Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It was winter and there was snow on the ground. Ox glanced in the rearview mirror of his truck, seeing that both Kelly and Robbie were asleep, Robbie’s head on Kelly’s shoulder. Ox smiled to himself at the both of them before glancing to the passenger seat where Joe was lightly snoring, his head leaning against the window. Ox reached out and grabbed Joe’s hand in his as he drove on. 

They were traveling, attempting to locate packs who needed help after everything that had gone down - they had heard reports of something terrorizing packs, and Ox and Joe thought it best to check in on some of them; especially those they had placed Omegas in.

Ox slowly drove into a clearing, trees surrounded them and there was a good foot of snow on the ground. He came to a stop and put the truck in park as the others stirred awake from the stop of the vehicle. 

They all piled out of the car, Kelly held out a hand to help Robbie down and they smiled adoringly at each other as Robbie hopped down next to Kelly. 

Joe came around to the driver’s side as they all stood around. “Is this it?” He asked and Ox nodded. 

“There’s… nothing here.”

“We should look around. See if we can find anything.”

Joe nodded solemnly, “Why do I get the feeling something bad happened here?” Ox glanced at him wearily then held out his hand and Joe took it as they walked on. 

After a while, they eventually came to what appeared to be tatters and scraps of items littered on the ground, buried under the snow. Signs of life that were no more. Then they spotted them; wolves that were buried, patches of fur coming through the blanket of snow on the ground, dried spots of blood splattered around them; harsh against the bright white blanket of snow. 

Ox closed his eyes in remorse; they had been too late. “Shit,” Joe breathed. The feeling of blueblueblue washed over them all, mixing together their mutual feelings of anguish at the loss of their own. 

“Do you think maybe… anyone survived? We can keep looking…” Robbie said wearily. 

Joe shook his head, “I doubt it. It looks like there was a massacre here. If anyone tried to get away… I don’t think they made it very far.”

Ox swallowed, “We can’t just leave them here.” They all glanced at each other and then nodded before they got to work. Slowly they started digging through the snow unburying the bodies of wolves they would burn later in order to give this pack a proper send-off. 

Eventually, night came and the fire rose high in the sky as the four of them stood around watching as the flames devoured wolves they couldn’t save. 

They all spent the night sleeping around the fire, deeming it too dark and late to get back onto the road just yet. At some point, Robbie started awake and looked around, unsure of the source that woke him up. 

After a while of being unable to go back to sleep, he rolled away from Kelly and stood up, stretching. He started walking further into the woods, away from the others - he thought he felt something… pulling at him. Or that he heard something and now he was determined to try and find whatever it was that seemed to be calling out to him. 

He waited for his wolf eyes to adjust to the darkness, being able to see more clearly than an average human. He continued walking until he heard… crying? It was muffled but it still sounded pained.

He searched around for the source of that sound; walking then stopping, straining to hear for signs of life. Slowly, ever so slowly he started walking in a direction where he eventually heard what might have been a heartbeat. Someone or something was close by. 

Robbie could feel his own heart thudding in his chest, the adrenaline rushing through him from the fear of the unknown; not sure if he was in danger or not. He came closer to some type of cave opening in a tree and he could hear the thundering heartbeat now, whatever it was, it was inside this small cavernous-like space. 

He cautiously peered in and was met with a pair of glowing Halloween eyes; the eyes of a Beta.

Chapter Text

A girl. Robbie was staring at a little girl whose eyes were glowing orange in fear. “Oh.” He said in surprise as he took her in. She was sitting with her knees to her chest, her long blonde hair half draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing a thin white nightgown… and she was barefoot. 

She’s so small.

She was shaking and staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. 

Robbie kneeled down slowly and tried to calm his own heart to not frighten her further, “Hey, hey it’s okay,” he said gently. “I won’t hurt you.” Slowly, ever so slowly he tried to reach out to her, trying to think of a way to show her it was okay and to trust him; hoping he could find a way to help her. 

At first, she flinched away but eventually, he gently coaxed her towards him until he was able to help her out of the cavern. 

“Here, you must be freezing,” he said as he shook his jacket off and draped it over her before lifting her to his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. 

She was still shaking and wearing little to help shield her from the cold - even as warm-blooded as wolves were, being out in the cold for as long as she had been, she probably wouldn’t have survived for much longer given the state she was in. Had she been a human girl out in this cold, Robbie doubted she would have survived for as long as she had.

Robbie started walking back to where the others waited, still carrying her close and trying his best to keep her from freezing to death. 

The others were awake now. Robbie felt a tug on his thread, an alarm of worry-Kelly. Where are you? 

Robbie kept walking, sending back a thrum of safe, safe, safe. He wasn’t too far from the campsite now. He could see the fire through the thicket of trees, three silhouettes standing around it. 

Once he came into view he saw their eyes widen in shock. Joe’s voice came first, “Where did she come from?” Joe nodded at the girl.

“I, uh… I think I found something.” Robbie shrugged as he stood in front of them. He pushed the girl up some, adjusting her position as he then adjusted his glasses with his other hand. A faint blush flooded his cheeks and he lifted his eyes to meet Kelly’s piercing blue ones. Kelly’s eyes raked over him, glancing back and forth between him and the girl in his arms. His expression was of confusion, wonder, and worry. 

“She just-she was out there and I… look, it’s cold and we need to get her somewhere warm. I’m not sure how long she was out in the cold for.”

Joe glanced at Ox, who nodded. “I’ll start the truck,” Ox said.

Kelly smiled faintly and came closer to Robbie, he bent down slightly to the girl, “Hello,” he said in a soft voice. She clutched onto Robbie tight and turned her head away, burying her face in his neck as she let out a low whimper. 

“Oh hey, it’s okay. It’s just Kelly,” Robbie said consolingly, “we like Kelly, see-?” His voice was light and he reached out to take Kelly’s hand in his free one. 

The girl looked back at Kelly, peeking at him through her curtain of blond hair; she didn’t cry this time as she eyed him but she didn’t make to move from her current position, either.

“Let’s get you somewhere warm, yeah?” Robbie continued. Kelly locked eyes with him, something unspoken passed between them, along the lines of we’ll talk about this later.

Robbie nodded and walked toward the truck, hand in hand with Kelly. He felt the girl’s shivering worsen against him; the truck was on by the time they got there the sound of the engine piercing through the silence of the forest along with the crackling fire.

Robbie lay the girl in the backseat as Ox sat in the driver’s seat. Cranking up the heat, Joe in the passenger side. 

“We should get here somewhere with actual heat. indoors,” Ox explained. Robbie glanced back at Kelly who nodded once and they both climbed in after the girl. 

They arranged themselves so the girl was between the both of them, absorbing their body heat. Ox drove on, circling back to the main road - leaving the fire to burn and die out behind them. 

Blue started to color the sky as the sun lined up with the horizon; dawn was breaking, and the stars were dwindling out. The girl was curled up against Robbie’s side drifting in and out her eyes fluttering shut one moment and jolting open the next. Robbie and Kelly were trying to not let her drift for too long; attempting to keep her awake so that she wouldn’t fall asleep forever due to the cold.

There was a low rumbling sound that filled the truck’s silence. “I think she might be hungry, “ Robbie said, surprised as if it hadn’t occurred to him what else this girl might need.

“She’s probably starving, who knows how long she was out there for,” Joe said

“We’ll stop somewhere and get her something. I think there’s a diner up ahead,” Ox glanced in the rearview mirror, meeting Robbie’s eyes then looking away.

Kelly stared, his gaze going from Robbie to the girl, back and forth as if they were puzzle pieces he was trying to fit together and solve. Robbie met Kelly’s eyes as the girl curled up next to him, a silent communication passed between them. 

Ox pulled off onto an exit road following the road signs leading to a diner. They pulled into the parking lot; the girl’s eyes fluttered open then shut then stayed that way. Robbie glanced at Kelly worriedly before looking back down at her and shaking her awake, with Kelly’s assistance. 

“Let’s just get her inside,” Kelly said before he jumped down from the truck. Kelly reached for the girl and held her as Robbie exited the truck. As soon as Robbie hopped down, the girl was scrambling her way out of Kelly’s arms, reaching for him. “I think she wants you,” Kelly teased, smiling at the both of them as Robbie scrambled to grab her so she wouldn’t fall.

They were seated in a booth, Ox and Joe sat across from Kelly and Robbie, the girl in between them once again. She stared around at everything in wonder, wide-eyed; her eyes were glowing Halloween orange again and Robbie could hear her heart pounding. The waitress came by for their drink order, and they all ordered coffee.

“And for you, little miss?” the waitress asked in a lilted voice.

“Uh,” Robbie looked down at her, “Just some…juice?” He answered for her although it came out as a question. What did kids usually drink?

“What kind?” the waitress asked without batting an eyelash. 

The girl pointed to a picture of orange juice on the menu in front of her and the waitress left. 

“Do… do you see anything you like?” Robbie leaned toward her as she looked at the bright cartoons on the paper menu in front of her.

“What are we going to do with her?” Joe lowered his voice.

“Well, we couldn’t just leave her there,” Robbie shot back, the feeling of needing to protect clawed its way through him.

“I didn’t mean-”Joe tried but Kelly cut him off.

“It’s all right, Joe. Look, Robbie, no one said anything about leaving her anywhere. And no one’s trying to take her away from you, we just… are trying to figure out our next steps.”

“I… she’s not mine for you to take. I get that. I just - I don’t know what to do either, okay?” He sounded forlorn as he reached for a napkin and started shredding it, the pieces falling onto his lap. 

“Well, for now, let’s get her fed and washed up. We could all probably use that. I think there’s a motel not too far from here.” Ox stated calmly.

“And then what?” Robbie asked in a small voice and Kelly glanced at Ox wearily for an answer.

Ox shrugged, “We’ll figure that out when we get there.”

“Until then,” Joe chimed in, “what are we going to do about her eyes? People are starting to stare…” He asked referring to her glowing Halloween eyes that would flash now and then.

“They’re staring because she’s a little girl with four strange men.” Kelly pointed out, which made them all glance at each other guiltily. 

“It’s not like that…”

“They don’t know that.”

“She looks like you,” Robbie said in a small voice, glancing back and forth between Kelly and Joe. “She could be related to you two, and Ox and I are just…”

“Family friends?” Ox suggested, arching an eyebrow. 

Robbie shrugged, “I guess?”

The resemblance was slightly there, her blonde hair was similar to Kelly’s and Joe’s, only a few shades paler. When her eyes weren’t glowing orange, Robbie noticed they were bright emerald green - similar to his own. 

“Wait here.” Ox left the booth for a few minutes. When he came back he slid a pair of sunglasses across the table to the girl. “Put these on.”

“Where’d you find those?” Joe asked, surprised. 

Ox shrugged, “Had them in the truck.”

“Won’t people stare even more?” Robbie asked uncertainly. 

“Easier to explain than the orange glow,” Joe muttered.

The girl stared up at Robbie questioningly. He sighed and took the sunglasses, sliding them over her face. “There. that’s better isn’t it?”

She touched the frames and then looked around as if seeing the place for the first time all over again. 

The waitress came back and took their orders. She stopped at the little girl and glanced at Robbie questioningly. “Uh,” he said succinctly. 

“Pancakes?” Kelly chimed in helpfully then leaned down to her, “How does that sound?” his voice was soft and kind. The girl nodded and the waitress left with the rest of their orders.

When the plate of high-rising pancakes was sat down in front of her, the girl forwent any silverware, using her hands to pick up a pancake and bit into it, scarfing it down ravishingly. 

“Easy,” Robbie warned, afraid she’d make herself sick. “Why don’t you slow down a bit… it’s not like it’s going anywhere.”

“When was the last time you ate something?” Joe asked, smiling at her. She stared at him, cocking her head to the side before continuing to attack the stack of pancakes.

Joe’s eyebrows knit together in worry as he looked wearily at the others. They stared wearily back, sighing. 

“We should probably make sure she doesn’t eat too much or she’ll be sick.” Kelly said reading Robbie thoughts, “If she’s gone too long without food.”

“Shit, she probably needs water,” Robbie murmured cursing himself for not thinking of what she might need instead of what she wanted.

“Relax, we’ll get her some.” Kelly said cooly as he proceeded to track down the waitress.

Once the waitress placed the glass down in front of her the girl reached for the glass of water hurriedly, putting it to her mouth and gulping it down, water dribbled down her chin and onto what little clothes she was wearing, which caught Robbie’s attention.

Robbie winced, cursing himself as he thought of how  the cold water mixing with the cold outside was not going to to go over well. 

“We’ll get her somewhere warm and washed up soon. And we’ll look for clothes, too.” Ox explained calmly seeing Robbie’s worried expression. Robbie nodded, Kelly reached over the girl to squeeze his hand, and Robbie smiled gratefully at him. 

They continued to talk in low voices, glancing around to make sure no one overheard them. Once the girl had finished eating she brought her legs up on the booth and curled up, leaning against Robbie, her hands clutching his arm as she turned her face into him. 

“She’s definitely taken a liking to you,” Ox said over the rim of his coffee mug, amusement danced in his eyes. Kelly had his elbow on the table now, his head in his chin as he smiled over at Robbie and the girl. 

Robbie blushed, “Why me?” he muttered. They all chuckled at that.

Chapter Text

They drove into a motel and waited in the truck as Ox checked them in. He came back with two room keys to a room with two queen-sized beds. Hurriedly they walked to it as fast as they could, trying not to be spotted by anyone; four men with a small girl and no suitcases screamed trouble and they didn’t need something else for them to deal with. 

The girl clung to Robbie’s neck as he carried her in and then sat her on of the beds.

“Now what?” he asked.

Kelly went over and kneeled in front of the girl where she sat, “We should probably get her cleaned up. I’ll help her while the three of you find her some clothes, yeah?” he turned back to the girl, “I won’t hurt you, I promise." He held out his pinky finger to her. She stared at it for a moment before wrapping her pinky finger around it, smiling softly as she gave a small nod.

"I…" Robbie swallowed, "All right. You sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?" he asked uncertainly; it was unclear whether he meant Kelly or the girl. 

"We’ll be fine," Kelly said softly. 

"C’mon Robbie, let’s go find something to dress that kid of yours.” Joe teased.

"She’s not my kid!" Robbie mumbled as he turned a shade of crimson. the door shut behind them.

***

"What about this?" Joe held up something resembling an unfortunate clothing item; it was a dress that looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it, with various bright patterns that hurt to look at. 

Robbie and Ox grimaced.

"What?" Joe shrugged. 

Robbie sighed, "Can we just get something useful, and warm? It doesn’t matter what it looks like, does it?"

"Well, we don’t want her attracting too much attention, either," Ox stated as Joe frowned, lowering the dress.

Robbie sighed. They continued shopping and in corner of his eyes he spotted a shirt and he flushed at the thought. He let out a small groan as he held up the shirt in his hands, "Seriously?" he said and Joe and Ox grinned.

He held a white long-sleeve shirt, and on the front was a picture with the drawing of a wolf howling at the moon, silhouetted against a forest of trees and the sky. 

"Oh my god, it’s perfect," Joe laughed. 

Robbie rolled his eyes, "Better than nothing," he muttered.

Eventually, they had a pile of warm clothes among them consisting of warm shirts, pants, pajamas, and underclothes. They grabbed a pair of warm socks and snow boots they had to guess the size of along with a few beanies and a couple of pairs of sunglasses to hide the glow of her Halloween eyes.

Ox and Joe went to the cash register to pay for the items as Robbie stayed back, wandering the store in case they missed something. He saw it then - something that reminded him of the girl, a toy he knew she’d probably like; he couldn’t help but smile faintly at it, blushing at the ridiculous idea of it. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. When Joe and Ox came back, they both grinned stupid grins at him and he flushed, muttering, "Oh shut up," as he took the toy to the register. 

*** 

Back at the hotel, Kelly had gently coaxed the girl into the bathtub, filling it with bubbles and glancing away as she stepped in, giving her her privacy. She lay back against the porcelain tiles, lifting the bubbles in her hands. Kelly slowly ran shampoo through her hair, gently scrubbing the dirt and snow out, then washing it out with a small cup he had found by the sink. They both stayed silent as he did so, the girl eyeing him every so often. She didn’t seem scared of him, at least, which was progress.

When she was done, he held out a towel for her to step into, looking away modestly until it was wrapped around her. He sat her on the bed closest to the bathroom and sat behind her as he began to brush through her hair, detangling it now that it was clean. 

The door to the room opened and they both looked up as Ox, Joe, and Robbie entered. 

"Everything go all right?" Kelly asked putting the hairbrush down. 

"We got… something, I guess. If you can call it that," Joe shrugged, holding out the paper shopping bags.

Kelly took one and started dumping the contents onto the bed. He sorted through a few of the clothing options; Robbie saw Kelly smile as his eyes landed on the wolf shirt. Instead, he picked out a pair of warm pajamas and handed them to the girl, "Why don’t you go put these on?” he said softly.

She nodded, took the clothes, and headed to the bathroom to change. 

"How’d it go here?" Ox asked as he and Joe went to sit on the edge of the other double bed in the room. Robbie went to sit beside Kelly on their own double bed.

Kelly shrugged, "She’s clean now. I guess that’s something."

"Looks like she’s starting to trust you," Ox nodded to the hairbrush he was holding. Kelly smiled, then started to gather up the clothes on the bed, returning them to the bag. 

The bathroom door opened and she emerged dressed in a long-sleeved pajama shirt and pants that were pink with rainbows on them. She ran to the bed where Kelly and Robbie sat. She jumped up on the other side of Kelly and kneeled on the mattress as she sat beside them.

Kelly glanced at Robbie then smiled at her, "There. That’s better isn’t it?" 

She stared.

"Robbie has a present for you," Joe stated, a light taunting in his voice; his eyes sparkled with mischievousness and he grinned.

Robbie rolled his eyes, his face flushing. "I do not," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand, then glanced at the girl who tilted her head quizzically at him. He sighed, dropping his hand then went to kneel in front of her on the floor. "Here," he said as he reached for a discarded bag brushed off to the side. "It’s not much but… maybe it can keep you company for a bit? Until…until we find you a home…or… something."

Gradually he pulled out the toy from the bag and in his hand he held a stuffed animal; a gray wolf that was in a sitting position, white fur on its chest. The girl’s eyes widened and he handed it to her. She gently took it, clutching it tightly in her hands. she stared at it incredulously then pulled it to her chest, hugging it and she smiled, her eyes wet with unfallen tears.

Robbie felt his heart ache at the sight; that such a small thing meant so much to her. He felt it then; the pull and tug and the overwhelming sensation of colors as a bright gold thread pulled at him. His eyes widened at the girl, "Oh. Oh no, you don’t…you don’t want to do that," his voice was practically a whisper now. 

The others were glancing between the two of them, confusion on their faces. 

"What just happened?" Joe asked.

"She…" Robbie swallowed past the lump in his throat, tears welling in his own eyes. "She just made me her tether," he whispered. 

They all stared at him. 

Then at her. She was smiling softly down at Robbie, clutching the stuffed wolf to her chest. 

Chapter Text

They went to leave the next morning, Joe left to grab them food as they all got ready. All morning Robbie felt Kelly glancing between him and the girl, but each time he caught his eye he would glance away.

“I’ll make some calls, maybe we can find her a pack to stay with on the way…” Ox said hesitantly. They hadn’t talked about what came next since the girl had made Robbie her tether. The plan had been to find her someplace to stay after making sure she was ok, placing her in a pack like they had been doing with Omegas. But now, there was an uncertain hesitancy in the air.

“Ox, can I talk to you for a moment?” Kelly lept from the bed and indicated to the door. Ox glanced between Kelly and Robbie, then nodded and they both left into the hallway closing the door behind them. Robbie turned them out, although they had probably gone far enough to avoid him eavesdropping as it was. 

They weren’t gone for long; they reentered the room and Robbie tilted his head quizzically at them, locking eyes with Kelly, a question in his eyes but Kelly just shook his head. 

Joe finally returned not long after with breakfast and after they all ate they were soon back on the road, headed towards home… or wherever Ox had deemed they could drop the girl off. 

“So, what now?” Robbie asked in a small voice in the cabin of the truck. Kelly and Ox glanced at each other through the rearview mirror, but no one responded. 

The rest of the journey was silent except for the few pits stops they had to make, the girl lay curled in between Kelly and Robbie in the backseat, her head in Robbie’s lap for most of the way; when she wasn’t sleeping she was crawling of one of their laps to gaze out the window to the world outside. 

***

Eventually, they made it home. They pulled up to the Bennett house, members of the pack opened the door and stood on the porch to greet them. 

They all piled out of the truck, then Robbie lifted the girl to his shoulder bringing her into view, and the pack members on the porch stopped. Elizabeth stood in the center, Carter stood at her side, and beside him was Gavin in his wolf form. 

Robbie glanced at Kelly hesitantly as he came around and stood next to him before walking towards the house. Elizabeth was the first to say anything, “Oh my. And who do we have here?” The girl shied away, clutching tight to Robbie’s shirt as she peeked out at Elizabeth through the curtain of her blonde hair.

Gavin stood and walked up to Robbie, sniffing the girl curiously. 

“Um,” Robbie glanced at Kelly nervously, “We… sort of… found her? Not really sure what to do with her now.”

Kelly shrugged, “It’s… a long story.” 

Hesitantly the girl leaned down reaching her arm out until she grazed the top of Gavin’s head between his ears, her eyes wide as she pets the timber wolf. Robbie leaned down so that she was eye to Gavin who gently nuzzled up to her, sniffing her as she pet him. 

“Puppy,” the girl said in a small birdlike voice, and they all held their breath as the realization she had spoken sank in.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll fit right in,” Elizabeth said as they all watched the two of them. “Come inside, all of you, where it’s nice and warm.” And with that, she turned and walked inside.

They all glanced at each other before following her in. They headed to the living room where they relayed what happened on their road trip. 

Eventually, they all drifted to do their own thing; the girl fell asleep on the couch; the timber wolf curled around her as Carter sat on the floor against the couch watching them.

Kelly and Robbie went upstairs to Kelly’s old room. “We should…talk,” Kelly said as he sat on the bed. Robbie nodded and sat beside him.

“What did Ox say? Did he find a pack that could take her?”

Kelly bit his lip then shook his head, “No, Robbie, it’s…” he sighed, “I don’t think that’s what… we should do here.” He glanced nervously at Robbie then away, “I think…I think that she belongs here. With us. I told Ox as much.”

“What? But we were going to find her a pack to stay with. Like we’ve been doing.”

“I know but…” Kelly looked at Robbie with those blue, blue eyes of his that pierced into Robbie’s heart and Robbie wanted to look away but couldn’t. “She made you her tether.” Kelly’s voice was a whisper now, “She belongs to you. To us. With us. Here. I can… I can feel her. It’s faint but it’s there… And Ox agrees.”

“What did you tell him?”

“To not look for a pack for her. That she should stay with us.”

“But, she can do so much better-”

“No, Robbie. She wants you. And you know it. You said you wanted kids someday…”

“Yeah, someday. Not this soon…”

“You also mentioned adopting them… cubs like you who… don’t have a pack. And we have that spare room and she -” he took a breath and let it out, “Look, I know you’re scared and worried and think you’re gonna mess this up-”

“I know I’m gonna mess this up.”

Kelly gave a small smile, “And that’s okay. But you can’t deny that you want it. I know you, Robbie. I see you. She belongs here with you, and with me. We’ll figure it out. But there’s no other pack out there better for her than ours.”

Robbie swallowed as he tried to blink back the tears in his eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

Kelly smiled and nodded, “Yes, Robbie. I’m sure.”

Robbie smiled back, “Okay.” 

“Okay?”

“Okay.” Robbie leaned forward and kissed Kelly before they fell backward on the bed, where they lay side by side.

“Sounds like we’re gonna have another house project on our hands,” Robbie said lightly and Kelly laughed. 

“You know I think I might know a few guys who can help with that,” Kelly smiled as Robbie kissed him again tasting that smile on his lips. 

Robbie cupped his cheek as he kissed Kelly’s forehead and then the tip of his nose and his cheeks, “Oh yeah?” he murmured against his lips, “Anyone I know?”

Robbie could taste Kelly’s grin, “Maybe.” Kelly murmured back as he brought a hand up to Robbie’s cheek, tracing his jaw with his fingertips. Then Kelly kissed Robbie’s neck, against the spot where his bite mark glowed against Robbie’s skin. Kelly ran his hand through the back of Robbie’s dark hair then brought his other hand down between the both of them. he held Robbie’s hand as they both cupped each other’s cheeks then turned on their sides and stared at each other; their eyes bore into each other before flitting down to each other’s lips and back again. Kelly finally leaned forward and kissed Robbie again and felt his smile, like the sun. 

Chapter Text

It was Christmas. Robbie and Kelly had mainly been staying at the Bennett house with the girl, going back and forth between the two houses for supplies. 

Now, the pack all gathered in the Bennett living room, a Christmas tree was lit up in the corner, its lights twinkling as the sun blazed through the foggy wintery morning, reflecting onto the snow into the living room windows brightening the room. 

Scraps of wrapping paper littered the floor. the pack lounged around in different areas of the room, either on the couch or the floor. Gavin wore a pink sweater and a pile of pink things surrounded him and carter who, still blushing, sat next to him.

Robbie and Kelly sat on the couch, the girl in between them looked on at the pack as they unwrapped things, a look of confusion and wonder on her face. Kelly and Robbie watched her wearily as they attempted to hand her the things the pack members had given her. they gingerly urged her on to open things; she hesitated but slowly she unwrapped things here and there and eventually she had a small pink pile like that of Gavins. 

“There’s something else, too,” Kelly said smiling at her and glanced at Robbie smiled back. 

“It’s not something you can open here though. Why don’t you change into something warmer and we’ll show you?”

She glanced between them then nodded, slid off the couch, and headed upstairs to change into one of the warm pink coats that she had opened earlier. 

The three of them walked down the dirt road, the girl was in the middle, and kelly and Robbie held both her hands in theirs as they walked on. 

They came to the blue house and Robbie kneeled down eye to eye with her before opening the door, “This is our home, well our other home but it’s our main home. would you like to live with us?”

Her eyes widened and she nodded. They smiled.

“C’mon,” they went up the stairs and stopped at a closed door at the end of the hall. How would you like, to have your own room here? With us.” Kelly put a hand over her eyes to cover them to surprise her and opened the door and walked her into the middle of the room and took his hand away and let her take it all in. 

They had slowly but surely been working to update one of the bedrooms they no longer had use for since they hadn’t had very many omegas staying with them. They went back and forth with help from other pack members and eventually, they had a room fit for a girl her age.

The walls were pained a light blushing pink. A full-size bed was in the middle of the room with a matching comforter where various stuffed animals sat and in the middle was a stuffed gray wolf. 

“We can always change it to you know,” Robbie said hesitantly as if he was scared she wouldn’t like it. She slowly spun around looking at it all, and then she was zooming around the room, looking and touching everything she could get her hands on; eventually, she crawled onto the middle of the bed and held the wolf close as she looked up ad around her and her eyes landed on Robbie and kelly and how she smiled at them. 

***

A little while later a few pack members stopped by to see the final result, eventually, Joe and Ox came and all four stood around as she sat on the edge of the bed watching them curiously.

“They have something else for you,” Robbie explained.

Ox gave a soft smile and stepped forward before kneeling down before her, “Hello.”

“It’s tradition for Alphas to make a stone wolf for their Betas to give to someone important.” He said as he showed her a sitting stone wolf, he turned it carefully over in his hands and gave it to her, placing his hands over hers as she held it. “This is for you, to give to someone very special someday… just like we did.” He glanced at Joe who smiled brightly at him then Ox stood up and walked back to stand next to Joe, kissing the top of his head. 

The girl eyed all of them wearily, then slowly she got down off the bed and walked over to Robbie who glanced around, confused. then she held out the stone wolf to him and he blushed, “Oh no, that’s not… that’s not what he meant. I…” he glanced at Kelly who had his hand to his mouth to cover his laughter. Robbie’s gaze softened as he stared at Kelly, then he slowly kneeled down in front of the girl, looking up into her green eyes that reminded him of his own. “Someone important to me already gave me his wolf, and I gave him mine… and someday you’ll know that person when you meet them. But it will be different.”

 Her face dropped in disappointment, but he smiled gently at her, “It was a nice gesture, though. Thank you.” 

Kelly put his hands to his knees, staring at the girl, “How about we put this somewhere safe for now? There’s no rush to give it to anyone just yet.” Kelly said as he gingerly took the stone wolf from the girl, held her hand, and led her to one of the nightstands where gingerly placed the stone wolf. 

Eventually, they had their Sunday traditional dinner together, hosted at the blue house given the new pack member and renovations. Afterward, they all drifted to their own thing. It was still winter and most of them were on holiday break, the shop was closed until the New Year. 

The sun set below the horizon and the night grew late; eventually, Kelly and Robbie showed the girl back to her room, making sure she had everything she needed. Kelly stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, arms folded as Robbie flitted about nervously like a mother hen, talking mostly to himself saying things like, “And here’s some more blankets if you get cold,” and “here’s the bathroom, and you’re toothbrush and are you sure you have enough blankets?” and “our room is just down the hall if you need anything!”

Kelly rolled his eyes, “She’ll be fine.” He glanced at her, “Won’t you?” he added. She hesitated before giving a small nod as she sat crisscrossed on her bed, the comforter over her lap. 

“See? She’s fine. Let’s go.”

“I know, but-”

“Robbie.”

“Okay, okay.”

Kelly flipped the switch by the door and the room went dark. Robbie went to stand next to him in the doorway before they both looked back at her. Her eyes started to glow Halloween orange again and they heard her heart rate increase as she watched them with those wide, wide, orange eyes; it was clear the moment the light went out and they made to actually leave.

Kelly looked at the ceiling, sighing. “Okay, what if we stay just for a little while?” He suggested wearily. 

“Really?” Robbie asked, and Kelly’s heart raced at the hopefulness in it. Kelly nodded, and both his and Robbie’s wolf eyes adjusted to the dark. 

“C’mon,” Kelly responded begrudgingly. They both went on either side of the bed, the girl placed in between them. Eventually, they all settled where they lay side by side. The girl curled into Robbie, holding the stuffed wolf he had given her close to his chest. Robbie placed an arm comfortingly around her, Kelly on her other side, their gazes lined up.

“That’s better, isn’t it? We’ll just stay until you fall asleep,” Robbie whispered in the dark. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, you’re safe now.” He looked back up, his gaze landing on Kelly, a strange expression flitted across his face in tandem with confusion emotions coming through the bonds, and then it was gone. But Robbie had caught just the whisper of the tail end of his thought: Joe. How Joe had been taken when they were kids and Kelly couldn’t stop it. “We won’t let anything hurt you,” he added, softer this time. “Ox will make sure of that."

After a moment of silence, when Robbie knew the girl was finally asleep he whispered to Kelly. “The same thing int going to happen to her. He’s fine now. You know that-what happened with Joe wasn’t your fault, right?”

“I know, it’s just - if I just could have-”

Robbie shook his head, “We can’t change what happened. We can just learn from it. And this time, we have pack. There’s strength in numbers and I’d say our pack is really strong. I’m sure she’ll fit right in. Think she’ll ever be able to go to sleep without us here?”

Kelly gave a small smile, “Well it’s her first night in a strange place. It’s normal for her to be scared.” 

There was a silence as that settled over the room as they attempted to sleep. Still, there was something tugging at the back of Robbie’s mind. Eventually, he whispered into the darkness, “What are we supposed to call her? She needs a name…” 

In the darkness Robbie could just make out the twinkling blue of Kelly’s eyes as they bore into the green of his own, “We’ll think of something. Maybe she’ll remember something and eventually trust us enough to tell us… or we just ask her what she wants to be called.” 

Robbie glanced down at the girl sandwiched between them, her arms wrapped around the stuffed wolf, and her small arms clutching at his shirt as she slept soundly. “Right, something…” he whispered into the darkness before sleep overtook him. 

Chapter Text

They slowly got into a rhythm of things, the days going by as the three of them huddled in the old blue house, spending time together. They would sometimes put on the TV or a movie as the three of them sat on the couch. Kelly and Robbie would take turns cooking, or at least Robbie would try to cook.

Slowly she would start speaking to them in one-word answers or sentences. Then at one point, one of them had tried to say something and call her by her name but they came up short. “Do you remember anything? Do you have a name…?” Kelly had tried to ask to which she just shook her head. He kneeled down to her eye level as she sat on the couch, “Is there a name you’d like for us to call you?” She looked over at Robbie for an answer as he sat on the arm of the couch. 

He shook his head, shrugging, “You can think about it some more if you want…and, you can call us… whatever you’re comfortable with. Sound good?” 

She nodded. Kelly looked through their book collection, pulling out the dictionary first since they didn’t have a book of baby names lying around. He didn’t think anything would come of it though, setting it to the side, when she picked it up and flipped to the A’s. 

She saw the word ‘art’ first, and below that, ‘Artemis.’ She pointed to the word and Kelly and Robbie sounded it out on their tongues. “I think that’s a fine name,” Kelly said, after reading the definition: Artemis: the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon. It might have been a little on the nose, sure, but it was also somehow perfect for her. 

“I like it,” Robbie smiled at them, “Artemis. Art,” he said thoughtfully. She looked back and forth between them and nodded, smiling.

***

After a few days of settling in with their new family member, they both had to eventually go back to work - but they weren’t sure what to do with her. They debated having her stay at the Bennetts, where Elizabeth or Mark could watch her. 

At some point, Kelly must have had a short day, as he walked into the shop, the girl next to him, her hand in his. She hid behind him until she saw Robbie at the front desk. Robbie looked up and at smiled Kelly, “Well this is a surprise,” he said. 

Kelly shrugged, “Got off work early, thought I’d bring her by to see the guys.”

Robbie stood up to go to him and Artemis let go of Kelly’s hand running to Robbie instead. “Hey,” he said gently as she clung to his leg. 

Kelly tilted his head, staring at them, “I think she missed you.” His voice was light, a hint of laughter in it as he smiled at the both of them.

“What makes you think that?” Robbie winked at him as he stared down at her clinging to his pant leg. He then kneeled down to her height, “What do you think? Should we go say hi to grandpa Gordo and the guys?”

“Grandpa who now?!” Gordo yelled out from his office causing them to laugh.

Robbie stood up and held out his hand to her, “C’mon,” he walked the short distance to the doorway of Gordo’s office. He sat behind his desk, pecking away at the keyboard. Gordo glanced up when they came in. Robbie stood in the doorway watching him, “Grandpa Gordo just has a great ring to it don’t you think?”

Artemis let go of Robbie’s hand and ran over to Gordo. “Grandpa Gordo!” she yelled excitedly, her voice light and small sounding. Gordo stared at her begrudgingly at first then after a moment he picked her up and put her on his lap.

 “And what do we have here?” He said to her as she reached over and tried to play with the keyboard. “Oh, that? Press here, and here…there you go. What do you think, little missy? Gonna learn to run this business someday?” She giggled as she continued to press buttons. 

“So, what do you think? Ready to babysit?” Kelly said as he came to stand next to Robbie, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe

Gordo rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right. You can’t afford me.” he replied, though as he stared down at the girl they could feel his warmth toward her through the threads; they got the feeling it was going to be hard to get her back from Gordo and Mark once they let her spend the night with them every now and again. 

“I’m sure Mark would love to have her.” Kelly winked, and Gordo started to turn a bright red at that, as he sputtered incoherently. 

Kelly and Robbie both chuckled, as Art glanced back and forth between them, unsure of what was happening. “C’mon, Art. Let’s go greet the guys, yeah?” Robbie held out his hand to her and she jumped down, running over to grab his hand. Gordo leaned back in his chair, watching them leave. 

They entered the garage, where the guys were talking amongst themselves, some country song blaring out through the speakers. “Look who decided to stop by,” Robbie said, causing the guys to look up at them. Ox slid out from under a car, and sat up, wiping his hands with a rag. 

Tanner whistled, “Well if it isn’t the little missy,”

“You remember Tanner, right?” Kelly said to her, his voice light. 

Chris pushed Tanner, and rolled his eyes, “Don’t call her little missy. Have some class. It’s the little miss ain’t that right?” he winked at her, and she gave a small smile as she peeked out from behind Robbie’s legs. 

“And that’s Chris,” Kelly added helpfully. 

“You’re both idiots,” Rico grumbled. 

“And, Rico of course,” Kelly said. 

“So she uh, she got a name yet?” Chris asked. 

“She decided on Artemis. Art.” Kelly filled them in, “Picked it out herself.” He shrugged.

Ox came over and kneeled down to her height, still wiping his fingers with the rag as he stared at her, “Hello little one. ” he smiled at her. She shied away, her grip tightening on Robbie’s pants leg. 

Robbie looked between the two of them, then sank down to her height as well, “You remember Ox, right?” 

Ox gave a small smile, “Artemis, is it? That’s a pretty name. A strong one, too. Perfect for a little wolf like yourself.” He winked at her. They could feel a soft thrum flow through the threads, a promise of safesafesafe and packpackpack. 

Slowly she stepped out from behind Ox, giving a small nod as she stared up at Robbie then Kelly, and back to Ox. “What do you think? Want to learn how to work on cars with us?” Ox asked gently. 

“Ha, you can’t be any worse than your papa,” Rico interjected, “doubt you’ll set anything on fire.” 

Robbie blushed and glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, “Cars are…difficult,” he muttered as the others laughed. 

“I don’t know… Ox is it really safe for her to be working out here?” Kelly glanced between them.

“Shell be fine.” Chris interjected, “She has us, you know? A group of werewolves and cars, what can go wrong?”

“Yeah, we’re practically invincible don’t you know?” Rico said, “Besides she’s a wolf herself, so if something happens she can heal-” 

“And what exactly is going to happen?” Kelly narrowed his eyes at them, a protective edge in his voice. 

“Er, nothing hermano, relax. Just saying if something did happen-” Rico stuttered

“Which it won’t,” Chris stated firmly. 

“She’s in good hands I promise,” Ox said as he stood up and reached out his hand for her to take.

Kelly paused as he stared between them, then sighed, “Fine. She can stay til the shop closes.” He turned to Robbie and gave a smile small, “Then you can take her home.”

Robbie beamed at him, as Kelly leaned in and kissed Robbie on the cheek, causing him to blush and adjust his glasses as the guys whistled at them. “I’ll even have dinner ready,” Kelly added, his voice a half-whisper. 

“Aww,” the guys said in unison. 

“Why don’t you ever have dinner waiting for me?” Tanner turned to Chris.

“Tanner, we get off work at the same time. How would I have dinner waiting for you?” 

“So? I’m just saying it would be nice every once in a while…”

Robbie tuned out their bickering and turned to Art, “You be good and listen to Ox okay? Do what he says.” She nodded 

 Robbie then walked Kelly out, seeing him off as he headed towards home. Their home, Robbie thought, with his family. He finally had a family. 

He felt he had everything he could ever ask for. 

Chapter Text

Life went on as normal, the girl (Artemis, Art), still didn’t speak very much and shied away from strangers. But those she had spent time around in the pack were familiar to her now, and she hid behind Robbie less when she was around them. She would say a few words to them here or there, and they didn’t push - giving her whatever space and time that she needed. Usually, she would stay with Elizabeth and Mark while Kelly and Robbie were at work - although Kelly would sometimes pick her up and take her to the shop when his shifts ended early. 

It was a simple thing, really. A day like no other, the winter was slowly melting away and spring was coming. Kelly had brought her into the shop and how Robbie had smiled at them. A man came in for his car and Robbie informed him of all the guys had done for him while Kelly waited with Art, sitting across from Robbie in the few waiting chairs the shop had. 

“I’ll be right back with the keys,” Robbie told the customer as he went into the garage, closing the door that separated the office and garage behind him. The man stood there, in front of the desk waiting, when the little bell that was over the front door of the shop gave a mall chime. In following a woman and another little girl who looked to be around Art’s age, her dark hair was braided into two ponytails. 

The man turned around and how the girl ran to him, her arms outstretched, and how she exclaimed, “Daddy!” As he picked her up and hugged her close. 

Art’s eyes went wide at the sight, and Kelly looked up from the book he was reading and looked over at her, worry in his eyes. He cocked his head at her as he strained to listen to her heart - it sounded like it had tripped over itself for a moment, and now it was thudding rapidly in her chest. His gaze followed her eyes and his jaw clenched protectively - unsure of what the threat was or if there even was any danger to set her off. He couldn’t figure out what might be wrong, so he lightly placed his hand on her arm but she never looked away from the man and his daughter. 

The man turned around and how the little girl ran to him, her arms outstretched, and how she exclaimed, “Daddy!” as he picked her up and hugged her close. 

“There’s my girl,” the man said as he held his daughter close, and the woman-her mother-came and stood beside them. The little family exchanged a few words here and there and it all happened in just a minute. One minute and that was all it took. 

And that was when Robbie came back in through the door, car keys jingling in his hand. He smiled at the family, and before Kelly could stop her, before anyone really knew what was happening, Art had jumped out of her seat and was running towards Robbie. 

And then she said that one word that sealed the deal for them - that ended it all. All preconceived notions or doubts evaporated and she was all that mattered now. And didn’t Robbie’s heart just stutter in his chest? Didn’t he feel a piece of his heart shatter and die at the sound - only to be reborn anew?

“Daddy!” She exclaimed, her voice a soft-spoken lilt. Robbie looked down at her - at the expression she wore - and he swore his heart skipped a beat at the sight. He tried to quickly cover the surprise on his face; the shine of his green eyes, as he reached down to grab her - her arms reaching up towards him expectantly.

The man who was waiting for his car smiled at them both and nodded to Art, “Yours?” he asked, with a tone of amusement.

Robbie swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded, “Yeah.” He responded hoarsely, then he glanced at Kelly, “Ours.” He added, as he tried to blink back the shimmer in his eyes, and oh, how Kelly smiled at him - at the both of them.

***

Another day, Kelly was already at the Bennett’s, waiting for Robbie to get home. He was sitting on the porch, watching Art as she played outside, the rest of the pack gathered around throughout the house chit-chatting. It was Friday night and the shop had just closed, the guys just getting off work - Tanner and Chris had said they were stopping on the way for beers before meeting up with everyone at the Bennett house. 

Gordo was driving, Robbie in the passenger seat when they pulled up to the house. Gordo slammed the car door behind him and walked up to the porch, where Mark appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the doorway his arms crossed over his chest as if he had all the time in the world to wait for Gordo. Mark flash a bright smile at him and muttered something to which Gordo grumbled a response, blushing lightly before they both headed inside. 

Robbie soon followed, exiting the car and slamming the door behind him when Art run up to him, arms outstretched, “Daddy!” she exclaimed and he picked her up in his arms effortlessly before spinning her around. When he stopped, he continued to hold her in his arms, her head lying on his shoulder. Kelly bounded up to him, laughing. “Welcome home,” he said, even though it wasn’t their home - it was still home, where they effortlessly went back and forth from one house to the other. 

“Hey there,” Robbie said as he leaned forward, Kelly giving him a peck on the cheek. 

“Hey yourself,” Kelly replied, the light from the setting sun dancing in his blue, blue eyes with amusement. 

“The guys are on their way.” 

Kelly nodded, then, “Rico’s coming too… with Bambi.” he added. Robbie tilted his head in surprise, reading between the lines. With everything going on, Bambi had been away with her and Rico’s son, Josh, for some time - having had to deal with her own family matters or some such. 

“Does that mean she’s bringing-” Robbie stopped, and stared down at Artemis. Kelly nodded, and shrugged, as if to say, guess we’ll see how it goes.

Artemis had yet to meet Bambi, and Josh for that matter - and they weren’t sure how well she would do with other kids. Josh was now around her age, perhaps a bit older than her. Robbie felt a protective vice around his heart, he loved Josh, of course, he was family - but he also knew how boys could be. He swore that if Josh dared to hurt Art - who he continued to see more and more as his daughter - as a part of himself, no matter where she had come from - then he didn’t think he could be responsible for his own actions. 

Robbie swallowed past the nervous lump in his throat, then turned to Art and gave a small smile, “Well, this should be interesting, then.” She cocked her head to the side, questioningly but didn’t respond. 

“C’mon, let’s see if grandma needs some help in the kitchen, shall we?” he asked as he adjusted her on his hip, before walking inside, Kelly trailing after him. 

Chapter Text

“I heard that! Who do you think you’re calling grandma?” Elizabeth admonished them as they walked inside, where Robbie set Art down so she could go stand by Elizabeth who started to give her small tasks to help out. 

“I thought you liked being called that?” Kelly quirked an eyebrow at her, “What with all the complaining you do about how none of your children have given you grandkids yet.”

“Yes, but grandma makes me sound so… old.”

“Well, you are-”

“Kelly Abel Bennet don’t you dare finish that sentence! I am not old, I’m refined.”

Kelly rolled his eyes at her. 

“I dunno, Elizabeth,” Robbie said, leaning against the counter as he watched them, “I think she likes calling you that. It’s always Grandma let me this, and that.” This may not have been quite true, but they could see how little by little Art would light up when around pack members. 

“Does she really? Oh, well that’s fine then, you can call me whatever you like sweetheart.” Elizabeth leaned down to Art, her hands on her knees. Robbie winked at Kelly, who shook his head and smiled back. 

A while later, Kelly was out back assisting Carter with the grill as Robbie helped to set the table out back. Robbie came back into the kitchen where Elizabeth was showing Art something when the guys came in, all noise and rambunctiousness. 

Bambi trailed behind Rico, Josh behind them. Robbie glanced at them for a minute before Kelly and Carter came in, glancing between the kitchen and Rico’s family wearily. Kelly smiled at Robbie, bumping him slightly and Robbie smiled back. Before grabbing hold of Art’s hand and dragging her over to where they stood in the living room, Chris and Tanner already making their way outback. 

“Art, I want you to meet someone,” she hid behind Robbie’s legs, glancing around them at the boy that stood in front of her. “Art, this is Josh - Josh, this is Artemis.”

“Hi,” Josh said, in a bored tone of voice. 

Art glanced up at Robbie wearily, then back at Josh, “Hi,” she replied in a small, quiet voice. 

Then her nostrils flared, her eyes widening and she pulled on Robbie’s pant leg he leaned down to hear her whisper as she asked, “What’s that smell?” 

Robbie looked around, sniffing, then cocked his head in confusion at her as he came up with nothing out of the ordinary, “What smell?” he asked her. 

“Like-” she sniffed the air again, “like-I don’t know, I just don’t know,” she shook her head, her eyes darting around wildly. 

“You’re weird,” Josh arched an eyebrow at her. 

“Josh!” Rico yelled over at him. 

Josh shrugged, “What? She is!”

Rico rolled his eyes, then Carter came up and put a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry - that’s just his way of saying you’ll fit right in.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Kelly said bumping his shoulder. 

Carter shrugged, “Well I mean, to be fair, just look around, we aren’t exactly the most normal around here. I’d be worried if she wasn’t a little weird.”

“Whatever,” Josh mumbled, “Just keep her away from me, I don’t want any of her cooties.”

Kelly and Robbie both looked up and sighed in unison. Dinner was going to be fine.

***

It was fine…mostly. Artemis sat across from Josh, in between Kelly and Robbie. Art kept staring at him, wide-eyed, tilting her head every now and then, her nostrils flaring. 

Josh stuck out his tongue at her. 

At one point he tried to aim a spoonful of peas at her, but Rico stopped it. No one saw her when she copied him, only to hit him in the eye with a pea. 

“Ow!” Josh exclaimed, placing a hand over his eye.

“What happened?” Rico asked in that dad voice of his.

Josh eyed her for a moment as if sizing her up, before dropping his hand. “Nothing,” he muttered and she smirked at him.

Once Robbie and Kelly looked over at her she quickly went back to her innocent wide-eyed look – and no one was ever the wiser. 

***

Later, after they had all finished with dinner, and had conversed while the sun set behind them, Kelly and Robbie walked home, Art swinging between them, holding onto both of their hands. The sun was below the horizon, and the sky was painted a light twilight blue, the stars starting to come out in the sky. 

They made their way inside their blue house and helped Art get ready for bed, sitting on either side of her while she crawled under the covers, now in a pair of pink pajamas. A gold glitter lamp sat on one of the nightstands – something she had gotten from the pack for Christmas and now used constantly at night she said she didn’t like being in the dark. Kelly thought it might have something to do with how dark it was in the tree she had been in before they found her. 

“Would like us to read you a story?” Kelly offered before they went to bed themselves. 

Art lay on her back, the covers pulled up to her chin, her hands gripping the edges, she turned her head slightly towards him, “What’s Josh like?” She said, ignoring his question.

“Josh?” Kelly tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at her, “Well, he’s um… Rico’s son so… a lot like him, I guess?”

“Are we related?” She asked, her voice going up slightly at the last word. 

Kelly glanced at Robbie, and they shared a look. 

“Well, no… but… he’s pack. So, try to get along with him, okay?”

She pursed her lips at that and gave a “hmm,” then after a pause, “I don’t think he likes me. “

“He just doesn’t know you very well, yet.”

“He’s annoying.” 

“Well, Rico’s also annoying so. Like father, like son, I guess.” Robbie shrugged, and Kelly batted at him, trying to fight the grin forming on his face. 

“He smells weird,” she said after a pause, as she scrunched her nose up. 

Kelly and Robbie glanced at each other over her head, “Weird like… bad?” Kelly asked hesitantly.

She shook her head slowly as if deciding what to say, “No, not bad…” she trailed off.

“Well, maybe you just aren’t used to the smell of pack yet,” Kelly suggested as Robbie eyed him wearily. 

“I like how pack smells.” She said sleepily her eyes starting to droop. “He just smells… like more.” 

Kelly and Robbie smiled down at her as she nodded off, before heading to their own bed. 

Chapter Text

The summer came, and they continued on with their lives as normal. They would set up play dates with Art and Josh here and there, in an attempt for them to get along, but instead, they would continue to bicker with each other. 

During the short few months they had Robbie made use of his computer skills to put together fake documents, including a fake birth certificate indicating that he and Kelly had adopted her and had made fake school records. With these, they registered for her to start school in the fall.

They discussed homeschooling for a while, but that was shot down. “She can’t just keep spending time at home, she needs to go to school and learn, make a few friends maybe.” Kelly had expressed late at night as they lay in bed. 

“I know,” Robbie responded in a small voice, staring at that dark ceiling above, “But what if…” he trailed off, biting his lip, the thoughts swirling.

What if she doesn’t fit in?

What if they make fun of her?

What if she gets hurt?

Kelly lay his head on Robbie’s chest in answer, gently brushing his thumb over the back of Robbie’s hand. 

Eventually, they decided she would go in the fall.

***

They spent this last summer together closely watching her, her threads to each pack member slowly getting stronger. She would walk with Ox and Joe, sometimes alone, and sometimes Robbie or Kelly would join them. The woods were ablaze and bright in the summer heat, the cicadas chirping around them, and they would wade and splash in the nearby creek in the woods underneath the bridge. 

They watched as the two young children would play and splash each other, sometimes pushing or pulling the other one in, their shouts piercing the air. 

At dusk the fireflies would come out, replaced by the twinkling stars that lit up the backdrop of the dark night sky as the sun set. Kelly and Robbie would sit at the base of their tree, where they first kissed and they watched as she chased the fireflies, catching them in her hands and letting them go. 

The summer came and went. 

The first day of school approached.

***

When the time came, Robbie and Kelly walked her part of the way, and then she insisted on walking by herself, with the kids her age. They stayed back away, watching her go – given how small the town of Green Creek was, the school wasn’t that far of a walk away. 

She spotted Josh walking ahead and caught up to him. She gave a small smile at him when he glanced her way, but other than that he ignored her – quickening his pace. She quickened her pace with him, her smile widening until they were almost all out sprinting. By the time they reached the school, Josh was hunched over trying to catch his breath.

Art gave a small giggle at him, then a small wave, and turned to head to class, Josh glaring after her. 

***

The first few weeks passed, and she continued to follow Josh around only for him to ignore her. 

She was becoming more familiar with them now, she was like a missing puzzle piece and she was opening up to them more and more. She never talked about her past or parents or being stuck in that snowed-in tree for days, and they never pushed. Sometimes she would wake screaming from nightmares she could never remember – Robbie and Kelly rushing to her side, and holding her shaking body close afterward where she would drift off in their arms, her tears soaking into their shirts. They were getting less and less frequent the more time she spent with pack, and walking in the woods with their Alphas. 

Art continued to go to school, but it was apparent she had yet to make any friends. She was often sitting alone by herself, watching the others play with each other, and the overwhelming feeling of wanting to go home to pack filled her. Every now and then she would glance at Josh at recess or lunch, and their gazes would meet for a moment before he glanced away. 

With her lack of friends, she kept herself busy with books, or sketches, often of pack members. It didn’t take long for some of the kids to call her ‘Wolf Girl.’ 

Outside of school she would catch up to Josh and walk home with him – he usually ignored her until his friends had dispersed. Slowly by slowly, she started to ask him questions, he would sometimes ignore her until they were far away from the school and walking through their woods together, not quite ready to go home yet.

“Have you had your first shift yet?” She asked him one day on their walk home. They were walking through the woods, the trees high above them, the sun’s rays poking through against the clear blue sky. The smell of woods and home and packpackpack becoming stronger and stronger.

“No,” he scoffed at her.”

“Oh.” A pause them, “Why not?”

“Uh, because I’m human, duh.”

“Rico’s not human,” she answered, recalling the shifts and nightly pack runs under the full moon. She would watch the wolves as they ran and played under the summer moonlight, too young to have her first shift yet. Sometimes Kelly or Robbie would stay with her as humans, sitting in the clearing, underneath a tree as she ran and played along with them, their wolf snouts nuzzling at her palm. The feeling of belonging and pack vibrated through her. 

Josh rolled his eyes at her, “He was bitten.” 

“Ohh,” she nodded in understanding.

“Would you do it? Take the bite?” She asked after some time. 

“Why?”He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

She shrugged, “Why not?” 

They spent the rest of the walk in silence. 

***

Then one day, it was a normal school day like any other. Art’s class had show-and-tell that day. Not thinking much of it, she glanced at the stuffed wolf that Robbie had bought for her – Wolfie – that was sitting on her perfectly made bed. She went to grab him, biting her lower lip when she spotted something else out of the corner of her eye. Gingerly, she picked it up, her heart racing as if she knew it was a bad idea, but there was just something about the idea of sharing it that called out to her.

“Art! Are you ready? It’s time to go – you’re going to be late!” Robbie called at her from downstairs, causing her to jump. 

Without a second thought, she scooped it up and gingerly set it in her backpack before running downstairs. “Coming!” She called out in her small voice before running downstairs.

Chapter Text

She arrived at her class, and, heart pounding sat in her seat as she awaited her turn. The thought of sharing something – talking in front of all the other kids she didn’t know was making her nervous. She was still getting used to talking to her family, much less a bunch of kids she didn’t know very well.

Finally, it was her turn, and she slowly slipped out of her seat and walked to the front of the class as if she was on death row. She swallowed when she got to the front, her hands sweaty and shaking – she went to wipe them off on her jeans.

“Um, I-I-” she started, tears building in the corners of her eyes. She glanced up at the kids staring back at her, and a mix of bored and curious expressions stared back. The teacher sat off to the side, nodding her encouragement. Taking a breath, she bit her bottom lip as she pulled her item out and held it for all to see.

She gripped the small stone wolf in both hands, squeezing it tightly, bringing it close to her chest. “This is um,” she mumbled.

“Speak up dear, we can’t hear you very well,” the teacher said softly.

She froze, deterred for a moment then gave a curt nod. “Um, this is my… wolf. That my… Alph-family,” she corrected, wincing, trying not to use too much wolf language with a group of human children. “made for me. It’s um… special.” She finished.

Thinking it was over she took a step away but the teacher stopped her in her tracks, “And what’s so special about it, dear?” She walked with an air of friendliness.

“Oh um… that they… made it for me?” She paused, “And that um, I’m supposed to give it to someone who is special to me someday.”

Immediately a young girl with pigtails raised her hand and started to speak without being called on, “Why would they give you something you have to give away? That seems stupid.”

Art looked down at her feet, her face blushing as tears brimmed her eyes while the teacher admonished the young girl. Then she all but ran back to her seat, stuffing the stone wolf away in her backpack where she couldn’t look at it anymore.

***

It was on the walk home and something felt off. She was walking her path and noticed a small circle of kids ahead of her, blocking her path. Her ears picked up on them whispering things like, “She’s so weird,” then “There she is.”

She tried to ignore them and go around them but one of them came up to her – she tried to sidestep him but he just matched her movements until she was forced to stop and glare at him. Other kids followed suit and she could hear their laughter – they were laughing at her and her face flushed as she looked down at her shoes, gripping the strap of her small backpack on her back.

The pigtail girl came up to her – Sarah – she thought her name was. “Look everyone it’s Wolf Girl. Got any other special wolf things, wolf girl?” she sneered. Art glared at her from under he eyelashes, then tried to walk away – but the girl got in her way.

Art’s heart was hammering and she felt so small. She wasn’t a wolf yet, she couldn’t do anything – she was still too young, too small to shift or threaten anyone.

“What’s wrong?” the girl continued to taunt her, “wolf got your tongue?” They all laughed and started howling towards the sky in multiple choruses of, “Awoo!” Art tried again to push her way through, but the next thing she knew she had been pushed to the ground. She sat up stunned, her fists clenched at her sides. She heard the unzipping of her backpack and her eyes widened at the sight of her stone wolf in one of the kid’s hands and they were all laughing.

They were in a circle around her now, tossing the stone wolf to each other. She quickly stood up. Afraid of the stone wolf breaking, she tried to grab it from them but she was either too short or too slow. “Give it back!” she yelled at them, tears racing down her reddened face.

The continued and she couldn’t help it, she stood there small sobs racking her body as she tried to wipe her tears. She smelled him first – the familiar sense of warm and pack and home. Her sensitive ears picked up on the sound of steady footsteps on the ground, coming toward her. She heard a familiar sigh and glanced up to see Josh standing there, his palm held out to one of the kids who had the stone wolf raised above his head. “Give it back,” he said in authoritative voice that made her skin turn cold.

The boy dropped his gaze to floor, his bottom lip jutting out as he placed the wolf in Josh’s open hand. “We were just messing around,” he muttered. The pigtail girl stood with her arms folded across her chest, her eyes ablaze as if ready to throw a tantrum.

Without a word Josh turned to Art. He grabbed her wrist and she stared at him in surprise. He took her wrist and held her hand out to him before dropping the wolf in her open palm. “Here.” He stated, his voice low, no emotion in his tone as if he didn’t care at all. She looked down at the stone wolf now in her hands, noticing it had a small chip on the top of one of it’s ears. Her eyes watered once more and she gripped the statue tightly in her hands.

With that, Josh turned and walked away, leaving Art frozen and staring after him in shock.

“You’re no fun!” Pigtails yelled after them, but he ignored her.

With that, the other kids departed, leaving Art to grip the wolf in her hands tightly as she continued to stare after Josh until he was out if sight.

She stayed that way for a while.

Chapter Text

For the next few weeks, they acted as if nothing had ever happened, but Art kept her distance from Josh. She couldn’t tell for sure, but she had the feeling he was mad at her. She definitely annoyed him when he to have him come to save her. He continued to ignore her, as did the other kids at school. If anything, he had become more annoying and distant than ever before. He would avoid seeing her altogether some days on the way to and from school. At pack gatherings he would continually look away, standing in a corner of the room as far away from her as possible.

After the event, she had tucked the stone wolf away in the drawer of her nightstand and hadn’t touched it since. It hurt to look at; still, she kept replaying it over and over again in her head – the look on Josh’s face, a fine line between indifference and annoyance, and the chip that was now grooved into the wolf’s ear.

She had attempted to wipe any trace of her tears or that anything was wrong from her face, but of course her dads saw right through it. Late in the night, they heard her as her soft sobs shuddered through her tiny body and they held her as she lay her head on Robbie’s-Daddy’s chest; Kelly-Dad-squeezing her hand and stroking the back of it with his thumb as he watched her with those concerned blue, blue eyes. They tried to ask her what was wrong but she just shook her head and sobbed.

Now, fall was approaching. There were odd decorations on the houses in town, pumpkins with carved faces sitting out on porches and cobwebs and lights strung up in windows; “It’s Halloween,” Daddy explained in answer when she asked about it.

Nothing about that word resonated with her and she couldn’t remember ever experiencing such a holiday before, but she let it go – until they asked her what she wanted to be. Confused, she tilted her head and answered simply, “A wolf.” Her dads chuckled at that. She didn’t understand what was so funny about it – she knew she was a wolf, she always wanted to be a shift, eagerly awaiting her first shift, not knowing when it would happen exactly, just that it would when the time was right.

Was that what Halloween was? When she would first shift and become a wolf? 

“No, silly. It’s when a bunch of kids get together and dress up so they can take candy from strangers.” Carter rolled his eyes. “Not sure who thought that was a good idea, but it’s fun for kids. And adults like to get scared; we put together a haunted house a few years ago and Gavin wouldn’t leave my side for weeks.”

“I not scared,” Gavin growled from the floor where he sat, leaning against Carter’s legs as Carter sat next to Art on the couch. “I just protecting stupid Carter from dying.”

“Uh-huh. Sure bud.” Carter nodded, reaching down to ruffle Gavin’s hair, then mumbled under his breath, “Like I need protecting.” He rolled his eyes.

“I heard that!” Gavin grumbled.

Art smiled at the both of them. Uncle Carter ruffled her hair next, “You’ll have fun kid, you’ll see.” He winked at her. 

As the holiday got closer she noticed how excited the pack was, which just made her more excited, the anticipation buzzing throughout the house and at school. It felt like she finally had something to look forward to since the statue incident. She tried to push the thought of that day to the back of her mind; it still perplexed her why Josh had helped her. Every now and then she couldnt help but notice the subtle glances he would give her sometimes, an indecipherable expression on his face. For some reason, those looks would cause her heart to start racing and she didn’t know what to do about that – there was obviously something with her – maybe a doctor could look into it.

If anything, he was more insufferable than ever which just confused her more. She replayed that day in her mind over and over and the thought of Josh touching her stone wolf bugged her for some reason – a part of her was itching to wash his handprints off of it – he was the last person she wanted to willingly give it to, even if he had been the one to give it back. But there was another part of her, a part locked deep away – the part that liked the smell of warmth and home and pack – that kept replaying him holding it in her hand, and the sight of him holding it just… fit. 

Maybe it was a good thing Josh was keeping his distance after all.

Now, it was a week before Halloween and the Bennett house was full-blown decorated – orange and purple lights were strung in the windows along with cobwebs; those carved pumpkins with faces were on the porch. Art heard snippets of the pack members discussing having a Halloween party, alongside who was taking The Kids (as they so often referred to Josh and Art as) on something called Trick-or-Treating. She noticed too, how all the kids at school appeared more restless than usual, talking about things she didn’t quite understand such as dressing up, candy, and haunted houses.

They were in the living room of the Bennett house, and the Alphas were in the kitchen along with Elizabeth and Mark. Everyone else was out either at the shop or on their way over.

“What do you think?” Robbie held up what appeared to be a mask designed to look at a wolf. “Rawr!” he added, moving his hand in a claw-like swiping motion. Kelly laughed at him.

“A wolf!” Art responded in answer.
“Shit, kid, it sure is,” Carter said, just walking in and ruffling the top of Art’s hair.
“Carter, don’t say shit around the kid. Have some class,” Kelly scolded.

Carter rolled his eyes. “Please. I’m sure she’s going to hear a lot worse around here. Rico and Gordo curse like sailors.”

“That’s because I run a tight ship,” Gordo muttered as he entered the room, Rico, Chris, and Tanner trailing behind him.

“Tight like your ass-” Tanner started then stopped when Gordo turned and glared at him. He cleared his throat, and said, “ass-uh, assistant. Yeah, that’s it.”

“Hey!” Robbie protested earning him a mere shrug from Tanner.

Rico turned to Robbie  “So you guys good to take them? You know, since we uh, have… plans.” he raised his eyebrows up and down at them suggestively.

“Ugh, gross,” Kelly muttered.

“We’re gonna have a great time, aren’t we Josh? you and Art here are gonna have so much fun together.” Robbie told him.

“Why do have to go with her? Josh whined.

“Because – me and your mother have plans. Plus I get to see her dressed up in that little number that makes her ti-huh I mean because I said so.” Rico told him.

Josh looked up at him skeptically. “I want to go with my friends, not Wolf Gir-not with her,” he muttered.

“We’ll have fun Josh, you’ll see. Won’t we Art?” Robbie said.

Josh rolled his eyes. Art gave a small smile.

The conversation moved on to other things, and eventually, the adults all migrated to the kitchen to assist with Sunday dinner.

Josh sighed, then turned to glare at her.“Whatever. Just stay out of my way, princesa.” he said, emphasis on the last word, “If you see any of my friends, I don’t know you. Got it?”

Art’s smile faded a bit and she gave a curt nod. He walked past her, bumping her should as he did; the smell of warmth-of fire-lingering behind.

***

It was Halloween, and the day was slowly turning into night. There were rows of small monsters outside - children were racing from one house to another and taking candy from strangers.

Robbie and Kelly were getting ready at the blue house, Robbie was helping Art with dressing up while Kelly was talking to Rico as he dropped Josh off with them. Josh walked in and stared at Art. He eyed her up and down and rolled his eyes at her, arms folded across his chest. “Can we go now?” he whined. 

Rico sighed from the doorway, “Oy, mjio, patience no? You be good tonight yeah? Don’t give these guys too much trouble?”

Josh rolled his eyes, “I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said through gritted teeth. 

Rico shook his head and tilted his head back to the sky, “Ay dios mio,” he grumbled as Kelly smiled and saw him out. 

Art twirled around once Robbie was finished. She placed the wolf mask back on her face and held her hands up in a claw-like gesture, “Rawr!” She said in a small voice.

Josh rolled his eyes, “Wolves don’t say rawr.”

“How would you know? You’re not a wolf!” She stated firmly, as she lifted the mask onto her head and crossed her arms. 

Josh stuck his tongue out at her. 

They walked outside together in the crisp fall air and walked a while throughout town. The night grew darker, the sun setting below the horizon and the holiday lights shone brighter than before. After a while, Josh spotted some of his friends who were waving him over. He glanced at Robbie and Kelly, slightly flushed, scraping his shoe against the ground. “Can I go with them? Just for a little while? Pleeease?” 

Robbie and Kelly glanced at each other wearily; a silent conversation passed between them. Robbie tilted his head to the side, smirking slightly, “How about they come and join us?”

Josh scratched his face up in disgust in response. 

Kelly rolled his eyes, “C’mon, Robbie he doesn’t want his cool little friends to see him with two men like us.” He winked. 

“Speak for yourself. I’m not that old.” Robbie muttered. Kelly simply smiled at him fondly, and how his heart melted at the sight. 

Finally, Robbie sighed and gave in. “All right. You can go with them. But just for a little while, okay? Meet us back here in about an hour, okay?”

“Yes!” Josh fist-pumped the air and started to ruin over to the other boys across the street/

“Wait!” Robbie called after him causing Josh to turn around. Robbie nodded his head towards Art standing at his side. “Take her with you;”

Josh’s face paled as he glanced between the two, then at the boys across the street. 

“But-”

“Josh.” Kelly said sternly, his tone short.

Josh sighed and gritted his teeth, “Fine.”

Art followed him across the street to where the other boys stood in a circle. 

“Wolf girl?” One of them asked incredulously before turning to Josh, “Dude, what’s Wolf Girl doing with you?”

Josh blushed, mumbling something as he scuffed his shoe on the road.

“We’re pack.” Art stated matter-of-factly, and Josh groaned in response.

The kids gave each other a what-the-hell look. “Oh my god, she really believes she’s a wolf!” one of them cried.

“Está loca,” one of the boys whispered. 

While some of the older Green Creek residents knew of the Bennets and their wolf habits, the knowledge had worn off some, especially with new residents moving in-so most of their kids didn’t quite believe the rumors that there were werewolves among them.

Art looked abashedly down, her cheeks reddening.  Hearing their laughs and taunts, she tore the mask off and threw it to the ground.

Then she ran.

She ran back towards home, back to the woods- the sound of awoos following her. “Artemis – Art, wait!” she heard Josh call after her but she didn’t stop.

She continued running. She ran towards their woods - her woods - that were made up of packpackpack, where it was home and safe and where wolves were real.

Chapter Text

Eventually, she came to the pack’s clearing. The sky overhead was filled with clouds, blocking out the twinkling lights. Slowly, the clouds were moving across the sky, and a sliver of moonlight appeared.

Something felt off. Wrong. And it wasn’t just Josh and his friends.

Her body was burning up from the inside out. She clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath but –there was pain; a burning, searing pain was ripping through her, blooming out from her chest. 

The clouds slowly parted above, revealing a full moon. She could feel it singing to her. 

Everything felt wrong. She felt her gums flaming -she run her tongue across he teeth and could feel fangs descending from her gums. She turned her hands over and saw patches of fur growing and receding on the back of her hands, and her eyes widened at the sight. She was shaking all over now, fear and adrenaline warring within her.  The clothes she had on were stretching and ripping apart as patches of fur rose up on her skin; as bones tried to rearrange themselves within her body. 

She was… shifting. or at least, her body was trying to, but she couldn’t figure out how to control it. Was shifting always this… painful? She recalled seeing the other members shift from human to wolf, and they always did it so effortlessly. 

She heard a gasp from behind her and slowly turned to see Josh there, having followed her. Her emerald eyes locked with his shocked caramel brown eyes for a minute, then she cried out in pain as her body changed, “Ahh!” she gasped, clutching herself, her arms folded over her chest. She gritted her teeth together, her claws digging into her skin retreating. 

“Woah,” Josh breathed, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide as he stared. After a minute he came back to his senses, shaking his head to clear whatever spell had overtaken him. He stepped forward, his hands up cautiously as if approaching a wild animal – which, in a way, he was. “Hey, it’s… it’s ok. You’re okay,” he tried to reassure her, though his voice was shaking. “It’s gonna be okay.” 

“It hurts,” she whimpered.

“I-I know just, hold on, okay? Your dads will be here soon-”

She let out another cry as her body went back and forth from wolf to human.

A stuttering thrum of PackHelpDanger coursed through her, like an electric current. 

“I-I- don’t know what to do!” he admitted, his voice pained and it hurt. It hurt her to hear him like that, scared and so unsure of himself, because of her. “Please, just – tell me what to do!”

“T-tether,” she gritted out between her teeth, “I-I need my tether,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she tried not to scream out from the pain. 

He swallowed, “Okay. Yeah, they-they’re on their way, okay? Just… uh, breathe?” he suggested lamely.

She gripped a nearby tree to steady herself, and her hands turned back into claws, which she used to grip the tree as she scratched down the side of it – leaving a trail of marks behind.

She heard the thrumming of multiple paws on dirt, heard them running towards her, a new current of DaughterPackLove and WeAreHere, WeAreHere thrummed alongside her heartbeat. The full moon hung overhead, shining bright down on the clearing, clearly visible between the space of trees.

Robbie got to her first, Kelly trailing close behind. They shifted from wolf to human and Robbie kneeled down beside her, his hand on her shoulder, whispering to her to “Just breathe.”

“It hurts,” she cried.

“I know,” he said sadly, his heart was breaking from seeing her in pain. Then, stronger, “I know it hurts. But I’m here now. Your pack is here now, and you belong to us. Focus on that, on us.”

She felt a tug on the thread between them – the thread of her tether and she began to pull on it. 

The soft glow of threads and emotions enveloped her, all of them equally bright in greens and blues and golds and a steady thrum of lovelovelove and packpackpack. 

Her body started to respond to the feel of pack. 

Her hands turned into paws. Her claws extended and her fangs descended, the rest of her clothes tore away as patches of fur sprouted all over, her eyes widened and she could feel the pull of the moon and oh, how it sang. 

She wanted so very badly to sing back to it. 

The atmosphere through the clearing shifted as she came into her wolf; she felt the forest bow to the two Alphas that were now sitting before her. A black wolf sat before her, a white one sitting right beside him, their eyes swirling with a red glow.  She could feel their whispers, grounding her. They said, PackChildOurs, YouBelongToUs, and OursOursOurs.

she

she was

she is

wolf

moon

the moon, she sings

i

i want to sing back

father, father

look, look at me

do u see me

i am wolf

finally

***

In the clearing was an entire pack of wolves now, the full moon singing to them from overhead.

One of the wolves was smaller than the others; her whole body was light gray, with no discoloration at all. Her yips rang throughout the air as she nipped at the two wolves beside her, and occasionally she howled at the moon, the other wolves joining in to sing the moon their wolf song. 

 Josh’s eyes never left Art as she shifted. He couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. The other humans stood behind him, watching – Gordon’s arms were lit up from casting wards around them. Josh had never seen a wolf’s first shift before, whenever the others did it they always made it look so easy. 

Now, he continued to stare at her. She was so small, and she kept stumbling whenever she walked. Her wolf had feminine features and looked, well, pretty – if wolves could even be considered pretty - especially with how she tended to be glowing under the moonlight. For some reason, as he stared at her he could feel his heart beat erratically, and he felt… weird. Nervous, almost – what the hell was wrong with him?

She was just a girl.

She was just Art. 

She was…

Licking him. Yup, she was definitely licking him. He made a disgusted face at her as he pulled his hand away, “Ugh, gross! Dog slobber!” He yelled out, causing a ripple of growls from some of the others. She seemed to ignore him, though – sniffing him intently and nuzzling against him.

“Hey, cut it out!” He shouted at her, unable to keep the laughter from his voice as she came closer to him, causing him to fall over onto the forest ground. She still continued to nudge at him, sniffing him intently. What is that smell? I don’t know I just don’t know – her voice and that look on her face – wide-eyed and brimming with curiosity, sprang to his mind. He shook his head to clear the memory, now aware that she was sniffing his hair, his chest, his- 

“Hey, hey now! Get away from there!” he waved her away and she snorted. 

Her tail wagged and she looked up at him - her eyes colliding with his. She gave one short yip before bounding away, jumping up at the others. A tug of PlayPlayPlay pulled at him, followed by PackFamilyLoveHome. 

The wolves all sang back to her and a consistent thrum bloomed across his chest, beating to the feel of packpackpack. 

***

Later that night, the pack was set up to get settled in for the night, their bodies satiated and relaxed from howling their songs at the moon. The Alphas had set up the blankets and pillows in the living room; Kelly brought over extra clothes for them from the blue house and Robbie helped Art with bathing and getting into her pajamas and getting ready for the night. They were all changed into pajamas now – (there was a lack of commentary about being nude since Rico was still away with his wife) and were lying down on top of each other as they usually did after a full moon run. This time, they put Art in the middle – Kelly and Robbie on either side of her, and the rest surrounding them. 

She had drifted off to sleep when something woke her up; she blinked wearily and then sat up, looking around. She spotted Josh on the couch, and he woke up when her gaze landed on him – his eyes meeting hers. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, then he blinked a few times and they both froze, staring at each other. 

Then, Josh put a finger to his lips and nodded towards the patio, Art nodded. They slowly and quietly stood up and she followed him out. He sat on the porch steps, his arms folded across his knees. She leaned against one of the posts across from him, her arms behind her back, and crossed her knees, her nightgown reaching down to just above them. 

They were silent for a while, the only sound that of the wind and occasional out-of-season crickets – fireflies glowed against the treeline across from them; the moon illuminated the area so it was a pale grey-blue that surrounded them.

“I-” Josh started his voice barely above a whisper. “Uh, about-you know…” he trailed off, “sometimes those guys just-”

“It’s okay,” she said in a small, but firm voice.

He turned his head toward her, surprise written across his face.

“Still, I-I’m sorry,” he looked back down at his hands. “You’re pack,” he lifted his gaze to the tree line of the forest, “and pack comes first.”

 She couldn’t help it then, how her heart fluttered at his words. She felt herself blush, a small smile forming on her lips. “We’re pack.” she stated matter-of-factly as if that answered everything. 

Chapter Text

Slowly, Art and Josh started to become closer; friends almost. The wolves would shift while the humans watched from the sidelines, and they would play amongst each other stopping to sniff the humans or include them in their playfulness. Ever since Art had her first shift, Josh was deemed old enough to go along on the wolf runs – though they tried not to stay out too late on school nights, and if they did both the kids would stay home the next day with Elizabeth and Mark. Art enjoyed spending her days with Elizabeth, learning about how to paint and draw from her – they would spend hours in her studio and Art would continue to draw her renderings of wolves and trees. 

Art would shift and play with the pack members; inevitably she would have some fascination with sniffing Josh and staying nearby him, growling at others who came close to him and he would roll his eyes, not quite knowing what it meant. 

At school he started to acknowledge her, glaring daggers at anyone who tried to say anything. He was nicer, but sometimes he would still annoy her, just because he could. She sat with him and some of his friends at lunch. His friends were visibly uncomfortable at first, but then gradually they would start to ask questions and she’d shyly give them short-worded answers in her small, quiet voice. At some point there was a switch; it was gradual and she wasn’t too sure when it happened exactly, but after a while, she went from being The Wolf Girl Freak to The Cool Wolf Girl, and the boys would all howl with her instead of at her. 

For the first time, she felt like she had friends; friends who weren’t pack – not her pack anyway -they were like a different pack. 

They were entering middle school now; it was the same but different at the same time when things were changing, like having different teachers for different classes and no longer being able to run around at recess – which was fine; she was used to running at home, in the woods with pack. Still, she was nervous and her dads seemed to be picking up on that. 

It was the first day of school and her dads were in the kitchen, laughing and talking about nothing in particular, stars in their eyes as they looked at each other. She walked up to them, her backpack on her shoulder and ready to go, her heart pounding in her chest. They looked down at her, “First day of a new school, are you excited?”

She hesitated, grabbing the strap of her backpack, “I don’t wanna go,” she muttered looking down at her feet. 

Kelly and Robbie glanced at each other worriedly. 

Kelly bent down, placing his hands on his knees, “Why not? Aren’t you excited to see your new friends?”

“I’m scared…” she muttered 

Robbie kneeled down in front of her, placing both hands on her shoulders. “That’s okay,” he said, his bright emerald eyes boring into her matching ones. “Everyone gets scared sometimes. Even me and your dad,” he glanced at Kelly who gave a small smile in return. 

Then he returned his gaze to Art and lifted his hand to touch the frame of his glasses, “Do you know why I wear these, even though I don’t need them?” he asked her quietly. She shook her head.

“When I was about your age, my mother wore them before giving them to me, even though she didn’t need them. She said they made her feel better about herself, smarter, as silly as that was. She gave them to me before she passed. So now I wear them to remind me of her, and to be brave just like she was. And now…”

He gently lifted them off his face and placed his glasses on hers, where they sat crookedly before he adjusted them; they were a little too big for her still, but they stayed. “Now they’re yours. So when you wear them, they can make you feel smarter and braver too.” He smiled at her then put his hand around the back of her neck and squeezed reassuringly as he put his forehead to hers and said, “I love you. Forever.” 

***

She went to school, Robbie and Kelly stood across the street and watched her go in. Afterward, she was at the Bennett house, waiting for her dads to come home from their day at work. She hadn’t seen Josh that day, figuring they had different classes and teachers, but then the door opened and he was there – the scent of a campfire stabbing the air. 

She was still donning her new glasses when Josh walked in. He stopped when he saw her and stared. They were alone, the adults were either out back or busy doing something in the kitchen, not paying too much attention to them. “Why are you wearing your dad’s glasses?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

Self-consciously she touched the frames, slightly blushing. “He gave them to me.”

“You should take them off…” he muttered, a rosy blush started crawling up his neck. 

“Why?” she asked defensively. Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrow.

“Because…” he muttered looking away, the back of his neck was red and his heart was racing. “Just. Because.” That was all she got. She felt a faint tug of something through the threads – but it was like he was trying to hide it away the harder she pulled. 

They were silent after that. She wasn’t sure how to respond, or how she felt… was she angry? Or disappointed maybe? She hesitantly reached up to the frames of the glasses and then shook her head deciding against it.

“I’ll take them off when you tell me why,” she said stubbornly. She crossed her arms and sat back as if daring him to say something 

“Because you don’t need them…” he muttered back, his gaze returning to her then away and back again, looking her up and down. She felt self-conscious for some reason, and she defiantly crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“How would you know what I need?” She asked darkly.

She looked at him now, really looked at him. She hadn’t registered the changes the both of them had gone through in the past couple of years of childhood, now progressing into puberty. He was still about a foot shorter than her, his dark hair was longer and messy in a shaggy sort of way, almost hiding his caramel-brown eyes. His bronze skin was a shade darker from being outside so much during the summer and he was skinny, all gangly arms and legs that he had yet to grow into. 

Later, when she was alone she would look in the mirror and really see herself for the first time as well. She was still thin and lanky, her chest slightly bigger, and her blonde hair was still long and unruly. Her bright green eyes were hidden away behind her new oversized glasses and she’d think good, because it was easier to hide behind them than have anyone else actually see her. Maybe that was why they made Robbie’s mother feel brave; because they masked how she saw the world and how the world saw her. 

She didn’t wait for him to answer, she just brushed past him, joining the others outside while she waited for her dads to show up and take her home. Josh was wrong – she did need those glasses, she needed them to hide her away from the world, just like she needed that tree to hide her all those years ago before she was found. 

***

Apparently, Gordo had a field day at work since Robbie no longer wore his glasses.

The boys from the shop were finally home – walking into the Bennet house all noise and chatter. “Way to really piss Gordo off, lobito,” Rico’s voice carried through the foyer. Robbie was there in the living room, rolling his eyes with Rico, Chris, and Tanner beside him.

Gordo’s voice came from behind them, “I told you, just wear them!”

“And I told you, I don’t need them.”

“That’s right you don’t. They make you look stupid.” A pause then, “Now go put them back on!”

Robbie smirked at him, “Sure, Gordo. I’ll get right on that.”

Kelly came in next, a few minutes afterward, and glanced at them all, “What’s going on?”

“Just Gordo being furious about Robbie not wearing his glasses. You’d think for as much as he complained about them-”

“Shut up. And go get your damn glasses already,” Gordo mumbled.

Robbie shook his head. “Can’t do that. I gave them to our daughter. They’re hers now.” he smiled, shrugging nonchalantly. They all turned to look at Art as she sat on the couch in the living room, staring back at them.

As if on cue, her glasses tilted down her face crookedly, causing her to reach up and adjust them.

Gordo made a choking, whimpering noise as he took her in, his eyes watering. 

“They suit you,” Gordo smiled at her, causing Robbie to roll his eyes.

“How come you don’t tell her she doesn’t need them and that she looks ridiculous in them?” Which, she sort of did – they were too big for her face adding to the ridiculousness of not even needing them to see in the first place.

“Because she can actually pull them off,” Gordo shot back confidently.

Robbie threw his hands up in defeat. 

 “I agree, mija, those make you look bonita.” Rico winked at her. She preened a bit at that; she liked when Rico called her mija, as if she was already one of his own – just like she belonged to him and every other member of the pack.

She looked down, blushing slightly as she muttered, “Josh doesn’t like them.”

“Oy, now I’m sure that’s not true… and if it is I’m sure he has his reasons… he just isn’t good with change, that’s all. Don’t worry about my son. Sometimes he is, what we call, el stupido.”

“He gets it from his father!” Bambi’s voice drifted over to them. 

Art smiled at that as Rico groaned and rolled his eyes. “How does she do that? It’s like she has supersonic hearing…” He muttered before ruffling Art’s hair and walking off in Bambi’s direction. 

“Don’t worry kid, we get you. We’ll tell that dumb son of Rico’s that the only one who can make fun of Robbie’s glasses is me, dammit.” Gordo mumbled before winking at her and stalking off into the kitchen where Uncle Mark stood looking over at Gordo with his secret smile. 

Robbie rolled his eyes, “And Gordo won’t be doing that unless I’m the one wearing them, I’m sure.” 

Kelly smiled at him, chuckling before smiling down at Art. “We don’t mind them so much, do we kid?” She beamed at him, her chest blooming with pride. She felt the steady thrum of PackLoveDaughter coming from the both of them.

***

It was after dinner when she and Josh were alone again while the adults were cleaning up and saying their goodbyes. 

“You told my dad I said I hated your glasses?” he confronted her once they were sure no one was paying them any attention.

She shrugged, “Well you basically did.”

“No I didn’t,” he sighed, exasperated

“You told me to take them off!” she challenged, surprising herself even a little at her change in demeanor. She may have been a shy, quiet innocent little girl but for some reason when it came to Josh she couldn’t help herself – it was like instinct kicked in, telling her to fight tooth and nail against him – like she should prove that she could take him if that’s what it came down to. 
“I didn’t say I didn’t like them, it’s just…”

“What Josh, what!?”

He shook his head, sighing. “It’s nothing. Nevermind,” he mumbled.

“Well, I don’t care if you like them or not. They’re special, at least to me.”

There was a pause as he looked her over, then, “And that’s how they make you feel? Like you’re special? That’s why you’re wearing them?” he asked, an eyebrow raised; she was taken aback by his genuine tone – like he was genuinely asking her if that’s how she felt rather than making fun of her. 

She slowly nodded, “Part of it,”

He cocked his head to the side, thinking. “Okay,” he said.

“Okay?”

“Okay.” he shrugged. “If they make you happy… then I’m happy too, I guess…” he trailed off, blushing slightly before glancing at her again and giving a shy smile.

“Oh,” she said, her own face blushing. She looked down abashedly, then pushed her glasses back up once again with her fingers. “Okay then. Um. Thanks?”

He nodded, bit his lip then looked at her and away again, as if he wanted to say something else. Instead, he yelled out, “Dad! Can we go now? Por favor?” 

“Yeah, Yeah, we’re going, already,” Rico rolled his eyes as he came and ruffled Josh’s hair before collecting his son and taking off with his family, the others trailing not far behind.

“Everything all right?” Kelly asked as they started to make their way outside, glancing between Art and Josh.

She nodded, “Mm-hmm,” she answered noncommittally; she was still blushing slightly and her chest felt… weird and she didn’t know why. 
The realization hit her later that night. 
Later that night, she pulled the covers up closer to her chin as she stared at the ceiling while she lay alone in bed. Her mind and her heart were racing for some reason and she couldn’t get either one to calm down enough to actually get any sleep. 

Then the realization hit her. Her eyes widened and her heart stuttered a bit, tripping over itself in her chest.

She realized it was the first time she had seen Josh smile -really smile – and at her. 
He had never smiled at her before. 

She lay awake thinking about that all night.

Chapter Text

A few days later, she was hanging out with Josh and some of his friends during their middle school lunch period. They were gathered around laughing about nothing in particular; she adjusted her glasses as they slid down her nose. His friends had stared at her for a bit at first, but Josh glared at them as if daring them to say anything.

“Hm, something’s different,” one of his friends, Jeremy, had said as he circled around her, a finger to his chin. She stood there, following his movements. He snapped his fingers, “Aha. New haircut?” he asked, and she shook her head no. “New clothes?” he suggested and she shook her head again and on and on it went, the other guys holding back their laughter. 

Finally, Josh rolled his eyes and smacked Jeremy on the back of the head, “She has glasses now, dude.” 

“Ohh, that was gonna be my next guess!”

“Uh-huh, sure it was.”

She smiled at them; these friends accepted her, even thinking she was cool and she thought she liked them back, even. At one point they had glanced at her sketchbook and were flipping through it in amazement, pictures of wolves staring back at them; she blushed at their compliments over it. For the first time, she felt like she belonged. 

Today they were talking about whatever it was boys talked about when one of Josh’s former friends called out to her as he walked by.

“Nice specs four eyes. What’s the matter – your wolf powers giving you bad vision? Awoo!” he howled mockingly. 

His friends laughed beside him. “Guess she was blinded by the light… of the moon!”

“Leave her alone, Todd,” Josh scowled, his tone dark as he rolled his eyes.

“Let me see ‘em,” Todd said.

What happened next, Art wasn’t exactly sure – it was all such a blur.

He took her glasses and the next thing new she was rounding on him, “Give them back!” she shouted.

“Make me,” he taunted, and she flashed her eyes orange at him, his eyes widened in terror and he took a step back from her. 

“You sure you want me to do that?” she asked in a dark voice as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Fine! H-here!” he said handing the glasses back to her.

Calmly, she took them and put them back on as she sat back down. 

Until he said the next thing, “Freaking bi-”

She rounded on him then, her fist connecting with his nose and he fell backward on the ground.

“Woah,” she heard the boys behind her breathe faintly. 

“Ow, my nose! Oh my god! She broke my nose!”

“What happened?” one of the teachers was running up to them now, alarmed. 

“She’s crazy! She punched me!” Todd shouted as pointed at Art accusingly while blood poured over his hand that he was holding up to his face.

“No, she didn’t, it was me. I punched him.” Josh spoke up beside her, his eyes wide as he glanced at her. “Yeah, he uh, was saying stuff and-” 

“The Principle’s office. Now. Both of you.”

***

They were sitting outside the Principles office, next to each other in two of those plastic classroom chairs. Art was swinging her legs back and forth and looking over at the door now and again, nervously.

Robbie, Kelly, and Rico had been called down to the school; at first, they had rushed over to them, worried, and had started checking them over as if to have evidence they were all right. Then, once they realized why they were really called down there, the glares they were giving could kill.

“Why did you take the blame for me back there?” she asked him.

He shrugged.

“Because pack?” she guessed. 

He shrugged, giving her a small smile, “Because pack.” 

“What do you think they’ll do to us?” she asked

He thought about it for a moment. “Suspension?”

“Oh, is that all?” she asked, her voice dripping into sarcasm. “That’s fine,” she said seriously, with a shrug. “It’s going to be a full moon soon anyway.”

“Oh man, I am so grounded,” he moaned staring up at the ceiling a moment before looking over at her. “Think they’ll still let me run with you and the wolves?”

“They have to… I-I need you there,” she answered. 

There was a pause. Then, in a low voice, he said, “What do you think your dads are gonna go do? Ground you, too?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ve never really been grounded before. I don’t think they really know how to ground me.” she laughed.

Josh rolled his eyes, smiling at her. “Figures. Didn’t think they could ground you, princesa.” he teased.

They paused, looking over at the closed door where the adults were arguing.

"Can you hear what they’re saying?"

She shrugged. “Nothing good,” she replied.

It was hard to pick apart what they were all saying, given that their voices were jumbling over one another.

“I don’t know what the big deal is; it’s not like he didn’t have it coming,” Josh muttered. “You were pretty cool back there, by the way,” he said, flushing and looking away.

“Thanks,” she said simply.

“My dad said I could start training with the pack someday... when I’m older. I don’t know why I can’t just do it now.”

“Maybe because I’ll kick your-”

The door opened, and the adults came walking out; their expressions were annoyed.

“C’mon, mijo, let’s go.”

“But Dad-”

“Now.”

Josh stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, and gave one last glance over his shoulder at her as they walked away.

She watched him go, then turned and looked sheepishly up at Robbie and Kelly.

“C’mon,” Kelly said, his voice clipped.

She followed behind them, shuddering. They were quiet the whole ride home that Kelly drove, and she noticed Robbie was clenching his fists as they drove.

Once they got home, they quietly shut the door behind them, and that’s when Robbie started to sound exasperated.

“I mean, what were you thinking? Don’t you know violence is never the answer?”

“He started it,” she muttered.

Robbie’s eyes flashed orange at her, and she shrank back, away from it.

“Calm down,” Kelly said, glancing at Robbie.

“Calm down—how can you say that? She practically got herself kicked out of school!”

Kelly rolled his eyes and said, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Not that-” Robbie stared at him, shocked. “Kelly-”

“Art, why don’t you go upstairs? I need to talk to your father. Alone.” Kelly told her, his tone darkening on the last word.

She did as she was told; she heard them go to their room and shut the door behind them, but that didn’t deter her from standing away from the door and trying to eavesdrop on them. She caught snippets like,

“Hear her side of it. You don’t know…”

“I do, but what if she’s -”

“She knows how to protect herself. That’s a good thing.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’re doing just fine.”

“I’m messing it up.”

Their voices quieted, and the conversation trailed off.

Her chest ached at the thought of their words, and she felt her eyes start to water. Biting her lip, she turned around and quietly shut the door behind her before crawling under the covers and shutting her eyes tight.

***

They said she was grounded,  although she had a sneaking suspicion, they didn’t really know what that meant. She was still allowed to go to school, where she had managed to get off scot-free, (which probably had something to do with the Bennett pack paying off the school), and she went to the Bennett house afterward most days since her dads were still working by the time she was out of school. They said they wanted her to check in with them rather than going home and being by herself, which was fine by her. She didn’t really have any other friends of her own that she was missing out on.

Except for Josh.

She had barely seen him after that day in the Principal’s office. 

She had overheard Robbie on the phone with Rico at one point.

“I know he’s a pack, but your son is a bad influence. I’m not sure our daughter should be hanging out with him so much. I think it’s best that he stay away… at least for a while.” 

She had gone back to her room and flopped herself on the bed. At one point, she opened her nightstand drawer and took out her stone wolf. She held it gingerly in her hands, stroking over the ridged bump where its ear used to be before it had been broken, and wondered why her chest ached so much to hear those words.

Stay away... at least for a while. She remembered a time when she would have wanted nothing more than for Josh to stay away, but now it was like she actually missed him. She didn’t get it. After a while, she gingerly set the wolf back in her drawer and closed it.

She went on the run at the full moon, though Rico’s family was missing this time, and again at Sunday dinner. 

“They’ll stop by next time.” Kelly assured her, “They had... things to do,” he offered lamely. She hung her head but nodded once.

“I miss him,” she said one night at the blue house as she sat on the couch with Kelly, while Robbie was upstairs working on something or other. 

“I know,” Kelly said, as he reached over and gently stroked her head. She leaned into it before eventually curling into his side, her legs pulled up underneath her.

Late that night she thought she heard voices coming from down the hall where her dads’ room was. She couldn’t quite make out the conversation but she heard them talking about her and they dropped Josh’s name a few times, but she wasn’t sure if that had been a dream or not. 

About two weeks later, Josh was over again. Finally. “Hi”, he said, scuffing his shoe on the dirt road as she stood on the porch of the Bennett house, staring at him.

“Hello,” she said, and she felt so green. 

Then she ran at him, lunging herself into his arms and tackling him to the ground. “I missed you.” She admitted, her head on his chest.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Okay.” He said and she could hear the smile in it and all she felt was a relief and a thrum of greengreengreen.

She couldn’t tell if all the green that was thrumming through her was coming from her or him, but she thought maybe, just maybe, it was coming from both of them, and she smiled at the thought. 

Chapter Text

One day they were walking home from school together when she stopped in her tracks. A sense of danger coursed through her, and she put her hand out, grabbing Josh by the arm to stop him.

He turned and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Something’s wrong,” she whispered, her eyes wide and glowing Halloween orange.

He narrowed his eyes at her, now on high alert. They slowly walked forward, being cautious about their footsteps and how loud they were. It felt like there was something waiting in the forest, just out of sight, to attack them. Usually, with how many wolves there were around them, they didn’t have a problem with animals, and the wards Gordo had around them, but somehow something wasn’t right.

They slowly made their way toward home; the sun was low now, just below the horizon, and the darkness was quickly descending on them. She heard it before they saw it; her hearing was much more advanced than Josh’s human ears—the rustling of the leaves, the crack of a branch, and the flutter of a bird’s wings as it landed and flew away above the trees.

She turned towards the sound and saw a large creature before them—it wasn’t one of their own, and its eyes were violet. Her eyes widened. “Omega,” she breathed. But she didn’t think it was just any Omega, it looked feral—almost all the way gone into it’s wolf. 

The next thing she knew, it was running toward them, and without thinking, she threw herself in front of Josh, her eyes glowing orange and baring her teeth as she growled at the wolf, her shift starting to take over.

The wolf lunged, tackling her to the ground. She heard Josh shout “NO!” His voice tore through her, and she could feel the horror and fear that were coursing through him; in his voice, in his smell, in his thread, and in it said:

NONONONONO

and

HELPHELP

PLEASEHELP

HELPME

HELPHER 

We NEED help!

The threads raged through her until she was drowning in worry and fear.

She grunted as the wolf tore at her arm, which she held in front of her defensively, and it gnashed at her, biting at her flesh and taking some of it away. She screamed out in pain, then kicked the wolf in the stomach, causing it to fly backward. She scrambled away as the wolf shook itself before it started for her again.

The Omega was staring at her, its teeth bared and its eyes violet, and it was seconds away from attacking when it was hit in the heat with a small rock. It shook its head and then turned to see what had hit it. Josh was behind it now, a ways away, and he was throwing rocks at it to lure it away. “Get away from her, you dumb dog!” he yelled before throwing another rock and hitting it between the eyes. The Omega snarled at him before running toward him, and without thinking, Josh dropped his rocks and ran.

“Josh!” she yelled, and now it was her turn to feel genuine fear. She followed after them, her shift coming through, allowing her to run faster. She spotted Josh up ahead as he tripped on a log, then turned around as he backed away on his arms as the wolf was close behind. She took another path that allowed her to go around so that she was ahead, and then she grabbed Josh’s arm, helping him up. “RUN,” she said.

Taking her hand, he did as she said, and he started leading her away. She was panting as they ran, and the flesh on her arm was slowly but surely starting to heal itself, but it still stung. They ran, tripping over rocks, sticks, and logs, until finally they were in their clearing.

They stopped in the middle, catching their breath, then turned and saw the wolf slowly stalking out of the trees, as if they were stuck in a horror film.

“Oh no, I’m going to die,” Josh muttered, his voice high-pitched and quacking, his eyes wide as he stared back at the wolf.

“No, you’re not,” Art told him, though she didn’t sound all that reassuring.

Uh, yeah, I am.” He said, turning to her. “Don’t know if you noticed, Princessa, but in all the horror movies, the brown guy is the first to go! And that’s me.” He told her his voice was shaky and filled with nerves, with almost a crazy laugh in it.

They heard a low growl coming from the trees, and they turned around to see a full white wolf slinking out of the trees behind them, its eyes glowing Alpha red.

 Joe. 

The Alpha’s teeth were bared, and it was snarling at the other wolf, who was snarling back.

“Kids!” They turned and saw Gordo running toward them. His tattoos were glowing, his good arm flourishing as magic surrounded them. “Get away from there!” he called. “The wards won’t hold for long.” While Joe distracted the wolf, they started following Gordo to the edge of the clearing, out of the way.

Then the white wolf was running, the Omega mirroring it, until they both lunged at each other and met in midair, where they gnashed and clawed at each other, their growls and whines filling the air.

Soon, other wolves followed—a black one with red eyes came from the opposite side of the woods, behind the feral Omega, and tackled it to the ground.It’s eyes swirled red and violet, and they could all feel the sense of power wash over them. The black Alpha growled down at the feral wolf, and a command of Stop! coursed through the threads. But still, the Omega gnashed at the Alpha, as if it were too far gone to listen to the command of an Alpha. It clawed and gnashed it’s teeth, biting out at the Alpha as other wolves came out from the tree line, cornering it.

The Omega’s eyes continued to flash between violet and black, and it whined while it continued to thrash under the black Alpha, too far gone to realize how futile it was. Eventually, the black wolf bit down on the Omega’s neck before its eyes went dark and it lay limp.

Then Ox shifted, and the sound of bones rearranging themselves was the only thing in the clearing now that the wards had dropped. He was staring down at the dead Omega. “Get the kids and take them back to the house. Where it’s safe,” he said.

Joe nodded, turning towards Gordo, Art and Josh where he stopped for a moment in front of them, staring. Then he inclined his head to follow as his wolf walked them back toward the house in silence.

***

When they got to the house, it was like the spell had broken. Joe shifted as the other wolves who had followed them walked out from the treeline.

“You two all right?” Gordo asked and that was all it took for Josh to be on them suddenly, frantic, “She – she's hurt,” he cried, then, sputtering, he turned to her, gripping her firmly by her shoulders. “Don't ever do that again!"

“Do what?” she snapped, grimacing at how hard his grip was.

“Jump in front of me like that! What the hell! What were you thinking? I can handle myself, okay?”

Annoyance, then. 

She pushed his arms down and away from her. “How about thank you? If it wasn't for me, you would have been mauled!”

He shook his head. “I know, but...” he bit his lip, looking away.

She had thought it then, and it hurt her to think it, but she had been so scared, and now that fear had somehow turned to anger. And she was angry now.

“I don't know why you're mad—just because I'm stronger than you are! In case you’ve forgotten, I can heal; you can't! Just because a girl protected you—” She balled her hands into fists.

“That’s not-” Josh yelled back but was cut off. 

“That's enough,” Joe said, his red Alpha eyes flashing. They winced but didn't feel his Alpha powers wash over them; the warning had been enough. Josh stepped away from her, looking down. “Inside. Now.” Joe told them as he and Gordo went up the steps and inside, knowing they wouldn’t be far behind. The rest of the wolves followed them inside, and they could hear the sound of bone and muscle shifting as the door shut behind them.

She let out an exasperated sight then started up the steps after them. She paused, turning back to Josh, who hadn’t moved and still stood at the bottom of the steps, his hands balled into fists.

“Are you coming?” she asked.

He glanced at her, then, sighing, clenched his fists. “Yeah. Sure. Okay. You should get that looked at,” he said, nodding to her arm where the wolf had bitten her. It was already halfway healed.

“It’s just a bite; I’ll be fine.” she shrugged, pausing. Then, “You shouldn’t have distracted it like that.” she muttered. He looked hurt at that. 

“You could have gotten hurt—” he started then stopped, shaking his head. “No, you did get hurt!”

“So? If I get hurt, I’ll be fine later on. But you—there’s no coming back for you,” she said, her bottom lip started to tremble.

“Joe or Ox could always bite me,” he suggested lamely.

“What if they didn’t show up on time, huh? Then what? What if I lost you? How would I tell your dad, your mom—what were you thinking?”

“I just wanted to protect you.” He muttered, scuffing his shoe on the ground.

“Why?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Because you’re my friend. Because pack.”

She sighed, her body relaxing. She repeated it as if it were a statement. Like she always did. It was like their own thing now, this thing they did. Where the things they did for each other were because they were pack and that was it. The simplicity of it was comforting, in a way.

“Don’t ever do that again.” She scolded him. 

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” he smiled at her. 

She took his hand. 

Together, they went inside.

Chapter Text

They had all gathered in the living room after changing back into their clothes. The pack was sprawled out on the couches, the sofa, and the floor while the Alphas stood in front of them, arms crossed. “Do we know what happened? How did it get through the wards?” Joe asked, glancing at Gordo, who shook his head.

“You felt it, didn’t you?” Gordo asked, glancing at both Ox and Joe. They glanced at each other, then nodded.

“I couldn’t tell what it was at first. But it felt... wrong.” Ox said. 

“What does this mean?” Jessie asked. She was sitting on the couch, her hand on Dominique’s, who sat beside her.

Gordo shrugged.

“Do you think there are others?”

“Could be?”

“So not even Alfa could control it?”

Ox sighed, “It’s like it was too far gone. It wouldn’t listen. But I could still feel it—the violet. I could feel how it just wanted to hurt.”

“It was it or us,” Joe told him sympathetically. “You did what you had to do.” Ox glanced away.

Josh and Art stood in the doorway, peeking in and watching, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed while they were all distractedly discussing the feral Omega.

“I’ll strengthen the wards and see if that helps prevent anything else from getting in.”

“How did it get past them?”

“I don’t know.” Gordo shook his head.

“We’ll look into it. For now, we train.” Ox said. He nodded towards Rico and said, “It’s about time that your son joins us.”

Rico rolled his eyes. “He’ll be fine.”

Robbie snorted, “Yeah, like Art can’t already kick his-”

“Hey!”

“Who do you think got them out of there?”

“Plus, he’s human. He could use the extra help. Maybe teach him how to shoot.” Ox stated.

Rico sighed, leaning back on the couch and running his hands down his face. He looked tired.

They started training.

***

“Dad said I can start training with the pack now.” Josh announced one day, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes at him but grinned anyway, playfully shoving him.

“Oh yeah, I think you can take me?” she teased.

“I know I can, Princessa,” he challenged. She flashed her orange eyes at him.

Ox had the adults train in pairs while he assisted with having the kids train together with each other. He positioned their arms and had them do some practice hits, showing them how their stance would be.

“Good,” he kept telling them as they threw their arms forward, throwing fake punches.

“Can I start hitting things now?” Josh complained

Ox chuckled at that, saying, “It’s good to know how to defend yourself. Although I hear you already know how to do that.” He glanced at Art, and she blushed, looking away. 

Josh rolled his eyes. “I could have done that too,” he muttered. Her eyes flitted toward him in response. She felt a small tug, and she thought maybe it was shame coming through him. 

She cocked her head to the side at him and said, “I can handle myself.” She crossed her arms.

“Obviously,” he responded, rolling his eyes.

“Hey-”

“Enough,” Ox said smoothly, and a wave of calm washed over them.

“Now why don’t you two try to practice with each other?”

They nodded and faced each other. She showed off some moves they learned, advancing toward Josh, and he practiced dodging her, ducking under her arm, and catching it before it hit his face.

Ox nodded. “Good. Again.”

They did it again, switching this time, but this time Art caught Josh’s arm and swung him around, twisting his body so it moved with hers. Somehow he found himself on the ground, her fist inches from his face. Their breathing was ragged, and she could hear both of their heartbeats beating fast in their chests as she stared down at him. It was like the world stopped as they stared at each other, frozen. He was blinking up at her, and she realized she was still on top of him, so she quickly rolled off him and stood up as if he were on fire.

She quickly looked away, her face burning. She glanced back, and their eyes collided like a car crash—together and away again. They both jumped when Ox cleared his throat. She reached down and grabbed his arm to help pull him up. He looked away from her, rubbing the back of his neck, which was blooming red, and she looked down at her shoes, scuffing the dirt.

“That was, uh, pretty cool,” he shrugged, muttering.

“Thanks,” she muttered back, her gaze locked on the dirt.

“Why don’t we pick this back up again later?” Ox suggested as he went to join Joe and the others. 

Half the pack was still sparring, while the other half was watching on. Kelly was lying in Robbie’s lap underneath a tree, in their own little bubble, as they talked amongst themselves. Every now and then they would glance over at Art and Josh or at Carter, where he was yelling at Gavin to give him a piece of his clothing back as he played tug of war—his jacket sleeve stuck in the wolf’s mouth, who growled as Carter pulled.

She saw Elizabeth first, standing on the porch. She gestured for her to come, and Art followed. Elizabeth had her help with getting things from the kitchen while she hummed and danced around, having left the boys outside. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” she finally asked.

“What is?” Art responded. 

“This. Our pack. Having you here.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess.”

“You belong with us, you know.”

Art shrugged.

“I think he likes you,” Elizabeth said suggestively, changing the topic. Art almost got whiplash from it. Quickly, she turned her head.

“What.”

Elizabeth giggled at her, silly girl, Art felt through the bonds as Elizabeth rolled her eyes, something she did so rarely that she was taken aback.

“He’s not jealous, by the way; you’re a better fighter than him. That much is obvious. He’s scared.”

“Of what?”

“That you won’t need him. That you’ll put yourself in harm’s way by not being able to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting,” she snorted.

“Of course not. But boys do like to pretend we need their help. Otherwise, what else are they good for?” Art smiled at that. She had a point.

“Do you still have it?”

“Have what?”

“Your wolf.”

She paused, thinking. She blushed, remembering where it had broken. “Yeah,” she gulped. “I still have it.”

“I see.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to give it away yet,” she said, hoping Elizabeth heard the meaning behind her words as she stared out the window at Josh, where Rico was teaching him how to load his gun.

Elizabeth nodded. “It’s not a race.” 

A pause, then “You like him too.” She stated, gazing at Art out of the corner of her eye. Art looked away.

She swallowed, looking down at her feet, before she whispered, “He smells like campfire. like warmth and safety. It reminds me that I’m no longer on the verge of freezing to death in that tree before they found me. Does that make sense?”

Elizabeth nodded. “It does. And even if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t matter. These things don’t always make sense.” Her voice took on a fond tone. “Like how a young boy can make my son speak again after not talking for a year. And how that young boy became more than he ever thought possible.” She glanced back at Art as if she were in the present again and gave a knowing smile. “Or how a young boy can like a strange little werewolf girl,” she said, not unkindly.

“He doesn’t like me,” she mumbled. “He doesn’t see me that way.”

“Are you sure about that?” She glanced at Art and said, “I remember when Kelly gave Robbie, your dad, his wolf.”

“Really?” she asked, suddenly curious. 

“Oh yes. He was so nervous when he came to me and told me he planned to give it away. He wanted to know if I thought Robbie would accept it, coming from him.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him how lucky someone such as Robbie would be to have my son. And how lucky he was to have Robbie beside him—how Robbie came to me saying he would do anything to keep Kelly safe. that Robbie had come to me asking to court my son,” she giggled at the thought, “that he said he already asked his Alphas, but he thought it would mean more if the approval came from his mother—I think he asked Carter too, now that I think about it. He was very unsure and shy back then, and I think he was still finding his place here. With us. And with Kelly. He wasn’t sure yet that he was good enough for someone such as Kelly.” 

“What?” she asked incredulously.

“And then, well, we made mistakes. All of us. But he eventually found his way back home again. Back to us. Kelly, though, could see him for all that he was. He never gave up or regretted him, even when we thought-well. It doesn’t matter now.” She paused, and Art could feel a small pulse of blue.

Art cocked her head to the side and opened her mouth to ask something, but before she could, a voice came from the doorway. “All right?” the voice said, and they both turned to see Kelly there, a worried expression on his face as he took in his mother.

Elizabeth smiled sadly at him. “Everything’s fine. We were just discussing how dumb boys can be.” She winked down at Art.

The corner of Kelly’s mouth tugged up in a smile as if he couldn’t help himself. “You mean like Carter.” He nodded in agreement, sighing.

“Well, he is one of the more dense ones, yes. It took years for him to figure out what to do with Gavin.”

“He still hasn’t figured it out,” Kelly muttered.

“Kelly! Did you find the-oh.” Robbie walked in and stood beside Kelly, looking between them all. “What are we talking about?”

“Mates,” Elizabeth said succinctly. Art blushed and looked down, avoiding her father’s eyes. 

Robbie’s eyes widened at that. “What?” he asked incredulously as he glanced between Elizabeth and Art, while Kelly sighed in defeat, looking up at the ceiling as if asking that he be granted strength to deal with whatever this was.

“There will be no mating in my house!”

“Technically, this isn’t your house.” Elizabeth said teasingly. 

“I don’t care! There will be no mating in this house, our house, or anywhere. Not until you’re at least— 40!—or better yet ever. And especially not with-”

“Robbie.” Kelly’s voice was stern but it wasn’t unkindly; he glanced at Robbie and gave a small smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. Robbie stared back wide-eyed, a silent conversation passing between them. Then Robbie let out a sigh.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, looking away, a faint blush on his cheeks. He reached up and touched Kelly’s hand with his.

 Kelly smiled softly at him before turning back to the girls. “Art, why don’t you go see how training is going? Maybe see if Jessie can teach you a few things. This pack could do with some more girls who can kick everyone’s ass.” He winked at her. 

She nodded and made her way out of the kitchen, but her wolf ears could still pick up a piece of their conversation before she made it outside.

“Mates,” Robbie mumbled. “I don’t think I’m not ready for that yet,” Robbie whispered

“We still have time.”

She glanced back to see Kelly folding Robbie into him, arms wrapped around the back of Robbie’s neck, his hand in Robbie’s hair, and Robbie’s face buried in Kelly’s neck.

***

She walked outside and found Jessie, who was standing over Carter with her staff pointed down at him. Gavin stood a ways away, watching.

“Could use a little help here, dude!” Carter said to the wolf

Gavin simply stared, reaching up to scratch his ear with one of his hind legs.

Carter groaned, “Useless Mutt.”

Jessie smirked before she backed up and extended her arm toward him to help him up.

“Hey there kiddo,” she said as she passed by, ruffling her hair.

Art’s eyes widened, “What did you do to him?”

Jessie snorted. “I kicked his ass, that’s what I did.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Sure, kid. Gimme a minute here; we’ll let Carter get his bearings, and we can start again.” she winked. 

She spent a while with Jessie learning new advanced moves as Ox and Joe took turns watching on from the yard or the porch as they continued to assist Josh in his training, the other members of the pack rotating in and out.

After a while, they all took a break, agreeing to end their training for the day.

Josh came up to her and said, “I want a rematch.” He grinned at her, sweat sheening on his face.

“Oh yeah? Are you sure about that?”

He nodded and said, “Bring it, Princessa. I’m older and wiser now, with more experience.” He said confidently, practically puffing out his chest with a shit-eating grin on his face.

She rolled her eyes at that but nodded. “Fine,” she sighed.
They took their positions, and she advanced, causing him to block her with his own advances. He was already better than he had been a few hours ago, but so was she. He was even almost able to knock her over had she not moved in time at the last minute.

Even after all that, he once again found himself on the ground, groaning, looking up at her as she stared down from above him, arms on her hips.

“Guess it’s a good thing I won’t be fighting against you, Princessa,” he said, giving her a small, sad smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Don’t worry, just stay by my side, and you won’t get hurt.” She teased, “I can do the fighting for you.”

He grumbled as he took her extended arm to help him up.

“Wow,” he said, his voice teasing, “You saying you’ll fight for me, Princessa? I’m honored.” He turned to look at her and leaned in close, his lips inches from her ear as he whispered, “Don’t worry, though. Because I’ve been fighting for you for a long time. And I always will.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she blushed as her heartbeat picked up speed. He pulled away and smiled widely at her before he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving her staring after him, stunned.

Chapter Text

Years passed, and they eventually got closer, almost becoming friends. They continued their schooling and their pack visits.

Once, he came over to study with her, and she blushed when Robbie yelled at her to keep the door open. She yelled at him for that, but he just laughed at her.  She blushed but continued to tell herself and the other pack members that they were just friends; He seemed to like her more now, though he was more of a loner; his other friends had left him behind or moved away; she was around enough that they seemed cool with her.

Eventually, she moved on. There was someone in her class who caught her eye. She glanced at him during class, and one day he ended up saying “hi” back. She blushed, tucked her hair behind her ear, and slunk lower in her seat, but not before giving him a brief smile.

Then one day Art and Josh were walking home together after school, as they often did since they would usually wait for their dads to get home from the shop, which meant Josh ended up staying with her at the blue house or at the pack house after school.

“You like him.” He told her, and she rolled her eyes and pushed him as he tried to balance on a log he was currently walking on.

“I do not!” she exclaimed. He laughed, and she ran after him into the creek where the water was, and he pulled her down to him, their screams echoing throughout the trees. He ran, and she shifted into her wolf, chasing after him. Halfway through the woods, she finally caught up to him, and she lunged at him so that he landed face-first on the ground. She sniffed his collar, and he moaned before turning his head to look back at her. “What the hell? Are you getting heavier?” he muttered, and she laughed at him, her features turning back to normal before she rolled off him, and they both lay there on their backs, staring at the sky.

And on it went. They were friendly—at school and with the pack. She could feel herself looking at him longingly, her heart racing whenever he was near, and she was glad he was still human, unable to hear it. Then it happened one day—she talked herself out of hope when she saw him smiling at some girl; his eyes lit up; he turned to look at her, and there was something undecipherable there. But she let it go; it was a new year now, she was in a new class, and there was a cute boy she had started to develop a crush on who continued to sit in front of her in class. The boy turned around and smiled at her, asking to borrow a pencil, and she felt herself blush. Then she felt a pang of guilt, like she was cheating on her friend, but hadn’t he done it to her first? She eyed this new boy wearily, thoughts of possibilities flooding her mind.

***

She still felt a weariness around the boy; every time he passed her in the hallway or cafeteria, she felt a pang of guilt, her eyes darting to where Josh was. That shortly went away after he brought his new girlfriend to Sunday dinner.

“Josselyn! It’s so nice to meet you.” Elizabeth said as the girls hovered around the kitchen, assisting in the making of dinner. “Josh has told us so much about you,” she said, glancing wearily at Art, who stood with her arms crossed across her chest, leaning against the counter.

She was older now, in her teenage years; the kitchen counter was lower than she remembered, coming up to her hip rather than at the top of her head. She had kept her hair long, and it cascaded over her shoulders in a waterfall, and she still occasionally wore Robbie’s glasses, mainly when she was feeling insecure or off. She was average height and build; her arms and legs were gangly and awkward still, the training not quite having taken a full effect on those parts of her body.

And she had boobs now, much to her chagrin. Though at that moment she thought maybe they weren’t such a bad thing to have as she tried to subtly check out Josselyn’s huge breasts, which were two mounds peaking above her low V-neck shirt. Art’s own breasts were humble, medium-sized to small mounds that she couldn’t help but try to cover up with her arms.

She could still remember the embarrassment she felt when Elizabeth offered to take her bra shopping. Kelly and Robbie had stood there, speechless, their mouths open like fish without water, as if their brains couldn’t quite compute what she had asked. Art had buried her face in her hands and groaned. The only thing worse than that was when Elizabeth and Jessie had to have a “girl's talk” involving pads, condoms, and other things that made her feel like her ears were bleeding.

Now, she couldn’t help but stare at Josslyn’s chest and feel a pang of envy as she tried to cover herself as if to avoid comparison.

“Thanks for having me, Mrs. Bennett. It’s so nice to meet Josh’s, um, whole family. Josselyn replied. Her voice had a slight southern drawl to it; she had moved to Green Creek during the middle of the school year from somewhere out west because of her parent’s messy divorce. Or so she claimed.

“Bring this out there, won’t you?” Elizabeth handed Josselyn a salad bowl.

“She seems nice,” Elizabeth said when it was just the two of them.

Art had to hold back from rolling her eyes.

“Josh and Josselyn, how cute is that?” Jessie said as she walked in, watching Josselyn as she walked away.

“Adorable.” Art responded with a voice dripping in sarcasm as she flashed her teeth in a wide smile. “The three of you can form a club.”

“Did you see the tits on that girl?”

“Jessie. She’s sixteen!”

“I know, I’m just saying. I didn’t realize they made them like that anymore for girls her age. I mean, if I had been around girls like that at that age, I probably would have figured out some things about myself a lot sooner.” She mused.

“Careful, or I’ll tell Dominique you’re lusting after a – and I cannot stress this point enough - sixteen-year-old.” Elizabeth scolded. 

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Jessie rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying. Maybe some mother figure should teach her what a shirt is.”

“I thought she looked nice, you know, for... well. A girl.” Art said, trying to be nice and give her a chance. It wasn’t Josselyn’s fault, after all, that Josh liked her. 

“So that’s Josh’s type, huh? Now, where have I seen that before? A southern belle with big-”

“Jessie,” Elizabeth said, warning in her voice. 

“What? I’m just saying. It sounds like mommy issues to me.” Jessie shrugged as Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. 

***

They took the rest of the food out to the table in the backyard, with the lines of trees acting as a fence for their backyard. The guys were all taking their seats as the girls came out and joined them. Art paused as she saw Josselyn on Josh’s lap before she moved to the chair next to him once Ox and Joe took their seats, respectively.

They all waited, staring at Ox and Joe before eating; Josselyn looked confused and hesitated at this, but she kept her hands in her lap as she mimicked the other members of the pack while Ox gave his spiel about everyone being together, old members and new; he stared at Josselyn, but Art saw him glance at her and tried not to think too much about it.

Chris and Tanner sat on one side of Art, while Robbie and Kelly sat on her other side. Jessie sat beside Chris, and Josh and Josselyn sat across from Chris and Tanner. They were talking lowly to each other, so only wolf ears could hear. “Chris, would you stop staring at her?” Jesse whispered on Chris’s other side.

“I’m not staring at them—I mean, her.” Chris stuttered. “Tanner, tell her!”

“Well, in Chris’ defense, they are right there.” Tanner shrugged. 

“Well, if you’re going to stare, stare at Bambi. At least she’s age-appropriate.”

“Yeah, like I haven’t been staring.”

“Hey!” Rico shouted at him from across the table. “I heard that!”

Chris grimaced, “I mean-uh, I wasn’t staring at her boo-at her you-know-whats. I was staring at her, uh, eyes. Yeah. Her huge, huge eyes.” He sighed, glancing down at Bambi’s breasts, where she sat beside Rico and her son.

Rico glared, pointing a fork towards Chris. “Stop staring at my wife. Her eyes, or-otherwise.”

Bambi rolled her eyes. “I got 'em; might as well flaunt them. Isn’t that right, dear?” She asked Josselyn sweetly.

“Mom!” Josh groaned. “Gross.” 

“What?” Bambis shrugged, “We’re just talking about my—” she leaned forward in her chair, exposing a good amount of cleavage, then put her chin in her hand on the table as she gave Chris a smoldering look. “Eyes,” she said in a sultry voice. 

Josselyn just looked around at them all, confused due to her human hearing. Art bowed her head, trying to hide the smile that was slowly spreading across her face.

“I think you have lovely eyes, Mrs. Rodriguez,” Josselyn said, “Just like your son.” Josselyn looked over at Josh and took his hand in hers. Josh stared back. Before he looked away from her, Art found his eyes landing on her for a brief second before he tore his gaze away.

She avoided looking in that direction for the rest of the dinner.

Once dinner was over and the sun was setting, Art helped collect the plates, but she worked slowly as she tried to eavesdrop on Josh, who was standing with Josselyn, away from the house and near the trees, holding her hands and swinging them back and forth. She saw Josh glance at her out of the corner of his eye, and she let her hair fall over her face, hiding her.

“Do you think they liked me?” Josselyn said, unsure, in that southern drawl of hers.

“Of course they did. Why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know... I’m not sure they all—” she sighed, “You know what. It doesn’t matter. You’re right, it’s probably all in my head.”

The next time Art glanced up at them, she saw them kissing, and she almost dropped the plate she was holding.

***

Later that night, she lay awake in her bed in the blue house, staring at the ceiling and replaying the kiss over and over in her head. She couldn't help but switch out the characters in her mind, mulling them over. It was Josh kissing Jocelyn, then Josh kissing her, and somehow it was her kissing Josselyn. She tried to shake that last thought away, but it lingered. Not that she liked Joselyn that way, but what Jessie said had gotten to her—she had never thought about girls that way... until now.

She sat up suddenly, her eyes wide. It was late, but she wanted to ask...

She walked down the hall and knocked on the bedroom door once she saw the light spilling out from beneath.

“Come in,” came Kelly’s voice.

She opened the door to find Kelly and Robbie sitting up in bed, books in their hands, leaning against each other, always touching.

“What is it?”

She came over and sat down at the foot of the bed, her leg tucked up under her. “I..” she started, a lump forming in her throat.

Robbie and Kelly shared a concerned look. Is it about Josh's new, um, friend?” Robbie asked awkwardly.

She paused, mulling it over. That was one thing—it was him being with a girl who wasn't her and how she had just realized how jealous that made her—but it also felt like it was everything. It was Josh, and it was Josselyn, and it was Josh and Josselyn, and then there was Ox. How we had glanced at her when he mentioned newcomers. She nodded once before she let out a sob.

“Oh, sweetie, come here,” Kelly said, reaching out to her and pulling her in between them until they were curled around her as she quietly cried against them, her hair falling in front of her face as Robbie stroked the top of her head. 

“I know it hurts now, but one day everything will be different. You’ll see.”

She buried her face further into Kelly’s chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “He doesn't know what he’s missing."

“He likes her,” she stated. It seemed simpler to state the obvious. What was really annoying was how nice she actually was and how she had done nothing wrong that would give her a reason to not like her.

“He does. But that doesn’t mean he likes you any less,” Kelly told her wisely.

She buried her face back in his neck and closed her eyes as the members of her pack curled around her.

All she felt was blue.

Chapter Text

The days went on as normal. Josh would invite Josselyn to sit with them at their lunch table in the cafeteria, where they could all display her on his lap as they made googly eyes at each other and Art tried not to roll her eyes or vomit. She locked eyes with Jeremy at one point, and he made a gagging gesture, pointing to his tongue, and she smiled back.

Josh would still walk with him in the forest, making their way to the pack house while they waited for their family to be done with work. Sometimes they would sneak into the blue house and go to her bedroom to be alone, where they could talk without the rest of the pack at the Bennet house listening in. But they never did more than that—just talk; it never really even crossed their minds to do anything more than that. Sometimes they would lie on the floor and look up at the ceiling as they felt the world spin around them, the feel of their territory resonating within them.

They still felt it sometimes—breaks in the wards when random feral wolves would come through. They still hadn’t figured out why or how they kept coming into their territory. It was only a few wolves here and there, but by the time they reached the pack house, they were ready. It was the very rare wolves—the ones that they didn’t feel—that caused panic among their Alphas and pack.

Ever since they were both almost attacked, they continued training together. Now, when they came across a random wolf or any other enemy, it was almost like they had a routine down.

They were walking home towards the pack house one day when Art heard it first. She stopped, frozen. Josh sensed her tense and froze too. They were in tune with each other now, in sync, after all that training; she could feel how strong their bond was—their thread. In front of them stood a wolf, its teeth bared as its violet eyes darted side to side—it hadn’t noticed them yet.

She glanced at Josh, and he nodded before slowly moving towards the wolf, who was whining and looking around wildly, its teeth bared. Josh unsheathed a silver knife hidden in his boot. Rico had been teaching Josh how to use his guns, but when he wasn’t using them, he usually left them scattered at the various pack members’ houses for convenience. 

(“Rico, why the fuck was this taped to the back of my toilet?” Chris had yelled at him once. 

“Uh, for convenience. Duh. What if I’m not at home when these loco perros show up? Gotta have something close by!”)

Josh distracted the wolf from behind as Art extended her claws and ran, jumping high in the air and landing on tree trunk after tree trunk to propel her forward as she swiped down at the wolf until it was on the ground, legs kicking the air. It thrashed and kicked until it landed one hard kick to her stomach, throwing her off. She landed hard on her back but quickly got to her feet, her eyes glowing Halloween orange. The wolf snarled at her before it broke into a run, charging for her. Art held her ground. Wait. Wait. Wait, she thought, thinking of her training. Now! She dodged at the last minute, fainting right but going left out of the way, causing the wolf to skid to a half before it ran itself into a tree.

Art shifted, her clothes tearing until she stood on all fours—a full gray wolf, her orange eyes flashing. They circled each other slowly as Josh watched from afar, waiting for an opening. They ran towards each other until all she knew was claw and fang—the feral was holding her down now, and she let out a small whimper from the weight of it above her. She snarled and gnashed her teeth as she tried to build up her energy to throw it off her; eventually she could pull a claw free and swipe at the feral wolf’s side, leaving a trail of blood that dripped onto the forest floor. The feral wolf whined but didn’t budge until she eventually exerted all her strength by rolling over and holding the feral wolf down on its back.

Josh moved, coming to Art’s side as he joined her in holding it down. He nodded once at her, and she backed away. “Another one?” Art asked as she shifted back, “I didn’t feel it come through this time... You?” 

Josh shook his head as he held the silver knife against the wolf’s fur and held it down with his other arm to keep it from getting up and attacking. It whined, gnashed, and howled in agony, but the silver kept it in enough pain to hold it down. “Why do they keep coming here?” she sighed.

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s the territory. Or the Alphas.” He paused as he glanced at her, then quickly away, a faint flush tinting his cheeks. “Should we...?” He trailed off, indicating towards the knife he held over the wolf that was thrashing underneath it. She understood what he was asking—to end it or not.

“Shouldn’t that be the Alpha’s call?”

“Yeah, well. Alphas aren’t here, Princessa. And I don’t know how much longer I can keep it down.”

She sighed. “I can do it. If you want.” 

He shook his head. “Nah, Princessa. Best to not get blood on those pretty hands of yours.” He teased, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“And, what? It’s better that you do?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I ain’t royalty like you, Princessa.”He put more emphasis than normal on the last word.

“I’m not-”

“Uh-huh.” He rolled his eyes. “Sure, you’re not. Daughter of a Bennett, much?” He smirked. 

She blushed but ignored him.

“There has to be some way to fix the ferals that are coming through. If they were normal Omegas, then Ox could-”

“They had to be Omegas before turning feral. Which means something happened to that bond. Making them feral without Ox or anyone else knowing about it. The question is, What?”

He stared down at the wolf before positioning his knife above its heart. The wolf snarled at him, its legs kicking and teeth bared, and its eyes flashed a bright violet. Josh glanced into the wolf’s eyes, and in that moment of hesitation, it kicked him with enough force to knock him backward. In an instant, the wolf was on its feet and over Josh; its teeth latched onto his arm, and he cried out in pain.

“Josh!” Art screamed as she quickly shifted into her wolf and attacked the feral wolf from the side, hitting the same spot as before that was still dripping blood. A whine escaped its throat before it started gnashing at her, aiming for her throat. She growled down at it as it continued to kick at and thrash at her.

“Fuck,” Josh grunted as he stood, blood dripping down his arm and onto the forest ground. Leaves crunched underneath his feet as he ran towards her, his other hand covering the wound on his arm. “Move, Princessa!” he shouted, panic laced in his voice.

She quickly darted away as he gained momentum and ran toward the wolf, and in the two seconds between Art moving and the wolf being temporarily free, he lunged his knife into its chest, and it let out a low whine, its paws twitching until it eventually went still.

Josh was gasping for breath as he stared down at the wolf’s body. He heard the familiar sound of muscle and bone as Art shifted back. She stood behind him and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. “Josh.” Her voice was practically a whisper.

He shook her off. “Don’t.” He turned away, looking anywhere but at her.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she tried, feeling some of his emotions escaping through their bond—the sadness and guilt that was stirring within him.

“I know,” he said, still not looking at her. She could still feel his emotions, though: the blue that was peeking through, as the slow realization set in that he had killed something for the first time, and the guilt that he had hesitated about it, putting them both in danger.

She tried to place her hand comfortingly on his shoulder, but he shook her off, turning away. “We should go tell the others.” He glanced her way but avoided looking at her. “You should shift back. Until you can... get changed,” he muttered as he looked away, anywhere but at her. A red flush crawled up his neck, and his ears were turning a darker shade of pink. Was he blushing?

“Oh. Right. Sure,” she said dejectedly as he continued to look away. Was she that unattractive naked that he wouldn’t even look at her?

***

By the time they arrived at the pack house, the guys from the shop were already waiting for them. “And where have you two been?” Rico scolded them from the living room, where everyone was gathering around and conversing.

Elizabeth took a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Art before she shifted back. Once she shifted, she draped the blanket tightly around her shoulders. Like the rest of the pack, as a wolf, she was used to being nude around everyone else, but it was different when Josh was there; he finally looked at her, and she clutched the blanket a little bit tighter. 

“What happened to your arm?” Rico asked, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

“We ran into some… trouble.” Josh explained as Gordo looked at his wound, magic spilling from his one good hand as he took away some of the pain.

Ox and Joe glanced at each other, alarmed, as a silent conversation passed between them. Gordo crossed his arms and stared at his Alphas, concern written on his face. His tattoos glowed as the raven flew around the vines of the roses on his arm. Mark stood next to him and placed a calming hand on his shoulder, and he visibly relaxed. 

“What kind of trouble?” Gordo tore his gaze from the Alphas and narrowed his eyes at Josh.

“Another feral.”

Ox and Joe sighed in unison.

“Where?” Ox demanded.

“Close to town.”

“They’re getting more bold,” Joe said.

“I didn’t even feel it,” Ox muttered.

“I don’t get it,” Gordo said, shaking his head. “The wards should be working. They are working. We can feel everything else, so why can’t we feel them when they come through?”

“Don’t the wards only protect against things with ill intent?” Robbie asked from the couch, where he sat next to Kelly. He reached out and grabbed Art’s arm, pulling her to them so that she sat in between them now, her feet tucked under her and the blanket draped over her body. “Unless they turn feral after they cross…”

“Why are they even coming here?” Art asked, her eyes darting between her Alphas and Gordo.

Joe glanced at Ox, who then glanced at Gordo, a silent conversation passing between the three of them. Ox sighed, running a hand through his dark mop of hair, and shook his head. “We should discuss this later,”  In private, went unsaid. “For now, are you two all right?” He shifted his eyes away and glanced between Art and Josh.

“We’re fine. It’s just a scratch,” Josh shrugged. His wound had stopped bleeding and now looked like it was days old instead of minutes. 

“Maybe we should have some escorting for you two—avoid the woods until we know what’s going on.” Robbie suggested, worriedly.

“Ya’ll can just come to the shop after school, Mijo. I’m sure Mija here can teach you a thing or two about cars. Seeing as you know next to nothing.” Rico teased.

“Dad,” Josh moaned.

Rico shrugged, sighing, “I swear you’re almost as bad as Robbie. Considering how many of us work in a car garage, you’d think you’d know a thing or two.”

“We can handle ourselves,” Art said confidently.

“I know you can, Mija.” Rico winked and gave her a sad smile. “But-”

“It’s dangerous,” Robbie practically whined. Kelly nodded as he reached out and pulled Art closer to him, wrapping one arm around her shoulders.

“Until we figure this out, no more wandering around the woods for a while.” He told her, then glanced at Josh. “That goes for you, too.” Rico nodded in agreement.

“But-” Art started.

“The wolf,” Ox said, cutting her off and turning to Josh. “What happened to it?”

Art glanced at Josh, his eyes wide. He looked away, then down, then muttered, “I took care of it.”

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

“I see,” was all Ox said.

Rico whistled, his eyes wide in surprise as he stared at his son. “I guess they really can take care of themselves.”

“We’ll figure something out when we discuss this later. We can think of a plan so this doesn’t happen again,” Ox said with finality, indicating the conversation was over.

Eventually, they all left, heading back to their respective homes, and as the days went on the leaders of the pack had their secret meetings behind closed doors.

Art was all too aware of the whispers they were having behind her back, and she had a glimpse of the conversation in the pack house that had been going on and off for the past few years regarding Omegas and feral wolves.

“We still don’t know where-”

“They keep showing up, but...”

“I don’t know how strong my hold is on them anymore.” She heard Ox say clearly at one point, as he sat behind the desk in the office, the door slightly ajar; the atmosphere in the room darkened when he said it.

“What about the kids?” Gordo asked.

“We’ll be fine. Isn’t this what we’ve been training for?” She interjected from the doorway, unable to help herself.

They all looked up at her, surprised that she was there. They glanced at each other wearily. “It’s not that simple,” Joe said.

She crossed her arms. “It’s not like a lot of them are coming through. It’s one or two every few months, and hardly ever when we’re by ourselves.”

“It’s happened twice now.” Ox shook his head.

“And yet we continue to live.” Art barely held back rolling her eyes. “And it happened twice over the course of years.” She added. 

“Still.” Ox said, narrowing his eyes at her. Gordo sighed and looked up at the ceiling as if asking for the strength to have this conversation.

“Josh got hurt this time,” Ox said, “and you the time before. If it happens again and something more… drastic occurs,” he locked eyes with Art. “Will you be okay with that?” he challenged, resting his chin on his hands that were folded in front of him, elbows on the desk. His dark eyes swirled red and violet until Joe placed a hand on his shoulder and he visibly relaxed, his eyes returning to normal.

She glared back at him and said, “I can take care of myself.”
“We know you can-” Joe tried, his gaze softening as he stared at his niece. 

“But you shouldn’t have to.” Ox stated, his tone harsh and direct. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, “I’ve gotten by just fine before.” Before the pack, she left unsaid as she let her words hang in the air between them. 

“We’re pack, Artemis.” Joe said in a calm voice, his hand on Ox’s shoulder. His bright blue eyes met her emerald ones, and she felt like he was looking right through her. “We take care of each other. That includes the two of you.”

“I can handle myself. And-” she paused, biting her bottom lip. “I can take care of him too,” she said in a smaller voice, lowering her gaze, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. “Like you said, we take care of each other. We’re pack. He and I knew that better than anything.” She met Ox’s eyes, her gaze hardening. “He got hurt this time, but I’m going to make sure it never happens again. You can count on that.” She said, standing tall, a fire in her eyes as she tried to convey that she meant every word she said. 

Ox gave a small smile and cocked his head as he stared her up and down. “Funny. He said the same thing about you.” He mused. 

That-she was not expecting.

Joe looked down at Ox worriedly. “Ox-” he scolded at the same time she asked in a small voice, “What?” 

Ox shook his head. “It’s nothing. Go on, I’m sure your fathers are wondering where you are.” 

She stared at him wearily, then glanced at Joe, who just gave a small nod. 

With that, she turned on her heel and headed out the door. Gordo placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks briefly. “He’s human, Art,” he reminded her.

That gave her pause. Human, which meant fragile. Which meant that unlike her, when he was hurt it could take weeks to heal if not for Gordo’s help, whereas for her, it only took minutes.

She shook her head and stood up taller, filled with resolve, as she shrugged him off. “I know,” she muttered, and she walked away.

Chapter Text

The days passed, and everything was quiet. It was October now, and the remnants of summer were fading. The fireflies were scarce; only a few were lighting up the forest now, and the leaves were changing from bright green to oranges and burgundy. The leaves fell and covered the forest floor.

One day she was walking out of one of her classes, and was stopped by a voice behind her.“You dropped this.” She turned, and her eyes widened as she saw the boy who sat in front of her in class—the cute boy who was talking to her—Ethan, whom she thought his name was.

“Oh, um, thanks,” she said, tugging a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and taking the pen he was holding out to her from him. She gave him a small smile and felt herself blushing. She turned to go, but he stopped her, his hand on her arm.

“I’m, Ethan.”

“I know,” she said, then winced because of how dumb that sounded. She hadn’t meant to say that or let him know that she knew him, but he just chuckled. “You’re... Artemis, right?”

“Art,” she corrected.

“Cool,” he grinned. A stray lock of chestnut hair fell into his face, and he pushed it back. He wore a tight, short-sleeved gray t-shirt, and she couldn’t help but stare at his bare forearm as he raised it above his head. She almost broke her pen in half. He locked eyes with her, and she gulped and looked away quickly, afraid she had been caught staring. She felt a pang of guilt as if she had done something wrong, and Josh’s face came to her mind. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.

“So,” he said calmly.

“So—” she blurted after him.

He smiled at her and walked around her. “See you around.” And with that, he walked off.

She sighed as she watched him go and whispered to herself, “See you.”

“Hey,” She jumped at the voice; she wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there watching Ethan leave. She turned to Josh, who was giving her a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look. “You’re okay; you’ve been standing there for, like, a really long time.”

“I’m fine.” She walked away, and he started matching pace with her. “Where’s your girl?”

He shrugged. “Had some school stuff to take care of. Didn’t realize you cared.”

“I don’t.”

“Right.”

Eventually, they walked down the hall and caught up with Ethan, who was hanging by some locks, talking to a few other guys. He glanced her way and locked eyes with her. 

She blushed and gave a small nod, then looked down as she passed, tucking her hair behind her ear. She felt Josh glance between them, then looked up to see him smirking at her, eyebrow raised. “That your boy?”

She rolled her eyes and said, “He is not my boy.”

‘“But you like him,” he teased, grinning at her, unbothered. 

That’s what Josh was towards this news, unbothered; a small part of her stung at the revelation: friends; they were just friends. She had to remind herself that Josh didn’t see her that way. So why had she felt so guilty when she had been staring at Ethan? Josh didn’t care if she liked other boys—boys who weren’t him. Not when he liked other girls who weren’t hers.

She glanced at him as they continued on, then shrugged nonchalantly, “Maybe. So what if I do?” she confessed. She stared at him for a long time, trying to gauge his reaction.

His face gave a small stutter of surprise at that. “Oh, cool. That’s cool,” he coughed, tearing his gaze away from her.

“Is it?”

He shrugged, “Uh yeah. Why wouldn’t it be? You should, you know, get out there. or whatever,” he babbled. They stopped, and she followed his gaze to see that Joselyn was waiting at the end of the hallway. Then his demeanor changed as he stood straighter and looked at her, smiling wide. “You know, now that you have your boy and I have my girl, we could double date,” he winked at her before walking away towards Joselyn, leaving her standing there to gape at him.

The next few weeks at school, she had more interactions with Ethan. He would find a reason to talk to her, or she would “accidentally” drop something on purpose to get his attention. She would talk to him and laugh, and now and then she’d notice Josh across the way staring at them; their gazes would meet, but he would always look away first. Usually to talk to either Josselyn or some of his friends.

And on it went. Slowly, he joined their cafeteria group, sitting next to her and talking to her. Josh looked between the two of them, one eyebrow raised, and she just shrugged, rolling her eyes, but went back to talking to Ethan.

She ignored the pang of guilt she sometimes would feel when Josh looked her way and she was talking to Ethan; Josh had Josselyn now, anyway.

Eventually, Ethan asked her out, and she said yes.

It was casual, really. She was heading out of their shared class like always, and he caught up to her, talking about nothing in particular, when he suddenly started looking everywhere but at her, his eyes darting around nervously. He put his arm up and scratched the back of his head. “So, um, hey.”

She stopped and stared at him. Why was his heart beating so fast?

“Do you want to maybe go out sometime? With me.” He asked shyly. She looked at him in surprise.

“Oh, um,” She looked around and saw Josh standing a few feet away looking at her; his eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched, but once he met her eyes, he looked away and acted as if nothing had happened.

She felt a pang of irritation at that, but she didn’t know why; her cheeks burned red, and she felt embarrassed. She tried not to think about it as she glanced back at Ethan and gave him a small smile. “Sure. Why not?” she shrugged.

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.” He sighed and relaxed a bit, relieved. “I’ll, uh, catch you later, then.” With that, he walked off, giving her finger guns as he did.

***

Friday came—the night of their date. Ethan knocked on the door and was greeted by Kelly and Robbie. By the time Art had finished getting ready, she found her two dads grilling him as he sat on the couch, nervously answering their questions—mostly Kelly’s questions as Robbie fumed and mumbled vague threats under his breath.

“C’mon, let’s go,” she said, pulling his arm to quickly get away.

“Be safe!” Kelly called, smiling as he waved at them. Robbie glared, arms crossed across his chest.

“If she’s not home by eleven, I will personally track you down and cut off your-”

“Robbie,” Kelly warned, rolling his eyes.

Art’s cheeks flushed as she got into Ethan’s car. “Sorry about them,” she muttered.

He laughed, “No worries. They seem... nice? Kind of cool, you know? That you have... two dads.” He glanced at her.

She shrugged. “I guess,” she said.

“So, where’s your mom?’ he asked casually, then his eyes widened, and he stuttered over himself. ‘Not to like—you know, make it weird or whatever; you don’t have to answer if you don’t want if that’s like personal or whatever, he winced. “Sorry, I wasn’t really thinking.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a small smile. She said she was staring out the window. “She’s… I don’t know, actually.” She shrugged.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“What about your parents?”

“Oh, um. Well, they are definitely not like yours,” he laughed nervously. “They’d probably have a heart attack that you have two dads. Probably would call CPS on them or something.” He rolled his eyes.

“That... sounds sucky?” She offered lamely.

He shrugged, “Yeah, well..” He muttered, then sat up straighter as he kept stealing glances at her. “It’s not like it affects me personally or anything. Not like that,” he said nervously.

She cocked her head to the side, hearing his heart stutter as he lied, but she wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about. Eventually, they arrived. She took a deep breath as she waited for him to walk around his Jeep and open her door. It was going to be fine.

***

It was not fine.

They went to one of the fancier dinner establishments that the small town of Green Creek had to offer. It started out fine—normal, even. And then she spotted Josh walking in with Joselyn; his eyes widened as he saw the both of them. Internally, she cringed and sank in her seat, wondering if it was too late to act like he hadn’t seen her.

Then Joselyn made it worse as she waved at them, and they approached their table, ‘“Hey you two!”

“Oh, um, hi.” Art winced.

Ethan smiled. 

“Aww, aren’t they adorable?’ Jocelyn asked, holding on to Josh’s arm for dear life. He looked away.

“Want to join us?” Ethan asked innocently

No!! Art screamed internally in her head.

“Ow!” he winced, as she had accidentally, on purpose, kicked him in the shin underneath the table.

“We’d love to! Wouldn’t we?” Joselyn said in a chipper, excited voice, ignoring what had just happened.

They scooted over in their booths, and Art died a little more inside as Josh sat down beside her, and Joselyn was across from them next to Ethan. Of course, she thought to herself, could this night get any more awkward?

“So, what do you two lovebirds have planned after this?” she continued.

Ethan’s eyes widened as he locked eyes with art. “Oh, well, we were going to see... “ Art tuned him out as she whispered to Josh.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s not like I planned this,” he shrugged. Then he glanced at her and smirked, “Why? We interrupt your big date with lover boy?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, as a matter of fact, you did.”

“I thought he wasn’t your boy,” he smirked, lifting a glass of water to his lips.

“What do you guys think?” She startled as Josselyn’s voice cut through to both of them, staring at them expectantly.

“Uhh,” they said succinctly.

“Sounds fun, doesn’t it?” Ethan smiled at her; his gaze kept glancing towards Josh, eyeing him up and down almost as if he were-but no, that couldn’t be right.. She shook her head; she was just being paranoid.

“Um, sure,” she eventually answered.

“Great! Josselyn clapped, her boobs bouncing up and down in her seat as she did. 
“Then it’s settled, then. Double date at the movies!”

Wait. What?

Art glared at Josh, who looked away.

***

Of course, at the movies, she was stuck sitting next to Josh once more, the both of them sandwiched in between their dates. What was this? She may as well have been on a date with Josh; she felt a pang in her chest at the thought. No, she was just being stupid. She was on a date with Ethan, and Josh just happened to be there since he just happened to show up out of the blue. That was the curse of living in a small town.

She tried not to notice him, but couldn’t help it when the scent of campfire wafted towards her every now and then. She kept glancing down at her hands at his leg that was right there, almost touching hers. No, no—why was she paying so much attention to him? She liked Ethan now—Ethan, who was glancing at her, glancing at him, and sometimes glancing at Josh alone as if he were sizing him up. shit. Was she making him jealous?

She flushed and kept her hands to herself, unable to focus at all on the movie. Finally, it was over, and they were headed back towards the parking lot.

“Soo” Joselyn’s voice peered into the air. “This was fun.” She beamed at them.

“Um, yeah, sure.” She glanced at Ethan, whose eyes were on Josh, as he trailed lazily behind Josh, hands behind his head, unbothered. “Right, Ethan?”

He tore his gaze from Josh and glanced at her, giving her a wide smile. “Yeah. It was great. We should do it again sometime.”

“Sounds fun!” Joselyn grabbed Josh’s arm again and waved to them as they walked away.

“Guess I should, uh, get you back to your dads.” Ethan smiled at her and drove out of the parking lot.

She laughed nervously, “Guess so.”

Eventually, they pulled up outside of the blue house, and they sat in silence for an unconformable amount of time. “Soo,” he tried.

He glanced at her, his grip tightening at the steering wheel. “So, um, guess we should…”

“Y-yeah.” She breathed, her eyes flitting down to his lips, his heartbeat reverberating in her ears. She leaned closer and closer towards him until, finally, she closed her eyes and felt her lips on his. He froze. It was a chaste thing, their lips touching each other’s for a few beats. She pulled back, blinking rapidly. Was that it? He cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening. Eventually, he opened her door and walked up to her porch, acting as if nothing had happened. “Um, yeah, so-I’ll uh... I’ll talk to you later.” He glanced at her briefly as she nodded, her brain trying to register his words.

“Oh, sure. Yeah, ok.” She finally managed to get out. She watched him walk away, then went inside, still confused. She closed the door and leaned against it, lightly placing a finger on her lips. She wasn’t sure why, but that’s what she was expecting.

The light in the living room was on when she walked in. Kelly sat on the couch, book in hand, and glanced over at her. He gave her a small smile. “How’d it go? It seemed like you two were having a serious conversation out there,” he said. He smiled as Robbie came to sit beside him. “Not that we were spying or anything,” he winked, and Robbie blushed, looking away.

“I was not-” He mumbled. Kelly just chuckled, patting Robbie’s knee, before they turned back to her. 

Art rolled her eyes fondly at them. “It was fine,” she said.

“Just fine?” Kelly prodded. She shrugged,

“He didn’t do anything, did he?” Robbie asked worriedly, his face still flush as he balled his hands into fists. “‘Cause if he did-”

“What your father means to say is, we’re glad you had a nice time,” Kelly said levelheadedly. 

Art gave them a small smile. “Thanks,” she said, then made an excuse about feeling tired and went up to bed, leaving them to it. 

As she ascended the stairs, she could still hear Robbie muttering vague threats under his breath and fuming about ‘boys’ as Kelly attempted to calm him down. (“Do I need to get a shotgun now? Because I will! Rico has one I bet I can borrow!” “Robbie, we’re werewolves; a shotgun will be the least of his worries.”)

She flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

A buzz made her jump, and she looked over to see her phone lit up with a new text message.

Josh: How’d it go with lover boy? (with an emoji of a tongue sticking out.)

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling to herself as she typed a reply. Why was he thinking about her right now?

Art: Why? You obsessed with me or something?

Her heart stuttered as she saw the dots come up, showing he was typing.

Josh: Maybe. It’s hard not to be when you’re a werewolf princess.

She couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip, unable to keep from smiling to herself; she felt practically giddy—just from a text.

Art: why, are you jealous? Could always take the bite yourself

Josh: didn’t know you were that eager to bite me ;) 

Her cheeks blushed crimson; that wasn’t what she meant!

Unable to think of a response, she got lucky and another text came through. 

Josh: Btw, did lover boy do anything to you? 

That gave her pause—was he worried about her? That train of thought was immediately erased by the next text:

Josh: only asking cause right now your dad is asking my dad about a gun…?

She sighed. 

Art: I can take care of myself, thanks

Josh: sure, princessa, she could practically hear his low chuckle. 

There was a pause then, and she thought that might be the end of it until another buzz jolted her to attention. 

Josh: full moon soon

Art: thanks for the forecast, mr weatherman

Josh: I live to serve, Your Highness. 

She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment as she slowly typed out her next response. Without giving herself time to overthink it, she quickly hit send. 

Art: see you there?

Josh: wouldnt miss it 

She sighed as she lay her phone down beside her and stared at the ceiling. Her phone buzzed again and she looked over. She let out a small laugh at the next message:

Josh: night, princessa. Awwooo!! 

Attached was a picture of a full moon. 

Chapter Text

The full moon came, and they ran with their pack through the forest. The few humans that were left trailed lazily behind. Josh would usually stay close to Gordo as the rest of the pack burned off their excess energy. Jessie followed close behind, her mate’s bite mark glowing on her neck underneath the pale moonlight, even though she was still human. (“I swear to God, Ox! The only one I want biting me is my mate.”)

The rest of the wolves ran, mostly staying close to their mates or their families; Gavin and Robbie looked on as Kelly and Carter played together. Art sat by Robbie’s side, watching them. Mark eventually trailed over and rubbed against Gordo, who grumbled about needing a lint roller with all the dog hair Mark brought in.

Josh eventually sat down by a tree, their Alphas nearby, Joe laying his head on Ox’s back as they watched their pack. Joe yawned, and Ox sighed underneath him. Art trotted over to Josh and sat by his side, her gray fur lit by the moonlight. He rolled his eyes as she sat staring out at the forest, like a guard dog. Her ears twitched at the sound of his voice. “You don’t have to stay here,” he told her. She huffed and pawed at the ground. “Go, go play. Run,” he told her, earning him a side-eye glance as she stayed where she was. After a while, she eventually leaned over, pressing her snout into the side of one of his criss-crossed legs, touching, always touching, as she subtly rubbed her scent on him. Gradually, he reached out and touched her ears, running the soft fur through his fingertips, causing her ears to twitch between his fingertips.

They watched as their pack eventually settled, lying in the clearing. Carter chewed on a dead rabbit as Gavin circled him, as if daring anyone to come closer. The moon rose higher and higher, and once it was high in the sky Joe sat up and howled, and they all joined in, their howls creating a chorus of harmonies that reverberated throughout the forest.

Eventually, as the sun came up, they all traipsed into the house and down to the basement, where the wolves slept in their piles on top of one another. Their Alphas were in the middle; Carter and Kelly surrounded Joe, while Robbie was close to Kelly, and Art stayed close to them both as Josh lay down beside her, surrounded by the other wolves fur for warmth. Art layed her head on the top of Robbie’s back, rising and falling with the rhythm of his breathing. 

She could feel Josh staring at her from where he lay beside her, her back to him. She listened to his heartbeat, waiting for it to slow with sleep, but it remained normal. She huffed and turned over. His gaze bored into hers, his eyes wide. She heard his heartbeat race slightly faster as she looked at him through her wolf eyes. Whether his panicked state was because he found her wolf intimating or because she had caught him staring, she couldn’t tell.

She gave a low whine, earning her a small smirk and an eye-roll.

She debated shifting back; her wolf brain went... ??? at him, and he shrugged. “What’s the matter, Princessa? Can’t sleep?” He whispered as the others slept around them. Then, “Just think about your lover boy,” he smirked, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. She huffed at him as Robbie gave a low growl beside them at the mention of a boy. 

The scent of campfire wafted over her, and she scooted closer to him, her wolf instincts taking over, saying closer, and mineminemine, as she pressed her snout against his chest and inhaled, closing her eyes. She felt him freeze under her, and everything around them paused for a moment. Then he resumed, “Hey, hey, what do you think you’re doing?” She gave a small growl as she nuzzled in closer. “Needy,” he told her, flicking her ear. Eventually, she felt him stroke the top of her head, and she listened to his even breathing as they both drifted off to sleep, his scent wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

***

The days turned into winter and then into spring, and they continued their trek together to and from school; no other feral wolves had been spotted in their territory. They continued walking on by themselves, even though their Alphas didn’t fully approve, but they had promised to run away rather than try and fight again if they ever saw anything, and that had placated Joe and Ox for now.

Joselyn continued to insist on double dates here and there, which would end up with Josh and Ethan having their separate conversations where they went into their own world while Art was awkwardly stuck with Joselyn. She started to get to know her better, hating how much she was actually starting to like her. She was sweet, inclusive, and innocent since she wasn’t exactly the smartest person.

Art sat on the porch of the Bennett house, looking on as Josh and Ethan talked about something in between roughhousing.

She had a sketchpad in her lap and was subtly drawing, looking up now and then; the page was littered with sketches of wolves; in previous pages, she had drawn the pack member's faces along with their wolf forms. A couple of pages were folded in, containing secret drawings of Josh; one drawing in particular had him holding her stone wolf with the chipped ear. She had drawn it after it had broken that day in school before she hid it away in her nightstand. 

“Oh, what are you drawing?”

Art startled and looked up. She resisted the urge to hide the picture from sight. She had wolves on the page, and it’d been a while since she heard anyone call her “Wolf Girl,” and she didn’t feel the need for that extra attention again.

Art looked up to see Josselyn grinning at her as she came to sit on the porch, handing Art a mug as she took a sip from her own.“It’s really good,” Jossely added as she glanced the page over. “Are you thinking of becoming an artist? Oh, is that why everyone calls you Art?” she giggled to herself, bringing a hand to her mouth. 

“I hadn’t really thought about it; it’s just something to pass the time.” Art shrugged and gave a sideways smile, “And no. It just sort of happened that way.” 

Josselyn nodded. “I hear Elizabeth paints. Guess she’s really good; I’m told she has stuff in museums.”

“Must be where I get it from. She taught me when I was little,” Art admitted.

She could remember the sunlight pouring in through the attic windows, streaming onto the easel that Elizabeth would stand in front of for hours. She watched Elizabeth streak the canvas with paint, not having a care in the world about the paint winding up on her clothes, her skin, or her hair as she hummed to herself and swayed, dancing to the music in her head.

Art could remember the vivid greengreengreen radiating from her on those special days. She was so enraptured, that she felt like she had to sketch it out herself to keep it in her memory. Elizabeth had lent her supplies and guided her hand as they sat underneath the windows, with subtle fond touches here and there, leaving her scent on Art, marking her as one of her own.

Art smiled fondly at the memory, “Yeah, she's not bad. I never really thought of doing it professionally, though.”

“Why not?”

“It just doesn’t seem doable.”

“Well, if she can do it, why not you? You’re both Bennets after all; it must run in the family.” she winked. Art wondered how much she knew about her—how she was a Bennet in name only rather than blood; not that it mattered; pack was pack was pack, after all. 

Though she couldn’t help but wonder herself how much of her art was inherited talent from whoever she had come from and how much it was due to Elizabeth’s teachings. Growing up with a lack of friends, she had learned to keep herself entertained by drawing and had slowly gotten better over the years.

The boys were shouting something now, catching their attention, and they looked on as Josh ran toward Ethan in a playful, rough manner and attempted to lift him off the ground, causing Ethan’s shirt to ride up and Josh’s hand to be splayed out on his bare chest. They were both laughing at each other and then running after each other, saying whatever stupid things boys said.

At one point, they had picked up sticks and were fake fencing with them, shouting ‘en guarde’ as they took the typical fencing stance they saw in movies.

Josselyn rolled her eyes. “Boys are so weird.”

Art gave her a small smile. “You get used to it,” she shrugged.

“I bet,” Josselyn laughed, then gave her a quizzical look. “You must be very used to Josh by now; I mean, you guys are such good friends. And he likes having you around. I think it calms him,” she told Art.

Art blushed guiltily, glancing away. “Well, our families are close, that’s all,” she tried.

Joselyn nodded. “Yeah, but. It’s more than that.” She took a sip, and Art followed suit, unsure of what else to say. “It’s like you have some telepathic connection. or something, like you can feel each other, you know?”

Art fidgeted awkwardly, then looked away, out at the treeline, not sure how to broach the subject that they were packing and nothing more. “Well, we’ve just known each other a long time, that’s all,” she muttered.

Josselyn gave a small laugh. “Oh, I know. It’s all right.” She shrugged. “I’ll admit I’m a little jealous—but not in that way. I mean, if something was going to happen between you two, I’d imagine it would have happened already.”

Art almost choked on her drink, and she erupted in a fit of coughing, causing the boys to look over in concern.

“What’s the matter, Princessa? My girlfriend poisoning you?” Josh grinned at her brightly.

Josselyn rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to poison her, I’d be more subtle about it.”

Ethan shuddered. “Scary,” he teased. Art couldn’t help but notice that his attention was still on Josh and Josselyn, rather than toward her. Her face was hot, and she awkwardly took another sip, hoping not to choke this time.

Another awkward silence fell, and it was as if there had been a shift in the atmosphere; Josselyn was looking at her oddly now. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” she hesitated, “why does he call you that?”

“Call me what?”

“Princessa,” she said, the foreign word falling flat on her tongue. The word sounded plain coming from her, and Art cringed a little at the sound of it. It wasn’t like when Josh said it—giving the word warmth and affection and a hint of friendly snarkiness—where his Hispanic accent would come through and he made it sound like the word belonged to only him; he made it sound like home.

Art shrugged in response. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“I did.”

“Oh. And?” she prompted, suddenly curious. 

“Something about your rich family,” she shrugged, “like you’re royalty because you’re a Bennet or something. I’ll admit I don’t really get it, but there’s a lot about the Bennets I don’t get. No offense.”

Art nodded, knowing that, in a way, she had indeed been adopted into a royal wolf family. Her uncle Joe was the Alpha of All, after all, and she was the daughter of one of the Bennet princes. Not that any of that meant anything to a normal human like Josselyn.

“Sounds about right. You know how rich people are.” She chuckled, trying to sound nonchalant.

“There’s something else, too.” Josselyn added, her face scrunched as if trying to recall. “He said something else about you and royalty that has been bugging me. I’ll admit I didn’t really get it, though.”

“What’s that?”

Josselyn turned and stared at her, a mix of confusion and sympathy on her face. “It’s unattainable.”

Chapter Text

Eventually, the weekend came, and both of their partners were busy, so, having nothing better to do, Art showed up at Josh’s door as a wolf and watched him as she sat in front of his porch. She had done this a few times throughout the years; she showed up at his door, and they would walk through the forest together and just... be.

She tilted her head at him as she waited, pawing the ground and huffing every now and then to indicate her impatience with him. He stood there and took her in. He said, “You’re not going to shift, are you? ‘Cause no offense, but I don’t own any bras, and I don’t think my mom’s will fit you-ow!” He exclaimed as his mother hit him in the back of the head. 

Rico chuckled at him as they both stepped through the screen door and onto the porch. “Don’t insult the girl!” Bambi yelled.

“Si, mijo. It’s a miracle your own mother can fill out the bra sizes she buys.”

Josh made a disgusted face. “Ugh, ew. Can we please stop talking about moms-”

“Jugs?” Rico suggested his eyebrows going up and down suggestively.

“You brought them up!” Bambi scolded Josh as she smacked Rico’s shoulder.

Art tilted her head, then she went from sitting to standing on all fours, her tail wagged, and she gave a short bark.

“Yeah, yeah,” Josh grumbled as he grabbed his backpack and walked down the stairs, following her toward the forest.

After a while of walking, they eventually lay under the sun in the clearing. She shifted, and he kept his gaze resolutely on the sky above. He reached over and held his backpack out to her, letting her sift through the change of clothes he’d brought for her that she had left with him. “I don’t know why you can’t just bring your own clothes. Or not shift at all,” he grumbled.

“It’s faster. And you’re less annoying when I’m shifted,” she teased. He rolled his eyes, then closed them as he listened to the rustling of clothes as she put them on. She sighed and lay back down beside him. After a beat of silence, she grumbled, “I don’t know why you have to be so weird about it. I’ve seen your dad naked more times than I can count.” He heard the smile in her voice.

“Oh gross!” He shouted, “Why did you have to put that picture in my head?”

She laughed. “Serves you right.” She lay back down beside him, watching the clouds roll by.

After a while, Josh eventually broke the silence. 

“Do you like him?” he said, his voice giving nothing away. She didn’t have to ask to know who he meant. 

“Why, Joshua Rodriguez,” she gasped, theatrically clutching her hand to her chest, “are you jealous?” She asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

He scoffed, “You wish, Princessa.” He smiled and closed his eyes in the warm sun.

Princessa, there was that word again – the only name he ever really called her. Art’s mind wandered to what Josselyn had said. It’s unattainable. 

Why would he think that? She quickly shied away from that thought– not wanting to give in to the hope that cradled her heart. She had Ethan now, and Josh had Joss – and that was that. 

 The trees swayed in a gentle breeze, and the sky was a clear blue overhead. The sound of birds chirping filled the silence around them.

“Why would I be with him if I didn’t like him?” she said into the silence. 

“He’s… nice. It just seems like...” he paused.

“Like what?”

“Like you two aren’t very...” he opened his eyes and he glanced at her uncomfortably, “Into each other.”

She lay back down, turning his words over in her mind as she watched a single cloud roll by.

“I wouldn’t say that.” She tried, but thought maybe he had a point. When was the last time she had even wanted to see him? Much less think about him. Whenever they hung out, it felt like they were just friends rather than lovers. They barely touched unless she initiated something, which he quickly put to a stop. Unless they were at school or in public – that was the only time he would be all over her. When they walked the halls he would swing an arm around her shoulder and pull her close, or hold her hand until there was no one else around. She was starting to wonder if he even liked her. 

Josh interrupted her thoughts. “Do you ever think, I mean...” he swallowed, glancing at her, then away. “Never mind,” he muttered.

“What?” she pushed

“I mean, what do you like about him?”

She paused and asked, “Well, what do you like about her?” She countered defensively.

“Joss? She’s great. She’s…nice.”

Art mumbled under her breath, “And has a great rack.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Sure, it’s not,” she smirked, rolling her eyes.

“I mean, you know...” he started, then coughed. “Yours aren’t...” he gave a quick glance down at her chest, then away. "Bad," He finished lamely, his face turning a shade of crimson. 

Her eyes widened. “Oh, god,” she said, burying her face in her hands, her face burning up and turning its own shade of scarlet. 

“Bet your lover boy likes them. And your lover boy isn’t bad either,” he winked, then sighed as he closed his eyes again. “Good to know you have some decent taste, I guess.”

“More than I can say for you,” she muttered under her breath. but she saw his smile in response.

They lay in the clearing a while after that, letting the sounds of nature fill in the silence around them. They felt their pack territory come alive around them as they bonded with the trees and the grass and dirt beneath them. 

Eventually, on their walk back, Art asked, “What is it that you and Ethan talk about all the time?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just... stuff, I guess.”

She gave a noncommittal, “Hmm.” then, “It’s just, you two seem so … close, you know?” Closer than I am, she thought bitterly.

He shrugged. “I don't know. Must be a guy thing.”

She rolled her eyes at that. He turned to her and grinned, “Well, what about you?“

“What about me what?”

“You seemed to be pretty cozy with Joss.”

“That’s not—she just is very hard to say no to!”

“Tell me about it,” he smiled, a teasing in his voice.

“And she’s… nice.” Art mumbled, echoing his own word from earlier. 

Josh glanced at her. “Yeah, well…like I said, Ethan’s er, nice too,” he admitted, a faint blush crawling up his neck. Art heard his heartbeat elevate at that and rolled her eyes again. “You know, just admitting a guy is nice doesn’t necessarily mean you’re attracted to them," she hmphed. Straight people, she thought to herself—a common phrase she had picked up from members of the pack. 

“I know,” he smirked. “I’m just saying. He’s nice to me anyway.” With that, he walked ahead of her.

She gaped after him, “What is that supposed to mean?!”

“Nothing, nothing. I’m sure, he’s … nice to you, too. He’s a nice boy.” He smirked. “‘Cause I’m sure that's exactly what you want,” he added. 

“He is.” she said, crossing her arms in defiance.

“Uh huh. Because nice suits you so well. That’s definitely what you want and what you need. A nice boy who acts like a gentleman.”

“That’s exactly what I need," she challenged.

“Sure, sure.” He nodded. “I mean you obviously wouldn’t want someone who knows how to get under your skin, or drive you up the wall mad.”

“Of course not.”

“Or knows how to make you shut that pretty mouth of yours – someone who makes your toes curl with passion because you just can’t stand them but you cant live without them either. Someone like that definitely wouldn’t suit you.” 

And there it was. Someone who makes your toes curl with passion, when was the last time she had felt passion toward someone? That crazy wild romantic heat of need and want and desire and lust that she was always reading about in those romance novels Robbie had lying around.

He turned around and walked back closer over to her, so they were inches apart now. He towered over her about a good few inches. When did he get so much taller than me? He lowered his gaze to hers and their eyes locked a moment and it went on for what felt like forever—their heartbeats thundering in their ears, their breathing shallow – and she could have sworn she saw his gaze lower to her lips. 

This close to him, she could smell him, campfire and woodsmoke – and a mix of something else she couldn’t quite place, but the scent was familair – she’d smelt it on other pack members before, usually when they were with their mates; It was a mix of something salty and heady and hot. 

His gaze locked on hers, and her breath caught – the world came to a halt as his caramel brown eyes searched her emerald ones for something – though she didn’t know what. 

A bird overheard cawed, and they jumped apart at the sound. 

She listened to their hearts thudding in their chests for a moment, attempting to get her breathing under control. 

He turned away, avoiding her gaze. “Yeah, Princessa. Nice is definitely what you need.” He muttered as he started to walk away, refusing to look back at her. 

They continued on toward the Bennet House, letting the awkward silence fall between them. She tried to push the thought of him, so close his breath was on her skin, out of her mind – while her body still felt hot and flush. She thought of his gaze lowering to her lips, his head tilted so that his neck was bared to her, his pulse thrumming in his neck. Unwillingly, his text from the other night flashed in her mind. Didn’t realize you wanted to bite me.

She glanced at him, as he walked ahead of her, his face turned away. They trekked through a few thick branches, and then the smell of metallic copper hit her nose. “You’re bleeding,” she said, indicating to a scratch on his leg—a branch having torn through his pant leg. He looked at it, “It’s just a scratch, Princessa.” He shrugged. “It’ll heal. Though it might not be as fast as you.”

“Don’t blame me. Not my fault you’re still human and heal slow.”

"Yeah, well, if I could heal faster, our Alphas wouldn’t be so worried about us now, would they?”

Eventually, she said, “Would you ever want to take the bite? Be a wolf like me.”

He faltered a bit; she wouldn’t have noticed had she not been watching him so intently, keen on his response. He was silent for a good minute.

“Josh?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” he muttered, and his heartbeat felt… off.

That gave her pause as she started to think it through. “Why wouldn’t you want it, though? I mean, it’s like you said—they could bite you and turn you and they’d be less worried about something happening—you'd be able to heal, and-” You wouldn’t be so fragile, she thought, but refrained from saying it, not wanting to pour salt in the wound. Her mind was racing now with the possibility of what if. She thought back to what Gordo had told her: he’s human, Art.

But he didn’t have to be. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it earlier. All he had to do was ask.

“Enough, Princessa,” he said through clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

 “I’m just saying! I mean, I thought maybe—wouldn’t you want it?” She finally asked in a small voice. Her heartbeat was tripping over itself now as she tried to reason why he would want to stay human. Didn’t he like wolves? Didn’t he still like… her?

He sighed and looked up at the sky. The clouds had rolled in, and the sky was now darkening to a somber gray, like how it looked before a storm. “I already asked for the bite,” he admitted in a soft voice. The forest went still around them.

He wouldn’t look at her. “And they said no.”

A heavy silence fell between them. 

She felt a few drops of water land on her face and roll down her cheeks.

Chapter Text

Eventually, summer break came. No feral wolves had made any appearances, and Art had dropped the topic of the bite. Still, there was a sort of tension between her and Josh the rest of the summer. The what-ifs raced through her mind, but she knew Josh wanted to avoid the subject altogether, so she dropped it. Still, she couldn’t help wondering when he had asked for the bite from their Alphas. 

Now that it was summer break, she was trying to be more into Ethan, as Josh had put it. She figured that maybe they just needed more time, a few more dates, and the passion would follow. Maybe if she took it to another level...

But as the summer dragged on, she attempted a few more dates with Ethan, to be left … disappointed, but she couldn’t place her finger on why. They acted friendly enough – and he was gentlemanly anytime they were together. A nice boy who acts the gentleman, Josh’s words reverberated in her mind. He would be gentlemanly in that he barely touched her or initiated anything with her … which was … fine. Maybe. But she couldn’t help but be a bit annoyed by it; If he liked her, why wasn’t he constantly asking for more from her? 

Someone who makes your toes curl with passion, why couldn’t that be him?

She and Ethan had kissed maybe two or three times more after that first initial date – each time she thought she read the clues for it, but was mistaken, as he abruptly put an end to it, unless they were in public. Then again, they had been alone in her room at one point, sitting on her bed, and each time she scooted closer, he would scoot away and change the topic to something else. 

It was a Saturday night and she was getting ready for another one of their dates. A pile of clothes was splayed out on top of her bed, along with various books – she had gotten her love from reading from her fathers – back when they spent nights reading next to each other, the only sound the flipping of pages and the crackle of the fireplace. 

This was perhaps the fifth outfit she tried on so far, and her room was a mess. While she obtained a love for reading, she obtained no love for cleaning or organization, unlike Robbie, who worked diligently to make the place spotless on his days off – going off about secret cleaning formulas that could be used to get stains out of anything, including blood. He and Kelly had gone quiet at that, subtly glancing in the corner of the living room – as if sharing a memory between them of something she wasn’t privy to. 

Kelly and Robbie were still home at the moment, but planning to go out on their own date night. She descended the stairs to a lecturing of being safe and making smart decisions. She gave a silent thanks that they hadn’t shoved a box of condoms into her hands, like Elizabeth had when first giving her “the talk.” 

Ethan arrived finally and they headed out to another one of their double dates at the Diner and Cinema (there wasn’t a lot to do in a small town like Green Creek). She didn’t quite mind the extra company this time, knowing her fathers would be out for most of the night. She figured she could spend enough alone time with him afterwards. She was acutely aware of the space he had given her, arriving at the door and keeping a good distance between them – she had chalked it up to be because her dads were there, watching them before they left, but even in the car he hadn’t reached over to touch her or anything like that.

Now, as they approached the building, he suddenly took her hand, and she was acutely aware of that fact throughout. It was as if she was being used as a display – a beacon to distract everyone, as if to say: “Look, world: I have a girlfriend.” She started to hope, maybe he was starting to like her back after all.

They eventually waved bye to Josh and Josselyn and Ethan drove her back home. They sat in front of her house in his car for a few awkward moments before she finally invited him inside, telling him her dads wouldn’t be back for a while. She could hear his heartbeat accelerate at that but he still looked weary, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. Eventually, he conceded. 

They sat on her bed, inches apart. “So,” he said, his fingers tapping on his leg as it bounced up and down, shaking the bed.

“So,” she repeated.

“This is nice.” He smiled at her, then quickly looked away, around the room. She could hear his heartbeat racing and she smiled to herself at the sound. Taking it to mean he was nervous to be so close to her, in the same room, on her bed no less. She scooted closer to him, but he scooted away. By the time she gathered enough courage to reach out her hand and try to grab his, he abruptly stood up and walked over to her dresser. He leaned down at the pictures there, of her family – the pack and Josh.

“This your whole family?” He asked, staring at it intently.

“Um, yeah.” She crossed one leg over the other and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Wow, you and Josh go way back, huh?” He picked up one of the photos, showing them off as young children – around the age when she was first introduced to the pack.

"Sure,” she shrugged.

“What was he like – as a kid?”

"Oh um,” that threw her. Why was asking about Josh of all people? Just because they were friends … unless he was – jealous maybe? 

“He was annoying and moody; not much has changed.” She shrugged. Eventually she stood up and placed a hand on his back, “Enough about him.”

He stiffened under her touch then cleared his throat. He gently put the picture back down and turned around, his gaze darting everywhere but at her. “It’s late,” he started. “I should … get going. I’m sure your Dads will be home soon, won’t they?”

She blinked rapidly at him, “Oh um. Are you sure?”

He nodded frantically, his hands fidgeting in front of him. “Yeah, yep. I should – go. We can do something next time? With … the others?”

She let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah, sure.”

Josh’s voice rang in her head, as the front door closed, and she heard his car drive away. Nice suits you so well. That’s definitely what you want and what you need. You obviously wouldn’t want someone who knows how to get under your skin, or drive you up the wall mad.

Dammit. 

After a while, she showered and got ready for bed. 

She flopped onto her bed, her pile of clothes having been swept to the floor when they first came back. She heard her phone buzz and checked it – of course it was from Josh. How did he always know?

Josh: How’s the passionate makeout session going?

She sighed then typed, riveting.

Josh: That bad, huh?

Art: What makes you say that? She was practically fuming.

Josh: Because he asked to come over.

Since when were they close enough that Josh and Ethan hung out outside of their dates?

Art: Why?

Josh: Because he wanted to talk about you, I guess. As if I have nothing better to do.

She rolled her eyes. then bit her lip, contemplating for a few minutes as she typed and retyped. Her thumb hovered over the send button. Screw it, she thought before hitting send. 

Art: What did he say about me? She finally sent, though a part of her cringed inside – she never wanted to be one of those ppl; asking about a boy no less, as if she was obsessed with him. 

Josh: Hmm, what to say? 

Art: Josh!

Josh: Calm down, Princessa. He just said he wasn’t… sure about things. Personal things. The world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.

Art: You’re one to talk. She shot back.

The silence was deafening as she waited for the familair vibrate. Had she taken it too far? Why wasn’t he responding? She flopped onto her bed, then sat up, biting her nails as she stared down at her phone, willing it to do something. 

Personal Problems? She thought to herself. Why was he going to Josh for help instead of her? Were the problems about her? No, if they were wouldn’t Josh say so – maybe even lord it over her? Still, it was bugging her – she was Ethan's girlfriend, not Josh! 

Eventually she stood and paced her room back and forth, biting her thumbnail, as she fumed and contemplated what problems he could possibly be having. He was the cool, laidback kid at school. She thought about what she knew about him, but realized he never really talked about himself – he was always asking about her and her two Dads or her relationship with Josh. Maybe that was the problem. She was so used to everyone knowing everything around her all the time. She forgot what it was like to have that curiosity, that interest in someone else. The pack always just knew; whether it was what someone was feeling or the history they had and shared – she was used to it being just her family and her. 

She let out an exasperated sigh as she threw her phone across the room, where it landed on the carpet, unphased. She left it there as she crawled under the covers and tried to think of anything else but boys, waiting for sleep to come and take her out of her misery. 

She dreamt that night. She dreamt of Josh and Ethan, she dreamed of them both leaving her – she tried to call out to them, as they turned away and walked in a foggy mist, but her voice wouldn’t work; It was like she was a little girl again, too scared to talk to the strangers that had rescued her. 

The wolves came to her mind then, and she dreamt of them; running underneath the moonlight, and coming to a clearing where they all shifted. She was surrounded by wolves and men and women in the nude, the moonlight reflecting on their bare skin, as they lay on the snowy ground or against a tree. It was winter, and snow covered everything, giving the place a peaceful and serene feeling, and she felt safe. 

Then – chaos. She smelt burning and could see red and orange flames scattered throughout the forest – the trees were on fire as wild animals fled away from the smoke and flames. Then she was in a dark, cramped space and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. The sound of crackling wood surrounded her and she didn’t know if she was about to go up in flames as well or not – and she could hear screaming – it was a tortuous sound that made her ears bleed and wouldn’t stop – she felt something on her shoulder, shaking her, and a voice in the distance, “…rt…Art…”

Her eyes flew open and she realized the screaming was coming from her. She felt tears streaming down her face, and it took her a moment to register where she was and how to stop the screaming that were clawing it’s way out of her throat, which quickly turned into sobbing. She woke to find Robbie holding her, enveloping her in his arms, while Kelly sat nearby on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair, hair back, her arms. She could feel them calling to her through the pack bonds, SafeYouAreSafe, WeAreHere, DaughterLovePackSafe. 

Out loud she could hear Robbie’s voice whispering into her hair, “I got you.” He told her over and over again, as he rocked her back and forth. “I got you. You’re safe.” She shook and sobbed in his arms, the memory of being surrounded by fire in a dark, enclosed space fresh in her mind. 

Eventually she calmed, as she realized where and when she was and that her nightmare had long been over, since coming home with them. 

That night Robbie and Kelly both slept on either side of her, refusing to leave her side. 

***

It was Sunday. They were going to have Sunday dinner that night and then run, as a pack. It was a quiet morning as Robbie and Kelly watched her wearily. The conversation felt stilted after last night. She didn’t mention it and they didn’t ask, which was grateful for. She remembered how she used to wake up screaming every now and then when they first brought her home, some memories still fresh in her mind but the memories had faded over the years. 

She decided to visit Josh, maybe see what Ethan said to him and go on one of their walks throughout the territory. She showed up at his porch still human, deciding to conserve her energy for that night under the full moon. His eyes widened when he saw her, and he gave her a wide berth as he crossed his porch to her. 

After a while, he asked in a small voice. “Are you all right?”

She swallowed a lump in her throat and dug her fingernails in the palm of her hand to keep from breaking down right then and there. She scuffed the dirt with her shoe and adjusted the strap of her bag. “Y-yeah. Why wouldn't I be?”

“It’s just…” He glanced away, then back at her again. “I… felt you… last night. It was… worrisome.”

She winced at the acknowledgement. 

“My dad had to get confirmation, you weren’t like, you know… dying or kidnapped. I almost ran over there myself but he wouldn’t let me…” 

“Well, thanks for your concern, as unwarranted as it is – but I’m fine.” She said in a clipped voice. She turned toward the woods, “C'mon, let’s go. I could use the fresh air.”

She walked ahead, knowing he would follow her, and shortly the sound of his footsteps fell in place behind her. Eventually, they came to their usual spot and sat down, letting the sun beam down upon them. 

She waited a beat.

Then two.

Then finally, her patience came to an end. “What did you and Ethan talk about last night?”

Josh smirked at her, as if he knew she had just been dying to ask and he would be damned to have brought it up first. “Didn’t take you long, did it?” He shook his head.

“What didn’t?”

“From the time it took between seeing me and bringing him up.”

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just curious, that's all.”

“So am I” He narrowed his eyes at her, his tone darkening. Thenin a low voice, “So you tell me, Princessa. What happened last night?”

She shrugged. “Just a bad dream.” She tried to convey the message in her tone, this conversation is over. 

He sighed. 

“I can’t tell you.” He eventually relented. 

She raised an eyebrow at him, as she sat with her back against a tree, and he lay down on the grass floor, one arm behind his head.

The corner of his mouth tugged up. “On account of boyfriend/friend of girlfriend confidentiality.”

“That’s not a thing.”

He shrugged. “He’ll tell you when he’s ready.”

“Hmm,” She bit her lip. Eventually she took out her sketchpad from her bag and began to draw the scenery around her, as they basked in their territory. Josh must have heard the scritches on her notepad, as he opened one eye and squinted over at her.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your drawings before.” He mused. “They any good?”

“Take a look for yourself, if you want.” She said without looking up. She heard the grass rustle as he stood up, then felt the heavy presence of his body sitting down next to hers, his scent wafting over her, causing her to pause. She lifted her pencil up a bit to give him a look. He gave a low whistle.

“Not bad, Princessa.” He reached over, then looked at her. She refused to meet his gaze. “May I?” She gave a small nod.

He gently took the sketchpad and slowly flipped through it. After a few page flips, she noticed he paused on one and looked over, then saw the page with the drawings she did of him.

He caught her eye. “obsessed much?” He winked.

She blushed. “Don’t flatter yourself. It was just something to practice on. They’re just doddles, anyway.” 

“Just doodles?” He asked, incredulous. “Princessa, these are not ‘just doodles.’ They’re actually really well done.” His voice had so much sincerity in it, she felt like she could cry. 

“Why don’t you have these hanging up anywhere? Last time I was over, your walls were all like… barren.”

"Why would I hang them up?”

“Because they’re good.” He said, the duh heavily implied. 

She rolled her eyes. 

“Thanks,” she replied, and left it at that. 

Another page flip and she saw one of her older drawings there. It was getting harder to breathe. She met Josh’s gaze as he glanced at her through his dark eyelashes. “Princessa…” his voice was barely a whisper. Then he shook his head, muttering, “No, nevermind.” He took a breath then, “Can I keep this?” He asked, sounding almot shy, which took her by surprise.

“You… want to keep it?”

“If you let me… if not, then-”

“No, I… I want you to. Have it.” She gave a small smile, thinking to herself, It’s yours anyway. It’s always been yours. He just didn’t know it yet. 

He gingerly tore the picture out, putting it in his own bag and gave her a small smile, his eyes glancing from hers to her lips and back again. There was a gentle breeze, the only sound was the rustling of the leaves and the treetops. She matched his gaze, going from his eyes to his lips and, god help her, she leaned forward a little bit and then-

He suddenly broke their gaze and glanced away, clearing his throat, as a faint blush crawled up his neck. She leaned back as she felt her heart jackrabbiting in her chest and worked quickly to try and hide the disappointment. What was that? And what was she doing? They both had other people to think about…

She blinked her surprise away and tried to get her bearings. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her legs. “We should go, or we’ll be late. You know how they are.”

She tried to smile, but it wavered a bit. She hoped he hadn’t noticed. 

Chapter Text

It was senior year now. No more feral wolves had appeared, and Art didn't bring up the mention of the bite to Josh again. Things had been a bit… awkward between them over the summer – almost like he was avoiding her. She had her sights set on other things for the moment; she was spending her free time away from Josh to focus on her sketches, not sure what else it was she wanted to do after graduation. She still didn't know what to do about college – not wanting to be away from the pack, but torn between her wanting to try and make her sketches work for her. Not that they needed the finances, the pack being rich and all. But sometimes she felt … smothered. 

Everywhere she turned, there was always a pack member there, and Kelly had been trying to get Robbie to let her be more independent, his overprotectiveness becoming apparent, and he seemed more agitated, the older she got, the more people she brought around. She lay in her room surrounded by her sketches. Now, after Josh was supportive of her, it felt like maybe she could actually do something important with her Art.

The rest of the summer went by quickly. School started back up way too soon and she still didn't know what to do about Ethan. She thought about their dates, where she would always have to indicate something: How he barely touched her – how it felt like they were just friends; How his actions didn't line up with the school – where it was like he was showing her off, holding her hand and sitting too close – as if she was a prop. 

It didn't help that Josh also suddenly became more distant after their conversation in the woods. It felt like he was avoiding her for some reason; neither of them brought up him asking for the bite, but it still bothered her as she wondered at the reasoning. They also didn't break up her dream, and thankfully she hadn't another nightmare, where she woke up screaming. Though sometimes she would still dream of fire and wake up in a cold sweat, biting her pillow to keep her Dads from hearing her. She tried not to think about it. 

She was getting books from her locker in the hallway at the school when she saw Josselyn walk in. Art was shocked at her appearance. She was a mess – her hair frizzled out and she was wearing sweatpants – something she had once said was only for those in dire desperation. Art's eyes went wide as she took Josselyn in – she saw her eyes were redrimmed, as if she was crying. She tried to call out to her as she walked by, but she walked past without so much as a glance in her direction, holding back her sobs. Art glanced over at the door again and saw Josh there, slouched with his hands in his pockets, looking … sheepish. Art raised an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged and shook his head. 

It didn't take long for her to pick up on the conversations spreading throughout school, and by lunch was confirmed that Josh had broken up with Josselyn. 

Art wasn't sure, how she felt about that; hopeful? Sorry for her – sort of friend? Though mostly, as she sat at their table in the cafeteria with just Ethan sitting beside her, his arm wrapped around her, felt she … annoyed. She kept asking herself why.

"Why did you break up with her?“ She asked, as they gathered at the pack house. 

Josh sighed, leaning his head back, the book he was reading, open, and balancing on his legs as they sat on the couch. "Does it matter?“ He asked, annoyed.

"Yes.“ She replied.

He looked at her. She looked right back.

He closed the book, sighing. "I… It's complicated.“ He muttered. 

She glared at him, crossing her arms. "I just… I dunno.“ He shook his head and he looked so … tired. "I guess I sort of… started to have feelings for someone else.“ He wouldn't meet her eyes.

She swallowed, her heart racing slightly. "Oh?“ She pressed, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. 

He leaned his head back against the couch. "It's not what you think, it's-“

"Kids, dinner!“ Elizabeth yelled as the pack gathered together at the table for Sunday dinner. Sighing, they both went and sat across from each other on the long table out in the backyard.

Now that it was common knowledge that Josh had broken up with his girlfriend, Art could have sworn she saw Robbie look at him suspiciously, as if he knew something she didn't. Kelly looked between Robbie and Josh, amused, and she wondered how much of their conversation they had overheard. An old memory came to her then, of when she first met Josh – asking why he smelled like that, and the look Kelly had, as if he knew something she wasn't privy to at the time. She felt herself blush faintly as she avoided their gazes. 

During dinner, she found herself glancing at Josh's neck, as she tried to ignore his scent, which wafted over her thanks to the wind outside that rustled the trees. She found herself thinking more and more about Josh's confession: I already asked for the bite. And they said no. It had been awkward since that conversation, then with Josh breaking up with Josslyn and avoiding her, she hadn't really had a chance to bring it up again. 

Her thoughts kept going back to: Why? Why did their Alphas say no? Why did Josh break up with his girlfriend? Something had to give and eventually she couldn't take it anymore. 

After dinner, most of the pack had left to their own homes, and it was just her and her dads left in the Bennet House, since they had a shorter commute. Robbie and Kelly were busy in the kitchen, helping Elizabeth clean up, their voices and laughter drifting into the living room. At some point, she found herself standing in the doorway to the office that Ox and Joe shared. 

"Why did you tell Josh no when he asked for the bite?“ She outright asked Joe and Ox, as Ox sat behind the desk in their office, Joe standing beside him. Ox's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he quickly covered it up.

"Who told you that?“ Joe asked, narrowing his eyes at her. 

"He did.“ She shook her head. "I don't get it. You say you're worried about us, but won't even try and –“

"Enough,“ Ox said quietly. 

She stopped but still glared at him. 

"There are things you don't know. We did what we thought was best at the time.“

"But-"

"No.“ He said, his eyes mixing with red and violet. „You don't get to decide.“ „We do. We do what we think is best – for both of you. For the pack. „And we stand by that decision.“

"But why-"

Joe spoke up then, annoyed. "There are ferals coming into our territory intermittently. The last thing we need right now is for a newly turned Wolf –“

"Joe,“ Ox placed a hand on his arm, his gaze softening at him, his eyes returning to normal, before looking back at Art. 

"I know you're upset.“ „We didn't mean to keep a secret from you - he asked us not to tell anyone, and we didn't see the point of bringing it up.“

"I'm getting really tired of nobody telling me anything,“ she muttered as she glared daggers at them. 

"And I'm getting tired of that attitude –“ Joe started before Ox stepped in, attempting to ease the tension. 

"I know.“ He said, looking at her. "I know what it feels like to feel like you've been left in the dark.“ Joe looked away at that. „But we did what we thought was best.“ For everyone involved. If things change, Josh can have that discussion with us. „And I know, it sucks to hear, but this matter doesn't concern you.“

"The hell it doesn't –!“ Anger surged through her, until Ox placed a hand on her should, sending calm through her. 

"Whether Josh takes the bite or not, is between him and us. And his parents, if he's under age… it's not your choice to make for him.“ Joe explained matter of factly.

"So it's your choice or no choice?“ She challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Joe sighed, "Our choice depends on the external factors –“

"Artemis,“ Ox stated in a neutral tone. "I promise you. The decisions we make are for the good and the safety of the pack. The whole pack. Do you understand? Ox asked, his voice calm.

She nodded reluctantly, feeling as if she was a child being scolded. She knew they made choices with their best interests in mind, but it still bothered her and she couldn't figure out why.

***

A few days later, she wanted to get her mind off Josh and his stupid neck that didn't have a bite mark. So she went on more dates with Ethan, hoping to at least fix one of her problems this way, and hoping it would help put Josh out of her mind. Art and Ethan were in her room again, having another attempt for her to try and … do something. Anything really, that was more … intimate. She wanted an escape, and he didn't seem to be getting the memo. 

She tried kissing him, on his neck and cheek, but he glanced away, avoiding her altogether. She sighed and whispered, "Touch me“, she told him. He looked at with wide eyes. "What?"

"Just… touch me. You never…“ She looked down at her feet, her long blonde hair cascading over her face, as she said in a small voice, "touch me.“

"Oh, was all he managed.“ He swallowed, "Um. Ok I mean, where-"

She blinked, gathering herself together, as she slowly took his hand and placed it over her chest, her eyes searching his. „Like this,“ she breathed. 

He winced, then quickly pulled his hand away, „I don't think this is a good idea.“

"Why not?“ She demanded, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice. „My parents aren't home, most boys would be clawing at a girl telling them to touch her!“ She threw her hands up and put space between them. 

She was annoyed now, at almost everything. She had been trying to drop hints, to get him to open up to her. Her conversation with Josh kept coming to her mind. He just said he wasn't … sure about things. Personal Things. What things? Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "There's something you're not telling me,“ she accused him. Her arms crossed over her chest, as she stared at the floor. Seems like there's a lot of things people aren't telling me, she thought bitterly to herself. She deigned a glance at him, "Actually, there might be a lot of things you're not telling me. I mean, why don't you ever even tell me anything about yourself? I mean, you know about my family –“

"Did Josh say something?“ He finally asked, his voice an octave high than usual. He stood up, pacing and running a hand through his hair.

"He just said – you had things. That you were thinking about? Personal Things? I mean, if you have a problem, shouldn't you be coming to me? Your girlfriend? Why are you asking Josh of all people?"

"Because, he's a friend, Art. I mean… I know, he's your friend and all, and you guys sort of had this thing going on, but he assured me that it's not like that – and then I just started talking him about things and –“ He stopped, taking a breath.

Her mind whirled, trying to catch up. Eventually she stood, "Wait, what does that mean? What things? Not to mention that there has not been nor will there ever be anything between me and Joshua Rodriguez.“ She stated confidently, meanwhile a small voice whispered in the back of her mind, Liar.

He nodded, glancing at her, "Yeah, I-look, I know. He told me so himself.“ And that, well – that stung a bit. Sure, she knew Josh had been with someone else, but a part of her thought or hoped that maybe someday they would … and she thought he would feel the same way … someday. But now was she realizing, that maybe Josh viewed her very differently from her, she viewed him. 

"Oh“, was all she managed to say.

"And I know, I should be telling you things, but it's just-“ He took a breath then continued, "I don't know if you would understand the same way – I mean … your family is very um, open minded, you know?“

"No, I don't know." She shook her head.

"Oh, come on now. Of course you do! You have two dads for Christs sake!“

"What does that have to do with anything?“ She asked, confused and unsure of where this train of theirs was heading; their conversation was going off the rails and she had no idea what he was talking about, or where to go from here. And to top it all off, they were practically shouting now. He was frantic and anxious and she was just confused and mad, the more this went on. 

"It-it just, I mean, you had to know-“

"Had to know what?“

He sighed. "Nothing, never mind. "

"See, there you go again, not telling me things!“ She shouted, exasperated. "You know,“ she said after a pause. "Maybe we shouldn't do this anymore.“ She winced – the words out before she could think about them. 

He looked at her as if she had struck him, his eyes wide – she could hear his heart raced, as if he was panicking. "What? What does that mean?"

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It means, I don't think we fit well together.“

"You're breaking up with me?“ His voice wavered, a shine in his eyes.

She nodded.

After a few beats he collected himself and stood up straight. "F-fine“, he said, his voice catching, as he stalked out of her room, the front door slamming behind him. 

She sat on her bed and let a few tears fall as she tried to work out her feelings. She felt a mix of blue and also green; relieved that it was over – but she felt blue for the wrong reason – as she thought of Josh, and how she was almost certain now that nothing would ever happen between them. 

Chapter Text

She woke up to knocking on the front door. It was the next morning, and the sun was coming in from her window. She had fallen asleep, still dressed in last night’s clothes, as she lay on top of her covers. She groaned and turned over, willing whoever it was to go away, only for them to continue to knock insistently. Groaning, she finally made her way downstairs and answered the door, not caring how much of a mess she looked. She was surprised to see Josselyn standing there, looking her up and down.

“You look awful,” she said by way of greeting.

“Thanks,” Art muttered.

“C’mon. Get dressed.”

“Why?”

“I heard what happened.” She looked at her sadly, “And from one breakup to another – I think we need each other now more than ever. And after every breakup, a girl obviously must have … a shopping trip. So I’m taking you to the mall, so we can get made over and get new clothes, to show those stupid boys what they’re missing.“ She smiled triumphantly. 

“Do I have to?” Art asked irritably.

“Yes.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I will drag you there myself.”

“Fine,” she relented. “And just for the record, I broke up with him,” she said, not sure why it mattered. Josselyn just laughed as Art turned to go back upstairs and make herself somewhat presentable to the public. 

***

There was a small shopping mall a little outside of Green Creek that they went to.

Once inside, Art found herself out of her element and ended up following Josselyn towards the escalators.

They began their descent downstairs. “First things first,” Josslyn said. “After every breakup, a girl needs new hair and new clothes,” she winked.

Art looked at her skeptically. “I’m not cutting my hair,” she stated, her long hair now falling down past her shoulders. She had been adamant about her hair, refusing to let Kelly cut it too short whenever he offered to do so. 

Josslyn gave a dissappointed sigh, “Aww, but you’d look so cute with short hair!” That made Art pause – she didn’t remember anyone ever calling her cute before. She twirled a strand around her finger, contemplating the idea. Before she could give it too much thought, Josselyn jumped in, “Okay, so no hair cut We could dye it?” Josslyn pondered.

“No.”

The reached the bottom of the escalator and stepped onto the first floor. Josslyn turned to her, a hand under her fist as he looked her up and down. “Hmm,”

“What?”

“Okay, so no haircut, but we can at least get you new clothes. Maybe get our nails done… some makeup… and… how do you feel about contacts?”

Art touched the frames of her glasses self-consciously, knowing she didn’t need them to actually see. “Oh, um,” she hesitated, thinking about how this was the first time she had worn them in weeks, how they acted like a shield for her whenever she was feeling unsure of herself.

“Well, it’s fine, if not,” Josslyn quickly said, noticing her hesitancy. “I mean, they actually sort of suit you.”

Art blushed, “You think so?”

“Yeah, I mean, they make your eyes stand out even more, and I bet with the right outfit, you’ll be beating boys off left and right.” she winked. “Now, c’mon, let’s at least find you something you’ll look hot in.”

Art flushed at her comment, unsure what the image of her being hot was, exactly. 

“It-it’s not just boys,” Art admitted, feeling a heat rush into her cheeks.

“What do you mean?” Josslyn tilted her head.

“I mean I -” she bit her lip, looking down at her feet, unsure if she should say what she wanted to say next. “I don’t like just boys,” she glanced up at Josslyn through her eyelashes, “I like girls too,” she said in a small voice before pushing the nose of her glasses back up as she looked back down at her shoes.

Sure, she had mainly been interested in boys for most of her short life, but being a wolf, and seeing girls – complete strangers she would never know – she had just known; wolf’s didn’t care about stuff like that, they were fluid, as Kelly had put it once. But Josslyn wasn’t a wolf, and Art wasn’t sure how she’d react. 

“Oh,” Josslyn said, surprised. “Well, OK…” she trailed off and Art could feel the sweat on her palms, scared this might be too much, afraid that she was about to scare off her only female friend. “So you’ll be beating boys and girls off left and right. Now can we go?” 

Art looked up at her surprised, a feling of greengreengreen spread throughut and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she nodded. 

A while later, Art ended up with shopping bags full of items containing a few crop tops (which Art was sure she would have to sneak out in order to wear), some new shirts that she could wear out of the house, new pairs of jeans ranging from baggy to skinny, some skirts (a few which were almost too short -something else she’d have to try and sneak out in), and some nice dresses. 

Art reluctantly had to admit that the clothes Josslyn picked out were actually… nice. It was almost freeing, in a way to have new clothes that had been picked out with a girls input. She had never given much thought to her wardrobe, full of simple and plain clothes, some of which were more on the tomboy side or young side, given Robbie and Kelly would shop for her, unless she went shopping with Jesse or Elizabeth. 

After purchasing new clothes, they started going into the makeup stores. They picked out lipstick and foundation shades, got mascara and a eyelash curler, and a few other thing Art didn’t really know the function of. She had never worn makeup before, and Josslyn mentioned coming over to show her how to apply it. “Ill come over and help you. It’s a date, she winked. Art flushed at that, but she continued,  And if I’m not around, then you can just look it up on YouTube. There's practically a tutorial for everything on there.”

Eventually, they made their way to the food court. They wandered around, shopping bags in hand until they finally come to the fountain placed in the middle of the first floor. They took a seat on the ledge, a couple of salted pretzels in their hands as they set their shopping bags down on the tile floor at their feet. 

A beat of silence passed between them as they chewed and took in the sparse people that were walking around. Like in most places, the mall was dead with very few people walking around it. 

After a while Art found herself speaking first, “I’m sorry,”

“For what?”

“For  – that you guys broke up and all that… can I ask why?” 

“Oh. That.” She leaned back, looking up at the second level of the mall for a few seconds, pondering her response. “Well… to be honest, I should have seen it coming. We probably should have ended things a while ago. He started acting… distant this summer, and to be honest I’m not sure we had that much in common in the first place. I don’t even know if we really liked each other like that, you know? We sort of were better off as friends I think. I mean… whatever spark was there before just sort of… fizzled out, I guess.” she shrugged, “It happens.”

“Oh,” was all Art could think to say. Someone who makes your toes curl with passion, Josh’s voice played in her mind and she had to shake the thought away. 

“What about you?” Josslyn asked, taking a bite into her pretzel. 

“What about me, what?”

Josslyn rolled her eyes, “What about your breakup with you and lover boy?” 

“Oh, um,” Art swallowed, thinking. “I guess, it was sort of the same thing? There was no… spark,” she shrugged. He never touched me, she thought to herself and she had to swallow the lump in her throat.

Josslyn looked at her with concern, “Oh, hey. It’s all right. We don't need them, we have each other.” She scooted closer to Art and wrapped an arm around her, the scent of lavender and jasmine enveloped Art. she was surprised but also felt green, as she realized this was exactly what she needed – she blinked her tears away and tried to get her breathing under control.

“Do you – do you think you’ll ever be friends again?” Art asked, pulling away to look at her.

“With who? Josh?” She sounded surprised then waved it away, “I mean, yeah I guess. It was kind of like we went from dating to just friends, anyways, you know?”

“But you were – crying,” Art said in a low voice, “After it happened…”

Josslyn shrugged. “Yeah, I think Iwas just surprised it was actually happening. I’d gotten so comfortable I didn’t realize how miserable I was until after I had processed it all. Now I think…” she shook her head, “I don’t know. I guess I’m glad? I mean, who knows – maybe us breaking up was a blessing in disguise. I mean, if we hadn’t broken up then I never would be able to find whoever the love of my life actually is, you know?” 

“I… guess that makes sense,” Art responded thinking about her family and about mates. She wondered how it worked for humans, if the people they ended up with were because they were mates as well, or if they were just people who found each other and decided to try and make it work. 

“Anyways,” Josslyn sighed, “I’m sure we’ll be back to our normal friendly get-togethers in no time. Granted, it’ll probably just as friends now, of course, but hey, you can never have too many friends, right?” she shrugged. “I mean, unless we end up dating someone else…” she trailed off, giving Art a sideways glance, a teasing in her voice as she said, “Like, oh I dunno, someone who maybe we want to be more than just friends with?” She gave Art a knowing look, a smirk playing on her lips. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Art asked, startled that Josslyn was seeing right through her.

“Nothing, nothing. Never mind,” she waved it away, her smirk growing into a smile. “I’m just saying though , if something were to happen –between us friends, then you have my blessing.” 

And that- Art didn’t know what do with that, but she felt a bit...relieved? That her only female friend seemed to see right through her and wasn’t offended that Art may have been harboring feelings for the same guy they both once liked. “Oh. um, thanks, I guess.” she muttered, then said in a rush, “Although I still have no idea what you're talking about!” she said in a loud voice, although they both knew she was putting on airs. Josslyn just laughed, and they left it at that.

“Here,” Josslyn dug around in her purse for a bit until she pulled out something small hidden in her closed fist. “Open your hand,” she instructed. Art did as she was told and a shiny penny landed in her open palm. 

“What’s this for?”

“Some extra luck. Figured you could use it. Go ahead and make a wish.” Josslyn winked, then threw her own penny she held in the palm of her hand over her shoulder and into the fountain, where it landed with a plop!

Art looked at the penny in her hand, thinking about what to wish for, exactly, before she copied Josslyn and threw it backward where she heard it land with a small splash. She smiled at Josslyn who smiled back, and they both started to laugh. 

“C’mon, we still have some time left before the mall closes, and we haven't even gotten to shoes yet!” she exclaimed. 

A few clothes, shoes, and makeup trips later, and they were finally done. Art’s feet ached from so much walking – and maybe it was the dopamine from shopping, but she did feel a bit better about everything. She had a new friend who she was getting closer and closer to, and she and Josh were both single now…. She was relieved to not have to feel like she was being put second with Ethan, and it felt like things were looking up. 

***

It was nightfall by the time they were done and they were walking out with a few bags in hand, full of new clothes – most of which Josselyn had picked out for the both of them.

 It started raining outside and they walked out in the parking lot, attempting to find Josselyn’s car, when Art noticed a couple familiar faces. Across the way, she saw Josh and Ethan standing by Ethan’s car. It was late and most of the cars in the parking lot had gone, so it was just the two of them. 

Her eyes widened as she saw them, talking passionately about something. Neither of them had noticed the girls, and it was raining heavily now, so she couldn’t hear them over the sound of the wind and rain. 

What happened next made her stop in her tracks, as she stared wide-eyed. One moment they were talking, Ethan appeared to be yelling, and the next they were … they were…

They had been talking passionately, Josh’s arms gesturing around him and looked as if he was yelling at Ethan, and then-he had paused, looking at Ethan so intently it made her chest ache, and then Josh took Ethan’s face in his hands and…

“Art?” Josslyn asked. Her voice sounded far away, as Art’s heartbeat thudded in her chest and tears sprang to her eyes. 

One moment Josh and Ethan had been talking and the next Art saw them… kissing. In the rain. Josh and Ethan… her ex-boyfriend and her… Josh. Kissing. In the rain. 

She couldn’t feel her body. She was too shocked to move.

“Art? Hello?” Josslyn came to her side, an umbrella posed over them, waving a hand in front of her face. “What are you-” She turned to see what Art was staring at, the image of the two boys coming into focus before them.

Art saw Josh open his eyes and pull away. His gaze locked onto hers, and she knew in that moment what he was thinking, the words written clearly on his face as he stared back at her, wide-eyed: Oh shit.

She felt frozen in place, too shocked to move. Then Ethan turned and saw her, and panic was written all over his face. 

She had to move. 

She couldn’t be here.

Dropping the shopping bags she was holding in hand, she turned and ran, Josh and Josselyn both calling after her. 

***

She eventually made her way home. She thought about shifting and running home, but was worried about being spotted among the non-locals. She waited at a bus stop after calling Robbie and Kelly to pick her up. She was quiet the whole ride home and they didn’t press as she sat in the back of their SUV, drenched from the rain.

Once home, she took a hot shower and changed into a set of pajamas. She heard frantic knocking at the door and her dad’s voices drifted from downstairs as they answered it.

“It’s late, maybe you should come back tomorrow…” Robbie’s tone was short.

“Please! It’s important; I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t, it’s just, I mean… is she ok? I have to talk to her-” she could hear Josh’s voice, frantic and desperate. 

She took a deep breath, blinking away the tears that pricked the corners of her eyes. Even after everything, she still felt like she could never deny him what he wanted.

She put a robe on, tying it across her as she came down the steps to find Josh standing on their porch, the rain continuing to pour down behind him. His eyes widened when he saw her. “I can explain!” Were the first words out of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes. “Really now?” she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

“Please,” he tried, “can we talk about this?”

“What’s there to talk about? How you-?” She glanced at Robbie and Kelly, who were both listening curiously and intently. 

Kelly relented first. “Why don’t we give them a minute?” He said calmly. Robbie on the other hand, was more reluctant to leave her alone, with a boy no less, but Kelly somehow managed to drag him away. 

“C’mon then," she sighed, as they ascended the stairs, heading to her room.

“Door open!” Robbie yelled from downstairs in the living room. She rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she silently closed the door anyway. 

“Well?” She asked, turning to him. 

He looked away, actually sheepish for once. “I…” He started shaking his head. “Listen, it’s just – you’re not going to say anything, are you? About me and… you know.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about?!” She asked, offended. 

“Look, it’s just – he’s sort of freaking out right now, that maybe…and I know you’re mad, but it’s just – he doesn’t want people to know. Yet. About him. That’s what we started talking about that night when things didn’t… go how you wanted them to.” He glanced at her, a flush coloring his cheeks. 

“And you?” She asked, crossing her arms in front of her. “Since when were you – I mean, why didn’t you tell me?” She sighed, pinching her brows together. “I mean, when? When did you know you were… you know…” She waved a hand in his direction, as if that summed it all up.

“That I’m what, Princessa?” he asked, a bite in his tone, as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“That you’re… into guys, or whatever.” She rolled her eyes.

He crossed his arms in front of him, mirroring her. “I’m bi actually, not that it’s any of you’re business–”

“Not my business?! Are you freaking kidding me? We’re pack! Of course it’s my business… and its especially my business when you’re making moves on my-”

“You were broken up!”

“Oh, please.” she rolled her eyes. “It’s been one freaking day, Josh!”

He sighed, relenting a bit. “I - I know. That’s not-that wasn’t… we didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

She almost wanted to laugh in his face about it. Not want to hurt her? When he didn’t even know what it was exactly she was upset about?

“Who else knows?”

“No one,” he looked away. “Except now, I guess – us.” He muttered alluding to all of them in that parking lot. 

“Please don’t tell. He’s worried what his parents might think – I mean, no offense, but they didn’t really take kindly to your whole having two dads situation.” He rolled his eyes.

She swalled a lump in her throat, yet another thing he didn’t tell her about…

“And your dad?” She challenged, wondering if Rico knew about his son.

“I… Haven’t told him anything yet. Was sort of hoping this could stay between us. For now.”

She paused a bit, surprised. “Why?” She asked, “I mean, have you seen our pack? That stuff doesn’t really matter to us, you know?”

He looked away. “That’s diferent.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, with my dad, it’s just… different. Sure our whole pack is… like that, and I know no one really cares about that stuff in our family, but… it’s just different when it’s, well, when it’s your kid, you know? I just-I don’t know if I’m ready for him to… look at me differently.”

She searched his eyes looking for something, remembering how she had felt just a few hours earlier – had it only been a few hours? - when she had told Josslyn she didn’t like just boys. She could understand what Josh was saying, then, not wanting to lose that normalcy. 

Finally, she nodded. “All right,” she said, “Still, you could have told me… Why didn’t you tell me?” Her tone softened, as she sank and sat on her bed. 

“I… I didn’t really know, myself. It’s… complicated.”

“What happened, exactly? I mean, why-why did it have to be him?” She whined.

He glanced at her, giving her a sad look, and shrugged. “What can I say, Princessa? You have good taste.” He tried smiling at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“All right,” He sighed then came to join her sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What happened was…”

Chapter Text

It was a few months ago, after one of of Ethan’s Dates with Art. They had been having dates, just the two of them, here and there. Ethan had known that she’d been hinting at wanting something… more. More than he was willing or comfortable to give. Ethan had come to Josh for advise, but had been cagey about the whole thing. They ended up texting and talking when the girls weren’t around. Somehow they started to get.. closer. 

“What is is it you don’t like about her exactly?” Josh asked him once, after he told her how one their dates had gone, and how he had freaked out about it. “I mean, it sounds like shes’s practically throwing herself at you. You seem fine when we’re together…”

“It’s not that,” Ethan shook his head. “I mean, she’s great, and I did like her-I do like her… I just…” he shrugged, “I don’t know. There’s no… spark. No, heat, no-” He was eyeing Josh now, his gaze flitting to his lips before he quickly looked away, swallowing. “Connection,” he finished, blushing faintly.

Josh remembered what he had said to Art, someone who makes your toes curl, he tried to put that moment out of his mind; the tension he had felt as she stared up at him with those green, green eyes… he tried to forget about that moment, knowing nothing would ever come of it. She doesn’t see you that way, he told himself over and over again.

Not to mention here he was, with her boyfriend… and there was… something happening here. He didn’t know what, and a part of him felt guilty for it. He looked away, trying to ignore the tension that was brewing between them, like static before lightning struck. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” 

They started to get closer and their friend group was hanging out more, going on their double dates, and throughout that time Ethan opened up more to Josh. Josh had started to feel a kind of connection with Ethan, where they would tell each other things while their girlfriends chatted. They would roughhouse together – like boys usually did – until it started to feel like something … more. 

Josh remembered that day, in front of the Bennett-house – his hand on Ethan’s body, warm and hard underneath the palm of his hand, as his shirt rode up to expose his stomach, Josh tried to cover up his reaction, the surprise he felt at feeling something so… different, and he quickly took Ethan down into the grass. They lay there a moment, their breathing heavy, staring at each other – tension brewing between them, as they had their … moment. 

They heard the girls giggling at something, and the moment shattered. They quickly jumped apart, avoiding each other’s gazes. They avoided that conversation then, though they both knew that something had happened … something that changed the way they looked at each other. Like they knew what the other one was hiding underneath their facade. 

***

A few awkward weeks passed, and then came the night Ethan was on another date with Art. Josh knew Art by then; she was like an open book to him, and he knew what she wanted that night—for it to be… special. Josh kept thinking about it, wondering if Ethan would go along with it—if he had started to like her back more in the way that she deserved. He wondered what Ethan’s hands would feel like on her (his) body-

Josh shook his head as he tried to get the images out of his mind, but they kept coming to his mind of the both of them—images that made his chest churn. Were they on her bed? Was he kissing her? How far had they gotten…? Jealousy curdled it’s way into his chest as images haunted him, and he couldn’t tell which of them he was jealous of, and that thought scared him. 

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and started to text Art. “How’s the make-out session going?” he sent, hoping it’d be enough of a distraction so they would stop whatever it was they were doing. 

His heart leaped into his throat when his phone buzzed, thinking it was from her. But then he saw Ethan’s name, and his stomach dropped. 

Ethan: We need to talk. There’s something I should tell you.

Josh: Like what? Josh had typed, though he already knew.

Ethan: Things. Personal things.

Josh: Aren’t you with Princessa? Did something happen?

Ethan: Just—we need to talk. Please?

Josh: Sure. Come over.

Josh looked at their messages and went to continue the text conversation he was having at the same time with Art, repeating what Ethan had told him in his text, telling himself he was just making sure she was alright. 

Ethan came over and stood, looking frantic as he fidgeted with his hands, on Josh’s porch.

“Is there… someplace private? Where we can talk?”

Josh looked out at the treeline, then back at the house. It was dark out now, with the only light coming from the moon and stars and scarce fireflies. “Follow me,” he said, and they started walking. They walked a little ways past the treeline but didn’t go in too far. Given the past feral wolves, Josh didn’t quite trust going where he couldn’t see his house in the dark.

“You wanted to tell me… personal things?”

Ethan sighed, “I… yeah.”

“Did something happen with you and… between the two of you?“ He restated, unable to say Art’s name to him, not wanting to make things worse. 

“Well, sort of – I mean, she just… She seemed like she wanted more and I – you know… I don’t know if I can… do that.”

Josh was quiet for a while. “Then why are you… with her?”

Ethan’s eyes widened at that, as if he were panicking.“I like her! I do – she’s a good friend and so are you and … I just … it’s different with you, it’s-” He leaned forward, closer to Josh, and reached out, as if to touch him, but then –

“Maybe you should be telling her this instead of me.” Josh glanced away, sidestepping his advances. 

Ethan dropped his arm and deflated. He sighed in defeat and looked down at the ground, then away. “I know,” he muttered. “It’s just that – if i have a girlfriend, then –then no one will suspect…”

“What if she gets hurt?” Josh countered, “She really likes you.” He felt the guilt rising within him, because why did he have to like him too, of all people? He had already given up on the idea of liking Art. They were just friends, and they would stay that way. He didn’t even know he could have these feelings for another guy, and the spark was dying out between him and Josslsyn. It was a twisted web, and he didn’t know, how to escape it. 

“And I like her too! But if anyone suspects… if my parents find out –”

“Maybe you should think about someone other than yourself for once!” Josh snapped, annoyed.

“I – I thought you liked me.“ Ethan answered in a small voice, as he looked at him with wide puppy-dog eyes that were glistening over and practically pouting.

Josh felt a pang in his chest at that and sighed, “I… I do. And that’s the problem,” Josh sighed before he turned and walked away. Before he went past the treeline back to his house, he called back over his shoulder, “You need to tell her.”

‘“I will. I just need more time.” Ethan muttered. 

Josh didn’t know what to do with that – with a secret that nobody knew but him – and he didn’t know what to do with all these twisted feelings he was having, so he continued on as normal. He debated on what to tell Art, but knew it wasn’t his place.

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready,” he had told her, and he left it at that, hoping it would be enough. He tried to keep his distance between the both of them while they worked things out. But as the senior year started back up, as he saw Ethan in the halls and around the school campus, he couldn’t pretend anymore. He broke up with Josslyn, knowing the feelings he once had for her had fizzled out a long time ago. 

Then came the night of Art and Ethan’s most recent date. Something happened, and afterward Josh received a few frantic texts and phone calls from Ethan. He answered one of the calls, and Ethan’s frantic voice, a few octaves higher than normal, blasted through the speaker: “She-she-” He sniffled, “She broke up with me! I– I don’t know what to do! My parents – how will I explain and what if – what if something happens and she tells people, I mean, does she know? What if she figures out that I-that I’m-?”

“First of all, calm down,” Josh instructed, his mind racing as he tried to understand what Ethan was telling him. She broke up with me, racing through his mind. Art had broken up with him? He was taken aback by this revelation, and wasn’t sure what to feel – a mixture of relief, confusion, and guilt overtook his senses.

“Let’s just – we can talk this out, okay?” He said in a calming voice.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, just tomorrow, okay? We’ll go somewhere and… talk it out,” he offered. 

***

They made plans for the next day to see each other, where Ethan could tell him everything in person. He wanted to talk, and Josh wasn’t sure what to make of that. He thought about reaching out to Art, to make sure was okay, but another part of him was… eager to see Ethan. The closer they got the more feelings had started to rise up in him. He would feel a spark every time their arms brushed; he had started looking for excuses to touch him, ever since they had rough housed at the Bennett house one day, his hand landing on Ethan’s bare chest – sending a flush through him; and he’d get more excited to see him and Art than to see Josslyn. Which was why he had broken up with her in the first place – it wasn’t fair to her if he no longer liked her in that way, and only as a friend. 

Josh’s feelings and thoughts were racing, and he was on edge, the adrenaline racing through him. Art and Ethan weren’t dating anymore, and he didn’t have a girlfriend anymore, and it was … freeing.

He had arrived at Ethan’s who was waiting for him outside of his house. The clouds were gathering overhead now. “Not here,” Ethan said, and they both managed to get into Ethan’s car.  Ethan suggested they go somewhere neutral, out of the city, maybe where no one would see them. They started driving with no real destination in mind, and Ethan told him everything. 

How they were on a date, how Art accused him of not telling her things –he was still a bit mad at Josh for telling her that, and Josh couldn’t really blame him for it. Ethan told him how she had broken up with him. 

“She said she didn’t think it was working anymore and… and she’s right. I mean,I can’t blame her I mean – what with whatever it is that… that we’re doing, here you know?” he stopped and looked over at Josh, the tension rising. “What are we doing here, exactly, Josh?” he said, his eyes glistening as the first few drops of rain started pouring down around them.

Josh swallowed, “Pull over,” was all he said as he tried to think of an answer.

Ethan sighed, going back to driving, glancing at him every now and then. He eventually pulled into the mall parking lot. Most of the cars were gone now, and the rain was pouring, the only sound in the car the drip of the water landing on the roof. Josh opened the door and got out, going around the car, with Ethan following suit as rain soaked them.

Josh started pacing as he tried to think about the events and the people in front of him. Ethan’s question. Ethan was looking at him now, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion, and eventually he asked again, “What are we doing, Josh?” He asked, his voice low but loud enough to be heard over the rain. 

Josh paused then, looking up to start at him, then he began shouting—screaming over the rain, his confusion and rage flowing through him, fists at his sides. “I don’t know!” he exclaimed, everything pouring out of him. “You date my friend, Ethan and then you say you don’t even like her! And now this- this – whatever this is-” he gestured between them, “I just… you tell me! I broke up with my girlfriend for you! And it’s fucking with my head! Every time I’m around you I just-just-! I get excited seeing you, and touching you and – fuck.” he shouted, the sound swallowed by the rain. He was panting now, trying to catch his breath. He took a step closer to Ethan, then another until he was right in from of him. Josh searched his eyes, “I know you feel it too,” his voice was almost a whisper, his breath on Ethan’s face.

Ethan’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Josh’s lips, before licking his own. “I… I’m scared,” he said in a small voice.

Josh raised his voice then, “You think I’m not fucking scared? I don’t know what this even is! And I don’t want to hurt anyone and if we-if we keep doing whatever this is, someone is going to get hurt.”

Ethan’s head drooped, “I know… but…I don’t know what else to do,” Ethan’s voice cracked as he continued to look down, staring at the puddle that was forming between them. 

Josh didn’t know what to do either. And now they were arguing and the rain was pouring – and it was dramatic and romantic – and without thinking Josh leaned forward, half to shut him up, and half because he wanted to –and took Ethan’s face in his hands and kissed him. Hard. As the rain poured down around them, all sound escaping them, here in the middle of a parking lot with no one around but them. He felt Ethan kiss him back then, his hand coming to cup Josh’s cheek as they collided like thunder.  No one was around. No one was supposed to be around – until he opened his eyes and saw – he saw her. Looking at them.

His heart dropped, and he froze as he saw Art standing there, staring at them in surprise. 

She had seen them. 

Fuck, he thought to himself. 

She started running, and he called after her, the storm drowning out his voice. 

Ethan noticed and began to panic. “Oh no, oh no, ohno ohno ohno,” Ethan shook in the car on the ride back as Josh tried to calm him, his own heart beating in his chest. “What if she tells someone?” Ehan kept saying.

Josh grit his teeth, his own worries vastly different. 

“She won’t,” he assured him

“How do you know?”

“Because I know her. She wouldn’t do that. I just… let me talk to her first.”

“If my parents find out-”

“I’ll take care of it,” he told Ethan, as he was dropped off at this house, before he made his way to Art’s house, wanting, needing to explain. He could not shake the look on her face from his mind: surprise and devastation. The guilt clawed at him.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said as he stepped out of the car before closing the door, but they both knew that was a lie. 

Chapter Text

That was when Josh rushed over to Art’s house, eager to try and explain himself to her. She sat on her bed, listening to him tell his side of the story, about how Ethan had opened up to him about his sexuality and his parents, and how they had started developing feelings for each other, all the while Josh insisted they never wanted to hurt her or Josslyn, for that matter. 

Art sat silent, her arms crossed across her chest as she tried to process everything he said; how all the puzzle pieces started falling into place. Why Josh had been so distant over the summer, why Ethan never touched her when she asked him to. Why it always felt like he only wanted to be with her in public: so he wouldn’t be found out and outted. 

She sighed, shaking her head – not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. Eventually, shes said, “I should have known. I mean he never-” she sighed, figuring with how close they were, Ethan had probably told Josh more about their relationship than she had realized. “He never touched me,” she said in a small voice. “He never initiated anything…” 

It was getting late, and she was getting delirious, where everything just seemed laughable now. What were the odds? The two boys she liked getting together? Of course, that was just her luck. She let out a small chuckle, causing Josh to jump in surprise, which only spurred her laughter on. She tried to speak through it, trying to explain how laughable her situation seemed.

She was crying now, and she stopped to wipe the tears and catch her breath. Josh was looking at her sadly, “It’s not that he didn’t like you…” 

“Don’t,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing at him. He reached out to her, but she quickly pulled away, going to sit down on her bed as she tried to collect herself. Josh sighed and eventually came to sit next to her. 

He looked over at her, “I really didn’t mean for this to happen. Or to hurt you…” he said, his eyes downcast.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I know,” she said, and she meant it. 

“You won’t tell, right? About me and… him…”

“No,” she shook her head. “I won’t tell.” She turned to face him then. “But just so you know…while I may have just been a trophy to parade around in public, I think being someone’s secret might hurt even more.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

“Just,” she shook her head. “Be careful with him, okay?” 

He nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, giving her a small smile. 

“Can I just ask-why him?”

Josh stared at her for a long while before shrugging, “Who knows? I guess we just had more in common than we thought.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” he swallowed, looking away. “Like, how I guess we both want something we can’t have.” he said in such a low voice, that Art wouldn’t have been able to make it out if not for her wolf hearing. 

Art started at him, stunned and confused.

“What do you mea-”

He shook his head, “Never mind. Forget I said that.”

Art nodded slowly, wanting to push for more but not wanting to cross the line. 

“What about Josslyn?” she asked, not sure what she should say when Josslyn asked her about what had happened, knowing that she had seen the two of them together as well. 

Josh shrugged. “I guess we’ll just hope we can trust her.”

Art smiled. “I’d like to think she’s a good person like that.” Josh nodded, and she gave him a little punch to the shoulder. “No wonder you liked her.”

He smiled brightly at her, showing off his teeth. “What can I say, Princessa? I have good taste.” He laughed, almost mirroring his previous response. She laughed alongside him. 

***

Art didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, but she woke up to many missed messages and phone calls from Josslyn, so it wasn’t a surprise when she heard frantic knocking a few moments later. It was like déjà vu, the events of the day before came flashing to her mind and the reality of what happened struck her. She wasn’t sure if she felt worse or better from just the day before – had it really been just a few hours ago? 

Slowly, she got up and answered the door to find Josslyn standing there. “Finally!” Josslyn exclaimed. “Why haven’t you picked up?! “I’ve been trying all night after you ran off like that – I had to find out from Josh, of all people, that you actually got home safe.”

“Sorry,” Art said in a low voice, an overwhelming feeling of misery consuming her once more as she remembered last nights events. “Did…. did he tell you about… what happened?” she asked hesitantly. 

Josslyn sighed, looking away, “A little,” she admitted. “ I guess I should have seen it coming, you know? I feel so stupid…”

Art nodded, feeling the exact same way. “Yeah… same here.”

Josslyn arched an eyebrow at her. “You want to talk about it?”A

Art gave her a small smile. “Might help,” she admitted. 

Once they were in her bedroom, Josslyn sat on Art’s bed and listened as Art told her about how Josh had been distant with her, how Ethan always avoided her – and when the boys had started developing feelings for each other. 

Josslyn just shook her head. “Boys,” she muttered. “Well, either way, they both suck for doing that to us. But I guess that’s nothing new. I’m sure by now they both have sucked each others-”

“Joss!” Art exclaimed, astonished by her reaction.

Josslyn gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Guess I’m still a little pissed off about the whole thing.”

Art nodded. “I get that,”

“So, since the boys have each other, I guess that just leaves us.” Josslyn eyed her wearily, keeping a safe distance between them as she sat on the bed. “Have you ever… with a girl?” she asked sheepishly.

Art shook her head.

“Oh..” she trailed of then after a moment, “So, like how do you… know?” Art paused, their eyes colliding as Josslyn added, “That you, you know… like girls?” The conversation Art had had just a few hours ago came back to Art’s mind. 

I don’t like just boys. I like girls too.

“I… I’m not sure. They just- I mean haven’t you noticed pretty girls before?” 
“I’m looking at one, right now,” Josslyn winked at her causing Art to blush a deep scarlet as she looked up at her in surprise. Jossyln pushed her playfully, “Relax, Bennett. I’m messing with you. Not that you aren’t pretty, of course.” Art deflated a bit at that but Josslyn smiled at her as Art rolled her eyes. 

 “Oh,” was all Art could think to say. She hadn’t really thought of Josslyn in that way, but then again she never thought about Josh liking Ethan in that way, either.

Josslyn gave a small laugh, “Although I  guess I never really thought about it.”

“Do you… want to give it a try?” she asked, surprising herself.

Josslyn looked over at her in surprise. “Really?’” she asked and Art nodded, fidgeting with her hands.

Josslyn looked away, off in the distance, humming to herself as she thought it over.

Art turned on the bed, toward her, one knee on the mattress, her other leg swinging off the edge. “Ive never tried anything with a girl either, if it makes you feel better.”

She laughed at that. “All right,” she said. 

Slowly, Josslyn turned towards her. Art could hear both of their heartbeats racing as Josslyn reached up and cupped Art’s cheek before slowly closing her eyes. They both leaned forward, and their lips touched briefly. It only lasted a few seconds before Josslyn pulled away, and they looked at each other, blinking rapidly as they attempted to process what they had just done.

“That wasn’t…” Josslyn’s eyebrows knit together in confusion before she let out a defeated sigh, “What I thought it would be…” she finished, looking down at her lap, avoiding Art’s gaze.

Art swallowed, looking away. “Oh,” she said, wondering if she had done something wrong. They sat in awkward silence for a while. 

Suddenly, Jossyln turned to Art, her eyes were wide as she exclaimed, “I’m sorry!”

Art jumped a little at the loudness of her voice, taken aback. “For what?” she started to laugh.

“I just – I mean, I was hoping we could…” She let the implication land, “But I just… don’t feel that way.”

Art nodded. “I understand,” she said kindly. 

“I tried, I really did-” she said frantically. “I mean, maybe we just need to try again. I do really like you, I mean you’re nice and sweet and…” she leaned forward and kissed Art again, as Art stared wide-eyed and unmoving before Jossyln quickly pulled away once more.

“Anything?” Art said after a few moments.

Josslyn sighed, deflated and shook her head. 

“It’s all right, really,” Art shrugged. “You can’t help how you feel.” She thought back to Ethan and Josh, but quickly pushed those thoughts away. 

“I know, but-” Art couldn’t help it then. the corners of her mouth tugged upward, and she started laughing. 

“It’s alright, really,” she said in between laughs. “Josslyn… it’s okay that you’re not… you know. I think you’re the only person I know to ever be upset that they weren’t into the same gender,” she laughed. Josslyn stared at her as if she was insane before slowly laughing alongside her as they flopped back on to the mattress.

“I guess you’re right,” she said after a few minutes. “I guess it’s true, then,” she said, sobering up.

“What’s that?” Art sat back up, looking down at Josslyn. 

Josslyn shrugged. “That, you know.. that it’s not a choice. Isn’t that what everyone says?”

“I mean, sometimes you can’t help who love, right?’” she said, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers, lost in thought. Art thought about what she said. She thought about mates, and choices, and she wondered about who decided such things…

She thought about Josh, her heart racing a bit at the thought of him. “Yeah, I guess it’s not a choice.” 

Josslyn sighed and sat up, drawing Art’s attention back to her. “Well, if it’s any consolation,” she looked at Art then, dropping her hands and placing her palm on one of Art’s legs. “If it was a choice, and I did like girls, then out of all the girls I know, I’d choose you. But just to be clear, I’m pretty sure I don’t like girls in that way. No offense.” She gave her an apologetic look. “So, if it’s all right with you, maybe you can settle for me as just a friend?” she asked, her tone light and hopeful.

Art smiled at her. “I’d like that,” she said. 

They flopped back on her bed once more and stared up at the ceiling. At one point, Josslyn reached over and grabbed Art’s hand, their fingers interlocking as their hands lay between them. “It’s too bad I’m not into girls like you are. I could have borrowed all of my girlfriend’s cute clothes, and shoes, and makeup and stuff!” she whined as Art laughed at her, the gentle squeeze of her hand not going unnoticed. 

Chapter Text

The next day, after Josslyn went home, Art was left to face Robbie and Kelly. They had been confused after Josh had left, and they were even more surprised when Josslyn had come over. She wondered how much of her conversations they had been listening in on. They had been good at that though, about tuning her and her friends out when they were over, which she had appreciated. They had once told her that she had the right to her privacy, but that it was also a privilege and could be taken away if she ever gave them reason not to trust her. 

She knew they’d find out eventually—most likely the whole pack had known by now that something was up, the way things had been going on.

She made her way downstairs, where Kelly and Robbie eyed her wearily as Kelly made his way around the kitchen to make breakfast while Robbie sat at the dining table. 

She remembered her conversation with them the other night after Josh had left. Robbie looked irritated, “Did he do something to you? Did he hurt you? Want me to take care of him? I’ll call Rico and he’ll make sure to make his life a living hell-”

Kelly looked amused, rolling his eyes at Robbie’s overreaction. “What your father means to say is, is everything all right?” She nodded.

“Everything’s fine, it was just a… misunderstanding,” she said, trying to keep her heart steady so they didn’t hear the lie. Not that it was a lie, exactly and they had left it at that. 

“You want to talk about it?” Kelly broke the silence, his back to them as he cooked on the stovetop. 

“Do I have to?” She muttered as she came to sit across from Robbie at the table. 

“Might help.” Kelly turned to her, winking. She rolled her eyes. 

Robbie gave her a tight smile, “You know you can come to us with anything, right?” His voice was gentle, and filled with so much love and affection she almost started crying. 

She gave him a small smile and nodded as she subconsciously touched the frames of her glasses, the thread of her tether pulling between her and Robbie, a steady thread of DaughterLoveFamily, and packpackpack; she could feel his worry about her, and she flinched internally with guilt.

“How about you tell us about what happened when you’re ready?” Kelly offered, giving her a loving but knowing look.

She looked between the two of them, knowing he was giving her an easy way out. She gave a small nod, knowing that wouldn’t be the end of it. But that was enough for now.

“I will,” she swallowed, “I just... need some time.” 

“Is this about that boyfriend of yours?” Robbie narrowed his eyes, referring to Ethan.

“Ex-boyfriend,” Art muttered, correcting him, her cheeks flushing. 

Robbie blinked in surprise, then exchanged a look with Kelly. “Oh. Well, still, you just say the word and we’ll break his-”

“What your father means to say is,” Kelly said gently as he lowered a hand to Robbie’s shoulder. “We’re sorry it didn’t work out between you two.” Art sighed, relaxing a little. Then Kelly narrowed his eyes and said, “But you say the word, and we will make his life a living hell.” He winked as she gaped at him. 

***

Life continued on as normal as she continued to avoid Josh and Ethan, and resolutely ignored them when she saw them together. She started to spend more time with Josslyn, who kept mentioning college.

“Just think about it! You can probably get into some fancy art school or something,” She waved her off when Art gave her a scandalized look, “Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen your sketches. You’re not as sneaky as you think you are, Bennett. Anyway, have you even thought about what you’re going to do after school?” They were walking the halls at school and Josslyn had been going on and on about going to college in a different state. 

Since she had been avoiding Josh, she had started to go up to Elizabeth’s studio more and more, where they both pursued their art together in a comfortable space. Art had never really thought about the after of high school; she didn’t really think she had to, given the pack finances. But after Josslyn had mentioned it, she had gone to see some of the advisors at the school, who had given her flyers for colleges she could look into. Most of them were out of state, either in California or New York. She tried to imagine living in such a big city, so far away from the pack, and wondered what it would be like. If the noise would be too loud for her wolf ears, if it would be too crowded, but still... something tugged at her, her curiosity growing from it. She had seen so little of the world. Tucked away in a small town in the middle of nowhere. 

She hadn’t considered it before, not wanting to leave Josh or the pack behind, but things were changing. And she knew it wasn’t as if she could never come back – she remembered hearing how Carter had gone to the college in a town that was a few hours drive away – and he had returned.

She stopped in her tracks suddenly as she saw Josh talking to Ethan in the hallway; she had started to notice the little things they did whenever they were around each other—the casual glances and brushes of hands between Josh and Ethan, how they tried to hide it. How had she not noticed it before? Josh eventually caught her eye and pulled away, a guilty expression crossing his face. She glanced away. 

After school, she didn’t realize where she was going until it was too late.

She ended up at Josh’s house, where the boys were sitting outside, Josh leaned against a tree as Ethan leaned forward, eagerly saying something to him – eventually he reached out and held Josh’s hand. They spotted her, and Josh jumped up quickly, their hands falling away from each other.

“Oh,” she said lamely. 

“Hey,” they both started simultaneously. 

“I should go,” Ethan said, glancing between the two of them. “Nice to see you again, Art.” he said, his tone apologetic. It was all she could do but nod.

“I… I tried texting you, but…” Josh said apologetically. and he had; She had been avoiding him, not sure she could handle this – whatever this was – this thing that was going on between not just them, but everyone involved.

“Yeah, sorry, I’ve been busy.” She shrugged, giving a vague excuse

He knew her better than that, though – he arched an eyebrow, “Doing?” he challenged. 

She swallowed, thinking. “I…” She hesitated. “I’ve been helping out at the shop. At Gordo’s,” she said, knowing this was plausible–Josh usually stayed away from the shop, saying he got enough of his parents at home, and everyone knew he was just as bad with cars as Robbie was. 

“Oh?” He sounded surprised. And for once, she was glad he wasn’t a wolf, glad he couldn’t hear the skip in her heartbeat from the lie she was telling him. 

“Yeah, I… I figured I would get some experience for college transcripts.” She winced, not sure if it was a good idea to bring up the idea of going to college. The only person she has discussed it with so far has been Joshlyn. 

“College?” He asked, confused. 

She nodded, “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. About going,” she hesitated, then suddenly, “Not that I think I might get in anywhere fancy or anything, I just thought I’d give it a shot,” she shrugged, looking down. 

She glanced up at him after a beat of silence, and he smiled sadly at her. “You’ll get in,” he said, with so much ease and confidence that it was as if he was stating the sky was blue. 

“What about you?” She asked quietly

He shook his head, shrugging, “Nah. That smart-people-stuff isn’t for me. Besides everything-” he paused, considering her for a second, before adding, “everyone I know is here.”

She nodded. “Oh,” was all she could think to say.

He gave her a small smirk, ”So, Gordo’s, huh?”

She shrugged. “It’s a start.”

He nodded as the wind picked up, a light breeze surrounding them that toused their hair, and a comfortable silence settled over them like a warm blanket.

“I missed you.” He finally said in a small voice. 

She gave him an answering smile, though it quivered, and hoped it was enough. 

***

“I want to work with you,” she stated matter of factly, as she stood in front of the office at the Bennett pack house. Gordo stood with his arms crossed, arching an eyebrow at her, while Ox glanced between them from where he sat behind the desk.

“What?” Gordo scowled.

“I want to work at the shop, can’t I?” She asked, her eyes flitting to her Alpha. 

“If you’re anything like your father when it comes to cars, then no.” Gordo grumbled.

She rolled her eyes. “I think I know how to not set things on fire,” she challenged.

Gordo grunted.

“Why do you want to work there, all of a sudden?” Ox asked gently, his tone curious instead of accusatory, which she was thankful for. 

She shrugged. “I just… thought it would be good for me. You know, I could get experience and stuff.” She looked down at the ground, hoping her heart wouldn’t betray her – what she was saying was mostly true. Even though the real reason was because she didn’t want Josh to find out she lied about it. She also figured it was a good distraction that would keep her busy enough to avoid seeing Josh and Ethan. 

“Why not? Could be good for her, Gordo,” Ox gave a small smile. “You can teach her a thing or two. I was about her age when I started working for you, younger even.”

Mark stood next to Gordo, their shoulders brushing. “Ox is right. And you could get the shop ready for the next generation,” He trailed his hand down Gordo’s arm, resting above the stump there, his voice taking on a dreamy tone, “then you can retire and we can…” Ox cleared his throat, cutting him off, as Mark looked at Gordo with stars in his eyes. Mark glanced at Ox, then at Art, before taking a step back, letting his arm drop to the side before bringing it up to cover his secret smile. 

“The shop is no place for a little girl,” Gordo grumbled.

“You guys used to bring me there all the time. I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe she can take over Robbie’s job.” Ox smiled, winking at Gordo. 

“I don’t think he’d like that very much,” Mark teased. 

“I know cars, you taught me. Let me just help out, here and there. It will be good for-” college, she thought, “experience and stuff.” she blushed, looking down at the floor as she scuffed her shoe. 

“Fine. But if you set anything on fire, you are banned from ever entering the shop again, you got that?” Gordo said, pointing a finger at her. She nodded. “Good. You start tomorrow. Fucking werewolves,” he muttered, as he walked away, Mark trailing after him.

***

She did not light any cars on fire. Although she did cause a firewall (whatever that was) to appear on the computer, a bunch of pop-up ads were assaulting their eyes, some of them not very work-friendly. “What did you do?” Robbie asked her as he hurriedly tried to close out everything, which only made it worse as even more graphic pictures took their place and soon embarrassing sounds were emitting from the speakers. Robbie yelped at the sound as he scrambled to fix everything, his face turning a deep scarlet.

She had only touched it for a few minutes when he left her alone. Unlike Robbie, she wasn’t the best when it came to computers; there were too many what-if’s and hidden things in the background, but cars, she understood, were straightforward, and they told you what was wrong with them. 

“Maybe you should...” He trailed off as a loud moaning noise came from the speaker.

Before she could move, Rico came up behind them, along with Chris and Tanner, as they came to see what all the commotion was about.

“What the hell, lobito? No, fair, why don’t I get to watch porn at work?” Rico whined. 

“Uh, can we do that now?” Tanner asked.

“I don’t know that I want to,” Chris chimed in as he squinted at the computer screen. “You guys are into some weird stuff.”

“It’s not me!“ Robbie protested.

“Uh-huh, sure, it’s not Lobito. That ace boy of yours is just not cutting it for you anymore.” Rico winked. 

Robbie sputtered in slight outrage as he turned an even deeper shade of scarlet.

Gordo stood with his arms crossed, watching the guys as they continued to make fun of Robbie. He rolled his eyes at them, then glanced over at Art. “Ox is going to show you the ropes, okay?” He told her, and she nodded as she backed away from the images on the computer, feeling her own cheeks become flush. 

“This way,” Ox called to her from where he stood in front of the door to the garage, and she followed him. He handed her the diagnostic tool and started showing her how to use it before moving on to open the hood of a car and show her the engine parts. 

Her wolf hearing picked up the conversation still happening in the other room. 

“Get back to work; I don’t pay you guys to sit around and jack off all day,” Gordo grumbled. 

“Do you even pay us at all?” Robbie muttered. She heard what sounded like a loud thwack and then an, “Ow!” 

Eventually, the shop boys came into the garage, joining them. 

Chris smiled at her as he leaned an arm on Tanner’s shoulder. “Start a fire yet?”

“That was one time!” Robbie yelled from the office, his wolf hearing and also picking up what they were saying.

The others laughed at him. 

“He’s not going to set the computer on fire, is he? Cause, not gonna lie, that would be awesome to see,” Tanner said, rubbing his chin and thinking. 

Rico rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ‘cause that’s what we need right now. More useless things to spend money on. What we really need to invest in is one of those posters we can stare at all day. You know the one—with the supermodels and their big—” He stopped then, looking at Art as if he just remembered that she was there. 

She arched an eyebrow at him. 

“No shop talk!” Robbie exclaimed as they looked at her.

“Seriously, dude, there is a lady present,” Chris mocked him.

“Huh, it is kind of weird when there’s a girl here,” Rico said as he reached up to rub the back of his head. 

“Then maybe you shouldn’t say it,” Ox stated, glancing at him. 

“Oh, come on, alfa. First, I have to watch what I say around Bambi, and now here too?!”

Art had to hold back from rolling her eyes.

“I don’t see how what he says here is any different from what he usually says,” Tanner pointed out. 

Gordo snorted, “True. Doesn’t matter where he is, he’ll still say the same stupid stuff.”

Rico smiled smugly, “Thank yo-hey!”

“Anyway, Rico, when’s that boy of yours going to stop by?” Chris asked. 

“What the hell are you talking about? He never stops by,”

“Well, sure not before, but now that his girl is here –” Chris winked as Tanner made oohing sounds.

“I’m not his girl,” Art muttered, rolling her eyes as she scowled.

“Not yet, you aren’t,” Chris pointed out. “Just wait for the mystical moon magic to hit-”

Rico smacked him upside the head, then looked between him and Art, giving her an odd look that was a cross between mortified and skeptical. He pointed a finger at her, “If he tries anything with you, you come to me, you got that, mija? Mi hijo esta loco if he thinks he can-” He continued to rant on in Spanish as he stormed off, “And use protection!” He shouted as an afterthought, as he continued to rant about the whole thing. "Kids, man, what the hell were we thinking? I swear this shit doesn't get any easier.” Chris and Tanner continued to snicker behind his back.

“I’m telling you, mystical moon magic, man,” Chris said, shaking his head. 

“Think we’ll get more of those mini muffins again?” Tanner asked hopefully.

Art resolutely ignored them.

Chapter Text

Art continued to work at the shop, trying to avoid Josh and Ethan as she started to see them together more and more. She was able to avoid them at school, getting to the cafeteria early and leaving early before they arrived. They would catch her eye in the hallway and she’d nod at them before going the opposite way. 

Slowly, she started to notice the two of them begin to drift apart. They were together less and less, and when they were together, there was a noticeable distance between them, but she continued to leave it alone. It wasn’t her business. Not anymore. After a while she started to see the thread between them slowly unravel, but she wasn’t sure if they would be able to fix it or not. 

She saw it in the way Ethan nervously eyed their surroundings whenever he was together with Josh, and in the way Josh looked at her sometimes—the way he felt blue around her—but she couldn’t figure out why. She thought maybe it was because he felt guilty about being with Ethan instead of her, but there was a part of her that thought maybe there was something more to it. She would catch him watching her sometimes when he thought she wasn’t looking, and the expression there – it was as if he was looking at something that was just out of his reach. 

She continued to use her new job at the garage as an excuse to avoid Josh, but he was starting to catch on. “You’re avoiding me.” He accused her one day, after showing up to the shop, something he rarely did. He usually avoided the garage since Rico worked there, and since he wasn’t all that good with cars.

“No, I’m just busy,” she told him as she walked around the office before she made her way back to the car bay. 

“Sure you are, Princessa. What with all the cars that need fixing? Not even my dad is this busy,” he rolled his eyes.

She sighed. “What do you want?”

“Nothing! It’s just been a minute. Do I really need a reason to want to see my friend?” 

“Don’t you have your boyfriend to entertain you?” She asked innocently, but she saw him wince at that. She knew she shouldn’t, but she asked anyway, in a gentle voice. “Did something happen between you two?” 

“No, nothing happened. It’s just… we’re figuring things out, that’s all.”

“Josh-” She started, but her voice was drowned out as the guys came in, talking about something or other, their voices raising over each other. 

“Oy, mijo.” Rico said once he spotted him. “Don’t tell me your roping mija into your car troubles.”

“There something wrong with it?” Art arched an eyebrow at Rico. 

“So he claims. Last I checked there was nothing wrong with it, though. I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “I told you, its acting weird.”

“Weird how?” Art asked.

Josh shrugged, the tips of ears turning crimson. “Just… run down, I guess. I don’t know.”

“I’ll take another look, but I’m telling you. It runs perfectly fine.” Rico said as he walked towards the car bay.

Art turned to Josh, “You sure there’s something wrong with it? You know you aren’t the best with cars-”

“I’m telling you, it’s acting weird!”

“Then why don’t you bring it by the shop? Me and the guys can look at it if your dads too busy.”

Josh shook his head, “Nah, no thanks. I don’t need some girl looking at my car. Might break it more than it already is.”

“I’d do a better job than you,” she challenged, causing him to flush. 

“Well, its just that... I know you work here now and all, but are you really allowed to touch the cars? I wouldn’t want you to start a fire again,” he muttered under his breath.

“First of all, my dad is the one who causes fires and can’t touch cars, not me.”

“Yeah, well. Like father, like daughter, and all that. I’m not sure you can handle this one, Princessa.” 

Art sighed, muttering about men under breath. She went back to her task in the office but after a beat of silence she glanced back at Josh. “About you and Ethan-”

“Don’t worry about it, Princessa,” he muttered to her and gave a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Like I said, we’re figuring it out. Anyway, don’t be a stranger, yeah?” He went to walk out the door but not before he turned and looked at her one last time. 

***

After that conversation in the shop she started to see a change in Josh in the coming weeks. He had bags under his eyes, and they were red as if he’d been crying. He looked more tired than usual. “I’m fine.” He insisted when she asked him about it. “Us humans don’t have the same stamina as you werewolves,” he joked, but she saw the way he held himself close together, and his thread was blueblueblue.

***

A while later she saw him and she didn’t have to ask again. She just knew. 

***

“We broke up.” He told her as they sat across from each other in one of the booths at the diner across from the garage. 

She felt bad at how hopefully those words made her feel, a small twinge of happiness and a sliver of green coming through, relief that it was finally over between the two of them. 

Josh rolled his eyes at her, because of course he could feel what she felt in that moment. She blushed guiltily. “Don’t feel too bad for me, jeez,” he muttered, as he looked out the window, his chin in his hand.

“Sorry,” she muttered. 

“What happened?” she asked, her voice a whisper. 

He sighed, then leaned back, his eyes never leaving the window as he told her. 

***

It had been a few weeks since they had started going out, if it could be called that. The two of them had started to talk more, even going on so-called dates after he talked to Art about the two of them, and after that initial kiss in the rain. It had been one of the most romantic things to have ever happened to Josh, and it was hard to find anything to live up to it. He kept waiting, thinking something more would happen—something that made him feel how he felt for that split second that night. He continued to reach out, to initiate things between them. But every time, Ethan would put distance between them, introducing Josh as his ‘friend’, letting go of his hand if someone came by, and moving his arm whenever they touched the same armrest of the movie theater. 

He didn’t know when it happened, why, or how. They had been doing something, and then they were back to fighting about it. Again. They had been going in circles over this same conversation for weeks now. Every time they thought they were alone and someone stumbled upon them, Ethan would jump five feet back as Josh rolled his eyes. He was trying to give Ethan time, but it was starting to drain on him. 

“Why do you do that?” Josh gritted his teeth after someone passed by. “You had no problem being seen in public with Art, back when the two of you were together.”

“That’s different. And you know it. I mean, what if someone sees us together? What if my parents find out? They can’t, ok? They just…can’t. Not now.”

“I get that, I do, but... Ethan, I don’t want to be your secret. I don’t know if I can do this. I thought you liked me.”

“I do.”

“I mean... as more than a friend.”

“I do!”

“Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it.” Josh challenged, Art’s words ringing in his ears. “But just so you know... While I may have just been a trophy to parade around in public, I think being someone’s secret might hurt even more.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means – maybe I don’t want to be your secret anymore.”

“That’s funny coming from you,” Ethan said, his tone laced with bitterness.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Josh mirrored. 

“Oh, come on. You still haven’t told your dad. About you. About us.” Ethan folded his arms across his chest, arching is eyebrow at Josh. “Who’s keeping who a secret now?”

Well, shit. He had a point there. 

“That’s… different.” Josh hesitated. 

“Is it? How so?”

“I just-I’m going to tell him! Eventually…”

“When?”

“Soon.

“Uh-huh sure,” he sighed. “Look, Josh maybe… maybe we should take a break.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying… maybe this was a bad idea.” 

And on and on it went.

He left a little while after that. 

A few days later, Ethan had come to him in the cafeteria at school. “You were right.”

“About?”

“Us. You and me. It’s not… working.” He muttered under his breath, before everyone else arrived. “I think we should break up. Like I said, you were right. You can’t be my secret. You’re too… risky. “

“So…what are you saying? I’m not worth the risk?” Josh said, anger lacing his words. He was getting worked up now. 

Ethan looked at him sympathetically, which just made him more angry. “Josh-it’s… it’s complicated…” 

“Oh, is it? Enlighten me then.”

“We just don’t… work. Look, just because you want you parents to catch you together with another boy so you don’t have to spell it out for them, doesn’t mean I want that to happen to me.”

Josh gaped at him. “Excuse me?” 

Ethan gave him a placating look. “You know deep down it’s true. You’re too afraid to tell them and would rather they just stumble upon it themselves. I’m not like you, Josh,” he shook his head. “ I actually don’t want my parents to find out about me. Okay?”

Josh didnt have a response for that.

“So, that’s it then?” Josh gaped at him. 

“I guess so,” Ethan looked away.

Josh lowered his gaze, defeated. His anger receded at the realization that their relationship was ending. “Did I... no. Did we ever even mean anything to you at all?”

Ethan’s eyes watered for once. “Of course you did. That hurts that you think you didn’t.”

His anger was back now, and it was simmering, burning him from the inside out. Josh slammed his hand on the table he sat at in the cafeteria, causing students to look over at him, but he didn’t care. He raised his voice. “Then why aren’t you willing to fight for me? Don’t you care?”

“Keep your voice down!” he whispered, glancing around wildly.

Josh let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, that’s right. You do care. Just about what other people think, not the people who actually matter. Got it.” He stood up and made to walk away. 

Ethan looked wounded at that, “That’s not-”

Josh whirled on him. “It is. I should have known. And Art should have dumped you a long time ago. She deserved better.” He sighed, looking away, “From both of us.” he added under his breath. 

“Wait-!”

Josh turned back to him, grabbing him by the collar and saying, “Stay away from me. And do me a favor and stay away from her too, got it?” 

Ethan continued to glance around wildly, now that they were making a scene and had an audience. He held up his hands placatingly, “Sure, fine. Got it. Just stop now, okay?”

Josh formed a first in his right hand, and he had a sudden urge to punch Ethan square in the jaw. He gritted his teeth but eventually let him go. “You’re not worth it,” he muttered as he walked away. 

***

When he was finished, Art placed her hand on top of his arm that lay on the table. “You deserve better anyway,” she said in a low voice, and she meant it. “You know that, don’t you?” He continued to look out the window, but she could see the shine in his eyes and smell the sting of salt. 

“I guess,” he eventually said,”You were right, though. It does hurt. Being someone’s secret.” he sighed.

She didnt know what to say to that. 

It was quiet between them for a while as she tried to give Josh his space. She would see Ethan at school, and he at least had the decency to look guilty. She contemplated going werewolf on him, but knew her pack probably wouldn’t approve of that. Still, she found herself growling at him sometimes in the hallway, causing him to jump and shift nervously. It was enough. 

She had a few texts from Josh here and there but she hadn’t returned them. She didn’t know what she should say. School was also awkward, she would see him in the hallway more than she realized. How often did their schedules line up? And how had she not noticed it before? It was as if everywhere she looked there he was. She continued to try to avoid him though, unsure of her own feelings as she tried to get over whatever it was she felt for him. Sure he and Ethan had broken up, but it wasn’t like it meant anything was going to happen between herself and Josh. He could find someone else who wasn’t her just as easily – he’d already done it twice. 

Art continued to work at the shop after school. It gave her a good excuse to keep her distance. And it kept her busy. 

It was late one night, and it was getting dark out when Josh came into the shop, which he hardly ever did. Most of the guys had already gone home, so it was just her while Robbie and Gordo finished things up in Gordo’s office. He was looking around shiftily and twisting his hands, with a faint blush on his cheeks, and his heartbeat was going fast as if he were nervous. 

She arched an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing here?” 

“My car is, uh, well, the light came back on. My dad said he’d look at it,” he told her awkwardly. 

She glanced at him as she continued to work on one of the cars in the shop. “Well, he already headed home for the night. Didn’t he tell you?”

“Oh. No, I-I guess I thought he’d still be here.” Josh said, rubbing the back of his hair. He shrugged, “Not like he’d find what’s wrong with it anyway. He swears its fine but I know there’s gotta be something.” 

She looked him over, then deflated. “Look, I know you dont want a girl look at your car or whatever, but my offer to look at it still stands. If you want.” She shrugged. “I know Rico’s been... busy,” she stated. 

Josh blinked at her.

She blinked back.

“Really? You?” He said, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Yes. Me.” She glared at him. “Is there a problem? Just because I’m a girl and can’t fix your banged-up car?”

“No, girls can. You? Doubtful.”

She rolled her eyes, then sighed. “It’s late and I don’t have time for how stupid you’re being. Since we’re technically closed tomorrow just take your car home and I’ll stop by tomorrow to look at it myself.” 

“Sure, look at it all you want. Looking ain’t fixing.”

She glared at him as he walked out the door, shooting her finger guns and winking as he did. She rolled her eyes as her cheeks colored with a warm flush. 

Chapter Text

It was warm out as Art made her way over to Josh’s house. When she arrived she found Josh standing in his garage, waiting for her, his car parked in the driveway. She carried a bag of tools with her and wore one of the outfits Josslyn had picked out for her when they had gone shopping together. It was getting hot outside, and she knew she’d be working out in the heat, so she had chosen cool clothes—a pair of shorts and a low-cut halter top—not really caring about modesty, considering nudity was natural among wolves. It definitely had nothing to do with capturing Josh’s attention, no matter what Joss had said to her when she told her to wear it when she was over the previous night.

Josslyn had come over to hang out and had asked if Art was busy today, which Art explained she would be busy lookin at Josh’s car.  Josslyn's eyebrows shot up at that, “Oh?”

Art shrugged, “It’s not big deal. Better I look at it so he doesn’t make it more broken than it already is.”

She had left the room for a bit but then had come back to find the outfit lay on her bed when she had returned to her room.

“What. Is this?”

Josslyn shrugged, “Just thought you could use some help. You know, a good outfit you can… get dirty in.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively

Art rolled her eyes, lifting the halter top to her chest.

“Isn't this a little… revealing?”

“Just trust me. Guys like that sort of thing,”

“I’m not going there to ‘impress’ anyone.”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

Josh blinked at her as he took her in, and she flushed under his gaze. “What?” she eventually asked, hoping he would stop staring so much.

He shrugged and looked away, having the decency to look a little bashful. “Nothing,” he muttered. “Do you need the keys or...”

“No, just pop the hood for me.” She said as she sat her tool kit down and went to lift the hood up as Josh popped it from inside. He walked around the car and stood by her side, watching. It was a little unnerving, but she was used to the guys watching her while she worked, careful to teach her what to do and what not to do. 

She lifted up the hood with one hand and shifted her stance as she slotted in into place. She wiped away some of the sweat on her brow, then worked to tie her hair up with the hair tie from her wrist. She tied her long blonde hair up into a high ponytail, then glanced at Josh as an odd scent washed over her, but she couldn’t quite make it out due to all the sweat and metallic scents coming from the car. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring.” 

“I’m not staring. I’m watching. To make sure you don’t break my car, Princessa.”

“Whatever,” she muttered. 

She continued to work under the hood, bending over here and there. She was starting to become more self-conscious, realizing that she was wearing very short shorts and sticking her ass out in them the more she bent over the hood of the car. She became more aware of the bead of sweat that was dripping down her cleavage and how her breasts slightly bounced with each movement she made since she had no bra on. She couldn’t place when she had developed them and barely noticed when she had, but now she was fully aware of her own body. Shit, she thought, realizing she hadn’t exactly thought this outfit through as that strange scent became stronger—it was heady, a mixture of some wood and sweat, and it was familiar. Like a scent she had recognized before... 

Was it what she thought it was? She remembered that scent coming from some of the mates in the pack before….before they-

She suddenly jumped at the realization, hitting her head on the hood of the car. “Ow!” she exclaimed, rubbing her head as she stood up straight. 

“What the hell, Princessa?’ she heard him mutter. “Be more careful.” he scolded.

“I’m fine. I just got distracted.” She flushed, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him, the memory of what that scent meant fresh in her mind.

“That makes two of us,” she heard him mutter under his breath, low enough he probably forgot her wolf hearing would be able to pick it up. 

She looked up and their eyes collided like a car crash, and it was as if time stood still. Her breathing hitched and she could hear his heartbeat quick. Had he always been standing this close to her? She resisted the urge to take a step back, and noticed his eyes flicker across her face, then down to her lips. She could have sworn that he started to lean forward, just ever so slightly, towards her, his eyes never leaving her face. She stood still as a statue, waiting for the inevitable.

“Hey, kids!” They jumped at the sound of Rico’s voice. They turned to him leaning out the window and smiling, as if he knew what he was doing, interrupting them the way he did.

Josh sighed under his breath. 

 “Need some help out there?” Rico called from the window, looking over the porch. “Don’t let him fool you, Mija. I know how he can make you think your crazy for saying something's wrong with that dang car when there’s not.”

“Daad,” Josh groaned, looking up at the sky. 

Art smirked at him before calling back, “I’m good! Practically got it fixed already.” she saw him narrow his eyes at the trip in her heartbeat as she lied through her teeth. “Guess us girls are just better at everything, huh?” 

Rico shook his head before retreating back inside muttering to himself about kids these days thinking they know everything. 

“Well, anyway,” she said as she gathered up her tools, since the car was indeed working just fine. “I think I’m done here. It runs fine, so just – keep an eye on it.” She turned to walk away, but not before he reached out and grabbed her arm. She stopped in her tracks. 

“Tomorrow.”

“What?” She didn’t turn around. 

“We should talk. Tomorrow. Like we used to.”

She bit her lip. Talk? About what? About what just happened between them? “There’s nothing to talk about.” She countered.
“I… there is. I have… things. To say.” He swallowed, her facial features remained still, giving nothing away. “Please.” He added, after she wouldn’t budge.

She sighed. 

“Tomorrow,” he repeated, “Will you come?”

She turned back around to face him. Saw him searching her eyes, but she looked away, hoping he thought the flush on her cheeks was because of the warm weather. “We’ll see.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He said it matter-of-factly, as if he knew she would show up. As if he knew her. For all she knew, maybe he still did. 

***

The next day, she did show up, but not after making him wait for her for a long time. It was a Sunday, and it was the least she could do for wasting so much of her weekend on him. Rico had been right. There definitely was nothing wrong with that car. 

When she arrived she saw him waiting for her on the porch, like he said he would.

She came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey,” she said lamely.

He gave her a small smile. “I knew you’d show up.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go. Somewhere where we can talk.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice, but he simply smiled at her. 

They walked through their territory, into the woods, towards the spot they knew so well. It was silent for a moment, but they took it in. A slight wind rustled the leaves as the sun started to set, and fireflies lit up here and there while crickets began to chirp. 

They sat down, their backs against a tree and for a moment they let themselves just.. be. 

Josh broke the silence first. “I told my dad.”

She turned to face him but stayed silent, letting him say whatever it was he needed to say. “That I’m.. you know,” he shrugged, looking away. 

“Does he know? About you and...” J

Josh nodded. “Yeah, but… he didn't know til after we…” He trailed off. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “I mean, he said he was okay. With it. Obviously. He wasn’t so okay with the fact that I was seeing someone without him knowing about it. He sort of got all weird and protective about it.” He rolled his eyes.

She smiled at that. “Let me guess, he asked if you had been using protection.”

He flushed. “He event bought me y’know. Things. 

She burst out laughing at that. “Things?” 

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, things. Stuff.  Excuse me for not wanting to talk about such things in front of a lady,” he teased. 

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Like I don’t hear worse at the shop. Besides, I’ve heard the things you say. You sound like your dad sometimes, you know?” she laughed. 

After a moment she looked away. “You did deserve better, you know. We both did.” 

He scoffed. 

She turned to face him, sincere. “You do, you deserve better.... you deserve…” Me. “Someone who... who knows you.”

“What if can’t have someone like that?”

“Why not?”

“Because. I’m not...”

“Not what?”

“Good enough. For that person. For someone like that.”

She stilled. As if a final puzzle piece was falling into place. She leaned back looking him over, wondering if that was why... If he felt he had to settle for the two of them being just friends because he felt he wasn’t good enough for her. She wondered if maybe she felt the same way. 

She swallowed. “You don’t… know that.” 

He shrugged. “Don’t I?” He looked at her for the first time since they sat down.

“Josh-”

“Can I tell you something?” 

“What?”

He turned to her, smirking, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “There was nothing wrong with my car.”

“What?”

He shrugged, looking away. “I just... It was the best excuse I had. To talk to you. Pretend like things were... normal again.” he confessed. 

She couldn’t help it. She smacked him on the shoulder. Hard.

“Ow!” He covered the place where she hit him with his other arm. 

“Then why did you tell me you didn’t want a girl looking at it?”

 He smirked at her, this time a hint of mischief lit his eyes. “Because I knew if I said that it’d make you want to look at it even more.”

“Because you know me so well,” she rolled her eyes.

He reached for her arm, his hand warm on her bare skin. “I know you better than you think, Princessa.”

Something shifted then.  Josh was looking at her now, in an odd way—his head was tilted and his gaze was searching her face for something. He had almost a look of realization and surprise. 

She wanted to ask what but she couldn’t bring herself to break their silence as they stared at each other. As if seeing each other for the first time. 

His gaze flickered from her eyes to her lips, and her heartbeat sped up. She flashed back to that moment – just the two of them in their driveway, the way he was looking at her. The way he always had looked at her – but it was different now. Something had shifted in their minds, as if they were allowing themselves to have this thing that had been stirring between them. 

Her cheeks were burning, and she found her gaze was also flicking between his eyes and his lips, and she was leaning in. 

She felt Josh’s lips on hers ever so lightly, and then the world stopped. 

There was just the two of them.

It was silent. 

The crickets stopped chirping, and the breeze had come to a halt. She could feel the grass in the palm of her hand, the bark of the tree against her back. She felt the warmth of the rays of the setting sun that was peeking through the space in between the trees, lighting up the inside of her eyelids. 

It lasted for one. Two. Three. And four beats.

And then they pulled away, but only just. She opened her eyes and saw his caramel brown eyes flecked with gold looking back at her. 

“Oh.” she sighed.

“Oh.” he sighed.

They sat in silence for a moment. “Was that okay?” he asked her eventually. 

She slowly nodded.

“You can do it again. If you want.” She glanced at him and oh how he smiled. 

He learned forward, his hands cupping her cheeks, and kissed her with everything he had. 

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the rest of the pack to figure what had happened between the two of them. 

They were at the Bennet pack house, and Art was sitting across from Rico and Bambi in the kitchen. She sat up straighter, her hands folded in front of her, in a professional manner. “So,” she started, ready to make her case. 

Rico arched an eyebrow, then leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “So…”

“You know Josh,”

“We’ve heard of him,” Bambi nodded, her eyes sliding over to where Josh stood on the far side of the kitchen. 

Art nodded. “Right, so Josh your… son.”

“Our son,” Bambi nodded. 

Art shifted in her chair. “Right, well, I… like…him.” 

“Oh? And what exactly do you like about our son?” Bambi teased. 

“Oh. Um. Well. He’s… nice? And… smells good.”

“Is that so?” She smirked, looking over at Josh, who was adamantly looking away. “Do you really we have to do this?” Josh muttered.

“Shush. And yes,” Art responded, “it’s tradition.”

He rolled his eyes. 

Art looked back at Rico and Bambi as they sat in front of her. She sat up straight and began again. “So. The reason I wanted to talk to you both was because I wanted to ask your permission to court him.” She stated matter-of-factly. 

Rico spit out the beer he had taken a sip of. “Court?!” he shouted. 

Bambi’s brows shot up. “Well, isn’t this a surprise?” She said, amused. 

“And here I thought I was done with this mystical moon magic stuff.” Rico muttered. 

“Court him, huh?” Bambi mused, “Well, I don’t know…. I really don’t need to find dead animals on my porch,” she grimaced.

“I’ll keep it off the porch then. ma’am.” Art nodded in agreement.

Josh groaned. “Do we have to keep it all?”

“Yes.” she said confidently, because she was a strong wolf who could provide for her human mate. 

“Do we get free mini muffins out of it again?” Rico snorted.
“I… can try?” Art hedged, glancing between them. Bambi rolled her eyes.
“The last thing you need is mini muffins. Remember you’re diet.” She scolded as Rico muttered and groaned under his breath.

Bambi turned to Art, smiling. “Well, if you want to court our son, then you have our blessing.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Art nodded again, her hands clasped in front of her. 

***

Wolf. she was wolf. ground under her feet. her territory. her pack.

courting.

she was courting.

courting meant hunting.

she was hunting.

 hunting for her ma-

mare. 

a mare rabbit.

right in front of her. she was going to catch that rabbit. because she was wolf. she could provide. 

impressed. she would make him impressed. with her. 

he lunged for the rabbit. it hung in her jaw. she caught it. stupid rabbit. she would bring it to him.just not to the porch. but to the home. 

but where to leave it. where would he find it.

there. his car. the fixed car. car not broken. she fixed it. fixed it for him. showed she could provide. she was resourceful. he would find it there. driveway was not the porch. she dropped the rabbit next to the car. metallic smell stung her nose. 

she sauntered away. back to to the woods. 

he would be proud. 

she had done it. 

she waited. 

***

The next few days, she felt like she was floating on air. Giddiness surrounded her, and she couldn’t help smiling down at her phone each time she received a text. One night, he even came in through her bedroom window, and she rolled her eyes. “My dads can hear you, you know.”

“Then we’ll just have to be extra quiet,” he smirked as he walked her backward, towards her bed. 

“Josh,” he leaned forward, cutting her off as his lips met hers while he guided her back. She was overwhelmed by his scent—the scent of smoke wood, campfire, and him. 

They pulled away, and she whispered, “I missed you.”
Josh smiled, “It hasn’t even been that long.”

She shook her head, “No, I know I just meant… I missed this. Us. It wasn’t the same before. When we were, you know…” Dating other people, she left the words unsaid.

“I know.” His gaze dropped but then he reached for her hand. “But I’m here now. Ready to be courted,” he said, looking back up at her, a smile tugging at his lips. 

She laughed.“I take it you found it then? I told you I was a good hunter.” 

“Yeah, about that. Can you maybe not leave dead animals right next to my car? I nearly had a heart attack. 

“Well, your mother said not to leave it on the porch.”

“I don’t know why you have to leave it at all!”

She grinned. “It’s courting. It’s tradition.”

“It’s a wolf thing.”

“Yes. Josh. It’s a wolf thing.”

“I’m not a wolf,” he sighed. 

“Well, I am!”

“You left me dead animals!”

“I’m courting you!”

“I never asked you to! And shouldn’t I be the one to court you?” He said, exasperated. 

“You’re not a wolf.”

“So?”

“So, wolves do the courting. It’s doesn’t matter who does it, just that they do! They don’t condone to your human gender roles.”

“I can court you too if I want to!”

“I’d like to see you try,” she challenged.

“Fine. But I’m doing it my way!”

“Oh? And what way is that?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

“The human way,” he said with a smirk. 

***

She waited. 

A few days had passed, and she hadn’t heard from Josh. It was the weekend, and she had no plans that night as she lounged around in her room in her pajamas. There was a knock at the door, and she ignored it, barely paying attention to the vague sounds of her dad answering it. That was until she heard a familiar voice and her name. 

“I’m here to see Art. Is she here?” She heard Josh’s muffled voice from the doorway. She rolled off her bed in a haste to get to the front door. She walked down the steps, pausing as the front door came into view and Josh stood there, neatly dressed. He wore a white button-down shirt with a nice black jacket over it and slacks.

He was holding flowers.

Her heartbeat raced, and Kelly and Robbie turned to her before glancing at each other. 

“Hi,” he breathed at the sight of her. 

And it made her heart ache at how she could hear his heart trip over itself. She was a mess, and still she could hear it. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her. 

“I told you. I’m courting you. I’m taking you out on an actual date. The human way,” he winked. 

She flushed. 

“Oh. Well, a heads-up would have been... preferable.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that. I just wanted to surprise you,” he said, unsure of himself. 

She sighed. “Fine. Just let me go and get changed.”

She hurried back upstairs, leaving him to fend for himself with Kelly and Robbie, whose threats she could vaguely hear through the pounding of the blood thrumming her ears. 

A date. Josh was taking her on a date! An actual live date, as more than friends. 

She was panicking. What the hell am I supposed to wear?

She dug through her drawers, dumping them on her bed as she shifted through her clothes. She eventually called Josselyn to ask for her advice. Art never cared that much for clothes or fashion, but Josslyn had a keen eye and took offense to anyone who wore white after Labor Day.

“Well, it’s about time!” Josslyn said, her face appearing on the phone screen. “I knew this day would come. I had an outfit already in mind and everything.”
“Which one?” Art asked as she lifted up articles of clothing to her chest, showing them off for her friend.

“No, no, not that one. Yes, that,” Josslyn instructed. Art turned to her mirror to see the chocolates and flushed at how revealing it all was. 

“Joss! I’m going on a date! Not working the streets.”

“What, guy, that sort of stuff?

Art groaned. “This isn’t helping.”

“Fiiine. What did you have in mind?”

“How about this?” Art asked, holding up a modest blouse to her chest.

“What are you, a nun?”

“What’s wrong with it? It’s nice. I need to find something that my parents will at least allow me to leave the house in.” She said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She had been wearing them less since Josh and Ethan had broken up; they now acted as more of a security blanket since Robbie had first given them to her. 

But still, she hestiated, and she looked at herself wearing them. Remembering Josh’s first reaction to them. 

“You should take them off…Because you don’t need them…” 

“How would you know what I need?”

She had taken offense to his words; so sure that he had disliked them then. She hadn’t given it much thought afterwards, wearing them off and on when she felt like it – not caring what he thought. But now she was dressing herself up, all hoping to gain his approval. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. 

“You’re not going to wear those, are you?” Josslyn asked, indicating to her glasses.

“Why, what’s wrong with them?”

Josslyn sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Haven’t you ever seen a rom-com? The girl gets hot by taking off her glasses.”

“I agree, mija, those make you look bonita.” She thought of Rico, of his approval of her. He had called her bonita in them. 

“I’m pretty sure he’s already seen me without them before. I don’t think it had the same effect you were referring to.”

Joslyn sighed again. “No, but this is a date where you’ll be wearing something that is, hopefully, and with my help, hot! And now is your chance to show him how hot you can be.”

“You should take them off…” His voice reverberated in her mind.

“I don’t think he really cares about that...” she said hesitantly, trying not to let the memory get to her. 

“Shhh. Just go without them. Then your eyes can really pop once we do your makeup.”

“Makeup?!” Art asked, scandalized.

“It won’t be a lot. And I’ll walk you through it. Just trust me. Do you trust me, Art?”

“I guess.”

“I need to hear you say it.”

Art rolled her eyes. “I trust you.”

“Good. Now then. Let’s try that piece over there.”

Eventually, they worked together until she found something suitable and not too revealing, much to Josslyn’s dismay.

“It’s a first date,” Art hissed at her through the phone screen. “Not our wedding night!”

“Well, if you wore what I told you to, you could change your first date into a wedding date,” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively on the phone screen.

“Do I even want to know what you’re implying?”

“What? You don’t want a little Bennet and Espinoza running around?”

“I’m only seventeen!”

“So? Age is just a number. Although this probably is a good time to tell you to be safe and-”

“Goodbye!” She firmly pressed the hang-up button, her cheeks burning. 

Her phone dinged with a text. She looked down to see a text from Josslyn that said, ‘Good luck, babe!’ with a winky face. Art smiled down at it before turning back to the mirror and taking a breath. Right. She could do this. I was just Josh., after all. What could go wrong?

She walked downstairs, the conversation reaching her ears, and, oh, that was what could go wrong. 

“And if you do decide to do something,” Kelly was saying.

“Like deciding not to touch my daughter,” Robbie cut him off. 

“But if you do,” Kelly started again, glaring at Robbie for a moment, “just remember to be safe.”

“It’d be safer not to touch her.” Robber crossed his arms as he stared down at Josh. 

Oh god, she thought, facepalming and groaning internally.

She cleared her throat once as she stood on the staircase and saw Josh’s eyes travel from her feet, scanning her until his eyes lifted to hers. She wore black kitten heels and a simple little black dress that reached just above the knees, with spaghetti straps. 

Her hair was done up, tendrils falling in front of her face. Josslyn said her blue eyes popped with the mascara she poked herself in the eye with more than once. She also wore light pink eyeshadow, a hint of blush, and red lipstick. 

His eyes widened as he took her in, his heartbeat fluttering in her ears. She was glad he could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her chest.

Kelly smiled at her innocently as Robbie continued to glare between the two of them. 

“You look nice,” Kelly said.

She continued to walk down the steps as Josh turned to look at her. ‘Hi,’ she whispered as she walked down the steps.

“H-hi,” he stammered, taking her in. “You look, um,” he said, looking off to the side, where Robbie stood with his arms crossed, and Kelly was looking at him as if he were genuinely interested in what he was going to say next. 
“Nice.” Josh finished, his eyes darting back to her. 

“Thanks. We should…”

“Right. Of course. Um, these are for you.” He held the flowers he was holding out to her. She took them and smiled down at them. 

“No one’s ever given me flowers before.” She lifted her gaze to his.

He smiled at her. “Good. I was hoping that they’d make you feel… special. 

“Well, I don’t care if you like them or not. They’re special, at least to me.”

“And that’s how they make you feel? Like you’re special?”

She blushed, and subconsciously went to push her glasses up, only to realize at the last minute that she was no longer wearing them.

Pushing the memory away, she went to place them in a vase, sitting them in the kitchen. 

“Shall we?” She asked, turning to him once she finished. He nodded, opening the door for her. 

“Don’t be out too late!” Kelly called as Robbie fumed behind, while Kelly dragged Robbie away as he continued to shoot daggers at Josh.  “And call us if you need us, and...”

“And if anything happens to her, I swear.”

‘Yeah, yup, got it; bye now!” Art called as she grabbed Josh’s arm, tugging him away from her invasive fathers. He stumbled out the front door after her. 

“Have fun tonight!” Kelly called one last time. 

They reached Josh’s car, and he stopped her from getting in, lightly grabbing her list and turning her to him.“I missed you,” Josh said once they were finally away from prying ears.

She smiled, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him lightly as he slid his arms around her waist. 

She pulled back, sniffing the air, her nose scrunching.

“What is that smell?” she asked, taking a step back.

“What smell?” He asked, blushing. 

“It’s you… But it’s not you. It’s like I… I can’t smell you,” she complained. 

“Oh, um, it’s just this new cologne stuff I’m trying out. You don’t like it?”

“I… no, not really.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t smell like you. I can’t smell you at all! It’s like your scene is just. Gone.” 

He looked at her, as if scandalized. “Wait. You’ve been smelling me?” 

She blushed and looked down at her feet. “It’s not just you. It’s a wolf thing. High sense of smell. Being able to smell pack, which you no longer have at the moment,” she shrugged.” 

“Sure, Princessa,” he said, smirking at her. “So, does that mean you like my scent?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. “I just like smelling a pack on you.”

“So, what exactly do I smell like to you?” He asked, grinning. 

“Like well, like campfire. I suppose.” She blushed, looking away.

“No more cologne. Got it.” He turned to open the passenger door to his car, closing it after she slid in. He went around to the other side and situated himself behind the wheel, starting the car. 

“Are you implying that you’ve never smelled me?” Art asked him as the engine came to life. “All those times we’ve been close together, surely I must have some sort of scent your weakened human sense can detect.”

“Well, I mean... You would smell like, I don’t know, vanilla? To my weak human sense, that is.”

“I’ll take it.” She said, sitting back, satisfied. “Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see,” he winked at her as he put the car into gear.

“I’m surprised.” She admitted once they were out on a main road. 

“About what?”

“That you’re driving us somewhere. With this broken car of yours,. I thought our first date would be, I dunno, another walk in the woods or something

“We do that all the time, though.” He said this, glancing at her. 

“So?”

“So. It’s different now.”

“Is it?

“I’d like to think so.” He said it after a pause. 

“Because I’m courting you.”

He looked over and smiled at her. “No, Princesa. Because I’m courting you.”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. 

Chapter Text

They drove on as the sun slowly made its way towards descending below the horizon. The bright rays of the sun stretched accross the horizon, lighting the sky up in an arrangement of yellows and oranges, pinks and purples that peeked through the dark green leaves of the trees. It was getting close to summer, closer to graduation, and the days were longer now, the sun not fully setting until late at night, drawing the sunsets out to last longer. 

“Hope you’re hungry,” Josh said as they pulled into the parking lot of one of the fancier restaurants in town. “How original,” she mused, causing him to flush.

“Hey, I’m courting you, remember? This is the human version of hunting and proving that I can provide.”

“We’ll see about that.” 

They walked in and were assaulted with smells of food, causing Art’s stomach to grumble. The lighting inside the restaurant was dim, and they could hear the low chattering and clinking of silverware against plates. The place was decorated in dark wood, the tables covered in fancy red and white checkered tablecloth with candleholders in the center, where tealight candles flicked their miniature flames. Once they were shown to a table, Josh pulled out Art’s chair for her before seating himself.

“Well, who knew you could be... quite the gentleman?” she said as she glanced over the menu.

“I’ve picked up on a few things, here and there.”

“Like?”

“Like how this place is where Ox took Joe on their first date, if you can believe that.”

“Wow. A relic.” Art said, and they both laughed. 

“Since you insist that you’re courting me, you should know that this doesn’t count as hunting.”

“Sure it does, Princessa. It shows I can provide and hunt down restaurants that can make good food and also that I have great taste.”

“Is that so?”

“It is. In fact, if you trust me, I’ll order you one of the better things they have to offer.”

“Fine, then. Show me what great taste you obviously have.” She said, indicating to herself. 

“Gladly, Princessa.” He said before closing their menus and ordering for both of them. He ordered her some sort of Spanish dish that she had never heard of before. 

Once they received their food, Art took a bite as Josh intently watched. She let out a moan; She had never tasted anything quite like it before, but Josh had been right. It was one of the better-tasting things she’d had.

“You were right. That is probably one of the best things I’ve put in my mouth,” she said without thinking, then blushed as Josh coughed on the water he had taken a sip of. 

“Oh, oh no! I didn’t mean…shut up!” She flustered, burying her face in her hands, as Josh continued to laugh while choking on water. 

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I meant.”

“Of course, Princessa. I would never subject a refined lady such as yourself to such things.” He smirked into his water glass.

“It was actually surprisingly good. So. Thank you for that, I guess.”

“Come over sometime, and my family will make you some real authentic Spanish dishes.”

“I’d like that.” She said in a low voice, and he nodded, his gaze holding hers for a moment too long. 

“Come on. Dates not over yet.” He said, breaking the moment, as he stood up and held out his hand to her. 

***

“You’re being mysterious.”

“I am not.”

“I asked where next this mystery date was going and then you said to close my eyes like a creep and now you’re being mysterious about it.”

“I’m not trying to be mysterious; I’m trying to surprise you!”

“Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

“I’m hurt,” Josh feigned being stabbed in the heart. “I thought you trusted me.”

She did as she was told and closed her eyes. Eventually, the car came to a stop. Josh grabbed her gently by the arm and pulled her out the car, guiding her to a sidewalk and positioning her in front of something. 

“Okay, we’re here. You can open your eyes now.”

She opened them to find her own reflection staring back at her in what appeared to be a store window, that inside had displays of canvases and art. She looked over and saw a sign that read, ‘Green Creek Art Gallery.’ 

“Art…?” She asked, cringing a little at saying her own name. 

Josh shrugged. “Yeah, you know. I know you like to draw. And paint with Elizabeth.”

“How do you know about that?” She turned to him.

He shrugged. “I’ve seen you. A couple of times.” He looked down guiltily. 

“Stalker,” she muttered, turning back to the gallery. 

He smiled and bumped his shoulder against hers. “Come on, you’ll love it. There’s a piece I really want you to see.” 

They walked and were greeted by a friendly lady behind a desk who wore spectacles that were attached to a chain that wrapped behind her ears. She peered at them over the rim of her glasses and said, “Welcome in.” She greeted them.

There were multiple canvases with various types of paintings; one she found nice to look at contained vibrant colors and trees; it reminded her of their territory in the fall. They made their way through the gallery, stopping to stare longer at the ones they liked most and standing in silence. Josh let her lead the way, allowing her to just...be. They rounded the corner, and the canvases converted into various statues. 

They were all different shapes and sizes, the small ones in glass display cases in the middle of the room while the bigger statues stood in corners or against the walls. In the middle was a single, skinny column that led up to a clear box, where in the middle stood a single stone wolf statue. It looked like the ones made within their pack.

“Ah, I see the Stone Wolf has caught your eye.” Said one of the curators who had been lurking in the room: He was an elderly gentleman who was short and bald with tufts of white hair on the side of his head, and he wore spectacles along with a blue blazer over his white button-down shirt.

Josh and Art turned to him, and their interest piqued. “No way,” Josh whispered, and she had to fight back the smile tugging at her lips.

“Stone wolf, you say?” She encouraged. 

“Indeed,” he continued. “Legend has it that a long, long time ago, back when beast and man lived together in harmony, humans became beasts and beasts humans. They became one under the full moon. What we refer to now as werewolves.” 

She heard Josh make a sound as if to hold back a laughing outburst. She herself tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. “So the Stone Wolf is a werewolf?” She arched an eyebrow at the curator. 

“In a way,” The curator nodded wisely. He looked between the two of them, “Have either you heard of the legend of the Stone Wolf?” They glanced at each other then slowly shook their heads. “Well, allow an old man to indulge you, if you will.” 

He cleared his throat, then clasped his hands behind his back as he gazed into the plexiglass that miniature stone wolf sat in. 

“Legend has it that a long, long, time ago wolves roamed the earth, running alongside mankind. The stories were that the moon created wolves so she wouldn’t feel so lonely, which is why they howl at her on nights of the full moon. Humans and wolves lived in harmony, working together for their survival. Eventually, humans became so close to the wolves that they would beg the moon to turn them into wolves themselves, and they would join the wolves in their howling. This pleased the moon, and eventually the moon agreed, and gave humans the power to turn into wolves themselves, thus creating what you might call werewolves.

“The werewolves followed the way of the wolves, and one day they elected a leader for themselves: an Alpha. Alpha wolves and werewolves continued to work side by side, a mutual bond forming between the two different species, keeping them together as a pack.

“One day, there was an Alpha werewolf who fell in love with a young werewolf – she was beautiful, like the moon herself, and he wanted her by his side always. He howled in at the moon in longing until one day, she joined him. The moon smiled down at the both of them, for the Alpha had found his mate. 

“Then one day, unbeknownst to the wolves, a pack of witches came, and they brought with them destruction, for their magic was much stronger than that of the moon. The witches claimed the werewolves were evil and an abomination to nature. The moon could do nothing but watch as the witches slaughtered her creations, as the wolves tried to fight back until their numbers dwindled and they were forced to retreat – spreading the pack throughout different territories and regions of the world. 

“The witches last act was to take down the Alpha, but he survived; only they knew his weakness: his mate. It was a full moon when the packs retreated, the Alpha and his mate ran, leading their pack away, away, away.

“They didn’t realize the witches had cursed the Alphas mate until later, when the moon had abandoned them. The Alphas mate had been turned to stone, and the Alpha wept, along with his pack. 

“It was only on the full moon when she would once again be set free—the moon using her power to counteract the witches curse, so that the Alpha could be with his mate once again, when what was left of their pack would run.

“The Alpha would howl on nights when the moon wasn’t full, missing his mate each day that passed, and eventually he came to create carvings of wolves out of stone. He made so many that he would give them away to the members of his pack; they became a special gift, meant to remind them to love the ones they had once they found them and to hold on to them. The werewolves would give these statues away to their mates once they found them.

“And that is the story behind the Stone Wolf. Or so it goes. It is, of course, just a myth. But I often find there to be some truth to myths, that is what makes my job and history so interesting.” He told them.

Art’s blood ran cold, a chill going up her spine. She felt spooked by how close to reality the curator’s story had been. She thought of her own stone wolf, put away in her nightstand drawer, the corner of one of the ears chipped from her childhood days. 

“Anyway, enough of an old man's stories. And we are closing shortly, just so you know.”

“We won’t be much longer,” Josh told him, watching as the curator walked away. He turned back to Art. “It’s just a story, Art.” Josh whispered to her, bringing her out of her trance. “We don’t know if there’s actually any truth to it.”

“We don’t know that there isn’t.” She challenged. 

“C’mon. This way,” Josh told her after a moment, once she had finished touring the rest of what the gallery had to offer. He led her further back, down a hallway littered with most canvases to a back wall, and there her breath fell short as she took in a huge canvas painting that took most of the back wall itself. 

The huge canvas painting was of a pack of wolves, all in various shapes and colors, traipsing through the outdoors; the painting made her feel green. The painting was so huge, she felt like she could stand there for hours and stare at it, new faces revealing themselves every so often—a raven in the sky, a small blue house in the background. It was packed. And it was everything. 

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. 

“I thought you might like it.” Josh came to stand beside her. “What do you think, Princessa? Think you’ll make something like this someday?”

She blinked a few times in surprise, taking in the painting—anxiety building in her chest at the idea of such a challenge. She couldn’t bring herself to respond. 

***

They strolled around a small lake of water in at the park accross the street from the art gallery. The streetlights came on, and the sky was a light blue in the twilight. The clouds overhead were violet and blue as the sun continued its decent below the horizon and darkness surrounded them, the light of the sliver of the moon smiling down on them. 

The air was nice and cool, and the water made a calming sound as crickets chirped in the distance. They walked side by side, their hands grazing every now and then, until finally Josh grabbed onto hers. She smiled, biting her lip.

“That was… inspiring.” She said as t

“I thought you might like it. Considering you’re er, you know. Hobby and all that.”

“My hobby?”

“Shit, is that not what it is? You’re drawings.”

“Oh. I… I never really thought about. It’s just something I… liked to do.”

“So. A hobby.” He smirked, stealing a glance at her as he drove on. 

“I guess,” she sighed, leaning back against the car seat. “I don’t know if anything will actually come of it. 

‘I’m thinking of applying to Juliard if you believe that.”

Josh let out a low whistle. “Shit, Princessa. That’s big boy leagues. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.”she smiled.

“Does that mean you would leave Green Creek?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t even know if I’ll get in. It seems a bit premature, and I know it’s super hard and the chance is limited and-”

“You’ll get in.” He stated matter-of-factly, as if he were saying the sky was blue.

“Why do you always say that?”

“Because it’s true.’”He smiled at her. “And believe it or not, I have faith in you.”

“Well, I don’t have to think about it right now. Right now, I just want to... enjoy this.”

“What about you?” She turned to him. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll stay here with everyone else. My parents are here. The pack.”

“If I did leave, I’d come back eventually. For them, the pack. My dads.” You, she thought. “And I mean, you could; I don’t know. Come with me? If you wanted.”

“Maybe,” he said vaguely, looking away. “But like you said, That’s a future worry. For now, let’s just enjoy how far we’ve come. Who knew I would be taking the daughter of one of the Bennets on a date?”

She rolled her eyes. ‘‘It’s just a name, Josh. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “I’m not even a wolf, and even I know the Bennet pack is like some weird kind of wolf royalty. You being the daughter of Bennet is already intimidating, in case that wasn’t clear, Princessa.” He said, emphasizing the last word – as if to drive home the reminder that that was the reason he called her that name in the first place.

She blushed, “I’m not a princess, Josh.” She muttered, rolling her eyes. “I’m just an orphan who was found by strangers kind enough to take her in. Who just so happened to be Bennets.” She stated, unsure of why it came out sounding biter. She had grown to like her new life, her family. Her pack. She had hardly any memories from before she was found – all she could remember was fire, and her nightmares of that had been rare lately. 

Josh came to a half and she stopped walking herself as they both stood staring out at the water. He turned to look at her. “Well, lucky for you, that family that took you in was royalty.” 

“Is that why you never… you know. I mean, after a while, it seemed like you didn’t like me. Not in that way, so I thought you just wanted to be friends.”

He gave a sad smily, “I’ve always liked you in that way, Princessa.” He whispered. But you were…”

“A Bennet?” She squeezed his hand and knocked her shoulder against his. 

“Exactly. You’re too good for me. Pretty, smart, strong and royalty? What chance did I have? Hell, I bet if you met any other wolves, they’d be impressed by your name alone.”

“Oh, and your not?”

“I’m impressed by many things about you.” He shrugged. 

The blush in her cheeks deepened.

“Well, believe it or not, Espinoza. You’re a Bennet too.”

“Am I?”

“Of course. You’re pack. Don’t forget that.”

He smiled at her. 

They walked on.

***

He pulled up to her driveway. He walked around and opened her door, then walked her up to her front door at the house. She noticed there was movement behind one of the windows as one of the curtains fluttered shut, and she knew Robbie and Kelly were waiting inside for her; she figured Robbie was probably attempting to spy on them while Kelly held him back. 

Josh smiled at her, as if he also knew the same thing she did. The porch light above them bathed them in warm light. 

“What about... prom? Are you, I mean, if you plan on going, that is.”

“Prom?” She hadn’t even considered it. School dances were never really her thing.

“Yeah. I just thought maybe... if you were free. That you would want to go. With me?” He asked, his eyes darting around as he rubbed the back of his dark hair. 

“Oh!” She exclaimed, the pieces clicking into place. She hadn’t expected him to ask her that. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” she smiled, her cheeks flushing.

He nodded, the relief rolling off of him and the waves, and she bathed in the feeling of green. 

His gaze met hers once again, and he looked her over. 

“Well, good night.” She said, hesitating to open the door.

He nodded.

“Good night, Princessa,” he whispered.

She turned, her hand on the doorknob, her chest dropping in slight disappointment as Josh took a step away.

But then his hand was on her waist and he was turning her back towards him, and then his lips were on hers; she closed her eyes in response, the sound of their beating hearts reverberating in her ears. She stood up on her tiptoes and brought her arms up, wrapping them around his neck, her hands draped loosley behind him. He brought his other hand up, caressing her cheek while he still held her hip and walked her back towards the door. Her waist was burning underneath his touch, his thumb stroking her side through her dress which caused goosebumps to trail along her arm. He deepend the kiss, causing her to moan into his mouth.

He broke away, then brought his foreheads to those so that they were touching; they stared at each other, their breaths ragged as their chests heaved from their lack of breath. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and smiled down at her, his gaze flitting from her eye to her lips and back again. 

He looked at her as if she were the only thing in the world. 

She didn’t know what to say as she stood there, stunned.

He took a step back and nodded, then turned and walked back to his car.

She blinked away the moment, then turned back to the door, twisted the doorknob, and stepped inside. 

Chapter Text

After some invasive questioning from Robbie and Kelly, Art eventually told them about (and also convinced them to let her go to) the dance with Josh. Although, they had some new rules when it came to the two of them together. Like having her leave her door open and lessening their time spent alone together, which she had to refrain from rolling her eyes at. 

A few days later, after telling her the news, Art once again found herself at the mall with Josslyn; she couldn’t help but compare her life now to where she had been in her life the last time she had gone clothes shopping with her friend. When she had been recently single and dress shopping and now here she was dress shopping, only now she was dating... her new boyfriend? Was Josh her boyfriend now? Or were they just dating? Was there even a difference?

They still had a few weeks to go before the prom, but Josslyn had already booked her appointments to get her hair and nails done beforehand while they went dress shopping. 

“First, we have to figure out your look.”

“My look?” Art asked, arching her eyebrows.

“Yeah, I mean. What kind of look are we going for here?”

“I was thinking... clothed?” Art shrugged.

Josshlyn rolled her eyes and said, “Okaaayy, how about a color? Length? Style? Work with me here, Bennett!”

Art sighed. “I don’t know! Just something nice.”

“Ugh.” Josslyn threw up her hands as she walked off to find some dresses for them both to try on.

“First, let’s try and find your color,” Josslyn said as she held up a few dresses hanging from her arms.

“My color?”

“Yes! You know. The color that speaks to you and makes you pop. What about pink?”

“Why pink?”

“I mean, your room is pink.” Josslyn shrugged.

“That’s because my dads didn’t know what other color to pick.” Art rolled her eyes but smiled at the memory. 

“Then why haven’t you changed it?”

“I…I mean, I like it. The way it is. They went out of their way to do that for me, you know?”

“Well, we can at least try pink. Here, try these.” Josslyn said as she threw a pile of dresses at Art and they were all overwhelmingly pink. 

“I’m not sure this is... me?” Art said, after trying on the fifth pink dress that made her look washed out. 

“Well, that little black number I picked out was also cute. We’ll try black. Here.”

Before she knew it, Art was drowning in sparkles and lace. “Must they all be so... I dunno, dressy?” She complained. She already didn’t care much for clothes, and she cared even less about fancy clothes. 

“Why don’t I just wear that dress you picked out for me for our date?”

Josslyn gasped as if she had been struck in the chest. “Wear the same dress you’ve already worn to prom?! Do you want to commit a crime against fashion?!”

Art rolled her eyes. “It’s just a dress. What’s the big deal?”

“One. He’s already seen it. And two. You already own it. Prom gives you an excuse to pick a new dress. Besides, it’s not like you can’t afford it.” She came around behind Art, placing her hands on Art’s shoulders, and brushed her hair aside.

 Together, they stared at Art in the mirror in front of them as she wore a black frilly dress that looked like it belonged in the eighties. Josslyn put her chin on Art’s shoulder. “Just imagine it. You’re walking down your stairs in something that makes you look like the hot young woman you are. He looks up at you and he’s so shocked that his jaw drops to the floor and he gives you. The Look.” Josslyn wagged her eyebrows.

“The Look?”

“You know. The Look. Like you’re the only thing that exists in the world. Now we can’t do that unless we find you The Dress. So let’s pick a few more.” She came back with an armful of dresses in a rainbow of styles and colors. 

They spent far too long trying them all on, only for Art to come back empty-handed, although Josslyn found a cute little pink number that would have been slightly too revealing for Art to take, knowing what her father’s reactions would be.

Art had invited Jossltyn to join them in a sort of friend group effort, but she declined, stating she didn’t want to be the third wheel and that she could find a date on her own. Thank you very much. 

“Well, we still have time. Time for you to find a dress. And time for me to find a date.” She winked at Art as they left the mall and headed towards home. 

***

It was Sunday tradition. The weather was warm and perfect without being too hot. The pack came together for Sunday dinner and sat at their table outside, enjoying the nice weather, as the sun slowly started to set behind the trees. 

Art sat beside Josh, smiling whenever their legs or arms brushed together. She resolutely ignored Robbie’s spontaneous glares from across the table. Luckily, Robbie was mostly distracted by Kelly, whom Robbie couldn’t help but stare at as if he hung the moon, while Kelly laughed at something Robbie had said. 

“I think your dad might want to get rid of me,” Josh leaned over and muttered to her, causing a quick glare from Robbie. “If I go missing, put him down as suspect number one.” 

Art smiled, nudging him playfully. “I think you’re safe for now,” she said, glancing back at Robbie guiltily, while something else Kelly said grabbed Robbie’s attention once more. 

Soon enough, the attention shifted to the two of them as Elizabeth stared at them from across the table, folded her hands together, placed her chin on them, and gave a friendly smile. “Well, don’t you two look so cute together?” Art blushed, looking down into her lap as Josh squeezed her hand in his own, underneath the table. “And have we coordinated for this little prom dance of yours?”

Art and Josh both turned and looked at each other, surprised.

“You told them about that?” Art asked, surprised. 

“Well, ye-es? Was I not supposed to? I didn’t think it was a secret.”

“Well, no I just – does everybody know?”

“Obviously,” Gordo snorted. “Have you met this pack?”

“Yeah, you kids can forget about boundaries,” Carter interjected, taking a bite of food, “Whatever you two end up doing that night, we’re all going to know about it everntually.”

“Your son better keep his hands to himself, if he knows what’s good for him.” Robbie narrowed his eyes, looking over at Rico, who was making heart eyes at Bambi. Rico then looked over at Art and Josh together. 

“Now, lobito, my son knows better than that. Although you can’t tell me you wouldn’t be ecstatic to have little grandkids running around.” He winked. 

Robbies face went place, his eyes wide, as if he were torn between being scandalized at the idea of the two kids being together or being content with the idea of having fictional grandkids. 

“I’m kidding, lobito, relax. Nah, my son knows better than that. And that if he doesn’t, he knows his parents will kill him ourselves, isn’t that right dear?” Rico shot back, glaring at Josh, but then it gave way to a smile,  as he winked at the two of them. “Just make sure to use protection is all.” He shrugged as Bambi playfully slapped his shoulder. 

“Daaad,” Josh groaned, burying his face in his hands as Art blushed a deep crimson, as she slowly slid further down underneath the table.

Robbie’s jaw dropped in shock, his face reddening, “Rico!”

“What, lobito? If he anything like me at that age, then- you know what. Nevermind.”

Gordo, Chris, and Tanner all laughed as Gordo said, “If he’s anything like you were at that age, then you have nothing to worry about, kid.” 

“Yeah, it took you years to even talk to a girl,” Tanner added as Rico sputtered in protest. 

“Well,” Bambi interjected, “maybe it’s good we’re discussing this now. I know how kids can get on their prom night.” She winked at them, and they froze. Art could smell the sickening, sweet smell of embarrassment radiating off both herself and Josh. “We’ll make sure to send Josh over with, uh,” she glanced at Robbie and Kelly, “any necessities.”

“Mom!” Josh groaned, “Can we please stop talking about… that?” He glanced wearily at Art, “I can assure you there won’t be any er, things happening.”

“There won’t?” Art asked innocently, cocking her head at him and meeting his gaze.

He turned to look at her, his eyes wide in shock. “I mean, unless you… unless you want to, that is. I – I just meant-”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m kidding, Espinoza, relax.” she said, giving him a playful shove and actively avoiding the glares she knew her fathers were giving her. “Our parents would kill us, remember?” She said smugly, smirking at him. 

“No mating!” Robbie shouted at them abruptly, standing up and pointing a finger at them, his face reddening, before he turned around and walked back toward the pack house. Kelly gave them a courteous glance before following after him. 

“That went well,” Josh stated, and she felt the corners of her lips tug up into a small smile. 

***

Later, at the pack house, after the pack had finished their Sunday tradition dinner, Art was painting up in the attic with Elizabeth. The rest of the pack had gone back to their own homes for the night, but Robbie and Kelly had stayed and were in the kitchen, assisting in doing the dishes and cleaning up as Kelly talked Robbie down some more. 

Elizabeth had asked her about her schooling and college applications. Elizabeth had been the one to tell her and encourage her about applying to Juliard; she was still waiting to hear back from them and was trying not to get her hopes up. 

“There’s still time. I could always stay close to the pack, too. Kelly did that; he didn’t want to be away from us for so long. I think he saw how much Carter missed everyone and decided he didn’t want that.”

“I know. It’s just… There’s more to the world than... here.”

“True. You don’t need college to see it all. And no matter where you go or end up, you’ll still be pack.” Elizabeth’s voice had a motherly tone to it as she brushed Art’s long blonde hair from one shoulder to the other, her hands lovingly stroking it as they sat on the attic floor, covered in paint, their canvases set aside. 

“Now, enough about the future. Let’s focus on the present. Have you found a dress to wear yet?”

Art shook her head, “We looked but. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m really the dress-up type.” 

“Well, if it’s alright with you, I might have something. Wait here.” 

Elizabeth came back and held out a dress that was the prettiest green Art had ever seen. It was a silky emerald green dress that had a layer of shimmer to it, with a heartline neckline and short off-shoulder sleeves, along with a slit up the thigh. 

The color itself reminded of the reliefreliefrelief of the threads in her pack.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, reaching out to rub the material between her forefinger and thumb.

“Yes, well. I did have style back in the day. It was one of the first fancy dresses I wore to a special wolf event. Although, now that I think about it, I can’t really remember what the event was even for. Here, try it on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think it’d suit you quite well,” Elizabeth said, her blue eyes peering into Art’s emerald ones. 

Art hesitantly took the dress and went to get changed. The silky fabric fit her like a glove, and she couldn’t help but run her hands along it. Eventually, she stepped out, showing it off to Elizabeth. 

“You look amazing. Let’s go show your dads, shall we?” 

Art slowly descended the stairs in her bare feet, the fabric swishing as she walked. She held it up in the corner on the side of the slit that went up the high so she didn’t trip over the dress. 

Kelly and Robbie were now in the living room, talking lowly to each other. Once they heard her footsteps, they both immediately stopped talking and turned, looking up the stairs at her. 

Emerald’s eyes collided as she and Robbie stared at each other. Robbie’s mouth dropped open, agape as he took her in, Kelly smiled as he stood next to him. 

“It’s just an idea,” she stated, blushing, not knowing what else to say. 

“You look... beautiful,” Robbie said, his voice choking as his green eyes watered. 

“I think this is a fine choice,” Kelly said, soothingly rubbing Robbies back. 

“Is it okay? I mean, I know you’re not exactly ecstatic about-” she started, afraid they might find something too revealing about this dress. 

“You’re just... so pretty. And-so grown up.” Robbe gave her a watery smile before pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly, kissing the top of her hair. 

“Daad,” she groaned, rolling her eyes into his chest. Kelly came around to her other side, making a circle of the three of them. 

“You’re going to be so pretty, he won’t be able to keep his hands off you.” Kelly teased.

Robbie pulled away slightly, riled up. “He’d better not touch you.” 

“We know!” Art and Kelly yelled back in unison. 

***

Later that night, after she had showered and changed into her pajamas, there was a knock on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure. What’s… up?” she said hesitatnly, switching to sitting in a criss-cross position on her bed. 

Robbie said hesitantly, “Can we talk?”

She bit her lip, looking down and fidgeting with her hands. “Is this about the dress? ‘Cause I can totally look for something else if it’s too-”

Robbie shook his head, going to sit down on the edge of the bed. “It’s not about the dress. It-it suits you. if you want to wear it then you should.”

“Oh.”

“It’s-”

“Is it about Josh?”

He gave her a slight smile. “Look, I know I can be... a little overprotective,” she gave him a look. “Okay. A lot overprotective,” he shrugged, smiling at her. “But it’s only because I want what’s best for you. For you to be happy. And if this boy-”

She rolled her eyes, “Dad. It’s just Josh-”

He held up a hand to stop her before continuing, “If this boy,” he went on, “makes you happy, then I’m happy for you two. Just be smart. And safe. And have fun that night.” He paused. “And whatever ends up happening between you two...” he sighed, “Just…be… careful.”

“Ew, dad-”

He raised his hands up in defense. “Hey, it’s not exactly thrilling for me to talk about this stuff either, you know.”

She blushed, “You do know he’s Rico’s, son, right?”

“Yes. And I know how Rico can be. And I know that he’s pack. And just so you know, he’ll still be pack no matter what happens between the two of you.  And believe it or not, I care about him too. He’s family and so are you.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. He’s pack. And although he may be pack, you’re my daughter. Don’t forget that.”

“We’re Bennetts.”

He smiled at her. “Yeah.”

She looked up to find Kelly leaning in the doorway. “C’mon, Mr. Bennett,” he said, giving Art a wink. “We should let our little Princessa get her beauty rest.” He said copying Josh’s accent, causing her to blush. 

Robbie smiled, noddding at Kelly, then looked back at her before he stood up and followed Kelly out. He paused at the door, as if he were deciding what to say, then turned back to look at her. “Just... don’t grow up too fast, okay?”

She rolled her eyes at him, but when he went to shut the door, she said in a small voice. “Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for… just thanks.”

She gave him a small smile as he left, closing the door behind him.

She sighed, looking over at her bedside table, where the glasses Robbie had given her years ago sat, above the drawer that the stone wolf she had been gifted was lying in, out of sight and tucked away where nothing could happen to it.

She looked back at her bed, and for the first time in a long time, she picked up the stuffed wolf Robbie had given her so many years ago, when he had first found her, causing her to make him his tether. She squeezed it to her chest, placing her chin on top of it’s head as she thought about that time all those years ago.

She pulled on the thread to her tether, feeling the thrum of Robbie’s heartbeat. She could feel a warm sensation coming from him, like a ray of sunshine washing over her, coming off her tether, making her feel safe as she fell asleep to the beat of the thrum of her tether going DaughterLovePack.

Chapter Text

The sun slowly descended when Josh arrived at the blue house. Art could hear his heartbeat racing downstairs as he sat awkwardly with Robbie and Kelly, Robbie giving vague threats and instructions as to what time to have her home by, while Kelly played host, offering him a drink.

She looked at her appearance once last time in the mirror, her green dress fitting her body like a glove and shimmering in the light every time she moved. She had her blonde hair done up, tendrils of hair falling in a way that framed her face, along with a light layer of makeup. 

She took one final breath before leaving her room and slowly making her descent down the stairs. She locked eyes with Josh as she made her way down; he was wearing a tux and was dressed up; his curly, dark hair framed his face as it felt down in waves above his shoulders. He looked up at her, stunned, and Art smiled to herself, thinking that this was it—this was The Look Josslyn had mentioned before—and then she heard it. She heard his heartbeat race and how it actually skipped a beat once he saw her. She glanced at Kelly and Robbie, their eyes widening slightly, and she knew they had heard it too. 

Josh smiled at her, offering her his arm as she came to the bottom of the stairs. “Hey,” he breathed.

“Hi,” she said, staring at him as his eyes traveled across her face. 

“You look... nice,” he said, a faint blush sweeping across his cheeks.

“Thanks. You too.” She smiled as they stared at each other awkwardly. 

“Smile, you two!” Kelly beamed as he held up his phone to take pictures, while Robbie stood behind him, scowling, his arms across his chest. 

“Daad!” Art rolled her eyes as Josh smiled, obliging Kelly’s request.

“We should, uh,” Josh started, his eyes darting towards the door. 

“Oh. Sure.”

“Have fun, you two,” Kelly called after them once he had taken a few more pictures, as Robbie mumbled vague threats under his breath, his eyes narrowing at Josh. 

Since Green Creek was such a small town, the only place to host the prom was at the school gymnasium. Students stood around, mingling with each other as the DJ played some popular music while multicolored lights blinked in sync. Students lined the walls or were dancing, some getting their pictures taken or grabbing punch from the punch bowl, almost like something out of a regular 2000’s teen movie.

Josslyn ran up to them, her baby pink dress showing off more leg and cleavage than Art could fathom having. Josslyn pulled her into a hug and then away, looking her up and down. “You look gorge!” She squealed. 

“You too,” Art said, smiling at her.

“Josh.” Josslyn stated, giving a curt nod in his direction.

“Joss.” He mimicked.

Art glanced between the two of them awkwardly. 

“Do you... want to dance?” Josh asked Art, breaking the awkward silence. She flushed but nodded, glancing at Josslyn apologetically.

“We’ll catch up later,” Josslyn winked at her before making off towards the punch bowl. 

Josh led her out to the dance floor, and Art was grateful that, for once, her little dance lessons from Elizabeth were finally paying off. She usually had two left feet, but she managed to avoid tripping over them as they both swayed side to side. She was acutely aware of Josh’s hands at her waist and how she could feel their warmth through the thin fabric of her dress as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“So.”

“So,” she mimicked as they swayed to the tune of their own pack music—Art humming under her breath to the sound of Peggy with her guitar, which started to play in their heads.

“Have you thought more about what you plan to do after school?”

“I’m still waiting to hear back from some colleges.”

“So. Does that mean you want to leave? Green Creek?”

She shrugged. I don’t know. Depends, I guess.”

“On what?” He twirled her around once, then brought her back into his arms. 

“On where I get in.”

“Oh.”

“I mean. It’s not like I’ll never come back. Besides, I might not even get in anywhere. Then we can both be stuck here.”

“Stuck?” He frowned.

“I didn’t mean-”

“I know.” He gave a small smile. “You’ll get in.”

“You know how I said... you could come with me?”

Josh nodded, their steps slowing, then sighed. “I dunno. College isn’t for me.”

“It could be.”

“You’re the smart one in the pack, Princessa. Get it from your dads.” He winked. 

“Well, you could. Get a job. And we could share a place off campus.”

He gave her a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sounds nice.” 

“It does.”

They danced on. 

After a few beats of silence, Josh spoke again. “You really want to leave this place? I thought it was... home.”

“It is. But so is the pack. And we’ll always have that. It’s a big world.”

“It is.” 

“I mean, don’t you want to see it?”

“See what?”

“What’s out there?”

He shrugged. “Why would I? I have everything I want. Need. Right here. Family. Pack.” He paused, then looked at her, his golden brown eyes boring into her emerald ones, and she could feel the beat of their hearts racing in sync as he said, “You.” She flushed, barely registering that they had come to a stop. “That’s enough for me.”

“Oh.” She breathed, looking down. “I-” she started, but then she felt a sudden tug, an urgency passing through her, the threads of the pack vibrating with panic.  It was as if a sudden alarm had gone off, vibrating throughout her body. She cringed as they pulled away from each other, both of them grimacing in pain and clutching their heads. The pack members’ voices were swirling around them in alarm, anger, and hurt.

She looked back up at Josh, his eyes wide. “Did you feel-”

“Yeah,” he said, grabbing her hand. 

“Something’s wrong,” she said, unable to keep the panic out of her voice. 

“Let’s go,” he tugged her by the arm, and they were running, running, running home. 

***

 Josh drove them to the blue house, but the lights were off, as well as at the pack house. The alarming panic in the threads was getting stronger, pulling them along, and a sense of panic and urgency washed over them.

They pulled up to the blue house and exited the car, Art leaving her heels inside. Josh grabbed her hand as they ran through the woods of their territory.

They got closer to the territory’s clearing when, all of a sudden, a bright burst of purple light erupted from within the forest, so bright that they were forced to look away, shielding their eyes from it.

They heard Rico in their minds, a tug of help reverberating through them. They heard a whine coming from the direction of the clearing. “Dad!” Josh exclaimed as he let go of Art’s hand and ran ahead.

She ran after him, her dress tearing as she shifted into her wolf, the scraps of what was once her prom dress falling to the wayside. They ran and ran until they came to the edge of the clearing, stopping on the outskirts as they watched the scene before them unfold.

A pack of wolves stood in the clearing, circling the middle of it, as three people stood in the middle—people Art had never seen before. They had tattoos along their arms—two women and one man—and she could smell the overwhelming scent of magic radiating off them. Gordo stood across from them, the tattoos glowing on his arms, and a bright light of purple mixed with black was swirling around the area as if the two magics were fighting against each other. 

Elizabeth, Tanner, Chris, and Rico stood off to one side, their hackles raised as they growled through their fangs. Bambi, Jessie, and Dominique stood a ways away, their weapons at the ready.

On the other side of the clearing, Carter brushed against Kelly, and Robbie was on Kelly’s other side. They all had wounds that were still healing, and their fur was stained with blood. 

Art growled at the scene, her ears laying flat against her head. 

A gust of dark magic hit Rico, and he went soaring, landing on top of Carter and Kelly.  “Dad!” Josh yelled, starting forward, but Art shifted and pulled him back.

“Josh, don’t-”

He whirled on her, searching her face, his eyes wild with panic. “Are you kidding? Our parents—no, our pack is out there.”

“And we don’t want them to know we’re here or we won’t be able to help. Just wait for now, please.” She begged, her eyes wide and tearful as she searched his eyes; the brown pools were almost black now, and his face was twisted in rage and concern. 

He looked from her and back to the clearing, witnessing the mess—their blood and their pack slowly falling to the wayside. He paused, and she swore for a moment that he was about to leave her. 

Slowly, he nodded, and she pulled him back into the trees as they watched and waited. 

Ox shifted back to human, with Joe still at his side as a huge white wolf.

“What is it that you want?”

“We want your magic, Alpha Matheson.”

“You have magic,” Gordo grumbled, wincing as the magic took his energy. Mark nudged up against him, his tail curling around Gordo’s waist.

“The magic of this territory.” One of the other two witches said. 

“Your Alpha powers are too strong. This territory is too strong, and we want it for ourselves. One way or another, we will obtain your pack magic. And figure out who and what you are—the human turned Alpha.”

“Witches can’t have wolf magic. You’ll die.” Gordo spoke through clenched teeth, the magic still swirling around them all. The air around him felt static, with the wind picking up like the beginning of a tornado. 

“It used to be like that for weak witches. But we have found a way to hone it and make it our own. And we plan to take it from you.”

“Why?” Ox asked, his power radiating off him. The pack was agitated, the threads being plucked like the strings of a violin, playing staccato music. They could feel an undercurrent of power radiating from Ox, telling them to wait and stand down. For now. 

“Because, Alpha Matheson. We have a deal to uphold. And because we can.”

“A deal with who?” Joe asked, half-shifting. 

“That is none of your concern, Bennett.”

“You were the reason for those feral wolves coming through, weren’t you?” Robbie said, shifting himself as he stumbled forward, clutching his arm as it dripped blood onto the grass. His wound was slowly healing, but it was slower than usual. 

Art gave a low growl, but Josh turned to quiet her.

“Oh, very good, little wolf.” The witch said this, smiling. It was all teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a job to finish.” 

The witch looked over at the other two witches who stood next to her—the other woman and the man—and they both nodded, raising their arms as their tattoos glowed and swirled with symbols of black and purple. The symbols moved along their arms, then up and into the air, swirling around their heads, creating a blackened storm cloud above them. Visible wards took shape in front of the witches; hexagonal shapes spread out around the witches in the shape of a dome, pulsating in bright yellow. 

Then chaos unfolded as the wolves rushed forward, fangs bared, and lunged for the wards, crashing into them again and again. Meanwhile, Gordo was muttering under his breath, the rose tattoos on his arms moving as purple bursts of light crashed into the shield over and over until there was a crack. Magic was attacking their pack, and their pack was running, fighting, and trying to attack the witch’s own shield to weaken it, causing their claws to bleed from scratching at it.

Finally, there was a crack in the wards, and with a final flourish, Gordo’s magic rushed forth and shattered them. The witches charged forward, blasting magic at the wolves, who ran towards them, dodging and snapping their teeth as they reached their claws out towards the witches. The witches jumped further than seemed possible out of the way, as if they were flying. 

Then feral wolves slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees, their eyes a bright violet as they growled, baring their teeth. They were mangy and scrawny, as if they hadn’t been able to hunt for a while, starving for anything they could sink their teeth into. 

The pack turned towards the feral wolves, hackles raised as Gordo stepped forward, creating his own wards that acted as a shield for the pack against the ferals.

The other side where the witches stood was left open, and one of the witches shot out a magical gust of wind that slammed Robbie into a tree, the sound of bones breaking echoing across the clearing. Robbie whined and slumped against the tree as Kelly ran to him. 

That did it for Art. 

She felt rage like she had never felt before.

The thread in Art’s tether burned so hot that she felt like she was on fire.

She burst forth from the outskirts of the clearing, ignoring Josh as he tried to stop her, but then she was roaring and singing a song of war as she howled and ran towards the feral wolves, ignoring the cries of her pack around her.

“Artemis!” She barely registered Kelly’s voice, laced with panic.

She turned towards the closest wolf and bared her teeth, lunging until her teeth sank into the wolf’s neck. They howled, shaking her off until a burst of black magic shot her off, and she was flying, landing harshly on the ground.

“No,” Robbie whispered, shifting back to human,  Kelly was kneeling by his side and holding his hand. Robbie flashed his eyes, and then he was shifting again. 

Robbie ran towards the witch who had blasted Art with her black magic, and then he was leaping in the air, lunging for her, his teeth bared and his eyes glowing Halloween orange. He then half-shifted. "Don’t touch my daughter,” he growled before sinking his teeth into the witch’s neck, and she let out one last scream before the light left her eyes.

Art stood, shaking herself off, and Josh kneeled next to her. She flashed her eyes at him once more, letting him know she was okay.

“This isn’t safe,” he told her.

She whined in response.

“We have to get out of here.”

She growled in response. NotLeavingPack, she answered through the threads. 

He sighed , and she could feel it-she could feel him. He was scared—scared of losing her. Of losing his family. His parents. His pack. Everything.

She rubbed up against him, and all she could think was FriendFamilyLovePack. He placed a hand on her head, rubbing one of her ears between his fingers. “Okay,” he nodded, resolute. 

He stood up. “Okay.”

He turned to the scene in front of them. 

“Let’s do this, Princessa.” 

She gave a low growl.

“Don’t get hurt, or your dad will kill me.” 

Then he was running forward toward the clearing, Art on his heels, as they rushed towards the feral wolves.

Gordo, Dominque, and Jessie were focused on the witches, but the purple and black magic tornados continued to dance with each other, surrounding them all. Gordo assisted the girls in manipulating tree branches so Jessie could jump from one to the other, getting a few good blows in with her crowbar as Dominque followed, her fangs digging into the witches before dropping, the tree branches breaking her fall. 

The rest of the pack was focused on the feral wolves. They lunged at them, a mess of fangs and claws. Ox and Joe were at the front of their pack, attacking one wolf after another. Rico was knocked backward, and the sound of gunshots rang out as Bambi shot at the wolves from a distance.

Art and Josh both ran out into the clearing. “Mijo,” Rico’s broken voice whispered from the treeline as he stared at his son in horror. “You shouldn’t be here!”

“A little late for that, Dad.” Josh muttered.

“Joshua?!’ Bambi yelled in disbelief.

He gave her a small smile and a wave. “Hola,” he said guiltily.

Before anything else could be said one of the feral wolves was running toward Art and Josh, lunging at them. 

“Mijo!” Bambi exclaimed, and Josh looked up just in time to catch one of the guns she had thrown at him—the ones Rico used to use that were filled with silver bullets. 

He smiled at her. “Gracias, Mamá,” he said, and she nodded. Then Josh and Bambi both turned and fired their guns at the same time, most of them ringing true as the feral wolves fell down around them.

More feral wolves continued to reemerge from the trees, and for every feral wolf that went down, a new one seemed to appear.

There were two witches left standing, and they had replaced the wards around them once more. Gordo continued to attack it but was sweating and shaking as he fell to his knees, with Mark pressing into his back to hold him up. 

The pack was battered and beaten and strewed around the clearing, blood covering their fur and fangs, their orange eyes glowing among the trees. Their wounds were slowly healing—the dark magic was making them slower than normal. 

“Enough,” Joe said, half-shifting, his eyes glowing as he howled, causing the trees to shake. The pack threads throbbed among them, their emotions swirling together into one thought of hurthurthurt.

“We can’t beat them. Their magic is too strong,” Gordo said through clenched teeth. 

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light throughout the clearing, blasting the witches backward, the white light shattering the black magic until there was no trace of it. Then another sudden burst of green surrounded them as if the territory and the magic within it were rising around them and protecting them.

 Art could have sworn she saw a glimpse of a white wolf with black spots on its chest and back, between the trees, but she blinked and it was gone 

One witch stood, regaining her footing, and stood in the center of the clearing now, a look of concern and twisted rage on her face. The feral wolves turned toward the two witches, saliva dripping from their fangs and their purple eyes glowing with hunger.

“No! No, I almost had it!” the female witch screamed. “Get back, you mangy mutts!” She yelled as the feral wolves started to advance towards her; it was as if they were turning on her.

“They’re losing control,” Jessie whispered. 

“What’s going on?!” The other witch, the man, screamed.

“I don’t—I almost had it! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” She yelled, taking a few steps backward, her heart beating rapidly and her eyes darting around wildly, panicking.

“It’s their magic. This territory. It’s like protecting them,” the male witch muttered as they slowly retreated, the feral wolves starting toward them 

Ox shifted back and stood tall. He looked bigger than ever, as if he were the whole world. She could hear it in his voice—the words of an Alpha. “You chose the wrong pack to mess with,” Ox stated, his eyes swirling with red and violet. The feral wolves were crowding around him, as if he had taken control over them, like with the Omegas.

The female witch narrowed her eyes at him. “Alpha of the Omegas.”

“But he’s only Alpha to the Omegas,” the other witch said in a high-pitched voice, “not the ferals.” 

“The ferals still have the Omega part in them; they still have a chance to turn back. And I have a hold on them now,” Ox explained.

“For now.” The female witch sneered. “This isn’t over, Bennett Pack.” 

The pack growled in response. 

She raised her arms, the symbols of magic swirling above her as a gust of wind surrounded them. There was static in the air, and then there was a big explosion of light, outlined in purple and black, and they were gone; all that remained was the scorch mark where they had been standing.

***

“What the hell was that?!” Chris asked as they collected themselves at the Bennett house in the office. 

“You kids shouldn’t have been there,” Rico said as he sat in a chair, his arm bandaged. They were all in distress, covered in wounds. They were healing but it was slower than usual. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“Oh, like, you all didn’t get hurt?” Josh yelled.“Where did they even come from? What happened to the wards?”
“They must have broken through them. We barely had time to register it before they all showed up.” Mark said.

“Their magic was... dark. It’s darker than I’ve ever felt before. It must be why you guys are healing so slowly. It’s attacking the wolf magic that allows you to heal,“ Gordo explained; he was frowning down, his eyebrows knit together as if lost in thought. 

“We could feel you. Through the bonds. We had to do something. And you all got hurt! We should have been there!” Josh was rambling, pacing back and forth, his arms swinging wildly. 

Ox put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. A slight wave of calm came over them all, but they were all too agitated for it to last very long.

“What exactly is it that they wanted?” Robbie asked, looking between Gordo and Ox.

“Power. The Bennett power. The power of our territory.” Ox said calmly as he went to look out the window of the study, his hands clasped behind his back. 

“They said they made a deal with someone. Another Alpha?” Robbie asked.

“Could be. But I can’t think of any Alphas who would see us as enemies anymore. Not after everything we’ve already been through.” Joe said. 

“It never ends, does it?” Kelly sighed, looking up at the ceiling, his mouth a thin line.

Robbie reached over and took Kelly’s hand in his. Then he turned to glare at Art and Josh. “Back to the two of you. That was very stupid of you to run into the middle of a fight like that.” 

“You needed help.” Josh glared at Robbie. 

“You could have gotten hurt! Both of you.” Robbie glanced at Art, a look of hurt and worry in his eyes that tugged at her, and she winced guiltily. 

“We felt you; everyone was panicking,” Josh yelled, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

“Then you should have felt that we were in trouble and gotten my daughter to safety first! Not to mention yourself. You’re supposed to protect her.” Robbie flashed his eyes in warning. 

Kelly put a placating hand on his arm. “Robbie-”

“We’re pack. The pack is supposed to be there and help each other out. I had to help protect all of you!”

“Stop it! Both of you,” Art said, coming to stand in between them. She turned to Robbie, “Josh is right. I would have come for you.” She looked around at the rest of the pack, “Any of you. Anytime. It’s what Pack does.” Art said, turning back to glare at Josh and Robbie, then flashed her eyes at them in warning.

“Enough,” Joe said, cutting in. “What’s done is done. What we need to do now is regroup and figure out a way to make sure we’re all safe for next time. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of them. They’ll be back, and when they do, we need to be ready.”

They turned to look at Ox for confirmation. 

“Ox?” Kelly asked. 

“Joe’s right.” Ox said without turning around from the window. “We need to be ready. For next time. Because ther will be a next time. For now, let’s see what we can find out about these people.”

The pack members eyed each other wearily, but nodded in agreement nonetheless and the room fell silent.

“Now, then, until that’s settled.” Ox turned around to face them all, his hands still clasped behind his back, and he had a small smile on his face. He looked between Art and Josh and said, “Other than that, how was the dance, you two?”

Chapter Text

A few weeks went by, and they heard no more about witches of Feral Wolves. Joe and Ox had contacted other Alphas to see what they knew, but it ended up being a dead end. Gordo had also reached out to Aileen and Patrice, who said they would get back to them if they found anything else. Everything had gone quiet since that night; no more witches or Feral Wolves had appeared. 

The pack continued their lives as normal and preoccupied themselves with Art and Josh’s graduation. The Bennetts were planning a combined graduation party for them, consisting of music, food, and practically the whole town being invited. 

Her college acceptance and rejection letters she had received distracted Art. There was one from one college in particular that she had hidden under her bed. She was still deciding what to do about it and everything that had happened, and she didn’t want to bring it up with Josh or the pack until she was completely sure of her decision. She skillfully avoided the subject of college with Josh, knowing it would only lead to them fighting as she tried to persuade him to go to college, which he continually brushed off, saying it wasn’t for him and that he didn’t belong there.

Finally, graduation day came and they both walked across the stage to the sound of their pack clapping and screaming out for them as their names were called. Afterward, they headed to the Bennett house, where everyone was assisting in setting things up for the party; food was being made and put outside on the long table while the record player played music over everyone’s voices. 

They were both forced to take many, many pictures with everyone in their pack and families and even just the two of them together (Robbie and Rico both teared up as their kids stood beside them). 

Later, when the sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon and the graduates had discarded their hats and robes, Art went outside and sat on the steps to the porch. She looked out at the sunset and the treeline of the forest that was their territory. 

“There you are,” Josh said a while later as he came out from the house, the screen door creaking shut behind him. “I was wondering where you had gotten off to. She heard his footsteps as he came to sit down beside her. “What are you doing out here?”

She gave him a small smile. “Just. Taking it all in.” She shrugged.

“Right, because it’s not like you can ever see it or anything.” He smirked. 

“Well, about that,” she said, blushing.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Does that mean-”

She nodded, unable to keep the smile from her face.

“Princessa! That’s amazing! You got in? See, I knew that you would!”

“You did.” She said, blushing. “I still can’t believe it myself. I mean, I’m really leaving.”

“Oh. Yeah,” he said hesitantly.

“So that’s it, then. You’re really going.”

‘I mean, I have to, don’t I? I worked so hard for this.”

“You did. it’s just-”

“Just what? I thought you’d be happy for me.” She turned to him, knitting her eyebrows together, and folded her arms across her chest. 

‘‘I am; it’s just. Is this really a good time to leave right now with everything that happened? After prom and all that?”

“I mean, if something happens, I’ll come back if I have to. But nothing else has happened in weeks, Josh; maybe they went away for good.”

He sighed, looking off towards the tree line. “We’re Bennett’s Princessa. There is always going to be something chasing us.”

“Even more reason for me to leave now while I still can.” She said, raising her voice without meaning to. 

They both stared out at the horizon and were silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Art broke the silence, and whispered, “You could come with me.”

He sighed. “I can’t do that, Princessa. Not anymore.”

“But what about what we talked about? During prom at the dance? An apartment off campus-”

“I know it’s just. I’m not like you. I can’t just leave my family; what if something happens?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘It’s not like I’m abandoning them.”

His eyes widened, and he looked at her, shocked. “Oh, hey, no, that’s not what I meant.” He told her, his voice calm and steady. He reached over, putting his hand on her leg, touching, always touching, she thought, knowing his scent would now be on her. The scent of campfire and warmth, safety, and home. 

“That’s how it sounded.” She snapped, tightening her arms around her chest. 

“Princessa c’mon-” 

“There you kids are!” Elizabeth called from inside the house, through the screen door. “Come back inside; we have cake, and everyone is looking for you.”

“Just forget it.” Art said, brushing his hand off and standing up. “Let’s discuss it later, okay?” 

And with that, she turned and headed back inside.

***

Weeks passed, and she avoided the topic altogether with Josh. It seemed like they were missing each other lately, only seeing each other at the pack house. Art kept herself busy working at the garage. She was thinking of what to tell Kelly and Robbie, and Gordo for that matter, if she decided to leave. 

A while later, she sat Robbie and Kelly down to tell them the news. She brought out the envelope, and they read it over multiple times before they enveloped her into their arms with tears in their eyes. 

“You got in!” Kelly exclaimed proudly.

“Yeah,” she said, fidgeting with her hands.

“Wow, there’s... so much to do! What did Josh say when you told him?”

“I... well, I haven’t decided if I’m going yet or not.” She admitted, thinking back to their argument on the porch. 

“Oh?” Kelly inquired in a high-pitched tone. 

“Oh.” Robbie stated at the same time, with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

“Yeah, it just. I mean, is now a really good time to leave the pack? What if something happens and I’m not here to help?” She said, knowing Josh had a point. 

“Even more reason for you to go,” Robbie muttered.

“Robbie-” Kelly interjected, his tone sharp. 

“I’m just saying it might be safer if she’s away from here after... everything.”

“Is that the only thing holding you back?” Kelly asked, turning back to her.

She shrugged. “It’s a lot of things. I mean, everyone I know is here.”

“You mean, like Josh?” Kelly said with a smirk.

“Among others,” she blushed.

Robbie sighed, “You shouldn’t do things just for a boy.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that.”

“Do you?” He asked, his tone suddenly serious as his gaze pierced hers. She dropped her eyes to the floor. 

Kelly stepped in, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We can’t make this decision for you, but it is important and something you really wanted for a while. It could be good for you to explore your options.”

“Didn’t you do school online so you could stay here with the pack?” She asked.

“Yes, and that’s fine too,” he gave Robbie a look, “but it's also something I always wondered about. What if I had gone away like your Uncle Carter? I just... don’t want you to have any regrets. Think about it some more before you decide anything, okay?” 

***

A few nights later, it was late, and it was raining outside. Art had moving boxes littered throughout her room as she started packing for college. It was still a while away 

She heard a knock on her window and looked over to see Josh outside, crouched low on the roof beside the windowsill. She over to open it and let him in; his hair was darker and matted to his forehead from the rain, and he wore a black shirt that clung to his skin and a navy bomber jacket over it. His eyes were dark, but there was a sort of fire lit in them, his jaw clenched, and his expression dark. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I have to talk to you.”

“What about?”

He came in through the window, his hair and clothes dripping water on the floor. “I heard you’re going to leave soon.”

“You heard right.”

“When were you going to tell me?”

“I tried to tell you, Josh. On the porch, remember?”

“I thought you were still thinking about it. I told you it might not be smart to leave right now.”

“It’s my decision, not yours. You know how hard I worked for this to happen. I thought you’d want me to go.”

“I do; it’s just not a good time, that’s all.”

“You said it yourself, Josh. We know something will always be after us. I can’t just put my whole life on hold and wait for it to happen!” She exclaimed as she continued to throw things into boxes.

“Look, I do want you to go. I know how hard you worked for this, and I want to be supportive.”

“So be supportive. Be a supportive boyfriend, Josh! Please. For me. Why are you acting this way?”

“Because!” He exclaimed, reaching out to grab her arm, holding her still as his dark eyes roved over her face. “Because I’m scared. I’m scared that I’m going to lose you. You’re going to go off and leave, and I-” He took a breath, then released her arm, looking away. “I’ll be here.”

“I told you to come with me.” 

“I know. And I want to, I just.”

“You just can’t leave them. The pack.” She finished for him. 

He nodded solemnly. “And I’m not saying that to hurt you. You should go. I know you’d stay if you could.”

She nodded, turning away from him. 

“Besides, this is probably for the better.”

“Oh?” she said, glancing at him.

“I mean, if you’re far away, then at least you’re safe.”

“Don’t.” She warned, being reminded of what Robbie had said. 

“Princessa-”

She put another piece of clothing down in a box and turned to him, a fire in her eyes. “Don’t act like I’m some damsel in distress who’s going away to be locked in some tower. If something happens, I want to know about it, and I’m going to come right back here. I can fight too, you know.”

He gave a resigned sigh, looking up at the ceiling as if he were exasperated. “I know. That’s one of the things I lo-” He stopped himself then, and her eyes widened at that. “I like about you.” He corrected. 

He coughed not his fist then looked away, his cheeks darkening. There was an awkward pause after that; the only sound was the sound of the rain pouring down outside. 

“What about us?” Art eventually whispered.

“I don’t know, Princessa.” He smiled at her sadly. 

“I’m going to visit.” She stated matter-of-factly. “And call.”

“I know,” he said sadly. 

“We could. We could try the long-distance thing.” She rushed on, saying more things about visits and calling as she paced around the room.

“I... want more than that. Not just for me, but for you too.” His voice broke through the rain, and she stopped. It felt like the whole world had gone silent. 

“Oh.” She sat down on the edge of her bed, looking down at the floor. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

She nodded, as she reached up to wipe the tears away that were streaming down her face. 

“For everything, all this.” He continued, “I should be supportive of you going, I just. I’m going to miss you.”

She looked up at that. “Me too,” she breathed, tears streaming down her voice as she tried to hold back her sobs. 

“Come here,” he whispered, stretching out his arms.

She went. How could she not? She ran to him with tears in her eyes.

He embraced her, his chin resting about her head. She always forgot how much taller he was than her now. ‘

Eventually, she pulled away, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes darted across his face. “This is it, isn’t it? We’re… breaking up.”

He nodded solemnly, “I’m afraid so Princessa.”

“Josh-”

“It’ll be okay. Really. We’ll always be pack. No matter what.”

***

Art spent the rest of the summer planning and packing and spending time with the pack members before she left for school in the fall. They had taken a few trips to the college to figure out where she would be staying, and mapping out her school schedule. Still, there was no indication of the witches or wolves coming back any time soon. 

Finally, fall was approaching, and Art was loading the rest of her stuff into the trunk of her car that she would be driving to New York. She planned to fly back to Green Creek for holidays or breaks when she wanted to visit.

The pack saw her off as she got ready to leave, packed and ready to go. She hugged each of them in turn but noticed Josh was missing and couldn’t help the sting in her heart from the realization. She didn’t know why she expected anything different. 

“I’m sure he wanted to be here,” Rico told her sadly.

She nodded. They had hardly spoken or seen each other the past few months except every now and again when they would accidentally run into each other, either at Gorod’s shop or Sunday dinners, which they each seemed to come up with excuses to avoid every other week or so. She had spent the first weeks sobbing into her pillow late at night, with Robbie and Kelly trying to comfort her. Eventually, she learned to muffle her sobs into her pillow so they wouldn’t worry so much. 

She would glance at her bedside drawer that held her stone wolf; she tried her hardest to ignore that drawer. Robbie and Kelly had tried to give her space, only bringing up school-related discussions, and even then only if she initiated it. 

Now, she was leaving for good and she realized she hadn’t seen him in so long. Even with all her pack members surrounding her, it still felt like something was missing without him there. Like a piece of her heart had been cut out and she didn’t know how to function without it or where to even begin to look for it. 

Robbie hugged her last before she got into her car to take off. “You call if you need anything. Anything at all.” He told her.

“I know.” She said into his chest as he hugged her, continuing to say more things about calling and visiting and asking if she had this or that. 

Eventually, she broke away and got into her car. She took off down the dirt road, her pack members in her rearview mirror. She got to the end of the dirt lane when she saw a figure running toward her, out from the trees a way off. She slammed on her breaks, hard and lurched forward in her driver’s seat as she looked back and realized it was Josh. 

She hurriedly undid her seat belt and opened her car door, rushing toward Josh as he ran toward her and they met in the middle. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I.. coming to see you off?” he said, his tone more of a question in between breaths. 

“Well… you’re late.” She stated, folding her arms across her chest.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He said reaching out to her but then decided the better of it. 

They stood there a moment. He broke the silence first. “So that’s it then.”

“It is.”

“You’re really leaving.”

“I am.”

He nodded.

“You-” he said at the same time she said “I-”

They stopped and stared at each other, taking each other in. 

She sighed. “I hate this.”

“Me too.” He said, giving her a sad smile. 

“Where have you been?”

“I… couldn’t be around you. It hurts too much, you know?” 

She nodded at that. 

“I just… I just came to say. That I’m sorry. And that I should have been more supportive and that you’re going to do great.”

“Thank you,” She muttered, her cheeks flushing. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll see you when I come visit?”

“Yeah,” he said sadly, “Maybe.” But she couldn’t ignore the stutter in his heart. 

She nodded, giving him her own sad smile. She turned back towards her car and he followed, closing her door for her as she got in. 

She rolled the window down and they stared at each other, and she knew this would be the last she would see of Josh Espinoza for a long time.

 She blinked away the tears as he gave a small wave; she waved back then took off and watched in the rearview mirror as Josh walked over to join the rest of the pack, who all stood together, getting smaller and smaller as she left Green Creek behind. 

Chapter Text

3 years, one month and twenty-six days 

It was Friday when Artemis Bennett finally came back home.

For good.

Artemis Bennett drove down a familiar dirt road, her car packed with her belongings. She could feel the territory of Green Creek pulling at her; the familiar smell of pine and cold air surrounded her. It was fall now, and the town would be celebrating Halloween soon. The town kids would stop by the garage and the pack house, and oh, and ah, as the guys there would half-shift for them (some of the younger kids screaming and running away before they got their candy).

She smiled at the memory as the familiar blue house came into view. Green Creek was calling out to her, saying here here you belong here, home home you are home at last. we’ve been waiting for you.

The threads between her and the pack were pulled taut as they resonated within her, stronger now than before. 

Finally, she pulled up to the blue house and turned the car off. 

She was home at last.

She had been back to Green Creek only a few times. For holiday breaks mostly, each time she noticed a certain pack member was missing whenever she would show up. 

“He said he’s just too busy,” Bambi told her sadly when she had asked.

She stopped asking after that. 

Now she was back home and here to stay. And they couldn’t avoid each other forever.

She had enjoyed her time away at school; had even been on a few dates and had a relationship with a girl while she was there. 

But things were different here, and she hadn’t seen that girl in quite some time now. 

She arrived at the blue house and went inside. It was quiet, motes of dust floating in the streams of sunlight in the kitchen window. She went upstairs to unpack her bags. Eventually, she heard the front door open, and with it the voices of Kelly and Robbie. 

She ran down the steps to them, and they both stopped upon seeing her.

They smiled, and she ran to them, and they enveloped her in their arms.

“Your hair!” Robbie exclaimed after she pulled back.

She blushed, “Do you like it? I thought it was time for a change.” She said, tucking her now short blonde hair behind her ear. Her long blonde hair that went down past her shoulders was now chopped short, to where it stopped just slightly underneath her chin. 

“It’s cute,” Kelly commented, as Robbie nodded.

“You look…” Robbie trailed off, giving a wobbly smile as tears filled his eyes.

“So grown up,” Kelly whispered, finishing for him.

She had changed over the years; she had kept her hair short throughout most of her college career, finding she had little time to take care of it; she had grown a little taller, and her oddities of curves and ridges finally grew into their places. Her chest was bigger and fuller, but it evened out with her torso, and her nose and eyes were no longer too big for her face; her glasses perched on her face as if they belonged there, among her smattering of freckles.

“How is everyone?’ She asked as Kelly and Robbie caught her up on whatever the pack was doing. “And why aren’t you at the garage?” She asked Robbie as an afterthought.

Kelly hid his smile behind a hand.

“Oh, well, I took off. For a bit. Or longer.” He responded, looking away, as if skirting the subject.

Art tilted her head quizzically. “What like, for a while? Like you quit?”

“Not quite. Tell her.” Kelly interjected. 

Robbie sighed. “Maybe we should talk about this later... No, I didn’t quit. I just... am taking some time off, is all.”

“Then who’s running the desk? Gordo? He hates the computer.”

“Well, maybe you should stop by the garage sometime and see.” He winked at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine. I need to see about my old job anyway.”

***

She stood on the corner outside the diner and took it all in—the shop name that now said ‘Bennetts’ in bright lights on the marquee. The familiar scene of motor oil and metal made her feel right at home. It was fall now, and the leaves littered the sidewalks and roads; the town was lit up in orange—they reminded her of Beta eyes.

She walked into the shop, the small bell ringing overhead, and she stopped dead in her tracks as a familiar voice washed over her. “Be right with you!” it shouted. Then,“Oh.” 

In front of her was Josh Espinoza. He was sitting at the front desk, a phone held to his ear as he stared at the computer monitor in front of him. He had a work shirt on with a patch stitched with his name.

They stared at each other.

Seconds passed, minutes, an eternity.

Slowly, very slowly, he hung the phone up as his eyes raked over her.

“What-what are you doing here?” She finally managed to say. 

He sighed and looked up in resignation. “Three years, and that’s the greeting I get?” he mumbled.

“There she is!” A familiar voice boomed from the room to the side. She turned to see Gordo, who was actually smiling at her for once, his arms outstretched as he came over and hugged her.

“Gordo!” she exclaimed., wrapping her arms around his neck. 

At the sound of that, Chris, Tanner, Rico, Gavin, and Ox all came out, each of them hugging her in turn.

“Mija! When did you get back?”

“Just today,” she shrugged. 

“Well, glad to have you back.”

“I see there have been some changes around here.” She eyed Josh. “For instance, what are you doing at my dad’s desk?” She narrowed her eyes at him accusingly.

He shrugged, smirking at her, his eyes flicking from the monitor. “I work here.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?!” she exclaimed. “You know nothing about cars.”

“And neither did your dad. Which is why he agreed to train me.”

“He trained you?”

“Yup.”

“You and my dad?” She couldn’t picture the two of them standing in the same room for very long, much less saying more than five words to each other. 

“What? It’s not like it’s hard.” He said, dropping back down to his desk chair and swiveling in it, his eyes roving over her as he twirled a pen between his fingers. The action caught her attention, and her gaze dropped to his hands. She noticed they were covered in small scars that hadn’t healed over—since Josh was still human, she reminded herself.

He caught her staring and dropped the pen. She lifted her eyes back to his, and he held her stare for a moment.

Finally, Gordo ordered the guys to get back to work. She turned to him.“You hired him? What about Dad?”

Gordo shrugged. “He didn’t seem to mind it. He said he wanted to spend more time at home with Kelly. God knows why,” he muttered under his breath.

“But I don’t understand,” she stammered, but she was left ignored as the guys went back to work in the garage and Gordo headed for his office. “Gordo!” she cried, following him.

“Don’t worry anout it. Also, you still have a job here. If you want it.”

Something about that implication warmed her—the feeling of belonging. She had originally come to ask about her job, but now things were different. Now she realized Josh would be there too. 

They’d be working together.

“Can I think about it?” She muttered, crossing her arms.

Gordo gave a long stare. “It’s there for you when you’re ready.” With that, he walked back to his office, silently shutting the door behind him.

She turned back to the front desk.

“Welcome back, Princessa.” Josh said, flashing her a smile that made her heart flip in her chest.

***

It was a Sunday. Sunday tradition. It would be the first in months that she would be attending, seeing everyone again. She had been able to attend a few sporadically here and there; Josh was never there, of course.

Which was why she was taken aback when she saw him sitting at the table outside, laughing along with something one of the guys from the shop had said. Chris and Tanner were across from him, and Rico and Bambi sat beside him. Off by the porch the Bennett brothers were grilling, while Elizabeth was doing her own cooking and gathering things inside the house.

“Oh,” Art said as she sidled up to the table. “You’re here.” Her voice had gone up an active in surprise.

Josh leaned back in his chair, looking up at her. “I am.” he stated. It was clear that was all he was going to say about the matter, which irritated her.

She opened her mouth to say something snarky back, but Elizabeth interrupted them, bringing out food to the table. Eventually, everyone all sat down, and they listened to their Alpha as Ox spoke about his daddy and how he would get shit while throwing in something about them all being back together again.

She flushed, embarrassed to know he was talking about her. She hadn’t even done her full schooling. She had dropped out to come home at the last stretch of school, with just a few more months to go; instead of graduating like she should be, she had decided to move back home. When she called Robbie and Kelly to tell them they were confused, as she sobbed into the phone. “If you’re sure,” Kelly told her, even though he himself sounded very unsure. No one had asked her why she had come back; they left everything unsaid, like a bomb would go off if anyone asked her about why she was back or what she had done to make her want to come back. 

Now she was sitting at the table with her pack around her, and they all knew she had failed; her face flushed as she looked down at her lap, unable to meet any of their eyes. 

She spent the rest of the meal staring down at her plate as she moved the food around with her fork. 

***

After a while of unpacking and getting settled in, she found she had nothing much else to do and went back to working her old job at the garage. 

She moved around the cars in the garage with ease, as if she had never left. Though a part of her heart sank at that thought that she had left and wasted all of those years just to find herself back where she had started.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “Good to have you back, Mija,” Rico told her. She felt a warmth flow through her at the sound of Rico’s voice welcoming her back. At least she was home, she thought. 

When the shop closed and they had ended their shifts, she walked back through the lobby towards the door, forcing herself to not look Josh’s way, her eyes locked in front of her. Her plan failed when he called out to her, “Hey,” he said as she walked by.

“Hey, yourself.” she muttered.

“Can we… I mean, are you busy right now?” 

Finally she looked over at him as he sat laid back in his desk chair, slightly swiveling it from side to side, his fingers drumming on the desk. “Depends.” She deadpanned. 

He smirked at that, “Oh? On what? You got a hot date or something I don’t know about?” 

She rolled her eyes, “On whatever it is you want. And maybe. You don’t know that I don’t.” She shrugged.

His eyes roamed her face and he slowly smiled, “You lie.” He teased. Then shrugged, “And what? I can’t have a chat with you after three years of being gone? There’s three years to catch up on, Princessa.’

And whose faults is that? she thought bitterly but held her tongue.

“Fine,” she sighed. 

“Perfect.” He grinned.

“So, where to?” she asked.

“The usual place okay?”

She nodded.

With that they started walking towards the woods, and eventually they fell into their old routine of walking their usual path throghout the territory. 

***

“Soo…” He started, as they walked along.

“Soo…” she mimicked. 

He gave her an apologetic look, “Guess I, uh don’t really remember how to do this.”

“Yeah, well. Guess that’s what happens after three years of being apart.” She said, her tone clipped as she crossed her arms in front of her and quickened her pace so she was slightly further ahead of him.

“Yeah, I guess we can’t just… pick up where we left off, huh?”

“Yeah, guess not.” She admitted softly, though a part of her chest ached at that thought. 

After a moment of awkward silence, she finally sighed and turned to him. “Can I ask you something? Why... Why were you never there? Every time I came back, you never...” She traield off, lowering her gaze to the leaf littered forest floor.

He sighed. “Because Princessa.” He gave her a sad smile. “I knew that if I ever saw you again... I wouldn’t be able to help myself.”

“What?” She looked up at that, her heart rate slightly quickening. 

“I would have run after you. Followed you to that fancy school of yours.” He looked away. 

“You mean leave the pack? And your home?”

“Yes.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

“But I asked you to come with me, and you said-” 

“I know what I said! I couldn’t. And I still stand by that decision. Because after everything that happened… if something bad happened again and I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.  But I knew that if I saw you when you came back here, I would—well, ignore that feeling and follow you out there anyway. It took everything not to, but I knew I had to stay here.”

“Oh.” A moment of silence passed as a bird flew overhead; slowly, everything around them became quiet, the only sound she could hear was their heartbeats.

“My turn.” He said turning to her, his eyes narrowing. “Why did you come back?”

“I…” She trailed off, thinking over her options. How much she wanted to tell him. She sighed, “I just. Couldn’t do it anymore,” she admitted. 

He raised his eyebrows at that. “You? I’m sure you were doing just fine.”

She shook her head. “No, I wasn’t. It’s just… You were all so far away. And everything was going so fast I couldn’t keep up. By the end, none of it made sense or mattered. My grades were slipping, I felt lonely all the time. Whenever there was a full moon and I wasn’t here it… hurt, you know? And... I just. I had to come home.”

She crouched down leaning her back against a nearby tree and wrapped her arms around her legs, tugging them up to her chest. She buried her face in them. “I just couldn’t do it, okay?” Her voice broke. “And I know… I know I’m supposed to be all smart, or whatever like my dad-like Kelly, and… I should be able to do it, right? I mean, everyone was waiting for me to do it – finish and graduate and believing in me… me, this… this nobody that just – that you guys all took in and that I should turn out to be some special genius or gifted kid or something but I just… I’m not, okay? I tried and…I. Just. Couldn’t.” She sobbed out, choking out a sob on the last word. 

She heard the sound of leaves crunching under Josh’s footsteps as he walked toward her, then felt him as he crouched down beside her and pulled her into him, hugging her close. The scent of campfire and smoke was overwhelming, and for the first time in a long time, she let him see her cry as she buried her face into his chest as he stroked her short hair.

“I like your hair.”

She pulled back laughing, tears in her eyes. 

A while later they were settled, their backs against the trees. “You know lots of people drop out. Or take a year off or whatever. So I heard.”

“Yeah. well. I’m not lots of people.”

He shook his head at that and smiled fondly. “Oh, I know. I know that very well. You’re Artemis Bennett. And that already makes you special enough. You know, no one in our pack is expecting you to be… more than who you are. And they took you in because they love you, you idiot. Special or not.” He bumped her shoulder with his own as they sat side by side. 

She sniffled, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Really?” she asked, turning to face him, her eyes wet. 

He gave a sympaethic look, hos eyes roaming over her face as if he was trying to memorize it. “Yeah,” he breathed. “So like, just forget about all that other stuff. 

“Feels like I kind of wasted my life.”

“Nah, I mean look at it this way. Now you know what you don’t want.”

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“I mean, you never wanted to leave… all this? See what else there is?” He was quiet at that for a moment, thinking. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to protect them all the time, you know. We’re pack and have each other. You could… go. Do whatever it is you want to do. And they’d be fine. You could-” she swallowed, fighting back her urge to sob, “You should have come with me.” she whispered.

He shook his head. “I… I know you might not know what you want. Not anymore. And that’s okay. But I do know what I want. And, believe it or not, it’s this.”

“Really? This.” she arched a brow at him

“Yes, really.”

“Green Creek.”

“Yes. Green Creek. I mean… we have werewolves here Princessa. How cool is that? And the shop just – I get to spend time with my family and it’s fun. Didn’t you miss it?”

She did. She had. She looked away, unable to admit it to him, that that was part of the reason she came back—to the shop, to pack… him. 

“Green Creek… and you.” He looked at her, his expression was serious as his eyes searched hers. And oh, how her heart skipped a beat at that. “It wasn’t the same without you.” He whispered. 

 “I guess you did kind of have the right idea to stay,” she grinned, looking away. 

“It’s not so bad.” he shrugged.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

“Josh?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

“Any time, Princessa.”

Chapter Text

A few weeks passed, and Art got used to her new life in her old town. She worked on cars in the garage again, sometimes being trusted with things more than the other guys were. Josh continued to work the desk, and their gazes would clash. During Sunday tradition, she would sit across from him at dinner, and he was there every time. He never looked away. 

Robbie and Kelly spent a lot of their time at home now that Robbie hasn’t gone to the shop. Sometimes he would stop by, though, to check up on how Josh was doing, or he would go talk to Gordo in his office. Kelly continued his job as the sheriff, but with it being such a small town, he didn’t have a whole lot of work to do, and he said he was planning on cutting back on some of his hours anyway. 

It felt odd with them being home all the time, almost smothering. The shop at least, was a nice getaway. Eventually, Josh asked to hang out with her more, and they gradually walked and talked together. She told him about her time at school, the friends she had made, and he told her wild stories about customers he had to deal with. 

Slowly, it felt like they were finding their way back to each other again. 

One day, Josh came to the blue house and asked her to take a walk with him. “It’s important.” He told her. She left the house with him while Kelly and Robbie were getting ready to go somewhere together, saying they would be out late that night. 

They walked along through the territory, keeping some distance between them as they did. It was getting colder out the longer they walked, and the clouds were getting thick overhead. Art crossed her arms over her chest as she walked along, guarded; she wasn’t exactly cold, but she was getting nervous. 

“So what is this very important thing you have to say?” She tried as he led her to a place that was all too familiar. They stopped a few steps away from the spot in their territory – their spot. He turned to her, his eyes traveled her up and down before he quickly looked away. Slowly, he took off his black hoodie before taking a step toward her and holding it out.

“Here.” He said to which she just stared. He rolled his eyes, then walked over to her, “It’s getting cold out…” he muttered, his face flushed. He towered over her, staring down at her.

“I’m fine.” She shrugged.
“Just… take it. C’mon, hands up.” He motioned, and she rolled her eyes but did what he said anyway as he put his hoodie over her head; the scent of campfire engulfed her as he did, slightly overpowering the scent of oncoming rain. 

“Thanks,” she muttered.

He smirked at her as he stepped back, “I think I rather like it when you wear my clothes.” 

“Good to know,” she smirked, “I could use some different clothes.” 

There was a mischievous glint in Josh’s eyes at that, “There she is.” He said, giving her a relaxed smile. 

“I don’t know what you mean. I’ve been here – for a few months now.” 

He shook his head, “Maybe physically, Princessa. But you’ve been a bit… lost. You can pretend like you aren’t, but I know you. I see you.” 

She didn’t quite know what to say that, so she looked away, tucking her short hair behind her ear, as a rumbling of thunder struck in the distance while the clouds continued to roll in.

“Why’d you bring me out here anyway?” 

“I wanted to give you something. I thought… I thought maybe it was time.” 

She stared at him. 

“Check your pocket,” he nodded towards the hoodie she was now wearing. 

She placed her hand in the middle pocket and pulled out a wood carving of a wolf.

“Oh,” she breathed.

“I made it,” he admitted. “While you were away. I learned... well, I learned how to work with wood. Build things, that sort of stuff. I know it’s not as fancy as that stone wolf you guys always give each other, but the sentiment is still the same.” 

She remembered then, the scars that were on his hands back at the shop when she first came back. She turned the wooden wolf over in her hands.

She looked back up at Josh, tears in her eyes. “I… I don’t know what to say. Are you sure?” 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Princessa.” 

Just then, she felt the first few drops of rain land on her cheeks. 

“It’s perfect,” she breathed as he pulled back and looked down at her, his eyes darkened by his blowout pupils. His eyes darted across her face, taking her in as if he had been starved. 

She kissed him then, wrapping her arms around his neck as he took a step back in surprise, but then his arms were around her, his hands warm on her back, and her face as he cupped her cheek. Her fingers laced around his neck, running through his dark locks. 

The sprinkling of rain turned into a downpour, and she was drowning in the mixed scent of fresh rain and campfire. They were both getting soaked, but Art didn’t care, the only thought in her mind now was JoshJoshJosh. 

He turned them around, backing her up against her tree as he deepened their kiss, his hands raking through her dampened hair, down her neck, and her shoulder, his lips following the path of rain droplets against her skin. His mouth traced her jawline down to her neck, their breathing was ragged as his hand gripped her waist; a brush of his warm skin just under her shirt that left her feeling an electric shock against the cold wetness of the rain. 

Slowly, she guided his hand further upward, underneath her shirt as rain poured down on them– his hand warm on her skin as she placed it above her heart, where he could feel how fast it was beating. His thumb brushed across the top of her breast and his lips were back on hers, his other hand gripping the side of her face. His thumb brushed against her cheek as he kissed her skin, going down, down, until his lips were on her clavicle. Then the top of her breast where her heart was and slowly down against her rib cage, and navel, her hands finding his dark hair, damp from the rain, and tugging at it, her hand going to the back of her mouth as her chest rose and fell rapidly, while she tried to remember to breathe. 

“We shouldn’t… do this here.” She gasped, slightly pulling him up and away. He stood back up, towering over her – his eyes dark as he took her in. “Oh?” he arched an eyebrow at her teasingly, flashing her a white smile. “And where exactly do you propose we do this then?”

She rolled her eyes, her whole body still warm and flushed – the places he had touched felt like they were burning. “C’mon,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him along until soon they were running as the rain poured down all around them. 

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see!”

They arrived at the blue house; the only car in the driveway was hers. She opened the door and was met with silence, then ran upstairs, Josh following behind. She grabbed a couple of towels for them to dry off with. She placed the wooden wolf on top of the nightstand, then slowly, she opened the nightstand drawer that she hadn’t dared to look at in a long while. Gently, she pulled the stone wolf her Alphas had made her so many years ago when she first joined the pack.

“Our Alphas made this for me. They told me to give it to someone special. That I would know who that was when it was time.” She smiled, glancing over her shoulder at Josh before sitting down on her bed. “I tried to give it to my Dad - to Robbie. I didn’t fully understand what it meant at the time. I do now.” Josh came over and sat by her; she pulled his arm and opened his hand, placing the stone wolf in it.

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

She nodded, smirking at him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, Joshua.” She mimicked. 

He smiled down at the stone wolf, rubbing the missing ear that had broken so many years earlier; they were just children then. “I’m sorry about that. I should have been more careful,” she whispered. 

“It’s okay,” he said. “I should have protected you better. I remember when this broke.”

“You were mad,” she shrugged. “Because it broke. I didn’t understand why you cared so much.”

“Because I knew, I think. Even then. I knew I wanted to be the person you gave it to.”
“You did?” She breathed. 
He nodded.

She burst out laughing then, causing him to slightly jump back in surprise. 

“You said I was weird and then threw peas at me!” She accused him. 

“You were smelling me! It was weird. And did you ever think that maybe I was doing all of that so I’d get your attention?”

She rolled her eyes at that. 

“Kids are dumb, okay? I grew out of it,” he shrugged.
“I don’t know about that,” she muttered, but he caught her eye and they both smirked at each other.

“So, all that about… me having cooties or whatever, and” – she gasped as she remembered things from their childhood– “my glasses! You said you hated them. I didn’t need them, and I should take them off.” She recalled, knowing that her glasses were now sitting in her nightstand drawer, and had been for some time now. 

“I didn’t say that I hated them. I just didn’t like how they hid your eyes. I like looking at them,” he shrugged, looking away. 

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Even when I shifted you…” she bit her lip, shaking her head, and crossed her arms over her chest as if to cover herself. “You always looked away…” she whispered, her cheeks flush as her eyes watered. She had forgotten how much it had bothered her until now.

“I…if I had looked at you when you were-like that,” he vaguely gestured to her 

“Like what? Naked?”

“Yes.” He said, exasperated, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands off you.”

“So, this whole time...”

He smiled at her. “I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you, Artemis Bennett.”

And oh. How that made her breath hitch. 

He kissed her then, more gently this time, as if he was savoring her. She leaned back farther on the bed, letting him lean over her as she started to unbutton his shirt. He pulled away slightly, as if surprised at her actions. 

She shrugged, blushing.

“It’s not my first time, not exactly,“ she told him. She had a girlfriend for a short time in college; they had started out as friends, and she made Art feel safe; she reminded her of home. Eventually, they drifted apart, and Art knew she had to go home, and her girlfriend at the time had said she belonged there. 

“It’s,” he swallowed. “The same for me.” He lifted his eyes to hers. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, reaching up to him, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’m sure,” she said.

Slowly, he rolled himself over so that she was aligned beneath him, then placed the stone wolf next to the wooden one on the nightstand. He looked back down at her, his hands caressing her temple, her cheeks, and her shoulder. Then his mouth was on hers, and she locked her arms around his neck. The only sound in the room was their ragged breathing. He kissed her shoulder, and she sat up, tugging his hoodie and then her shirt over her head so she was left in her black bra. 

He kissed the top of her breasts, glancing up at her as if for permission. She nodded, her breathing ragged, her face red. Slowly, his lips trailed down her chest and her abdomen, and then he was unbuttoning and slowly pulling her shorts off. 

He lifted his shirt above his head and let it fall to the floor; he came back up to her, his eyes meeting hers as she reached up, touching his bare skin; it burned under his hand. His muscles contracted as she traced the skin on his chest, lower down to his abdomen. He lowered his mouth to hers and took her hands in his, raising them above her head. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she sank into the kiss. 

He pulled away slightly, his mouth at her ear as he whispered, “I love you.”

She heard voices downstairs and the front door opening with her wolf hearing before Josh did. Her eyes widened. “They’re home,” she exclaimed, pushing him off her. “You have to hide!” she whispered, throwing his clothes at him from the floor.

“What? But—”

“Now!” she hissed, pushing him into the closet as she hurriedly threw her t-shirt on. 

“We’re back,” Kelly said, opening the door to see her sitting on the edge of her bed in nothing but a hoodie and underwear.

“Oh. Were you gone? I hadn’t noticed.” 

His eyes widened in surprise as he glanced over at the closet where she had stowed Josh away. He looked back at her, his eyes narrowed. He shook his head and sighed. 

“Seriously?”

“What?” She shrugged.

He sighed. “Just don’t tell your father about this,” he muttered as they heard Robbie still downstairs. “I don’t think he’d be as understanding.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Uh-huh, I have wolf senses too, you know, and I can hear Josh’s heartbeat. Not to mention his scent, along with other things I’d prefer not to think about right now.” He groaned and her face turned a deep crimson.

“I suggest sneaking him out before anyone else in this house finds him here.” 

With that, he walked away, closing the bedroom door behind him.

She sighed in relief as Josh slowly retreated from the closet and then came to sit next to her.

“So that was...”

“Yeah,” she muttered.

“Guess I'd better go, then.”

She nodded. 

“I’ll see you at work,” he winked, and she smiled at that. 

He headed towards her window, getting ready to find a way to climb out of it. 

He paused just as he was straddling the windowsill, then ran back, picking up the stone wolf that still sat on the nightstand.  He glanced at her, “You’re really giving this to me?”

She nodded, “Yes, Josh. I’m really giving that to you.”

He knelt down beside her as she sat on the bed, his eyes searching her face, then took her hands in his. “You won’t regret this, Princessa.” He kissed her hands, then stood back up and slowly snuck out the window.

She bit her lip, feeling the blush crawl up her neck and cheeks. She wrapped her arms around herself and took in the scent of Josh’s hoodie, which she now wore. It was campfire and rain. It was warmth and safesafesafe. 

Chapter Text

Time passed, and every time Art walked past the front desk at the shop, she felt Josh’s eyes on her, and she blushed, tucking her short blonde hair behind her ear. They started going to the diner for lunch together, and he would offer to drive her home since she would usually get a ride with Ox to the shop. The guys at work as well as the other members of the pack would eye them together and smirk. She wasn’t sure how much the others knew—if they even realized that they had given each other their wolves. 

She thought about the wooden wolf that was now tucked away in her drawer, trading places with her stone one. Her thoughts often wandered to mating, when and where and how it would feel… Josh had told her there was no rush; just being given her wolf was enough for him. Art wasn’t so sure she was as patient as he was. They found small pockets of time when they could be alone and intimate together, but usually it ended up with somebody interrupting them. 

One day at work, she was taken by surprise as Josh asked her a question while she was walking by. “A date?”

“Yeah, a date. We haven’t gone on one since… our first one.”

“Alright. What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking of doing something special. You can get away for a weekend, right?”

“Away?” She arched an eyebrow at him. 

“Yes, Princessa. Away. You know, as in, out of town.”

“Where?”

“It’s a secret. For now.”

“Are you planning to take me out to the middle of nowhere to murder me?”

Josh laughed, showing his dimples which caused her heart to trip over itself. “If I wanted to murder you, I wouldn’t need to take you out to the middle of nowhere.”

“Surprisingly, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Look, we’re adults now; we can go anywhere if we have a reliable enough car—which is where you come in.” He winked. 

She rolled her eyes. “Is this your way of getting me to fix your car for you, or is there still nothing wrong with it?”

He smirked at her as he leaned forward from his desk, “You’ll be just safe and dandy in my car, Princessa. Let me know what weekend works for you.” 

***

Friday morning came and Josh pulled up to her driveway, taking her suitcase from her hands and stuffing it in the trunk. He opened her car door and shut it behind her as she got in. From inside she could overhear Robbie, “If anything happens to her, I’ll find you and-”

“If anything happens, please call us and we’ll come help.” Kelly said placatingly as he cut Robbie off. 

Josh smiled at them and got into the drivers seat, turning to her. “Guess I better not let anything happen to you.” He told her.

“Guess not.” She shrugged. 

“Well, that throws out my plans of taking you out to the middle of nowhere and murdering you.”

“I heard that!” They heard Robbie yell at them from the driveway.

They both laughed as Josh shifted the car into gear and pulled out onto the dirt road, leading them out of town.

They drove their way through the mostly empty streets, until they got onto the highway and drove for a few hours, passing by the city of Eugene until they reached the city of Portland. 

Art turned to him. “Portland, really?”

Josh shrugged, “Have you ever been? It has more to do than our small town, that’s for sure. And going out of state takes a bit longer than than the time we have.” He pointed out.

“I’ll admit I haven’t been. At least, not that I can remember.”

“You traveled all the way back east, and yet you’ve lived in Oregon practically your whole life and have never visited Portland.” He said shaking his head in disapproval. 

“Oh, and you have?”

“Yes, actually. Which is why I know where I’m taking you this weekend.”

“Oh.” That was… unexpected. “When?”

He glanced sideways at her, “When you were away.” He said, his hand tightening on the steering wheel.

“What else?” She asked, staring straight at him. 

“What?”

“What else happened while I was… away.”

“Nothing, Princessa, I just – I went and met some people, toured on my own and looked into college and decided it wasn’t for me. That’s it.”

“You looked into college?”

“For a bit. I told you. It’s not for me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this? What else don’t I know about?”

“I’m telling you now, and it’s not like it really matters. I didn’t go.” He shrugged.

“But you could still-”

“Drop it!” He shouted, causing her to rear back. She had never heard Josh yell like that before – not really and not at her. 

“Sorry, I-Sorry.” He muttered, cautiously eyeing her.

She nodded slowly and looked away, out the window at the passing cars. The atmosphere was awkward now and the car felt too small. She wanted to shift, to run away and feel the ground on her paws. 

Josh turned his blinker on and started to merge, “I won’t bring it up again.” She muttered.

“It’s… fine. Just. We both made our choices. It turned out fine in the end, right?”

“Yeah,” she breathed but she wasn’t so sure. 

***

They drove in silence for a while before they eventually exited the freeway. “Our hotel is close to here, but I thought we’d get something to eat first.” Josh said, breaking the silence. She agreed and they ended up sitting down at a burger joint. Josh carried their trays over and sat down across from her at the plasic table they had outside. She picked up her burger and was about to take a bite when Josh spoke before she could do so. “Look, about before, I-” 

“It’s okay. I get it.” She said, putting her burger down and crossing one arm over herself to hold the other as she glanced away. Was it ok, though?  “College isn’t for you.” She paused thinking, “Or for me.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Right.” They sat in awkward silence. “Look, Prin-Art.” He corrected shaking his head as he reached for her hand accross the table. And didn’t that surprise her? She couldn’t remember the last time he used her real name; she felt her heart squeeze inside her chest. “Just because you didn’t make it at that fancy school of yours doesn’t mean you aren’t still, you know…” he lifted one shoulder as if that encompassed everything he meant. 

“I still failed, though. I-”

“At least you tried. You still went. I didn’t even get that far.” he gave her a small smile. 

“Well at least you went out and experienced things. I spent most of my time in the library or stessing over exams.’”

“Well. Princessa, I’ll make sure you get a real experience this weekend. The Josh experience.” he winked and she blushed.

“That would…” she cleared her throat, “definitely be an experience," she said blushing as she caught his eye until he caught onto her meaning and he sputtered.

“I mean, not like that – I just meant-”

She laughed at him then, and he stared at her, his smile slowly spreading out accross his face until he was joining her in her laughter.

Eventually,they settled. “Well, how unfortunate. That might be one experience I would hate to miss out on.” she said in a cool tone as she held his eye, leaned forward, wrapped her lips around her straw and sucked, causing him to blush and look away; he ended up groaning into his hands and she thought her heard him mutter, “Your dad is gonna kill me.” 

***

They pulled into a nice hotel and settled in. She was a little disappointed when the room turned out to have two beds. “I wasn’t sure if-I mean I didn’t want to assume… plus it was cheaper so-” Josh rambled as they set their suitcases aside.

“It’s…fine.” She said sinking down onto the bed farthest from the door.

“This isn’t quite how I wanted things to go.” Josh admitted as he sat down on the bed opposite her.

“Oh? How was it supposed to go?”

He shook her head, “Well, to start the plan was that you’d be falling all overself to get your hands on me.” He winked suggestively.

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from twitching, “Ah, yes. Because that definitely sounds like me.”

“Oh, definitely.” They laughed. 

“So is the rest of the weekend a surprise too, or do I get to know the itenarary now?”

“Oh, the whole weekend is still a surprise. Definitely. I’ll tell you when and where to be and you’ll be there.”

“This is starting to sound like a creepy way to boss me around.” She arched an eyebrow at him accusingly. 

“Oh, it definitely is.”

“And if I refuse?” She crossed her arms, and stretched her leg out, close to Josh’s– her foot rubbing against his pant leg, teasingly. 

“Well I guess we’ll just have to uh-” his ears turned red and he blushed, looking away she raised his pant leg higher. 

“Have to-?” She tiltled her head to the side. The she leaned forward, “Have to what, Josh?” Her tone was light and playful.

“Uh…”

“Punish me?” She said, smirking at him, a mischevois glint in her eyes, causing him to cough as his face turned even redder.

“Jesus, Princessa.”

She laughed at him, “We could-” but they were inturrpted when she heard her phone ringing. She looked down to see Robbie calling them. “Shit, I told them I’d call once we got here.” She said answering as she stood up and started pacing. 

“I’ll take the first shower, then.” Josh muttered as he stood to give her some privacy.

She covered the speaker and in her most serious tone said, “Don’t take too long with that cold shower.” Then winked and went back to her phone call, leaving Josh sputtering at her. 

***

The next day Art woke up at a time that was too early to function. “Wake up, Princessa!” Josh yelled as he threw a pillow at her and opened the curtains letting what she could only assume was the sunrise in. She groaned and grabbed the pillow pulling it over her her eyes to shield her from the light. 

“Time to get started on our vacay.” 

“Does it have to start at the crack of dawn?”

“We got a big day planned ahead. We only had these two days so I had to fit a lot of it into one.” he explained as she stared at him dead eyed from accross the table as she took a sip from her mug of coffee as they sat down for their free hotel breakfast. 

The day started out with them walking around the city and taking in the sights where they eventually ended up at an art meseum. “This is starting to remind me of our first date.” she commented and noticed Josh’s ears turn a bit redder.

“Well, maybe just a little… or you could look at it this way, and know that I remember what you like.” he shrugged.

“Mhm.”

“Sorry, this… probably wasn’t the best idea to bring you here. After that whole school thing…”

“It’s fine. Besides it’s almost inspiring. I mean how many of these artist needed a fancy school, right?” she shrugged.

They walked on. 

Later, they ended up eaiting a quick lunch outside then perused the aisles of Powell’s books. She marvelled at how huge the place was and trailed her fingers accross the spines of books. Josh followed behind her and listened as she told him about which books she read, and would discuss the ones they discovered they had both read. 

“We have some time before our dinner date,” he said, “so we have time to change and… if you wanted to, I dont know.. rest?”

She rolled her eyes,.“Is this youre way of saying your tired, my little human?” she teased.

He sputtered, his ears turning red. “N-no. I just-I mean I thought… we could…”

“We Could…?” she prompted, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Nevermind.” her muttered, looking away. 

She laughed at him then. “There’s always… after dinner.” she added, eyeing him as she felt her own face grow warm. 

He whipped his head toward her his eyes wide, “After…?”

“C’mon. You’ll need your rest for later tonight if that’s what you’re planning.” He gave some flustered response but she ignored him as she put her arm through his, feeling how warm his skin was and they walked on. 

They had stopped by their room and changed into their fancy dinner wear. Josh wore a white buttown down shirt with a nice black jacket thrown over it and slacks. 

Art had thrown on a little black dress with thin straps and strappy heels she had bought with Josslyn ages ago and now finally had a chance to wear it. 

Now they found themselves in an aquarium surrounded by fish on either side of them. “An aquarium?” she turned to Josh.

He shrugged. “I thought you might like it. It’s a bit of a different view from out forest at home.” 

She smiled, staring up at the giant wall of glass before her filled with water and and assortment of fish and whale sharks, all dancing around each other. “It’s beautiful,” she said in awe.

 “Yeah, it is.” She heard Josh say, his voice was barely audible ad she knew those words were meant for only her to hear. She didn’t have to turn to know he was looking at her as he said it. She blushed and tucked her short hair behind her ear. She felt like a school girl with a crush all over again. 

“C’mon, let me show you my favorite part.”

They walked on until they found themselves looking at pengunins. 

"They mate for life, you know.” He told her.

Her heart sped up at that worde – mate. 

Art turned to him, grinning. “Well, let’s hope they aren’t the only ones.”

Josh took a step closer to her his eyes searching her face, then he put his hand on her waist and pulled her close. He cupped her cheek and kissed her, light and sweet. She breahted him in, his campfire scent mixing with the saltwater scent of the aquarium – like a bonfire on a beach. Her skin tingled where his hands made contact, his touch ever so light- it wasn’t enough, she wanted more. 

He pulled away and she let out a disappointed sigh then blinked up at him. He stared down at her, his dimples showing, and chuckled. “Don’t worry Princessa. Like you said, we still have tonight.” He winked, then let her go and walked on leaving her to sputter after him. 

They continued on to the other animals, watching the otters swim and play with each other, then stopping to pet manta rays and starfish in the touch pools. At some point they started holding hands, but she couldn’t remmeber when that had happened. It was like they had always been doing it, it fit so naturally. 

Later, Art discovered their dinner date was going to be at the aquarium. She sat accross from Josh at a small tabke that had a single candle and vase with red rose placed in the center. All around her and above her was a clear view of the fish that swim overhead. 

“How is it?”

“This is amazing!” she told him as they ate dinner. 

“Glad you like it.”

“Almost makes it worth the trip.”

“Almost?” he asked, tilting his head.

She gave a small smile. “Well, a certain someone might have also helped with that.”

He blinked at her in surprise then gave a slow smile, showing his dimples and a flash of teeth.

“So? How’d I do? As far as second first dates go?”

“Not bad. Although I could have gone without the driving part. Next time I should just shift and run here, and you can ride me.”

“Oh, Princessa. I think you’ll be the one doing the riding.” He winked at her. Then, smirking, he took a convenient sip of his water, leaving her to blush and gape at him. 

***

Saturday night came to an end and they returned to their room where they at some point had started playing cards on the bed. She had won a hand and he had tackled her, sending the cards flying, the room filling with their laughter as they lay on the bed. Eventually their laughter subsided as he stared down at her, their breathing ragged. His eyes roamed and her face and then he kissed her. She kissed back, her arms wrapping around his neck, snaking their way into his dark hair. She felt his hand go to her hip, his thumb lightly brushing the skin there, under her shirt, his other hand caressing her cheek. 

He pulled back ever so slightly, “We don’t have to… do anything.” he swallowed. 

She blushed, her breath was ragged and her head felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen. “Well, maybe we could…”

She got up then and strutted toward the bathroom, stripping her clothes off along the way. “Are you coming?” she called over her shoulder as she turned the water on to the shower and waited for it to get warm. 

She heard his footsteps behind her and looked back over her shoulder to see him in just a pair of black boxers. Her eyes roved over his body, she was fixated on how different he was now, while so little had really changed. On how much taller he was now, and how his biceps flexed as he crossed his arms over his strong chest as he leaned against the doorway, drinking her in. 

She stepped in the shower and he slowly followed her. The water cascaded over them and she turned so her back was against the wall. He kissed her long and hard, then his lips trailed down her body going to her jaw, her neck, breasts and down, down-until he sank to his knees before her. 

He looked up at her then, his dark hair was wet and matted, his pupils huge and blown out as his gaze tracked her face, as if asking for permission. Her legs were trembling and she her breathing was shallow, but she gave him a tiny nod and his smile was dazzling.

He slowly kissed her abdomen, his hands trailing along her thighs, as his lips went further down until he grabbed one of her legs and put it over his shoulder as he bent down and dragged his tongue down her body, his arms going under her legs, tracing lightly against the skin there as the warm water washed over them. Art let out a gasp, her hands gripping his hair as his tongue traced her clit.

He pulled away, murmuring, “You sure like being wet when we do this kind of thing.” 

Her mind barely registered his words as his tongue swirled around her skin, darting in and out of her entrance, causing her legs to shake. “Josh, we should – maybe the bed would be-” she said through ragged breath, the heat of the water was making her dizzy and if he kept doing that she was going to have a hard time not slipping. 

Carefully, he lifted her off the shower floor, then hastily dried her with a nearby towel before carrying her over and settling themselves on the bed. He looked down at her, his eyes roving over her face. “Hi,” she breathed, blinking up at him. She knew she had been naked a few seconds ago, but she felt even more naked now - she felt exposed. 

He flashed her a slow grin. “Hi,” he breathed back, his eyes slowly dragging down her body hungrily, causing her to shift nervously, which only caused him to smirk at her.

“Eres hermosa.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re beautiful.” he told her causing her to flush.

“Oh. Thanks,” she muttered. 

“Even when you’re shifted, you’re somehow still the prettiest wolf I’ve seen.” 

She laughed at that, which he drowned out as he placed his mouth on hers. 

Josh kissed her everywhere then, tracing her skin with his tongue as he went down, down. His fingers splayed against her side, tracing the skin there, his other hand lightly trailing her inner thighs. He placed his mouth on her breats, her side, her abdomen. She felt her muscles clench and she arched her back at the sensation. He stopped then, lifting his eyes to hers. “Do you want to…”

She sat up and reached out to him, cupping his face in her hands and whispered. “Yes."

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because we don’t have to do anything-”

“Josh! Yes!” She yelled. Her skin was on fire, impatient and eager for him to keep touching her.

He smiled. “Good. ‘Cause I’ve been waiting a very long time for you, Princessa.” He kissed her then, lightly, then kissed her forehead, then the top of hair as he held her to him. She breathed him in, the scent of campfire envoloping her and she let out a light sigh. He chuckled and looked down at her, then he was kissing her again. 

She moaned as he kissed her neck, but then she she felt a tug. Like a sort of wrongness. She sat up quickly, gasping, splaying her hands against his chest. “Did-did you feel that?”

He narrowed her eyes at her. “Feel what?”

“Something’s wrong.” She reached over to the night stand and grabbed her phone. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing-” Just then his own phone was ringing.

Josh looked down at it, and she heard his heartbeat start to race in a panic. “It’s… my dad.”

“But...they know we’re here… why would they-” she stopped talking when she saw an own incoming phone call from Kelly.

She had barely hit the answer button and he was already talking. ‘“Are you safe?” was the first thing he said and the panic started to rise. She grabbed the comforter and pulled it up, to cover herself. Suddenly her heart was beating for a very different reason. “I’m fine. What... what's wrong?”

She heard him breathe a sigh of relif. “Just… stay where you are for now. There’s something…. happening here. You probably shouldn’t come back until we tell you to, okay?”

“But-”

“Please Artemis. We need you safe. I need you safe. And Robbie, he-” he cut himself off then and she thought he heard him let out a strangled sob. She knew something was wrong then. Sure, Robbie could be emotional and overprotective about her at times but Kelly – Kelly was the calm headed one, the sensible one. He didn’t get emotional-not with her, and not like this.

Robbie.

He had said Robbie.

Robbie was the one who would usually be calling her. So why hadn’t he? 

“Can I talk to-”

“Please.” There was a rustling on the end before the call disconnected. 

She turned to Josh. “Shit.” He said, and she knew then that he could feel the same thing she was felling. It was a concoction of worry and panic thrumming through the threads of the pack. She reached out to them, pulling and sifting through the treads, searching for the one she needs to feel the most right then – searching for the thread to her tether. 

All she felt was a faint pulsing in response.

“We have to go.”