#better yet: why is a man this dumb allowed to continue owning said wolf

[voidmetal-alloy]

I really like when human au’s make Treble an actual real wolf. Like the option of making him a wolf dog or even just a big breed of dog are there but no. Bass is living in an apartment in the middle of a city failing his college classes and he also owns a wolf. Somehow.

[bangtanmythology]

In The Name Of Song. The Pack

Part five: The Pack:

Seokjin discovers he isn’t the only one who knows who you are and maybe you’re the key to fixing his sick pack mate. 

Words: 1.4K

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“Where is Y/N?” Seokjin’s voice was quiet, hurt, as he stared into your parents face, the bed where you had been just a few days before was left empty, untouched, thin sheets splayed across the floor, a small note on the bed.

Dear werewolves,

I took Y/N, she’ll be back when she’s ready to come back to this world,

Tell your werewolf friend that she’s transitioning,

She isn’t hurt, I’m keeping her safe,

Do NOT look for her,

Kindly,

Min Yoongi.

He knew who that was. He knew that Yoongi was the devil that cared for the 7th reality, supernatural creatures would go there for training, to continue the cycle that had been there for years. They had to kill those who committed sins in this world. He had gone there a few years ago, when he had left you all those years, he had known about it, an older werewolf who had been in his father’s pack had told him. He assumed you didn’t know about it, since you hadn’t told him about it. He wasn’t here. That was the problem, he had been gone. He wasn’t even in the pool house, where he’d usually be at the time. He was helping the youngest of the pack, Jungkook, he had been unwell for a while. At first, they had thought that he was going through heat, despite him having gone through several heats before, none had been like that one he was experiencing. Hoseok was convinced that it was because his mate had been nearby, that he could sense this and needed her company. Taehyung was more convinced that it was an actual sickness, perhaps a flu that just hit the werewolf too hard. Being a vampire, Taehyung clearly didn’t realise that werewolves didn’t simply catch colds.

Namjoon, their alpha was away, leaving Seokjin to tend to the younger wolf.

“When you came back from the 7th reality, you didn’t age as you have there, you came back at a normal age, the age you would have been if you had stayed here,” Your mum was staring at him, a small frown on her lips, “Do you think Y/N can do the same?” She asked, hopeful eyes staring through him.

“Well, I highly doubt that, I made a deal with a witch, she agreed with me that if I stayed for longer than I was supposed to, I could return back to my original age that I would have been in the real world. I spent a total of 3 years away from this world, do you know how I survived? When I began to get too old, she’d have a fallen angel bring me back to when I was 18 and then when she didn’t need me anymore, she returned me to this world, aged 18. I know and have done so many horrible things. She had me do her dirty work for her and if I was of use, she had me do everything. I was there as her muscle as she liked to put it. Y/N wouldn’t do that, she’ll come out in a few years, she’ll be older.” Seokjin was gripping the note hard in his hand.

“So, if it was only 3 years where were you for the other 3, when you didn’t come back until Y/N had turned 14?” Your father was glaring at the werewolf, eyes stone cold.

“Werewolves cannot survive on their own, they need a pack, I left for a year to find a pack, I hunted down two werewolves, they were sticking together, an alpha and an omega, their Salutary was away, disappeared and they were trying to hunt him down. That Salutary was discovered by me and the two of them almost a year and a half later. He was with a vampire, a vampire who had been strangely raised by werewolves who had then become the sentinel of the pack. We established our pack and I became the Beta of the pack, second in command. It took us another six months to vacate the cabin in the woods not far from here, the Omega had requested water nearby so we had to take down that cabin to ensure no predators could lurk and in the six months we built our own new cabin,” Seokjin seemed to have his whole life figured out, everything was in place for him.

“So, were you the one who’s been watching over Y/N in that werewolf for the last year then?” Your mums face was drawn into a sour pout, lips wrinkled around the edges and tired hollowed eyes staring over the younger man’s head. His eyes creased into a confused expression, his brain leaping from conclusion to conclusion.

“no-“

There was a large gap before any more words were said, Seokjin’s brain found the only possible conclusion that made sense. Jungkook.

“I’ll be back, I know who it was!”

And with those final words Seokjin was leaping up from your bed, running through the house and down the streets, towards the forest. His feet stumbling and tripping as he rid himself of layers of clothing, the late hour allowing him to comfortably do so. His ankles twisted, bones cracked and popped out of their sockets. A horrifying crack and creak of breaking bones echoed throughout the empty streets and then a beautiful brown wolf with Golden sunshine eyes leapt through the concrete streets that slowly became leaf covered dirt and the crunching beneath his paws soon reached the ears of 4 supernatural beings that resided deep in the forest. His paws halted all movement as they reached the large cabin, The Alpha was stood in the doorway, strict, cold eyes staring at the older wolf.

“Seokjin, why didn’t you fetch me?” His voice was cold and tired, a hunt had clearly gone badly for him, his tight expression told Seokjin so much as his bones returned to normal. His naked body shook as he adjusted back to his human state.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind Namjoon, the girl I lo- “

“Our pack comes first!”

The voice boomed across the expanse of the forest, skating over the length of the large lake and bouncing through the walls of the cabin, two younger men came bounding through the door, one of pale dead complexion and one with a completely puzzled look on his face. The Alpha’s eyes were glowing red, a threat sitting low in his throat, a growl emitting from him that had the Beta lowering his head and clasping his hands together in front of him.

“Well, I also helped that girl,” Hobi’s voice was low and shy, unwilling to meet the eyes of the Alpha and Beta, the younger next to him sucked in a deep breath.

“Man, werewolves are so stupid,” His voice was full of laughter, a joke to lighten the dark atmosphere that had taken over the late afternoon.

“Who is this special girl? How important is she that you both prioritised her over Jungkook!?” His voice began calm but by the end Namjoon was raising his voice loud enough to make the three men flinch.

“I don’t know her, Yoongi asked me for help, you know I assist him in the 7th reality every so often, she had just transitioned for the first time! Her legs were all cut up and she was in pain, she couldn’t move, I had to help her, you know my good werewolf nature mixed with my motherly instinct from my jaguar side makes me good at caring for others,” He was enthusiastically putting together a case to protect himself, once again using his breeds to his advantage.

“Hobi, I wish you’d stop blaming your idiocy on your mixed breed heritage,” Namjoon mumbled, eyes darting straight to Seokjin.

“Okay, first, Hobi what the fuck! Why did not tell me! That girl, that’s- My- That-“ His head was reeling at this information, Y/N was hurt, she really did need him and he didn’t help her, instead, his dumb were jaguar pack mate.

“That’s Y/N, my little Y/N, my own little sister, the person who I was supposed to protect with my life and yet, you-, you did more for her than I could,” Seokjin was truly dejected, a pang of guilt hitting him straight through the heart.

“so what? This girl is the reason you wanted to be close to this god-awful town?” Namjoon was sighing, eyes returning to normal as he watched the older male nod his head.

“her name is Y/N, she’s a mermaid, something is wrong with her, she needs to be with me, by my side, she’s my mate, I need her, you need to get her out of that reality, bring her back here.”

The voice was weak and exhausted, a slight pant accentuating each word, his body heaving with the efforts of having moved from his bed. A small shirt was gripped into his tight fist, a familiar scent overtaking Seokjin’s nose. A wet cloth sat snug on Jungkook’s forehead, ragged hair sticking to the material, droplets of sweat working their way down his exposed torso.

“Jungkook, you couldn’t even move before, did Hobi- “

“I didn’t do anything, it’s the shirt, it’s Y/Ns, I happened to have it with me in my bag, I completely forgot about it but I pulled it out when I was helping Jungkook, and he turned into some feral beast, he attacked me and ripped it from my hands,” Hobi was waving his arms as he spoke, exaggerating every word with a movement of his wrist. Taehyung was nodding along to everything,

“It’s true Namjoon, his eyes were glowing red, they were so scary, he became a different person, he just snatched the shirt and sniffed it and then he seemed to get better, it was like magic, of course, magic isn’t real be-“

“enough!” Namjoon was once again making all the boys flinch, all except Jungkook who remained stoic as his body shook with fever.

“Seokjin did you know about this?” Namjoon was rubbing his hands over his face, anger filling his every pore. Seokjin shook his head,

“I didn’t but that’s why I came over, I had a feeling, I knew something wasn’t right, Jungkook has been switching in to his werewolf form involuntarily for the past few days, he always leaves for hours but comes back every time slightly better than when he left, I think his wolf has been taking him to see her,” Seokjin was now sitting on the steps of the cabin, a dressing gown pulled snug over his body that Taehyung had put over him a few minutes prior.

“then, we need to cut her training short and bring her here,”

[ascottywrites]

The Angsty Post

Where Happy Endings come at the slowest of paces.

*Or, you know, sometimes not at all. 

Rewriting the future by Synesthetic  (Complete: 28/28| 106,631) --Steter 

Two days before their planned bonding, alpha Derek Hale runs away with his secret beta girlfriend, leaving Stiles heartbroken. With the demands of his omega physiology forcing him to bond with someone before his first heat, Derek's uncle Peter steps in and offers a solution.

Backstage is Full of Parasites by Falln_Grce (Complete: 14/14| 61,346) --Steter 

A little tweak to the Teen Wolf universe where Stiles learned to take care of himself from a young age. And despite going through trauma as a child, he's 17 now and has adjusted to the new normal as well as he can. With a soulmate-AU just to keep things interesting.

What if the Sheriff didn't turn to alcohol when his wife died... What if he focused all of his attention on helping a seven year old, recently removed from an abusive home, Isaac get settled into the Stilinski household... Where would Stiles fit into that world?

How I Long For Yesterday by sweetbutterbliss (One-shot| 6,017) --Sterek 

Stiles blinks, his throat going dry, and he moves his thumb without thinking - liking the post. He feels a surge of petty satisfaction. At least the fucker will know he knows now. He stands up, his body feeling too heavy, and he blows out the already guttering candles. He lets out a sob of frustration when the last one won't fucking blow out. But he sucks it back in and bites down on his tongue, using his thumb and forefinger instead.

He throws himself into their empty bed without undressing. He lies there repeating the words 'Derek blew me off for Isaac' over and over. He tells himself to shut up while rearranging his pillow violently, but he goes to sleep with the refrain continuing its painful loop.

You're Not Who I Thought You Were by halcyon1993 (Complete: 21/21| 84,549) --Sterek 

Stiles is lonely. The only person who really talks to him is his best friend, and even Scott seems eager to ditch him whenever someone better comes along. Following a stupid decision made late one night, his small world opens up as he discovers things he never before thought possible and he meets a mysterious man who could be the answer to all of his problems.

In Word and in Deed by lielabell (one-shot| 7,778) --Sterek 

Stiles has stopped saying "I love you." Derek wants to know why.

(Once in a) Blue Moon by clarkoholic, skywardsmiles (Complete: 14/14| 60,051) --Sterek 

Stiles and Derek are getting along, but they’re not a family, and they’re sure as hell not mates. Christ, they’re basically just two stupid guys who happened to get pregnant because of a full moon and sheer dumb luck.

We Are Made of Our Memories by JenyaKeefe (Complete: 9/9| 12,441) --Sterek

"I don't have amnesia." "Um, clearly you do. You're under a spell that's taken a year's worth of memories." "No. I've wakened from a spell."

Lost on you by devilscut (Complete: 7/7| 51,322) --Steterek 

A deadly encounter with an Alpha changes Stiles' life forever - kicked out and betrayed by his best friend and brother, Scott McCall, he leaves Beacon Hills, but much to his surprise not alone. Ten years down the track, living a life he never dreamed possible, a chance meeting brings back memories of that night - the good and bad mixed with a whole lotta WTF that even now still has him scratching his head as to what happened.

In Treatment by tzzzz (Complete: 22/22| 166,937) --Sterek 

Derek hires Stiles, a professional alpha sex therapist, to help him through his heat.

The New Normal by midnightcas (Complete: 27/27| 63,392) --Sterek 

After Stiles gets hurt...again, Derek puts him on the metaphorical supernatural bench. Meanwhile, Stiles tries to have a normal life and make normal friends. But when a new pack comes to town and the Hales start getting threats, things start to get a little....not normal.

The Mating Privilege by Kikileduc (Complete: 12/12| 35,380) --Sterek 

Stiles and Derek have been happily mated. The pack is doing well, but in hopes of creating alliances for it to do better, Derek accepts a neighboring pack's request to allow two wolves to join the Hale-McCall pack for a full moon cycle. They hope to form a blood-tie, or at least a long term friendship between the two packs. The issue is Kohona, the tribal leader's daughter, has her eyes set on an unavailable alpha wolf. This could have drastic consequences for their young emissary, however...

Beta read by the amazing Splash_of_ bi! Cannot thank you enough!!

Jokingly I'm adding this WARNING after having two separate comments talk about heart palpitations and others stating they are physically shaking or experiencing high blood pressure after reading the first few chapters.... WARNING: read with caution if you have a pre existing heart condition, Derek and the Pack may cause you to be upset!!

If We Could Match by forestofbabel (Complete: 9/9| 23,455) --Sterek

As Stiles waits behind the camera during an interview, he thinks he should maybe quit. Because, in all honesty, despite the charming smile the actor is pulling out for EW, Derek Hale is kind of a jerk.

Your Heart for My White Fences by zgdtx (Complete: 10/10| 29,444) --Sterek 

At first, Derek was the one night stand that he could not pry himself away from. Before he knew it, Derek was the married man Stiles had fallen in love with. Then, Stiles was the little lamb being tossed into a pit of wolves, helpless and alone. There was not much he could do, no, not much at all. Dark AU.

Call in the Air Stike (Tell Them to Make the Drop) by WednesdaysDaughter (Complete: 2/2| 5,126) --Sterek 

"How do you tell your best friend that the guy you were slowly falling in love with flat out said you were nothing but a waste of space, and you’ve secretly felt that way about yourself once or twice on a bad day? The answer is, you don’t."

Twyla Hale by FiccinDylan (Complete: 13/13| 37,123) --Sterek 

After the formula of their go-to product changes, "Hair Day" becomes "Hell Day" in the Hale Pack household. It's time for Derek to call in the pros, imagine his surprise when he's presented with a wicked tongued white boy with honey brown eyes.

***sure there’s some stuff that happens that’s not fun but i think I would characterize this as light angst in comparison to the inherent possibilities of this fandom lol  

Baby You're Beautiful by supernaynay (one-shot| 1,089) --Sterek 

“God you’re beautiful.”

Derek hadn’t even realized that the words had left his mouth until the whole room went silent, including Stiles, who until about five seconds earlier was busy yelling at him for putting himself in danger yet again.

I want to do this for you by Late_to_the_fandom (Complete: 17/17| 19,323) --Sterek 

“You must be delusional,” Derek deadpanned as he stood abruptly and stalked away indignantly to throw the broken shards of his cup in the garbage can. “In what harebrained scenario of yours did you think I’d say yes to this?” His heart thundered in his chest as he stared at Stiles in disbelief. “Nothing good can come out of this and you know it.” He paced angrily, his hands fisting then uncurling as he tried to rein his emotions. He stopped suddenly, his glare piercing and his words cutting, “I would never let you use me like this.”

There's Something About Love that Breaks Your Heart by Stereklover11 (Complete: 5/5| 7,835) --Sterek 

"I love you," Stiles said.

Derek didn't answer right away. Then he said:

"I'm sorry Stiles, but I don't feel that way about you. Or any guy for that matter."

The one where Derek is bisexual but doesn't know it and refuses Stiles' love...at first. ;)

Baby Daddy by DiscontentedWinter (Complete: 25/25| 55,369) --Sterek 

Laura Hale decides it's time to expand her pack. And Stiles could really use the money. And Derek... well, that's when things get complicated.

Bake to Remember, Eat to Forget by butyoureyessaidyes (Complete: 19/19) --Sterek 

It’s 6:18 A.M. on a Monday, and Stiles is using his thumbs to shape the fondant butt of a Winnie the Pooh sculpture. It’s the most action he’s seen in a long time.

--

Or the one where Stiles runs his own bakery, never locks the front door, and doesn't know he's part of a werewolf pack (until he does).

Kill Me Once, Shame On You by AllTheseSquaresMakeACircle (wip: 15/?| 46,512) --Sterek 

In the aftermath of their final bout with Gerard, things kinda went to shit. Yeah, they won. But Scott had violated some major boundaries. Jackson was still an emotionally constipated douche. Erica and Boyd were missing. In general, everyone was left missing a piece of themselves in one form or another. There was also the fact that there was a literal pack of alphas bearing down on them. Stiles was really getting sick of this shit.

(There's) Sulphur in Our Blood by WonderWolf (wip: 19/21| 186,356) --Sterek 

"Harris put you on a recon mission with Derek. You. Alone with Derek. On a mission. Together,” Scott says, slowly. “Does Harris want you dead?”

“I believe so," Stiles says gravely.

(Secret Agent AU where Derek blames Stiles for his sister’s death and Stiles is pretty sure that Derek’s going to murder him. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, Stiles’ familiar keeps having public breakdowns.

Oh, and there’s a mole in the agency, so there’s that too).

[zankivich]

Comfort: Werewolf! Shawn x Black OC Witch! AU

a/n: idk why I titled this comfort other than the fact that this just felt so warm to me. In fact I think I use just the word warm like a 100 times in this fic. It just felt right. This is my first OC and I love her with all of my heart so please be kind to her. She’s a little angsty, but she means well I promise. This was so fucking fun to write. I hope you like it. Thank you. k bye. 

WARNINGS: Slur usage (n word), sloooooow burn, she’s girth at 19k words, 

If you want to buy me a ko-fi you can do so here:  I also apparently have a permanent tag list now so let me know if you want that. 

There are some perks to being the alpha in town. The general respect from everyone he came in contact with. The support of his pack, and the whole getting to live with his best friends thing. Even the responsibility of protecting the town filled him with pride, even if it was a lot of work. Besides the perks though there were the caveats. There was the whole, random things popping out of the woods every other week to try and kill him. And then the being responsible for a pack of ten other werewolves in their early twenties who were for the most part, especially the guys of the pack, dumb as all hell. Lastly there were the witches.

Pickering’s history was rooted in something straight out of folklore. Centuries ago, the land used to belong to Shawn’s ancestors, but the witches had arrived and put a hex on the land. They would only remove the hex if they were allowed to stay. There had been whole wars between his kind and the witches until his great-great-great-grandfather had come into power. It was he who struck a treaty with the witches in order to prevent any more death. It didn’t mean that prejudice didn’t continue, and most of the town was extremely segregated. You were either a witch or a wolf, or a human and that determined just about everything for you.

Shawn had grown up with that history, so needless to say witches weren’t exactly his best friends in town. However, he also grew up knowing that his destiny was to one day lead the town. His dad raised him on compassion and leadership with the understanding that their town was a town for all, not just one. Even if it was difficult. Especially if it was difficult. His duty as the leader of the town, as the leader of the pack, was to keep the peace. This was certainly easier said than done, but he didn’t exactly have a choice.

That’s how he found himself on their side of town on a friday night, when he could have been at the bar with his friends, or at the gym, or literally doing anything else in the world. It was his responsibility to check in with their elder, a beautiful old black woman who hadn’t aged a day since Shawn had met her as a child except for her hair that turned a stark shade of silver white. She was the most powerful witch that he’d ever come across, and one of the only ones who he had gotten the chance to truly and genuinely know and respect.

He knocked politely on the door, shoes already in hand, because she had a thing about her floors. The door opened and instead of the very tiny woman with a cane he’d been expecting, a much younger woman stood in her place. She had brilliantly dark skin with even darker eyes to match. Her hair was nearly waist length locs with a part down the side that kept a few of them covering the side of her face. He had an innate yearning to move them out of the way so that he could see her better. Her cheekbones were high and prominent on her face and she wore makeup that made her skin almost shimmer in the setting sun. She was maybe the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“You are...not Edna.” He mumbled looking her up and down.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes so quickly it nearly gave him whiplash. His heart squeezed softly in his chest. Wow.

“That the kind of impeccable wit that the town leader is carting around?”

“And who might I ask are you?”

“Girl, stop playing and let that boy in the house!” Edna called from somewhere inside.

He grinned slightly at her stepping into the house and passing slowly around her as she refused to move from the doorway.

Edna was sat in her same chair she always sat in when he came over. It was in her room with all of the glass windows that allowed you to see her garden in the backyard. She sat there a lot, as she was now a little too old to go out every day and tend to it the way that she used to. When he was a kid simply attending his father’s meetings, she used to do something special where she would have him pick a flower that was nowhere near bloom. With a touch of her finger she could make the flower come to life in his tiny hand. He had thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time. She still had him pick flowers every now and again.

“Ms. Edna.” He smiled quickly joining her in the chair across from hers.

“Shawn.” She nodded handing lifting gently to point to the beautiful woman who opened the door for him. “Don’t mind her none. That’s my granddaughter, Athena.”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” He murmured.

“You haven’t. Her mother moved far away from here when she was younger than you are now. Couldn’t handle the way this town treated her. Stopped using magic, ignored her natural born talent.” Edna sighed much to the discomfort of Athena. “Athena here is my successor. That is why I’ve had you come over tonight.”

“Successor?”

“Why yes. Boy, I am old and tired. I can’t keep helping you every time something goes bump in the night. It’s time for me to let go. Athena will have all of my powers and more. She is meant to be the strongest witch this world has ever seen.”

He peered over at her in curiosity. She was leaning her shoulder against the wall, arms still crossed. She wore tattered up jeans and an old band tee. There was this incredibly adorable rose gold hoop ring in her nose. She was gorgeous for sure. But the most powerful witch? He just wasn’t seeing it.

“What can she even do though?”

Athena poked one of her fingers out from underneath her arm and flicked it toward the bookshelf just in time to send one flying towards his head. He rubbed soothingly at his own head where there was sure to be a bump and plopped the book down on the table.

“Wonderful, the next time the town is under attack I’ll be sure to call you so you can book them to death.” He snorted.

Edna and Athena shared a look, Edna shaking her head slowly at her. It wasn’t long before Athena was rolling her eyes and leaving the room with a huff. Shawn mentally added mind reading to her list of capabilities. Oh god, I hope she didn’t hear me call her beautiful.

“I’m sure you two will get along just wonderful.” Edna snorted.

He ran his fingers through his curls and tugged in frustration.

“I don’t think she’s gonna like me much. Are you sure she’s the one?”

“Oh boy, you have no idea.”

He left the meeting with a headache, a little annoyance, and an unfortunate visual of the way the sunset had hit her skin in his mind. Ugh.

***

A few weeks go by before he sees Athena again. It’s a Saturday night and most of the pack is littered around the bar, everyone nursing drinks and having a good time. He was in a really intense game of pool with Brian when the door to the bar opened and everyone sort of froze. It’s hard to describe what a witch smells like. There’s an earthiness to it with a hint of something metallic and something that was just off. Perhaps that's why he didn’t have nearly the reaction of everyone else in the bar, because Athena didn’t smell like that to him. She didn’t smell wrong.

The bar they were at was sort of known as the wolf bar. Some of the humans from town frequented as well, but certainly there had never been a witch in the bar before. Shawn had shared that Edna was training her successor to take over, but no one had met her yet. She was so new to town, and didn’t seem to get out much. She picked a hell of a night to start.

Athena was wearing a jumpsuit that night. It was multi-colored stripes of navy blue, white, and pink, a sharp departure from her ripped jeans. She’d traded her locs for beautiful, tight curls that fell all the way down to her chin. She seemed to get a little prettier every time he saw her. Especially when she was walking up to a bar full of werewolves completely unphased. The bartender that night was Eddy, who happened to have run the bar since his dad’s days. He was more traditional than Shawn liked, and might just be the type to give her trouble.

“Shawn where are you--”

“Hold on a second.” He huffed towards Brian as he headed for the bar.

“Excuse me, I’d like a whiskey on the rocks please?” Athena asked for what must have been at least the second time.

Eddy sneered. “We don’t serve your kind here ma’am.”

“What the entire fuck do you mean, ‘my kind’?!”

“Eddy!” Shawn called alpha mode completely taking over. “Make her a fucking drink, man. Now.”

Athena turned to look at him, her eyes practically sparkling and he almost forgot his own name. She looked absolutely dazzling when she was pissed, and boy was she fucking pissed. Eddy went to make the drink leaving them to just sort of stare at each other. He wasn’t really sure what the right thing was to say here. Yea, we usually don’t serve witches here, but stick with me and I’ll get you in! That sounded fucking terrible even to him.

He placed the drink in front of her and she turned a glare on him so fierce it looked like it should’ve turned him to dust where he stood.

“So, Eddy, is it just witches that aren’t allowed here, or do you frown upon us niggers to?”

Eddy’s face turned bright red at her words. As if to make matters worse she spit into the drink while making eye contact with him and then proceeded to knock it over onto the counter before standing up to leave.

“I’d be careful if I was you Eddy. Wouldn’t want me to get my gang o’ witches to make a soup out of you now would you?”

And then she was gone. And before the door had even closed he was stumbling after her. It wasn’t even conscious. He just needed to.

“Hey! Hey, I’m sorry okay? It’s not even like that. A witch has never even tried to enter that bar since its inception.”

“It’s not like that aye? Whether it’s because I’m black, or because I’m a witch, all you white boys are the same.”

He reaches for her arm and pulls her to a stop. There’s something about her anger towards him that hurts a little bit, makes him uncomfortable. He needs it to stop.

“I do not hate you because you’re a witch. And I don’t hate you because you’re black. I don’t hate you at all, okay? You’re just a little hard to get through to. You have to know that. I’m pretty sure you’re doing it on purpose.”

She tugs out of his grip and puts more distance between the two of them.

He sighed and tried again. “Can I give you a bit of advice? Maybe don’t go terrifying the locals, if you’re gonna take Edna’s place. They need to trust you.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the locals of this place. I hate it here, and if I had any say at all I wouldn’t even be here.” She snorted. “Any other dazzling advice?”

“Why are you so incredibly angry, huh?”

She just snorted and turned her back on him, quickly heading the way that she came. It didn’t matter how beautiful she looked, or how fucking great her cheek bones were. Shawn had come to a new startling conclusion. Athen was absolutely gorgeous. And he couldn’t fucking stand her.

***

It’s Sunday dinner. Every week his mum made him come back to the house for her famous roast, and to catch up with the family. It had been her caveat to him moving in with the pack at eighteen. They’d kept the tradition up ever since. His dad had never been prouder than when Shawn became an alpha, and had loved nothing more than handing over the next generation of pack lineage to him. He had helped him through his own transition phase, had been there for him every step of the way. A part of him had been scared that his dad might resent him for presenting as alpha so early. When the next alpha presents themself, the current one loses some of their speciality. They begin to age again, lose the abudantant strength while still maintaining the average alpha strength. Eventually his father would stop shifting, and he would just get to live out his life his mum. Shawn would continue on as alpha, at the peak of his youth until he has kids, or until a new alpha arose.

“Smells great mum.” He greeted kissing the side of her cheek as he entered the kitchen. “Got anything for me to test?”

She snorted. “No. It’s hard enough feeding you two as it is. Go help dad set the table.”

She makes enough roast for a family double their size and it just might be enough to feed them. There are potatoes and green beans and rolls. The entire house smells just like it used to when he was a kid. Sometimes he misses it. Especially times like this when he’s frustrated with the pack.

“Edna brought over her granddaughter for tea last week.” His mum notes. “What a lovely young woman.”

He snorted into his potatoes. “That’s certainly one way to describe her.”

“Oh, you don’t like the town’s latest addition?” His dad asked.

“Maybe I would if she wasn’t the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my life.”

“Language Shawn Peter.”

He rolled his eyes. “She hates the town with a burning passion. I tried to be nice to her even, but it’s pointless. She hates werewolves. She hates me. And I’m supposed to work with her just because Edna says so? That’s ridiculous.”

“Well it’s nice to know you don’t feel strongly at all.” His dad joked.

“Seriously dad. She’s the worst. And she’s only going to cause problems. I’ve worked my ass off to keep the peace in this town, and she walked straight into Eddy’s pub, spit into a drink, and threw it all over the bar. She’s only going to mess things up.”

His dad did a hum that he used to do when Shawn was a child. That hum always meant he was in for some sort of lesson. And never one that he was particularly interested in learning.

“I’m surprised Eddy served her a drink at all. Guy’s a real traditionalist prick.”

“Language at the table guys!” His mum reminded them forcefully.

“Sorry.” They said in unison.

Shawn sighed softly and picked at his potatoes.

“He didn’t. He refused to serve her, and I had to make him do it.” He admitted. “She didn’t know if he was being racist or...witchist?”

“Ahhh, so you can imagine how someone in her position might not be too trusting of us wolves then?”

And here comes the lesson.

“I understand that. But, I stuck up for her didn’t I? I even followed her out to make sure she was alright and she practically spit in my face. If she doesn’t like my town she can get the hell out of it.”

His dad only smiled. “I get how protective you are over this town and its people. It’s was makes you such a great alpha. But I raised you to not see this town as just a place for werewolves. We haven’t been that way in a very long time. The harder you try to fight the witches, the harder time you’re going to have. We share the land now, and if she’s not feeling included here as far as I’m concerned, it's your duty to figure out why and fix it.”

“You want me to fix the rift between the werewolves and the witches? A war that has gone on for centuries?”

“What I’m saying is, you might try to be a little more empathetic. I knew her mother well, and I have a feeling her understanding of this town might be rooted in a lot of pain and a lot of hurt. We owe it to her to try and mend some of that.”

Shawn has absolutely no idea what he means by that. And he knows his dad, so he knows he’s not going to get anything else out of him. He’s on his own on this one.

***

Shawn’s in the middle of doing pull ups in the middle of the doorway to his bedroom when Jasmine and Lily come inside. They were twins, two olive toned gymnasts with bigger leg muscles than him and jet black hair they both always kept braided up. They had been on patrol last, so he figured they were just there to catch him up.

“All good?” He asked.

Jasmine poked playfully at his stomach trying to make him falter in his pull ups.

“Well, we caught wind of a witch actually. But it was about twenty miles out into the woods, and it didn’t seem threatening. Do you want us to go back out?”

He shook his head. “I could use a run anyway. I’ll check it out. Let Brian and Zeubin know just in case though.”

He hops down from his bar and tugs off his shoes, wanting as little clothes to have to worry about as possible. He heads for the garage to fully disrobe, ties his sweats to an ankle with the cord he always carried around with him, and shifts before darting out into the woods. The scent isn’t hard to pick up. He catches it about five minutes into his run. Running is definitely his favorite part of the whole wolf thing. He’s faster than his human form could ever imagine. The wind pulls through his fur, and his sight can catch just about anything that might come his way. It’s the most free he ever feels is when he’s just running through the woods. Just as soon as he picks up the scent is just as soon as he realizes that this isn’t just any witch at all.

He’d yet to figure out why Athena didn’t smell off to him. Why she smelt exactly the opposite. Her scent wasn’t sickening, in fact it reeked of warmth and sun, and something a little sweet. He slows down his running as he comes to clearing in the trees. She’s sitting on the ground, her eyes closed. At first he thought she was just meditating or something. And then the wind began to swirl around her. He felt his fur stand up straight on his back and all of a sudden the trees began to shake around the clearing. Her face grew tight with tension and concentration. The ground shook and her body lifted clear off the ground still in the crossed leg position. He watched as the dirt and leaves began to swirl along the ground as if she was creating a tornado with her mind. It reminded him aimlessly of Edna with the flowers but far, far more intense. Who the hell was this girl?

Suddenly her eyes opened and they were piercingly white, almost like lightning. It made sense because just a moment later the sky opened up to a piercing beam of lightning and a loud crack of thunder that hurt his ears. She let out a blood curdling scream before falling to the ground. The earth all around her became still as her body lie limp on the ground. He was shifting and pulling on his pants before he could even think to do anything else.

She doesn’t come to when he picks her up, and there’s a trickle of blood running down her nose. She must have over done it a bit if the scorched earth from her thunderbolt was anything to go off of.

He carries her back to the pack house in a smooth jog, making sure not to startle her too much. She still doesn’t wake up. When he begins to exit the woods, most of the pack is waiting by the sliding glass doors, easily having picked up her scent. No one else seems to think she smells good. It must just be him. Brian and Zeubin being his Betas quickly step to him as he carries her toward the house.

“What the hell is this?” Brian asked in confusion. “ What’s going on?”

“She passed out in the woods. Go find me a blanket or something. Have Lily make some of that freaky herbal tea of hers.”

“But--But she’s a witch?”

His eyes blaze red and he pauses to let Brian cower beneath the intensity of his gaze.

“And we protect all people on our fucking land, so go get the blanket Brian. That’s an order.”

He carries her into the house and skips the couch entirely to head for his bedroom. He gets her into bed and goes to wet a wash cloth while Brian gets another blanket, and Lily makes the tea. The blood under her nose had begun to dry, so he wiped softly at it to make sure she was done bleeding. Her heart rate sounded fine. Her breathing was normal. But she was completely unconscious.

When it was clear she was going to be out for a while he closed the door to his bedroom and immediately pulled all of the pack into the living room for a meeting.

“What’s going on boss, she okay?” Conner, one of the youngest of the pack asked.

Shawn nodded. “I think she’ll be fine. She was practicing some of her magic in the woods when I found her. She just over did it. We’ll let her sleep it off here and then I’ll get her back to Edna’s. In the meantime it seems we need to have a conversation about what our jobs are in this town.”

He peers over at Brian who thumbs guilty at his nose, eyes downcast.

“If I ever hear a word about one of you denying help to anyone because they’re a witch, you’ll answer to me. Got it?” He snapped.

Everyone nods and agrees quickly not wanting to anger him more than he already has been. Shawn hated being the angry alpha; it felt incredibly cliche to him. But sometimes it was the only way to get them to know he meant business.

“I know that we’ve always kept the peace by letting them do their thing over there while we do ours over here, but we’re the protectors of the town dammit. And that means everyone who occupies it. Tell me you all know that? Tell me I can trust each of you to do that.”

They all stare back at him with open and honest eyes nodding. He trusts them with his life just as they trust him with theirs. It’s the only way the pack will work. It’s the only way they can all stay safe.

He dismisses them all after going over patrol orders for the night, and grabs Lily’s tea before heading back to his room.

Athena was lying on the bed still out cold. He set the tea on the bedside table and took the cloth again to press gently to her forehead. This time when he touched her, she came to although not exactly the way that he would have liked. Her eyes burst open and she lurched forward, her hands coming out to defend herself. One second he was pressing the washcloth to her forehead and the next he was flying back into the wall and landing flat on his ass.

“Shit! Oh my god, are you okay?!”

He grunted lowly, ego taking much more of a hit than his actual body did, and got back up. It’s a good thing he healed super quickly. He had a feeling this one was going to get him into nothing but trouble.

“I’m fine. Although if this is how you thank those that help you, I might have left you in the woods.” He snorted.

Her eyes turned to slits, and just like that her resting bitch face was back.

“What do you mean? How the hell did I end up here?”

“My pack found your scent, and I came to check it out. You were doing some weird shit in the sky and then you collapsed out of nowhere. I brought you back here to let you rest.”

“Oh how kind of you.” She sneered already pulling the blanket off of her body.

“I thought it was extremely kind of me actually! Especially considering how big of an asshole you are to me on a daily basis.”

“Perhaps it wouldn’t be on a daily basis if you stopped showing up everywhere I am all the time!”

“And just what do you suppose would have happened to you if I left you there?!” He yelled back at her.

She rolled her eyes. “I would have been fine! I can protect myself and I don’t need your fucking pity, alright?!”

The alpha in him didn’t do particularly well with being challenged. Even the human part of him was pissed. She seemed to have a particular talent for making his fucking blood boil. So he could feel that part of him lurch towards the surface and his eyes turn red as she managed to make him madder than any other person he’d ever met. In that moment he hated her. Let his father’s lesson be damned.

“You are the most stuck up, evil,  self-centered witch I have ever met in my life! I should have left you there to electrocute yourself . You think you’re so fucking strong, but you’re just dense! No one can do it alone. Not even you! Has Edna taught you nothing?!”

“You shouldn’t even let her name come out of your filthy mouth! What I learn and what I do has nothing to do with you!”

She makes him angrier than he can even stand. He was a seasoned alpha at that point, had far learned to master his emotions and to reign it in when necessary. But she just kept pushing, kept digging, kept hitting at him. He had never experienced anything like it before. It’s not until he’s growling at her and he feels the familiar stretch in his bones that he realizes he’s on the cusp of shifting. He hadn’t shifted out of sheer anger since he first turned. She drove him absolutely mad.

“Get out! Get the fuck out!”

The lights flicker and her jaw is set on edge. They absolutely despise each other and nothing is ever going to change that. When he yells at her her hands come up in front of her as if she wants to choke him. Instead she wreaks havoc on his room instead. His lamp flies and smashes into the wall in a similar fashion to the way his body had earlier. All of the books on his book shelf fly off and the glass to his sliding door that leads to balcony shatters as she let’s the room have all of her frustrations. She opens the door with her mind and practically glides out of the room.

Zeubin and Brian are there waiting, peering into the room where all of his shit is destroyed. After the speech he’d given about protecting witches, reasonably they’re a bit confused as to how to proceed.

“What do we do?!” Zeubin asked peering anxiously from the hallways and back to Shawn.

“Nothing. Just--Just leave it. I’m going for a run.”

He brushes past his friends not even hesitating to shift the moment he’s outside, sweatpants bedamned. He needed to get her out of his system, to get her smell off of him. She made his blood boil. He was filled with anger and disgust and hurt. And he just had to get away.

***

*Athena’s pov*

She stormed into the house with a fury. Her heart hasn't stopped racing since she left his room. She was absolutely livid. The door slammed so hard it rattled on its hinges. And her grandmother was not having it.

“Girl! Whose door is you slamming?!” Edna called. “Come in here!”

She sighed, feet dragging as she slumped into her room. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go back to before she had even decided to come to this stupid ass town.

Her grandmother takes one look at her and all of the anger melted from her face. She was an empath, among all her other great powers, and it meant she had an innate ability to feel and understand what she was feeling.

“Child come sit. What is going on with you?”

She crawled into her bed in defeat, head immediately falling into her lap.

“I just can’t do it mama.” She sighed. “I can’t be what you are. I can’t find any love for this place. Not after everything they did to my mom.”

There are tears of pure frustration in her eyes, and Edna reaches to tug up at her chin.

“Now wait just a second. What happened? Start at the beginning.”

“I was in the woods practicing just like you said! And I guess I...I might have over done it. I passed out. And that damn man found me.”

At this, Edna chuckles.

“Mama, it’s not funny!”

“Shawn? Shawn found you?” She asked. “Child, this whole you against the world attitude causes you nothing but strife. Please do explain to me how that man helping you caused you to slam my damn door?”

Athena rolled her eyes. “He called me evil. Self-centered. Dense. I’ve never hated someone so much in my life.”

“Girl… you are fighting the inevitable here. This is your destiny. I know it is scary, and I know it is overwhelming, but that is not going to stop it from happening. Now I want you to cry when you need to, want you to scream with all your might when you need to, but it will not change what you are to become. You are the strongest witch this land has ever seen. You will rise to power, and with that power will only come the responsibility of protecting this town and the people in it. And I am sorry to burst your bubble, but you will have to work with him to do that. It is his destiny just as it is yours. You are meant to be.”

Athena tucked her head softly into her grandmother’s arms as few tears ran down her cheeks.

“They were so awful to her, mama. She used to tell me all these stories of the way they treated her and daddy.How ugly they all were. Why should I take care of any of them. They think the same of me. It’s all the same kind of hate.”

Edna settled her fingers into her hair and detangle the strands mindlessly to soothe her.

“So much can change in a lifetime baby. I know even better than your momma how hateful these folk can be. Nothing they said to her they didn’t say to me. She just got it worse because of your daddy. But, something changed with the Mendes lineage a few centuries ago. They stopped caring about power and cared more about peace. And the result has been that with every generation they preach less and less of that hate you’re talking about. Shawn, bless him, is the kindest one I’ve ever known. Takes after his daddy. When he was a little boy, he used to keep his fangs hidden because he was afraid of scaring people. He was more interested in sitting out in my garden than rough housing. He ain’t got a hateful bone in his body. He just loves this town and he wants to take care of it.”

Athena hates when her grandmother is right. And her grandmother is always right.

“I can’t read him.” She mumbled glumly. “I can feel his emotions, but I can’t tell what they’re stemming from. I can’t tell anything. It’s so frustrating.”

“Hmmm, you could always ask him.”

She snorted. “Sure, mama. After I just went all Carrie on his room, i’m sure he’d love to sit around and braid each other’s hair and talk about boys.”

“Well, I’m sure an apology would go a long way. You’ll figure it out.”

She wasn’t so sure she would.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

He’s at the shop when he gets the call. Couple hiking in the woods mauled by a bear. Brian and Zeubin meet him out there. The police have the crime scene taped off, but he’s let under immediately. It takes one whiff to know it’s not a bear. It’s a wolf but he doesn’t recognize the scent, which means everyone is immediately on high alert. The fact that one of them survived is good because it means they can question him. But, it only takes one look at his face when he realizes his wife is gone to know that there’s nothing good about any of this.

His name was Cole Patterson. He and his wife ran one of the general stores in town. They were good people. He grabs tightly at the man’s hand as they wheel his gurney towards the ambulance.

“We’ll find who did it Mr. Patterson. I swear to you. I’ll make it right.”

But his face is so swollen that in conjunction with the tears, he doesn’t get much of an answer. It hurts his heart. And with the sadness comes the innateness to protect, to defend. He just hated seeing others in pain. And it was his job to fix it.

“What do you want us to do?” Zeubin asked.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Run along to the house. Fill the others in. I want round the clock patrols starting now and want the perimeter expanded fifty miles. We’ll meet first thing in the morning and figure out our plan of attack. You see anything in the woods and you don’t attack. Go the hell home. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

His betas nod before running off to follow his orders. He sticks around to gather more information from the police in the hopes that it might help the pack. He knows it’s his duty to alert the elders to the situation, so his first stop is to Edna’s, and he’s hoping and praying that the stuck up wicked witch of the west had hopped on her broomstick for the night.

It’s raining, so by the time he gets there and shifts back he’s soaked to the bone. He only has enough time to share what he knows with Edna. He needs to get back to the pack, needs to protect his people. She’s sitting on her porch in her rocking chair waiting for him, so he assumes it will be an easy meeting. How fucking stupid of him.

“So, we’ll be running patrols twenty-four seven. Do you think you could make a protection charm for the part of the woods where the attack happened. If it’s a wolf it’s probably going to return to the same place.”

For a moment she just rocks softly in her chair and peers up at him with those eyes of hers he used to be completely mesmerized by as a kid.

“I won’t be helping you this time, Shawn.” She finally murmured.

“What? What do you mean?”

“This is Athena’s time. That’s why this is happening now. It is her test to see if she can handle her powers.”

Oh for fuck’s sake.

“You have got to be kidding me! Edna, I do not have time for your granddaughter to ‘test her powers’ when my people are dying.”

She smiled at him. “They are her people too. She will help you.”

Edna wasn’t one to get angry at. Mostly because she could kick your ass with a wave of her hand. But also just the respect that she had garnered over years and years left him slightly whiny and beggy.

“Listen. She hates me. And that’s fine because now I sort of hate her too. There is no way in hell I can work with her. She hates my kind, and she hates this town. I can’t trust her to protect it. I need you, Edna.”

He’s a little desperate. The town wasn’t just full of wolves. In fact the vast majority of the town was made up of humans with a strong united pack to make sure that everyone was safe when shit went bump in the night. Especially the supernatural bumps in the night. The thing that made a good alpha was recognizing that one needed the help of his fellow pack members, and even other supernatural folks, to be at his best. He’d learned that lesson the hard way when he was younger and more cocky and stupid. But the truth of the matter was magic had kept the entire town safe for centuries now. And he wasn’t about to switch things up when lives were at stake.

He’s about to fall to his knees and just beg Edna to do the fucking charm when the door opens and out she walks. This time her hair is tied up with a scarf, dozens and dozens of tight little curls spilling out from a ponytail high up on her head. She’s in jeans again and a leather jacket and boy does he fucking wish it didn’t do anything for him. He can’t help but notice the skip of a beat in his heart that surely isn’t rage or hatred. And that’s the worst part about all of this.

“I’ll do it.” She said. “I can do it. Just show me where it’s at.”

He raised a pointed eyebrow and settled his hands on his hips.

“And I’m supposed to believe that because? Last time I saw you you told you hated this town and everything in it.”

She rolled her eyes as if he was the over dramatic one and twirled an umbrella in her fingers.

“Look I don’t have time to argue with you. Either I can make the charm and help your ass or not. It’s up to you.”

He stared at her in disbelief. And then at Edna who only smirked at him. This family was going to drive him fucking insane. No doubt about it. But he needed the damn charm.

“ Fine. But that umbrella is going to do you no good. I’m going to have to carry you.”

“Excuse me? I’ll drive.”

He felt his muscles tense and perhaps the first headache he’d had in months descend upon him too.

“It’s in the middle of the woods on a hiking trail. A car is not going to get you there. And a car can’t move as fast as me. You’re just going to have to get a little wet.”

It’s Athena’s turn to stare at her grandmother in disbelief. Her smile never shifts.

“Well you’ll just have to wait while I go cover my hair then.” she snorted.

“Excuse me?! Did you miss the part where someone died!”

“Calm down white boy. Damn. So dramatic.”

Fucking. Insane.

***

The rain makes a real mess of things. It’s muddy and dark and if he didn’t have incredible vision they’d probably be fucked. She’s surprisingly quiet throughout the entire walk and doesn’t even complain when he has to pick her up. It’d different than the last time he saw her. The energy surrounding her isn’t nearly as hostile and aggressive. In fact it kind of seems more like she’s thinking than anything else. The usual look of disgust isn’t even present on her face. Not that he’s looking at her face or anything. Because he isn’t.

So they walk and he holds her and it’s just the world of trees and greenery and rain around them. It’s ten times better than her fucking up his room and yelling at him.

“What are you thinking about?” He chanced readjusting his grip on her as he steps over a fallen tree.

She’s got a bright ass raincoat on and he’d go to the grave willingly before telling anyone that she looked cute in it. Because she doesn’t. She absolutely doesn’t.

“I can’t read you.” She mumbled from beneath her hood. “And I find it very annoying.”

“So you can read minds?”

She shook her head. “Nah boy, what am I Edward Cullen? I’m an empath. I can feel the emotions of those around me. I can usually get a really good sense of what those emotions are stemming from though. Like when mama is angry I can sense what her anger is in reference to. I slammed the door a couple of weeks back and I knew that that was what her anger stemmed from before she said anything. It gives me a really good understanding of people which is really all empaths are. When my power expand I’ll be able to infiltrate people’s feelings, make them feel what I want them too. With you though….I can sense the emotions but I never have any idea what they mean.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I have a sense that mama knows why but she’s not telling me for some reason.”

Edna had a history of knowing all and purposely letting you figure it out all on your own no matter how frustrating it might be. Shawn could imagine.

“Well, what am I feeling right now?”

“You feel...calm. But when you showed up at the house you were scared. You were in pain. You felt sad. Why are you calm now?”

He peered down at her as he walked. Her eyebrows were furrowed. She looked at him with genuine concern. It compelled a certain level of honesty that he never thought he would share with her.

“I feel most myself in the woods. Well besides from when I’m in wolf form anyway. I can’t really explain it. The earth and the trees and everything? It’s just always felt like home. I used to spend all my time out here even as a kid.” He explained. “It kind of helps that you’re not throwing books at my head this time around.”

Her fingers tighten slightly in his damp t-shirt.

“Yea… I uh I am sorry about how I reacted. You were just trying to help me and I was just really scared when I woke up. I--I had no idea where I was. And I was very frustrated that I wasn’t able to defend myself. Doesn’t matter. Still sorry.”

He feels incredibly tongue tied. Never in a million years would he have guessed that she would apologize let alone seem so sincere when she did it. It was like talking to a completely different person. A person he might actually be able to stand.

“I can understand that,” He spoke slowly. “I can’t imagine waking up with no idea where I am, and then my big dumb face is staring back at you. Might scare anyone.”

She laughs. And it...it nearly stops his heart. He can’t even explain the way that it makes him feel, so he hopes she can’t tell either. Whatever it is, it’s like a light. Like they’re moving through the big dark forest, but the second that she laughs the sun might as well appear. It’s like warmth and light and something pure. He’s left completely dumbfounded.

“Big, yes. Dumb, no.” She snorted. “I’ll be sure to get you a new lamp though. My bad.”

He keeps his mouth shut just in case he says anything stupid. Before he knows it, they're at the clearing to the trail where the attack took place. He lets her down off his arms and she moves to take in the scene before her. She pulls a jar out of her raincoat and walks slowly and methodically around the space sprinkling something along the ground as she whispers s beneath her breath. When she comes back to the space that she started a bright light emits from the ground and forms a circle around the space. It disappears soon after and then she puts the jar away and skips back over to him like nothing even happened.

“That’s it? It’s just safe now?”

She nods. “No evil energy will be able to penetrate it. Scouts honor.”

The thing about magic, and about witchcraft, was it wasn’t his area of expertise. All he could really do most of the time was trust that Edna was telling him the truth. And when it came to Athena, when it came to all of the things she’s said to him and yelled at him? Still all he was left with was a choice. Either he could trust her, or he could not.

“Okay.”

That was the night he decided to trust her.

He led her back down out of the woods. Instead of carrying her, they walked. In spite of how much slower it was, in spite of him having places to be, and commands to give. He walked alongside her in the woods. And he couldn’t explain what was compelling him to be alright with these circumstances. All he knew was that when she said she’d rather walk, he simply followed alongside her. And that was it.

“Can I ask you something?” She murmured arms in her big puffy raincoat and eyes completely on the ground trying to make sure she didn’t fall.

He nodded. “Sure.”

“The pain that you felt earlier? That fear? Where did it stem from?”

He lets his fingers graze her elbow to lead her over a rock so that she doesn’t trip.

“A woman died tonight.”

“Did you know her?”

“No. Not really. I mean knew of her the way that I know everyone in this town. But she was mine to protect nonetheless. I failed her tonight. And I failed her husband. And I failed all of her loved ones. The least I can do is mourn her death, don’t you think?”

She peers up at him from beneath her hood. Even in the dark he can read her eyes. Confused. Curious. It was like she was looking for something within him she couldn’t find. And he wasn’t sure what it was, or why she couldn’t find it.

“My mama...she says you don’t have a hateful bone in your body. She thinks you love this town more than anyone. Is that true?”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t know about that. I can get very angry sometimes. It’s the alpha in me. I try my best not to be hateful though. This town it...it’s all that I have. It’s all that I am. My genes, my lineage, it was all created so that I could protect all who occupy this land. I love it here. I know it’s got its problems, and I know it hasn’t always been the greatest to your family or to other witches. But I’m trying to change that. I’m trying to take care of everyone here, Athena. Not just werewolves.”

She nods softly and goes back to staring at the ground. They don’t talk for the rest of the walk, but it’s okay. They’re sort of okay.

***

“We found the scent about thirty miles west and followed it. It cuts off through the Ottawa river, and we lose it there. We tried moving to the other side, but we got nothing.” Conner explained.

“Okay. We’ll make a visit to the next pack over city limits. I’ll take Jasmine and Zeubin with me. If we find out it’s not one of theirs then we regroup and we prepare as if we’re under attack. In the meantime, we continue with round the clock patrol. I’ll meet with Edna and Athena to make them aware and ask if they can help us at all.”

Everyone nods and breaks off to their respective tasks. The town hadn’t see any trouble in quite a long time. A lot of people thought that was a testament to Shawn's leadership. He wasn’t that naive. He thought he’d just managed to get a little lucky. After All the best way to manage the way an alpha led his back was in times of difficulty not peace.  

It’s a two day trip to get there and back. He doesn’t want the neighboring pack to get scared by their presence so he only takes two of them with him. He also needs Brian back at home to watch over everyone and everything. And nothing against the kid, but he wouldn’t want to leave anyone in charge of his pack for more than two days. This was his main reason for stopping by Edna’s again. It’s definitely his only reason too.

Athena opens the door. She’s got her hair in that pineapple shaped ponytail again. The real difference this time is that she’s in a sweatshirt and leggings with no makeup on. She looks soft and warm. He completely forgets everything that he came there for. And it’s even worse because Jazmine and Zeubin were right behind him, and she’s staring at him a little bit like he’s crazy. Maybe he is.

“You were feeling fine a second ago. Determined. Now you feel overwhelmed. What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I….Uh--Sorry! I just um. I forgot what I was gonna say for a second.” He chuckled. “Can I talk to you and Edna?”

“Sure. Yea, come in.”

He catches them up on everything that he knows. Even he doesn’t notice but he spends the majority of his time talking to Athena. And she spends all of her time making eye contact with him. It’s clear to everyone in the room that something has shifted. There’s no longer a hatred in the room. It’s something different entirely. By the time they’re caught up, and it’s time to leave, he pulls her to side for a second just to check in separately.

“What’s up?” She asked softly.

“I need you to do something for me, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“What is it?”

“I just...I need you to keep an eye out while I’m gone, please? Just make sure nothing happens?”

Her eyes widened. “Me? Why not mama?”

“Because you’re supposed to be my point of contact now right?” He asked reaching for her arms. “ Don’t worry. I trust you.”

“You do?”

“I do...I haven’t quite figured out why yet. But, I do. You can feel that though can’t you?”

She scrunched her face up slightly as she peered at him in bafflement. He wondered if he could read her emotions if that would be all she ever felt towards him.

“I can. Okay I--I’ll keep an eye out.” She agreed.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

He smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

*Athena’s point of view*

“You’re pacing.”

Athena rolled her eyes. “I’m not pacing I’m just thinking.”

“Well then you’re pacing and you’re thinking. Girl, what is the matter with you?”

Athena paused in her nonstop path of circles that she’d walked around her bedroom to peer at her friend. Taylor was the only friend she’d made thus far in the tiny town. And it was a hundred percent because she was black and a witch too. They had to stick together in this crazy ass town. Taylor was also born and raised in Pickering and was kind enough to give Athena background when she needed it. Although she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to help this time around.

Taylor lied in the middle of her bed, locs long and neatly spread out across her bed, as she stared at her like she was crazy.

Athena rolled her eyes. “I’m just...I’m trying to figure out what the hell to do.”

“About?”

“Shawn asked me to look over things while he was gone. I promised. And now I have no idea how to actually do that seeing as how I have zero contact with the pack.”

“Wait wait wait...Since when did you make promises to Shawn Mendes of all people? I thought you hated his guts?”

Athena paused. “I did. I--I do! I...I don’t know!”

“I can’t believe you’ve let me sit here for over an hour watching you walk around like a crazy woman when you had tea to spill. Sit down.” Taylor exclaimed.

She doesn’t really know how to explain, or what to explain. She didn’t quite get it herself. After her talk with Edna, she had decided to head her advice if only to save herself a little frustration. She had zero intentions of trusting Shawn, or anything beyond being cordial enough to get her job done. And then she had talked to him. And he just wasn’t that fucking bad. She kept looking for signs of the rhetoric her mom used to tell her about,  a sign of anger or hate or rage in his eyes. It wasn’t there. His eyes were unbelievably kind. And everytime she read his emotions she couldn’t find any ill intent once so ever. Add on top of that his willingness to share and be open with her, when she’d been nothing but awful to him, she had found herself in a bit of a conundrum.

“I don’t know what it is Tay, I just...something in my gut is telling me he’s not bad. And mama trusts him with her whole heart. I can feel that. And he trusts me. Like really fucking trusts me. Something is telling me to trust him back.”

Her best friend squinted at her and let her legs flop aimlessly around the bed as she thought.

“And this has nothing to do with him being the hottest man this town has ever seen right?”

“W--What?!”

Taylor chortled. “I’m just saying. If that man carried my ass through the woods and made small talk, I’d trust his fine ass too!”

“I hate you. I am never talking to you about anything again.” Athena grumbled.

“Oh don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was just kidding. So, we going over there or what?”

“Tay what in the hell are you talking about?”

Athena watched as Taylor slid off the bed and walked to stand in front of her friend.

“He told you to keep an eye out on things right? You have no contact with his pack. So wouldn’t it make sense for you to go to their house and get some more information?”

“You want me to walk directly into the lion’s den after I smashed their alpha’s shit to pieces and ask them for what? The hot gossip? Girl is you out your damn mind?” Athena snorted.

“It’s the only what you’re going to get any info! And if Shawn trusts you, they don’t have a choice anyway. That shit’s like sacred. What the alpha says, goes. Kinda hot, tbh.”

Athena let her face fall into her hands. “Oh lord.”

Taylor simply laughed. “C’mon. You don’t wanna let your mans down now do you?”

“He is not my mans!”

“No of course not! I absolutely believe you.”

Athena made a mental note to get some new friends.

***

“You are going to get us killed!” Athena hissed as Taylor knocked loudly on the door.

Taylor snorted. “Girl you are the strongest witch in all the land. Let these wolves know.”

Jesus.

The person who answers the door is actually a woman with olive toned skinned and long black hair that hung loosely in a braid. She was like seven feet tall and absolutely gorgeous. Both women found themselves a little baffled at her very presence. Truly a magical specimen she was.

“Can I help you?” She asked at their dumbfounded expressions.

Athena tried to smile. “Hi. I’m Athena.”

“Yea, I know who you are. You threw my tea with your mind and broke my favorite cup.”

Great start.

“Ahh...Well I am so very sorry about that. I would happily get you a new one.” She assured her. “I’m here actually because Shawn sort of asked me to keep an eye on things while he was gone. But I don’t really know how to do that without talking to you all. And I know I’m probably not super well liked here, so I thought I might come and try and set things off on a better foot.”

The beautiful woman tilted her head and stared down at her with hazel eyes that were just the right side of threatening. They were so different from Shawn’s eyes it was almost unrecognizable to her.

“You want to help us?” She asked. “Why?”

Athen huffed a little. “Because it’s kind of my destiny. Or so I’m learning.”

Somehow, someway, she lets them in. And it’s not like a dungeon or anything. It’s just a house. The woman, Lily, was sitting on the couch watching Stranger Things and eating cereal. One of the younger ones, Connor was his name, was swiping through tinder matches and pretending to watch the show with her. There’s no attack, no name calling, no anything. And it’s so incredibly disorienting. It feels completely different than everything she ever knew. Athena wasn’t sure whether to feel elated or disappointed. She didn’t really know how to feel about it at all.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

Jasmine and Zeubin crash into the house like zombies, completely ready to fall into their beds and sleep after the long journey. Shawn on the other hand knows he has to stay on his feet just a little longer. He heads for Brian’s room first once he’s sure that the house itself is still intact. His beta and subsequent best friend was still asleep, but jolted awake as Shawn plopped down on his mattress.

“Shit, dude, I hate when you do that.” He groaned.

Shawn snorted. “Nice to see you too, bud. We’re back if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Mazel tov. Can I go back to sleep?”

“No, jackass; get up. We visited the pack. They had no clue what we were talking about. None of their wolves have gone rogue, and they have no signs of any attacks on their land. We need to be on our best defense. Now what the hell happened while I was gone?”

“Absolutely nothing. We did the round the clock patrols just like you said. Never found the scent again, or any other scent for that matter. Plus your witch friends were here, so even if they were out there they probably got scared off.” Brian snorted.

“Witch friends? What witch friends?”

He rolled his eyes and settled back into his bed. “That Athena chick brought one of her friends over here. Said you told her to keep an eye out on the place. Like you didn’t trust me or something.”

“She came here? To the house, in front of you all?”

“I thought it was pretty ballsy of her too. Lily seemed to get a kick out of her though. You could ask her.”

“Hmm...I’m going to take a nap and then I want everyone’s ass in the living room to plan at noon got it?”

“Yes dude. Please. Sleep.”

Fucking Brian.

***

*Athena’s point of view*

She’s in the woods again trying to channel her powers the way that Edna had taught her. Some days it’s easy and some days it isn’t. Today in particular had been incredibly frustrating. Athena had never worked much with her active powers. Her mother had been purposeful that way. When they moved out of Pickering, she wanted to pretend to be normal. So except for the summers when her mama came to visit, she never really got to use them. It was easy to be an empath, that happened no matter what. But, Edna had assured her that she would have powers that she couldn’t believe. She just had to practice.

And that’s where he finds her. Sitting in the middle of the forest like an idiot. She hears the  break in the leaves and immediately turns with her hands up in case she needed to defend herself.

“Hey, I come in peace!” Shawn called.

She sighed and let her hands drop.

“What are you doing here? You scared me.”

His long legs take him to her in far greater strides then he had any right to be able to do. Before she knew it he was standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry. I went to your house but Edna said I could find you here.” He smiled at her. “Long time no see.”

“It’s been two days.” She snorted. “How did things go with the other pack?”

He frowned. “Not great. It wasn’t them. The pack is making plans of defense as we speak. I just want us to be prepared. It might be nothing, but it might be something.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

He eyed her for a second, a smile still plane on his face.

“You’ve been doing a lot lately. I heard you braved the big, bad wolves while I was away.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You all are not that tough. It was fine. No biggie.”

“You went to a place that I know you don’t like just to check in on my pack. I take that very seriously. That means a lot to me.” He told her reaching for her hands. “Thank you, Athena. I mean it.”

She peers down at his hands and then up into his eyes. She can feel the excitement in his veins, and she can feel a little confusion, and something softer...softer like endearment. It’s cloudy because he doesn’t know what it is he’s feeling, which means she can’t see it either.

“You’re welcome.” She murmured. “If i’m being honest it was a lot for me. I didn’t think they’d even open the door after the last time.”

“You’re fine. They know it’s not that simple, they understand the history. You’re allowed in that house whenever you want. Anyone ever gives you trouble they can answer to me.”

It’s a little aggressive, a little… braggadocious. Suddenly Athena gets a random flashback to Taylor’s obnoxious laughter about Shawn’s attractiveness. She bites her lip a little bit.

“Okay. I’ll make note of that.”

“So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the woods again?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Being the worst witch of all time, really.”

“I highly doubt that. You’ve kicked my ass enough times. What’s the matter?”

She groaned in frustration. “My active powers aren’t fucking activating. Mama says I just need to practice more but I’ve been practicing for hours and nothing is happening.”

“You’re probably just overthinking it. Obviously it’s different but when I was trying to shift for the first few months it was hell. I got so worked up about it and didn’t allow my instincts to just take over. You should get away from it for a while.”

“But this is all I have to do.” She whined. “It’s not like I have a job here, or any commitments. I’m just supposed to be training.”

He smiles at her again. It frustrates her. She can never understand when he gets these random bursts of happiness for no reason. It doesn’t make sense. And she can’t read him enough to determine what it is.

“C’mon.” He said reaching for her hand to tug her along.

She raised an eyebrow. “Boy, where are you taking me?”

“To fucking relax. You’re gonna give yourself a stroke before you turn thirty at this rate.”

“And what makes you think I want to relax with you?”

He turned back around to her, hands still pulling her with him as he walked backwards with the cockiest grin on his face. There’s no reason it should’ve made her heart react the way it did. No reason at all.

“You haven’t sent me flying yet, that’s why.”

He took her to a diner that she’d never been to before. Apparently he was a regular though because the entire place greets him when they walk in. He’s even got his own booth. It’s ridiculous. She went to take her jacket off and he was suddenly right behind her tugging at the shoulders of the jacket to help her out of it. From anyone else it would’ve caused indifference at best, and annoyance at worst. So, why in the world does she smile? And why in the hell is he being so nice to her in the first place? Why does she have zero interest in hating him anymore?

“This place has the best mac and cheese in the whole damn country. I’m sure of it. You must try it.” He said pointing the dish out on the menu.

She rolled her eyes. “What do you know about some mac and cheese, white boy?”

“I’m a white boy with the stomach of a wolf. You’ll love it. Trust me.”

And that’s the most ridiculous part of all of this. She does trust him. Almost endlessly so. Maybe not in his ability to determine what some good ass mac tasted like, but with just about everything else. She doesn’t realize until he’s telling her a story of him confronting his childhood bully after he presented as an alpha, that she’s completely forgotten about her powers. Hell she’d forgotten about being a witch entirely. And if the wolf part hadn’t been central to his story, she wasn’t so sure she would’ve thought about that either. For the first time since she’d entered that town it wasn’t about magic, it wasn’t about the greater good, or her “destiny”. He was just treating her like a person. Like a friend even.

“So you just straight up attacked his ass, aye?” She snorted.

He laughed. “I wouldn’t say attack. I would say...spook. I spooked him a little bit. Hey, I went from this lanky unpopular kid who hung out in gardens and shit to complete lean muscle in a summer. Jackass had it coming for how often he used to make fun of me.”

“Poor baby.”

“Yea, well I’m doing just fine nowadays, if you hadn’t noticed.” He pointed out waving a hand over his general physique.

Her eyes widened. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh come on! Yes you have.”

She reached for her glass to take a slow, deliberate sip of her drink.

“Was there something to notice?” She asked.

“Ouch, Athena. That hurt.” He pouted.

She giggled quietly to herself and he smiled another smile at her.

The food arrives and Shawn has three plates to her one. Something about needing to stay strong and full just so she could not notice. The mac and cheese is shockingly good. Athena peers towards the back to see if there’s a black person back there cooking. The diner is cosy and warm as it starts to rain outside and he keeps making her laugh with a startlingly ease. It feels nice. So nice.

“Hey I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” He said as you both worked on finishing your meals.

Athena shrugged. “Shoot.”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want. I was just curious...what exactly happened that made you hate it here so much? I’ll believe you no matter what it is, I just thought I’d ask.”

It stuns her for a moment. She hadn’t even told Taylor about her past with the town. She just assumed Athena hated wolves just because she was a witch. No one but her and her mama really knew what happened. What this town had been like. And even then she had only heard the stories, had never actually been there for it. It’s a story she never quite felt like sharing. But, she can feel his earnestness, can feel the sincerity and the willingness to listen in him. He’s feeling confident, and more than that he’s feeling vulnerable. It’s hard to not let his emotions bleed into her own.

“My momma grew up here.” She whispered peering down at her plate. “She lived here her whole life. And i guess the feud between the witches and the wolves was supposedly a lot better at that point. It would’ve been when your dad was alpha. My dad… he was a beta.”

“Wait...You’re part wolf?”

She nodded. “I guess technically. It never presented in me that way though. But my dad, he fell in love with my mom. They were mates.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yea. It was just about as unheard of as it is now. But they couldn’t help it. They were in love with each other. And when the town found out that a wolf was with a witch? All of that peace treaty shit went straight out the window. She--She couldn’t even leave the house. They would scream the most awful things at her. She wasn’t allowed on his side of town or the locals would throw things at her. I guess my dad would come visit her, but the witches weren’t fond of his kind either. It was awful. She can’t even talk about it to this day without crying. When she got pregnant with me, that was the final straw. She left town and she’s never come back. She’s never forgiven this town for what it took from her.”

Her knee bounces sporadically beneath the table. She doesn’t notice until Shawn covers it with his palm to get her to stop.

“Your dad. What happened to your dad?” He asked.

“He...He stayed here at first. You can’t just leave the pack without there being grave consequences.But the pain of being away from your mate is insufferable. They were literally designed for each other. Apparently he ended up leaving the pack anyway, but the damage had already been done. No one’s heard from him since.”

“Shit. Shit. Athena that--that’s so horrible. Honey, I can’t even...I’m so sorry.”

Sometimes she liked to focus on the emotions of others because it meant she didn’t have to think about herself. It’s made easier when he places his hand on her knee. It’s like his emotions are screaming at her. There’s a sadness. An empathy that feels like it’s wrapping itself around her in a thick smoke. And then there’s a guilt, which throws her completely for a loop.

“You feel guilty. Why?”

He frowned. “Are you kidding me,I was such a dick to you. It never even occurred to me to get your side, to ask you what you've been through. Even when my dad told me to. I should have listened. I should have asked you sooner. I--I’m so sorry. No one deserves to experience that. No wonder you hate it here.”

The sincerity to it all baffles her further. She never could have expected that Shawn would show her this kindness. She didn’t even know wolves were capable of showing someone like her that kindness. His hand is still on her thigh and it’s so warm. This town had felt cold to her for so long, had represented nothing but it. And yet he was here, right in front of her, continuously destroying her expectations.

“Well it...it hasn’t been so bad lately.” She mumbled. “But I uh I’m still trying to learn how to feel like I belong here. And maybe now you can see why that’s been a little more difficult to me. It doesn’t excuse my anger towards you, and I’m still truly sorry about it. I just hope you’ll see that I’m trying.”

“Of course. Hey, of course I do. I’m just glad we’ve gotten to start off on a better foot. You do belong here, Athena. We’re just lucky to have you. I hope you can see that.” he murmured.

His eyes are as warm as his hand, so when he removes his grip from her knee, it doesn’t feel as devastating. She bites her lip to ground herself in the moment, to not be so in her own head, to just say how she really feels.

“I never thought I could feel safe here.” She admitted. “You gave me that. So, thank you.”

“You are always safe here with me, Athena. Always.”

She trusts him then too.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

He still meets with his dad to discuss pack issues. He liked knowing that there was a wealth of knowledge that he didn’t necessarily have, but could always tap into. His dad had never led him astray before. So when another hiker goes missing, and they can’t even find the body, he goes to him immediately. Something has to be done. And it has to be the right something because his town’s safety is at stake.

“I don’t know what it is, dad. This whole thing just feels off. It’s too calculated to be a random incident.” He huffed for the umpeenth time.

“What do you mean, what is it?”

“It’s like...it’s like they’re fucking with the line. First we happen to be able to track their scent all the way to the county line, and it just happens to cut off at the river where our territory ends? And then this time they get someone on the trail that is just outside our reach and the scent cuts off again. What are the fuckin’ chances?”

His dad nods. “It’s definitely weird for sure. I want you to trust your gut. All you can do is prepare and be defensive though. If you think a curfew is necessary to keep people out of the woods, then I’m sure sargent Farah would listen to you.”

“But it is weird right? Did anything like this ever happen when you were running the pack?”

“Not exactly. We had a lot more problems with our own fighting each other than others looking to attack.” He sighed.

It reminds him of his lunch with Athena. He could still feel the sadness in his eyes when she told him the story. He could also still see the way he made her laugh when they got ice cream afterwards and he immediately dropped his on the ground. He could feel the flutter it caused in his stomach. And he had no fucking clue what to do about it.

“Yea I uh...Athena finally told me what happened with her mom and dad here. Were you close to the situation?”

Manny shook his head softly. “It was a terrible situation. The worst I ever felt as pack leader. I couldn’t control anything that was happening. Not the humans, not the wolves, not the witches. Everyone was just livid over it. I was close enough to try to convince her father to leave. Being without one’s mate can cause you to go feral. Then again so can leaving your pack. When he left us, I wasn’t sure what to do. I can only hope that he’s okay.”

He plays with one of the rings on his finger to keep him busy as he hedges his next question.

“Were they really mates? Can a wolf and a witch mate?”

“Yea. It’s rare. Very rare. But, it can happen.”

He nodded softly. “Do they always end like that?”

“No, of course not. A wolf and a witch mating is just like any other mates. It’s intense of course, but it’s ultimately lovely.”

When he looks up his dad is giving him that look that says he sees right through him. It was always like his dad to know him better than he knew himself.

“You wanna ask something.” Manny guessed. “Just go ahead and ask it.”

He shrugged. “I guess I was curious what it felt like with you and mom. How did you know you two were mates and not just...attracted to each other or something.”

“I’ll be honest. I didn’t actually know at first. You hear those stories about first meeting and it being instantaneous, but it isn’t really. It’s a lot like falling in love for the first time. I saw her and I was tongue tied. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I didn’t find out we were mates until her mother passed.”

“How come?”

“When you’re a mated pair eventually your emotions become linked in a way. Specifically pain. Physical. Mental. There’s a catalyst that sparks it. That’s when you’ll know. It’ll probably be the most painful thing you’ll ever go through. The good news is it’ll come with a lot of beauty afterwards.”

He looked back down and shook his head.

“I was just asking. Not like I’m gonna be mated anytime soon. Got the pack to think about.” He mumbled.

“Sure thing kiddo, sure thing.”

***

Traveling with non-wolves is always a pain in the ass. They can’t move as fast, and even if he shifted to be able to carry them, there was no way to communicate. He usually hated it, hated anything that limited his ability to move and be free. Somehow he doesn’t hate this, and that just confuses him the way that everything has lately.

Part of the defense plan for the town was to visit all of the cut off parts of their territory and set up some charms and general hocus pocus shit to hopefully help figure out what the hell was trying to invade his town. Obviously Edna wasn’t quite up for day long journeys anymore. So, it was just him and Athena. It hadn’t even occurred to him to invite anyone else from the pack along, he just told them he needed everyone at home in case something happened. But a part of him, and that part was growing every time she tripped over everything she came across and immediately refuse to let him carry her, knew why he didn’t want anyone else around.

They were friends now. Like actual, genuine, friends. And he kind of loved it. She was so fucking funny and wicked smart. She never took any of his shit and spent most of her time making fun of him. Her sense of humor was inappropriate as hell. He loved every bit of it. That within itself wasn’t a problem. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with their friendship. The problem came when she would laugh and his heart would skip a beat. The problem was every time she complained about the outdoors and it didn’t irritate him at all, it only made him feel softer. The problem was that he had deep, genuine feelings for her and there seemed to be no getting around them.

They camped out in the woods right off of one of the hiking trails because Athena couldn’t do the walking for twenty-four hours straight that he could. She had made a fire with nothing but her hands, her ability to manipulate the elements coming very much in handy. She sat there next to the fire in an oversized sweatshirt pulled over her knees, and it just hurt to stare at her. He kept trying to keep his thoughts under control around her only for her to stare up at him with those soft lips, those beautiful eyes. And he was just meant to not notice at all?

“I wanna ask you something.” She hummed at him after they’d finished their dinner of fire roasted pizza.

His whole body locked up.

“Y--yea? What’s that?”

“Do you think you’ve ever been in love before?”

Shit.

His cheeks heated immediately and it had nothing to do with the fire. He couldn’t make eye contact and he knew his heart was racing in his chest. Even he could read the nerves coming off of him in waves. It must’ve been easy for her to read.

“Love? I--I’m not sure. I’ve had really great, really important relationships before. I’ve told a few women that I loved them. But, I usually reserve the concept of being in love with, what my parents have and I’ve definitely never had that before.”

She smiled at him. His heart rate increased.

“I met them when mama introduced us. They are very complex beings emotions wise. I could read them so easily. They felt so many things at once: comfort, sincerness, kindness, all of that. But no matter what they were saying, there was always an undercurrent of love. They felt it for each other endlessly and relentlessly. I thought it was really beautiful.”

He nodded softly, happy that he could at least be open and honest with this, could let his emotions run wild with what he’d grown up around.

“It is. They’ve known each other since they were twenty. My dad went on a trip to London because he was twenty and dumb and thought that a werewolf in london was too good an irony to pass up. He met her the first day,and they spent his whole trip there together. When it was time for him to leave, he begged her to come to Pickering with him. She told him was crazy. He told her he’d convinced her. Again, she told him he was crazy. I was born a year later.” He smirked.

It has the intended effect that that story always gave. She cooes and aww’s and smiles, and he just wants to kiss her already.

“Well that’s sweet as shit. You’ve got some big shoes to fill, Mendes.”

He scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Haha. Funny. Why do you ask anyway?”

This time it’s her turn to give the deer caught in the headlights look. Her habits are a bit different than his, but he’s been spending so much time with her lately that they all sort of click for him. Her knee bounces at an abnormal rate. She hides her hands away, this time in the sleeves of her sweatshirt. She peers down at the ground and then back up at him from beneath these eyelashes that cause him nothing but trouble.

“No reason. I was just curious.”

“Okay. Have you ever been in love before?” He asked.

She shook her head softly. “I thought I was before. I’ve loved a lot people who didn’t really love me back. But, that soft shit your parents have? I don’t think that’s in the cards for me.”

“Well, why not?” He pushed, almost stubbornly. “Everyone’s worthy of love, Athena.”

“I know. I know that, but that stuff you only read about, that’s a one in a million chance type stuff, Shawn. I’m not losing sleep over it. I don’t need some earth defying romance. I’ll be okay.” She snorted.

“Yea, alright. Sure. I’m gonna...go get more firewood.”

He hopped up from his seat moving to put distance between the two of them. She gave him a strange look but he didn’t stay long enough for her to ask questions.

*No one’s point of view*

Shawn flicks off to the forest to pull at branches and thinking stubbornly about his emotions. Meanwhile Athena sets up their sleeping bags in the tent and struggles to get comfortable. She spends a long while thinking about the look on Shawn’s face. He had felt frustrated, fed up. Hurt even. And she didn’t know why. She never knew why, and it was driving her slowly insane. She liked him. Why the hell did she like him so much? And why wasn’t he like everyone else, why couldn’t she read whether he liked her back?

She kept catching glimpses of things that made her think it might be possible. A rush of warmth in his belly. Utter elation and happiness when they were together. But it always felt circumstantial. They’d be doing something he loved, or just having fun in general. And to be honest Shawn was such a happy go lucky guy in general, he seemed to be the type to say I love you to a really good burger. It never felt like enough. And it wasn’t like she ever caught him feeling love. He was so stupid. This is so stupid.

God she was so stupid, Shawn thought. Women. Oh how he missed the days where girls had cooties and he could just play on the monkey bars. Back when things made sense! Here he was, heart on his sleeve, pining after this woman and she didn’t even want him. And how fucking dumb was he to think that they could possibly, in some universe, actually be mates? Of course they weren’t. Just because she didn’t hate his guts all of a sudden didn’t mean she was gonna fall in love with him.

The wind starts to pick up and he feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up like a storm might be on the horizon. So, he heads back to the campsite in case Athena gets cold as the temperature begins to drop. He’s still a wounded.

Neither of them speak as Shawn crawls into the tent. He tugs off his shirt and tosses it besides his sleeping back as he crawls inside. Athena rolls her eyes at the ceiling. What reason was there possibly to take off one’s shirt in this cold ass weather. It was like he was teasing her at this point. Shawn laid on his back, arm tucked behind his head as he peered over at the girl who hadn’t left his heart alone since he’d met her.

“Are you okay? It gets cold up here at night.” He whispered.

She bit awkwardly at the inside of her cheek. “No. I’m freezing.”

He sighed. “That’s my bad. I should’ve warned you about that. Here, come here.”

She peered over at the boy who hadn’t left her heart alone since she’d met him.

“Excuse me?”

I’m like a hundred and two degrees on a slow day. I’ll keep you warm. You won’t even need the sleeping bag.”

It was a total recipe for disaster. Snuggle up with the guy she most definitely had feelings for? But it was cold. And Athena didn’t do cold. She thrived in straight tropical temperatures, and had somehow ended up in canada. It was a travesty really.

“Are you sure?” She mumbled, fingers peeking out hesitantly from her blanket.

“Of course, I am. I wouldn’t leave you to freeze. C’mere.”

It’s the closest they’ve been since he found her unconscious in the woods. She settles herself on top of him, or at least she tries. There’s an awkwardness as neither of them quite know how to move their bodies with each other. She doesn’t want to smother him, and he can’t quite tell her that he’d happily die that way if given the option, so all he can do is tug at her hips until she falls gracelessly against him.

She groans softly. “Christ, you’re warm.”

“Told you.” He mumbled tucking one of her curls out of her face.

She peered up at him from his chest and they’d never had their faces that close together before. She smelled like campfire and sandalwood and something sweet. He smelled like campfire and musk and something warm.

“You are so odd, Shawn Mendes.”

He chuckled fingers diving in to play with another curl.

“Why is that?”

“You storm off into the woods like some moody teeanger because I don’t see any showstopping romance coming my way? And then you just crawl in here with your dumb doe eyes and your dumb six pack and start playing with my hair? Why? Why are you this way?” She ranted.

“I’m a moody teenager? You’re absolutely oblivious! Oblivious, do you know that? Your cheek bones are dumb.” He huffed taking her face in his hand and caressing her bottom  lip with his thumb. “And your full lips are dumb. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

It provides a clarity that rocks her to her very toes. It’s like he had been purposely keeping just enough puzzle pieces to himself so that she couldn’t see the picture. Suddenly she could see it with startling clear eyes. The warmth in his stomach. The adoration and all of the nerves. They were all for her. All of it.

She feels his determination before she feels his kiss. But oh does she love his kiss. His lips are warm against her cold ones, soft but firm. She can feel her jaw tense against the palm of his hand as he curves it against her cheek. His other hand smoothed down to her back and beneath her sweatshirt, tangling in the fabric until she felt his touch on the small of her back searing and hot. Suddenly it feels like she’s breathing for the first time. Like simultaneously he’s breathing life right into her lungs while it also feels like he’s taking it all away. She’d happily give it all away.

Kissing her feels like sunshine. It feels like warmth and softness and cocoa butter. It feels like something to get lost in, something that has no use in fighting because it could so easily overpower him. Her lips completely capture his own, and he doesn’t feel like he’s in charge even though he’s the one who kissed her. He feels like his heart is exploding and beating a new all at once. He knows it then. Without the need for any pain, or folklore, or history book. She’s completely and utterly his everything right there. It’s instantaneous. It’s immediate. It’s all consuming. And he’s not fighting it once so ever.

“Why the hell did you make me wait that long?” He growled nipping his way down to her throat.

She moaned and it made his hips buck beneath her.

“I--I couldn’t read how you felt. And it scared me. F--Fuck your teeth are sharp.”

He immediately retracts his mouth peering down at her with nervous eyes, all of his confidence vanishing. It reminded her of the story her mama had told her of not wanting to scare people with his fangs as a child.

“No, good sharp Shawn. Very good sharp.” She assured him and tugged him in again.

“Are you sure? Are you sure you want this?” He mumbled rubbing his nose against hers.

“I’m sure. Come here. Please.”

She doesn’t go to bed cold that night.

***

*Athena’s point of view*

The next morning is full of loaded glances and awkward smiles. He turns his back respectively as she pulls on a new shirt for the hike back down. He catches her staring when he goes to do the same. She pretends that her cheeks don’t warm when he catches her, and thanks god for the melanin. They pack up their camp and prepare to leave. The first time, for what are sure to be many, she trips over a rock he finds the guts to hold her hand. His fingers are warm intertwined with hers, and it feels so fucking high school and so overhwelming and perfect all at once.

“Why don’t you just...let me lead you down this time, aye? Don’t want you getting hurt.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, big guy. I’ll let you protect me, if it makes you feel better.”

“The sooner you recognize that all those powers of yours will do you know good the second you hit yourself in the head with a rock and bludgeon yourself, the better. There are somethings I can do better than you ya know?” He taunted.

“I’m a little clumsy, so what? I’m supposed to have you carry me down the mountain in your big strong arms?”

He grinned. “If you want, honey. Just say the word.”

Dumb. So dumb.

They scale down the rest of the path together in search of her car with their fingers intertwined. Her mind is still a little blown. She ran her fingers over neck where his five o’clock shadow had rubbed her. She could still feel where his teeth had nipped at her jaw, and the way her thighs tightened. More than anything she could feel the way her stomach had felt like it was floating. How he had made her feel light and open and happy. God.

At the car, they stuff her trunk full, and when he closes it he wastes zero time pressing her gently into the side. She didn’t know she could miss the feel of his hips against hers until she had it again.

“Could I uh drive home with you? I’ll shift and run home from there.” He whispered.

She smiled softly. “How come you wanna come home with me?”

He rolled his eyes and rolled his neck playfully before hiding a chuckle into her neck. It feels so good to be with him in this way.

“I don’t wanna say goodbye yet, okay? I’m just not ready.” He admitted. “Is that okay?”

“Me neither.” She tells him quietly. “Please come with me.”

“Yea? Can I kiss you again first?”

“I think I’d be insulted if you didn’t.”

God they were so dumb.

The drive home is spent listening to the radio and holding hands on the center console. It’s easy. So incredibly easy after all the time they spent fighting and disliking each other. She doesn’t have to be afraid anymore. It’s like a huge weight off her chest, and all that she’s left with is this thing that is new and exciting and comforting. He sings in her ear and it makes her heart feel warm. He just is there and it’s so intoxicating. She doesn’t know how to contain herself. She doesn’t want to let it go.

“I think you should let me take you out.” He murmured.

She peered over at him from the road with a playful grin on her face.

“Yea? Where are you gonna take me? The diner?”

“Noooo. Girl, I’ve got moves you haven’t even seen yet. Things you can’t even imagine!”

Athena found this to be particularly funny. Shawn did not.

“Moves! You’ve got moves, aye?!”

“Keep on laughing at me and you will get none of this loving, do you hear me? None of it.”

She keeps laughing, peering from the road to the face of this adorable ass idiot. One second it’s just them and the road and everything is fine. The next, she peers back from his face to the road and there’s something there.

“Shit!”

She slammed on the break, jerking the wheel to the left to avoid the blur of brown moving into the road. Shawn’s arm is suddenly there across her stomach like a shield as they spin out against the road. Her heart slams just as aggressively against her sternum, and she gasps as her fingers lock against the steering wheel. The car jerks again until stopping in the middle of the road.

“What the hell was that?!” She screamed, dazed and confused.

“That was a wolf. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked reaching across the console to touch her face.

She nodded hesitantly. “I’m okay. I’m alright.”

“Okay. Just wait here. I’ll be right back!”

“Shawn, wait--”

He threw himself for the car peering over at the space where the animal had been. He was only out there for a few moments before he began tugging his shirt off in the middle of the road and running back to your car.

“It’s the scent! It’s the fucking wolf that’s been terrorizing the town. I’m gonna go after it. Drive back to my place. Tell whoever is there. I’m gonna follow it.”

“W--Wait. Shawn, you don’t even know who that is. Maybe we should just drive back together!”

He shook his head. “Sweetheart, we can’t risk it. I’m gonna be fine. Listen to me, okay? I’ll be fine. Just go.”

“But...But Shawn!”

“Go!”

Her nerves are absolutely frazzled the rest of the drive back. She can’t stop thinking about what the hell Shawn could possibly be doing. And sure, he was an alpha; he was the alpha, but that didn’t mean he had any clue what he was up against. Whoever or whatever was out there had been masterly avoiding them for weeks. Now, all of a sudden they just plop straight in the middle of the road in front of them? What the hell were the chances of that?

She gets back to his house somehow without crashing and is barely out of the car before people are greeting her outside. It’s Brian, Jasmine, Connor, Zeubin, and Lily all having heard her tires screeching on the asphalt.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Shawn?” Brian asks.

She points out into the woods where she’s fucking hoping they can hear them and tries to explains without passing out. But, her heart is hammering in her chest, and something is telling her that this isn’t right. It doesn’t feel right.

“Okay. Jasmine, Zeubin, and Lily with me. Connor you stay here with Athena. We’ll go make sure everything is okay.” Brian ordered.

“Excuse me? Fuck that. I’m going too!” Athena challenged.

Brian’s eyes flashed gold, a sign of his betaness and general assholerly.

“You will stay here. All you’ll do is get in the way.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m more powerful than you. That is a fact. And I’m not sitting here like a fucking limp rag while you go out and defeat the bad guys. It’s my town to protect too. Now stop fucking arguing with me and let’s go!”

Everyone peers between the two of them, no doubt trying to figure out who has the higher rank, Shawn’s right hand man in the pack, or the most powerful witch in the town. She’s not interested in the time it’s going to take them to figure it out though, so she stalks off into the woods until everyone else follows.

“You can’t just go walking there! You’ll slow us down. You can climb on my back when I shift and I’ll take you.” Connor offers.

She smiles at him. And they say maturity comes with age. Not always.

The rest of them must decide for themselves that she’s not taking no for an answer, because they all spring into action. She watches them shift and it’s a little more unsettling than she cared to admit. Suddenly she’s surrounded on all sides by wolves that are taller than her head on all fours. Except for Connor who quickly barks and kneels down in front of her. The kid standing before her just minutes ago could have never taken all of her weight on his back. Now, she feels tiny climbing to nestle herself in his fur. Her fingers dig into his fur for something to grab onto. He barks at her and at first she thinks she hold on too tight, but as soon as he begins to move she realizes he’s asking her to grab tighter.

As a group they all tear into the woods. She keeps her face hidden in Connor’s fur to ignore the blur of trees that was sure to give her whiplash. Athena can only imagine that everyone is running based off of smell, of Shawn’s scent. She on the other hand is going strictly off fee. Something had changed the moment he kissed her. She could send him even now, even while they were apart. At her prime that wasn’t something that she could do with other people. Maybe a few feet away, but nothing this great of a distance. She could feel every emotion going on inside of him and they were miles apart. It didn’t make any sense.

Just fucking wait for me, she thought to herself. She can feel his confidence, tilting a little over the edge of cockiness. There’s this straight edge focus that comes with being the alpha, along with this crippling need to protect. The wildest thing about it all is that underneath all of those emotions, she can feel love. She knows that it’s love because it’s almost like a color in her mind. A brightness that shines through all of the other emotions running through him like a current. Only now, his emotions are no longer hidden from her. She can see what’s behind them. And it’s her. He’s thinking of her even now, even in the middle of a fight. And he’s thinking of her with love.

And that’s when it happens. One second she feels elated, overcome with emotion. And the next she’s in pain. Like heart stopping, blood curdling pain. Hers fingers lock down on Connor’s fur and she lets loose a scream that rips through her chest and out into the world. It’s the most painful thing she’s ever felt in her life. It feels like a hole is being punched through her chest, like someone is trying to rip her heart out. Tears pour hot and fresh from her eyes and she nearly loses herself on Connor’s back. She only knows that it’s not her because she feels that she’s linked to him, tethered so tightly that the bond between them feels taunt enough to snap. It’s him. He’s in pain.

“SHAWN! SHAWN IS IN TROUBLE!” You sobbed.

There’s a chorus of whimpers amidst the whooshing of the air against the trees. And then suddenly they’re all moving faster. The closer she gets to him the more his pain resonates within her And the more it does the more she begins to feel hot. The pain is searing and it’s bone deep, with a heat that begins to boil in her gut alongside it.

They make it through the woods and into the clearing and she practically tumbles off of Connor and onto the grass.

He’s there. She can tell it’s Shawn because of the shade of his fur, a chestnut brown close to his own hair color. The pain now is rippling hot in her. There’s another wolf on top of him that seems to take a bite out of his shoulder. Shawn lets out a wild bark that leaves her crying into the dirt. The other wolves run to intervene, but the wolf on top of Shawn is massive. And it looks nothing like everyone else. It’s hair is dark and matted. And its eyes are a sickly yellow color. When it bares its fangs, its teeth are sharp and yellow and huge, and Athena realizes where she had seen an image like it before. In one of the books her grandmother had shared with her for her training. That wolf was feral.

The wolf sinks its teeth into Shawn again before, Brian and Lily run head first to pull him off. As the others engage in battle, Shawn is left whimpering with these sad little mewels. It’s bad, she knows enough to know that it’s bad, can feel enough to know it’s bad. Her fingers dig into the dirt as she pressed her forehead into the earth and took a deep breath. There was a need for her to make it all better somehow. She felt a raw energy that was trying to climb it’s way out of her. One second she was just feeling all of Shawn’s pain and the next she just made a decision to end it.She works to visualize it in her mind, an outline that surrounds him on all sides in bright red. It’s just as unwavering as she could imagine, and it took so much out of her to even reach out and took it. She gritted her teeth and tug deep into the ground as she flexed a power that she’d never used before. Shawn’s whimpers died down almost immediately, and instead it was her who was left panting on the ground from the exertion.

When she came to, Connor was kneeled before Shawn nuzzling his head against the much larger wolf in an attempt to keep him company. But the other wolves were in the thick of a fight and it didn’t look like it was going well. The feral wolf was bigger than all of them, just smaller than Shawn, but more aggressive and less calculated. It was all brute force. Everytime one would launch themselves at it, the wolf would just slam them back. It didn’t look like it was three on one at all. Her connection to Shawn is now two fold. She can feel the anxiety and the fear for his pack, which translate into her own fierce need to protect. When the feral wolf throws Brian so hard into a tree that it snaps and falls over, Shawn howls and struggles to his feet. He can’t put any weight on his legs though and quickly falls over. All that he can do is bark and howl, and the frustration of this is enough to leave her feeling like she must do something.

She loses herself in it so quickly. Consciousness slips and all that she can feel is the power radiating from her fingertips. The air around them stills. The trees go silent. Her body ascends from the ground as the earth begins to shake from beneath her wrath. The wind that was nonexistent before comes roaring back, and her chest gets this odd sense of calmness before she lets lose another shocking scream as she directs all of her energy, all of her magic, all of everything that she is directly at the wolf. And then it all goes black.

***

Her head hurt like a bitch. That was the first thing she remembered. Her eyes fluttered open and the light in the room was so bright that she decided to just close them again. It felt like a long time before she opened her eyes again. This time when she did it was her mama standing over her with a washcloth pressed to her head. It was the washcloth that made her think of Shawn, and she immediately went to sit up only to get a whoosh of vertigo that sent her right back down to the bed.

“Lay back, girl. You’re exhausted.” She murmured pressing the cloth to her forehead again.

“Shawn, mama. W--Where is he?” Athena whimpered.

Edna rolled her eyes. “He is taking up all the space on my perfectly good couch. Something about not being able to be away from you. I take it you two finally figured out your mates then?”

“Mates?!”

“Woops.” She chuckled. “You’re mates, alright? All that frustration you were feeling, all that anger? Probably had more to do with the fact that you were fighting some very inevitable feelings than anything else. I meant it when I said it was your destiny.”

“But...But, if you knew we were mates why didn’t you just say something?”

“Because where’s the fun in that?” She snorted. “I can’t tell you nothing Athena. You have to learn your own way, and from what I hear about your little stunt in the woods, it worked.”

“What happened? I can’t remember any of it.”

“You got your active powers that’s what happened. You were able to manipulate the elements to basically create a giant tornado that knocked enough space between all of them. You saved their lives, child.”

“Me? I did?”

“Mhm. My baby.” She grinned playing with the blankets that were tucked around her. “There’s something I need to tell you though.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Edna sighed. “That wolf that attacked you all, the wolf that was responsible for the killings? That wolf was your daddy.”

“W--What? But you said...you said he ran away after my mom left town.”

“And he did. But remember when I taught you about feral wolves? The consequences for leaving one’s pack, for going without one’s mate, can lead to it. H--He wasn’t even himself anymore, baby. He hadn’t been in his human form for years and years. He probably didn’t even know what he was doing; he just felt pulled to this place because of everything that happened here.” She explained.

Athena picked anxiously at her blanket, eyes welling up against her will.

“Did I . . . Was it me?” She whispered.

Edna quickly leaned over and gathered her granddaughter up in her arms as the sobs began to rock her body jerkily.

“Shhhh. It wasn’t you, sweetheart. I swear.”

It felt weird to get emotional over a man she had never met. Her mother had only spoken good things about him when she was growing up, even though he hadn’t been able to come with her. She had only even seen him in pictures. Even as a child she’d been able to feel the love her mother had for him. As an empath it was her first glimpse at what that kind of love could feel like. And somehow she couldn’t help but feel like she’d played some sort of hand in taking it away.

There’s a knock on the door a few minutes into her crying spell. And it is amazing how instantly she can feel him there, on the other side of the door. In her heart she knows he’s there for her, just as the need back in the woods had consumed her to be there for him.

“You want me to let him in?”

She sniffled and nodded allowing her grandmother to kiss her forehead before she got out of the bed.

The door opens and the second she hears his voice, her heart calms.

“H--hey I’m sorry, I just couldn’t--”

He peers over Edna’s head and makes eye contact with Athena. He sees her tears and has to stop himself from moving around Edna. She can feel that

“Hi. Can I please come in?”

It’s a request for him just as much as it is for her. He needs her to feel better, because it’s the only way either of them are gonna feel better.

Edna left the two of them alone and he immediately crawled into bed beside her. When he took her into his arms it was immediate relief. Her face took refuge in his neck as the tears burned her eyes but he was there. There was so much to talk about, so much to learn. But, for now, this is all that they have and it’s all that they need. Just the comfort of each other. Nothing else.

***

Six months later

*Shawn’s point of view*

“We are going to be late.” She giggled.

“Mmm...just a few more minutes, baby please?”

His lips traced lines along her neck and trailed up and down her cleavage. This was his happy place. His oasis. His heaven even. Why on earth would he ever leave?

“You know I hate making your mother wait.” Athena whined while still arching her back to push her chest closer to his mouth.

“Mhm. Of course.”

“You know I can feel when you’re lying right?”

“Stop using my emotions against me! It’s not fair.” He grunted teeth finding a new patch of skin to latch onto.

They were thirty minutes late to Sunday dinner. It wouldn’t have been a problem if his shirt hadn’t been buttoned wrong, and his dad hadn’t caught them on the porch not wanting to go in if they could kiss some more instead. You win some, you lose some.

Sunday dinners had become much more enjoyable with her in attendance, and not just because she let him kiss her in his childhood bedroom while his parent’s cleaned the dishes. In the time that it had taken them to come to terms with being mates they had adjusted with incredible ease. The strongest witch in town and the alpha. It was kind of a duo. An incredible duo at that. And it certainly helped that they loved each other more than anything in the world, in a way that was so vast and consuming that it could sometimes feel overwhelming. The good news was he had this amazing person to lean on, and who actually understood him better than anyone ever could. She made his heart soar.

He cornered her in the kitchen after dinner, arms wrapped tightly around her waist so he could hide his face in her braids. He was just as obsessed with her now as he’d been the second he figured out they were mates. Perhaps even before. Definitely before.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me when you come to dinner with me.” He breathed.

She hummed softly. “I think I do actually. Just a little bit.”

“Funny. You know...it might be a lot easier to get us to these dinners if I didn’t have to go to Edna’s to pick you up every time.”

Her fingers inched underneath his shirt to draw shapes that made his knees weak somehow.

“Just what do you suppose I do? We’d get here a lot quicker if you weren’t so handsy.”

He peered down at her and rested his forehead against hers.

“Maybe if you moved in with me, I could learn a little time management.” He grinned. “What didn’t feel that one coming did you?”

She head buts him playfully, her full lips forming quite the gasp. The things that she did to him. He was so gone.

“You want me to move in with you and a bunch of messy wolves, aye?” She smiled.

He shook his head. “Want you to move in with just one messy wolf. There’s a guest house on the property. It’d be just you and me.”

Her eyes got all wide and her lips made this small little “o” that honest to god was the cutest shit he’d ever seen. Surprising her was his greatest accomplishment.

She bit her lip. “Just us?”

“Just us. What do you say?”

“Yes! Of course, yes! Are you kidding me? Yes.”

She hops up into his arms crashing their lips together passionately. It felt like a really important step to building their life together, to creating something sustainable for the two of them. She had caused all of his goals and his needs to change so drastically in such a small amount of time. He only wanted her happiness, her safety, her pleasure. It was all that mattered to him. And he could always rest easy knowing that she would feel the exact same way about him. They were all that mattered now.

The End.

A ko-fi would really be lovely as I’m poor tbh lol. 

taglist: @simpledomain @liliane106 

[wickedlehane]

INJURY/HURT PROMPTS BC REASONS

@pryceism​ || Wesley

[ LACERATE ] for one muse to get stabbed while protecting/working with the other

Verse: Take it All the Way (Angel S4)

The air was thick and heady with cigar smoke exhaled through fetid undead lungs, past sour lips soaked with second-rate beer, the best a seedy joint like this could afford to stock. Faith had to appreciate the ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the owners, dedicated to providing demonic clientele with a little bit of release from the pavement-pounding lifestyle she imagined that monsters in Los Angeles had to keep. Not a one was the Hollywood type like the suited green singer she’d seen back at the Hyperion.

No, these were (for better or worse) her type of people. Rough, grimy. Versed in vice. God, any other night she might pocket a few bills from Wesley’s wallet and get herself a little pick-me-up. But they were tracking a trail of blood quickly clotting as Angelus tore through the town.

First stop of the night, a little dive called Dante’s. Sign on the door said no magic was allowed on the premises- the only salt circles these demons encountered were on the rim of their margaritas. Violators would be shot- and Faith didn’t think they meant the fun alcohol kind. 

Well, Slayers weren’t exactly magic, but she could always make someone’s consciousness disappear with a quick fist to the face if it came to that. Wesley, however, was packing heat. A surprising sight from the former watcher, but as she’d seen in the last twenty-four hours, things were different these days. Made memories of the Hellmouth seem quaint.

“Slayer,” a particularly scarred vampire growled as Faith swaggered in- his face was all forehead, yellow eyes matching the same butter-colored light emitted behind tacky stained glass lampshade fixtures.

“Hardly know 'er,” Faith replied coolly, breezing past with Wesley close at her heels. Whether it was because he wanted to give her the chance to lead (either as a show of deference or that fall from the prison window hurt him a little more than he was letting on) or this was yet another test on his part, the young woman has happy to be the face of the operation. Besides, Angelus already knew she was in town and looking for him. This time, she’d be goddamn ready.

She placed an open palm down onto the counter top, regretting it instantly as she felt the textured wood, both beer-sticky and demon-slimy, but refused to let the internal grimace pass over her features. “Hey, barkeep. I’m looking for a vampire, goes by Angelus. Psycho killer wrapped in leather- sound familiar?”

The creature tending the bar was some kind of demon, all scaled skin and vertical eyes. Wesley probably knew what he was and exactly the way to kill him, but Faith wasn’t going to let it come to that. Intimidation was a universal language, right?

He turned his back to her, picking up a glass and rag, cleaning idly. “Information’s for paying customers. ‘Sides, we protect our own here.”

“Hey, Angelus isn’t your own,” Faith said, slapping her hand down once more, lunging to grab his collar with the other arm. Her eyes hovered to the drink prices, contemplating asking Wes for the cash. $6.50 for a bottle of beer? Holy shit, that might have been more of a crime than her murder rap sheet. “I’m on a bit of a tight schedule, but my shit list has room for your name on it if you want to play dumb with me. Tell me where to find him.”

“Look, lady, you want to start trouble in here, we’ll give you trouble. But I haven’t seen any Angelus,” the bartender said, dropping the rag and letting the glass clatter to the countertop as Faith yanked him halfway across the wood. “Can’t imagine why he’d be avoiding you, y-you seem like a lovely person.”

Noticing the commotion, a large horned creature who looked like a moose and a monkey fucked in a candle factory withdrew a switchblade from his vest, pool cue in the other hand. Several others standing around- a mix of vampires and other monster-folk- tensed, either for action or self-preservation.

“Faith,” Wesley’s voice intoned.

“Yeah, just a second.”

It was not the moose-demon, but a smaller, sleeker woman who darted for the Slayer first. Faith quickly looked over her shoulder, dropping her captive before donkey-kicking the attacker clear into the pool table. Hard, colorful balls clattered against one another along the green felt surface, messing up the carefully arranged shot-in-waiting. The moose man roared, tossing his wooden cue down and taking a wide swing at Wesley while Faith attended to the diminutive, almost feline assailant who had charged her. Not vampires, so staking wasn’t exactly going to help her here. She heard Wesley grunt in frustration, but noted that he hadn’t cocked his shotgun just yet.

Besides, they weren’t here to kill with reckless abandon- the notion might give Angelus too much satisfaction.

Faith grabbed two spheres, the 8-Ball and 2-Ball, slamming them together on either side of her foe’s head. “You’re gonna be black and blue tomorrow, honey,” she quipped as she straddled the woman. Turning to leave, her boot heel caught the round pool cue beneath its treads, causing her to stumble somewhat. “Shit!”

The Slayer caught herself on the edge of the gaming table and quickly righted herself, but noted Wesley grappling with the larger demon. Faith grabbed the creature’s vest collar and yanked him hard, causing his horns to tangle with one of the dangling metal-rimmed lights. Shattered glass and electrical sparks rained down as Wesley managed to find a firm grip once more on his shotgun, aiming it at the restrained attacker. “I’d ask my associate here to mount and stuff you on the wall,” Faith explained as she held the demon in a headlock, “But the decor in here is tacky enough as it is.”

Dropping the demon to the floor with a heavy thud, Faith looked back at the bartender, who now had procured his own shotgun from beneath the racks of whiskey and tequila. The Slayer put her hands up, nodding somewhat appreciatively. “Protecting your own, got it. Well, Wesley, I think we’re finished here,” she said with resignation. “If I find out Angelus came through here, you’re going to wish I’d practiced my murder rehab mantras this morning.”

Wesley practically dragged her out of the place, but not before she added, “Your prices are the real monsters here.”

Out in the back alley, Faith blew a raspberry through her lips and shrugged. “Well, that could have gone better.” Still, it was only their first stop of the night, and the moon was young in the sky. She straightened her jacket, wondering what bar was next on their list- if they hadn’t just totally blown the game. Okay, if she hadn’t just blown it. Still, it wasn’t like this was something they taught in the Watcher’s Council either, though.

Wesley’s disapproving look and tight lips drew her eyes to the fact that he was bleeding from the deltoid, the bloody fabric of his shirt appearing near black in the dimly lit Los Angeles alley. The knife that demon had been carrying cut cleanly through his clothes, skin, and by the looks of it, possibly got into the muscle. It was a wide, deep wound, and Faith screwed up her face briefly in a look of embarrassed sympathy.

“Ah, shit- Wes,” the Slayer said, starting to reach out, but then thinking better of it. “You, uh, got any bandages in the car?”

“Faith,” he said again, that way she knew all too well. Though time and trauma had beaten the intellectual superiority and overtly British condescension out of his tone, the disappointment never changed. The way those five letters left his lips told the girl all she needed to hear. 

He continued on, wondering if his confidence in her abilities had been misplaced at all. Their search for Angelus was serious- there was no time for Faith to 'figure out' how to once again be an effective Slayer, tracker, hunter, or whatever it was she needed to be to accomplish this mission. If prison had dulled her senses, then the soulless vampire would not waste a moment to utterly annihilate her. The natural cycle of day and night were on their side now, Los Angeles no longer a perpetual vampire playground, but that did not make matters any easier. Angelus was an effective, brutal killer in any condition. Was that clear to the Slayer?

“Forgive me if I’m new to this whole ‘working as a team’ thing, if that’s what you even want to call us,” Faith defended. Even before her stint in prison, she was always used to going it alone. So, yeah, she hadn’t considered Wesley in the fight, and he got stabbed covering for her. Was she supposed to apologize for that?

-Then again, maybe yes. It was her lack of foresight that caused him harm, whether directly or not. She didn’t want to be babied, but the former Watcher had brought her out here for a reason. She either failed him- and Angel, and by extension all of Los Angeles- or learned from her mistakes and did better the next time around.

Faith sighed. “I’m sorry, Wes. Let’s get you bandaged, stay frosty, and hit the next bar. Consider this my one and only warm up.” She removed her denim jacket and tied the sleeves tightly around his right shoulder to hopefully stanch the blood until they could patch that properly. Surely this guy kept an emergency kit in the car- if he had a shotgun, he would have a bandage.

The Slayer handed Wesley his weapon, which he slung over the uninjured shoulder. The pair walked down through the alley towards their car, mostly in silence. Before they hit the street again, Faith turned to look back to where they’d started, in case any opportunistic vampires had followed them out. Nothing.

She sighed, turning back towards Wes. “Bar two- the Half Wolf Moon. Guess we’d better get to it- this time, I’ve got your back, boss.”

[myaekingheart]

The Hazards of Love

Part 1: The Prelude

@naruto-fantasy-week Day 1: Witches + Familiars / Soul Bonds [Kakashi Hatake x Rei Natsuki (OC)] Sometimes fate has a funny way of bringing people together. And sometimes Mother Nature has a funny way of ripping them apart. [Inspired by the Hazards of Love by The Decemberists] read on AO3

               It was dusk when Rei departed, the sky a watercolor portrait overhead. The young woman, with red hair haphazardly tied back, rode down mossy pathways upon a large, white horse. It was in these moments that she felt the most free, as if the woods were expanding her lung capacity and finally allowing her to fully, unapologetically breathe. She, bred for battle, the little assassin, Rei Natsuki. She gripped her horse’s mane tightly as they weaved between towering trees, her heart pounding in sync with his hooves. If only she could melt into the forest floor, become one with the wilds, liberated from the strict convention of her career.

               Amid her daydreams, her grip on Toshio’s mane had loosened and so when a white flash of something startled the steed, she flew off his back and effectively slammed into the dirt. Rei spluttered into the crook of her neck as she tried to catch her breath, glaring at her horse. “What the fuck?!” she called to him, pushing the long bangs back out of her face. Toshio stamped his feet and shook his head, nostrils flaring. In the near distance, crumpled at the base of a large tree, lay a mass of white fur.

               Rei was, at first, understandably cautious. The wolves were vicious in these parts and she knew better than to apprehend a dangerous animal. Her curiosity, however, overpowered her logic. With sword drawn, she inched ever so slowly nearer, praying for the woods to keep still so as not to startle him. And then she saw it: blood.

               The wolf’s chest rose and fell tumultuously, his mismatched eyes searching this way and that. His right was naturally dark and ominous but his left shone red, bright as the blood on his flank, with a nasty scar straight down the center. He growled softly as he watched Rei approach.

               “I’m not going to hurt you” she murmured. “I just want to help.” When it was clear he had finally at least tolerated her presence, she sheathed her sword and knelt down beside him. The wound was deep and intense but had not severed any important ligaments. The outlook, should he let her treat him, was bright.

               The wolf watched with a wild, alert gaze as she pulled a flask of water from the belt at her hip. She popped the cork and poured the cool liquid all over the wound, a stream of diluted blood rushing into the dirt. Then, grabbing her dagger, she sliced away a strip of cloth from her skirt and began to bandage him up.

               He snapped his jaws at her as she wrapped his leg, but she did not flinch. “I know it hurts!” she fired back at him. “But it has to be done. It’ll only take a minute, so suck it up.” A confused expression flitted across his face before he ultimately accepted his fate. Once she was finished, she stood back and motioned for him to get up. “Make sure you can walk on it” she insisted. The minute the words fell from her lips, however, she felt stupid and childish. There was no way a dumb wolf would understand her human commands. And yet somehow, he did. She watched him rise slowly, testing his back leg with a strange sense of concentration. When he had grown more comfortable and agile, she knelt down to begin gathering up her supplies. As she did so, a heavy shadow suddenly stretched over her, growing with every second. Her hands grew unsteady, and then she heard it.

               “Thank you.”

               A man’s voice. Rei’s heart leapt into her throat as she slowly lifted her gaze. The wolf had disappeared. Standing before her now was a human man.

               Rei whipped her dagger out and stumbled backward, narrowing her eyes at the stranger. “Come any closer and I’ll hang you from that branch by your intestines!” she threatened. He recoiled, his mismatched eyes widening. She studied his every move, every feature. If she was to die right here—or worse—she at least wanted to thoroughly recognize her assailant.

               First and foremost, he was attractive. Frustratingly so. His silver hair fell into his eyes and stuck up in all directions, wild and unkempt. Second was that he was naked. Completely and utterly naked. And in his nakedness, she could not help but notice he was also lean and fit. Her cheeks burned at the mere sight of him.

               “What business do you have wandering around the woods like that, anyway?” she asked, dropping her eyes. “If you’re looking to take advantage of innocent girls, you’ve targeted the wrong person.”

               The man blushed, clearly embarrassed by his own immodesty, as if he hadn’t even noticed until it was pointed out to him. Rather than apologize, he replied, “It’s nice to know your hospitality is limited to animals.” The statement was so strange, it warranted another look at him. A cocking of the brow and a search of the face for any signs of intoxication, or if he was simply a hallucination. Instead, all she saw was a bandage around the thigh and a sharp red eye cut down the center by a nasty scar. No…it couldn’t be…

               Rei tightened her grip on her dagger as she scrambled to her feet. The sky overhead had grown inky black, the stars poking through the darkness to shine down upon them. All Rei knew for certain was that she needed to go home. She needed to get as far away from here as humanly possible. And yet her feet refused to move. If anything, there was an unnerving grip in her chest pulling her ever nearer to him. All she could manage was to pull the ragged cape from Toshio’s flank and shove it into the man’s hands.

               “Put this on” she commanded. “I can’t stand to look at you.”

               The man took the cloak and did as he was told, tying it around his waist like a makeshift hakama. “Sorry” he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. “I hate when that happens.”    

               Blinking, Rei asked in sharp disbelief, “Does…does this happen often?”

               The man paused a moment before asking, “Which part?”

               Unbelievable. Shaking her head, Rei turned to mount her steed and disappear back home. This man was testing her patience—a man she was unsure was even real. No, she needed to remove herself from this situation before she sank too far into her own insanity. Perhaps if she climbed into bed with a cold towel to her forehead, then come morning, this would all be a hazy memory.

               He wasn’t sure why but the sudden threat of her departure struck him with a desperate yearning. He couldn’t afford to let her leave. Not yet. Not now. Acting on impulse, he reached out to grip her wrist. “W-wait!” he called. “I’m sorry” he continued. “I didn’t mean to be so abrupt. I don’t often find other people out here. Nonetheless women as…as beautiful as you.”

               Truthfully, Rei wasn’t buying it. If he was aiming to erase the predatory undertones of his appearance, then this was not helping his case. “Well, maybe that’s for the best” she muttered. There was a fire in her gaze that almost made him back down. Almost.

               “Please…tell me your name” the man then asked.

               Rei considered his question for a moment. She wasn’t sure if it was information she ought to give out. But then again, there was no harm in telling very real things to very fake people. “Natsuki” she replied, her voice breathy as if releasing the pent-up pressure within a balloon. “Rei Natsuki.”

               Rei Natsuki. The name enveloped him in a strange, titillating comfort. “Rei” he repeated, paying close attention to the way her name fit in his mouth. He said it again, nodding. Rei. “That’s beautiful.”

               For a moment, with her hand clasped in his in the moonlight, she suddenly felt as if their flesh was melding into one. She never considered herself particularly beautiful. The thought of someone else thinking of her as such felt foreign and displaced. And whatever was foreign was immediately terrifying. “And what about you?” she asked. “What’s your name?”

               The man cleared his throat before answering, “Kakashi.” The name brought Rei a similar sensation of comfort and anxiety. It seemed so familiar, like a vague echo of childhood nostalgia that she couldn’t quite comprehend. She felt her hand grow clammy in his grip and she knew in that moment that if she did not leave soon, she was likely going to be sick. Kakashi felt her wiggle her way out of his grasp, saw the nausea painting her face, and knew he had made a terrible mistake. “I’m sorry” he said again. “I never meant to scare you. It’s just…you remind me of someone.”

               “Oh yeah?” Rei asked. “Who?” The thought of her resembling a stranger to a man with limited social connections was unnerving and, quite frankly, inconsistent. Her curiosity piqued.

               “I spend most of my time reading” Kakashi started.

               Before he could say more, Rei interrupted. “You read…?” she asked. It wasn’t that she considered him illiterate, necessarily, but rather was simply shocked seeing as so many people these days had given up on books. The thought of having found someone else who thrived within the nooks of narratives piqued her interest that much further, though she was also admittedly unsure of how this factored into the original topic.

               Kakashi nodded in reply, noticing a significant change in the way Rei carried herself. She seemed more open, more accepting, and in that, he could breathe a sigh of relief. “Have you ever read the works of Master Jiraiya?” he asked. “You remind me of his heroine, Junko.” Then, slightly more sheepishly, “She’s actually my favorite.”

               “Oh?” Rei asked. Toeing the dirt, she asked quietly, “What, uh…what do you like about her…?” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him now. She was unfamiliar with the books he spoke of, but she was deeply intrigued by how he could so firmly assess her character after only knowing her for an hour or so.

               Kakashi went on to name off the traits he admired in a woman, exemplified by Junko in the novels. Unbeknownst to him, so many of them paralleled Rei’s personality. She felt stripped down, exposed and terrified. How obvious was she that he could pin her down so clearly? His rattling only further convinced her this had to be a dream. But his grip felt so real, so soft yet strong. Was she really capable of dreaming up something so vivid? She didn’t know. The more she questioned it, the more she feared that perhaps she truly was losing her mind. And all the while, her mind harkened back (on its own accord) to the idea of fate. The idea that everything happens for a reason, that there is a destined companion for everyone. When she looked at him, that strange, shapeshifting man, she somehow saw home. She only wondered if he felt the same.

               Dark storm clouds rolled in overhead to blot out the moonlight.  The moment she opened her mouth to speak, a crack of lightning illuminated the sky followed by thunder so intense, it shook the whole wood. A cold slap of reality.

               “I have to go” Rei said abruptly. She had no clue what time it was but that didn’t matter anymore. Danzo would certainly be searching for her now, seething and strict. She could not let him know what she was up to in the woods.

               Kakashi watched her approach Toshio, who had since become rather impatient, but not without a deep ache in his chest. “Rei, before you go” he called. She turned to him as he approached her at Toshio’s flank. He tenderly brushed the hair out of her face and she felt her cheeks enflame yet again.

               “What is it…?” she asked, her voice small and meek. She was terrified of what he was about to offer.

               Kakashi stammered a moment before motioning toward the makeshift clothing tied around his waist. “What about your cloak?” he asked.

               “What about it?” she rebuked.

               “You should take it with you” Kakashi said. “It’s yours, after all.”

               Rei glanced down at it, the way it cinched at his waist and fell in tatters to the forest floor. Panic rose in her throat as she feared watching him undress. She rested a hand upon his forearm and whispered, “Keep it. You need it more than I do.”

               A small smile touched Kakashi’s lips as her hand lingered on his arm. “I’ll return it to you tomorrow. Come back and see me at sunset. Please.”

               She considered the request for a long moment. For Kakashi, that stretch of time felt eternal. He rested his hand atop hers, a silent prayer that she would say yes. And looking into his mismatched eyes, the way his jaw clenched in anticipation, and his toned chest and strong arms—“Yes” spilled out of her mouth on it’s own accord. Delighted, he kissed her hand delicately before encouraging her back home. His lips stung against the soft flesh and she felt her mind spinning as Toshio raced back to the village.

               Kakashi watched her depart as the rumbling sky intensified. A sinister feeling, like smoke on the moors, crept across the forest floor. He knew what was coming but he did not care. He would deal with the forest’s wrath later. For now, his focus was her.

[psycho-slytherin]

Strangers ch. 36

Your relationship with Yoongi gets picked apart, and the commercial begins.

Pairing: Yoongi x (female) Reader

Word count: 2.3k

Genre: fluff, angst

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Your heart drops into your stomach, rips through your body, and continues down through the Earth’s crust. “Oh, c’mon, that wasn’t me. You have to know that wasn’t me.” It’s who I was before I knew you, a voice in your head echoes. God, did you love this man before you met him, before you fully registered that he was real.

Yoongi laughs. “Oh, I figured– I only wanted to tease you. You’ve been hacked, right?”

“I must’ve been, yeah. I haven’t liked any tweets like that.” You wink exaggeratedly. “At least, not since I knew you.” There’s something about the newfound freedom in your heart, the lightweight truth, that lends you far more confidence than you’ve had lately. He is your friend, after all. 

Yoongi rests his elbows on the table. “I just hope you’ve changed your password already, before your hacker does it first.”

“Oh shit, you’re right!” You’ve had the same password for most of your online accounts for years, and it’s probably time to change them around before someone else gets into your electronic life. You hurriedly grab your phone and change your Twitter password; thankfully, it doesn’t seem like whoever trolled you did so first. 

“How are you doing, by the way? With the cold, I mean.”

“Heh, what do you think?” You unzip your jacket to reveal a sweater underneath. After your photoshoot yesterday, you felt like you’d never be warm again. “It’s weird, I never minded the cold before.”

“After what happened, it’s no wonder you’re traumatized.” Yoongi rests a reassuring hand on your shoulder, and some part of your heart begins to sing. “Just, you gotta know that your body is warm enough already, and I don’t want you to get heatstroke from all those layers.”

“I’ll be careful.” Seoul’s central hospital is probably sick of you at this point, not that you can blame them. 

“Good.” Yoongi leans back, and the loss of contact is almost startling. “Watcha up to this week, workaholic?”

“Besides Moon Over the Sea?” You check your work calendar, the one both you and Lisa have access to. “I’ve got a commercial shoot for some cologne all day Friday and Saturday.”

Yoongi whistles. “Why’ve they got you scheduled for men’s cologne? And damn, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come over to our place Saturday night for dinner but it sounds like you’ll be busy. We’re gonna be working in Japan but we get back Saturday.”

“Don’t count on it, but I’ll see if I can make it. I’ll text you, yeah?”

“Sure.” Your friend rises from his chair. “Well, I better be off. See ya tomorrow for filming, and…” he winks. “Don’t get too distracted by my tongue, hm?”

Every drop of blood in your body rushes to your cheeks as Yoongi bursts out laughing. “I was hacked, you goddamn flirt!” You swat at him, forcing your racing heart to calm. “God, does Hobi know you’re cheating on him?”

“You know him, he’s worse than I am.” Yoongi’s voice is still full of mirth, his lips pulled back to expose his gums. It’s the kind of expression you died for when you were an ARMY… and it seems it’s still affecting you now. 

“Just go away, nerd. Aren’t you working on your next mixtape?”

“Yeah, and it’s gonna be fire.”

“Enjoy arson then, but enjoy it in your own studio. I have homework.” With a final lighthearted salute, Yoongi departs and you’re left alone in your apartment, your heart hammering dangerously. You don’t have homework. Or, you do, but you certainly don’t plan on doing it. You’re an actress now, and gaining acclaim. You have better things to do– which is why it’s so frustrating that you’re letting Yoongi mess with your head. You thought you’d put the feelings you’d had as an ARMY behind you– those childlike emotions, the rush of excitement that left you reeling, the breathlessness at his every verse– you’d fallen in love with Suga, just like every other ARMY. 

Once you got to know Yoongi, and not just Suga, you were certain your heart would stop skipping a beat when you saw him. And it did for a while, when you were dating Xiumin. But now, now that you’re supposed to be dating Suga…

It feels… different. You feel different. 

Your thoughts are interrupted by your buzzing phone. More hate comments, you’re sure. One of these days you’re gonna be mad enough to respond to the shit you’re getting, and that’s gonna be a fucking good day. 

The days pass, and the filming of Moon Over the Sea continues smoothly. 

“Ji-Woo! A letter! Ji-Woo’s got a letter!” The actress playing one of your sisters hurries to you, clutching an elegant envelope.

“A letter?” The rest of your character’s family crowds around you as your ‘mother’ speaks. “Go on, Ji-Woo, read it!”

You tear open the prop envelope. “It’s from Mr. Moon’s sister…” You pretend to read. The scene is all about you discovering that Yoongi’s character has gone back to the city without warning, even after he said he loved you. It’s about you learning that you’ll never see him again.

Never seeing Yoongi again… the thought makes your heart ache and you feel tears begin to well up, almost spilling over. You grip the paper tighter, struggling to maintain your composure. Yoongi’s not on set today, and it makes it easier for you remember those times, those terrible, stupid times when you and Yoongi stopped talking for weeks or months because of some dumb argument or another. You can’t even begin to imagine being truly separated from your friend again.

“Oh, give me that!” Your sister snatches the letter out of your hand– you’d been so zoned out you forgot to say your lines. Shit, what kind of actress are you? “It says that they’re leaving for the city! Without a goodbye? I thought for sure that Mr. Moon was in love with Ji-Woo!”

“Oh, mercy!” Your mother wails, wringing her hands. “I was so certain there’d be a wedding by the end of the summer!”

You turn sharply. A wedding? As if Yoongi would ever marry you. Yet how many times had you, as his fan, dreamt of such a day?

Bo-Young, the main character, draws you away. “Are you alright, Ji-Woo?”

“I’m-” At last, you’re able to recall your lines, what you’re here for. “I’m perfectly fine. We were friendly acquaintances… nothing more.” Yes, just strangers. You remember when you had to pretend Yoongi was a stranger to you, and not a man you’d fallen for four years earlier. You summon that familiar sense of utter denial and let it rest upon your shoulders, relaxing your features, even as you feel close to breaking.

“Come, Ji-Woo, I know that’s not true!” “I said I’m fine, sister.” you reply sharply.

“And cut! That was spectacular, ladies, I think we’re keeping that take– Jeongyeon, good improvising. And y/n…” Avery turns to you. “That was great acting. Really great. I could feel the emotion there.”

“No wonder, it’s her boyfriend that’s left,” one of your costars, Jeongyeon, giggles. “She’d better get used to it.”

“Jeongyeon!” Bo-Young scolds. “That’s mean.”

“What? Y/n’s dating Suga from BTS! You really think they’re going to stay together?” Jeongyeon shoots you a glance. “Sorry, y/n, it’s just the truth.”

“Oh, I…” There’s nothing you can say. “I mean, you’re allowed to speak your mind.”

“But you do like him, right?” Jeongyeon leans forward and you laugh nervously, shrinking back as she looms over you.

“What are you, a reporter?”

“I’m just curious! It’s not like you two are all lovey-dovey– you don’t even seem like a couple!”

“Love doesn’t need to be physical,” Bo-Young steps in and you smile at her gratefully. “As long as they’re happy together, it’s none of our business. I’m sure y/n has enough on her shoulders without her costars attacking her as well, Jeongyeon.”

“Sorry, sorry, sheesh– c’mon, y/n, you know we all love you! Except your haters, amirite?” Jeongyeon pokes you teasingly and flounces away. 

“Sorry about her,” Bo-Young says later, as the crew packs up the set for the day. “She’s just a gossip– Jeongyeon doesn’t mean any harm. Are you gonna be okay?”

“Hm? Yeah. I’m used to it.” You chuckle hollowly while slipping on your street clothes. “It’s whatever. Thanks for the help.”

“Of course. You’re getting a lot of hate, I’ve seen it online. We’ve all been there, y/n, and the only thing you can really do is turn to your friends when it gets hard.”

“Thanks, Bo-Young.” You check your phone and notice the time. The commercial shoot is in forty minutes. “Shit! I gotta get going– see you at filming tomorrow!” You bid your costar a hasty goodbye and hurry to the door, already opening your phone to call a car when you hear a honk outside the studio. 

For a second, you feel excitement flood your veins– did Yoongi decide to pick you up even though he didn’t have to be onset today?

Lisa pokes her head out of the window. “C’mon, girl!”

Oh, right. The members of BTS are promoting in Japan.

“Thanks for the lift,” you say as you climb into your friend’s car.

“Of course! I mean, your address hasn’t leaked online and we have to keep it that way, ya feel?” Lisa clasps her hands together. “No more rideshare apps for you, miss y/n!”

You laugh. “Love you, Lisa– and please keep your eyes on the road.”

Your friend coughs. “Right back atcha, darling. The love, not the road.”

The drive to your shoot is quiet for a moment before Lisa speaks again. “Hey, there haven’t been any weirdos around set, right? I’ve been seeing a ton of online rumors that there’s a plan to leak Moon Over the Sea footage to, and I quote, ‘ruin y/n’s career’.”

You roll your eyes. “I’ve seen those. Yeah, no creeps that I’ve noticed, and I have a feeling they’d only come to film Yoongi, not me.”

“Speaking of, how’s your Prince Charming doing?” Lisa asks, raising a brow.

You sigh. “He’s not my Prince Charming.” Honestly, the one time you tell the truth is the one time your friend doesn’t believe you. Talk about crying wolf. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re keeping it quiet for the cameras, I get it. Just let me know if he breaks your heart, got it?” Lisa cracks her knuckles menacingly. 

“Hands on the wheel, girl!”

“It’s fine, I’ve never crashed before.” Still, Lisa straightens up and grips the wheel once more. “Hey, do you ever get to meet the rest of BTS?”

“Uh…” What should you do, what can you say? “Sometimes?”

“Woah. See, that’s fuckin’ amazing. My best friend, everyone! Casually meeting the greatest musicians on the planet!”

You laugh at Lisa’s enthusiasm. “Turn right, the studio is down there.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I was wondering if you could, y’know, maybe…” Lisa’s tone turns wheedling. “Let me meet them? Or at least just send me another video of Jimin talking to me?”

“I…” You should’ve expected this– it’s the kind of thing your best friend would consider a given. “I’ll see what I can do, okay? No promises.”

“Thanks, love! I appreciate it more than you could ever know.” Lisa stops the car outside the studio. “Break a leg!”

“Only if you don’t break yours,” you reply as you get out and head towards the studio door. “Drive safe, Lisa!”

Once inside, you make your way to the front desk. A pretty woman with a tight bun greets you.

“Hi, I’m l/n y/n here for the cologne shoot?”

“Miss l/n…” The woman shuffles through some papers. “Ah, here you are! Yep, that’ll be on set number three, second door on the left.”

“Thanks!” You follow the directions, wondering what exactly your role will be in a men’s advertisement.

Soon enough, you have your answer.

“Y/n, darling, come on, get a little closer to Wonho!”

“I– how do I even do that? Like, physically?” You adjust yourself on your coworker’s lap, hyperaware of your surroundings. Wonho is shirtless and– not that you noticed– very well built, with broad shoulders and an almost illegal amount of taut muscle. 

The commercial director stands with a sigh. “Just… lean into him. The whole point is this cologne makes girls fall all over you, y/n. You gotta be all over him.”

“Yes sir,” you mutter under your breath. Wonho must hear you, because you sense him stifling a chuckle. You can barely inhale with the black halter top and high-waisted shorts they’ve dressed you in– and god, you’re cold. You’re sitting pretty in Wonho’s lap, and his hand is resting lightly on your hip.

“You’re doing fine,” Wonho says while the director is distracted by your latest take. You take the opportunity to slide off of him and sit in your own chair.

“W-what?”

“I can feel your heartbeat– it’s kinda hard not to. You’re nervous, huh?”

You laugh hollowly. “You can tell?”

“Yeah, but the camera can’t. You look great, y/n, and you don’t need to worry. If anything, I’m the one that should be nervous.

“Why’s that?”

“Ah, shit– I don’t want Yoongi to kill me once this commercial gets out!” Wonho grins mirthfully.

You start. “You know Yoongi?”

“Sure, our paths have crossed during work and we’ve been to the same parties– the fact that he’s gonna see me with you on my lap is probably gonna make him pretty jealous.”

You scoff to hide your blush. “Uh… Yoongi doesn’t really get jealous.” After all, why would he be jealous? You’re not really dating.

Wonho raises an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Back to work, people! We’ve got a day and a half to shoot this so let’s get it right and we can all go home early tomorrow, eh?” The director claps his hands and you and Wonho scramble back onto set. Yoongi gets back tomorrow, and if you finish up early, maybe you can surprise him. How cool would that be?

A/N: Please don’t forget to like, comment, and reblog! <3

[tigereyes45]

For @tidalwaveofcats​ Here is your request! It’s not exactly what you asked for but I hope you enjoy all the same!

As he speaks the words, Sandor feels the regret building up. The look in her eyes slowly morphs into understanding. He thinks it is the first time he ever saw that look on Arya’s face. All those lessons all those days, and never once did she ever look at him the way she was now. Even when they thought he was dying, and she had to go. Her face was never this soft.

“Then come with me.”

“That’s not how this works,” Sandor scoffs letting go of Arya’s face.

She looks at the floor and shakes her head. “You say revenge is all that’s motivated you, but you weren’t looking for vengeance when you fought for me! When you offered to take my sister away from this awful place! You can live without killing him!” Arya shouts. Pieces of the roof fall down around them, almost as if it agreed with her.

“What would I do then, girl? Live in the North? Freeze my balls off every day angry and hateful.”

“You’ve always been hateful, but if I shouldn’t die here why should you?!”

“Because he’s my brother! Yours is waiting for you back home.”

Arya shakes her head and hugs Sandor. “I can’t go back alone.” She whispers as her arms loosen around him.

Sandor sighs and bends down so he was eye-level with her. She lets go of him only for him to now hug her. She laughs, “You really must be about to die,”

“Shut up.” He growls. He watches as the dragon flies above them. It’s fire reigning down on one of the towers. “We need to go.”

Arya’s eyes squint as she looks back at the Hound. ‘“What? I said we didn’t I?” He pushes her away before grabbing her hand. He flips around and decides that the way they came would be the safest route out.

As he leads the youngest Stark daughter out of the Red Keep he couldn’t help but reflect. Ghosts were everywhere here. Around every corner, a new scene would begin to play out before them. Where Sansa had been mocked, when Joffrey had taken her to see her father’s head. Where the imp had interrupted them. Where he had watched Petyr twist her. Where the queen had mocked her. Everywhere he looked was just another reason for him to keep running. For him to return to the cursed north. Fucking hell, why did he listen to Arya?

As they make it out of the castle all hell came down on them. The Hound pulls Arya closer as he walks them through a back alley. He pulls her along as a swarm of commoners surround them. He can feel her slipping behind as she holds his hand tighter than before. When she trips Sandor almost falls with her. He pushes the people around them away. He sets his arms under her and lifts her up. Resting Arya’s bruised head under his neck. Perhaps it was a good thing he had left with her. She would be one less ghost to haunt him. Sandor runs faster as the world comes crashing down on them. He ignores the screams of the less fortunate, and his fear of the fire only allowed him to push himself further. He would get her out of this. He feels something hit his shoulder. He tucks her head back under his neck. When his head is hit next Sandor falls. He wraps his arms around Arya’s small body as his own collapses.

When next Sandor opened his eyes he was buried under rubble. A small source of light breaking in from somewhere to his right. He tries to stand but his feet were being held down. He moves his hands only to feel Arya was still in them. Her face was clear in the light. She was covered in white ash and a bit of blood from near her shoulder. Otherwise, she seemed unharmed. He rests his own forehead against hers and listens closely.

As breath escapes from her nose he could feel his heartbeat slow. She was still alive.

“Don’t die on me yet.” He asks her he tucks her deeper into himself. He pushes his back up and towards the back. Making sure that any rubble on them would fall away instead of in front of them. A fire erupts in his shoulder as he moves it. Sandor bites his lip and growls. Arya stirs as he shakes the last of the rubble off. He looks back to see why he couldn’t move his legs. There was more brick on them than anything else.

“Stay still she-wolf.” He warns her in a low growl. He wraps one hand under her body to hold her to him. His left reaches back to tear the bricks off of him.

“S-Sandor?” Arya’s voice was quiet almost inaudible as he continues to try and dig them out.

“Shush now she-wolf. Save your strength.” He advises as his knuckles break against the bricks. He ignores the blood and keeps trying. His limbs scream out at him as every move is faster than the last. He would get them out of here. He would get them back to the North!

“Jon,” Arya whispers, and for a moment Sandor stops. He looks up to see her bastard brother was indeed there. A bit of a way down the street from them. Northmen and unsullied at his back.

“Bastard!” Sandor shouts causing the man to jump. “Snow!” He calls out this time and the Jon finally looks at him. Not just in his direction. “I’ve got the she-wolf bastard!” He shouts and now Jon as running to him. The closer he got the wider his eyes got. Just like a doe who was about to be hunted down. Sandor hated these direwolves. The women were all too fierce and the men were all does, wide-eyes and never where they were needed.

“Take the she-bitch, she needs to get out of here.” Sandor orders as Jon drops to his knees on top of the rubble next to them.

“Arya! What was she doing here?” Jon asks as he takes her from the Hound.

“Nevermind what she was doing here! Get her home!” Sandor orders as he pulls himself out of the rest of the way.

Jon looks from Arya back towards the Red Keep. His eyes squint as he puts the pieces together. “Was she in the Red Keep?”

“We were. Now move you dumb cunt.” Sandor orders as he lifts Jon up by the back of his armor. “We need to get her out of here!”

“The attacks stopped. Daenerys has won.” Jon explains as he carries Arya behind the Hound. “We can get you two into the Red Keep where the Queen is staying. Your injuries can be tended to there.”

Sandor spits to the corner and ignores the amount of blood that was in his saliva. “That queen or yours is vicious.” He looks back up towards the army marching towards the demolished Red Keep. “I’ll stay near the little wolf. Less she tries to bring another building down upon her again.”

“We didn’t know you were here. You two weren’t supposed to be here.” Jon growls back.

Sandor rolls his eyes and glares down at the bastard Snow. “Does that excuse her bringing them down upon everyone else. Because they weren’t part of your little pack?”

He looks back down at Arya in Jon’s arms. If he was better he would already have taken her back. Her head was nestled comfortably in his chest. She was finally back in the arms of her favorite brother. For once Arya seemed perfectly at peace. It pissed him off, but he knew it was best. Jon could keep her safe. Get her back North where she belongs. All he was good for was guarding her, and even when he was doing that he had lost her once and she almost died the second time.

“N-no it doesn’t but,”

Sandor growls at him before snapping out. His teeth physically jump towards Jon to silence him. He was done listening. They both needed to be seen. That was most important right now. Not whatever squabbling and nitpicking the boy had for his queen’s actions.

“Keep talking and I’ll take her back from yer scrawny ass. She needs to be looked at. Now,”

Jon instinctively moves towards his sword. Even if he was unable to pull it out with his hands full. Sandor notices and only laughed. The boy thought himself such a hero that he could take him on with the she-wolf in his grip. A fool as brave as his little sister. If not as smart. Sandor turns back around and shouts for directions to the closest medic from the unsullied.

When Sansa arrived Sandor was by Arya’s side. The young she-wolf had been up and moving within hours after the city was taken, but after her brother killed his queen she was the only Stark free in the city. So Sandor was always just a few steps behind her. Making her presence known to all. Much to the annoyance of the trained killer. She had grown to enjoy living in silence and shadows. In a way, a lumbering dog could never do.

When the red wolf arrived a few cheered. All of the Targaryen forces were grim-faced. Arya stood at the top of the stairs leading to the Red Keep to meet her sister. Ready to inform her of Danerys’ death and their brother’s imprisonment. As Sansa approaches them, Bran being carried up the steps behind her, her face told them she already knew. Sandor looks at Bran to see him give a gentle nod towards Arya. The boy had strange abilities unlike those of anyone else he had ever met. It made him feel uneasy. The only comfort was knowing that he would never dare use such abilities against his sisters. That may be the only thing keeping Sandor nearby as the three Starks reunite once again.

Sandor takes note of Arya’s apparent preoccupied attention. She kept looking past her family towards the carriages. Her brother notices as well. For once he was next to her he pulls on her sleeve and whispers in her ear. Sandor tries to listen in, but Sansa steps in between him and the youngest Starks.

“It is good to see that you lived Ser Sandor. Having realized my sister’s sudden absence was concerning. When I heard you were with her down here it relieved a bit of my anxiousness.” She smiles and it causes him to pause.

“Cut the shit, you were never worried. The she-bitch is the fiercest fighter in the Seven Kingdoms.”

Sansa smiles and for a second his ear picks up on a brief laugh. It was short but oh so sweet. “That is true. Perhaps it was someone else’s absence I felt concern from then.”

He shakes his head and holds back a laugh. “Beguiling words are your new sweet song, aye Lady Stark?” He looks back up to see the shock on her face. “Weren’t expecting that were you?”

“Nor was I expecting to find you alive, or with my little sister.” Sansa retorts as the shock fades. She returns to her stony expression, but Sandor saw the little curve of her lips. There on her, hidden under cold blue eyes, and blood red hair that outlined her face was the faintest of smiles. A smile only a dog could see. A smile just for him as her song had been once.

“Sister a council will be meeting soon now that you have arrived. Uncle and the Prince of Dorne are already there.” Arya speaks looking bewilderedly at her sister.

“Indeed, come, Bran, we should make our way to the rest.”

“They will wait. Lord Baratheon is still seeing to the horses before he comes up.”

“Well, he is new to lordship while we would have no excuse.” Sansa insists. Taking the back of her brother’s chair from a Northman. As the Hound and Arya follow the she-wolf offers a questioning glare to him.

“What she-bitch?”

“I saw that.” Arya points out accusatorily.

“Yes, I have a tongue. I talk unlike you do nowadays. Been following you for weeks now and you’ve spoken less then you did in one day of our little journey together.”

Arya rolls her eyes, and Sandor thought he was looking in a mirror for a moment. She gives Sandor a look that he can only read as a warning. Then she was walking behind her siblings. Sandor was quick to follow in her footsteps.

After the meeting, he sits on the docks watching Snow being sent off. The scene would have felt heartbreaking to many. All the Starks were finally together again after all the trauma and years that had been piled onto their backs. Now they were all being torn asunder again. Snow beyond the wall where all snow belongs. The she-wolf had already made clear her intentions to leave behind Westeros. Sandor did feel a pang upon hearing this. For some reason, he knows that whether if she means it to be permanent or not that it will be. Bran was king. A fucking cripple was king. Sandor wasn’t sure if he was the first cripple to be king but he would be the first fucking Stark to rule in King’s Landing.

And then there was Sansa. As she hugs Jon he wonders if he had ever seen her so open with anyone else. So completely herself the way she was with her family. Then he remembers that there was a time she had been. Back in King’s Landing before her father died. While Ned Stark’s name alone could still protect her. When she was free before the cage fell around her. Eventually, it had collapsed in on her. Somehow the little bird had picked herself free. Now she was returning North with a crown upon her head and no family or even a knight by her side to protect her. A lone bird with the fur of a red wolf.

As Snow departs and the Starks stroll back to shore Sandor remains seated. He had found the cold stones of the wall by the docks comfortable. After so much rubble had sat on top of him it was nice to sit on top of something that would eventually be nothing but crumpled rock and rubble. He watches the ship carrying Snow sail away as the other Starks depart and separate.

“Will you be going with her?” He doesn’t jump when the voice comes from his back. Arya had jumped out of nowhere so many times by now that he had no fear left to give.

“With who?”

“Arya. Will you be sailing West with her?” Sansa asks again to his back.

“Why does the Queen of the North want to know?”

She sits next to him on the wall. For once Sandor actually notices how much taller she had become. Her height was closer to his own now. It only reaffirmed what he already knew. What he knew as soon as he heard the news of Ramsay Bolton’s cruelty.

“She may be looking for a Queen's guard,” Sansa suggests coyly.

“What about the behemoth of the woman that was with you? The blonde from Tarth?” He asks finally looking at her. Not past her, or by her, but right at her. He allows his eyes to hover on her face. On the way, her blue eyes moved with mirth. The way her lips quiver as her breath escapes with every outtake.

“She is going to stay and become commander of the Kingsguard. So will you be joining my sister?” Sansa asks again this time meeting his gaze.

“Yes, will you be joining my sister?” Arya asks as she appears besides Sansa.

Sandor looks at her dryly. “I don’t have to join anyone. I could say fuck all and leave.” He points out. It's just barking. He knows he would never abandon them both. Not again, not with a choice.

“You won’t though.” Arya smiles as she basically voices his thoughts out loud. Sansa looks to Arya before glancing back and forth between them. Confusion evident where before she had seemed accepting.

“Aye I won’t,” Sandor admits and Sansa looks at him again. Her cold face having returned. He looks to Arya and for once felt nothing but pride.

“I’m sorry Little Wolf, but what’s out there,” he stops and looks out to the sea. “What’s out there I can’t protect you from.”

“It’s fine Sandor.” He looks up to see the Little Wolf stood in front of him. Her wound already healing up. “You’ve protected me enough.” She wraps her arms around him. Without thinking he wraps his own around her and squeezes tight. “Keep her safe for me Sandor,” Arya whispers in his ear.

“Aye.” He promises, holding her tighter. “Make sure to come back alive. Or I fucking hunt you down myself!” This time he makes his promises a little louder. Earning him a firm hand on his shoulder from the other Stark.

As Arya lets him go she dashes down the docks. Not even looking back towards them. Never even bothering to go back and say goodbye to the smith before. “She’s a cold bitch.”

“Not as cold as you may think.” Sansa corrects leaning against him.

As Sandor realizes that the smith was already on her ship, Sansa kisses his cheek. “I think you’ll grow used to the cold Sandor.”

He rests his own hand on top of hers. Presses her fingers even deeper into his shoulder. “Aye, I might.”

[sarkastically]

Participation Medals of the Heart

(Runaways fic written to A Softer World prompts. Uh oh. Here we go. Featuring pining Gert, Molly the best sister, and Chase.)

08. Ah, unrequited love.  When your best isn’t enough. (Participation medals of the heart.)

Molly is currently staring at her like she has caught herself on fire and leapt screaming over a cliff for a cause. To be honest, Gert thinks that might be better than what she is actually doing, which is standing in the middle of a room watching Chase watching Karo watching Nico watching Alex. Being on fire and leaping over a cliff for a cause would at least be doing something for a cause, political revolution, the end to isms, equality, something. She wonders what movement would allow that sort of action. She wonders whether she can find one on short notice and join it when she is not yet eighteen and has a younger sister and a pet dinosaur to look after. A whole host of evil parents to try and take down. And a crush that has slowly been consuming her from the inside out.

There is a lot happening in the life of Gert Yorkes, but the only thing she can currently focus on is Chase watching Karo.

It’s dumb. It’s dumb. This is dumb. The worst thing is that she knows it is dumb, is fully aware of the facts and the circumstances and the knowledge that unrequited love is messy and problematic. That the fairy tales where the ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan and gets the guy are just that, fairy tales, which are, intrinsically, lies or, depending on the story, warnings. Do not go into the forest because something bad is there and it might eat you. Do not trust the man with bushy eyebrows because he might be a wolf in disguise who only wants to use you for his own means. Do not eat people’s houses because it’s rude as shit, and they will inevitably try to make you pay for it.

So, yeah, she knows, but it doesn’t mean that she heeds the lessons. Not completely. For all that Gert is this person who knows herself and tries to control herself and every facet of her life, her heart, dumb heart, doesn’t pay attention, doesn’t let her control it.

It just keeps going. Pining.

Gert Yorkes has never felt dumb in her entire life, but she does when it comes to all of this wishing and wanting and yearning and thinking. With every small word said to her, with every little look, that hey, you know, maybe. Maybe he’s paying attention. Maybe there’s something in her that he can see. Maybe they’ve shared a moment. And then it blinks out. She wakes up. She realizes that, no, none of that is actually a thing that is happening anywhere except inside her head.

There is an entire world inside of her head and, unfortunately, not all of it is schemes to demolish the corrupt government and establish something new. No, at least 65% of it, which is too much when there is so much else to do, is devoted to whether or not Chase’s eyes soften a little when they look at her. They do not. She is sure that they do not. Except, perhaps, maybe that one time. Or that other time.

Or maybe no time at all.

“What are you doing?” Molly asks, though the look on her face has slid from annoyance into knowing, and Gert is equal parts pained and glad to have her sister who is so smart and so chipper and so kind. Even if she is sometimes a pain in the way that all siblings are pains.

I don’t know what I would have done without you, she thinks about saying to Molly sometimes but never does because she doesn’t know how those kinds of words work. So instead she tells Molly that dance team is patriarchal and terrible and reinforces gender stereotypes when what she means to say is good luck, I love you. And Molly, who has been with her forever, will already know what she means behind the words. Like Molly knows when she is nervous. Like Molly knows when she is sad.

Molly knows Gert’s emotions before she knows them herself most of the time. Because Molly is better with people. Always has been.

“Nothing,” Gert says, slides her glasses up her nose, fists her hands into the pockets of the jeans jacket Stacey bought her, laughing and pointing out how she would have worn something similar when she was young in a way that made Gert die a little inside because how embarrassing rather than how terrible, which is the way her parents make her die a little inside now.

She says nothing, but Molly knows better. Gert can tell by the way she looks across the room and sighs and shakes her head before linking their arms together. Molly is taller than her. Everyone is taller than she is, but this is okay because it just means she has to make her voice and her opinions louder, stronger, taller so that no one can step on them. Like her heart. Dumb heart.

“Come on,” Molly says, tugs her away from the middle of the room. “Let’s find coffee. Or chocolate. Or something for me to bench press.”

Gert rolls her eyes and laughs in the way that only her sister can make her laugh. “No bench pressing. You’re not passing out on me here.” Don’t leave me alone is what she means to say, and Molly leans against her, a solid weight that is as calming as any of the mantras they taught her to help her through her anxiety attacks long ago.

“Fine,” the girl says with a huff but with no irritation in her voice because she already knows the heart of the comment.

Gert wonders if any of the rest of them will ever fully figure out all the things she says behind sharp words, if they were will ever pause to consider the other meanings, the way her tongue cannot form soft words except in song. No. Probably not. She couldn’t even teach Chase Spanish, after all, why would she be able to teach him something infinitely more complicated, something that even she herself cannot always make sense of? Besides. He wouldn’t have any interest in it anyway. “So, Mols, where to?”

And Molly leads the way through twisted, curving hallways, and Gert follows with her mind and her eyes, though she thinks a part of her heart remains in that room watching Chase watching Karo watching Nico watching Alex.

No one watches me, part of her whispers, and she hates it. Hates the thought. Hates the feeling.

Molly laughs and teases her into walking along an edge she normally wouldn’t go near because Molly is brave and has never been anxious the way that Gert can be as her mind spins up a hundred thousand worst case scenarios. “Stop thinking about it,” Molly says, voice high, clear, young. Hopeful even when things around them are bad because that is. That is Molly. That is her sister.

“I’m trying,” Gert says, and she means it, understand it in all the ways that Molly is trying to convey. Even though she can’t. She knows she can’t.

It just doesn’t work that way. This stupid unrequited love. This stupid attempt that she makes where her best, which is normally so much more than needed, just isn’t enough. It means as little as those medals she got in kindergarten for participating. The ones her parents thought were super because everyone came away with something, though Gert always saw how hollow they were, how flawed. And they lost their shine so quickly, the sheen flaking away under her fingers. Thanks for trying. Glad you made it. Here you go. Your participation medal for your heart. Nevermind that it’s cracked across the face. At least you tried.

“I’m trying,” she repeats again to no one in particular, and Molly looks over her shoulder at her, older than her years, and smiles the way she smiles when Gert is sad and tugs her hand forward, onward.

“It’s okay,” Molly says. “It’s okay. Trying is enough sometimes.”

Gert tries to smile back, but her dumb heart just winces and it falters on her lips. “I don’t like losing.”

“Believe me, I know.”

The tone is fake annoyance, and Gert almost shoves her playfully off the ledge but doesn’t because sisters. Because when everything else washes away, what will she have, really? Molly. Just Molly. And this stuttering, breathless, uncontrollable gasp of her dumb heart, which does not listen to logic or sense, just continues to beat and pound and make her act in ways she doesn’t really like because she doesn’t know what else to do. “Watch it. I know where you sleep,” she teases, and then Molly playfully shoves at her, which sends her skittering off the side of the ledge because Gert has never been the agile one.

Here we go, she thinks, something else to make me look stupid because she expects to be picking herself off the ground in the next instant. Only she doesn’t because there are hands steadying her, and she knows those shoes because she is a dumb idiot with a memory that catches and holds onto everything.

“You okay?” He doesn’t even pause before continuing. “Molly, you should be more careful.”

Gert blinks at the eyes, and the set of Chase’s mouth, which is concern instead of amusement. You’re hiding, too, she thinks. We’re all hiding. She pushes her glasses up her nose even as she steps away from the hands, which do not grasp too tightly, which let her leave the instant she wants to. Chase Stein, terribly careful about respecting boundaries and secrets. All of them. Maybe that’s what annoys her most. The things he does, he does for everyone. Nothing is for her. But why should it be?

“Thanks,” she manages, glances over her shoulder to look for Molly who has continued walking along the ledge like it is the high bar, something that Gert could never master with her vision and her balance. “I’m fine. Thank you. Thanks.” She should shut up now. “Shouldn’t you be?” she hooks a thumb over her shoulder toward the building where the others likely are.

Chase shrugs, and Gert doesn’t know what that means so she just looks at him for five seconds too long while her dumb heart forgets that she is trying to be cool. “It was boring.”

“Oh. Well.” What can she possibly do that will not be boring? “You can hang with us? If you want. If not, that’s fine. It’s fine.” Launching off a cliff on fire sounds so good right now. Letting their parents put her into the weird glowing thing actually seems like a more pleasant outcome than painfully scraping through a conversation with Chase when he looks soft instead of cocky and perfect, which is his normal setting. Cocky and perfect Chase Gert knows how to deal with, what barbs to throw. They have years of practice in that setting. Soft Chase, the Chase who clung to her when they thought the dinosaur was going to devour them, is different. Soft Chase is unexpected.

She is not even trying her best.

“No, that’s fine,” he sits on the ledge and folds his hands in his lap and seems to take up less room than should be possible when one considers his height and size. Like he is trying not to be seen.

Gert has words behind the ones she says, but she thinks that Chase has words behind every move he makes. Gert likes languages. She wonders how she can learn this one.

Molly continues to walk along the ledge without even looking back, but Gert knows she knows what she’s doing.

“Tell me about the dinosaur,” Chase says.

Gert sits. Talks. Gestures with her hands and loses her nerves in the middle of a conversation about something that fascinates her, and there it is, her dumb heart thinks, a moment when his eyes go soft.

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Sledgehammer

Chapter Twelve

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader  |  Word Count: 3339 Warnings: Swearing, violence

Song: One Last Breath by Creed

“Hello, mischief? This is how you greet me after all this time?” Loki quipped, prowling toward you. He flicked his wrist, and the straps across your thighs and the ones around your arm tore free.

Pushing to your feet, you wobbled a little as you stood there, shooting pain slamming through your skull making you groan and reach for your head.

Loki was instantly at your side, arm wrapping your waist and hand cupping your nape. “Sváfa? What is it?” Eyes, green and glowing, peered worriedly down at you.

“Had my brain scrambled. Still hurts.” You smiled weakly, aching all over. “I may remember everything, but I’m still me, Loki.”

He tilted his head, a regal motion, one you’d teased him for even in this life. His eyes slowly hardened and drifted up to glare at the man edging away. “Is he the one who hurt you, darling?” Loki glared at the doctor.

Straightening up, you pushed against his chest, turning on Doctor Dick with murder in your eyes. “Yeah, that would be my doctor.”

“Now, sunshine, I was just doing my-” his words cut off when your fist connected with his face. He flew across the room and slammed against the wall, dropping like a fly or a bug which had connected with a windshield with a satisfying smack.

“Whoa,” you muttered, looking at your fist. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

“I see you’ve regained your Valkyrie abilities,” Loki chuckled, “But how did you maintain your current self in there?” Throwing his hand out, he sent a burst of green magic at the chair, turning it into a crumpled mass of metal.

“Sváfa shielded me.” Turning back to Loki, a second stab of pain through your skull had you dropping to your knees and grabbing for your head. “Ah!”

“(Y/N)!” Loki was lifting you into his arms before you’d fully landed. “We must find your soldier. You need to be seen to.”

“I’m okay, ugagn, just weak. How long have I been gone?” you asked, rubbing your temple, ignoring the throbbing of your arm.

“Eleven days, lillesøster,” he said, hands tightening around you.

Little sister. The endearment brought tears to your eyes. “Is it weird that I missed you?” you asked, wrapping your arms around his neck. His scent of ice and snow brought so many memories rushing back from a life you were only beginning to remember.

He paused in his quick march down the hallway to look at you. His eyes had returned to blue, still full of mischief but there was a tenderness there you now realized had always been. He’d always been fond of you, but now you knew why. He had known all along, recognized you from the beginning. “Not at all, darling. I have also missed you. We had so much fun together!”

You snorted, a memory popping up. “Like when you convinced me tying three of Sleipnir legs together would be a grand idea right before Odin was set to go on a hunt?”

He chuckled, turning his nose into your hair. “That was entertaining.”

“I cleaned Sleipnir’s stall for three months because of you,” you huffed as he started to walk again.

“And I polished armour until my arms fell off,” he said, his grin a touch wicked. “It was worth it.”

A loud boom erupted, shaking the walls and sending dust falling from the ceilings. Another huge roar pierced the air, thunder rolled, explosions went off, and you jumped in Loki’s hold.

“Fucking hell! Are they trying to destroy the place?” you grumbled, wiping dust from Loki’s cheek.

“A good portion, yes. It is fortunate you thought to call out for Heimdahl.” His face hardened into a mask, anger and distaste at the forefront of his displeasure.

“You’re angry at Steve, aren’t you?”

“Should I not be? He allowed you to be taken. Allowed you to be injured. He is responsible for the state I found you in.” Each step seemed to cool the air around you until frost patterned the walls.

“He is not! I was the one duped. I ran. I was the idiot, not Steve. If anyone is to blame, it’s me and that asshole Garry.” His name left a sour taste in your mouth.

“They told me, but Steve should have noticed you were unhappy. It is his duty as your-”

You closed your hand over Loki’s mouth. “Stop. What Steve and I have is none of your business.” Eyes of blue twinkled before he licked your palm making you squeal and wipe it on his shoulder. “Gross!”

He was snickering when he suddenly darted to the side as rushing feet, many and booted, could be heard pounding down the corridor toward the two of you.

Setting you on your feet, he held you steady when you pressed your hand to the wall to stay upright, huddling with him in a narrow doorway. “Can you put up an illusion?”

“I could, but there are many. It would be easier to draw them away. Can you continue on your own? Your Captain is that way.” He motioned the direction you’d been heading.

Sliding your fingers beneath his overcoat, you pulled a long-bladed dagger from the small of his back. “I’ll be fine, ugagn. You be safe.”

“Always, lillesøster. I am no longer an untrained youth.” The green of his magic was already returning to his eyes as he bent down and kissed your cheek.

“Yet you’re still such a child,” you quipped, smirking up at him.

“Cheeky.” He tapped your nose and stepped into view of the men coming toward you. “A wolf insignia? Really? Why don’t I show you a wolf,” he snarled, wisps of green mist wrapping around him as his shape changed.

Memories of other times he’d done so swelled in your aching head, overlaying the current scene with images still too muddled to make sense of. Rubbing your temple, you watched in awe as he finished his change and stood before you, an enormous wolf, shaggy and grey with enormous teeth.

“Run!” he growled at the men, snapping his jaws. They fired wildly as he chased them back the way they’d come, claws scrabbling on the tile floor.

“He enjoys that way too much,” you snickered. Pressing off the wall, you weaved your way down the corridor, legs shaky. Sváfa had said you’d be weak after the transference, add in nearly two weeks of little to no movement, and little to no food, and the headache pounding away, it wasn’t surprising a slow wobble was about the extent of your abilities.

But Steve was down here somewhere. You just needed to find him.

***

Steve went shield first through the exterior door. It may have been reinforced steel, but at a dead run, and with the weight of both him and Bucky behind it, the door didn’t stand a chance. It blew in like a bomb had gone off, and he chucked his shield after it, sending it ricocheting off the walls and knocking out four men. A shot rang out beside him, the fifth dropping thanks to Bucky’s bullet.

He nodded to the dark haired man at his side. “Faye, we’re in.”

“Good. According to Thor, they were holding her in the med wing, but if my calculations are correct, and if Loki follows direction, you should be able to follow that corridor straight for three intersections. Take a left, go two more, take a right, and you should be there.”

“Hostiles?” Bucky growled.

“Two intersections in on the right. More when you make the left. Plus the ones you’ll find holding (Y/N).”

Bucky was already stalking forward, palming a grenade. Pulling Steve’s shield from the wall, he tossed it back at him. “Let’s go.”

Snagging his shield out of the air, Steve jogged after Bucky in time to watch the man toss the grenade, bouncing it off the wall two corridors down and to the right.

Shouting ensued before the bomb went off, reducing the yelling to silence.

Steve didn’t bother to look at the devastation, well aware of what Buck’s weapons could do as he stalked after the Winter Soldier. The lights flickered overhead, blinking off when one of Stark’s missiles took out the power grid. Within seconds the emergency lights came on, bathing everything in a wash of red light which pulsed slowly on and off.

“Seems Stark’s enjoying himself,” Bucky smirked, glancing at Steve. A roar rattled the ceiling tiles, sending dust down over them. “Hulk, too. It’s been a while since Bruce let loose.”

A smile curled the corner of Steve’s mouth before falling away. “He took it hard, what Garry did to (Y/N). We all did.”

“I can’t believe she believed all that shit,” Bucky scoffed. “Gonna tell her so, too, when we find her.”

Pulling the pistol from his hip, Steve fought not to flinch at Buck’s words. “Think I may have played into her fears. Not on purpose!” he said when Bucky glared at him. “She asked me a question a few days before she was taken. I thought it was foolish, but I never really gave her an answer.” He’d thought a lot about what had led up to her running, wondering the same thing as Buck. “She’s so damn self-assured, I never even thought… I should have said…”

“Fuck, what?” Bucky hissed, slowing as they approached the next intersecting corridor and their first turn.

Sighing, Steve readied himself to go low as Buck brought his rifle to his shoulder. Prepared as they were, trusting Faye’s predictions, they moved like a well-oiled machine, Steve bringing his shield up and firing, using it to deflect the return fire for both himself and Buck, while Bucky worked to take out the dozen men waiting for them.

It was a short-lived battle.

Rising from his crouch, he flinched when Bucky punched him in the arm. “What!?”

“What did you do, you little punk?”

The cold hard eyes of the Winter Soldier glared at him, and Steve gave a semi-helpless shrug. “I didn’t think-”

“Clearly!” Bucky snorted, stalking away.

“Hey! It was a dumb question! Like I’d ever leave her for Sharon,” he huffed, stomping after the metal-armed man.

“Let me guess,” Bucky sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, “You didn’t tell her no?”

“I thought…” his shoulders slumped, “showing her was better.”

“Jeez, pal!”

“I know, I know! I was an idiot.” He’d had a hand in pushing her away, even if he hadn’t realized it at the time. And now, with what Loki had hinted at, he could get her back only to lose her anyway.

Rounding the second corner, they headed for the set of double doors at the end of the hall. Steve broke into a jog; he couldn’t help himself. If Faye were right, she’d be right there, behind those doors, waiting for him to find.

So far, Faye hadn’t been wrong.

***

You stumbled forward, cursing Stark and his need to blow up all things when the power had gone out. The red lights weren’t helping the headache you were working at ignoring, nor was smacking your shin when you rounded a corner in the dark to walk into a steel cart.

Leaning against the wall, you took deep breaths, fighting the continued waves of nausea knowing throwing up nothing, which was the likeliest scenario, would only cause more pain to whip through your skull. As it was, it felt like the Hulk was pounding a set of bongos to a beat only he could maintain. Pressing the heels of your hands to your temples, you wished with all your heart for the biggest bottle of Aspirin you could get your hands on.

When the wave of pain and sickness finally settled, you started down the corridor again, the flashing red lights making it that much harder. You had no idea where in the building you were. The hallways they’d wheeled you down earlier in the complete opposite direction. Every so often you could faintly hear howling and the sounds of wicked laughter, muted as if coming through many layers of walls.

Loki was, apparently, still enjoying himself.

That was fine. You didn’t want him there when you found Steve. The God of Mischief and America’s Greatest Hero were not going to be on the best of terms for a while, probably. Loki had always been overprotective, a little possessive, and jealous of Helgi when you’d fallen for him in your first life. He’d gotten over it eventually, but it had taken time.

The sound of boots on tile had your head whipping up, a bad move when it hurt so much. Darting forward, you made for the doors at the end of the hall, gripping Loki’s dagger tightly, the blade hidden against your forearm.

“There she is!”

Cursing softly, you ran, slamming through the doors and into a big open room. There was nothing to hide behind and nowhere you could safely run to escape the three men coming through behind you.

Spinning around, you faced them and smiled with far more bravado than you were feeling. “Now, boys. Do you really want to do this?” you asked, backing up as they spread out, trying to cage you in. All three looked identical in their tactical gear. Black on black, helmets and goggles, white wolf insignia’s over their hearts.

“Just be a good girl and come with us,” the first said, slinging his rifle to his back. Holding up his hands, he approached you slowly, a smirk working across what you could see of his face. “Wouldn’t want to hurt you more than necessary, ain’t that right boys?”

A song was singing in your veins, old and joyous, a forgotten portion of your nature you relished feeling return. A lust for battle sang, heightening your senses and causing the headache to retreat under the rush of adrenaline. “You boys are in for some surprise,” you snickered.

As the first man closed in, you allowed Loki’s hidden dagger to drop into your palm.

“She’s got a-” was as far as the second soldier got.

You brought the dagger to bear, slicing a gash in soldier one’s thigh. A flip had you changing hands, slamming it down through his shoulder. Jerking it out, blood spraying across your face, you kicked him hard in the chest, sending him sailing back out the doors they’d recently come through.

“What the fuck?” muttered the third soldier.

You grinned, shrugging your shoulders. “Who knew, right?”

Both of them brought their weapons up, training them on you. “Drop the knife!”

Pouting, you shook your head. “But we were just getting started.”

“Drop it, or we drop you!”

You let go of the dagger. It looked like you were going to have to do things the hard way.

“Get on your knees!”

“Make me!” you snarled, baring your teeth. When two shots rang out, you almost thought they’d shot you before their bodies were falling to the floor.

Whipping around, you stared, overcome with emotion for standing across the room, just lowering his pistol was, “Steve!”

“(Y/N)!”

With tears welling, you stumbled forward but only made three steps toward each other when the door at your back opened.

Again you spun to face the new threat. It came as quite a shock when the new threat falling to their knees a few paces away happened to be wearing your face.

“Steve! Don’t! She’s an imposter!” Gaping at him, the shimmer of his glamour falling away beneath your focused attention, you glared at Garry on the floor and glanced to Steve and Bucky.

Steve’s eyes darted from yours to the image of you on the floor and back, horror washing over his features as you realized he couldn't tell the two of you apart. The look of terror on Steve’s face was mirrored by Bucky’s; both holding half raised weapons.

A very strange looking Garry hauled himself slowly back to his feet as you stood, dumbfounded, unable to believe he could sink so low. “Steve, I’m me! That’s Garry!” you said, pointing at the copy of yourself.

“Don’t believe him! That’s Garry!”

“You son of a bitch! I’m so going to beat you to a pulp!” you snarled.

“Not if I get my hands on you first! Steve,” he cried turning toward the two stunned Avengers. “I swear it’s me! What’s the word, Cap, that’s the thing we say, and Bucky, you like to tap the end of my nose.”

“All things you’ve seen them do, Garry!” you bellowed, stepping toward him only to hear Steve’s pistol cock.

“Stay where you are!” he barked, gun coming up.

“Stevie…” you whispered. “It’s me, Cap I swear it.”

“This is fucking unreal,” Bucky muttered. “We could just shoot both. Garry always loses his glamour.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Barnes?” you screeched. “I crashed Steve’s bike, have road rash from hell, broke my arm, got injected with weird ass green glowing goop for two weeks, survived having my brain scrambled in that godforsaken chair, and now you want to shoot me!”

“There!” Garry crowed, pointing at you. “That’s how you know she’s the imposter! No one would survive the chair! She’d be wiped. I’m the real me, Steve! I promise!”

Bucky’s weapon also swung your way, his face set in the cold hard lines of the Winter Soldier.

“Bucky… no.”

“She’s right. No one survives the chair.” Bucky’s eyes narrowed, the gun coming all the way up.

Garry’s face beneath the glamour was nearly triumphant as he moved to face the boys. When he turned was when you saw it, the shine of the silver handle, the gun tucked at his low back.

“I won’t let you hurt them,” you said to Garry, his gaze coming back to you.

“It’s you who will hurt them,” he sneered, hand twitching, slowly creeping behind his back.

“No, not this time. Steve,” you said softly, dropping your hands to your sides. “I love you with all my heart, but this?” Turning your head, you looked from his gun to Bucky’s; both pointed directly at you. “I don’t wike it.”

“Baby,” Steve whispered, gun lowering.

“You bitch!” Garry screamed, pulling his weapon, knowing instantly he'd lost.

Two shots went off in rapid succession and fire burned through your shoulder. Crying out, you grabbed for it, your hand slipping through the wet heat of your blood pouring from the wound. Gasping at the pain, you stumbled backward, heading for the ground, only to be caught up in strong arms.

“(Y/N)!” Steve hollered. Holding you with one arm, he squeezed his other hand against your shoulder making you groan. “I know, I know, sweetheart, but I’ve got to slow the bleeding.”

“Steve,” you peered at him, face obscured by the helmet and mask. Your hand shook as you reached up to the buckle and undid it.

“Leave it, darlin'. We need to get you out of here,” he coaxed, trying to shake your hand free.

“Need to see. Need to… know,” you whimpered, pain wracking your body, ripping through you in waves of agony as you pushed feebly at it.

“Know what?”

You didn’t answer, only shoved the mask off with the last of your strength. Darkness was gathering at the edge of your vision, the red light washing on and off frustrating your attempts to see. Sliding your fingers through his hair, you drew him down, brought him closer, and stared up into eyes which appeared blue even under the pulsing red lights.

Your hand shifted to his face, touched his cheek, the curve of his jaw, his full bottom lip. “There you are. I knew you’d come.”

“I promised, didn’t I?” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

“That you did, Cap,” you smiled as the darkness closed in. When your hand fell limply from his face, you could hear him call your name as if from a great distance before you heard nothing more.

Next Chapter

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

Divided We Fall (OUAT - Peter Pan x Reader) Part 4

Requested by @ajakral

Synopsis: Who said there were no girls on Neverland? Who said Peter Pan ruled over this world on his own? On the other side of the island, far from the mermaid lagoon, the echo cave and the skull rock – that’s where (Y/N) and her girls lived. Because behind every great man there is an even greater woman, what would the king be without his queen?

A/N: Doesn’t star any OUAT characters apart from Pan, Felix and Wendy.

Word count: 2.4k

Part 3 <<< >>> Part 5

MASTERLIST

“Up and in line everyone!” (Y/N) ordered and her girls stood in the usual order within seconds, dropping everything they were doing. In a single swift motion, she threw a thick wooden stick to one of the younger girls who fumbled a bit before catching it, out of surprise.

“You can't hesitate, if someone else than me throws something else at you, you need to catch it,” she said and paced in front of the girls. When she reached the same girl again, (Y/N) threw her elbow at her, aiming for the face but this time she caught it before it hit her. “Better,” (Y/N) congratulated her with a smirk.

It was still raining, they had just eaten a good meal, it was the exact opposite of what you called good fighting conditions. Perfect.

“These are the worst conditions you can find yourself in during a fight,” (Y/N) continued. “Pair up!”

In a common movement, all the Lost Girls moved to face up their partner. They paired up with girls of the same strength – (Y/N) shook her head.

“No, not like that. Mingle with the stronger ones, challenge yourself because there is no honor in winning against someone you know you can defeat.”

They changed partners and shared confused looks as they did so.

“Fight, and I want to see you use the elements to your advantage. It's raining, it's muddy, the sounds of nature cover anything else, use it.”

As soon as the words crossed her lips, the girls executed her orders. The smaller, weaker ones attacked first because that's what (Y/N) taught them to do – to strike before their adversary gets a chance to hit them. If you're smaller, it means you're faster. If you're bigger then you can knock your enemy out faster. Sybil and her cunning ways was the first to dive to the ground and swing her leg around to sweep the other girl off her feet and make her slip in the mud.

“Good Sybil! Everyone look at that! That's what I'm talking about. Don't be afraid to play dirty literally and figuratively, Neverland isn't a playground and next time a bunch of Lost Boys come here, I want you to make them eat the ground.”

She made the girls fight and fight and fight again, keeping up the rhythm until they were wetter from sweat than rain. They panted, covered in mud and blood, pointlessly trying to rub away the dirt with the back of their equally dirty hands while dodging blow after blow.

“What the hell is wrong with her?!” Sybil groaned in between a couple punches.

She ducked forward when Dorothy leaped toward her and tried to hit her shoulder. Sybil hurt her shoulder last month, everyone knew that. But it was fair game, she didn't hold grudge against her sister. It was a weakness and she exploited it, like (Y/N) had instructed.

“Shut up or you'll be on watch duty for the next two centuries,” Dorothy replied and attacked again. Her hair kept flying in her eyes and the rain made it stick to her forehead and momentarily blinded her.

“What is it with her today?! Why is she such a pain in the-”

“Sybil?” (Y/N) interrupted the girls' fight and grabbed the poor Sybil's arm. “Got something to say?”

“Yes!” She snapped, letting her emotions take precedence over her head and stepping closer to her leader instead of backing down like a wise person would have. “What's going on? Why are you venting on us? What's the deal with you today?!”

“My deal-” (Y/N) began, talking between her teeth and tightening her grip on Sybil who winced in pain. “-is my business. You stay quiet and do as I say, or you can run off into the jungle and throw your little pity party there. If you interrupt training once more, I'll personally see to your punishment.”

Sybil turned a few shades whiter and her pupils lost in size. Fear sizzled in the air as rain showered them.

“No dinner for you tonight. You're on first watch. Dorothy-” (Y/N) said and the girl's eyes moved from her friend to her leader. “-You pair up with Tina and teach her the basics again, she still can't throw a proper kick.”

She didn't say a word but moved over to where the young blond girl called Tina stood, with her arm hanging each side of her body, trembling in fear. The partner was already walking towards Sybil to face her new adversary.

“Congratulations everyone, you get two more hours of training and you can thank Sybil for that. I'm leaving but don't think for a second that I won't know it if you stop before I say it's over.” (Y/N) clapped her hands – the signal for the Lost Girls to resume their fighting. “If you're not too sore to move tomorrow, it means you did it wrong.”

*

“If every muscle in your body doesn't scream for you to stop then you haven't given it all yet,” Pan philosophized while circling around the heavy breathing girl at his feet. “Do better or die out there.”

“What's out there?” (Y/N) asked before rubbing the blood away from her split lip.

It didn't stop the bleeding though, and bruises were already forming here and there all over her body. She simply couldn't do it – what he asked of her was too much.

“Why, the world of course!” Pan said with a smirk. “If you're not tougher than the world, it'll kill you, don't you know?” He knelt down to be at eye level with (Y/N) and she had to refrain from spitting in his face. “Get on your feet little lamb, or the big bad wolf will get you.”

“Who's the big bad wolf in this dumb metaphor?” (Y/N) scoffed in disdain, blood dripping from her nose as she slowly stood up, along with Peter. “You?!” There was so much scorn in her voice that she couldn't even blame Pan for the following blow.

Her feet left the ground and (Y/N) immediately raised her hands before her face to protect herself and closed her eyes, ready to take the blow, get the air knocked out of her and to receive another bruise in some painful place. But it never came. (Y/N)'s jaw was still clenched in fear and anticipation when she dared open one eye to see what was happening and the only thing she saw was that Pan wasn't there anymore. Or rather, she wasn't with Pan anymore.

Not a second ago she was surrounded by trees and now she stood on the edge of a cliff by the sea. Neversea was a forbidden place – no Lost Boy was allowed to get in the dark waters. Most of the island was surrounded by sharp rocks anyway, there was only one sand beach, the rest of Neverland was as hostile as one would expect.

A series of sharp edged rocks led the way to the water several meters below. Despite the seemingly deadly territory she was in, the call of the void was strong. Tempting. It was mesmerizing, it sang to her and (Y/N) stepped forward against her best judgment.

“Hello?!” (Y/N) screamed out. Her voice echoed against the rocks but no one answered. “Where the hell am I now?” She wondered out loud.

There was still no answer but this time around she heard voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying but she wanted, needed to know and it somehow made her take another step towards the edge. The sound of the waves hitting the bottom the the cliff was loud and regular, it lulled her and covered the voices she tried to hard to decipher. Her feet moved as though thy had a will of their own. It felt a little wrong, (Y/N) wanted to fight against this invisible force that compelled her to move but this urge didn't take precedence over the need to find the source of the chants.

Where did it come from? Who was singing so beautifully? Whose void pierced through the mist of the sea? It was pure madness but her raised foot hovered over the void – there was no more ground to put her foot on but she couldn't stop moving forward, the wind pushed her from the back and the voices pulled her toward the sea.

“What are you doing, you foolish girl?!” A voice exclaimed from behind her, snapping (Y/N) out of her reverie.

She felt a tight grip on her upper arm and was abruptly pulled back on the land, away from an imminent death. It was like being ripped out of a stupidly vivid dream too fast and waking up feeling dizzy and lost.

“Pan?” (Y/N) asked confusedly. “Did you hear this?”

“Of course I did, everyone does. Don't listen to them, they'll lure you to a certain and painful death.”

This at least made her come back to her senses.

“What the hell was that? Get your hands off of me!”

“I just saved your life, I would advise you show a little gratefulness,” Peter scoffed and released her once he had dragged her far enough from the sea and its mysterious call. “It's not my touch that you should fear but the sirens. If they got their hands on you, you'd be a goner.”

“I'd rather throw myself off this cliff and get eaten by magical creatures than have your filthy hands touch me – and I already told you multiple times that I'm not scared of you.”

Peter dropped his hand and looked at her more intently, making her feel as though he was seeing right through her instead of at her. (Y/N) shivered of disgust and repressed the urge to rub away the feeling of his touch on her skin. He didn't believe her, that much was obvious, but she wouldn't contradict him again. If he wanted to underestimate her then so be it.

“You disappeared, well done,” he eventually congratulated her as though she accomplished some extraordinary deed.

It must have been pretty fantastic since he barely acknowledged her perseverance - if not skill - during their training sessions but suddenly complimented her.

“I didn't do it on purpose,” she said, chin still raised high. There was no point in trying to pass it as talent, she did it on accident and wouldn't be able to do it again if he asked her. “Where are we?”

“The mermaid lagoon,” he scoffed in a way that suggested that he hated this place. “Don't let the pretty name fool you, it's the most hellish part of this entire island. Mermaids will lure you to a certain death if you let your guard down for so much as a second.”

“While you're all rainbows and butterflies and do not threaten my life at all,” (Y/N) snickered sarcastically, earning a stern glare.

She expected Peter to physically punish her for this bold comment, to suspend her in the air, tackle her to the ground, or magically strangle her but he did none of it and simply turned around - trusting she would follow him and not be stupid enough to take a chance on the lagoon. It was a tough choice for her nonetheless and (Y/N) seriously considered running in any other direction than the one Peter was. Thoughts ran wild in her head for a second, but she just literally vanished in thin air before his eyes and he still managed to find her, so how could she even hope to escape by foot?

“Move!” He barked at her form a fair distance. “Training's far from being over, I see you still have some fight in you so you go back at it until you're too tired to insult me.”

(Y/N) thought that she'd have to be dead for that to happen, but she still obliged and silently followed his steps through the thick greenery of Neverland.

*

At the end of the day, Peter couldn't simply isolate himself from his Lost Boys endlessly and he had to return to camp after a few more hours of sulking at his thinking tree. Even he couldn't call it anything but sulking. Denying this to himself was pointless and he was in his damn right to act like a child if he wanted to – he was the ultimate forever child, who could blame him for acting like one?

“Shadow,” Peter called from the top branch of his tree, high enough to give him a view of the creek and Skull Rock.

It appeared almost right away, as though it constantly lurked in the dark, waiting for its master to whistle. For this alone Peter despised it but he couldn't deny how useful it was. It complete missions like no Lost Boy ever did. The only person who ever came close to this was (Y/N) – that is, until she turned against Peter. Felix could rot in his tree for all Peter cared, he was a poor second in command most of the time, but still the most capable of the Boys. It really spoke volumes about the state of Pan's little army. Pitiful.

The Shadow floats in the air before Peter, blocking his view and waiting orders like the perfect silent soldier. Peter often thought that if the Shadow could talk it would quickly go from his favorite to least favorite minion.

“What's she doing?” He asked in a flat voice – he didn't know why he felt so compelled to fake detachment when he spoke to the Shadow, but he did it. All the time. There was no other way he knew of to deal with the jumble of emotions he felt.

The Shadow shook its faceless head in defeat. Peter had grown to learn how to interpret the Shadow's body language. The Lost Girls' camp was sizzling with tension today, probably like his own camp. (Y/N) was a mess of wild emotions she refused to deal with, and she let out the steam by giving the rough side of the hand to her girls. He sighed deeply. As soon as he raised a hand toward the sky and flicked his wrist, the rain stopped. Peter rarely changed the weather the way he just did, but he knew that (Y/N)'s mood wouldn't improve as long as the storm went on.

“You won't be giving her the usual flower, today I need you to do something else for me...”

A/N: I know I take fucking forever to update, thanks for bearing with me y’all, you’re the best!

[vivaciouswordsmith]

penultimate chapter!

After this, it’ll just be the epilogue, and then Four-Legged Fiend will be over and done with. Once again, I thank @asking-ask for the inspiration, and all of you lovely people for supporting me. Might write some oneshots later on down the line. We’ll see.

Anyway, you can read it here or beneath the cut. Enjoy!

In Jeremy’s humble opinion, this had to be the most impractical way to conduct a heist. 

Geoff had gone on and on and on about how serious they were going to be, but then hit the stumbling block of not having a ‘serious’ way of getting their Kuruma to the mainland. With few options immediately available, and time being of the essence, they were forced to fire up Geoff’s obscenely golden yacht, load the Kuruma onto it, and make their way to the mainland that way. After a half-hour of frantic phone calls, Geoff was able to drum up enough crew members to stage a fake party on the yacht, which he hoped would be a convincing enough alibi for most authorities to turn a blind eye to their activities.

This was where the crew found themselves at that moment. Lights flashed and whirled around, booze flowed through the ship as quickly as the wake closed around it, the stench of sweat hung over the congregation, and somehow all their fellow crew members had giant smiles plastered all over their faces. Honestly, Jeremy was in awe at how easily they were able to let go of their troubles and pretend to party the night away. Hell, some of them appeared to be actually enjoying themselves.

As for Jeremy, he was barely able to keep himself from shaking. Geoff only allowed the main crew members two drinks that nights, and sadly he was already halfway through his second shot of whiskey. Damn if he didn’t want some fucking courage, though. It wasn’t like he hadn’t ever broken in anywhere. Far from it, actually. It was practically a goddamn necessity in Los Santos. No, what had him worried, more than any threat of police or breaking into a zoo, was the fear that they would somehow fail. Maybe Ryan had been transferred to another location without them knowing. Maybe they’d decided to put him down. Maybe he was long gone, and they were only preparing for more heartbreak. Maybe-

“How’s it going, Li’l J?” He jumped and spilled most of his remaining drink on the mahogany counter. Geoff clapped him on the back and only eyed the puddle with slight annoyance. “You ready for this?”

“Sure. Yeah.” He scrubbed the mess up with a cocktail napkin and threw the pulp in the direction of the trashcan behind the counter. It splattered onto the ground immediately next to the trashcan. “How soon are we heading out?”

“Bout an hour. Harbor patrol’ll be long gone by then. You and Gav will be taking the Seasharks, while Jack and I will use the Dinghy to tow the Kuruma to shore. We’ll group up there.” Geoff patted him on the back again. “Don’t sweat it, okay? This is gonna be nice and easy.”

“I’m sure it will,” he said under his breath. Geoff raised an eyebrow, but left Jeremy be and went back over to the bar. He was ninety-nine percent sure Geoff had already gone past his two-drink limit, yet there he was, pouring himself another two fingers of whiskey like they weren’t about to break into a zoo. He caught Jeremy staring, blinked, very obviously set the whiskey back beneath the bar, and chugged the entire glass while flipping him off.

Well, he was the boss.

In stark contrast to the previous twelve hours, the next sixty minutes couldn’t pass fast enough. Jeremy couldn’t count the number of times something was broken, and he swore to God there were two people fucking in the corner. Matt tried to talk to him a few times, but the music drowned out every attempt at words he tried to make. Jeremy had downgraded to E-Cola by this point, and the corn syrup certainly wasn’t helping his shaking hands. If anything, he felt twice as twitchy as he had before. He glanced at the clock so many times in the course of that hour he developed a crick in his neck. Every time he checked it, it seemed like time hadn’t moved at all, and the unease in his stomach grew. There wasn’t a distraction in the world that could last long enough to get him through that one damn hour.

When a hand clapped on his shoulder, Jeremy fully expected Matt to have returned with yet another attempt to get him to cheer up, but instead came face to face with Jack. He nodded once and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Jeremy’s heart throbbed in his throat. He swallowed, and nodded back. Jack turned on his heels and walked to the boat’s stern. Jeremy stumbled over his own feet, caught himself, and lolloped over to the golden railing.

Geoff and Gavin already stood on the tiny dock affixed to the yacht’s side. They struggled to hook a set of chains to a small loop on the back of a black dinghy. The chains were attached to a small float, upon which the tarped Kuruma sat. The ocean’s waves were not doing anything to help them out, and in fact the Kuruma looked in danger of flowing out to sea.

“Uh…do you guys need help?”

“I think we got it!” Geoff heaved on the chain and managed to clip the hook onto the dinghy. It creaked loudly, and Jeremy swore the loop bent into more of a ‘0’ shape. “See? It’s all good.”

“This shit better hold, Geoff, otherwise we’ll be out a Kuruma.”

“It’ll fucking hold!” Geoff stood up and dusted himself off. “Okay, Gav and Jeremy are up. You guys go on ahead, and we’ll follow you to the meeting point. You remember where it is, right?”

“That little beach surrounded by the rocks, right?”

“Good man. We’ll pick you up as soon as we get the Kuruma ashore.”

Jeremy swung over the railing and shimmied down the ladder. The platform wasn’t nearly big enough for three people, so he moved to a black Seashark, undid the tow rope, and clambered aboard. The motor roaring to life scared the shit out of him, but he recovered quickly and swung it out to sea. Another engine sputtered to life behind him, and a glance back showed that Gavin already followed closely behind him.

Strangely enough, as soon as the yacht faded into the distance, Jeremy found himself actually enjoying the ride. He jumped a few waves and goaded Gavin into racing him to the beach. Once or twice a grin stretched across his face, and he managed to spray an obscene amount of seafoam right into Gavin’s dumb face. His squeals made the venture entirely worth it.

After about fifteen minutes or so, the shore loomed ahead of them. Moonlight glinted off the rocks and dyed the sand pearly yellow-white. Jeremy slowed his approach and guided the Seashark out of the water and onto land. It sputtered and eventually went silent. He shoved it behind a rock and stripped out of his soaked jacket. A gust of wind moaned through the rocks and turned to ice against his dripping skin. He rubbed his upper arms and blew into his hands.

“Fuck, I hope Geoff and Jack get here soon.”

“Damn right.” Gavin panted and sagged against the rock. “Why is it so cold? It’s summer!”

“Wind blowing off the water, Gavin. Doesn’t help that we’re fucking soaked, either.”

The Brit glared at him. “I’d be fine if you hadn’t drenched me, you nob.”

Jeremy held up his hands. “What can I say? The opportunity presented itself, and I couldn’t resist.”

They didn’t speak after that. Jeremy huddled beside the Seashark and continued to rub his arms and legs. He eyed the road above the rocks and hugged his knees to his chest. Hopefully Geoff and Jack had made it to land by now, and would bring the Kuruma and their change of clothes around before too long. God, he hoped they’d be quick. His soaked clothes clung to his skin, and with every light breeze wrapping around the rock they turned colder and colder. Gavin’s breath sped up, and he swore he could see little puffs of breath dissipating in the moonlight.

Finally, headlights swept over the rocks, and the quiet purr of an engine stopped up on the overhead path. Jeremy turned and craned his neck. The Kuruma sat on the road overhead. Light glimmered off its black paint and cast a long shadow over the beach beneath it. Jeremy stood and gestured to Gavin.

It took them a few minutes, but eventually they scurried up the rocks and knocked on the Kuruma’s window. The trunk popped open. Inside were the armor sets they’d bought earlier. Both of them tore their soaking clothes off and strapped on the armor. Once everything was in its proper place, they tossed the wet clothes into the trunk and sat down in the back.

“Okay, it’s a thirty minute drive to the zoo,” said Jack. “Geoff’ll run down the plan again while you two check weapons.”

“Right, here’s how it’s going to go, dickheads,” said Geoff. “Jack’s going to stay outside the main gate with the Kuruma, ready to help us make our escape. If something happens and you can’t make it, make sure you tell him so he’s not sitting here with his dick out.”

“Yeah, we got that,” said Jeremy. He popped the clip out of his pistol and checked the bullets. “Jack’s out here, and we’re going in through the side door, right?”

“Right. We’ll drop Gavin off by the security office. He’ll watch the cameras, make sure we’re not going to have any unexpected visitors, then he’ll wipe that shit once we’re out.”

“Got it,” said Gavin.

“That leaves you and me, Li’l J. We’ll split up and head toward the two exhibits.” A piece of paper poked Jeremy’s forehead. He grabbed it and held it up to the window. New Eden Park Map headed the paper, and the rest was dominated by a simplified map of the zoo. “I’ll head for the wolf habitat, and you’ll head for the new rescues area.”

“Do we know he’ll actually be there, thought?” asked Jeremy. “I mean, he’s a wolfdog. Where does he fit into…into any of this?”

“That’s what we’re gonna haveta figure out, Jeremy.” Geoff paused for a moment. “Now, once one of us finds him, he’ll call the other and wait to reconvene. Then we’ll make our way into the exhibit, bust him out, and head back to Jack.”

“Sounds fucking easy when you phrase it like that,” said Jeremy.

“Hopefully it will be that easy. Still, be ready for fucking anything, boys.”

Jeremy pushed the magazine back in with a click. “Aren’t we always?”

“Sometimes. When we’re lucky.” Geoff let out a deep sigh. “God, we’d better not fuck this up.

In what felt like no time at all, a wide median split the road in two, and a series of animal statues sprouted out of it, growing larger and larger the further they went. A blue sign pointed toward the zoo. Jack looked in the rearview mirror. Jeremy and Gavin nodded and hefted their weapons. He nodded back and turned into the drive.

A large wrought iron gate stood at the end of the way. Vines curved up the sides and coiled around the figures on either side of the huge plaque bearing New Eden’s name. A man stood on the left side, and a woman on the right. They were naked save for the leaves covering their nethers. The headlight flashed off the iron and illuminated the dozen or so bronze snakes coiled around the nameplate. Geoff whimpered and sank into his chair.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” said Jeremy.

“Fucking Christ that’s creepy,” said Geoff.

“Leader of the most infamous crew on the West Coast, everybody,” said Jack.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Jack chuckled and pulled the wheel all the way to the left. The Kuruma’s wheels hit the curb and mounted it. Grass rustled and crunched beneath the wheels, and the gate quickly faded into the darkness behind them. A concrete wall ran along their right side. Paintings of jungle foliage and animals faces flashed and rippled through the darkness, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“Okay, it should be…right…here.” Jack stopped the car and sat back. A small nondescript door sat in the middle of the brilliant paintings. It had no handle or doorknob on the outside, and a small set of stairs led up to the little fenced off platform. “All right. It’s all you guys now.”

“Right. C’mon, guys.” Geoff waved Gavin and Jeremy forward and popped the door open. “Let’s get our wolfdog back.”

They stepped out of the Kuruma and headed toward the door. Geoff stopped them right when they passed a cluster of trees and motioned for them to wait. When they gave him a questioning look, he pulled a brick of C4 out of his backpack and raised his eyebrows. They quickly got the picture and huddled behind the nearest tree trunk. Geoff let out a soft snort and approached the door. He stuck the C4 on the spot where the knob would have been and jumped back down the stairs. A few seconds later, the ground trembled, and smoke wafted around the trunk. Jeremy peeped around it and saw the long empty hallway beyond the wreckage of the door.

“Are we still good?” asked Geoff.

“I don’t know yet,” said Gavin. “Let’s just keep going!”

With that, they entered the dark building. It stunk of mildew and dust, and the shadows cast by their flashlights were far more interesting than the actual hallway. After a veritable labyrinth of endless turns and dead ends, they finally found the entrance into the main building. Their side was thankfully unlocked, so without further ado, they moved forward.

However nice New Eden might have been by daylight was completely occluded by darkness. Their flashlights glanced off skeletons and scales and fur and dull, glassy eyes. Gavin let out a small whimper and pressed closer to the other two.

“Damn, this is creepy. I thought this was a zoo or something?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s, like, educational shit or something.”

“Both of you shits shut up! We’re almost to the security office.”

They both clammed up and moved on. A dim glow shone on the wall directly in front of them, and when Jeremy turned his head to look, he saw a set of monitors and the outline of a person behind two reinforced windows. Both he and Gavin stopped in their tracks. Geoff gave Gavin a pointed look and gestured at the door. Gavin blinked. He gestured more frantically. Gavin finally seemed to get it and crept up to the door. He fumbled with the lock, swore under his breath, and got it open.

Apparently he made some sort of noise, because the guard turned around. Before he could do anything, Jeremy aimed and fired. The bullet zipped out of the gun and hit him right between the eyes. Blood spattered over the monitors, and he slumped to the ground.

“Well, Gavin’s job just got harder,” said Geoff.

“Bugger my arse! We weren’t going to kill him, Jeremy!” Gavin glared at him. Most of the color had already drained from his face. “Christ alive, I’m going to have to clean this now, Jeremy!”

Jeremy threw up his hands. “Well it was either kill him or have him pull the fucking alarm! Plans have to fucking change sometimes, or we’d never get anything done! I’d rather have a couple fucking bodies and Ryan safe at home than try to fucking…I don’t know, Silent Snake his ass and get caught before we even do anything.”

“Fucking stop already! Christ, we need to keep moving before the rest of the guards come to see what’s wrong!” Geoff waved his hands around and glanced at the door. “Gavin, get to that security station now!”

“I’m going! Christ! You go find Ryan!” He nudged the dead guard aside with his toe and sat down.

“Okay, Jeremy, let’s go get our wolfdog back.” Geoff rolled his eyes and clapped Jeremy’s shoulder. “Fuck if I don’t know where he is, though.”

“That’s why there’s two of us, Geoff.”

They moved back out into the hallway and followed the signs toward the exit. A wave of heat, pollen and animal stink hit them right in the face when they opened the glass doors. Jeremy swallowed at the sight of the dim brick path winding past net and glass enclosures, going on and on and on until it was swallowed by pitch darkness.

“Okay, um, where are we going?” Jeremy pulled out his map and held it up to the moon. “The wolf enclosure is in the, uh, the, uh-“ He scanned over the map with his finger. “-The wolf enclosure is…in the North American section. Fucking finally.”

“Sure it is, buddy, but Ryan’s not exactly a purebred wolf. They might have put him somewhere else.”

“Where else is there?”

Geoff’s finger poked into his field of view and landed on the far side of the map. “This fucker says it’s hybrids and rescues. He’s probably there.”

“Do they know he’s a hybrid, though?”

“Uh…if they have his vet records…they could? I don’t fucking know.”

“Guess we’re gonna haveta check both of ‘em after all.” Jeremy sighed and put the map back in his pocket. “I’ll check the rescues, and you check the wolves.”

“Why me?”

“Well, the wolves are closer, and well…” Jeremy grinned. “You’re not exactly getting any younger, pal.”

“Well…you can…fuck off, Jeremy.”

Jeremy laughed and moved into the darkness.

An uneventful twenty minutes later, Jeremy rounded a corner and finally found the Rescues section. Most of the cages were smaller than his bedroom, so he paid them no mind and looked at the map again. A few more turns later, the pathway dead-ended in a vast field and forest exhibit. He moved closer and peered over the cinderblock wall. A gigantic trench sat in between him and the grass. He swallowed and looked back at the wall. A tiny plaque embedded on top of the half wall informed him that this area was meant to hold rescued wolfdogs.

His heart fluttered in his throat.

“Uh, Geoff? I think I might be on to something.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“There’s a wolfdog exhibit in the Rescues section. They must get a lot of ‘em or something. Just…you know…fucking get over here!”

“Don’t worry, I’m on my way. I’m not that fucking old.”

Jeremy laughed and looked back at the enclosure. Unfortunately, it was too dark for him to make anything out besides shadows in between the trees. He shrugged and ran his flashlight over the various plywood displays set up around the little wall. Most explained how wolfdogs were actually incredibly dangerous and too much for most people to handle. Sun damage had faded the pictures and letters quite a bit by this point. Jeremy rolled his eyes and moved on.

The last display looked to be brand new, with red paint shining in the flashlight and every brushstroke still pronounced on the plywood. Jeremy spared it a glance, made to move on, and then did a double take. When he actually read the display’s content, he nearly dropped his flashlight in shock.

Introducing…the Reaper!

This deadly stalker of Los Santos’ criminal underbelly first appeared four years ago in the possession of a powerful gang. The skull-shaped markings on his face garnered the nickname ‘the Reaper’ and thus began a reign of terror thugs, police and civilians alike wouldn’t soon forget. This dangerous wolfdog was finally cornered, subdued and brought here to New Eden, where he will live indefinitely. The Reaper is considered by most experts to be the prime example of the dangers of wolfdog ownership.

A black outline of a wolf on a rocky outcrop sat beneath the blurb. A stylized wolf skull had been painted on its snarling face, and its eyes were two narrowed red slits. Jeremy blinked at it a few more seconds, a grin curling over his face. He put his fingers to his earpiece and let his weight rest on his back foot.

“Hey, Jack?”

A few moments passed before he finally answered. “What? Something wrong?”

“How much room is there in the Kuruma?”

“Uh…why are you asking?”

“I’ve just seen something we desperately need back in the penthouse.”

“Jeremy, we’re here to get Ryan back.”

“If you saw it, you’d understand!”

“Jeremy, the fuck do you want to steal from this place?” asked Geoff “It’s fucking hard enough dealing with one wolfdog!”

“I swear to God, it’s not an animal!”

A set of footsteps rounded the corner. Geoff walked up to Jeremy and opened his mouth. His eyes flicked to the sign, and whatever he was about to say died almost immediately.

“Oh my God we need this.”

Jack sighed. “Geoff, not you too…”

“Jack, you don’t understand, this is the funniest shit I’ve seen all week.”

“Do I have to remind you why we’re in a fucking zoo in the middle of the fucking night? We. Are. Here. To. Get. Ryan.”

“I know, I know.”

“I’m just trying to figure out why they build a fucking trench around the wolfdogs,” said Jeremy. “The fuck is it supposed to do?”

“It’s to keep them from getting out,” said Gavin. “They’re all fast and jumpy and shite, so they need a way to keep them from escaping that’s also not harmful, yeah?”

“So…a trench is the best way to do that?”

“They’re not stupid, Jeremy. They’re not going to do anything that could get them hurt.”

“What about bars? Or…those fucking…rope nets?”

“Bars look cruel, don’t it? And nets are for birds, Jeremy. Wolves can’t exactly fly away.”

“Okay, it’s great there’s a humane way to keep the wolves from escaping. How the fuck are we supposed to get in?” asked Geoff.

“Hold on…” Keys clacked for a few moments. “Try to look for some sort of service entrance or an ‘Employees Only’ door. You might be able to get in through the place where they rotate out the animals.”

“Okay, let’s…wait, they rotate out the animals?”

“Yeah! Y’know, they’ll have different groups of animals out at different times. Like a male lion on Wednesday and all the females on Thursday.”

“What, don’t want kids seeing the Circle of Life?”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay, assholes, enough with the chitchat. We’re losing time as it is.” Geoff finally moved past the display and scanned around the little cul-de-sac. “There!” He pointed to a little pathway barred with a rope and a sign saying ‘Stop! Employees ONLY beyond this point.’ He kicked the rope out of the way and stepped down the path. Jeremy rolled his eyes and followed behind him.

The little path wound through several different gardens of leafy plants and ended at a door set in a plain beige wall. This also had ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ written on it in bold red letters. A keypad sat above the door’s handle. Geoff swore under his breath.

“Gav, you still there?”

“What do you need, Geoff?”

“Is there any way you can bypass this employee’s only door?”

“Uh…hold on…” He typed at a keyboard for a few seconds. “I don’t know. I see where you’re at, but…it’s not exactly…hold on.” A beat of silence. “There’s a spiral with this month’s codes in it. You want to try some of those?”

“Oh, God, we’re going to be here all night,” said Jeremy.

“Okay, it looks like it’s going to be a four digit number, I don’t know which door you’re at, unfortunately, so I’m going to give you a passcode, and you tell me whether or not it’s good, all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fucking stoked to be doing this.” He bent down and eyed the keypad dubiously. “God, there’s like, a billion possible combinations for this fucker.”

“Not a billion, Geoff! A lot, yeah, but not a billion.” Pages rustled over the comm. “All right, these are the ones for your general area, so…try…four nine one one.”

“Do I hit anything after that?”

“Uh…I don’t think so. Looks like the light will flash green and the door will unlock if you enter the right one.”

Geoff pressed each button carefully. The keypad buzzed angrily and flashed red. “That wasn’t it.”

“Okay. No big deal. Let’s try…five naught two six.”

“What’s naught?”

“Zero. Idiot.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Geoff tried this code. Again it buzzed and flashed red. “Still wrong, asshole.”

“Hey! No need for that!” More pages flipped. “Okay, how about this one…seven eight seven two.”

“This better be it, or I’m cutting your salary for the next month.”

“What? Why?”

Geoff stabbed at the buttons. The light flashed green, and a kaTHUNK sounded from the lock. “Don’t worry, Gav, your salary’s safe.”

“Thank Christ.”

He pushed the door open, and he and Jeremy entered the dark building. A wall of animal stink hit them right in the nose. Jeremy coughed into his sleeve and took a deep breath in through his mouth. “Okay, we’re in the animal…switchout…thing. Which way to the wolfdogs?”

“Uh…are there any fucking signs anywhere?” Geoff flicked his flashlight over the walls. Several pairs of eyes blinked back at him from behind bars, and he gulped. “Shit, this is creepy.”

“Let’s just…you know, keep moving, and hopefully we’ll see wolfdogs,” said Jeremy.

“Great plan, Jeremy. A plus.”

“Thanks, boss.”

They crept through the cage-lined hallways, breathing through their mouths to fight the stench of animal shit and piss drifting through the air. Several growls and hisses followed them through the complex, and Jeremy did his best to ignore the eyes following him down the hall. His fingers curled around the butt of his pistol.

Finally, the flashlight stumbled upon a little white sign set into the wall next to one of the cages. It simply read Wolfdogs – Handle with Care.

“Finally! Jesus.”

Jeremy knelt down and examined the door. It looked like a standard prison-style affair; solid steel bars, lock set in the door, and absolutely, utterly impossible to break down. He frowned and looked back up at Geoff.

“Do we have any lockpicks?”

“We should...” Geoff patted down his pockets and spun around in place. “Shit…hold on…fuck…I don’t think…I brought any…shit.” He blinked down at Jeremy. “Do you have any?”

Jeremy rifled through his own pockets and pouches. Ammo, knives, flare gun, fuck, fuck, fuck. He was just about to lose it when he checked his last pouch and found his lockpicking kit. He sighed and pulled it out. “Found ‘em.”

“Thank Christ.”

He let out a breathy laugh and cracked open the kit. It took him a minute or two to get a feel for the lock, but eventually he forced the pins to turn right. There was a thunk, and the door swung open. Jeremy glanced around the inside of the little holding area, and thankfully the three wolfdogs within remained asleep. An ear twitched here, a nose wiggled there, but otherwise they stayed in their straw piles.

“We need to be quiet,” he mouthed at Geoff.

“No shit,” Geoff replied.

They stepped into the holding area and made their way to the back wall. Jeremy’s heart pounded harder and harder with every step. His hand clenched around his gun, and he expected eyes to snap open and teeth to lash his skin at any second. The fact that it still wasn’t happening didn’t help at all.

When they reached the back wall, Jeremy felt along it for any sort of door or outline or whatever. His fingers happened upon a cool metal latch. He fumbled with it for a few seconds, slid it back, and pushed. An entire chunk of wall opened out onto a grassy patch, and cool air rushed into the room. Jeremy breathed in deep and let himself relax a micrometer.

That relaxation went straight out the window when hay rustled behind him, and he turned to see three wolfdogs rushing them. Geoff let out a high strangled noise and fumbled with his gun, but the beasts ignored him in favor of the open air. They loped past the two criminals and disappeared into the enclosure.

“Jesus Christ…I thought…I thought that was it for us,” said Geoff. He let his gun fall to his side and bent over to pant. “We…we need to find Ryan…now.”

“Why do you think we’re here, Geoff?” asked Jeremy. “I mean, that display thing was pretty damn awesome.”

“Shut…shut up.”

Jeremy smiled and moved into the enclosure. A howl sounded from across the way, followed by another, and another. He swallowed and flicked his light around. Nothing around him but grass and trees. Another howl rang out, louder this time. Wind swept around him and rustled the leaves on the trees. A howl mixed in with the wind and drifted closer and closer.

Jeremy decided to risk it. He cupped his hands around his mouth and took a deep breath.

“Ryan! You here, pal? It’s us! We’re here to rescue you!”

“The fuck are you doing?” Geoff’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed hard. “They’re gonna fucking kill us, dude!”

“I want to get out of here as quickly as fucking possible, and this is the only way to do it! Unless you brought fucking night vision goggles!”

A snarl sounded from behind them and they both froze. Ghostly green eyes flickered to life in the flashlight’s glow and shifted back into shadow. A cloud shifted, and moonlight dappled several furry bodies. Geoff cocked his pistol and whipped it around. Jeremy’s fingers clenched around the silencer on the end of his own and scrambled to unscrew it. It would definitely blow their cover, but maybe the noise of the gunshot would-

Something hit Jeremy right in the back and knocked him to the ground. Geoff shouted, and yips echoed from around them. Hot breath panted over the back of his neck, and Jeremy was sure this was it. He closed his eyes and braced himself. Paws bounced off his back, and a tongue lapped at his neck. His thighs shook back and forth in time with the wolfdog’s entire lower body.

“I’ll be goddamned,” said Geoff. He suddenly laughed, loud and long and maniacal. “I’ve missed your dumb face, Ryan.”

“Ryan?” Jeremy lifted his head and immediately felt himself being forced back down. “Buddy, I’m glad to see you too, but can you please get off me?” The weight immediately shifted, and a huge blue-eyed skull jammed itself into his face, quickly accompanied by a wet tongue on his cheeks. Jeremy grinned and sunk his fingers into that lovely thick ruff of fur around his neck.

“The fuck am I, chopped liver?” Geoff walked over and patted Ryan’s rump. The wolfdog turned and put his paws on his chest. His tail wagged and hit Jeremy in the face five or six times. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I was about to say, he likes chopped liver, doesn’t he?” Jeremy pushed himself back to his feet and wiped his face on his sleeve. “Fuck, I don’t think there’s any sort of food he doesn’t like.”

“That’s too fucking true,” said Geoff. Ryan tilted his head and grinned up at him. “Seriously, you’re going to be a fat little fucker one day.”

A growl rattled through the air and wiped the smiles right off their faces. Ryan’s good ear flicked and flattened against his head. He snarled back and whirled around. His salt and pepper fur stood on end and his tail whipped back and forth, left-right-left-right-left.

“Oh no, I’m not going through this shit with you again, asshole!” Geoff tried to grab his collar, only to discover it had since been removed. “Fuck.”

Jeremy remembered what he’d tried to do before and finished removing his silencer. “Gavin, where are all the guards at right now?” he asked.

“Uh, well, there’s about four or five of them, all told, and most of them aren’t terribly near your position. They’re a little unsettled, though, because of the guard you killed. Whatever you’re doing, you need to hurry up!”

“I’m, uh, I’m asking because I’m totally going to blow our cover, so you should probably…uh…what’s that thing you say? ‘Leg it’?”

“Oh no,” said Jack.

“Yeah, you should be ready too, Jack.”

Ryan lolled back on his paws and snarled again. Just when he was about to lunge, Jeremy aimed the gun up at the sky and fired. The shot echoed through the empty zoo, and a frantic scurrying replaced the growling. Both Gavin and Jack yelled in Jeremy’s earpiece, but he ignored them in favor of pushing Geoff back toward the holding pen. Ryan gave Jeremy a withering look.

“Sorry, pal, we don’t have time for your wolf dick measuring.”

Ryan huffed, but followed after them without further fuss. Jeremy broke into a jog and hurried after Geoff. The wolfdog lagged behind him and occasionally let out a growl. A howl echoed behind them. Jeremy fired his gun up in the air again. Another bang rang through the empty air, followed by the sounds of all sorts of panicking animals. It spread through the zoo like wildfire, and the silent night air filled with howls, barks, growls, screeches, screams and roars.

“The guards are moving toward your position now, and…” Gavin trailed off for a few moments too long. “…oh, bugger my arse, I think one of them’s radioed the police.”

“Shit shit shit shit shit!” Jeremy ducked into the holding area and sprinted down the hall. More animals yammered around them, but thankfully their cages were still shut, so all they could do was cry out. Ryan stopped by a few of the cages and snuffled through the bars, but quickly followed when Jeremy pulled ahead of them.

Geoff waited for them by the exit. He nodded as soon as Jeremy approached and shoved the door open.

“Gav, you pull out and get back to Jack! We’ll be there as soon as we can!”

“Don’t need to tell me twice!”

Ryan sped out in front of them, his tail held high. His tongue flopped out of his mouth, and he almost seemed to dance down the stone path. It was a sight Jeremy had sorely missed, and it took some of the edges off the stone in his stomach.

Something he missed significantly less was the sight of flashlights approaching them, and, in the distance, still incredibly faint but growing louder by the second, the sound of police sirens. Geoff swore and held his gun up.

“Jack, you better be ready to fucking move, okay?”

“Already on it.”

“Gavin, what about you?”

“I’m wiping the feeds right now. Should be done in a few minutes…”

“Gavin, you need to get out of there now!”

“Just a minute!”

“We don’t have a fucking minute! When I say you need to go now, you need to go right fucking now!”

“Wait! Wait! Hold on! We forgot something!” Jeremy turned tail and sprinted back a few yards. He scooped up the handpainted Introducing the Reaper display, hoisted it over his shoulder with one hand and readied his gun with the other. “Okay, got it. Ready to go now.”

“Jeremy, what the Christ are you doing? You have to – ”

Gavin’s reply was lost when the first of the guards rounded the corner and surprised them. Jeremy leveled his gun at him, but Ryan was much faster. He leaped and hit the guard dead on, and had his throat between his teeth by the time he hit the pavement. Blood spurted from between his powerful jaws, and the guard’s shriek was lost to the crunch of bone and flesh. In moments, he’d moved on and they were able to keep going.

“It’s so fucking good to have you back, Rye,” said Geoff.

Ryan let out a little boof that was presumably in agreement.

They made it through the rest of the zoo in five minutes flat, though both Geoff and Jeremy panted and puffed like bellows and sweat profusely beneath their armor. Ryan reared up and pushed the door open with both paws, swayed through and was down the hallway before Geoff and Jeremy were even close. Shrieks and curses sounded over their earpieces, which gave them a pretty clear picture on what was happening with Gavin. They pushed themselves faster, breath heaving in and out of their chests, and made it back to the security room. Another dead security guard lay in the doorway, and when Jeremy poked his head around the corner, a bullet nicked his cheek and embedded in the wall behind him. He let out a little squeal and ducked down. The display slipped over his front and thudded solidly on the ground.

“Don’t you come any closer, you…oh…Ryan! Ryan, you’re back! Lovely Ryan!”

“Gavin, did you just shoot at us?!”

Geoff pushed his way into the room and kicked the swivel chair out of the way. Gavin sat in the miniscule space under the desk. He cooed at Ryan and smushed his cheeks, speech devolving quickly into British babytalk. Ryan’s tongue lapped at his cheeks, though he did occasionally shift in place and glance up at Geoff.

After several seconds of infantile praises, Geoff kicked Gavin in the knee. He squawked and looked up at them, hand up in surrender. He blinked several times. “Oh. Hi, Geoff.”

“C’mon, idiot, before I leave you for the fucking cops!” He hauled Gavin up by the collar and shoved him into the hallway. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even forget that you tried to blow Jeremy’s head off!”

“What? No, I’d never-”

“Well, you did! Now shut the fuck up and keep moving, or I swear I’ll handcuff you to a pipe my-goddamn-self.”

Gavin opened his mouth to argue, thought better of it, and took off down the hallway. Geoff growled something under his breath and moved to follow him. Jeremy toddled after him, the display scraping on the ground in his wake, the closeness and utter stupidity of his recent brush with death dancing in front of his eyes. Ryan stayed close this time, bumping the back of his legs to keep him moving and occasionally giving his hand a nuzzle.

A breeze cooled the sweat on his skin and snapped Jeremy out of his near-death funk. He shook his head, hoisted his gun and followed Geoff and Gavin to the waiting Kuruma. Already a veritable disco of red and blue lights danced across the zoo walls, and shouting echoed across the way. All four doors popped open, and Jack waved frantically from the driver’s seat. They ran in a little cluster and jumped as one amorphous being into the back of the suddenly very small Kuruma. Jeremy’s cheek squished into the opposite door and the weight of all the crew was focused right on his legs, and they didn’t like that at all. The wolfdog display jammed itself into several pockets of flesh, and only dug in harder with every movement they made. Jack starting the car and zooming through the grass definitely didn’t help the situation.

“Ow, ow, ow! Get the fuck off me! You’re crushing my fucking legs!”

“I’m on you?! How about you get your fucking feet off my dick?!”

“Christ alive, I’m gonna suffocate by the time you nobheads stop arguing! Just…just move!”

While they argued, Ryan wiggled out of the pile of flesh and crawled over the center console. He sniffed the new car thoroughly, turned in the passenger seat a few times, and nosed the Kuruma’s tiny window slit. Jack reached over and patted Ryan’s neck.

“Sorry, Ryan, these windows don’t roll down. You’ll get plenty of fresh air and car rides when we get back to Los Santos.”

Lights flashed across the windshield, followed by a hail of bullets. Jack grit his teeth and pushed the gas pedal down to the floor. The Kuruma shot over the curb and slammed right into a parked cop car. Blood burst across the windshield, glass and bone alike smashed, but the car pushed through the wreckage and sped onto the highway. Jack flipped on the wipers and spent a few quiet moments spraying the windshield and running the wipers until the bloodstain was more manageable. Ryan growled and closely watched the window.

The mess in the backseat finally sorted itself out when Jeremy wrapped his arms around the passenger seat’s headrest and pulled himself free. With him free, Geoff was able to push Gavin into the middle seat and rammed his face into the window.

“Shit, we’ve got company coming, and fucking fast, too. Do we have any guns on this thing?”

“It’s a Kuruma, not a fucking tank!” The car screamed around the corner and smashed into another barricade. “The best we can do is shoot back!”

“From where?!”

“The fucking…I don’t know…holes in the armor! Fucking shoot through that!”

Jeremy and Geoff squirmed around in the seats and wedged the muzzle of his gun through one of the slits in the window. It took some doing, but eventually he got the hang of the awkward angle and was able to pop a few tires here and there. Gavin did his best to worm his way into the passenger seat, but ended up laying on the center console, upper half largely balanced on Ryan’s back. His shots careened wildly around the street and hit about half of their intended targets. He screeched and shouted while Ryan grumbled and yipped beneath him.

“So, uh, what’s the plan, Geoff?” Jack’s voice was deceptively calm considering the speed at which he was driving and the amount of chunkified cop sticking to the windshield. “How exactly are we supposed to get back to Los Santos?”

“First, we need to get back to the beach, and then the B-Team’ll take care of the rest! Now, go!”

Jack nodded and shot down the highway. Sirens screamed around them, and occasionally Ryan howled along with them. Bullets rang off the Kuruma’s armor, and Geoff said about twelve times a minute how much they all needed one. Unfortunately, Jeremy had run low on bullets, Gavin was already out, and Geoff had exactly one bullet left in his gun. Signs for the beach claimed it was only ten miles away, which, if Jack continued at his current speed, meant they only needed a few more minutes. Still, that was a few minutes with no defenses growing increasingly more surrounded by cops. They hunkered down behind the doors and prepared themselves for the worst.

The Kuruma crashed through a set of wooden benches and picnic tables and skidded through the sand. Clouds of dust and grit drifted up in their wake, and Jeremy had to brace himself against the door to stop himself from rattling around like a marble in a can.

“Geoff, what the fuck’s supposed to happen now?!”

Geoff sat up, hit his head on the roof of the car, put his fingers to his ear and said, “B-Team, where the fuck are you!?”

“I see you, I see you!” Trevor’s voice suddenly crackled over their earpieces. “We’re working on getting this thing down, I promise!”

A great wall of glistening brownish-gray rock erupted in the distance, and an equally menacing wall of cops sprouted up behind the Kuruma. Time had run out; they would either smash into the rocks and die, or get surrounded by cops and die. Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut and huddled down in the seat.

Suddenly, the juddering sound of a helicopter’s rotors filled their ears. A moment later, the car’s back end lifted up off the ground with a metallic CLANG! Jeremy nearly fell in the floorboard when the Kuruma’s front lifted off the ground and the car swung back and forward. He pulled himself up and squinted out the slit in the window. He couldn’t quite get the angle necessary to see everything, but he could see the shadow of the cargobob splayed across the sand.

“We’ve got you, boss! Next stop, Los Santos!”

“Did we do it? Did we make it?” asked Geoff.

Nobody responded for a minute. As the cargobob continued to ascend and turned toward the ocean, it finally sank in. Jeremy let out a cheer, Geoff yelled and clapped his hands, Gavin warbled loudly and Jack sighed and let his head rest against the steering wheel. Ryan huffed a few times and finally let out a loud howl. Jeremy reached forward and ruffled his ears. Gavin hugged the pup and buried his face in his fur. Jack reached over and found an open patch of fur to pat. Geoff sagged back into the leather seat and let his head flop back onto the headrest.

“God, I’m so glad you’re okay, Ry-Bread,” said Jeremy.

“We’re going home now, bud. We’re going home,” said Jack.

Ryan’s eyes drifted shut. His tongue dribbled on the floorboard with every pant leaving his muzzle. His tail did its best to wag beneath the weight of two men.

Geoff sighed and sprawled over the back seat. He blinked several times and cleared his throat. “Uh…Jeremy?”

“What?”

“Did…did you actually steal that fucking Reaper display?!”

“Yeah, dude! It’s cool!”

They were quiet for a moment. Then Geoff snorted and let out a laugh. In between breaths he managed to say, “Do you…did you…all that time…we were running…you had that fucking thing?! Are you fucking serious? Jeremy…Jeremy you stupid bastard!”

“Look, I made it out okay, didn’t I? And I got the thing, didn’t I?”

“Jesus Christ.” Jack shook his head. “You really are one of us.”

Geoff clapped Jeremy’s shoulder and got himself back under control. “Yep. That’s the sort of dumb shit this crew stands for. You’ll fit in just fine with the rest of these idiots.”

“Yeah, you’re perfect, Li’l J!” said Gavin. “Michael thinks so, too.”

“God, what’s he gonna think of all this when he wakes up?”

“He’s gonna be a pisspot ‘cause he missed the heist, but after he calms down, he’ll be right impressed,” said Gavin.

“I hope Caleb’s ready,” said Geoff, “because he’s in for one hell of a shitshow.”

“At least for us the shitshow’s over,” said Jack.

“Damn right.” Geoff sank back into the seat and sighed. “We’re going to have a fucking vacation after this. B-Team and the other fuckers can handle operations for the time being. Right now, all I see in my future is video games and fucking Jack Daniels.”

That, for the time being, was the last word on the matter. The lateness of the hour and exertion sank deep into Jeremy’s muscles as the adrenaline ebbed. He settled back into the seat and shut his eyes. His shins bumped up against the display and he let out a little giggle. Maybe he’d hang it on Ryan’s door. A little homage to this whole adventure. Or maybe it would go above the fireplace, like any good trophy should. He’d decide later.

For now, he finally felt the contentment that came from a job well done.