When Rosemary found out that Will was part of a pack of wolves, she was so scared that she almost ran away from the hospital to take her son and lock him in her room with her. At the time, Will was ten years old and a year ago he had met Thom.
That day when Will went to see her at the hospital to tell her the truth, Seb had gone with him. He had shown her his yellow eyes, and Rosemary had taken her son's arm and pulled on hers so hard that he fell onto the bed on top of her.
Seb had been sympathetic to that reaction, so he had smiled softly at her. Will told his mother that the wolves weren't bad, that they had helped him many times when he needed help, when he was lonely, or when he was afraid to go home knowing that Baird was there drunk and wanting to do things to him.
Rosemary couldn't object to that. When she met the wolves she had met Seb first. Seb was always a gentleman, calm and focused, he had a kind look and a discreet but very demonstrative smile. He had told her that Will was a very fast runner and that he had a great talent for playing football, which he knew because he had been part of his school's football team when he was young. He told her that Will really enjoyed reading complicated but interesting books, that he had an incredible, almost photographic memory. He had told her so many things about Will that Rosemary didn't know because she had been imprisoned in the hospital connected to life-sustaining machines that she couldn't help but feel that the wolves really loved Will, that they really cared for him, that they noticed every detail of his life as a father would.
That had been the main reason she had agreed when Rob and Seb had come to see her and ask her permission to adopt Will. When he was in Denver, Rosemary was devastated. She was unable to do anything for her child, unable to care for him or fight for him. That's why she was so relieved when these two wonderful people showed up in her hospital room to tell her that they would fight for him instead of her, that they would bring him home and take care of him until she was able to do it. But Rosemary knew that that day would never arrive, she knew that her illness had reached a point where it was impossible for it to disappear one day. She knew that her days were numbered. That's why, knowing that Rob and Seb would take care of Will, she gave them final custody of her son.
With that, Will returned to June Lake. He spent more time with her than she ever thought and that did nothing but make her happy, even on her bad days when she wanted to die from the intense pain. She knew that Will noticed. And one day he asked her the question that she Rosemary knew he was dying to ask her. He asked her if she wanted to be a werewolf. That he could ask the Alpha to bite her so she would heal and survive.
At first, it was tempting. She couldn't fool herself. But then she thought that she liked being human, even if it was killing her. She wanted to continue being what she was until the end, she wanted to die being what she loved.
Will got mad when she told him. He said that it was very selfish of her, that he needed her more than she could think, that she would make the sacrifice to live for him. But after a few days he asked her for forgiveness, he told her that he had been unfair to her and that he was afraid of being alone, that they would take him away from her again. Then Rosemary told him, "Willie, you will never be alone. You have parents who love you and a whole pack of wolves willing to give their lives for you. You are a beautiful, kind, intelligent boy. There is no way in the world you're gonna be alone."
Will still remembered those words and believed them. But there was still that scared ten-year-old boy inside him who the only thing he wanted was his mother healthy and with him. And it was that child who took control of the situation at that moment.
Faced with the hunter's threat, Will could only stare at him without saying anything. Prisoner of fear and frustration for feeling that way. But for that he had Thom, who knew him better than himself. Thom knew instantly what was going through his mind and his first instinct at it was the one he always had when Will was in danger. He stood in front of him, turning his back on him and facing the hunter with defiant eyes. In his mind was only one thought: "Protect him. Protect him from everything."
"She won't be a wolf," Thom said. "She wants to be human until the end."
The hunter raised an eyebrow. "And what does your Alfa think about that?"
"He won't do anything against her will."
"I can't trust that."
"It doesn't matter what you think. You already made a mistake in threatening both of us with that thing you have in your hand," he said referencing the silver bullet. "And now you made another mistake by threatening her. No one messes with our pack," and he gave him a crooked, mischievous smile. "You're screwed."
The hunter didn't seem to react. "Good. That was just what we wanted."
And Will found his voice. "Who are 'we'?"
"You'll see. Soon." He said smiling.
The hunter gave them one last look and left. He crossed the street to his truck and when he was gone, Will relaxed. He leaned against the nearest wall and leaned his head against it. He sighed deeply when he felt Thom lean into her side, tucking his arm through his
"Are you okay?" Thom asked.
Will nodded. "For a moment I was ten years old again."
"I know. I'm sorry. This is bullshit. I hate this is happening."
Will glanced at him, watching Thom's square, sexy jaw set in frustration. He felt stupid for thinking that way at a time like this and ran his hand over his face, wiping away the embarrassment from him. "Me too." He spoke into his hand.
"I love you."
And for a moment his heart stopped. But he knew what he meant, he always meant the same thing. "Me too, bro."
"We'll get ready. We'll train harder this time. We'll fight and fuck them."
"Lindsey will be more Spartan this time."
"I count on it."
Will smiled. "You'll be a good coach."
Thom was silent for a second, then said, "I don't know if I want to be a coach," and felt Will's gaze on him. "I mean, I like to train others but I don't think that's what I wanna do with my life. Maybe just for a while."
"Like a hobby."
He nodded. "Yes, that. Like a hobby."
"And what do you wanna do? After school."
"Don't know."
"Okay. You have time to think about it."
"You don't. You only have next year left. What the fuck are you doing with your life?"
"Fuck you."
Thom laughed and Will reveled in the sound of his laughter. "Fuck. I'm gonna miss you so much when you're gone."
"Me too."
Thom looked at him. "Maybe I can apply to the same college as you. We'd see each other every day."
"With your grades? I don't think you'll make it."
"Fuck you idiot. You'll see how I can do it. You'll have to apologize to me and be my servant for my entire first year of college."
Will gave a snicker that sounded almost like a breath. "I count on it."
Then Thom realized that he was still wearing the team uniform. He said that he would go change and Will told him that he was waiting for him outside. And while he was waiting for him at the school gate, Alex approached him.
"Will," he called. "Everything alright? You worried me a while ago."
"Yes. Everything is fine. Sorry to worry you," then he looked at the time on his phone and frowned. "What are you doing here? Don't you have to go to work?"
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you know my work hours?"
Will blushed a little. "We always meet at work except today."
"Did you notice that?" He said he smiling mischievously.
"Yeah… I'm quite observant. It's hard not to notice."
Alex was still smiling. "Okay. That was cute."
"What was cute?"
"That thing you do with your mouth when you're embarrassed. It's like you bite your lip on the sly."
And Will chuckled. "What? It's the first time someone said that to me."
"Glad to be the first then," he paused, still smiling. "I told Tim to cover for me today at work."
That surprised him. "Why?"
He shrugged. "You worried me. I wanted to stay and see if everything was okay."
Will was touched and beamed.
Alex looked at him and his eyes sparkled. "Wow. That was cute."
"What thing?"
"That smile. I think I'll do more stalker stuff to make you smile like that more often."
And Will laughed to the sky, Alex joined him two seconds later.
"Hey." He listened behind him.
He turned to see Thom walk out dressed in his usual Stranger Things T-shirt and baggy-ripped jeans. His hair was wet and messy, his backpack hung from one of his shoulders, and his eyes had an unreadable gleam as he looked at Alex. "Hi," he told him. "I'm Thom."
"I know," Alex said, smiling kindly at him. "You're the captain of the football team. Everyone knows who you are."
"Well, that makes things easier," he said in a neutral voice. He looked at Will and nodded toward the school parking lot behind them. "Ready to go? We have to take care of that thing."
Will nodded and looked at Alex. "I gotta go. Family stuff."
Alex smiled and nodded understandingly. "See you tomorrow then." And he started to leave but Will quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Thanks for…well…waiting. I think." He told him awkwardly.
Alex smiled and winked at him. "Whenever you want."
After that they went to the parking lot. During the whole way there Thom didn't say a word.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Why aren't you talking?" Will asked when they were halfway to the Green house.
He shrugged and grimaced. "Nothing. I just don't feel like talking."
"Well, that's new."
"Fuck you," he said under his breath. "The truth is that I want to ask you a lot of things that you don't want to talk about. That's why I don't say anything."
Will sighed. "It's about Alex, right?" Thom didn't answer and Will looked at him, decided to mess with him a bit. "Don't be jealous, baby. You'll always be my favorite."
Thom made an unreadable face, took a deep breath, and cleared his throat. "That's new."
"What thing?"
"'Baby,'" he said without taking his eyes off the front. "You've never called me that before."
"I can do it as many times as you want."
"Please don't." He hastened to say.
Will laughed. "Noted."
"I don't want to seem like the jealous, possessive kind of friend."
"Well, you're not doing a very good job at all." But Will loved it that way, so he secretly enjoyed it.
"I'm making an effort to change. Give me that much at least."
"I do."
"I just want you to be happy. With whoever or doing whatever. That's all."
Will looked at him and thought that his happiness would grow a little more if only he belonged to him, then he turned his gaze to the front, to the road. "I will be, Thom."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Those fucking sons of bitches," Exclaimed Rafael or Rafe as everyone called him. He was Thom and Callie's father and a wolf with an explosive temper just like his human wife, both of whom were known as the dynamite couple in the pack. "I'll rip their heads off and shove them up their asses."
"That sounds intense." Callie commented who was sitting on the sofa resting an arm relaxedly on Cyrus' shoulder , another of the wolves of the pack who was the same age as Will but who went to an elite school for prodigies. He was a prodigy and owned a fortune inherited from his late grandfather. He sometimes shared a little money with the pack but Marcus always liked to pamper his betas so he didn't let him do it much.
Cyrus looked at Will carefully. "Are you okay? You want me to kick their fucking asses? I can track them right now and do it without any problem."
"I'm in," Callie said, holding up her other hand. "You only gotta give me five minutes to get Gao out of Lang confinement. Or maybe just four, I feel inspired today." She said smiling.
"Reese and Hayley are staying with your mom today," Marcus said holding (stopping) Lindsey's hand who already had the shotgun in hand and her eyes on fire. "You guys should spend the night here. Let's stay together until we have a plan."
"Go to bed early today. All of you," Lindsey told the pack. "Because tomorrow morning we'll train like hell. We're gonna fuck those pieces of shit."
"God, I love you." Marcus said under his breath.
"Gross." Callie said in Spanish.
Rob and Seb approached Will. Rob stuck to his side and Seb put his hand on the back of his neck, caressing his hairline.
Thom sat on the couch next to his sister who leaned against him. His parents joined them, shoving Cyrus out of the way.
"We don't know when they'll come," Marcus said. "But we will be alert. In the meantime we have to train, be ready. And when they come we will make them regret it."
The entire pack nodded.
Will inhaled deeply and exhaled, feeling his warlock father's hand grab his.
Thom looked at him and clenched his jaw.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
When Will and Thom were kids they wanted what every kid wanted with their best friend: a secret base. They had found a small, abandoned cabin on the outskirts of town and decided at that moment that this ragged place would be theirs. They had asked some wolves from the pack to help them make that cabin more livable. They had to tear down some walls and put them back together, the wood was rotten and it was dangerous to be there. They cleaned up the dirt, brought things like an air mattress with blankets to sleep on, a fairly new couch they found on the street — It was broken but Rafe helped them fix it. —, string lights to light the place, toys, books for Will, and eventually curtains and a new lock for the door.
The Secret Base became the place the two of them would run to when they felt like doing so. When Thom fought with his parents, when Will was afraid to go home, when Thom wanted to kill time before studying, when Will wanted to run away from Baird when he was drunk at night. When Thom wanted to see Will. When Will wanted to see Thom.
"We're going to Joshua from third year's party." Thom said as he lay down next to Will on the Secret Base's air mattress.
"Again with fucking Joshua from third year," Will muttered. "Do you even know him?"
"No, but what does that matter? It's a party. We need to clear our heads. Lindsey will exhaust us to death by now."
"Yes, a werewolf training does that on mere humans like us."
"Sometimes I think Callie got lucky. I mean, she was the one who inherited the wolf gene instead of me…and we're twins! Where is the logic there? We're both supposed to be wolves."
Will turned his head and looked at him. "Do you wanna be a werewolf?"
Thom shifted on the covers. "Maybe. Someday," he turned to look at him. "You?"
Will closed his eyes and turned his head, opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "Sometimes," he chuckled sadly. "I think doing it could cure my depression and stop taking those shitty pills. I'd stop being afraid of feeling sad or lazy," he sighed. "I would stop worrying my parents and I would stop being a freak."
"You're not a freak," Thom said. "And whoever says otherwise I'll smash their face," he didn't look at Will but he knew he was smiling. He thought of something his father had told him. "Did you hear about the anchors?"
"Yes, Seb told me about it."
"You would be my anchor. I am very sure of that."
Will forgot how to breathe for a second. Then he remembered how to do it and smiled. "You are my anchor now that I am human, Thom. If I were a wolf…I think I would be completely dependent on you."
Thom smiled without knowing if it was because he was happy to know that Will thought of him that way even though he was human, or because it caused a delicious shiver in his spine to imagine Will being completely dependent on him. That thought scared him a little, if not a lot. He cleared his throat. "I know… these days I have been very…"
"Jealous? Possessive? Weird?" Will completed.
"Fuck you William. I'm trying to be serious here."
Will laughed. "Sorry. Continue Thomas."
"I know I've been…all of that these days. And I'm sorry, really. I know it's weird for me, it's just…" he caught his breath and sighed. "I think you're the most amazing person in the world. And I know you can have a million friends and a million dates as soon as you walk into a room."
"Who the fuck do you think I am? A sultan or something?"
"When you go to college that's when you find your own people. And I'm sure you will because it's you, you're… you're Will. And I'll be here, not a part of your life… and we've fought so hard to live in the same city that…"
"I understand," Will said gently. "So your abandonment issues are because of me? Because the system took me away as a kid? How many times? Twice?"
"Shut up. It was three times. And yes, that's why. You're my brother. Shut up."
Will smiled and moved closer to him, his arms rubbed together and if he moved the fingers of his hand a little he could touch Thom's. But he didn't. "The first time was…" he began to say softly. "…when the police discovered my father's drugs and mum was in the hospital."
"Stop," Thom said. "Don't go there."
"The second was when…"
"Will."
"…the neighbors reported strange noises in the house. And when the police arrived they saw Baird on top of me doing…"
"William!" He shouted. He took Will's hand and squeezed it without even being aware he was doing it.
Will closed his eyes and enjoyed the flames in his hand against Thom's. "And the last one was when Baird broke my knee so I wouldn't run out of the house."
"Fuck."
"Yeah. Fuck. Rehab was fucking hard. But, hey. Now I run faster than the wolves."
"It's not that. Why the hell are you talking about that now?"
"Because it's my life. It's my past. It's what made me who I am right now. I'm insecure, I have severe depression, I sometimes have anxiety attacks, I hate sleeping in the dark, it disgusts me when my partners smells like beer , I bathe three times a day so I don't smell like sweat." He paused. "Sometimes I wonder how the hell I can stand being in the locker room with all the guys and not gag from the smell of sweat and dirt."
Thom squeezed his hand and felt a lump in his throat. "That's why I think you're amazing. You managed to overcome a lot and you're still working on it to be even better."
"That's my point, Thom. I'm not perfect. Nobody is. And when I go to college I'm going to have to relearn everything I've learned all over again because it's going to be a new place and I'm going to be alone. You're going to be here with the pack and I'm going to be here alone with strange people," he looked at him. "I'm scared as hell. But I'll do it anyway."
"Why?" Thom said with his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
"Because I wanna grow up. I wanna see what kind of person this shitty version of me will become."
"You ain't shitty, Will."
"I'm a little fucked up."
"Aren't we all?"
"Me especially."
Thom sighed. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm not being pessimistic. I'm realist. I'm traumatized and broken. Baird did this to me. But I'll fix it. I'll fix myself."
"I never thought you were broken," Thom said in a small voice. "Not once. I always thought you were amazing, the strongest person I know."
"Why? Why would you think that?"
"Because you're still alive, Will. And you keep trying, you keep trying to be happy and work hard to get better and heal. And that's something I love about you."
Will squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. He turned his head and tightened his grip on his hand. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For talking about this."
"No. Never apologize for that. Ever."
"I love you."
"Me too, dude."
Will smiled slightly, a little tired. "We're going to Joshua from third year's party."
Tom smiled too. "That's my Boy."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Two weeks later, Joshua from third year's party became the event of the month.
Joshua's family had a summer vacation house outside of California. Everyone went. Or at least almost the entire school.
Will went with Thom in his car. They took Jordan and Neal too. The pack (Lindsey) had given them a day off and warned them that the training would continue the next day and they didn't give a fuck if they were fit to train or not.
When they arrived at Joshua's house, people were already pouring out and filling the surroundings of the house. And that was a big house. But not as big as the Green house.
"You guys should have a party at your house," Jordan said as they got out of the car. "You could invite the whole school. It would be crazy."
Will and Thom exchanged a look. "I don't think it's a good idea." They said.
As they entered the house the crowd overwhelmed them. They quickly joined the party, started drinking and talking to people. Thom ran into Chrissy who hung on him by arms and legs. Thom took her with a mischievous smile to some secluded place as she whispered something in his ear and gently bit his earlobe.
Jordan and Neal met up with friends from their old school, they asked Will if he was okay on his own and Will nodded telling them to go have some fun and wear a condom. Jordan told him to fuck off with a smile on his face and Neal gave him the middle finger as they walked away.
Will was left alone in the kitchen drinking a bottle of beer. It wasn't that he couldn't drink beer and smell it at a party, he could handle it. But when it was time to have sex, his partner had to be literally clean, with the scent of soap or no smell at all. He hoped that one day he would be able to get over that, but for now he was happy with himself for being able to be at a party full of beer and its aroma permeate every corner of the house.
People approached him to speak to him but he didn't know anyone. Some were from the same year as him, some were freshmen and some were seniors. Then he saw Joshua. He knew because everyone was around him and from time to time he called someone out when they were about to break something in the house. Joshua was hard to miss, he was taller than he was and his hair was dyed electric blue. When he saw Will looking at him he smiled winking at him. Will smiled back at him, but it was a kind, friendly smile like the ones he gave to people he had just met or didn't know very well.
He went back to his beer and was surprised when he saw Alex in front of him. "Hi Alex."
"Hey Will," he said smiling. "I'm glad you came."
"Yeah, I needed to clear my mind a bit."
"I have something to tell you," he said, yelling over the music. "Do you mind if we go somewhere quieter?"
"Not at all."
Alex took him by the hand and led him to the backyard of the house. There were quite a few people there, too, but the music was less overwhelming. Alex led him to an area where not many people gathered, near a water font that wasn't activated. "I think we're good here," he said without letting go of his hand. "I don't really like these kinds of parties."
"Why did you come then?"
He shrugged. "I was hoping to see you here."
Will was very fond of Alex, he was honest and just his type but he wasn't going to do anything with a coworker. He wouldn't feel comfortable if things ended badly between them. "Alex I…"
"I'm going to quit the job. I spoke to Rob yesterday." He cut him off.
"Oh really?" He said surprised. "Why?"
"I'm moving to Denver next week."
Denver. "That's…cool…right?"
"Yes," he said smiling. "My uncle lives there and…well…things aren't good with my parents here. I'll go live with him. I'll finish school there and…I don't know, maybe I'll go to a local college. I have no idea."
"Well. I'm sorry about your parents and I'm happy for you about Denver. It's a shame you're leaving."
Alex smiled. "Aren't you gonna ask?"
"About what?"
"About my parents?"
"Can I ask?"
"You can do whatever you want."
Will smiled. "You know what I mean."
Alex nodded, still smiling. "I came out. I mean, I always knew I was gay and I was always okay with it, but my parents didn't know yet. I told them and they didn't know how to deal with it."
"I'm so sorry."
"I'll be fine. I try not to think about it too much."
Will noticed that Alex was still holding his hand and tightened his grip. "Then I guess I can't let you go before I do this."
He moved closer to him and kissed his lips slowly, bringing a hand to Alex's face and lifting his chin with his index finger to kiss him at a better angle. Alex kissed back at once, moving his lips against Will's and wrapping his arm around his neck. When they separated Alex smiled and met his eyes. "I think it would be great if we continue with this until the end."
Will raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Definitely," he said, biting Will's lower lip gently. "There's a lot of sexual tension to unleash here."
Will laughed against her mouth and led him into the house. Alex smelled good, like soap and he didn't taste like beer. He wasn't liying when he said he didn't like these kind of parties. They went upstairs to find an empty room, and when they found it, they locked the door and had two rounds of refreshing sex to quench six months of sexual tension fueled by shifty glances, suggestive smiles, accidental hand brushes, and flirtatious winks at work and school.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Will returned to the party with Alex after an hour. Alex said that he had to go home so Will walked him to his car. They said goodbye with a soft and chaste kiss, but nice, very nice.
When Will returned to the party he looked around for his friends. He found Jordan having an arm wrestling battle on the front yard with some guys from the soccer club and Neal making out with one of the cheerleaders on the living room couch. He searched for Thom but couldn't find him at first, looking for him in the front yard and in the back. Then he went to the living room and to the kitchen, he was not there. The house was bigger than he thought.
He discovered a large and illuminated living room with Christmas lights hanging on the walls. There was a piano and armchairs. A large and luxurious sofa. There was also a huge and imposing library and before he knew it, Will was already picking up one of the books.
"Interesting choice," he heard say behind him. "I never thought the quarterback liked French literature."
He turned to see Joshua from third year with his electric blue hair, his black shiny eyes, his glittery robe open to reveal his bare torso, and his white jean pants. He was smiling at him funny, he seemed lucid and there was something in his look that gave Will chills. He still couldn't decide if this was the good kind of chills or the kind that makes you wanna run away.
"Why? Do you also think I'm a football obsessed idiot?" Said Will looking back at the book, opened it and read the last sentence of the last chapter. "'Let's try to enter death with open eyes…'"
Joshua widened his smile and nodded. "One of my favorite novels."
Will closed the book and turned it over to read the title on the cover. "'Memoirs of Hadrian'," he continued to examine the book in his hand. "I hadn't read it before."
"I can lend it to you if you want."
Will looked at him. "Are you sure?"
He shrugged and pushed off the wall where he was leaning. He walked over to Will, standing inches from him encroaching on his space. Will didn't react, he stayed still, attentive to his movements. Joshua touched the book with his index finger and looked into Will's eyes. "Just take care of him, okay? Is my favorite."
Will noticed how he was looking at him, with ulterior motives. "And what do you want in return?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I want something in return?"
"Yeah."
He smiled. "Am I that obvious?"
"Yeah."
Joshua laughed.
Will stepped away a bit and turned his face. "Thank you. I'll take good care of it."
Joshua nodded. "Give it back when you're done."
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna steal it from you."
"Find me when you're done with it," he told him. "That will be my excuse to see you again."
Will frowned. "I don't know you."
"That can be fixed."
"I mean, I found out you existed just two weeks ago."
"Ouch."
"Why are you approaching me so suddenly?"
"Are you always this suspicious?"
"Only with suspicious people."
"Do I look suspicious to you?"
"A little, yes."
Joshua smiled. "Not everyone who approaches you wants something from you, Will."
"You know my name?" He said surprised.
"Of course I know. You're more popular than you think," and before Will could say anything he turned to leave. "When you finish reading it I hope we can discuss it. I'm intrigued to know how your mind works, quarterback." And he left, getting lost among the people that populated the corridor that led to the main hall.
Will froze with the French novel in his hand.