Chapter 22

Pip woke with a smile. Despite the slight headache and the tight chest and sore throat, he was in an excellent mood and had slept very well.

Pip curled under his warm duvet and scrolled through the conversation he had with Francis last night. "Krey thinks I'm cute," Pip whispered, grinning wide. Francis had also told Krey that Pip thought he was handsome. How much of their conversation did Krey see?

He held his phone to his chest until his alarm went off. Another Monday morning had come too soon.

Pip was in such a good mood that not even his aunt or uncle could trample on his high spirits.

"You're always rushing around recently. What's wrong with you?" Pip's uncle moaned as Pip hurried around the table to reach the toast.

He had spent too long thinking about Krey and his muscular arms, and now he was running a little late.

As Pip reached for the toast, his aunt grabbed the plate. "No, Pip, only people who know how to set a bloody alarm can have breakfast. Go, or you'll be late."

"I did set my alarm, I just-"

"Pippor Monty. Are you answering back to me?"

Everyone stared at him, even his cousins.

"Sorry," Pip whispered.

"Honestly, Pip, you don't have to live here, you know. Your room could be my studio. But no, we let you live here because you are family, so act like a member of this family, okay?"

Pip nodded and reversed through the kitchen door. He left the house without looking back.

The cold air was like walking into a freezer. Pip zipped his coat up and pulled his hat over his ears. He gripped the bag straps over his shoulders and hurried down the street. The sky looked a little yellow, and Pip wondered if snow would fall this winter.

He hoped so. The woods looked magical with a layer of snow brightening the bare branches and muddy trails.

Pip smiled softly to himself. He longed to look into Krey's deep brown eyes. There was something about the way he stared that made Pip shiver, in a good way. He thought about Krey's big frame, his black hair, and his lips that sometimes twitched at the corners when he was amused.

The sight of college wasn't a sight of dread. Pip was in the mood for learning, and he had done his homework and lots of studying over the weekend, a shift at the cafe, and retrieved a hot guys number.

Pip didn't want to think about the wolf, or the very large dog, or whatever animal chased away Mark and his idiot friends.

At lunchtime, Pip was lost in a book until his phone buzzed. His heart skipped a beat. Pip hoped it was Francis or Krey, but the message was from his aunt telling him to do his own laundry from now on.

Pip sighed and told himself to stop being so eager. He couldn't help himself. Nobody had ever paid him so much attention apart from his parents, but they had been gone for long enough for Pip to forget what it felt like to be properly loved.

By the time Pip finished college, the sun had set, and the clouds had cleared. Stars sparkled all around the sky and the moon, split entirely in half, glowed brighter than it had in a while. Pip would have stared at it if he wasn't so cold on the steps, and so eager to get to the library.

Pip wanted to text Krey and ask if he would come to the library. Pip was anxious about messaging him and decided to leave his phone alone, for now.

He slipped on ice on his way down the street. The lights from the library emerged in the distance. Pip rubbed his hands together and sniffed back the cold. The worst part of winter was the ice; Pip was clumsy on dry ground.

He was almost at the library when someone grabbed his bag and pushed him down the alley where the bins were kept. Pip's hat fell over his eyes as someone shoved him against the brick wall. His hat was yanked from his head.

Pip held his breath when Mark was in front of him, glaring and gripping his coat. Mark was taller but didn't quite tower over Pip like Krey did.

"Have you told anyone about the other day?" Mark growled.

"T-The other d-day?" Pip stuttered. His fingers started to tremble, but Mark was on his own, and he wasn't as terrifying without his idiot friends egging him on.

"About what happened in the woods."

Pip shook his head. "Nobody would believe me if I did," he whispered, apart from Krey, who believed Pip far too easily. Pip suspected that Krey had seen the wolf before. He lived in the middle of the woods and got up to god knows what at the institute.

"Damn right they wouldn't." Mark gripped him tighter and pushed him harder against the wall. "If you dare mention what I did, I'll end you. Do you understand me?"

Pip nodded, pursing his lips so Mark couldn't see his bottom lip quivering.

Mark then let him go and straightened out his coat.

Pip didn't dare move. He exhaled slowly to regain his composure. "M-Mark," he dared to speak, "I understand your, um, your reaction after what happened with-"

Mark turned and swung a fist in Pip's direction. Pip ducked just in time, and Mark's knuckles collided with the brick wall instead of his face.

Mark cried out, and Pip tried to run. Mark yanked him back by his bag and flung Pip to the ground. He kicked Pip in the stomach three times, and each time was harder than the last.

Pip curled into a ball, winded and clutching his chest.

Mark then bolted back down the street as a tear dribble down Pip's cheek and onto the ice underneath him.

* * * * *

Krey looked at the door again, but the people walking into the central part of the library were not Pip. "I thought he would come straight after his lesson's," Krey said to Francis who sat on the chair opposite, and with her back to the door.

"You should have texted him to meet you here instead of playing the guessing game," Francis said. Krey glared, and she quickly shifted her gaze to the bookshelf behind him.

Minutes and minutes went by. Krey started to feel a strange cold sensation in his chest. He rubbed it with a confused frown. When his skin started tingling, Krey knew something wasn't quite right. Deep down, he felt odd.

"Are you alright, Alpha?" Francis asked when Krey seemed concerned.

"Something isn't right," Krey mumbled. His intuition prodded him all over. "Pip should be here."

"What do you feel?" Francis asked.

"I don't-" Krey looked up when the door opened, and the sweet smell of his mate drifted through the room. Along with the addictive scent was fear.

Francis could smell it too.

They watched as Pip, with his head down, hurried to the couch with a frown. Krey didn't like his seriousness.

Only when Pip slung his bag from his shoulders did he notice Krey and Francis. "Oh," he said, and the frown left his brows. "H-Hi."

"Hello," Francis beamed, but Pip only stared at Krey as if he had said something surprising.

"U-Um," Pip said and slowly picked his bag back up. "I can sit somewhere else if you're busy."

"What? Pip, no. We're here to see you," Francis said with a chuckle.

"Me?" Pip turned to look at her.

"Yes, you."

"Do you need help with your homework?"

"No. We just wanted to hang out with you, right, Krey?"

"Yes." Krey's deep voice turned Pip's head back towards him. The side of his coat was muddy and wet. "Did you slip on the ice?"

Pip followed Krey's eyes down to his coat. He quickly took it off, and Pip's scent wafted straight to Krey's nose. Krey breathed it in slowly, trying not to make it too obvious that it excited him.

Instead of sitting down, Pip walked to the bookshelf behind them and used the step ladder to get to his book. When he reached up, Pip sucked in the air and held his side.

"Pip," Francis said, frowning with as much worry as Krey. "Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine," Pip said, turning his back to them and trying to reach his book.

When he wasn't looking, Krey moved closer to Pip's coat, sniffing. He smelt mud, the cold, Pip, and something else, something Krey had smelt before.

He sat up straight when Pip returned. Pip hovered by the couch and Krey thought, sit next to me, sit next to me.

Pip eyed the other chair next to Francis, then the space next to Krey. Slowly, Pip slotted himself on the couch, avoiding eye contact with Krey who cheered in his head that Pip decided to be close.

Krey wanted to shuffle closer and close the gap between them, but he suddenly realised who else he could smell on Pip's coat.

"Did Mark do something to you?" he asked. Pip flinched at the mention of Mark's name.

"N-No," Pip stuttered, continuing to stare hard at the book in his hand.

Krey didn't know how, but he knew Pip was lying. "Tell me the truth," he demanded.

Pip folded arms around himself and squished the book to his chest. Pip didn't want to talk about it. Krey wanted to know the truth, so he had more of a reason to make Mark wish he was never born.

Francis watched them both and felt the tension grow. She only wanted Pip and Krey to get closer when they visited Crescent Town. Krey couldn't waste time making Pip feel awkward.

"So, about what was said last night." Francis chose to ignore her Alpha's terrifying scowl and his sharp eyes shooting blades in her direction. "Um..." Francis tapped her fingers together. He's going to make me pay for this later, she thought. "Krey thinks your adorable, Pip. And Krey, Pip thinks you're good looking, so uh... discuss."

Francis jumped to her feet and jogged from the room as fast as she could without getting shouted at by the librarian.