Chapter 48

Pip had managed to calm himself by the time they moved from the field and towards the canteen. Krey had put his t-shirt back on, but walked so closely behind Pip, he felt Krey's chest occasionally touching the back of his head.

"I'll go for a shower," Krey said, stopping by the doors to the canteen. Makena glanced around when they stopped. Krey scowled at her, so she left them to talk by themselves. Well, without her prying ears. Other werewolves poured in through the corridor too, hungry after training. "You can either sit with mum and Francis or come with me and wait in the bedroom."

Pip wanted to go with Krey, but he feared he would miss the chance to make friends or be comfortable around everyone if he glued himself to Krey's side. I'm not a weak human, Pip thought, stepping away. "I-I'll sit with your mum and Francis."

Krey stood tall, seeming impressed. "I won't be long."

"Oh wait," Pip grabbed his arm. His skin was hot. "Um," Pip rolled back and forth on his heels. "I can't remember your mum's name."

Krey put his hands behind his back and turned them to fists to stop himself from dragging Pip back to the bedroom. Pip's cuteness was getting harder to simply observe, and not devour Pip in kisses.

Krey glanced down the corridor. Most of the werewolves filtered down the hall or into the canteen, so Krey stepped closer. He leaned down and said, "her name's Makena."

"Makena," Pip repeated, smiling with rosy cheeks.

Krey looked around his face and moved close for a kiss. At the same time, pip stepped back.

"Oh," Pip chuckled. His rosy cheeks darkened. "S-Sorry, I um, I didn't um-" Pip jumped closer when Krey started to stand up straighter. Pip grabbed Krey's cheeks and caught his lips before they were too high to reach.

Pip kissed him once, then awkwardly backed away, chuckling nervously as the blush spread across his entire face. "I'll go and, and um, get breakfast now." Pip quickly spun and hurried through the double doors.

Krey stood still, watching the door wobble back and forth with the tingle of Pip still lingering on his lips.

Don't smile, don't smile, fuck.

Krey hurried down the corridor. The stairs were empty, but he still covered his mouth. He stormed up them two at a time. Why is he so fucking cute?

Krey climbed and climbed until he reached the third floor. He did his best to scowl at the guard and sauntered the rest of the way to his bedroom.

Krey slammed the door behind him and leaned against the coats hanging on the back of the door.

Alone, and free to show whatever emotion he pleased, he thought of Pip and his blush and the way he grabbed his cheeks for a kiss.

Krey peeled himself from the door and on his way the bathroom, he smiled and shook his head. "That boy," he mumbled.

* * * * *

Pip sat with Makena and Sid and Francis. He wasn't very hungry, but Francis had gotten him a cup of tea and a yoghurt. He was grateful enough to eat and sip the tea, though Pip had a hard time concentrating.

He kept thinking of Krey and checking the door whenever someone entered.

"So," Makena said pushing her empty plate aside. "Pippor. Do you have anything smart to wear for the annual meeting?"

"Um..." Pip glanced to Francis. "N-Not really." He didn't want to say that he barely owned any clothes, never mind a shirt and smart trousers.

"Krey asked me to go into Crescent Town to pick up some things for you, Pip," Francis said. "I'll talk to you about it before I go."

Pip noticed that Makena looked at Francis as though the sound of her voice irritated her. Makena's annoyance was mild, but Pip was used to spotting tiny emotions on other people's faces. Most of the time, he was basically invisible, and nobody acknowledged him staring.

"Thank you, Francis," Pip said, taking another sip of his tea and looking towards the door again.

This time, Krey entered and the entire hall quickly stood up.

Pip, in a panic, tried to stand when Sid and Francis stood, but Francis quickly pushed him down. "Not you," she chuckled.

Krey's frown turned to a glare as he sulked to the table.

Pip noticed that despite Krey being very dominant, he hated the attention and would rather slink into the shadows any chance he got. Another thing we have in common, Pip thought.

"Alpha," Sid said, jumping at the opportunity to get Krey's breakfast. Sid lowered his head and hurried off as Krey sat next to Pip, immediately putting his arm on the back of pip's chair.

"Krey, we're leaving at seven tonight to go to the annual meeting." Makena stared as though her words meant something only Krey would understand.

They usually travelled to the annual meeting as wolves. However, this year, Makena no longer had her wolf. "How are you getting there?" he asked.

"What do you mean how-" Makena paused. The realisation flooded her face. Just for a moment, she had forgotten.

Tears pooled her eyes and she excused herself from the table.

Krey's blank face followed her through the canteen. His face might have looked stone cold, but his heart ached for her. He couldn't imagine being in her position. Krey looked down to Pip. He prayed he never was in her position.

The thought of having an empty void where his wolf was made him shiver. "Francis, arrange a car to take us to the meeting tonight," Krey ordered.

Francis nodded, pleased to be asked to help. She hurried away as Sid returned with Krey's breakfast. Sid then left too, and Pip and Krey sat alone with each other in a room full of werewolves.

The chatter was loud, and still, people stared at them. Krey was starting to get irritated by the looks and the whispers. If it continued through lunch, he would snap.

"So, um, what is an annual meeting? I mean, what do you talk about?" Pip asked, curling his fingers around his warm mug.

"I don't know why it's called a meeting. It's basically a gathering where we just discuss the year." Krey wasn't looking forwards to showing his face. In Krey's eyes, he had fucked up massively, and everyone at the gathering knew his father's death was Krey's fault. "I still don't want to go, but my mum's right. I can't skip it."

By going to the annual meeting, Krey was loudly telling everyone that nothing could shake him, no southern wolves, no fear of losing his allies, no deaths. Even if Krey was a mess and successfully running the pack into the ground because of losing his father, his allies wouldn't know that.

Going to the annual meeting will prove that Krey had taken responsibility for his mistakes, and was trying to fix what he had broken, though nothing would ever bring Krey's father back, and that was a nightmare he had to live with for the rest of his life.

"Will I have to t-talk to a lot of people at the meeting?" Pip asked.

"Not if you don't want to."

"Will you have to talk to people?"

"Not if I don't want to." Krey looked at Pip's bruised nose. "We can find a quiet corner and just talk to each other. That would probably make it the best meeting I've been to."

Pip beamed until his cheeks hurt. "Okay."

Krey then mulled over Pip's yellow coat. He lightly tugged on the zip. "We'll have to get you something to wear for tonight."

"What did your mum mean by smart?"

"Replace your hoodies with a blazer or something. Francis will find something for you."

Pip would prefer to pick his own clothes. He assumed they weren't going themselves because the town wasn't safe.

Pip looked around, making too much eye contact for his liking. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" Pip's eyes were comfortable on Krey. He didn't mind looking at him, and he didn't mind Krey looking back. His oak eyes, intense and often made Pip shy, but Pip liked the glimmer of fondness he saw whenever the brown flicked his way.

Krey looked around too, disgruntled and wanting to yell at everyone to lower their eyes. "Want a tour or something?" he mumbled.

"Sure." Pip glanced around again. He wanted to retreat to the comfort of Krey's bedroom. He wondered if any of the werewolves didn't like being among a human. There were horrible humans in the world. Surely, there would be more than one horrible werewolf. The good always outweighs the bad, stop it. Pip cut his thoughts short before they made him anxious. "Is it mostly just bedrooms?" he asked. "I-In the institute?"

Krey nodded. "No library, unfortunately."

Pip suddenly missed the librarians, and the little couch he sat on nearly every day in the central part of the building. Pip wasn't sure when he would next see the library. The thought made him a little sad. Stop it, he thought.

"Maybe we can make one," Krey grumbled before gulping his coffee. "The attic is big enough to store a million books."

Pip smiled at the idea, though he doubted it would happen. He liked how Krey tried to cheer him up. Pip noticed that Krey often tore everyone down, even himself. But not Pip. Krey was like a different person around him, a more emotional person, more human.

Well, Krey was different when they were alone. In a room full of other people, Krey was mostly moody.

The longer they sat in the canteen, the more rigid and snappy Krey became. Sid approached him twice with questions about security. Krey, twice, had told him to fuck off.

When they left the canteen, Krey was scowling at everyone and everything. His mood changed fast. Pip wasn't sure if he dared to ask what was wrong with him.

Krey's lack of empathy was clear when Krey told Pip about how he treated the mates of others. Still, Pip was determined for Krey to be more in touch with his kinder side.

Pip jogged to keep up with Krey's long strides. When they reached the stairs, Krey stormed up them two at a time.

"Can you slow down a little," Pip breathed, out of breath when he reached the first floor.

"No." Krey continued to march up and up.

Pip ran after him up the stairs, suddenly going over their conversation, fearing he had said something to annoy him.

"Krey," Pip panted as they reached the third floor. "A-Are you... are you not giving me... a tour?"

Krey turned, and for a split second, Pip saw guilt behind his eyes. "I'm not in the mood. Go in the room. I'll be back later."

Pip was beyond confused when Krey stormed back through the door and down the stairs. He watched until he no longer heard Krey's footsteps. He looked left down the corridor to Krey's black bedroom door.

Makena's door was slightly ajar. She sat on her chair, staring at Pip with a knowing frown. Makena approached the door with a sigh. "He's not angry at you. He's angry at the world. Give him half an hour, it'll pass."

She turned but Pip asked, "M-Makena, Um, can mates upset each other?" Pip fidgeted with the ends of his sleeves. His brows knitted together to form a cluster of worried lines between his eyes.

Makena tilted her head and crossed her arms. She wore a black long-sleeved top with knitted wolves' heads at the end of each sleeve. "Krey has a temper, a bad one. Nobody really knows what's going on in his head. After his father died, he's a lot more unpredictable. He'll change when you think everything is fine and happy because he's still grieving hard, as am I. And I think he's always obsessing over what happened in his head, even when he seems calm." Makena smiled sadly. "Maybe he'll open up to you about this. In fact, I know he'll open up to you about this anger issue of his. You're mates. You'll know each other inside and out. And Pip, don't beat yourself up about the way my son is acting. Demons are on his tail. Only he can see them chasing him. Just be there with a smile when he returns, okay?"

Pip nodded.

"Good." Makena perked up and rubbed her hands together. "Right, I have something for you." She disappeared into her room, only to return with a book. "It's about werewolf mates. Human mates are on page one hundred and eleven."

Pip took the hardback book with glistening blue eyes. "This is really thoughtful of you. T-Thank you so much!" He held the book to his chest with a smile.

Makena studied him quizzically. "Oh, there's a lock on Krey's bedroom door now. My days of walking in to drag Krey out of bed are over. That's your job now." She looked him up and down curiously. "Don't worry, he'll come back with his tail between his legs."

When Makena withdrew to her bedroom, Pip hurried to Krey's room, feeling a little better, especially with a book in his hand.