted between tabs. As Theo stepped in the three looked to him and practically yelled, "Hey Theo! We've been waiting for you!"

Theo was dumbfounded as he said, "What? Why are you here?"

Corey laughed and rolled his eyes, "Theo, you know, the pack meeting. The one we always have at your place because we never get to see you."

Nolan nodded and said, "Yeah and you have the best video games. One of these days I will beat you."

Mason smirked and lightheartedly said, "You forgot didn't you?" He shook his head and continued, "It's alright, I am already putting together the research we need to deal with the hunters once and for all."

Theo shook his head, "Where's Liam?"

Mason chimed in, "Getting your surprise. We told you this last pack meeting but once again you weren't paying attention."

Corey nodded and laughed, "It's okay Theo, we still love you."

Nolan nodded and smiled.

Theo slowly walked into the room and behind the wooden partition that replaced his curtain. This den, his home smelled like pack, like family. Internally he smiled before he walked back around and looked to Corey a smile plastered across his face, "I get the winner of this round."

Nolan grinned, "I hope you are ready to go down Raeken!"

Theo plopped down between the two on the couch. He felt acceptance, love, and all the things he didn't think were possible. While he watched the video game he noticed a shift in the scent and picked up Liam's. He looked to the door and saw the young wolf, a smile across his face with a hand behind his back. Theo quickly stood up and walked over to Liam.

The young wolf smiled and said, "It's good to see you. It feels like it has been forever."

Theo nodded, "Yeah. I heard you have a surprise for me."

Liam nodded and beamed proudly, "I do."

Theo smirked, "Well what is it?" The video game stopped and Theo could feel that all eyes were on him and Liam.

Liam slowly knelt before Theo, his eyes maintaining contact and said, "I don't know how I didn't see it was always you. You have been my shoulder to cry on, my knight in shining armor, and my partner in crime. You have always seen the best in me and helped me become the man I should be. I owe you my life but most of all I love you Mr. Raeken."

Theo realized that tears were slowly streaming from his eyes. The lights seemed brighter and warmer. The love and acceptance seemed overwhelming. Theo mumbled, "I don't know what to say."

Liam smiled, a tear of happiness streaking down his cheek, "Just say how you feel." Slowly Liam brought his hand from behind his back. As he did this the color drained from the room. The warmth and light faded to shadows and cold darkness. His raw feet touched the harsh metal floors and Nolan, Corey, and Mason disappeared. The scents of mildew and rust assaulted his nose. The only thing bright was still Liam until the young wolf brought his hand up to Theo. In it was a human heart, the metallic smell of fresh blood attacked Theo.

Liam continued as the color drained from him and a ragged bleeding wound grew from the center of his chest, "I give you my heart." As Liam finished speaking his eyes fogged over and his body collapsed to the harsh floor. A pool of blood poured out of him and swallowed Theo whole.

Theo jumped up in his cot. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. He struggled to calm his nerves as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He heard the gentle breathing and heartbeat of the man lying in the cot next to him. He recognized that his den smelled of Liam. He slowly pulled himself out of bed and reached for his cellphone on the table. The time read 11:40 AM. Theo grumbled, "I overslept."

The chimera quickly got up and finished his biology lab and saved a few documents for the psych paper he was writing. He pulled out his pair of sneakers and tossed them on before he left his den and went on a run around the school track.

When he finished, he went back to his den. Covered in a fresh new layer of sweat he grabbed a protein shake out of his mini fridge. He took off his sweaty shirt and slapped it onto the bar of his bench press. Liam snored near him as he downed the thick liquid. Theo walked past the curtain and turned on some of the overhead lights while he found his hot plate, spatula, fork, metal plate and a single skillet that he brought down when he first moved in but used very little. He set it up on top of the mini fridge after moving his bowl of fruit onto the workout bench.

Theo grabbed a stick of butter and lined the pan with it as he turned on the hot plate. He grabbed two eggs from the carton and began to cook them as Liam slumbered. As Theo fried the eggs, Liam slowly moved and mumbled, "Breakfast smells good mom."

Theo smirked and kicked Liam's cot, "I'm not your mom. Eggs will be done soon so get up. You don't want to sleep your Saturday away."

Liam slowly opened his eyes. The dim light reflected off of Theo as he cooked only a few feet from him. He mumbled, "Why are you cooking? What time is it?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "So you have breakfast and it is about quarter after 2."

Liam shot up, "2 pm?"

"Yeah, remember we got back at almost 5 this morning."

Liam fought off the grogginess and said, "My parents must be worried. I'm surprised my phone didn't go off."

Theo smirked, "I'm not. I doubt you have a signal. Plug it into the base at my desk."

Liam pulled himself out of bed and plugged his phone into the base. Within a minute, his phone blasted him with notifications. Liam gasped and Theo laughed as he plated the two eggs and set the fork on the plate, "Breakfast is served." He handed the plate to Liam, who began to scarf them down almost immediately.

Theo laughed, "Remember to breathe while you eat. My cooking isn't up to "Mom's" standards."

Liam replied, "Very funny. I guess I'll explain the whole car thing to my parents and talk to the pack. What are you doing today?"

Theo turned off the hot plate and walked the skillet to the bathroom sink, "I have a bit of time before I have to get ready for work but I do have to put together a costume. I hate theme nights."

Liam raised an eyebrow between bites as he mumbled, "Theme night?"

Theo walked back into the main room, "Yeah and tonight's is "Scared Straight" It's a monster theme."

"But don't you just wear underwear and dance in a cage or around a pole."

"Yeah, but tonight I get to do that with monster things."

Liam finished his eggs and walked the plate to the sink to join the pan. He walked back into the main room with a mischievous grin as he looked at Theo, "I've got an idea."

Theo groaned, "This can't end well."

Liam texted Mason, Corey, and his parents and told them what happened last night at the preserve with his parents receiving a tastefully edited version of events. When he finished, Liam looked to Theo, "Do you want to get ready so we can go to the store before you have to get ready for work?"

Theo shook his head, "Sure." He went through his gorilla chest and found a couple of t shirts and hoodies and jeans for the two to wear. When they were changed they looked like Theo and junior Theo.

Liam grumbled, "We can stop by my house on the way."

Theo laughed, "No time. Let's go little wolf."

Liam growled, "Don't call me little wolf."

Theo opened the door and laughed, "Whatever you say, little wolf."

Theo and Liam left the den and returned to Theo's truck. Theo drove away from the school and asked, "So where are we going?"

Liam smiled, "Don't worry about it, just take a left when you leave the school."

Theo rolled his eyes and bit back his irritation, "Well if you tell me where I can just drive there."

Liam shrugged, "I know, I just don't care. Take a right at the light. I saw your computer last night."

Theo nodded, "I noticed. The GPS tracker wasn't the top page when I put it to sleep. Now you know another reason I wanted to get their trucks stuck."

Liam asked, "So what is your plan? Deal with them yourself and not tell the pack anything. Make a right on 7th street."

Theo responded coldly, "That was the idea."

Liam's anger grew, "But they might have information on Monroe."

Theo shook his head, "And? It's not worth the risk."

Liam raised his voice as his anger grew, "What do you mean not worth the risk? Monroe is the key."

Theo glared at Liam, "No, she isn't. When will you get that through your head? She is just another hunter."

Liam spat back, "She is their leader. If we deal with her."

Theo venomously interrupted, "Another will take her place."

Liam growled, "You don't know that."

Theo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I do. That's how blind dedication to a cause works."

Liam crossed his arms and looked out the window, "Turn left at the light and it should be off to your right."

Theo followed the directions and pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall. He saw the sign and parked near a store called, "Ghosts and Ghouls" a costume store. Theo stepped out of his truck and waited for Liam to calm down and step out of the truck before he walked up to the store. Liam joined Theo and walked into the store with him. He mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to get angry."

Theo shook his head, "Don't apologize. We just disagreed. So what's your idea little wolf?"

They walked through the children's costume section to the back of the store. They passed through a curtain from the regular adult costumes into the adult's only section of the store. Theo walked over to the variety of underwear while Liam looked around. Theo pulled a shiny black thong off the rack, "How about I paint my body green and go as the wicked witch?"

Liam looked to Theo, "That sounds like a lot of cleanup. Won't you sweat most of it off?"

Theo shrugged, "Yeah, you're right."

Liam looked through the different costumes and a scent caught Theo's nose. Someone's scent he recognized but couldn't quite place it.

Theo reached forward, his arm operating on its own as his mind tried to place the scent and why he was occupied with its importance and grabbed a red with white polka dots one and said, "Clown?"

Liam shook his head, "Way too scary. I thought you wanted to make money."

Theo put it back on the rack as he concentrated on the scent and the heartbeats in the store. There were four heart beats. He recognized the perfume that belonged to the girl working in the front. He focused on the other person who seemed to move closer to them. Another faint scent caught his nose, gun powder. While Theo stared into the rack, Liam shoved what looked like a large pile of fur into Theo's face.

The quick gesture surprised the chimera and caused him to step back, "What the hell is that?"

Liam separated the underwear from the ears and held them out, "It's called the big bad wolf."

Theo smirked, "Cute, real cute. Something like this was your idea all along wasn't it?"

Liam cracked a grin, "Yeah."

Theo shook his head and took it from Liam, "Fine. But I am not the big bad wolf."

As they crossed back through the curtain Theo bumped into a man who seemed to throw more force back at him than an accident. He stood a few inches taller than Theo and carried a menacing air. His blonde hair was cut short and he wore a red flannel, jeans, and work boots. A menacing looking hunting knife hung from his leather belt on the left side and his cell phone peaked out of his right side pocket. He said, "Could've fooled me."

Theo eyed the man, "Excuse me?" The chimera's mind broke it down, this man was one of the hunters that hunted down Liam the night prior.

The man smiled menacingly, "Not here wolf but we'll deal with your kind." The man turned and walked towards the entrance. Theo caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The man quickly turned around and used the momentum to slug Theo in the face. Theo fell down to his knee as his mouth filled with the bitter, metallic taste of blood. Liam charged towards the man but Theo was able to stand and restrain the young wolf while glaring back at the man.

The hunter darted out of the store as Theo continued to hold back Liam.

The young wolf yelled, "You're letting him get away."

Theo demanded, "Stop Liam. Think about where we are."

Liam looked around and saw the clerk staring at them in surprise. She held the store phone in her hand and looked like she was about to use it. Theo looked to her and soothingly said, "It's alright. Must've pissed him off when I bumped into him. Sorry about the scene there."

Theo pulled Liam to the counter while the girl stood speechless. The chimera set down the wolf adornments on the counter and smiled to the girl. Her expression shifted from surprise to acceptance as Theo began, "I have a costume thing tonight and just wanted to ask your opinion on this costume."

Liam fumed as Theo acted as if nothing just happened. The young girl responded, "I think you'll look cute but I don't think you ever have that problem."

Theo looked to Liam, "See, she thinks I'm cute."

Liam huffed and sarcastically said, "Yeah, he's real adorable."

Theo beamed proudly.

The girl giggled and rang up the purchase. Theo paid in cash and walked Liam out of the store with his costume in hand. "Why are you losing it Liam?"

Liam stared into Theo, "Because you let him get away. How did he know we would be here?"

Theo laughed a single sarcastic blast, "He didn't. Just recognized my truck from last night and followed us. Either way, it doesn't matter."

Liam narrowed his eyes, "Why doesn't it matter?"

Theo reached into his pocket and pulled out the man's cell phone, "Because I am not going to get hit by some half rate hunter and not get something out of it."

Liam's eyes widened, "When did you get his phone?" The two walked to the truck and entered as they spoke.

"When I fell. He didn't hit that hard but I had to make it look believable."

Theo started the truck and drove back to the den. "Take the phone back to your pack and get Mason, Nolan, or Corey, whoever hacks into phones to get whatever information from it." Theo tossed the phone into Liam's lap. The young wolf picked it up and pocketed it.

Liam asked, "Why don't you come over and we can have a pack meeting?"

Theo laughed, "I'm not pack and look at the time. I need to get cleaned up and get to work."

"Can you drop me off at home?"

Theo laughed, "Sure. I meant to do that anyway." Theo took a turn and headed towards Liam's home. He pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the truck. Liam stepped out and walked around the truck to the driver's side. He said, "Thanks for helping me last night and for breakfast."

Theo shrugged, "At least you can tell Scott that I am behaving now."

Liam nodded and walked towards the door. Before he could reach it, the door opened and Mason and Corey stepped outside. Mason looked at both Theo and Liam and asked, "Are you two dressing alike now?"

Corey smiled as Liam said, "Shut up Mason. We have some work to do."

Theo shook his head, got into his truck and drove back to his den. He cleaned himself up and put his costume and work things in his bag and drove to Sinema. He parked down the street a block and walked to the back entrance. He knocked on the metal door and the mousy, but somehow physically built bouncer opened the door. Theo grinned, "I didn't know you were working the back tonight Ben."

The man child nodded, "Yeah. Getting into costume tonight Rex?"

Theo nodded, "Yeah. A friend convinced me."

Ben nodded and let Theo into the club. Theo walked to the changing rooms and replaced his street clothes with his costume. Liam was right about the choice. The furry trunks fit well and had a tail that hung like a fuzzy fan. The two wolf ears looked ridiculous but somehow made the outfit come together. Theo admired himself in the mirrors before walking around the club and helping the staff get it ready for tonight's event.

Several hours into the shift and Theo was covered in sweat. The club was packed and the regular patrons and staff were all dressed in monster costumes. Theo moved rhythmically to the song, some club remix to a song he couldn't quite place the words. A multitude of bills hung from the rim of his underwear. Theo climbed the pole and hung upside down. He loved to do this because for whatever reason it was a signal to stuff more bills into the rims of his underwear that hugged his muscular thighs. While he hung upside down, with guys passing by to rub their hands across his abs or barely graze his legs, he saw three guys dressed in costumes walk towards him. The first was a thin guy wrapped head to toe in bandages, with only holes for his eyes and the lower part of his nose. To the side of him, Corey walked up and was dressed to look like the Frankenstein monster and Mason flanked him wearing a Dracula vampire outfit.

Theo almost fell off the pole from surprise but shifted his weight to flip himself off of it. He turned to face the three. Confused he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Theo watched their expressions and he could tell that Corey and Mason were giving the chimera the look. Before Mason could answer, it clicked in Theo's head and he annoyingly corrected himself, "Liam told you and told you about Scared Straight."

Mason nodded. Corey asked, "Well, aren't you glad to see us?"

Theo rolled his eyes and began swaying and shifting his body to the music, using his off hand to gain leverage using the pole to shift his hips and flex his abs as he danced. "Seriously though, how did you get in?"

Mason smiled, "The guy working the back door. Only cost us twenty dollars too."

Theo shook his head, "I swear Greenberg is the worst." A grin formed on the chimera's face, "Then that means you still have the fifty you usually use to get in."

Mason's eyes widened, "Well maybe but I don't know why that's important."

Theo's grin widened, "Because it's simple. I am at work so either make it rain, or go talk to someone else."

Mason reached into his pocket and put the fifty in the rim of Theo's underwear. Theo smiled, "Now was that so bad?"

Corey responded, "That's messed up Theo."

Theo deviously eyed Corey, "It's Rex here and is that now?"

Corey nodded and as soon as he did Theo pulled Mason onto the elevated platform with the pole. He pulled Mason close to his body and began to gyrate with the young human. Initially Mason was hesitant but Theo's movements and the music coaxed him into dancing. He said, "What about now?" A crowd gathered around the pole while Theo danced with Mason.

Corey's expression darkened a little but he said, "Well yeah but that's not bad."

Theo's grin widened, "Oh you want me to be bad?" Theo grabbed Mason's white button up and pulled it open. Buttons rained down from the platform which caused the crowd to throw money at Mason and Theo. Corey quickly pulled Mason off the platform, the jealousy on his face obvious and said, "Alright that's enough."

Theo pretend pouted as he eyed the closest people to friends he has, "But I am up here all alone." His predatory gaze fell on the mummy, "Nolan, have you ever been the object of infatuation?"

Nolan shook his head and Theo yanked him onto the stage. "I didn't know you batted for the other team."

Nolan laughed, "I don't but I didn't think you were gay Theo."

Theo grinned as he danced against the young man, his hands deftly pulling away bandages, "Am I? Right now, I am Rex and I just work here. And you know, twenty dollars is twenty dollars." When Theo remarked, almost on que a patron stuffed a twenty into his underwear and slapped his rear.

Nolan tried to pull away when he realized that Theo was undressing his costume, he said, "Dude, I only have on underwear underneath these bandages."

Mason chimed in, "I wouldn't have said that if I were you." Corey smiled and agreed.

Theo smiled a predatory smile and shifted one finger to a claw and cut a line through the bandages the crossed the front of Nolan. They fell away as the chimera pulled his hand back and retracted the claw. When the bandages fell, the crowd erupted in cheers, whistling and bills flying onto the platform.

Mason and Corey laughed as Nolan's face reddened. Theo turned his back to Nolan and leaned back against the pole and squatted low to face the crowd. When he reached the bottom he felt it. A forceful, retched splash hit his chest and splashed up his neck and face. The smell of bile and liquor assaulted the chimera. Theo wiped his face and jumped off the platform. He yelled to the bar, "That's it Robert, I'm done for this evening."

An older bearded man yelled back, "What do you mean done? It's only 11."

Theo responded his irritation climbing, "My costume is full of cash and I am wearing jaeger, fireball and bad decisions. I'm calling it a night. Plus you have an eager young man already dancing on the platform."

Nolan's eyes widened as he didn't realize that he had been moving to the rhythm during the projectile episode and guys were already stuffing bills into his underwear and tossing them on the platform.

Robert yelled back, "Whatever. Your loss, party wolf."

Theo looked to Mason and Corey, "I'm going home." He grabbed the cash from his underwear and formed a rather large wad of bills with a hundred dollar bill on top.

Mason asked, "How do you already have that much money in tips?"

Theo smirked, "I keep my eyes and nose out for three things, guys that are drunk, desperate, and have money."

Corey responded, "I don't know if that's cold or ingenious."

Theo shrugged, "Why can't it be both?"

Mason said, "It's good to know some things haven't changed."

The chimera walked to the back and grabbed his duffel, changed his clothes and drove back to the den.

When he got back to the den he tossed his duffel on the cot Liam used and his wad of cash into the top drawer of his desk. He took a shower and put on a pair of shorts when he finished cleaning up. He hopped onto his laptop and finished typing his psych paper and submitted it. With an exhausted sigh he pulled away the push board in the center which revealed a map. He marked GPS locations of the hunter on the map with red pencil. He replaced the push board and opened the left side top drawer to put his pencil in. He saw the shard of Kira's blade gleam off the light. With a smile, Theo cut off the lights and went to bed.

In a park not far from the edge of the preserve just before the sun began to rise.

Blue lights flashed as another deputy drove up to join the four that already blocked the entrance to the park. Stilinski stepped out of the vehicle and walked up to Parrish. He asked, "What did we find Parrish?"

Parrish responded, "Found the body of a man slashed apart. It looks like he was attacked at his car before he struggled to make it here. The perp knew who they were after. The man's car looked like an armory and he died with a pistol in his hand but before he could fire a single shot."

The Sheriff asked, "Do we have any idea who could've done this?"

Parrish nodded his head and said, "We've got some things to look into. This is clearly going to belong in our other set of files."

Stilinski smirked, "That set of files seems to grow a bit faster than I thought."

The Sheriff walked towards the crime scene and looked at the body. The body was on his back with his head on the downhill slope towards the creek. It looked as if the body was placed that way after the man was killed. The expression locked on the man's face seemed to be more of surprise than fear.

The man was the same hunter that Liam and Theo ran into at the costume shop not even 12 hours prior.