What Could Have Been [Thiam Rewrites]

Chapter 21: The Centripetal Force of Fate

A/N: Happy Pride Month! Enjoy my favorite queer boys being absolute dorks for each other. Enjoy!

Liam

The tension in the room had Liam's hair standing on end. While the rest of the pack lounged on the comfortable sofas and the chairs in the safe house library, Liam paced the perimeter of it. He listened while the others relayed what they'd learned at the hunter's compound.

Despite the fact that the disastrous night had happened nearly a week ago, the mere thought of it still sent Liam's emotions into overdrive. He forced himself to take deep, calming breaths so that the sparks of anger didn't have a chance to catch.

The weight of a gaze had Liam stilling. Scott was studying him with his hands in his pockets, his lips drawn into a line, and a scowl creasing the space between his brows. The morning after the incident, Scott had pulled Liam aside.

"Li, I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," Scott had said, gripping the base of his neck reassuringly, "and I'm sorry that I failed you at the compound, but I'm here now. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"You didn't fail me, Scott," Liam had told him, but his alpha had refused to hear him. Instead, he'd hauled him into a crushing hug that, despite the distance that had grown between them while he'd been at college, reminded him why he loved Scott. He was the fiercest, most loyal protector anyone could ask for.

Between him and Theo, Liam was starting to think that maybe they could beat these ancient werewolves on determination alone.

Now, Scott quirked his head ever so slightly to the side. You all right? he whispered into his mind.

They'd been practicing keeping an open line of communication between them ever since the incident. Whenever trouble struck again, they'd be ready.

Fine, Liam lied, fighting the urge to wring his hands. He wanted nothing more than to just wake up and have this entire white wolf fiasco be a bad dream. It was bad enough that they had finals starting in a few days, but now his entire future hinged on what might happen the day after graduation. The day of the ring of fire eclipse.

Liam let his eyes flutter shut for a brief second, honing in on the steady sound of Theo's heart beat from across the room—he'd positioned himself directly with the perfect vantage point of the doors and windows throughout the room. Between his crossed arms and the sour expression on his face, Theo looked more like a body guard than anything else. Clearly, Liam wasn't the only one on edge, even if Theo was better at hiding it.

Still, Liam let the steady drumming of his boyfriend's heart steady his own. When he'd centered himself, he tuned back into the larger conversation.

"The first werewolf," Mason said, dumbfounded.

"Yup," Isaac said, popping the 'p'.

"The first. Like, as in... the literal first ever werewolf?" Mason asked again, his eyes wide like he still couldn't quite wrap his mind around that idea.

"Yes," Derek said impatiently, flicking a side-long glance at Mason. "My mother used to tell us stories about her growing up, but I'm not sure how much of its true. Theo, did the Dread Doctors ever mention her?"

Theo shifted, straightening so he wasn't leaning against the built-in bookshelves. All the eyes in the room slid to him.

"A few times," Theo said, his eyes darkening at the distant memory. "Probably close to 900 years ago, she was just an ordinary mortal woman born into poverty who'd grown tired of people taking advantage of her lack of status. Supposedly, she struck a deal with a god because she was tired of being weak. She craved power, and the god granted her everything she wished for—speed, strength, heightened senses—but it all came at a cost. The god that had answered her was the wolf god, and he tied her power to the moon so that every month, she'd lose control and shift into a wolf."