Chapter 29

Pip barely slept. When he did, nightmares of Krey being a half-wolf, half-human, chasing him through the dark woods woke him in a cold sweat.

Every time Pip fell back to sleep, he dove into the same nightmare.

At four in the morning, he decided to sit by his windowsill and wait for the sun.

The worst part about his nightmare was waking up and remembering that Krey, the wolf-human thing, was real.

His alarm went off at 7:30 am. Pip was far too tired and too lost in his mind to even think about going to college. His aunt nearly dragged him out of his bedroom until Pip started crying and pleading for her to leave him alone.

Pip didn't feel well either. His head hurt, his throat was sore, his nose was blocked, and his temperature was temperamental for most of the morning.

When lunchtime arrived, and Pip thought about surfacing from under his duvet to make soup, someone sent him a text.

The hairs on the back of Pip's neck stood on end.

His phone was on the bedside table. Pip popped his head from underneath his duvet. The cold air of his bedroom wasn't welcoming, but he wasn't allowed to turn the heating on during the day.

Pip hugged his hot water bottle and reached for his phone.

Krey had texted him.

Pip quickly pressed his phone into the duvet and closed his eyes. At first, he thought about deleting it and blocking Krey's number.

"There's no need to be extreme here," Pip whispered. "I liked him enough before he..." Pip shook his head.

He took a breath and opened the message.

"Pip, can we meet soon to talk?"

For such a simple message, Pip couldn't decide on an answer, not yet. He turned his phone off, shoved it into the drawer, and sank back under the duvet.

* * * * *

Krey had waited all day for a response from Pip. His mate had read the message, but not replied. Krey decided that no response was better than rejection.

He paced outside his dad's old office, occasionally looking at his father's name on the door. Roden Graymer.

Krey needed an office. He couldn't keep hiding in his bedroom, but he couldn't find the courage to open the door to the office. The last person to be inside was his father when he was still alive.

Krey's mother locked the door and kept the key on her windowsill for months, unable to look too.

Krey wanted to go and get her, so they could look inside and be sad together, but he didn't want her to see him upset.

Krey missed the times when he would storm into the office and yell at his father about pointless things. His dad would always listen and offer a rational solution to his problems. Krey had loved his father a lot, but never told him, and that hurt Krey so much.

If only Pip were here, Krey thought. Pip made Krey's life a little less tragic, but now he didn't even want to speak through text, never mind face to face.

Francis had been watching Pip's house, and she said that Pip never went to college. Judging by how much Pip studied in the library, Krey knew just how much Pip was struggling to deal with what he saw. Skipping an entire day of college was a big move for his mate.

I've fucked everything up. I should've seen this coming.

Krey squeezed the key to his father's office until the metal hurt his palm. He decided that today wasn't the day to dive into his sorrows and marched back down the corridor, staring in disgust at the ugly patterned wallpaper.

Krey hated the dated décor. The wooden floors were creaky and lifted in some areas. The noisy patterns on the wall gave him a headache. Downstairs, some of the walls were yellow and hurt Krey's eyes when the sun shone on them, and the walls, apart from the patterns, were too empty and needed photographs or art or something. The lighting down the corridors was tiring and dim.

Sometimes, Krey didn't even want to be inside the packhouse because of the way it made him feel. If Krey were ever to adopt his Alpha duties, redecorating the Crescent Pack building would be first on his list.

Werewolves spent a lot of their time in packhouses. If the buildings weren't good places to be, werewolves got restless, and restless wolves were trouble.

Pip would hate this place, Krey thought glumly. There's no library.

When he was back in his bedroom, Krey started to overthink. He paced back and forth, gripping the front of his hair as he thought about Pip's horrified expression.

Why didn't I walk further away?

Krey stormed towards his bathroom.

I should have shifted back and ran after him.

Krey stormed towards the window.

Why didn't I just stay in my human form? Why am I such a stupid fucking-

Three knocks on his door dragged him from his silent scolding. Krey almost ripped the door from the hinges; he flung it open so harshly.

Jordan jumped back when Krey stepped into the corridor, agitated. Krey felt aching in his fingers as his claws begged to be free. He was angry enough for his red eyes to show, but he didn't care.

"You asked to talk to me, Alpha," Jordan said timidly.

"Yeah, five hours ago." Krey wasn't much taller than Jordan, but he was built bigger, and his presence was a lot more intimidating. Krey snapped at unpredictable moments, making those around him always on edge.

Krey wanted to speak to Jordan to tell him to step down from his Beta position, but now Krey had other things on his mind. "Get Francis," he demanded. Krey wanted someone to rant to, and Francis proved that she listened, and cared what he had to say.

"The Omega?" Jordan asked.

"You know who she is. Tell her to get here, now," Krey growled, satisfied when Jordan struggled to look him in the eyes.

"If there's a problem. I'm your Beta and you can-"

"You can help by getting Francis!" Krey yelled. His deep voice projected down the corridor. Krey heard his mother's bedroom door open.

Krey stepped back inside his own room and slammed the door. He listened to Jordan's footsteps walking away, then new ones approaching. He smelt his mother, not Francis.

Krey leant against the door so she couldn't enter. "Not now," he muttered. "Go and suffocate someone else."

Makena sighed and walked off. Krey couldn't feel guilty, not when he was so stressed about his situation with Pip.

Francis soon approached, and Krey practically yanked her inside.

"Are you okay, Alpha?" Francis asked, clearly uncomfortable to be in his bedroom. Being in his quarters was rare enough.

Krey flexed his fingers open and closed. "You should have said more to Pip yesterday," Krey snapped. Francis stayed close to the door. Krey wasn't kind when he was angry. "You should have seen him coming through the snow. Why the hell didn't you see him coming? It's ruined everything! He's petrified of me! He won't even reply to my stupid fucking text!" Krey flung his phone across the room. "What if he never wants to see me again and my wolf just... just goes away?"

Krey thought about kicking the wall.

Francis stood still with her fingers connected. Her green eyes followed him back and forth. "Alpha, please sit down," she said as calmly as she could.

Krey threw himself into his desk chair.

"I know what will fix the situation," Francis said. Krey looked ready to burst into flames. "Time, Alpha. Pip just needs time, and then I'm sure he'll have lots of questions."

"What if he doesn't?"

"He will. He's a curious human. And you're mates. Pip will be drawn back to you no matter what."

Krey bounced his leg up and down. "What if he doesn't want to speak to me for weeks? I can't handle that."

"Then you must," Francis insisted. "A few weeks is nothing compared to the rest of your lives."

Francis made good points, but Krey refused to admit it. "This is so fucked up."

"Maybe, but this was going to happen eventually." Francis sighed when Krey looked frustrated. "Is there anything I can do to help? I can text Pip?"

"And say what? Sorry, you saw Krey shift into an animal. I'm part wolf too. Let's study soon."

Francis, feeling a little less tense now that Krey stayed in one place, sat by Krey's windowsill. "I can tell him that the way he reacted was normal and that it's okay to feel like his world has turned upside down. I can ask him if he has questions and when he's ready, it's okay for him to ask us whatever he wants to know."

Krey shook his head. "I should be the one to say that, and I should say it face to face... tomorrow."

"Alpha-"

"I'm not waiting a week. I'm going to try and see him every day, whatever it takes." He could tell Francis wanted to argue.

She held her sharp tongue and nodded. "Let me know when you're going, and I'll be your back up."

Krey turned on his chair to face the wall. He glared at the large map of England with pins all over the place. Each Pin represented an enemy. Krey had far too many.

If anyone other than Francis found out that Pip was his mate while Pip was still unguarded and living in Crescent Town, each one of his enemies would hunt Pip down.

Krey had to plan to get Pip in the institute as quickly as possible.

"What if he doesn't want to live here?" Krey chucked his pen at the wall. "He has no choice. I took that away from him."

"Alpha, you didn't choose him. You're both not at fault here."

Krey was far too quick to blame himself for everything. He was used to being way too hard himself. "Pip won't want this life."

"You don't know that."

"Don't I?"

"No, Alpha, you don't. Pip likes you. He just didn't expect you to be a werewolf, which is completely understandable." Francis kept trying to calm Krey's thoughts. "You're overthinking this. Pip just needs to get used to what he saw yesterday."

Krey tensed his jaw, staring at Francis until she shifted awkwardly on the windowsill. "And if he doesn't?"

"He will."

"He won't."

Francis puffed out an exasperated sigh. "Stop being so pessimistic."

"I was born pessimistic."

"I don't doubt that at all." Francis stood up. The belled bracelets on her wrists jingled. "You haven't slept or eaten. I'll bring you some coffee and food, and then we can talk more about this if it'll make you feel better?"

Krey scowled at his phone, lying with a smashed screen in the corner of his room. "What is there to talk about? Pip hates me."

"Hate is a strong word," Francis said and rolled her eyes when she left his room. Talking to Krey was a challenge. He was stubborn, convinced his way was the right way, and unable to listen with an open mind.

Francis was almost eight years older than Krey. She joined Crescent pack nine years ago when Krey was only ten years old. He had been impossible back then. Francis had never met a naughtier kid or a kid who was more misunderstood. Nobody had the time to look through Krey's short fuse.

The only difference now was that Krey had no higher authority telling him what was right or wrong. Still, he was old enough to understand that hurting someone was bad. Krey ruled on anger and dominance. Francis believed that Pip was Krey's saviour. Without Pip, Krey would run the most powerful pack in England into the ground.

Francis didn't want to see Krey's self-destructive behaviour any longer.