Bleed Your Heart Out

Faults

A/N Warning: Implications of violence, threats of torture, kidnapping/abduction, throwing up, and mention of death. If any of these themes are at all triggering, please read with caution. As always, take care <3

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Liam sprinted out of the zoo as fast as his legs could carry him, his heart pounding against his chest. Once he was far enough away that he was sure he could hide amongst the trees, Liam stopped to catch his breath.

Only once Liam's breathing was under control and he was beginning to think normally did realize what he had done.

He left Theo. He left him.

A part of him was relieved. Relieved that it was Theo Raeken instead of himself. That it was Theo over another part of the pack, like Mason.

Another part of him... another part was screaming in his ears, screaming that he just left Theo to die again, and how many times was this same scenario going to keep playing out where Theo sacrifices himself for him?

It didn't make sense. Theo was a selfish asshole. The evil villain that tore Liam's pack apart and killed Scott. He wasn't supposed to be all... heroic. Selfless. Sacrificial.

He wasn't stupid enough to think Theo had somehow changed since they had put him in the ground. Or... well... not fully.

Still, he felt a bubbling in his stomach at the thought of leaving the Chimera behind, after all Theo had done for him. Theo was there all alone, paralyzed and helpless, against dozens of hunters.

They were going to kill him, just like they killed Brett.

Liam left Theo there to fucking die. They were going to kill him, and it was his fault.

Were his eyes going to turn blue? Was it considered murder if he didn't actually do the deed himself? Was it murder to abandon someone, knowing they were going to die?

Logically, he knew he wasn't going to be called a murderer for this. Hell, half of his pack would probably thank him for getting rid of their "Theo problem". But Theo... Theo's first kill was watching his sister freeze to death in a lake. Theo hadn't killed her, but he watched. He let it happen. It was his doing. And this... this was Liam's. Liam knew that he was strong enough to carry Theo--knew that there was likely a way they could both escape... but he willingly left him there. And sure, Liam didn't want Theo to die... but there was that part, the part that couldn't help but think 'better him than anyone else'.

Liam groaned, holding his head in his hands, palms against his eyes. He rubbed them, like he could wipe the last hour away like some bleary dream and open his eyes to see Theo staring back with that obnoxious smile on his face and his green eyes sparkling.

As he did so, he realized he could still hear them--even from so far away, he could hear the hunters.

"It's not the Beta," one of them said.

"It's not even a werewolf," another said, a hint of distaste in their voice.

"But he was here with the Beta. They were working together."

"So what? He's an ally. We've killed enough of Scott McCall's allies. I wanted the Beta."

"You're right. We have killed enough of their allies." Liam's heart practically stopped as he heard Gerard. "Maybe it's time for a different strategy."

There was a pause, no one saying anything, and then Gerard was speaking–louder this time. "You can still hear me. Can't you, Liam? You might've ran, but you couldn't get yourself to go far from your little friend, could you?"

Liam's eyes snapped open, looking around as if he were going to see Gerard directly behind him. Of course, he wasn't there. He was far off in the distance.

"I hope so," Gerard continued, "because it's important to me that you hear this: I am not going to kill your little Chimera friend here. I am going to do you a favor: I am going to make sure he experiences all of the pain and torment a monster like him deserves."

Liam froze, his stomach tightening as he processed the words. He felt sick. So sick.

"That's what you want, right? For him to get what he deserves?" Gerard continued, "for him to feel the pain that he put your pack through?"

No. Liam squeezed his eyes closed. No, he didn't want this. He didn't fucking want this. Sure, Theo had done horrendous, vile things. He was the monster that tore everything he loved apart. But he was also... Theo was... Liam tightened his eyes shut more, frowning.

"If you want to thank me in person, I'm sure you know where to find me." Gerard said.

Then, there were doors to vehicles opening, then shutting. Engines started, then tires rolled loudly against gravel.

They were gone. Theo was gone.

Liam's stomach coiled up on itself, roiling. Bile rose up his throat, his cheeks burning.

"Fuck," Liam wrapped his arm around his stomach, his chest constricting. "Oh. Oh, fuck."

His face contorted, his eyes tightening shut and his eyebrows scrunching as he tried to keep his stomach from emptying itself right then and there.

He could almost picture it: Theo, all bloodied and limp, just like Brett and Lori had looked... except... except...

" I am going to make sure he experiences all of the pain and torment a monster like him deserves."

They weren't going to kill him. They... they were going to...

"I'm sure you know where to find me."

They were going to use him as bait.

His stomach twisted violently, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, and suddenly he couldn't stop the feeling of nausea that slammed into him like a freight train.

He rushed to a nearby tree just in time. As soon as he got there, his stomach screamed out its protest, emptying its contents onto the grass.

He pressed his hands against the base of the tree as another wave of nausea washed over him, threatening to send him crashing to his knees.

"Fuck," he gasped, the taste of bile heavy against his tongue.

They were going to torture Theo... and they were going to continue to hurt him, until Liam broke down and went to save him.

But he... he couldn't. He couldn't.

Theo was right: they wanted to kill Liam in order to get to Scott. Liam might not understand too much about pack dynamics, but he understood the connection that he had with Scott–he felt how tethered and bound they were to each other, their strength building each other up. He also understood... he understood how much it hurt, to lose the other. Because when Theo killed Scott, when his alpha was gone? Liam had never felt such pain before. It would be worse for Scott, if Liam died. It would be worse, because Liam was his one true Beta.

Gerard was sure to know that. Was sure to understand how broken Scott would become.

Liam couldn't save Theo, because it was a trap. They wanted to kill him and to break his pack apart. Liam couldn't let that happen.

He... he couldn't. He couldn't save Theo...

His stomach lurched again, but it was just empty now.

He couldn't save Theo. The Chimera was stuck with them. Stuck with Gerard, and Monroe. Stuck with two psychopaths. ... and it was his fault. All his fault.