by Noah Harris
Dylan smirked. “I think I’d prefer them to this one.”
Blake chuckled. “I can’t argue with you there.” Blake’s hand slid back, through his hair, around to the back of his neck. He tilted his head slightly and kissed him again. Unlike their earlier kiss, which had been so sudden that it had sparked a passion and hunger in both of them, this one was soft and slow. Blake explored Dylan’s lips. Tasting him, memorizing him, reveling in him. He had missed this man so much, and so he told him. “God damn, I missed you.” He whispered, breathlessly against his lips.
Dylan pulled back a fraction. “How was your mission?”
“Long and dreadful. I was compromised and couldn’t risk any outside communication. I hated to be gone from you for so long.”
“You were only gone for two weeks,” Dylan said flatly.
Blake’s lips curved into a small smirk. “I know, as I said, I was gone for so long.”
“You’re pathetic.”
Blake nipped at his lip. “You don’t seem to mind.” He kissed him again, a few quick pecks. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it out in time for the wedding. Now I’m glad I did.”
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I didn’t think you would either.”
With both of their jobs, their schedules were pretty sporadic and unpredictable. Neither one of them could afford to take a week off for a wedding. Not to mention that both of them had expressed on multiple occasions that they didn’t have any desire to go back to their home packs. They both managed to get out of this small town, and neither wanted to look back. Blake especially didn’t expect Dylan to come back for Ben’s wedding. But as he figured out, Dylan didn’t realize it was Ben’s until today. Blake was suddenly really glad he had managed to get off his last mission in time for this. He had been dreading being back with his family and under his brother’s obnoxiously self-centered shadow, but now it all was worth it.
Still, it seemed odd that Dylan was here. For Blake, Ben was his brother. But Dylan …
He tilted his head to the side, looking at Dylan curiously. “Why are you here?”
“It’s my cousin’s wedding.” He said, a little too casually.
“Yes, but as far as I remember, you weren’t particularly close with Alex. He was closer to my age.” Dylan’s lips pressed together, and his nostrils flared. He glanced away. He was hiding something. “Dylan. What aren’t you telling me?”
He sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal. I was just put on a mandatory leave.”
That came as a surprise. Blake blinked, pulling his head back a fraction so he could see Dylan more clearly. “Leave? Why?”
Dylan grunted, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know, maybe because I was forced, unprepared, to undertake an undercover mission for a month.”
Blake’s lips twitched into a smirk. “I didn’t think there was a problem.” He said, his hands slipping beneath the hem of his shirt to idly trace circles on his back.
“Apparently my superiors think it’s best if I take a mental health break to recover from what they believe were traumatic experiences.”
Blake knew that couldn’t be all of it. No matter how terrible his superiors may have thought the experience had been, they wouldn’t have forced him to go on leave unless he had been showing signs that the experience had affected him. Blake doubted the experience had caused any sort of mental breakdown for Dylan. The man was stronger than that, and their mission in the Shadow Pack hadn’t been that intense. No, he knew that the real reason Dylan would be showing any negative signs would be because of him. And they had to have been bad for him to be forced on leave. Blake couldn’t help but feel guilty about that. Given Dylan’s recent avoidance of him, he had a feeling whatever his superiors saw was because of his mixed feelings about their relationship as mates and Blake being gone for two weeks, giving Dylan plenty of time to stew in negative emotions and doubt without any form of reassurance. There wasn’t much he could have done, but he blamed himself.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. They were both here now, and Blake could work to fix it.
“They had good timing, at least,” Blake said, smirking. His other hand went down to join the one beneath Dylan’s shirt, drawing circles on the bare flesh of his lower back and tracing his spine.
Dylan snorted a small, dry laugh. “It could’ve been worse.”
Dylan didn’t say he had missed him, and Blake didn’t ask. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the honest answer. Not when Dylan’s feelings had been so rocky lately. Instead, Blake leaned forward again to kiss him. Dylan met him halfway and deepened the kiss immediately. Blake let him take control. Dylan leaned into him, pushing them both against the side of the house. Dylan’s hands went under his shirt, moving to the front to crawl up his chest. His fingers curled into his chest, holding on. Blake’s arms were wrapped around his waist, pulling him as close as he could. His thigh slipped between Dylan’s, and Dylan subtly rubbed himself on Blake’s leg. The feel of his stiffening erection caused a similar reaction in himself. Though, admittedly, all Dylan would have to do is breath in his direction and he’d get hard. He was that desperate for Dylan’s touch. He was hot and eager in his arms.
Their home pack had this strange habit of producing small omegas. They all seemed to be thin, gangly, delicate, and submissive. He wasn’t sure if it was coincidence or some sort of cultural pressure within their pack. He certainly knew a lot of alphas liked that in omegas, so it was possible that they molded themselves to fit what the alphas liked. Blake, personally, had never been that big of a fan.
Plenty of omegas had tried to get with him in his younger days in the pack. Despite being a fairly scrawny teenager himself, he had all the handsome and attractive features of his brother, but in their prepubescent phase. He had tried a few of the omegas, but they all bored him. The only one who had ever appealed to him was Dylan. He was smaller in his youth, ganglier and not fully grown. He definitely didn’t look like someone who could grow to be as well built as he did. But still, despite having the same physique of all the other omegas their age, there was something different about him.
He had a stronger personality. He had his own opinions and his own mind. He never faked a personality and never faked ignorance or batted his eyelashes to get what he wanted. He wasn’t submissive and didn’t bend for anyone. Dylan had seen him stare down alphas twice his size without blinking. In fact, the only time Blake had ever seen Dylan be submissive at all when he was young, was in the bedroom and to his brother. Blake always knew when they were doing it because he could hear Dylan through the thin walls of their home. He used to lay awake at night, imagining that he was the one making Dylan make those sounds. Making his groan and gasp and scream in pleasure. There were a couple of times he even watched, through cracks in the door or around the corner when they were in the living room or the basement. He used to watch because he was so insanely curious what Dylan’s face looked like when he made those sounds. The images were haunting. He used to hold up his hand, blocking out his brother, and focused solely on Dylan.
It wasn’t something he was necessarily proud of, but he was a young teenage boy who was having overwhelming sexual desires for his brother’s boyfriend.
But now Dylan was his, and he finally knew what it was like to be the cause of Dylan’s pleasure. And he loved it. He would have continued to love Dylan if he had stayed thin and delicate like most omegas from their pack. But he hadn’t. Due to his training, he had grown fairly sizable. He was well muscled, fit, and could easily take on alphas bigger than him. Running purely on stereotypes, he even looked like an alpha. He knew there were plenty of alphas who wouldn’t like it, but Blake loved him all the same.
Dylan was strong. He could easily take care of himself. He could easily defeat Blake in a fight. Hell, he was fairly certain that Dylan could easily kill him if he needed to. Blake was taller than Dylan, but his muscles were lean and lithe, whereas Dylan was wide and buff. But despite how strong and capable he was, he still qui
vered in Blake’s arms. He let himself be vulnerable, giving himself over to the feeling of Blake’s body against his and the desires he felt. And Blake wouldn’t trade that for the world.
Blake could feel how much Dylan wanted him, at least in body. He was almost constantly rocking his hips against Blake, rubbing himself on his thigh. His hands were under his shirt, clawing at his chest as his tongue explored his mouth. Blake was perfectly fine, more than fine, and he was happy to be pushed against the wall by this delicious, demanding omega. They could hear the sounds of the party around them, but they remained out of sight. He knew if they didn’t stop soon, he wouldn’t be able to stop at all. He would take Dylan here and now, in the possible sight of their entire home pack, and not give two shits about it. But neither one of them stopped, and he took comfort from how desperate Dylan was for his touch. He had worried that he’d have to coax Dylan into being comfortable with him again. Apparently that wasn’t going to be an issue.
One of his hands wandered up to the back of Dylan’s head. He wished the man had longer hair so that he could run his fingers through it and grip the strands, making him gasp. He settled for holding the back of his head firmly while he devoured his mouth.
There were voices all around them, but they were mostly blending together in a general din of sound. Occasionally a voice would rise above the rest, or a laugh would be louder.
He was so wrapped up in Dylan, his scent, the feeling of his body, the touch of his lips, and his hunger that Blake didn’t hear one voice getting closer.
It took far too long for that voice to penetrate the fog around his mind and for him to recognize it. Benjamin.
“Where’d you say the extra wood was?”
“Around the side of the house.”
“Don’t worry. I got it.”
He realized Ben was coming. They were standing right next to the pile of wood in question. He was about to pull back when something strange came over him. It was a feeling he recognized but was mostly unfamiliar with. He hadn’t experienced it first hand, at least not to this degree: possessiveness. Dylan hadn’t seemed to notice Ben’s voice, and Blake didn’t tell him, nor did he break their kiss. He wanted Ben to see. He wanted Ben to know that Dylan was his now. It was a desire that made no sense. Ben was engaged and soon to be married. He shouldn’t care about Dylan anymore. But still, Blake wanted to make it explicitly clear that Dylan was his now.
He heard the footsteps stop as they rounded the corner. He didn’t bother opening his eyes. He knew his brother was standing there. He strained to listen, and he heard the way his breathing changed, whistling heavily through his nose as he clenched his jaw.
“What the hell is going on?” He didn’t shout, but the intensity in his voice carried as if he had.
Dylan jumped, his eyes going wide and his head whipping around to face Ben. He tried to jump away from Blake, but Blake had been anticipating it and held him firmly. Blake also turned to look at his brother. He let Dylan take a step back, so they were no longer plastered against each other, but he refused to let the man go. His hands dropped down to casually rest around his waist. Dylan’s hands had dropped out of his shirt quickly, resting awkwardly on Blake’s hips.
Blake smiled, tilting his head to the side. “Sup, bro?” He said casually as if they had been passing each other in the hallway on the way to dinner.
“What the hell is going on?” He repeated through clenched teeth. His hands were curled into fists at his side. He was obviously mad, and Blake took a sense of sick satisfaction from it.
“I think that’s pretty obvious,” Blake said, turning to look at Dylan, his smile widening. Dylan glanced at him, the panic was obvious in his eyes, though his face remained fairly blank. To Blake, he was a beacon of panicked alarm, but he doubted Ben would notice. He had never been good at seeing the subtleties of emotions. He met Dylan’s eyes and squeezed him reassuringly before turning back to his brother. “Do you mind?”
“Of course, I fucking mind.” He growled through clenched teeth. He took several threatening steps forward. Neither of them flinched, and he stopped, no doubt a little surprised. Ben was used to his intimidation factor working. But Dylan had been in the military for far too long to fall for his cheap tricks, and Blake was used to bigger and badder alphas trying to intimidate him. He wasn’t impressed. “You’re fucking making out with my boyfriend!”
“Ex-boyfriend,” Dylan said instantly, emphasizing the ex. His voice was pitched low, but it was intense, it carried, and it was dripping in acid tones. It was sudden and venomous enough that it caught both of them off guard. Ben blinked, eyes breaking their glaring contest with Blake to stare at Dylan with surprise. Blake, too, looked at Dylan. His chest filled with sudden pride. Dylan didn’t look shaky at all anymore. He looked firm, stoic, and in control. His soldier boy was back.
“If memory serves,” Blake said slowly. Dylan glanced at him. His eyes were hard, and his lips were pressed into a thin, stoic line. Blake’s lips curve into a small smile. His thumbs rubbed against Dylan’s back, reassuring him that he was there. He knew this wasn’t a confrontation Dylan wanted to have, but Blake wasn’t going to let him go through it alone. He tilted his head, turning to look back at his brother. “You two broke up years and years and years ago. Too many to count, really. And you’re getting married next weekend. I don’t see how kissing my boyfriend has anything to do with you.”
Ben’s eyes narrowed, his shoulder’s rising slightly as they pushed back, puffing out his chest. “Your boyfriend?” He growled.
Blake was still smiling, as pleasant as ever, but his eyes were hard. He met his brother’s glare unflinchingly. The times of being intimidated by his older brother were long behind him. He was a fully capable alpha himself now, and he had faced down plenty of enemies far more malicious than Ben. “Yes, that would be correct. My boyfriend.”
“You’re not allowed to date my ex!”
“And you have no say in the matter.” Dylan snapped. He lifted his chin, meeting Ben’s glare with one of his own. His voice was level and precise, but Blake didn’t miss the hint of malice and anger in it. “We haven’t talked in years. You don’t know the first thing about me anymore, and you have no right to dictate who I let into my life.”
“You!” Ben rounded on him, focusing his anger and frustration on Dylan. Instead of backing down, Dylan stood straighter. “You come back for my wedding, see me with my fiancé, and go into a jealous rage and make out with my brother? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“No, I came here for my cousin’s wedding and to see my family.” His eyes remained hard, but a small smirk curved his lips with dry, amused humor. “Believe it or not, Ben, not everything has to do with you.”
“Not to mention,” Blake lifted a hand, holding up one finger. They both turned to glance at him. “We’ve been together for a couple of months, and he just found out you were the fiancé earlier today.”
Ben didn’t seem to like what that implied. His face scrunched up even more and his frown deepened. The news that his ex-boyfriend being with his brother had absolutely nothing to do with him was insulting. Even though he acted like he was angry, Blake knew that his brother thrived on being involved in the juicy drama. He would have loved to have ‘a crazy ex-boyfriend.’ Well, he was just going to have to look elsewhere.
Ben looked at them through narrowed eyes. Finally, he threw his hands up in the air. “You guys are fucking idiots. I can’t fucking believe this.” He turned on his heel and stomped away. He paused at the corner of the house and turned, pointing at them both with what was supposed to be a threatening gesture. “And don’t let me see either of you together again. It’s disgusting.” And then he was gone.
Dylan sighed, his whole body relaxing. He wrapped his arms loosely around Blake’s waist and collapsed forward, resting his head on his shoulder. “Why is he such a dick?” He mumbled into Blake’s shirt. He could feel the way Dylan’s legs were shaking from leftover adrenaline.
One
arm wrapped around his waist, and the other rubbed up and down his back. Blake chuckled. “He’s always been a dick, but you’re just now noticing. You handled it very well, though. I’m impressed.”
Dylan snorted a small laugh. “Did you see how surprised he was?”
Blake was grinning. He tilted his head back against the house. The sky was darkening rapidly. “I did.” He chuckled. “He’s beginning to realize that he can’t intimidate us that easily. It might work on other members of the pack, but we have a lot more worldly experience now.”
Dylan snorted again, louder this time. “I’ve met fox shifters more intimidating than him.”
“Ouch,” Blake laughed. They stayed like that for several long moments, content to let the seconds pass in silence. Eventually, Blake spoke again. He sighed. “Asshole or not, Ben is my brother, and I’m one of his groomsmen. I should probably make sure he’s alright. I need to at least pretend that I care.” He didn’t want to. It was difficult dealing with Ben when he was in a mood like this. And it had never been directed at Blake before. Still, he knew he had to try. His family would expect that of it. He put his hands on Dylan’s arms as he leaned back and took a step away. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him get away with bad mouthing you.”
The corners of Dylan’s lips quirked. “I wasn’t worried.” He said softly. He nodded toward the driveway. “I’ll be roasting marshmallows with my brother. You should join us if you have time.”
Blake smiled, tilting his head to the side. How was it possible for a soldier to be this cute? “I’d like that.” He pushed off the house and leaned forward, giving Dylan one last kiss before stepping away. He picked up the wood that his brother had forgotten to get and lifted it over his shoulder. Glancing back, he gave Dylan a small mock salute before walking away.
Chapter Four
