By the time Will found Thom it was too late. Some people were already leaving but others were still partying. Jordan and Neal were part of that group, but Will told them that he had to go and take Thom home because they had an issue with the family in a few hours.
He had found Thom in one of the bed rooms, lying on the bed sleeping—clothed, thank God. — and very drunk. He was alone but he had been with someone, the bed was messy ans he had a hickey on his neck and his shirt was half open.
"Thom," Will called him. "Thomas," he shook him and Thom groaned in his sleep. "Wake up you idiot. If you fall asleep I won't take you back. You weigh as shit."
Thom opened his eyes slowly and when he focused his eyes, he saw Will and smiled. "Hey Will."
"Hi baby." Will told him messing with him. "If you don't get your fucking ass out of bed, I'll leave you here and you'll have a slumber party with fucking Joshua from third year."
Thom groaned sleepily and shifted on the sheets. He reached out an arm and patted the spot next to him. "Come here."
"No, asshole. We have to go home. Lindsey will make us sleepwalk around the woods."
Then Thom grabbed Will's wrist and yanked him hard onto the bed. Will lost his balance and fell to the spot next to him. He glared at Thom and Thom smiled triumphantly at him. "You'll take care if Lindsey sticks her shotgun up our ass."
Thom moaned. "That sounds good."
"Oh, my God."
Thom laughed and shifted on the bed. He rolled over and lay on his side, looking at Will's profile and resting his head on his flexed arm. "How was your night?"
"Pretty good," he said. "You?"
"Really good."
"I can see it," he said, motioning to the hickey on his neck. "You neglected Chrissy these days. Next time she might rip a chunk out of your neck."
Thom smiled but didn't respond. Instead, he reached blindly with his hand on the mattress for the book Joshua had lent Will, he shook it in his face. "What is this?"
"A book. I don't think this is the first time you've seen one."
"Oh, it definitely isn't. Where did it come from?"
"From a library. Do I really have to explain this to you? I thought we'd already been through that in preschool."
"From which library?"
"From the one in the house."
"So you just took it?" He pretended to be surprised and his mouth formed a perfect O. "Don't tell me you stole it. I thought you were the best of us."
"You make it sound like I'm boring."
"You're not boring at all. Did you steal the book?"
"No."
"So someone gave it to you."
"Probably."
"Who?"
"It's a secret."
Thom smiled. "Oh, you wanna play like that?"
Will smiled too. "I don't know what are you talking about."
"Oh really?" He tossed the book somewhere on the bed. "You know about Chrissy."
"I do."
"It's not fair if I don't know too."
"If you don't know what?"
"About who gave you the book."
"It's not important, really."
"Did Joshua give it to you?"
"Why do you think it was Joshua?"
"He owns the house. Literally the only person who has the right to give you anything from the house."
"Wow, did you figure that out on your own? I'm so proud of you."
"Why did Joshua give you a book?"
"He didn't give it to me. He lent it to me."
"William."
"Thomas."
"Why did Joshua lend you a book?"
"He saw me looking at it."
"So he lent it to you because you liked it."
"So it seems."
Thom didn't say anything for a few seconds and sighed in disgust. "Why do you attract everything that walks? Where do you get all those pheromones?"
Will remembered that Thom was drunk and felt more free to say certain things. "Why? Jealous?"
"Very."
"Don't worry, your time will come."
"Fuck you."
"Sure, we can do that."
"Oh really?"
He shrugged. "If it's you, sure."
Thom laughed. "God. This is killing me."
Will turned his head towards him and looked at him. "What are you taking about?"
"I'm not gonna tell you. It's a secret."
"That's not fair."
"Of course it is."
"You know all my secrets."
"Do I?"
"Of course."
"So we tell each other everything?"
"Yeah."
"If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?"
"Yeah."
"You swear?"
"I swear."
Thom stared at him and brought his face closer to Will's. "Did you fuck someone today?"
Will remained unmoved. "Yeah."
Thom raised an eyebrow. "A girl?"
"No."
"Joshua?"
"No."
"Who?"
"Alex."
Thom's eyebrow twitched. "Alex?"
"Yeah."
"The guy you told me you had nothing with?"
"He's leaving town next week. That's why I did it."
"So you gave him a parting fuck?"
Will got a little angry but he knew that drunk Thom was an asshole so he had a little more patience with him.
"Ah. You got angry." Thom said.
"What?"
"You got mad. What I said upset you."
"A bit."
"Sorry. Will you forgive me?"
"Yes, Thom."
And he beamed. "I love you."
"Me too," and then he remembered how they had come to this conversation. "Now is your turn."
"To what?"
"To tell me your secret."
"What secret?"
"You told me this was killing you. Why? Why did you say that?"
Thom laughed exhaling through his nose and closing his eyes. "I cannot tell you."
"Why not?"
He sighed and opened his eyes. He looked up at him and his eyes clouded over with something Will never saw in him, and since he never saw it he couldn't be sure if he was right or if it was all a bad move of the irresponsible combination of alcohol and antidepressants that prevailed in his body.
"I could fuck it up." Thom said.
"Fuck it up with what?"
"With you."
"There's nothing you can't tell me, Thom."
"Shit," he whispered to himself and rolled over on the bed until he was on his back. "Say it again." He said under his breath.
"What?"
"What you call me sometimes. What you called me just when you came to wake me up."
Will felt that he couldn't breathe, he felt his heart beating intensely in his ears. "You don't like it when I do it. That's why I do it."
He denied with his head. "I lied."
"About what?"
Thom turned his head and looked at him, and the look in his eyes made Will flinch and gasp.
"Say it." Thom said.
"Baby."
Then Thom rolled onto his side and faced Will. He grabbed Will's waist and pulled him hard until he was close to his body. His foreheads met and their breaths merged, both breathing heavily as if the load of feelings was too heavy. Thom smelled of beer and sweat but Will didn't care, it was the first time he didn't care and he was euphoric about it. Knowing that it was Thom, he didn't care at all what scent he had, as long as it was him, he would accept everything. He was amazed at what love was capable of doing to one in these cases.
Thom didn't do anything at first, he just stood there breathing Will's breath and feeling his hand timidly reach his face. He closed his eyes and Will too.
"Thom." Will whispered.
"I'm trying."
"What are you trying?"
"Hold myself back."
"Don't," he whispered against his lips. "Thom," he called him. "Baby, please."
And Thom kissed him with such hunger and desperation that Will shuddered in his arms, which had trailed down his back and encircled his waist. Will slipped his fingers into Thom's hair and his other hand cupped the nape of his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. Thom shoved his tongue into his mouth and Will tasted it, sucked on his tongue and Thom growled. Will felt him roll over him until Thpm was on top of him, Will spread his legs so that Thom could fit between them and he did. Will hugged Thom's neck and shoved his tongue into his mouth, moaned as Thom sucked on his tongue, and pressed further against him as Thom tightened his grip on his waist. Then they separated, just a few inches. They looked into each other's eyes breathing heavily, Will dared to capture Thom's lip with his teeth gently and Thom shuddered. "You're killing me," Thom whispered. "You can't do this to me."
Will left delicate kisses on his lips, inviting him to continue. He couldn't find his voice, he was in a trance where all he had in his head was "Thom, Thom, Thom."
"Will," he was saying between kisses. "Shit. Stop."
And he did. He stopped and looked at him. And before he could say anything, Thom rested his forehead against his neck and stayed there for a few seconds. Will realized that he was not moving and that his breathing was slowing down until it was almost inaudible. He shook him and realized that he was asleep. Stupid Thomas had fallen asleep on him after kissing him like hell and had left him with a zillion questions.
"Fuck," Will said. "I'm gonna fucking kill you, Diaz."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Will drove back to the Green house. Thom lay unconscious in the passenger seat while Will decided whether to play dumb about what had happened between them or just beat Thom to death and then kiss him. A lot of kisses. So many kisses.
He heard Thom stir when they were halfway up. Will didn't turn to look at him, his eyes were fixed on the road.
"Hey," Thom said sleepily. "What happened? Where are we going?"
"Home."
"Oh fuck," he said holding his forehead. "Lindsey is gonna kill us."
"She's gonnakill you. I'll tell her that you kept me up late looking for you and that it's your fault."
"Hey, why would you do something so cruel?"
"I'm kinda mad at you."
"Why? Did I do something? Did I say something?"
Then Will realized that, thanks to the magic of alcohol, he was safe. He decided to play dumb, it was already customary for him after all. "You pushed me onto a bed, grabbed me, and said you wouldn't let me go until I agreed to have a threesome with you and Chrissy." But he was gonna mess with him a bit, it was true he was upset.
Thom looked at him horrified. "You gotta be fucking with me. Are you serious?"
"You can be a real asshole when you're drunk. Don't worry, I'll forgive you in a couple of hours."
"God," he said burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry dude."
Will nodded. "Good boy."
He sighed and then said, "How was your night?"
He smiled. "Very good. I would ask you about yours but I can already get an idea."
Thom laughed and leaned his head against the window. "I have to break up with Chrissy."
And Will couldn't help turning his head towards him for at least three seconds. "What?"
"She's getting annoying. She says she wants a formal relationship and shit."
"Wow, you're the worst."
"I can't lie to her, can I? I don't want that with her."
"Just promise me that you'll tell her in a kind and loving way. Remember that you fucked the girl like two hundred times during the year, she was your faithful fuck partner."
He felt Thom's amused look on his profile and smiled. "Did you just say fuck partner?" Thom said. "Wow, you seriously hate her."
"I don't hate her." He hated her. Madly. "It's what it is, isn't it? You said it yourself, that it was just sex."
"Yeah, but I never said she was my fuck partner. That was all you. It was your Evil Will rearing his ugly head out."
"Ugly head? Really? That's cruel."
"I missed him, you know? Evil Will. He's funny."
"You say Usual Will isn't fun?"
"Oh, no. Usual Will is cool and calm, like a movie star or maybe a Gucci model," Will laughed and Thom continued. "But Evil Will? He's the devil himself. Cruel but kind, funny but sarcastic. I really like him."
Will laughed again and slowed down when he saw the Green house a few yards away. "Good job baby. You almost make me forget I'm mad at you." And with that said, he parked the car near the dirt road that filled the forest and got out of the car.
Thom quickly caught up with him and trudged into the trees, deep into the woods and toward the house. "You know what just occurred to me?"
"I still don't read minds Thomas."
"If I ever turn into a werewolf, we could sleep together on a full moon. I'd be your blanket."
"What the fuck are you talking about? What's that about?"
"You never wanna sleep with me. We used to do it all the time when we were kids. I feel lonely, you know."
"Great, apparently you're still drunk and I'm gonna witness Lindsey kicking your ass. Today is gonna be a good day after all."
"Shut up. She could hear you."
"I don't think so, she's human…yet."
"Please don't push our luck. If Lindsey turns, we're doomed."
Then they heard something in the undergrowth, heard the crack of branches as they were broken by a regular weight on them. Will saw something move through the trees, a shadow. Then he heard a growl and tensed. He heard more snapping of branches and more grunting and saw more shadows moving quickly through the trees. He looked around as he pressed his back against Thom's who was also tense, he could feel it in his back muscles.
They were surrounded in a matter of seconds. Will tried to remember the last pack of wolves which they had had conflicts with but he couldn't remember it. And things made less and less sense when they saw that their enemies weren't wolves, but people. But these people were rare because they moved quickly and agilely, their eyes shone with electric blue light, sharp fangs peeked out from under their lips, and their claws…they had the same claws as wolves.
"What the fuck is this?" Thom said.
"Hello guys," a familiar voice said. They turned and saw the hunter who left the silver bullet at school, the one who threatened Rosemary. The hunter walked among his…companions, who made way for him instantly. He gave the boys a giant smile showing a row of white teeth. "See you again. I told you it would be soon."
"You…" Thom growled under his breath. "What the fuck are these people? You work with wolves? What the fuck is going on?"
"Now, now. Don't worry, captain. Don't despair. You'll have your answers in its due time," he signaled to a woman who was close to him, her eyes shining blue and she was showing off her fangs and claws. The woman approached him and stood next to him. "These guys are the result of years of work and research. We realized that normal humans would never be enough to kill werewolves or even witches. That's why we did a little experiment," he took the girl's jaw and raised it up, showing it. "We mixed werewolf DNA with normal humans and…created evolution. We created hybrids."
"Hybrids?" Will said.
"Half human, half werewolves. They're the so-called 'something in between'. They have the same abilities as wolves but they don't transform at full moon. They even have a little extra that I'm personally a big fan of," he took the girl's arm and extended it towards the rays of sun that slipped through the treetops. The girl's skin shone and small silver shards reflected in the boys' eyes, they had to close their eyes a couple of times. "Silver. Shards of silver. Just by touching a werewolf, they would burn them and might even wound him to death. Isn't that cool?"
"Sons of bitches," Thom said. "You experimented on humans for this? You fucking psychopaths. And what the fuck are those blue eyes? They're supposed to be wolves."
"What? You've never heard of the Omegas?" Said the hunter. "That's weird. Don't worry captain, I'll tell you. Omegas are wolves without a pack, they go through life alone. They're lone wolves. They have no scent and no home to go to, they live on the move because they don't have a pack. They are the easiest prey if you ask me."
"This is insane," Will said. "What are you gonna do with us? Kill us?"
"No. Not yet. This was just a greeting. So you can see what you're up against. The real fight will be soon," he motioned to the hybrids and turned to leave among the trees, the hybrids seemed to follow him but he wasn't gonna go that easily. He was a psychopath after all. He stopped and held up a hand, turned to the boys and smiled. "Since I like you so much, I'll give you a free sample of what you're in for." He snapped his fingers, and one of the hybrids grabbed Will unnoticed and lashed its claws at his knee, the one that had been injured by Baird when he was fifteen and had cost him some of Rob's magic and two years of rehab to have it as new. The hybrid dug his claws into the flesh and yanked hard, tearing Will's knee and part of his leg.
The blood gushed out spilling on the ground and the grass, Will screamed in pain but held on with his good leg to avoid falling to the ground, although he had a hard time not throwing himself on the ground and rolling over screaming in pain.
Thom yelled his name and grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him so that Will concentrated half his weight on Thom's body. "I'm gonna kill you for this, you son of a bitch!" Thom yelled at the hunter.
Then, in the distance, Marcus' howl was heard. The howl of the Alpha.
Hearing this, the hunter smiled and beckoned the hybrids to him. "Time to go guys, it was nice to see you. My name is Ryan James. I look forward to becoming friends and spending more time together." He gave them an unsettling smile and quickly left the place.
After he left, Thom told Will to sit on the floor. He helped him do it and when he was already sitting up, he took off his shirt and used it as a tourniquet, bandaging the wound on Will's leg with it and squeezing hard to stop the bleeding. Will screamed and bit his lip. "I'm sorry," Thom was saying. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. You're doing fine." Will said between groans of pain.
"Fuck, your knee Will. He knew. Baird may have told him about your knee. Damn bastard, I'll kill him, I'll blow his fucking head off."
He was desperate, scared and very angry. Will knew it. He knew that whatever happened to him affected Thom twice as much for some reason. It had always been like that, ever since they were little. "Thom," he called him. "Look at me." Thom looked at him. "I'll be fine. I always am. But I don't want you to say those things. I don't want you to say things you'll regret later."
"Good. Because I won't regret it. I'm furious Will," as he fixed the tourniquet firmly on his wound, he took Will's arm and wrapped it around his neck. He grabbed his waist and helped him up. Will groaned in pain but Thom managed to carry him, they moved very slowly, Will hopping and limping. "They're gonna have a fucking war after this."
In the distance they saw the wolves. A large white wolf with red eyes on fire was running at full speed followed by six wolves and a warlock.
Rob sped up when he saw Will hurt. When he reached him he told Thom to sit Will on the ground. Seb approached Will in his wolf form, brought his muzzle close to his face and licked his face and neck. Rob removed Will's tourniquet and his gaze examined the wound, wincing with mixed pain and anger. "Who did this?"
"A hybrid." Thom said.
Rob looked at him. "A what?"
"It's a long story. Please fix him. We'll explain everything at the house."
Rob placed his hands on Will's bleeding knee and violet light shot from his palms, green sparks exploted between his fingers and soundless words fell from his lips. Will watched as the wound on his leg closed and healed in a matter of seconds, he sighed in relief as he noticed how the pain lessened. He looked up at his father, his straight black bangs falling over his hazel eyes and a fine sheen of sweat covering his face. Will smiled thinking his dad looked cool.
The wound healed and Will got to his feet, he needed some help but he was able to walk without any problem. "It's not fully healed," Rob said. "But it will be in a few weeks," Will agreed and Rob hugged him tightly, he had to stand on tiptoes to get around his neck, Will was too tall and Rob not so much. "You scared me to death kid." He said over his shoulder.
Will hugged his back and rested his chin on his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Rob grunted and stepped away for Seb to join the hug. He returned to his human form amid the familiar noise of bones breaking and rejoining in the form of a human skeleton. He was naked but Will chose not to think about it when he had him hugging him tight. Seb put a hand behind Will's head and brought his face to his son's hair, inhaling his scent and exhaling leaving his scent on Will. Marking him. "You're fine. You're with us. This won't happen again, they'll have to go through us if they wanna try again." He whispered into his ear.
Will nodded and rubbed his forehead against his shoulder.
The crunch of bones was heard behind Seb. Will could see Marcus return to his human form. "We have to go back," he said. "There's a lot to talk about."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Thom and Will told the pack what Ryan James had told them. Will was sitting on the sofa with his leg up, Ada had put a cushion under his knee. Thom was sitting next to him.
"Son of a bitch," Callie said. Gao was standing next to her frowning. "We gotta kill him, and those fucking hybrids too."
"Fuck, the game." Will said attracting everyone's atention. He had suddenly remembered that the game against East High was in two weeks and the situation with his knee had automatically sunk them, only he could face the ten-foot giant.
"What?" Callie said.
"The game against East High is in two weeks."
"You've got to be kidding me," Thom said looking at him. "Not the time for that now, read the fucking room Gallagher ."
"Only I can outrun the ten-foot giant."
"I don't think it's a good idea to prove it." Gao said.
"That's my point, we're screwed."
"I don't give a shit about the fucking game, Will. That son of a bitch nearly ripped your knee off. The last thing I care about right now is football," Thom said, and when he realized everyone was gaping at him he cringed a bit. "What?"
"That's the first time you've said that about football," Callie said. "Your head is always full of football and boobs, never anything else."
"Fuck you Andrea." Thom said knowing that calling her sister by her middle name bothered her ass.
Callie took a step forward, and growled. "You wanna fight? You know I can kick your ass in half a second."
"That's enough. Both of you." Amber was heard saying as she joined the pack in the living room. She was walking from the kitchen carrying a glass of water for Will. The twins automatically shut up when they heard her mother.
"Do you think Baird knows?" Marcus asked Will suddenly. "About hybrids."
Will shook his head as he accepted the glass of water from Amber. "I don't know. I don't think so. I think he just spread the word not knowing who would listen."
"And a masochistic psychopath heard it," Cyrus said as he leaned back against Reese. "Amazing. I think we'll have a lot of fun killing him."
Lindsey walked over to Will, squatted in front of him, and took his hand. "We'll make them pay," then she frowned and lowered her head. "Sorry. If I hadn't told you to come home early…"
"No," Will interrupted. "It's not your fault. Don't even think that. There was no way you knew that would happen."
"They were targeting us," Thom said. "Since we met Graham for the first time. Maybe they followed us and when they saw we were alone…"
"Although it strikes me that they have attacked on our territory," Gao said. "It's like we're being provoked on purpose."
"Because that's what they were doing," Marcus said. "And we face hybrids that are also omegas, they can blend perfectly with humans. Omegas have no scent because they don't have a pack, and being hybrids they will always look like humans."
"They could be among us and we won't even know it," said Ada who was running her fingers through Will's hair, she looked at Thom. "You both have to be careful."
"I can be with Will at school," Callie said. "To protect him."
"I can take care of myself." Will said.
"You need a wolf by your side. So shut the fuck up, I'll watch your back."
"And what about me? Thomas? Your twin brother, remember me?"
"I can transfer to your school and stay with you." Cyrus said.
"You're a prodigy," Thom said. "What are you gonna do in a school for people who can barely add and subtract?"
"Watch your poor ass."
"You're not cute. Not cute at all."
"Do it," Marcus said. "At least until we're done with this."
"Really? It doesn't make sense. He's some kind of genius. Do you know how annoying he'll be when he gets bored? He'll make my life miserable." Thom complained.
Cyrus nodded to Marcus. "Wanna give me a hand with the paperwork?"
"Yes." Marcus said almost immediately.
"You gotta have kids," Thom told Lindsey. "Like, now. He needs to divert his fatherly love elsewhere, it's creepy."
"Kid, go rest in your room," Rob told Will. "I'll heal you again later. But you have to rest."
Seb walked up to Will and scooped him up with his supernatural wolf strength before Will could say anything about it. Seb carried him up the stairs and into Will's room. Seb laid him gently on his bed and put a pillow under his knee. "I think you'll be fine soon." He said softly.
"Your order execution speed is getting more and more remarkable, wolf dad." Will teased.
Seb smiled. "Love makes you a little stupid."
"Are you talking about you or me?"
He shrugged. "Both I think." He kissed Will's head and left leaving the door ajar.
Seconds later, Thom poked his head in and looked at him, not knowing whether to enter or not. Will suppressed a laugh, he thought Thom looked adorable and dorky at the same time. "Come in baby, I don't bite. Unless you are into it, of course."
"I don't know where you got this new habit of messing with me…but I like it."
Will laughed and patted the spot next to him on the bed. Thom walked in and shut the door, sat down next to Will, being very careful not to touch his injured knee with his own. "God, I hate that this happened to you."
"Me too. I have to beat the ten-foot giant from East High."
"William, I am very close to hitting you."
"You know I'm right. If he's as fast as they say, only I can beat him."
"Right now you can't even beat your friend Alex, so shut up."
"Rob says he'll heal me again until he fully heals me. Maybe I'll make it to the game."
"Stop," Thom said wearily. "Seriously. You almost got your leg screwed over and you bled like hell. Right now I don't care about the game or the ten-foot fucking giant. I only care about you."
Will wanted to say no to him. He didn't care about his leg or if he had bled a lot, he only cared about the game and the training because it was the only thing that kept him sane. If he didn't train, there was a high chance that he would have a breakdown. He needed to distract himself, to move. If he thought about his injured leg and the possibility of him not being able to play football again…it would be dangerous. "I'll be fine," he said to reassure Thom, or perhaps to reassure himself. "But hey, at least we are safe from Lindsey's beating."
And Thom chuckled. That was enough.