Their high spirits continued through the morning. Liam dressed in light blue jeans with frayed knees. He wore a mustard yellow knitted jumper that Zayn always said looked good on him. Zayn wore his usual black attire of black jeans and a plain black t-shirt with a wolf's head embroidered to the left chest.
They lounged together on the bed, searching endlessly for a film to watch until Zayn shut the laptop and flopped backwards. Liam hovered over him with a smile that had barely left his lips.
"It's weird to suddenly feel this happy"
"Yeah. I just keep thinking about yesterday."
"A lot happened."
"Too much." Zayn rubbed his temples. "Do you want go to the library? I'll make some tea."
Liam would have leapt out of bed if his ribs still didn't hurt. He kept wanting to check on his parents, but Baela promised to tell him when they were awake, and she hadn't yet called.
They tiptoed past Zayn's parents' room and climbed the narrow stairs to the library. The smell of books filled Liam with content. He smiled at the afternoon sun streaming through the window, casting a golden light on the first bookshelf.
Zayn put the kettle on and Liam picked up the book he had last left on the table. He sat on the couch and Zayn sat right next to him, leaving no air between them, just the way Liam liked it. He snuggled into his side, opened his book, and read two paragraphs before closing it again. He felt Zayn watching him with his intense brown eyes.
"I can't think about anything other than my parents."
"Same. It'll be like this for a while."
Liam put the book on the table before snuggling himself back into Zayn's side. Zayn's arm coiled around his shoulder, gently stroking Liam's chest.
"I also can't believe that everything is over with the Southern Alpha drama. I felt so... light when I woke up this morning."
"The only stress I have now is Alpha related."
"What are you stressed about?"
Zayn shrugged.
Liam lightly prodded his thigh.
"Tell me," he whispered.
"I just-" Zayn sighed and slouched further on the couch. "I know I haven't been a good Alpha. My dad was a great one. He'll be disappointed in me."
"Nonsense. He'll understand how hard this has been for you."
Zayn ground his jaw. "I nearly destroyed his Pack."
Liam wasn't surprised Zayn was being hard on himself. He always was any chance he got.
"But you didn't. You picked yourself back up." Liam reached for Zayn's face, making their eyes connect. "I'm sure your dad won't even think about anything like that. I bet he's just happy to be home."
"Yeah, but when he gets healthy, then what?"
"Zayn, he hasn't come back from the dead just to criticise you. You're just criticising yourself right now, so stop it."
Zayn softly kissed Liam's temple with a low grumbling noise. "You're right."
"Just focus on how this'll be good for the Pack. The burden of being Alpha doesn't have to be so heavy if you and your dad share the role" Liam saw more anxiety worming across Zayn's face and patted his knee. "What you can do for the pack right now is to arrange a party."
"A party?" Zayn cocked a dark brow. "You want a party?"
"For us it can be a celebration of well, not Mira's death, of that whole thing coming to an end, and finding our parents. We have a lot to be excited about. You can invite your new friends."
"New friends?"
"Your Northern allies. Or maybe we should wait until your dad can stand on his own two feet. I get the feeling he would hate for people to see him like this."
"He does. He needs to get used to being back, mum needs to get used to him being back." Zayn paused. "I need to get used to him being back. Two years felt like a long time."
Liam could see his mind starting to cave in on itself. He laid down and patted his chest. Zayn rested his head near Liam's heart, frowning at their cups of tea and the steam dancing into the cold air.
"You need more sleep."
Zayn couldn't argue with that. He felt Liam open a book against him. He knew they would be there for a while, so he shut his eyes. Liam's heart was such a calming beat, Zayn was asleep in no time.
Liam tried really hard to focus on the book, but he kept staring into space, thinking about his mother and father. Closing his eyes to think about them only made him sleepy. With Zayn's warm body on top of him, he felt comforted enough to fall asleep.
Neither of them worried about sleeping too long, but they were awoken by footsteps and whispering. Zayn was always in alert mode and his head shot up from Liam's chest. A book slid from his shoulder and thumped on the floor, waking Liam too
"Sorry, we tried to be quiet," Solana whispered.
Zayn sat up. Something was different in her eyes. One deep sleep had done her a world of good. Her eyes were not so sunken, her eyes were not so dull, and a small permanent smile touched her lips. Her long grey hair hung all around her face, clean and brushed.
Solana held onto Xavier, who had changed into his old clothes. They were too big for him, but he looked more like himself in dark clothing with a wolf's head on his shoulder.
Zayn's mum stepped aside. Liam spotted his parents on the other couch. They also looked a little more like they had returned to the land of the living. Liam was amazed at what sleep could do to people.
"Solana told me that you built Liam a library. I just had to see it." Xavier's eyes trailed the fairy lights hanging around the top of the bookshelves.
"It's amazing."
Zayn's heart burst with pride, but his blank face didn't change. "Liam needed somewhere to go. Not all of the wolves were kind to him."
Xavier frowned at that. " Make me some tea. I want to hear all about it."
Liam made them fresh cups and drank his tea that had gone cold. Xavier and Solana sat on the couch. Liam and Zayn sat on the beanbag between the two couches, forcing their arms and legs to overlap.
"Have you had breakfast?" Liam asked his parents.
They both nodded. "We had porridge with honey. I've never tasted anything so incredible."
Liam was glad that they were willingly eating. "Zayn and I were talking about um, how to help you get healthy. Would you want to talk to a therapist, maybe?"
Liam's parents nodded, so Liam glanced to Xavier who was looking at Solana.
"We'll go together. It'll help," Solana whispered.
Liam then eyed Zayn who looked away to hide his surprise. Solana had been so reluctant to talk only a few weeks ago.
"I'll make fitness plans and meal plans for you all," Zayn mumbled.
Everyone seemed grateful. Everyone seemed eager to restore their health and get on with their lives.
"So, tell me," Xavier said after Solana helped him sip his tea. Her eyes never left him. "What was the pack like under your leadership, son?"
Zayn tensed and didn't speak up, so Xavier added, "I hope they didn't make it hard for you."
"In what way?" In Zayn's eyes, he only made it hard for them.
"Did they expect greatness from you straight away?"
"Some expected him to fall straight into the role" Solana said when all Zayn could do was look away, ashamed. "Me included. I was too hard on him. I just feared that Zayn would run the pack into the ground and I would lose even more of you and your life."
Xavier's intense eyes softened. "You both grieve differently. I bet you both clashed hard."
The silence trailed out between them. Zayn clearly didn't want to discuss his past mistakes in front of everyone, so Liam decided to change the subject.
"Maybe we can go running together when you're healthy enough," he said to his father.
Spenser beamed proudly. "You still run?"
"Only with the Pack."
"He's faster than Lynx," Zayn added.
Xavier's brows shot up with surprise. "Do you not do races, Liam?"
Liam shook his head to say no. "With everything that's been going on, it's been hard to even leave the Packhouse."
"Let's aim for a marathon," Spenser said enthusiastically, almost spilling tea on himself.
"This time next year, let's see where we are with our health. I want to do races with you again."
Liam felt a lump forming in his throat. He smiled through it, eyes bright as he thought about how different his future would now be without the Bedlam Pack breathing down their necks, and with his parents supporting him every step of the way.