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Beacon Hills can get unbearably hot in the summer. The truck could become an oven if Theo wasn’t careful. Keep the windows down, which meant being that much more exposed. Even in a neighborhood as mundane and suburban as Liam’s, it wasn't ideal. Theo had started parking here a little after the war had ended. He had felt a pull to abandon solitary isolation in the preserve after a few weeks and well, Liam was the only member of the pack who didn’t actively hate him.
He drove Liam around sometimes and parking in his neighborhood was just convenient. It saved gas. You know what else saved gas? Not having the air conditioning on all night. That’s when Theo decided to abandon his truck for the night. The rear door of the truck popped open and the warm summer air flooded into the already hot truck. Theo emerged and peered down the street. It was dark out a little before midnight and the road was lit with splotches of streetlights. It was quiet, not as quiet as the preserve, the hum of the electric streetlights, the sounds of ac units on houses, even the sporadic barking of a neighborhood dog. It was calm.
Theo gave a quick passing glance down the sidewalks and street once again before tugging his shirt off and tossing it into the truck. It landed in the pile of his blankets and other pairs of clothes. Soon his pants joined them. He quickly shut the truck door and locked it. He leaned down and soon the patters of four feet skittered into the road.
A mass of black fur dashed across the street and along a side fence. He followed the familiar scent of Scott’s beta one street over. He weaved past a bush and squeezed though a broken panel in a fence. What he was greeted with was the back of the Dunbar-Geyer residence. A two story house with a decent sized backyard. The end he had just came from was lined with a row of shrubs but beyond that was an empty yard leading up to an elevated wooden porch with two deck chairs beside a sliding glass door and gravel beneath.
Liam didn’t have to know that Theo was using his backyard as a safe place to sleep. He woke up early enough that he would be gone before Liam even woke up. Theo would get to sleep comfortably outside and Liam would be none the wiser. Theo quickly stalked across the yard and under the porch only to realize the operation was blown already.
The back porch light came on and soon the sound of footsteps came barreling onto the porch. Theo froze his golden eyes shown dimly as he stared out into the yard.
The person above walked right over top of him.
Theo didn’t move. His breathing slowed to a near stop.
The person above then did something unexpected and fell to their knees and before Theo had a chance to react a mop of long dirty blond hair fell in front of him blocking his view of the yard. Then a pair of eyes met his.
“Oh you poor baby! Hello there.” The woman beamed a soft smile at him. It was Liam’s mother. Jenna Geyer, Theo remembered his notes from when he first came to town. “Wait here..” As quickly as she came she was gone. Theo thought about making a break for it but honestly he was still kinda stunned at the boldness of the Betas mother. To see an animal dart under your porch and drop down to get face to face with it.
Soon footsteps reemerged and were now accompanied by the smell of warm food. Meat and vegetables, a full home cooked meal… Theo couldn’t remember the last time he ate something that didn’t come processed or in a bag. He started salivating and licked his lips.
This time Jenna didn’t lean over the side of the porch but instead stepped off and walked over to where Theo was tucked under.
“It’s leftovers but they will have to do. I don’t have any doggie kibble. Hope you like Shepards pie!” She placed the bowl right under the lip of the porch and backed off. Theo waited until he saw her walk away and back on the porch before moving.
Jenna sat at in one of the deck chairs and began to hear the sounds of the stray eating under the porch fast bites making quick work of her leftovers scarfing them down. Satisfied with herself she did what she came out to do originally.
“Don’t tell my husband it’s our secret. I fed you so you gotta take it to your grave, promise.” Theo didn’t reply but he sensed he didn’t need to. The wolf simply licked the Tupperware clean as he heard the sound of a lighter start. Soon the scent of nicotine filled the air. “It’s a bad habit I’m trying to quit. I’m down to two a week. Work in progress.” She said.
Theo bit gently on the container and began to shimmy out from under the porch when he turned his head he was greeted with Jenna in her light pink nursing scrubs. Smoking a cigarette in the deck chair. Theo carefully set the container on the deck.
“You're a really pretty breed. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. We usually only have a few stray cats and the odd coyote around here.” Theo quickly retreated back under the porch and curled up beneath her chair. “You must be tired.” Theo watched as a dusting of ash fluttered down a long arm reach away from him. “Me too, we had three baby’s born today at the hospital, I was on my feet all day, I’m about ready for bed- once I finish this. Then it’s back at it tomorrow.”
Theo sat quietly and listened to her talk about her job as an OB/GYN nurse at the hospital. Theo put it together that’s probably how her and Dr. Geyer met in the first place. Once she finished her cigarette and put it out she went inside one more time before reemerging with a larger bowl of cold water.
“Sleep tight.” Was what she parted with before heading in for the night. But this time the back porch light didn’t shut off.
When morning came the bowl was empty and Theo was long gone…
—
The next day was a bit cooler and Theo spent it in his truck one street over. The following night however another heat wave hit and once again the truck was an oven. When he entered the Dunbar-Geyer backyard the porch light was already on and on the steps waited a bowl of warm food and cool water. It must have been put out there recently as the food was still fairly warm and the water hadn’t succumbed to the heat.
But Jenna wasn’t in sight and all the lights in the house were already out. The only sign anyone was home was the cars in the driveway, the back porch light on, and the three steady heartbeats inside..
Theo ate his food quietly taking in the calm quiet of the neighborhood at night. The faint sounds of crickets and air conditioning units sang a chorus that lulled him to sleep. This time he opted to sleep at the bottom of the porch steps in the grass rather than the gravel filled underside of the porch.
—
The heatwave continued and the next night was the same deal only this time when he squeezed into the fence paneling Jenna was already sitting their smoking her second and last cigarette for the week.
“Oh you came back. Guess you like my cooking!”
He did.
Honestly everything she made tasted better than anything he’s had in years. “Let me go warm it up for you.”
Theo stood his front paws on the bottom step on the porch and waited. There honestly wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for good free food these days. When Jenna emerged holding a container full of left over lasagna she beamed a smile seeing Theo standing in the open. She took the chance to get a better look at him. “You're a handsome little guy aren’t you. Can you sit?” Theo peered around the yard. Glanced up at what he knew was Liam’s room in the top left. Curtains closed.
He sat.
“Good boy! Here you go.” Jenna set the container down on the top steps before heading back to her seat. “You are too cute.” She said with her cigarette in her mouth. Theo heard a click and looked up. She had her phone held in her thumb and pointer fingers taking a picture. Another snapped with a flash as he looked at her. She made a frown. “Well that one didn’t come out as well…” She looked at her nearly whited out screen from the glare of his eyes. “but the first one’s cute enough. See?” She held up her phone to him. He was now her background apps dotted around his black wolf silhouette with its mouth reddened by pasta sauce and specs of meat and lasagna noodles. “Like I said, too cute.” She flipped her phone back around and sank into her chair.
When Theo finished eating he once again gently placed the container at the top of the steps before settling in at the bottom of the porch steps. Jenna played candy crush on her phone as she finished her cigarette. She didn't talk much unlike last time and Theo settled in for the night. His stomach full and eyes growing heavier. He let a soft exhale push from his snout and he finally closed his eyes.
Just as the edge of sleep approached a soft hand ran over his head and down his back into one gentle stroking pet. “Night night sleep tight little guy.”
Soon the glass door slid shut and locked and the scent of nicotine began to fade and the warm scent of the Dunbar Geyer household once again dominated the area.
—
A few days went by before Theo made his next visit but when he did things were a bit different. It was almost midnight. When he arrived. The house was dark, no lights on, and no cars in the driveway. Liam was spending the night at Masons most likely because Theo couldn’t hear a single heartbeat in the house. Theo’s paws settled on the wooden deck, his nose dragged along the ground checking the area's scent.
Jenna hadn’t been out on the porch for at least two days. Her scent had faded considerably and her chair seemed untouched from the position she had left it in a few nights ago. Theo laid on the deck dropping his head into his crossed paws and he overlooked the yard.
“Maybe she was working tonight.” He thought as he listened to the soft hum of the neighbors AC unit.
An hour passed and it was now almost One in the morning when he heard tires come up the driveway. Theo made quick work stalking off the porch and along the side of the house. When he saw the headlights shut off. Out of the little tan car that was at least as old as him stepped Jena. She was accompanied by a dense scent of sadness her chemo signals flooded his nose with grief and frustration.
“Oh hey sweetheart. Just give me a second ok.” She wiped her face, her keys jangling in her hand as she did so. She quickly made her way inside. You know Theo was still new to this whole being a good person thing and comforting Liam’s mom might be a bit outside his wheelhouse. As he stalked back around the side of the house he paused. He was out of sight, he could shift back, get his phone from his car and call someone more well equipped like Liam. Or even David…
Theo’s head snapped to the backyard as Jenna started whistling. He quickly trotted back to greet her. Her cheeks still had tear stains and her face was still a bit red but she had that same warm smile on her face she had when she first found him in the yard.
She placed a small plate on the bottom step with a warm chicken cutlet and some vegetables. Theo watched her intently as she pulled her legs up onto the chair she sat in. She hugged them as she watched the stray in front of her. Her hair was a bit disheveled after a long day of work and whatever had upset her.
“Go on. Tell me if you like it.” She said as she flicked her head to remove some of the messy hair from her face. Theo held his glance for a moment more. Checking on her as if the second he averted his gaze she’d break or something. When Theo did eat it was quick scarfing down the cutlet in three quick bites. Followed by a quick lapping up of the vegetables.
It was good.
He carefully bit the plate, the ceramic balanced carefully in his maw as he climbed the porch steps and placed the plate next to Jenna’s chair. Theo checked the area with a cursory glance before resting his head on Jenna’s armrest.
If some petting of the stray she was taking care of would make her feel better Theo was willing to do it for her.
“That good huh? You're gonna let me get close to you now, and all it took was my chicken cutlets huh?” ” Her hand came up to his head and soon her fingers splayed through his fur and she began to pet his head.
Fuck.
Theo watched as tears began to stream from her eyes. Did he make it worse? He just stood there like a statue. She continued to pet through her cry’s. “She’s probably not gonna make it through the night tonight… She was dropped off at the fire house two nights ago and was suffering from medical complications post natal. I worked a double to stay by her side but there was nothing more to do.” She began to vent.
She made a loud annoyed grunt as she wiped her eyes. “I hate losing.” A simple sentence that immediately marked her as Liam’s mother. He could picture the Beta making that exact same face saying those exact same words when frustrated.
“You’re really soft, you know that?” Her chemo signals began to level out as her sadness became less intense. Grief lingered but the frustration and sadness slowly began to mend as she sat petting Theo and calmed down. She cried sporadically for the next hour and before Theo knew it it was two in the morning and Jenna had fallen asleep.
The woman in her pink scrubs slept like a rock in the chair on her back porch a black wolf laying against her legs.
Theo didn’t sleep a wink that night. He didn't want to disturb her so he sat there. Guarding the woman from anything the night would throw at her.
Around six Dr. Geyer arrived home. He saw Jenna in the sliding glass door and Theo heard him approach the door. The wolf quickly stood up and walked off the porch and settled under it as the man came outside.
“Hun, time to come inside. Let’s get you in a bed.” He barely woke her, just carried her inside shutting the porch door with his foot as he did so.
—
Over the next few days Theo and Jenna’s routine continued Theo would show up two or four nights a week and Jenna would sit with him while he ate, she would vent about work or Ms Meyers two doors down who always complains their grass is too long and has been leaving passive aggressive notes in their mailbox about it, she would pet Theo and the two would enjoy each others company.
It was probably the most pleasant normalish time Theo has had since returning from hell. And just when Theo was finally comfortable with his new routine. The second shoe dropped.
“Mom where did my leftover meatballs go-” Liam froze in the porch doorway. Theo locked eyes with the beta, the last meatball in his mouth. They both froze.
“It's been in the fridge for two days, didn’t think you wanted it so I gave it to the stray.” She didn’t look up from her phone. Candy crush rang out as she sat there.
Liam squinted at Theo as if asking ‘What the hell are you doing here’ to which Theo finished eating the last meatball. “Since when do we have a stray to feed?” He asked his mom, his blue eyes not leaving Theo’s.
“A few weeks. He’s nice, you can pet him.” She waved Liam off. “He’s such a good boy.” Liam cringed.
“He is, isn’t he.” Liam’s hand roughly reached down and manhandled Theo’s head in a poor imitation of petting. “Wow, he’s really cute, I should get a picture to show Scott and Mason!” Theo’s head snapped up and bit at Liam’s fingers. Before Liam could react Theo trotted off to the back of the yard to leave.
“Oh honey you gotta be gentle, strays can be very skittish.” Jenna’s gentle reprimand was the last thing Theo heard as he ran off back to his truck. If he was human right now his face would be bright red. But he wasn’t, right now he was a wolf, a little black wolf who was running back to the safety of his truck with his tail only mildly between his legs hoping he can shift back in time to make sure Liam never tells a soul what just happened.
As far as he’s concerned his mom was just feeding a stray…