Monstrous ➙ Theo Raeken

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Dedicated to eyesclosedx for their support and the kind words that were shared with me on the last chapter.

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All Clarissa wanted to do was scream; shout to the heavens for causing this pain and yell to hell for the help that she was desperate for. She meant every word that she said to the alpha; every last sentence that seemed to mark her as an enemy, every word that made her a horrible person in his eyes. Clarissa knew that they had a different mindset, the ability to kill someone if they risked a threat towards their family had not been encoded in Scott's DNA. Unlike the fiery auburn haired girl who didn't think she would hesitate to end the life of someone who had hurt her family.

"Did you mean that?" Stiles spoke so softly that Clarissa almost didn't hear him over the sound of the rain beating against the car as they drove. She didn't know where they were going, all she knew is that she couldn't stand to be at the animal clinic near Scott a moment longer than she had to be. She refused to look at him and just began examining the arm that was still healing. "What you said about killing someone to protect your family?"

Clarissa turned her arm over, like the thoughts that had begun to turn over in her mind at his questions. She bobbed her head up and down slowly, eyes locked against the discoloration of her pale skin. "I think I would. I would do anything for my family."

His face was pensive when she finally looked towards him. Stiles gripped the wheel tightly, his breathing heavily as he continued to stare ahead of him. The sheriff's son turned to look at her quietly, eyes darting between her own and the bloody wrench that sat between them. They were one in the same but so different as they sat together. He had killed on accident, she wanted to kill on purpose. "Why didn't you stay with Theo?"

"We're talking about killing people and you bring up Theo?" She couldn't help but laugh at him, a loud giggle that turned dark at the end. It was progress for her though, the first time in days it felt like she had laughed out of pure amusement. She didn't know how to feel about Theo after their argument earlier, knowing he was in pain at the though of losing her but his words had struck a chord within her heart. She sighed and turned towards him, meeting his nervous eyes as he watched her. "We had a fight but I think he's scared. About losing me I mean."

"We all are." He was quiet, almost saddened by the twist of the conversation. "I don't like him but I like how he is with you."

"Not everyone is sad." She spat out ignoring the thoughts of Theo, the words leaving a sour taste in her mouth as she thought about the alpha who compared her to the scum under his feet. "Scott would probably be happy to get rid of the monster that I've become."

"You're not a monster." Stiles snapped and hit his breaks, slamming the jeep to a stop as they hit a light that went through the middle of town. "You're Clary, the girl who hated my guts at the beginning of the year. The girl who loves her friends and family more than anything." She was silent as she watched him speak, his hands gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "I mean, my dad loves having you and Del live with us. You made him breakfast and coffee the first day you were there, do you know how much that meant to him?"

"He didn't have to take us in." Clarissa murmured quietly, eyes locked on the desolate road that was flooding with the rain that fell from the heavens. "I was horrible to you, I hated you."

"Do you still hate me?" He questioned softly, eyes locked against her bright blue eyes.

"No." She whispered sadly, full of hatred that she hadn't gotten know her friend earlier and that she had written him off as a person whom she should hate. "You're like Delcan, like Corey. Stiles, you're family. You and your dad, you're our family."