Solana's brown eyes were as hard as the bark of the trees that surrounded the institute.
Zayn's brow eyes stared sharply. He observed her expression. Zayn had been very stressed over the past few days; he didn't need another reason to yell, and another person to hate.
"Is this a joke?" Solana asked, not daring to blink.
"You think I would bring a human to the institute as a joke?" Zayn scowled.
Solana's gaze circled his face. "You have a human-" she turned abruptly and stormed towards Zayn's bedroom.
"Mother" Zayn hissed through gritted teeth. "Can't this wait till morning?" Zayn hurried after her. Liam was already overwhelmed. He didn't need a female version of grumpy Zayn in his face.
Zayn couldn't reach her before his mum stormed into his bedroom.
Liam was still standing by the window with his coat folded over his arms and tucked tightly against his chest. He jumped when Solana stormed in, frantically glancing around. Her eyes fell on Liam straight away because of his bright colours.
Zayn was glad the wolves didn't train tonight. He didn't want to deal with a fainting Liam and a seething parent.
Solana froze in the doorway, staring at Liam like he had appeared before her very eyes. She pointed, and Liam nervously glanced to Zayn who drifted behind his mother like a dark cloud.
"That's a boy!" Solana exclaimed. (A/N: *pretends to be shocked* OMG WHAATTT??? NOOO WAAAYY!!!! I AM WRITING A GAY FIC!! OH I HAVE COMMITED A SIN)
Zayn glared at the back of her head.
"And human!" (A/N: tell me you are dum without telling me you are dumb) Solana stepped closer to Liam, gazing at him with interest. She then spun and pointed a thin finger at Zayn, pressing a long nail into his chest. "Is this some sort of distraction, so I'll lay off Baela?"
Zayn rolled his eyes. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her from the room. Zayn slammed the door and dragged her down the corridor, so Liam couldn't hear them. "For the hundredth time, Baela is not my mate!"
"Then why did you let me believe that she was?"
"I didn't."
"Then what was with the secrecy?"
"Baela was watching my back as I went to
Ethdellin Town to be with my mate."
Solana's lips curled disapprovingly. She stared at Zayn as though she was trying to read his mind or deciding if he was telling the truth. "How long has this been going on?"
"A few weeks" Zayn mumbled.
Solana shook her head. "I assume you had the dream then?" Her tone was a little bitter. Zayn nodded, a little sheepish, knowing he should have told her from day one.
"How could you keep that a secret from me? I'm your mother!"
Zayn tightened his jaw. "In my defence, you're fucking annoying"
Solana's glare matched her son. "So, you're telling me that you have a human soulmate and hid it from me for weeks? Right, well, I get the message. I'm officially shunned out of your life. Thank you very much."
Solana tried entering her bedroom but Zayn
grabbed her arm, almost ripping her dressing
gown.
"See, this is why I didn't tell you because you're so dramatic! I just needed time to figure it out on my own. Baela followed me even when I didn't ask her to. Nobody was supposed to know until Lee was used to me."
"Lee?"
"That's his name... short for Liam."
Solana watched Zayn's glare melt, and his eye soften at the thought of him. Zayn's hard exterior was impossible to get through when he was so defensive. Solana knew that a mate would get in, no matter how much Zayn tried to fight it. "He is your mate" she whispered, astounded.
Zayn's scowl returned immediately. "Why do you never believe anything I say?" he snapped.
"Because you're always so bloody cryptic!"
Solana slapped the back of his head. "I bet this is why your anger has been through the roof lately! Stupid boy. You should have told me. Then you wouldn't have been so stressed! You know what? I'm insulted that you tried to keep it a secret from me. Let me remind you that I'm your mother and we don't keep secrets in this family, especially now that your father-" Solana stopped herself and lowered her voice. "Especially now that it's only the two of us."
Zayn's heart ached. "Maybe I would have told you if you hadn't been breathing down my neck every day." He crossed his arms. "It's been impossible to do anything because you're always there. I just wanted a few weeks of doing something by myself, so I could fucking breathe."
Solana, with her gaze pointed to the floor, asked, "Why bring him here now?"
"He's in too much danger, living in the town and not here."
"Ah, so you didn't bring him here unannounced just to annoy me?"
"I was going to tell you this afternoon about Liam, but Jaiden interrupted."
"Which reminds me- why the hell did you kick him through a window? Your anger has been the main topic of conversation all day."
"He found out about Liam and threatened his safety, which is one of the reasons why Liam is here now."
"How didJaiden find out?"
"He said Baela told him!"
Solana wasn't often shocked, but tonight, her eyebrows couldn't stop raising from all the surprises. "And did she?"
"I don't know." Zayn's eyes darkened. He wanted to believe that Baela wouldn't betray his trust. "She said she didn't, but I don't know if I believe her."
"Jaiden is lying" Solana said, rather confidently. "He has always been a liar. I wouldn't believe anything he says, not when he knows his Beta position is compromised. He'll do anything he can to drive people away, so you're the only person he has left to trust."
"You seem very sure of that."
"Because I've seen him do it before."
Zayn forgets that his mother played a big part in being Alpha when his father was on hunts. If Solana went too, then Jaiden was in command. Solana only left Jaiden in control if it were a last
resort.
"Where's Jaiden now?" Zayn asked.
"Niall put him in the cellar for the night, concluding that he must have insulted you pretty badly for you to kick him out of the window."
"He was lucky he wasn't on the sixth floor" Zayn grumbled. His mother, still refusing to look at him, shuffled back towards her bedroom. Zayn sighed.
"You're annoyed, aren't you?"
"I'm disappointed in you."
"Jaiden deserved-"
"No, not that. I really thought you and Beala were mates. Your silence made me believe it. Why do you always push me out like that, or trick me into thinking other things? I feel like such an idiot because your mate is actually a human, which is worse than an Omega!"
Zayn, grinding his jaw, saw an opportunity to
tell her how he felt. After all, his mother wanted
honesty.
"You were so fixated on finally figuring me out that you became obsessed to hear what you wanted to hear and see what you wanted to see. I told you a few times that Baela wasn't my mate and you refused to believe it. You made it harder and harder to tell you about Liam because I knew you'd be angry at the truth, especially when you were so sure about Baela and so eager to be right. You think you know me, mum, but you only see the me you created, and not who I am on my own.!"
Solana shook her head, "No that's not true. You-"
"Stop," Zayn interrupted, taking a step towards his bedroom. He had finally opened a conversation that could display their faults to overcome what annoyed them about each other. His mother denied her flaws, so Zayn stopped listening.
"I was actually nervous about bringing Liam here tonight because your opinion of him mattered to me. Dad would have at least pretended to like him, for the sake of my happiness." Zayn stormed back to his room, not wanting to hear anything negative towards Liam. His heart wasn't strong enough.
Zayn paused outside his door, breathed calmly until his anger stopped bubbling, then entered.
The sight of Liam was enough to leave his bad thoughts in the corridor.
"Did that go well- with your mum?" Liam asked, pulling off his hat.
"Not really" Zayn admitted.
"Does she not like me?"
"I think she's more bothered that I didn't tell her anything. She just needs a few days," Zayn said to reassure his mate's anxious mind. I hope.
Liam looked around for somewhere to hang his coat.
Zayn took it and hung it on the back of the door. The yellow puffer jacket stood out against his black attire.
"Do you want to unpack tonight or tomorrow?"
Liam looked at his two rucksacks carrying everything he owned. His eyelids were heavy. He had spent the whole day at college, worked a four-hour shift, and moved out of his house all in one day. Liam was exhausted emotionally and physically.
"Can we do it tomorrow?" he asked, rubbing his eyes until he remembered that tomorrow was Friday, not Saturday. "Oh wait, I have college tomorrow."
Zayn, almost blending into his black door, said, "I'm sorry, but you can't go tomorrow, not until we figure out how to keep you safe."
Skipping wasn't the end of the world. Liam could email his tutors and ask for the work he would miss. He had seen how anxious Zayn was on their walk to the institute. Zayn's nerves had made Liam realise just how much danger he might face.
"I understand."
Zayn tapped the ends of his fingers together. Liam still looked a little awkward in such an unfamiliar room.
"My bathroom's through there." Zayn pointed to the other black door, slightly ajar. "There are fresh towels if you want a shower."
"Thanks." Liam rummaged through his bag for some pyjamas.
"Um," Zayn looked to his couch. He barely even sat on it. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight."
Liam glanced to the large double bed, then to the small couch, then to Zayn's large body and how he'd struggle to fit on the couch. Stretching his legs was out of the question.
"I can sleep on the couch because...I'll actually fit" Liam said with a chuckle. "A-And that's your bed."
"I've dragged you all the way here, the least I can do is let you have the bed until you've settled."
Zayn wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with Liam in his arms and his nose buried into his hair. Liam was overwhelmed. Zayn didn't want to push for them to be close just because he wanted it.
The boys had plenty of time to grow closer, especially now that Liam would be living in the institute.