Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Darlin’ wasn't happy about the move.

They missed their old bedroom. They missed their old friends. They missed the foodmart at the corner of their old town. They missed the relative quiet compared to Dahlia’s constant noise, and the forest they could frequent behind their old school. They hated sticking out like a sore thumb and sitting awkwardly at the edge of lunch tables that had bustling friend groups.

Their room still had untouched boxes except for the one that held their bedding, and they had been grabbing outfits out of their packed suitcase instead of putting it in their dresser. They didn’t want to get comfortable here. They wanted to go back.

Darlin’ had just finished their first week of school– 4 days, in fact, because they had been counting– and was still absolutely miserable.

Their parents insisted that everyone was happy about the move, to the point that if Darlin’ was with them, they’d brush off their kid’s moody behavior for teenage angst.

And today was no different.

It was Saturday and the family had been invited to a nearby pack meeting. Darlin’ couldn’t remember what it was named.

It surprised them that their family was even going to meet up with a pack, remembering the pattern of their family always living on the outskirts of pack involvement. But their parents were smiling and were ready to put on a good show for whoever they could interact with.

The car stopped in front of a one-story building which looked similar to a house. A few bushes lined the walkway to the front, and behind the building was a forest. This is where the pack meets up?

They clicked the seatbelt off.

“Remember, be happy. You won’t make any friends scowling all the time,” Their mother reminded, unbuckling herself.

Darlin’ was more than willing to keep scowling. They slid out and slammed the door shut, but both parents were already ignoring them.

When entering the building, the family was greeted with lots of noise coming from a bright room, exuding warmth. The restroom sign was on the door in front of them, and there was a closed door to their right.

Their mother turned around and tapped Darlin’s shoulders, “Stand up straight. Make your face pleasant, remember?”

Darlin’ stood up straight and gave them a pissed off smile. Their mother decided that it was best that they would give and satisfiedly huffed. Their father put a hand on their mother’s lower back and led them to the left. Darlin' returned to their previous posture, and walked behind their parents, feeling lucky that they didn’t tower over either of them too much.

The room slightly quieted down as soon as they stepped over the threshold, but didn’t last long as conversation picked up again.

Darlin’ scanned the walls and carpet, the lights and windows. They could see some picture frames on the wall, and the ginormous table in the middle of the room lined with chairs on all sides. A sturdy man walked over and greeted the trio, shaking hands with their parents before getting to them. “Nice to meet you, I’m Gabe Shaw, the alpha of this pack. If you two would like to sit down, I was about to start the meeting.”

Darlin’ should’ve known that from his aura, but then again, they had never really spent much time around their old pack alpha. Their parents agreed ceremoniously and took their chosen seats.

“The younger pack members are in the other room. I can have my son bring you there, if you would rather not listen to the adults talk about boring affairs,” The alpha smiled back at them. “He’s around your age.”

“Okay,” Darlin’ nodded, avoiding the alpha’s eyes in favor of watching people happily mingle. It'd be worse sitting next to their parents for who knows how long. If they were in a totally separate room then they wouldn’t be in the eyeline of their nagging mother to look a certain way.

“Great,” Gabe called. “David!”

A boy who was about their height picked his head up from his phone, his dark hair bouncing as he quickly walked over. “Yeah, dad?”

“This is one of the new pack members I was telling you about earlier,” Gabe explained. “I figured that you could bring them to hang out in the other room with you guys?”

David eyed Darlin’ before nodding. “Sure.”

“Thanks, bud.” He squeezed his son’s shoulder before walking to the head of the table. They watched a few people begin to take their seats, and the way that everyone seemed to intently watch the alpha. But David had already started to leave the room before the adults could start talking.

David led them back into the entryway and opened another door mirroring the meeting room door. There it was revealed a kitchen and a living room area with two large couches, a pool table, and a small TV on the wall. It wasn’t as noisy as the other room and Darlin’ liked that.

The alpha’s son practically ignored Darlin’ as he took up a cue stick, and positioned himself on one side of the pool table. “Christian and Arden can’t make it today,” He told the group. Nobody seemed too stunned by that news, so Darlin' figured they were busy people and rarely made it to these meetings.

But now the attention landed on them. “Wait. Who are you?” A girl asked. Darlin’ took notice of her bright pink bands on her braces.

They crossed their arms and introduced themselves. The girl explained that she was Amanda, and the tallest boy next to her was Milo. David only muttered a ‘nice to meet you’ before the bright-eyed boy standing next to David introduced himself, offering his hand to shake. “I’m Asher. Welcome to the pack. I like your patches on your jacket, they're cool. Are you shy?”

“No. . .”

“Oh. So you just don’t talk a lot?”

“I–” Their frown grew deeper. Did this kid just assume that if people weren’t talking every second they could, that they didn’t talk a lot? “I can talk. There’s just nothing to talk about.” Darlin’ shrugged.

“Okay. . . Want to play pool with us?” Asher asked, quickly changing the subject.

“You know how to play pool?” Darlin’ raised an eyebrow.

He laughed and shook his head, “No. We just made up our own rules, but it’s still fun.”

Darlin’ looked at the other kids in the room. “I’ll just watch this game,” They suggested. “See how it’s played.”

“That’s cool,” Asher shrugged.

They stood off to the side, leaning against the back of the couch. They watched the friend group go back and forth between turns, finishing with Milo and Amanda winning. Milo volunteered to let Darlin’ take his place.

“So what are the rules exactly?” Darlin’ asked.

“Every team has their own colors,” Asher explained. “David and I get the cool colors, blue, green, purple, and black and white, while the other team gets the warm colors, the yellows, red and orange. You can only move on your side of the table, so you can’t move to the head of the table to knock someone’s ball in. The striped balls are worth five points, and the solid colors are worth two, if you knock the other team's balls into the hole. The way to win is to keep as many of your team’s balls on top of the table. The balls on top don’t actually get any points, but it determines who is still ‘in the ring’. Make sense?”

They could barely wrap their head around exactly how everything worked, especially with the sudden knowledge dump, but were certain that they’d figure it out as soon as they started playing. So, Darlin’ nodded.

The game went slowly, especially because Darlin’ was horrible with a cue stick, but by the end, Amanda and Darlin’ had won.

“The way you bounced those last two balls was crazy! I don’t even know how you did that!” Amanda giggled. The duo high-fived. Darlin’s hand burned from the slap, but they were laughing.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be so pouty David. There’s always next time,” Amanda teased, looking at the frowning boy. “If you hadn’t missed that fourth shot, I’m sure you would’ve won! Besides, I'm just too good of a player.”

David rolled his eyes, but gave a light punch to Amanda’s shoulder, a small smile replacing the frown. “Whatever. Good game.”

Milo and Darlin’ traded places again, with Asher and David putting all the balls back on top of the table.

They were just about to start another game when one of the adults leaned into the room, clapping a hand on the door frame. “Meeting’s finished! Time to go Ash!”

Darlin’ was surprised. It hadn’t even felt that long. How long did these pack meetings last anyway?

Asher put his cue stick down. “See you guys later!”

The group dispersed to their respective parents. Darlin’ found their parents conversing with Milo’s, a tired looking man and fiery looking woman. She was talking about when their family had first moved to Dahlia and how nice Gabe was at helping them integrate into the pack. Milo turned his attention to watch his friend David interact with his dad, rather than pay attention to the conversation in front of him.

“Just let us know if you need any help, alright?” She assured. “Especially if someone is hurt. My phone's always available.”

Darlin’s parents nodded graciously and then goodbyes were completed, shaking hands with other families. Their parents seemed pleased with how the meeting went, as they continued talking on the walk back to the car.

“Did you make some friends?” Their father inquired. The engine roared to life, and a wave of coolness came from the vents.

“Maybe,” Darlin’ truthfully said. They weren’t sure if they did make any friends. But they did have more fun than they had for the past week.

Chapter Text

David finished tying his shoes, and leaned against the wall as he watched his dad finish up the last minute phone call.

“Yes. . . . . Well, would it be alright if we took them with us? Mhm. Yes, I can come pick them up. . . What’s your address again? . . . Alright, thank you so much for letting them come help. I really appreciate it. I’ll be there in fifteen.” His dad set the phone back on the stand and grabbed his car keys from the counter.

“Ready to go, bud?”

David wasn’t sure why Darlin’ had been invited to help the Greer’s unpack their new place, but he wasn’t going to ask his dad about it because obviously there was a reason. His dad always had a reason. But David was certain that there could’ve been someone else just as available as Darlin’ was.

They had only been around for a few weeks, and certainly hadn’t made any friends fast, let alone Milo of all people. In fact, Darlin’ barely interacted with anyone outside of the occasional nod from passing in the hallways, but they had started eating at their lunch table after the brief invitation from Asher. David hadn’t minded it, considering that they were now part of the pack, but he was still wary of them.

When they picked up Darlin’ from their house, one that was located closer in the city compared to his home, they were sitting on the sidewalk curb. They got in the back and stiffly greeted Gabe before returning to their silence. His dad tried to make some small talk but ultimately turned the radio back up in the end.

The drive was awkward, even with the rock station playing. David chose to ignore the awkward aspect by silently looking out the window and mapping out the path to his friend’s new place.

The car pulled up in front of a brick apartment complex rather than the tan one that David had been to before. The two teens followed Gabe out of the car and up a flight of stairs, stopping in front of one of the doors. Gabe knocked four times before they heard any response.

After some shuffling, the door was unlocked, revealing a very weary and frazzled mother and boxes that were stacked in most of the room. A small table was only half cleared, the rest of it had paperwork stacked on every space. Chairs and a couch were pushed off to the side, and boxes stacked on top of them. One wall was lined with even more boxes.

Marie’s eyes brightened at the sight of them and she gestured the group in.

“Gabe. Thank you so much for helping us unpack!” She wrapped Gabe up in a quick hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Colm is off–” Her eyes traveled to the kids. “Colm is out. And I’m not sure how I’d survive putting up our bookshelves plus everything else without help.”

“Of course, Marie,” Gabe smiled. “This is a very nice place.”

“Well y’know,” She trailed off. “I’m just lucky that we can keep finding apartments around the area so we won’t have to move any further out. I wouldn’t want Milo having to go to a different school and driving so long to get to a pack meeting. I was honestly surprised about the price for this apartment–”

David saw Milo come down the hallway and tuned out the conversation. His friend sported the same tired look that his mother was wearing.

The two greeted each other, clasping hands. David apologetically smiled at the fact that he was brought to help unpack the house, something that felt a bit too intimate knowing what really was going on with their family. Mr. Greer’s occasional free-time had started to be taken up fully by going gambling and started to put a strain on the household.

“Thought Asher was supposed to come.” Milo remarked.

David glanced over at Darlin’ before replying, “He's sick, so we asked if they could come and help.”

Milo shrugged and waved the two to follow him back to his room, snaking around the living room boxes.

“Cool place.” Darlin’ commented upon entering his bedroom.

“Thanks. Hopefully we won’t have a cockroach infestation in this one,” Milo grumbled and stopped at one of the boxes over his small desk, grabbing out a few books. “Ugh. Or it being haunted. Lemme tell you, I’m 90 percent sure that the last one we lived in had a ghost.”

Milo rambled on about the supposed haunting, but David wasn’t listening. He was staring around the room wondering if anything had been discarded in the move. Only a few posters had been hung up, as well as Milo’s red bedding and sheets being brought out. Which made sense because the family had only moved in yesterday.

His eyes eventually settled on Darlin’, and he watched their expression turn from withdrawn to freaked out. Something about the butter bell moving across the counter by itself.

“That’s crazy,” They gaped. “It seriously just moved on its own?”

“My ma said it could’ve been a small earthquake, but I don’t think so,” Milo recalled. “There was no rattlin’.”

David moved further into the room and chose to sit on Milo’s bed. He didn’t believe in ghosts, but it seemed that Darlin’ did, given their involuntary shutter and expression.

“I tried a bunch of different things. Got some holy water and all that shit, but things would always fall down or move in that kitchen. But, uh, anyway, I don’t mention things like that anymore. We have other things to worry about than ghosts.”

“Like unpacking your room?” David butted in.

“Yeah- Right. . . Uh. David, do you want to work on my bookshelf and I can put away my clothes?” Milo suggested. David traded places with Milo, and the two set off to work.

Darlin’ shifted the weight on their feet, feeling uncomfortably useless. “Do you want me to stay and help with something or should I go see if your mom needs help?” Darlin’ thumbed towards the door, even though neither were watching.

“Do you have a preference?” Milo turned to look back at them, shirts in hand.

“I’ll just– go see if your mom needs help.” Darlin’ walked out.

Milo absentmindedly nodded, letting a small space of silence linger before bringing up, “Ash isn’t sick from an actual bug right? I shared my drink with him at lunch the other day.”

“Food poisoning,” David corrected. He examined the bookshelf and realized that Milo had just been putting random books in places, not actually organizing them. David was going to make sure to at least organize the rest of the novels he was putting up.

Milo clicked his tongue, “Rough.”

The conversation took a pause. Once Milo had finished putting his clothes in his drawers, he sat on his bed, holding his face in his hands. David had taken notice of it and warily placed the books in their spot before turning to his friend.

“What’s wrong?”

Milo startled and lowered his hands. “What? Nothin’. Everythin’ is fine.”

David watched him silently. “Milo. Fine people do not sit with their head in their hands. What’s wrong?”

Milo cleared his throat. “We don’t have to talk about it. It doesn’t matter too much. I mean– we don’t normally talk to each other like that. . .”

David paused and realized that it was true, but he wasn’t going to let his friend be miserable by himself.

“No. It’s fine. Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s. . . my dad. I’m sure you know the whole situation at this point, but my ma is sayin’ that his gamblin’ is starting to eat away at our finances. Which is the reason why we had to move, since we couldn’t continue payin’ rent for the other apartment. I just. . . don’t know what to do. She told me I couldn’t start workin’, even though that would bring in extra money, and said to only focus on my studies.” He balled his fists up and concernedly faced David. “It just sucks not being able to do shit! Y’know?!”

David leaned back and sympathetically nodded, “Yeah. I understand.”

“She's tryin' to get him to stop, but, they’ve had a few arguments about it already and I just don’t want my ma to be more burdened than she already is,” Milo defeatedly finished.

“She won’t,” David swiftly promised, “We’ll help. Just like we’re doing now. My dad has already decided that and. . . you’re my friend, so I also have the same intention.”

David hoped he had said enough. Milo pursed his lips together and smiled, nodding as he took in the full statement.

“Thanks David. That means a lot.”

- - -

It had felt wrong standing in Milo’s bedroom. They barely knew him, and being in such a close space with him and one of his best friends was too awkward for Darlin’.

So they left, and hoped that Milo could breathe easier knowing that they wouldn’t be going through his things. If a random acquaintance helped unpack their room a few weeks ago, they for sure would have hated someone invading their space.

Darlin’ cautiously wandered into the main room. They weren’t sure where anyone had gone, but heard stuff being moved. Maybe it was Mrs. Greer? They walked around a pile of boxes and spotted David’s dad.

“Hey, sport,” Gabe raised his head looking at Darlin’. “Need something?”

They glanced behind them, “Uh. It was too crowded in there, so I figured I’d come out here to help.”

Gabe nodded, and put a screw in between his teeth as he placed a board in-between two shorter ones. “Make shensh. Wanna hel-eh screw dings in?”

“Okay.”

Darlin’ walked closer. Gabe took out the screw from in between his teeth and pointed to something. “Can you grab the screw backing? The hexagon one.”

They kneeled down and grabbed one, holding it out for him. He shook his head and smiled, “How about you screw it in while I hold the board? It’s pretty easy. There’s a small screwdriver over on this side.”

Darlin’ frowned, but did as he said, taking the tiny screwdriver. They twisted the screw on and looked back at the alpha, wondering if they did it right.

“Wanna help finish this side?” He offered. Darlin’ assumed that the lack of criticism meant that it was done well and they grabbed more screws. After twisting things on for five minutes, Darlin’ successfully attached the board.

“This looks amazing,” Gabe praised. “Now where did I put the shelves?”

The afternoon was a blur of hearing boxes getting broken down for future use and shuffling of furniture. Marie and Gabe had taken care of the TV stand and its cabinets.

Darlin’ had reconnected the parts of the second bookshelf and finished working on connecting the DVD player and TV. Milo and David, at one point, came out and were sent to organize the rest of the kitchen. All that remained in the living room were some tote boxes that needed to be brought out to their storage unit and hanging up curtains.

Gabe and Marie had taken up sorting the rest of the living room situation and suggested that Darlin’ go help the other two in the kitchen.

“Why is he on the counter?” Darlin’ pitched an eyebrow, evaluating the sight that they entered into.

“Well, David’s the responsible one,” Milo explained, as they watched David put the glasses steadily into the cabinet.

“Milo should be the one doing this, considering that it’s his mom’s glasses and he’s taller,” David countered. He placed two more wine glasses upside down.

Milo laughed. “True, but I have the occasional butter fingers moment, and I’d rather not risk it. Besides, my ma will most likely go easy on you if you break anythin’!”

“If you end up breaking my wedding wine glasses Milo Anthony Greer, so God help you!” Marie’s voice hollered from the other room.

“Relax, Ma!” He called back, a smirk at his lips. “Nothing is goin’ to break!”

Milo’s eyes caught Darlin’s and he shook his head grinning.

Darlin’ puffed out a breath of air, holding back from saying anything about the mother-son interaction. The two seemed more at ease with each other, well, as easy as you could get between a kid and a parent. Something they could never get with their own mother.

David slowly shut the cabinet before hopping down onto the linoleum. It seemed to be the last of the boxes they had to complete for that room.

Grr. Darlin’ felt heat rise to their cheeks as their stomach growled. Both boys had noted the sound but David resumed breaking down the cardboard box.

“Was that you?” Milo cautiously asked.

Darlin’ nodded, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

He looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “Yeah. I guess it is around dinner time with it being almost six o’clock. And we worked through lunch. I’m not sure what we had planned for dinner though. . . do you have a certain food preference?”

“I don’t know. You really don’t need to get me dinner. I’m fine.”

“Do you like pizza?” David shot in and stared at them with a sharp gaze, as if his new mission was to find something that they would want to eat. They didn’t like that focus.

Darlin’ shrugged, “I guess so.”

“We’ll ask if that’s what we can have for dinner then. Any specific pizza?” He continued, dropping the dismantled cardboard box onto the others.

Darlin’ pushed down more heat of embarrassment, “Just cheese is fine.”

They hadn’t wanted to make them pay for food.

“Ma! Can we order pizza for dinner?” Milo called into the living room. A quick response of ‘sure’ followed. “Can we get garlic knots too?”

The latter request had been approved based on Milo’s grin and he walked over to the phone. Milo assured them that this was one of the first things his mom sorted out, always needing a phone to be ready in case of an emergency.

“Yeah, hi,” Milo began. “We need a medium pepperoni pizza. . .”

“My dad likes supreme.” David added.

“A medium supreme pizza, a medium cheese pizza, and uh, garlic knots as well. . . No, that’ll be it. . .” Milo rattled off his address before hanging up and rushing into the living room to relay their choices.

- - -

Gabe carried one of the pizza boxes in hand, filled with leftovers to take back with him.

“Well, we should get going. Get you back to your parents. I’m sure they are wondering where you are, huh, sport?” Gabe squeezed their shoulder.

“Probably not,” They quietly said and shrugged, looking at the floor.

Darlin’ didn’t notice the way that Gabe and Marie paused at their statement, but nothing more came of it. Gabe hugged Marie one more time, offering that if she needed anything else to contact him. Marie thanked Darlin’ and David as well.

“Thanks for dinner,” Darlin’ mentioned before stepping too far out the door. They took a look back and was greeted with a warm smile.

“Don’t mention it,” Marie smiled. “Have a goodnight kiddo!”

The drive back was just as silent. The radio was turned down lower to compete with the darkened scenery, and Darlin’ was certain that David had fallen asleep within five minutes if his slumped form said anything.

The car rolled into their driveway. The porch light hadn’t been left on, but that didn’t matter so much with their slightly improved shifter eyesight.

The car was shifted into park, and they unclicked their seatbelt, hurrying to not take up anymore of the alpha’s time.

“Hey,” Gabe quietly said before they could open the door too far.

Darlin’ stopped and kept their attention situated on the silver handle, their thumb rubbing back and forth along it.

“You also know that if you need any help that you can come to me, right? For any reason you can think of. Even if it's just needing help with one simple homework question.”

They hadn’t really thought about that. They were usually by themselves, and even when they weren’t, they were expected to figure out how to deal with things on their own.

Darlin’ hesitantly nodded, not wanting to tell him the truth, “Yeah. . . thank you. Have a good night.”

They shut the car door and ran up the steps. The front door had been left unlocked which was good, although they vaguely remember their father not being able to find the house keys earlier, which might’ve had something to do with it. They watched from the porthole window in the door to see the Alpha leave, his headlights sweeping across the front yard before driving off.

Relief of being home flooded through their system, and Darlin’ was certain they would crash within ten minutes. They happily thought about getting to lay flat on their comfy bed.

With a deep sigh they flipped the kitchen light on, going to grab a water bottle from the fridge, and then saw the stacks of dishes that neither parent had bothered to clean up. They angrily shut the fridge door before filling up the sink. Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait.

Chapter Text

The wooded clearing behind the den was glowing in the summer sun and heat.

Darlin’ plucked out more grass and pressed their short fingernails into the middle of the strand, tearing the blade into two. Something that they had been doing for the past twenty minutes.

Their mind ferociously circled through the previous evening and its phone call. The few phone calls they had with their friends were quick, and full of stories of what their friend group had been getting up to while Darlin’ was alone in California. They would relay what happened with people in their classes, or something that they did over the weekend, before saying they had to leave or call someone else.

Darlin’ would say ‘okay’ and would ask to tell the rest of their friends they said hello.

Their phone call would end and they’d be left alone in their quiet house, the ache of leaving home returning, even after five months of being in Dahlia.

It had only taken a few weeks before Darlin’s friends had stopped being able to chat as often. Whenever Darlin’ would try to call, their friends would always have an excuse ready: That they were tired. That they had to finish chores. That they had school work to finish. That they were visiting family.

And Darlin’ believed them. They were occasionally busy too and it wasn’t like they could hang out with them anyway.

But soon it started happening every single time they called and then last night Darlin’ had tried again, after weeks of choosing to not call any of them, and found out that Darlin’s previous friend group had only hung around them because they felt it was rude not to.

So, now they were friendless. They had always been friendless.

Darlin’ looked up at the sound of David’s voice, but wasn't sure what he exactly said. All they knew was it wasn’t directed at them and instead at one of his best friends.

“Maybe one day you’ll catch up with me and Milo,” Asher teased. David rolled his eyes.

“Hey, what about me? I’m taller than all three of you,” Christian indignantly whined.

“Chrissy. You’re two years older than us,” Ash pointed out. “You weren’t even in the race to begin with.”

Christian muttered under his breath about the nickname. “If David ever grows taller than both of you, I believe he gets all the rights to tease you two about it.”

“We’ll see if that ever happens, Chrissy,” Asher grabbed his Gatorade water bottle and squeezed it to blast a small mist of water onto his face, the heat of the day not letting up even if they were under a shaded tree.

“Are you coming on the camping trip?” David asked Chrisitian, changing the conversation.

It was an annual camping trip. David explained that his dad would book out a few campsites for a week and invite the whole pack.

Christian nodded excitedly.

Darlin’ wasn’t going. Their parents hadn’t mentioned anything about it to them and that fact hurt a little. Maybe the pack didn’t really like their family?

Hell, the only reason that they were even at a pack meeting today was because their father was asking about possible security for one of the job events that he has to attend in a month. They’ve known for years that their parents like to keep a respectable distance with their packs, one that they can go to for help but still not have to fully participate in. Which meant that there could be a grudge of them never being around to participate or help out.

Packs were supposed to be like families and support systems. It was natural for their wolf shifter culture. But if you aren’t around enough, you can’t receive or be the support for anyone.

The thought of that made Darlin’ feel worse. Yet they couldn’t do anything to change that until they were old enough to drive themselves places.

“Do you think that girl that tried flirting with you last year will be there again?” David let out a grin.

Christian glowered, “I thought we said we weren't ever going to bring that up.”

“Oh! That’s right! Your face was so red when she asked you out,” Asher chimed in and wrapped his arms around Milo. “I was surprised that she wasn’t trying to talk up Milo! I mean, have you seen this gorgeous face and curls?”

Darlin’ casted down a glance to pull out more grass, the returning feeling of being left out and lied to, mixing and clouding their heart.

But, as they had to keep reminding themselves, they had been living a lie in Washington. With no knowledge of the Shaw pack, and spending their days with their now ex-group of friends, attending pool parties and hitting up the corner store for ice-cream on Fridays.

They didn’t need to feel left out, because they weren’t even around.

“Cool it, you gremlin,” Milo pushed him off. “She wasn’t even our age.”

Asher suddenly looped an arm around Darlin’s shoulders. They were frozen at the contact and their face started to heat up. “Fine. Maybe they’ll agree. So, don’t you think Milo would totally get all the babes?”

Darlin’ eventually huffed, “Stop being weird, Asher.” And reached for their water bottle, quickly unscrewing the top and splashing water onto Asher’s face.

He sputtered, unlooping himself around them, then laughed, wiping the water from his eyes with his shirt. The other boys' laughter joined in.

“Thanks for the shower!” Asher giggled and stayed in the spot next to them. Darlin’ was surprised that Asher wasn’t acting upset. Then again, it was horrendously hot. . .

“Sure,” Darlin’ grouchily replied.

When the group had calmed down, Asher tapped their arm. When they turned to look at him, he wore an almost sympathetic expression. . . or maybe that was a self-pitying thought, and them hoping that someone saw behind their annoyed answers and would see that they were hurting. “Want to wrestle?”

“Seriously? In this heat?” They deadpanned.

Asher shrugged, “I’m bored and restless and want to do something! Besides, it’s not as hot in our wolf forms. And the breeze feels nice between our fur!”

Darlin’ scoffed. “No. I’m good. Thanks.”

David stood up with a sigh, “I’ll wrestle, Ash. Let’s go.”

“Sick!” Asher hopped up and looked back down at them. “If you change your mind, you’re free to join in.”

Darlin’ nodded, acknowledging his offer.

“Just because you got your wolf form a month ago doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!” Asher egged David on before turning his attention to Christian and Milo and asking if they wanted to join in. Both boys agreed.

A pile of clothes was left off to the side, and Darlin’ scooted to sit against the tree trunk, watching the now shifted wolves jump and roll around. The occasional yip mixed in with their growls as they tussled in the grass and pinned each other down.

It looked fun. They thought about joining. . . but then there would be an odd number, and they’d most likely be left on the sideline and without an opponent. Being just as alone as they were now.

So, really, it was better that they sat sweating under the tree, and not introducing themselves into spots they didn’t belong.

Chapter Text

They were greeted at the den with Asher expectantly waiting in his wolf form. Something he hadn’t ever done before, but Darlin’ had learned that he liked to shift whenever he got a chance to, and assumed he just wanted to stretch his paws out. Darlin' shuffled around him to let Milo and Marie all the way through.

The older woman laughed and patted Asher’s head, his tail thumping on the floor with happy wags, before saying, “Be good,” to the three of them. She squeezed her son’s shoulder before walking into the meeting room. As soon as they were alone in the entryway, Asher hopped up from his spot and nosed Darlin’ and Milo into the next room. The lights had already been turned on. In the kitchen portion of the room, bowls, brushes, and two boxes of something were laid out on the counter. The TV showed a shooter game being played and Darlin’ recognized David’s dark hair and his occasional curses.

A wet nose nudged Darlin’s hands, and they quickly peered down. “What, Asher?”

“Wants you to dye his fur,” David’s voice distractedly informed. “I told him that I was going to have no part in burning his fur off with the bleach, which leaves it up to you two.”

“You couldn’t have stayed in your human form long enough to explain that to us?” Milo rested his hands on his hips. Asher tilted his head.

“Well, are you going to dye his fur, fashionista?” Darlin’ turned to Milo.

He rubbed his neck, “I’ve never done it before. So, no. Sorry, Ash.”

The wolf whined and laid pathetically on the floor, ears pinned back. He sadly looked up with puppy-dog eyes at the two. Milo shook his head.

Damn him and his stupid puppy dog eyes.

Darlin’ heavily sighed before leaning down and poking his nose. “Get up. I’ll do it. I’ve dyed hair before.”

Asher shot up and happily howled.

“Good luck,” Milo tapped out, and made his way over to the couch.

They examined the materials on the counter. Hair bleach, different sized bowls, brushes to paint the bleach and dye on, and pink hair dye.

“Woah, you want hot pink?” Darlin’ raised their eyebrows. Asher’s tail thumped against their leg. “Hey I didn’t say the color was a problem. But it’s going to be hard to take care of the vibrant color since you’re going to be in wolf form and your paws can’t really hold bottles and will fade sooner. You’re okay with that?”

Asher thumped their leg twice that time.

“David, did Ash tell you where he wanted his fur dyed?”

This would be a lot easier if Asher had just met them as a human, or had chosen to write down the plan!

“His brown fur– shit!”

Asher howled in response and Darlin’ laughed, shushing him in the process. “Okay, I’m going to start the hair bleach, and maybe put some paper towels on the bathroom floor. So you should head in there now.”

They carried the supplies into the bathroom and set them on the double-sink counter.

Darlin’ was happy that there were at least showers in the den, and they didn’t have to try washing everything out in the kitchen sink. They were sure that Asher wouldn’t be able to fit under a sink very well.

With a protective layer on the floor, they opened the at-home bleach box and began the mixture. They wrinkled their nose at the smell of bleach and developer, but continued stirring. Asher patiently waited and rested his head on the counter. “You ready?” Darlin’ asked, watching him through the mirror.

His delighted howl reverberated in the bathroom, and Darlin’ rolled their eyes. “Alright. Hold still.”

They had only painted one of his brown spots before the wolf started moving and tapping his feet, making their job more difficult.

“Asher! Stop moving!” Darlin’ grabbed the back of the wolf’s neck. He whined, but thumped his tail against them and ceased his wiggling.

They brought the bleach brush back up to his fur and painted on another coat, avoiding his roots. Darlin’ had decided to only stick to the edges, unsure as to how the fur would take the dye or bleach. Wolf shifter fur was thick enough that it wouldn’t matter much anyway, since the roots wouldn’t even be seen.

“Tellin’ Ash to stop moving, is like tellin’ a fish to stop swimmin’.” Milo leaned against the door frame, watching Darlin’ move onto another of Asher’s brown spots. He covered his nose and mouth against the smell.

“I thought you were watching David play, wise guy?” Darlin’ glared at their audience, painting more bleach on. “Actually nevermind, what time is it?”

Milo glanced down at his wrist, “3:08.”

“Thanks.” They mentally calculated how long it would be before they should wash out the bleach.

- - -

Almost two hours later, the bowls were finally washed out, Milo had resumed his spot next to David and Asher was brightly colored as they waited for the dye to set.

Darlin’ set the last bowl upside down to dry. A paw dragged down their pant legs and they whipped around to the now pink spotted wolf. He raised his paws and tapped them, tail swishing back and forth. Darlin’ frowned.

“Hold on, let me shift.”

They stripped, placing their clothes on the dry part of the counter, and grumbled about the dye now on them. The shift was quick. They shook out their coat and stretched, snorting at the residual smell of dye and bleach enveloping the bathroom. How Asher had been able to stand it in this form for so long was beyond them.

“You better hope my parents don’t kill me for getting dye on my clothes.”

“Dude! Thankyouthankyou! You’re really good at this y’know?” Asher turned around in a circle, ignoring their previous comment.

“Thanks. Now, stop moving. You have to stay still so then the dye doesn’t rub off,” Darlin’ scoffed. The wolf complied, although his tail hadn’t stopped swishing back and forth.

“How much longer?”

“30 minutes, I think? Just to make sure it’s fully set.”

Ash lowered himself on his front paws. “Can I dye your fur next?”

Their ears flattened back. “Maybe in the future. The pack meeting is going to end soon and I don’t want to be pink.” Not to mention that they didn’t fully trust Asher with bleach or hair dye.

They stayed in their wolf form to distract Asher from moving. He decided to talk their ear off about Star Trek, something about tribbles, until they told him it was time to wash the dye out.

Redressed and back to human, Darlin’ turned on the fan in the bathroom before running the shower water. The water was freezing cold, and Asher shivered as hot pink trickled down the drain. "Huh,” Darlin’ peered around the wolf, staring at his pastel pink fur. “Well, at least you’re salmon pink. Just not hot pink.” They ran their fingers through his fur, making sure that it wasn’t clumped together with dye, and when satisfied turned off the water.

He walked out of the stall and shook out his fur. Darlin' blocked their face, "Seriously, Ash?!" Asher panted happily and Darlin' wiped the water droplets off with a black hand towel.

They started patting the fur dry. If only they had a hairdryer in the building.

As soon as Darlin’ gave him the greenlight, Asher bounded into the living room side. The video game was paused and both boys gaped at their friend’s new fur coat. The wolf twisted in a circle to show off all angles and sides.

“Wow,” Milo whistled. “Not quite what I was imaginin’, but pretty good.”

Darlin’ crossed their arms over their chest, “Yeah. It didn’t take the dye very well, but at least it’s kind of pink. Thoughts David?”

“It’s nice. I’m assuming you’re happy with it Ash?”

Asher shifted back, and he ecstatically grinned. “Oh yeah, it’s sick! But we got to, like, keep this a secret. I don’t think my parents’ would be happy if they found out I did this.”

“It’s your fur-” David began.

“Hey, I know that buddy!” Ash got up and shimmied his underwear and pants back on. “That's why I decided to dye my coat! But they want us to look presentable. Soooo, I just got to work at them until they don’t care anymore if I’m pink or not- Madelyn hasn’t done a good job of breaking them in for me- but if it’s a surprise slash secret, they’ll be less upset. Trust me. I know how they work.”

Darlin’ glanced over to Milo and they both shared a knowing look. The biggest problem for Ash was going to be not shifting in front of them since he loved to do it so much. “Good luck with your secret, Ash,” Milo mused.

Chatter filtered into the entryway, signaling that the meeting was over. Someone was yelling a goodbye from the doorway. Darlin’ pivoted back into the bathroom to make sure it was cleaned up. They tossed away any extra paper towels and dried any wet spots. They wiped any wet dye spots on their clothes to help it dry. When they walked back out to the main room, their alpha and Marie were now talking to the trio of boys. Darlin’ stood a foot away from the group.

“Heard the howling from the other room, what was that about?” Gabe’s eyes skimmed between the four of them. Darlin' kept their hands behind their back.

“Asher was shifted,” David provided. Gabe knowingly smiled at that.

“Why are your clothes stained?” Marie frowned, noticing the pink dye blending into odd colors on Darlin’s shirt and pants. At least she didn’t see the pink on their palms.

“Uh,” Darlin’ grabbed the hem of their shirt and stretched it out. “Painting. From this morning.”

She raised an eyebrow. Darlin’ didn’t say anything else and Marie carefully nodded, “Well. I guess I must not have noticed it in the car. Either way, it’s time to head out.”

“Have a good evening Marie,” Gabe waved. Marie returned the goodbye, and started her way out the door. Ash gave them one last thank you and pressed a finger to his lips, before Darlin' followed Marie out. They held back a smile, a warm feeling spread along their shoulders.

Chapter Text

The air smelled like rain, and the sky was proving to get darker with the minutes. Darlin’ was glad that they didn’t have to chance walking home in the bad weather, and had the privilege of riding the bus back home instead. Although, that opinion always changed whenever they stepped foot on it.

Their shoulder collided with another person and they grunted.

“Yo, watch it!”

Darlin’ glared and poorly apologized, “Sorry, it’s a crowded place. If you can’t see that.”

The parking lot was a mess of middle school and high school students.

The boy, Joseph, studied them and scoffed. “Of course, it’s one of you.”

“What?” Darlin’s throat constricted. What did he mean by that? “One of what?”

There were lots of options for what they could be. They’d been in school for the past three and a half months, and it was no smooth sailing. They had been struggling with teachers and test grades, as well as finding themselves more defensive than ever and getting into a few tussles.

“You’re part of a pack of depraved wolves,” Joseph sneered. “Obviously. They take in a bunch of outcasts who know no manners and it shows. You don’t even have the common sense to move out of–”

Their chest tightened and if they were born a fire elemental, he would have already been burnt to a crisp. “YOU DO NOT GET TO FUCKING SAY THAT ABOUT THEM!”

They straightened to their full height and they took a step closer. Joseph quickly landed a blow on their cheek, causing them to freeze before barreling a fist into his face. A crack could be heard and Joseph folded over, crying out in pain.

“If you have a problem, you fuck with me! Don’t say bullshit about them! You don’t know anything!” Darlin’ shook their hand out, unsure of where to go from there.

He hacked out a cough, spitting blood onto the ground before grabbing Darlin’s leg and pulling it out from under them. “You piece of shit!”

The air left their lungs as they sharply hit the ground, and Joseph was back over them, slamming into wherever he could hit, insulting them as he did so. The cut on his lip dripped, his blood landing on their own clothes.

A crunch sounded through their skull and they almost wanted to throw up, their nose pounding with pain. It felt like centuries of newly added bruises to the ones already forming, their head thumping and the possibility of their ribs breaking. All the wind was knocked right out of them, leaving them gasping for air.

They expected another strike, body tensing, but then felt Joseph's weight pulled off of them.

Darlin’ limply rolled over and sucked in the first breath that didn’t have any inflicted pain with it in a while. They couldn’t tell who had exactly pulled him off. Their brain was too focused on figuring out what did and didn’t hurt.

“Hey! Back off, Joseph– I will get the principal out here,” Milo threatened. Joseph’s face darkened and he used his newly gained height to his advantage, towering over Milo.

Joseph snarled, “Doesn’t scare me.”

Milo’s internal hackles raised, “Fine, I’ll fight you myself then! What the fuck were you doin’ with them?!”

“They started it!” He growled back. “They’re lucky I didn’t shift!”

“Joseph,” Asher coldly said, sidling up next to Milo, and resting a hand on Joseph’s shoulder to keep the two apart.

Darlin’ caught their breath and looked up from their spot on the ground. Backpacks had been discarded at some point. They rested a hand across their torso and inched further away.

“I think the buses are leaving. Don’t want to miss the only way home, right dude?”

Joseph wiped blood from underneath his nose and glanced over at the parking lot. The flow of kids getting on had trickled down to a few stragglers. He angrily grabbed his backpack and glared at the group before rushing towards his own bus.

Asher huffed out a sigh as soon as Joseph was out of earshot. “Man, what a dick. . . Hey you okay?”

Milo had crouched down next to them and was fully examining their face. Darlin’ looked at the ground, embarrassed at the close proximity.

“Obviously not! Maybe we should take them to my ma,” Milo hastily observed Darlin’. “Their face is swelling. And all of this blood too–”

“No- shit- It’s fine,” Darlin’ uncomfortably smiled through a beginning ache. “I need to get on the bus.”

They shakily got up from their spot, Milo rising with them. One of them retrieved their backpack for them, but just as they grabbed it, they heard the shriek of the bus doors closing and the whines of the buses leaving the parking lot.

Their eyes widened, as far as they could, and their stomach dropped watching the buses leave. A small wave of nausea, from their injuries and new predicament, made them sit back down in the grass.

Their parents were going to be so pissed if they couldn't get back home.

With their mind racing, Darlin’s breath quickened.

They had to make dinner tonight and their daily chores needed to be completed. Sure their parents wouldn’t be home for a few more hours, but what if they didn’t get home soon enough? That would just add to their scolding once they saw Darlin’s face busted up and how they weren’t a perfect kid, and how they worked so hard to give Darlin’ a good life– and that this was the second time within a month that this happened! But the first wasn’t even their fault– and fucking OW! Everything hurts and it’s going to suck doing chores like this–

A gentle hand on their shoulder broke them out of their thoughts. “Dude, c’mon. We don’t have basketball practice tonight, so I’m getting a ride home with Milo. I’m sure Marie would be totally cool with you tagging along as well and be able to drop you off at your place.”

“Will she drop me off immediately?” Darlin’ frowned.

“Uh,” Asher paused and looked at Milo, before shrugging. “We’ll have to ask, won’t we?”

- - -

Marie did not in fact drop them off at their place. They were met with a gaping Marie, who was fuming at how this could’ve happened, as she fixed their nose (it had been broken), and worked on cleaning up all the blood on them so they didn’t dirty her car.

Darlin’ now sat in the back with Asher, nervously tugging on their backpack strings and trying to keep from crying. They slowly breathed and tried to sit still to keep from agitating the rest of their injuries. Milo was in the passenger seat trying to soothe his mom over not calling the school.

“Milo, it is not acceptable for the administration to not know!” Her voice rose.

Darlin’ shrank in on themselves. They shouldn’t have bumped into Joseph. Then they wouldn’t be in this damn mess.

They watched as a few droplets sprinkled along the car windows, trying to distract themselves from the shame seeping closer to the surface and wanting to show up as tears. They did not need to cry in front of Asher or Milo.

“Don’t worry Marie,” Asher leaned forward. “I can make sure we file a report for the whole thing tomorrow.”

“That’s very sweet of you to do,” Marie softened her tone. “But, I’m still goin’ to go in and have a word with your principal though. Lettin’ you kids even start somethin’ like that– And no one saw it or got someone?! No faculty was there to even see?!”

The car turned into a parking lot and looped into a covered parking space. Asher grabbed Darlin’s backpack, much to their resistance, and were led up slowly to the Greer’s apartment. Darlin’s ribs ached every step, and being able to lean against one of the walls was way better than holding themselves upright.

Marie unlocked and swung the apartment door open. “You boys can go wait in the kitchen while I’m healing them. Find some snacks or somethin’.”

The two boys didn’t argue and quickly went into the next room. Darlin’ could hear the pantry being opened and bags crinkling. Marie told them to follow them into the bathroom so she could clean the rest of their wounds before healing them.

Darlin’ took a seat on the toilet lid.

“Now what caused you to get into this fight?” Marie opened the bottom drawer of the sink.

“Oh. Uh, this kid Joseph, he started saying stuff about the pack. I told him to knock it off, but then he slapped me. . . so I punched him.”

“I see.” Marie huffed, flipping open the plastic first-aid kit. “You do know that fightin’ isn’t a good way to get anger out. It causes people to get hurt, and it makes other people worry. Not to mention that you can get suspended if you do it during school hours or on school property and that ruins your education. That was foolish of you to do, I hope you know that.”

Their stomach felt kicked at the criticism and the scratchy feeling in the back of their throat worsened.

Marie frowned as she looked through the kit, and muttered something about updating its components, then mentioned she was going to go retrieve something from the hall closet.

Darlin’ went to rub their eyes as soon as Marie left to grab hydrogen peroxide instead of the rubbing alcohol pads, but realized that they couldn’t because their face hurt too much. Instead, they just let the silent tears fall, not caring if their tough front came crashing down at that point.

It had been a long day, and they just needed everything to go back to normal.

The older woman froze as soon as she returned and saw the tears falling down. A worried frown settled on her face.

“Hey, kiddo. Is it hurting that bad?” She knelt down to look into Darlin’s eyes, all pent up frustration about the situation turning into soft worry.

Darlin’ shook their head and pursed their lips. “He was saying that our pack was depraved and that you guys– It’s my fault– I just–”

They couldn’t finish the sentence. They weren’t really sure why they had felt the need to defend the pack. They were still pretty distant from everyone, so they shouldn’t have felt as attached to the pack as they did. Nonetheless, the pack meant so much to them, and they were glad that they moved. They hated Joseph for insulting such a good thing in their life.

They lowered their face as a sob broke out of them.

Marie shushed Darlin’, “You can cry. Just let it all out now. . .” Marie stood up and gently rubbed up and down their arms. They lightly rested their forehead onto Marie’s stomach as her hands moved back to cup their neck. “How about we just focus on healing you up? We can deal with all of that later?”

Darlin’ nodded, and Marie cleaned the cuts along their cheek and lips, along their knuckles as well, and examined underneath their shirt checking for any other injuries. Only bruises littered their torso.

Marie put away the first aid kit before turning back to a calmer Darlin’. “Have you ever had full body healing before?”

Darlin’ shook their head.

“Alright. It’s going to be like how I healed your nose, but there’s going to be more magic,” She knelt in front of Darlin’, making sure that they were listening. “A lot of people feel sleepy, or possibly dizzy afterwards, as the healing magic continues to cycle through your whole body, so you will probably want to rest here for a few hours–”

“No. I can’t. I have to get back home and do chores and my homework,” Darlin’s hands tightened around each other, but quickly let go once they remembered that their knuckles were slightly busted.

Marie slowly nodded, noticing their tense behavior. “I understand. . . How about a 30 minute nap then? Just so the magic works its way through faster.”

“I don’t think I can,” Darlin’ rejected again. They looked down at the floor.

She bit her cheek in thought, then hummed, “How about we see how you’re feeling after I finish and then make the decision.”

“That’s. . . fine.”

With that, Marie gently settled her hands on Darlin’s cheeks. “I’m gonna start the healing now. Remember to breathe out through it,” Marie warned. “Take a deep breath.”

Darlin’ let out the breath through the waves of magic fixing their face. Their knuckles were healed with a pulse. By the time they finished, their face hurt less and Marie was massaging the back of their head. “I’m going to do your ribcage now, okay?”

Darlin’ nodded and lifted up their arms to let Marie reach their sides. They copied their breath earlier, and exhaled again.

Marie asked them if anywhere else continued to hurt, but they shook their head through a yawn. Marie examined her work before asking, “Okay, kiddo. Nap. Yes or no?”

Darlin’ hesitated. Their body felt floaty and warm, and their eyelids were growing heavy. “Okay. Only 30 minutes though,” They muttered.

Marie smiled. “Sounds good.”

Darlin’ stood, the weight of exhaustion falling fast onto their shoulders.

Marie led them back out into the living room and Darlin’ collapsed onto the couch, resting their head on the back of it. They focused on the rain heavily drumming against the window.

“Here, lay down,” Marie gestured, and guided them to actually lay down. Darlin’s eyes blinked slower each time they shut. Marie laid a throw blanket over them, one that was soft. “No one will bother you. I promise. Just rest.”

“Thanks.” They closed their eyes, barely hanging onto consciousness. They felt a hand come up to pet their hair back from their forehead, guiding them to comfort and sleep.

“Are they okay?” Milo asked as soon as his mother entered the kitchen. Marie could also see the worry behind Asher’s eyes, knowing that he was wondering the same thing.

“Yeah, they’ll be just fine.” Marie assured, going to sit in one of the chairs. She noted that the majority of the potato chips were now gone. “Sleeping the healing magic off right now. In 30 minutes, I’ll drive them and Asher back home.”

Marie tapped her foot against the linoleum. She would have to tell Gabe if she went to the school. Maybe it’d be better to inform him of the whole situation first. . .

“So. Joseph. Is he. . .?” Marie began, openly questioning the two of them. If she was going to do anything, she was going to have all the facts first.

“Lion shifter. He’s from the Woodrow pride-pack thing,” Asher answered. “I think he came from Nevada?”

“I see. Thank you, Asher,” Marie gave a small smile. Now what would a lion shifter have against their wolves?

“I think a few weeks ago, they got into another tussle,” Milo included. “And I’m pretty sure that it was Joseph’s younger brother involved that time. We never found out what started it since they never talked about it, but one of the teacher’s caught them.”

She clacked her nails on the table in a rhythm, thinking about the fact that Darlin’ had been in a fight before and no one had mentioned something. Had they gotten hurt as bad as this time around? Or was it less severe?

- - -

Darlin’ was roused at some point in the evening. Their head felt so much like molasses that it was hard to not just fall back asleep.

“Hey, kiddo,” Marie finished nudging their shoulder. “Your 30 minute nap is up. Unless you feel the need to sleep more?”

Darlin’ groaned and stiffly sat up. “No, I’m awake. . . Just give me a few minutes.”

Ash and Milo both left the kitchen and awkwardly greeted Darlin’ as they continued waking up. Milo made sure that they had their backpack ready, and Darlin' was about ready to go when, click, the front door opened again.

“Hi, dad,” Milo greeted. The front door was shut and his large boots stomped in.

“Where are you goin’?” The gruff man suspiciously asked, draping his investigator coat on the chair near the door. His eyes trailed over to the unfamiliar kid on the couch and Marie’s purse hanging from her shoulder.

“I’m dropping them and Asher off, is there a problem?” She cooly replied. Darlin’ stood up next to her, becoming aware of the slight tension in the room.

“Actually. Yes. Marie, we need to talk.”

“Can it wait?” She sighed. Colm grumpily agreed.

Leading Darlin’ and Asher to the door, Marie thanked her husband, and gave him an estimated time she’d return. Asher made sure to wave to Milo before they left, saying that he'd see him later. Darlin' had a much easier time walking to Marie's car, though they didn't think about it too much, since they were still exhausted.

It was still raining when they got to Marie’s car. Darlin’ tried to cover their continuous yawns while resting their head against the car window. Trying to stay awake, they failed at fighting the urge to sleep again, thanks to the hum of the drive and taps of the rain.

They were awoken again at some point and had to reorient where they were. A part of them was disappointed seeing that it was their house, but got up nonetheless.

“Sorry for making you heal me, but also thanks for it,” Darlin’ apologized, once coherent and not rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

“It’s no problem, sweetie. Try to stay out of any more fights, but if you do get into one again, you’re always welcome to come to me for help.”

“Thanks,” Darlin’ said, before unclicking their seatbelt and grabbing their backpack. Marie called to them to get some more sleep before they shut the car door.

Marie drummed their fingers on the steering wheel as they watched Darlin’ walk up to their front door. Asher was dropped off not long after, and instead of immediately driving back to the apartment, she called up Gabe to see if he was home.

With the confirmation that he was, it didn’t take long before Marie had driven to the less crowded side of the city. Gabe’s porch light was on, and Marie smoothed herself out before making her way to the front porch, knocking on the door.

The door opened and his familiar face greeted them. “What’s up, Marie?” He waved her inside, and guided her to his kitchen.

Marie heavily sighed before delving into the afternoon and relaying all the information that the younger pack members gave. She silently waited as Gabe mulled over the explanation.

He cleared his throat and crossed his arms, “I have noticed that the family isn’t as. . . involved with the pack, and how they ignore their kid more often than not. As you mentioned, the fight started out of loyalty, but I want to make sure that they don’t become dependent on fighting as a form of attention. I may suggest it to the parents in the future if it continues, but for the time being, I just want them to learn that they don't need to fight for bad reasons."

“So what do we do? You want us to become surrogate parents to them?” She joked.

Gabe huffed out a sound between a laugh and a sigh, and hid his face in his hands. “God, Marie. I think we already are in this pack.”

“Well, in a way, I can see how you are. But Gabe, I’m no parent to the pack.” Marie twisted her hair around her finger. Gabe’s gray eyes found hers before he sighed deeper.

“Marie. . . you and Frank’s wife have stepped up in helping the pack in the biggest way, filling the shoes that my wife wore. I mean, I can raise David just fine, but having your influence. . . your strength. . . your care. I think that really helps him understand what it means to be in a pack and how to lead one. It helps everyone understand the care and loyalty that goes into being a part of the pack. We’ve all helped each other at one point or another and you are a role-model to show the pups and the wolves how it should be. I've seen it in action, how they care for each other even when two can be furious with each other. And those kids are so grateful when you are there to heal them, and I'm sure our little ragtag trio of David, Ash and your son, appreciate you in more ways than only being a healer. Plus, I’m so grateful when you come to help out or even just to talk. You’re important to this pack. So many people benefit from you just being here.”

Marie glanced down at the table as tears welled up. She dabbed her eyes with the heel of her palms. “You’re our alpha and friend. That’s what friends do,” She trembled.

Gabe’s chair skidded back, and strong hands came to wrap her in a hug, a large hand resting at the back of her neck. “And it’s important to me to recognize and thank my friends and pack members when I see how much they are doing, especially when they are struggling with things themselves.”

She lightly cried and shuddered, surprised at her reaction to Gabe’s moving words. He waited as she rode out her feelings, the tears slowing down after a few minutes. She thanked Gabe once calm, patting his arm and being released from the hug. Marie sniffled, smiling a bit, and wiped her face off. “Okay. I guess I can accept I'm a role-model of some sort for the pack. That being said, should I go to the school and take care of the whole thing for you? I have it on my to-do list already.”

Gabe shook his head. “No, I’ll talk to the school and deal with the parents. We just have to keep an eye on the kid and make sure they stay alright. . . . Thank you for coming to me, Marie. I'm glad they had Milo and Asher there to help them.”

They hugged goodbye, double-checking future plans, before Marie made her way out. She stopped when she saw something at the top of the stairs, peeking through the railings. Without yelping in surprise, she waved.

“Have a goodnight, David.”

Gabe tilted his head to see his son who must’ve overheard their whole conversation. David gave a small wave back. Finally done with goodbyes, she walked out into the evening, tired and still needing to speak to Colm.

Chapter Text

Darlin’ guardedly crossed their arms against their upset mother.

“Look what we do for you!” Their mother snapped the towel down by her waist, the dishes now forgotten. Darlin’ paused. “We moved here so we had a better home! You even have a better school. Why are you acting like this?”

They clenched their jaw as she continued.

“You have gotten into three fights since this school year started. And this most recent one got us in trouble with our Alpha, the school and that boy’s parents! You stay shut up in your room all day, you never go anywhere or do anything besides going to pack meetings or school, but yet you somehow manage to still get in trouble. You used to be so much better than this!”

Something in their chest snapped shut.

Their eyebrows slightly lifted as their mother went on, schooling their face into something unreadable and trying not to feel her emotions slamming into their own soul. A scratchy lump sat in the back of their throat, and they tried to swallow it down.

They couldn’t really remember how the yelling had started. Maybe they had picked the wrong tone when responding to her when she had asked them what was up with their low English and Magical History grades. C pluses in both classes. It was barely an issue as far as Darlin’ was concerned since the rest of their classes were going good.

The berating only stopped once their father had made it down the stairs, hands adjusting his collar and tie. Their mother shook her head and frowned in their direction before making her way over to tighten it for him.

“We’ll be back around 10pm. I expect you to vacuum the living room and finish cleaning your room before we get back. That includes vacuuming and washing your bed sheets, not just stuffing things away.”

“Right.” They got out, still fighting any chance of tears coming to their eyes.

Their mother left to go get her purse and then their dad turned to them, “There’s frozen chicken nuggets and lasagna in the freezer. I’m sure you know where all the other foods are.” He patted their shoulder, squeezing it just a bit. “Emergency numbers are on the fridge. See you tonight.”

They gave a solemn nod.

And with that, Darlin’s parents left. The house was silent except for the drizzle of rain hitting the windows.

- - -

The day became extremely rainy. Darlin had bundled themselves in a crinkly windbreaker and headed out into their neighborhood wanting to escape anywhere that wasn’t their lonely house.

Although, they weren’t sure walking in the thick downpour was proving any better of an idea than staying inside.

Reflective thoughts swirled in their mind as they treaded through the rain, their jeans already soaked at the edges.

They hadn’t been looking to get into more fights, but they always felt on edge, like they didn’t belong, and that made their magic curdle in their veins. Maybe it was their fault that the pack seemed like they had no manners and why Joseph didn't seem to like any of them. Asher always invited them to sit with him and anyone else in the pack. And they did get into a shouting match with that one crow shifter that got them sent out into the hallway for five minutes. And they had been nasty to another student as well in the lunch line resulting in getting sat at a table where the staff in the lunch room could make sure they weren't causing issues. They hadn't ever acted like this before coming to Dahlia.

I didn’t used to be this lonely and miserable. . . maybe if I try harder, I can fix myself? Be nicer? Like Asher? They stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the crossing symbol to change from a red hand to a person. As the seconds ticked by, an overwhelming amount of grief rounded onto their shoulders and they blinked back tears with one loud thought: I want to go home.

Home was back in Washington. Home was messing around on their acoustic guitar and making up dumb songs with their old friends. Home was the quiet town they had grown up in. Home was the way their home town forest seemed to hug them whenever they hiked through it, upset or happy with the day’s events.

Home wasn’t whatever this stupid move to California had been.

Darlin’ sped across the crosswalk, with a sigh, wiping away whatever rain—tears—had wetted their cheeks. Eventually they reached the 7/11 at the corner and entered it. They walked through the aisles on a mission to grab a slushie and a bag of chips.

They quietly paid for their treats before heading back out. Their hoodie was absolutely drenched. But they didn’t care. They just kept walking. Somewhere. Anywhere. They didn’t want to go back just yet.

They took one sip of their slushie, and that empty ache in their heart lightened a bit. Maybe I have been feeling this bad for a while. . .

Really, if Darlin’ thought harder, they couldn’t remember the last time they actually felt like they had fun. They always felt a little empty. And they couldn’t remember the last time it didn’t feel like a glass ceiling had corralled every feeling into the bottom of their stomach and would rarely ever let up.

Lost in their thoughts as they sipped on their frozen drink, they didn’t notice a car driving up next to them. The car honked and Darlin’ jumped, squishing their slushie cup a bit too hard. They turned and saw the windows rolled down with a familiar face waving them to get in the vehicle. They frowned and followed through, getting into the shotgun seat of Gabe’s car.

“Isn’t it a bit rainy to be walking out here, kiddo?”

Darlin’ shrugged, grabbing their seatbelt and clicking it into place before taking another sip of their drink.

The alpha frowned a bit more and rolled the window back up keeping the pelting rain out of the car. He switched the heat on. “Sport. Look at me.”

Darlin’ paused and hesitantly looked at Gabe. His gaze was intense now, just like how David’s was, and they definitely didn’t like that.

They looked away.

“Do your parents know that you’re out here in the rain about three miles away from your house?” His fingers drummed on the steering wheel. Cars passed around Gabe, some angrily honking at him for awkwardly pulling over on the side of the road, but the alpha’s stare never broke.

They shook their head, “They’re at a seminar event thing today.”

Gabe took a calming breath and nodded. “Alright. . . then why were you walking out this far in a downpour?”

“Bored.”

“Bored?”

Darlin’ glared and shrugged. “People can be bored. It happens all the time.”

Gabe sighed and nodded, before gearing the car into drive again. The windshield wipers flung water to the side every second in combat with the hard downpour. They watched a few raindrops race to the bottom of the window, trying to ignore the heavy silence.

He eventually spoke after a few seconds of driving around the block. “Sport, I ne– I want you to be safe and sound. Walking in Dahlia, even the outskirts of the city, in a downpour does not keep you safe. Especially if no one knows where you are.”

They rolled their eyes at his statement. Darlin’ had survived just fine by themselves. . . of course, they hadn’t ever really been by themselves before, always tagging along with their old friends or being dragged along by a parent somewhere, but the fact remained that they had grown to become more independent this year.

“It was fine. No one was out today, and I was just getting some food.” They bit their cheek to keep their frustration at bay.

Gabe rubbed his face as they took another lap around the block. “Do you not have food at home?”

Darlin’ froze and whipped their head around. “My parents don’t leave me without food,” Their frown sank further.

Their alpha hummed. “I wasn’t trying to insult your parents. . . So, you walked about three miles for some snacks?”

Darlin’ nodded and muttered, “It was the only thing I wanted to do.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” He glanced over at them. “Do you want me to drop you off at your house so you don’t have to walk in the rain, or do you want to come over to my house and we can get you dried off and you can stay for some lunch? Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Darlin’ pursed their lips. They had started walking because they didn’t want to be at home. But they didn’t really want to mope with their Alpha around either. “My home is fine.”

- - -

Gabe didn’t know what to do with them. Well, there isn’t really anything to do with them, other than make sure they get home safely. He tried to keep his hands relaxed on the steering wheel, but with his wolf simmering on edge underneath, it was proving to be difficult. What if something bad had happened to them?

His attention was divided between the road—since nobody seemed to drive properly in the rain—and thinking about how he would’ve felt if David had walked this far by himself. He would’ve been worried. Maybe less so, because he knew that David knew most of Dahlia. He glanced at them as he turned onto another street. They still had that kicked puppy posture ever since that one fight at school and the discussion he had with them and their family a few days afterwards.

Eventually, he pulled up to Darlin’s house.

Gabe tapped one of his fingers along the steering wheel with a sigh. “Kid-“ Darlin’ flicked their eyes to meet his, like they were almost afraid of what he would say. He gave them a sad smile. “You’re okay. I’m not angry.”

Their shoulders dropped a bit and they nodded.

“If you ever need anything,” He lowered his voice, “Marie and I can help, or try to find a way to help, okay? You’re part of the pack now and you’re a good kid.” He hoped that if he reminded them that he was there to help enough times, they’d finally get the idea that they were more supported now. That could take a long time for it to get through their head though.

“Okay.” They tightly swallowed. “Thanks for dropping me off.” Darlin’ quietly picked up their mostly empty cup and bag of chips.

“Of course.”

They waved to him once they shut the car door and started back up their front steps.

His molars stopped grinding against each other as he watched them shut the door and saw the living room light flick on. His unsettled shifter core dampened down into satisfaction. They were home and safe.

Gabe pulled out of the driveway.