Chapter 30

The next morning, Krey waited outside of Pip's house, hoping he decided to go back to college. Francis watched from the woods. He could feel her eyes on him, but he couldn't see her.

Krey rubbed his hands together. The snow was already starting to melt, but the air was still bitter.

He checked his watch a few times, tapping his fingers on the crumbling front garden wall. Bricks had fallen off in multiple areas. The metal garden fence, no higher than Krey's waist was rusty and bent.

The front of Pip's house needed new paint, and the path leading to the green front door was uneven.

When the time comes to persuade Pip to live in the packhouse, Krey might not have a hard time convincing Pip.

He rechecked the time. At exactly 8:30 am, the front door opened. Pip tumbled onto the path with his bag in one hand, and his other arm trying to get through his coat sleeve.

He hasn't slept, Krey thought. Pip's blue eyes were still half-closed and droopy. His brown wavy hair resembled a well-build bird's nest. His cheeks, usually warm and rosy, were pale and probably cold. I've broken him.

Pip hurried down the path, frowning at the ground. He noticed Krey when he reached the gate. Pip jumped almost a foot in the air like the gate had electrocuted him. He didn't stop to hear what Krey had to say and ran back to the front door.

"Wait!" Krey yelled, but the front door shut behind Pip before Krey could get through the gate.

Krey grudgingly dragged his feet back to the woods, hunched over by the weight of his heavy heart.

"It's okay," Francis said, stepping into view. "You can try again later."

* * * * *

Pip ran back to his bedroom and shut the door. He sneaked to his window and peered out at the garden below, then to the woods beyond.

He saw movement, and watched the back of Krey and Francis, walking away from the house.

Pip watched Krey, moving peacefully along the trail Pip had made from years of running.

Krey then stopped and turned. Pip didn't think he would turn and look directly at him, but he did.

"Shit." Pip ducked and sat on the floor by his bed. For a split second, their eyes connected. "He's not going to hurt me," Pip whispered. "He's not going to hurt me. He just wanted to talk like he said in his text. Relax Pip. He's not a rogue dog like the one-" Pip shook his head, not wanting to think about the night his parents died.

Pip waited a few minutes, then peeked outside his window. Krey and Francis were gone, and Pip was now late for college.

He sank back to the floor, rubbing his chest. Pip had struggled to get up. Well, he had barely slept, but under his duvet was warm and safe and held no responsibility. Pip didn't feel well either. Being out in the cold wasn't helping him get better.

* * * * *

The next morning, Krey did the same. He waited outside Pip's house, trying not to pace and draw attention to himself.

Francis was back among the trees, the snow was a little more melted, and the air was a little denser and a little less chilly.

Krey unzipped his black jacket and crossed his arms, watching snow drip from the branches of a nearby tree.

At exactly 8:30 am, the front door opened. This time, Pip didn't tumble down the path. He poked his head from the door, looking at Krey with anxious blue eyes.

He still hasn't slept, Krey thought. "Hi," he said, suddenly a little lost for words.

Pip didn't say anything, but he stepped down onto the path. His yellow puffer jacket was zipped up to his neck. His brown hair curled over the rim of his burgundy bobble hat, and his cheeks were a little pinker than yesterday.

Pip chewed on his bottom lip, and Krey's eyes couldn't help but brush over his dimples.

"We really need to talk," Krey said. Pip didn't move. "I can tell you whatever you need to know." Pip gripped his bag and skimmed his foot in the crack of the concrete path. "What you saw was frightening, but I would never hurt you."

Pip swallowed hard. "I-I have to go to college," he whispered.

"Can we talk after? We can meet in the library where there are other people." Krey was desperate. He would have preferred to meet with Pip alone in the woods, but Pip wouldn't be comfortable with that, especially not when it would be almost dark when Pip finished college.

"I don't know," Pip said, tugging his coat sleeves over his hands. "M-Maybe."

That was good enough for Krey. He stepped back so Pip could leave his front garden.

His mate hurried down the street as fast as he could without breaking into a jog.

"He really is terrified of me," Krey said when Francis once again emerged from her hiding spot.

"Yes, but he won't be when he realises that you're here to love him, not eat him."

* * * * *

I'm meeting up with a werewolf. I'm meeting up with a werewolf. Oh god. Pip stared into space for most of his last lesson. He had a worksheet to do and would typically put his heart and soul into his studies, but Pip had something much more important to think about.

"Pip, can I read your essay for tomorrow's geology class, please? I'll give it back tomorrow morning," a girl asked when their tutor left the room for a moment.

"Pip? Hello?"

Pip was too focused on what the wolf looked like when Krey transformed. It was the same wolf that Pip saw the other day when Mark and his idiot friends chased him through the woods. Pip remembered the ears, one black and one brown.

"Pippor Monty?" A ball of paper bounced off Pip's head.

He looked up to the girl leaning over her desk. "Can I have your geology essay?" she asked, smirking at her friends when Pip blinked in confusing. "You know, the one for tomorrow."

Pip shrank in his seat. "I haven't finished it," he mumbled.

"Why? What else do you do apart from being a nerd?"

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Pip tried the best he could do get more work done, but with everything that was going on, and feeling ill on top of the stresses of Krey made it impossible for Pip to focus.

I'm meeting a werewolf. Pip pinched himself for the twentieth time. He still wasn't dreaming.

When the bell rang for the end of college, three more people asked him to look at his homework on his way to the exit. Each person was equally surprised that Pip hadn't yet done it.

"Well, are you on that Facebook group chat, you know, the one where you smart kids send us your homework," one guy said as Pip stood at the top of the steps. He scanned the street. Krey wasn't waiting for him, neither was Francis, though Pip felt like they were watching him from afar.

"Pippor?"

"Oh," Pip cleared his throat. "I gotta go," he mumbled, to meet a werewolf. He held onto the railing; ice coated the steps.

Pip slipped as soon as he was on the cobbles and very nearly fell onto his back. A few people laughed around him, but Pip wasn't the only one slipping and losing his balance. He decided to stare extra hard at the ground on his way to the library.

Pip thought about going home, but what was the point? Krey was obviously very eager to talk. Pip would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued to hear what he had to say. That thought was progress compared to a few days ago.

The library, usually a welcoming sight, ignited Pip's anxiety. Would Krey be waiting inside? Would he let Pip settle and stare at the door every few minutes until he arrived? Pip stopped by the base of the steps. He could just go home and ignore Krey until he left him alone.

Pip sighed. He had kissed Krey, quite passionately, the night he saw him change in the woods. Pip liked him. The least he could do was let Krey explain. Pip hoped with all his heart that Krey wasn't using him, but he couldn't understand why someone like Krey, a werewolf, would care so much about a puny human.

Come on, he thought. Just get it over and done with.

Pip climbed the steps. The warmth on his skin was pleasant as he entered reception. The librarians smiled and waved at Pip, and one even asked if he was feeling alright. Pip knew he looked sick because of his lack of sleep.

"It's just a cold," Pip said, though his symptoms were starting to feel a little worse.

Pip stopped outside the door to the central part of the library. He wished the wooden door had a window, so he could see if Krey and Francis were sitting at his usual spot on the couches.

Pip took a deep breath and hesitated.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he finally pushed the door open.

Not many people sat in the central part of the library. Not many people visited the library at all.

Krey sat where Pip would usually sit, twiddling his thumbs, bouncing his leg, and looking at the floor with his ferocious scowl.

He looks just as tired as me. Krey glanced up before Pip had even stepped into the room. His scowl softened, and his brown eyes sank with worry. He's just as anxious as me.

Pip didn't want to hover for too long in case the two other people in the room noticed, though they all had faces buried into books.

Pip approached the couch slowly, expecting to see Francis in the armchair opposite.

Krey had come alone.

Pip thought about sitting on the armchair, but whenever he tried to talk about the institute, Krey spoke in hushed voices, or not at all. They would have to murmur about what happened the other night, so Pip sat on the couch and put his bag by his feet.

Krey watched him, barely even blinking. "Hi," Krey said for the second time that day.

"Hi," Pip whispered, chewing on the inside of his lip until it stung.

The silence was awkward. Pip had no idea what to say. Neither did Krey.

Pip soon worried that Krey wouldn't say anything, until he asked, "do you understand what you saw the other night?"

Pip was sure about one thing. "I saw you change into a wolf."

Krey looked around carefully and nobody looked up. Luckily, Pip's voice was always quiet. He leaned a little closer. Krey's deep voice travelled far. "So, you know what rumour about the institute is true, then?"

Pip slowly nodded his head to say yes. Krey wore a different jacket today, though it was still black, and had a small wolf's head embroidered onto the left side of his chest. "Werewolves," Pip whispered.

He knew what he saw, and nobody could convince him that what he saw was fake, not again.