"Let him go," Theo demands.

"You have the entitlement and narcissism typical of your generation. In that you are a profound success."

The sound of Mason screaming makes me flinch and I turn back to see Liam looking distraught as he crouches down beside Mason. "God," Liam says. "Scott! Scott, I can't get it out. I don't know what to do." Scott takes one last wary look at the Dread Doctors before rushing to Liam's side.

"But your failure taught us one thing," the Dread Doctor continues. "The banality of evil. That you were and always would be an ordinary evil."

"You think I'm ordinary?" Theo growls.

"We believed that to resurrect the perfect killer we had to start with the perfect evil," it says. I shiver involuntarily. They're mad, I think to myself. Absolutely mad. The Surgeon continues. "From you we  learned that true evil only comes by corrupting something truly good."

"Not something," Scott mutters. "Someone."

The Surgeon holds up his hand, the pads of its fingers glowing blue. Theo slaps its hand away and slams his fist into its mask. A sharp clinking sound echoes through the room. As the other Dread Doctors approach, I take it as my cue to join the fight.

I charge at the one closest to me, bringing my talons down across the leather of its uniform, but something stops me from cutting deep enough. The Dread Doctor grabs my wrist before I have a chance to pull it away and holds it in an iron grip. I grunt as I feel pain shoot up my arm, gritting my teeth painfully tight.

I bring my knee up and extend my leg, the blow sending the Dread Doctor reeling back and letting go of me. Its footsteps are heavy as it approaches me again. I have no idea what's going on around me as I focus all of my attention onto the masked figure, planning my next method of attack.

I let a low growl come from my throat before I charge at it again. As I go towards the Dread Doctor, its hand comes up, its palm facing me. Before I know it, there's a glowing blue field put up in front of me and I'm thrown back, landing on the ground.

I'm just about to get to my feet again when I hear the screaming.

Liam and Scott are no longer by Mason's side, but his hand is latched onto the needle and pulling it out. I find it hard to tear my eyes away as he screams and groans his way through pulling it out. Smoky tendrils of black work its way around his body like a cyclone.

I feel my blood run cold as I hear the Surgeon speak again. "Transformation. Transformation without frequency."

And, before I know it, the Beast stands in Mason's place.

"Mason!" Liam screams.

The Beast growls, and when he speaks, his voice is distorted and throaty. "That is not my name."

The Beast whirls around as the Surgeon approaches him. The Beast flings him around and tosses him onto the floor. The mask that used to adorn the scientist's face like a tattoo is discarded by the Beast, the mask falling inches from my feet with a clatter.

The Beast continues its path of destruction, attacking each of the Dread Doctors. It moves so fast that I barely see it go towards Theo until its claws slash across his middle.

I feel the yell rising in my throat. "Theo!"

He's slumped over on the ground, barely moving. Meanwhile, The Beast stalks up and out of the room, its footsteps shaking the lights overhead.

When I'm sure the Beast is gone, I rush over to Theo, whose shirt is slick with blood. I hear gunshots somewhere outside. I crouch down beside him, examining the deep laceration. "Theo," I say, my voice as steady as I can make it. "You're not healing. Why aren't you healing?"

"I don't know."

"Okay," I breathe. "Okay." I look up into his eyes and give an encouraging smile. "It's okay. You're going to get through this, okay?" I look back down at the wound and mutter a sullen, "Oh, God."

Theo grins, his eyes droopy. "Scared of a little blood, baby?"

"I'm serious, Theo," I say. "That thing was not a regular creature. That was something different." I put my palm down onto the wound. "Pressure," I explain. "To stop it bleeding too much. What do I do now?"

"I don't know!" he says. "I've never had to deal with this before if you couldn't tell."

"Alright," I say. "Oh, my god. Okay, okay." I chew on my bottom lip. "You need a bandage." I grit my teeth, ripping a piece of fabric off of my shirt. This totally sucks. First Theo not healing and now having to ruin my shirt.

I lift his shirt and wrap the rag around his middle. It only just fits around to tie it. Almost immediately blood soaks through it. "Right," I say. "This isn't going to work much longer. Give me your hand."

I grab it and loop his arm around my shoulders. He groans as I ease him up. I realise that neither Scott nor Liam are still here, which means that they've probably gone after the Beast. Theo leans most of his weight onto me and limps beside me as we climb the stairs.

"You doing alright?" I ask.

"I can feel it healing," he says. "Slower than usual, but still."

I can hear commotion outside — growls and gunshots. I set my jaw and push the door open. The faster we get out here, the faster that we're safe.

But when I get outside, the commotion is over. It's the aftermath of the battle. My eyes fall onto the stranger standing past the Argents — a tall man in his late thirties with dark hair and sly eyes.

"That's the man, Arden," Theo says between heavy breaths. "That's the man I saw on the pike."

"Sebastien Valet," I breathe.

***

"It's healing," I declare, eyeing the gash on Theo's stomach.

"I know," he says. "Still hurts, though."

"Jesus, Raeken. Grow a pair."

"Love you too," he says, his voice thick with sarcasm.

I smile half-heartedly, dropping myself down beside Theo. "But seriously, do you want anything? Water? Is there even water in this place?"

"No."

"Can I ask you something Theo?" I don't wait for him to answer. "Why the hell did you ask me to bring you here?"

"I needed to sort some stuff out. Plan what happens next."

I gnaw on my lip. "You'll be okay here, right? I'm going to get you water. Want anything else?"

"I'm good."

"Okay," I say. "Call me if you need anything and I'll come right back, okay?"

"Yep."

I step through the doorway, searching my jacket pockets for my keys. I run into someone just as my fingers latch onto the keys. "Tracy, hey," I say, smiling.

"You're being awfully nice at the moment."

I see how it is. "Oh, I'm just being nice so I don't get in trouble from Theo. He's in there by the way if you want to see him."

"Since when did you become Theo's bitch? I mean, I knew he was trying to get you to be his bitch from the start, but when did you actual fill the role?"

I smile sweetly, fluttering my eyelashes. "Go see Theo, Tracy. I can just imagine how happy he'd be to see his sweet little lizard demon child."

"Did you just call me a demon child?"

"Goddamn right, I did."

"Can I ask you something, Arden?" she says. "And I'm being genuine here. What are you going to do once Theo realises he's grown tired of you? When he realises that you're the only one holding him back?"

I step towards her. "I'm a siren-werewolf hybrid, born from a supernatural assassin and one of the most bloodthirsty alphas ever to live. I killed a hundred werewolves with a sentence and I could damn right kill you right now and do my nails at the same time. I don't think Theo will grow tired of me before he grows tired of an artificially made kanima. You may see me as Theo's bitch, but I have more power than you could ever dream of."

And with that, I walk past her, leaving her to go see Theo.

After getting Theo a water bottle from the closest place I could, I head back to the abandoned house.

Even though the house itself has always had an eerie air to it, this time as I walk up to it it feels like something has actually shifted. There's an air of melancholy and finality surrounding it. I hurry my steps, making my way through the hallway.

When I walk through the doorway to where Theo is, I can't help but feel glad that Theo is unhurt. Blood covers his fingers and when my eyes travel down, Tracy's lifeless body lays against the floor. Her eyes seem to burn holes through me with her stare, an evil sort of irony twisting itself around the room.

I should probably feel worse than I do, but quite frankly, I don't feel nothing at all. I just stare at her. I do feel a sort of pity and regret, but nothing strong enough to impact on me. What is wrong with me?

"And then there was one," Deucalion says. He materialises from the shadows. "I have to ask you Theo: do you feel powerful enough?"

He flexes his clawed fingers. "Yes," he says. "I do."

"You're powerful enough to take down the Beast," Deucalion says. "But there's more power. Enough power to be a killing machine. Do you know where it is?"

And it's in that moment that I realise that I'm the power. If Theo wants to become all-powerful, he'd have to kill me.

Theo knows it too, the way he looks at me with a mix of guilt and something else. "It's crossed your mind, hasn't it?" I ask softy. "Killing me, I mean."

"Arden, it was nev—"

Deucalion clears his throat. "This is what you need to do if you're to reach your full potential, Theo. You killed your own sister, can't you kill one insignificant girl?"

He grits his teeth, and for a second I think he's actually going to do it, but then he speaks. "I can't kill her," he utters. "You can ask anything else of me, but I'd lose everything if I killed her."

"But obtaining all of the power lies in killing her, Theo. You do know that, right?"

"Forget it," he says. "We're doing this together, anyway. She has her powers and I have mine. When we fight together, it doesn't matter who has what. What kind of king can rule without a queen by his side?"

I grab Theo's hand. "That's adorable, babe," I say. I take one pointed look at Deucalion and run a finger along my throat. "And you. You should watch out."

"I will," he says. "Now that you've had your, ah — how do you kids call it? — relationship goals moment for the day, I think it's about time we go down to the sewers. I think it's time to kill the Beast."

"Arden, before we go, I need to talk to you about something outside," Theo says.

When we're away from Deucalion, I ask, "What is it?"

Theo grabs my hand, and by the way he looks at me like an innocent puppy I can tell he's going to say something that I'm going to try and dispute. "Arden," he says. "I've been thinking about the whole going up against the Beast thing and about how we're going to start a new life together and I know that I wouldn't want you, especially now, to get in any danger."

"Theo," I say. "I'm alright. I promise. I should be the one worried about you."

"You don't understand," he says. "I'm not going to take the chance of having you taken away from me. Not now. Not like this."

I furrow my eyebrows, leaning forward and setting my jaw. "I'm not going to sit back and relax as you and Deucalion set out to kill a two hundred and fifty year old French werewolf."

"I know," he says. "I know what you want, Arden. But this, this is for your own good."

I'd been focussing on his eyes for so long that I hadn't realised his hand edging up towards my neck.

I feel a sharp pricking pain in the base of my neck and I let out a loud groan. I feel my knees giving way, but then Theo is there, holding me up next to him and I'm inhaling the smell of him — the smell of wood and that underlying scent of boy.

He lifts me up into his arms. My legs and arms feel too weak to do anything and my muscles feel as if they are frozen. Kanima venom? I think at first. But when I feel my eyes starting to close and my brain beginning to switch off, I realise it must be different.

"I'm sorry, Arden," he says.

And then the world folds in on itself.

***

I wake up on the soft, comforting surface of my own bed. Huh, he really thought of everything. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and let my feet hit the ground. I run a hand through my hair, my head still housing a dull ache.

I take a few steps towards the corner of my room and slip on the discarded pair of sneakers on the floor. I need to get to the sewers. Now.

I pull on my jacket and tread down the stairs, opening up the door to the garage. I take down a few weapons: a few knives and a loaded gun. I wonder what Mom would think of me now, I ponder to myself. Would she see herself in me? I'm using the exact same weapons as she did, after all.

I start up the car and zoom off, not bothering to check the speed I'm going. I go the nearest place I can think of: the abandoned power plant. The plant is a skeleton in the moonlight, its damaged walls exposing parts of the inside.

I turn off the engine, push open the car door and lock it. I turn off the safety on the gun and then, with the pistol poised in front of me, I'm running, running, running until there's a gaping hole at my feet. It's the same hole Theo brought his pack to face off against Scott and Stiles.

I bend my knees and jump. Before I know it, I'm falling into the darkness below. The soles of my shoes make a loud slapping sound when I hit the ground. I take a moment to recover from the impact. I breathe deeply before setting off again.

I run until the walls seem to close in on me, my breathing is shallow and my heart is pounding in my ears. And the realisation comes to me that it is a maze.

I have no idea where I'm going or where I came from. I'm as good as dead if I don't find anyone down here.

I swallow hard, turning back and looking at the long path from which I came before looking forward. There is only one way I can go from here.

Forward.

I ease myself back into a pace somewhere between running and jogging. Suddenly, I see a patch of cement which has been scorched, possibly from electricity.

I stop and crouch down, brushing a finger over it. It comes away with ash on it. He's been here. I take off again, speeding down with a newfound urgency.

And then I hear it, slightly ahead somewhere. Voices. And the sound of electricity crackling, as well. I will my legs to go faster as I turn the corner and come upon the back of Lydia, Liam, Scott and Stiles. Kira stands a little way in front of them and Theo stands across from her.

Theo is covered in snakelike bolts of electricity, his hand shooting out more electricity towards Kira, who deflects it off her sword effortlessly.

"What is happening?" I urge, but I'm not sure if I can even hear myself over the sound of the crackling. I shoulder past Scott's pack, not tearing my eyes off of Theo.

His gaze meets mine. He furrows his eyebrows, losing concentration for just one second. It's as if the whole world has slowed to a stop.

But it hasn't.

Because then Kira yells, "Theo Raeken, the Skinwalkers have a message for you. Your sister wants to see you."

It doesn't happen in slow motion. Oh, no. It happens too fast for me to even process it, for me to do anything. It all falls apart in a matter of seconds. It's a great downfall, a great tragedy.

It's the beginning of the end when Kira plunges her sword into the ground with a queer ease, as if it was nothing more than flesh.

I watch wide-eyed as a fissure extends from the sword, cutting across the earth. I start forward. "Theo?" I yell. "Theo!"

He looks down at the ground, at the cracking earth, and then back up at me. His eyes are full with fear, a soul crushing, blood curdling fear.

A figure materialises from the hole in the ground, her dark hair plastered to her face, curtaining any features.

It's Theo's sister.

She reaches a pale, bony hand over the edge and grabs onto Theo's ankle. "Arden!" he screams as she pulls his legs out from underneath him. "Arden! Help me please."

"Theo, no!" I rush forward, almost tripping over myself in the rush to get to him. And I almost do, I almost do get to him. My fingers brush his as he's still screaming, his head and shoulders being dragged under the ground.

It's just a small touch, but in that moment, his hands are burning against mine.

And then his sister is dragging him beneath the surface and his touch is a ghost on the tips of my fingers.

And as the hole closes up, the cement netting itself back together like a healing wound, tears roll down my face, my lungs burn and my whole body shakes. I can't function and I can't even keep myself standing.

There's only one thought that can form in my mind. A promise to myself. An oath.

Theo may be gone, but I will go through Hell to find him.

***

Wtf I cried so hard when writing this my trash daddy needs to come back wtf I'm so upset :(( I probably should've updated this earlier but I was watching Bretman Rock my queen. Anyway hopefully you guys liked that chapter well enough apart from the whole being dragged into hell thing damn that sucks :(((

Love u all so much xx Georgina