by Noah Harris
It was located on the outskirts of his family’s neighborhood, and so it was frequented by members of their pack more than any humans. Dylan had grown up going to this park, and like the rest of the town, it was filled with memories. But these memories were mostly pure ones. Childhood ones of playing with friends. Innocent games. Then his teenage years, hanging out here after dark and coming here to get away from parents and adults. It was a refuge from the world.
To his relief, it was empty when he got there. He did a few exercises on the grass, anything he could do without assistance. Then he used some of the climbing bars for pull-ups and the benches for jumps. He kept moving, anything to keep from thinking.
When his body had had enough, he collapsed in a spot in the grass, closing his eyes and letting the sun wash over him. The wind and air were cool on his sweat-drenched skin, and the sun was warm as it rose above the trees. He breathed a sigh of relief, letting his body relax into the grass. It prickled his flesh, but he didn’t care. Slowly his heart rate lowered, and his breathing returned to normal. Shortly after that, he fell asleep.
He woke sometime later to someone humming. His head was propped up, which it hadn’t been before. He was disoriented for several minutes before he opened his eyes before remembering that he had gone to the park and fallen asleep. He stirred, cracking his eyes against the glare of the sun. He threw an arm over his face to shadow his eyes, blinking as they adjusted. The humming had stopped.
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”
Dylan shifted his arm and tilted his head back, squinting against the light. Blake hovered above his vision. He was leaning back on an arm and had his phone out in the other hand. He glanced down at Dylan, smiling before he looked back to his phone. Dylan’s lips curved into a slight frown. His mouth felt dry from sleep, and he licked his lips, not missing the way Blake glanced back at the movement. “What’re you doing here?”
“I think a better question is what were you doing taking a nap in the middle of the park?”
“I asked you first.”
The corners of Blake’s lips twitched. “Fair enough. I often come here during the day to be alone. I always have. The house right now is chaos with high-strung wedding planning and guests are everywhere. I can barely hear myself think. The park seemed like the best place to go to get some peace and quiet.” He glanced down at Dylan, smiling. “Imagine my surprise and delight to find you here.”
Dylan pressed his lips together, glaring up at Blake. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
He shrugged. “You were sleeping so peacefully, and I had no reason to wake you. So I just decided to sit with you instead. So now it’s your turn: what’re you doing here?”
Dylan’s eyes had adjusted to the light, but he closed them briefly, stretching his legs out and his arms over his head and over Blake’s lap. He groaned in delight when his back popped. He relaxed, but kept his arms above his head, resting across Blake’s lap and onto the grass on the other side. He cracked his eyes again. “I went for a run and came here to do training. Then I took a nap.” He muttered.
Blake raised an eyebrow. “Having trouble sleeping?”
Dylan shrugged. “It’s weird being home.”
He wasn’t about to tell him that the real reason he hadn’t been able to sleep was that he had been haunted by the idea that he might be pregnant. Those thoughts had led him into the same subject that had been bothering him for weeks: how much did he actually like Blake? He was happy to see him now, but how much of that was genuine emotion and how much of that was being at his ex-boyfriend’s wedding made him feel lonely, and he was grateful to have someone?
Then there was the issue with Ben. Despite how much the man infuriated Dylan now, and despite all the flaws he could now see, and the despite the fact that Dylan didn’t even find him attractive anymore, nostalgia was a bitch. In the wake of seeing him again, all the feelings he had thought were buried and forgotten came surging to the surface. It hadn’t been his idea, after all, to break up in the first place. That had been Ben. After enough time had passed, he had been glad it had happened. He liked where he was and who he was. But that didn’t stop old feelings from rising to the surface when faced with Ben.
He wondered how much of his behavior was because he cared for Blake, and how much was to spite Ben. If he were being honest, it felt like both. And he couldn’t help but think of Ben when the issue of pregnancy came up. When he was young and naive, he had been convinced that their relationship would last. He had frequently toyed with the idea that they would get married and have children and raise them in the same pack they grew up in. Back when he had been convinced it was an omega’s duty to conceive, he had frequently thought about what it would be like to carry Ben’s child. Especially toward the end, when he could feel them drifting apart and Ben’s attention wandering.
It seemed like a stupid fantasy now, and he was embarrassed for ever having it. But it was the only time in his life when he had actually looked forward to having a child. And now that it might be a possibility, it was the only thing he could think of.
He desperately hoped his sister was wrong and jumping to conclusions, but even so, she had already planted the seed of doubt in his mind.
“Amen to that,” Blake muttered.
Dylan’s shirt had ridden up when he had lifted his arms above his head, exposing a strip of flesh at his midsection. Blake put his hand there now, slipping his warm fingers beneath his shirt to rest his hand on his stomach. He knew the gesture was an innocent one. There was no way Blake could guess the source of his agitation, no matter how well he could read him. Still, it was a little too much. Dylan sat up, forcing Blake to remove his hand.
He stood and stretched his arms over his head, then twisted from side to side. “I should get going.” He said, already walking off toward the playground equipment in the direction of the neighborhood.
“What’s the rush?” Blake stood, putting his phone away, and following him. As Dylan passed under the monkey bars, Blake darted in front of him, blocking his path, He gripped the bars loosely above his head and leaned toward Dylan. “We’re finally alone.” He said, smirking slightly.
Dylan rolled his eyes and took a step to the side, but Blake mirrored him, continuing to block him. Dylan tried to step to the other side, but Blake did the same thing. Then he glared up at the man. “Seriously?”
Blake’s smirk widened a fraction. “If you want to pass, there’s a toll. The price is a kiss.”
Dylan leveled a flat look at him. “Are you a child?”
“Humor me.”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “I could kick your ass right now, and there’s nothing you could do about it.”
Blake’s smirk widened into a grin and his eyes sparkled with laughter. “I know.” He said, so sincerely that Dylan had to force himself not to blush. What kind of alpha admitted that an omega could easily defeat him? Blake, that’s who. But that had never seemed to bother him. As much as Dylan enjoyed it when he could be submissive and give himself over to Blake, he also enjoyed taking control once in a while. It was one thing for an alpha to let a smaller omega take control during sex, but he knew that most would have issues letting someone who was already bigger and stronger than themselves continue to do so. They had the urge to prove they were better, to dominate. Blake, while he had that at times and Dylan didn’t mind one bit, was also able to let Dylan take the reins and dominate him. Thinking about it, it was one of the many things that made Blake so much better than his brother. They both had an air of confidence about them, but where Ben’s was attached to his preconceived view of being a masculine alpha, Blake’s was genuine. He was confident enough to let Dylan take control when he wanted to. To acknowledge that Dylan was stronger than he was. He liked to dominate Dylan, and Dylan loved it when he did, but he didn’t have to because he had nothing to prove.
Thinking about it made Dylan want to push him down and force him to submit, to ride him long and hard on the cheap playground b
ark covered ground.
He didn’t though. He stared at Blake for a few more minutes before silently turning on his heel and walking away. He only got a few steps away before Blake recovered from his shock and hurried after him.
“Hey, wait!” He sounded so dejected that Dylan couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t turn around. “Pay your taxes!” He got in front of Dylan again, smirking. “Pay me.”
“Nope.” Dylan turned again, hopping upon one of the wooden forts. He walked across to the other side, but Blake was already running around. Dylan went to hop down one of the straight slides, but Blake ran up it, gripping the wood frame above it. He put his face close to Dylan’s, smiling.
“This is tax evasion, you know.”
Dylan leaned in close but didn’t touch. He hovered his lips above Blake’s, hearing the moment the man’s breath hitched. He smiled a little to himself, amused and pleased that he could get such a reaction just by being close. “Come collect then.”
Before Blake could react, Dylan turned on his heel, took the few steps across the wooden playground fort, and leaped off the other side. He hit the ground running, barely pausing in his stride. He sprinted across the fields to the forest edge before glancing back to look. It had taken a moment for Blake to react, and even then, he had no hopes of catching up to Dylan when he was putting effort into sprinting. Smiling a little to himself, he realized he was feeling relaxed and having fun. He hadn’t felt this way in weeks. So he decided to go with his first thought and began stripping. As a werewolf, he had spent long hours practicing stripping in record time. It was part of mandatory training for every shifter in the Navy SEALs. As such, he was naked before Blake had even reached him, his clothes and shoes dropped into a haphazard pile at the forest’s edge. He looked back at Blake, who had slowed considerably and was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes. Dylan smirked playfully and sprinted into the forest.
As he ran, he began to shift, pulling his inner wolf forward and taking its form. He leaped over a fallen tree and landed as a wolf on the other side.
He dodged into the forest, weaving around trees and jumping over bushes with much more dexterity and agility than he had in his human form. He moved quickly but held back. He wanted to run and to lead the chase, but he didn’t want to lose Blake completely. That would ruin most of his fun. So he waited until he heard the heavy steps of an alpha wolf charging through the forest behind him. He knew from experience that Blake was a swift and agile wolf. But right now, he wasn’t concentrated on being graceful. He was desperate to catch up to Dylan’s head start.
Dylan paused, half turned. The white wolf came into sight and stopped when he saw him. He was panting, in both exertion and excitement. Dylan could smell his scent on the wind: strong and eager. With a twitch of his tail, Dylan started running again, and this time, the white wolf was close on his heels.
The chase was on.
Dylan had no destination in mind. He simply wanted to run and to lead Blake on a chase. But he knew these woods like the back of his paw, and he wouldn’t get lost. There were several times that Blake caught up to him, running parallel but close as they both weaved through trees. Then Dylan would push himself and pull ahead, or change direction to throw Blake off. He was always there, though, chasing after him. Relentless in his pursuit. Dylan panted, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. The wind was in his fur and the pads of his feet thudded against the ground. He reveled in the knowledge that an alpha, his alpha, was close behind him, pursuing him, wanting him. He wanted him too, but he wasn’t going to make it easy. An alpha would have to work for his attention. Prove that he was worthy.
Despite his eagerness to keep the chase going, Dylan realized that he was quickly tiring. He was running purely on adrenaline, but his body was tired from his run and exercises earlier. He kept trying to push himself, to go faster, but Blake was slowly catching up. Dylan’s turns and dodges were becoming more sluggish. His pace started lagging. Still, Blake didn’t catch him. At first, Dylan took this as an accomplishment of his own. He saw himself as superior. His pride blinded him, and it took him an incredibly long time to realize he wasn’t leading Blake anymore. Blake was herding him.
Like a dog and sheep, Blake was slowly herding him in a particular direction. Now that he was able to keep up and even outpace him, Blake was easily taking advantage of that. He would run up to one side of Dylan, to which Dylan would make the decision to run the other way, exactly as Blake had intended. Whenever Dylan started to veer off in another direction, Blake would run up along that side nipping at his heels and turn him around.
Dylan stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t believe how easily he had been manipulated. It was obvious Blake was directing him somewhere, but he didn’t have a clue where. Somewhere along the line, Dylan had stopped following his mental map. He was certain he could get back to town, but he wasn’t sure where they were exactly. He had just noticed the herding behavior, but for how long of the chase had it been happening? Was he ever in control of their chase, or had he been manipulated since they left the park?
The white wolf shot past him. Blake’s wolf form was bigger than his, lankier and taller, dexterous and agile. Dylan was willing to bet he was stronger than Blake, but Blake was quicker than Dylan. Blake stopped a little ways in front of him, and half turned to look back at him. His tail was outstretched and alert. His ears were perked forward, and his head was up as he looked back at Dylan curiously. Dylan lowered his head, pulling back his ears and curling his lips in a snarl. He was angry at having fallen victim to Blake’s mind control games, even in this form. Blake watched him for a moment, and then his tail began to wag. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he turned and darted ahead.
Dylan stopped snarling, lifting his head. He watched until Blake was out of sight, a little surprised. He had expected him to come back, to playfully jump around him, to attempt to take him. But no, he had run away. It was obvious he expected Dylan to follow, and for a moment, Dylan considered going back the way they had come. But he knew he wouldn’t. He was too curious about where Blake was going. And he, the wolf, refused to let his alpha ignore him. His paws dug into the ground, and he darted off in the direction Blake had gone.
He followed the other wolf’s scent through the trees. It was an obvious path. Blake hadn’t gone to any trouble trying to make himself hard to follow. He had run in a straight path, letting his fur rub on trees and bushes as he went. His scent was strong, his alpha pheromones calling out to him, broadcasting that he was ready and eager. Dylan followed his scent until he reached a stream.
He skidded to a stop shortly after the trees ended, leaving a small clearing before the grass dipped sharply to give way to the stream. It was several yards across and probably several feet deep. The water moved lazily but steadily. Dylan looked around, lifting his head to sniff the air. He didn’t see the white wolf anywhere, and his scent had just stopped. After losing such an obvious trail, Dylan was a little disoriented. He started to turn around to go back to the trail when Blake hit him.
He tackled him from the side, and they rolled around on the grass, snapping and clawing at each other. Dylan got his feet under him and attacked back, knocking Blake to the ground. None of their bites were to hurt, but they were firm in their attempt to dominate each other. Dylan was driven by his desire to regain control, but his body was tired. Blake got him on his back and put his teeth to his throat. In a last ditch effort to come out on top, Dylan shoved him with his legs, rolled onto his stomach, and launched himself at the alpha. They both toppled over into the stream.
They separated as they hit the water, and it was deep enough that they both went under. The water was colder than Dylan was expecting. It was a shock, but nothing he hadn’t been trained for. They used to do cold water jumps all the time as part of his training. Still, he let go of his wolf form and returned to the one that had the most control in the water. When he broke the water’s surface, he was once again in his human form. He got his feet under him a
nd stood, gasping for air as he surfaced.
The water wasn’t deep. It came up to his waist. He heard Blake surface a few feet away. He turned to look as he stood. He was coughing as he wiped the water from his face. He stood straight, using both hands to push his white blond hair out of his eyes. It slicked back smoothly. Dylan’s hair was too short even to worry about it. Blake was grinning at him, and his eyes crinkled at the edges with laugh lines.
He waded through the water to where Dylan stood. Dylan tried to glare at him, but his lips betrayed him, curving into a small smile. He stood still as Blake came up to him, turning slightly to face him. Blake stood close, pressing their bodies together. His body was warm in the otherwise chilled water. He was also already hard. Dylan felt a shiver run down his spine that had nothing to do with the water. Blake put his hands on Dylan’s hips, pulling him closer. They didn’t say anything. Dylan wasn’t sure there was anything to say. Blake put their foreheads together, looking into Dylan’s eyes before his gaze traveled down to his lips. Dylan’s hands slid around Blake’s waist and up his back, pressing their chests together.
Then they kissed, and the feeling was such a long time coming and so welcomed that Dylan groaned low in his throat. Encouraged by this, Blake deepened the kiss, hands wandering Dylan’s body with increasing need. His fingers groped into Dylan’s bare flesh. His lips left Dylan’s trailing and nibbling down his jaw to his neck. He dragged his teeth down his neck to bite his collarbone. Dylan’s back arched, pushing his body and hardening erection into Blake’s. He gasped, fingers tightening and curling into his back.