The Guardian (Sanders Sides Werewolf AU) *on hiatus*

3

Warnings: death/blood/cancer mention, and two tragic backstories partially unlocked (let me know if there are more)

Virgil was sat in an office that made the merch shop at Disney look bad. The shelves were littered with figures of various cartoon characters but also really old and fancy looking books. The room was a clash of a child's bedroom and a Harvard library. There were various photo frames scattered around the walls, some were Disney prints or comic book strips or inspirational quotes that made Virgil want to gag at the unwavering optimism. One of the shelves on the bookcase was filled with various photos of, who Virgil assumed to be, the other pack members laughing and smiling with each other. The most prominent photo was of a man with slick black hair and square glasses in a dark blue suit, holding a smaller man with blonde curly hair and circular glasses who was wearing a light blue, almost white, suit. They were smiling lovingly at each other in front of a white arch covered in red roses, brand new wedding rings on their fingers. He smiled warmly at the photo, wishing he could have something like that, but never will. He glanced over at Thomas who was playing the corner of the room with a stuffed Stitch and Dumbo, before looking back at the man who was the Alpha of the pack quickly trying to tidy up the clutter on the desk. In the end, he gave up and just sat down opposite Virgil.

"Sorry for the mess, this office is shared with our Beta and Omicron so it becomes a mess very quickly" the man chuckled nervously, his auburn hair was tousled and a mess but still managed to look intentional.

"It's okay" Virgil gave a weak smile, his voice barely above a whisper

He was regretting his decision more and more by the second. Why did he agree to come here and meet these new people?

He knew why. As much as he hated to admit it, he could do with the extra protection for Thomas. It also meant that if something happened to him, he could cash in on their alliance and make sure Thomas is safe and protected with other wolves.

"Well, Virgil, my name is Roman, it's nice to meet you two" he tried again.

"Ditto."

"So um, you live in Oakwood, right? Remy mentioned something like that"

"Yep" Virgil replied popping the 'p' slightly, "'bout a year now"

"How many are in your pack?" Roman asked innocently, he didn't notice how Thomas stopped playing and his eyes locked on his dad's.

"Just the two of us" Virgil shifted in his seat clearly uncomfortable, but Roman didn't take the hint,

"Wait really? Why? What happened?"

"Hunters."

That was all that needed to be said. The colour drained from Roman's face but it was quickly replaced by worry,

"There are hunters near here?" he didn't try to hide the urgency in his voice.

Virgil shook his head, "not that I know off."

Roman visibly relaxed at the news, while Virgil was trying not to think about what happened to his pack. His spiralling was interrupted by a tap on his arm. He turned to face Thomas who held up a Coraline doll for him to take,

"Look what I found!"

"Aww nice one kid, thanks," Virgil said, properly smiling for the first time since they arrived.

Thomas ran back to the corner only to grab a Genie plush and Virgil's headphones out of the satchel and ran back to Virgil. He scrambled onto his lap and placed the headphones on, turning on the Bluetooth. Virgil chuckled and pulled his phone out of his pocket and played his musical and Disney playlist for him.