Mate Massacres

Chapter 40

Krey then turned towards the door to the canteen. Entering without Pip was bad enough when everyone bowed. At least now he didn't have to walk around with a secret crushing his shoulders.

He reached for Pip's hand at the same time as Pip reached for his. Their knuckles clashed and Pip chuckled. Krey's heart buzzed around his chest. They intertwined their fingers and shared another glance, a glance to fuel confidence, and to tell each other that they were going to be okay.

Francis approached the door first and held it open. The chatter died down immediately as everyone turned to see if their Alpha or the Alpha's mate was entering.

Krey wore his best scowl and stormed into the room with Pip close behind. Everyone stood immediately and bowed.

Pip turned bright red and half-hid behind Krey.

"Pip," Francis whispered and motioned for him to follow her. 

Krey watched her guide his mate to their table, and his eyes clashed with his mother. Do not, fucking, crack, he thought and moved his gaze to the wolves in the room.

Almost the entire pack looked at Pip, who was trying so hard to be as quiet as he could. By the time Pip was sat at the table, awkwardly glancing at Krey's mother, the room was silent.

"Crescent pack," Krey projected his deep voice around the huge canteen. Slowly, the werewolves faced him. Krey thought about how much he should share, and how to structure his sentence. "There is a human in the institute. His name is Pippor Monty, and he is my mate." Krey allowed quiet murmurs to pass through the hall until he spoke again. "I kept him a secret to keep him safe. But my Beta wolf found out about him and threatened Pip's safety." Louder whispers spread through the hall.

Krey felt like the pack deserved to know what was really going on. He looked towards his table. Pip, the smallest person in the room, and the only human, sat with arms around himself, and large blue eyes darting around the room.

Francis watched Krey with a proud smile. Makena watched Krey with concrete features.

"Pippor, my mate, will be living in the institute from now on. I ask that you treat him like you would treat me. If I hear any slander towards him- find another pack before I find you." Krey glared around the room. The wolves quickly darted their gaze away, not wanting to be caught in Krey's brown storms. "If you have questions, speak to Sid until I find a new Beta wolf."

As soon as Krey started walking towards the table, the werewolves sat down, and the chatter swallowed the silence.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Francis asked Pip while Krey sat next to his mate.

"I-I'm not hungry," Pip said quietly.

Krey assumed his lack of appetite was because of his nerves. Krey wasn't hungry either.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" Francis asked. Pip shook his head and Krey grumbled that he wanted a coffee.

When Francis left, Krey found himself scowling at his mother who was unusually quiet.

They sat in silence until Francis returned with his coffee and her own bowl of cereal. Francis glanced between those sitting at the table. The awkwardness polluted the air. "Uh- so, Pip, how did you sleep?"

"Well, thank you," Pip said. "It's quite um, c-cold in here."

"We have no heating."

"You don't?" Pip was shocked.

"Well, we're werewolves. We're always too hot, even in the winter. We don't need heating."

"Were you cold last night?" Krey asked.

Pip nodded.

"You should have said." Krey rubbed the back of his neck, which felt a little stiff from his night on the couch. "You're the first human to live here. There will probably be more problem with-"

"I-It's okay. I can just wear jumpers inside," Pip smiled.

Krey appreciated his positivity, especially with his mother staring hard from the other side of the table. Krey wanted to call her out on her rudeness. He wasn't good at biting his tongue, but he didn't want to argue in front of everyone. He felt many eyes on him and would let it slide until they were familiar with Pip.

"Mum," Krey said, trying hard not to sound bitter. "Are you going to introduce yourself?" Krey rested an arm on the back of Pip's chair as an excuse to be closer. More people stared. Krey ignored them.

Makena looked from Pip to her son. Krey couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her face was so blank, her eyes were expressionless.

"Mum," Krey said again. "Are-"

Makena silenced him with the sound of her chair against the tiles. She left abruptly.

Krey was more alarmed than angry. His mother could be stubborn, but he didn't think she'd be impolite in front of everyone. Especially his mate. Krey's mother believed in first impressions.

Krey frowned at the doors while they closed behind her. She could be difficult, but not this difficult.

Pip's neck was stiff when Krey diverted his attention back to him.

"She doesn't like me," Pip whispered, suddenly on the verge of tears. "I can't live where I'm not wanted. Not again."

Krey and Francis shared a troubled glance. "It's a nice morning, and it snowed more through the night. Let's go outside," Francis suggested.

"Come," Krey said, pulling his mate to his feet and keeping him close by resting a hand in between his shoulder blades. He felt a lot of eyes on them while they left, but Krey was glad that they left when they did, because a tear rolled down Pip's cheek.

"S-sor-"

"Don't apologise. You're just overwhelmed." Krey and Francis hurried him through the empty corridors and to the back doors, leading around the outside of the institute and to some benches which were occupied by a group of werewolves.

"Leave," Krey demanded and the group of werewolves almost slipped over each other as they tried to scramble away.

Krey wiped the snow from the bench and sat Pip down. He crouched in front of him and helped to dry his tears. "Look at me," he said when Pip tried to turn away. Krey had to hold his chin to keep their eyes connected. "I want you here, and my mum will too. She's not normally so rude. I think she just needs time."

"The way she looked at me, she wasn't happy that I was there." Pip's lip trembled.

"She hasn't been happy for months." Krey couldn't stand to see him so sad. "How can she hate you? She doesn't even know you." Krey cupped Pip's cheeks and pushed their foreheads together.

Pip calmed down when they were so close. Krey handled him with care and softly kissed his lips. He sat next to him on the bench and put an arm around him when Pip shivered, pressing Pip into his warm side.

"Don't worry," Krey said with his lips against Pip's ear. "You're wanted here, I promise."