Liam was once again the main topic of the institute. Nobody could stop talking about his surprising hidden talent.
"I think you impressed everyone, even yourself" Zayn said from the doorway of the bathroom, watching Liam dress after his shower.
Liam had lost his balance twice while trying to put on his socks, and he had tripped out of the shower, almost smashing his head off the bathtub if Zayn wasn't close to cushion his fall. Liam's clumsiness was both worrying and entertaining.
(When it comes to clumsiness, I am Liam. Liam is me. I had an embarassing fall yesterday infront of 1..2..3..idk people. But then again its normal for me. I don't talk to people I talk to walls, doors, floor and roads.)
As Liam tugged on dark blue jeans, he welcomed Zayn's eyes on his body like he welcomed heat after a cold day in the snow. They had been very intimate only the day before. He no longer felt quite as shy, not while Zayn watched him as though he was the most beautiful human in the world.
"I did surprise myself. I wasn't sure if I'd be the first to drop out, but I didn't think l'd even outrun you." Liam stopped to clock Zayn's reaction. He had thought Zayn might be jealous, or irritated that a human beat him. Zayn only smirked.
"You impressed me." Zayn's eyes flicked him up and down. Liam was fit and slim with the hint of muscle shaping especially his legs. "You outran the strongest wolf pack in England. What do you have to say to that?"
"Um... hard work pays off?" Liam smiled sweetly and pulled a knitted burgundy jumper over his head. "I would like to run with your pack more."
"We should get you some proper trainers first."
"Yeah um." Liam awkwardly pulled at his sleeves. The life he left behind was constantly biting at his
heels.
"I- checked my bank online. My aunt and uncle cleared out my money. I shouldn't have left my bank card!"
Zayn was good at hiding any emotion other than his anger. The rage fizzled through his features, hardening his eyes, tensing his jaw, and tightening his throat.
"Let me get rid of them," he spoke calmly, despite his eyes summoning a ferocious storm. (My boy spoke so calmly I had to double check if he was talking about Liam's uncle and aunt or some tattered clothes.)
"So-I c-can't afford shoes right now" Liam said, ignoring his comment.
Zayn sighed, shoving his anger out of sight to hold his anxious mate in his arms. "Liam, you're a part of the pack now. Our money is your money, and you need new shoes. Maybe even a few pairs. You definitely need a new coat."
Liam smiled, resting his chin on Zayn's chest. His warmth was everything Liam wanted after a shower.
Zayn's arms around him was all the comfort he needed in the world. "Are you sure that's okay?"
Zayn ran a hand through Liam's brown wavy hair. The front had curled from the heat of the shower.
"Obviously. I'm not just gonna let you train in converse when we have the money to buy you proper gear"
He was frank, but Liam knew his tones rarely reflected how Zayn really felt. "That's nice of you."
"That's me" Zayn said bluntly. "Nice."
Liam smiled wider. "You're so Sweet."
"Wait, no-"
"You can't take that back"
"I'm not sweet."
"Yes, you are. To me anyway. You can't deny that."
Zayn held him tighter. "I couldn't treat you any other way. That's not just a mate thing. You're so fucking cute, it's physically impossible to be mean to you."
Liam wanted to comment about his aunt and uncle, the southern wolves who were trying to catch him, or even Harry. Liam very quickly bit his tongue.
He buried his head against Zayn's chest. Quite often, they hugged where they stood, no matter where they were.
"You don't think I would have angered the other wolves by- I mean, they're not embarrassed, are they?"
"That a human outran them? No. They're more impressed than anything. In their eyes, you've proved yourself!"
"And they would like me training with them?"
"Yes." Zayn knew if anyone had a problem with it, they would be picking their broken jaws off the ground.
"Maybe one day soon, we can go to Ethdellin Town and you can pick some shoes."
Liam smiled wide. He stood on his tiptoes and Zayn leaned down to peck his lips.
"I've been wanting to ask, um, are you any closer to finding the southern Alpha?" Liam was in lock-down, now that a crazed wolf was willing to plant traitor Beta's in everyone's packs just to ruin Zayn Malik.
"No. We've contacted every pack possible. Everyone has been looking, nobody has gotten any closer to finding him. It wouldn't surprise me if Jaiden's death completely ruined him. I know I wouldn't be able to function if you-" Zayn paused.
Even saying it out loud hurt. "Well, I know the southern Alpha will be distraught. I don't know if that's a weakness for him or fuelling his fire."
"He's lost his pack now."
"Yes, and his Packhouse. The Shadow Pack have split their pack between houses. They're big enough to have over fifty in each house. I thought they would sell it off to other southern packs, but they want to keep an eye on those who are not allies, and pretty much all of those are in the south."
Liam nodded, showing he understood. "Will Harry and Lou leave soon?"
"As much as I like Lou, I can't be around Harry's scent for another day. They're going home today now that her Packhouse is full of wolves again."
"I suppose that's for the best." Liam had been more nervous than usual with Harry roaming the halls holding his head high and flashing a smug smile.
Plenty of wolves wanted to wipe the smirk from his face, but nobody dared talk to him because he was mated to a member of Zayn's family. Even with a large target on his back, Harry acted like he owned the world simply because he had the power to do so.
Zayn then checked his watch and reluctantly uncoiled from Liam.
"I have a meeting in two minutes about fixing up this shit hole of a Packhouse. I'll probably be a few hours. I know you'd be bored listening to me talk about paint, so feel free to roam the building or tuck yourself into a corner and read." Zayn kissed his forehead and left the bathroom.
Liam followed him through the bedroom and watched him walk down the corridor. Zayn always walked like he stalked prey, moving silently, as if each step was calculated. When he reached the stairwell, Zayn turned his head, winked, then disappeared through the door.
Liam blushed and melted against the wall. Zayn's demeanour was unlike anything Liam had ever seen.
A simple wink weakened him at the knees, a simple brush of his fingers tingled every inch of him, a simple word from his low voice made Liam hot all over.
He swallowed hard and wrapped himself up in Zayn's thick black duvet. Liam grabbed the book bound in pine green leather and sat by the window.
The window had been fixed twice in less than a week. Once to repair it after Jaiden fell to his death, and once to repair it because Liam's belongings had been thrown to the stone yard below. Liam shivered when he thought about that being a warning.
To distract himself, he opened the book about the history of wolves, scoping the index for an interesting topic. Liam thought they were all interesting, even from werewolf births to werewolf politics. One topic stuck out to him and Liam turned to the back pages.
"Werewolf myths," he read aloud. "Some myths are fake, and some are yet to be proven to have authenticity, but all are popular talk among the humans." Liam skim read a few paragraphs about silver not being quite as fatal to werewolves and the full moon not making wolves transform uncontrollably. He then red a more interesting paragraph about human mates.
"The legends say there is a way to survive if the werewolf dies. There are many different theories, and none have been proven to work" Liam shivered at the thought of ever needing to find a theory on how to survive if his mate died.
"A popular myth is humans drinking wolf blood to survive-" Liam didn't continue when the thought churned his stomach.
He flicked through more pages, stopping on one with a paragraph that made him arch a brow.
"Human mate myths." Liam read through stuff he already knew to be true, like making a connection deeper than any humans would have with other humans, and feeling constantly in love and obsessed about their mate, just like how the werewolf felt. Liam gathered the author hadn't asked a human to confirm whether those myths were true or not.
He read aloud again, "For millenniums, bonds have been discussed to give humans a deeper insight to the world around them. Sharing a soul with a magical being has benefits, such as healing at a faster rate, though humans do not have stronger physical power, so countless believe humans are given spiritual strength instead. This myth is yet to be explored."
Liam returned to the first page. The book was written almost seventy years ago. He wondered what advancements had been made to those myths and whether any had a bit of truth to them.
Liam wasn't prepared to dismiss everything he read in a book made by werewolves. If humans could shift into animals, every myth could be true.
Liam closed the book and stared down at the training wolves on the field. Some had weights, and yoga mats, and circuits to run around. Liam wasn't really focusing on them, he was centring on how free his mind had felt since he had connected the bond, like the confusing world around him was slotting into place, one day at a time. Maybe I am getting mentally stronger, he thought, nuzzling deeper underneath the duvet.
******
Zayn tilted his head.
Baela held two paint recommendations in front of him for the corridors. One colour was a piercing green, and the other... "Looks like puke," Zayn grumbled. "Do you think I want puke green on my walls?"
"Um... what about for communal toilets?" Baela.suggested.
"No offence Baela but you've got awful taste" Niall said witha daft grin.
"I take every offence to that." Baela nudged him when he tried to squeeze past her to look at more colours.
Niall's arm casts were off, and he was healing well, but he wasn't allowed to shift to his wolf until the weekend.
"I'm surprised you're looking at anything other than black and grey" Niall said smiling politely at his Alpha.
Zayn crossed arms over his strong chest. The long sleeves of his black top hugged the curves of his muscles.
"They're my walls, but I'm not the only one who lives here." Zayn mulled over a few colours until he gave up. "We'll paint the walls white and have art in black frames along the corridors. I want the floors a dark wood. No carpets, you got that?"
Baela and Niall shared a quick glance before nodding.
"I want more furniture ordered for my bedroom, and a new bathroom door. Order some plants too, I don't care which ones. Order Liam a good pair of running shoes. He's a size seven. Order him proper running clothes and a new winter coat." Zayn's face was emotionless. He had wanted to take Liam to Ethdellin Town to shop, but despite the town being their territory, Zayn didn't want to risk being away from the Packhouse where they were safe.
Baela scrambled to type Zayn's orders on her phone. "Is there a preference on furniture?"
"Just get wooden ones. Liam wants to paint them.!"
He narrowed his eyes when Baela smiled wide. "And order a new couch. A black one."
"Should I'll let Liam pick what trainers he wants?" Baela asked, sweating at the thought of getting any of the orders wrong. She unzipped her purple denim jacket.
"If you want" Zayn turned his back to her and looked through the catalogue for dining tables.
By the time he had organised the entire building, Zayn's head was fried, though he had a knack for designing things and them turning out to look pretty good, so the wolves trusted his judgement.
He later found his mate in the bedroom, hunched over one of his father's books, wrapped tightly in his black duvet. Occasionally, Liam stared out of the window like he was processing information.
"Anything interesting in there?" he asked.
Liam jumped and dropped the book. "Zayn!" he squeaked. "You scared me."
Zayn sat with him on the floor, lifting the book to see that Liam had been reading about werewolf myths.
"Interesting. Are there any stupid ones?" Zayn read about the moon making them shift. "Hm, as if we'd allow that to control us."
Liam laughed and unravelled himself from the duvet to feel Zayn's warmth instead. He climbed onto him and sat in between Zayn's crossed legs, resting his back to Zayn's chest. Liam looked up and Zayn softly kissed his head, then kissed down his nose, only just reaching his top lip. Liam let the feeling of his lips tickle his skin.
Being with Zayn set the world right, even if everything was falling apart around them.
"Do you think these myths have truth?" he asked, feeling Zayn's hands on his thighs. His heat seeped through his jeans.
"Depends which myths you're talking about."
"There's ones about humans who are mated with werewolves. Some theories are that humans get more spiritual strengths."
"Oh yeah?" Zayn looked down. The outside world reflected in Liam's brown eyes. "Feeling any different?"
"Yes." Liam didn't have to think twice about answering. "You're in my head all the time. I'm convinced I can feel a strain when you're away from me. I can't stop thinking about you. I want to be with you all the time, um, basically I just feel so good when you're right here. That's probably what it feels like for humans to be in love, but this just.. this is more.!" Liam looked up, blushing when Zayn's nose skimmed his cheek.
"I feel less confused about my life now. I no longer worry about the future. Meeting you has somehow clicked everything into place. I can't explain it well, b-but- It's like l'm looking at my life through clearer eyes.!"
"Do you feel more spiritual?" Zayn asked, staring at Liam's parted lips. His wolf stirred within, wanting to be with him.
"Maybe. I'm not sure. Should I-"
Liam was interrupted by the door opening. Zayn's head snapped in the direction of whoever dared to walk in unannounced.
"Mother" he growled. "What the fuck do you want?"
Solana ignored him, tilting her head at the way Liam tucked cutely against Zayn. Her son held the human as though they had been apart from years, not just a few hours. She smiled. "I was told to tell you it's ready- whatever that means."
Zayn got up immediately, lifting Liam with him.
"What's ready?" Liam asked.
Solana double glanced at Zayn's sudden cheeky grin, not remembering the last time she saw him smile. It suited his face and made him seem far more approachable. Zayn quickly turned away, so she couldn't gawk. The smile was gone as fast as it arrived.
"You'll see, come on." Zayn engulfed Liam's small hand with his large one and pulled him down the corridor. Solana followed curiously as Zayn passed the stairwell, continuing to the end of the corridor, then turning left.
They stopped outside a crooked wooden door with a rusted handle. An Omega hovered by the door, grinning wide. Words saying 'the attic' had been carved into the wood.
"Open the door" Zayn commanded. The door creaked painfully on old hinges. Liam's eyes rounded with wonder when light streamed from the other side. The door revealed a small narrow wooden staircase. Fairy lights had been wrapped around the banister, lighting the stairs with a delicate creamy glow.
"I have to cover your eyes," Zayn said, looming behind Liam. He placed hands over his eyes and bent down to whisper. "Don't worry. It's a nice surprise."
Liam trusted Zayn completely and allowed him to guide him to the first step. Of course, Liam tripped. If it weren't for Zayn holding onto him, he would've face-planted the wood.
"Careful," Zayn warned, helping him up the stairs, one step at a time. The space was not only thin, but narrow, Zayn's hair skimmed the slanted ceiling and his shoulders brushed the walls. The stairs were not accommodating for werewolves, but they were perfect for little Liam Payne.
Each step creaked louder than the previous one until they reached the top. Liam couldn't t see anything, he could only feel Zayn's warmth all around him. He's excited. I don't know how I know that. Liam was starting to separate Zayn's feelings from his own.
Someone then gasped behind them. Liam guessed it was Solana. His curiosity spiked through the roof until his heart pounded anxiously in his chest.
"Are you ready" Liam heard Zayn breathe into his
"I- I think so." Zayn then removed his hands from Liam's eyes. They took a moment to adjust to the light of the setting sun streaming through the skylights, and the lamps dotted around the attic.
No, Liam thought. This isn't an attic. He shared a gasp of his own. Looking at the beanbags, couches, a little table with a kettle and teabags, and most importantly, the rows and rows of bookshelves.
"It's a library!"
Liam pulled away from Zayn, taking extra care to stare at the wonderful sight of so many books.
"It's not just a library, it's your library," Zayn said, and Liam spun to face him with watery eyes.
"Mine?"
Zayn nodded. His features were relaxed, and his brown eyes had an innocence to them, like Liam's reaction really mattered to him.
"You built a-a-" Liam gestured to the attic. "you built a library for me?"
Zayn nodded, and Liam covered his mouth in shock
"You needed somewhere familiar, and somewhere to go when this place gets too much."
"So you... built me a library?"
Zayn was the first person to buy him tea, the first person to kiss him, the first person in a long time to tell him he loved him and the first person to care enough about him to build him a library. .
"This is-" Liam was near speechless.
When Liam couldn't find his words because his gratitude clogged his throat, he showed Zayn how much he loved the surprise by jumping on him and clinging tightly.
Zayn, once again, found himself smiling. This time he smiled into Liam's neck, though some Omegas saw and nudged each other.
Liam's tears touched Zayn's face.
"Thank you so much," Liam whispered as Zayn hugged him tightly.
"This was so thoughtful of you."
"I love you," Zayn whispered so quietly, only Liam heard him. When they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, those who stood awkwardly decided to leave, wanting to give them their privacy, and Liam some alone-time to explore the newly decorated attic.
Liam was first to the bookshelves, glancing down the thin aisles the shelves made. The further back they went, Liam noticed the emptier they got.
"There's room for you to fill it with your own books too. It'll take years, obviously, but you'll fill it I'm sure."
"You underestimate how fast I read," Liam grinned.
He couldn't stop beaming from ear to ear. Fairy lights twisted around the top of the shelves, lighting the attic up all the way to the end. "I'm going to live in here."
"I thought you might say that." Zayn sat on a worn in couch they had moved from the games room, though it was soft and comfortable. Zayn sank right into it.
Liam soon emerged from the long row of bookshelves with arms full of books. He dropped them onto the table, then plopped down next to Zayn.
"Wow, I just got sudden flashbacks to when we first properly met in the library"
Their eyes clashed. Zayn was happy. Well, his face was blank, but he wasn't scowling.
Zayn shook his head, sitting back against the cushions and sinking further into the couch.
"Look how far we've come since then. We barely had a word to say to each other!"
"Now you won't shut up."
Zayn stared intensely. His lips curled at the edges.
"Now confident Liam won't fuck off."
Liam grinned, staring just as intensely. He knew certain looks Zayn expressed. He now looked mischievous, like he was ready to pounce.
Zayn did.
His hands dove on Liam in seconds. He lifted him from the couch and dumped him on the nearest beanbag. Liam lay there in defeat, so Zayn tossed him a book.
"Read," he demanded. "I'll make the tea."
Liam opened the book and nestled into the beanbag. That's when he realised, he wasn't cold.
The attic was a normal temperature compared to the rest of the freezing institute. He then spotted heaters plugged in near the door.
Liam looked to Zayn who crouched by a miniature fridge full of milk. His eyes started to water again.
Zayn had transformed a full attic just so he would have a safe space in case his new life got too overwhelming.
He couldn't believe that someone would do all that just for him. After year of thinking nobody really liked him, and nobody would ever care enough to even hold a conversation, Zayn had swept Liam off his feet before he even saw Zayn coming.
His new life had been a fast change, a drastic change, but a good change.
Liam couldn't imagine a life without Zayn. Now, he never had to. Liam would never be alone, not with his werewolf by his side.
And with that we have come to an end of
Season 1 and 2023.
Ok I have a question this is for EVERYONE I WANT EACH ONE OF YOU TO ANSWER THIS-
Tell me YOUR favourite moment from this book.
Good night and Have a Great and Safe New Year Eve and New Year!
See y'all next year!
Kxx