Sirens (Theo Raeken) [1]

Playing God

My estranged nephew is on my doorstep.

Well, not my actual one, but rather Stiles and Scott's son, Liam Dunbar. He shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably as I walk up the stairs to my front door. Theo's had to go to the animal clinic for something to do with Deucalion and made a brief stop to drop me off at the front.

"Liam," I call out. He turns, his body language rigid. "Hey."

"Hello, psycho bitch that I'm not supposed to be talking to," he says, raising his eyebrows.

"I prefer Arden, but alright." I fish my keys out of my pocket and unlock the door. "What's wrong?"

I step inside and plop my bag on the ground, facing him. "Arden," he says. "Can I come in?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Are you sure I'm not going to murder you in cold blood and sacrifice you to the devil?" I ask sarcastically.

"Arden, I didn't mean it like that," he says, distressed. "Please."

I sigh. "Come in, Liam." He steps inside and I softly close the door behind him. "You want anything to eat?" I ask.

"Has Theo slipped belladonna into anything?" he asks, raising his brows and taking a seat at the dining table.

"Just the stuff in the fridge." When Liam widens his eyes, I say, "I was joking. Come on."

Liam shifts in his seat uncomfortably. "I, uh, I just want water."

"My grandmother brought over, like, enough food to feed the whole of Beacon Hills," I say. "Have something to eat, for god's sake." I pull out a container of food and open the microwave door, punching in the time.

"You're acting like a grandma, now," he says with a chuckle. "I've eaten. Trust me."

"Shh," I say, taking down a glass from the cabinet. "Sit down and eat. This isn't the Red Wedding."

I set down the glass in front of him and when the microwave starts beeping, I pull out the container and put a plate of food in front of the beta. "So what is it that you needed?" I ask before taking a bite of the food from in front of me. "Another gay club?"

A slight smile plays on his lips. "No, actually," he says. His expression darkens. "I really need to ask you something important."

"What is it, Liam?"

"Has Theo...done anything to Hayden?"

I straighten up. "Not that I know of," I say. "Why?"

He bites his lip. "I'm scared he's hurt her or something."

I shake my head quickly. "He rules by fear, but he's never hurt Hayden or the rest of the pack. He's not a bad person."

"Arden, you do know that he tried to break apart the pack, don't you?" he insists.

"Liam," I say, tilting my head to the side and leaning closer. "There are no bad people in the world. You tried to kill Scott, I killed three people about an hour ago. Stiles has killed people, Malia has killed people. We have to kill to survive in the supernatural world."

"But what about the guy who killed your mom? Wouldn't you consider him bad?"

"Of course I would," I say. "But does his pack? No. I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Liam. I absolutely hate Tracy and Josh. I think they're crap people who are nothing more than Theo's lapdogs. But does Theo like them? You damn bet he does."

He pauses. "Can I ask you a question, Arden?" I nod and he continues. "Do you think I'm a bad person?"

I feel a ghost of a smile playing on my lips. "Liam, you're, like, my favourite beta ever. Honestly, if I could adopt you, I would. But Scott and Stiles have already unofficially done that," I say with a small chuckle. I tilt my head to the side. "I feel like I need to protect you. Don't ask me why, but I feel like I owe you something."