CHAPTER FIVE: NOT EDITED

It was around noon when I decided to go outside and eat lunch by myself. I couldn't stand to be in the busy cafeteria with a clouded head. So many thoughts were running through my mind when I took the first bite of my sandwich. The taste of my meal helped me relax some but I wasn't fully at ease about the whole situation at hand.

"Carter?"

I jumped at the sudden voice, making me turn to see Malia Tate standing there with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I placed my hand over my heart, trying to calm down my rapid heart that was beating like crazy. One thing you should know about me is that I get startled easily.

"H-Hey Malia," I swallowed hard when she took a seat next to me.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, "You look like you seen a ghost."

I almost smiled at how concern she truly was and I shook my head in her direction. I knew that I shouldn't be talking to one of Scott McCall's pack members without Theo's consent, but at this moment I didn't really care. It was about time I showed Theo that he can't control me or my life in general.

"You just startled me, that's all," I gave her a reassuring smile, "Did you need something?"

"I came over to tell you that I'm not afraid of Theo."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Okay, I'm not following. What do you mean you're not afraid of Theo?"

"I'm not afraid of your brother," Malia sighed, "I know that this is none of my business but why does he beat you so badly?"

"Malia, I don't want to burden you with my issues," I said in a softer tone.

"You won't Carter," she said, "I promised myself that I wouldn't let you get hurt anymore."

I went silent after her words settled down in my head. I couldn't really understand why she became so protective over me. Theo wouldn't like this, I knew he wouldn't in the end. I needed to get out of this situation fast. I glanced over in her direction and sighed loudly, hoping that she wouldn't be offended by my next words.

"I got to go," I said, grabbing my stuff and walking away before she could protest.

I walked to the door only for someone to grab me and drag me to the other side of the school's building. When I looked up, I saw Stiles and Lydia standing there with serious expressions on their faces. What do they want now? Can't I get a break now and then?

"May I help you guys?" I asked in relief, knowing that it wasn't my brother.

"Yeah, you actually can-"

"Are you okay?" Lydia interrupted Stiles when he tried to speak to me.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, uh, let's just say Malia talks very loud," Stiles said, throwing his hands up in the air, something that he does a lot.

The color in my face drained to a pale white when I heard those words leave Stiles's mouth. I glanced around to make sure no one was around to see me speaking to Lydia and Stiles. I couldn't stand to be here anymore when I knew that Theo could come around the corner in any minute of time. I didn't know how to respond to them, what did they want me to say? Oh, yeah, my brother beats me to a pulp every time he sees me.

"I don't know what you want me to say," I replied, "But it's none of your concern in the end."

I excused myself, walking past the pair and into the school building in attempt to get to my locker before one of Scott's pack members can corner me again. I didn't know that my first day of Senior year would be like this. If I knew this beforehand, I would've stayed home and tutored myself rather than having people breathe down my throat every second of the day. I opened my locker and grabbed my books only to have it slammed shut again.

"Holy hell Theo, was that really necessary?" I asked when I saw my brother leaning against the other locker.

"It was," he said with a cocky grin, "So are you coming with me tonight or not?"

"I don't know yet," I said, glancing at him, "I'm not sure if I could handle seeing the place where Tara died from exposure yet."

I knew that Theo was the one who killed her. Tara some how got lost in the Beacon Hills Preserve only for my brother to push her into the cold water, letting her die from exposure so that he could have her heart. I'm not sure if I could go back to the place, the memories of finding her body were fresh in the back of my mind.

"Well, you're coming with me no matter what Carter."

With that, Theo walked away leaving me alone to my thoughts.

---

It was around midnight when Theo and I entered the preserve with white flowers in our hands. Tara loved them, it was one of her favorite flowers and knowing that put me at ease in the end. The forest was quiet, too quiet for my liking's. I weaved my way around the tree branches, following my brother closely behind. My head whipped around when I heard a snapping sound of a twig breaking in half.

"Come on Carter, let's get there before it hits early morning," Theo said sarcastically.

I huffed in annoyance, "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming Theo."

When we arrived to the lake that Tara died in, a wave of sadness crashed inside my head like an emotion trying to break down every barrier inside of me. I looked over at my brother to see him mirroring the same emotional expression. Deep down I knew that he was sad, but then again, was he really being honest with himself? After a few minutes of silence, Theo's head whipped to the left, catching my attention.

"What?" I asked, looking at him in confusion when he stood up from the ground.

"They're here," he retorted with venom lacing in his voice.

"Who's here?" I asked with confusion.

Theo placed a finger to his lips, waving for me to follow him. I sighed, standing up from the ground and following me brother to this large tree where two silhouettes of figures were standing there. I instantly recognized them as two members of Scott McCall's pack; Stiles Stilinski and Liam Dunbar.

"What you guys doing?" Theo asked them, jumping off the tree and landing on the ground perfectly.

I walked over to Theo with narrowed eyes, looking at Liam and Stiles. When Liam saw that I was there, a low growl was heard, rumbling under the younger boy's breath. I glanced over my brother who had his eyebrows rasped in amusement at the beta's confidence.

"Why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks?" Theo asked Stiles.

"He isn't," I snickered softly when Liam glared in my direction, "Calm down Dunbar, I'm kidding."

"Only when we let him off his leash," Stiles ignored my comment.

"Stiles, we were in Little League together," Theo sighed, "Why are you so suspicious of me?"

Stiles reached inside his pocket, pulling out pieces of paper, "Because of these."

I raised one of my eyebrows at Stiles's actions, wondering why he had them in the first place. I looked over at my brother who seemed confused as well. Theo reached forward, grabbing the two pieces of papers from the boy's hands, looking at them closely.

"One's a speeding ticket signed by your dad eight years ago," Stiles told Theo, "The other one's a signature on a transfer form to Beacon Highs High, they're different."

"And what is your point?" I asked, feeling the need to defend my brother.

"They're different," Stiles said to me.

"Huh," Theo said, looking at me for a split second before resting his eyes back on the form, "Yeah, they do look a little different."

Stiles shook his head, "No, they're totally different, signed by two different people."

"So our dad is not our dad?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"Like he's an impostor?" Theo asked Stiles, looking at me again.

"Yeah, something like that."

Theo took a step forward with a small smile on his face, "Who do you think I am?"

"We don't know yet."

"Want us to give you a DNA sample or something?" I asked, a hint of humor in my voice.

"No, I don't have anything from the fourth grade to match it to," Stiles said, "And I don't have anything from you Carter because I didn't even know that Theo had a brother."

"You know, Stiles, I came back here for Scott but I also came back for you," Theo smiled gently before speaking again, "Someone like you, someone who's willing to walk into the middle of the woods to protect his friends. I don't have anyone like that, except for Carter, but Scott has more than one, you all do."

"I know we're in the right place, Stiles. I'm meant to be here, we're meant to be back in Beacon Hills," I said to the boy.

Theo looked over at me with a smile before glancing at Stiles, "Carter and I are meant to be in this pack."

---

I hope you guys like this chapter. Next chapter will be starting episode three, who is excited Dedicated to -winnchesters for helping me find Theo's older sisters name, thanks again.

Question: Thoughts on Malia talking to Carter about not being afraid of Theo? Was it okay for Carter to walk away from Malia? Also, did you think he should've been honest with Stiles and Lydia? How did you feel about Theo and Carter talking about Tara and go visiting her grave? Thoughts on the chapter as a whole?