The next morning, Betty wakes with a contented sigh as she stretches and curls deeper into the heavy arm around her waist. As she nuzzle into the bare chest it belongs to, she quickly straightens up in the bed, rubbing her eyes, and blinking rapidly. Her eyes travel along the heavy arm that had been around her waist that has now flopped to the bed beside her. She finds it belongs to an equally large, dark haired and similarly broody teenage boy that is most definitely not Jughead, covered only by a thin pair of plaid boxers.

"Sweet Pea," she whispers to herself.

He doesn't stir an ounce, obviously heavily asleep, regardless of the bed being jostled with her movement as she looks around the bed. She finds Fangs curled up in a ball at her feet, his boxers and t-shirt twisted chaotically around his body and the throw equally twisted around his ankle. She can't help but giggle at the drool hanging from the corner of his mouth and the wild way his hair sticks up in all directions. Turning to her left, she is awestruck as she takes in Jughead's chiseled abs. Her cheeks flush as heat rises to settle over her face before igniting into flames over her entire being. A touch of shame comes over her with the sudden desire to run her tongue along the trail of dark hair that disappears beneath his jeans.

The ounce of shame tainting her desires has nothing to do with Jughead. She's not ashamed that she slept with him, not at all. Honestly, she's wondered what it would be like for quite some time now and knowing what she does about werewolf mating, the awkwardness she should feel for sleeping with her childhood frenemy is just not there. No, it's not that.

Before last night, she'd had absolutely no idea of a few things:

One- Jughead is to be the next Alpha. Meaning he is not just a werewolf, but the most important wolf in his pack, or will be once the current Alpha steps down.

Two- Sweet Pea is a werewolf. She was sure he was a vampire, what with the compulsion he'd used on her. She'll have to remember to speak with him about that.

And three- Alpha's apparently share their mate with their Beta and their Delta. Though, she does recall Jughead saying "just this once", so maybe she's wrong to assume this is a regular occurrence.

Last night had been full of new information, but the most surprising of it all is what she learned about herself. If someone had told her she would willingly have a foursome with a group of werewolves, she'd never have believed it. But, here she is. That in itself should be a cause for shame, but it's how much she enjoyed herself that has her cheeks tinged the darkest of red.

Jughead grunts sleepily as he reaches a lazy arm across the bed, grabbing Betty by her shirt and hauls her against him. Betty giggles, her moment of feeling slightly ashamed for her actions entirely forgotten as he nuzzles his nose into her neck and sniffs wildly. He hums in satisfaction after getting his fill of her scent and whines sleepily.

"Betts, sleep," he grumbles, shifting his hips to press firmly into her backside.

"Juggy, it's like noon," she laughs, rolling over in his arms to face him. Jughead groans in defeat and pries his eyes open, giving her a pouty glare. Betty rolls her eyes playfully and gets up from the bed.

"No baby, wait," he calls out urgently, tugging her back into his chest. "Love me," he whines, tightening his hold around her.

"Jug, I have to pee," she complains.

"Please," he whines, elongating his plea.

Betty can't even begin to resist how foolishly adorable he is right now, despite how desperate she is to relieve her bladder.

"Fine," she smirks, allowing him to nuzzle her all over.

Betty is perfectly content in his arms, his front pressed firmly into her back. It feels like home, like his body was made to fit with hers perfectly as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle.

Sweet Pea stirs a bit and reaches out for Betty in his sleep. Betty is surprised by Jughead's low growl against her ear when Sweet Pea's hand touches her arm.

"Jug," she questions cautiously. "You ok?"

"Mine," he pouts and Betty can't help but laugh at his toddler like declaration.

"Yes Juggy," she rolls her eyes, "I'm yours, but that doesn't mean you need to go biting off Sweet Peas hand. You seemed fine enough last night," she points out and she can almost feel the glare he's driving into the back of her head.

"That was different," he protests.

Betty turns to face him and is disheartened by his scowl.

"Don't shut down, talk to me," she pleads gently, cupping his cheek and running her thumb along his jaw. Knowing Jughead as well as she does, she expects him to internalize as he always does, so when he begins to speak she's slightly startled by his voice.

"Betts. Last night, that was- I've never-" he stumbles nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"Oh," she says in surprise as she realizes what he's trying to say. "That was- you were-

"A virgin," he states, grimacing at his own admission. "Yea."

"I never would have guessed that," Betty mumbles, catching the slightest smirk on his lips.

"Yea well, my Alpha clearly knows what he wants," he chuckles before falling eerily serious. "Pack mating isn't my choice Betts. It just is. It's a fact of being an Alpha and as much as I didn't want to do it, I had to."

"Like, it's the rules," she questions, not quite understanding.

"More like the pull of my Alpha," he starts, "An Alpha's desire to ensure the safety of his Luna is nothing to be messed with. I knew what had to be done and the three of us have been talking about how it would go for a long time, but I still feel...I don't know, threatened?" He admits with a tense shrug.

"Threatened by what exactly," she asks gently, running her fingers in his hair to soothe him.

"You smell like them," he mumbles, "Which is fine. You need to for your protection, but that means they will always be bound to you. Not in the way that I am, but enough that they won't think twice about being near you or touching you," he sighs and Betty is beginning to understand why he's so put off. "You're mine. I've waited a long time to have you and I don't want to share."

"Awe, Juggy," she coos, "I can't promise that you won't have to share innocent affections but I can promise that only you will ever be with me otherwise. What happened last night was like you said, a necessary part of mating. It's done. We're bonded, and from here on out, you're the only one," she assures him then pecks his forehead softly.

Jughead nods against her lips and gives her a tight squeeze around the waist as if he's afraid she might disappear.

"You can pee now," he says, though he refuses to loosen his hold on her.

Betty manages to wiggle free and bolts into the bathroom. She pauses in the doorframe to stick her tongue out childishly and smiles to herself when she hears Jughead laugh as the door closes.

As Betty reenters the bedroom, she's surprised to see Sweet Pea and Fangs awake. She hadn't been in the bathroom long, but they look rather bright eyed and bushy tailed. Chuckling to herself at the subtle flair of their nostrils, she comes back to the bed, sitting at the edge beside Jughead. Fangs inches just a little closer, his eyes closing as he breathes in her scent, but it's Sweet Pea who more boldly nuzzles her mark with his nose. A deep growl vibrates in Jughead's chest, his eyes lethal as he stares down his Beta. Sweet Pea backs down hesitantly as Jughead continues to growl, growing angrier by the second.

"Pea," Betty addresses quickly, "hallway please. You too," she requests, turning her attention to Fangs who is much further away than he had been. Already, she can tell that Fangs is much more cautious of Jughead and she hopes she'll be able to convince Pea not to push his boundaries as well.

The two boys go without a fight into the hallway, leaving Betty to tend to her very territorial mate.

"Jug," Betty scolds gently, "He wasn't trying to step on your toes."

Jughead only glares at his clenched fists, his chest heaving as he takes in short huffs of air.

"Jughead, look at me," she requests, guiding his gaze gently upwards with her hands on his jaw. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was angry, but the hurt in his eyes is obvious to her. "I am your mate," she emphasizes clearly. "This mark-" She brings his hand to rest on the fresh crescents on her neck. "This is yours. Not Sweet Pea's, not Fangs', yours."

Jughead nods, his angry scowl softening into something of a scolded child as he hauls her into his lap. As he wraps his arms around her waist, he buries his face into the crook of her neck, pressing a tender kiss to her mark before breathing her in. He lingers there a while, allowing her scent to calm him as she runs her fingers through his hair.

"Why don't you go run it off," Betty suggests, "You should probably find the rest of your clothes anyways."

Jughead nods against her shoulder before sitting up and planting a firm kiss to her lips. With one final peck, Betty removes herself from his lap and just about drags him out the door. Jughead lets a low growl as they pass Sweet Pea and Fangs in the hall and Betty tugs him along a bit more forcefully.

Once outside, Jughead strips his jeans off, handing them to Betty and takes off for the woods. Betty, still only in Sweet Pea's t-shirt and her underwear hurries back inside where the frigid air can't bite at her bare legs.

In the kitchen, Betty finds Cheryl, sipping at a warmed mug of what she can only assume to be blood and Toni across from her at the breakfast hutch with her own mug in hand.

"Coffee," Toni assures her, directing her attention to the half full coffee pot beside the sink. Betty nods appreciatively and selects a mug from the neat display on the counter.

"So, Luna," Cheryl chimes in, "How was it being worshiped by three mangy mutts."

Though she's blushing at the comment, she can't help but grin at Toni's obvious offence to what her mate has just said.

"Oh, T-T," she coos, "You are a goddess of the night. Nothing like your male counterparts." All is well and good with the seal of a kiss, but the question remains and Cheryl's gaze assures her, she will be answering it.

"Uhm, it was good," Betty mutters as she takes a seat beside Toni.

"Good," Toni quips, "Girl, you got ravaged by three horny werewolves and it was good?"

"Ok, ok," she holds up her hands, "It was great, amazing, the best sex I've ever had."

"But," Cheryl adds expectantly.

Betty sighs, "But, now I have territorial boyfriend issues."

"Oh no, it's worse than that," Toni corrects, pausing to sip at her coffee, "You have territorial Alpha, slash, territorial Jughead issues."

Betty groans, already knowing exactly what she means.

"Jughead is super possessive on his own," she continues, "I can't even imagine how bad his Alpha is."

"Well thank you so much for your confidence," Betty jokes, "If you'll excuse me I have a disrespectful Beta to chew out."

With that, she takes off down the hall in search of Sweet Pea and Fangs. The first place she looks is back in the guest room, entirely relieved when she finds them both there looking guilty.

"Pea," Betty scolds, her hands on her hips.

Sweet Pea refuses to look at her, finding something on the wall suddenly very interesting.

"Look," she starts, "What happened last night, well, it happened, yea. I'm not going to deny that it was enjoyable-"

Both boys smirk and Betty rolls her eyes hard.

"But," she continues, "None of what happened last night was an invitation to disrespect Jughead, not only as your Alpha, but as your friend. Jughead is the only one of you who has any right to my body and any level of intimacy will not be tolerated unless it is at his hand. Are we understood?"

"Yes Luna," they grumble in unison.

"I think you have some groveling to do," she addresses Pea, who nods in agreement. "Well go," she gestures to the door when neither boy moves.

Sweet Pea and Fangs get to their feet quickly, keeping their heads down as they leave the room. Betty follows them out and stops to borrow a pair of pants and a jacket from Cheryl before going outside to wait for the boys to return.

Deep in the forest behind Thornhill, Jughead has effectively run off his initial rage, but he's still itching to put Pea in his place. As he makes it back towards the tree he'd left his clothes under last night, he catches both Sweet Pea and Fangs' scent in the air. Breaking into a full run, he takes off in their direction, colliding hard with Pea and taking him down by the scruff of his neck. Fangs immediately lies down on his belly in the snow, his head laid low in submission as he watches Jughead drive Sweet Pea into the ground, the both of them growling in a standoff Sweet Pea knows he won't win. With a high pitched yelp, Sweet Pea submits, allowing his body to go limp beneath the weight of his Alpha. Jughead releases his scruff and bares his teeth, growling as he slowly backs off. Sweet Pea gets up cautiously and bows his head to his Alpha. Jughead bumps his snout to Sweet Pea's and nods in Fangs' direction, giving him permission to rise.

When the three wolves arrive back at Thornhill, Jughead with his clothes hanging from his teeth, they are met by Betty at the edge of the tree line. Jughead shifts first and begins pulling on his clothes as Sweet Pea and Fangs follow suit. Betty hands the boys their clothes that she'd gathered from the porch on her way out and takes notice of the angry red bite at the back of Sweet Pea's neck. She studies them carefully as they dress and while Jughead looks almost triumphant, Sweet Pea and Fangs look the part of children who have just been released from a long time out. Catching Jughead's eye, she gives him a look of disapproval and he shrugs, having the decency to look at least a little bit sorry for being so hard on Pea.

Not long after they'd retuned to Thornhill, did everyone head for home. Fangs ducked out with nothing more than a quick goodbye and a submissive nod in Jughead's direction. Pea on the other hand, Betty has decided, enjoys getting on Jughead's nerves and dared to plant a kiss on her cheek before making himself scarce. Jughead at least only rolled his eyes, and she hopes that Pea will quickly get bored of his antics.

Last night, Betty had been dropped off at Thornhill by her mother, letting her know that she'd have Reggie or Moose drop her home when it was done. Alice wasn't thrilled with the idea in the first place and she dreads what she'll be walking into once she gets home. It's nearly three in the afternoon and she's only just now making her way home, on foot, with Jughead, who her mother knows to be her arch enemy. Not to mention she's still wearing Sweet Pea's shirt. Surely she'll be grounded for the rest of her life. The least she can do is enjoy her last moments of freedom with the boy she loves.

Jughead and Betty have been walking for nearly fifteen minutes and he hasn't uttered a single word. Back at Thornhill, it had almost felt as if they were in a bubble, shielded from the outside world. His confidence had been high with his pack nearby, but now, alone in the outside world and no longer guided by the pull of his Alpha, Jughead is feeling every bit like the shy sixteen year old boy he's always been. He desperately wants to hold her hand, but even after last night, he's not sure if she wants that. They've spent years hating each other and apparently his hesitation isn't so easily broken, even by the fact that he knows it feels like to be inside of her. Betty can tell just looking at him that he's uncertain, but it's the waves of hesitation and desire she can feel, as if they're radiating off of him, that urge her to make the first move. She moves a bit closer as they walk and takes his hand, earning a surprised glance before his gaze drops to their intertwined fingers with his blush.

"No need to be so nervous Jug," she assures him sweetly, "You're allowed to hold my hand."

"I guess it just seems, I don't know, strange," he shrugs, "like it's almost not real." His eyes flick back up to hers, a pained expression tugging at his brow. "I've been waiting so long Betts."

"I know Juggy," she says softly, coming to a stop to pull him close. "This, us," she gestures between them, "This is real. I love you, and this mark on my neck-" She presses his palm to her mark. "Your mark, means that I am yours, and only yours."

Jughead nods, his forehead rocking against hers before he tilts his chin to press a soft kiss to her lips. This, her, everything about this moment, is all he has wanted for as long as he can remember and he finally feels like he can have it.

The last ten minutes of their walk is spent in a comfortable silence, both enjoying the quiet winter air and the warmth radiating between their conjoined hands. Jughead breaks the silence briefly to ask how she plans to hide her mark from her mom, and rolls his eyes with her snarky reply of opting to wear turtle necks until she moves out. In a more serious manner she tells him not to worry and assures him that she will find a way. When they finally arrive at Betty's house, both of them are beyond relieved to find that Alice isn't at home. They make quick work of their goodbye, unwilling to press their luck, and with a peck to the lips, Jughead heads for his own home.

"Dad," Jughead calls out in excitement as he bursts through the front door of his trailer, "Dad!"

"Woah, where's the fire boy," FP chuckles as he emerges from the bathroom.

"Dad I did it! I finally did it," he beams.

"Did what," FP laughs, finding his son's cryptic excitement both amusing and possibly concerning.

"Betty," he says simply, a boyish grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"That's my boy," FP cheers, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a solid pat on the back. "We gotta celebrate or something," he says excitedly as he moves for the fridge.

Pulling out two bottles of beer, he tosses one to Jughead, raising his own in salute as Jughead catches it easily. They move to the living room, Jughead taking a seat on the couch and his father in his arm chair on the other side of the coffee table. FP questions him about how it went in terms of completing their bond and he tries not to go into too much detail, feeling slightly awkward telling his father about nailing his girl. Aside from FP's initial excitement, something seems off with him as they chat and Jughead is determined to find out what it is.

"Is something up," Jughead questions outright, earning a surprised glance from his father.

"Eh, it's nothing," he waves off easily, "I don't want to dampen your mood."

"Dad, if somethings up I want to know," he demands carefully.

FP contemplates for a moment, rubbing thoughtfully at the scruff on his chin as his fingers drum on his half empty beer bottle.

"There's been a handful of disappearances in the past couple of weeks," he tells him almost casually.

"You think it's the Blossom's," Jughead wonders aloud.

"Eh, I don't think so," he shakes his head, taking a swig off his beer. "The pattern's all wrong. It's sloppy, almost like they want to be found."

Jughead nods thoughtfully, "I'll keep an eye out."

"I know you will," FP grins proudly. "Well, that's enough depressing shit," he laughs as he gets up from his chair. "I'm going over to the Wyrm, see if we can't put some pieces together."

Jughead watches as he laces up his boots and shrugs on his Serpent jacket. He's always found it amusing that humans see that jacket and run away scared. If only they knew the beast beneath the jacket, they'd realize they're the lesser of many evils.

"I'm proud of you," FP says, pausing in the doorway.

Jughead raises his drink in reply, grinning fondly as the door swings closed.

If there's a monster in Riverdale, he has the utmost confidence they will find it and tear it to shreds before it can bring any more harm to their small town.

Or worse,

Betty.