What Could Have Been [Thiam Rewrites]

Chapter 9 - Heart Beats

She nodded, even though there were at least three holes in her shirt and pants.

Argent was stroking Melissa's hair with one hand and keeping pressure on her stomach with the other. Corey had moved to help Scott's father. Now it was just Scott and Theo.

Isaac helped him move Scott onto his back. Sirens blared in the distance. They couldn't burn the wolfsbane out of them here without raising questions with the first responders. They had to get Scott and Theo out of here before anyone saw them.

Liam found Theo's keys and slipped one arm under his legs and the other around his shoulders. Malia and Isaac followed suit with Scott, and they secured the alpha and the chimera into the backseat of Theo's truck.

"Give me the keys," Malia told Liam, but before he could hand them over, Malia's hip slammed into the side of the closed truck door.

"Malia?" Liam asked. Isaac steadied her, but her eyes fluttered shut. She was pale and her forehead was beaded with sweat. They stuck her in the front seat despite her weak protests that she was fine.

Isaac gripped Liam's shoulder. "I'll stay with them until the ambulance leaves, then I'll come find you at Deaton's okay?"

Liam swallowed thickly. Technically speaking, he didn't have a driver's license and Mason had given him exactly three driving lessons, but he wasn't about to stay behind and let Isaac take his pack to Deaton's.

"Will you call him? Give him a heads up?" Liam asked.

Isaac nodded. "Be careful, Liam."

He leapt into the driver's seat of Theo's truck. If Theo lived, he'd probably kill him for driving it, but right now that didn't matter. He slammed it into reverse the second the engine turned, not bothering with his own seat belt. The tires squealed as he floored it onto the neighborhood road.

It was only a 15-minute drive, but right now that seemed like an eternity. He kept one ear on the three heartbeats in the car with him. Scott would be fine. He had to be. As an alpha, he was stronger than the rest of them. Malia had been fine minutes ago, and she occasionally opened her eyes to critique his driving skills. It was Theo that had him worried. He'd passed out so quickly, and his heart rate was slowing with every passing minute. When Theo's heart stuttered for a brief second, Liam clipped a mailbox with the passenger side mirror.

Liam scratched the back of his neck before pulling out into traffic on the main road. After a second of debating back and forth, he called Stilinski and put him on speaker.

"Liam?" the sheriff answered. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," he answered automatically, shaking his head. "No. It will be, but um, this is just a heads up. I'm on my way to Deaton's right now with Scott, Malia, and Theo. They've all been shot and—"

"Who's driving?"

"That's the thing, Gramps."

"I told you not to call me that," Stilinski said in a half-growl. Liam figured now wouldn't be the best time to mention that's what his contact name was on his phone. "Are you telling me that you're driving without a license?"

"Maybe," Liam said, blowing through a red light and pressing down on the gas pedal even harder. "The bullets were laced with wolfsbane, or something, and I'm probably breaking about a dozen laws, but I can't let them die!"

Stilinski was silent for a long moment. "Where are you specifically?"

All the street signs were a blur. "I dunno. Somewhere between Scott's house and Deaton's."

"Get me Parrish's location, now," Stilinski barked inside the precinct. A garbled response later and several street lights later, a police car pulled in front of him and lights flashed. "Parrish was in the area. He'll give you a police escort."