𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫, m. tate & i. lahey

𝟎𝟐𝟓. bullet wounds

ANCHOR

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THEO AND MALIA stand in the empty boys' locker room, the area having no light except for the small windows on the farthest wall. Theo holds an abnormally large syringe in his left hand, his other arm folded behind his back.

"Y—You're kidding, right?" Malia asks, her unsettled gaze flickering between the syringe and the boy in front of her.

"Look, I promised I'd help and I will."

"That's supposed to help me find Deaton?"

"No. Something in the Dread Doctors' Operating Theater is doing to do that," Theo says. "I can take you there, but I can't let you see where it is."

Malia makes a face. "Ever hear of a blindfold?"

"Not one that works on a werecoyote."

She glances at the syringe again, still weary at the sight of the sharp needle. "What's in it?"

"Wolfsbane," he tells her. "The same kind they used on Liam. It won't last and there's no permanent side effects."

The distrusting feeling in her gut continues to gnaw at Malia. "Why should I trust you?"

Theo shrugs lightly, "You shouldn't. But you will— because the Desert Wolf could be here and Scott's boss could already be dead." The werecoyote gulps. "You want to give Scott the bad news? You want to tell him it's your fault that Deaton's dead? Because you pretty much dared The Desert Wolf to come after you."

Malia blinks, thinking over her options for another moment. She knows that everything Theo just said was him trying to guilt trip her into accepting his help — what's worse is that she knows he's right. Sighing, she takes a small step forward, and Theo's lips twitch upward in a smirk. "You're gonna have to come closer than that."

Another step forward.

"Closer."

Now they're less than a foot apart. Malia's face much too close to his for her liking. She tilts her head slightly, leaving an opening on her neck for the syringe. When Theo raises his hand to reach out and hold the side of her face, Malia has to find all of her self-control not to flinch away at the touch. He presses the needle against her skin.

The sharpness and cold temperature of the needle doesn't surprise her— only Theo's hesitance to inject the wolfsbane.

Malia glares at him bitterly, "Do it."

Suddenly Malia's neck is impaled by the needle, and her mouth parts to reveal her sharpened teeth as a roar escapes her throat. Her eyes radiate a deep ocean blue, and Theo removes the syringe once all of the wolfsbane is in her system.

Darkness begins to cloud Malia's vision, and her jaw slackens while her fangs retreat to their normal form. She can hardly keep herself standing, feeling her muscles weaken to the point where she's forced to rely on Theo to keep her body upright. Then, Malia vaguely feels him pick her up into his arms before she allows herself to fall unconscious.

When her eyes flutter open, a bright line shines over Malia's face as she squints at it. She breathes in, and a familiar scent fills her nose— the tunnels. She'd searched these tunnels with Scott, Isaac, and Mason when they were searching for Liam and Hayden. The scent of this Operating Theater is the exact same.

Malia tries to sit up, but the tightness around her wrists and midsection prevents her from doing so. She looks down to find that Theo has strapped her down using leather restraints, and she yanks at them in annoyance. She twists her neck to her left to see Theo messing with some sort of machine.