Owen~ June 9

"You looked terrified," Kane said before adding, “and for good reason.” The Alpha walked over and sat down beside Derik on the coffee table. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants like mine now.

Kane put his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “You think you can tell us how you escaped and got here without having another panic attack?”

I nodded and started to sit up. Roman was quick to help me. Once I was comfortably sitting against the arm of the couch, Roman sat down on my left.

“I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I remember a lot of sirens going off and the guards running around yelling about a fire. I never saw the fire, but there was smoke everywhere. I guess it was spreading because some of the guards came back and started gathering us up and loading us onto a transport truck. Before I was put on the truck, I managed to get away from them. I shifted and ran as fast as I could.

I ran for 3 days before they caught up. They tried to drug me, but when that didn’t slow me down, they shot me with the silver bullet. I couldn’t stay ahead of them and started to get desperate. So when I found your town, I thought they would leave me alone if I got past city limits but they kept following.”

My heart was starting to race thinking about how close those hunters got to catching me again. I jumped when low growls from both Lycans filled the room. “These hunters were either very confident in their skills or very stupid for trespassing on my territory,” Kane stated. His Beta nodded in agreement.

I paused for a minute before continuing. “Since they kept tracking me I panicked and picked a house that looked empty and decided to hide there... and you know the rest of the story.” I finished. I looked up from the floor and stared at the two sitting in front of me for a minute before glancing at Roman. I quickly notice how much closer he was panicked a little.

“I- I’m sorry,” I said quietly. I thought I must have started to have another episode, but then I realized I was the one who had moved closer to him.

Roman gave me a kind smile. “Don’t worry. It’s fine.” He reassured me.

My head snapped to Kane to see what he thought about me being pressed into Romans side. He was still leaning forward over his knees, but his jaw clenched now. I didn’t see any anger towards me in his eyes though which made me relax a bit.

“Instincts,” Derik commented with a chuckle.

“What?” Roman turned his attention from me to the Beta. “What do you mean?”

“Him,” Derik nodded his head toward me. “The way he moved closer to you when he started to feel scared. You didn’t even notice you were doing it did you?” I shook my head slowly. “I can see why your body would choose Roman as your safety. Especially with this dumbass here.” He said as he smacked Kane’s arm.

The Alpha glared at his friend. “Shut up.” He growled, but Derik just laughed.

* * * * *

Roman~

I kept my eyes focused on the boy now glued to my side. I didn’t mind him being so close one bit.

I say boy, but he wasn’t that much younger than me.

Now that his hair had been washed it looked lighter than before. The ends looked like they had been dipped in honey. The closer to his scalp, the darker it got till it was a caramel brown color.

His skin was near perfect. No acne scars, no blemishes. The only flaw I could see was four faint lines that ran from the center of his cheek to his left ear. They looked like claw marks.

“I thought you said only heat could leave scars on you guys,” I said without much thought.

Owen looked at me with a confused expression. I motioned to the left side of my face, and he mirrored it on his own face. Realization spark in his eyes when his fingers touched the marred skin.

“Oh,” His voice was soft as he looked back down at his lap. He kept his hand on his cheek. “Um...” He looked like he was thinking about the scars like he didn’t remember how he got them. I felt a pang in my chest at the thought.

“Oh! I got this from one of the kids in the first facility I was in. It happened after they were forced to change and lost control.” Owen explained.

“Makes sense why it scared now,” Kane mused as he leaned back on his arms. “Your body was too young to heal it completely.”

So they didn’t always have their superhuman healing abilities? I wasn't about asking about it though. My brain was still throbbing from the overwhelming amount of stuff that had been crammed in over the past hour and a half.

I went from having my house broken into, being threatened to finding out my two best friends weren’t human and that anyone in this town could be a werewolf- Lycan... Whatever.

One good thing that happened or is going to happen; I’m getting a raise. I just so happen to be best friends with the owner of the entire freaking town so you can bet your ass I’m going to use it to my advantage.

Just think all the coffee I’ll be able to afford if I get a raise. Starbucks here I come!

“So where is he going to stay?” Derik asked. “Since it’s obvious none of us can send him away after hearing his life story.”

“He’s staying with me,” I answered immediately.

“Roman, no. We already discussed this.” Kane sat up straight and fixed me with a glare.

“Yes we did,” I agreed. “But I seem to recall that I won that discussion,” I stated matter-of-factly.

Derik grinned at us from where he was leaned over his knees with his cheek resting onto of his fist. “It makes sense for the kid to stay here, Kane. He’s more comfortable with Roman than either of us.”

Kane’s head snapped to Derik. “You’re supposed to be on my side.” He wined.

Derik rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not. My job is to make you see reason. Besides, we both know the real reason why you don’t want Owen staying here.”

That had a smile pulling at my lips as I crossed my arms. “He’s right, Kane. Jealousy isn’t a good look on you.” I teased.

Kane looked between us with wide eyes and jaw open and closing as he tried to defend himself. “Wha- that’s- that’s not..!” His cheeks were turning red as he stumbled over his words. “That has nothing to do with this!” He finally managed to get out.

“Right uh-huh.” Derik chuckled.

“I’m sure,” I said with my own laugh.

Kane growled as he glared at the floor. Hearing him do it now made me realize I had heard him do it before. But now I knew that I hadn’t been hearing things. It wasn’t scary in the slightest if fact, it just made me laugh more to Kane obvious displeasure.

* * * * *

Owen~

What is wrong with these people? Why are they laughing so much? Did I miss something? Why Is Kane’s face turning so red?

I didn’t comment on it though and instead just watch Roman and Derik laugh themselves to insanity.

When their laughter finally died down, Derik stood up and clapped Kane on the shoulder. “Alright, now that that has been taken care of, Kane, I believe there is a pile of pepper work on your desk that needs your Immediate attention.”

All the laughter and cheer vanished from Derik’s voice and was replaced with a cold, serious tone that made even Kane still under his Betas hand. Even Derik’s eyes had gone cold. He was pissed.

“You want me to just leave Ro-“

“Kane,” The Beta was quick to silence Kane’s attempt at protesting. I saw the way Derik’s hand tightened on Kane’s shoulder. I leaned back into the couch cushions as I watched the two. I felt Roman tense beside me as well.

“Roman has already offered to let Owen stay here, and Owen would never even think to harm Roman in any way, right?”

I was so focused on Kane reaction to the words I didn’t realize Derik was looking at me till I felt the weight of his gaze. My head snapped to him, and I gave a jerky nod.

“R-right.”

“See? I already have a few wolves picked out to come and watch the house in case any more hunters manage to make it past border patrol. Roman is a big boy. He can take care of himself. You, on the other hand, have a lot of work you need to take care of.”

Kane looked at Roman with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Don’t look at me!” Roman raise his hands in defense. “I didn’t argue with Derik when I thought he was human. There’s no way in hell I’m going to now that I know he’s not.”

Derik looked pleased by that answer while Kane looked betrayed.

“Fine,” The Alpha bit out as he got to his feet. “But I’m coming right back once I’ve been released from prison.” He told Roman.

“Which probably won’t be till tomorrow,” Derik said as he corralled Kane to the door. They walked to the front door, but when Kane went to open it, he paused.

“We’re going to need to get that fixed.” Kane murmured. Derik hummed in reply.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled to Roman as the turned around and headed to the back door. He gave a soft laugh and told me not to worry.

“It’s fixable.” He told me before getting up and following The Alpha and his Beta to the back door. I stayed where I was, waiting until They all disappeared around the corner before throwing my head back and letting my body melt into the couch cushions. I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh.

I listened to the others say their goodbyes. A few minutes later the door opened and closed and Roman returned to the living room. I sat up straight and brought my hands back to my lap. Roman strode across the room and sat down beside me again. It was comforting to have him close while the other two where here but now it just made me uneasy.

The human either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. He plopped don’t next to me and sunk down in the seat. He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes like I had and just sat there. I never took my eyes off of him. He didn’t move or say anything for a while. The silence had me fidgeting.

He slowly blinked his eyes open and stared at the ceiling for a second before moving his gaze over the room. Roman drew a slow deep breath and held it a good ten seconds before pursing his lips and blowing the air out through his mouth with a puff.

“I actually have the day off,’” he muses quietly without looking at me. “Which means I have nothing but free time till 6AM tomorrow. I’m down to my last pair of underwear, and I’ve been wearing the same socks for 5 days. I’ve been wearing the same pair of pants for nearly 2 weeks. I think it’s time to do laundry, don’t you?” He asks me like I would know.

What the hell is he talking about?