After looking around his room one last time, Lia m shuts off his night light. He's postponed going to sleep for a couple of hours now, but he figures that he needs to at least try to get some rest. His body needs to refuel.
He settles under his covers, but doesn't dare to close his eyes just yet. Rain is ticking against his bedroom window as a storm rages outside. His hearing is heightened and he can feel his heart pounding against his rib cage.
"You're not there," he whispers to himself.
But he can still hear a low growl behind him.
Blood pumps faster through his veins and his breathing picks up. His inhales are deepening, and his exhales growing shorter. He can hear the floor behind him cracking, even th r ough his carpet.
He closes his eyes. "You're not there," sounds his desperate attempt once again , this time carrying a sharp emphasis on the 'not'.
The grunts are getting louder and he's sure he can feel a presenc e near him. From the far distance comes the sound of thunder. Liam tries to focus on his breathing, which is starting to quicken. If he can't get it ba ck to its normal pace, he'll start hyperventilating . He's scared. So, so scared. T he Berserkers have come for him , and they're going to kill him. Liam won't be strong enough to defend himself and, this time, Scott won't be there to save him.
But the most pathetic thing of all is that Liam knows his mind is playing a trick on him. He knows his fear is toying with his imagination, yet he cannot shake the anxiety he feels . He can't control it. He's a slave to his paranoia . To his phobia.
Suddenly, a breeze strokes his cheek and Liam can smell death and rotten flesh. With a shout, he opens his eyes, and he flicks the switch of the lamp on his bedside table.
Only to see that nothing's there. As he'd expected.
Sweat has pooled under him and is damp en ing his mattress. Liam can feel the cold of it when he lays back down. He can't do this any longer. He body needs a good night 's sleep. It's demanding it, screaming at him for help. Liam needs to get rid of his fears.
And he knows he can only do that by facing them. Which sucks.
He still doesn't know control and he still isn't strong enough. To master the former , he has to wait for the next full moon, which won't be due for more than a week. But he can do something about the latter. He needs to train, build muscle and study fighting techniques.
And Liam's going to. F irst thing tomorrow. He just has to push through one more night of nightmares and lying awake.
He rolls onto his other side, this time keeping the night light on. He had hoped to find his alpha behind the rainy window, but he's not there. For the first time Scott's not there.
Liam could call him or text him, he knows that. He knows Scott would there in a heartbeat.
But Liam refrains from it. He's so done with being a bother. It's time for him to tak e matters into his own hands, and not to rely on Scott as much.
The thing is, what happens wh en someone who is being haunted decides to close their eyes and not open them again ? What happens when one keeps hearing, smelling, and feeling one's deepest fear around them for hours and hours throughout the night? Refusing to let reality in?
One grows paranoid.
The following afternoon, Liam's in the training room, alone. He doesn't want anyone's help , and he doesn't need it e ither. Not Scott's. Not Mason's, N o one ' s.
He pu ts 300 pounds on the bar, and lay s down on the bench press. Still a little insecure, he takes it from the safety rack, and allows it to come down. Then, in one fierce motion he pushes it back up. Liam smirks. He knew he could do it.
And so he starts pressing, inhaling every time he relaxes his muscles and exhaling when he flexes them. Memories of his night on top of the hospital roof flash before his eyes: the Berserker throwing him off, punching him onto the concrete... His breath hitches in his throat. Up. Down. Up. Down. He groans. The Berserker has grabbed him by the neck. Its grip is tight and cuts off Liam's air pipe. The boy panics and his limbs turn to jelly.
But then , Liam realizes that's not only happening in his flashback, but in the present too. The heavy bar crashes on to his chest, slamming the air out of his lungs. Liam coughs.
" Hng ," he pants, trying to click the weight back into its safety position, but he can't reach. Liam tries pushing the bar back up, but it doesn't budge. He can barely hold it up as it is. His muscles are burning and sore and the boy has lost feeling in them. The bar is press ing down on him. Pinning him down . Liam cries out as he tries to jostle the hooks into the slots again and again , but the bar's too low. He needs to push it up just a little more.
But he can't.
Suddenly, the weight lightens and Liam looks up in to a pair of chocolate eyes. He moans, starts coughing uncontrollably, and slides off the bench. Scott crouches down in front of him. Liam's panting, recovering from his almost asphyxia tion .
"Are you okay?" Scott asks, giving him a worried look. His hand is already on Liam's shoulder.
"I'm fine," Liam spits out, trying to catch his breath.
Scott looks up at the bar. When he realizes how much weight Liam had put on the machine, he frowns. "What were you thinking?"
"Nothing. I'm just working out," Liam mutters, shaking Scott off and getting up.
Scott's frown deepens. "Okay...well, you should be more careful. This was really reckless of you."
Liam shrugs. He turns around and walks off to another machine. "Whatever."
"What's going on with you?" Scott asks, following after his beta.
"Nothing! I'm fine," Liam lies.
Scott doesn't understand what's going on. All he knows is that the younger one needs help, so naturally he tries to give it to him. "You know you can talk to me, right?"
Liam rolls his eyes. He feels himself starting to get upset. His stomach is tickling and his knuckles itch. "Scott, I'm fine," he snarls, voice dark from anger. "Now leave me the hell alone. I need to train."
"And I'm gonna spot you, apparently," Scott says, gesturing to Liam with his hand. "Before you accidentally kill yourself."
And that's the last thing Liam needs to explode.
"I don't need your help, Scott!" he roars. "I don't need you to be here for me all the damn time. I'm fine. I can take care of myself; I just need to get a little stronger , so that's why I'm here!" He locks his jaw; g rits his teeth. "Now leave me alone," he hisses.
Scott's blinking at him, a hurt look in his eyes. He doesn't understand where Liam's sudden temper has come from. Sure, his I.E.D. is playing a part in it, but that isn't the thing that sets him off. It always needs a trigger. "But I don't mind helping you..." Scott tries again, voice low. He puts out a tentative arm, but Liam shoves him away.
Scott sighs, staring at his beta, who is avoiding his gaze. The smell of anger and annoyance is pouring off of Liam, and when after a while it doesn't fade, Scott gives up.
"Okay...be safe," he says softly, shoulders slumped against his body.
Liam ignores him and goes back to his training schedule, channelling his anger into the workout.
Scott hears the weights clink to gether as he leaves the room, sneaking a last look at his beta, wondering what could possibly have happened to cause the boy to be so resentful.
The alpha doesn't understand why Liam's pushing him away, but figures there's not much he can do about it . Especially when he's not welcome. He's not going to force himself onto him. He'll have to trust Liam to come to him when he's ready.
But obviously, Scott will be damned if he doesn't keep an eye on him in the meantime. Even if it has to be from a distance.
Liam finishes his workout by doing some running. He is still fuelled by his frustration, and it energizes him. Adrenaline is pumping through his veins , a nd sweat pouring down his brow . It feels like the world is his enemy and he wants to punch it in the face.
When he's sure his anger has subsided for the most part, he goes into the locker room to shower and change. His clothes are damp and he literally has to peel them off his hot body.
Suddenly a grunt sounds behind him, yet he's sure he's alone.
"Hello?" he calls, holding his breath to listen more carefully. "Is anyone there?"
Silence.
Liam licks his lips and moves to the shower cubicles, towel in hand. He decides to be quick. He shampoos his hair and body, rubs it in for a bit and then rinses off. His eyes are closed and his hands are ruffling through his hair.
A disgusting smell creeps into his lungs. "You're not here," Liam says to himself, refusing to open his eyes before he's finished. He's not going to be scared.
"You're not here..." he whispers again.
But then he feels something hard and smooth against his upper leg. He cringes when he recognizes the texture as that of a bone. Liam bites his lip. Almost done. Then he can open his eyes and see that nothing's there.
"Ah!" A scream erupts from him when he feels a sudden grip around his leg. His right foot slips from the tiles and his head collides against the cubicle. Liam looks around, pushing himself into the corner. Water's still pouring down on him. His head is pounding and he can feel a bump forming on the back of it.
And, of course, nothing's there.
Liam turns off the shower and towels himself off. He hurries back to his clothes, but being hasty only worsens his sense of someone being behind him. He takes a deep breath and reminds himself that he's alone
But when he turns around , a Berserker is there in the mirror , right behind him. A whine slips out of his mouth and he goes back to dressing himself. He needs to get out of here, to where other people are.
Scott's in class, but he can't concentrate on what the teacher's saying. He keeps thinking about his beta. The teenager wonders if, being an alpha, he has a special connection with Liam. Maybe he can pick up on a scent or a sound if he just focus es enough. He tries to meditate, and drowns out the teacher's lecture.
He sc urries through heartbeats, tuning them out as he continues his search. Liam should be on the other side of the building. Scott listens closer, and then, through all the noise, he notices the nervous thumping that he's sure is Liam's heart . It sounds stronger than all of the others and...it has something special in it that Scott can't put his finger on. There's a certain harmony in it that makes Scott's ears burn. It almost feels like a string is connecting them. He can feel the affection of his inner wolf towards the beta. The need to protect him boils up inside his stomach, but instead Scott takes himself back to reality. Mindlessly, he takes notes from the board in front of him. Liam sounds restless and Scott knows he's scared. But he can't do anything about it, because Liam is refusing his help. And maybe...maybe this is something Liam has to sort out for himself. Maybe Scott needs to let him be , and trust that he'll back to him.
But Scott can't. He can't resist sitting down behind him when he sees Liam half an hour later, on the staircase. The boy throws a startled look behind him, but when he sees Scott he huffs out a quiet breath.
"Hey," the alpha says, reaching out to him, "you okay?" His fingers tap lightly on Liam's shoulder in an attempt to catch his attention.
"I told you. I'm fine," Liam tells him through a tight jaw. Scott can tell he's lying, because his heart beat makes a small jump.
Scott sighs. Liam hasn't shaken off his hand yet, so Scott isn't pulling it back. Instead, he softly massages the boy's shoulder.
"Liam," he breathes, but his beta has averted his attention back to his Lacrosse stick . "Liam , talk to me, let me help."
"I don't want your help, Scott."
"But why not? What has changed?" the alpha pushes.
Liam's glad Scott can't see his face, because he can feel tears stinging be hind his eyes. "Because you said once that I had to pick my own battles. And this one is mine. I need to fight it myself."
Scott frowns. "There's no shame in getting a little help every once in a while, though. Everyone needs it sometimes."
Liam starts to boil up inside again. "I know, Scott," he bites. "But up until now you have always helped me and it makes me feel weak."
Scott's eyes widen. That hurt. He slips his hand from Liam's shoulder , and Liam bites his lip. "Your help's only temporary. I don't grow from it."
Scott nods slowly. He slides a hand across his face before he stands up. "Okay. If you say so..."
Liam hears Scott's footsteps fade into the distance and he bites his lip even harder, u ntil he can taste the vague flavour of blood. He doesn't enjoy pushing his alpha away like that, but he knows he has to be harsh or else Scott won't listen to him. The guy's need to protect everyone around him is too strong. It's probably his strongest quality, even.
And that proves true, because from behind a corner, Scott's still watching Liam. He smells the blood on his lip and the saltiness of the tears he's pushing back. If Scott didn't care so much for him, he would've walked back, gotten right up in Liam's face , and would've demanded him to speak up. He would've forced Liam to let him back in.
But he doesn't. He isn't going to force himself on the boy, because a voice in the back of his mind is telling him Liam's words mak e sense. Maybe the fifteen year-old is growing up. Scott had always found Liam quite mature for his age; taking no back steps when he knows what he wants.
Nonetheless, Scott wouldn't be Scott McCall i f he didn't follow his beta to his next class. He observes Liam looking around himself, strapping his backpack closer to his body. He's holding it like it's his safety blanket. A heavy boulder is lying on Scott's stomach as he watches.
Then, suddenly, Liam throws himself to the right, against the lockers. Scott can hear his ragged breathing. His eyebrows knit together and he scans the hallway. No supernatural creatures are there and apart from that, it didn't look like Liam got shoved by someone.
Liam's staring towards the floor as he gathers his things and stands back up. People are sending him weird looks and girls are pointing and giggling. Scott attempts to go to him, but after the first step he groans and stays where he is.
He watches Liam shiver, looking around again cautiously. Scott knows about the fight Liam once had on the rooftop of the hospital, while Scott was dead. Well, fake dead. Sort of. Anyway, he knows Liam and Kira had to fight off a Berserker and that they sort of failed to defend themselves.
He remembers the time when he came to check up on Liam. The boy had woken up from a nightmare and was scared. Scott had stayed to help him sleep, because Liam was too scared to do so alone.
And then everything links up , and it all clicks in Scott's mind. Liam is still scared!
But, wait, wasn't that only during the night? He can't remember a time when Liam was struggling with it during the day. His fear h as probably gotten worse and... how has Scott fail ed to notice that? He has been so careful around Liam. How could he not have notice d that he is still suffering?
Scott curses himself under his breath as he watches Liam enter his class. He sighs, knowing that he has to go to his own period himself, where can't keep an eye on his beta. Scott knows he can help Liam. The boy's most likely exhausted and Scott genuinely wouldn't care if he ha d to sleep with the boy every day to make him feel better. At least that way, Liam could re-energize himself , and then he can truly focus his attention on getting stronger. He can't face his problems when he's tired.
A week passes. Liam has bags under his eyes and his muscles are sore from working out. He has been in the weight room every day, but it doesn't seem like his strength is improving. He can't lift any more weight and his stamina hasn't gotten better either. And Liam doesn't understand why . It almost makes him cry, thinking that he hasn't gotten any bett er at all. But then again, he's been crying a lot more lately.
He's also worried, because the next full moon is tomorrow night. He wonders how and where he's going to chain himself up, because he has to do it without Scott's help, since he's still neglecting him.
In that same week, Scott has crossed off every possible symptom that comes with sleep deprivation. He's sure Liam's hallucinating, because he's startled way more often. And his tempers are getting worse. His outbursts are more fre quent. At Lacrosse practice a few day s before , the boy almost broke one of his teammates' legs, which nearl y cost him an expulsion. Luckily, Scott had been able to come up with an excuse and Coach had believed him. Something about men getting periods, too. Later, in the changing rooms, Scott noticed Liam hastily looking around again and before Scott had had the chance to finally cave and try to offer his help again, the boy had left.
Today, Scott's eyeing Liam from just out of sight once more . His beta looks stressed , and his whole appearance shows obvious signs of exhaustion.
Suddenly, Liam pulls up in a sprint and runs out of the school. Scott narrows his eyes and in a few swift motions he avoids bumping into other students as he follows the younger boy.
Outside, he notices Liam in the parking lot. The boy's crouched between two cars, making sure he's in front of a wheel so that the Berserkers can't see him if they look under the cars.
"Liam?"
The boy jumps when he hears a voice next to him. Scott is staring down at him with a sad expression on his face. "Liam, calm down." His eyes shift to Liam's left hand.
It is only then that Liam notices that his claws have come out and that he's hurting himself. His nails are digging into his skin and blood is seeping through between his fingers and over his knuckles.
Liam wipes the blood off on the concrete before sticking his hand in to his pocket. He stands up, emotionless, and without saying anything he walks past Scott.
With a deep sigh, Scott watches Liam go back into the school building . He looks back at the blood on the ground , and that's when Scott decides he's done. He's done letting himself be pushed away every time. His beta needs help and even though he doesn't want it, he's gonna get it. Scott just has to make sure he does it in the exact right way at the exact right moment. So, his mind starts brewing up a plan.
That evening, Liam's in his bedroom, trying to study. His latest grades weren't ones that he could proudly tell his parents about, and he had realised that studying had been the last thing on his mind. Another thing he needed to change.
But it proves hard to focus when you keep hearing distracting sounds that aren't even really there.
After every two or three sentences he reads, his mind wanders off. No, it doesn't even wander off. It just goes blank. Like it's switching off. Liam had always thought that it was possible to shut off your thoughts entirely , but apparently he had been wrong.
A knock sounds on the door and Liam almost falls off his chair from the shock of it. He hadn't heard the doorbell downstairs.
With a trembling - his body was doing that a lot, lately – hand , he opens up. The door cracks open a little, and soon he's looking up into the dark eyes that belong to his alpha. Liam grumbles a "go away" and attempts to slam the door shut again, but Scott proves to be a little quicker.
"No, wait!" he says, keeping the way free . "I know you don't wanna talk , and I know you don't want any help, so that's not why I'm here."
Liam frowns suspiciously at that. "Then why are you here?"
Scott shows a lopsided smile, holding up three cases. "Video games."
U sually Liam would've jumped with joy, but now he just stares at Scott. "I didn't know you played those."
Scott shoots him a judgmental look. "Of course I do. I'm not that boring."
Liam fakes a smile at Scott's lame attempt at humor . He lets go off the door and sits down onto the floor, in front of the TV.
Scott pretends Liam's attitude isn't bothering him, but it is. He shuts the door behind him and gives Liam the games before sitting down next to his beta.
"Look, I, err..." Scott starts.
Liam already knows what's coming and he sighs in annoyance.
"No! No, I'm not going to say anything about it!" Scott immediately defends himself. "But, you know, if you do wanna say something about it, you can." He just can't resist mentioning it one more time.
Liam nods, looking at the games in front of him. "I've never played this one before," he says, picking one up.
Scott beams at him, glad that the younger boy isn't pushing him away. He takes the game from Liam and starts it up , holding close to his theory that he just has to be patient now.
They play through a couple of rounds and Scott almost can't believe Liam has never played this game before. Not when Scott's character gets blasted off the screen for the sixth time. "What? How?! From where?!" he exclaims, almost throwing the controller across the room.
But his frustration is instantly gone when a familiar sound fills the room. Liam's letting out a soft chuckle and to Scott it sounds like angels are descending from the sky. It's a small gesture, but it makes the room light up , and for a split second Scott can even see the sparkle in Liam's eyes. The stars that are reflecting in their ocean -like depths .
"I'm not getting any stronger," Liam breaks the silence between them after the y've started their seventh battle .
Scott's heart is pounding in his chest; in fact, he's sure it's going to burst through his rib cage if he doesn't calm himself down. The way he form s his next words are crucial. With nervous eyes, he tries to reply casually. "Why aren't you?" He feels like he's walking through a minefield. One wrong word and Liam will explode and throw Scott out of his house."
Liam shrugs a little. "I don't know."
Scott swallows, trying not to lose focus in the game. He doesn't want to seem too into the conversation, afraid to scare Liam off. "Don't you...?"
Liam puffs out a breath and Scott's already on the verge of gathering his things and attempting to leave, but the boy continues playing.
"I guess it's because I'm tired," he answers after a while.
"Haven't you been sleeping well?" Scott asks, even though his question is rhetorical.
Liam scoffs sarcastically. "I think it's safe to say I haven't been sleeping at all," he responds. His tone is full of bitterness. It almost makes Scott feel sick to his stomach.
"A re you..." Scott swallows, licking his lip. His throat has run dry from the tension. "Are you still having nightmares?"
He can see Liam's nods from the corner of his eyes. And then, Scott is out of words. He doesn't know what to say. He wants to offer his room for the night, to tell Liam that he needs to rest first, that he can only train when he has had a couple of nights of good sleep, that Scott will even help him train.
But he doesn't dare say any of those things, because he's afraid that Liam will shoot him down. And seeing Liam go through all those thi ngs last week, all by himself…i t was the hardest thing Scott 's ever had to watch.
So they continue to play their game, each of them in their own mindsets .
Liam's ears are still alert, but to his surprise, he hasn't picked up on any Berserkers in the past hour. Not since Scott joined him in his room. He starts wondering if h e's made a mistake by not letti ng Scott in. Maybe Scott's help; that which he thinks of as temporary, c ould in the end prove to be continuous. Maybe allowing Scott to stay at his side for a couple of days would give him some peace, because, right now, he's in a vicious circle. He wants to get stronger and he wants to become more confident and convince himself that he can take on his demons. But to do that, he needs rest…w hich he can't get, because he keeps having nightmares about Berserkers. The enemies he fears , and the reason why he needs to get stronger.
Maybe...maybe he's spiralling in to a whirlpool , and needs someone to help him out. Maybe he has to admit he can't swim. And maybe he has to admit he needs a teacher.
Suddenly, Liam puts the controller down on the floor. He takes a deep breath and looks at his alpha, who turns his head back at him. Through the dark shades in his eyes , Liam can see glimmers of hope. Scott's waiting. He's not saying anything. He's waiting. He's almost bursting out of his skin from praying, but he only looks expectantly.
And Liam's staring back into his eyes, remembering that he can still ask for Scott's help. He can al ways ask for Scott's help. H e knows that if he does it right now, Scott will say yes and everything will be okay a gain. L ike he has done so many times before, Liam wonders how someone can be so selfless. How someone could be so full of good will , and have such a kind heart , and such a gentle soul. Looking at Scott, the realisation of all of that hits Liam like a freight train. He finally sees all the great qualities his alpha possesses, and maybe even more so, h e finally sees the willingness to share those qualities.
It makes tears well up in his eyes. H e wants to tell Scott. He wants to spill out in to a rampage of words that explain how shitty he has been feeling the past week without his alpha. He wants to admit how scared he is. He wants to admit that he thinks he has gone insane. That he has gotten so paranoid.
But his jaw has locked itself and his throat feels like sandpaper. His tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth and his lips are glued together. He wants to speak the words. He wants to say them but his body won't let him and...
...And Scott hugs him.
He wraps his arms around him and pulls his quivering beta close. With his head pounding , he em braces Liam. He twists his body, moves his right leg, and pulls Liam into his lap.
And Liam latches onto him like there's no tomorrow. The te ars in his eyes spill over the edge onto his cheeks , and his shoulders start to shake. He cries and Scott holds him against his body, which feels like the rock Liam can hold onto. Scott's rubbing his spine and is speaking soft encouragement to let it all out.
So Liam does.
"I-I'm so tired," he whines, hiding his face in Scott's neck. "I-I can't s-sleep and I see B-Berserkers everywhere and I'm so, so t-tired."
"I know," Scott admits, shushing him, squeezing him even closer. "I know." He slides his fingers through his beta's hair. "It's okay. It's gonna be alright, I promise."
"I-It's not," Liam sobs. "I don't know w-what to do a-anymore."
"But I do," Scott soothes him. He starts softly rocking the boy from left to right. The movement's small, but Scott can tell it's comforting Liam.
"Yeah, b-but why can't I..." he breathes . " Why can't I d-do it by myself?" He lets out another cry. "W-Why do I need y-you so badly?"
Scott smiles gently, rubbing his cheek against Liam's head. "Because I'm your alpha," he reminds him.
Those words break Liam down even further . He sobs into Scott's neck, holding him by his shirt. His other hand has balled into a fist , and is pressed against his mouth. "I-I'm so sorry...for r-rejecting you."
"Don't worry about it," Scott says, putting his own feelings aside. He had felt neglected, but now that feeling has faded away. He can't blame Liam anymore, not when he's letting it all out like this.
They sit like that for a while longer; with Scott rocking them from side to side and constantly reassuring Liam that it'll all be okay. Liam hides his body in Scott's warm embrace and it takes him over ten minutes to settle down.
When his body has stopped shaking so much, Scott makes him look up at him. He wipes the tears from Liam's eyes with his thumb, still holding him with his other arm.
"You should go to bed," he says, voice low. "You look like shit." He flashes a goofy smile , and even though Liam knows it's lame, he still chokes out a laugh through his last tears.
He nods, pulling out of Scott's hug and getting up. Walking over to his closet, he changes into his pyjamas , and is surprised when he turns around to find Scott in only his underwear. Once again, the guy's giving him a silly smile.
"A-Are you staying?" Liam asks, unsure.
"Of course I am," Scott nods. A light shrug follows before he switches on the nightlight.
Liam bites down on his bottom lip , because he's sure that if he doesn't , he'll break down into another cry ing fit again. God, his emotions are such a mess.
The smaller one climbs onto his bed. Scott is pulling on the ends of his boxers as he turns off the big lights in the room and then lies down next to Liam. The boy's looking up at him , and when Scott notices the small glimmer of hope in his eyes, he grabs the boy's wrists and twists them in front of his chest. He forces Liam to turn onto his other side.
" C'mere ," he says, spooning the boy from behind.
The younger one's face heats up, but he snuggles closer to Scott. And he's gotta say, it feels nice to have his back against Scott's chest. It reminds Liam that he's safe , and when he feels his alpha's rhythmic breath brush against his neck, he knows he's fine. Truly fine.
"I'll wait until you fall asleep first, okay?" Scott whispers. "And if you do wake up from a nightmare and I'm asleep, wake me up as well."
Liam wants to tell him he's crazy , and wants to go against his words and tell him he won't do that, but instead he shuts up, because he secretly enjoys the security it gives him. "Okay," he says softly.
"Alright," Scott replies, letting out a deep breath. His arm is draped across Liam's stomach while the hand on his other is caressing his cheek with gentle strokes. Liam is holding Scott's strong bicep and sinks deeper into his touch.
"Thank you," he whispers again.
"Don't worry about it," Scott assures him .
Liam focuses on the small sounds the older guy behind him is making. He concentrates on Scott's breathing, his quiet yawns and the gentle thumping of his heart. He acknowledges the feel of Scott's warm body against the cotton of his pyjamas , recognizes the heaviness that comes with being held, a nd a llows himself to be grounded by his alpha's presence.
M eanwhile Scott's already planning his next step. He'll stay with Liam for a couple more days, until he's sure the boy has gathered his strength again. After that, they'll start training , and Scott is sure, now that he truly knows Liam, t hat t hey'll work it out soon enough.
But only time will tell.