Zayn pulled his head back and looked at Liam's brown eyes, grey in the moonlight. He nodded his head, trying his hardest to ignore Harry who stood with Louis. In his wolf form, Zayn could bite down on Harry's leg or arm, or somewhere to cause immense pain.
Punching Harry in the chest was Zayn being kind. If Louis wasn't family, or someone Zayn actually liked, Harry would be dead.
Zayn concentrated on Liam's fingers running through his fur. he had waited for this moment for weeks. Is he really not scared? Zayn was terrifying, and his transformation into his wolf wasn't for the faint hearted. Liam had now watched him shift both ways and didn't bolt into the darkness, screaming until his lungs hurt. He's being brave for me.
Zayn softly licked Liam's cheek and his mate chuckled. Could they really connect the bond during one of the most chaotic nights Zayn had lived through in months?
Liam still shivered, and he was exhausted, but not afraid, and that's all that mattered.
Zayn shuffled closer in the snow. Liam was so close, hugging for one minute wouldn't be a problem. Being deep in the woods gave him the impression that they had all the time in the world. Nothing moved around them. The woods felt like a different time, a better time, a calmer time.
Zayn acted first and rested his chin on Liam's shoulder, willing for them to hug. Liam was slow to sink into him, but once his arms were around Zayn's thick neck, Liam hugged him tightly and buried his face into Zayn's fur.
Zayn tried to count the seconds in his head. When he reached thirty seconds, his mind drifted to how content his wolf felt for the first time in a long time. Usually when Zayn was in his wolf form, he was angry, or on a hunt, or packed with adrenaline and wanting to fight and run and feel the wind tearing through him.
Now, all Zayn wanted was to flop into Liam's lap and feel his fingers running through the fur around his ears.
Zayn closed his eyes, forgetting about Louis and Harry, about the fight at Shadow Packhouse, and about how far they were from Ethdellin Packhouse. He forgot about the cold snow underneath him, and only dedicated his focus to his mate, Liam Payne, the cute human with sparkling bown eyes, a cute nose, and brown wavy hair that liked to stick up in the mornings.
Zayn's mind plummeted to Reverie Library. He thought about that first glance, and how he approached Liam to help him put his book back on the shelf. Zayn thought about that first suffocating hug outside Liam's aunt and uncle's house, and their first kiss on Ethdellin hill, among the stars and the snow and the slit of the moon.
Zayn thought about their first morning to together and how small Liam looked curled up in the middle of his bed. He thought about the first time he woke up next to his mate, and how utterly at peace he was with Liam Payne in his arms.
Zayn lost himself in thought and felt as though he drifted with a warm breeze, up and up until he floated with the stars.
Suddenly, Zayn felt whole, complete, fixed.
By the time is mind crashed to earth, he knew the bond had connected, and Liam successfully hugged him for longer than a minute. The first thing Zayn felt was his mate's body against him, and his fingers gently caressing the fur on his back.
Liam had thought about Zayn the same way, but from his perspective. The good times they shared together would only get better. The memories they shared would grow in quantity, and the love they had for each other would never perish, even if one of them died before the other.
Zayn lifted his head from Liam's shoulder. Their eyes connected. Something twirled in Liam's gaze, something
Zayn hadn't yet seen. Love? Admiration? Zayn felt different too. He felt stronger with Liam so close, like he could tackle the world as long as his mate was by his side.
"Was that the bond?" Liam whispered. "I feel- well, I don't feel sick anymore."
Liam hadn't realised how sick he was before he hugged Zayn's wolf. His head pounded for so long, he learnt to cancel out the pain. His throat was sore, his chest was tight, his muscles ached. Now Liam was a little less tired and had the strength to go on. Or maybe the strength was from the bond.
Zayn nodded his head, staring at Liam's face with fascination. Some part of him wished they connected in the safety of his room, so they had the time to explore what changed. Rignt now, Zayn was hyper-aware that they were still in the middle of the woods because they were escaping an attack from southern wolves.
Zayn stood on all fours and quickly licked Liam's lips, who wasn't fond of the action and scrunched up his face. Zayn might have smiled if he were in his human form.
Liam flushed pink when he noticed Harry and Louis' wolf watching them. He stopped crouching in the snow and wrapped arms around himself.
"Are we riding the wolves then?" Harry asked, staring anxiously at Zayn who stood next to Liam, fighting the urge to growl at him.
Liam looked down to Zayn who nudged his leg with his nose. Now that the bond was connected, Liam's fear of Zayn's wolf dispersed, understanding that Zayn would never hurt him, or even think about hurting him. With Zayn by his side, wolf or human, Liam was safe.
Louis' wolf still made Liam anxious. He didn't know him like Zayn, but Liam was known for trusting everyone around him a little too quickly.
"I- I guess so," Liam said, wondering how he was supposed to ride on a wolf's back without falling off. He watched Harry who saddled Louis' wolf like a horse.
Instead of simply gripping his fur, he leaned down and wrapped arms around Zayn's neck and rested the side of his face against Zayn's black fur.
Zayn nudged Liam again and stood still for Liam to do the same.
Liam was shorter than Harry and struggled to jump and get his leg over. Zayn was bigger than Louis which didn't help. Liam slipped in the snow and Zayn had to crouch and skim his belly on the snow for him to finally have his legs on either side of his ribs. Zayn rose slowly, but Liam being Liam, toppled from his back and fell in the snow once
again.
Zayn puffed out some air and lowered his back again. He made the mistake of looking at Harry, who was smirking at Liam's failed attempts.
Zayn growled lowly and Liam froze, until he followed Zayn's gaze to Harry. Liam's lips twitched with annoyance when he saw Harry's face. Liam tried again. This time, when Zayn rose, Liam leaned over his back and linked fingers around his neck and pushed his heels into Zayn's sides. Liam smiled proudly into Zayn's fur when he managed to stay balanced.
Zayn waited for Liam to position himself better before setting off. Liam was light on his back. Zayn was convinced he had carried heavier backpacks.
At first, Zayn padded lightly through the snow, not moving too fast. He wanted Liam to get used to the motion. When he started sprinting, Liam gripped his neck tighter.
Zayn didn't mind and kept a steady pace until he thought Liam was ready for him to run.
Zayn galloped, and Liam didn't fall. Zayn soon felt excitement oozing from either him or his mate, or both. Zayn, with his tongue in the wind, ploughed through the snow with Liam on his back. Trees whizzed them by as they covered a large distance in a small amount of time.
Mile after mile, Zayn didn't slow down. His heart set on Ethdellin Packhouse, where he could make orders for the rest of his pack to come home if the fighting was over.
Liam closed his eyes when the bitter wind made them sting. He had never felt so exhilarated. His heart thumped as fast as Zayn ran. Adrenaline coursed through his veins.
Liam wanted to laugh until Zayn jumped over a fallen trunk and Liam almost lost his balance. His heart was now in his throat, and Liam remembered the danger.
This is madness, he thought. I'm riding on a wolf through the woods. Liam buried his head further into Zayn's neck and soon enough, he wanted to smile again. But he's my wolf.
The institute soon loomed in the distance. Zayn ran harder, desperate to be back. He wished he never left.
Louis followed Zayn down the hill towards the gate with Harry on his back. Zayn wasn't happy that Harry was with them, but for Louis' sake he might not chomp down on Harry's legs just yet.
Before they could reach the gate, Zayn skidded to a halt and sniffed the air. He could smell fear.
Louis could smell it too. The fear wasn't Liam's or Harry's, the scent was too strong to only be a few people.
Zayn carefully approached the edge of the trees and peered down the beaten path.
The gate to the institute was open.
Unlike Shadow Packhouse, Zayn's gate was solid and one you couldn't see through or climb over. Yet it sat open and unguarded, free for anyone to enter. Something's wrong.
Liam sat up and frowned. He didn't need to be told that danger lay ahead. The institute was usually heavily guarded, apart from the night he trespassed.
Instead of charging forwards and protecting what little pack remained inside, Zayn backed away, returning to the trees. With Liam on his back, Zayn would be a fool to risk Liam's life the way he had once so carelessly risked others. An explanation for the attack at Shadow Packhouse formed in Zayn's head. He had thought the attack was careless and pointless, and messy. Zayn now realised where the southern Alpha had been.
Ethdellin Pack was left unprotected when most of his pack rushed to Zayn's rescue. The attack at Shadow Packhouse had been a distraction for the bigger trophy.
Zayn's institute was the bigger trophy, and now that his home was infested with southern wolves, they would smell Liam's belongings among his own. Zayn knew that a simple land stealing wasn't enough. Southern wolves loved to fight. They loved chaos and misery and pain and
blood.
If southern wolves had been reckless enough to come for Zayn and his pack, they would not rest until they got Liam.
Zayn bolted back up the hill with Louis on his heels. He felt sick to his stomach, knowing fine well that the fighting would only be over when either him, or the southern Alpha was dead.
As Zayn ran back into the darkness of the woods, away from his home, a flame burnt dully in the back of his throat.
The fate has twisted. Yet again.
But this time Zayn would do anything to keep his loved ones safe. Even if it means to give away his own life.