𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 ⸙

1.49𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

Zayn pulled his head back and looked at Liam's brown eyes, grey in the moonlight. He nodded his head, trying his hardest to ignore Harry who stood with Louis. In his wolf form, Zayn could bite down on Harry's leg or arm, or somewhere to cause immense pain.

Punching Harry in the chest was Zayn being kind. If Louis wasn't family, or someone Zayn actually liked, Harry would be dead.

Zayn concentrated on Liam's fingers running through his fur. he had waited for this moment for weeks. Is he really not scared? Zayn was terrifying, and his transformation into his wolf wasn't for the faint hearted. Liam had now watched him shift both ways and didn't bolt into the darkness, screaming until his lungs hurt. He's being brave for me.

Zayn softly licked Liam's cheek and his mate chuckled. Could they really connect the bond during one of the most chaotic nights Zayn had lived through in months?

Liam still shivered, and he was exhausted, but not afraid, and that's all that mattered.

Zayn shuffled closer in the snow. Liam was so close, hugging for one minute wouldn't be a problem. Being deep in the woods gave him the impression that they had all the time in the world. Nothing moved around them. The woods felt like a different time, a better time, a calmer time.

Zayn acted first and rested his chin on Liam's shoulder, willing for them to hug. Liam was slow to sink into him, but once his arms were around Zayn's thick neck, Liam hugged him tightly and buried his face into Zayn's fur.

Zayn tried to count the seconds in his head. When he reached thirty seconds, his mind drifted to how content his wolf felt for the first time in a long time. Usually when Zayn was in his wolf form, he was angry, or on a hunt, or packed with adrenaline and wanting to fight and run and feel the wind tearing through him.

Now, all Zayn wanted was to flop into Liam's lap and feel his fingers running through the fur around his ears.

Zayn closed his eyes, forgetting about Louis and Harry, about the fight at Shadow Packhouse, and about how far they were from Ethdellin Packhouse. He forgot about the cold snow underneath him, and only dedicated his focus to his mate, Liam Payne, the cute human with sparkling bown eyes, a cute nose, and brown wavy hair that liked to stick up in the mornings.

Zayn's mind plummeted to Reverie Library. He thought about that first glance, and how he approached Liam to help him put his book back on the shelf. Zayn thought about that first suffocating hug outside Liam's aunt and uncle's house, and their first kiss on Ethdellin hill, among the stars and the snow and the slit of the moon.

Zayn thought about their first morning to together and how small Liam looked curled up in the middle of his bed. He thought about the first time he woke up next to his mate, and how utterly at peace he was with Liam Payne in his arms.

Zayn lost himself in thought and felt as though he drifted with a warm breeze, up and up until he floated with the stars.

Suddenly, Zayn felt whole, complete, fixed.

By the time is mind crashed to earth, he knew the bond had connected, and Liam successfully hugged him for longer than a minute. The first thing Zayn felt was his mate's body against him, and his fingers gently caressing the fur on his back.

Liam had thought about Zayn the same way, but from his perspective. The good times they shared together would only get better. The memories they shared would grow in quantity, and the love they had for each other would never perish, even if one of them died before the other.

Zayn lifted his head from Liam's shoulder. Their eyes connected. Something twirled in Liam's gaze, something

Zayn hadn't yet seen. Love? Admiration? Zayn felt different too. He felt stronger with Liam so close, like he could tackle the world as long as his mate was by his side.