[ i mean, there's no full smut. but i'll give you a crumb of fade to black material. also yeah, that's dylan o'brien and he looks far to good to attempt to make him less noticeable when editing the gif ]

☽︎

I'M NOT OKAY WITH HIM COMING FOR WHAT'S MINE.

The teen members of the wolf pack were wandering around town after finishing dinner in Zombietown. They were waiting for Carson to get out of cheerleading practice, then they would discuss the aliens and all the intel she'd gathered. After all, she'd spent at least half the day with them, so she must know some important things. That was the only reason she was getting so close.

That's what Wyatt was telling himself, at least, as Wynter went over everything she'd gossiped about with Carson and the others while getting pizza earlier.

"Yeah, so she and Zed somehow convinced the aliens to use their tech and improve Zed's application for the exceptional student scholarship. He's just gotta ace the home interview tomorrow, and if he gets in, then we're totally back on track for higher education," Wynter said excitedly.

"That's the least they could do after destroying our town and chasing off the recruiter for Zed," Willa muttered, shaking her head.

"Yeah, it's a good thing they offered, or I think Carson would've threatened them until they did it after discovering that their technology could do all that," she said.

"That's my girl," Wyatt said, smirking.

"Yeah," Wynter said, grinning. "Although, she totally wouldn't have to threaten. A-Spen said A-Lan is totally in love with her, so he'd do anything she asked."

Wyatt's smirk dropped instantly and he stopped walking to stare at Wynter. "What?"

"Oh, yeah," she went on, a bit cluelessly. "They said it was because Carson and A-Lan have so much in common — the sports and competitiveness and they both think his eight-pack abs are impressive and he promised not to go after any of her school records, which I thought was odd because he crushed all the other ones so quickly, but since he thinks they're in love, it makes sense now, which—"

"Wynter!" Willa said, grabbing the girl's shoulders. "Major run-on sentence."

"No," Wyatt said, swatting his sister's hands so that she'd free Wynter. "Run-on more. Tell me everything. What do you mean his abs? What did Carson say when he said he was in love with—"

A loud, piercing howl cut through the air, sending all of them on high alert and giving them orders to follow.

"Carson," Wyatt said, looking in the direction it came from.

"The moonstone," Willa said, her eyes going wide.

The pack took off into the night, cutting through alleyways and around corners to reach their destination quicker. They reached the moonstone within a matter of minutes, stopping just in front of Coach's fro-yo shop.

The moonstone was still sitting in its spot, covered by the cage surrounding it. But the red glow of the protective barrier that only wolves could see was gone. Carson was standing directly in front of it, red mists of magic angrily swirling around her hands and feet.

"What happened?" Willa asked, moving to Carson's side.

Wyatt sniffed the air while placing a hand at Carson's lower back. "Someone's been trespassing on our turf."

"They took down my force field," Carson said flatly.

"And someone's been eating our Froyo," Wynter said, picking up an abandoned cup that was left behind. "And it's all melted."

"It was them," Carson said, tightening her jaw. "The aliens. They came after the moonstone. Wolves — the hunt is on!"

The moonstone necklaces glowed as all the wolves harnessed the power and let out loud howls. They all broke off, following the lingering scents around them. There were three, and Carson had been around them enough to know it was A-Lan, A-Li, and A-Spen that broke down the protection spell. She didn't take too kindly to that, especially when she'd already warned them not to go near the moonstone.

"I know you're out here!" Carson called tauntingly. It was a way to distract the aliens while she and the wolves searched. "I warned you! And then you ignored it." She pushed a few wooden crates over, making sure no one was hiding. "You're not welcome in Seabrook anymore!"

Something clattered in the distance, leading them closer to the aliens.

Wyatt began knocking over everything in sight, ready to tear the head off the first alien he saw. A full moon was nearing, making them all more aggressive, which wouldn't end well for the invaders. "You can't think you can hide. We're hunters."

"The claws are out and we will find you!" Wynter shouted, tearing off the top of a car, only to find it empty.

They continued to search through the streets. There were several times it seemed like the pack was going to catch someone, but it never happened. As the pack moved on, Carson stopped near some large planters. Because she could've sworn someone was hiding behind one, but there was no one to find when she looked behind them. The longer they went without finding the trespassers, the angrier Carson got.

"This is our territory," Carson said quietly, still feeling like one of them was near. "And if that stone goes missing, I will make losing your entire home seem like a field day compared to the hell my pack and I will give you."

To emphasize her point, Carson's magic flared out, causing the planters to explode. Over the sound of breaking ceramic pots, the witch could've sworn she heard a scared whimper. Then, Carson stretched her magic until she felt that familiar, otherworldly charge. Red magic swarmed in a person-shaped form just a few feet away, confirming that they could turn invisible.

"Found you," she said, grinning a bit viciously while moving forward. As she did, she muttered a spell to mess with the Luna Lens, causing it to malfunction. Then, a nervous-looking A-Spen appeared in front of her.

"Mothership," A-Spen said, looking skyward. "Please!"

"Your Mommyship can't—" Carson was cut off as A-Spen was suddenly beamed onto the ship. Two other similar beams came from behind her, letting her know A-Lan and A-Li were taken as well. "Damn it!"

When the pack returned to Carson, she was still glaring up at where the ship was. Or probably was. It'd been cloaked with the same invisibility tech that A-Spen had used. She was contemplating destroying the entire ship to get to the aliens. But the last thing she wanted was for them to be stranded — she wanted them gone, and they couldn't do that without a ship.

"What now?" Wynter questioned.

Before responding, Carson stomped back to the moonstone and put up a new protection spell, making sure this one was stronger. If someone unwelcome disturbed it, the spell would bind them in place until Carson came along to free them.

"We'll guard the moonstone in shifts," Carson instructed. "Maddox and Wynter, you go first. I'll contact the elders and send one for each shift as well. If they come back, we'll be ready. And if they dare to get off that ship and show their faces at the Cheer Off tomorrow, they'll have to answer to us."

☽︎

Carson didn't go home that night. After hanging around the stone for just a little while longer to be careful, she retreated to the wolf den. With how frustrated she was combined with the way how amped up her magic was because of that, Carson didn't want to be home and risk damaging any furniture or waking up her family while screaming about everything going wrong.

Some of the pack accompanied her, but most went home to get some sleep after a while. But the Lykensens at least stayed with the Great Alpha, there to listen to her ranting, planning, and raging. They could tell that while her day spent with the aliens was mainly about spying, she'd also gotten along with the group. So this betrayal rubbed her especially wrong.

"They came for our moonstone, for Zed's records, for the Cheer Cup, for my class ranking! And after I welcomed them and showed them around. Ugh!" she groaned, pacing around Wyatt's old room.

"At least they lost their only chance. We won't let our guard down again," Willa said, leaning against the wall.

"Someone's guard was a little too down," Wyatt couldn't help but mutter.

Carson stopped her pacing to look at her boyfriend, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry — it sounds like you're implying something."

"Maybe because I am," he said, crossing his arms and refusing to look at Carson. "I'm just saying that you've been a little too welcoming to some of them. Of course, A-Lan got the impression that he could just waltz into town and take what he wants."

Willa sucked in a sharp breath and backed toward the door. "I'm just gonna... go check on the moonstone for a few, uh, hours," she said before slipping out, not wanting to watch them inevitably argue.

"Why does it sound like you're not talking about the moonstone?" Carson asked Wyatt.

"Maybe because I'm not," he said, shrugging. "Did A-Lan tell you that he was in love with you?"

Carson raised an eyebrow, not seeing how this was relevant to the moonstone. "Um, yeah. During practice he gave all these reasons about calculations and evaluations that made him think we were perfect together," she said honestly. "And then I—"

"Do you?" he interrupted. "Think you're perfect together? Or did before he went after the moonstone?"

"Wh — are you being serious?" Carson asked, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. But Wyatt wasn't laughing.

"You spent all day with him, Carson," Wyatt said, scoffing. "And not just to assess him as a threat. Y - you have more in common than we do. He's right about that. Who knows what would've happened if they hadn't tried to go after the stone."

"Um, I know!" she snapped, stomping over to him. "I don't have feelings for A-Lan, you dumbass. I'm in love with you!"

"But what if that changes?" he asked, cutting his eyes to her. "We're all pretending like Addison isn't one lost scholarship away from dumping Zed, and they're in love. So, what happens when you find someone better suited for you? What happens when you decide you don't want forever with me?"

"I'm always going to want forever with you, Wy. You're my mate. You are always the best suited for me," she told him. "And I can't believe that you don't trust me — that you think I'd ever look at someone like I look at you."

"I do trust you, but I'm also not okay with you hanging off a guy that clearly wants you for himself. I'm not okay with you spending all day with him instead of me," he said, raising his voice. "I'm not okay with him coming for what's mine — and I'm not talking about the goddamn moonstone."

"He already did come for me. What do you think I did when he told me that he loved me? Huh? Ran into his arms? Dragged him to the nearest closet to fuck?" she asked, scoffing. A low growl left Wyatt's chest at the mere suggestion. Carson didn't even bother to keep talking. Instead, she turned and began to storm from the room, cursing Wyatt's stupid behavior under her breath.

His tight grip wrapped around her upper arm, pulling her back against his chest. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"I'm going home," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come find me when you can have an actual conversation because this is ridiculous."

"You're not leaving in the middle of this," he said, not letting her go.

"Why?" she asked in a mocking tone. "Scared I'll let A-Lan beam down and take what's yours?"

"You are mine," Wyatt snarled, backing her against a wall. "Not his."

"Then start acting like it," she shot back, narrowing her eyes.

Wyatt kissed her suddenly — angrily — while gripping her hips tightly to keep her in place. Carson grabbed the front of his shirt furiously while kissing back, her magic swirling inside her frantically as a reaction to it and the annoyance she was feeling. He tried quickly to force his tongue in her mouth, but she stubbornly kept her mouth shut. The snarl he let out was muffled by their lips.

Then he moved so swiftly that Carson's head began spinning. One moment she was on her feet, another, he pulled away from the kiss and lifted her, keeping her up with one arm under her ass and pressing her almost too tight against the stone wall that was digging into her back. As Carson wrapped her legs around his hips, Wyatt brought his other hand to her jaw, fingertips grazing her neck, gripping it so tight she wondered if it'd bruise — she wasn't sure she'd complain about it.

They were both breathing heavily as Wyatt pressed his thumb to her bottom lip, and she slowly let him part her lips. His eyes darkened before he leaned in to kiss her once more, not meeting any resistance this time around. Carson tangled her hands in his hair and tugged on it before biting his tongue, causing him to pull back abruptly and glare at her and let her go, dropping her back on her feet. Though his glare didn't pack much weight as his hands moved underneath her cheer skirt, his thumbs rubbing soft circles on the tops of her thighs.

Carson took charge after that, pushing on his broad chest, backing him up until the back of his knees hit the mattress a few feet away. He tumbled back but stayed propped up on his forearms, looking up at Carson as she stood in between his parted legs.

"Let's make one thing clear," she said while moving to straddle him. "I don't kiss A-Lan, and certainly not like that. I don't touch him like this." Carson kissed him again, running her hands down his arms before finding the bottom of his t-shirt, bunching it up, and pushing it over his head, tossing it to the side. Then her fingers trailed down his body, tracing the planes of his tanned torso, loving how the muscles contracted the lower she got.

"Carson," Wyatt finally spoke, his voice low and gravely as he watched her. She tore her eyes away from his chest to look at him.

"Have I made my point yet?" she asked, index finger tracing patterns just under his belly button.

Wyatt found himself shaking his head the slightest bit. "No, not quite yet."

He sat up fully, wrapping his arms around Carson's waist, pulling her flush against him. He only kissed her lips for a few seconds before moving on, placing bruising kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Her eyes fell shut as she got lost in the feeling, moving her hips against his leg for just a brief moment.

"Wyatt," she said, letting out a small whimper. Then she repeated the movement, letting his thigh fall between her legs like it belonged there.

"Mine. You're mine," Wyatt said, teeth nipping at her neck. He'd plead with her if need be to settle this. "I need you to say it."

Carson let out a moan as he dragged her hips, bringing more friction that had her forgetting about everything in the world except for the boy beneath her. "Yours," she murmured, her face finding the crook of his neck, kissing it lightly. "I'm yours. I always have been."

Then Wyatt's hand found her jaw, gentler this time as he guided her to face him, pressing their foreheads together. "Can I keep going?" he asked earnestly, his fingers slipping underneath the hem of her cheer top. Though it felt natural as they worked out their frustrations of the argument, if they went much further, it'd be new territory for both of them.

Carson took a deep breath before nodding. She was the one to move first, covering his still hands with her own and pushing them further up, bringing her top along. He was careful when taking it off, eyes taking in her exposed skin. Wyatt then leaned down and placed a soft kiss just under the band of her bra before looking up at her.

"I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you too. And I don't ever want you to think otherwise," she said softly, pushing a wavy strand of white hair off his forehead. "Got it?"

Wyatt managed his first soft smile since their fight began. "Got it, Princess."

☽︎

The following day was a big day — though perhaps not as big as the night before was for a pair of mates. But they woke up that morning in a tangle of limbs with blissful smiles on their faces. Unfortunately, between guarding the moonstone, tracking the aliens, the Cheer Off, and helping Zed prepare for his home interview, there wasn't much time to, well, have a continuation — not for lack of trying on Wyatt's part. Carson was just glad they both had time to go to their homes and shower afterward, given that half their friends had better senses of smell than the humans and might've picked up on it.

Now, Carson stood at the beach near Zombietown with Wyatt, Willa, and Wynter while Zed sat nervously on a beach chair. He'd been freaking out all morning, and the interviewer was meant to be there in an hour. While Eliza, Bree, and Bonzo were rallying the town for a welcoming committee, they were in charge of helping Zed calm down and making sure he looked presentable. The calming down was proving more difficult than they thought.

"You're making history today, Zed," Wynter said brightly. "First zombie to even interview for college."

Wyatt nodded and pat him on the shoulder. "Hey, you show 'em what monsters can do."

"Right. I am going to slay her with my killer zombie charm," Zed claimed.

Willa nodded encouragingly while grinning, though she didn't believe him for a moment. "Yeah."

"Or not. Probably not," Zed then muttered. "I don't know. We will see."

"We will see when you blow the recruiter away," Carson told him, not a doubt in her mind.

Zed grimaced but before he could continue to ask doubtful questions, Bree and Bonzo ran up, the zombie speaking frantically. "Gur zow."

"What? She's early?" Zed asked in alarm. He quickly sucked in a gulp of air and stood while beginning to walk away. "No way. No way. I'm freaking out — like heart gonna explode from my chest out of stress freaking out. I am not exceptional enough for this."

Wynter ran in front of him and pushed him back to keep him from running. "But you're the best football player I've ever seen."

"And you're so charismatic," Bree added. "You'll be fine!"

"Not if I bomb the interview," he stated, tugging at his hair. "She's gonna see right through me."

"There's nothing to see through. You've helped unite so many creatures," Bree told him softly.

"You have a heart of a wolf," Wyatt said, tapping his chest.

Willa nodded. "And you're a leader."

"I'm still nervous," Zed admitted. While he spoke, Carson began pushing him forward so that he was at least walking toward Zombietown. "I don't know how to prove I deserve this. Carson, everyone is counting on me to be a perfect zombie."

"We're not counting on you to be a perfect zombie — we just want you to be Zed," Carson told him. "And you're enough for all your friends and family. You've just gotta get out of your head. And quickly, because you are right for this scholarship."

"I guess," he muttered. Then Zed shook his head and sighed, seeing the crowd gathered in the streets for him. There were banners with his face on it, and the art club even made a giant, paper mache version of him. "Oh, no way can I live up to that hype."

"You already do," Coach told him, running over with Principal Lee and the Mayor. "Thanks to you, I moved out. Mama lives in my basement now."

"You make her sleep in the basement?" Carson couldn't help but question, getting off-topic for a moment. She couldn't help but picture the older woman having to go up and down those stairs multiple times a day.

"Yeah, I helped the team win, but I've had so many failures," Zed whined.

"But more successes," Mayor Wells reminded him, proud of her daughter's boyfriend.

Zed glanced at all of them and thought it over. "I'm not this great."

"But you are," Lacey said, coming over with the Aceys.

"You changed the whole school," JC reminded him.

"In case you forgot," Stacey finished.

"Unfortunately," Bucky grumbled. But even he was ready to march in the parade.

"You're smart, you work hard. You even speak Zombie, which is a dead language like Latin," Principal Lee added.

They seemed to be getting through to him as he nodded and said, "Yeah. You're right." That was enough to get him walking on his own toward his street. However, when he reached the final corner they had to turn, his feet suddenly felt like they were cemented to the ground. Addison was waiting by the house but began walking over when she saw that he stopped.

"I can't do this," Zed admitted, spotting his approaching girlfriend. He tried to take a step back, but Carson's magic stopped him. "I'm gonna lose the scholarship and I'm gonna lose Addy because I'm not good enough."

"Zed, look at me," Carson said forcefully. As he faced her, she grabbed the sides of his arms tightly. "You are my best friend."

"You're also my best friend. Which is why you're gonna let me flee," he said, nodding frantically.

"No, I'm not. Now, tell me why we're friends."

It took a moment for him to calm down enough and process the deeper question. He tilted his head and examined her, the corners of his lips turning up softly. "You're the first human that ever spoke to me — that saw me as more than a zombie."

"And what I saw was someone exceptional," Carson said gently.

Zed sighed and looked down. "I don't feel exceptional."

"Well, you are. You know how competitive I am, so I simply wouldn't settle for a less-than-stellar best friend. You deserve this, Zed," she insisted. "Don't go into this thinking about what all the other monsters need or what Addison wants from you. Because that's way too much pressure. And know that no matter what happens, you'll still be the Zed we love. You'll still be my best friend. Okay?"

The tension in his shoulders had relaxed during her speech, and he nodded, doing his best to forget about the expectations people had for him. By that time, Addison had reached them.

"Are you ready?" she asked, a hopeful expression on her face.

"Yeah," Zed said, meaning it for the first time while facing her. "I am."

Addison beamed before showing him the flower she had in her hand. She stepped up to tuck it into his blazer. "I believe in you, Zed, and I know you can do this."

"I can do this," he agreed, holding her hand.

With Zed's nerves calmed, the rest of the crowd was ready. Everyone was cheering as the zombie of the hour led them down the street. He was grinning by the time they reached his house, where Zoey and their father were waiting with the recruiter from Mountain College. It was the same woman from the football game.

The woman looked at the amassed crowd, never having seen such a community turn out like this. "What did you do to deserve all of this?" she asked with an amazed smile.

"I have no idea," he admitted, letting out a chuckle. Then he looked at Eliza's robot, who did most of this organizing even from far away. "Thank you."

"Progress for you is progress for us all," she reminded him.

"Proud of you, Zed!" one of the cheerleaders yelled from the back of the crowd.

"Why don't you join us to start?" the recruiter then asked, looking at Addison. "I understand you've already been accepted." Addison nodded happily.

"Let's go inside," Zevon offered excitedly, leading them up the front steps while everyone kept cheering.

Carson clapped excitedly until the door was shut. Then she took a deep breath and showed how nervous she actually was. It wasn't because she didn't think Zed was exceptional. She just knew how outsiders still viewed zombies and other creatures, and there was no telling if the recruiter would let her fear and bias keep him from coming to college.

While many kept cheering, Carson moved to the side and leaned against the side of Zevon's car, simply watching the door. But her concentration was quickly broken when Wyatt came to stand in front of her.

"What you said really helped him," Wyatt told her, smiling. Then he stepped in between her parted legs and placed his hands on her hips. "You're perfect." Whether he did it on purpose or not, his words had Carson's cheeks heating up as a memory flashed through her mind.

"You're perfect," Wyatt grunted in her ear, moving at a steady pace that had Carson seeing stars and gripping his shoulders so hard there'd be marks in the morning. "So good for me — taking me so well."

Based on the look in his eyes, Carson gathered that he knew exactly what she was thinking of. "You're horrible," she murmured, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah?" he asked with a sly smirk. Then he leaned down to kiss her slowly, making her melt in her arms.

When he pulled away, she found herself trying to chase after him. "No," she said against his lips. She ran a hand through his hair before bringing him into another kiss. Carson simply couldn't get enough of him after last night, her mind and body burning any time she thought about how he touched her and looked at her as if he was memorizing a work of art.

"Excuse you, this is a family-friendly event!" Bucky snapped, stomping over to the couple. Carson groaned and pulled away from Wyatt to face her brother. "And just where were you last night? I know you didn't come home." He was — rightfully so — glaring at Wyatt, not bothering to hide the underlying accusation.

"Buck, the aliens tried to mess with the moonstone last night," she said, not actually lying to him. "I stayed up late to help guard it and then crashed at the den."

"And was wolf boy with you? Because he wasn't at his apartment when I was trying to find you this morning before you got home," he said, crossing his arms.

Wyatt glared at Willa over Bucky's shoulder since she didn't bother to cover for him. His sister simply smirked, feeling it was adequate payback for what they'd done in the den while everyone else was worried about the moonstone. Yes, she'd come back a few hours later figuring they were done fighting, only to run away when she heard them definitely not fighting for who knows how many times.

"Go away, Bucky," Carson said stubbornly. "Bully my squad to motivate them for the Cheer Off tonight or something."

"That does sound fun," he had to admit. But then he shook his head. "But as a good big brother, I must put my foot down and demand—"

A scream cut Bucky off, as well as everyone still cheering excitedly for Zed in his interview.

Everyone grew quiet as the recruiter ran out of the Necrodopolis house, whimpering about zombies as she ran. Zed rushed out a moment later, followed by his family and Addison, who was wearing rubber gloves for some reason.

"Wait! Please," he called, getting the recruiter to stop. She did pause but didn't dare come closer after whatever happened in the house. Zed sighed heavily before looking back nervously at his friends. Addison gave him an encouraging nod.

"Look, I know that I'm different," Zed began, speaking as calmly as he could to the recruiter. "But aren't all exceptional people? My people, we can change things, and what we are is amazing — not cursed. I am exceptional, but so are all of my family and friends." At that, he looked back again and smiled. "We are artists, athletes, activists, and so many other exceptional things who give our best. And we don't have to fit in or conform to human society to do that. We're proud of that. I'm proud of that."

The recruiter looked from Zed to the other monsters and back again, taking his words to heart. "We'll take that into consideration," she said, her fear beginning to fade.

Now, they just had to hope it was enough to let him into Mountain College.