Married to Darkness

by Endraking

Post Series Finale- What happens to the part of the pack that remains in Beacon Hills? Mainly from the perspective of the antihero Theo, the pack deals with another threat and the quest to fight an ideology. Slow Burn. Allies to Friends. Friends to Lovers.

3. Chapter 3

I don't own Teen Wolf. Happy Thanksgiving.

Married to Darkness- Chapter 3

Theo slowly pulled himself up from his cot. His body felt heavy and his limbs moved slowly as if he were pushing them through water. He shifted his legs off the cot and slowly stood up. He could feel the blood rush through his body as he almost lost his balance and fell. He slowly maneuvered to his bathroom but stopped when he reached the door. The large metal door was replaced with a mirror and he saw his reflection.

His hair was a ragged mess, the dark rings around his eyes almost appeared to be done with makeup. Though tanned, his skin carried an ashen quality. Even his black t shirt and shorts appeared to be faded and tattered. He looked away in shame and placed his hand forward to open the door mirror but his reflection didn't do the same. It continued to stare at him until it said, "Look at the mess you've become Raeken."

Theo shook his head and took a small step back as he said, "What the hell?"

The reflection smirked and said, "You just couldn't stay focused, could you? Haven't you learned that you can't rely on anyone?"

Theo looked away from the mirror, down towards the vault and said, "I don't rely on anyone. In a twisted way, they are relying on me."

The visual replica asked venomously, "You don't really believe that? Do you?"

Theo spat back, "They trust me. I can help deal with the problems of Beacon Hills. I can fight the hunters and any other supernatural threat. Better yet, I am willing to do more than they are. They need me."

The replica laughed darkly, "They need you. I can think of a few others that needed you. Josh, Tracy and Tara trusted you, they needed you. How well did it turn out for them?"

Theo slammed his eyes shut and covered his ears as he shouted, "Shut up! This is different!"

The copy tutted him, "You can try to shut me out Theo but it isn't going to work. I am you."

Theo collapsed to his knees and gritted his teeth as he tried to force himself from hearing the words. "I am not like that now. I am not."

Josh's voice entered Theo's head, "What did I do to deserve to die again? You killed me twice Theo."

Theo thrashed his head from side to side, "Shut up!"

Tracy chimed in, "Josh was weak, we both know that. I was obedient Theo, I loved you. Why did you kill me?"

Theo fought back the tears of helplessness as the rage within him grew and fought to combat the difficult truths. "Please", he begged.

Tara's voice entered his mind, "Why? You didn't just kill me but destroyed our family. Why?"

Theo collapsed to the floor, the tears streaming.

The reflection stepped out of the mirror and walked and knelt down next to the downed chimera. In a soothing voice he said, "Shhh Theo. It's alright. You don't have to feel this way." The copy placed his hand on the chimera's shoulder. Theo felt the touch and it was warm and inviting. He slowly pulled his hands away from his ears and opened his eyes. His muscles relaxed. The copy slid his hands underneath Theo's arms and helped him to stand. The copy softly spoke, "It's alright. You don't have to listen to them. I am here for you."

Theo placed his weight on the copy which shuffled them both back to the mirror. The copy said, "Look into the mirror."

Theo brought his head up and looked into the mirror and saw nothing reflected back. He gasped and the copy said, "Don't worry, nothing's wrong. This is the way it should be. You never have to worry about what you have done since you will never have to face it."

Theo argued, "I have to face the consequences of my actions. I can't change it but I have to carry that burden."

The replica asked, "Why? Does it help you? Does your penance bring happiness? Don't worry though, you stay here, I will handle things."

Theo turned his head to look at the copy, "No, you can't." The copy smiled darkly and pushed Theo into the mirror. The surface rippled like water as Theo passed through it. He quickly turned around and looked into his den through the mirror. He watched as the pack walked down the side entrance and stood in front of the vault.

The copy smiled and turned to them, "I'm glad we decided to have a pack meeting here."

Nolan smiled and stepped closer to the copy, "I'm glad we have a plan to deal with the hunter problem."

Liam walked up to the copy and shook his hand, "Thank you for helping us with this Theo. I know you didn't have to but your help is appreciated." Mason and Corey stayed back towards the entrance and smiled and nodded.

While still holding Liam's hand, the copy darkly grinned and said, "Don't worry, you'll never have to worry about another hunter again." Theo screamed from the mirror to the pack to run. He quickly found that he was not making a single noise and he could only watch in horror. When the copy finished speaking he leaned back while still holding Liam's hand and spun the wolf, releasing him at just the moment to catapult him into the vault door knocking him out. Nolan's eyes widened and the color drained from his face while Corey grabbed Mason's hand and went invisible.

The copy flashed his teeth as he wolfed out and slashed Nolan's throat before the young man could react. The teen dropped to his knees as the blood flowed from his throat and eventually collapsed on his face.

The copy walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer and pulled out a large hunting knife. He said, "Corey, Mason. Don't think you can escape. You can hide sure, but once you come into this den only I can let you out." The replica closed his eyes and spun around with the knife in hand. As he began to move he heard the shuffling of feet and he threw the knife. The blade sank deep with a satisfying slurp as Mason and Corey became visible again, the blade sunk to the hilt in Corey's chest. The chimera slunk to the ground, his eyes and expression locked in horror. Mason ran for the front entrance as the replica chased him. Mason reached the door and it began to open before a clawed hand pierced his torso and punched through his rib cage. Mason muttered, "Why?" before he slid off the claw and his body collapsed to the floor. The replica licked the blood off his claws and turned around to face Liam. The young beta was regaining consciousness and slowly pulling himself to his feet. The replica rushed him and stabbed his claw into the wolf's spine. With his chimera strength he propped up the beta and carried him to face the mirror like a ventriloquist and his dummy. The replica grinned at Theo as he held the wolf. Liam attempted to struggle but the claws firmly lodged in his spine stole his strength and kept him from regenerating.

Liam pleaded, "Why Theo? Why are you killing your pack?"

The replica coldly responded, "It's simple. I am good at three things. Betrayal is the last." With his other clawed hand the copy pushed his talon's through the beta's sternum and torn out his heart. Liam went limp and the copy tossed the shell of the wolf to the floor. He held out the heart to Theo. The tears lined Theo's face but not a sound was heard. The copy spat, "The satisfying snap of a sternum sounds so much better when it isn't our chest, doesn't it?"

Theo bolted up in his cot. The familiar sensation of being covered in a cold sweat hit him. He fought to calm down his racing heartbeat and control his fear induced rapid breathing. He closed his eyes to try and center himself but instantly saw the crumpled heap of the pack from the nightmare and screamed.

Eventually his voice gave and he opened his eyes. He pulled himself out of the cot and began to walk to the bathroom. When he reached the curtain he heard a light knock at the door. The chimera slowly shifted and looked at the door. He internally questioned who it could be since Peter could enter and leave to his heart's content. Only Liam knew he lived here besides Peter. He drug himself to the door and began to ask who it was but his hoarse throat still hadn't healed yet. Against a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, the chimera opened the door.

As the meager light spilled into the tunnel Theo saw Corey standing in front of him. Before Theo could say a word, Corey spoke, his voice filled with concern, "Are you alright Theo? I heard you scream." Theo nodded and let his fellow chimera in. Theo cleared the linens off the cot Liam used and motioned to Corey to have a seat. He sat down on his cot and coarsely responded, "I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

Corey bit his lip gently before responding, "I'd say. You had to be screaming for a solid few minutes."

Theo shrugged and asked, "What are you doing down here?"

Corey sighed as he noticed his former alpha stonewalling the conversation, "I wanted to talk about last night."

Theo rolled his eyes and walked over to the desk. He reached into the drawer he keeps his money in and pulled out a fifty. He tossed it to Corey and said, "There. I don't want you to think I was just blackmailing you three."

Corey quickly shook his head and nervously laughed, "No, keep the money Theo. That's not what I wanted to talk about."

Theo drug himself back to his cot and sat down to face Corey. He asked, "Then what do you want to talk about?"

Corey rubbed the back of his head, "We were able to get some information from the hunter's phone. I'm pretty sure we know where two of their bases of operation are."

Theo smirked, "And this involves me how?"

Corey noticeably swallowed and said, "Liam told us about you GPS tracking that group of hunters and we figured that together we could make a plan to deal with them."

Theo raised an eyebrow, "I should've figured the de facto alpha would suggest something. If you need me for your plan then you could've just called or texted."

Corey nodded, "Exactly."

Theo shook his head in annoyance, "I'm not going to like this am I?"

Corey nervously chuckled, "Probably not."

Theo sighed, "You guys don't have a plan except to come down here to formulate one with me today. Am I right?"

Corey laughed a little more, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Theo rubbed the bridge of his nose, "How long do I have until the rest of the pack gets here?"

Corey pulled out his cell and looked at the time, "I'd say about twenty minutes or so. Nolan convinced Liam and Mason to go with him to get donuts and coffee for our breakfast."

Theo groaned, "Alright. Help me get this place set up for them to show up. By the way, what time is it?"

Corey smiled, "It's just after 7."

Corey and Theo folded and moved the spare linens back to their storage box. Theo grabbed the hot plate from the top of the mini fridge and put it in his box of miscellaneous things just past the curtain. Corey began to move the books from the desk but stopped when he shifted the college biology textbook and saw one of the Dread Doctors' notebooks. He asked, "Hey Theo, why do you have the dread doctors' texts?"

Theo glared at Corey as he scooped them up and set them down near his cot, "Don't worry about it."

Before Corey could respond there was a light tapping at the door. Theo stepped over and opened it.

With a wide smile, followed be an equally wide yawn, Nolan stepped into the den. He carried a couple dozen donuts as he stepped in. "Man, this place is not how I imagined it." Nolan set the donuts down on the mini fridge as Theo remarked, "How did you imagine it?"

Nolan thought for a moment and said, "I imagined more chains on the walls."

"Chains? Why would I have chains on the walls?" Theo quipped, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

Nolan looked around as if he were trying to find the words, "I don't know, maybe to torture the information out of hunters."

Theo rolled his eyes, "I don't torture people…much…anymore."

Corey shot a glance to Theo, "You can't blame Nolan for thinking that. A few members of the pack informed him about your past behavior."

Theo groaned and plastered a fake smile, "No chains, no torture. Just a regular underground room."

Nolan laughed and Corey joined him but it was obviously half-hearted in his attempt. Mason stepped in, a large cardboard box carrying coffee in hand, and looked around the den before looking at Theo, "Yeah, this is exactly how I would set up things if I were the Batman of Beacon Hills."

Theo smirked as he made eye contact with Mason, "I am not the Batman of Beacon Hills."

Mason set the coffee down next to the mini fridge and grabbed a jelly donut from the top box, "Let's see, you hunt down criminals and turn them in to the police. You operate in secret that even we don't realize you are doing it. You have an underground lair and another alias. Yeah, that makes you Batman."

Theo laughed and looked towards the entrance as Liam walked in. Liam nervously smiled and said, "Good morning Theo. Thanks for letting us have this meeting here."

Theo stood and walked over to the beta and whispered to him, somewhat menacingly, "Can I have a word with you in the tunnel?"

Liam nodded slowly and the two stepped into the tunnel. Theo closed the door behind himself before he turned to face the wolf. Liam was clearly nervous and, as normal, his anger bubbled not too far from the surface.

In a far more serious tone than he meant, Theo began, "What are you doing? You bring your pack to my den unannounced with the expectation that I should just what? Join in the pack mishaps and comradery as we plan to hunt hunters?"

Liam flinched at the harshness at first but the anger began, "I wanted your help in dealing with them."

"Then why didn't you just call or text me?"

Liam spat back as he closed the distance between them, his anger spilling over, "Would you have responded?"

Theo smirked as he replied, "No."

Liam hit the chimera, the force knocking him to his knee. Theo wiped the blood away from his mouth as Liam muttered, "Asshole."

Theo pulled himself up and continued to eye down the beta, "Still working on those anger issues. At least your punches are getting better."

Liam narrowed his eyes and asked, "You were purposely trying to get under my skin?"

Theo nodded, "Surprise little wolf."

Liam fought back a growl, "Okay, so why don't you work with us? Why don't you join the pack? You clearly care what happens to us."

Theo shifted uncomfortably before his cold smirk returned, "Do I?"

Liam nodded, "Yeah, you are dealing with hunters before they can do anything to us."

Theo responded, "Did you ever figure that I am doing that out of self-preservation? The only reason I am looking out for you four is because you have the big targets on your backs and as long as they focus on you, they ignore me." Theo expected to get hit again but Liam was grinning instead. "That doesn't piss you off Liam?"

Liam shook his head slowly as the grin grew, "You need to practice more."

Theo took a step back in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Liam smiled and said, "Because even though I am bad at listening, I just heard your heartbeat change. You are lying."

This time Theo lost control and hit the young beta. Liam stumbled back but caught himself. He wiped the blood from his lip as he laughed, his rage seemed to disappear. "Seems I hit a nerve there, Theo."

The chimera growled, "Alright, fine. Whatever. We can have the pack meeting here and deal with the hunters but don't make a habit out of it. My den isn't your pack's fortress of solitude."

Liam laughed and placed him arm on Theo's shoulder as the older chimera turned around and opened the door. "I knew you cared."

Theo mumbled, "Shut up Liam."

As they walked into the den, Theo noticed Nolan scarfing down a donut, holding a cup of coffee, sitting on the extra cot while Corey and Mason were whispering to each other next to the curtain. Theo glared at Corey, whose face instantly turned red. Corey looked away as Mason smiled at the two. He said, "I'm glad Mom and Dad worked it out."

Theo grumbled as he walked to the donuts and grabbed a jelly filled and made a cup of coffee before taking a seat on his cot. Liam grabbed a donut and coffee before he began, "So we confirmed that these hunters do work for Monroe. We know they have two bases and roughly where they are. How do you think we should approach them?"

Theo rolled his eyes as he ate his donut. When he finished he said, "Let's start by marking them on the map."

Mason looked to Theo, "What map?"

Theo walked over to the desk and moved the push pin wall out of the way and waved his hand dramatically and said, "Have at. This is what I have."

Mason looked at the map and commented, "Hey, this is pretty good. It's very similar to how Stiles had his map."

Theo rolled his eyes and sarcastically muttered, "Yeah me."

Mason smirked and said, "Well, you have one facility marked and the other one should be about here." The young man pointed to the map. Theo said, "The pencil is in the top drawer of the desk."

Mason opened the top drawer which contained the money and stared for a moment, "You have a drawer full of money."

Theo sighed, "Yes, I know. Other drawer."

Nolan looked to Theo, "You know there are banks."

Theo smirked, "Yeah, I know. I have money in the bank too. That's just from work over the last month or so."

Nolan nodded, "Yeah, I should've figured. I made like $200 last night dancing."

Theo laughed derisively, "Rookie."

Nolan gasped for a moment before Corey interrupted, "Guys, the hunter problem."

Nolan quietly said, "Sorry." As Theo just shook his head.

Liam looked to Theo, "What's your plan?"

"Simple, stake out the base that I tracked them to and follow one of them home when they leave the facility. Hunt him down and deal with him. Divide and conquer."

Liam responded, "But what about information on Monroe?"

Theo fought back a sigh and said, "Like I told you before. I don't care about information on her. If I can stop these hunters before they set any plan of hers into motion then she won't matter anyway. Plus taking her out isn't going to solve the problem."

Mason commented as Liam controlled his anger, "But that plan won't work. We have different schedules and I don't think the pack can effectively stalk the compound for the amount of time we would need."

Theo glared at Mason, "Exactly. That is why that was MY plan."

Liam glared at Theo and said, "Then how about we form a plan together so you won't have to waste your time."

Theo spat back, "Fine. I think we should recon the site where I tracked them back. A small group should be able to handle it."

Liam said, "Alright, I'll go."

Before anyone could respond, Theo interrupted, "Not a chance."

Liam stepped towards Theo which caused Nolan to dart off the cot and out of the way, "Why not? I can take care of myself."

Theo stood up and met the stare of Liam, "Because this mission requires finesse, something I don't think you can handle well."

Liam pushed the cot out of the way and stepped closer, "I bet I could surprise you."

Theo smirked, "Not when the hunters set off their traps which include wolfsbane and mountain ash. That's why I think Corey should go and I can back him up."

Liam stepped back for a moment, as he thought about what Theo said.

Mason looked to Corey and said, "I should go with you guys." Corey smiled and Theo said, "No. If anyone else is going, it will be Nolan."

Corey, Mason, and Nolan looked confused as they looked to Theo, Nolan asked nervously, "Why me?"

Theo looked past the three and focused on Liam, "Because you will need to see the layout for when you infiltrate the compound later when you pretend to be a hunter. Isn't that right, Alpha?"

Liam met Theo's focus, "I'm not alpha."

Theo rolled his eyes, "You might as well be."

Mason commented, "So you want Nolan to tag along with Corey and yourself to recon the building. That way we get an idea on the numbers of hunters, armaments and layout of the facility. But since you want to take Nolan you need Nolan to know firsthand so he can slip into the facility and find out information on their plans."

Theo shrugged, "I don't know. Ask the alpha, it's mostly his plan."

Liam smiled, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Nolan looked to Theo, "How am I going to convince the hunters?"

Theo stepped over to the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about that yet. We might get captured or killed just getting the information in the first place."

Nolan's expression quickly shifted from confusion to concern as Corey stepped to the other side of Nolan and he shot a glare at Theo before he said, "Don't worry about it. We can do this."

Liam finished his cup of coffee and donut and said, "We should do this soon. We don't have time to waste and we don't want to be caught unprepared."

Theo nodded, "For once, I agree with the alpha."

Liam stepped forward to say something but Mason interrupted, "Yeah, we should put this together for tonight. What should Liam and I do?"

Theo looked to Corey and Nolan, "Prepare to be the shock and awe factor if things go south for us."

Nolan looked to Theo, "But we won't be able to use our phones. They have ready access to cell jammers."

Corey bit his lip as he thought and quietly responded, "I could get a flare gun."

Theo looked to Corey and nodded approvingly, "And worst case, I can howl. Mason and Liam should be safe and able to act quickly if they are at the old Hale house. That can also be our fallback point."

Liam walked over to the map and looked at the facility locations and the Hale house. He said, "It sounds like we have a plan."

The pack discussed school and more lighthearted conversation as they finished breakfast. When the meeting came to an end, Liam and Mason left. Corey helped Theo with cleaning up while Nolan checked out the GPS tracker on Theo's computer.

Nolan asked, "Why did you say the plan was Liam's Theo?"

Corey interrupted, "Because short of a few things, that's what Liam wanted to do in the first place."

Nolan nodded, "Except he wanted to lead it with you as backup?" Nolan looked to Theo as he asked.

Theo nodded, "Yeah. If little wolf had his way, the plan would've involved the two of you."

Corey agreed and said, "Yeah, he tends to keep me out of the fight."

Theo laughed as he put the pan and plate away in his misc. box, "Which is foolish if you ask me."

Corey looked to the floor and said, "Yeah, but I am not as strong as you Theo."

Theo scoffed, "But in this scenario, stronger than your alpha. Their traps are set to capture supernatural creatures. It's a good thing we aren't supernatural."

Corey rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I don't know about that Theo."

Theo walked over to the desk and opened the bottom left side drawer. He pulled out a tiny vial with a dark purple liquid inside. He held it up to the light and watched the fluid move back and forth. "You wanted to know why I had the Dread Doctor's journals. This is one reason. With a small injection of this we can turbo charge our healing and boost our immunity to toxins. Better living through science."

Nolan watched the chimera nervously and asked, "What would that do to a regular person?"

Theo looked to the young man and shrugged, "I don't know. If you want to try then you can get a booster when I take mine this evening. What about you Corey?"

Corey slowly nodded, "If it will help."

Theo smiled, "There is the old pack mate I remember."

After the meeting Liam navigated the tunnels and walked quickly to Mason's car. His best friend rushed to keep up with him. Slightly winded when they reached the car, Mason asked, "What was going on between you and Theo?"

Liam shook his head, "I don't know. When we fight together we are pretty unstoppable but I just don't understand what goes through his head every other time."

Mason raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Liam remarked, "It's like he runs hot and cold. One minute he laughing and enjoying being around the pack and the next he clams up or acts like we're beneath his notice."

Mason shrugged, "I hate to say it but I think it's because of some of his own personal demons."

Liam growled a little, "Does he think we can't handle things or we aren't worth his time?"

Mason laughed, "I was going to say the opposite."

Liam reigned in his anger and asked, "What? What do you mean?"

Mason nodded, "You should've seen him last night. He almost fell off the pole when Corey, Nolan and I walked in. It's like for a moment Theo was there, the real Theo."

Liam nodded, "Yeah I think I know what you are talking about."

Mason shrugged, "What if he thinks that no one needs him and that we don't think he is worth it. The man has to be lonely. You saw the bat cave, what has he been doing the last four or five months."

Liam looked around as he recalled the den, "He got his GED. He set up a plan to deal with hunters. He is taking at least two online college courses. He works six nights a week. He also works out every day."

"Exactly. Think about what that means."

Liam asked, "It means he's dedicated."

Mason laughed a little, "Yeah, I can't disagree. It also means he keeps himself incredibly busy to forget that he is lonely."

Liam stared past Mason as the words registered in his head. He never thought about Theo the person being lonely. He always thought about Theo, the chimera with the amazing ability to show up and turn the tide of battle at just the right time. Theo the cocky prick who never hesitated to cut someone down and distance himself from others. Theo the monster who killed his sister, his pack, and almost convinced Liam to kill Scott. Liam didn't once think to register Theo as the lonely man who was fighting to cling to something. Maybe even Theo the lonely guy who just once would like to be viewed as a person and not a means to an end.

Liam must've been staring off for a moment because Mason started waving his hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Liam."

Liam responded, "What?"

Mason grinned, "I was just saying that I am pretty sure your wolf side and his chimera side were flirting."

Full of indignation, Liam responded, "What?"

Mason laughed, "There was definitely a lot of tension in the room and I am pretty sure you both were enjoying it."

"Really Mason, flirting? I think you are wrong. I just think Theo enjoys challenging my stance as alpha in training."