Chapter Text
Liam, Corey and Mason make their way to animal clinic, being called for an emergency pack meeting due to the influx of hunters popping up around town. Just how they all wanted to spend their spring break; dealing with more supernatural bullshit.
“Hey puppies, glad you could make it!” Stiles greets them at the door to the clinic, and holds his arms out in greeting; Liam catches the slight dotting of blood on his sleeve and shuffles around in anxiety.
“Is Malia okay?” Stiles just shrugs and walks into the clinic
“She’s fine. ‘Not the first time being shot’ in her words.”
As they walk into the exam room Malia is hopping off the table and pulling down her bloodied shirt and Scott is hovering over her, concerned as always.
“Oh! You guys are here. Perfect- uh Stiles can you?” Stiles strolls around to the side table and grabs his laptop and a couple papers, putting them down on the operating table, the pack gathers around.
“So as I’m sure you’ve noticed there has been a recent uptick in hunters-“ Malia huffs. “So Malia and Argent followed a pair and they tracked them here; where we met them.” Scott points to Stiles’s laptop, a location on the screen, some type of large warehouse.
“From what we gathered it’s an underground fighting ring, Argent said while we were scoping the outside he went to check the inside out but was stopped by a guard asking for the entrance fee. Argent asked for what and the man said ‘the fight’ he was gonna pay but was interrupted by gunshots.”
“More specifically me getting shot. I could’ve taken them; you guys shouldn’t have pulled me back.”
Stiles rolls his eyes.
“And thanks to you now we’re all banned from the fighting ring so we couldn’t investigate.”
“Well maybe there shouldn’t have been hunters pointing guns at me.”
Scott sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“We smelled other supernaturals there and from what Argent could see past the guard it looked like a big arena with a cage in the middle and some of the audience looked visibly supernatural.”
Mason raises an eyebrow.
“Woah. So- what? A supernatural/hunter underground fighting ring? Intense.”
“We managed to stop a werewolf patron and ask what was going on; why there were hunters around and he said no one mentions it but the owners lets them hang around, for a price, it’s an easy place for them to catalog supernaturals for their boss. Plus the hunters sometimes join in on the- uh- ‘fun’.”
The room is quiet for a moment and it’s Corey who speaks what they’re thinking in the back of their minds.
“Do you think it has something to do with Monroe?”
Liam’s blood boils just hearing that name. It’s been a year since the hospital and the hunter fleeing but the anger hasn’t dissipated. It’s not as bad with the Anuk-Ite gone but it’s still there, an angry ocean lapping at the beach, threatening to flood and break apart anything carefully crafted in the sand. Especially feeling close to a tsunami after a certain asshole disappeared as soon as Scott called telling everyone it’s over; without even so much as a goodbye. If Liam ever sees that piece of shit again he swears to the god Theo doesn’t believe in he’s gonna break his nose a fourth time. Liam’s busy trying not to break the first thing he sees when Stiles starts talking again.
“Maybe. We definitely think there has to be more to it with all the hunters crawling around, but, thanks to a certain coyote we can’t investigate which is where you three come in.”
The three teens look at each other, eyebrows raised.
“We are not fit for going into an active fighting ring!”
“Which is why you should head down there after the last fight; look for anything suspicious and try to find the owners and inquire them about the ring and their connections.”
Liam raises his arms up in exasperation.
“Wha- I cannot do that! How the fuck do you expect-“ Scott puts his hands on Liam’s shoulders, a grounding motion.
“You can Liam. You’re the alpha in training and you are the alpha when I’m gone. Besides Mason should definitely do the talking.” Liam looks around to Mason, whose eyebrow is raised in thought.
“I am good at bribing people.”
“Perfect! You guys should head down there tonight. Around, what did that guy say? 2am?”
Corey shuffles around and clears his throat.
“Guys I gotta work tomorrow I don’t think I can do this whole this right now, I’m sorry.”
“Shit. Well we’d like to get this over with as soon as possible before we have to get back to college.”
Liam and Mason exchange a look.
“Hey man it’s cool we can do this ourselves.”
“We can?”
“Yes. We got this Liam c’mon! Like Scott said you’re the alpha now! Be.. alpha-ly!”
“Alpha-ly..?”
“It’s decided! We’ll drop Corey off and then get ready to go; do you think we should wear like leather and spikes? Is that customary for an underground fighting ring?”
Scott chuckles.
“Guys just wear what you’re already wearing. And remember to keep us updated.” He pulls out a roll of cash. “And take this.”
“Got it!”
Mason grabs Liam and drags him out of the clinic before he can start voicing his concerns, Corey following behind them.
When they arrive at Corey’s he pauses before getting out.
“You guys sure you’re gonna be okay on your own? I mean I can- try to call in tomorrow.”
“Nah man it’s okay we know how your boss gets.”
Corey smiles tentatively and gets out of the car, Mason rolling down his window so his boyfriend can kiss him goodbye.
“Be careful.”
Liam sulks in his seat.
They get lost a couple times on their way to the warehouse but eventually make it there, it looks busy, far too busy for the last fight to be ending. They walk up to the doors where a large man is situated.
“Entrance fee $85 each.” Mason takes out the money Scott made them take and pays the man, him counting and then stepping aside to let the boys through.
“Enjoy the fight kids.”
Inside the warehouse is large arena seemingly makeshift as the bleachers aren’t even bolted to the ground. In the middle of the room is a cage, the concrete floor around it covered in dried blood and even more blood staining the cage mesh. The place is crowded, everyone either busy placing bets or yelling at each other.
“Something tells me we didn’t miss the last fight.” The boys sigh and just decide to sit through it, it can’t be that bad.
They wade through the rallying crowd, somehow managing to find two seats not occupied by a person screaming the name of who they have bets on. Once they sit down Mason leans over and whispers to Liam.
“This is like, one of the worst ideas we’ve had.” A girl behind Liam manages to whack him in the head in her excitement and Liam huffs, agreeing wholeheartedly with his friend. A crackling over speakers sounds out in the stands and the yelling dies down from huge concert to large party.
“Ladies and gentlemen! We’ve had a good night tonight but it’s not over yet! It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for; the star fight; the main attraction! Tonight joining us is a human either brave enough or stupid enough to face down the beast and think he can make it out victorious; The self titled champion, Brynn!”
The crowed jeers as a well built man dressed in black walks out of one of the back doors and steps into the cage. He’s plastered in bandages and wearing dark purple eyeshadow over his cheeks, smiling confidently, like he has no doubt he’ll win.
“And you know him well, you love to see him bare his fangs, you love to hear his howl! Our reigning champion; The Jackal!”
A man more muscles and scars than person walks out of the other back door, holding chains connected to the metal collar of a black wolf, bandages cover certain parts of it and its snarling, drool splattering onto the concrete, looking ready to maim whatever steps in front of it. The wolf is on the smaller side, if it were to stand next to Malia in full shift it would be about a head above her, but it knows how to hold itself, how to make itself look bigger and scarier than it is. The wolf is practically dragging the man to the cage, chains pulled tought, collar digging into the mass of dark fur; the man stops at the entrance and pulls on the chains, the wolf stopping in its tracks, eyes never leaving Brynn, snarl never wavering.
Liam realizes that the wolf is the fighter and the man covered in scars is just the handler when he undoes the collar and steps away, closing and locking the cage door behind him.
“Are they seriously going to pit a dog against a human?” Liam thinks this is hardly fair, but he supposes that’s what this whole fighting ring is about, pitting the natural against the supernatural, even if one side has no chance. A man leans over to Liam and yells over the crowd.
“That ain’t no ordinary dog!” He points to the cage and cheers, howling at the wolf. “Tear that fucker to pieces Jackal!!”
The wolf growls, loud and wild, sending chills down their spines and spurring the crowd into even louder whoops and hollers. Near where Brynn stands he’s passed a knife and a small gun through the cage door and he slips the gun into his pocket, favoring the knife.
The speakers crackle again and the announcer starts a countdown, Brynn grins down at the wolf and shifts his feet into a fight ready stance, brandishing the knife in one hand and the other curled in a bandaged fist, the wolf stays still. The announcer gets down to one and everyone waits with bated breath; finally the speakers live and the announcer yells.
“Fight!”
The wolf and Brynn both lunge forward, the wolf dodging the knife swinging at it and bites down hard on Brynn’s ankle, blood dripping down his feet and all over the wolf’s teeth. He yells in pain and takes another swoop at the wolf, narrowly missing its large neck, seemingly having thought the wolf is bigger than it actually is.
The wolf is quick and agile, knowing where to run and when to bite; making it difficult for the human to get a shot in, but not impossible as he’s able to get a few swipes with the knife; the wolf barely even acknowledges it was hit, bouncing around the cage, slamming itself full force into the back of Brynn’s knees, snapping a bone and causing him to collapse.
He wastes no time and as soon as his knees are hitting the ground he’s whipping his body around, taking the wolf with him, stabbing the knife into the canines shoulder and hauling it to the ground, pining it down by its neck with one hand as the other grabs the knife and twists. The wolf doesn’t whine or yelp, it barely flinches, it just wiggles and snaps its teeth at the arm holding its neck down, getting in a few deep gashes, the blood matting its fur. Brynn yanks the knife out and goes to slice its neck when the wolf claws at Brynn’s face, the marks not as deep as the ones made with its teeth but enough to make the human stutter and using the second to it’s advantage the wolf clamps its maw down on the hand holding the knife and shakes it like a dog with a chew toy, knife clattering to the ground beside them, Brynn screaming in agony.
The hand on the wolf’s neck moves to grab its large snout, grasping its nose trying to detach the animal from his arm; it only bites down harder, breaking the bones in his wrist with its powerful grip, he yells and slams the wolf down with both of his arms, the hold on his arm loosening slightly, just enough for Brynn to pull it free, skin and muscle tearing as the sharp teeth are ripped away.
Brynn punches the wolf in the muzzle with his good arm and it closes its eyes for a couple seconds, giving him the time to quickly grab the gun in his pocket and pull it up to the wolf’s head, cocking the hammer and he begins to squeeze the trigger as the crowd bursts into howls and shouts, screaming for ‘The Jackal’ to shift. The wolf looks at the gun and shows all of its teeth almost in a smile, blood dripping from its nose, adding more blood to its already red stained teeth.
“Shift! Shift! Shift!”
The crowd is relentless, Mason and Liam glance at each other, finally being able to tear their eyes away from the fight, but only for a second; and when they look back to the cage Liam almost fucking passes out because there, in place of the wolf, is Theo fucking Raeken; grinning in usual Theo fashion at the gun pointed to his head, blood coating his teeth, a sight that Liam’s sure if he weren’t already sitting his knees might’ve buckled; from sheer fear or anger or just that its Theo, he’s not sure. Mason gapes beside him.
Theo’s in his boxers and the bandages cover his chest, arms and thighs, in some semblance of protection. Almost all of his wounds have healed, but the blood seeps into the bandages and stays slick on his body.
“Holy fuck.” Liams only able to hear Mason’s awed whisper thanks to his werewolf senses and he can only swallow around his dry throat, not sure how Mason was even able to form words.
Theo punches Brynn before he’s able to pull the trigger, the crunch of the humans bones is almost cartoonish, blood splattering on the audience behind the cage mesh and Brynn loses his grip on the gun, falling back with the force of the punch. The chimera stands and kicks the gun to the corner of the cage, he’s still smiling that sickening grin as he looks down at his opponent laying on the ground and circles around him, like a predator looking at its prey.
Theo laughs at the human bleeding out in front of him and Liam swears his heart is going to stop beating, this Theo, it reminds him of the Theo that came back to Beacon Hills under the Dread Doctors wings, intent on destroying the McCall pack, killing anything in his way; and it’s horrifying. Liam’s blood is running cold and he’s sure he can see Mason pale out of the corner of his eye as Theo spits blood out on the ground and smirks.
“You having fun?” He crouches next to Brynn and lifts his head up by his hair, the human breathing heavily, making the man face him.
“You ready to surrender? Or should I give some motivation..?” Theo unsheathes his claws and holds them to Brynn’s neck, digging in just enough to draw blood.
Brynn heaves and looks at Theo with foggy, angry eyes, Theo tilts his head, raising an eyebrow in question and in a second Brynn’s swiping at Theo with the discarded knife he must’ve picked up when Theo had punched him; but Brynn’s too slow and the chimera grabs his hand, snapping it in a swift, emotionless move and Brynn wails.
“Still fighting huh? They’re always so…. Stupid.” He drops the hand and grabs Brynn by his chin, hauling the humans broken body to stand up with him, Brynn crying in pain.
Theo looks out to the crowd for the first time, flashing his eyes and teeth, making the crowd erupt with excitement. Liam loses his breath; he sees the Theo created to fight, the Theo raised to be the evil he always fell short of, the Theo who’s supposed to be a perfect killer; the Theo who strikes fear into those who stand too close, the Theo who killed his sister, the Theo who’s… Frankensteins Monster. He shivers, almost forgetting that Theo ever showed any semblance of change, the Theo in that cage is a beast and Liam’s terrified.
Theo snarls right in Brynn’s face acting as if he’ll tear the man’s throat out and for a split second Liam thinks he actually might. Brynn winces and sobs out a “please.” And Theo laughs in his face, the sound chilling and villainous, he throws Brynn against the cage mesh, the human crumpling down in a heap and he shifts back to his wolf, strolling over to him and placing a paw over the man’s neck, pushing down, restricting his airflow. The man gasps and tries to grab at Theo with his broken hands but it’s met with failure and eventually they fall completely; Brynn falling unconscious. Theo backs up to the middle of the cage and stands tall; the crowd cheers in his victory and Theo raises his head and howls.
Liam doesn’t think he’s ever heard Theo howl before, didn’t even know the chimera was capable of doing so, as Liam thought howling is usually to communicate with a pack; it sends chills down his spine and Mason grips his shoulder, wide eyed.
If he didn’t just witness Theo be the Theo before imprisonment he could’ve closed his eyes and listened to the coyote-wolf howl, listen to how his howl cuts through all his thoughts and how even Theo can’t put up a mask around it, how the sounds to anyone else would be just a wolf howling, in this case a wolf cheering his victory, but if Liam listened he could’ve heard how the howl sounds desperate and lonely; how it sounds like a animal who’s been abandoned. But Liam doesn’t close his eyes and he refuses to think about the undertones to the wolf he hears, shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind; Mason is shaking his shoulder.
“Dude.” Liam looks over to his friend quizzically and Mason just points back to the cage; where Theo has stopped howling and is now staring directly at them, shifting back into his human form, his throat bobs and before anything can happen the scarred man unlocks the cage and takes Theo by the shoulders, leading him out of the arena.
Mason and Liam leap up from their seats desperate to get to Theo and demand what the fuck he’s doing. They scurry to the doors, trying to keep Theo in their sights, but are stopped by people starting to file out of the arena and building; crowd too dense to keep up with where the man was taking the chimera, they can’t keep up over all the heads and lose him.