Consumed By Pressure (Thiam TW)

Chapter 1:Puppy Pack Dynamics

Something was off with Liam Dunbar.

Theo was sitting with Mason on the bleachers at lacrosse practice. The chimera's eyes didn't leave his figure. His boyfriend was of course the star player of the lacrosse team. His moves were perfect; he never missed the ball. He was easily the faster player on the field, but something was off about him. No one else noticed, but Theo did.

"Mason?" Theo looked at him.

"What?" Mason responded as Theo released him of the trance he had on Corey.

"Did Liam seem weird to you today?"

"No, I mean I only saw him when he left the house, but still I think I would have noticed. He's been my best friend for twelve years now."

Theo nodded and continued to watch Liam glide across the field.

The puppy pack had graduated high school now and was attending Belfont University in New York. The six of them now had a house together, leaving Beacon Hills behind them.

Brett, Nolan, Corey, and Liam were all playing lacrosse for the University, while Theo and Mason focused more on academics. Theo was set on becoming a doctor, deciding to save lives instead of taking them. Mason was going for chemical engineering, which no one expected anything less from him. Brett was content on going for business, while Corey took a more artistic route and was going for creative writing. Nolan was going for psychology, wanting to help people cope with their anxiety and other mental health issues instead of taking it out on others as he did. Liam was going for exercise science, looking to become a collegiate athletic trainer. That boy's love of sports drove all his being.

After the battle of Beacon Hills, the hunters seemed to dissipate. The pack still had to fight the occasional threat, a new supernatural creature, or a rouge hunter, but overall life seemed to be pretty normal right now at least for werewolves and chimeras that is.

Theo got knocked out of his daydreaming again when their Coach blew the whistle signaling the end of practice. Theo and Mason stood up and walked towards the outside of the locker room, waiting for the boys to emerge. Brett and Nolan came out first, hands clutched together. Their relationship shocked everyone since Nolan watched Monroe torture Brett for three months. However, when Nolan turned away from Monroe's team, he rescued Brett and Lori, forming an instant bond between the two.

"Where's Liam and Corey?" Theo instantly asked.

"They are coming; Liam needed a moment to heal or something. He told us to come out; he just needed a minute to breathe," Brett looked at the chimera.

"Weird," Theo thought to himself. Liam always healed fast, especially now that he was an alpha.

During a battle against a witch, Liam jumped in front of a spell that was supposed to hit Theo. Once the pack reached him; he was unconscious and barely alive. Scott roared to wake him up, and when he opened his eyes they were red. It even stumped Derek and Peter, apparently, his sacrificial move made him a true alpha. Stiles had this theory that being bitten by a true alpha left you with a higher likelihood of becoming one yourself. Derek and he argued for the entire night about it, but either they kissed and made up, or Derek couldn't come up with a better theory to override his boyfriend.

Finally, Corey and Liam came out of the locker room; Liam relying heavily on Corey to support him. Theo looked with concern at the pair and quickly ran over to retrieve Liam from Corey's grasp.

"What's wrong with you?" Theo looked at him.

"Dizzy sorry; I don't know what's wrong," Liam muttered.

Theo noticed dried blood on the back of his head.

"Dizzy? More like he completely passed out in the locker room," Corey looked at him.

All them turned to Liam at this point.

"I don't know what's wrong," Liam growled at them, getting angry at their nagging.

"Geez, Little Wolf we are just concerned," Theo looked at his boyfriend. He took a quick look over the boy. He noticed something; he didn't like. Liam's t-shirt was looser on him than it should be, his cheeks were sunken in more than usual, collar bones jutting out a little more. Liam was always the smallest out of all of them, but he was starting to shrink before their eyes. Theo decided to wait until they got home to say anything to him, but grabbed his hand, letting Liam put his weight on him. He definitely has lost some weight; Theo took note of, placing no effort into supporting him.