#i could talk about hours about literally every little thing theo specially young theo does in this episode but this post will have to do

[elizabeth-mitchells]

you know what. i think that to this day still nothing mike flanagan has done has hit quite like episode 3 of hill house

[formerprincess]

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 46

Chapters: 46/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken, Mason Hewitt, Corey Bryant, Nolan (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates, Top Theo Raeken, Bottom Theo Raeken, Top Liam, Bottom Liam Dunbar Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Liam's birthday is celebrated. Theo and Liam learn new things about each other. New connections are made.

Liam’s hand stroked over Theo’s naked back and his blunt nails scratched over the skin while he moaned loudly. Theo replied with a low moan himself right into Liam’s ear. His mate snapped his hips again and his cock pulsed from where it was buried deep inside Liam. 

“Oh, fuck, Theo...” Liam groaned and his fingers trailed over Theo’s spine. Just like Liam’s skin, Theo’s was sweat-slicked and having a decent hold on him was difficult but Liam still needed some kind of grasp while he was fucked so amazingly. Especially now, when his body shook and got pushed closer and closer to his orgasm. 

Theo growled again and then turned his head and kissed Liam’s neck, right over his pulse point. Liam’s heart hammered inside his chest, even more so after this affectionate move, and his nails turned into claws. He lost control in the best ways possible and yet Theo grounded him, reigned him in enough it was pleasurable for both of them. His body above Liam’s, one hand on his hips in a bruising grip, the other closed around Liam’s cock and jerking him off in sync with his own thrusts; all that helped to ground Liam while he lost himself in the amazing universe that was his mate. 

It took another sharp thrust from Theo and a certain flick of his wrist and Liam screamed out the Beta’s name while he orgasmed and came all over Theo’s hand and his own stomach. Theo’s body shuddered and he managed two more thrusts while Liam spasmed around him and then he roared and came inside Liam. Their bodies shook with the force of their orgasms and they both moaned and gasped while they came down from their highs. 

Neither Liam nor Theo cared how sticky they were, too fucked out to care, when Theo collapsed on top of Liam. It had been a great way to start the day for sure. Liam felt Theo’s heartbeat from where their bodies were plastered together and a lazy smile appeared on his face. Even when he felt boneless, he still enjoyed having Theo so close and his wolf preened at the close contact to his mate.  That’s why nobody could blame Liam for the disappointed sigh when Theo pulled out of him and rolled next to Liam to mimic his position and also lay on his back to look at the ceiling after a while. Their shoulders brushed and Liam guessed that was fine as well. Theo was still close to him.  “Birthday sex is great,” Liam said breathlessly and laughed softly. Theo chuckled. “All the sex we have is great,” he countered. Yeah, that was nothing Liam could argue with. Not that he wanted to. “Yep but you know what I meant.”

He leaned against the headboard and turned his head to look at Theo. After the Betas had surprised him shortly after midnight and he unwrapped the gifts, they had eaten cake and then went to bed. When Liam and Theo woke up hours later, it had not taken long for them to heavily make out and roll around in the sheets. That meant Liam had his birthday still in front of him and he was in a great mood. And seeing his boyfriend looking happy and satisfied only increased his good mood. “I love you.” Theo leaned against the headboard as well, looked at Liam and smiled. “I love you too.” To prove it further, he reached over, cupped the side of Liam’s face, and kissed him softly. “Now, why don’t you stay in bed a little bit longer while I take a quick shower and then you take a long hot shower and I prepare your breakfast. Or you stay in bed and I’ll make you breakfast in bed.” “Hm, sounds like you’re planning on spoiling me today,” Liam whispered and pulled Theo into another kiss. Theo returned the kiss but then pulled back to answer him.  “It’s your special day today, you can bet I’m planning on spoiling you. Everything you want to do today, I’m on board.” He leaned over Liam, the young Alpha caged between his arms, and curiously looked at him. “So, what are we doing today?” “Uhm, I don’t have that many plans aside from having drinks with the rest of the core pack tonight. Having a nice breakfast, going for a long run, probably with the dogs, and maybe play some video games, that’s all I can think of at the moment.” Liam shrugged and already when he said those words, he could see Theo didn’t like them. “What now? What did I say?” “Those aren’t special plans.” Theo sounded almost accusingly. 

Liam frowned and sat up fully, forcing Theo to sip up fully as well if he didn’t want them to literally butt heads. “What’s the matter? We didn’t do those many special activities on your birthday as well.” “You surprised me with this little birthday party and we mated. Also, it was Thanksgiving and we were at the lake. That was special itself,” Theo stubbornly replied. “I want you to have a special birthday as well. I owe you that!” “Okay, we need to talk about this.” Liam shook his head. “Theo, we don’t add these things up. We don’t have a I-gave-you-this-present-so-you-need-to-get-me-an-even-bigger-one relationship. It’s not like we reckon up what one gave the other or which things we did on birthdays, anniversaries, or on Christmas, it doesn’t have to be better and more special every year. I don’t care if your presents are self-made or store-bought, it only matters that you care. You guys surprised me with cake and a birthday song and I felt special because of that. This is the most important thing. Gifts are nice, sure, but what matters the most is that the person knows people care about them. No matter what gifts I get or what we do. Okay?”

Theo chewed on his lower lip and stubbornly refused to look at Liam until the younger took his face and turned his head so Theo had to look at him. The raw feelings displayed in the green eyes of his lover made Liam’s stomach flip. “I just want to make sure you have the best birthday. It’s your first birthday as my boyfriend, I wanted this to be extra special.” “It is special. Because I have you with me. And all the others. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself, baby. It will be a great day, even if we just stay home and eat pizza.” Liam pressed his lips to Theo’s in a loving kiss. “Okay?”, he asked afterward and Theo hesitated at first but then nodded.  “Okay.” He kissed Liam again.  "Good.” Liam smiled when they parted again. An idea hit him. “But you know what? Maybe I do want to do something else today. I think I want to go to the zoo.” “The zoo?” Theo looked surprised.  “Yeah. We’ve been living in Seattle for a while but we never visited the zoo. I can’t remember when I last visited a zoo. A normal zoo, where living animals are. Will you go with me? Have a little zoo date? I’m sure this will be fun.” “Hm.” Theo scratched his chin. “It’s not like I could really say no to the Birthday Boy, right?” Liam shook his head. “Nope, you can’t.” He laughed and then got out of bed, extended his hand for Theo to take. “Now, I remember you saying something about showers. I think we should save water and have one together.” He wriggled his fingers and Theo smirked and grabbed the hand. 

****** When they finally made their way downstairs into the kitchen after they showered and got dressed, the Betas were already gathered there and ate their breakfast. They happily greeted Liam and wished him Happy Birthday again and Lori fixed them two plates of eggs and bacon as well. 

“So, Lee, plans for today?” Mason asked curiously and looked over the top of his coffee mug.  “Theo and I just talked about it. I may be twenty now but there is something I haven’t done in a long time. I’d like to visit the zoo today. So, we’re going to the zoo.” “The zoo?” Brett sounded incredulous. “Really?” “Yeah, why not?” Liam saw no problem with that and sipped his orange juice. “The last time I visited a real zoo, with animals and such, was years ago. I think it will be a cool way to spend the day until we go for drinks tonight.”  “I’m not the biggest fan of zoos but I know the zoo here in Seattle does a lot of things to help endangered species, that is good.” Maya chimed in and nodded in approval.  “I think a day at the zoo will be just awesome.” Lori smiled warmly at Liam and Theo and Liam smiled back. Lori had this effect on people, she was honest and kind, you had to like her and smile in her general vicinity.  “I think so too, Lori,” he agreed and then Liam dug into his breakfast, just like Theo did next to him.

After breakfast, the couple only returned to their room to grab their wallets and phones and then Liam slid down the handrail, just because he could. Being twenty didn’t mean he had to act mature all the time. Theo saw it and shook his head with a fond smile on his face.  “Don’t act like you don’t like my childlike side,” Liam called out and grinned. Theo just snorted but the loving look in his eyes gave away how he really felt. He couldn’t fool Liam anymore.  They walked into the garage where Lori, Brett, Tim, and Nolan were waiting for whatever reason. Liam frowned. “Where is my car?” He questioned since only Theo’s car was parked in the garage. The garage door was open so Liam could see his car wasn’t in the driveway either.  “Oh, the others took it since they had to refuel the tank. They’ll meet us there,” Nolan explained and Liam stared at him. “Meet you where?” “At the zoo, silly.” Lori giggled and then climbed into the truck, just like the others.  Liam gripped Theo’s arm when the realization hit him. “Tell me this is not happening,” he ordered his boyfriend and blinked at Theo. “Tell me, please!” Theo just made an apologetic face and raised a shoulder. Of course, he wouldn’t tell Liam this was not happening. He would not lie to Liam. “You have to say something, I’m afraid. It’s your birthday and you’re the Alpha.” He made a hand motion towards the truck but looked as unsure as Liam felt.  Tim poked his head out of the window. “Come on, what are you waiting for?” He retreated back into the car and Liam frowned. “I can’t tell them! Look how excited they are!” He hissed and stared wide-eyed at Theo. “And the others are already on their way to the zoo!” “I know,” Theo said and frowned as well. “Maybe we catch them before we enter the zoo?” “Guys, Mason sent me a text. Traffic was not as bad expected so they are already there. He got tickets for all of us,” Nolan yelled and Liam sighed heavily. Great. “Okay, let’s go,” he muttered defeated and walked to the passenger seat of the truck.

****** Mason had been right, traffic wasn’t that bad and they arrived relatively fast at the zoo. The parking lot wasn’t crowded as well, Liam guessed this was a good sign there wouldn’t be too many people in the zoo. That was something, right? “There are the others.” Brett pointed at the small group next to the pay booth. When Mason spotted them, he waved the tickets in the air.

“You finally made it!” “Yeah, we made it.” Liam was still not sure what to make out of the current situation. It seemingly showed on his face because Mason nudged him. “What happened to your enthusiasm from before? Be happy, we’re at the zoo.” “Oh, I am happy to be at the zoo.” Liam made a face and Mason scoffed. “Could have fooled me. You look like you’re in pain. It was your idea we go to the zoo.” “Really? Was it?” Liam snapped back. “Did I ever utter the words we all go?” Stunned silence. It was Lori who caught up first. “Oh my god. Guys, I think Liam’s we didn’t include the whole pack, more only Theo and him. Oh, I’m so sorry.” She pressed both hands against her mouth in shock. Finally, it clicked for everyone else. “We are really crashing your date right now?” “Yeah, well…” Theo didn’t finish his sentence and just let the end hanging in the air. It was clear what he meant anyway. “Why didn’t you say something? I don’t understand.” Mason shook his head. “When should I have said something? It didn’t occur to me you all were tagging along until we got into the garage. At that point, you had already taken off,” Liam stated matter-of-factly and Mason made a rueful face. “I’m sorry, Lee. Look, we’re leaving you two alone and meet you back at the house later. Have fun at the zoo.” But Liam shook his head. “That’s bullshit, you already bought the tickets. It is what it is now. Let’s all have a fun day at the zoo.” “Okay, we all go but we get out of your hair and let you have some time alone,” Sadie said and prompted her fellow pack mates to nod. Liam sighed. As chaotic as his Betas were, he loved them and could not really be mad at them.

Theo smiled at him and took his hand when they passed the entrance and stepped into the zoo. Right next to the entrance was a big map of the zoo and Liam pulled Theo over to search for the best route to see all animals. “We should go right and then walk this round, so we can circle the whole area.” He pointed at different points on the map while he talked and Theo hummed in confirmation. “If you go right, we go left. Enjoy your date!” Sadie decided for the group and then proceeded to herd the other Betas away from the Alpha couple. Liam watched them leave and sighed. “I’m getting a headache.” “No, puppy, it’s your birthday. You should enjoy it. Come on, there are some monkeys waiting for us.”

Theo simply dragged him into the direction Liam chose for them and Liam let himself be dragged until he finally walked next to Theo and looked around. “But seriously, this pack.” “With how chaotic we all are, it was bound to happen.” “Seriously?” Liam didn’t really share this mindset but Theo nodded. “Yeah. Think about it. The Betas crashing one of our dates, this is typical for this pack.” The longer Liam thought about it, the more he found he shared Theo’s opinion. The couple looked at each other and then both started laughing. Some people gave them funny looks but Liam and Theo paid them no mind. When they finally calmed down, Liam tugged at Theo’s hand in a way better mood than before. “Come on, time to pay the animals a visit.”

The first animals they came across were monkeys and Liam and Theo stopped for a while to watch them play, climb the trees, eat, and tease each other. “Brett’s favorite animals are monkeys if I remember correctly.” Liam leaned on the banister and watched a mother monkey tending to her young. “You know Brett’s favorite animals?” Theo asked, clearly amused by this. “I had a crush on him once. You remember things about your crush because you pay close attention. I learned many things about you as well that way.” “Oh? Like what?” “How much you love blueberry pancakes and muffins. I noticed how you always munched them when mom made them for breakfast. Or that your favorite shoes are your white Converse, which – to be real – is not that hard to notice.” He glanced at Theo’s feet. Like expected, his boyfriend wore the white shoes right now. “They’re comfortable.” Theo shrugged. “I always wondered how you managed to keep them that white with everything we do and fight. Blood, dirt, it’s a miracle.” “I clean them religiously,” Theo answered dryly. “Idiot,” Liam said fondly and the couple walked to the next compound.

****** They wandered from compound to compound and watched the various animals while they talked about various topics. The sun was shining in the blue sky and Liam relaxed and soaked up the warmth. He was glad he had decided against wearing a jacket and just kept it to a simple t-shirt. Theo also had left his jacket in the car and thus displayed how well he filled out his olive green tee.

After passing several compounds, the couple sat on a bench and just enjoyed the sun. Liam had his head tilted back and watched the clouds. “I never got the fascination with cloud-gazing,” Theo muttered next to him and tilted his own head back to watch the puffy clouds. “I never did this as a kid.” “You never…Seriously?” Liam could not believe this and turned his head to look at Theo rather than the sky. Theo shrugged and looked at Liam as well before he shrugged again. “Yeah. What’s the use, especially if you don’t have anyone to exchange with what you see?” “You were a strange boy, Theo Raeken.” He shook his head. “I had other interests. Stars, I liked. The cosmos. So stargazing was a thing for me but not clouds.” Liam chuckled. “I bet you hid under the blankets late at night, when you were supposed to sleep, had your little flashlight and read all those books about the cosmos and the Milky Way…No, that was me with history books. But I bet you had one of those lamps casting stars and planets in different colors on the wall and when you laid in bed during the night, you loved to watch the lights change colors and marveled at the various planets, imagined you would travel there one day.” Theo shook his head in wonder. “That’s exactly what happened. How did you know that?” He looked absolutely stunned. “I was right? Oh my god, that is amazing! Let me try another one!” Liam squinted his eyes while he assessed Theo and tried to come up with something. “You played Little League. Your jersey number was…7.” Theo smiled and shook his head. “22.” “Dammit! Okay, give me another try!” “Nope, it’s my turn now,” Theo demanded. He scratched his chin and pondered on what he could say. “You had a stuffed animal and it was a penguin.” “No.” Liam laughed. “It was a giraffe and his name was Dots. Mom still has him around somewhere.” “Aw, that’s precious, Lee.” “Shut up. Bet you had a stuffed animal as well. Maybe a lion?” Theo shook his head again. “I had a plush fish from a trip to the aquarium. Looked like that Dori fish from Nemo and his name was Nighty.” “Oh my god, and you’re calling me precious, Theo?”

Liam looked around. “Don’t they have an aquarium around here? Let’s visit this next.” “We don’t have to, really. Can stay here a little longer, Liam.” “I want to see fishes now. And maybe buy you a little plush fish from the zoo store later on.” He got up from the bench and wandered over to another map to see where to go from here. “You’re not buying me a stuffed animal!” Theo called after him but Liam ignored him. “I do as I please. That way!” He pointed left. Theo acted like this was a chore and groaned when he got to his feet. “Why do I bother with you?” “Because I have you wrapped around my little finger.” Liam saw no problem with that and grinned proudly. Theo said nothing but when he finally reached Liam, he simply pulled him in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. A simple act of affection and yet it held so much for Liam. Theo was just as in love with him as Liam was with Theo and though they teased each other, being around each other wasn’t a burden.

“Hey, look, there are the others.” Theo had spotted their group and pointed at them sitting on benches in front of the aquarium. “Hey guys,” Liam greeted when the couple stepped up to them. “Oh, hi, do you guys want to visit the aquarium? We wanted to but we can do something else, so we don’t disturb you,” Nolan said hastily, already about to jump to his feet again. Liam chortled. His Betas obviously were serious about not disturbing his and Theo’s date. “Guys, relax. This is silly. Yes, it was supposed to be a date but we came here all together so we can walk together now. Right, Theo?” Theo nodded. “We had some alone time and I learned some things about Liam. I would love to meet Dots one day, by the way.” “If you let me buy you a replacement for Nighty,” Liam replied without missing a beat and Theo smirked. “Deal.”

“Whoever Dots and Nighty are, I’d love to walk inside the aquarium and out of the sun for a while. I love getting tan but this gets too hot right now.” Brett took off his sunglasses and hang them at the front of his tank top. He had sat in front of the benches, leaned back on his palms, and Liam extended his hand to help him to his feet. It gave the signal for everyone else to get up and together they made their way into the building. 

Just like Brett had said, the building was cooler than outside, a welcomed change to the burning sun. Liam loved the warmth but even he had to admit, running around all day when the sun was beating down – especially as a werewolf – made you run hot. He sighed when he entered the dimly lit place. “Nice, hm?” Brett appeared to Liam’s right and looked around. “I always liked to visit an aquarium. There is something mysterious about the sea and it also has something peaceful to watch the water and the fishes.” “Peaceful it is,” Liam agreed. “Feels like a different part of the world.” “But not in a bad way. It’s a like a little break. Gives me time to think.”

The two of them wandered down the halls, looked through various windows and watched the animals in the tanks while they talked. “Are you still feeling lost?” It was important for Liam to know so he could help Brett. “I’m still figuring out what I want my place in life to be. Coming back from the dead made me realize I never really had a goal after high school. I was just hanging by for graduation and then maybe college. I now got the chance of a new start and so I can find other ways to live a fulfilling life. I just have to figure out what I want.” “Any vague idea of what you want already? I get what you’re saying. I thought getting my major in history is exactly what I wanted to do but now I realized I want to do something different with my life. Theo and I will open our own bakery and coffee shop after graduation, so I’m still finishing my history degree but also taking some business classes. I’m excited about what this future will hold but it took me a long time to get there.” Brett looked at a swarm of colorful fishes and hummed. “That’s something I want. Not the bakery, the relationship. You two seem so happy with each other and I wish that for me as well.” He sighed. “But the thought of me being in a relationship right now seems absurd. I have so much on my plate, I don’t need to drag another person into this mess.” “Let me tell you one thing about love: It comes when you least expect it. When I realized my feelings for Theo as what they were, I was stunned. I had a lot on my mind, high school graduation, college applications, the supernatural things, the last thing I needed were feelings for someone I could never have. But that didn’t stop me from falling deeper and deeper. Love is not rational, so it surely won’t cooperate with your current situation. Maybe it can help you with your current state, you know? Having a partner anchors you, not only us weres. Corey anchors Mason, I know that.”  Liam smiled at Brett and squeezed his shoulder. Having someone by your side gave you immense strength, Liam himself experienced this over and over again with Theo and he thanked the heavens for it. Not only was Theo his anchor but also his rock. Together, Liam felt like they could take on whatever the world had in store for them.

He was so lost in thoughts, he had not registered Brett talking to him until the other nudged his shoulder. “Earth to Liam, are you with me?” “Huh? Sorry, Brett, I was….” “Dreaming about your mate?” Liam blushed. “Kinda.” Brett scoffed playfully and shook his head. “I should be mad about getting ignored but I will be damned if happiness is not a good look on you. You’re so sickly in love, it’s almost unreal. Everyone else ceases to exist for you when you’re in love. Theo’s a really lucky guy to have you.” Liam looked over to the other side of the room where Theo inspected the same species of fishes Nighty had been. “I’m also incredibly lucky to have him.” He focused on Brett again. “And I’m sure you will find somebody as amazing for you. You’re a great guy, Brett, don’t forget that.” Lori appeared next to Brett. “Stop telling my brother he’s great, will make his head even bigger than it already is.” “Hey, that man is just stating facts, sis. Let him speak the truth.” Brett pulled his sister in a loose headlock and she squeaked and tried to weasel her way out. Liam laughed. It was good to see Brett slowly coming back to his old ways. He had cursed Brett out quite often since meeting him for the first time but he also wanted his friend to get his carefree attitude back. They all left something of their soul in the supernatural fight, Liam had realized that years ago, but they still could overcome most of the trauma. Brett surely deserved it.

****** Spending a day at the zoo - only interrupted by calls from Liam’s parents and the council singing Happy Birthday for Liam and wishing him the best-  had put everyone in a good mood and when they had come home, showered, and changed clothes to go for the promised drinks that night, they were joking around and laughing on their way to the bar. While Liam wanted to celebrate his birthday, he was not in the mood to go clubbing and so had decided on a cozy pub near the city center. Drinks were good and had fair prices for college students and there were pool and darts.

“Round one’s on me,” Theo announced while they stepped into the pub. Liam glanced at him.  “You really don’t have to. What you make at the coffee shop is not that much, to begin with, save your money.”  Theo took his face in both hands. “Puppy, stop worrying. I want to buy the first round. It’s okay, I won’t be living in the streets afterward.” He kissed Liam to stop any further argument. It was an unfair tactic but Liam had to admit, it worked.  He therefore just grumbled but then let Theo be generous. The rest of the core pack had watched their little exchange with amusement and now told Theo what they wanted to drink. For the first round, they all mostly stuck to beer. The twenty-two-year-old looked at Liam. “A beer for you as well?” His glance turned calculating. “Or still feel like something will happen and you need a clear mind to protect us?” Liam had not really paid attention to this feeling for a while now and when Theo mentioned it, he had to search within his mind for a while but came up with nothing. “I actually don’t. It stopped when we found Brett and Lori,” he realized.  “That could be another point for the theory about your Alpha spark pulling them back into this world.” Ever had overheard their conversation and now chimed in.  Liam nodded slowly. “Hm, yeah. But we don’t think about this tonight, okay? Tonight we just enjoy being all together and having fun.” He took the beer bottle Theo held out for him and raised it to toast. “To a fun night full of fun for the pack.” “No,” Corey held up his own bottle. “To Liam, the best Alpha we could ask for and one of the best friends all of us will ever have. Happy Birthday, big brother.” “Cheers!” The pack wholeheartedly agreed with Corey’s words and they all clinked their bottles or glasses together before they wandered over to a few bar tables located near the dartboard and the pool tables. 

It didn’t take long for the group to split into several fractions; one playing darts, the other playing pool, and the third sitting at the bar stools at the tables, eating the onion rings and pretzels Mason treated them to while watching the others or occasionally taking part in the games.  Liam had decided to play some darts. He had no idea if he was good at it but he played it in the past and found it quite enjoyable, so he went for this. Theo and Brett had immediately taken to the pool table and it looked like they developed a new level of friendship over them both liking the game so much. Since Theo had called Brett out, the two talked often, about various things but also about hell and coming back, and their personalities mixed very well together. Tim had found a very fitting term when he titled them “The ridiculously hot - and well aware of their own hotness- bros”. And then Mike had sat with the two of them and joined the conversation and Tim had left the room muttering something about “That being way too much to handle”. Liam still grinned when he thought how the scene had played out. Tim now tried to build a little house with the pretzels and Ever giving him advice where to put the next piece. Nolan and Lori also approached the pool table and tried their luck but it was crystal clear they were not nearly as skilled as Brett and Theo. 

Holy balls, those two were fantastic. Theo had let it slip once he learned how to play pool to scam people at bars and get some money on the side when he lived with the Dread Doctors and later when he lived in his truck and Brett seemed naturally good at any game or sports he played. Both challenged each other to trick shots but even Brett had to agree at one point Theo was better at tricks than he was. Now they worked together to teach Noland and Lori.

“Damn, you really suck at pool,” Theo leaned on the billiard queue and took in the scattered billiard balls Nolan had managed to get all over the table. “I’m afraid, pool really is not your forte, little hunter,” Brett agreed and Nolan blushed so brightly, even the dim light in the pub could not hide it. Liam snickered into his beer and almost choked on the sip he had taken.  “Nols, you can play with us. Your accurate aim surely will help my team to win,” Sadie waved a dart in Nolan’s direction and he gladly fled the table and joined her. Lori had skipped off after she found a pinball machine in the corner and now squealed happily at the little blue ball moving up and down. 

“Why do you get to have Nolan in your team?” Mike asked Sadie and he just flashed him a wolfish grin. “Because I’m his best friend and I say he plays with the girls,” Ever called out from heat seat.  “Liam! An alpha decision, please!” Mike and Corey glanced at Liam who shrugged. “Sorry, the Alpha is on a break for tonight. I’m sure you will sort this out on your own. Ask Mason to join your team.” “Mason? The one who once shot the tire of Derek’s car when he got hold of Nolan’s crossbow?” Corey frowned and threw a napkin at his husband when Mason squawked indignantly. “You know I’m right, baby. You and arrows are not really a good mix.” “It was one time and I paid for that tire! Accidents happen!” Liam snickered again and looked over at the pool table again while his friend bickered in the background. 

Theo and Brett had moved to play against each other. Currently, Theo was leaning forward to take a shot and from Liam’s place, he had the best view of how the muscles in Theo’s back moved under Theo’s t-shirt, how the shirt slid up to reveal a sliver of skin. The Alpha’s eyed dropped lower, to the jeans fitting his boyfriend perfectly. Theo surely knew how to dress and Liam was here for it.  “Liam? It’s your turn,” Sadie waved the darts in front of his face and Liam jumped in his seat.  “What? Ah, sorry, I was busy ogling that fine ass playing pool.” He slipped from his stool and grabbed the darts from her hands. When he walked over to the board, he noticed Theo looked over his shoulder and smirked at Liam, clearly had heard the comment. But while he enjoyed undressing his mate with his eyes, he wanted to win this darts match and so Liam huffed out a breath and concentrated. All his darts hit the mark not as good as he wanted but they didn’t entirely miss either. When he plucked them from the board and turned around, he realized Theo leaned against the billiard table, drank his beer, and watched Liam without ever averting his eyes. Liam made a silly face and curtsied. Theo’s snort, even somehow covered by the drink, made it over to Liam and he chuckled.

“Where the fuck did you learn that?” Tim stared at Liam like he turned violet with yellow dots all over his skin.  “In the Mr. Barrington’s Class for Young Gentlemen at Devenford Prep,” Liam and Brett answered at the same time. They laughed at the shared memory of their former teacher and high-fived.  “Is he still teaching this class?” Liam asked and Brett nodded.  “As far as I know. I mean, he did until I...you know.” The tall werewolf grinned. 

“Whoa, whoa, give me a moment. I know Bacon Hills was crazy but please don’t tell me your local high school really offered a class for young gentlemen. When did you do that? After or before you fought werejaguars and the Anuk-ite? Or somewhere between?” Maya asked with a deep frown.  “No, Maya, that supernatural shit went down after that. Not Beacon Hills High offered the class but Devenford Prep, the school I went to before I transferred. The same school I met Brett,” Liam tried to solve her confusion.  “Devenford Prep sounds like a private school,” Sadie said casually and stirred her drink.  “It was,” Brett confirmed and drank from his beer. “And we had this teacher, Mr. Barrington, who was as American as you can imagine but he considered himself a British earl and held this class as some sort of club after classes. Taught the boys to eat with all the right cutlery, how to behave, what to say. Most boys went there and right after they exited the classroom forgot everything he taught them.” “I still know some things but I’d rather not use them. I’m sure Theo would stab me with a fork if I treat him like a gentleman should treat a lady and unfortunately we never learned etiquette for same-sex relationships. Also, he would die laughing if I ever seriously bowed down to him.” “Yep.” Theo reached for an onion ring when he confirmed Liam’s theory.  “Oh my god, I’m imagining you two in an etiquette class. How adorable.” Ever giggled. Sadie pawed at her arm.  “You’re missing the most important thing: Private school probably meant school uniforms, right?” At Brett’s and Liam’s nods, she squealed. “Please, tell me there are pictures! I need to see pictures!” “There are tons of pictures. Mom was so proud and the school held so many events. Enough time to take many pictures.” Liam shuddered. He had never really liked the uniform, hence those pictures not being his favorites but for the sake of it, he would even show her and the others the pictures. 

“I don’t get the big deal, I wore a school uniform during my school days as well,” Mike announced while he munched onion rings. Suddenly the pack’s sole attention was on him.  “You? Wearing a school uniform?” Nolan could not believe that.  “Yup. Grey slacks, white dress shirts, dark blue ties, and dark green blazers. I still have that thing.” “You still have it? Why? It doesn’t sound like you liked the uniform.” Tim knew his best friend.  “We had to buy our own uniforms or rather our parents had to buy them. The school didn’t pay for them. If you were too poor to afford the uniform...Just kidding, if you were too poor to afford the uniform, you didn’t attend this school.” “That’s arrogant,” Corey chimed in.  Mike scoffed. “Yeah, that’s a good word to describe this school and most of the students and staff. You know those rich kids of Snapchat? I went to school with these people and the school only supported this way of thinking. Needless to say, I didn’t really enjoy my time there.” “Mike,” Sadie said seriously, “if you think you get away without me seeing you wearing a school uniform, may it be in pictures or live, you’re mistaken. Same goes for the two of you.” She pointed at Brett and Liam. “Should I be scared?” Brett inquired and Maya nodded. “Yep. She’s on a mission now.” “Oh boy,” Brett muttered and put a hand full of pretzels in his mouth, maybe not as fazed by this as he probably should be.

****** “What do you think?”

Rod asked Liam. They both stood on the lacrosse field and watched the open training. Against Liam’s fear of nobody coming, quite some people had taken interest and attended the training. Now it was coming to end and coach and captain exchanged their opinions.  “There are some promising people, men and women. With them on the team, we might have a chance of doing better than before. They need training, of course, but that was expected. I think we can work with what we have,” Liam shared his insight.  Rod nodded. “Think so too. Some of them never played lacrosse in a competitive team before, the training will be new to them but that’s what I’m here for.” He grabbed his bag. “Thank you for your help, Liam.” “Hey, it’s my team too.” Liam patted the coach’s back and took his own bag. 

They turned around to leave the field when a dark-haired guy sprinted towards them. “Is the open training over already? I wanted to attend it but I just recently transferred and had to check with the administration office. They took awfully long, that’s why I’m only arriving here now.” He cast a look at the now empty field and groaned. “Guess I have to participate in the next open training.” Liam and Rod shared a look. “I know you have an appointment at your son’s school. Go. I take care of this and tell you how it went,” Liam offered and Rod gave him a grateful smile.  “Thank you, Liam.” He clapped him on the back and then shook hands with the new guy. “Good Luck...What’s your name?” “Caden Thermopolis, you can call me Cade. Or Alec.” “Alec?” Liam wondered what gave him that nickname. “I got told I look like the Alec guy from the Shadowhunters series. I don’t really see it but oh well. Archery being one of my hobbies don’t help much in that case. The nickname stuck...” Cade shrugged and simpered.  “Okay, Caden, I leave you in the care of our team captain Liam. Show him what you can do.” Roderick waved and then walked to the locker room. 

Liam dropped his bag back on the bench again. “Ever played before?” “My dad and some of his friends had their own little neighborhood lacrosse league and I played there. Also, my old college had a team but somehow we only played for fun. I know what I have to do if that’s what your question aimed at.” Liam fiddled with his phone and typed. “Just letting my boyfriend know I will come home later, then we can start. I’d suggest, we start with warm up, want to see your stamina. Come on, we run around the field.” Liam threw his phone on top of his bag after he finished texting and started to jog. Caden dropped his things and soon jogged next to him.  “Where do you come from?” “My last college was in Illinois but my family lives in Chicago.” “Never been there but heard it’s a beautiful city.” “Oh, it truly is. Though I felt the need to venture out after high school, explore more cities and my parents absolutely encouraged me.” “My parents did the same thing to me. I come from a small town in California and they were sad I was leaving but they never tried to stop me.” “It’s good to hear that. Our family has very close bonds and it’s always nice to hear other families seem to have them as well.” “Hm, agreed.” Liam picked up his pace a little bit. His goal was to challenge the guy but to his wonder, Caden stayed hot on his tails. Being an Alpha, Liam knew he was fast. What surprised him that while he was faster than Caden, the man could still keep up without falling too much behind. It reminded him of Theo, Maya, and Sadie, the fastest of his Betas.

They stopped jogging after a while and Liam threw Caden one of the lacrosse sticks they used for the open training. “I will fire some shots at you, let me see how good you are at catching.”  “Okay.” Caden nodded and then moved to the spot Liam assigned him too. Liam grabbed his own stick and the ball and wiggled it in the net.  “Keep it easy on me, captain,” Caden joked.  “Easy never won any titles but I promise not to be too hard on you,” Liam replied and flung the first ball at Cade. He caught it without much of a problem. Liam really liked that. Fast reflexes, almost reminded him of Kira. 

The next shorts were harmless as well and Caden caught them without breaking so much of a sweat. Even when Liam targeted the corners to see him move, he managed to catch the ball, albeit in the last seconds. Liam raised an eyebrow. Those reflexes were faster than those of a human and his wolf woke up and assessed the other man. They were the same age and while Cade was taller than Liam, he was the Alpha and surely could take him.  To test his theory, Liam’s shots became faster and harder, fueled by the wolf inside him. Caden looked taken aback but then did his best to catch the balls, even when Liam fired more and faster shots at him. He didn’t succeed at 100% but the shots he caught were enough to confirm Liam’s suspicion. 

It was then he snapped and shot forward to shoulder tackle the other to the ground and press his lacrosse stick against Caden’s chest. “What are you? Your reflexes are supernatural, don’t even try to deny it!” Liam flashed his eyes Alpha red.  Caden had sputtered when he found himself on the ground and then dusted his hands off. “Dude, what the hell?” He looked up and his hazel eyes widened when he saw the Alpha staring him down. “Oh fuck, you’re an Alpha!” He scattered away from Liam, created some separation but still remained on the ground. Slowly he went to a crouching stance yet kept his head down. “I had no idea you were an Alpha. Look, I didn’t mean any harm, I just wanted to apply for the team.” His eyes flashed gold. Liam lowered his stick. “You’re also a werewolf.” He sniffed. “But you don’t smell like a wolf, you smell human.” “I don’t have a pack, maybe that’s why? Look, Alpha, can I please get back up? I promise I’m not a trouble maker and won’t attack you. I am a good werewolf.”

Maybe his reaction had been too harsh, Liam had to admit that. It was one of those moments where he acted first and thought second. The moment that usually got him in trouble. He sighed and extended his hand to help Caden to his feet. “So am I but years of fighting all sorts of supernaturals made me suspicious. Sorry about that. And call me Liam.” “No hard feelings, really.” Caden waved it off. “I mean, the Alpha protects. You’re that sort of Alpha, right? The Protector. You’re not the kind of Alpha to go on a killing spree just because he can, right?” “No, I protect. My pack and the people I care about.” “Good, good.” Caden nodded. Liam nodded over to the bench. “Tell me about yourself. You said you don’t have a pack, that means you’re an Omega.”

They walked over and sat down. Caden grabbed his water bottle and took a sip. “Figure I should start at the beginning. I don’t have a wolf pack but consider my family my pack. They helped me with all this werewolf stuff. You must know, my parents are not my biological ones. None of their five kids is biological, we are all adopted and from different cultures. My parents loved to travel and always wanted a large family. That way they could also help. I have a sister from Japan, a brother from Peru, you get the memo. Our family is open-minded, my oldest sister is gay and my parents have done nothing but support her and her girlfriend. They raised us that way and also never kept us being adopted a secret. They also always did their best us kids stayed in touch with our culture and we traveled a lot. When I was fifteen, we traveled to Greece and one night I went for a walk, that’s when an Alpha attacked and bit me. He ran away and left me there and I was so scared, injured and bloodied, I ran home to my parents. I had no idea where else to go.”

“That’s why they knew about you being a werewolf,” Liam realized.  “My siblings know as well and they all helped me figure this out. We searched for the Alpha and found out he had lost his wife and daughter which turned him feral. After he attacked me, the guilt was too much. We found the guy’s corpse, later on, had killed himself. But yeah, with all their support, my family became my pack even though they’re all humans. I researched most things I know about werewolves through the internet; the things is you can never be sure with this information.” “Research is fine and dandy but being around real werewolves is something entirely different. And some information on the web is just plain wrong.” Liam and Mason had made the same experience.  “I didn’t even know how to find other wolves. It’s not like you can make a Craiglist ad. Heck, I didn’t even know there was a wolf pack at SU.” “We are here. Though admittedly, we are not a common pack.” Liam chuckled and it caught Cade’s attention. “What’s that suppose to mean?” “We have wolves but also a witch, a werechameleon, our Emissary is human, we have another human who is our hunter, my boyfriend was half wolf and half coyote but now is a full werewolf since I bit him. We are quite unusual,” Liam summed up his pack.  Caden smiled softly. “Sounds nice.” “You surely know a wolf is not as strong as Omega as he is as Beta? You came across this information on the internet.” “I did but like I said, finding wolves is hard.” “Tell me about it. Most of my pack mates found me rather than I found them. But that’s not important, important is we found each other in the end.”

They silently sipped their water for a while. “Did you...kill someone to become Alpha? That’s how you get Alpha powers mostly, am I right?” Caden suddenly asked.  “There are several ways to become an Alpha. By conquest, by inheritance, or being a True Alpha. My old Alpha, the one responsible for biting me, is a True Alpha. Scott McCall, ever heard of him before?” The other shook his head. It was rare people had not heard of Scott before and a part of Liam was pleasantly surprised.  “But to answer your question, I didn’t kill and I’m not a True Alpha myself. I became an Alpha by ritual which is rare but almost as great as a True Alpha if I’m allowed to be frank.”  “Wow, that’s a lot. I heard about killing the Alpha and think I came across the conquest one but I never heard about the others before. This world is so different than what you read in the books or online.”  “Oh, I know that. Me getting the bite was not voluntarily but Scott saved my life with it. Took me a while to accept that. Got turned when I was fourteen, I had other things on my plate when it happened.” Liam had decided he could trust Caden. The other didn’t seem hostile and he always, maybe without really noticing, paid respect to the Alpha with keeping his voice down and never acted like he wanted to challenge Liam. It calmed his inner wolf. “You can’t really get to know the werewolf culture just by reading things. Trust me, my best friend Mason, our Emissary, tried that. You will miss big parts of the experience. Some things are hard to write down because they are hard to explain or everybody experiences them differently. You need the contact with other wolves. Especially, since your Alpha is dead.”

“Why is that so important? I mean, yep, I’d have loved to talk to him and get answers to my questions but he’s dead so that’s it. Or is it true what I read about the telepathic connection between Alpha and Beta? I honestly can’t imagine that.” “The bond between Alpha and Beta is special. If you kill a Beta, the Alpha will feel it. It feels like losing a limb. That’s why most Alphas are so protective of their Betas. Scott would have been destroyed if I got killed and I would be more than just destroyed if something would happen to Theo. We share so many connections but I also always feel him in the pack bond. He’s my only bitten one, it’s different than for the other Betas. I don’t know if it’s really telepathic but I do know The Alpha can control their Beta in some way. You have to ask Mason about this, I didn’t really understand the whole concept. But your Alpha is dead. Nobody can control you.” “That is good, I suppose” “Having an own free will is always good.” Liam grinned. Caden looked at him and chuckled. 

“You’re a cool guy, Liam.” “You’re not so bad yourself, Cade. Tell you what, we’re having a BBQ at the pack house Friday evening. Why don’t you drop by and I introduce you to the pack? You can meet other supernaturals that way and also have a nice time. You transferred recently so I’m not sure you know anybody around here?” “I know nobody. But do you think it will be okay if I join you? I don’t want to interrupt pack time.” “Ey, the Alpha invites you, you can’t say No. Wolf Law.” “Really? There is a Wolf Law where these things are sorted out?” Now Liam laughed loudly. “No, I’m just messing with you. There are some rules you should follow if you want to be considered good. Or some rules you should break if you want to be considered evil. You know about the blue eyes?” Caden shook his head.  “If a were takes an innocent life, their eyes turn from gold to blue. If an Alpha takes an innocent life, their eyes stay red but when they lose their Alpha status they will be blue.” “Oh boy, that’s a lot.” Caden rubbed his neck.  Liam patted his shoulder. “Don’t exhaust yourself, no need to learn all this right now. Take your time and uncover one thing after another. We all are still learning, I’m not sure we ever stop. But that’s life, I guess.” He shrugged.  “I will take my time. I’m a fast learner, however. Oh, and since you invited me so nicely I will stop by your BBQ. Can’t wait to meet the others.” Caden smiled lightly. 

_____________________________________

Author's Note:

In case you were wondering, this is Caden:

The Shadowhunters joke was lame but I couldn’t help myself. Hope you forgive me 😅 It reminded me of that one scene in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody where Maddie auditioned for the role of Sharpay and said she looked like Ashley Tisdale but nobody believed her. 

Fun Fact about Caden: I had everything about him, his faceclaim, how he would appear in the story, his backstory, for months. What I didn't have was his name. He was literally named a few days ago 😉😊

I had fun writing this chapter and I could not wait to post it because I planned Caden's appearance for quite a while and now he's here and I'm excited. I reached a point in this story where I still get many new ideas the more I think about but I’m also at the point where what I have already planned is slowly coming together. This is amazing to see and if I could I would just spend day and night writing the next chapters. Just thinking about it excites me and I can't wait to see what you guys think of it. 

Let me also take this opportunity to thank you all again. Without you, I probably would have lost motivation long ago. Without you, this story would not be what it is today. Thank you for all your comments and your support ♥ I love you all!

As always, tell me your comments/wishes/dreams! Let me know what you think in the comments below.