Chapter 49

Pip sat in the middle of Krey's large bed and flicked the pages to numbers 111. "Human mates," he read aloud. "The bond, and what you should expect." Pip crossed his legs and hunched over the pages. "After you have the dream, it's likely you will know if your mate is human by where they are in the dream, what they are doing, and what they look like." Pip realised that the book was written for a werewolf's perspective. Krey must have known, he thought. Every werewolf is bigger than me.

He flicked through a few pages, stopping on one subtitled 'How your human will be affected'.

"The bond is typically made for werewolves, so humans are more affected in the early stages, as well as after the bond is connected." Pip frowned, wondering if his bond with Krey was connected or not. "The longer you wait to connect the bond, the sicker the human will feel. Symptoms vary depending on how long you wait to connect. Early symptoms range from a common cold to a bad flu. Do not leave your human sick for too long or the symptoms will worsen. It takes typically four months for an unconnected bond to kill a human. If you have to wait to connect, keep your human's health in mind."

Pip now understood why he hadn't felt great for the past few weeks. His symptoms were weak, but the thought of them getting worse and worse made him want to connect the bond immediately. "How do I do that?" he asked out loud, skimming through the pages. "Make sure your human is fond of your wolf to protect the bond," he read. "To connect the bond between a werewolf and a human, your human must hug your wolf for at least sixty seconds. If your human is scared, the bond will not complete."

Pip thought of the wolf he had seen in the woods. He thought about the size of the claws digging into the earth, and the size of the sharp teeth, and the way it snarled at Mark and his idiot friends.

Pip shivered. It's not an it. That wolf was Krey.

Pip checked his watch. Krey had been gone for ten minutes. He didn't know why he had gone, or where he had gone, or how long he would be gone.

Pip had never met anyone like Krey, and that wasn't because he was a werewolf. Krey was a bitter person, cruel, snappy, prickly, and didn't care much for other people's feelings. However, he could be kind and considerate. Krey had a dry sense of humour, and eyes that did all the talking.

Pip had a strong feeling that Krey wasn't used to being nice. Now that Krey had a soulmate, he cared deeply about Pip and his happiness. Pip also assumed that Krey wasn't fond of humans, so having to allow one into his private life was hard too.

Yes, Pip's life had change dramatically, but so had Krey's life.

They were both overwhelmed. One dealt with it, the other ignored it until he was fit to burst.

Pip sighed and hoped Krey would be back soon, so they had enough time to talk about how Krey was really feeling before they went to the annual meeting.

He returned his attention to the book, wondering what other topics the book covered. He pondered on whether there were any differences between two werewolf mates and a werewolf with a human mate.

"I bet werewolves don't get sick." Pip swallowed, feeling his sore throat. In order to feel better, he had to hug Krey's wolf and not be terrified. If they didn't connect the bond, Pip's health would deteriorate.

Pip thought back to the wolves tearing around the field. Even from a window on the third floor, Pip was anxious.

He would need a lot of courage to get so comfortable with one of those massive wolves to be within ten metres, never mind close enough to hug one.

Pip flicked through more pages. If Pip read the book a few weeks ago, he would have assumed it was an add-on from a fiction novel. Now, he read about werewolf mates and believed every word.

"Madness," Pip mumbled and hunched over the pages again when something sparked his interest. "A human may not understand that you feel the affect of the bond straight away. To keep your human comfortable, be tough on yourself. Do not overwhelm them with your wolfly desires. Remember, to connect a bond, you need a happy human." Pip smiled. The book talked about humans as though they were small, cute, and vulnerable creatures. Compared to werewolves, Pip was exactly that.

He returned to the front of the book to scan the index, but a knock on the door stopped him in his tracks.

Pip stared at the door with a thumping heart. "Who-Who is it?" he asked, staring at the lock he had forgotten to use.

"Just Francis," a voice replied.

Pip relaxed. "Come in."

Francis entered with a smile. "I saw Krey stomping round the field. I just wanted to check on you and ask what you would like to wear tonight. I'm about to go to the town." She turned towards the window, still covered with a plastic sheet.

Pip saw the black rose hairband she had used to tie up two of her dreadlocks around the back of her head, keeping the rest neatly together. He eyed the wolf stitched to the back of her purple denim Jacket. He had seen the jacket before, assuming Francis wore it before he knew about werewolves. Pip had overlooked the werewolf signs. "Um, I don't really know what to wear."

"I thought you might say that, so I thought about just getting you some smart jeans, a shirt, and a blazer. I'm guessing you're a size small in everything?"

Pip nodded. He would have liked to choose his own clothes, but his clothes wouldn't matter in a room full of werewolves. They would know he was a human by his height, and scent, and probably smell is nerves like Krey. Pip wondered if he would be the only human there, or if human mates were a normal thing.

"Do you have a mate?" Pip asked.

"Not a mate, no," Francis replied. "Only Alpha's have that luxury, but that just means we could be bonded to an Alpha between our ages of eighteen and twenty-three. I'm twenty-six, so that opportunity passed me by."

"I see." Pip pursed his lips with a small frown. He looked down to the book still in his hands. For a moment, his nose throbbed, and he remembered it was injured.

"You're nervous about tonight," Francis said, stepping closer to the bed. "I don't think Krey wants to go, so I'm sure you won't stay long. Are you feeling okay after-"

The bedroom door flung open, moving fast on its hinges, crashing against the wall. Pip jumped and pressed the book to his chest. He still sat in the middle of the bed. If he were stood, he might have jumped a foot in the air.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" Krey asked, so deep it half sounded like a growl. He glared at Francis.

"Um, I just needed to-"

"I don't actually care. Next time ask me, your fucking Alpha. Now piss off," Krey seethed through gritted teeth.

Francis didn't hang around. Pip watched her scurry away as quickly as she could. Krey slammed the door behind her and stormed through the room. He entered the bathroom and slammed that door too.

Pip sat awkwardly on the bed, barely wanting to breathe. Krey was rather terrifying when mad. Pip shivered and waited, and waited, and waited.

After ten minutes of deathly silence, Pip shuffled up the bed and slotted his legs under the duvet, pulling it up to his waist. He sat with his back against the headboard and looked at the cover of the book he gripped tight enough to numb the ends of his fingers. The hard cover was bound in leather and a wolf's head was imprinted into the cover. No title was needed. Pip guessed that he was one of the small amounts of humans to hold the book.

His eyes flicked to the black bedroom door when he heard movement. Krey stormed into the room, still scowling and not looking in Pip's direction, which was hard because the bed was directly opposite. Krey moved to the bedroom door without a word.

Pip didn't want him to leave again, not when he had no idea what was going on. "Krey," he said before the big werewolf disappeared in a rage.

Krey paused. With his back to Pip, he turned his head slightly.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," Krey mumbled.

Pip could see him clenching his jaw. Now is the time to be brave, Pip thought and pulled back the right side of the duvet. "Come here."

Krey turned his head more. Their eyes connected. Some would say that Krey's eyes were as hard as glass and could be as sharp if broken. Pip saw how thin that glass could be, because they shattered at first glance.

Without a word, Krey moved to the bed, slipped off his shoes, and slotted himself under the duvet. He pushed himself as close to Pip as humanly possible and pulled the duvet up over his head. His arm coiled around Pip's waist. Krey buried his head into the side of Pip's waist and laid still, as if he had all the time in the world to lie in bed.

Pip looked down to his black hair peeking from the top of the duvet, then to the leather-bound book.

He put the book aside and shifted down the bed until their heads were level. He laid on his side and pulled the duvet over his head too. Krey's arm was still around him, and tightened when Pip laid so close, their noses touched.

Darkness under the duvet hid their expressions. Pip wanted to see if Krey's eyes were still fragile. They were mates, maybe he could feel Krey's despair if he concentrated hard enough.

"What's wrong?" Pip whispered. His breath brushed Krey's mouth.

"Nothing," Krey grumbled. His deep voice sounded more toned than usual.

Pip tried to see his brown eyes through the darkness. Krey's hand on his back gripped his hoodie. Pip brushed his nose lightly against the tip of Krey's nose and whispered, "I don't have to be your mate to know that you're lying." Under the covers, Pip lifted a hand and placed it on Krey's hot neck. He felt his pulse spike. Pip traced a thumb back and forth along his jaw. "Please let me help you," he whispered, snuggling a little closer.