This is the season finale, people, here you go!
(This is a bit shorter than normal, sorry)
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Arriving at the Preserve, I took my phone out once more. I had lied to Isaac, and I felt bad about that, but he never would've come alone like Theo had asked me to.
To Isaac Lahey:
I'm sorry. I had to
If I'm not back soon, we're at the Preserve
Putting my phone in my pocket, I removed my keys from the ignition and climbed out of the car. Walking towards the entrance to the Preserve, I spotted Theo's car a few parks down. At least he wasn't lying this time.
Walking past the Preserve sign, I hadn't gone far before Theo stepped out from behind a tree. Hands in his pockets, he smirked as he looked at me.
"Honestly, I didn't think you were actually going to show up. Or not bring Stiles with you."
"You asked me not to bring him," I reminded Theo as I walked closer.
He laughed lowly, a smirk reaching his lips, "I wasn't sure you'd actually listen though, or that he would let you come here alone. Unless. . . he doesn't know?"
"I can look after myself," I told him. He didn't need to know about my argument with Stiles.
Theo bit his lip in an attempt not to chuckle, reaching a hand up to touch his neck. "You made that clear at the clinic."
Looking down at my phone, I saw it was almost two PM. I needed to get back into town soon and find Stiles and Scott before the Supermoon was at its highest.
"Alright, cut the shit. You wanted to talk, so let's talk," I said, closing some of the distance between us.
"I mean, I at least expected an apology to start, for when you nearly killed me at the clinic," he said innocently.
"I didn't come all the way out here to apologise to you, because believe me when I say that I'm not sorry at all. And you know what? Part of me wishes that Scott hadn't stopped me. So stop messing around and tell me what you want before I finish what I started."
His smile fell to a dark smirk as he looked at me, "You."
That wasn't the response I was expecting.
"Wait. . . what?"
"All of you," he elaborated. "I came home to Beacon Hills for a Pack, you see."
Nodding slowly, I took half a step back. "Well, good for you. But we already have an Alpha. And even if we didn't, you're not an Alpha. So-"
"Not yet."
Falling quiet, I began to put the pieces together. Turning us all against Scott left him unguarded, but what for? Theo wanted to be an Alpha, he wanted Scott's power. But he can't take it because he isn't his Beta.
But Liam is.
"Liam," I said quietly, finally realising. My eyes widened as I looked at the werewolf, "Scott said no to saving Hayden, so you're going to have Liam kill him and take his power. Then you can take it from Liam."
"Young love is a powerful motivator."
The look that crossed Theo's face almost made me step back again. "I forget that you're almost as smart as Stiles and Lydia sometimes."
I skipped over the attempt at mockery, moving the conversation along so that I could get back to my Pack. I needed to talk to Stiles and fix what we nearly broke last night.
"Why not start your own Pack if you want to be an Alpha so badly?"
He took a step closer, looking down at me. "Because it's not just about being an Alpha; it's about being an Alpha with a strong Pack. I came back for that.
"For the Banshee, the girl surrounded by death. For the Beta with anger issues. For the werecoyote whose first instinct is to kill. For the dark kitsune, who will cut down anything in its way. For the other Beta, loyal to whoever is his Alpha. For Void Stiles, who has more blood on his hands than the whole Pack combined. For the Sylph, who can bring a whole hospital floor to its knees.
"That's the Pack I want! Unfortunately, it doesn't include Scott."
Bringing my hand up, I curled my fingers and punched him across the face. He stumbled backwards, bringing his hand to his jaw, laughing. I couldn't say that I wasn't surprised by his reaction.
"I know all about what happened when Void Stiles had ahold of you," he informed me, shifting his jaw slightly. "But that wasn't all him, was it, Riley?"
"Stop talking," I growled, raising my hand to thin the air around him. All the practice I had gotten, I had him struggling within seconds.
Theo managed to choke out a laugh as he attempted to goad me, "Do it. Let go. We both know you liked it better that way. No responsibilities, just chaos."
Dropping my hand, I shook my head, "I'm not that person anymore. I have control."
"You can be in control and let go at the same time," Theo told me, moving closer. "Once I'm the Alpha, we'll all be in control. Besides, you did all that to protect Stiles, didn't you?"
My eyes widened in fear, "What have you done to him?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Yet. Like I said, young love is a powerful motivator."
His comment threw me back to what he'd said about Liam. He was still going to go after Scott. Theo was too certain for my liking. Grabbing my phone out, I quickly unlocked it and went to Scott's contact. I hit dial and waited, but he didn't respond.
"What have you done? Where's Scott?"
"He's alive," he assured me. "For now, that is."
As he began to walk away, I found myself following him. "Tell me where he is!"
"Everything changes tonight, Riley. I've been planning this for too long to let anything go wrong," Theo said, continuing to move further into the wooded area. "You know, I did my research on all of you. Including what you are, and I have to say, Sylphs are way more interesting than they look."
"I don't care," I told him. All I wanted was to know where Scott was. I didn't need him to repeat the wiki entry that I already read about myself.
"You should," he told me. "Your abilities come from the element of air. It gives you strength, but there's always a fault, isn't there? Just like with all elements, there is an opposing force. Do you know what the opposing element of air is?"
"Earth," I responded immediately. "I know all of this. What I want to know, is where Scott is and what the hell you've done to him. So stop moving and talk to me."
I threw my arm up, drawing power from the air around me to get him to stop moving. He looked over his shoulder at me. "You're strong."
"You don't know the half of it," I muttered.
"What I do know, is that no matter how much talk you put behind it, you're not a murderer," he stated. "Not like Stiles."
That one comment threw me off. Unfortunately, that second was the moment Theo used to his advantage. Stepping forward, he grabbed the wrist of the arm I had been holding out at him.
Eyes glowing, I felt my hair shift as I began to drag the air away from him. He smirked, before jerking my wrist backwards swiftly.
I cried out as I heard the bone break, falling to my knees in shock and pain, my eyes fading back to their normal colour. Looking up, I saw Theo was still holding onto me, my hand limp in his. I tried to move it to focus my energy, but the pain made me stop immediately.
"I know you're angry now, and that's fine. Acceptance was always going to be the hard part. But once Scott is out of the way, you'll see. You all will. And if you don't, I know how you will."
Theo proceeded to drop my wrist, before walking back over to the tree he had emerged from earlier. I watched as he reached into a bag that was sitting on the ground, pulling out a rather large needle containing a dark gray liquid that looked almost black.
"There's something I've noticed about all of you," he told me as he began to walk back over to me. "If one of you is in danger, the rest of you will do basically anything. It would be sweet if it didn't make you all so weak."
"We're stronger than you'll ever be," I claimed, rising to my feet. My non-dominant hand lifted once more, pulling the air away from his lungs. The pain in my wrist was only beginning to feel worse as I focused on ending Theo instead of healing myself.
"Don't you see? That's why I want you all." His smirk was unsettling as his eyes glowed gold. "But even alone, I'm stronger than you think. I'm surprised you didn't put it together earlier, Riley."
Theo pushed through the pain I was causing him and the air holding him back, grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head to the side, "I'm not a werewolf."
My hand faltered as I yelped, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding my hair. "You're the first Chimera."
Without a word, he buried the needle into my neck. My mouth fell open in shock, gasping as I tried to get him to stop. I couldn't though, and Theo pushed down on the plunger.
I felt the liquid run through my veins as Theo removed the needle, releasing my hair and letting my drop to the ground. Reaching up to my neck, I cupped the area he had punctured. "What the hell was that?"
"Like I said, I've been planning this too long to let anything go wrong," he repeated. "I've already dealt with Lydia. Scott's waiting for Liam. Malia already trusts me. You were one of the last variables that had me worried. But with you out of the way, Stiles and Isaac should be easy to convince."
"No," I whispered. I reached into my pocket to get my phone again, desperate to get in contact with Stiles. And what had he done to Lydia? Before I could even unlock it, Theo snatched it out of my hand.
"Come on, Riley. Did you really think I would let you call them?"
Walking forward, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back to my feet, leading me further into the woods. I lifted my other hand to stop him, but as soon as I did, he threatened to break it like he did my other.
"Where the hell could we possibly be going right now?" I asked through gritted teeth. I glanced over my shoulder and couldn't even see the sign for the Preserve anymore. Maybe calling someone and letting them know where I was - or even bringing backup - wouldn't have been the worst idea.
He continued to drag me along, not stopping. "I know you'll come around to the idea of me being the Alpha. But for now, just until Scott's taken care of and I've dealt with your boyfriend, I need you out of the way."
When Theo finally stopped walking, I turned back to face in the direction we were walking. I couldn't see anything until I realised that he wasn't looking straight ahead. He was looking down.
My eyes fell to the forest floor, my stomach dropping when I saw what he was looking at. About five or six metres from where we stood, appeared to be a shallow grave.
Theo leant down, picking up a rather large rock in the hand that wasn't holding onto me. One side of his mouth hitched upwards as he looked at me, "I won't lie, I'm looking forward to this. My petty side sometimes gets the better of me."
"Wait," I said softly, beginning to realise what was happening right now. "Wait, I-"
Before I got the chance to say any more, I felt Theo crack the rock across the back of my skull. That was all I remembered, before I blacked out and collapsed.
♧♤♢♡
Opening my eyes, all I could see was darkness. The pain in the back of my head instantly reminded me of what had happened. Reaching a hand up and touching the back of my head, I felt that it was wet. I couldn't see anything, but there was definitely blood.
I was laying in a box of some sort by the feel of it. At least Theo had the decency to do that instead of just completely burying me in that hole.
When I began to hear a noise, I started pounding my fist against the wood of the box. The noise stopped for a moment, before I heard a sigh. Focusing my listening, I tried my best to hear what was on the outside of the box.
"I was really hoping I would get this done before you woke up," Theo sighed. "Honestly, I wish it was easier than this."
"Let me out of here, you psychotic asshole!" I screamed.
"Calm down, I will," he told me. "Later. When I'm the Alpha. Until then, I would consider reserving your breath."
"Let me out!"
I heard a muffled laugh through the dirt. "You're not listening. Earth is the opposing element, and you're surrounded by it, Riley. So save your breath and your ability, or you might not even make it to the end of the night."
My abilities won't work in here?
"You want me in your pack? Then why risk killing me!"
"Because the Doctors said that this would be the only thing guaranteed to keep you out of the way for the night and get what they want. And I know that you're not just going to stand by and let Scott die, are you? Besides, this way, Stiles might actually listen to me."
"No," I shuddered. "Leave them alone! Scott!"
"Save your breath, Riley, no one can hear you out here!" he screamed.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to figure a way out of here as I heard more dirt pattering down onto the box. A phone ringing interrupted my thoughts.
"Speak of the devil," Theo chuckled, before answering the phone and applying a more worried tone. "Stiles? Is everything okay?"
"Stiles!" I screamed, but there was no way he was going to hear me.
"No, I haven't see her," Theo continued, sounding concerned. "Okay, I'll be right there."
Theo was going to meet with Stiles. He was actually going to leave me here buried in the ground.
"Well, I'm off to see Stiles" he told me.
"I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!" I screamed.
Theo just laughed. "If it goes well, I'll see you in a few hours. If not. . . well, it was good seeing you again, Riley."
And with that, I began to hear his footsteps retreating. I felt my chest begin to tighten as I hit the box. I tried to draw strength from the air, but Theo had been right. Being completely surrounded by an opposing element was basically draining any strength I had.
"Stiles! Scott! Somebody!" I screamed, praying someone would hear me, every word ripping through my vocal cords.
"Stiles!"