Chapter 25

They had hugged for a while. Pip wasn't sure how long, but when he opened his eyes, the snow had deepened around them. Without lifting his head from Krey's shoulder, he looked around. The cold seeped through his layers, though Krey was still hot. Pip felt his body heat through his jacket.

"I-I thought you said you weren't a hugger," Pip said in his usual quiet voice. Krey was somehow always able to hear him.

"I'm not," Krey mumbled with his chin resting on the top of Pip's head. "Not usually."

Pip smiled. He felt special, even if he still couldn't fathom why Krey would find him interesting.

Eventually, they pulled away.

Krey still looked more content than Pip had ever seen him. "So, um, d-do you have like- a curfew for the institute?"

Krey discretely sniffed the air. He could only detect Francis's scent nearby, nobody else. "Not really," he said with a shrug. "I'm in charge. I make the rules."

"In charge of what?" Pip asked, zipping his coat closer to his chin. "The p-people or the building?"

Krey watched a snowflake land on Pip's nose. "The people."

Pip glanced around. "Am I allowed to ask about the institute now?"

"What would you like to know?"

Pip softly swung his legs. "Why it's there."

The answer to his question would reveal all. Krey didn't want to spoil their date. "Why do you think it's there?"

Pip puffed out some air as he thought. "I have no idea." He then frowned. "Do you work for the government?"

"Sometimes." Werewolves only worked for the government when the authorities were in deep trouble.

"Are you in the secret service?"

"We're better."

Pip looked Krey up and down, and Krey's coal heart set alight.

"Are you a spy?" Pip asked.

Krey shook his head, amused. "No."

"Why do I have to guess? Are you not allowed to tell me?"

"I can," Krey said, squishing the snow under his feet. "but I don't think you're ready to know."

Pip chuckled nervously. "S-Should I be worried?" he asked as a joke, though, Krey's face had turned serious. His jaw tensed, and his brown eyes looked away towards the woods.

"I'm not sure," he mumbled.

Pip still didn't know much about Krey but liked him enough to share a kiss. The whole point of a first date was to get to know each other. They skipped that bit and dove for the affection.

Pip never thought he'd kiss on a first date. When Krey's lips were so close, and he held him so tenderly, Pip couldn't stop himself. He lost his mind in the kisses they shared. He didn't expect a first kiss to feel so incredible.

"I'm very good at keeping secrets," Pip said, looking at Krey who still watched the horizon. Krey's eyes clouded with thoughts while he chewed the inside of his lip.

"It's not that I'm worried about you oversharing, I'm concerned about how you'll take the news if you found out that I-" Krey stopped himself. He finally connected a gaze with those sparkling blue eyes. "Pippor, there's a reason why nobody goes near the institute, and why the police are scared to look me in the eye, and why wolves are in English woods."

Pip shrank under Krey's intense stare. "Why?" he whispered.

Krey sighed. He doesn't trust me enough. He stood from the bench. "We should go somewhere warm. You look cold."

Pip's teeth had started to chatter. Krey took the lead down the hill. Pip watched the back of him for a moment before hurrying in his footsteps indented in the snow. His legs were stiff from the cold, and he slipped almost immediately.

Krey turned to see Pip on his back. "What's up with your balance?" he asked, pulling the human to his feet.

"I-If you can find it, ask it for me," Pip said, smiling wide and brushing the snow from his coat. His side hurt from when Mark kicked him. Pip didn't want to show the pain on his face. He didn't want Krey to worry.

He makes jokes, Krey thought. At least Krey had a mate with a sense of humour. Maybe Pip could one day remind Krey that laughing is good for the soul.

They walked the rest of the way, hand in hand.

Crescent Town was quieter when they reached the bottom of the hill. The snow was thicker, and everyone was being sensible and staying indoors with the warmth.

"Is the café open?" Krey asked.

Pip struggled to fold the many layers over his watch. "It closes in an hour."

"Time for a hot drink," Krey said as Pip tugged the bobble hat from his pocket and pulled it over his ears. Cute, Krey thought.

The boys were about to hold hands again until they heard fast crunching of footsteps in the snow. Krey was first to turn around.

A woman stormed up to them with folded arms and a furious frown. "Pippor Monty," she hissed.

Pip jumped and spun so fast he almost fell over again. His aunt stood in front of him, and Pip realised they were near his house. Everything looked different in the snow.

"I've been calling and calling. What is the point of having that damn phone if you're not going to use it?" Her voice was painfully loud in the quiet street.

Pip glanced around. "S-Sorry, I've been-"

"I don't care where you've been. I only care about you getting home right now. Your laundry has been sitting in the kitchen for days."

Pip's cheeks flushed from embarrassment. He dared to look at Krey, expecting him to be equally as embarrassed. Krey stared at his aunt with a face as blank as the snow, but eyes as hard as the ground underneath it.

Pip was having a nice time. He didn't want to go home.

"I said now Pippor," his aunt yelled. Without so much as a flutter of the lashes in Krey's direction, she turned and stormed back towards the house.

"Sorry Krey," Pip muffled and started following her footsteps until a hand grabbed his arm.

As Pip turned, a warm and large body engulfed him. Strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling their bodies together. Pip held Krey's waist and rested the side of his face against his chest.

Pip's heart fluttered because he felt Krey's heart thumping fast.

Krey hugged him tight for as long as he could without getting Pip into more trouble. As usual, he soaked in all of Pip's qualities: scent, the way Pip's hands held his waist, and the way his face felt against his chest.

Krey moved his mouth to Pip's ear and whispered, "Your aunt is a bitch."

Pip pursed his lips. Even Krey's eyes shone with amusement. "She really is," Pip whispered, and a small laughter escaped.

Krey hoped he never forgot the sound.

"Pippor!" his aunt yelled from the gate.

Krey glared, but she was too far to see it.

"I'm sorry for cutting the date short."

"It's not your fault," Krey said, noting how Pip apologised on behalf of others too much. "We can continue it another day."

Pip nodded and started edging away when his aunt yelled his name. Krey wanted to kiss him again, but he missed the opportunity.

"I-I'll text you?" Pip asked.

Krey nodded.

They waved goodbye to each other before Pip turned and ran to his house. His aunt pushed him through the gate and down the path to the front door. She looked back to Krey before entering.

Krey could have sworn her stare was a look of disapproval. The feeling's mutual.

Not long after the door shut behind her, Francis joined him on the street corner. "She seems... awful," Francis said, shaking the snow from her dreadlocks.

"Yeah," Krey agreed, hoping she wasn't like that to Pip every day. Though she had been unkind to Pip both of the times they bumped into her.

"Are we going home, Alpha?"

"Yes. Are you ready for more whispers?"

Francis sighed. "Not really."

"I'll tell them we're not mates soon. They won't call us liars because I've said nothing about it. I just need to gain Pip's trust."

"He looked like he trusted you enough at the top of that hill," Francis smirked.

Krey scowled, and her smirk vanished as soon as it came.

"Alpha," Francis said as they reached the woods. "Pip is a really sweet guy. I think he'll learn to understand and love the wolf side of you."

"I don't know," Krey mumbled. "His fear for the wolf... I don't want to see him ever look at me with so much terror again."

"The more he sees your wolf, the more he'll get used to it. This bond is going to be hard for you Krey; it always is with human mates."

The finally stopped in a good area to shift to their animal forms. "Do you really think Pip would accept that part of me?"

"I think one day, Pippor Monty will love every part of you, especially your wolf."

Krey had started to count on Francis for making his stresses a little lighter. Is this what having a good beta wolf feels like? Though Francis was only an Omega. Krey would switch her out with Jordan in a heartbeat if he could.

"We don't have to walk in together," Krey said. "I know you dislike the stares and-"

"Alpha, it's an honour to be speaking to you, let alone walking by your side. I can deal with stares and the whispers if it's easier on you."

There has to be a way to make her my Beta, Krey thought. He stood tall and nodded. "Thank you, Francis."

Francis waited until Krey crouched to shift before she beamed from ear to ear. Krey had made her day with a simple thank you. No Alpha had ever been so kind, apart from Krey's father.

Their run back to the institute was fun and a way for Krey to completely relax before he faced his pack. Once shifted back to their human forms, they stood together, waiting for the gate to open.

One of the guards stared at Francis like she wasn't worthy to even be living in the institute. He had stared at her that way before, but this time, Krey noticed.

"Is there a fucking problem?" Krey growled. The guard froze and quickly diverted his eyes.

Francis bit hard on the inside of her lip to keep a straight face.

They marched in together. Krey would have fallen back into his usual bad mood, but all he could think about was how soft Pip's lips felt against his own. His insides were giddy every time he thought about the kiss and the snow and the location, and how Pip was just as eager share the affection.

Krey couldn't have asked for a more perfect first kiss with Pip.

He looked forward to many more.