Lucas slowly reached for Theo’s neck, and with the corner of his eyes, he saw Scott’s movement.
Just as Scott was about to shield Theo with his body, Lucas hit his cheek with the back of his hand. "Slap-!"
He flew a few meters, then slid all the way toward Stiles’ feet.
"Ughh!" Scott massaged his face in disbelief; the pain wasn’t as big as the humiliation he felt at that moment.
Theo’s hope also died in that moment. He then glanced pitifully at Lucas. "Please forgive me! They forced me to do this!"
Scott’s expression flinched and became more resolute. Even Stiles, who chose to remain silent, began to waver.
That was until Lucas’ next words. "So they forced you to kill your own sister too?" Lucas gazed at Theo with a coldness that few people received since he came into this world.
"What?!" X2
Stiles and Scott both exclaimed in shock. Stiles remembered what he heard about the tragic accident, and he never thought that Theo was the one responsible.
"How?" Theo’s face lost all color, and his expression twisted uncontrollably.
"You don’t deserve that heart," Lucas spoke as he glanced at his chest.
"Wh-!" Before he could utter one more word, Theo froze and glanced down at his chest. Lucas’ claws entered deep within and ripped his heart out like it was nothing.
As he looked at the heart, memories of his dying sister emerged in his mind, then a tear dropped onto the floor.
"I..." Theo’s body then fell back, and even in death, his eyes remained open, staring at the blue sky.
Lucas didn’t even look at him one more time and just looked at the heart in his hands. He then brought it closer to his face and whispered, "You can sleep peacefully now."
Suddenly, he felt the heart beating one more time, then it started crumbling into ashes that flew into the air.
The fierce glow that Lucas had in his eyes subsided for a moment, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Fly, little angel."
Lucas stayed with his eyes on the sky for a few more seconds, then glanced at Scott and Stiles, who were still trying to process what happened.
He then walked a few steps forward, arriving before the fallen Scott. Looking from above, he spoke, "I just realized something now."
Scott glanced away from Theo’s corpse, then looked at Lucas with a conflicted expression on his face.
"I gave you the illusion that you’re some kind of leader, since everyone close to you apparently treated you like one." Lucas took one more step, and now the two of them realized that this wasn’t going to end that easily.
He then knelt on the floor and looked at Scott in the eyes. "You have the desire to impose your beliefs on others, but...unfortunately, you don’t have the strength."
"Lucas-" Stiles finally felt that he should intervene and speak for Scott, but Lucas only glanced at him for a second, and all the incredible strength he had disappeared.
Stiles’ expression changed as he felt just like when he was an ordinary person.
"You once wished to become human again, let me fulfill that." Lucas slowly moved his hand towards Scott’s head.
Scott’s red eyes had a fierce spark in them as he felt the danger. Just as he was about to dodge, he discovered his entire body immobilized.
When he looked down, he saw the shadow from Lucas connecting to his own. ’How..?’ Scott gazed up and saw the sun shining in the sky.
Just as Lucas was about to touch his head, he froze and glanced down at his pocket. He then took the phone and saw a text from Allison saying that they found the Nemeton Tree.
A smile appeared on his face as he could finally get rid of the pain. He then glanced at Scott and decided to not waste time on him anymore.
As he turned around, he remembered something and looked back at Stiles and waved his hand. In that moment, Stiles felt his strength coming back.
"Don’t take my patience with you as a sign of weakness, you’re not that important." Lucas then vanished through the small shadows.
Stiles frowned and looked thoughtfully where Lucas stood. Lucas’ harsh words didn’t make him sad; what troubled him more was his behavior.
He heard everything that Lucas said, even when Lucas whispered to the heart. At that moment, he thought he would eat it for a second.
This is the reason he couldn’t even gather the strength to support Scott in defending Theo. Was it really all right to even speak for such a monster?
••••
While Stiles was contemplating philosophical questions, Lucas arrived deep within the forest.
There he saw Allison and Malia, who stood next to a cut tree, the Nemeton tree to be more exact.
"Finally." Lucas walked in front of it, and an excited glint grew in his eyes.