Heart of Fire

🔥Twenty-Six🔥

Song: Fall For You- Secondhand Serenade 

The next morning I woke up, Theo's arms were wrapped tightly around me, our legs tangled together, and his face was buried in the crook of my neck. I smiled down at him, running my hand through his soft brown hair, breathing in his scent of cologne and grapes. His eyelashes grazed against my skin as his eyes fluttered open, and he glanced up at me, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

"Morning, princess." He leaned up and planted a long, tender kiss against my lips. When we pulled away, we were both smiling like crazy. He sat up, and I wrapped my arms around his torso, once again breathing in his scent. Words could never describe how much I missed him. It felt as if there was a void without him, and now that the void was filled, I was happy again.

"I want to stay like this forever." I mumbled, resting my head against his shoulder, and he chuckled, running his hand through my hair.

"I do too, but we have to go downstairs. The pack wants to know what happened."

I pouted. "I just got you back. Let me relish in the moment."

A smile grew on his lips once again, and he took my pout away by pecking my lips.

"Don't worry, princess. I'm all yours. I promise as soon as we're done talking with them, you and I will spend the rest of the day together." I nodded and hugged him once more before standing. We were in my room, so I changed into some comfy clothes before waiting for Theo in the hallway. He came out clad in a pair of gray joggers and a white t-shirt.

"You tend to stare a lot, princess." He teased, and I rolled my eyes, smiling. We walked down to the living room hand in hand, where the rest of the pack was sitting on the couches and the floor. Theo and I sat on the love seat, which was in front of the whole pack.

"You've been gone for three weeks." Tobias broke the silence, and Theo nodded. I could tell he was nervous by how tense his muscles were, so I squeezed his hand for reassurance. He shot me a grateful smile. "What happened, Theo?"

Theo took in a deep breath. "They tied me up like some kind of wild animal. They put me in a cage that would blow vervain through the vents every three hours. I would pass out, and when I woke up, a guy would come in. He would chain me to the wall-- the chains were laced with vervain too-- and then he would make me drink vervain. It burned the living hell out of my throat."

I glanced over to see his eyes becoming glassy. It was killing him, and because it hurt him, it hurt me too.

"Do you know who the guy was?" Damon questioned, and Theo's jaw tightened as his other hand balled into a fist.

"It was Blake. I'm positive. He would taunt me about Willow. He told me I was worthless, and I didn't deserve to be the leader. Blake said he would destroy me."

"What aren't you telling us, Theo?" Brett asked, and Theo glanced up at him, as if he was deciding whether he should tell the rest.

"He... He shot me with wooden bullets. One grazed my heart, and I thought I was going to die. I screamed out for Melody so many times, and all of you, and he always said you guys weren't coming. You guys wanted me to suffer. Every time I screamed he would threaten to stab me in the heart with a wooden dagger."

The whole room grew silent, but I was about to break it. My throat closed, and my eyes became blurry from tears. Everything I dreamed about actually happened to him. Every little thing I saw in my nightmares and tried to stop actually happened. He was hurt, tortured, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Hazel shot me a worried look, and I shook my head, pulling my hand out of Theo's and running up to my room.

"Melody!" Theo hollered, but I ignored him, locking my door. Sobs escaped my lips, and my heart broke for him. I let him get hurt. I didn't stop it. "Why did she run away?"

"Everything you said happened? She saw in nightmares. Melody had them every night, Theo. She would wake up screaming, and she blamed herself for not being able to save you." Hazel paused. "If you had seen her the way I did... she was a mess."

Theo let out a sigh, and I could imagine him running his hand through his hair. He would blame himself for getting taken, but it wasn't his fault. It was mine. I should have been dead from the beginning.

It's all my fault for not protecting her better.

He thought, and even though it was weak since we weren't close, it broke my heart. Theo was blaming himself even though he was the one who got hurt. Everything went silent until I heard footsteps coming up the staircase, stopping in front of my door. They hesitated at first, but then they knocked on my door.

"Princess..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Please let me in."

I hesitated before I stood and slowly opened the door. His hair was disheveled, his eyes laced with worry. I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. He walked in and wrapped me in an embrace. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head in his shoulder, tiny sobs escaping my mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Theo. I should have saved you. I shouldn't have let them torture you. It's all my--"

Theo crashed his lips into mine, and I instantly shut up. He kissed me and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below my ear, his thumb caressing my cheek as our breaths mingled. I ran my fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between us and I could feel the beating of his heart against my chest. When we pulled away, his deep brown eyes gazed into my ocean blue ones, and he gently wiped away my tears with the pad of his thumb.

"Stop it. Don't you dare blame yourself. None of this was your fault, alright? You kept me going." He smiled down at me, wiping away more tears escaping my eyes. "You are my hope, princess. Every night I wanted to give up, I didn't because I knew I would see you again, and that kept me going. I heard you think about me every night, and I swore as soon as I got home, I would tell you I'm in love with you."

He paused, his smile growing wider, and I continued to gaze into his eyes. He pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead. "I won't blame myself if you don't blame yourself. Okay?"

"Okay. But I'm still sorry you had to go through that, Theo. I hate what they did to you." I laid my head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It surprisingly calmed me.

"I'm okay, princess." Theo lifted my chin so my face was looking up at his. "I'm okay because I'm with you, and I love you."

We hugged once more, letting it linger, before we pulled away. He pecked my lips before snapping his fingers and sending us to his office.

"I need to work on some things since I've been gone for so long, so why don't you rest on the couch, that way you can still be with me, okay?" I nodded, shooting him a small smile. He sat at his desk, organizing papers, and I laid on his office couch, watching the wind ruffle the leaves on the trees outside his window.

"Theo?" I mumbled, my eyes growing heavy. I could hear him standing up and walking to where I was. He slowly ran his fingers through my hair. "Thanks for not giving up, and for... coming home."

My eyes closed from the weight of exhaustion, but I still felt the feathery kiss he pressed against my cheek before he whispered, "Thanks for being my reason to live, princess." 

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Hey, loves!

How did y'all feel about Theo's confessions to the pack? Melody's reaction? The end scene?

Teaser: To be completely honest, I do not remember. Guess we'll find out soon ;)

Make sure to comment, vote, and spread the word!

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

-Abby