Teddy sat at the kitchen table in the rectory as Fr. Charles moved a flashlight slowly from one eye to the other. There was a first aid kit that appeared to be from the 1960s in front of him, which Fr. Charles was pulling random items out of. Teddy fought the urge to squint as the light glared in his eyes, for fear of making Fr. Charles think there was something wrong with his head.

"Now just follow the light with your eyes," The man said. Teddy did as he was told. Fr. Charles turned off the light and set it down on the table with a sigh. "It looks like you don't have a concussion. —But if you start getting headaches, you tell me right away."

"Of course," Teddy nodded. He didn't understand all the fuss. He was forgetful, sure, but he wasn't a bad kid. Teddy was a rule follower, and a very careful person. He hadn't gotten hurt because of carelessness, but because of outside circumstances and it bothered him that Fr. Charles assumed otherwise.

"I just..." Fr. Charles ran a stressed hand through his thinning gray hair and closed his eyes to try and calm himself. "I'm trying to be reasonable, but I just don't understand why you ran away without telling me. I mean, this is a good home.... Not traditional but I— Sr. Matilda and I —have worked very hard to make this a good home for a child.

"I wasn't running away," Teddy countered. "And I'm not a child anymore."

"Then what were you doing? Where were you going?"

"I was... I just needed to clear my head. I'm sorry."

"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy," Fr. Charles quoted.

Proverbs, Teddy knew. "I.. I was picking flowers, and I got distracted, I lost track of time!"

"What for?"

"For– For Damien, to give to Julie," Teddy cracked. He was a horrible liar.

"Damien sent you out?" Fr. Charles raised an eyebrow.

"No!" Teddy insisted. "I went out on my own.... He– he didn't know I was going."

"He didn't?" Fr. Charles asked with an incredulous look that suggested he didn't believe the boy. "Then why did you go?"

"Because.. Because he's my friend!" Teddy exclaimed. "And I felt guilty that he was going to have to watch me all night."

"Why didn't you tell me first?" The man asked.

"Because you wouldn't have let me go. I'm seventeen years old, I'm basically an adult now.. I just... I didn't want you to worry, because everything is alright."

"It's not alright Theodore! You've got a giant cut on the back of your head! That's not alright."

The two looked at each other in a standoff neither wanting to relent to the others. It was a loving relationship,but not one without differences of opinion.

"It's just a scratch," Teddy mumbled to himself.

Fr. Charles moved around to the back of Teddy's head and placed a wet paper towel on the cut, cleaning off the dirt. Once the dried blood was gone the cut appeared smaller, it was still a good size gash.

"What if you'd gotten a concussion? What if you'd become disoriented or confused out there?" His voice quieted itself and he shifted uncomfortably. "We never could have found you."

As he spoke the man retrieved a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide from under the sink. He placed a cotton swab on one end and wet the bottle before placing it gently on the back of Teddy's head.

Teddy hissed at the sting, but continued anyway "—Well... Damien did, and I'm sure I would have been alright even so."

"I just don't understand what you're looking for out there," Fr. Charles shook his head.

"I'm looking for trust."

"I do trust you, Teddy." Fr. Charles' tone was calm, and he sat across from Teddy at the table and shut his eyes in frustration.

"No you don't, you won't even let me go to the festival tonight without a chaperone, and it's right outside our front door!" Teddy exclaimed. "You used to let me walk in the woods. You used to let me do all kinds of things by myself. What changed?"

"That's not fair Teddy, it's just not a good time right now," Fr. Charles explained.

"Why not?"

"Because things are different, things are dangerous."

"What's dangerous? This is the safest town in the world, what could you possibly think is going to happen to me if I spend a moment alone?" Teddy exasperatedly asked.

Fr. Charles took a moment to take a deep breath.

"I just... I don't want you getting hurt," Fr. Charles placed his hand on his forehead. "I don't want you to be upset with me. I'm not trying to stifle you— and I do trust you! I just don't trust other people and I worry about you."

"I can handle myself."

Fr. Charles paused once again, wanting to carefully select his words.

"I know that. I know that you're a very intelligent and resourceful child, but I just want to be safe. I'll.. I can try to show that I trust you more... but just, for me... let a little time pass. Things are difficult right now, but in a few days they'll be better. I promise."

Teddy sat still. His mind was a blur with thoughts that bounded around. Fr. Charles was being cryptic, he knew, but he couldn't figure out why. As far as he knew everything was ordinary. Part of him wanted to know the reason the man was so on edge, but another part of him— a larger part— didn't want to stir the pot.

"I can do that," Teddy said.

"Good. Now, it doesn't look like you're going to need stitches. A bandage won't stick since it's in your hair, so we're going to have to use gauze."

"Oh, I'm going to look like a mummy!" Teddy exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but you can't walk around with an open wound. It'll get infected." Fr. Charles explained, pulling the white roll from the kit. Teddy grimaced at the image of himself wrapped up in what looked like toilet paper. The man carefully wrapped it across his head twice and secured it by tucking one side under.

Teddy looked miserable.

"Don't look at me like that," Fr. Charles tucked the first aid kit back under the sink where it would sit until the next accident. "Sr. Matilda was planning on making pork tenderloin for dinner. After..."

".. Oh, please can I still go to Candle-Fest?" Teddy blurted out.

"Teddy—" Fr. Charles began.

"I promise I'll stay by Damien's side the entire night... you said I could go with him before, and he found me today. Can't I still go?"

"I—"

"You can ground me tomorrow, but can't I still go tonight? I'll be extra careful."

"I don't want to upset you, Teddy," Fr. Charles sighed. "It's just been an eventful day, don't you want to rest?"

"I'll rest until then, it's not for a while" Teddy explained. "Please, it would really mean a lot to me."

Fr. Charles looked lost in thought for a moment as he considered.

"I'd take you myself, but I have to work in the gambling tent all night. You have to be over twenty-one to go in there," The man scratched at his chin.

"I won't leave Damien's sight."

"Oh, alright— just be very careful. People are strange around this time of year. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love," He quoted.

Teddy nodded, "Corinthians?"

Fr. Charles nodded reluctantly in return, "16:13."

"Thank you!" Teddy wrapped the man in a quick hug before disappearing up to his room. He had a corsage to make if he wanted Damien to take him, and the flowers were already squished in his pants pockets.

Fr. Charles remained at the table an extra moment and shook his head bitterly. He had a strange little feeling in the pit of his chest. The kind of sense you get when you're about to get into a car accident or you've just said something really stupid, but greater. It wasn't quite uncomfortable, but he was unnerved. He massaged his temples in the silence before grumbling to himself, "That's a mistake. Somehow, I just know it... That's a mistake."

He made the sign of the cross and left the room.

....

There was a moment of tense silence in the clearing as all waited for the alpha to shift; he was waiting to convince himself. Begrudgingly the alpha was first, quickly transforming with a blur into a dark brown and white wolf. Following him the woman and the man both changed as well and the three figures were replaced with vicious large wolves, animals with no business running into a town. The woman was a mangy looking brown and gray spotted wolf and the man a larger sleek black wolf. The alpha was by far the biggest of the three.

The wolf standing where the alpha had once stood nodded, and understanding this, the other wolves allowed him to dash off into the forest, following at his heels. They tore over the forest ground passing through leaves and across hills.

Any hunter watching might just have assumed he'd seen a few coyotes roaming, but coyotes they were not.

The trees turned into blurs as they whizzed by the alpha's face. Something always felt right to him about being a wolf; the feel of the dirt under his paws, the wind on his snout, it was all as it should be. Many resented their wolves for having control over them, but the alpha loved nothing more than his wolf, and he intended for it to stay that way.

A human mate was uncommon for a beta or delta, but it was nearly unheard of for an Alpha. With good reason, too, an alpha's job was dangerous. Wolves could be greedy, they could be bloodthirsty, and they could be awfully possessive; the werewolf world was no place for humanity, no place for a little human.

His mate drifted back slowly into his mind as he tore across the terrain. In the moment he hadn't wanted to allow his emotions to get the better of him, but the wolf had been utterly enthralled with the boy. He longed to feel the boy touch him, run his fingers through his mane, or trust him implicitly, as all mates should. But all would come in good time. A werewolf could hardly resist their mate, especially not an alpha.

If the alpha renounced his mate, human or not, he would lose his wolf. With his brother, mother, and all the other packs breathing down his neck, that was not an option. The wolf was terribly stubborn and he longed to fight the fate of having a mate, but there was something about the boy. Something crafted for his soul, as he was sure the moon was aware.

It had taken everything in him not to curl up and flop in the boy's lap, but he could sense the fear on the boy's mind and knew that wouldn't be taken well. It was a pain of rejection to have the one you loved, the one your soul was crafted for, be terrified of you.

The strong alpha had often heard older wolves talk of the power of the first look and he had thought they'd gone soft with their old age. He now knew why; the first look was so powerful it could turn any wolf into a whining pup.

His heart had stopped when he'd seen the boy from afar. He just had to beckon to him, so he'd begun by rustling in the leaves. He'd led the boy away further from the one he knew was searching for him to where they were less likely to be seen. Then the alpha had revealed himself, put himself at the feet of, and offered himself completely to the human, a move the pugnacious alpha would have been embarrassed to make just an hour before. It took one look and he was at the service of a lowly human he could have snapped between his massive jaws.

When the other boy had startled Teddy enough to look away, to break the first look, the alpha himself had sprinted off like a fleeing soldier with his tail between his legs. The alpha never fled, he never left a fight, but there he had dashed away from the human at the first opportunity.

The alpha snarled as a thought broke through, What if that other boy was his boyfriend?

He couldn't stand the idea of his mate preferring another to him, his mate touching, kissing someone else. It was enough to raise his hackles. Part of him knew the bond would ruin any other romantic relationship the boy could have, but wolves were terribly jealous creatures and the alpha wanted to tear the other boy apart limb from limb for having the audacity to talk to his mate.

Of course he knew that intrusive thought was unrealistic, from what he'd heard of their conversation the older boy was unkind to his mate. That only made him more angry. As soon as the new human had come into view the alpha could smell annoyance emanating off him-- it had filled his heart with rage. He wished he and his mate shared the same sentiment at having their meeting interrupted, but the boy was relieved. He had to change that– the opportunity to do so filled the alpha's heart and he ran faster.

Half a mile from the edge of the forest the alpha stopped so suddenly that the woman crashed into the man sliding in the dirt, and whimpered. The alpha lifted his ear to see if he could hear any hikers. There was nobody around as far as he could tell and he nodded to his companions, shifting first. Again in a blur the other two followed his lead.

Standing in the place of the wolves were three tall humans again looking to the alpha for instruction.

"We'll go the rest of the way on foot." the alpha decreed. With that he turned from the group and began walking. Walking was tedious for a wolf who longed to run but with such long strides they made quite good time.

The sights and smells were nearly overwhelming for the group. Being from a pack based on the side of a lake and nowhere near the ocean, they were not used to the scent of salt air or distant fish in the ocean.

The alpha pushed his way through the last line of trees out onto the edge of the cliff. The intoxicating scent of his mate exited the forest there and went down a small flight of stairs a few feet away. He stopped to drink in the moment as the wind whipped across his face.

The sun was low on the western skyline, but it wasn't dark yet. The alpha could figure based on the location that it was about five thirty in the evening. He gestured for the others to follow him then made his way down the staircase.

They emerged from an alleyway onto an unpopulated town street. To the left sat a few multi-colored buildings and on the right there was a tall church building that grabbed the alpha's attention. Something told him this was the correct direction; his mate was that way.

The street was nearly empty, but there were decorations around for some kind of festival. The alpha looked to the others silently urging them to tread lightly. He lifted his nose into the air and sniffed— the town was overwhelming for woods-dwelling wolves and the alpha's head immediately ached. It had been a long while since he'd spent that much time with humans. His head was going a million different ways and his curiosity bumbled around his brain. Above it all the alpha tried to keep track of the best scent: his mate.

All at once in the way he could smell fresh baked pie, pumpkins, hard cider, fried food, and fish guts, compounded with salty sea air and the overpowering scent of humans. It was hard to focus on just one, even if his wolf was so resolute.

The other wolves looked equally confused, but the alpha decided to follow his instincts and go towards the church regardless of being unable to find the scent again.

A woman passed them with a look of shock on her face before turning away. Humans had a kind of sense of werewolves, they got very uncomfortable around them as if they were frightened. Perhaps not quite frightened, but unnerved and on edge. The woman huddled off into a nearby shop trying to get away from the wolves. The alpha's glare was enough to send anyone running.

The band of wolves stopped at the foot of the stairway that led up to the church. The alpha lifted his head and sniffed. His mate's scent drifted back into his nostrils and he nodded to the wolves letting them know they were on the right track. He could sense it, smell it, and feel that they were most certainly not far from his mate.

The other two looked around in confusion before noticing the alpha's gaze remained well trained up at the church.

In there? The man gestured towards the church.

The alpha wasn't quite sure. Up there he knew, but the scent was coming from the side of the church complex out of a yellow building. The alpha's wolf roared to life within him, signaling that he had discovered the hideout of his mate— this was where he was meant to be.

They stood all waiting for the alpha's mate to come into view, but the house was silent. There was a sense of anticipation and nerves emanating from the building. The wolves could smell that there were three people inside; but they were separated, each in their own section of the house.

Suddenly there was the sound of a window opening on the second floor and the alpha was certain it led to his mate's bedroom. The window was the leftmost one on the front of the house and beneath it there was a white trellis covered with purple clematis. His wolf did backflips in his stomach out of anticipation that he might catch another glimpse of his mate.

The sheer white curtains blew in the wind before parting gracefully. There was a flash of brown hair, and then—-

"Are you all out here lookin' for Fr. Charles?" A voice asked, startling all three wolves.

In front of them on the street was an older man with brown hair speckled white and a kind face and a teenage boy with black hair and an annoyed expression on his face. The boy was obviously the man's son due to the similarity in the facial structure between the two. The alpha instantly recognized the scent of the boy as being the same one that had been out looking for Teddy and his face turned to a glare.

The two attendant wolves looked at each other in shock: most humans just avoided them. They hadn't sensed the presence of the people because they had expected that there might be pedestrians in a town, as assumed they would cross the street away from them.

The man was dressed in jeans that were splattered with paint and patched from years of work as well as a brown belt and a flannel shirt which closed across his chest. The boy on the other hand was dressed up in sleek navy pants, shiny brown dress shoes, and a purple and white gingham shirt. His black hair was heavily gelled and pushed out of his angry face.

Realizing they'd been silent for too long the second male wolf gave a simple "No," and the alpha frowned, already knowing that was probably not the wisest thing to say.

Something crossed the face of the man who asked and his friendly smile turned jaded. He was suspicious of them and uncomfortable like other humans, and yet he was clearly attempting to be friendly. The aura of the wolves made that very difficult for humans.

"What are you doin' here then?" The man asked and the boy beside him checked his watch anxiously.

The three wolves looked to each other in confusion, not one having a clue what they ought to say. They unwisely elected to remain silent.

"I asked you a question." The man turned directly to the alpha as if he could sense who the leader of the group was.

"I'm looking for somebody," came the short response.

"Who?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well maybe I can help you find them if I know who they are," The man quipped bitterly, his patience being tested. The boy beside him had turned to mild amusement at the strange scene playing out in front of him. "Now I'm tryin' to be respectful, and you're makin' it mighty difficult."

The three gave no response to this. Generally the Alpha liked to rip people apart who got in his way, but something about the man suggested was not to be messed with. 

"If you don't tell me what you're doin' here I'll have to call the sheriff. Now, I don't want to have to do that, but I'm fond of the people who live in this house and I won't have you lot creepin' around."

"What's the charge? Loitering on the street in front of a church?"

"Disruption of peace at a private residence," the man countered. "The church is over there, and you're welcome to go, unless you tell me what your business is here."

"You all looking for Teddy?" the teenager asked, and he was immediately shot with a warning look from his father. The wolves could pick up that the boy wasn't meant to mention that name.

"Teddy?" The alpha repeated. The name felt right in his mouth. "Teddy."

The man eyed him as he spoke with a bitter glare as if it was personally insulting to him that the alpha had uttered that name.

"Yes, we're looking for Teddy. We're his friends from school," The male wolf offered.

The teenager snorted a laugh, "Teddy doesn't have friends at school."

"You hush your mouth!" The man scolded his son, whose face paled in embarrassment. "No chance you guys are in high school." He looked up at the extreme height of the people in disbelief at the ridiculous claim.

"We were held back," The wolf offered. "Several years."

"Alright. And what's the name of the high school?"

".... Belford..." The wolf stammered. "...Central High."

"Belford doesn't have its own high school," the man asserted. "And you're a bunch of liars."

"You caught us!" The woman exclaimed suddenly. "We were just embarrassed. See we're a bunch of wayward souls, especially my friend Elijah here, and we- we're looking for repentance and reconciliation."

"Yes!" The other wolf agreed. "We're here 'cause of prostelat- prostitut–"

"—Proselytization," the woman coughed.

"I mean, we just love praying and we're in real deep need of redemption."

The man stared at them with one eyebrow raised in a gesture that clearly said: You're full of shit and I don't believe a word you've just said.

"I don't care if you were sent by God himself, you get your sorry asses off this property. The church opens at 7:30 tomorrow mornin'. If you're looking for salvation you find it there, not creepin' around outside the house of some little boy." The man then turned to the alpha, pointed his finger deadpanned, and in a deeper more serious tone continued, "And you stay the hell away from Teddy."

The alpha's eyes flashed red with deep anger and he began to move, but the wolf behind him grabbed at his arm and stopped him with a harsh warning shake. The alpha glared at him and shook his hand off, but didn't move at the man again.

"You take care now." With that the two humans walked up the stairs and into the house. The teenage boy shot one semi-frightened look backwards at the wolves, but followed his father into the yellow walls of the rectory regardless.