𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊⠀ ⁽ ¹ ⁾

FERAL

Quill's eyes roam around the room, darting from each individual face before turning back to his sister, who smiles awkwardly. "Surprise." Quill grins awkwardly, walking slowly over, as he comes up to Dirk first. "You got taller." He states plainly, and Dirk laughs, opening his arm and dragging him in for a deep, and tight hug. "Good to see you again, cousin." He says before letting go.

He comes up to Vincent, who also embraces him, Regan and Abigail do too. Whereas Darlene looks almost annoyed, her arms crossed, as he waits for a hug, having his arms open. "Oh, c'mon Darlene." He chuckles. "Still upset because I stuck a wad of gum in your hair when we were little?" Darlene struggles to hold her serious composure, but ultimately fails. "Thanks to you I looked like a boy all summer." She says, walking into his arms and returning his hug. 

I'm the last person he comes to greet. Just like Darlene, I remember my vices when it comes to Quill, he wasn't my best friend when we were kids. He constantly put me down, tried to make himself seem more important, and always degraded my ability to become alpha in front of everyone. In a sense, Quill was my childhood bully.

But, seeing him here and alive, pushes those thoughts aside. "Hey, man." I greet, and he nods his head smiling. "Golden boy all grown up. Guess I can't make fun of you for being little anymore." His demeanor changed, and for the first time in a long time, he hugs me like a brother.

"What happened?" He asks glancing to Aunt Patty, the only woman who had not received or given a hug at all. She glances worriedly over at Rex on the bed. "We were being hunted down by some rogues, who teamed up with a notorious hunter who almost killed Brom and shot Rex."

"Man . . ." Quill sighs, scratching the side of his head stressfully. "I'm surprised how many of us there still are." Everyone looks around at each other, the weight of his words hitting everything we have all felt. From the once mighty and distinguished family-oriented pack, to this small ensemble of ten. Everyone we lost along the way of getting to where we are now, the mourning that never ended, and the nightmares we can't break free from.

We had all gone silent without realizing it, having never gotten the time to really stop and think. Thea offers us as many blankets and pillows as she can, for the most part I give mine away to Allison. But with her indomitable will, insisted on sharing. Which are what leads to her falling asleep across my lap on the floor. Slowly lowering the notebook from my face, I realize she dozed off when she suddenly became quiet. 

Her head is turned towards me, her eyes closed. A pull in my chest begins to grow tighter and tighter the more I observe her. Its late, so late that everyone around us was asleep, sprawled around in the darkened room, with no light except for the moon shining in. Leaning forward my head hovers over Allison's, my nose skimming over the tip of hers.

Since the moment I met her, I hated her. Now? There's this kind of attraction that keeps pulling me to her, like a magnet. The more I try to fight it, the stronger it gets. My  lips part ever so slowly. She stirs which startles me. "You're so warm." Her voice is soft and quiet, sleepy sounding. I sigh relieved, then smile at her quietly. "I know I am."

Placing the notebook down beside me, I start to slip myself from under her and she moans peacefully. "Where are you going?" I put my arms under her. "Shh . . . go back to sleep." Lifting her up, her arms wrap around my shoulders. Inhaling her scent, fighting my feelings becomes impossible.

Carrying her towards the other couch, I lay her back down and she flips on her side, burying her face into the cushion. It's silly how she can go from a fearless huntress, to a child-like little girl needing to be tucked into bed. She's an anomaly, one I don't mind trying to figure out anymore. Pulling the extra blanket over her shoulders, I back away and sit down at her legs. Gently removing her shoes, I place them gingerly on the ground, and lay her legs across my lap.