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Written and posted with permission from Leo_Todrius (who also provided the kickass thumbnail icon!)

You can find his profile and awesome stories here: www.furaffinity.net/user/leotodrius

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Lykos - Wild Things

Chapter 16 - Somewhere in the rain

Should I really do this?, Drake thought in front of the closed front door, his right hand half-raised, ready to knock. He could hear music seeping from under the door, in a stream of elegant and liquid notes; someone walking around talking, and occasionally humming along with the melody. Lives being lived. Drake bit his lower lip, fighting the sudden urge to scratch the back of his head. He needed to be quick and take a decision... and then the front door opened, freeing him from that moral dilemma.

"Yes?" the man inside the house said, with a polite expression on his face. It took him a couple seconds, but in the end his hazelnut eyes sparkled behind his glasses. "Oh, wait... I've met you at Mr. Hiyashi's funeral, right? You're Drake, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're right." Drake shook his hand, once again feeling impressed by how firm the man's grip was; he also felt gratitude since Craig hadn't mentioned Drake getting shot at that very same funeral. "I hope I'm not bothering you..."

"Bothering me?" Craig looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Drake scratched the back of his head. "Well, bothering the two of you, actually. I was hoping I could speak with your wife about something."

Craig looked even more surprised at that. "With Talia? That's weird. I mean, I thought that you and her brother were a couple."

"W-well, yeah, we are. He just doesn't know I'm here."

Craig let out a good-natured chuckle. "That explains a lot, then."

The music coming from inside the house stopped. "Let him in." Talia's voice was basically issuing an order.

"Well, you heard her, right?" Craig said with a small grin. "Come on in."

Talia's house didn't have the cozy, old-fashioned feeling of the Underhill mansion, nor the cold, essential geometries of Moira's cottage. The furniture was essential, sure, with a distinct aura of practicality, but the place was still much more comfortable that Drake would have imagined: there were a lot of bookshelves made out of local wood lining the walls, full of zoology books, veterinary manuals (definitely belonging to Craig) and a veritable collection of horror and mystery novels; a big, comfy-looking brown sofa took up an entire corner of the large living room by itself, but what caught Drake's attention was the towering object in the very middle of the room, something he had seen only on TV.

"Good morning, Drake," Talia said, her hands hovering over the strings of her giant harp. The woman was sitting on a chair right in front of the instrument, her pregnant belly stretching the pale blue t-shirt she was wearing. Her dark eyes were as intense and piercing as ever, and Drake had to fight the urge of lowering his gaze. "You should take a seat."

"Oh, t-thanks," Drake replied, automatically sitting on the maroon sofa.

Talia nodded. "Craig, you should get him something to drink. A cup of tea would be great."

"Sure thing!" her husband replied, walking towards a door that presumably led to the kitchen.

"Oh, don't worry, there's no need to!" Drake said, trying to stop Craig, only to be silenced by the slight harrowing of Talia's eyes.

"Nonsense. You are our guest," she stated.

Half a minute of awkward silence followed, the only noises being those made by Craig, who was tinkering in the kitchen. Drake cleared his throat a couple times before words managed to come back to him. "So... a harp, huh?" he muttered.

"Yes. A harp," Talia repeated, in the same matter-of-fact tone as before.

"Well, um, I mean... you striked me more as a saxophone type of person. Or drums."

The most microscopic grin appeared on Talia's face, which sent an icy shiver down Drake's spine. "Then again, I would say you don't know me very well," she said in a very calm tone. "I mean, this is the third, maybe the fourth time we actually talk."

Drake shuddered. "I... guess that's true, yes." He was still feeling incredibly wary of Talia after all, since the first time he had met her she had left him for dead... and yet, she was right: he didn't really know her. Those last few months had thought him that judging someone from the very first impression wasn't necessarily the smartest thing.

"Of course," the woman continued, relaxing against the back of her chair, her round belly almost poking from under the t-shirt. "I don't know you very well, either. And for that, I am sorry."

"Sorry?" Drake repeated. He certainly hadn't been expecting for his meeting with Talia to go in that direction. Is she trying to manipulate me or something?, he thought. No, it didn't seem like her style.

"Yes, sorry." The woman took a long breath. "I'm sure you probably guessed the reason why I abandoned you in the forest, the first time we met each other."

Drake shivered. Yeah, of course he remembered that moment, in mostly unpleasant terms. "Because I was a human?"

The stare Talia gave him after those words could have probably set him on fire if only the woman would have wished it so. "Apparently I need to remind you that my husband is human," she said in a flat tone. As if he was waiting for his clue, Craig popped out from the side of the kitchen door frame to wave a hand and give Drake a huge grin before disappearing again.

"Oh. Erm... right," Drake coughed, his ear tips basically purple. "So... why, then?"

"Because I thought you were weak," Talia replied. "I know your leg was broken, but when I asked you to try and climb out of that hole, you didn't even put some serious effort into it. I would have gotten you out of that hole myself and brought you to safety if you had at least showed me some strength." The woman fell silent for a moment, and Drake thought she had stopped talking to give him the time to check on her heartbeat and see whether she was lying or not... and she wasn't: the rhythmic sound coming from inside her chest was regular, and as calm and collected as Talia herself was. "And besides, I knew that my younger brother was going to save you anyway... which he did. In his own way, of course." Talia's stern face displayed the faintest of smiles for one brief second. "But the point is... I was wrong. You are not weak. As a matter of fact, you are anything but. Not many werewolves would have been able to fight a direwolf during their very first full moon, and not only survive to tell the tale, but even beat such a beast into total submission. Believe me, I was very impressed, that night."

Drake scratched the nape of his neck. "Well, to be honest I didn't even know it was such an incredible feat at the time. I mean, it was just that the rest of the pack was in danger, that's all, and..."

"And my brother," Talia interrupted him.

"And my alpha," Drake corrected her, his tone now rigid and defensive. "I mean, I know you hate him, but there's no reason to..."

"I don't hate him. Do not be silly," Talia cut him short once again. "There are indeed some things I do not like about his attitude, but he is still my younger sibling. Thanks, Craig." Her husband had emerged from the kitchen a handful of seconds before, and without even turning her head, Talia grabbed the cup of tea from his hands.

"You are welcome," the man replied with a small, warm smile before handing another cup to Drake. "Here."

"Oh. Thanks!" Drake took a brief sniff at the dark bronze liquid, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up: he had expected a sweet, fragrant aroma, but the scent of the tea was strong and almost spicy.

"I hope you don't mind ginger," Talia said before taking a sip. "This puppy here can be a little rambunctious at times," she added, caressing her prominent belly through the blue shirt. "Ginger tea helps me a lot in dealing with their temper." Talia looked at Craig for a moment with a vague smile, before focusing back on Drake. "But I am sure you did not come here to talk about my child."

"Yeah, actually I didn't," Drake said, before almost dropping the cup of tea on the floor. "I m-mean... I'm so sorry, that was super rude of me. I'm sure your baby will be, like, great and all..."

"Presumably, yes," Talia replied. Craig, standing next to her, just snickered.

"But, yeah, what I wanted to ask you was..."

"Something related to being an alpha, I would imagine."

Third time the charm, and the second time Drake almost spilled all his tea on the living room floor. "How... how do you..."

"Well, you do not know much about me, which limited the possible topics. And since you came to ask me specifically, it had to be something you didn't want my younger brother to know," Talia replied as that was the most obvious thing in the world. "And, if we exclude my mother and my father, I doubt you are familiar enough with any other alpha living in town, and there was the concrete risk my parents would have told everything to my brother... especially my father, since he never keeps his mouth shut." The woman smirked. "As you can see, it wasn't especially difficult."

"I... I guess," Drake replied sheepishly. "So... are you okay with this?" He definitely hadn't expected for the conversation to go that way, that was for sure; in his mind, he had imagined hostility, disdain, or at least some degree of suspicion... instead, Talia seemed almost eager to sate his thirst for answers.

"I don't see why I should not be," the woman replied after sipping some of her tea. "Curiosity is a good thing, in my opinion. And you have already proved to have what it takes to be alpha, after all."

Drake took a long, pensive sip from his cup, and the spiciness of the ginger tea made his tongue and palate tingle. "Are you saying that because I fought that direwolf?" he asked. I mean, it's literally the only significant thing I've done in the last year that she knows about...

"No, not necessarily." Drake's eyes widened as Talia shook her head. "I mean, sure, physical strength is very important for an alpha werewolf, but it's not fundamental. No, what I was talking about is leadership... or, more specifically, the ability to guide, protect and inspire others."

"We heard about what you have done in the last few weeks, you know?" Craig, who had stayed mostly silent up until that point, decided to speak, much to Drake's surprise. "You saved two people from horrible situations... one of the two was even a former werewolf hunter."

"Well... I guess that's true, yes," Drake replied, even though in his opinion he had merely helped Inori and Leo, and he hadn't acted alone in either cases anyway. "But I was just being, you know... a decent person. What does that have to do with being an alpha?"

"I swear, your skull is as thick as granite," Talia said in an icy tone. "Without a pack there is no alpha, Drake."

The realization hit Drake right in the face so hard that for a moment he lost focus and his eyes shimmered in gold. "Oh," was all he could mutter at first. "Oh." He could feel a weird, destabilizing rumble in his stomach and abdomen, like a storm mounting. "Ooh! Wait, you mean... No. No, it's not. It's not possible, I'm sorry. I..."

"You are not making any sense right now," Talia said. "And yes, that is exactly what I mean, and yes, it is definitely possible. It is that simple, believe me."

"But how? Why?" Drake rubbed his eyes, trying to calm himself down and finding out - much to his own chagrin - that he couldn't. "I mean... That wasn't my intention! At all!"

"We are creatures of instinct, too," the woman replied. "Sometimes we act in ways that might defy logic or even our own rational side, but that does not mean such actions are wrong. You might have not realized it at the time, but for all intents and purposes, you are already the alpha of those two wolves."

"I... I, well..." Drake stuttered, at a loss of words.

But she is right, a voice inside him (the beast in his heart, most probably) said. They trust you and believe in you, just like you trust and believe in Wyatt.

"B-but... I don't feel any different than before!" he tried to argue.

Except you do, and that is why you are here in the first place.

Talia shook her head. "Being an alpha doesn't feel like anything in particular. It's just a state of being," she explained. "If you have a pack of wolves who you care about and who trust you for guidance and protection, then you are an alpha. Period."

Drake took another long sip of tea, emptying the cup. "Well, from what I know, you didn't seem to care about Angela that much," he blurted out all of a sudden, almost without realizing it. Oh, crap, now she'll murder me or something.

"Oh," Talia's expression turned cold, her eyes focusing on her harp for a moment, then on her husband, as if she was purposefully avoiding to look at Drake. "Her. Yeah." The woman handed her tea cup to Craig before continuing. "Not everything about being an alpha is easy, Drake. Sometimes you need to... do or allow something for the good of the whole pack."

"You mean like letting them pick on an omega?" Drake asked, a bit emboldened.

"She was picked on because she was much, much weaker than the rest of the pack." Talia turned her eyes back to him, nailing him on the spot. "Strength is still crucial for a werewolf, as I am sure you know perfectly."

"Well, she is much stronger than you may think, you know?" Drake retorted. "They all are." He was hoping to elicit some kind of reaction in Talia, but she seemed adamant in keeping her cool composure.

"And that is a good thing, and I am genuinely happy for all of them," she said, and Drake begrudgingly had to admit she was telling the truth, at least according to her heartbeat. "I am also sure your very presence helped them growing stronger."

"W-wait, what do you...?"

"I mean, think about it: everything has begun to change once you entered into their lives. This is not a coincidence, Drake." Talia pursed her lips, and for a moment she looked quite bitter. "It pains me to admit that, but in that regard you might be a better alpha than even myself."

"I'm still not sure I am even an alpha, so you shouldn't worry about that," Drake retorted with a tiny smirk. Talia, however, had none of that.

"Stand up, Drake," she said in a stiff, stern tone.

"Um... what? What do you..."

"I said stand up. I am sure you heard me quite well the first time, however."

Drake sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he shook his head and got back on his feet. "I mean, okay, but I don't see how or why this would... WHAT THE HECK?!" The young man had opened his eyes again, only to find out that Talia was now standing right in front of him, staring right to his face with unflinching eyes. "I m-mean... sorry, but... why did you do this?!" And how?! I didn't even hear you moving!

"In order to prove a point," Talia replied, curtly. For a long, awkward moment, nothing happened, so much so that Drake was considering whether or not to ask her what that point was, when Talia's eyes burst into golden flames. It was like watching the simultaneous eruption of two volcanoes while knowing you were on the trajectory of both lava jets.

Drake stood still, heat drained from his body, his legs turned into stone. He felt like a small and helpless woodland creature trapped in the headlight of an SUV; it was as if his brain had shut down and all he could see, all could perceive, all he could think about were the two burning irises drilling into his skull. Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shitshitshitshitshit. His mind was on autopilot, the corner of his lips twitching and trembling. She's gonna kill me. Except... no, there was no murderous intent in Talia's gaze, nor had she shifted any body part but her eyes. It was just extremely, supremely, unbearably intense. A small, solitary sigh escaped from Drake's mouth; his throat was parched, despite all the ginger tea he had just finished gulping down, and his tongue flapped against his palate like an agonizing fish inside an empty plastic bucket. I just need to lower my eyes, Drake thought, as a fat droplet of sweat rolled down his neck and into his t-shirt. He tried, but his eyeballs were now made of marble and granite and they didn't seem to be connected to the rest of his body anymore. If only I do that, I'm sure that...

No. Another voice inside of him, above all the white noise in his brain; maybe the beast in his heart, maybe the colder, more rational side of himself. Do not lower your gaze. She is trying to see whether or not you are weak.

Well, whatever! Who cares if she thinks I'm weak!, Drake weakly tried to argue. His heart was bouncing against the back of his throat like a sledgehammer.

You, the voice replied. You do care. Because you are not weak, aren't you?

True, but... How could he defeat those hungry, unquenchable flames? They were too intense for him, he could feel tears welling up in the corner of his eyes already. It was inevitable, he only had maybe a handful of seconds before he had to divert his gaze, to shift his...

Drake blinked. Right! He had to shift his eyes, literally. It takes a wolf to face another wolf, he said to himself, and he could almost feel the beast in his heart nod his giant head in approval somewhere deep inside his soul. He gathered every scrap of force of will he could muster, and focused on his irises, on them turning gold and fierce like those of a predator... and then, just before the pressure of Talia's gaze was becoming too unbearable, Drake's own eyes sparkled and changed, opposing to her flames a fire of their own. It was as if a weight had instantly been lifted from the young man's shoulders: Talia's stare was still scary and petrifying, but now it also felt... manageable, like staring at a lion's fangs from behind the thick, safe bars of a cage.

Immediately after, the weirdest, most unexpected thing happened: Talia closed her eyes, freeing Drake from that weird, scorching torture. "Well, my point was proven," the woman declared, walking back to her chair and sitting down. Craig placed a hand on her shoulder, and Talia caressed his fingers with a delicate gesture. "You are definitely an alpha, Drake. There is no mistake."

"Wait, what... what do you... how did that..." Drake was, if possible, even more confused than before. "I mean... I don't get it."

"You did not divert your gaze, Drake," Talia sounded like she was talking to a particularly slow five years old kid and she was losing her share of patience pretty fast. "A beta would have never been able to do what you just did."

"I..." Drake shook his head, his short ponytail bouncing against the nape of his neck. "I think I need some time to think about it. And probably a beer."

"Probably," Talia convened. "I mean, if you can actually think, because it doesn't seem like you are much capable of reasoning from what I have seen today..."

"Hey!"

"Regardless," the woman continued with a small smirk. "I am not lying. You are an alpha, Drake, and the sooner you accept the truth, the better it will be for you."

"Yeah, but..." Drake gulped. "What about Wyatt?"

A short, tense silence followed. "My younger brother will have to accept that," Talia replied, curtly. "It might be... difficult for him, that's for sure, but it is also unavoidable. Do not forget, Drake, that both my parents are alphas, and yet they have been together for more than twenty-five years, despite my father's... eccentricities." The woman's hand went to her prominent belly, and for a moment she looked like she was in slight pain.

"Is everything okay, Talia?" Craig asked her, ever the caring husband. She raised her other hand and gave him a quick gesture to make it clear that everything was alright.

"I'm sorry, Drake, but it seems like my pup is being a bit wilder than usual, today. I might need to lie down for a moment or two. Can you walk him to the door, Craig?"

"For sure," the young veterinarian replied, even though Drake futilely tried to protest.

"I mean, there's no need, I can just excuse myself..." he said, but an icy glare from Talia shut him up.

"She likes you, you know?" Craig told Drake after the two of them had stepped outside in the chilly winter weather. It wasn't raining or snowing, but the huge, dark gray clouds filling the sky like a giant herd of celestial sheep weren't exactly reassuring.

"Um, really? 'cause that's not the impression I got..." Drake replied, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, believe me, she does," the other man reassured him with a knowing wink. "I know what people usually think of her, that she's cold, distant, standoffish, if not outright cruel... but I know her better than pretty much all of them, and I can assure you she holds you in high regard and respect you a whole lot."

"So... do you think what she said was true?" Drake asked, as his words froze in the air in front of his mouth.

Craig shrugged. "I don't know pretty much anything of the stuff of..." His eyes darted around for a moment, and when he resumed talking, his voice was quite a bit lower. "Of your kind, I mean. Truth be told, I don't mind being a human, not at all. I know that being married with Talia might one day end up with me being turned by accident, but I like my life, and it seems too big of a change for me, personally. Having said that... Yes, I think what she said was true, because I trust my wife and I know she's always honest, even to a fault." The man gave Drake a tiny grin. "So yeah, here's the opinion of a boring human on the matter. Take it with a grain of salt, okay?" He lifted his right hand and waved briefly at the other guy. "Well, I should probably go and open my clinic. See you around, Drake!"

Once he was back at Underhill House, Drake stepped inside with extreme circonspection. He knew that Wyatt was attending some seminar at his college, but he didn't want to risk bumping into either Cordelia or Grace, since he didn't want anyone to know that he had been near Talia. Nobody seemed to be around, however, so he quickly made his way into the laundry room, tossed the entirety of his clothes inside one of the washing machines, turned it on and then scampered butt naked towards the bathroom.

Drake locked the door behind him and rested against it for a moment, his eyes closed, a sigh of relief escaping from his lips. Now I just need to take a shower and every trace of Talia's smell will be..., he thought, before a familiar voice made him startle.

"Drake? What are you doing? And why are you naked?" Leonardo was sitting on the toilet, his pale eyes open wide, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Drake's hands covered his junk in a clumsy movement, despite the fact that the other guy had, at that point, seen and touched his dick in multiple occasions already. "I... um... well... I mean, why didn't you lock the door?!"

"I forgot, okay?" Leo replied, his cheeks flushed and pink. "I thought nobody was home except me." The young man coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. "So, you need to use the...?" he asked, before pointing at the porcelain seat below him.

"Huh? Oh, no, no. I... uh, needed to take a shower, that's all," was Drake's reply. He scampered towards the shower enclosure and turned on the hot water, letting it rain on his naked body. "I mean, it's not a problem, right?" he asked.

"N-no, not at all," Leo replied from the other side of the wall. "So, where have you been?"

Drake gulped. Oh, goddammit, I cannot lie to him. He has trust issues already. "W-well..." the man grabbed a soap bar and started scrubbing his furry chest. "I met Wyatt's older sister, but please don't tell anyone. Especially not Wyatt."

"Oh." A moment of silence. "Yeah, Inori mentioned that they... that there's some bad blood between the two of them or something."

"Indeed. Which kinda sucks, 'cause... I mean, neither of them is a bad person. They are just very stubborn," Drake said while rubbing the soap bar around his crotch area.

Leo audibly snickered. "You know, it's kinda funny that you just described your boyfriend and pack leader as 'not a bad person'."

Despite the steaming hot water, Drake felt the icy cold hand of guilt caressing his spine. "Y-yeah, that came out so wrong. What I meant was... I'm sure they could get along well, if only they both made an effort."

"And let me guess: you want to help them make that effort," Leo said.

Drake rubbed the nape of his neck with the soap, lowering his eyes to the drain between his feet. "I... I still don't know. I mean, I want to, but... what if they don't?" What if Wyatt doesn't?, his brain added for him. "Maybe I should just mind my own business, this time."

Leo fell silent for a bit, and Drake felt like he had let his newest pack member down. "You know... it's because you didn't mind your own business if I'm here with you now," he finally said, his tone so simple and earnest that made Drake's heart skip a beat. Gentle, soft sounds of footsteps reached his sensitive ears, and when Leo spoke again, his voice came from right behind him. "And I will be forever grateful for that."

Drake turned around: Leo was standing at the entrance of the shower enclosure, his pale naked body glowing in an almost otherworldly way, the wide scars that ran from his face down to his neck and left arm glistening under the cold white lights of the bathroom. Drake couldn't help but feel a twinge in his groin, as he realized that Leo - after his first major change had finally settled in - was now packing a solid, wiry musculature under his skin. The newly-turned werewolf looked back at him with his head slightly cocked; his pale eyes blazed gold, and when he smiled, a pair of cute fangs poked from under his upper lip. Drake fumbled with the soap bar, that landed on the shower floor with a small thud. "L-Leo, um..." he stuttered. "Is there... something wrong?"

The other werewolf took a step forward. "No, quite the contrary," he murmured. "I just wanted to... be alone with you for a while. Nobody else around."

Drake nodded. "I... That's true, we never had a moment to talk in private since you woke up after the bite."

Leo knelt down and grabbed the soap bar from the floor, before giving it back to Drake. "Can you wash my back, please?" he asked. The young man leaned against the wall, his back slightly arched, his small, tight butt pushed forward in a gesture of innocent malice.

"S-sure..." Drake began to lather Leo's pale skin with soap. "You probably want more than just talking, though... right?"

Leo nodded as a soft moan escaped his lips and the tips of his ears developed into points. "It's just that... Wyatt has always been around, these days," he whispered as more and more of his inner wolf poured out.

Drake's brow furrowed: unlike his packmate, he was keeping his feral side in check, and still looked completely human. "Are you saying that you don't like him?"

Leo's newly-sprouted tail tucked itself between his legs. "What?! No!" he exclaimed, his golden eyes widening. "I like Wyatt, he's a great alpha and sex with him is amazing! I just... love you more, that's all..." His fuzzy ears sagged a bit and his pointed teeth sank in his lower lip.

You are already the alpha of those two wolves. The words uttered by Talia echoed inside Drake's skull, deafening and inescapable. Well, shit. "I... I don't know what to say, Leo..."

"Then don't say anything... okay?" Leo turned around, and his clawed hand caressed Drake's cheek with vulnerable gentleness. "Just... stay here with me. Keep me close. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to, I just... want to feel your heartbeat and your warmth."

Drake raised his hand in a replica of Leo's gesture, as his body tingled and shifted into that of a wolfman. Golden eyes gazed into golden eyes, as the bigger werewolf gave his pack member a tender smile full of fangs. "I want to," he simply replied. "I want you, Leo."

A tear rolled down the scarred cheek of his packmate. "I wanted to hear those words so bad..." he whispered, before leaning forward for a soft kiss.

Drake wrapped his powerful arms around Leo as their tongues caressed and tasted each other under the hot waterfall of the shower; their proud canine erections were pressed together, but Drake wasn't focused on sexual gratification in the least. Leo's warm body, the big, dizzying cloud of different emotions radiating from him like an aura, their heartbeats synching more and more until they overlapped and became a single rhythm. Where two werewolves had been, now only one being stood, a perfect fusion of heart, mind and body.

Wow... this... is so..., Drake managed to think as his hands caressed Leo's back and ass, his golden eyes closed. How can this be so... intense? He had never experienced such a surge of passion while making love... except with Wyatt, of course. And yet, it was still different: Wyatt was fire, scorching and passionate and overwhelming, wild and powerful enough to set his brain ablaze every time; Leo, on the other hand, was like warm water, a gentle, pleasant touch over his skin and his soul.

The kiss ended, and the two werewolves exchanged a long meaningful glance, golden eyes into golden eyes. "I want you to knot me," Leo murmured, before nuzzling the side of Drake's face.

Drake let out a tiny gasp. "Are... you sure?" he asked tentatively. "We could just, you know, cuddle and touch each other, and... like, there's no need for us to actually do it if you don't want to."

"But I do. I want to do it." Even though the countless droplets of water falling all around them acted as a curtain that muffled any other sound, Drake knew from the rhythm of his heart that Leo was sincere. "I knotted you after all."

Drake caressed Leo's forehead, touching his wet skin. "It would be an honor," he murmured before kissing him once again.

Leo let out a giggle before turning around and once again leaning against the shower wall. His clawed hands spread his round ass cheeks, revealing a dark pink, tight, quivering hole. Drake flexed his right index finger, forcing the claw to shift into a normal human nail, and gently poked at the warm entrance; the first inch of his finger or two slipped inside almost immediately, encountering no resistance.

Leo let out a tiny moan. "I... still can't believe how good it feels," he confessed with a clumsy chuckle.

Drake nuzzled his chin against Leo's neck, pulling him close while still prodding the inside of his anus. "And wait until your first full moon! Sex as feral werewolves feels even better!"

"O-oh, right..." Leo whispered. It seemed like he still hadn't realized that he was going to change even more in a few weeks. "Will it hurt? The transformation, I mean."

Drake smiled. "Oh, no, of course not! It's so... intense. It's like having a full-body orgasm." He kissed the scarred cheek of his younger packmate. "Can't wait to see how your wolf form looks like. Bet you will be adorable."

A low growl of pleasure escaped from Leo's lips. "I love you, Drake."

"Love you too, Leo." Drake's finger slipped out of the warm, inviting hole, and he carefully positioned his dick so that the tapered point rested right against the pulsating pucker. "Are you ready?" Leo simply nodded in reply, and Drake began to push his hips forward, doing his best to make sure his fellow beta wouldn't feel any pain or discomfort at the penetration. His canine cock, however, slid into the hole with next to no effort, just like it finger had. It was just as if... as if it belonged there. "There. I'm... I'm inside of you. Completely inside of you," he said, a bit dumb-founded: his fur-covered scrotum was resting comfortably right behind Leo's own ballsack. Wyatt was right, Leo was already taking dicks like a champ! "I hope it didn't hurt, I didn't realize I was that deep already."

Leo groaned. "Are you kidding me? It feels amazing..." His ears twitched as he panted; Drake wrapped his muscled arms around Leo's body, caressing his tight abs. "Sorry again for... for that, by the way," Leo murmured, his eyes shifting for a moment to the dark purplish bruise below Drake's right shoulder.

Drake's lips parted slightly and his pointed teeth grazed at the sensitive skin of Leo's earlobe. "It doesn't matter now..." he murmured. "Just relax, okay?"

"O-okay..." Leo replied, gasping as Drake's fingers wrapped around his red cock, caressing the slick surface and playing with its elongated piss hole. Drake let out a confused growl as his hand moved to the flared base, stumbling into an engorged knot. "I'm s-sorry..." Leo said, sheepishly. "It's just that... I was too excited, so..."

Drake smiled, and rested his chin atop of Leo's head. "I know," he said, his pointed canines showing. "It feels so good... I won't last that long either." He rocked his hips slowly, back and forth, as at least half of his canine penis slid out of Leo's ass before being once again pushed inside. The friction, the warmth, the sensitivity of his skin... the bliss was almost unbearable, and before long - Drake realized with a long whimper - his rock-hard knot bulged, trapping his dick inside the depths of Leo's ass. "Told you. Sorry..."

Leo just nuzzled him. "It's okay, alpha. I just wish we could stay like this forever," he replied.

"Neither of us is going anywhere, Leo. We can always have..." It took a couple seconds for Drake to process what Leo had just said. "I'm sorry, can you... can you repeat your last sentence, please?"

"I said that I wish we could stay..."

"No, I mean... before that."

"I said... alpha."

Alpha. Alpha. Alpha. The word bounced back and forth inside Drake's brain like an echo between two mountains. I'm... I'm not his alpha. Or anyone's alpha, he tried to argue in a weak mental whisper, but there was no use. Talia, he could doubt; Leo, however? Someone who he had turned into a werewolf, someone who was part of his pack, someone who couldn't possibly act dishonestly towards him? There was no way in hell he was lying. The sudden awareness exploded in his mind like a small, white supernova, and travelled down his spine at high speed before embedding itself into his ballsack. Electric snow danced in front of his eyes and the sound of water pouring all around him became more thunderous and all-encompassing with every moment, as he exhaled in silence and his dick - so erect and hard it was causing him physical pain - pumped dense yellowish werewolf cum deep inside Leo.

"O-oh... wow..." Leo murmured, before he too sprayed his load, splattering it all over the shower tiles. The two slowly slid against the wall, until they were lying on the floor, water cascading over their naked bodies, Drake's dick still stuck inside Leo's ass.

"Why... why did you have to say that?" Drake murmured, his eyes closed, his brow furrowed in what could be interpreted as an expression of intense suffering as his tears mixed with shower water. And still, his arms were hugging his packmate close.

"Because I... because I think it's true, Drake," Leo replied. "You make me feel protected, you make me feel safe, you make me feel at home for the first time in I don't even know when. You may be Wyatt's beta, but I know for sure that you are my alpha."

Even after the knot had deflated and Drake was able to pull out, the two werewolf remained lying on the bathroom floor - bare skin against bare skin, the sound of water cascading over them and their own heartbeats as their only other company - for a long, long time.

***

"Oh. Here you are." Drake said as he poked his head inside Grace's room.

Inori, who was sitting on a chair with her legs against her chest and her arms hugging them, bent her neck at an unnerving angle to stare at him. "I'm helping Grace with her homework," she announced.

"She really isn't," Grace said in a matter-of-fact tone. She was sitting at her desk next to Inori, an exercise book open in front of her; now that the young girl wasn't dressed in one of the old-timey white nightgowns she seemed so much fond of, she seemed less of a Victorian-era ghost and more like a normal kid. "But I like having her around," she conceded with a small smile. "She keeps good company and she doesn't ask stupid questions."

"It's always good to feel appreciated," Inori nodded, and Drake had no clue if she was being sarcastic or genuine. "So, do you need anything?"

Drake shook his head. "Nah, just wanted to check on you two." They must have arrived home as me and Leo were... taking that shower, he thought. The younger boy had decided he wanted to take a nap, and was currently sleeping in Drake's bed.

"Come inside," Grace commanded, and her prepubescent voice was so eerily similar in tone to her much older sister that Drake felt compelled to obey, slipping into the room and closing the door behind his back.

That was the first time since he had taken residence at Underhill House that Drake had stepped inside Grace's room; much to his surprise, it looked way more normal than expected: the sheets were light blue and violet and were covered in My Little Pony characters, a night light shaped like the full moon was plugged into a socket right next to the bed - I guess even werewolves can be afraid of the dark, Drake pondered with a tiny grin - and the shelves mounted on the walls were full of books, stuffed dolls and a violin case... except for the one right above the desk Grace was currently sitting at; it took Drake a handful of seconds (at least until he noticed the ghastly grin of a possum skull) to realize that he was looking at a random assortment of carefully polished animal bones. The man looked around, and not seeing any other empty chair, ultimately sat on the bed, making it creak under his weight.

"You are nervous," Grace said, looking straight at him - or, more accurately, through him - with her piercing grey eyes. The young girl sniffed the air a couple of times. "What's wrong?"

"Well..." Drake started, before Grace interrupted him.

"I bet it's about Wyatt," she stated, sounding like she knew she was right. "He's still your boyfriend, right?"

Drake tried his best not to gulp. "Yes." I mean, I hope so. He might change his mind after what I have to tell him.

"You don't seem convinced," Grace replied. "Here, have a candy." She had produced a soft pink piece of toffee seemingly out of thin air, and before Drake could react, she shoved it into his mouth.

Drake reflexively munched on the treat, and as the taste of strawberry spread across his tongue like wildfire, his eyes lit up. "Oh! This is... the very first thing I ate after I became a werewolf!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. I mean, not exactly the same candy, that's impossible," Grace said. "But I'm glad to see you are still as weird as your first day here." Judging by the sound of her heartbeat, she seemed sincere.

"Did something happen with Wyatt?" Inori asked, her eyes inquisitive. Drake shook his head and caressed her hair with gentle touches.

"No, no... don't worry about that. I just need to talk to him about something, that's all." The strawberry toffee was making him feel a bit better: maybe it was the familiar taste, or maybe just a small sugar rush, but he was definitely less nervous than before. "Say, Grace, can I ask you something?"

The young girl put down the pencil she was scribbling with on her notebook and turned to face him once again. "Is it a stupid question? Because I know you are great at those."

"It's... not?" Drake replied, his cheeks flushed. "I mean, I guess it's not? I hope?" He shook his head, and his messy ponytail bounced against his shoulders. "Anyway... what's the deal with your earrings? I have never asked Wyatt for whatever reason, but you, him and Talia wear the same kind of earring... well, okay, maybe not the same, yours looks a bit different, but still."

Grace's fingers absent-mindedly brushed against the steel fang dangling from her left ear. "Well, that wasn't a stupid question," she said, sounding like she was impressed.

"Thanks?"

"Maybe next time word it a little better, though. You sounded like a moron."

Drake hung his head in shame. I can't really win against the Underhill women, can I? "Yes, ma'am."

Grace nodded. "Dad made this one for me. I asked him last year, before you and Inori and that other guy I don't remember the name of came to live here. I think I was jealous, because Nat and Wyatt have the original ones."

"The original ones?" Drake repeated, his ears perked.

"They were dad's family heirloom. Mom wore the golden one and dad wore the bronze one when they were younger; then mom gave her earring to Nat and dad gave his earring to Wyatt. It was after they became alphas, you know," the young girl explained succinctly. "Then, as I said, I asked mom and dad and he made this one for me. It doesn't look exactly the same, but it will do for now."

"For now?" Drake asked, his brow furrowed.

Grace darted at him, her grey eyes filled with golden speckles for a split second. "Until I become an alpha myself, of course. Then I will challenge either Nat or Wyatt and get myself an earring." A grin appeared on her lips, and her canine teeth looked very much like small deadly fangs. "You know, maybe I'll get both of them."

"That's the spirit," Inori added, nodding her head.

She's so young, and yet she's so determined and strong-willed, Drake pondered. All the alphas he had met in the last few months have been different from one another, but they had all shared a drive, something that deeply motivated them to achieve results and to become stronger. Well, if I am actually an alpha, what's my drive, then? I've always let life pass me by before I was bitten by Wyatt, and even now that I am a werewolf, the only thing I want is for everyone to be happy, so...

Well, maybe that's enough, another voice resonated in his head. For a moment, he thought it might have been the beast in his heart, but it felt smoother, calmer... less feral, less wild, less full of dark and red and forest green. Maybe wanting everyone to be happy is enough, don't you think?

Drake's eyes went wide. "Of course!" he exclaimed as he sprang back on his feet, before realizing that both Inori and Grace were staring at him with identical, quizzical expressions on their faces. "I mean, I... just realized something. And it's all because of you, Grace, so... thank you." The man beamed a smile at the young girl, something she didn't seem to find that impressive.

"You are so weird," she commented, shaking her head. "But you are welcome," she then added with the tiniest shadow of a smirk. "So, what did I make you realize?"

Drake almost scratched the nape of his neck, but stopped himself just in time. "Something I need to tell Wyatt. Wish me good luck."

***

"So, my dear dragon, what do you need to tell me?" Wyatt asked, as his breath coalesced around his face in the chilling air of that short afternoon of February. The sky was dark grey, the atmosphere was electric and the faint sounds of thunder in the distance were harbingers of a coming storm. "And why here outside?" The two were in the backyard of Underhill house, at a certain distance from the actual property, not that far from where the forest surrounding Cerulean Falls began. "Wouldn't be better to go inside and get into bed? I'm sure we could talk there..." Wyatt smiled at him, his tone playful and jovial. "And you know, do a ton of other stuff..."

Drake gulped. "Later, okay?" he replied, fidgeting with his coat. "I don't want to get distracted, you know?"

Wyatt stared back at him in silence for a couple of seconds, his eyes inquisitive, then nodded. "You seem to have a lot on your mind. Please tell me everything."

Drake cleared his throat, then sighed. His mind was a blank page, his thoughts hiding from sight like worms and bugs under a rock. "Where do I begin?" he wondered out loud. Not the best way to start, for sure. "See, it was during the convention in Arizona... well, not exactly, but in retrospect, I... I think it began there, when we saved Inori from her previous pack. You know what I mean?"

Wyatt grinned. He still seemed confused, but at least he didn't look angry or impatient. "I can't say I do, but please go on."

"So, at first I didn't think too much about that, at the time it simply felt like the right thing to do. We saved someone's life and that was it. But then it happened again with Leonardo, and... I don't know." Drake shook his head as he exhaled misty vapor from his lips. "I feel like there's some sort of drive inside of me, some sort of instinct that compels me to help others in need."

Wyatt grabbed one of Drake's hands in his own. The skin of his palms was warm and soft, and the gesture gave Drake some comfort. "That's simply because you are a great guy, my dragon. You always want what's best for everyone, you want everyone to be happy. I mean, that's why I love you so much." The alpha winked behind his glasses. "That and also because you are a hottie."

"Yes, exactly!" Drake exclaimed. "That's what I meant! I mean, not the last part, and I don't consider myself that great of a person, but... it is true that I want everyone to be happy. I want to protect everyone, keep them safe and warm and well-fed, and I want to keep doing it forever, so..."

Wyatt beamed him a smile, his eyes sparkling. "Oh, I get it! Maybe you should get down on your knee for that."

Drake scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I... what? I mean, I... I was wondering if maybe..." He inhaled, and the cold air of February filled his lungs so much he thought they were going to pop like balloons. "Maybe I am an alpha too. There, I said it." He spat out the ten words so fast they sounded more like a jumbled mess of vowels and consonants, but Wyatt's reaction made it perfectly clear they hadn't missed their target.

The alpha's expression got cold and distant in less than a moment, the bright smile gone, and even though he didn't let Drake's hand go, Drake could feel Wyatt's nails getting pointier and scraping against his skin. "Oh," he uttered, in a tone so neutral and devoid of emotions it gave Drake chills. "And here I thought that..." he added, his voice now bitter. "Who did put that idea inside your head?"

"N-nobody," Drake replied without thinking, even though he knew it was pointless.

Wyatt's eyes narrowed. "Don't lie, Drake. I can feel your blood pumping faster in your veins, I can hear your voice cracking, I can see all the small twitches in your face," he warned. "Was it Moira? Or one of my parents?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "No, let me guess, it was Clyde. Of course it was him, I need to smack his face next time I..."

"No," Drake interrupted him. "No, it wasn't... it wasn't Clyde. It wasn't Richard or Cordelia, and it wasn't Moira either. I swear, it was just an idea that came into my mind after we saved Inori, and it kinda developed from there. Although... it is true that I talked to someone." Please don't ask me who I talked to, Drake pleaded. The conversation was degenerating at a much quicker pace than he had feared, and he felt like he was standing on a thin layer of ice, the cracks already spreading.

Wyatt, however, didn't need to ask: he slowly, deliberately raised Drake's hand up to his face, without ever losing eye contact, and took a deep sniff. As a snarl escaped his mouth and his irises blazed gold in fury, he let down of Drake's hand as if it had suddenly become scorching hot. "How could you?" he growled, seething with rage. "Did you really think that just because you took a shower I wouldn't realize that you had my sister's smell all over you?!"

Drake sighed. "I'm... I'm sorry, Drake. I can't say I didn't want to keep it a secret from you, because that would be lying. And I'm sorry I broke your trust, but..."

"Yeah, you better be sorry about that!" Wyatt sneered. His knuckles cracked as his nails darkened and honed into points; it seemed like it was getting difficult for him to keep his wolf side in check now that he was infuriated. "How could you, Drake? After everything she put Angela and the pups... after everything she put me through!"

"I know how you are feeling, but I don't think that she..." Drake started, before literally biting his own tongue. What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! he admonished himself as his mouth was invaded by the salty taste of his own blood as his tongue started healing already. The last thing you need to do right now is to take Talia's side. "I mean, I really needed to ask for someone's advice and..."

"And of all possible people, you chose Talia?!" Wyatt growled, taking a step back. He has completely shifted now, except for his tail, his clothes straining to accommodate his bigger frame... and then he seemed to deflate as his posture changed, his fangs biting his lower lip, his golden eyes full of tears ready to trickle down his cheeks as his ears lowered. "I... I thought you loved me, Drake," he murmured.

Drake felt the rusty blade of guilt stabbing through his heart, leaving a messy, bleeding hole behind. "And I do! I love you, Wyatt! Listen to my voice, listen to my heartbeat, you know that's true! But that doesn't have anything to do with..."

"It has everything to do with this!" Wyatt interrupted him, as his rage mounted once again. "How did she persuade you to believe in this alpha nonsense? What, you don't believe I'm good enough to be the leader of my pack? Is that what you are implying, Drake?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Wyatt. Please. You are better than that." Up until that point, Drake had tried his best to deescalate what was clearly shaping up to be the worst argument between the two of them - and pretty much the only real argument they had ever had - up until that point; he had tried being the calm and reasonable one, but now he was starting to feel pissed off. Maybe it was Wyatt's stubbornness, maybe it was the tone in why he had said the words "alpha nonsense", maybe it was the manipulative tactic he had just employed, or maybe it was all those things at once. "You are a great alpha, and the fact that I might also be one doesn't change anything," he added, his voice now clear and determined.

"How so?"

"Your parents are both alphas, and they have been happily married for how long? More than twenty-five years?" Drake replied.

Wyatt winced at that. He took another half-step back, his hands opening and closing, twitching. "T-that's... that's different," he replied, weakly.

"Why?" Drake had no intention of letting that go.

"Because it is!" Wyatt blurted out. "Because I say so!"

"You literally said the same when I bit Leo. That me turning him into a werewolf was completely different than you turning me." Drake huffed, even though he was managing to keep the more feral part of him in check still. "So that's why? Because you are an alpha and I'm not?"

Wyatt snarled, and his upper lip raised for a moment to uncover his fangs in an expression of unbridled rage. He clearly wanted to look intimidating, and - bloody hell - he was succeeding: Drake had never felt so scared of him since the first time they had met in the woods. "Is that insubordination I smell?" the alpha growled. "Is that what you've been planning, Drake? A coup? You want to take my pack away from..."

"Enough!". Drake's cry resonated like a gunshot. He didn't allow his wolf side to manifest except for his eyes, which now burned with the same golden, blazing intensity of Wyatt's gaze. It was such an unexpected reaction, such an unheard behaviour from his part that Wyatt himself seemed at a total loss of words: he just stared back at him, his mouth slowly agape in shock. "This isn't about you, Wyatt. This is about me, about who I am and what I can be."

"Exactly," Wyatt growled, his pupils reduced to pinpricks. "You are my beta. I made you who you are now!"

"And I will be forever grateful to you for that," Drake replied. Wyatt's wrath was explosive and destructive, while his own was controlled and focused. Suddenly, the air around the two of them didn't feel that chilly anymore. "You changed my life for the better, and I will be indebted to you until the day I die." Drake took another long breath, and the mist he exhaled made him look like he indeed was a dragon who had taken human form. "You might have helped Angela, Chance and Kaylee escape from an abusive pack and saved my life in the woods, but that doesn't mean I belong to you, and neither do our packmates."

"I've... never said anything like that," Wyatt retorted, his face a mask of sourness. Where his fang had pierced his lower lip, some dark red blood was trickling down into his short fuzzy blond beard; for the first time since the beginning of the argument, he moved his gaze away from Drake, staring at the forest nearby. The noise of thunder rolled through the skies above, this time much closer than before. "But if you really think I consider you and the others my... my slaves or something... then go. Leave, for all I care. I don't want to see your face ever again, Drake."

Those terrible words hurt Drake much less than he would have expected. He was perfectly aware they were nothing but a lie. "You don't really mean what you have just said," he replied in a measured voice. "You just wanted to hurt me, but you can't even look at me when you are lying, Wyatt."

His eyes still on the forest in the distance, Wyatt started crying in silence, tear after tear rolling down his cheek as his expression remained stoically cold. "N-no. You are right, I... I don't mean that. I don't want you to go. I don't want you to leave, I don't want to lose you, Drake. I think my heart would break if I could never see your face ever again." He sniffled, but once again his sadness was smothered by a fit of anger. "And yet... why are you doing this to me?! Why couldn't things just stay as they were? Everything was great, everything was perfect!"

So... that's the reason why he's so angry, Drake thought, as he felt his own rage diminishing, albeit not completely. "Because... things don't stay the same forever, Wyatt," he replied, his voice lower in volume and more poignant in tone. "One year ago I wasn't a werewolf... hell, I didn't even know you! I led a completely different life, and look at me... look at us now! But even if we have something wonderful here, right now..." he looked at his mate, who still stubbornly refused to look back at him, at the forest, at their house in the distance, at the grey sky heavy with rain. "Maybe in five years, or in ten years... or maybe even next year things could be completely different. Maybe Chance and Kaylee will go to those colleges in Colorado and Wyoming and they will meet other werewolves and they will join a different pack, or maybe we'll be able to find Inori's family and she might want to reconnect with them, or maybe..."

"You don't know that," Wyatt said, curtly, and Drake nodded at that.

"That's right, I don't. But I know it can happen, and I know that I need to enjoy every day with you and with everyone as it might be the last. I didn't start living for real until I met you, Wyatt, but now I don't want to give anything for granted." Drake managed to conjure a smile and took a small step towards him. Maybe I can do it. Maybe I can convince him to calm down just enough...

Wyatt let out a long, wistful sigh as his eyes once again moved to Drake, freezing him on the spot: the light inside his golden irises was dim and empty, as if it was on the verge of fizzling out and disappear into the upcoming night. "You don't understand, Drake... if you become an alpha, that means I failed."

"W-what do you mean?"

"When I became an alpha, it was to save Angela and the pups from the other pack. I did it because someone needed to do something." Wyatt gulped in the dim light, and another tear rolled down his cheek as a thunder roared right above their heads. "So now, if you are an alpha, that means that I'm not good enough."

"Nonsense," Drake replied, shaking his head. "We both know that's not true, and that you are an amazing alpha."

"Then explain to me why would you need to..."

"Because, as I already told you..." Drake took another step forward, feeling the rage once again mounting inside of him but keeping it in check. "Not everything is about you. Maybe I am an alpha, maybe I'm not, but why exactly this enrages you so much, Wyatt? Can't we both be alpha, together?"

"B-because..."

"Is it just because you are afraid that if you are not the leader, then your idea of a perfect pack will be threatened?" Not even Drake knew where the hell those words, those thoughts came from. Maybe from the beast inside of him, maybe from the depths of his brain... but it didn't matter. It was too late to stop them now, they were pouring outside of him like a river that had broken its dams. "That's why you felt the need to tell me you wanted to bite Leo too, because you wanted to send me a message? You wanted to let me know who was in charge between the two of us?"

"No, I..." Wyatt said, but his heartbeat was telling a different story.

Drake sighed. "I can't believe it... you built this house of cards in your head made out of all those things you convinced yourself to be true, and you made so much effort to protect it than now you can't even face reality. Because you rose up against your sister, you convinced yourself that if any of your betas were to do the same, it was because they wanted to rebel against you..."

"Syop it, Drake," Wyatt growled.

"And not just that... remember when you told me that Kaylee sucked at writing and drawing because werewolves don't have the same creative drive as humans? I noticed what your face looked like when she showed us the portrait she made of her grandfather. You simply couldn't accept that she had actually got better. But why? Have you tried composing music in the past and since you were not satisfied with the results you decided that werewolves weren't good at creating art?"

"I said stop it, Drake, or I swear I..." Wyatt's voice was full of rage, but his tone made those words sound more like a desperate plea than anything else.

"No, I won't stop." At this point, Drake was crying too. "I love you, Wyatt, but you are always so angry... Stop keeping everything bottled up inside of you, stop creating your own distorted version of reality inside your head instead of facing the world! Talk to me, tell me what's wrong!" He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "Even if I am an alpha, we will still be..."

Drake tried to say "together", but all that it came out from his lips was a liquid, choked gurgle. For a moment he wondered why, and when he opened his eyes again he saw blood spraying from right under his chin. Then the pain hit him, and it was like nothing he had experienced in his life, not even when he had broken his legs in that very forest last summer. As his hands went to his slashed throat to try and stop the fountain of blood, his unfocused, wide-eyed stare zeroed in on Wyatt.

The young man was standing in front of him, his whole body shaking, his hands pressed against his mouth, blood - Drake's blood, so much blood - dripping from his right claws. His eyes were as round as coins, filled to the brim of incredulity and tears. "O-oh, no... w-what... what have I done? Oh, god, my dragon, I... what have I done?"

As Drake collapsed on his knees, his legs hitting the cold, hard ground - not that he felt anything, the pain was searing and all-encompassing - and before his vision became too foggy, he saw the most horrible thing possible: as Wyatt stared at him, the gold in his irises began to fizzle out, like an old light bulb... but whenever the warm golden lights died, instead of his normal chestnut eyes, another color appeared. A color Drake would have never been able to forget, a color burned forever into his brain, a color that had tainted the memories of his very first full moon.

The same cold, bestial, unforgiving, horrible shade of red of the eyes of the direwolf who had attacked them.

No! Wyatt, no!, Drake tried to scream those words, but could only mouth them in silence as he collapsed. He heard the frantic sound of footsteps, running towards the forest, and tried to gather enough strength to get up and chase his boyfriend, but his body was as cold and unresponsive as a block of stone.

I have to save him! I have to do something!, he pleaded desperately, as crimson fluid kept pouring out of his ruined throat and all over the dark soil. The wound was already healing, but the blood loss was severe.

You need to rest first, the beast in his heart admonished him. Gather all your strength. You will need it.

And then, the sky exploded all over him, and Drake lost consciousness.

***

Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no

Wyatt ran. He didn't know where he was going, nor he cared to know. It didn't matter. He had just destroyed his life and his only chance to be happy, after all.

What have I done oh god I'm so sorry I didn't even realize what I was doing my body just

He didn't even notice - how could he? - that his werewolf eyes, his pride and joy, were slowly shifting from the familiar gold into swirling pools of red madness. He didn't even register, at least at first, that his whole body was aching, his joints on fire, his claws dripping blood that wasn't the one he had drawn from Drake.

Is he dead oh god he's dead I killed him I killed him please forgive me Drake pleasepleaseplease

He was so stupid. He was so proud. He was so dumb, so thick-headed, so stubborn. He couldn't do anything right. He always got angry whenever something didn't go as expected. He was impatient, he was an asshole, he was a terrible son, a terrible brother, a terrible friend, a terrible packmate, a terrible husband. A terrible boyfriend.

He didn't deserve happiness. He didn't deserve anything.

And the beast inside of him - the big, _ bad _ wolf - was there to remind me of exactly that. Again, and again, and again.

Wyatt tripped in an exposed root, landing square on his face, the frame of his glasses snapping in half at the impact. He sobbed, lying in the mud, and when he tried to get back on his feet he realized he couldn't. His body wasn't his, not anymore; he has lost his balance, and now he had to pay the price.

"No no no no please no please no," he whispered as he stared at his unresponsive hand contorting and spasming, the human skin tensing and tearing as vile, disgusting blood-soaked fur emerged from below. Soon enough, the whispers turned to screams, then to feral noises, as Wyatt's body continued dying and a monster was born in his place.

(next chapter: I am Me [Sincerely Yours])