Liam woke with a smile. Despite the slight headache and the tight chest and sore throat, he was in an excellent mood and had slept very well.
Liam curled under his warm duvet and scrolled
through the conversation he had with Baela last night. "Zayn thinks I'm cute," Liam whispered, grinning wide.
Baela had also told Zayn that Liam thought he was handsome. How much of their conversation did Zayn see?
He held his phone to his chest until his alarm went off. Another Monday morning had come too soon. Liam was in such a good mood that not even his aunt or uncle could trample on his high spirits.
"You're always rushing around recently. What's
wrong with you?" Liam's uncle moaned as Liam
hurried around the table to reach the toast.
He had spent too long thinking about Zayn and his muscular arms, and now he was running a little late.
As Liam reached for the toast, his aunt grabbed the plate. "No, Liam, only people who know how to set a bloody alarm can have breakfast. Go, or you'll be late."
"I did set my alarm, I just-"
"Liam James Payne. Are you answering back to me?"
Everyone stared at him, even his cousins.
"Sorry" Liam whispered.
"Honestly, Liam, you don't have to live here, you
know. Your room could be my studio. But no, we let you live here because you are family, so act like a member of this family, okay?"
Liam nodded and reversed through the kitchen door.
He left the house without looking back.
The cold air was like walking into a freezer. Liam
zipped his coat up and pulled his hat over his ears.
He gripped the bag straps over his shoulders and
hurried down the street. The sky looked a little
yellow, and Liam wondered if snow would fall this winter.
He hoped so. The woods looked magical with a
layer of snow brightening the bare branches and
muddy trails.
Liam smiled softly to himself. He longed to look into Zayn's deep hazel eyes. There was something about the way he stared that made Liam shiver, in a good way. He thought about Zayn's big frame, his black hair, and his lips that sometimes twitched at the corners when he was amused.
The sight of college wasn't a sight of dread. Liam
was in the mood for learning, and he had done his homework and lots of studying over the weekend, a shift at the cafe, and retrieved a hot guys number.
Liam didn't want to think about the wolf, or the very large dog, or whatever animal chased away Harry and his idiot friends.
At lunchtime, Liam was lost in a book until his phone buzzed. His heart skipped a beat. Liam hoped it was Baela or Zayn, but the message was from his aunt telling him to do his own laundry from now on.
Liam sighed and told himself to stop being so eager.
He couldn't help himself. Nobody had ever paid
him so much attention apart from his parents, but they had been gone for long enough for Liam to forget what it felt like to be properly loved.
By the time Liam finished college, the sun had set, and the clouds had cleared. Stars sparkled all around the sky and the moon, split entirely in half, glowed brighter than it had in a while. Liam would have stared at it if he wasn't so cold on the steps, and so eager to get to the library.
Liam wanted to text Zayn and ask if he would come to the library. Liam was anxious about messaging him and decided to leave his phone alone, for now.
He slipped on ice on his way down the street. The
lights from the library emerged in the distance. Liam rubbed his hands together and sniffed back the cold. The worst part of winter was the ice; Liam was clumsy on dry ground.
He was almost at the library when someone grabbed his bag and pushed him down the alley where the bins were kept. Liam's hat fell over his
eyes as someone shoved him against the brick
wall. His bennie was yanked from his head.
Liam held his breath when Harry was in front of him, glaring and gripping his coat. Harry was taller but didn't quite tower over Liam like Zayn did.
"Have you told anyone about the other day?" Harry growled.
"T-The other d-day?" Liam stuttered. His fingers
started to tremble, but Harry was on his own, and
he wasn't as terrifying without his idiot friends
egging him on.
"About what happened in the woods."
Liam shook his head. "Nobody would believe me if I did," he whispered, apart from Zayn, who believed Liam far too easily. Liam suspected that Zayn had seen the wolf before. He lived in the middle of the woods and got up to god knows what at the institute.
"Damn right they wouldn't" Harry gripped him
tighter and pushed him harder against the wall. "If you dare mention what I did, I'll end you. Do you understand me?"
Liam nodded, pursing his lips so Harry couldn't see his bottom lip quivering.
Harry then let him go and straightened out his coat.
Liam didn't dare move. He exhaled slowly to regain his composure. "H-Harry," he dared to speak, "I understand your, um, your reaction after what happened with-"
Harry turned and swung a fist in Liam's direction. Liam ducked just in time, and Harry's knuckles collided with the brick wall instead of his face.
Harry cried out, and Liam tried to run. Harry yanked him back by his bag and flung Liam to the ground.
He kicked Liam in the stomach three times, and each time was harder than the last.
Liam curled into a ball, winded and clutching his
chest.
Harry then bolted back down the street as a tear dribble down Liam's cheek and onto the ice
underneath him.
Zayn looked at the door again, but the people
walking into the central part of the library were not Liam.
"I thought he would come straight after his lesson's" Zayn said to Baela who sat on the chair opposite, and with her back to the door.
"You should have texted him to meet you here
instead of playing the guessing game" Baela said.
Zayn glared, and she quickly shifted her gaze to the bookshelf behind him.
Minutes and minutes went by. Zayn started to feel a strange cold sensation in his chest. He rubbed it with a confused frown. When his skin started tingling, Zayn knew something wasn't quite right.
Deep down, he felt odd.
"Are you alright, Alpha?" Baela asked when Zayn
seemed concerned.
"Something isn't right," Zayn mumbled. His
intuition prodded him all over. "Liam should be
here."
"What do you feel?" Baela asked.
"I don't-" Zayn looked up when the door opened,
and the sweet smell of his mate drifted through the room. Along with the addictive scent was fear.
Baela could smell it too.
They watched as Liam, with his head down, hurried to the couch with a frown. Zayn didn't like his seriousness.
Only when Liam slung his bag from his shoulders did he notice Zayn and Baela. "Oh" he said, and the frown left his brows. "H-Hi."
"Hello," Baela beamed, but Liam only stared at
Zayn as if he had said something surprising.
"U-Um," Liam said and slowly picked his bag back up. "I can sit somewhere else if you're busy."
"What? Liam, no. We're here to see you," Baela said with a chuckle.
"Me?" Liam turned to look at her.
"Yes, you."
"Do you need help with your homework?"
"No. We just wanted to hang out with you, right,
Zayn?"
"Yes." Zayn's deep voice turned Liam's head back
towards him. The side of his coat was muddy and
wet. "Did you slip on the ice?"
Liam followed Zayn's eyes down to his coat. He
quickly took it off, and Liam's scent wafted straight to Zayn's nose. Zayn breathed it in slowly, trying not to make it too obvious that it excited him.
Instead of sitting down, Liam walked to the
bookshelf behind them and used the step ladder to get to his book. When he reached up, Liam sucked in the air and held his side.
"Liam," Baela said, frowning with as much worry as Zayn. "Are you hurt?"
"I- I'm fine" Liam said, turning his back to them and trying to reach his book.
When he wasn't looking, Zayn moved closer to Liam's coat, sniffing. He smelt mud, the cold, Liam, and something else, something Zayn had smelt before.
He sat up straight when Liam returned. Liam hovered by the couch and Zayn thought, sit next to me, sit next to me.
Liam eyed the other chair next to Baela, then the
space next to Zayn. Slowly, Liam slotted himself on the couch, avoiding eye contact with Zayn who cheered in his head that Liam decided to be close.
Zayn wanted to shuffle closer and close the gap
between them, but he suddenly realised who else he could smell on Liam's coat.
"Did Harry do something to you?" he asked. Liam
flinched at the mention of Harry's name.
"N-No," Liam stuttered, continuing to stare hard at the book in his hand.
Zayn didn't know how, but he knew Liam was lying.
"Tell me the truth" he demanded.
Liam folded arms around himself and squished the book to his chest. Liam didn't want to talk about it.
Zayn wanted to know the truth, so he had more of a reason to make Harry wish he was never born.
Baela watched them both and felt the tension
grow. She only wanted Liam and Zayn to get closer when they visited Ethdellin Town. Zayn couldn't waste time making Liam feel awkward.
"So, about what was said last night." Baela chose
to ignore her Alpha's terrifying scowl and his sharp eyes shooting blades in her direction.
"Um." Baela tapped her fingers together. He's going to make me pay for this later, she thought.
"Zayn thinks your adorable, Liam. And Zayn, Liam thinks you're good looking, so uh... discuss."
Baela jumped to her feet and jogged from the
room as fast as she could without getting shouted
at by the librarian.
Zayn would have been angry at Baela if she didn't make Liam smile.
Liam pressed the book to his mouth with eyes that darted around the room.
Zayn picked at the annoying splinter still stuck in
his thumb. He watched Liam shift awkwardly on the couch.
Zayn sat back against the cushions. He did his best to stay calm. On the inside, Zayn was spinning faster than the earth.
Liam cleared his throat and glanced at Zayn, who
was already staring. Liam's eyes shot away as soon as their gaze connected.
Zayn would have smiled if his heart wasn't trapped in a cell with no key. The silence stretched between them. Zayn's nerves crawled to his heart and around his lungs and up to his throat. Time was running out. He had to win Liam's love while the human was still oblivious to what Zayn was.
He mustered up the courage and said, "I do like
you."
Liam smiled wide at his lap and whispered, "I- I think I like you too."
Zayn felt like his words weren't enough. Liam was
his mate and would be his number one priority for life. Zayn would do anything to protect him, and anything to show Liam that he was loved.
"When I say that I like you, I mean.." Zayn was never pressed for words like this. He never felt nervous enough that he couldn't think of what to say. Zayn always opted to stay silent, but he couldn't remain silent now. Liam needed to hear how he felt. "I want to take you on a date."
Judging by the size of Liam's eyes, he didn't expect Zayn to say that. "Really? With me?"
"Well I'm not talking to myself, am I?" Zayn was
joking, though his tone was still bitter. Liam didn't know him well enough to understand that Zayn always sounded in a bad mood.
"S-Sorry, it's just, people don't usually talk to me."
Zayn's heart of coal cracked. "I get it. I'm
intimidating. People are not exactly queuing up to talk to me either."
Liam tilted his head like a young pup listening to its owner's commands. "So, a-a date? Um, when?"
"Whenever you like."
"Soon?"
"Soon," Zayn agreed. He felt giddy on the inside,
like a child on the night before Christmas. Zayn was very good at hiding his emotions, which would make the relationship difficult for Liam. Zayn would have to figure out how to open up, though he assumed that would come naturally with a mate.
The silence, a little awkward, seeped into their
conversation until Liam opened his book. He crossed his legs and sank into the cushions.
Zayn picked at his thumb for a while until Liam
stared from the corner of his eyes.
"What's wrong with your thumb?" Liam asked. His voice barely lifted above a whisper.
"Splinter," Zayn grumbled, irritated that his body
hadn't worked harder to push it out.
Liam put his book down and looked closer. Zayn
paused, his heart quickened.
Liam shuffled across the couch cushion until his
knee bumped the side of Zayn's leg.
Zayn's inhaled quickly and forgot to breathe out.
Pin reached a hand towards him and delicately touched the side of Zayn's hand.
Zayn's body throbbed to the fast thumping of his
heart as Liam's fingers smoothed over his skin. Zayn finally exhaled when Liam leaned over his knee to look closely at his thumb.
Don't move, Zayn thought. Liam had closed the gap between them. He looked smaller with his body pressed to Zayn's. His hands especially looked small, gripping either side of his palm.
"I see it" Liam mumbled and started prodding the area around the splinter.
Zayn didn't care if Liam's actions hurt. He had
shifted to his wolf a million times. Nothing else
outweighed that pain.
Zayn, if he could, would sink his nose into Liam's
brown hair. His head was so close, Zayn couldn't
stop himself from breathing his scent in deeply. He hoped Liam couldn't tell his heart was beating at a ridiculous rhythm.
Zayn could smell Liam's soap on his skin, the fabric softener on his clothes, the deodorant he wore, and the slight scent of- bread and cheese. Zayn guessed Liam had eaten a sandwich for lunch.
Liam's natural scent still pushed through, sweet and addicting, a scent that would never wear out.
"I used to get splinters a lot" Liam's voice was as
soft as distant birds. His face was close enough to
Zayn's hand that he felt his breath. "I used to climb the trees in the woods."
"Me too," Zayn said, and he must have been closer than Liam expected because he looked up. An inch closer, their noses would have touched.
Zayn didn't move a muscle. He heard Liam's heart skip a beat with his unnatural werewolf senses.
Liam's eyes fell back to his hand with pink cheeks.
You should have kissed him. Zayn stared at Liam's concentration face, biting his bottom lip, and frowning.
He didn't know when his Omega had returned, but he suddenly noticed Baela putting a hot drink on the table with a daft grin.
"For Liam," Baela mouthed and gave Zayn two
excited thumbs up, then tiptoed away.
Zayn watched her leave, but her scent lingered, and he knew she now waited for him in a different part of the library so that Zayn could have some time alone with Liam.
"Almost got it" Liam said, pinching the skin on Zayn's thumb. Liam had to take a badge off his bag to coax the splinter out with something sharp.
The splinter was stubborn, but so was Liam,
sometimes, and he didn't give up until the splinter was in his hand.
Zayn rubbed his thumb and then flicked the
splinter away. Good riddance.
As Liam reattached the badge to his bag, Zayn's eyes ran up and down his body. He couldn't wait until they were comfortable enough for Zayn to wrap his arms around Liam's waist, or run his fingers through his hair, or kiss his lips. The thought made Zayn hot under his clothes.
"Baela got you a drink" he said to distract himself.
Liam pointed to the cup on the table, and Zayn
nodded. Liam took the lid off and steam poured out.
"H-Hot chocolate.!" Liam smiled. "Baela is so kind."
Liam sipped it. "How long have you known Baela?"
"Not long." Zayn could see the questions forming
behind Liam's dazzling brown eyes.
"How long have you um." Liam looked around and whispered, "lived at the institute?"
Zayn looked around too. The only other people in
the central part of the library were two people with headphones on and books to their noses. "All my life," Zayn said. "I was born there.!"
Liam curled his fingers around the drink and held it to his chest. "It's big enough to be a palace" Liam said with a soft chuckle.
It is, Zayn thought. Well, at least it is in my world.
Zayn didn't want to live in a separate world from
Liam, but they would continue to feel a thousand
feet apart until Liam knew about his wolf that
clawed to get out.
"I know you have questions about the institute,"
Zayn kept his voice low and quiet, "but I'd rather
answer them when I know we're definitely alone."
Liam nodded. "I understand."
Zayn watched him sink back into the cushions
with a book in one hand and a hot chocolate in
the other. One day, Zayn's staring wouldn't be so
strange and intense to Liam, but right now, Zayn had to divert his eyes whenever he could.
After a while of staring around and around the
library, Liam suggested that Zayn looked for a book.
They were still sitting somewhat close on the
couch, Zayn didn't want to leave his side. "I'm not much of a reader" Zayn admitted. He had too many things on his mind, Liam being one of them.
Liam closed his book, this time, for good. He looked at Zayn with an essence of curiosity. His brown eyes quickly darted around Zayn's face until Liam got shy and looked away. "We c-could maybe- um," Liam started fidgeting with the empty cup. His cheeks were reddening. "-If you have nothing else to do... we could.." Liam couldn't seem to form his sentences.
Judging by his awkward and nervous stuttering,
Zayn knew what he was trying to ask.
"Shall we have our date now?" he asked as though he was asking what he was having for dinner. Zayn was always relaxed on the surface, but much like a volcano, the dangers lurked within.
Liam silently nodded. His cheeks were now beetroot and had spread to his nose. He could barely look Zayn in the eye, but Zayn liked his awkwardness and how Liam's stuttering only made him cuter.
"What shall we do?"
"I- I don't know. I've never been on a date before."
Zayn had no money on him. Maybe he could
borrow some from Baela. Scrounging money
from an Omega somehow didn't feel right. Zayn's
pride was too big.
A walk in the woods didn't feel like date material.
"I don't know what to do either" Zayn was simply
honest. He didn't want to be too strong-headed
and make all the decisions. Liam would have plenty of time to know that side of him later.
"Um, maybe we can sit at Ethdellin h-hill. It's only a t-twenty-minute walk from here."
"What if it rains?" Zayn knew the place.
"Then it rains." Liam smiled, and Zayn melted.
"Alright, then." He stood and waited for Liam to put the book back and get his coat on.
They walked together through the library. Zayn
spotted Baela in another room. She would follow,
but not make herself known. Zayn didn't mind if
Baela watched them or heard their conversations.
Baela didn't judge like other wolves, and she
didn't love gossip like other wolves.
Liam went ahead of Zayn through the glass sliding doors. He stopped abruptly, and Zayn almost walked into him. Though Zayn knew why he stopped. He felt it on his skin.
"I hoped it would snow," Liam said with a grin the
same shape as the moon.
Zayn watched the white flakes float past his face
and cover the ground. Only an inch of snow had
covered the ground, so far.
Without warning, chilled fingers wrapped around
Zayn's fingers.
Zayn's heart jolted with surprise as he looked down to their connecting hands. A mate's touch was like no other physical contact. Zayn's skin buzzed and his head mushed. He turned into a soppy mess who wanted to exist solely for his mate.
"Will you be warm enough?" Zayn asked though Liam was bundled in multiple layers while Zayn only had his jacket. Zayn didn't feel cold the way humans did. He hoped Liam would find that suspicious. He had to start dropping clues about his werewolf qualities.
"I think so," Liam said as they descended the steps.
"Will you?"
"I don't really feel the cold" Zayn said with as much seriousness as he could muster.
Liam hummed a response of interest. "But it's
snowing"
"I'm always warm."
Liam looked down to their hands, most likely
realising that Zayn was right. His skin was hot to the touch. "I-t's good that I forgot my gloves then."
If he gets cold, at least I have a reason to hug him.
Zayn squeezed his hand as the snow crunched
under their feet.
A few comments would boost my motivation.