Liam was giddy as they roamed the streets of Ethdellin Town. They were on the back roads, but he still felt a sense of nostalgia. He used to play behind the library a lot as a kid. Now he was back there as a twenty-year-old, surrounded by werewolves after disappearing for two years.
Liam kicked at the cobbles, thinking of the time he used to skim rocks across then with his father to make a spark. Sometimes the noise would drive the librarians crazy and they'd chase Liam and his father into the woods.
His eyes glazed into the woods at the fond memory of laugher. He had been such a carefree child before his parents died. Liam wished he could have at least one more year with them. He quickly turned back to the cobbles before his thoughts turned sad.
Liam peered over his sunglasses when the backdoor to the library was ajar. They had gone to the town very early, and the library wasn't due to open for another 30 minutes, which was perfect for a group who didn't want to be seen. Mira was due to meet them soon too. Liam couldn't wait to see his old friends to give them peace of mind.
Liam glanced around and once Baela gave him permission, he removed his hood, black hat, and black sunglasses. Liam approached the blue door with caution.
"He said he was coming at this time. I'll check again," a familiar voice said from inside the building, and then a familiar wrinkled face filled the gap in the door. The elderly woman froze, and her sunken brown eyes sparkled with sudden tears.
"Oh Liam, my dear boy!" She stepped into the backstreet to hug him.
Liam held her just as tightly. Her name was Shina, and her cardigan smelt of coffee. She was the head librarian and had often let Liam in early or let him stay late. She made him tea when he was cold, and sandwiches when he skipped dinner. Liam had even cried on her once, and ever since then, she
warmed him under her wing, as did the rest of the librarians.
Liam swallowed his new tears when she cupped his cheeks. Her wise eyes scanned the omegas and Baela behind him, and then his black attire.
"Come in."
They entered one of the small study rooms, but Shina lead them to the main part of the
library where Liam was engulfed in more hugs from more old ladies and two middle aged men. The reception area was always warm, with a cheap chandelier above, and dark wooden floors below.
The walls were covered in posters about book clubs, writing contents, and whatever the town wanted to promote.
Liam tried to take in the view and the smell of books, but questions soon flooded him, and Liam was very careful of how he answered them. He couldn't say much, but of course, the main question was where he had been all this time.
"I had to get away" he admitted. "I couldn't live at my aunt and uncle's house anymore." Even though he paid rent from when he was old enough to work, the house never felt like home. He had always felt like a guest; Liam was treated like an
unwanted one.
"We're glad you got out of that place, but why the secrecy?" asked a librarian called Jerry.
"Would you like to look around?" Shina asked before Liam dished out a lie. Liam then remembered that Shina was Daniel's sister, and wondered if she knew what Daniel knew about the werewolf world. "You've not been here in so long, though not much has changed."
She guided Liam and his protection team to the main part of the library. Liam and Baela both eyed the couch where Liam had met Zayn properly for the first time. They both smiled to themselves, and then to each other, sharing the memory. Liam remembered bonding with Zayn that day because they both ran in the woods.
"You can take a book with you if you want," Shina smiled as Liam traced the first row of books.
Zayn had also helped Liam to reach a shelf that day. Liam's chest fuzzed with the fond memory of Zayn leaning over him, watching him with those intense eyes.
Baela excused herself when her phone rang. She stood in the corner of the main room to answer Zayn's call.
"I'll forget to give it back." Liam's eyes gleamed as he stood in his second home for the first time in almost two years. He felt a sense of calm. The library had been his hiding spot from Harry, his family, and his life. Here, Liam lost himself in other worlds of fiction for as long as he pleased. He could
do that at the Packhouse, but now he had nothing to hide from.
"It's okay, we can send someone to the institute to get it back."
Liam, Lynx, and Bethan all turned to look at her, surprised.
Shina shook her head with an amused smile.
"Zayn Malik hangs around her for a few weeks before Liam goes missing, and you expect me to think the boy ran away?" She eyed the other librarians chatting happily by the main desk. "I've known about your kind for a long time, so don't panic. If I wanted to reveal your secret, I would've done it decades ago."
Liam was speechless, but that was nothing knew, so Lynx asked, "Why didn't you try to settle down the rumours of him being stolen by wolves?"
"Because I would sound like l knew something everyone else didn't, which is true. Daniel and we know a lot and we keep it to ourselves. It's none of our business what you get up to, as long as it doesn't impact on how we want to live too."
"Daniel?" Baela asked, joining them once again, glancing to Liam.
"Shina is Daniel's sister."
"Oh," Francis breathed, deciding to ignore Bethan and Lynx's odd glances. She would ask Zayn later if they could know about what was really going on.
"I was worried about you Liam, of course I was, but I understood where you had gone, and I did wonder if you were safe." Shina held his hands. "You are safe, aren't you?"
Liam's immediate answer was no, but he didn't want to fill his old friend with worry. "As safe as I can be."
"But you're happy?"
If Liam was asked that a few weeks ago, he wouldn't know how to answer. Zayn had torn through everything that was certain to Liam, his happiness, his love, his home. Though Zayn was doing very well at putting it back together again.
"I am," he said with a bright smile. He meant it, and Shina saw that he did.
"Good. We can't have our Liam miserable now, can we?" She linked arms with him and guided him to their new books section.
Baela stopped Rocket and Bethan from following him down the aisles.
"So," Shina whispered, glancing behind them. "Now that those wolves are not looming over you, are you truly safe Liam?"
"I am." Liam knew the werewolves could still hear them.
"'Are you sure you're happy too?"
Liam sighed. "Do you, um, know that werewolves get bonds?"
Shina nodded. Her bobbed grey hair swung
around her aged neck.
"Well, I'm bonded with Zayn, and it's the best thing to ever happen to me. It has its challenges like all relationships, especially because they're.. werewolves, but he really loves me and I um" Liam blushed. "I love him too."
Shina could only smile, and then she chuckled. "Of course it would be you Liam. You deserve all the love in the world."
*****
Zayn left Daniel's farm with a large box of eggs, and with the journal and papers neatly tucked underneath. He paused on the edge of the farm and called Baela.
"I've got them," Zayn said, looking around. "I've got the... eggs."
"..Already? That was quick," Baela replied, understanding the need to mention eggs. "We're in the library now. Liam's meeting with Mira soon. It's all very emotional here."
"Are they being nice to him?"
"Yes, but they're asking a lot of questions about where he's been for the past two years. Liam says he can't tell them, but I know he wants to tell them about you, his boyfriend."
"Then he can tell them," Zayn said with a warm heart. "But only about the boyfriend part."
"No mention of wolves or the institute, got it. And Zayn," Baela said before he abruptly hung up, "Go straight home... we need the eggs for lunch."
"Yes." Zayn then hung up, glanced around the woods, then phoned a random Omega to ask about their territory. No Rogues were anywhere near their territory, so Zayn pressed on.
The day was cloudy, the air carried all sorts of smells to him on his journey back to the Packhouse. Zayn smelt a deer when he was only a mile away, then he smelt rabbits and his wolf stirred restlessly. He could taste freedom. He carried the words to his fate in a box full of eggs.
Zayn felt as though he carried not just his future, but Liam's future, his mother's future, and the packs future in a plastic box.
He maintained a blank face as he waited for the gate to open. The guards peered at his eggs with confusion, but Zayn gave them no explanation, and they asked no questions.
The canteen was busy with hungry Omegas, so he slipped in through the side entrance and silently into the kitchen. Zayn put the box of eggs on the table next to the pantry, and quickly grabbed the plastic bag. He gripped it with both hands, so the approaching werewolf couldn't see what was inside. Zayn trusted nobody when his life was in his own hands.
"Eggs," the head cook mused. "Are we trading with the farmer again, Alpha."
"Maybe," Zayn grumbled. "These are trial eggs."
He left scowling, wondering if he had been too suspicious.
Zayn wasted no time and jogged to the second floor. He glanced left and right, then unlocked his office. The room was as overcast as the sky, so he switched on the light and shut his blinds.
When Zayn sat comfortably behind his desk, alone and calm, he decided to open last year's journal.
He was more interested to see what his father's last words were, and whether he had written in the journal the day he died.
Zayn flicked to the last written date which was a few days before his dad was killed. Zayn paused, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. He exhaled to keep himself relaxed and read that day's entry.
Only a few lines of blue ink filled the page, so Zayn scanned the first sentence, murmuring his dad's last words.
Blood drained from Zayn's face. His heart beat out of sync and the journal trembled in his hands. Zayn paused for a moment, losing his stability almost immediately.
Zayn gripped the front of his hair as he staggered out the rest of the words.
Me- *fake gasp* What now?
Also me- *shrugs* blood? death? kidnapping? All of em? Ok
*blows kisses* See y'all on Friday. Till then don't kill me. Tata!