New Beginnings

9: Mountain Ash

"Hello, boys," Monroe greeted them; it was almost like she emerged from the shadows. Corey instantly turned invisible; Alec glanced to Liam and mouthed, as though they really needed confirmation, Monroe? and Nolan lifted his crossbow.

"Hunting again, Nolan? You seem to be on the wrong side," mused Monroe. "And Liam, your boyfriend really is annoying. You two go well together."

"Where is he?" Liam growled. "Let him go!"

"Oh, you really think I'm just going to tell you that easily?" Monroe laughed. "I mean, he's just about dead anyway, but nope. Still not going to tell you."

Liam brandished his claws and, perhaps recklessly, rushed right at Monroe. It was probably stupid, but it took her by surprise, and he was able to disarm her of her gun, which flew off to the side. True, she still had her other weapons, but at least that was one gun, right?

Then Liam realized he'd been cut in the side by a dagger, and judging from the way it wasn't healing, it had been laced with wolfsbane.

"You lost the first time," he told Monroe, getting to his feet regardless of the wolfsbane in his side. "What makes you think any different this time?" He inhaled deeply, searching through all the scents in the tunnels until finally - Theo. "You guys got this, right?"

"Uh - " Mason looked unsure, as did Alec.

"Alec, remember what I taught you about control. Use your anger, channel it," commanded Liam, before glancing at Nolan. "You're our hunter, use your crossbow. Use what she ignited in you against her. Mason, go crazy with the baseball bat. And Corey, do what you're best at."

Monroe stood up, frowning. "Did you just say - " she fell down, hit in the back of the head by an invisible source. Corey appeared briefly, grinning.

"Got it, boss." And then he was gone again.

"And I'm going to break Theo's nose again," decided Liam; Nolan and Alec both looked a little bit confused, but Mason nodded at Liam, totally understanding.

Liam followed the scent, which didn't really have any chemo signals. This confused Liam for a minute before he realized Theo must have been unconscious, and therefore unable to be afraid, or angry.

And then he found the room Theo was being kept prisoner in, which was full of chemo signals - anger, and fear - but not for himself. Theo was afraid for Liam - and even, a little bit, for the other boys, too.

"Theo!" cried Liam.

"Don't rush towards me, dumbass - " Theo rasped, seeing Liam rushing towards him. Liam crashed into the mountain ash, and then Theo finished his sentence, " - she surrounded me with mountain ash."

"But I came to rescue you."

"You have to fight with the others," whispered Theo. "Liam, you need to go fight with the others. Be an alpha."

"But I'm not an alpha."

"You are," Theo's head lolled, and tears began to well in Liam's eyes. Theo forced his head back up, and he said weakly, "You are, Liam. She doesn't know that, she underestimated you. Be an alpha. Then you can come rescue me. And don't let anybody touch the fence."

"It's electrified?"

"Yeah," whispered Theo. "She knows Corey, Nolan, and Mason can get through mountain ash."

"I won't let you die, Raeken," Liam told the other werewolf.

"I won't let you die, either, Dunbar, so go and fight, and get that wolfsbane out of your side. She's got a blowtorch over there." Theo nodded weakly in the direction of a blowtorch, and Liam quickly burned the wolfsbane out of his system. Once that was done, the dagger cut healed easily.