Liam had been asleep for an hour before Baela phoned to say they were outside. He didn't wake up from the ringing, or Zayn's short and blunt conversation to say that he would greet them at the gate.
Zayn looked down to his sleeping mate. Liam's head rested on Zayn's bare chest, with hands curled up against himself. The duvet was pulled to Liam's ears, and he felt warm against Zayn, who was very hot under the duvet, not used to sleeping bundled up. Liam had shivered right up until he fell asleep. Zayn had to keep Liam warm, even if it meant that he was uncomfortable himself.
Zayn was reluctant to move. He had to wake Liam to tell him to lock the door behind him. As Zayn opted to slide out from underneath him, Liam softly murmured something in sleep and tried to coil around Zayn's arm.
I can't leave him. He'll freak if he wakes up and I'm not there. Zayn still snuck from the bed and watched Liam curl himself in the thin duvet. He'll get cold soon. I'll have to hurry.
Zayn tiptoed to the door, unlocked it as quietly as he could, and looked left and right down the corridor. The lights were dull and made the ends of the corridors eerily dark. Zayn crossed to the opposite door and banged hard with his fist, not caring if he woke Harry.
As he thought about what to say, Zayn concluded that he had to be the one to greet his pack, not Louis, not Junes, and not Junes' snotty Beta. Ethdellin Pack had promptly come to his side when he needed them. The least Zayn could do was act like their Alpha and make sure they were all okay.
Louis quickly opened the door with a finger over his mouth. "What is it?" he whispered.
"Mum and my pack are at the gate. I can't leave Liam by himself, and I don't want to wake him. Can you sit with him while I bring in my pack?"
Louis took one look at her mate, sleeping soundly on the bed, and nodded, knowing Liam was more vulnerable because Zayn's mate was a target.
"Will you wake Junes?" she asked, stepping into the corridor and shutting the door behind her.
"I'll tell a guard to find his Beta wolf. He won't be happy with this, but I couldn't leave them at your place." Zayn handed her the phone.
"Find out what's going on over there, and why the fuck your parents left her guests and my pack to fend for themselves."
"I will." Lou's eyes darkened. "I'm not pleased with my parents. I hope you know that."
Zayn nodded once and watched Lou enter his(the room Ziam are staying in) room and sit quietly at the desk. Zayn took one last glance at Liam before setting off down the corridor.
The walk to the gate felt long. Zayn was desperate to get back to Liam, yet relieved to see his mother, Baela, Niall, and forty members of his pack standing on the other side of the gate to greet him. The guards opened the gate when Zayn demanded it in his Alpha voice and red
pulsing eyes.
His mother greeted him with a tight hug and strong pats on the back.
"Don't worry," she said quietly into his ear. "We'll get our home back."
"We will." Zayn remained emotionless, despite him feeling rather panicked on the inside. "You know Junes better than me. Are we safe here?"
Solana examined the cuts on Zayn's face. "We will be if your pack keeps watch all night."
What his mother meant was Junes could be unpredictable. He was usually an ally when it suited him, but Zayn's father had built a good and trustworthy relationship with the Sea Claw Pack. Junes was big on trust.
"Niall, what are your injuries?" Zayn asked after greeting Baela with a strong pat to the shoulder.
"Just a broken arm and a few deep cuts on my shoulder. Nothing too serious." Niall had made a sling from his shirt, but the cuts were left exposed.
Zayn stared at the blood with blank eyes, though the cuts were deep enough to raise concern. "Baela, find a first-aid box."
Baela had a few minor cuts on her, but she was otherwise unharmed. Zayn was glad. Baela had shown that she was a strong fighter.
Zayn greeted the rest of his pack by returning their brief nods and asking the ones who were hurt to find Baela who would have something to help clean their wounds.
Zayn followed them back into the house. Junes' grumpy Beta squeezed them all into the nearest room with couches and beanbags and a full left wall stacked with board games and DVDs.
Zayn stood by the door to the room, watching his pack help each other with injuries, and lift each other's moods and push a smile out of those who were close to tears.
Zayn knew he stood in his dad's shoes in that moment, proud of his pack, united by the courage and spirit of one of the most powerful packs in the country. Though tonight, Zayn and his pack had been shunned from their home and targeted at a safe event. Zayn had no idea who was really behind the attack. He doubted the southern wolves acted alone. After the Shadow Pack's failure to help, Zayn suspected that they were in on the attack, wanting to sabotage Zayn's Alpha position because of what happened to his father.
There was no better way to prove that Zayn was a bad leader by invading his home right under his nose. But Zayn wouldn't back down so easily.
"Wolves," Zayn boomed and the room silenced. His pack turned to look at him, so Zayn stood tall on the chair.
"Tonight, has been a test of your loyalty to your new Alpha. Without question, you came to my aid and for that, you've gained my trust, and I yours. Times have been hard for us as a pack, but we must bind together now and fight for what matters to us. We must fight for our home." A few wolves shared enthusiastic agreements.
"We must fight for our status." More wolves cheered. "We must fight for the survival of Ethdellin Pack." Every wolf in the room cheered. Some raised fists, some clapped, some whistled. Zayn looked around at all the faces. "We might be in low spirits tonight, but this fight is only just beginning. We will end on top." The pack cheered again, and Zayn stepped down from the chair. "Rest now wolves. At dawn we will make a plan."
The pack clapped Zayn, and for the first time, he felt like their Alpha.
Zayn decided to leave them to settle for the night. As he moved down the corridor, his mother fell by his side, matching his long strides. "You sounded like your father."
Zayn's heart twisted. "I know."
"I'm proud of you."
Their eyes connected. "I'm glad nobody was seriously hurt."
"Me too. The last thing we needed was to lose wolves when we have to fight to get our home back. Maybe we can convince Junes to help usif we bribe him with something."
Zayn grunted a response, not minding that his mother followed him into the room where Liam was sleeping.
Louis stood with a smile.
"Liam's talking about you in his sleep," he said. Zayn turned to Liam, still curled up how he left him. Cute.
"I tried to phone home. There was no answer." Louis looked to Solana, worried. "I'm sorry my parents left you guys to fend for yourselves. As much as I love them, I know this means they're up to something. I just hope they haven't gone against family. My mum can be tough at times, but family means a lot to her."
"In her eyes, I don't think I'm family anymore," Zayn grumbled. Liam started to stir, so he told Louis to get some sleep. His mother settled on the desk chair, but Zayn still didn't mind that she had chosen to stay.
He locked the door and climbed onto the bed. Liam, as though he sensed him in his sleep, reached for Zayn and curled up on top of him. Zayn only remembered that he was shirtless when Liam's cold hands touched him, and the side of his face pressed over his heart.
"I forget how cold humans get" Zayn mumbled, pulling the duvet back up to Liam's ears.
"His clothes are wet," Solana said, prodding Liam's yellow converse. "I'll see if there's some wood for this old fireplace."
Zayn hadn't noticed there was one in his room. Junes' father had ruthlessly taken the grand building from humans in the second human world war, so fireplaces weren't unusual in a building made by humans.
Liam would like one in our room, I bet. Zayn thought about the many winters they would spend together. Even if Zayn dripped with sweat, he would do anything to keep his mate comfortable.
Zayn sank in the bed and held Liam tightly on top of him as his mother ventured the building for dry wood.
He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, or how long his mother had been back when he opened his eyes. The first thing Zayn felt was Liam's legs tangled with his. Then he felt the tickling of Liam's hair on his chest, and his breath against his collarbone. Zayn felt the slow rise and fall of Liam breathing, and the warmth. Liam's sweet scent masked any other smell in the room, but Liam's gentle breaths didn't mask the crackling of a fire.
Zayn stared tiredly at his mother feeding chunks of wood to the orange flames. She had hung Liam's clothes in front of the fire to dry them.
The heat of the room was unbearable for a werewolf, but just right for a human. Liam was content, so Zayn was too.
He shifted to the side of the bed, so he could sit on top of the duvet. Zayn stayed close enough for Liam to clutch his arm.
Solana turned to the noise of the creaky single bed. She smiled when she saw that Zayn was awake. She smiled even wider at Liam pressing his face into Zayn's bicep and clutching Zayn's wrist with both his hands.
"I'm glad someone is sleeping." Solana sat back on the desk chair and titled her head."Have you connected the bond?"
"How did you know?"
Solana shrugged. "You both just look more... connected."
Zayn agreed. Liam was no longer afraid to be close because he knew Zayn wanted him to be. Even in his sleep Liam knew.
"Mum." Zayn waited for her to look at him, and not the hypnotising flames. "Should I have suspected something like this to happen?"
"Nobody has seen a feud between two packs like this for centuries. I don't think anyone knows what to expect from the southern wolves. I don't think anyone knows what to expect from the Ethdellin Pack either."
"Now that I'm in charge?"
Solana frowned thoughtfully. "Yes," she mumbled, tapping her chin. "Now that you're in charge."
Zayn swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Why did you say it like that?"
Solana's jaw tightened. "I just had an unpleasant thought"
"What?"
"Well, what if your father was always meant to be killed? You were both in his office when it happened. They could have easily got you, but they didn't."
"Yeah because dad jumped in front of me."
"I doubt they only had one bullet on them, son."
Zayn started to frown deeply. The fire cast jumping shadows all over his face. "Southern wolves are cunning," he mumbled.
"And they love a good fight."
Zayn and Solana stared at each other. The orange flames warmed the colour of their eyes, but their blood ran cold. "They took three months to attack after I killed the Alpha's mate. This could have been their plan all along. Weaken me with grief, then come for my pack when we're most broken."
"And by doing so, they don't just kill you for revenge, they strip you of everything, your pack, your Packhouse, your status, your pride, and now maybe your mate, though I doubt they saw Liam in the mix."
Zayn gripped the front of his hair with a thumping heart. "Now that sounds like a southern wolf plan. Sly bastards."
"But how far did they get in their plan?" Solana asked, wheeling the chair closer to the bed. "Did they predict that we'd end up here? Junes wasn't at the annual meeting. Is he part of their plan?"