“Have your friends always been assholes?”

  It had been a week since they had met up in the library. They both had their first two lessons off, and as Leo had suggested, they were both currently sitting in the now familiar storage closet. Leo was sitting with a knee up, an arm draped over his leg while the other was stretched in front of him. At another grey wall, Ivan was sitting in a similar manner, his leg lying next to Leo's.

  The blonde's head was pressed against the wall and tilted slightly up. His eyes were closed, and his arms were crossed lazily across his body. At first glance he might’ve been asleep if it weren't for the fact that his fingers were drumming against the sides of his arms.

  Leo let out a breath. “They're not assholes.”

  Ivan lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at Leo.

  Leo narrowed his eyes at him. “They're not assholes all the time. I know they can be a lot sometimes, but they… are like my family. They are my family.”

  He could tell that Ivan wanted to say something else, but he simply nodded slowly and looked away.

  Leo gently tapped Ivan's leg with his foot. “What about your friends?”

  Ivan blew out a breath. “Cal is… my oldest friend. He's a nice guy. They both are. And Rohan is… the responsible one. ”

  “Is that all you have to say?” He shook his head. “Come on. You can do better than that.”

  “You want me to spill my heart out?

  Yes

  Leo gestured around them to the storage closet, reminding himself of how much smaller it always seemed to feel when he didn't care to notice. “No better place. No one's listening.

  “You are.”

  “Fine,” Leo groaned. He felt something cold land on his arm and glanced down at the drop of what was hopefully water on his arm.

  He continued. “Then answer this—why do you never wear a jacket?”

  Ivan rolled his shoulders. “I forget.”

  Leo gave him a sceptical glance. “Really? Your parents don't remind you? I don't think I can walk out the house without my parents forcing me to take one.”

  Ivan turned to him. “No, they don’t. It's never been something they do.”

  “Why not?” A drop landed on the back of his neck this time, and Leo leaned forward, tilting his torso forward.

  Drip

  Leo gritted his teeth and shifted completely, dragging himself a few inches to the side.

  When another cold drop of water landed on his hand, Leo got up and walked across the room.

  He sat down with a huff next to Ivan, making sure to leave a large enough gap between their shoulders. However, he realised it was not nearly enough when Ivan uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides, causing their fingers to be just a fingernail width apart.

  “You have any pets growing up?” Leo asked, realising that whatever the reason was, Ivan clearly didn't seem like sharing. And he wasn't going to push.

  Ivan’s head rolled to the side, and he glanced at Leo with scrunched eyebrows. “You know I didn't.”

  “I used to have a baby cricket.” Leo offered.

  “Yeah. I remember that. What did you name it again, Anthony? Ian?” And of course he remembered.

  “I used to want a cat.” Leo admitted. “I begged my mom every single day that year without fail. Sometimes I still ask now just to piss her off.”

  He cleared his throat to hide the smile that had slowly begun to form on his lips. If there was one thing he loved about his mother, it was how easy she was to annoy.

  “I used to want one too.” Ivan shook his head like he was chiding the younger him for having even entertained the idea. Like it had simply been some childish fantasy, like believing in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. “But I stopped asking after they said no the first time because I'm not a nuisance.”

  Leo tilted his head sceptically. “You sure?”

  “Dick.” Ivan remarked, but the slightest hint of a smile was present on his lips.

  Leo returned the smile, the sudden feeling of contentment lulling him into a state of tranquillity.

  After their meetup in the library, things with Ivan had finally started to feel less tense. Like the past had finally stopped chasing them but was instead jogging slowly behind them.

  “When I move out, I'm getting one.”

  “I'm happy for you.” Ivan remarked, and Leo couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

  “What about you? I heard they can help with loneliness.”

  Ivan gave him a mocking smile, then returned to his previous position against the wall. “I'll be fine.”

  When Ivan eventually glanced up again, Leo didn't look away in time and found himself staring into Ivan's dark green eyes. Ivan kept his gaze and tilted his head.

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  Leo raised a challenging brow, and Ivan returned it, his intense gaze boring into Leo.

  Soon enough they were both dragged into a staring match, with neither one of them willing to break eye contact.

  It felt like something they might have done when they were friends all those years ago. If Leo had any memories from that time, this would have felt like they were friends again.

  Leo grinned to himself, still maintaining eye contact.

  “What?” Ivan questioned.

  Leo finally let his gaze fall.

  “Nothing.”

  — — —

  A sharp stench made its way into Leo's nostrils, causing his eyes to crack open.

  The person in front of him retracted the broken stick of smelling salt and turned around, disappearing into the darkness. He glanced around him, unable to see anything except for the ring of pure darkness that surrounded him.

  The person came back a second time, and the way they carried themselves sparked a sense of familiarity in him. He knew them.

  She pulled up her lab coat, and when she did, Leo caught a small glimpse of a waning crescent-shaped tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It was identical to the DIY stick-n-poke tattoo Ximena had decided to give herself on her fifteenth birthday. It was her. It had to be.

  She rolled his sleeve up, and Leo felt a sharp pain where she stabbed a needle full of clear liquid into his arm.

  “What is that?”

  She said nothing.

  “Mena.”

  When Ximena finally glanced into his eyes, he got all the confirmation he needed to know that this was just a dream, because that seemed to be the only place his cousin still existed.

  He tried to sit up from the chair, but a dull sting spread across his wrists. He glanced down at the source of pain, except there was nothing holding him there. Just his body in an old chair.

  He felt his heart speed up as panic settled over him. He pulled at his wrists, and the more he tugged, the stronger he felt pulled to the chair.

  From the darkness, three more people emerged. They gripped Ximena's shoulders tightly, and a panicked look overcame her expression. Her eyes focused on him, pleading with him. Help me.

  “Don't. Let her go.” Leo gritted.

  All three of their heads snapped to him. Their eyes were a glowing purple, a clear indication that they were witches and wizards.

  Leo pulled harder. He ignored the red line of blood that had now begun to form on his wrists.

  When he glanced back at Ximena, her eyes were now identical to theirs, and there was a necklace of blood dripping down her neck.

  Her previously distraught expression was replaced with a sinister smile. Just like the moment right before she had died.

  She waved at him, then turned back around, following them into the darkness.

  Leo pulled at the restraints again, even though he knew it was pointless. “Mena!! Ximena, porfa, no me dejas!”

  “Despierta!” Wake up.

  When Leo opened his eyes, he immediately wished he hadn't. The bright yellow of his bedroom lamps sent a stabbing jolt into his eyes, and there was a tight pressure on his shoulders where his father's hands were gripping them tightly to shake him awake.

  “Papá, I'm awake, stop….” Leo rubbed at his eyes, attempting to rub the sleep away. He held onto his father's hands, and the older man quickly loosened his grip.

  “You were having a nightmare. Are you okay?” His father whispered in Spanish, pretending not to notice the tear that had fallen down Leo's cheek, which he quickly wiped away.

  “I thought you weren't supposed to wake someone having a nightmare.” Leo's sleep-fogged brain slurred in a matching whisper. “And why are we whispering?” He asked in Spanish.

  He glanced around the room. His curtains were dark, making it nearly impossible to tell the time by simply glancing outside.

  He turned to the clock on his bedside table.

  It was 4:55 am. Are you fucking kidding me?

  “I want to show you something.” His father said, gesturing for him to follow.

  At five in the fucking morning? He wanted to say, but he simply pulled the covers off of his body and got up, following his father to his office.

  “Close the door quietly. Let's not wake your mamá. Although I'm sure her snoring is loud enough to drown out the noise,” his father said when they both entered the dimly lit room.

  His father grabbed a thick file from his desk and handed Leo a thin document from inside. Leo grabbed the thin pile of papers, skimming over the words as quickly as he could.

  It was a treaty outlining the terms for a temporary union of their pack and the Howlers.

  Leo could feel an unwelcome panic setting in. This was not good. If they somehow managed to agree to the merger, it would mean that they had an even bigger advantage over The Crawlers. And what if a war were to ever start? What would happen to Ivan? What would happen to him?

  Leo glanced up at his dad. “You're kidding, right?”

  “Is this…?” Leo started, then let the end of his sentence die. He didn't want it to sound like he was questioning his father's leadership decisions. Even though he was.

  “Come on, spit it out.” His father gruffled sternly, but not unkindly. “You're going to be alpha soon. You have a right to be involved.”

  “Are you…. Is this the best idea?”

  His father raised his eyebrow, and Leo immediately regretted the words that had left his lips.

  “I just meant…” He said, before his father could say anything else. “If they're helping us, what's in it for them? They wouldn't just do this for free.”

  “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”

  Leo stared at him blankly. “What?”

  His dad gave him a mildly annoyed stare, then pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep breath and glanced up like he was pleading for help before glancing back at Leo.

  “Did you not just hear a word I said? It means that you're correct. Every single pack’s main duty is self-preservation and hence, self-interest.”

  He pointed to a map of their pack pinned on his wall. “Our interest is claiming the land while also minimising casualties. They claim their interest is eliminating one more competitor.” He shrugged. “But there's no way to be certain.

  Eliminating.

  Leo stayed quiet, his eyes still trained on the map. On the tiny X’s drawn around the edge of their territory, which were meant to represent patrols, but just ended up making it look like their entire pack was barricaded by barbed wire.

  He realised he had been silent for too long when his dad put a comforting arm on his shoulders.

  “It may be risky, but it will be worth it. Don't worry about that right now, hijo.” He said, and then he paused, glancing at Leo curiously. “Why? Do you have friends in their pack or something?”

  We're working on it.

  “...Nope. None.”