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"Liam?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you want this at the top or bottom?"
"What?"
Theo rolled his eyes and dropped the hand holding up the decoration. "Would you get in here so you can actually see?"
"I'm busy!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Theo muttered, slinking silently from the living room into the bedroom where his wolf was frantically trying to complete his English paper before his lesson on Monday. It was testament to how deep in his head he was that Liam didn't hear Theo even when he was right behind him, leaning over his shoulder to see how much more he had left to write.
"Come on sweetheart-" Theo ignored the jolt Liam gave that almost took out a row of his teeth -"the Christmas tree needs your artistic eye."
"Theo I told you, I'm busy. I have to get this paper done by tomorrow or I'll never get it done in time and I can't afford anymore extensions in school, Mrs Martin has already-"
"Done barely enough considering what you've gone through. I'm sure she'd be understanding considering the circumstances."
Liam turned his head back and looked at Theo incredulously. "What circumstances?"
"Spending our first Christmas together!"
"Theo, I can't-"
"You're too stressed, you're not thinking clearly. Come on, come and relax with me wolfie." Ending the conversation Theo plucked Liam from his chair and threw the lithe body over his shoulder, ignoring the shriek of indignation and claws digging into his back.
"Foreplay later Liam, we need to finish the tree first."
Setting the beta down on his feet in the living room Theo spun him round to see the excellent work he had already produced. Liam had to nod begrudgingly. Theo had done a good job with the tree, it was just the ornaments left to go on.
"You start the decorations, I'll get us something to drink." Theo pressed a kiss to Liam's lips and left to the kitchen, crashing around until he found their hot chocolate mix.
After making sure to add additional marshmallows, Theo set them down on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around his boy who had mainly finished the tree and was typing something on his phone.
"What's going on Li?"
"It's Mason, wants to know if he can come round later to see us before him and Corey leave for their holiday."
Theo tucked his head into the scruff of hair at Liam's nape and inhaled deeply, barely suppressing a moan at the unfiltered scent.
"Why not? Tell him to bring Corey too."
Liam nodded and went about replying, quite happy to let Theo do his strange nuzzling as long as he didn't try to bite his neck again. There had been severe consequences for that.
Liam's phone buzzed again. "Mason said they're with Brett and he wants to come round as well."
"If he wants to keep all his limbs attached to his body I think he'd better give it a miss."
"It's probably only for the essay, Brett got set the same one."
"Well that doesn't matter because you're done with the essay for today, aren't you? The tree looks great so why don't you go lay on the sofa while we wait and we'll put a movie on."
"Theo I just have one more paragraph to do and then I'll be done." Liam turned to face the chimera with his best puppy eyes.
For a minute or two Theo just stared at Liam, eyes moving lazily over his face as if cataloguing every minute change, picking up on the shift between begging to frustration to anger to resignation to a sliver of fear.
Theo smiled.
"Of course little wolf, what a good idea." Giving the werewolf a squeeze to his hips Theo let him go and stepped back, tilting his head to the side as he watched Liam's thick brows pinch in confusion when he couldn't get more than a few steps forward. "If you can get there."
Looking at the floor Liam then noticed the almost miniscule line of black powder in a circle in front of him.
"Mountain ash?"
"Told you you were smart. You didn't think I actually believed you when you said it was only a paragraph, did you?"
"When did you even have time to do this?"
"Earlier, before I came to get you. I knew you wouldn't be persuaded to stop for a Christmas tree so I had to take matters into my own hands. Isn't it a good job I did? Trying to leave me on my own."
Liam's eyes flashed as he tried to take a breath and calm down, fists balling and quickly reddening from the claws buried in his skin.
"Sit down Li, I'll find a movie."
It was dangerous for Theo to turn his back on the wolf but with the mountain ash he knew Liam couldn't go anywhere. Mason arrived shortly with Corey in tow who stared in awe at the Christmas tree lighting the corner of the room. Admittedly the growling werewolf sat rigidly on the couch did dim the atmosphere slightly but when they'd all sat and got stuck into Home Alone he perked up considerably.
Theo got up to get some more snacks from the kitchen and turned around to see his chameleon stood sheepishly in the doorway.
"You okay?"
"Yeah I just um, I wanted to run something by you and Mason convinced me to do it before we leave for our trip so I won't be thinking about it the whole time."
Theo turned to face him fully. "What's up?"
Corey let the door shut behind him as he moved fully into the kitchen to stand opposite Theo. "I've been having some issues with controlling my power."
Theo nodded but stayed silent, waiting for Corey to elaborate.
"I can't seem to change on command anymore and other times I don't even think about changing and then Mason's looking for me when I'm stood right behind him."
"And you're coming to me for advice?"
Corey shrugged and looked at the floor bashfully. "I just figured since you, kind of-"
"Made you into this?"
"That you might know what's going on with me."
Blowing out a breath Theo picked up a bag of crisps before turning back to his beta, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If I'm being honest, I'm not sure. The dread doctors didn't exactly give me the full run down of each species they were creating or the side effects. But, I'll do some looking and see what I can find, I'd imagine it has something to do with your anchor."
"But Mason-"
"Can still be the best thing that happened to you and yet your anchor might change anyway." Theo curled his hand around Corey's nape. "We just need to find out what it is."
Eventually Corey nodded in agreement and the two left the kitchen with snacks in hand. Mason immediately opened his arms for Corey to sink into, a weight visibly lifted from his shoulders while Theo pressed into Liam's side dotting kisses across the side of his face.
Liam's phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Brett: Hey man! Don't worry about your paper on Monday, I'll finish it for you since I'm not doing anything.
Liam lolled his head to the side to look at Theo from the corner of his eye. "What did you do?"
Theo shook his head in innocence. "I don't know what you mean, Li. Maybe Brett has started a new chapter in his life where he isn't a total fuckwit."
"You really expect me to believe that?" Liam jerked up when Theo kissed the pout from his lips.
"No, we both know a tiger can't change its stripes."
"I meant you, idiot. You really think I believe you had nothing to do with this when you trapped me in the living room with mountain ash and made a rose from the tongues of inmates at Eichen House?"
The chimera stared silently before a smile cracked his lips, leaning in so only Liam could hear him whisper, "and there's more where that came from."
The brush of a tongue against his ear sent a current of fear down the wolf's spine.
A tiger can't change its stripes.