The Hunt For a Pack [A Teen Wolf Thiam Fanfic]

Why Me?

"He's dead?" Mason asked. "How is that possible?"

"Probably just faked his death," Theo mumbled from his position on the couch. He couldn't help but wonder about these strangers. They had to be up to something.

"But why?" Liam asked. "Why would anyone fake their own death?"

"Exactly. The only people that would need to fake their own death are cowards." Malia insisted.

"Well, we don't know exactly what happened." Scott reminded them.

"The problem is that not even Stiles can find anything about this M," Derek informed them. "Peter and I had a look in the vault and we couldn't find anything either."

"It seems she doesn't even exist," Peter added.

"There's gotta be something we can learn about them," Alec said.

"We'll just have to keep looking," Scott said. "We'll find something eventually." He promised. With that, the pack rolled out to their separate houses. Theo however, was left with a strange anxious feeling and couldn't sleep.

He decided it would be best to go for a run. He didn't even realize what had happened until he was standing in the preserve in wolf form. He heard a rustling from a bush behind him, crouched down ready to pounce when he was greeted by Derek also in wolf form. The older wolf was clearly surprised to see him. They made eye contact before following instincts and heading forwards. Derek quirked up his head and looked at the Hale house. Theo followed suit and realized that there were lights shining from inside the house. He knew that no one from the pack had been at the Hale house in ages and that it wasn't safe in there.

Theo tilted his head to the side and his ears perked up, trying to listen inside the home. He could definitely hear heartbeats. Three heartbeats. Derek had clearly heard the same thing as he was heading closer to the house. Theo followed behind closely. Derek rested his front paws on the side of the house and looked through the window. He jumped down after a minute and moved aside for Theo. Theo repeated the process and saw three figures laying on mattresses. The three bodies were cuddled up together and it would have been a sweet sight if it wasn't for the fact that Theo recognized two of them. However, possibly much stranger than that was the fact that Theo could have sworn that the floorboards that had been rotting were perfectly fine now. The two wolves made eye contact and left the area, heading to the middle of the forest. Derek shifted first, evidently having brought a change of clothes. When Theo hadn't, Derek passed him an extra pair of pants that he'd apparently hidden.

"What the hell are they doing in my house?" Derek asked, angrily. Eyes glowing.

"They probably got in trouble for camping illegally." Theo provided. "Isaac's been there before, hasn't he?" he asked. Derek quirked an eyebrow. "I'm guessing when he was in your pack."

"Yeah. I showed it to him once." Derek recalled.

"Right. So that proves that that's the real him then."

Derek didn't respond to that. "I just don't understand what's going on. Who is this girl, his mate?" He asked seemingly no one.

"Do you think she's pulling the strings?" Theo asked. "And what does she want with us?"

Derek opened his mouth to respond but was quickly cut off.

"I'm pretty sure she just wants to talk."

They turned to see Isaac. "About?" Theo asked.

"Joining us," Isaac said plainly.

"Why the hell would we want to do that?" Theo asked.

"Because it's a pack," Isaac stated. "and you need one."

Theo growled. He did not need a pack. He didn't need anything. Least of all some pack being run by what was essentially some clueless kid, and his psycho girlfriend.

"We won't leave. Not until you hear us out. And trust me she can be very convincing. You'll agree eventually." He shrugged. "It's nice to see you again, Derek. I'm glad you're still around." He said to the older man.

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Theo had driven home that night feeling extremely angry. He had no idea why these people seemed so damn interested in him. He'd wracked his brain trying to remember if he'd encountered them before, but he had nothing. They were strangers. He had absolutely no idea why she seemed to want to speak to him so badly. The not knowing made him anxious, though he'd never admit to it. Why would any sane wolf want him of all people in her pack? It made no sense.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was already 2 am. He didn't know if he'd get any sleep tonight, which was just as well for him since he was still dealing with nightmares. They had gotten a bit better, but they still weren't great. Nowadays, his dreams were less about Tara, and more about things that happened in the last few years. Don't get him wrong, he still dreamt of Tara ripping out his, well her heart, but it was less so now. Most of the time, the dreams were about something happening to Liam.

He remembered the first time he'd dreamt about Liam getting taken in the hunt. In the dream, he hadn't been strong enough to keep him from being taken by the Ghost Riders, that they'd succeeded. That he hadn't stolen the horse but been taken with a lasso cutting into the flesh of his throat. Being dragged behind as his neck bled and yelled Theo's name. He'd woken up that first night drenched in sweat. He had barely made it into the bathroom as he emptied his stomach contents into the sink. Somehow though, when he'd returned to his room, Liam was waiting for him and they spent the rest of the night talking. Theo couldn't have been more thankful that Liam was alright than at that moment. Theo fell asleep and had no more nightmares that night. When he had woken up with Liam's head on his chest he realized why. Liam had kept them all at bay like Theo helped Liam stay calm. They were one another's anchor. They kept each other grounded. In the morning, they both pretended that nothing had happened though and Theo hadn't known how he'd felt about it.

This night though, Liam wasn't here. He was in his own room and so Theo had to resort to staying awake. Even if he didn't get any sleep, he'd still be functional enough for tomorrow. He'd be fine. Maybe he could even go for a morning run tomorrow. Perhaps scope out more of what was going on with this new pack. Hell, he might take Liam with him even if only to distract him. He knew they both felt safer around the other, though neither mentioned it.

Things were always different with Liam nearby. Better, even. Sometimes he could swear that even his sight or his hearing was better with Liam around. And when the beta smiled at him, the whole world would stop for a minute and Theo would have to concentrate hard on not letting his heart skip. Theo wasn't an idiot, no matter how many times Liam called him one. Theo knew what the feeling in his chest was. Maybe he didn't have much experience with it, but he knew what it was. He loved the blue-eyed beta. He didn't deny it anymore. He couldn't deny it, not that anyone had asked. There was no other explanation for how he'd find himself thinking about the beta at night, or how his heart would speed up whenever Liam would touch him. It had been natural to fall for Liam, Theo had noticed. And if he was being honest with himself, he had probably felt that way since coming back from Hell. There was just something about him, that drew Theo in, and he might not know what it was, but honestly, Theo didn't care. He knew that he might not deserve him, but fuck did he ever make him want to try. And try he did. He tried to be a good person, he tried to uphold Scott's moral values, and he tried to be there for the pack and protect the other citizens of the town. But deep down, he knew it wouldn't matter. Deep down, Theo knew he was still an awful person, and that he deserved every punishment under the sun, from literal hell to Stiles and Malia jumping to attack him every time he showed up.

Theo knew nothing would change their minds. Not even when Scott gave them warnings to stop or when Liam yelled at them. None of them truly trusted him except Liam. The rest of Liam's pack weren't exactly thrilled to have heard when Theo had moved in with Liam. Stiles had even told Liam to sleep with his eyes open. If Theo was honest, he probably should have left years ago. He had even tried to, once. He had left a note for the Geyers and had packed up everything, but when he had been seconds from leaving, he imagined how Liam would react. The hurt and the anger in those golden eyes; how he'd feel. The thought alone had caused him to pull out his claws and rip the note up. He couldn't leave. Not then and definitely not now.