“Oh, yes,” said Dean happily, as he picked up right where he had left off.
Chapter seven
Themoonwasstrong,bathing the world in her silver light. Silas shivered as her touch caressed his body. It felt so good to stand there, basking naked in the moon’s glow. Her potent power seeping into every pore of his skin.
He was a creature of the moon, and she was his in return. Silas tipped back his head and stretched out his arms. Relishing the moon’s presence, seeking to feel more of her, offer even more of his skin to her touch, worshiping in the only way he knew how.
Around him, the pack started to shift and Silas decided he couldn’t wait any longer either. Grinning in delight, he flowed into his wolf form. Then he stretched, exulting in the feel of fur and paws. Savoring a world that was now brighter, clearer. Full of tantalizing scents and curious sounds. Everything was far more vivid as a wolf. Silas loved it.
He glanced up as Dean walked up to him, still in his human form. Dean grinned down at him. Silas yipped at him impatiently, “Come on, shift already!”he sent down the mate bond. Dean nodded and then obliged. Silas barely let him settle before barreling into him playfully.
They nipped, rolled, and played exuberantly. Silas adored frolicking with Dean and getting his alpha’s delicious scent all over him. It was all he needed to be happy. It was far easier to be relaxed and happy in wolf form. As a wolf, he didn’t worry about losing control of his magic and hurting people. He didn’t torment himself over wondering if he had forced Dean and become his own worst nightmare. Wolves lived in the moment and if the moment was good, everything was fantastic.
The moon was full, he was playing with his mate. His pack was about to run. So Silas was ecstatic. It was heaven, it was bliss, it was everything. His wolf whispered that they should stay like this forever. Silas couldn’t think of an argument against that.
Finally, everyone was ready and the run began. The pack was large and as Silas watched the sea of wolves around him, all his long lonely years felt like a distant dream.
They all ran together through the woods for a while before breaking off into several smaller groups. Silas ran with Dean up to a rocky outcrop where they could sit and look down at the woods spread out before them. They sat next to each other, tails wrapped around paws. Silas leaned against his mate, feeling his body heat. He licked Dean’s ear, and Dean turned his head and licked him back.
Silas admired the view and wished he could howl. They were far too close to a human town for that. Frightened humans were dangerous humans. Instead, he let his tongue loll and enjoyed the taste of the night air.
He caught glimpses of the pack running in the woods below, and the sight filled him with joy. Eventually, Dean appeared satisfied that all was well with the pack lands and led Silas back down to the forest floor.
Silas wanted to play some more, but Dean seemed determined to continue his hunting lessons. Silas grumbled down the mate bond, but followed Dean. His mate had noticed he was terrible at hunting and was adamant to fix that. Silas thought Dean’s determination was adorable, but unnecessary. Silas wasn’t planning on running off and living in the wild again anytime soon. And even if he did, he wasn’t that bad at hunting. If he stuck to rabbits.
Dean caught the scent of something and was stalking through the undergrowth carefully. Silas followed, taking care to stay downwind of whatever it was Dean was hunting. Despite himself, he watched Dean’s movements carefully. Silas hated being bad at anything. It irked him. If he really couldn’t get the hang of hunting, he could always pretend it was due to pure disinterest on his part. Whereas on the other hand, if he learned to excel at it, Dean would be so proud.
“Pay attention,”said Dean through the mate bond. Silas looked in the direction Dean was staring at and saw a deer hidden in the shadows. He never would have seen it. He also would have tried to sneak closer, but Dean just ran from where he was. The alpha brought the deer down quickly and easily. Silas was impressed and proud.
Dean dragged the carcass over to Silas, dropping it neatly at his feet. Silas cocked his head inquisitively at his mate.“Courting?”Silas asked teasingly. They were already mated, this was unnecessary. Unnecessary yet wonderful. Silas was glad he was in wolf form otherwise his stupid eyes probably would have been watering. Dean was absurdly sweet, it really was too much sometimes. Silas was quite sure he didn’t deserve him.
“Eat,”insisted Dean, his wolf eyes glowing. Silas tucked in, it tasted divine. Fresh, wild and a gift from Dean. When he had eaten his fill, Dean gave a low quiet howl to summon the rest of the pack to eat the rest.
Silas walked away with Dean, leaving the pack to the feast. Whilst he savored the simple companionship of being alone with his mate.
“You practice,”said Dean.
“No,”replied Silas. He was bored with hunting. Dean turned his head to glare sternly at him. Silas gave a slight wag of his tail.
“Catch me. Rail me,”said Silas and he tore off into the night.
The sound of Dean chasing after him was like music to his ears. Silas’s heart did a happy little flutter, and he picked up his pace. He did try his best to evade Dean, he really did. Okay, maybe there were some tricks he didn’t use, and using magic would have been cheating.
Still, it was mostly chance that Dean caught him. Just as he made it to the beautiful grassy clearing he had found a few days ago. The spot was perfect. Open to the night sky. Complete with a gently babbling brook. Lush soft grass to lie on.
Wolf Dean barreled into him. They shifted as they rolled, landing with Dean on top of Silas. Silas stared up at Dean’s green-gold eyes, framed against the moon tinted velvet night sky. Silas grinned and spread his legs. His mate’s eyes flashed with gold and lust as the alpha lowered his head to claim his mouth. Silas wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck and held him close.
Everything was perfect.
Chapter eight
Deanstaredblanklyatthe spreadsheet blinking at him on the computer screen. If he had known just how much paperwork was involved in being an Alpha, he really wouldn’t have wanted to be one. He sighed heavily. It was all damn humans’ fault anyway. With their taxes, water and power bills.
He ran his eyes over the spreadsheet again and resentfully admitted to himself he did like Netflix and the convenience of electricity. And it was all fine. The pack had more coming in than going out, as far as Dean could tell. So there was nothing to worry about.
Every pack member was contributing by helping around the compound, in the kitchens, minding the pups, tending the vegetable garden, repairing the buildings and so on. Those that had a human job contributed money. Silas’s Grand Master salary filled the coffers nicely. Dean thought his mate should keep more of it for himself, but the necromancer had insisted on only having a modest clothes budget and giving the rest to the pack’s finances.
Dean was determined to do well by his pack and all the money trusted to him. Baltazar had started teaching him about investments. Dean struggled to understand compounding interest, but he grasped the vampire’s insistence that anything long lived and investing in human stocks and shares would find it extremely difficult to stay poor.
