A/N:

PLEASE AT LEAST READ THIS PART! The main reason I've updated is to tell you guys two things: 1.) No, this story has not been abandoned 2.) BUT there are no longer two authors of this story. Unfortunately, my writing partner can't work on this story anymore, so it's just me now. That being said, please stop asking her about this story on tumblr. As hilarious as it is (to me), it's probably more efficient for you guys to direct all questions at me. Also, my tumblr URL has changed since I last updated and you can now find me at ohbrosey.

Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way.. umm hi? Should we just ignore the fact that I didn't update for six months? Yep, let's do that.

No, seriously though, I am SO SORRY about not updating. I've had some serious health scares in the last six months, which delayed me being able to update. To be honest though, I've had this chapter written for about three months. However, I just really wasn't happy with it, or where the story was going. I finally decided to just publish it, anyways.

SO, I want to hear from you guys if you like where the story is going. What do you want to see? More of the pack? More action? More romance? More werewolf-y stuff? You can respond in reviews, or even go to my tumblr (I'll respond much faster on tumblr).

FINALLY, thanks to everyone that's continued to stick with this story and ask about updates, etc THANK YOU. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for actually caring. Like that concept is baffling to me. THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU.

"I really can't staay... I've got to go awaay..." Kurt hummed-sang as he sat in his and Blaine's bathroom (was it okay to call it his bathroom at this point?) drying his hair. It was the morning after the formal and Kurt was pretty blissed out. The dance had been fantastic. Kurt had gotten a tour of Dalton, which was absolutely beautiful by the way, and he'd gotten to meet some of the non-lycanthropic members of the Warblers, who seemed incredibly nice. None of them looked at him or Blaine strangely when they had posed for their picture (even when Blaine had pulled him in for a long, possessive kiss for the second one). Blaine had held him close the entire night and neither of them had gotten any trouble for it. It was just really nice to have a reprieve from all of the hate. It made Kurt happy.

Not to mention the incredibly hot, shirtless make-out session they had had when they got back home that was still making Kurt all tingly and giddy.

So, yeah, he was humming Christmas tunes, sue him.

"There's bound be talk tomorrow.."

"THINK ABOUT LIFE LONG SORROW"

The hair dryer clattered to the ground, hopefully obscuring the sound of Kurt's squeak. "Oh my god, Blaine. Are you ever going to stop doing that?"

"Nope," Blaine came behind Kurt to wrap his arms around his waist and nuzzle into his neck, "It's for your own good, you have to be prepared for anything."

"Really? That's the excuse you are going with? No one is going to kidnap me, Blaine. The only I could ever see doing that is you, honey."

"It can't be kidnapping if you want to be in my arms baby," Blaine joked as started walking over to the shower, stripping off his long-sleeved T-shirt as he went. He got rid of his undershirt as well as he turned the faucet to hot.

"Uhhh, Blaine, what are you doing..?"

"Taking a shower before our Convention training sessio- oh crap, sorry. I can wait." Blaine turned his back to Kurt to reach for his shirt again.

It took Kurt a couple seconds to register all of what Blaine had said (it was the damn birthmark on the back of Blaine's neck again. God, he couldn't keep his eyes, or lips he had learned last night, off of it. It was like it changed every time he saw it, always capturing his unshakable interest. Blaine was hot, okay? Kurt shouldn't be judged).

"Uhmm, Blaine?" Blaine looked back from his attempt to scamper out of the bathroom, "Our convention training?"

"Oh, er, I told you about that right? How mom and Dad need to go over protocol with us for the convention? It's not a big deal, they make me do it every year, but..." Blaine trailed off at Kurt's raised eyebrow. "I didn't tell you?"

"Uhh.. Sorry?" Blaine tried.

"Really, Blaine? How is it that you forget to tell me everything? FIrst the dance, then that thing about Brenna's tomato allergy? Jesus Blaine, I thought I had killed her! I didn't even know werewolves could have allergies!"

"You're very distracting," Blaine pouted.

Kurt shook his head, trying valiantly to maintain his glare through Blaine's adorable confused-disappointed expression. No one was surprised when he ended up cracking under the pressure.

Kurt sighed long-sufferingly and walked over to his mate, "Worst boyfriend ever," Kurt accused as he wrapped himself up in Blaine's arms again.

"Mmm, you didn't think that last night when I had you-"

"Blaine Everett Anderson, I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you."

Kurt jumped back into Blaine.

"Mom!" Blaine complained, "You can't just- I mean, we weren't- but still."

Mrs. Anderson laughed as she went to pick up the hamper full of (Kurt's) towels and picked some more (Blaine's) up off the bathroom floor. She smiled at Kurt, "You ready for your first training session this morning, hun?"

"Erhmm."

"Blaine forgot to tell him, Julienne," Mr. Anderson joined them in the bathroom.

"You were listening," Blaine protested. "I can't get any freaking privacy..." Blaine muttered.

"No, I just know my son," Mr. Anderson smile and Blaine grumbled.

"Could you all get out of my bathroom now, please? I'm kinda trying to take a shower here," Blaine continued to be grumpy. The other three laughed and retreated.

Well, Kurt tried to retreat, but Blaine grabbed him around the middle. "Actually, you can stay," he whispered into Kurt's ear. He let his hand wander down to Kurt's ass.

Mr. Anderson's head popped back around the bathroom door, "Blaine, you don't get to complain about privacy if you don't try to at least wait until we're out of your room." Kurt yelped and jumped away from Blaine, blushing a heated red.

Mr. Anderson chuckled and waved Kurt out of the bathroom, "Come on, Kurt. The Mrs and I can start your training while Can't-Keep-His-Hands-To-Himself over there takes a cold shower."

Charles led his still-blushing beta down the stairs- only pausing to break up a fight between a shaking Nick and a trembling Brenna, the two blondes would be the death of him- and into one of the least-used family rooms where the four of them would have their training.

Kurt sat down gingerly on the loveseat as Charles took the seat next to his mate on the sofa. The young beta stared at the floor, biting his lip. His heart was still racing and his breathing was shallow, nervous. Before Charles could do anything, Julienne took charge. She always did have better reaction time then the alpha.

"Kurt, sweetheart, you don't have to be anxious. You're not in trouble."

"I know," Kurt mumbled, "You two are just sort of scary together," he kept his gaze down, embarrassed.

Charlie and Julienne couldn't help but grin at each other.

Kurt glanced up and smiled back, "I'm not really used to the whole 'domination-pheromones' thing yet."

The alpha leaned forward, "Kurt, that's actually why we wanted to talk to you separately from Blaine. We wanted to warn you about what exactly you might experience at the Convention. It's going to be a very different situation from what you are used to, even among our own pack dynamics."

Kurt was looking up attentively now. Julienne grabbed Charlie's hand and picked up where he left off, "Kurt, sweetheart, we just want to warn you about what you and Blaine might feel at the Convention. You are going to feel closer, Blaine is going to be much more protective that he's been, for a good reason. The presence of so many other wolves may... speed up your relationship quite a bit."

Kurt looked up, confused, "Umm, this is starting to veer close to "sex talk" territory, and I have to tell you that my Dad already beat you to the punch the first night he met Blaine. He's proactive like that," Kurt tried to chuckle but found that he was still a little too nervous to find any of this funny.

Charlie grinned, he liked Burt. The guy always looked out for his family, always did right by them. They had that in common. "No, it's not a sex talk," he reassured and Kurt relaxed a bit. "We just want you to know what to expect from the Convention." Kurt nodded slowly, "Blaine's instincts will be magnified tenfold with so many other wolves around, foreign wolves at that. Despite being human, you are probably going to respond to that without knowing it, even."

"It could be dangerous, sweetie," Julienne offered gently, "Blaine's going to be very protective, territorial even. Especially around wolves that could possibly be a threat."

"A threat?" Kurt was starting to give off waves of nerves now, of fear. Charlie could hear his son shifting restlessly upstairs.

"Can you just- just tell me exactly what you mean? What's going to happen?"

Charlie nodded and started in on his speech, "Not all Packs are like ours, Kurt. Some of them are much more... primal. They don't operate the same way we do, the way most of us do. They give into their baser instincts. They take things just for taking, let their territorialism rule over their more human side."

Kurt nodded, "Okay, I can deal with that. I mean, territory and treaties are more what you guys are going to deal with, right?"

Charlie nodded in agreement, "No, the debates aren't something you have to worry about or participate in. You and Blaine won't need to worry about land treaties for awhile. But... that's not the only thing wolves are territorial over. That's not the only thing the more traditional packs are after," Charlie glanced protectively over at Julienne and Kurt suddenly got it.

"Oh.. betas.. they'll be after betas. Which means they'll be after me..?" Now Kurt's fear was flooding out of him, he was starting to panic. Charlie could hear Blaine struggling to shower more quickly so he could get to his mate.

Julienne was beside Kurt on the couch, clutching his hand. "Yes, honey, I'm so sorry. No one want to make you feel like property. It's a horrible feeling, trust me. It's something all betas go through."

Charlie walked slowly over to his two betas, his mate and someone he was quickly coming to consider a son. He sat down on the other side of Kurt and lifted a hand to lay on his shoulder. "No one here considers you property, Kurt, let me make that very clear. We all clearly see you and Blaine as equals, because you are equals. Most packs run that way, but there are a select few that don't, and you need to be aware of that, especially because you're human."

Kurt hunched even more at that and Charlie quickly tried to reassure him, "You're not a weaker person for being human, Kurt. You are still a part of this pack, we need you, and being human doesn't change that. But, it does make you weaker, physically, that's just a fact. I never have to be too worried about someone taking Julienne from me, because it would be two against one in any fight to try to separate us. She can fight with me."

"And kick ass at that," Julienne muttered. Kurt gave a watery giggle and leaned his head against her shoulder. She put arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

"No doubt about that," Charlie smiled. "The point is that everyone will know how hard it will be to take Julienne from me, so it's not likely that they'll try. But you and Blaine are an easy target. You can't do much to defend yourself, and Blaine is still pretty young. A more experienced wolf could beat him pretty easily."

"But can't you guys help him? You wouldn't let them take me, would you?" Kurt's voice grew smaller, but his eyes never wavered from Charlie's.

"Of course we wouldn't, Kurt. We love you, Blaine loves you, the whole pack would be ripped apart if you were taken. But, these fights tend to go down very quickly, and we can't protect you and Blaine 24/7."

"What do we do then? What can I do?" Kurt wiped his eyes and sat up. "I'm not going to be ripped away from my pack," he said fiercely. He paused and looked down again, "I-I can't be away from Blaine. I... I'm never going to say good bye to him," he whispered.

"You won't have to, Kurt. We won't let that happen. We just need you to be safe, and that's what your training will be for. You'll work with Julienne so that you can recognize and steer clear of any wolf that might be trying to lay claim to you. It's really only a matter of making sure you stay away from the wrong people."

"Okay," Kurt nodded, "I can do that. I just..." he trailed off and shook his head like he was getting rid of a thought.

"Kurt, son, you can say what's on your mind. What's worrying you?"

"I don't want to just be, like, dragged around at this thing. I don't want to be useless."

"I wouldn't worry about that, sweetheart," Julienne cut in again. "You'll learn so much during the Convention if you just pay attention. You'll never be useless to our pack."

"You don't even have to pay attention if Blaine is any example to go by," Charlie snorted. "If anyone's useless at these things, it's him."

"Hey! I resent that! I'm plenty useful!" Blaine protested, making his way into the room. His hair was still wet and his clothes were a little awry, like he'd thrown them on as quickly as possible. Kurt breathed in and smiled. He smelled so good even from here. His normal Christmas scent was magnified tenfold by the impending holiday and his mixed perfectly with his cinnamon body wash. Blaine plopped onto the back of the couch so that he could be near Kurt. His parents got up so that they could sit next to each other. Blaine slithered down and pulled Kurt into his lap.

"How're you? They didn't torture you too bad did they?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Oh no, Blaine it was horrible, I'm just so glad you came and rescued me."

Blaine hugged him closer, "I'll always rescue you, babe," he said quietly. And then more loudly, "Even from the most evil, horrendous, horrible foes, like my paren-"

"Alright that's enough out of you two, separate. Blaine, you're with me. Kurt, with Julienne.

Both boys groaned, but went their separate ways.

The days leading up to Christmas passed quickly. Between Convention training, the pack, last minute Christmas shopping, and each other, Kurt and Blaine were booked every second of every day.

Kurt's training was coming along pretty well. Julienne taught him about all the packs that would be at the Convention, focusing more specifically on those packs that could be a danger to him. Then they went over all the ways not to attract unwanted attention.

"Anyone who would want to take you isn't going to want a strong mate. They aren't going to want someone that can stand up to them. It's important to remain calm even when you're intimidated."

Kurt nodded from his spot across the kitchen counter from Julienne, he was taking down notes to study later.

"That means no looking down if you're nervous, Kurt. I know that's your automatic reaction but we are going to have to train that out of you," she said sternly.

"Alright, I can do that. Hmmm, maybe I'll just go back to my old school and stare down the football team."

"Not a chance in hell!" Blaine yelled from the next room where his father was trying to at least make him absorb a fraction of the werewolf histories. Kurt laughed when he heard Charlie slap his son upside the head and another "Will you pay attention to me for five minutes!" Kurt's competitive side was a little smug about how much better his training was going than Blaine's.

"I'll think you'll be fine with just thinking about it a little more actively," Mrs. Anderson drew Kurt's attention back to her. "There is something else, though, that I think might take a little more, er, practice."

"Oh, god, what is it? That sounds foreboding"

Mrs. Anderson giggled, "Well, sweetheart, it's not a bad thing, but I do notice you have a tendency to, umm, blush a little bit more than the average person."

Kurt let his head thud to the counter, "Ughhhhhh. How am I supposed to control that! It's involuntary!" Julienne patted his head kindly, "We'll figure something out, sweety."

"Just keep Blaine all up on him," Seb was suddenly in the kitchen and heading straight for the gigantic pantry.

"Yeah," Wes interjected from the fridge, "I mean, if he's always blushing they won't be able to tell the difference."

"Yeah, they'll just think he has a sunburn or something!" Nick supplied helpfully.

"Guys! Come one!" Jeff was said from beside Kurt, "He's been getting much better!"

"Thanks Jeff," Kurt mumbled dejectedly into his notes.

But Jeff continued, "I mean, it's only when Blaine really gropes him that he actually gets like super red. Oh never mind, he's doing it again..."

"That can't be healthy, Kurt, I can like feel the heat coming off your body," David cocked his head to the side.

"I hate you guys so much right now," Kurt spoke into his notes once more.

"Alright! That's enough. You five can go make sure the Descendants are doing okay wrapping presents. Wes and Nick, you guys make sure the girls keep the glitter to a minimum. Sebastian, you get to wrangle the twins. Don't give me that look, the only present they've actually managed to wrap is yours. Jeff and David, Jace and Lizzie are all done but Jace has lost his glasses again, so go help him look. She cocked her head towards the upper floor, oh and David, grab a bandaid for Jace, he gave himself a paper cut."

"Make sure it's a Harry Potter one," Kurt mumbled with his head still resting on the table.

When they had all trooped upstairs Mrs. Anderson turned back to Kurt. "Dear, we'll figure something out. It's probably not even a big deal, I just want to make sure all of our bases are covered. Let's just focus on something else for now. How about... oh yes! Neck coverage! You don't want to bear your neck to anyone by accident. How do you think we should work around that?"

Kurt perked up at that, "Scarves!" he said excitedly, "I will definitely need to go scarf shopping!"

Mrs. Anderson laughed, "I'll tell you what, why don't we take a break and you and Blaine can go shopping? You can get your scarves and I know Blaine isn't done with his Christmas shopping yet."

Kurt started to agree but was cut off my an "I like that plan!" from the other room. Kurt rolled his eyes as Blaine and Mr. Anderson came into the room.

"Julienne! He's not done yet! He can't take a break if he hasn't even started." Charlie protested.

"Awww, Come on, Dad! You know I already know that stuff. Kurt and I haven't been out in ages!"

"Blaine you have to start taking this stuff seriously," Mr. Anderson said weakly.

"I am, Dad, I am! Let me go out and I swear you'll have my full attention for like three hours when we get back. I promise!" Blaine wheedled.

Mr. Anderson looked down at Blaine Kurt, both with litter hopeful, eager smiles on their faces. Blaine whispered to Kurt and then they both threw in a pouty face for good measure. "Oh hell, fine! But you guys have 3 hours! That's it. Get in, buy your stuff, get out."

"Thanks Daddyyyyyyyy!" Blaine grinned and he was quickly pulling Kurt outside to the garage at as fast as he could get his human mate to go.

Charlie leaned against the wall and let his head thud back, he looked lazily over to his giggling wife. "They are going to be such a handful at the Convention," he groaned.

"Yeah," she agreed, leaning next to him and resting her head against his shoulder, "But they're worth it."

"Yeah," he sighed quietly, "Worth it."

When they got to the mall, Kurt immediately pulled Blaine into Nordstrom's to look for scarves.

"You don't really have shopping left to do, do you?" Kurt asked without looking up from the stack of scarves he was sorting through.

"Ummm..." Blaine supplied as an answer.

"Blaine! It's Christmas Eve! When were you planning on doing it?"

"I don't know!I don't have that much left! I just have two left to get! I just can't think of anything..."

Kurt sighed, shaking his head, "Who do you have left?"

"Jace and Seb," Blaine admitted, "They're kinda hard to shop for on Christmas.

"Why?" Kurt asked curiously, "Just get Jace a book and Sebastian a movie or something. They're easy."

"It's not... Kurt they're not actually that easy on Christmas. It's kind of a hard day for them. You can't get them anything that... triggers them."

Kurt looked up from the scarves now and came to stand by Blaine, "Why? What happened on Christmas?"

"It's nothing something happened on Christmas. It just kind of- It reminds them of their Father, Kurt. It reminds them of their old life, before we found them. I just.. I hate them having to relive that." Kurt took his hand to urge him to continue, "Christmas was the one day they actually enjoyed at home when they lived with their father. According to Seb, it was the one day their dad actually put down his phone and paid them some attention. Christmas is always tough for them. Reminding Jace of those times with his father makes him miss him. I don't think he ever really got how much of a-a horrible guy their father really is. He usually spends Christmas ping-ponging between re-living those days and trying to stay in the present, with us. It's like he's stuck between being happy and depressed all day. It's horrible, Kurt."

"That's so sad," Kurt frowned

"And it's even worse for Seb. He spends the whole day trying to take care of Jace, trying to make him forget their old life, but he can't even forget it himself. He tries so hard trying not to think about it, that he ends up thinking about it all day. We try to distract them... but sometimes it just doesn't work."

"That's terrible," Kurt eyes were sad, so Blaine pulled him closer.

"Well," Kurt pulled away and put his game face on, "We'll just have to find the absolute perfect presents for them, then! Come on, we have barely two hours left before Charlie said we have to be home." Kurt was already striding out of the store.

"Kurt, wait! What about your scarves?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Blaine, you've seen my closet, do you think I really need any more scarves?"

Blaine hurried out of the store and after his mate.

They returned from their shopping trip exhausted, but happy with their purchases. Kurt had of course dragged them to every shop in the mall- except The Gap because some curly-haired snob had been paying way too much attention to Blaine, plus The Gap was way too predictable- and they ended up standing in line to get a picture with Santa just for the hell of it.

As promised, Blaine spent the following three hours locked up in his father's study trying to cram as much history into his brain as possible. Kurt had joined him after the first hour and tutored him in the subjects he had already perfected through his own study to I've Charlie a break. They had actually gotten a lot done in those two hours. True, they had spent a good portion of the time making out, but Blaine still learned a lot regardless.

Later that night, Kurt and Blaine were snuggled in bed, exchanging soft kisses and nuzzles in the dark.

"Hnnng," Blaine made a noise when Kurt's lips found his neck, "Oh my god, Kurt! This is why I can never pay attention during training, it's all your fault!"

Kurt pulled back and pushed Blaine lightly in the shoulder, "Don't blame me for your absolute inability to pay attention! You were neglecting your werewolf studies long before I came along, mister." Kurt shifted so that his head was resting on Blaine's chest again. "You know, you better start actually paying attention to those, or I'm going to show you up in training too, and then I'll be better than you at everything," Kurt teased.

"Yeah, right!" Blaine slipped them onto their sides and cupped his hands on either side of Kurt's face, "I heard a certain someone is finding it hard to control their... instincts." Right on cue, Kurt's cheeks started to warm beneath Blaine's hands.

Kurt glared, "Blaine I can't help it! You try willing your blood to go a certain direction! And don't you dare make a sexual pun! This is serious!"

Blaine chuckled anyway but reassured Kurt, "I know, I know. It's something we have to work on to make you safe. And I know just how we're gonna do that." He flipped them again so that Kurt was on his back with Blaine hovering over him.

"Oh my god, what are you doing you doofus!" Kurt tried to playfully shove him off again, but it had no effect on Blaine.

"Making you blush," Blaine whispered and then went for the softest part of Kurt's neck, in the curve of his collarbone.

Kurt melted back into the pillows as soon as Blaine's lips made contact with his skin, and when they started moving down towards, as per usual, his whole body began to heat up. He hardly registered anything, though, because Blaine had just nipped right in the dip of his collarbone and his stupid mate knew exactly what that did to him, damn.

"Kurt, you have to control it," Blaine whispered, pulling away so that his lips were just barely brushing Kurt's neck. "I'm not moving until you control it."

"Ohmygod, I hate you so much," Kurt breathed out.

"No you don't," Blaine's lips were now brushing against Kurt's shoulder as he skimmed his nose up and down the curve. "Focus, Kurt."

Kurt took a deep breath, trying to will his blush to go down, he continued the deep breathes for
all of thirty seconds before he got frustrated. "It's not working, Blaine!" he whined.

Blaine pulled completely back now. He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, "You just need to think of the opposite of whatever makes you blush. When do you blush the most?

Kurt pushed his forehead against Blaine's arm, "I don't know, umm, when I get embarrassed I guess. Like when everyone's attention is on me and I'm not prepared for it. It makes me... uncomfortable."

"Alright," Blaine nuzzled into Kurt's chest this time, "Then think of a place where you're most comfortable. Maybe someplace that's not particularly warm though, should help you cool off."

"Okay..." Kurt trailed off, thinking. "Got it!" he said after a couple of minutes.
"Well...?" Blaine asked expectantly.

"Oh, right," Kurt laughed, "The full moon night, before everyone came out of the house. When it was just you and me... I was tucked between you and the snow. Can't get much more comfortable or colder than that."

Well," Blaine said, pushing himself up, "Shall we test it out," he brought his lips back down to Kurt.

"Go for it," Kurt challenged, "I got this."

Blaine and Kurt woke up, rather uncharacteristically, before anyone else on Christmas Day.

"Time is it?" Kurt slurred, burrowing further into Blaine's chest.

Blaine attempted to look at his alarm without removing his nose from Kurt's hair and failed. "Four in the morning," he said before diving back into his mate's warmth.

Kurt giggled and petted Blaine's hair. "Then why the hell are we awake? I don't hear anyone else?" Kurt said uncertainly.

"Naw," Blaine spoke with his eyes closed, "Dad always goes all alpha on the Descendents and Wes to make sure they actually sleep the night before Christmas. We have a rule that no one can get up and go downstairs before 5 am or else the Elders have to spend all night keeping them away from the tree."

"Got it," Kurt nodded. He snuggled into Blaine and tried to let sleep reclaim him but he was restless after a few minutes.

"Blaaaaaaaaaine," he whined, "I can't sleeeeeeeep."

Blaine sighed and rolled over onto his back. "I know," he turned his head to gaze at Kurt, "me neither."

Kurt grinned and pounced on Blaine who received him with an obviously fake "oof!" Kurt smacked a kiss to Blaine lips and planted his chin on his mate's chest, grinning at him like an idiot.

Blaine stared into the steely blue pools of Kurt's eyes and couldn't help but grin right back.

"It's our first Christmas together."

Kurt placed a kiss right over Blaine's heart, "The first of many."

They were inevitably 'woken up' (They had been making out when an unsuspecting Jace had walked in and Blaine was forced to smother a giggling a Kurt into the pillow and make exaggerating breathing noises until Jason walked over to nudge them 'awake') and dragged out of their cocoon of blankets at five.

By the time they actually got downstairs- Blaine had chased Kurt around for a good twenty minutes trying to get him to put on a Christmas sweater- Christmas morning was in full swing. The Elders were putting the finishing touches on breakfast while the rest of the pack rampaged around the kitchen and sorted through their stockings.

Kurt had expected the house to look like it was plucked right out of a holiday special during Christmas time. The pack was enough of a warm, happy, rather large family that they could easily fit into a holiday rom-com. He should have factored in the whole werewolf-thing though because the house did not meet his expectations. No, by far, it had exceeded them.

There was no other way to describe the decorations other than it looked like the house had been dropped into Santa's enchanted forest and then someone had kicked all the walls down. Instead of bright sparkly lights, soft glowing candles illuminated the tree on the dark Christmas morning. Instead of fake, plastic wreaths and garlands, fresh plants and berries danced their way through the house. "They smell better," Blaine had explained when the pack had started decorating in early December, "it kinda ruins the Christmas mood when your nose it attacked by the smell of plastic every time you walk inside." The only modern looking decorations were hand-made. Homemade ornaments with too much sparkle weighed down the gigantic Christmas tree.

Blaine led Kurt by the hand into the largest living room where everyone's stockings were hung along the walls on wooden pegs. Blaine handed his mate a dark red stocking with green cursive 'Kurt' sewn into it.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS BLAINERS!" Wes sang loudly at Blaine as he jammed an elf hat onto his head. He tried to do the same to Kurt but he dodged out of the way.

"No no no, you're not ruining my hair for the entire day, Wes."

"C'mon Kurtsie! It's CHRISTMAAAAAASSS! Everyone's wearing one! Pweaaaasse!" Wes begged. He turned Kurt around by the shoulders to face Blaine, "Plus look at your adorable elf-boyfriend. You two lovebirds can't be two different species, it just wouldn't be right."

"We already are technically are two different species, Wes," Kurt sighed as he tugged a hat out of Wes's grip and set it primly on his head."

"Ooooh, kinky," Seb sauntered up to them. "Breakfast is ready for eating if Blaine wants to stop stuffing his face with chocolate." Sebastian slung an arm around Blaine's shoulders and started walking him to the dining room as Wes and Kurt followed behind them.

"Oh, like you ever stop eating!" Blaine challenged with a grin.

"Yeah, whatever.." Sebastian muttered. His smirk faded.

Kurt looked to Wes in concern and saw Wes's atypical frown. Wes gave Kurt a sad, knowing little smile before plastering a smile on his face and jumping on Sebastian.

"Come on, Seb! Let's go frame the twins for something, I don't want to have to do the dishes." Sebastian snorted and agreed.

Kurt stepped up and took Blaine's hand as Seb and Wes took off ahead of them. "I get what you mean," Kurt whispered sadly. Blaine nodded, "We can distract him," he said determinedly, "this year's gonna be a good Christmas for them."

Kurt placed a small kiss the Blaine's cheek and they entered the dining room.

After breakfast- well, after Wes and the twins had washed all the dishes after breakfast- the pack piled into the living room to open presents. Kurt wasn't too surprised to find that the Descendants had already half-demolished the living room by the time he and Blaine walked in.

"Kurt, I think this one's yours!" Amy shouted and she lightly tossed Kurt a parcel. Blaine snagged it out of the air instead and gave Kurt a cheeky smile. "You know, I could have caught that," Kurt glared.

"Oh, I know," Blaine said faux-casually, "This is a special present though, and I wanted to deliver it personally." Blaine presented the package with a flourish.

Kurt rolled his eyes and took it from him. He checked the tag, "Blaine this isn't even from you, it's from your parents," Kurt said.

"Doesn't make it any less special," Blaine murmured with a smile in his voice. He pulled Kurt down onto his lap so Kurt could finish opening the present.

"Umm Blaine," he said nervously when he pulled a ring out of a box, "This looks an awful lot like an engagement ring and oh my god why are your parents giving it to me?" He was in a bit of a panic by the time he'd finished.

Kurt pulled a shining silver ring out of the tiny box it was nestled into. Only then did he notice the thin chain that was already looped around it.

"It's not an engagement ring," Blaine said quietly. He had his own, similiar looking present on his lap now. He tore off the paper and suddenly he was holding an almost identical ring on a chain. The only difference was that Blaine's ring was gold.

Charlie came to sit next to the couple. "It's a pack tradition," Charlie reached inside his t-shirt and pulled out a ring identical to Blaine's. "To symbolize the bond between alphas and betas."

Blaine hooked his chin over Kurt's shoulder so that he could see his father better. Kurt stared down at his hands in wonder, fiddling with his ring.

"It's important for both of you boys to realize that you're not just a couple, you're a team. You're relationship has to go deeper than Blaine and Kurt. It's also a relationship between an alpha and a beta. And that's one you have to nurture in a different way."

Kurt and Blaine nodded, both staring at their rings now. Charlie patted each of them on the shoulder as he got up to leave, "Love you boys, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," they said in sync. Charlie smiled at how couple-y they were and walked to the tree to dole out more presents.

"Here," Blaine said, quiet again. He took Kurt's ring out of his hands and deftly fastened the chain around his neck. Kurt clutched the ring to his chest before tucking it beneath his shirt like he'd seen Charlie do.

"Come on," Kurt hopped up and led Blaine to the tree, "I want to watch Wes's face when he sees what David got him."

"What?" Wes's head popped out from behind the tree (Kurt had no idea what he was doing there, but he wasn't going to comment) "David what did you do?" He started frantically looking through the sea of ripped paper and still-wrapped boxes underneath the tree. Wes's mom shouted him to be careful of the candles on the tree because "no one wanted a repeat of Christmas 2003." Again, Kurt didn't ask.

David snickered, "What? You don't want my present Wessy? I promise it's something you wanted, at least it's something you researched quite a bit-"

"I was curious!" Wes tackled David right into the pile of boxes Teddy and Alex were trying to built a fort with so that they could shoot people with their new nerf guns. They shrugged when it all came crashing down and shot at the wrestling heirs instead.

Kurt giggled and searched the pile for his present for Jace. He had gotten him a Hufflepuff scarf and cloak (they had already had a very long talk about House equality and Hufflepuff discrimination) and he couldn't wait to see his face.

There were really too many presents to sort through on his own though. He looked over his shoulder to ask Blaine for help, but Blaine was leaving the room rather quickly and heading towards the front of the house.

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and followed.

He heard murmured voices up ahead and walked a bit faster.

"Sir, I would love to invite you into my home, but I don't think it's the best time for you to be here. You should have called ahead, they need to be prepared for something like this," Kurt heard Charlie's voice.

"And you need to get out of my way before I report you." The voice was threatening. It wasn't angry, it wasn't sad. It was utterly emotionless except for the clearly intended menace.

Kurt rounded the corner and saw Charlie, Blaine, and David's father all blocking a stranger from view. Charlie was trying to push Blaine slightly behind him. No one noticed Kurt's presence, or if they did, they chose to ignore it.

Suddenly Sebastian was pushing past Kurt. All four men whipped around to face him and the man finally came into view. Kurt finally got a glimpse of him and apparently so did Sebastian. He started shouting.

"No! No, you get the fuck out. Leave! You can't be here! Get out!"

Sebastian was near hysterics but the stranger just stared at him. Kurt grabbed Sebastian up before he could a.) lunge at the man or b.) collapse to the floor. Both seemed just as likely as the other.

"Sebastian," Kurt said into his shoulder, "Who is he?" Kurt knew the answer of course, but he needed confirmation.

Kurt wasn't sure if Sebastian was growling or crying or a mixture of both when he spoke the words "My father."

Jason is stuck in his room. He's sitting on his bed with the rest of the Descendants piled all around him. Teddy and Alex are on his right side. He's leaning against Teddy, knees pulled up to his chest, chin tucked against them. He feels like he's about to burst at the seams.

Brenna, Amy, and Jessie are sitting on the floor facing him. They're in what they like to call Power Gossip Mode, but is really just them trying to act like teenagers. In this case, they're just trying to drown out the muffled (to Jason) noises of arguing downstairs. Jace appreciates it, but it's unnecessary. Everything is just white noise to him right now anyhow.

Lizzie is on his other side, holding his hand. She occasionally toddles up to her feet to she can reach the top of Jace's head to pat him. She's trying to reassure him but every stroke of her fingers through his hair feels like she's pulling a bow tauter and tauter and he's just waiting for the string to snap.

He squeezes her hand, tight, and hopes he doesn't explode.

In Blaine's room the tension is just as high, but the bomb's already gone off.

"He can't be here," Sebastian pulls at his hair for the hundredth time since his father showed up. Usually the silky-locks just slide through his fingers but the abuse has made it coarse, static.

He's been pacing between the bathroom and the door since Charlie told everyone to go upstairs. He keeps reaching for the doorknob but he can't bring himself to defy Charlie's order to stay upstairs.

Blaine and Kurt are sitting close together on the bed. Blaine is so close to using his alpha voice. He wants to calm Seb down, get him to relax for just one minute so to give someone, anyone, the chance to tell him that it's going to be alright.

But Blaine won't use the alpha voice. Mostly because he doesn't actually know if it's going to be alright.

The rest of the Heirs are scattered around. David and Wes have taken to guarding the door. Jeff and Nick are on the couch, they're leaning against each other.

No one but Sebastian speaks.

"Why is he here, though? It's been two years! On Christmas? Like, does the man not know what day it is?! How did he even find us? He can't be here." Sebastian pauses for a moment when he reaches the bed and Kurt looks up hopefully. He tries to reach out to Seb, to pull him onto the bed for some comfort. But, Sebastian is out of arm's length before Kurt's arms are fully extended. Kurt's eyes fall back to the bedspread and he blinks back tears, again.

Sebastian pauses in his trek once again when he reaches Wes and David at the door. "I have to see Jace," he says for the 7th time. He reaches for the handle, but backs off at the last minute, "No, God, what I am going to say to him? Fuck, what am I going to do?" He's back to crying now. Tears stream down his face and he stubbornly refuses to acknowledge them. He can't see through them, though, and he trips over his own feet as he resumes his path.

Kurt looks at Blaine, and he nods. They can't let this continue anymore. Wordlessly, Blaine goes to Sebastian on the floor and pulls him up. Kurt walks over to the door, he waves a hand to get Wes and David to separate away from the door and walks to Jace's room.

Kurt leads Jace by the hand back to Blaine's room. Lizzie has his other hand and the rest of the Descendant pack trail behind. They all, even the wolves, pretend not to hear the raised voices below them.

Sebastian stops the flow of tears when Jason walks into the room, "Hey buddy," his voice his thick, but he's trying, he's trying, to make it alright.

Jace climbs right up beside Seb on the bed. He sits, stiff, right next to Sebastian. "Seb," he says softly, "why are you so mad? Can't we- can't we just. We can explain to Dad, right?"

Sebastian doesn't answer. He squeezes his eyes shut.

"Seb, I mean, you d-don't know- I mean, maybe Dad just wants to-to see us? Don't-don't you miss h-him?" Jason only stutters this badly when he's nervous. When he's being shy, retreating back into himself and trying to push all the outside stuff away. But he can't push Sebastian away, Seb's never let him, so he pushes on. "We just have to ex-explain to him. We just tell him that we're part of a pack now, we're part of a family. Hey! Maybe Dad can-can he join too?" He looks over at Blaine sitting against the wall of dressers. Blaine doesn't look up from the carpet.

Sebastian finally moves, he pulls Jason half into his lap, even though he's really too big to fit comfortably anymore, but Jace huddles against him all the same. "Jace," he begins, "I really don't think Dad is going to want to join the pack. He's not going to understand it."

Jace is a smart kid. He knows about the discrimination against werewolves, he knows that his Dad isn't the most accepting of men. He nods, "Okay, well, we'll- we can just- we can't go with him, though. We can't- I don't want to leave..."

The fact that Jace has found a home here, that he considers these people more of a family than he's ever had with the Smythes, simultaneously and cyclically breaks and mends Sebastian's heart. The tears start again and Sebastian refuses to look from Jace's hair.

Seb and Jace left with Blaine's mom a few minutes later. Blaine yearned to follow his pack into the danger. He wanted to be at the forefront, but he was stuck behind battle field lines. He reached for Kurt and pulled him closer, if he couldn't protect his pack he would at least guard his mate. No one could stop him from that.

Blaine leaned back with Kurt and closed his eyes. He listened.

He listened to Jace's stumbling footsteps make their way down the hallway and the grand staircase, through another hallway and finally into the lounge. As usual, he could barely make out Seb's and his mother's faint treads, but somehow it unnerved his now.

He listened until the squeak of leather against denim told him the group had made it to the living room.

The 'discussion' was exactly what Blaine had expected. Blaine's mother and father spoke in a controlled voice, Mr. Smythe alternated between subtly rude interjections and insincere wheedling directed towards burst out in anger more than a couple times and Jace was completely silent.

"-as I said," Mr. Smythe was saying, "I don't know why you are so concerned Sebastian. This has nothing to do with you. All I want is to remove Jason from this environment," he said 'environment' like a bitchy suburban housewife might say 'whore house.' And then muttered, "God knows I won't have you back in my home."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't want to be there, anyway," Sebastian raised his voice. Blaine heard the bare feet thud onto the oak floors as Sebastian jumped to his feet.

"Seb, buddy-" Mr. Anderson tried to coax him into calming down.

"No! No no no!," Sebastian was pacing again, "He can't- Charlie- You can't let him! Can't you see how much of a complete asshole he is! Jace can't go! He's ours- He's my only- That fucking asshole is just using him." Seb let out a frustrated almost- scream.

Mr. Smythe was on his feet now too, "You little piece of scum! How dare you insult me, you germ! You're a fucking slut! How many of these animals did you have to sleep with until they decided to keep you? Huh? I bet you-"

Their screaming must have been loud enough for Kurt to hear now, because he let out an enraged noise at that and tried to squirm free of Blaine's grip, presumably to rush downstairs and unleash his sharp wit unto the man. Blaine held him closer and Kurt muffled a sob into his chest.

"Mr. Smythe! That is enough! How can you talk to your own son-"

Both Sebastian and his father ignored Charlie in favor of screaming at each other, "Yeah! Well like father like son! Just how many of your women have you slept with now, Dad? By the number of 'secretaries' you've gone through, I'd say I'm not the one that has to worry about being a whore!"

Blaine was on his feet before he registered the thud. By the time Sebastian fell to the hard floor Blaine was out in the hallway and the werewolves on his heels and Kurt was shouting. By the time he made it to the grand staircase there was a howl, unmistakably werewolf, and another thud as Mr. Smythe hit the wall.

He skidded to halt in the middle of the living room, where he was shocked into silence by the sight of two Smythes. Mr. Smythe cowering against the far wall and his son completely wolfed out, teeth bared and growling.

Kurt finally made it to the living room. He focus zeroed in on the Smythe no one was paying attention to anymore. The one huddled on the floor and just staring at his father and brother.

Before Blaine could grab him he rushed right to him.

"Oh my god, Seb, are you alright?" he held out a hand to help the older brother up.

"Kurt," Blaine choked out, he nodded toward the, admittedly rather small, wolf in the middle of the room and Kurt dropped his hand.

"Fuck," Kurt stared, "I never notice when they change.."