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“So I can’t even ask a single question yet?” Cyrus spoke, stepping out of the bathroom with a towel, drying his hair a bit.
Harlan snatched the towel from him and used it to dry his own hair next. For the entire duration of their shower, Cyrus kept asking questions, but Harlan wanted to give him all the answers with his pack present so they could answer too.
If this had happened a few weeks ago, he’d gladly keep the door closed and speak to Cyrus in private, but this wasn’t something that only he was going through. As apprehensive as he was, he had to include the others too.
“You can ask all the questions you want in like, five minutes.” Harlan flicked the man’s chest with the towel before going to hang it up to dry.
The pair had both chosen to wear hoodies and sweatpants, taking precautions once again. At least the evening was chilly enough for them to have the excuse of wearing them this time.
“Fine,” Cyrus sighed dramatically, masking the curiosity and slight impatience. He mostly wanted to know why Harlan had hid all of this from him for so long. It stung a little.
“Good boy,” Harlan teased, leaning in to press a quick kiss to the man’s lips.
“I should be saying that to you,” Cyrus joked, reaching out to scratch behind Harlan’s ear. “Because, you know…wolf.”
“Ohhh,” Harlan laughed, pushing him away a little. “I see. So we’re starting with the dog jokes now huh? Rude!”
“They’re too good not to use,” he shrugged, smiling brightly. “Though I don’t think your pack would like that too much. They already don’t like me. I told you that would be a problem, by the way.”
“It’s still not a problem,” Harlan sighed, opening his bedroom door and moving down the stairs. He felt weird after their encounter in his backseat, but a good sort of weird. Like he was adjusting to a new environment. “Trust me it’s-” halfway down the stairs, Harlan heard the piercing sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the house. He doubled over, blocking his ears and letting out a grunt from the discomfort.
Cyrus was at his side in seconds, not quite sure what was going on. Another wolf thing, he assumed. “Is it the phone?” He looked down the remainder of the stairs and saw Luna rush passed.
“Sorry Harlan!” She called out, looking to find the device. She could be heard moving things around from the kitchen with haste. “I can’t find the phone!”
“What do you mean you can’t find it?” Everett sounded a little panicked, sending a ripple of anxiety through the group. He knew how loud sounds like this hurt Harlan on full moons.
“Stop panicking,” Blake huffed, rushing after Luna to help look. “You’re making us all panic!”
“I can’t help it! I’m panicking for Harlan!” Everett exclaimed, waving his hands around.
Harlan dropped onto the stairs, pushing the heels of his hands over his ears as hard as he could. “Just find the fucking phone! It’s somewhere by the living room. Check the couches- Jesus Luna, why is it so loud?”
“It’s not that loud,” Cyrus crouched down with him, putting his hands over Harlan’s for extra effect. “It’s actually…kinda quiet. Like the lowest volume the ringtone can go kinda quiet.”
He could see pillows flying until the ringing eventually stopped. Whoever was calling had given up. Harlan released his hands just as Blake held the phone up triumphantly and turned it on silent.
They were all breathing heavily from Everett’s panic, all except Cyrus, of course.
“That was weirdly…connected.” Cyrus shook his head a little, catching Harlan‘s head when it dropped onto his chest. “Is his hearing always like this? I mean, I’ve seen him at school with the bell between periods and its always seemed to bug him but this wasn’t nearly as loud.”
“It’s the full moon,” Luna concluded, taking a deep breath and retrieving her phone from Blake. “It leaves us all rather sensitive, especially Harlan.”
“How did you all do that?” Cyrus asked, absentmindedly running his fingers through Halan’s curls. Honestly, he didn’t know if Harlan had passed out or just needed a moment, but he could still feel him breathing so that was a good sign at least.
The rest of the pack stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. They all shared the same guarded, yet curious expression.
“Do what?” Blake frowned, arms crossed.
“Link with Everett’s anxiety,” Cyrus continued. “Is that a pack thing?”
“We think so,” Everett answered truthfully, earning a glare from Blake which he tried to ignore. “The other day at the gym, Harlan was struggling with weights and he honed in on my strength and…we linked kind of?”
“We also all heard each other talk through the walls when the cops brought us in for questioning,” Luna added. “The day Harlan first saw you.”
“How do you know that?” Cyrus was slightly taken aback. “I mean, we didn’t even talk.” He thought back to that day. How his heart had fluttered at the mere sight of the man that was now safely tucked away in his arms. Crazy to think how back then, he had no idea meeting Harlan would lead to all of this.
“No, but I saw that look on my brother’s face.” Luna shrugged, not wanting to offer more. “Anyway, we can tap into each other when we focus enough, but with Everett’s anxiety, it just seems to ripple through us. Still haven’t figured out how it works.”
Harlan pushed his head up, rubbing his eyes a bit. “That was fucking horrible. The worst it’s ever been.” He took a shaky breath and leaned back against the stairs. “My ears will be ringing for a week, I already know it.”
The group didn’t get a chance to continue talking because the front door swung open and Garrett entered, looking fairly upset. “Harlan?” He moved through the three by the bottom of the staircase and looked up at his son and Cyrus, ready to give them both a stern talking to, until he saw how pale Harlan was. His anger switched to concern in a matter of a second. “What happened? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” his son breathed out, sitting up a bit. “I lost my temper at the gym and Cyrus brought me home…and then Luna’s phone went off and now my ears are ringing and I knocked out for a moment.”
Ah, so he did pass out , Cyrus thought.
“Is that all- wait-” Garrett did a double take, realizing everything Harlan had just said in front of Cyrus. “Does he know?”
“I do,” Cyrus spoke for himself, knotting his fingers together. “I went to the locker rooms to check on Harlan after he stormed off and it sounded like he was having some sort of panic attack, but he’d locked himself in a stall…so I climbed up in the one next to him to see if he was okay.”
“And then you saw,” Garrett let his sentence trail off, watching Cyrus nod solemnly.
“Honestly, I won’t tell a soul,” he raised his hands up. “I was just more concerned about Harlan’s well-being. Still am.”
“I believe you,” Garrett spoke after a moment, making Cyrus think back to the day in the barn when he said the exact same thing before handing him over to authorities. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing now or not. “I suppose we should all have a talk, then. Come on, let’s go sit.”
Blake, Luna and Everett followed the park ranger to the living room but Harlan held Cyrus’ wrist, keeping him back for a moment once they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Don’t let him intimidate you,” he whispered, kissing him after and leading Cyrus to the living room as well.
Cyrus said nothing, he simply sat down on one of the chairs next to the couch and Harlan opted to position himself on the arm of the chair so Cyrus could snake his arm around him. This looked like it was about to turn into some sort of truth circle.
“Cyrus,” Garrett started, looking at him with kind eyes. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, which is understandable, and you may ask them, but we need your word that you won’t tell anyone.”
“You have my word,” he confirmed, staring directly at the older man. When Garrett motioned for him to continue, he asked another question. “How long have you all been…like this?”
“Since those animals ran across that road and practically impaled people,” Everett offered. “Well, that’s when it started for Blake and I. We were bit by a werewolf.”
“That one we saw in the forest at the kickback, right?” Cyrus looked up at Harlan, who gave a nod. “Well, what about you two then?” He looked between the twins, but Harlan gestured to Luna so she could explain.
“Back during those fires eighteen years ago, Garrett found us in the woods as cubs,” she started, fiddling with her phone case. The full moon had rendered her on edge, but she was trying her best to hide it. “We were in this basket and he took us home.”
“And I called the SPCA and the local vet about it,” Garrett continued for his daughter, a fond smile growing on his features. He really did love his kids. “I remember looking away for a split second, and when I looked back, I had this little hand on me and it was Luna’s. They’d turned into humans and to this day, I don’t know how it happened, but I vowed to protect them for the rest of my life.”
Luna teared up a little at her fathers word and rushed to hug him. She knew how lucky her and Harlan were that he’d found them. “I love you,” she whispered and he held her tighter.
“I love you too, my little moon.” He rubbed her back for a moment, allowing her to be the first to pull away. Throughout the interaction, Harlan had his eyes fixed on the floor, fidgeting with his fingers. He couldn’t remember the last time he hugged his father.
When Luna was back in her seat, she quickly wiped her eyes. “Sorry sorry, got carried away there.”
“It’s okay,” Cyrus offered a genuine tone, one that seemed to shock her a bit. He wished he was that close to his mother. It seemed like Blake and Everett were thinking the same thing about their parents. Maybe they all did have something in common.
“Any other questions?” Harlan interrupted the moment, keeping his tone neutral but Cyrus could hear the underlying hurt.
“Uh,” Cyrus faltered for a second, needing to think about which question to ask next. “So these fires…”
“Were started by someone who wanted to bring a wolf out,” Everett frowned at his choice of words. “Or something. We’re still figuring that part out ourselves, but we think the fires are linked to this wolf hunting people.”
“Is the wolf your like…alpha?” Cyrus wasn’t sure what terminology to use, but his question left everyone’s eyes a little wide as if he guessed something that wasn’t supposed to be easy. “I don’t know, I just guessed? When Harlan and I were out in the woods before Ramsey got there, that animal barely looked at Harlan. It was more focused on me like I was the threat.”
“Good observation skills,” Blake only spoke semi-sarcastically. “You are right, though. It’s protecting us. Why? We don’t know yet.”
“I’m telling you now, it has something to do with that blonde kid, Baron.” Everett cut in, working himself up a bit.
“Everett’s right,” Garrett continued. “You all know I saw him when I shot the wolf.”
“Wait,” Cyrus frowned, needing to back up for a second. “So the blonde kid we went out looking for is the thing killing people?”
“Essentially, yeah. We also think he’s our brother.” Luna sighed, rubbing her arms a little. She couldn’t wait for this full moon to be over.
“But he didn’t remember his name!” Everett huffed, bouncing a little in his seat. “What if he doesn’t know he’s doing all this? I mean, we hardly registered that we were all about to tear Garrett’s throat out in the barn after we found out about Cyrus-”
Harlan tried to shush him mid sentence by shaking his hand by his neck, mouthing ‘cut it out’ and ‘shut the fuck up’, but Everett was a fast talker and it was too late.
“What?” Cyrus looked up at Harlan, who looked just about ready to murder Everett. “What happened?”
“Your boyfriend got upset with Garrett when he found out he handed you over to the cops and he punched him,” Blake stated matter of factly. “Oh! And then he turned and so did we. almost killed the poor guy.” She said it so casually, but he could tell she said it like that to get under Harlan’s skin a bit. It worked.
“Oh,” Cyrus cleared his throat, unsure of what to say.
“It’s fine now,” Everett spoke quickly, trying to mend the situation. “Garrett’s alive obviously and they made up so it’s fine, really!” When Luna smacked his arm, he closed his mouth and sank back in his seat.
“I’m gonna kill you-” Harlan half stood up, letting his temper get the best of him, but Cyrus was fast, grabbing him by the waist and hauling him down onto his lap, taking a firm hold on him.
“Not happening,” Cyrus grunted a little when Harlan elbowed him, trying to break free of his grasp so he could get to Everett, who looked ready to bolt out the door. “Are you really fighting me right now?”
Garrett watched on, amazed at how unfazed Cyrus was with Harlan’s aggression and short temper. He sounded calm, maybe a little annoyed but that’s as far as it went. “It helps using his full name,” his father offered and Cyrus hummed at that.
“That’s why he listened to me in the locker room,” he muttered more to himself before he got winded by Harlan. “Oh you fucking cunt-” he coughed a little and shook Harlan. “ Harlan Briggs, ” Cyrus used that same tone he had earlier. “Stop it- you’re hurting me Jesus Christ-”
The rest of the group looked ready to leap in if necessary. It was by miracle alone that Cyrus was strong enough to restrain him.
Harlan stopped fighting when he heard Cyrus’ last words, quickly hauling himself up from his grasp and surveying his boyfriend’s body for any damage. Those beautiful fucking doe eyes of his would be the real death of Cyrus.
“Relax,” Cyrus breathed out, groaning a little as he shifted in his seat. “You winded me, that's all.” He wheezed a bit, dropping his head back on the chair and patting the arm of the chair so Harlan could sit down.
“Sorry,” Harlan mumbled to the group, dropping back down on the arm and resuming his staring contest with the floor.
“I’d say you handled that well,” Garrett had a smirk on his face and Cyrus knew he enjoyed it a little bit. What kind of father would he be if he didn’t have a playful vendetta against his kids' partners? “If it ever gets out of control, you call one of us, okay?”
Cyrus gave a nod, moving his arm around Harlan’s waist again. He knew Harlan wouldn’t hurt him, but it was nice to know he had people to go to anyway. He still wheezed a bit, but for the most part, he was unharmed.
“Look,” he coughed for a second, feeling Harlan tense beneath his touch, to which he squeezed his waist in reassurance. “I know I should be freaking out and you’re all probably wondering why I’m not, but after the fires and seeing that wolf in the forest, and hearing weird shit about the fires eighteen years ago when my dad died, this isn’t all that strange or shocking. It honestly just makes things…make more sense.”
“Funny enough,” Luna spoke up, a small smile spreading across her lips. “That’s exactly how I felt.”
“I don’t suppose any of you are hungry?” Garrett changed the subject a bit. “As the dad figure here, I need to make sure you’ve all eaten. I know how you get on full moons but,” he shrugged a bit, trying his luck.
“I could eat,” Blake nodded, resting her elbows on her thighs.
“Same,” Everett agreed, not feeling as anxious as he was earlier.
They all agreed after that, even Harlan, who just hummed softly. They collectively decided on pizza and sat around the kitchen with mugs of tea and coffee, allowing Cyrus to ask absurd questions.
“So like, are there vampires too or is that too far?” Cyrus laughed a bit, still recovering from Luna’s previous joke.
“Oh yeah,” Blake nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “I know this guy, Vlad right-” she burst out laughing and the group did too. Harlan let out half-hearted laughs, trying to blend in like it was all okay, when in reality, he was still reeling over hurting Cyrus.
Garrett looked around at the group of teenagers and smiled to himself. Luna was getting what she wanted. A group she could turn to when she needed them.
A pack.