Love And War-Theo Raeken

part 21- backfire

THEO POV

I open my eyes to see Cass lay across my chest. A wet patch on my shirt next to her lips where she had drooled in her sleep. Although this would be seen as gross to some people, I thought that this was utterly adorable. She looked so peaceful when she slept it was so hard to take my eyes off of her. I worked hard to appreciate that morning, the little things such as her shallow but prominent breaths and the way she stirred ever so slightly when I would brush my hand gently across her face. I was lost deep in my thoughts by this point, mostly about how every since she lost control of her transformation I was fighting to win her back, but now I was fighting for her life. Perhaps I would never get her back. Perhaps I would never reach my happy ending.

"God Theo will you stop thinking, I can almost hear your brain working" Cass suddenly said while laughing

"Hey you, sorry about that but I'm glad you're awake" I said while chuckling with her. God her laugh was something I wanted to play on repeat. I seem to fall more in love with her every time she does something as simple as breathing.

"What you thinking about, seems pretty important?" she asked while sitting up straight

" oh nothing, just getting through today" I said nervously

"mhm yeah sure okay I'll let that one slide, well anyways thanks for keeping me company last night, I seem to have slept better last night than any other" she replied

I mumbled in agreement before sighing loudly. Without my knowledge, Cass had sat up with a struggle and had began changing. I turned my head to say something and noticed her sat there with out a shirt on. For a second I was caught off guard but I couldn't help it and began to admire every curve and contour of her body. I snapped out of it quickly and played it cool.

"Woah Cass, sorry I didn't mean to-" I said sheepishly

"Chill Theo it's fine, I mean it's not like you haven't seen it before" she laughed

"Yeah I guess" I replied as she finished changing and lay back down having spent most of her energy on that one task.

I gave her a light kiss on her forehead and excused myself. I left her tent slowly hoping that no one was awake to see which tent I had emerged from, but of course that wasn't going to happen.

Scott and Stiles had prepared the food, water and Cassie's stretcher for the hour ahead. I came out sheepishly and immediately noticed their mischievous grins.

"yeah yeah cut it out, I spent the night with her to keep her company and make sure she was safe"

They just smirked in response and began preparing blankets for Cass. I went back to my own tent to change and clean myself up. By 8am, we were ready to set off. We were only an hour away from the bunker so me and Lydia volunteered to carry Cassie the rest of the way.

The suffocating heat and murderous sand had just about tested all of our patience by the time we arrived. We placed Cassie down carefully before I went to check on everyone. I laughed to myself as I overheard their comments.

"oh god there's sand everywhere, its in my eyes... and my mouth yuck" Malia yelped while coughing and spluttering. She wiped her tongue on her sleeves and rubbed at her eyes in a frenzy.

The bunker was a wooden shelter hidden in a crowded formation of rocks. It was hard to spot and easily the safest place for Cassie. Everyone set up a bed for her and her essential items while keeping themselves comfortable.

"They are nearly here" I said worry flooding my voice

"What? already? right then me, Lydia and Stiles will stay here, you go with Scott, Liam and Derek. We will keep her safe I promise" Malia stated

I nodded and grabbed a few medical supplies before we headed off. We made it about a dozen miles away from Cassie before we saw the Dread doctors approaching in the distance. That was my cue to hide, which I did.

As they grew near, the others prepared themselves to fight as a distraction. Liam threw the first punch, sending him flying a few metres as his blow seemed to do little damage. Derek then crept up behind one of them and spun around, sending it to the floor. I took that opportunity to creep out of hiding and take the antidote. I scrambled through the coat before finding it. I clutched it in my hand as I felt the Dread doctor writhe and struggle underneath me. I threw it to Liam as he had managed to stand and instructed him to run back to Cassie.

Without warning I heard Scott yell my name, I turned around alarmed and saw the leader of the dread doctors stalking towards me and wrapping a strong arm around my throat. Through strained breaths I shouted for the others to run. They did.

The hoarse voice sounded. The familiar fear struck my body as I heard it, my blood ran cold and I fought back a shudder.

"traitor" it said as it rummaged through the pocket of it's coat. By the time I had realised what was happening it was too late. It jammed a needle into my chest and I yelled out in pain. It tightened it's grip on my throat for a second before throwing me to the ground and walking away. I fought through the dizzy spell and used every drop of energy to race back to Cassie.

My legs threatened to fail underneath me, buckling and shaking. I powered through it, running as fast I could. When I arrived many minutes later, I saw Cassie smiling and aggressively embracing Lydia. Tears fought their way out of my eyes out of pure relief. I wiped them away before anyone noticed and forced my way through everyone to see Cassie. I rushed to embrace her. The most euphoric feeling is when she was strong enough to hug me back.

"welcome back soldier" I whispered so that only she could hear. She smiled at that.

Derek let us know that Braeden had sent a vehicle to pick us up and get us back to Beacon Hills. Scott used the hour it would take for it to arrive, to go and see Kira. The skin walkers allowed 20 minutes per visit. I sat alone on a rock to gather my thoughts. Cassie approached me a quarter of an hour later and sat next to me.

she whispered something that made my breathing halt, "I just got off the phone with Brett, he's okay and says that the incident wasn't your fault and that i should forgive you. I never expected to hear that but I'm sorry for the way I treated you, I expect an explanation when we get back to Beacon Hills but for now I want to do this"

I was still shocked as the impact of her words really hit me. Processing them wasn't an option as she smashed her lips onto mine. I melted into the moment and increased the intensity. My hands travelled all over her back and stopped at her waist. I had craved this moment since the day she broke up with me. Our tongues danced for a while before I pulled away at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Our ride had arrived.

"Let's go home" Cass said with a smile.