Becoming The Shadows (Shadow Series #4)

30 - Go

Liam suddenly yanks his arms upwards until the handcuffs stop him. The metal clanking noise sends Stiles into another fit and he almost cowers into my side until he realizes what the noise was. Liam's whole behavior has quickly escalated in the past thirty minutes. 

There was a thin layer of sweat over his face along with his heavy breathing. His head is angled downwards and hands are tightly latched onto the bench on either side of him. 

"Whatever you were gonna teach me..." Liam breathes heavily and lifts his head up to reveal gold eyes. 

Oh, shit. 

"I think you better start." 

I worriedly glance at Stiles and Derek. We were about to have a raging werewolf on our hands if Liam doesn't learn to control himself. With Braeden behind the wheel, I hope she knows how drive with us being possibly mauled in the back. 

"Liam, you with me?" Derek attempts to grab the young wolf's attention. "We have a mantra that we use. You repeat it, you focus on the words. It's like meditating. You say the words until you feel control coming back to you."

"Okay." Liam sucks in a breath. He fidgets around on the bench, like he is struggling to remain in control. "Okay, okay! What are the words?" 

I lean forward and tap the triskelion in Liam's clenched hand. "Okay, Liam, look at the triskelion." I calmly speak to him. Scott's not here to help him, so I'm taking the crown for the time being. "See the symbol? Derek has a tattoo on his back, it's the same thing. Each spiral means something."

Stiles stares off in at the metal. "Alpha, beta, omega." 

Derek nods his head at me in approval before he rushes to speak to Liam, who is on the verge of completely losing it. "It represents the idea that we can always rise to one and fall back to another. Betas can become Alphas."

"Alphas can become Betas." Stiles chips in.

Liam continues to pant, "Can Alphas become Omegas?"

Derek nods twice. "All you have to do is say the three word and with each one, you tell yourself you're getting calmer, more in control. Go ahead."

"Alpha, Beta-"

"Slower." Derek commands. 

"Alpha...Beta...Omega..." Liam carefully says the words with his eyes shut. Loud groans come from him. "Alpha...Beta...Omega.." He continues to repeat the mantra over and over again. 

"Good. Say it again." Derek orders the younger beta. "Remember, every time you say the words, you're getting calmer."

This time Liam says it, his voice amplified and sounding on the verge of being terrifying. "Alpha...Beta...Omega." 

Stiles mutters something under his breath and actually cowers into my side this time. His feet are pulled up on the bench while trying to get further away from Liam. 

"Say it again."

"Derek, I don't think the powerful talisman of self control is working." Stiles readjusts himself on the bench. 

"Liam, say it again!"

I look from Derek to Liam. This whole yelling at him thing does not seem to be working. 

Liam starts to say it again until he decides to lose it. He tries to jump up from the bench, which sends the van lurching to the side. Everyone grabs onto something to keep themselves from being thrown around the van. Liam breaks one handcuff on his wrist. 

"Derek?" Braeden calls back to us, clearly worried with all of the noise coming from behind her. 

"I think we're gonna need to go a little faster!" Stiles shouts to her.