𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 ⸙

1.68𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

Zayn was sitting crossed legged on the floor in his dad's office, staring blankly at his handwriting on some boring documents about the building structure. Zayn traced his fingers over the blue ink. I would give anything to see you again, he thought sadly.

Solana had left to get dinner and didn't return. Zayn knew she was done with the sorrow for now. Zayn, however, couldn't bring himself to leave. He wanted to sit and simply replay the memories in his mind of his father sitting at his desk, or standing by the window with a content smile, or staring quizzically at the bookshelf when Zayn snuck in to disorganise their order.

I took it all for granted. Zayn felt the grief bubbling in his throat. So did you, dad. His father spent a lot of time on his own in his office, obsessed with work, keeping allies, fighting strategies, and contingency plans in case the pack was attacked.

Zayn wished his parents did what Liam's parents used to do. Zayn would have liked to spend more time with them alone on days out. His father was very pack orientated, sometimes a bit too much.

Zayn then smelt the sweet scent of his mate drifting down the corridor. He looked up as Liam hovered by the doorway, wearing blue ripped jeans and an oversized yellow hoodie. Someone had embroidered a black wolf's head into the left side of his chest. Brown hair curled over the rim of his burgundy bobble hat. Liam complimented the way it shaped his face with a smile.

Liam rolled cutely on the souls of his feet with his hands awkwardly clasped behind his back.

"Hello," he said in a quiet voice. "You missed dinner."

"I was distracted," Zayn mumbled, looking back to the papers in his hands. I wish he got to meet my mate. He would have been so happy for me.

Liam glanced curiously around the office. "Books," he said, pointing to the rows of shelves. "C-Can I look?"

Zayn nodded, watching him step silently into the room.

Liam ran a finger along one book that caught his interest. "It's about the history of werewolves."

Liam pulled the book from the shelf, feeling the textured pine green leather.

"Take it to read, if you want. Dad liked it when people borrowed his books. He liked sharing knowledge."

"I just want to know everything about your world."

Liam would have smiled, but he clocked Zayn's sadness in his down-turned lips and distant hazel eyes. Liam clutched the book to his chest and tilted his head. "This has been a tough day for you."

"Yeah." Zayn swallowed thickly. "A step closer to not feeling so fucking miserable though."

Liam shuffled closer. "Mira once told me that we have to move miles and miles to feel better. Each day we only take a little step, but the further we move, the better we'll feel. She said after a hard loss, we'll never have a destination where we'll feel back to normal, but as long as we keep going, we don't run the risk of breaking down for good."

Zayn looked into Liam's eyes, like opal skies of their own. "And that's what you've been doing? Always moving away from your parent's death?"

"Some days I'm running, some days I'm barely taking a step. We all have those, um, not so good days." Liam crouched by his werewolf and rested a reassuring hand on his warm shoulder. "Move at the pace you need, even if you're crawling from day to day."

"What if l do stop?"

"Then I'll put you back on your feet." Liam smiled.

"I didn't have anyone when I lost my parents, but you have me now. I'll be here for you whenever you need me. That's what this mate thing is all about, yes?"