Warnings: None, unless you let me know.

Chapter 10

It was Saturday, and Kurt hadn't seen Blaine outside of school for an entire week. The Pack was still dealing with the aftermath of the Moon, and Laura Williams had been in and out of the hospital for her injuries. There were complications with healing a limb broken during a shift—her wolf form could handle a lot more stress than her human one, and no one could agree on what shape she should be in to heal. There hadn't been any more contact from the Alpha that hurt her, but two teens had been turned by rogue bites within a week, and one of the victims was no older than Mollie. The Pack had hardly let their own children out of their sight, and there were never ever enough people available to babysit them at any given time. Blaine had been running himself ragged trying to coordinate with the human authorities and Pack leaders outside of Westerville who were concerned about their own wolves' well-being. He'd barely been around.

Thad, on the other hand, had practically moved into the Anderson house and was complaining that his dorm room was steadily gathering dust. Kurt ignored the warbler's complaints and dragged Thad everywhere with him, determined to learn the ins and outs of the Pack now that he had his status back. Wes was helpful, but he didn't understand Kurt's need to prove himself and the new Beta decided that he would have to figure out his role on his own. It was different that being Puck's second, for sure. He had Quinn to be his sounding board, his shadow. Kurt had been left to deal with his Packmate's squabbles, essentially running them by himself. Blaine expected him to be constantly available to discuss whatever was on his mind while keeping the Pack's daily life function smoothly as well. It was especially exhausting when Kurt couldn't count on the Elders to actually come to him with their problems, and he wondered sometimes if they'd ever let him really do his job.

Kurt sighed, flipping over a page in his magazine. He'd been milling around the house for hours, feeling useless and frustrated and waiting for Blaine to get home. His phone rang loudly next to him, jolting him from his thoughts. It was a Lima area code but he didn't recognize the number so he let it ring. They didn't leave a message. Thirty seconds later, the phone rang again. Kurt picked up, irritated.

"Hello?" There was static on the other end. "Hello?"

"Kurt?" Kurt felt his breath catch, almost dropped his phone. "Hello? Kurt?"

"Don't call again," he said flatly.

"Kurt, wait! Wait please don't hang up. I'm sorry about what happened," he pleaded. Kurt ground his teeth.

"Karofsky," he said. "I don't know how you got my number, but do not call again."

Kurt hung up and the door opened. Blaine walked into their bedroom with his shoulders hunched. The Beta gave him a smile and pushed David Karofsky to the back of his mind, allowing Blaine to wrap him up in a hug. Blaine buried his face into the brunet's neck, inhaling deeply. Kurt slid his arms around him and they held each other for a long moment.

"Long day?" Kurt asked quietly. Blaine groaned in response and tugged at Kurt's shirt.

"Off," he muttered. Kurt rolled his eyes but slipped out of his top.

"Aren't you supposed to be tired?" he teased. Blaine shook his head and pulled off his shirt.

"Nap," he grunted. Kurt huffed and swatted the boy's hands away from his pants.

"I'll get mine, honey, you do yours." Blaine grumbled but did as he was told, stripping himself quickly.

"C'mon," he muttered. "Nap."

"Naked nap?"

"Naked nap."

They slid bare under the sheets and curled around each other, languid. Kurt wrapped his arms around his Mate and pulled Blaine down so that his head was cradled in the crook of the Beta's neck. Blaine hummed and nosed under Kurt's jaw, licked at the skin, kissed him there. His hand slid down and wrapped around Kurt's scarred hip.

"What time is it?" he murmured.

"Three-ish," said Kurt. Blaine stretched against him and he shivered. "You want to get up at seven and go for a run?"

"Can't," said Blaine sleepily. "Have to meet the second boy's family at six." Kurt sighed but nodded.

"Want me to go with you?"

"Mmmhmm," said Blaine. "I'd love you to." He yawned. "Makes me feel better 'cause you're mine—my, uh, Mate. Beta. Whatever." Kurt chuckled.

"Okay, sweetie," he said. "Go to sleep."

Blaine was better after that, but human relations took a turn for the worse. The newly-turned boys were released from the hospital in relatively sound condition but the first victim's family had refused to allow him back into the house. They had another child, a little girl, and they were terrified that their son—who had been troubled even before he was bitten—wouldn't be able to control himself. Kurt convinced Blaine to let him take charge of the boy and the Elders seemed to be impressed that the teen was adjusting so quickly. Kurt let himself be proud of the fact that the Pack was warming up to him as a Beta, and he was starting to feel confident in his position.

But Karofsky kept calling.

He called once a day for three days straight and twice on the fourth. Kurt almost told Blaine about a hundred times. The words would be on his lips and then Blaine would say something about his day and Kurt would be reminded of just how much was going on, just how much pressure the other teen was under. Eventually, Kurt decided it wasn't important; the rogue boy was just trying to make amends. He kept the calls to himself. Thursday, though, Kurt finally picked up when David's number popped up on his screen, exasperated and anxious.

"Kurt?"

"Obviously," he snapped. "Why the hell do you keep calling me?" There was a pause.

"Werewolves keep showing up outside my house." Kurt blinked.

"What? David." He rolled his eyes and ground his teeth. "That does not warrant eight phone calls. Lima has werewolves. You should know."

"Yeah, but," Karofsky hesitated. "It's not a Pack." Well. That was different.

"So?" Kurt asked irritably. "There are other werewolves out there, Dave. Even other Packs, other groups."

"These ones are different," Karofsky insisted. "They're…not right. They don't act like a Pack. Like you guys." Kurt frowned.

"They're…David, are they rogues?"

"…I guess," he said after a moment. "But they had a big one with them." Kurt's brow furrowed and he looked anxiously toward the bedroom door.

"They had an Alpha with them?" he said lowly.

"Yeah!" said Karofsky excitedly. "Yeah! It was an Alpha. I'm sure it was." Kurt held back a curse and got up, pacing.

"What the hell does—look," he said finally, "David, I'm not going to lie, that is…really not good." Kurt could hear Karofsky start to panic on the other end, his breath coming quick and sharp.

"What? But Kurt, what do I do? Why are they following me? I thought it wasn't an Alpha who turned me because—"

"Dave!" Kurt interrupted. The other boy quieted but his breathing still belayed his anxiety. "Look, call Puck, okay?" Kurt ran a hand through his hair. "Tell him I sent you and he'll keep you safe, I promise." He was heading downstairs; he needed to clear his mind. "Goodbye."

"Damn it, Kurt, you better help me."

Kurt hung up without bothering to answer and went outside, stripping off his clothes. He paused on the porch and stood, listening to the wind rush over the grass. Blaine wouldn't be home for hours but Kurt wished he was there now, that he didn't have so much to worry about and they could be normal boys instead. Kurt wished he was back in Lima. He pushed the last thought harshly away and sighed. He shook his head, shifted, and ran hard for the woods.

Shelby Corcoran was there when Kurt got home. He slunk quietly up to the living room, tail tucked, ears pricked for the sound of the woman's voice. Blaine was sitting with her, anxious and uncomfortable.

"—time for that right now," he was saying. Kurt stood perfectly still in the darkened hallway, debating whatever or not he should go in. His stomach churned horribly with Blaine's nervousness and he let out a quiet huff.

"This is the perfecttime," Shelby replied sharply. "It may be someone in a group who's been turning these poor kids and with an Alpha they won't be able to do it anymore." Blaine sighed. Kurt padded his way into the living room.

"Maybe, but it's going to be almost impossible to figure out who's been turning these kids since it's obviously not someone with a Pack," he pointed out. "You can't just go arou—Kurt!" Blaine smiled and beckoned the white wolf closer. Kurt tapped his nose under the Alpha's chin and sat beside him, tail wagging slowly. Shelby nodded to him.

"Beta," she said stiffly. She turned back to Blaine. "Look, I know that we can't pinpoint who's doing this. But I firmly believe that even if it doesn't stop the attacks, giving these kids a Pack will make them feel safe." The dominant woman stood.

"I will be talking with the Dayton Packs," she said. "And you should know that Lima is behind me in this." Blaine nodded, standing with her.

"I promise I'll consider it, Ms. Corcoran," he said. Shelby left. Blaine sighed and sat down heavily, burying a hand in Kurt's fur.

"Hey," he murmured. "Long time no see, stranger." Kurt didn't reply and stood up, shifting. He slipped onto the couch and straddled his Mate.

"You're one to talk," he said. He pressed a kiss to Blaine's mouth. "What did Ms. Corcoran want?" Blaine sighed and settled his arms around Kurt's waist, stroking a thumb over his scar.

"She wants to form a Pack from the Alpha-less groups." he said. "She wants to 'give them a Pack.'" Kurt hummed and ran his hands underneath Blaine's shirt.

"She'd make a good Pack leader," he said. "She's done some great work with her shifter students in the past."

"Yeah," said Blaine hesitantly. He let go of his Mate and struggled out of his shirt, tossing it haphazardly onto the couch. "But I have to say, I don't know her that well."

"I do," said Kurt. "She coaches the glee club that mopped the floor with us last year." He shivered. "That woman is scary."

"And you think she'd make a good Pack Alpha?"

"I do," said Kurt firmly. He hesitated. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, though." Kurt thought for a moment. "Well, actually, it kind of is." Blaine's brow furrowed.

"You wanted to talk to me about Shelby Corcoran?" Kurt hesitated again and he could feel Blaine start to worry. He put a gentle hand on his arm.

"No," he said. "I wanted to talk to you about the rogues." Blaine stiffened but nodded anyway. His hands went back to Kurt's hips.

"What about them?" he asked. Kurt took a deep breath.

"Dave Karofsky called a few days ago," he said. "He said that he'd seen rogues hanging around his house in a group. And they're running with an Alpha." Blaine's eyes narrowed. His grip on Kurt's hips tightened and the Beta felt his shock of displeasure through the bond.

"You've been talking with Karofsky? Kurt." Blaine took a deep breath through his nose. "That's really—you shouldn't be doing that." He gave his Mate a stern look. "Like, at all." Kurt nodded.

"I know," he said. "I do. And I wasn't going to even bring up the calls at first because I didn't think it was anything important, but then—"

"Wait, wait, wait," said Blaine. "Calls, plural? You've been talkingto him? As in, having multiple conversations?" Kurt glared.

"One conversation, Blaine," he said. "I had one conversation with him. He just called a lot before I picked up." Blaine sat up straighter, moved one hand to the back of Kurt's neck, squeezing harshly.

"He was competition,"Blaine hissed. His nails dug into Kurt's skin and the Beta winced. "You should have told me about this immediately."

"I know," Kurt ground out. "But you've been busy and I knew you'd be upset and I didn't think it was important at first." He took a deep breath. "I answered today to tell him to stop. And then he told me about the rogues."

"Damn it," said Blaine. "This will not happen again, Kurt." He released the boy's neck. "Get up."

Kurt did as he was told and followed Blaine up to their bedroom. The Alpha locked the door behind them and fixed Kurt with a glare, his eyes yellow-bright.

"You can't just decide to deal with things like this on your own, Kurt," he growled. "You tell me and then we deal with it together." Kurt's eyes narrowed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Blaine," he snapped. "If I brought every little thing to your attention, nothing would get done."

"Fine," said Blaine. "But Kurt, this is not a little thing. This is exactly the sort of thing you tell me right away."

"I did tell you right away!"

"No you didn't, Kurt."

"Yes I did, Blaine," he yelled. "I waited for you to come home and then I told you about the group of rogues following an Alpha that isn't theirs.But apparently, you missed that point!"

Kurt was practically screaming, his belly full of frustration and a thick, nervous dread. Blaine stared at him, eyes narrowed. There was a long, painful pause before he spoke again.

"The reason," he said slowly, "that I am so upset is because you're taking unconfirmed information from the boy who threatened you—threatened my Mate." Kurt snarled, baring his teeth.

"Kurt." The Beta stopped, turning his face away. "Look. Just, stay here for a while. I'm going to call Puckerman."

"You're going to tell him about the rogues?" Kurt asked. Blaine looked at him sharply.

"I'm going to ask him to keep an eye on Karofsky," he said. Kurt let out a frustrated noise.

"You should be telling him to keep a lookout for any Alphas that he doesn't know," he snapped.

"Kurt, my—"

"I can take care of myself, Blaine," he continued. "In case you hadn't noticed, I've handled bigger threats than David Karofsky."

"Damn it, Kurt, this isn't about you being my Beta!" Blaine exploded. "This is about you being my Mate!" Kurt stared at him, incredulous.

"So I'm not being a good little submissive, is that it?" Blaine growled.

"No," he snapped. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I just—I know you can take care of yourself, I know you can." He gripped Kurt's shoulders. "But I deserve to know when something big happens."

"You're missing the point," Kurt hissed angrily. "This should be about us; this should be about the Pack." He flushed irritably. "Haven't you been listening?" Blaine huffed, irritation flaring sharply.

"I'm going to call Puck," he said finally. "You cool off or whatever. I don't care. Just—be back by moonrise, okay?" Kurt didn't reply and Blaine left the room with a huff and a roll of his eyes.

They didn't speak for days.