How to Take Care of a Stray Were

Chapter five

Liam

They made it to Mia's apartment without being seen. She had started to shiver uncontrollably, and Liam felt guilty for taking her rain coat – it wasn't that warm, but at least it would have protected her from the rain. Now she looked like a drowned rat. When they came to the door of the old brick building, Mia was shivering so violently she struggled to fit the key in the keyhole. They trudged to the fourth floor in weary silence.

When she was finally able to let them inside, she dumped her boots on the rack beside the door and hurried to pick up a blanket from a couch. She wrapped herself in it like a burrito and wiped her face with a corner of it before turning back to Liam. Liam closed the door after them and stood before it awkwardly, dripping water on the hardwood floor.

"You must be freezing," Mia fussed. "I'll take the coat to the bathroom to dry and draw you a bath. If you put your clothes in the washer/dryer in the hallway, I can wash them for you."

"You look like you need the bath yourself," Liam argued, crouching stiffly to remove his soaked sneakers. His side had been throbbing nastily all the way to the apartment, and moving his midsection caused blinding pain to lash through him. He might have a broken rib, he mused darkly.

Mia crossed her arms and frowned. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him and her dark hair was stuck in wet tangles around her face and her teeth were clattering, so the effect wasn't very threatening.

"Fine, fine," Liam sighed, placing his sneakers on the shoe rack and starting to remove the ridiculous rain coat. When he moved his arms to drag the coat from his shoulders, Mia's eyes darted to his midsection and her already big dark eyes widened even more. Liam looked down: his denim jacket underneath had gaped open to reveal a huge purple bruise on his side. He quickly pulled the jacket around him before handing her the rain coat.

"It's nothing, really. We heal fast," he assured her.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end, she just nodded grimly as she took the coat from him and turned on her heels to walk to the hallway at the back of the apartment.

While Mia was busying herself in the bathroom, Liam tried to tiptoe carefully to look around in the open-complex living room/kitchen he was standing in. His socks were soaked, and he was leaving wet foot prints on the dark floor.

Mia's apartment was small but cozy. She was clearly not a minimalist when it came to decorating: the exposed brick wall in front of him was covered with pictures and paintings, the wall by the window on his left ruled by two massive bookcases, and every surface had at least one house plant. The floors were covered with soft rugs, and the couch and window seat were littered with pillows and blankets. The kitchen on his right looked worn but tidy, with at least five more plants on the counter between the kitchen and the living area. It was very different from Liam's home, but he found he kind of liked it.

"The bath is ready," Mia said from the entrance to the hallway.

Liam turned his eyes from the pictures on the wall to look at her. She was patting her hair with a towel, and it now formed a tangled mess around her head.

"I put my brother's shirt and joggers on top of the washer, you can use them for now," she continued.

"Your brother lives here also?" Liam asked, cocking an eyebrow. He wondered what her brother would have to say about their surprise guest.

"Oh, no no no," Mia replied quickly, grimacing. "He only comes here to visit every now and then. He's living in our childhood hometown."

"Oh, okay," Liam said, and sneezed.

"Bath," Mia reminded, frowning.

"Yes, ma'am."

In the bathroom, Liam peeled off his soaked clothes and dropped them on the floor tiles. He then carefully lowered himself in the scalding water of the tub. It burned his skin, but he let out a sigh. Even though he could deal with cold weather much better than an average human, the almost three days he had spent in the rain had settled a coldness in him that seemed impossible to fend off. He let his body slip further in the tub, and rested his head against the side of it, closing his eyes.

His mind was whirling with thoughts that demanded his attention, with the stress and anger he had felt for the last couple of days, but most of all he felt weary, weary beyond measure. Still, even the warm bath water that seemed to defreeze his bones couldn't eradicate his restlessness. Sure, it was an immense relief to finally have a roof over his head and somewhere to sleep in, but what would he do when he had to leave this apartment? He didn't think Mia's hospitality extended beyond this night, and maybe, if he got really lucky, a few more. Few people wanted to have a random homeless guy – a werewolf, to make the matters even better – in their home for a long period of time.

Liam knew his friends Coby and Bran and their families would let him stay at their places, but he also knew that would put them into danger. If Lochlan found out that someone from the pack had been sheltering him, he would not hesitate to punish them – and he would be more than happy to get his hands on him.

Any help from the pack was out of the question. The problem was, he hardly knew anyone outside his pack. He hadn't had time to really get to know the world outside their own little bubble quite yet.

He run his hands through his hair in frustration. Only five more months. Such a short time until he could stand up for himself. At the moment, it felt like an eternity, though. He could hardly sleep on the streets that long, especially with the winter months lurking just around the corner. He knew the other packs wouldn't welcome him with open arms if he humbled himself enough to ask them for shelter. The pack alphas didn't find an unknown male just on the verge of maturation a desired guest. He also didn't think he'd find many people like Mia, who would let him stay in their homes.

His thoughts revolved back to the small woman with doe-like eyes and weirdly determined spirit. He couldn't comprehend why she would go out of her way to search for him in the downpour and through the flooding streets – he couldn't even understand why she had asked him to stay at her place in the first place.

However, she had. She seemed determined to help him, whether he wanted it or not. Maybe she was lonely? She seemed to living alone, and Liam was getting the vibe that she was single – why else would she have spent the Saturday night alone? A single woman in her late twenties or early thirties. And she had liked what she saw in him – he had caught her casting lingering glances on him on their way here.

Maybe she would let him stay at her place for a longer time if he kept her entertained?

Liam felt a spark of hope in his chest, but it was shadowed by the ugliness of the idea. Would he really stoop so low? Would he be ready to use someone so ruthlessly?

His thoughts returned to Lochlan and he felt a new wave of rage pass him. He set his jaw and felt his fingers grip the sides of the tub almost painfully. Yes, he would do anything to survive and get his revenge, to free his pack. Even if it meant using someone – it was not as if he was planning on hurting her, anyway.

But before he let himself get too hopeful, he would have to investigate whether the idea was even possible. He wasn't even sure she was single.

With a new, if very faint, flicker of hopefulness and determination, he scanned the shampoo bottles on the self next to the tub. All of them were scented. Liam frowned. His plan of seduction wasn't kicking off very strongly with him smelling like vanilla cupcake.