It was supposed to be a simple mission for Chris—it wasn’t the first time he had hunted and killed a werewolf.
But he hadn’t accounted for the eager teenager roaming the forest with them.
Chris tried to finish the job before the boy noticed that he wasn’t alone in the woods.
But he failed. It seemed the boy was searching for the same thing as Chris—a werewolf.
The moon was full when the feral werewolf was killed, and Chris carried the freshly bitten boy in his arms.
He knew the boy would turn soon, lose his mind, and start killing everything in sight.
Chris wanted to end his suffering quickly.
But what he didn’t expect was for the boy to open his newly glowing eyes and stare at him—calmly.
He didn’t lose control. He didn’t attack. Even under a full moon…
Oh no.
The boy was looking at him as if he were the most beautiful thing in the world.
His cheeks flushed, and he glanced away for a moment—only to look back at Chris just as quickly.
This was a nightmare.
“Um… my name is Stiles.”
Chris didn’t know why he answered, “Chris.”
Stiles’ face turned even redder, and he lowered his head slightly, his hand creeping up to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Chris put his gun away before the boy even noticed it.
“I… um, you—”
“Listen, kid, I’m married.”
Stiles froze, his glowing eyes widening in shock, and he suddenly looked even more embarrassed. “Oh—sorry! I didn’t mean it like that… you know.”
His movements grew awkward. “I’ll take you home.”
Chris didn’t agree, but since the boy wasn’t turning rabid, he hoped it would stay that way. If so, there was no harm in keeping him alive—under supervision.
“I know the way home… thanks.”
He looked disappointed. “No, I’ll take you myself. There are things you need to know about your new life—your new kind.”
“I know… I have a werewolf friend. I said thanks.”
Chris frowned. “Did you come here to get turned? Were you looking for a werewolf to bite you?!”
“Are you kidding me? If I wanted to turn, I would’ve done it back in my first year of high school!”
The boy, who had been all sweet and flustered moments ago, was suddenly brash and annoyed.
“Then why are you here?” If he hadn’t come to get turned, then what was the reason?
“I’m… sort of a researcher? I like investigating things. I was gathering information to help Scott and me understand werewolves better—weaknesses, other things…”
“You said your friend is a werewolf. Why do you need to research?”
“He was only turned three years ago. I know about the enhanced senses, but there’s still a lot we don’t understand. Can you stop with the questions? You’re starting to get annoying—kind of ruining your whole charm.”
Well, this was something Chris hadn’t expected…
“I’m still taking you home.”
“I already hate you,” the boy muttered under his breath, but Chris had a built-in lie detector in his head.
He laughed loudly, standing up and yanking the boy to his feet by his wrist.
His wrist was small, delicate, and thin—Chris could feel his pulse quicken under his grip, reacting to his touch.
When they got into the car, Chris saw his chance to interrogate him—without giving him a chance to escape.
“Your eyes glow blue. You know what that means?”
The boy lowered his head. “Yeah…”
“How? Who?”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“How.”
His voice was sharp, commanding—leaving no room for argument.
“When we first started learning about the supernatural, we got into a lot of trouble. My dad had a lot of enemies—being the sheriff and all. It wasn’t his fault; he was just doing his job. Anyway, someone who really hated him decided the best revenge was to get rid of me. Since I was the sheriff’s son, you know? So, he attacked me… and I… I knocked him down by accident. And he died.”
“You killed a human?”
“I was human five minutes ago!! And no, he wasn’t human. I don’t know what he was. Maybe genetically modified or some kind of creature—”
Chris cut him off again. “What kind of creature?”
“The kind with a mouth and freaky teeth on his hand! Also, it’s really rude to interrupt people!”
They arrived at the boy’s house—or more accurately, the sheriff’s house—following his directions.
Before Stiles could step out of the car, Chris caught his wrist. Stiles turned back, cheeks flushed, eyes wide.
Chris handed him a card with his number. “This is my number—”
“Didn’t you say you were married?” Stiles asked, a playful smirk on his lips.
Chris tensed and quickly let go of his wrist. “I gave it to you in case something happens!”
“Sure thing, Hunter. Have a good night.”
Stiles shut the door behind him and hurried toward the house.
-
Chris wasn’t sure what was happening to him over the past few weeks.
The boy kept texting him constantly—despite Chris distinctly remembering saying to call only in emergencies.
Instead, Stiles sent him random things: science memes, school-related jokes, and frequent complaints about how exhausting senior year was, how he had to study day and night. Most of it was amusing—except for the times when Stiles broke down, overwhelmed by stress.
Some nights, Chris found himself parked outside the sheriff’s house, just to make sure Stiles wasn’t losing control or… anything like that.
He was just making sure everything was fine.
Yeah… that was all.
Chris turned off his phone after reading Stiles’ latest message about studying at a friend’s house. He set the device down on the kitchen island just as Allison walked in.
“Dad, my friends are here. We’re gonna study together.”
“You should’ve told me beforehand that people were coming over.”
“I know, I’m sorry! It was kind of last-minute.”
Her friends walked in—a familiar strawberry-blonde girl, Lydia Martin, along with two others: a boy with a crooked jaw… and—
Stiles?????
The boy’s eyes went wide, his face turning as red as it had the first day they met.
And it seemed like—
The last..
-
Stiles stopped sending messages after that. He felt embarrassed about what he had done.
First, he had been talking to his best friend’s dad. And worse—he had fallen for him.
Second, he respected Mrs. Argent too much to be that kind of homewrecker.
Even though he never meant anything by his conversations with Chris—other than friendship—guilt weighed on him. Because deep down, he knew the truth.
He was in love with him.
The first time he saw Chris, he knew. It was different from the way he felt about Lydia.
It was deeper. Chris was the most incredible thing he had ever seen—like a knight protecting and saving his princess.
Stiles had always dreamed of love, of living an amazing romance, of losing his virginity to the person he truly loved.
He had been desperate for something real, spending his teenage years buried in books while everyone around him fell in love and annoyed him with their happiness.
And when fate finally decided to make him fall in love… it had to be with his best friend’s dad. A married man.
Pathetic.
He wished he could disappear.
He banged his head against his desk, only stopping when Lydia’s message popped up, reminding him about her party in a few hours.
Sighing, he exited the chat and started scrolling through his other conversations—his friends and—Chris.
The last message was from him. Weeks ago.
Chris hadn’t texted or checked in.
No surprise. He was probably relieved to be rid of the loud-mouthed kid who never stopped talking and bothering him.
He lifted his head from the desk and slapped his cheeks hard. “Come on, Stiles, you can get over this!”
He stood up, putting on his shoes, ready to leave and go to the party for the girl he used to have a crush on, just to support her.
As soon as he arrived, he headed to the singles table and began stuffing his mouth with food, because being alone was something he didn’t want to think about.
He looked at the couples in the party, not realizing he was crying while eating until he inhaled sharply, choking because his mouth was full.
Allison was in high spirits, reminiscing about how, before she got drunk, she had complained about how overprotective and annoying her father was, and how she had to sneak out of her bedroom window to get away—really needing a drink.
She was far too deep into her own thoughts to notice that her dad was now at the party…
Her dad was at the party!!!
Stiles’ eyes met Chris’s, who was scanning the crowd for his daughter.
His cheeks flushed. The man was always so amazing—was he planning to torture him?
‘What a bad wolf,’ he scolded himself. ‘He’s your best friend’s dad, Stiles.’
No wonder he must’ve looked ridiculous—crying with his mouth full of food, standing alone by the appetizer table.
It was no surprise that Chris quickly turned away to continue searching for his daughter.
Stiles went back to eating more, still quietly crying.
He needed a drink, but unfortunately, alcohol no longer had any effect on him.
He felt a strong grip on his arm, and before he could turn to see who had pulled him, he was being dragged like a lamb toward the familiar hunter’s car.
“Hey, what are you doing?! This is kidnapping!”
Chris gave him a deadly glare, and Stiles fell silent, surrendering to the man who shoved him into the car.
Chris placed unconscious Allison in the back seat to lie down.
“What the hell is this, and why is Allison like this?”
Stiles turned to him sharply, feeling all the misery inside him explode. “How should I know? I’m not her father! If you’re so desperate because your daughter is like this, why didn’t you put more effort into watching over her? Or better yet, let her live her life like other teenagers!”
He felt Chris’s grip tighten on his jaw, silencing him. “Watch your mouth, wolf.”
Stiles’ eyes widened as pain shot through him. Was this how Chris saw him? A wolf? A monster?
He hadn’t realized his tears had started to fall again, streaking down his face.
“I want to go home,” his voice came out broken, more than it should have been.
Chris released his grip on his jaw, and the marks on Stiles’ face from the rough handling began to fade, like they had never existed.
Falling in love was the worst thing that could ever happen to a person…
He returned to his house, to his cozy room that would shield him from everyone.
He threw himself onto his bed and began crying. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, and the most embarrassing.
He felt pathetic, he knew that.
Grateful that tomorrow was the weekend, he didn’t want to go anywhere. He just wanted to stay in his room, isolated, and wallow in self-pity.
He napped for a bit before waking up in the middle of the night, disturbed by some noises outside his window.
Rubbing his eyes, he walked over to the window to see the hunter climbing to reach it.
When their eyes met—well, one eye—Stiles’ face turned bright red again.
What was he doing here? With all those muscles flexing as he tried to climb to his window?
He was climbing to his window…
The thought played in Stiles’ mind for a moment before panic set in.
Was he going to get killed?!!!!
Even though Chris looked like a fairy tale prince scaling a tower to rescue his princess,but this was completely different!!!!
At least he’d die at the hands of a handsome man, right? That didn’t make it better, though.
Chris opened the window, and Stiles stood there like a statue.
“Listen, about what I said, I didn’t mean it. Next time, I promise I’ll tell you when Allison starts drinking a lot, even though it’s legal since she’s over 18. But I’ll still tell you, please—”
Stiles’ breath hitched in fear when Chris kissed him.
This was amazing! His mind screamed that this was the best thing that had ever happened to him—being kissed by the man he loved!!!!
This was definitely bliss.
Chris pulled away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—” He stopped when he saw Stiles’ face, redder than ever, his breath erratic. Stiles didn’t know if he could control it, or his heart, which he was sure was audible.
Chris kissed him again, and they both tumbled onto the bed.
Things heated up, and just before he was about to be undressed, Stiles muttered, “ Didn’t you say you were married?”—like the first night he’d said those words. It brought back so many memories.
But something had changed. “divorced.”
“Don’t tell me I—”
“Yeah, and no, don’t worry. It’s not all on you.”
Stilesstill shy? Chris whispered, “You…?”
“Yeah…”
“If you want me to stop, just tell me.”
Stiles wrapped his arms around Chris’s neck, his voice barely a whisper, “I trust you.”
-
He had been waiting for his hunter when he heard the sound of climbing and Chris’s labored breaths as he struggled to reach the top.
Stiles opened the window and leaned his elbows on the frame. “You climbed faster this time by 0.23 seconds, well done.” He placed a quick kiss on Chris’s lips before stepping away from the window, letting the hunter enter and embrace him.
It was a good thing Stiles had just showered, using all the coffee-scented products because he knew Chris loved that smell, and he silently thanked Lydia for giving him some.
Chris buried his head in Stiles’s neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”