Chapter 2
The meeting was tense. The Hale’s and the Raeken’s had mostly agreed with one another, but there were a few fights that broke out among the group, Theo and Derek having to hold their fathers back. This is why they were with the money. Less fighting.
“Calm yourself down, Adam!” Theo heard his mother yell at his father, flashing her icy blue eyes at him. She had the authority of an Alpha, but her eyes told another story.
Most of the groups eyes, excluding Theo, Derek, and Derek’s little sister, Cora, all had blue eyes. The people at the table stopped at nothing when it came to getting the business done, innocent or not. Theo didn’t agree with it, but the mob didn’t care about what you felt.
It was about drugs, violence, cash, and authority.
“I think it’s wise that we take a break,” Talia Hale said, standing from her seat, “pick this up in about fifteen, shall we say.” The group nodded, all of them standing and exiting.
Theo and Derek went to their office, closing and locking the door.
“What the actual fuck.” Derek said, and Theo nodded his agreement.
“I think our families are losing their shit cause of McCall.” Theo said, and Derek looked thoughtful, running a hand over his stubble.
Theo wasn’t sure how to feel about Raphael McCall, especially his son, Scott. Their families had always hated the McCall’s, barring Melissa, who was a sweetheart. Derek had created a hatred for Scott, something about him treating Stiles like shit. Theo understood, he had been through that once before, but he hadn’t had romantic feelings for anyone, it was just a friendship.
“I think we should skip the meeting, head out for the club. Stiles and the rest of them are going to be at practice.” Theo smiled and rolled his eyes. Derek just wanted to see Stiles’ ass work on a stage.
They grabbed their keys, heading for the parking garage. They were able to avoid their families, heading to their separate cars. They headed for the club, traffic sparse in most areas, unusual for southern California. They both arrived at the same time, and saw that Stiles was pushing a man, and a man was pushing Stiles back.
Theo and Derek made their way over quickly, catching a glimpse of the man.
Scott.
McCall’s kid.
“Fuck off, Scott! Jesus fucking Christ, you don’t understand boundaries!” Stiles yelled, his hands starting to shake.
Derek intervened, putting himself between the two.
“Sweetheart. Sweetheart, let’s get out of here, let’s move this somewhere else.” Derek said, eyes flashing, moving Stiles gently.
“No… No, Der, you don’t understand—” Stiles was cut off by Derek hushing him.
“I’ll deal with him. Right now we need to calm you down.” Derek said, and Stiles nodded, looking down. The scent of anger fading, embarrassment making it’s way to the surface.
“M’sorry.” Stiles mumbled, and Derek hushed him, a press of lips to his head.
“Theo will hold him while I get you inside, don’t worry. Come on, baby.” Derek led Stiles inside, Theo watching over Scott.
“What did you say, McCall?” Theo asked, wondering.
“I told Stiles he could’ve found something better. Derek is a bad influence, and he forced Stiles into this.” Scott said, and Theo felt his jaw clench.
Stiles had come to them.He made the conscious decision to join the club, made the decision to sign onto Derek’s contract. Both Theo and Derek had contracts, had the same contents, they both just had a few different approaches at things. Stiles had read over both of them, asking questions here and there, and decided on Derek’s contract.
“Well, Scott, there’s a lot you don’t know. Stiles came to us. He chose us. There’s a reason he didn’t choose you. There’s a reason he wanted to drop contact with you.” Theo said. He was about to give Scott a piece of his mind, but Derek came out, murder painted in his eyes.
“You want to tell me what you did to Stiles, McCall?” Derek said, voice low. Dangerous. Theo looked over at the man in question, raising an eyebrow.
“I showed him what would happen if he stayed here with your kind.” Scott said.
Theo just stared.
Scott was their kind. He was literally a werewolf.
“Are you fucking stupid, McCall? You’re a goddamn werewolf.” Theo said, and Scott sneered.
“No, Mob men. Men who kill. He’s gonna get hurt, and I’m gonna be the one who told you so.” Scott said, acting as if he just did something.
“I think you forget, just like the hunters, we go by a code. We protect the ones we love and care about. We don’t hold back on that. Yeah, some of our families might kill, but we don’t. We take care of our own. Stiles is mine.” Derek said, fangs dropping at the last couple of words.
“And how do you think he’d feel, you making him seem like he’s someone’s property?” Scott asked.
Theo couldn’t with this kid. He was so fucking stupid.
“Stiles understands what Derek means. Derek isn’t saying that he owns Stiles, he’s saying that he takes care of him, makes sure he has what he needs, and brings him down from being angry, or out of a depression. You were never there, so how could you possibly understand.” Theo said.
Scott spluttered out a response, flinching when Derek lunged forward, copping Scott out. Theo smirked a little, watching the beta scamper off.
“Wimp.” He said.
Scott wouldn’t last a day in their den.
----------------------------------------------------
Going to the club early was fun. He got to Erica for a little, listen to the details about her late night date with Boyd. He smiled, encouraging her to make the next move.
“You can do it, Er. I believe in you.” He said, and they did their secret handshake.
“Thanks, Mr. Raeken. I gotta get back.” She got up, and he watched her walk away.
He looked over the other dancers, observed the way Malia was dancing for the redhead at the end of the table. That must be Lydia, Malia’s girlfriend. They had never met her, but she seemed nice enough. He looked over at Stiles, finding him engrossed in a conversation with Derek, a blush tinting his cheeks. He smiled, listening in on the conversation for a quick moment.
“Stop, I’m just a stripper, Derek.” Stiles said, and Derek laughed softly.
“No, you’re Stiles motherfucking Stilinski. You’re the smartest man I know. Cutest too.” Derek replied.
“Shut up, Mr. I’ve got everyone’s attention.” He nudged their shoulders, and Derek gave one of his most genuine smiles that Theo had ever seen.
It was good to see his brother smile like that, ever since Paige and Kate. Stiles just brought that out in him. He looked over when he heard the door open, and it was Liam.
Liam.
He was up and out of his seat as fast as possible, walking right up to the man.
“Hi.” He said.
Shit, he wanted to start with something else.
“Uh, hello. I was just here to drop this off for Mal. She said that she wanted some.” Liam said, handing him a bag. It smelt like cookies.
“You know Malia?” He asked. How?
“Oh, yeah! She was my tutor in High School for one of my classes, and we’ve just been friends ever since.” Liam said with an easy smile, and Theo felt little Theo perk up at it.
“Well, I can deliver these for you.” He said, and Liam thanked him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
His wolf purred in contentment, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon wafting through his nose, embedding itself deep into his core.
He handed the bag to Malia, but not before stealing a cookie of his own. He let everyone know he’d be in his office, and went up, closing the door.
He knew it was a little weird okay, but his wolf was giving him mixed signals. He took the cookie, examining it. It looked to be butterscotch and white chocolate, and it smelled absolutely delicious. He took a bite, and moaned softly.
“Curse you, Dunbar. You’re cute, got a nice ass, and can bake?” He thought aloud, devouring the cookie.
Fuck. Liam Dunbar was going to be the death of him.
------------------------------------------------------
Theo walked around the club later that night, working as security. He walked by a few of the private rooms, listening in, making sure things were okay.
The minute he walked by the bar was when the scent hit him. It hit him like a freight train, having to grab onto the edge of the bar.
Cinnamon and Vanilla. His two new favorite things.
He looked, finding Liam talking with another guy. The guy had curly blonde hair, sharp jawline, bulging biceps. He sneered a little, seeing that Liam had all his focus on the man in front of him. He decided to be a jealous fuck, walking over, and putting an arm around the back of Liam’s chair.
“How’s it going tonight gentleman?” He asked, eyes on Liam.
“Great! I was just telling Brett about this place!” He said, wide, open smile on his face.
Theo fell a little more for it.
“Well, I can give you a tour. If you’d like.” He offered, and Liam smiled and nodded, Brett heading to go with him.
Theo flashed his eyes, and Brett flashed his own, Alpha red. Great. Another fucking Alpha in his territory.
He grabbed onto Liam’s arm gently, dragging him along, showing him the rooms and the upstairs offices.
“So, you’re like, the boss here?” Liam asked, sitting down on his desk, arms behind him.
“One of them, yes. Derek is as well. Derek Hale.” He said, sitting in the office chair.
Liam nodded, looking around, running his fingers over the items on the desk.
“Sti mentioned something about a Derek. Thinking that’s your guy.” He said with a smile.
“How do you know all these people?” Theo asked.
“School.” Liam said simply.
Theo nodded, observing him.
“So, are you an escort?” Theo asked. He was dying to know.
“Kind of. People refer to me as a prostitute. Which is fine, money is money.” Liam said, and Theo nodded.
He wanted to know everything there was to know about Mr. Liam Dunbar.