Archive of Our Own

Liam wasn’t quite sure what the connection between him and Theo could be called. 

It was more than nothing, but less than something, and still far too intense to completely ignore. Things between them were unpredictable at the best of times, and spontaneous at the worst of them, filled with the highest peaks and the lowest lows. 

So, objectively, Liam could see how someone might get addicted to the push and pull of it all. The problem was that it wasn’t really an avoidable fate for him. Knowing wasn’t enough to change things. 

Liam had already tasted it, and there was no going back from that. 

Theo’s attention was something else completely—to have it focused on you was to be truly seen, and for someone as misunderstood as Liam, nothing was better. Theo never missed a thing about a person, always inhumanly perceptive. 

Even if he usually used that skill for the wrong reasons, sometimes it felt worth it to be known. 

Which was sort of hard to justify to the group of teenagers Theo had previously manipulated. A fool me once kind of situation, Lydia had called it. 

That was a large part of why it was so hard for Liam to label things between them.

At some point Mason had decided to start calling it a situationship, which Liam found to be very unhelpful. Calling it a situationship felt stupid, juvenile even, but then, he couldn’t really complain when Corey regularly referred to them as “fuck buddies” with a judgemental frown. 

Or the occasional invisible middle finger, but Mason never counted that. 

More embarrassing, though, was the fact that it was hard to even argue with Corey when he did anything. Liam tried his best to defend his relationship any time the infamous fuck buddy accusation was thrown his way, but it didn’t mean much when he had to lie to do it.

They weren’t really friends with benefits, but it was hard to say that sex wasn’t a major part of their interactions. Liam tended to wind up beneath Theo whenever they hung out, regardless of his own attempts to prevent it.

And even though it twisted his stomach when he’d say they weren’t hooking-up and Mason would shoot him a knowing look, all of it felt worth the struggle when Liam was actually with Theo. Lying to his friends, sneaking around in the woods after dark; all of it. 

Much like Theo himself, the naughtiness of keeping a secret spoke to the crossed wires in Liam’s brain. It was wrong and he knew it, but that’s what made it thrilling.

The feeling was especially strong whenever Liam was wrapped up in Theo, in the cab of his truck, soaked in the delicious scent of chimera—clean and good despite it being so artificial. It was hard to think about anything else in those moments, when Theo was so close to him. Harder when they were skin to skin.

Today was no different. 

Liam knew long before he got any sort of, “u free?” text that Theo would want him over. 

While other days of the week might have been more spontaneous, they always made sure to see each other on Tuesday and Thursday, the only days of the week Liam wasn’t preoccupied with lacrosse. 

Recreational lacrosse practices, Theo would have pointed out. 

Which was stupid, because Liam graduating high school didn’t have to mean he stopped playing lacrosse. He’d always loved the sport, and growing up wasn’t going to change that. Especially when it was one of the few things Liam could use to connect with his stepfather. 

Theo and him had argued about it to the point of blows enough times that Liam could respect their difference of opinion on the matter. He liked lacrosse, and his poorly behaved chimera did not, end of story. 

And, until Theo contributed to the on-going dilemma Liam was having with the labelling of their relationship, sports would continue to come first in his life. Maybe if they were boyfriends it’d be a different kind of situation, but as long as Liam was stuck fighting off fuck-buddy accusations, he’d continue showing up on time for lacrosse practices. 

It made him a little sour to think about, even now, but then Liam walked a little further and found himself too distracted to bring it up with Theo when he finally caught sight of the boy’s well loved truck. He could smell the alluring mix of werewolf-coyote-man through the car’s blue painted exterior.

It beckoned him in. As Liam reached forward, fumbling for the shiny handle, he found the truck’s doors were already unlocked.

There was no need for him to knock. Something about that made his mouth water.

Liam swallowed, and cracked the door to peek his head inside. Theo was sprawled out across the back seats in one of Liam’s shirts, and a pair of low rise sweatpants.

The view was encouragement enough for Liam to climb in.

Theo smiled up at him once he got moving, a dangerous glint in his eye when he asked, “Eager today, huh?”

His voice was sugar sweet, but so mean. Everything about it was curated to draw people in, practiced, and perfectly lethal. All Liam could do was nod dumbly in reply to the sound of Theo’s words.

He kicked off his boots before he hurriedly let himself into the back seat, perfectly familiar with all the rules involved and unwilling to risk the lecture that came with tracking dirt inside. 

None of that mattered once the door was shut behind Liam, though. Nothing ever mattered when it was just the two of them together. 

Theo was lying with his legs bunched up across the bench seat, his stomach smooth and exposed where his shirt rode up, too soft for abs to be visible with how relaxed Theo was. 

Something about it felt unbearably attractive. 

“That’s not even yours,” Liam groaned, reaching for the neckline of the shirt Theo wore to pull him up into a crushing kiss, uncaring about the way the fabric stretched unforgivingly in his grip, or how their teeth clacked together.

Theo entertained the kiss for a moment, mostly to distract Liam from the theft of yet another well-loved band tee. He leaned in, meeting Liam in the middle with a bump of their noses, breathing sharply when Liam licked at the seam of his lips.

It was good, and they were impossibly close in the limited space the back seat offered, breathing in each other’s air while Liam shuffled himself in between Theo’s spread thighs, desperate for more contact.

Inevitably, though, Theo was bored with the silence. Even if he wasn’t bored with Liam, the lack of chatter did struggle to hold Theo’s attention. 

He just happened to like conversation during sex as much as he liked it during fights. Which was to say that he really liked it. A fight between the two of them hardly counted if it happened without taunts.

“You know your clothes are mine as soon as you take them off, don’t start complaining about it now. I’m a cheap date, Dunbar, you get a good fuck and I get a free shirt.” Theo said, looking the werewolf over with a satisfied expression.

Liam just rolled his eyes in response, letting out a puff of breath. He refused to answer Theo right away, trying not to cave too quickly to his requests.

Liam liked to pretend he could tell the chimera no, especially when Theo seemed so determined to get his way. 

“Don’t get stingy now, I like what you’ve got on today,” Theo teased, suddenly more determined than he was before. He ran his hands down Liam’s sides, feeling at the soft cotton shirt he wore, a simple, red henley Jenna Dunbar had purchased in a multipack, “Can’t wait to wear this one.”

Something in Liam’s brain short circuited at the concept of Theo longing for his discarded clothing. He definitely wanted to see Theo in the henley, preferably while it still smelled like him. 

The shirt wasn’t loose on Liam by any means, so it would certainly be snug on Theo, nice and tight against his biceps. It would probably still be stretched out by the time it was returned, he realized, just like the neckline of the shirt Theo currently wore. 

Liam’s mission to say no to further clothing theft had already failed, miserably. 

He couldn’t avoid the whimper that slipped free from his throat at the sudden increase in attention Theo was giving him, or the pitiful way his dick jumped in his pants at the chimera’s hands feeling over his hips. Even through the fabric, the ghost of Theo’s touch felt electrifying.

Fuelled by the teasing, Liam leaned away from where Theo laid, tugging his shirt off over his head. He wanted more. 

He wanted everything. 

Even though there was nothing he could do to keep a pleased grin from appearing on Theo’s face at the sight of his bare chest, Liam could at least justify his own eagerness by saying Theo’s shirt was sure to follow.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, trying to convince Theo into another kiss to avoid having to think about anything else.

Liam was far more hungry for the crack of their teeth against each others’ lips than he was for being played with.

Not that Theo cared. 

“You’re going to have to top today, I’m tired of doing all the work,” he warned, silencing any potential complaints with the kiss Liam had been fishing for only moments prior. 

The taste of Theo’s saliva in his mouth was overwhelming, and Liam moaned in lieu of a more thoughtful response, swallowing a second whimper at the light headed rush he’d gotten from the suggestion. He was embarrassingly eager for anything he was offered where Theo was concerned, despite all his best attempts not to be.

Being reasonable was impossible when Liam could feel the white hot pull of desire bubbling under his skin. It always encouraged him towards all the wrong choices. 

Or maybe just the fun ones.

He kissed Theo harder, suddenly, eager to maintain the upper hand. Liam sucked Theo’s bottom lip into his mouth, holding it gently before he broke the soft skin, careful and completely human in the way he bit down. 

No fangs, all teeth. 

Theo squirmed against the feeling, wanting to struggle, but not fight. He was pleased with the mercury taste of his own blood leaking into his mouth, and with the tiny pinpricks of pain Liam had left on his rapidly healing lip. 

The perfect mix of pain and pleasure coursed through his veins, expertly delivered despite coming from someone so inexperienced with taking the lead. It was really working for Theo, and begrudgingly, he did have to admit that Liam was pretty great in bed. No matter what they tried, the werewolf never disappointed. 

“That’s good,” Theo confirmed once Liam pulled away, leaning down until his lower back hit the bench seat again, “just like that.” 

Liam was happy to chase him that time, leaning closer to his body inside the limited space of the truck’s back seat. One of his bent knees rested against the leather interior, slotted between Theo’s spread thighs, while Liam’s other foot sat pressed against the floor, bracing him. 

The truck wasn’t small by any means, but neither were Theo and Liam. Despite their terribly average heights, they were both grown men who liked to work out. 

Liam was almost 19 now, and Theo had turned 20 a few months ago, so they were both as big as they were going to get, which was too big for rolling around in a car.

Sometimes Liam had to consciously remind himself of their size, and how to be careful with it. He focused on keeping his shoulders hunched, bent halfway over Theo to avoid cracking his head against the roof. 

There was still a dent in the fabric lined metal from one of the first times they’d had sex together. Liam had tried to ride Theo, feeling ambitious despite his inexperience. He’d spent fifteen minutes rocking up and down on Theo’s lap, knocking his head against the roof on every third bounce until he saw stars behind his eyes, more thoughtful about the idea of an orgasm than he was about the car (or a potential head injury). 

Theo had lied for him about how the dent had happened the next time they picked up Alec, because of course he’d asked. He was terribly curious, and frighteningly perceptive in the same way Theo often was, so Liam really didn’t want a repeat of the incident. 

He wasn’t sure how willing Alec would be to believe another lame excuse when they’d already come far too close to being caught before.

“Stop thinking, and focus,” Theo called out suddenly, flashing yellow eyes up at Liam, trying to draw him back into the moment and out of his head. “You’re supposed to be taking charge, remember? Where did you go?”

Liam shook his head instead of answering; trying to physically dismiss his thoughts. He did want to focus on Theo, but doing that while keeping a level head was easier said than done. 

Liam was flushed red all the way down to his chest, unable to stop the way his own eyes flashed back at Theo. The call and response of the gesture was like muscle memory, and though he’d never admit it, it had helped him refocus. 

He swallowed nervously, finally feeling clear headed. Liam was determined to give Theo what he’d asked for without getting distracted again. 

Trying to think about how the other boy moved when it was his turn to do the work, Liam let himself grope over Theo’s sides, squeezing and releasing his hips with purpose. Theo made a sort of low hum in response, content to let him get away with more grabbing than he usually would have. 

Liam felt spurred on by the lack of protest.

He dipped down, sliding his bent knee up the seat to rest against the front of Theo’s sweats. It was easy to keep him pressed down like that, all pliant and warm beneath the whims of Liam’s supernatural strength.

Theo shifted halfheartedly beneath him, and tried to sit up, testing Liam’s hold on him. He was apparently hungry for the reminder that true werewolves were stronger than artificial ones, and Liam was happy to help jog his memory.

Leaning into his strength was the one thing he’d always be better at. It came naturally. 

In that position, with a thigh pressed firmly against Theo’s throbbing crotch, it was all too simple to keep the chimera contained. It was evidence that Theo could be good, if only when he was left wanting more.

Which was especially true when they kissed, all harsh lips and sharp teeth. 

The kind of mean, reckless kiss Liam knew you couldn’t share with girls, only with other boys. The kind of kiss that Theo liked best. Not something gentle and human like their earlier embrace had been, but violent and fanged. One that was meant to hurt.

With the dry, achey sort of way Theo was being rubbed through his sweats, and the firm press of Liam’s weight on top of him, the chimera was finally truly still, kept mostly pliant by the swirl of pain/pleasure shared between them. 

“Did you bring lube?” Liam groaned, breaking the silence of the moment to lean back enough to see the rest of Theo’s flushed face. 

Theo chuckled at the question, blinking slowly, “Don’t wimp out on me now, Dunbar. I like a little discomfort, I could take you dry.” 

Liam rolled his eyes at the suggestion, pressing his knee more harshly against Theo’s crotch just to hear the punched out sound it caused. He didn’t care to make anyone actually hurt during sex, as much as Theo might have wished otherwise. 

Claws and fangs were one thing, but intentional harm was another.

Something about the idea of causing the chimera a real injury during intimacy scared him. Anything worse than a blood stained bite mark was too violent for moments like these. 

“It’ll hurt even with lube, so stop being dramatic. I’m not getting friction burns on my dick just because you’re a masochist,” Liam promised, easing his weight back off of Theo to rummage around the pockets on the back of the front seats, smiling triumphantly when he found the lube he knew was stashed at the bottom of one.

Theo wordlessly kicked off his sweatpants in response, awkwardly maneuvering around Liam’s jean clad thighs while the werewolf busied himself with finding lube. Once his pants were off, there was hardly time to complain before Liam’s claw tipped fingers were tugging at Theo’s boxers, holes instantly torn into the checkered fabric in a way that had him growling. 

Liam seemed perfectly unbothered by it, more focused on hungrily removing Theo’s boxers in quick yanks, happy to discard them somewhere on the seats. He loved the way Theo looked naked, his soft stomach fuzz-free in a sharp contrast to the mess of untrimmed hair that made up Liam’s happy trail.

“You asshole, you could have just asked me to take them off,” Theo grumbled, spreading his thighs wider in invitation despite his protests about the ruined boxers. 

The laughter that followed the action was hard for either of them to be upset about. 

Liam liked it when Theo got a little desperate, and Theo always thought Liam looked like the best version of himself when his control was balanced on a razor’s edge. Nothing compared to watching the beta breathe sharply through his nose, willing his claws to retract themselves back into his fingers with a soft hiss of pain from the effort. 

It took so much focus to do correctly, and something about that was particularly thrilling to Theo. The idea of how easy it’d be for a mistake to happen was exciting in all the worst ways. Because, as fun as out of control werewolf sex could be, it wasn’t usually very conducive to prep work. 

Especially when Liam had to be the one to get Theo nice and stretched open. Claws were great for scratching down someone’s back, but fingering required a more gentle touch. 

True to Liam’s earlier claims, he wasn’t interested in hurting Theo like that.

He didn’t want to cause a real injury, or make Theo feel truly miserable. His chimera healing did a lot to speed things up, but it still didn’t hold a candle to the way Liam’s body could supernaturally stitch itself back together.

That was part of why Liam was generous with the lube when he squoze it out over his fingers, nails short, blunt, and perfectly human again, a testament to his previous efforts. 

He shook the container briefly, giving it another squeeze. Liam watched lube drip out of the travel sized bottle with an interested expression, staring at the way it leaked clear and thick, coating him from the tip of his fingers to the base of his palm. 

Liam was momentarily fascinated by it, always willing to enjoy a little bit of mess. 

Theo was far less inclined to appreciate it. “You’re disgusting,” he complained, wrapping a loose hand around his dick, jerking himself off to the view he’d just insulted. 

“And you’re so much worse.” Liam promised, eyes glued to the slick up-and-down movements of Theo’s wrist. 

He was ready to get things started.

Liam had to shuffle backwards slightly, feeling the truck’s door against one bent leg as he created room between Theo’s body and his. Something about the anticipation was whimper worthy, which meant Liam had to remind himself to swallow the keening noise bubbling up in the back of his throat. 

He reached down, still focused on keeping werewolf claws hidden safely under calloused human skin as he rubbed a slick finger against Theo’s perineum, feeling the full-body jerk that followed. It was the ghost of what both of them really wanted; almost sex, but not quite. A promise and a taunt all at once that had Theo closing his eyes against the sensation.

For a moment, it was hard not to tease. Liam knew Theo would be doing so much more to frustrate him if he was the one topping, and that alone was enough to spur him on. 

The thrill of having control was easy for both of them to take advantage of, but Theo was the only one who really did it. He considered himself clever when he worked Liam right to the edge of orgasm, just to remove his hands and start all over again, and again, until the werewolf was really willing to beg.

Liam was nicer about things. Or at least less patient. 

He always let Theo touch himself, even though he knew Theo would have held his hands above his head for doing the same.

With his clean hand, Liam pressed at the inside of one of Theo’s thighs, encouraging him to spread his legs as much as the backseat would allow. The hand pressing against the soft skin of Theo’s perineum slid up smoothly, smearing lube where Liam’s fingers ghosted over his balls, massaging sensitive skin in the harsh way Theo liked.

Liam swallowed, pausing a few seconds longer to feel the soft skin he was handling, before he trailed his hand back down, down, down. Then he was pushing forward, and pressing a finger into Theo’s ass without much warning, exactly as the older boy had requested. 

It clearly caught them both off guard, even though they’d been expecting it, because Theo’s hand suddenly stuttered over his dick, loose strokes turning into a tight squeeze as his body clenched down against the intrusion. 

It shouldn’t have been so surprising to him. Theo had asked for it, after all. It was just that he wasn’t very used to getting what he wanted, much less what he asked for nicely.

“You look good like that,” Liam said, drawing his finger back out, slow with the way he pushed it in again, pleased with the quiet struggle involved. 

Theo scowled at his words, eyes shut tighter than before when he mumbled, “Shut up.” 

Liam took it as encouragement. He watched the way Theo forced himself to relax, hand still tight around his cock while he breathed. 

Liam could hear the way Theo was controlling his pulse, evening his heart rate to help himself loosen up, already hungry for more than Liam’s fingers.

“Love it when you do that. You want it so bad, you can’t even let yourself have a moment to adjust, you have to force it.” Liam practically groaned, speaking as much for his partner as he was for himself.

It was filthy, but honest, and something about that left Theo truly quiet. He didn’t have a witty reply for the beta’s halfway compliment (or even an insult for the more lecherous parts of things) but Theo clearly liked what Liam was saying. He made a soft sort of sound at the back of his throat in reply, a moan only audible to those with supernatural hearing. 

Liam had never felt more grateful to be a werewolf. 

He pressed his finger in deeper, pleased with the lack of resistance as he settled into a steady pace of in and out movements. Part of him wanted to add more lube, but Liam knew Theo would complain if too much of it got on the seats. He’d have to wait until the chimera was more distracted. 

Liam pulled his finger all the way back out, ears trained for the brief stutter of Theo’s heartbeat that came with it, all too happy to trace a circle around his rim and wait for him to clench down on nothing. The chimera’s struggle for control was barely there, but even that was enough to satisfy Liam. 

That meant it was time for a bigger stretch. 

Theo was ready to really fall apart, and Liam wanted to deliver. He lined his fingers up carefully, the pointer and middle stuck tightly together before he was pressing into Theo again. 

He wasn’t as slow as he’d been before, this time his movements were all purposeful, pressing deep and quick like he wanted to wear Theo out, fingers scissoring open when his knuckles brushed sensitive skin. Theo just laid there and took it, trying to force the illusion of nonchalance over his features despite the shaky way his legs kept trying to close around Liam’s body.

“Didn’t you want to talk? Say something,” Liam teased, pressing even deeper, looking for a reaction with the way he moved his fingers. 

Theo shimmied his hips down, trying to help Liam fuck him even as he replied, “Shut up, I’m busy right now.”

The werewolf smiled, beyond pleased with the way Theo’s voice seemed to catch in his throat when he spoke. That meant more to Liam than the way Theo was chasing his touch.

All he ever wanted to do was to make Theo feel good. 

“You do sound busy, maybe I should just let you be?” Liam threatened, shifting his weight to press his chest against Theo’s. It pulled the muscles in his arm taunt, straining slightly to keep fingering Theo the way he had been doing before. 

Something about it felt intimate. Their faces were so much closer like that, it gave room for Liam to lean his face up and press kisses into the exposed side of Theo’s neck. His pulse point was always it’s most alluring when Liam could practically taste the blood through Theo’s skin like he could now. 

The urge to bite into the softest part of Theo’s vulnerable, exposed neck was ever present, disappearing only when Liam focused back in on the frantic uptick in the chimera’s heartbeat. It was not the sound of fear, but of unrestrained pleasure, and it sounded truly divine. 

Theo was almost stretched out enough for Liam to unbutton his pants, and they both realized it at the same time. Liam felt like he could whine about it. It seemed almost worthwhile to do away with the prepwork, and focus on a more simple minded pleasure.

“Do it, do it,” Theo begged, suddenly, apparently all too aware of what Liam had been thinking, perceptive as always.

The desperation in his words was new, but easy to appreciate. Easier yet to yearn for. The sound of a proud man begging was one of life’s greatest rewards.

“I will, I’ll fuck you,” Liam promised dryly, forcing himself to swallow and lean away from the smooth expanse of neck in front of his face. “Give me a second.”

Theo wanted him. He wanted Theo, of course, but Theo wanted him. 

It was always obvious when they had sex. As soon as they got far enough into things for Theo’s patience to wear thin, he’d give up on hiding his bodily signals, exposing true vulnerability. Liam only had to worry about tiring him out for the first couple minutes, and then Theo would tuck all his special werecoyote tricks away and let things be truly enjoyable. 

He would smell real—sound real—like a living, breathing human being that Liam could keep all to himself. It wasn’t like the mask Theo wore around other people, and something about that made Liam want to hold on tight to it. 

Theo was so enticing when he wasn’t trying to be. His arousal was the best thing Liam had ever tasted. 

He smelled syrupy; sweet and salty, like the olfactory manifestation of french fries dipped in chocolate milkshakes. It was so good, Liam could feel the drool start to pool in his mouth, his gums burning with the desire to drop fangs. 

It felt so real, even if it was just an illusion. 

Theo wasn’t food, and he always tasted more like skin than chocolate, but the canine part of Liam’s brain liked to find associations between his werewolf senses and human memories. Connecting the dots there helped him stay in control. 

“It’s already been a second,” Theo demanded, sounding almost too desperate to be intimidating, “hurry up and fuck me, Dunbar. Stop thinking about whatever you’re thinking about.” 

Liam smiled down at him, then, and asked, “How do you know I was thinking about anything at all this time?” 

Theo made that quiet, barely there sound in the back of his throat again, and Liam could hardly avoid dragging him into a kiss. He wanted Theo to really moan for him, and not just out of frustration. 

The kiss was a dirty move, all things considered. 

That didn’t mean it was any less effective, though. Liam was licking into Theo’s mouth immediately, tracing the contours of his teeth and sucking harsh enough to leave the taste of his own mouth behind. 

Everything about it was purposeful. 

The way Liam undid his pants was nearly the opposite. Nothing about it was coordinated, or even particularly thoughtful. Liam’s fingers fumbled, slippery and gross until he popped a claw and took the button clean off his jeans, uncaring about the displeased sigh his mother would surely give him in the future for it.

His zipper was only slightly less manhandled, but Liam could hardly be blamed for his urgency.

Theo was perfectly loose-limbed and pliable, laid out across the back seat and well behaved in the face of his own impending victory. Liam only loved him more for it, and wanted to show him a good time. 

All the begging and teasing was finally starting to lead to something exciting, because it took mere seconds for Liam to push his pants out of the way once his zipper was down. His boxers followed, bunching up above his knees, and then he was tugging Theo close again. 

There was familiarity in their shared desperation, even if their roles were usually reversed. Something about the novelty of switching just made everything more interesting and new. 

Theo was beautiful when he begged, and Liam was ready to enjoy it. 

When Theo topped, Liam liked it to involve a bed. He wanted to lay on his stomach so he could shove his face into the pillows and muffle any escaping whimpers, and maybe also so he could grind down against the mattress while Theo railed him from behind. He didn’t mind the lack of eye contact when Theo was busy tugging his hips back into measured thrusts, but that was mostly because they did it so often it didn’t feel like missing out. 

When Theo bottomed, though, eye contact was nonnegotiable. The vulnerability was too much for him to bear otherwise, so they almost always ended up in missionary, and today was clearly not going to be the day they changed things up. 

Theo was already scooting close, settling his bare thighs over Liam’s own, crossing his ankles behind the werewolf’s back to force him even closer. He was eager, nerves as fried as his patience was.

Liam could hardly believe his luck, staring down at Theo’s rapidly rising and falling chest. His eyes flickered briefly over the faded t-shaped scar between Theo’s pecs, the long healed wounds that looked more like a botched autopsy than a heart transplant. 

It was distracting for a moment, and nearly upsetting to acknowledge. 

Liam wanted to touch it, suddenly, but decided to kiss Theo instead, trying to keep his fingers from grazing the chimera's sternum. He was unsure how welcome the affection would be, especially since Theo was sure to have noticed what Liam had been staring at. 

They never talked about things like that. Liam’s problems were regularly discussed, broken down into manageable pieces by Theo’s sharp tongue and careful logic. It was the chimera who shied away from his own sorrows, like he didn’t think he deserved to be upset about anything bad that had happened to him. 

Liam wished he could do something to change Theo’s mind, but he knew this wasn’t the moment for it. 

Instead, he let himself dwell on the scars for a few seconds more, which was already longer than Theo had the patience for. Then Liam was leaning over to press a kiss against Theo’s lips again, drawn back into the moment. 

“You’re such a fucking virgin,” Theo groaned when they parted, breaking the kiss after less than a minute to reach a hand towards Liam’s dick, eager to speed things along. “Stop—stop getting distracted by stupid shit. It’s a boner killer.”

Liam let Theo wrap a hand around him, suddenly very smug instead of sad, “You know I’m not a virgin.” 

“Actions speak louder than words.” Theo replied, snippy and vaguely whiny as he pressed Liam’s cock against his rim, arm stinging from the stretch required. 

Theo could just barely reach, but it wasn’t enough to push in, and Liam was purposefully being difficult about it with the way he tilted his hips back.

Silence fell between them, and then Liam swatted Theo’s hand away. He replaced it with his own, his other hand busy pushing Theo’s hips up, positioning things just right so his cock could press against Theo’s ass the way they both wanted. 

The stretch burned immediately when he began to push in, even despite the prep, but Theo was nearly silent about it. He’d given up on controlling his heart beat minutes ago, so Liam could hear the erratic uptick despite the lack of other noise. 

Liam was far less contained. He was fighting the urge to push his pelvis all the way flush against Theo’s ass in one swoop, hips twitching from the effort of not sinking home immediately. 

So much for making Theo fall apart first, Liam thought, biting the inside of one cheek. He could feel his own heart racing, jumping in his chest in some primal desire to match the chimera’s irregular heart beat. 

“Missed you,” Liam mumbled, eyes squeezed closed in his effort to let Theo adjust. “Miss this, us.” 

It was a sickenly sweet thing for him to say; raw, and honest. Something about the simplicity of it was intimate, maybe even more so than being inside Theo. It was the only time that Liam could really get away with being sappy, though, so he rarely overlooked the opportunity. Even if it usually only got him complaints. 

This time though, Theo gasped, and Liam felt the full body shiver that followed. It was a reaction he’d never gotten out of the chimera before. 

“I know,” Theo mumbled back, encouraging Liam to press deeper inside him with a wiggle of his hips. 

Liam obliged. He settled his now free hand on Theo’s hip, one on each side as he pulled Theo into a thrust, slow and deliberate with his moments. He pulled back out just as carefully, but on the thrust after that, things got far less gentle. 

His initial calculated thrusts quickly turned into unnuanced movements, devolving into something nearly feral. Liam’s arms burned after mere minutes of it, and he found himself once again grateful for the nearly endless inappropriate applications of werewolf strength available to him. 

The truck’s windows were fogging up, making the evening sun look like nothing more than a fuzzy red-orange glow bleeding into the car. Liam could hear the faint creaking of the suspension, sure that Theo could hear it, too. It was a satisfying sound, evidence of their thorough fucking. 

“More,” Theo demanded, letting his voice pitch high and needy in a way he only ever let Liam hear. “Please, please, please.” 

Everything about it was good. Too good, blurring the edges of Liam’s vision in a dangerous way. 

Something worse than a drawn out whine was threatening to scratch its way out of Liam’s throat, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. The words on the tip of his tongue were more tender than saying he’d missed spending time together, and would surely be more hated. 

All Liam could do about it was give in to Theo’s request, fuck him harder and hope the older boy wasn’t too mad when they were done.

One of Liam’s hands abandoned its place on Theo’s hip, snaking itself between their bodies so he could grab Theo’s cock, determined to stroke him to completion before he said something embarrassing. 

It seemed like a good idea, speeding things along, but then Theo moaned, loud and unrestrained, and Liam just couldn’t help it anymore. 

“Love you,” Liam practically whined, sure the chimera was going to lean up and tear his throat out. 

Instead, Theo’s thighs jerked upward, and tightened their hold around Liam’s waist, squeezing hard enough to break ribs. His eyes were closed tightly, but Liam could hear the desperate way his heart pounded in his chest when he said, “Say it again.” 

“I love you,” Liam was quick to oblige, panting the words out between sloppy thrusts, “Love you, Theo.” 

The effect was instant, and Liam didn’t have time to react before Theo was cumming, his entire body tight and tense. The noise that bubbled out of Liam in response was equal parts pain and surprise. Theo’s thighs had clamped around him, but where Liam had expected white hot rage in response to his words, there was only… adoration. 

Something about it threatened to warp Liam’s mind. He couldn’t believe Theo had asked to hear him say it again. Couldn’t believe it had been enough to shove Theo over the edge, and have him shooting cum all the way up to his chin. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Theo preemptively warned, throwing an arm over his eyes to hide his face. 

Liam could only stare, hard and trapped inside Theo, held in place by the way the chimera still hadn’t relaxed, tense in every way he could be. Even so, it was hard to complain. The high of finally admitting he loved Theo was worth everything else that came with it. 

“I said shut up, not stop moving. Keep going,” the chimera directed with a raw voice, forcing himself to loosen the vice of his thighs around Liam’s waist, urging him on. “Come on, Dunbar.” 

Rolling his hips into Theo after all of that felt too good to be true. Liam had to fight the urge to lean over and sink his fangs into Theo’s exposed neck, all too aware that his eyes were werewolf yellow and his consciousness directed by something far less human than usual. 

“Don’t be gentle. Do it harder, fuck me like you mean it, Liam,” Theo begged, still covering his eyes despite the fact that his heartbeat went uncontrolled. 

Liam didn’t need the encouragement, only the permission that came with Theo’s request. He shifted his weight forward, using clawed hands to drag Theo’s hips up towards his again, more than happy to make the truck’s suspension sing with their movements. He was already so worked up, it was easy to pant open mouthed and eager while he chased his own pleasure. 

“I mean it, I mean it, Theo,” Liam promised, squeezing his own eyes closed while he came, everything about it far less interesting than the helpless way Theo had fallen apart beneath him only moments prior. 

——

Liam felt weightless, full of air and as happy as he’d been in months. Even being kicked out of the truck less than five minutes after he’d come wasn’t enough to dampen his mood. He’d gotten away with saying he loved Theo, and the chimera had even asked him to say it again. 

There was no need for Liam to hear it said back, not when he knew what it meant that Theo hadn’t immediately rejected him. 

The pure euphoria of it carried him through the preserve, uncaring about the darkness beginning to fall now that the sun had set. It was warm outside, and the walk back into town was comfortable enough, even when Liam was shirtless and missing the top button on his jeans. 

There was a kind of safety in the dusk settling over Beacon Hills, a promise that people were tucking themselves back into their homes and away from the world. Liam enjoyed the solitude, and the time it gave him to think as he stumbled toward his own house, uncaring of the incoming lecture his mom would give him about losing another shirt. 

He was so busy mulling over the way Theo had reacted to his accidental love confession, that he didn’t remember to use any of his werewolf senses to tune into his surroundings. It left him vulnerable, which meant that Liam didn’t notice his pack mates walking toward him until it was too late to avoid them. 

Suddenly Malia and Stiles were rounding the corner, stepping onto the part of the street Liam was on, doing god knows what together. 

Malia immediately acknowledged him, making a sort of yipping noise in the back of her throat that finally had Liam leaning into his supernatural hearing, recognizing the greeting she offered as the sound of pack. Stiles seemed to recognize it, too, and his eyebrows raised, head turning rapidly in search of who the werecoyote had been calling out to.

Stiles’ expression broke into a more familiar sort of grin when he noticed Liam, and his left arm shot up into a wave almost immediately. 

Malia was less outwardly expressive, but she seemed pleased to see him, too, standing tall with her shoulders squared affectionately. Her mannerisms were reserved, less practiced than the easy, human social behaviours that came so quickly to her peers. 

“Dude, your arms look pumped, what the hell?” Stiles called out, gesturing at Liam’s biceps in some kind of abstract mix of disbelief and jealousy as they walked more closely towards each other, “Have you been working out, or is that just a werewolf thing?” 

Malia snorted in reply to the question, and Stiles turned toward her briefly, watching the way her muscles jumped when she flexed an arm, looking pronounced, but not quite as dramatic as the werewolf’s. 

Liam was grateful for the distraction she’d unintentionally provided him, but he could still hardly fight a grimace at the attention he was getting. He wanted to make the whole situation go away as quickly as possible. Even if seeing Stiles and Malia would have been cool in any other scenario, in this one, it was sort of a nightmare. 

Liam didn’t want to have to explain that the reason his arms were looking so stretched out and muscular had nothing to do with weight training. Especially in front of a judgemental audience. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been working out…. a lot,” he tried to lie, pausing awkwardly when Stiles turned back towards him with a doubtful look, “you know… like running, and stuff.” 

Not that his explanation mattered much to Malia, who merely frowned, and scoffed, announcing the obvious. “Stiles, Liam just lied to you.”

“Thanks, but I didn’t need supernatural hearing to know that. He’s a really bad liar,” Stiles offered, shaking his head slightly. “I asked about his arms, and he told me he’d been running. Besides, who runs in jeans?” 

Liam bit his lip to hold back an unnecessary comment. He didn’t like the way they were talking over him, but there wasn’t time to address it. Not without risking making things worse. Malia was already onto him, and a glance in her direction revealed that her gaze had sharpened. 

Something about it made him feel like prey. 

She looked focused, observing something that Liam and Stiles could not, her coyote at the forefront of her consciousness. Even without eyes flaring blue, it was obvious that she was using her less human skills to come to a conclusion about things.

Malia tilted her head up to sniff the air, momentarily open mouthed in an attempt to better catch Liam’s scent. Her own had turned citrus-sharp in her eager curiosity to figure the werewolf out, and it was hard for even Liam to ignore. 

“What? No, I’m—I’m not lying, I really was running! I run in jeans all the time. That’s basically working out, you know? For former lacrosse players. It helps your biceps, too, sometimes.” He swore, letting his expression turn pleading as he tried to convince Stiles to help back him up. 

Stiles, of course, was no help at all. 

Especially not where Malia was involved. Even though it’d been a long time since they dated, fondness still existed between them, and he was always inclined to take her side. Sometimes even against the rest of the pack.

More than that, though, was the fact that Liam knew firsthand how demanding the werecoyote could be when she wanted to figure something out. Stiles had the same drive to understand things (Theo, too, he added to himself privately).

Stiles liked to occasionally mentor Liam, just like Scott did. More often than not it tended to come across as a thinly veiled apology for turning Liam into a werewolf so young, and while it was sometimes helpful, it typically meant having people in his business when he didn’t need them to be. 

So if Stiles thought Liam was hiding something, he would certainly consider it something he needed to figure out. Scott was always more reasonable about privacy, especially if Liam asked him to back off. He was good at being an alpha like that, and knew when to pick his moments. 

Unfortunately, though, he wasn’t here to save the day this time.

Liam felt his stomach drop at the realization, and he couldn’t help a nervous swallow. Without Scott, there was no way to call off Malia and Stiles. Things would just have to play themselves out, and there wasn’t a worse set of pack mates for that to happen with. 

Stiles was already acting suspicious, and that was before he knew he’d caught Liam sneaking home from a visit with Theo. 

A particularly compromising visit that started with unlocked truck doors and ended with impulsive shirtlessness. 

“Okay, listen, I did sort of lie, but I was actually running when you saw me… just not for athletic reasons. I was on my way home,” Liam tried to explain, acutely aware of the desperate tension pooling in his stomach with every word, “so it’s really not that bad of a lie! If anything, it was a truth adjacent stretching of what actually happened.”

“See? I told you he was being dishonest,” Malia said triumphantly, crossing her arms before she looked pointedly over at Liam, taking either his halfhearted admission of guilt or his heartbeat as proof, “He smells like shame, and sweat. Mostly sweat.”

Liam frowned, and Stiles chuckled at her assessment, so it didn’t feel like too bad of a reaction just yet. 

Liam was too relieved about the lack of Theo’s scent on his skin to care about anything else Malia said. He was even beginning to think it was a good idea to keep letting Theo kick him out shirtless—less fabric for things to stick to and all—when Malia narrowed her eyes dangerously. 

“Liam, why do you smell so much like coyote?” She demanded, looking so disappointed all of a sudden that it nearly made Liam nauseated. “Not coyote. You smell like Theo.” 

Visions of his mom’s own disappointed face crossed back and forth across his mind until Liam forced himself to swallow, remembering countless occasions where he’d been caught doing something wrong. 

His throat was dry, and Liam’s tongue felt stuck to the roof of his mouth when he tried to ask, “I smell like Theo?” sure that Malia heard the way his heartbeat stuttered pathetically on the other boy’s name. 

As if the high pitched crack to his voice wasn’t enough of a giveaway. 

Stiles seemed to figure things out immediately, always the wittiest in their group when Lydia wasn’t around to outshine him. He chuckled at the sound of Liam’s words, shaking his head dismissively before Malia had even begun to put things together. 

While Liam had occasionally enjoyed seeing other people be on the receiving end of Stiles’ harsh laughter and sharp tongue, he always ended up feeling slightly resentful when it was focused on him. Stiles’ attitude was a weapon, and Liam hated being attacked with it, especially when he felt he didn’t deserve it. 

This time was no different, and Liam found himself wanting to hide. He was so embarrassed, and he knew that soon Malia would practically be able to taste it on him. Along with his fear, and the horrible, burnt smelling shame she’d already called him out on. 

Shame, but not regret. Never regret, not over the moments he shared with his chimera. Liam didn’t want to feel the way he did about Theo, but it wasn’t something he could just ignore, either, and it certainly wasn’t something he wanted to undo. 

“Oh boy. I knew you had a thing for bad guys, but I didn’t think you would go for an actual bad guy, like a criminal! Liam, Liam, Liam… did you learn nothing from Scott? Not everyone deserves the benefit of a doubt. Sleeping with the enemy is never a good move! Especially not Theo, who’s a psychopathic master-manipulator slash murdering backstabber,” Stiles said, halfway turned away from Liam to focus his words Malia’s way, expecting her to blindly support his ramblings. “He probably conned Liam into it. Or he has some sort of weird alternative motive.”

Clearly Stiles was being serious, and clearly he felt very passionately about the subject…but to Liam, it just felt like Stiles wouldn’t even hear him out, like he was disgusted by him. When Liam glanced back over at Malia, it just made things worse. She looked even more disappointed than she’d been before, and Liam suddenly wished he had Corey’s ability to turn invisible. 

All he wanted to do was disappear, but there was nothing Liam could do but stand there, shirtless and uncomfortable while Stiles and Malia kept talking, reprimanding him like he was a disobedient child. Laughing at him like they were high school bullies. 

Liam didn’t realize it had set him off until it was too late. Not even Malia seemed to notice his anger until the scent of new blood began seeping into the air, fresh red dripping between Liam’s fingers as he pierced his own skin with his claws, hands clenched into twin fists. 

It was a desperate attempt to cling to control. 

Malia’s eyes flared in response, blinking coyote blue at him before she growled, “Liam,” in a nearly inaudible warning, asking him to behave. 

Liam couldn’t hear it over the sound of his own thundering heartbeat. 

“Maybe you should just mind your own fucking business? Did you ever consider that? No, because all you guys do is kick it super senior style during the summer. You hang around Beacon Hills two years after your own graduation instead of moving on and getting your own fucking lives! Sorry some of us have relationships outside of the pack,” Liam yelled, boiling over despite everything he’d done to avoid it. “We can’t all sleep with Scott.” 

The words kept coming, each one meaner than the last until it felt like vomit, hot and uncontrollably rushing out of him. Liam’s vision blurred sharply, fading in and out, white and black despite the fact that his eyes were glowing yellow in response to Malia’s. The sound of his own voice felt unfamiliar, layered with a wolfish undertone that made everything come across as half of a growl.

There wasn’t room for guilt while he was actively spiraling. The only thing that existed to Liam was his anger, feverish and overwhelming. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about the way his pack treated him. It was all so frustrating. Hiding Theo, letting him feel like he was just a mistake Liam kept making. Being held at arm’s distance by the man he loved all because Theo didn’t want to separate him from his alpha.

And now with this loss of control, the IED everyone talked about behind his back was boiling over and proving people right about him, yet again. He was unstable, and dangerous, just like the chimera they all hated. And if the pack couldn’t forgive Theo for killing Scott, how could they have possibly forgiven Liam for the same crime? 

Growling, Liam clenched his hands harder, feeling the sharp agony of claw against bone. The pain was agitating instead of grounding, and it did nothing to help. Malia was still trying to urge him into silence while Stiles kept repeating that they needed to be somewhere less public for his “epic meltdown”, and it was suddenly just too much for him to bear. 

Liam kicked out at a wooden telephone pole beside them, splintering its base enough that Malia had to lunge forward and steady it. The sound of wood cracking was loud, and pain immediately shot up Liam’s leg. The bone of his shin had splintered almost instantly from the impact, piercing awkwardly through flesh, but a gruesome squelch was quickly filling the air as his skin began stitching itself back together, healing him around the fracture. 

The destruction of the telephone pole had been a jarring interlude, but not jarring enough to truly bring Liam back into himself. He was still angry in the awful, violent way that threatened to ruin his life at every corner. 

“Get a grip, dude, we’re in the middle of town!” Stiles yelled, purposefully out of striking distance. “What the hell is wrong with you?” 

Against his better judgement, Liam decided to yell right back at Stiles, sounding loud and vulgar even though he knew he had to stop, long past the point of return, “Everybody in this stupid pack gets a second chance. Except for Theo, who’s helped save us time and time again, but still can’t sit in on a pack meeting or hold my hand in public because you assholes never shut up about him! Ever. Not in our group chat, not in public, not to Scott, and not to anyone else! So maybe I’m the one sucking Theo’s dick in private, but you guys sure love riding it in public. Why don’t we talk about that, for once? Compare notes?”

It was quiet for a moment once Liam finally stopped speaking, and then, all the fight left him in a painful gust. In another circumstance, shocking Stiles into silence would have come with bragging rights. In this one, it basically sealed his fate as the next McCall Pack reject. 

The regret was instantaneous. Liam felt like he was going to be sick. Stiles looked like he was, too. 

Malia was still trying to remedy the telephone pole from where Liam had nearly kicked it over, too busy to stare at him, but she smelled like simmering anger and frustration in a way that told Liam all he needed to know. She was just as upset with him as Stiles surely was.

Exhaustion, embarrassment, and every other bad emotion from before was curled sharply into the air around them, clinging to their bodies like a second skin.

Liam didn’t want to wait around and see how mad they were with him. He’d gotten them upset mere moments into running into them, and then he’d broken public property and said every awful, colourful thing under the sun afterwards. 

Including a particularly low blow aimed at their alpha’s sex life. 

Liam was sure they’d tell Scott about it, and somehow, he was even more sure that Scott would feel disappointed in him. Or worse, he’d feel hurt. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, before he turned, and ran, ignoring the sounds of Malia’s yips and Stiles’ voice calling after him just as much as he ignored the burning pain of his still healing leg, bone sliding loosely beneath thin skin. 

Even if Scott wouldn’t take him back, Liam was sure Theo would. Maybe not if he knew exactly how Liam had gotten himself kicked out of his pack, but then again, he wasn’t nearly as righteous as the rest of them. His morals were flexible on the best of days, and nonexistent on the worst.

Theo was full of mistakes, just like Liam was. He’d done so many things he regretted in his life, and that promised Liam that his chimera would understand the situation he was in, he had to.