"It still hurts, doesn't it?" Theo asks.

He places two fingers under my chin and tips my head sidewards. His fingers gingerly trace the necklace of bruises on my neck. "Yes," I mutter, avoiding his gaze.

"Arden," he says. "Arden, look at me."

I shift my gaze to his, swallowing hard. "That was incredible what you did back there," he says, his hand fitted onto the side of my neck. "You don't understand how powerful you are."

Even though I try to stop them, tears begin to roll down my cheeks anyway. "I don't feel powerful," I say. "I failed."

He readjusts himself on the bed so that I'm sitting cross-legged between his legs and his arms are around my waist. He leans forward so that there's barely a gap between us. "You didn't fail," he says. "You took out his entire pack with a sentence."

"Exactly."

He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "What are you upset about, baby girl?"

"Theo," I choke out. "I killed all those people. I killed every single one of them. And I didn't even kill Lucien. I can't believe I killed them all."

"Hey, come on, princess, shh," he murmurs. "It's alright. We're alright."

"I —"

"I know you killed those people," he says. "But think about how many people they would've killed if you hadn't. Innocent people, Arden. They wouldn't have stopped. They wanted you to kill for them. You saw what you did back there. They wanted that but on a bigger scale and to people who were innocent.

"You stopped a war, Arden."

"I delayed a war, Theo," I say. "But I didn't stop it. I didn't kill their leader."

The corners of his mouth raise slightly. "You don't understand what you did back there," he says. "You stopped it all. Lucien is powerless now." He draws me closer to him. "How are the injuries doing, baby?"

"They hurt," I say.

"It's the wolfsbane," he says. "It'll be flushed out of your system soon and then you'll heal properly." He twirls a piece of my hair around his finger. "You're a survivor, Arden. This is nothing."

"It isn't nothing," I say, burying my face in my hands. "I don't care about the injuries. I care that I killed a hundred people with my voice."

He lifts my head to meet his gaze. "You're a siren, Arden," he murmurs. "That's what you do."

"I don't want to be able to do that!"

"You weren't born to be normal, Arden," he says. "You're the type of girl who was born to be extraordinary, to burn across the sky and have people know your name."

"Theo—"

"Arden, I'm in love with you because of everything you are. I don't care about the Vinceret pack or Lucien. I'm just glad I have you back here with me." He slides a hand under my jawline and tips my head to the side slightly. He leans forward and his mouth grazes over my neck. His mouth moves up to my jawline as he pulls me closer to him.

He pulls away slowly and presses his lips to mine. His lips work against mine effortlessly, and everything that's happened melts away, if only just for a second. The kiss deepens and his hands roam around my body.

He eases himself down on top of me and pushes me down, his kissing gradually becoming more passionate. His hands slide under my shirt and he edges it up but by bit. I groan against his mouth before he tugs the shirt over my head and throws it somewhere on the floor.

He hastily tugs his shirt off, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "Am I hurting you?"

I prop myself up on my elbows. "What? No. I'm no weak ass bitch."

He huffs out a laugh. "Good to know. Tell me if I do hurt you."

He leans back down and kisses me again. His fingers deftly trace patterns on my skin and very touch sends shivers through me.

His hands undo the buttons of my jeans, swiftly tugging them down and off my legs. He sits up and intakes a sharp breath. "I don't think I've told you lately how beautiful you are," he says. "I don't think I've ever told you how sometimes I can't help but want to rip the clothes off you to just take in every curve and angle of your body.

"Arden, I think I'm in love with you."

I sit up and furrow my eyebrows. "You've told me that before, Theo. I'm in love with you, too."

"I know that, babe," he says. He pats his lap. "Come here. I want to cuddle you." I shift myself so that he can draw me onto his lap. He nips at my ear as he talks softly into it. "I thought I'd forgotten how to love," he murmurs, gripping me around the waist tightly. "But then you came along, all strong and beautiful but also emotional and stubborn. You were everything. You were a puzzle. When I looked in your eyes, there was a galaxy. I wanted you for myself and it pissed me off that you were dating Brett and I was the bad guy in your eyes.

"But still, you became friends with me. And then you became defensive over me, even after everything. And sometimes, just sometimes, I thought that you'd love me back. And here I am months later with you sitting on my lap in your freaking underwear and listening to how pathetic I am when it comes to you. I mean, why haven't I just tied you down and fucked you yet? Theo a few months ago would be screaming at me right now to do that, to be honest. But I don't know. I'm too emotional for that right now.

"Anyway," he says, kissing my neck gingerly. "You remember when I first told you I loved you? And I told you how I didn't want to live my future with someone else? That's what I guess this is all about. I was worried sick yesterday and today. I was going out of my freaking mind over you, Arden, because I thought he might've already killed you. And, yeah, I know it's fucking stupid, but I cried when you were gone. Pathetic, I know.

"You're probably wondering why I'm talking about all this, aren't you, baby girl? I mean, you're probably bored as fuck, right now. But still. I was thinking about when I first told you I loved you last night and I told myself that I'd work up the courage to ask you something. I was wondering if you'd like me in your future, as well. And, I mean, I'm not planning a wedding or anything, you know, it's just that I'm planning to kill the Beast tomorrow. You know once the Beast is dead all this is over, right?

"I want to kill the Beast and then leave with you. We'll start a life somewhere nice. Maybe in a different country, even. I just want to leave everything with the Dread Doctors behind, you know. I want a new life, and I want it with you. So what do you say, Arden? Will you leave this all behind for me?"

I swallow hard. "Theo," I begin. "What about school and money?"

"We'll find a way, Arden," he says, he grabs my hand and holds it in an iron grip. "I promise. You can find some nice college somewhere to go to. We can get Kai or someone to pull strings. We'll sell the house, we'll move into a small house somewhere away from here. I'll work, you study. I'm already failing all my classes, Arden. I don't even go to school properly anymore. This can mean a new start."

I gnaw on the inside of my lip. This could ruin anything and everything, couldn't it? Even I'm surprised at the words that come out of my mouth.

"I'll come with you, Theo."

But that's how love is. Sometimes we only see things how we want them to be.

* * *

I've never been a big fan of Theo and his pack's rendezvous place, and today is no exception.

As if the smell of mildew and the labyrinth of pipes and chords everywhere weren't enough to put me off, the presence of Deucalion sitting quietly and intensely sure is.

In all honesty, I'd always found the alpha off putting. There was something about him that was just off, but Theo was convinced that he would be the pack's greatest glory. I had no evidence whatsoever, but Deucalion just didn't seem trustworthy to me at all.

The metal mask sits on the table, solid and misshapen. Josh stares at it, his eyes a mix of fear and astonishment. "You want me to put it on?" he demands to Theo.

Theo folds his arms over his chest. "Yeah," he says. "You won't die if you put it on."

"How do you know that?" Josh asks, narrowing his eyes at Theo. "Or is it just that you don't want to put it on yourself?" He turns to Tracy. "Or you?"

"I'm not afraid to do it, Josh," Theo growls. "I'm just not stupid."

"Are you not getting that it could kill us?" Tracy demands.

I sigh. "Hey," I say. "He doesn't want to do it if he doesn't want to." I'm not sure what makes me say it, whether it was spite or whether it was because I was on edge about my decision before.

"Arden," Theo warns.

"Theo," I say back, raising my eyebrows.

"You're the one with the power," Deucalion says. "They want you to wear it, Josh, because of the properties of the mask are based in electro-magnetism Pick it up and you'll see."

Slowly and cautiously, he picks it up, holding it in front of him and studying it. "What is this thing?" he asks.

Deucalion's empty eyes shine cunningly, as if remembering a happy memory. "A product of genius and madness. Two traits too often found in the same mind. The man who created the first was known only as The Surgeon. Using practices in the farthest edges of pseudoscience, he harnessed  electromagnetic fields in the masks, infusing them with a unique and deadly power."

Josh looks intently at the mask and holds it up in front of his face. He's going to put it on, I realise. The mask gradually becomes closer and closer to his face, until Josh freezes. He quickly slams it on the table. "I'm not putting this thing on," he says. "You want to know who it is? Do it yourself."

I pace around the room, my eyes falling onto the claws that Theo took for himself. "What about this?" I ask, holding up the jar.

"They're useless if we don't know who it is," Theo says.

"Actually, they're just useless," Deucalion declares. "Didn't Hayden mention that?" Although he's blind, his eyes pin Theo down with a calculating stare. "Where is she, by the way? I hope her moment of dissent didn't turn into actual desertion." Theo inhales, clearly beginning to grow frustrated. "What about the other one?" Deucalion continues. "Corey?"

"None of us can see him, blind or otherwise," Theo says. "So, I'm guessing, he's not here either."

Josh scoffs, clearly just done with the whole situation. "I'm leaving."

"Oh, there goes another," Deucalion remarks. "The circle of trust is narrowing for you."

I fold my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrows even though he can't see me. "And what about you, Mr Big Bad Wolf? I don't see any friends of yours here."

"The siren," he says in way of recognition. "I did so think that you'd have a nicer voice."

"Jesus Christ," I say. "Let's see what moves they taught you in the summer of 1975 old man."

"You're brave."

"No. Bravery would require risk. There's no risk in this for me. I can kill you with a sentence, Deucalion."

"You have the cockiness of Ian, you know that, right?"

A muscle feathers in Theo's jaw. Finally, he's getting that Deucalion isn't an all important glorious figure who can do no wrong.

"Your voice is getting on my nerves," he says. He turns to Tracy. "Paralyse his tongue."

"You got it," she answers. She makes a start towards him, but before she can paralyse him, he begins talking and she hesitates.

"Tell me something, Tracy," he says. "Just how powerless were you before this all happened? In my experience, it's the truly powerless who are all too eager to try out their newfound strength. So allow me to demonstrate something more helpful to our cause. Trust."

With a groan, the blind alpha tugs out the tubes connected to his arm. I take a step back, studying as he rips out of what we thought was secure.

He stands up straight, his posture tall and defiant. "I told you I wanted Scott McCall's eyes. That's why I let you take me." He breathes in and out deeply. "Though I have been a willing guest this entire time."

Theo's mouth is slightly open, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed. But in true Theo manner, he doesn't look afraid at all. All in all, his demeanour surely contrasts to my hostile, panicky one.

"What now?" Theo asks as Deucalion steps towards him.

Deucalion's lips raise into a snaky half-smile. "I teach you what you've been so desperate to learn."

And without hesitation, he snaps the bone in Theo's arm in half.

I take a step forward, my mouth forming Theo's name, but before I can do or say anything, Deucalion speaks again, surprisingly calm as ever.

"Feel that, Theo?" he says. "That's the secret to taking power. Pain. Take their pain, take their life, take their power." Oh, God. He really is a crazy son of a bitch. "It's all or nothing," he continues. "You take until there's nothing more to give."

Theo grits his teeth and with a grunt, snaps the bone back into place, allowing his healing abilities to do the rest.

"That's where you find the spark of power," Deucalion says. "And then, you take that as well. Pain. Life. Power. In that order and only that order." He pauses. "Do you understand?"

He's killing any good Theo has inside of him, I realise. I knew I never should've trusted him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I promise it to myself that I'd do just that before any collateral damage ensues. But even then I might be too late.

"Perfectly," Theo says, before driving his claws into Josh's gut. I freeze, watching as Josh grunts and the sound of electrical currents humming fills the room. How could Deucalion have made him do that? How could Theo be so different from last night?

Theo lets Josh's body fall to the ground with a thump.

Theo holds up a claw and exhales. "I can feel it," he says.

"Good," Deucalion says. "Because you just cost yourself one member of a small and inexperienced pack."

"Theo," I cut in. "This isn't how we do things. We don't kill our own."

Theo spares a flitting glance in my direction. I can't tell what he's thinking. He turns back to Deucalion. "What do you think?" he asks him.

"I think he was small and inexperienced," Deucalion muses. "And if you've got his power now, you can put on the mask."

I set my jaw, crossing my arms over my chest and making it known where I stand in this conversation. This was a bad idea — trusting Deucalion. Actually, a fatal one.

"This kind of power requires risk, Theo," he says. "Do it. Put on the mask. Discover the Beast's real identity and guarantee your place as a real alpha. As a real werewolf."

"Theo, don't," I warn.

But, just like that, he puts it on.

He begins screaming. "No! No!" I start towards him but Tracy grabs a hold of my wrist and I succumb, retreating from Theo. He gasps and grunts and screams until his voice is raw and the mask comes off.

He's fine underneath, physically. Apart from a deep scowl, he looks more than fine, actually. But when he says the name of the Beast, I myself can feel myself wearing thin at the edges, all of this becoming too much in this claustrophobic room. I swear under my breath and make a beeline towards the door, not so much as sparing Theo a glance.

Because the name he said was Mason.

Mason is the Beast.

* * *
HELLO BABES I hope you enjoyed that Tharden scene :)) I'm jus chilling here eating cake at 11 am and writing. Hope you guys like my new covers, I'm unsure whether to change my Sirens one. Also, I read a mafia Theo smut thing on tumblr and I just REALLY want to do a Sirens mafia au that would actually be so fun to write idk I'm like Cassandra Clare like I want to write 7483 books based on the same world and characters lmao anyway, we're on the home stretch for Sirens so I hope I can make the climax as exciting as possible. Hope you enjoy what's to come my loves!!

Also, just thought I'd share that me and imy_tay went to see the Jurassic World exhibition in Melbourne and it was great so if any of you have the chance to go see it, do it because it's the best

Until next time my loves, Georgina xx