Into the Pack

Chapter 7

     The next day Liam was back to being his cheerful self. Louis was running around with him and even Niall turned into his wolf form and joined them. Now looking at Liam tossing a ball and the two wolves running to catch it seemed too natural, like a scene straight out of an American family movie. They were playing without a care in the world while the rest were watching them from the porch. Zayn told them what was bothering Liam the night before and now they all wondered how he could recognize a man from the group. If Niall was with them he'd surely come up with the most mind-blowing explanation but he was luckily busy chewing on a ball, making it difficult for the boy to get it back. 

"Remember how he got here? We never really found out what actually happened. We just lived with it." Harry reminded.

"Yeah, that's true. Wait, do we still have that box?" 

     The rest stared at Zayn and after a moment of silence Harry nodded. 

"I think I put it in the basement." 

     They let the rest play, while they headed to the basement. The box was in the corner, still clean unlike most of the dusty stuff there. They watched carefully, as Harry opened it. When they looked in they found a smaller box inside, so small that they haven't noticed it the first time. It looked like a simple opened packaging.

"There was something here with Liam." Harry noted.

     He took the package into his hands and examined it. On the edge there was still a little part of the production photo left. It was a weird combination of two semi-circles and lines. 

"Is that a drone?"

"Looks like one. We gotta find it. Those men were following us from the inside. Explains their timing, when you, Niall, and I were out." 

     The rest agreed and walked back upstairs. They let Louis and Liam continue playing but called Niall. They showed him the small box and asked him to find the drone by its smell. While the wolf sniffed around the house the others waited for him patiently. He growled and stopped near the fireplace and looked up. When Zayn walked closer, he narrowed his eyes and noticed the small drone behind the photo frames, hiding perfectly. 

"Have they been watching us since Liam got here?!" 

"Looks like it. But I don't get it. If they wanted to spy on us, why did they send Liam?" Harry mentioned. 

     The others thought about it for a moment before Gigi answered.

"I think they needed him for an experiment. These men definitely weren't there to kill us. They wanted us alive. And they surely didn't look like hunters. They were most probably scientists. You know how tempted they would be about a whole project on "discovering" us." 

     Harry nodded, even though he didn't see the scientists. He believed that it was a big possibility, as it happened continuously but unsuccessfully. 

"Yeah, but still. They could have used the drone and sneaked it through an open window or a door, right?" he noted. 

      This time it was Zayn who answered, as he started getting a better idea of the situation.

"Liam could be a part of the experiment. They have some hypothesis about us, what we're like, how we behave, how we interact... Before catching us they'd want to know what we would do to a defenseless human naturally. They want to see how much control we have over our wolf sides. That's why Liam recognized one of them. What they are doing has to be secret and even illegal. Nobody would approve it cause firstly, nobody would believe we existed and also it's dangerous. So, they didn't have a volunteer and kidnapped Liam. That would explain why we was all tied up and terrified." he sighed.

     Harry looked at him in shock. He knew not everybody was a cupcake in human form, filled with sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and all that crap. But when it came to harming innocent people who have no control, his mind couldn't wrap around it. In a way, he was glad it happened to Liam, as now he had six werewolves to protect him. 

"So, what do we do now?" he asked, turning to look at Louis and Liam resting in the grass after spending so much energy in the garden.

     He didn't get an answer for a moment and noticed the group's attention was on them too. Zayn sat down and rested his back against the wall, feeling overwhelmed from the responsibility for his pack. But he knew he wasn't alone. Even if was the alpha, the other wolves were just as powerful and smart as he was. 

"We should move away. They know where we are. They'll gather strength and come back again. We'll get rid of the drone and get out of here. Probably for a long time." 

     Harry nodded and immediately took his phone to arrange everything. The Hadids and Niall went upstairs to pack for the trip and Zayn headed to the garden. He walked to the boys and smiled when he saw Liam playing with Louis' ears. He crouched in front of them and patted Louis' soft fur.

"Boys, come with me, we have some packing to do." 

"Why?" Liam asked, his eyebrows knitted together. 

     Zayn smiled at him and ran his fingers over Liam's forehead to get rid of his frown. 

"We're going on a trip." he said simply and stood up, waiting for the two of them to follow him inside.