The corridors were empty. All the wolves were in the field, working hard to keep fit. Liam could see his breath as he hurried down the corridor to keep up with Zayn, but at least he was warm before they reached the back door.
"Everyone should be out here" Zayn said, pausing with his hand on the handle. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Liam nodded, despite his nerves. He had to be brave if he wanted to get used to the institute and those who lived there. He wanted to panic and freak out about his situation, but that would get him no closer to accepting the institute.
Liam had nowhere else to live, so he either accepted the institute, and Zayn and the many werewolves living around him, or he made life harder for himself by retreating back to Ethdellin Town.
The institute was much better than his aunt and uncles house, especially now that Jaiden was out of the picture.
Zayn opened the back door. Sunlight flooded in, but so did the bright white snow that had been shovelled around the sides of the field and covered the trees beyond.
Liam pulled his coat zip higher and followed Zayn along the stone yard. Almost everyone wore t-shirts and shorts, while Liam was bundled in many layers, and wore his yellow puffer Jacket and burgundy hat, scarf, and gloves.
He saw Zayn's mum standing by a bench. Her long grey hair fluttered softly in the wind, occasionally touching her lower back.
Liam looked up to Zayn's black hair and the grey strip of hair at the front. He wondered who had shared that little hint of uniqueness with him.
Solana stood with Niall whose red hair stood out for miles. They turned when Zayn approached with his hand intertwined with his mate.
"Morning, Alpha," Sid said with a firm head nod. His eyes, blue like ocean, flashed to the human and he lowered his head even more. "Morning, Liam."
"Morning" Liam squeaked, pleased that someone other than Zayn acknowledged him.
"Sit," Zayn said, motioning to the bench, using a voice which screamed "do not defy me"
Liam sat. (A/N: "Sit down" "I am sat")
"If you get bored, mum will take you to the canteen for breakfast." Zayn's blank eyes traced his mother who sat with Liam on the bench.
Liam dared to look at those training on the field. More than he expected had stopped to stare, or continued to run and stare, or lifted weights and stared, or sneaked a glance after every sit-up.
He shuffled awkwardly on the bench as Niall and Zayn walked to Baela who stretched on a mat. Liam felt very exposed in his bright colours, and wished to blend in. He had a feeling that even if he wore all black like most of the people on the field, they would still stare.
"Sleep well?" Solana asked, there was a hint of a smirk on her lips.
"Yes, thank you." Liam even spoke in a polite quiet voice. "D-Did you?" He glued his eyes to Zayn to avoid making uncomfortable eye-contact with anyone else.
"I did" Solana said, crossing her arms and sitting back against the wood.
They sat together in silence for a while. The longer Liam sat in the open, the less people stared. Liam linked his gloved fingers and relaxed. He followed Zayn up and down the field. Zayn was fast, and out sprinted everyone.
Liam was itching for a run. Maybe he would ask Zayn if they could run together tomorrow morning.
Bonding time, Liam thought. He couldn't spend the rest of his life hiding in Zayn's bedroom, no matter how much he wanted to lie in bed all day.
Liam had to prove himself to the werewolves that he wasn't a scared little human even if it was.
It's okay to take this slow. This is a big change.
Liam looked around again. Through the stares, he noticed the smiles, and the occasional wave in his direction. Liam was starting to believe Zayn's mother.
Nobody else in the institute was as horrible as Jaiden. Nobody else was as passionate to hurt him.
Liam zoned in on Zayn and Baela and Niall when they moved to the weights. Niall was a great motivator, and often complimented Baela and pushed her to work harder. Niall was a little wary of Zayn, Liam could tell by his polite suggestions about what weight to use and what exercise to do.
Zayn was the tallest and most muscular person on the field. A wolf only had to look at him to know he was Alpha. Authority oozed from him.
Liam's eyes looked Zayn up and down. He wanted to see the way his body moved. Zayn was verynattractive, from his black hair with the unique strip of grey at the front, his intense hazel eyes that often tried to look beyond Liam's clothes, his broad round shoulders, strong large hands, muscular legs and arms, and the way Zayn moved, always calmnand calculated, like everyone around him was his prey, and one wrong move could change it all.
"You'll like it here," Solana said, breaking Liam's stare. He glanced up to her. She had the same brown eyes as his, hard when they needed to be. "I know it seems like a lot right now. You're handling this very well."
I'm no stranger to change. Liam smiled at her, and said, "I-It's definitely not how I planned the year."
Solana smiled too. "I bet this is the last place you thought you'd be."
"Yeah." Liam still had to remind himself that he was in the institute. The building he had spent most of his life trying to avoid because of the scary rumours. Even after spendinga few nights in the institute, he could still barely believe it.
When Liam looked back to Zayn, he was in the process of pulling his t-shirt off. Liam's entire world stopped as he watched the fabric rise up Zayn's back, up and up, showing his smooth skin and muscles moving beneath the surface.
Zayn turned his head, watching Liam from the corner of his eye.
Liam might as well have drooled all over the floor like a hungry dog. He closed his mouth when Zayn watched him, but bit into his bottom lip, which didn't help, not when his eyes were glued to Zayn's bare chest.
What is happening to me? Liam was losing himself in a trance. He had never been so captivated by a bare torso before. This must be the bond thing.
Zayn threw his t-shirt and it landed in a heap by Liam's feet. Liam quickly picked it up. For a moment, he thought about pressing it to his face to smell Zayn. Pull yourself together, he mumbled among his thoughts.
Liam folded Zayn's t-shirt and held it neatly in his hands. The fabric was still warm from his hot skin.
Liam could feel Solana's eyes on him. When he looked, she was staring at the t-shirt in his hands with an endearing smile.
Liam started to feel a little hot under his many layers and peeled his eyes from Zayn to count the pebbles by his feet. All the while, Liam knew Zayn watched him every chance he got, wanting to see if Liam enjoyed the view.
Zayn soon approached the bench to check on his mate who was holding tightly onto his t-shirt.
"If you're bored, mum can take you to the canteen for breakfast" Zayn said, sitting next to him, a little out of breath and a little sweaty, despite being out in the bitter winter air.
Liam pursed his lips and tilted his head towards him. He didn't mean to trail his eyes up Zayn's chest. Liam only meant to quickly glance to his face and failed.
He had turned into a sloppy mess.
Zayn linked his fingers and when Liam's eyes finally connected with his, there was an amusing twinkle among the brown.
Zayn leaned down, pressing his lips to Liam's ear and whispered, "Something distracting you?"
Liam reddened in a single heartbeat. "No," he squeaked. "Um a-are you, um, how's y-your training going?" Liam dared to look at him again.
Zayn stared fiercely at his mouth. "Good." He rested an arm on the back of the bench behind Liam. Their faces were only inches apart.
In public, Liam though that Zayn might tone down with the intense staring, but he didn't. If anything, Zayn paid him more attention, and Liam felt very special.
"H-How long do you train f-" Liam was interrupted by Zayn's lips. They had shared a few kisses now, but the excitement hadn't died down. Liam still felt his face heat up, and his heart thump crazily, and his mind turn to dust.
Zayn pushed into him, kissing him once, and
kissing him deeply.
"Twenty minutes, then we can get breakfast."
Their eyes locked as Zayn stood from the bench. There was something in the way he stared, something that screamed desire. He left Liam to sit with his mother who pretended to be interested in the pebbles.
Zayn returned to Baela and Niall. The stares were back from the other people training on the field. Most of them were laughing with each other and sharing surprised chatter. Liam assumed that Zayn showed only anger and scowls, never affection.
Affection was probably as new to them as it was to Liam. Being kissed and cared for was still a fresh routine in Liam's life. Waking up in Zayn's arms was the nicest morning Liam had ever had, and he hoped for many more mornings like it.
Liam was used to waking up on a creaky single bed, alone, and cold. He used to wait for the worries and the stresses of life to fill his head, then Liam would get up with a frown.
So far, Liam had woken feeling warm and happy as though being in Zayn's arms was the safest place in the world.
Zayn and Baela started push ups while Niall counted. Liam watched Zayn's muscular arms, up and down, up and down. Sweat dripped from him, veins raised in his forearms.
Even the way Zayn worked out was graceful as though nothing was too hard for him.
When Zayn and Niall moved on to sit ups, Liam couldn't look away. He no longer cared that he stared at Zayn's abs harder than anyone else.
This is definitely the bond thing, Liam thought, feeling much hotter under his coat.