Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Angel’s bare feet padded against the worn path. The dirt and leaves had been compacted together by wagons carrying supplies or people for the war. A war between races, well that’s how it started, the humans and shifters declared it because of that. Now it was just a relentless fight between two generations who were born long after those who wanted it had died.

Angel hated the war, not because they had to fight in it, no no, they were born of the blood of a lord and lady, they would never have to take one step on a battlefield as long as they lived. They hated it because of the fact they couldn’t fight. Their father and mother had yet to let them enter the generals room, yet to let them help in any way. All they could do was watch from their tower as their people died for a stupid cause built on fear and racism.

Today they walked. Their father had made a deal with someone from somewhere to strengthen something blah blah blah they didn’t really care, all they really cared about was the fact the deal involved him marrying them off to some stranger. 

Some random guy from gods knows where would have their hand in marriage, their life , their everything. They had hoped that they would be married to someone who loved them. They hoped but they should have known. 

So instead of giving into their parents wishes, they walked. Walked without a plan. They just walked. Well, first they rode, rode their favorite horses till they ended up at the woods, they let her go so she could run herself home before they took off into the woods. It had been late in the night when they overheard their parents arguing over when the wedding should be so all they wore was a red cape over their thin sleepwear. Their feet had gotten used to the forest floor while they were a child, climbing up trees and playing in the river a mile or two from the manor they grew up in. The calisus that had gained protected them so the jog in thick forest didn't bother them too much. They ended up on a road and decided to take a break from running and started hoping that they would find somewhere they could sleep for the night.

The path was surrounded by dense greenery and the sounds of the evening. The only reason they could see anything in front of them was thanks to the bright moon that shone on them. It was honestly pretty beautiful, just enjoying the evening, if you ignore the fact that the woods had gone silent.

“It’s not safe for little angels like you to be out this late.” Said a voice, the voice was deep and aggressive, almost like a growl and Angel couldn’t figure out where in god's good name it was coming from.

They whipped around to try and find the owner of the voice, finally feeling the cold wind on their skin as their nerves started going off.

The voice laughed as their head spun around searching for him, he stepped out of the tree line, the sound of the leafs and twigs cracking beneath his feet made them freeze. They listened to his steps until he was right up behind them. “Behind you Angel.”

They turned slowly, getting a good look at the man that was now in front of them. He was big, bigger than them, and strong. They were honestly pretty impressed with his muscle mass. He seemed to only be wearing a pair of pretty baggy pants that cuffed at his ankles, the rest of his body was out on display, a toned, tanned body with scars scattered across it. His face has a look on it, something that says ‘ depending on your next words, you're in big trouble’ the only problem was that they could tell if they wanted the trouble or not.

“Hi” playing it safe seems like a good idea.

“Little far from home are you?” He asked, tilting his head to get a better look at them.

“Just a smidge.” They said with a smile as they made a gesture with their hand to show him.

He snickered at that, it was playful and terrifying, But also kinda hot.

“Need some help home? A little thing like you shouldn’t be left alone out here. There's things in these woods that would love to rip you apart.” Yeah not kinda, just hot, but also really really scary.

“I think I’m good here with you, I’m sure you're big enough to fight anything off.” Where’d that come from? Were they really gonna flirt with the weird, scary, half dresses, Wild man in the woods?

He let out a slight snicker before taking another step towards them, closing what little gap there was between them. “What if I'm the monster in the woods? Could you fight me off?”

This should have been Angel's first hint that maybe they shouldn’t be flirting with the scary, hot, homeless, built-like-a-tree man, but honestly they didn’t really care. “I don’t think I could fight you off but I think I could outrun you, I'm pretty fast.”

He leaned down so his face was only inches from theirs, “Do you think you could outrun a wolf?”  

Oh they fucked up. 

“A.. a wolf?” Angel has to stop themself from bolting when the word ‘wolf’ came out of his mouth. 

“Mhm, do you think you're faster than a wolf?” His wolffish grin made more sense now, and the growling. 

“No, I- don’t think I could.” They could feel their cockiness slipping, did he know who they were? Was he going to kill them? Why hadn’t he killed them yet?

“Do you want to try?” 

That was a question, his voice didn’t hold any malice, in fact, out of everything he’s said to them tonight this was least terrifying, even though the implications had a high chance of getting them killed.

“And how would that work? Would you just chase me into the woods? And then what? Kill me?” Even though they were pretty sure he wouldn’t kill them they had to make sure.

“Killing you would be boring and I really don’t need ‘boring’ right now. I think what I had in mind is a lot more fun.” He took half a step back, giving them a little more room to breathe.

“And what kind of fun do you have in mind?” They closed the gap he made.

“What I had in mind,” The man's eyes widened slightly at their step closer to him, they watched his breath hitch in his chest before his devilish grin grew on his face once more. “Was that you run, have a bit of a head start, and when I catch you-“

“If” they corrected with a smirk.

“Sure, if I catch you, we can have all the fun we want.” His eyes were blown with lust as he stared into theirs, which, if we're being honest, were the exact same.

“And if you can’t catch me?” They teased, walking their fingers up his chest.

“I’m sure you’ll want the same thing I do.” He trailed his hand up their waist.

“Hmm, well, could I know the name of the guy I’m going to be spending my night with?” They asked, tilting their head up at him.

“It’s David, and yours?” He asked, pulling them in closer.

“Angel works just fine,” they respond “should I start running now?”

“One, two,” and they're off. They pushed past him and into the woods, once they got past the thicker bush it was much easier to get going. They weren’t lying when they said they were fast, they took pride in their speed and agility. They stopped hearing him counting at about 12 and then started counting in their head after that, when they got to 34 they heard a stream. They didn’t know much about shifters but they did know that, like wolves, they often relied on smell when hunting so trying to clean some of that off would hopefully get them a few extra minutes. 

By 45 they had the stream in their vision, it was a nice stream. Running just loud enough that they could hear it but calm enough to enjoy a nice swim. 45 was also when they hear A howl cut the calming quiet of the forest. 

49,50. They had made it to the shore, quickly tossing their cape to the ground.

52 53. In the water, paddling across the water.

57, 58. Almost to the other side, the water was deeper on this side.

59, 60. As they broke the surface of the water, grabbing a hold of the stone bank. They look up, ready to hop out and make their great escape before making eye contact with two big eyes. Two big eyes that they remembered looking into about a minute ago, the only difference was that these ones belonged to a massive wolf and not the big man that was with them on the dirt path only a minute earlier. 

His fur faded from black to brown with his muzzle and the tips of his ears being the darkest; he didn't flash his teeth nor did he dare make a sound. He just stared at them, unblinking. 

The pair held this strange eye contact for just a moment before the wolf moved backwards, into the woods, into the shadows, all Angel could see was his two eyes catching the moon light. They kicked off the bank, swimming back to the other side of the small calm river, still keeping eye contact with him. They watched as his eyes moved up away from the ground before seeing David, no longer a wolf, step out of the dark.

Quickly flipping onto their stomach they started to paddle, kicking as hard as they could to get to the Stoney shore. They could barely hear the sound of David hopping into the water with them over the sounds of their kicking. 

What they did notice was his hands grabbing their leg and pulling them towards him, they felt their body get yanked as their head went under. Only a few seconds of quiet, muffled, nothing before his hands found their way to their hips and he had spun them around and pulled them up.

“A minute, not bad.” He said as they swam them back to his side of the stream, the side with large, flat hunks of rock. “I honestly expected I’d have to go easy on you.” He swam backwards with them on top of him, straddling his waist.

“Too late, I was already going easy on you.” They replied, tired from the adrenaline and the running but also extremely excited by what they felt growing under them.

“Oh really?” His voice was a little too cocky for their head to not go straight into the gutter. “So you wouldn’t mind if I didn’t go easy on you when I fuck your brains out then?” 

They caught a moan in their throat as David laughed. 

“Don’t tell me you're just a tease, you were all flirty at the road and now? You come undone by just me telling you exactly what I’m going to do to you?” He had made it back and was now leaning against a slab of rock, still half submerged, still holding them up.

“It’s not very gentlemanly of you to pick on someone you're trying to fuck.” They say after finding the right words.

“Hmm,” his eyes trailed up their body, the cloth that made up their clothes had become see-through in the water, “do you want me to fuck you?” 

The question wasn’t one Angel was ready for, of course they did, he was tall, handsome, kind of mean, exactly their type! But they didn’t know if they could answer it out loud.

“I’m not going to if you don’t answer.” His voice was much more firm than it had been before.

They looked at him and nodded, a small smile on their lips. 

“I want you to say it out loud.” His voice was still firm, but more playful now. He knew the answer, he just wanted to see them squirm.

“Mmm, fine, yes.” They finally got out, when the words left their lips they felt him throb under them.

“I want you to ask me.” His voice seemed slightly strained.

“What?” 

“I want you to ask me to fuck you.” He sounded like he was holding himself back.

Angle huffed angrily, wiggling down on him, causing a moan to rattle in his chest, or was it growling? They felt his fingers dig into their hips, stopping them from moving.

“Say it.”

They looked into his eyes for a few moments, seeing how far they could push him before deciding to break first. “Fine.” A deep breath in, “I want you to fuck me senseless.” 

The moment the words left their mouth they heard a deep moan ripple through the man holding them in place as he picked them up and placed them on the rock, their whole torso laid out on the stone while their hips and legs dangled off the edge.

“Good fucking job.” His hands moved up their thighs before starting to Palm them. “Because you asked me so nicely, I think I’ll give you exactly what you want.” 

They couldn’t see what he was doing but god could they feel it, his hands on them, rubbing them. They couldn’t hold in the moans that poured out of them. They felt his free hand move up their body, gripping the waistband on their pants that clung to their skin before pulling them off. They wined when both of his hands moved to remove their top.

“Greedy little thing, you needed this more than me didn’t you?” The wet cloth was pulled from off of them as they nodded. “Don’t worry, you’ll be getting more than just my hands.” 

They felt him travel down them, his hands exploring everything they could before they reached the destination. Angel was more than annoyed when they stopped at their hips but before a complaint could come out from their lips they felt his against them. They felt him kiss and lick them and they couldn’t help but let another wave of moans fall out of them.

He tongued them until they were right on the edge, body aching against his, rocking into his touch as much as they could with his hands holding their hips in place.

“Fuuuuck” they tried to grab at anything, as his fingers slipped inside of them. Their hand ended up making contact with a stray root.

The sound of soft laughter from behind them moved their attention back to the asshole eating them out.

“What's so funny, jerk?” They tried to sound confident but it’s pretty hard to do that when it took all their power to just make those words without stuttering.

“Oh nothing Angel, just enjoying the little sounds you're making, well, they're not very little are they?” His hand moved back to their hips, joining the other one as they listened to him stand up in the water. They felt one hand slip under them while the other slid up their back. They felt him flip them over onto their back so they were looking up at him.

“Hi” they said breathlessly as they looked up at him, taking in all of him. His wet hair, the hungry look in his eye, his arms that were now holding their thighs.

“Hi” he responded with a snicker as he spread their legs open, pushing their legs up against their body.

“Oh fuck me”

“Doing that.” They felt him press against them, they couldn’t hold back the wine that slipped out when he didn’t push into them.

“Beg.” the taunt in his voice would have pissed them off if they could think but the idea of his inside of them. For once, they let out their pride down.

“Please, please fuck me David.” They begged, looking up at him with a pathetic needy look in their eyes.

“Good Angel.” He groaned as he finally pushed inside of them, gripping their thighs a little harder.

A moan rattled through them as he filled them up, they couldn’t help their hands from shooting up and grabbing his.

 “Oh fuck Angel, are- are you ok?” He asked, they could hear the need in his voice.

“Oh god please fuck me” They couldn’t think of anything but him moving inside of them. 

Something carnal within him must have snapped because the moment those words left their mouth his hands pushed their thighs flush with their chest and started plowing into them. Angel felt like their body was on fire, the hot feeling that started in their stomach when he first got his hands on them had spread through their body.

Their hands clung to him, clawing at him for more, the sounds of water and him, splashing and slapping against them as he moaned in their ear. The feeling of him nipping at their neck and collarbone, his hands gripping their thighs, him inside of them. They knew they wouldn’t last long pinned under him.

“F-fuuck David, please, I’m so close please don’t stop.” They could barely get the words out as he continued to make good on his promises. 

The feeling of him nodding into their neck and his thrusts getting more and more sporadic made them believe he was just as close as they were.

 “Fuck, Angel…” he groaned into them as they started to shake, the feeling of his lips moving on their skin, fuck they where losing it.

They only lasted a few seconds longer before they found themselves digging lines into his back as they came. David didn’t last too long after that. The feeling of him pulsing inside of them as they both rode out the high, fuck it drove them wild. 

The two of them laid there for almost a minute, just clinging to each other, trying to catch their breath.

“Was that enough fun for you?” Angel asked, still out of breath.

“Stop your sass for like five minutes.” He murmured into their skin.

After another few seconds of just holding each other David finally pulled out of them, letting their legs unfurl and stretch out. He scooped them up along with their clothes and carried them to the other side of the river where they had tossed their cape. After adjusting it slightly he laid them on top of it.

“Brrr, it’s cold out here when you naked, drenched, and not getting your brains fucked out.” They teased as he laid their clothes out to dry.

“I asked for five minutes sass free.” He said as he stared daggers at them.

“I don’t think I agreed to that.” They started to rub their arms to try and warm themselves up. 

He watched them shiver for a second or two before letting out a defeated sigh. “You are cold aren’t you?”

“Did me telling you not to clue you in?” 

“Hmmm.” He took a step closer to them. “If you promise to not be weird about this I can help.” 

“I’d rather not freeze so I guess I won’t ‘be weird’ about whatever you're about to do.” They made little air quotes as they said be weird .

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Was the last thing he said before he took a step back and shapeshifted into a giant wolf. 

“Oh holy shit!” They moved up onto their elbows quickly, getting a better look at the size of him. He looked to be about 7 and a half feet long and about 5,6 feet off the ground. He moved slowly around them before laying down around them, curling up with them. “Oh, oh! You're keeping me warm! That’s very sweet of you, thank you.” 

They quickly relaxed into him, the sound of his long breaths and heartbeat next to the calm gurgles of the stream helped them find sleep while their hands moved into his fur, rubbing gently as they slowly drifted off to sleep. Some of the last thoughts that danced through their mind as they slowly lost consciousness was that whoever started this stupid war must have not been as lucky as them to have this kind of soft warmth carry them to sleep. 

Chapter Text

The first thing Angel noticed when they woke was the lack of warmth from the night before. The soft warm fur that wrapped around them as they drifted off was gone. Angel begrudgingly opened their eyes to see that the sun was just about to rise, its first rays just peaking over the horizon. They rolled over, pulling the fabric that covered their naked body closer to their face. Wait, they were sleeping on their cape, what was their blanket? They quickly pulled the thick cloth up off of them to get a better look. The fabric was a dark blue colour with small silver stars embroidered in little clusters over it. The end that they were using as a pillow had thick fur coming off it And the other had dark blue tassels fastened to the fabric with silver, moon shaped charms. I was a cape! A shifter cape, a fancy one at that.

“Huh,” they thought aloud as they examined it, “looks warmer than mine.” they warped the cloth around them as they sat up, looking around. Although they couldn't spot the handsome wolf shifter they did see their clothes laid out on two rocks, all dry. 

They laughed to themself at the kind gestures. Dry clothes and a much warmer cape would definitely help them on their little escape mission. After everything they had been taught about shifters they didn’t expect this kind of thoughtful behavior. Though they always assumed they couldn’t be as bad as their teachers said.

After scooping their dry but cold clothes off the rocks and pulling them on they wrapped themselves in both capes and headed back through the woods. It took a bit longer to get back on the trail then they would have wanted but they made it. 

Angel walked till they found a town, they then quickly encountered their first problem, money. It was noon by the time they entered the small town, the smell of baked goods filled their nose as they walked by, quickly making them realize that maybe sleeping with the enemy in the woods, although very fun, had only helped drain their energy. Now with empty pockets and an empty stomach, they started feeling the effects of running around the woods with a wolf.

They watched the bakery hungrily as they thought up ways to get some of those wonderful baked goods in them. They stood there for at least a minute before they heard a voice call their name, well, not their name, more of their title. Sure they weren’t the heir of the current King, but they were lined up to take the throne. It would make sense to have the actual ruler's kid take the throne but because of some stupid rule of blood or whatever, because their daughter was adopted she couldn’t take the throne, leaving the next highest on the royal pyramid scheme to get the throne. It just so happened that Angel was on that level. 

“Your highness!” The guard's voice was all too familiar. Aaron, head of the royal guard, had caught up with them, again. 

“Fuck.” Was all they got out before they bolted. Forget the baked goods they were out of there. As they ran down the crowded street they grabbed an apple from a fruit stand, shoving it into their mouth. The sound of the man running it shouts from them to come back being silenced by Aaron and a couple of silver pieces fueled their hope of escape more. 

Quickly turning down an alley they realized they had fucked up. A big stone wall, a good 12 feet tall, blocked their path. 

“Mmmm,” Angel hummed impatiently as they weighed their options and the apple in their hands. They could turn around and run some more, they could get farther faster that way, but he might also catch them faster. If they tried to climb the wall, Aaron would have to find them on the other side or climb after them. After a quick second of decision making they took another bite, dropped the apple, and went for the wall. Wedging their fingers and feet into the nooks between the stone bricks as they hauled ass up the wall. They got a good 6 feet up before Aaron rounded the corner. 

“Your highness, what the fuck are you doing?” 

“Your-” they huffed as they readjusted their feet- “mother.” 

“Can you please come down?” they could hear the exhaustion in his voice. 

“Hmm, let me think. Come down and go with you,” they tapped their chin with a free hand, “and have to go back to being married off, or run off and live in some cabin I make in the woods.”  they pulled themselves up another foot. “I think I like the second option more, you know?” 

“You're being over dramatic, you’ll be fine.”

“Oh yes, because being married to some random, probably really old man, like you, is a perfectly normal thing and I should just stop fighting for my freedom, I get it.” 

“I'm only 30. Why are you like this?” 

“You're 32, asshole, don't lie to me.” they finally got their hands over the wall, getting a good grip on the edge so they could pull themselves up. “I'm like this-” they pulled themselves up onto the top of the wall- “because I know my worth, and I also know it's like super messed up to sell off your only kid to, once again, a probably gross man from who knows where.” They swung their legs over the wall to get ready to start the descent down. “I’ll see you later, or never, hopefully the later of the two seeing as you're really annoying.” 

“You're so immature, I pray I don't live long enough to see you be crown ruler.” he huffed as he crossed his arms.

“Well it's your lucky day because as long as you stop chasing after me, that day will never hap-” they were cut off as an uneven rock that they had put a little too much trust in gave out under their foot, leaving them dangling off the edge of the wall. 

“Your highness!?” his voice called out as all he saw was them drop out of view with a yelp. “Are you ok!” 

“I'm still alive if that counts for anything.” the fact they could sas him was a good enough answer for Aaron.

“Wait there, I'll get you down, don't worry!” he promised as he jogged off. 

“Like I could go anywhere else.” they huffed as they hung. They knew they could hold on for a bit, maybe a few minutes? They didn't know if Aaron could get to the other side in time to stop them from walking down the aisle in a splint. Not that they wanted to go down the aisle but right now, they couldn't really see a way out of this one, they had made it so far and once again, they had been caught. 

“How's it hanging?” Another familiar voice came from behind them, another guard but one they liked, one that, on more than one occasion, had looked the other way on one of Angels many break out attempts, one that had helped them sneak into the kitchen for snacks when they were both much younger. 

“Heyyy babe, how are you?” Babe was a fun nickname they had given their friend when they were both teens and trying to piss off their parents. 

“Oh you know, the usual. Do you need any help? You look a little, hung up.” they teased. 

“I hate you.” they didn't.

“Mhm, sure, ok well,” Angel listened to their friend walk under them. “If you let go I'll catch you.” 

“Hmm, I'm ok.” 

“What?” Angel was happy all they could see was this wall because that meant Babe couldn't see the shit eating grin that had grown on their face.

“I'm good here, I like hanging from a 12 foot wall. It's fun.” 

“Your highness, can you please let go so I can get a raise?” they asked, hands on Angels ankles, ready to catch them.

“Hmm, let me think about it…” they knew they couldn’t hold on long but they also knew that bullying this loser was a lot more fun. “No.”

“What do you want? Name your price.” They offered.

“I don’t want anything, I’m perfectly happy with staying right here-“ the sound of their stomach growing louder than their lover from the night before exposed them for what they really were. Hungry. “Ignore that.” 

“Hah, fat chance, what do you want for breakfast? I saw a nice bakery when we first got here, it smelled great. If you let me catch you I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Oh they were going to need that raise. 

“Deal.” 

They let go of the ledge, letting out a small squeal as they dropped. Landing in the arms of their friend who quickly readjusted them so they were carrying Angel bridal style. 

“Oof, either you got lighter or I’ve gotten stronger cus this isn’t as hard as it was the last time I had to carry your ass back home.” They said as they carried their friend out of the alley and into the bustling street that had yet to notice the run away royal being carried.

“The fact you complain about my ass is insane because you are the only one.”

“Who’s been completing your ass?” 

“No one, but he didn’t complain.” They admitted.

“He? Who’s this he?” Babe asked, readjusting them in their arms.

“I’ll tell you when we're not in public and after I’ve eaten half of the bakery’s stock.” Angel wiggled happily in Babe’s arms as they sighed.

“You're going to drain my savings.” 

“Mmhhm!”

“You’re highness! Are you ok?” Aaron asked as he pushed past the crowd that had formed around the pair.

“Their fine Commander, just hungry.” Babe responded as they fixed their posture, straightening their back.

“Hmm,” he huffed, looking around at the townsfolk, listening to their whispers.

The heir? What are they doing here?

Didn’t the guards come looking here last night? 

I hear they got kidnapped! I do remember hearing howls last night…

Do you think the town is safe?

Aaron knew he couldn’t tell any of the townsfolk what really happened, the soon to be heir running away for the 7th time this year, how much faith would they have for them if they knew?

“Oh Commander, I was so scared last night, I had gotten lost while taking a ride with Fern, you know, my horse. Then, after the sun had set-“ they draped their arm I’ve they face dramatically- “the howls in the woods spooked my poor baby, she ran off, I do hope she is ok.” Although Aaron was relieved for the heir’s cunning, he couldn’t help but feel his blood bubble as they played the victim. 

“You don’t have to worry your highness, Fern was returned to the stables late last night.” He would play along, for now.

“Oh thank the gods, I was worried sick. Then after I was all alone I ended up finding a path! I didn’t know what way the castle was because of the dark so I ended up here! I’m so sorry for troubling you with my disappearance.” He hated the fake sympathy they had all over their face. He knew they could feel bad, he had seen it with his own two eyes. Like when one of their stunts had made miss the anniversary date he and his partner had planned, they had felt bad, they had apologized for gods’ sake! Now at least when they only played jail bird on days when he wasn’t on break.

“Where did you get that cloak?”

Oh shit. 

“Uh, I found it in the woods. I- I was cold and it looked really warm.” Please let that work.

“You're quite lucky your highness, that’s a shifter cloak, specifically a wolf shifter, even more specifically, a very powerful wolf shifter’s seeing from the size and patterns. We are going to have to heighten the security around the grounds.” He noted as he felt the fabric in his hands.

“I’m sorry, I- I didn’t know.” They knew he didn’t believe them, the good thing was that he didn’t know the real reason. 

“It’s alright your highness, let’s just get you home to your parents, they are worried sick.” They knew he was lying.

“Alright then, you can let me down now.” They looked up at their friend.

Babe let out a huff as they let them down, their bare feet on the dirt path. 

Angel whispered “you still owe me backer goods” in their friends ear before Babe hummed I’m agreement.

The three of them walked through the now quiet town. People stood by quietly, watching as the heir to the crown walked barefoot in a wolf's cloak down the street. They walked through an alley not blocked by a wall and popped out right next to the bakery. Angel had to hold in their excitement as Babe quietly informed Aaron of their deal with them before the group turned to the bakery. Angel gave the two guards their list of sweets they wanted to try, hot crossed buns, cinnamon buns, sweet buns, they ordered a lot of buns. By the end of it they had a small woven basket in their hands as they walked to the wagons the guards had brought. 

There were two wagons, one with about 5 guards in the back and a spot at the front for the driver. The second wagon was empty of people but it had a nice wool blanket folded nicely on a seat. 

“You're driving them.” Aaron told as he slapped Babes back playfully, well, at least as playfully as someone with a stick that far up their ass could be.

“What?” Babe asked as they spun around looking for him, he was already snickering as he hopped into the full wagons driver seat.

“I’ll see you back home, just so you know, first ones there get the showers first.” And with that he whipped the rains and the two horses that pulled the wagon started down the path, kicking up dust leaving Babe glaring at Angel whose mouth was full of icing.

“Mhha duh ah duh?” (What did I do?)

“Ew, don’t talk with your mouth full, that’s gross.” They hopped into the renaming wagon's driver seat before waving Angel into the back.

“Mnnot hggna hweelp mu uhp?” (Not gonna help me up?) 

“Uh yeah no, sorry your highness I know a little twerp like you doesn’t need any help.” They taunted.

After swallowing Angel pipped up “well then I guess I’m not going to tell you the real reason I have this cape.”

They watched as Babe sat quietly for only a second before groaning and hopping down from the seat and holding out a hand to the heir, “you are a menace.” 

“I know,” Angel replied, taking their hand, “but you love me for it.”

“Uhhu, get in.” They laughed as Angel got seated. 

Once the wagon was starting down the path, Babe asked the question that was nagging at their mind. “So, why do you have that thing? Did one of them forget we were at war and let you stay for the night? Give you their cloak to keep you warm as you went on your way?” They joked.

“Well, kinda…” Angel trailed off.

“What do you mean kinda?”

“Well, I kinda, slept with one.” They finally said, covering their face with the fur on the cape.

“Yeah that's what I said.” They reminded.

“No, like I slept with him.” 

“Oh. Oh. OH!” Babe shouted spinning around “you didn’t!”

Nodding was the most Babe was going to get out of Angel as they laughed into the cloak.

——

David didn’t want to leave them. He wanted to stay wrapped around them. Their hands in his fur, their face pressed into his chest. It was a nice comfort, he hadn't felt this calm since before his dad had died, since before the pack elders had told him he was too young to take the role of alpha, since they told him the only way to get that title was to marry the unpowered kingdom's heir. He remembered that day so clearly, probably because it was only last week. 

“David-“

“No! I’m not going to let you marry me off to some prissy royal who's never gotten their hands dirty!” He had thought he had gotten his anger under control. He thought he did.

“That’s what you're upset about? Not the fact they're unempowered?” The elder questioned.

“I couldn’t care less, this war is idiotic, I would want nothing less then for it to end.” He had to hold back the growl growing in his chest.

“Well if you want it to end so badly just accept the marriage!” 

“No. Final answer, get someone else to do it.”

“David, please, do it for your father.”

He felt a sharp pain in his chest at the mention of his dad, everyone knew he still wasn’t over it but no one ever helped, no one ever trusted that he could take over for him, no one ever brought him up. “Don’t bring him into this when you refuse to let me take his place.”

“You don’t understand David, if you take this offer, the other elders plan on giving your spot back. I’ve been fighting for your position as alpha since Gabe left us.” He hated when people said that, “left us”, it always felt like they were being gentle with him, trying to act like he wasn’t dead, just gone. He was dead, he was never coming back.

David stod for a second, thinking. Becoming alpha would finally get people to stop treating him like an injured bird. A dryer up leaf that needed a soft hand to hold him, that if they treated him anything like they did before he would crumple. He would be respected again, like how he was when he was his fathers beta.

With a sigh, he answered “fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’ll marry them.”

Now he had a cute stranger cuddled up to his side. He didn’t know where they had come from, he didn’t really care, he was just happy to enjoy something. The feeling of someone with him was perfect, for a second it felt like the hole that was drilled through his chest when he learned his father was dead was filled. He knew it wasn’t but for a second he forgot it was there. Like covering a hole with a rug and hoping no one moved it.

He knew he couldn’t stay, he also knew he couldn’t let them freeze. After wiggling his way free from their grasp and shifting back he found the place he had stashed his clothes. A hollowed knot in a tree just off the dirt path he had found his little angel. He walked back to find them curled up in their cape, shivering. The sight of them gave him an idea, a bad idea, but an idea.

Peeling off his warm cape, the one he was to give as meant to give to his fiancée when he met them, he laid it over them. Their shivering stopped when they nuzzled into the fur of the cape. 

They looked so peaceful, he didn’t want to leave, he wanted to stay with them, take them away with him. He knew it was just instinct talking when he felt this, he barely knew this stranger. He knew it wasn’t real but he couldn’t stop the feeling that he needed to be safe and close. He gave into one desire and left them a light kiss on the temple, the smell of them reminded him of honey. He left before he tricked himself into staying.

David’s clothes were wrapped in a neat bundle in his jaw as he tore through the forest. He ran till he made it to the camp he and his companions had made. Quickly, he shifted back and pulled on the loose pants he had folded in his teeth before walking into the campsite.

“I’m telling you! Him and Amanda are 100% fucking!” He heard Asher laugh.

“Look, I’m not saying you're wrong, I’m just saying that if Amanda had any taste, she wouldn’t.” He could recognize Milo's accent anywhere.

“Well I’m here to report that she in fact has zero taste. I caught them sneaking off one time and I didn’t see them again until at least an hour later, they reeked of each other.” The walking tank that was his third friend remarked.

“Ick, gross.” Milo gagged.

Laughs from the other two went on for only a short while, being cut short as David stepped out of the woods and into the clearing. He hated that he killed the mood of any room he walked into.

“Hey David, how was your walk? You were gone for a while buddy.” Asher was the less affected of the three.

“It was good.” Really good “stopped by that river we found.” 

“That’s fun, we were just talking about Christian and Amanda.” He laughed “Milo refused to admit they’ve fucked.” 

“I don’t refuse to admit shit asshole, I just think it’s gross and that Amanda is better than that.” He spat back. 

As Milo and Asher fought over their friends sex life David sat down on the log he had found for himself. He sat and watched as his friends laughed, not noticing Tank’s eyes on him. 

“Where’s your cloak David?” They finally said after a minute of waiting.

“What?” Them confronting him about anything caught him off guard.

“You cloak, cape, whatever, where is it?” They repeated. Asher and Milo had both turned to him, noticing the missing article. 

Milo piped up, “Oh shit I didn’t even notice, yeah where is it?”

“I don’t know.” It was a shit lie and he knew it.

“Do you want to go looking for it? Did you swim in the river? You might have left-“

“No!”

The three shifters went quiet while David’s face turned a few shades of red darker.

“Are- are you blushing?” The Tank asked, finally breaking the silence.

“I am not!” He hated how angry he got when he was embarrassed.

“David.. where is your cape?” He could hear the laugh that Asher was holding in.

“Ash, I am your alp-“ he began.

“Not yet.” He corrected with his classic goofy smile plastered on his face. 

“You're soon to be alpha,” he corrected, “whatever you're thinking, cut it out.” He warned with a growl.

With a smirk, Asher shifted. The other two watched wide eyed as the wolf walked over to David sniffing the dirt up to him before shoving his nose into the man's stomach. Before David could smack him he threw his head back and let out a howl before shifting back. How could David be mad at him when he was laughing like that, even if the laughter was at him he had to fight off a smile. 

“Ash what the fuck?” Milo’s face twisted in confusion.

“Yeah asshole whatever you’re laughing at better be the funniest shit I’ve ever heard because the royal pricks we’re going to see told us where they weren’t warning their guards till tomorrow.” Tank was right, they were in enemy territory and shifters were a kind of powerful that put them on a “kill on sight” list.

“Ash if you say shit...” David somehow managed to keep his lips from twisting into a smile, he knew he wouldn’t be able to last long if he let slip what he knew.

“Hah- he- he finally took our god damn advice!” The shifter said through his fits of laughter.

“What ad-“ he started before the realization dawned on Milos face, Tanks was already covering their face to hold in the laughter. “No you didn’t.”

Refusing to give into his friend's antics, David let it a low growl as an answer. 

“Oh my god you did! With who? We’re in the middle of the damn woods!” Milo asked with a laugh, David’s scowl was softening.

“You just found some shifter in the decided to get your dick wet?” Tank snickered.

“They weren't a shifter.” He replied.

“Makes more sense, we aren’t in shifter terf anymore.” Ash got out after catching his breath. “Tell us more buddy, spill!”

“I’m not going to spill anything.” He growled, only smiling a bit.

Punching his leg Asher laughed, “Yeah, that checks out, hook up with some random human you’ve never met and then not tell your best bud in the whole world.” 

“I’m sorry I don’t want to tell you about my sex life?” 

“Come on David, what are you? Scared?” Milo egged him on.

“Yeah, spill who you gave your wedding gift to.” Tank added.

“Shit yeah! You gave them your cloak!” Ash shook his leg. “They had to be worth something.”

“I’m not going to sleep with someone and then leave them to freeze out here.” His excuse was weak. “I know nothing will attack them cus of us scaring off all the big predators but the cold…” 

“Uh uh, the cold.” Ash snickered.

“Oh fuck you.” 

Chapter Text

Laughing with the boys was great, they hadn’t been able to do it since they were kids. 

Hearing Asher’s laugh as he turned David bright red? Milo’s silver tongue as he cracked more jokes at the soon-to-be alpha’s expense? David finally smiling for the first time in months? This was perfect. 

Darlin couldn’t remember how long they all spent up goofing around before they all decided to hit the hay. 

“All take the first shift” They offered as Milo had already started snoring.

“You don’t have to, I ca-“ David started before being cut off by Ash slapping him on the ass. “Hey!”

“Calm down big guy! You need all the sleep you can get! I mean after the ‘festivities’ you indulge in tonight…” with a Growl from the much bigger man he managed to pulled a laugh from Asher. “So uptight! You also have to meet your fiancé tomorrow dude, wanna make a good impression, don’t wanna be too grouchy.”

“Too grouchy? Wouldn’t you want him to not be grouchy at all?” Darlin asked.

“We can’t expect a miracle now can we?” He laughed.

“Go fuck yourself.” David growled.

Asher laughed harder as David made his way to the tent after picking up Milo, dragging him snoring to bed. Turning back to the group before entering the tent he asked “Ash? Are you coming to bed?”

“Are you asking for me to come to bed with you?” Asher teased.

The scowl on David’s face as he stepped into the tent said everything he needed to know.

“Aww come on buddy! I wanna know what made that mysterious stranger of the woods wanna get down with you!” He cackled as he chased David into the tent.

“Shut the fuck up Asher.”

“You’re not alpha yet, big guy!”

Snickering at the boy’s nonsense, Darlin watched the fire die. When the last embers had gone out Darlin got up, stretched, and focused. 

Focused on the wind, the leaves, the cool dirt under their feet before eventually focusing on themselves and the loose clothing that almost ever shifter wore. It was loose and light for shifting in a hurry. If you don’t have enough time to strip stretchy, flowing cloth ripped a whole lot less then some form fitting nonsense. It was also a whole lot more comfortable. 

Focusing on the fabric, they shifted, willing it to shift with them. 

A lot of other shifters couldn’t be bothered to learn the magic to shift in their clothes. It was just one more thing to worry about when getting into a fight and most didn’t see the reason to do so other than decency. Even then shifters didn’t really care about “decency”, seeing each other in the nude was an almost daily occurrence. Whether it was bathing together or getting ready for a hunt, everyone had seen everyone’s everything at least once. 

Darlin, now on all fours, covered in fur and scars, took off into the woods.

The feeling of wind in their fur? The feeling of knowing their whole body was powerful enough to take down two vampires and live? The feeling of ripping through the woods like some unstoppable beast? It was one of the fucking best feelings. With their muzzle to the sky they let out a howl as they ran through the undergrowth. They were always sure they would never shift back, the untameable feeling they always felt was one of the closest things to heaven they had ever felt.

One of the closest.

They picked up the scent almost immediately. It was a sweet mix of spruce and baked goods. Slowing down to a stop they looked around, trying to pinpoint the direction of the familiar aroma. The peaceful chirping of some crickets or tree frog helped cover the sound of his leather boots. It didn’t help him enough. 

Before he could even think of any sort of plan of attack Darlin knew exactly where he was hiding. They let out a playful huff in his direction before bounding back into the trees. They could hear his laugh through the trees as he chanted after them. 

God that laugh…

“Come on Darlin! I might be a vampire but speed was never my strong suit!” He huffed as he finally broke through the tree line next to them.

Another playful whine from Darlin was as much of a response as he would get. Oh, and also their body slamming into his, knocking him over as they continued to speed off into the woods. 

All Sam could hear as they left him in a bush was some wolffish cackle that was clearly meant to be a laugh. 

“Oh so that’s how we're playing this game.” He snickered as he got back to his feet. With the sweet smell of them still in his head he sprinted after his lover.

With Sam in their dust and his sent now down wind of them, Darlin took this opportunity to catch their breath in the little clearing they had broken into.

The sound of their own heart pounding in their ears distracted them just enough for Sam to get just beyond the tree line. Eyes trained on them, he started to walk around them, stalking them from just in the shadows, away from the moon light that framed them perfectly in the grassy clearing. 

Taking one uncalculated step too many lead to the sharp sound of a branch snapping under his weight. 

His eyes snapped to his boot the same as them. Unfortunately for his Darlin, his body was thinking faster than both him and them.

Launching himself out of the tree line at his fluffier than usual lover just as they were about to bolt again. Tackling them they both started to roll. The roll started with just his laughter that was soon joined with his Darlin’s when he felt them shift against him. It ended with both of them laughing on the soft grass, tangled in each other's limbs.

 “Jesus you're fast when you want to be.” Sam huffed, giving them a gentle squeeze.

“I would say you're sneaky when you want to be but that would be a lie.” Darlin teased, rubbing a small heart onto his chest.

“Oh I see how it is, no compliments for me. I’m just expected to woo you and get nothin in return?” He pushed them away playfully.

“I always compliment you!” They almost sounded offended.

“I can’t seem to recall the last time you said anything remotely nice to me.” He turned over, back to them as he held back a laugh.

“Really?” They huffed.

“Uh uh” he was glad they couldn’t see his face because the goofy grin on his face would ruin his stupid joke. 

“Let me jog your memory for you then.” They hummed as he felt their hand drag up and down his back, “you make me smile even when I know you're nowhere near.” their hands curl around his shoulder, “and the feeling I get when you are near-” Sam could only watch as they pulled him onto his back before they straddled his hips- “makes me want to kiss you till every star fizzles out of the sky.” 

With his goofy grin still painted on his face they leaned down and kissed him. They kissed him till he was sure that it wouldn’t matter if what they said came true, because every second he felt them on him was like they had bottled the sun in every touch just for him.

Once their lips parted they waited only a second before they were back on each other. He felt their hands in his hair as his cupped their face and neck. He felt their lips part, begging to deepen the kiss, a request he fulfilled greedily. He felt their hips rock against him, and the moan they let out as they did made him wish he was born an incubus so he could have tasted their lust on his lips.

“Fuck Darlin” the words rattled out of his chest as his hands slid down their back to their hips, resting them gently against them.

“Mmmmm,” they hummed against his jaw as they moved slowly to his neck.

“The shit you do to me- fuck.” 

Slowly unbuttoning his top, kissing each bit of exposed skin as it was uncovered. When they finally finished with his top they started for his belt before freezing, hands hovering less than an inch above the shiny metal they looked up at him, a cautious look in their eye.

As much as they would love to just strip him by tearing each shred of fabric off his body before loving him in every possible way, they knew how little he got asked before them. The months after they finally got together were a perfect storm of teasing from both of them. Both knowing they would never go past that before he said they could. When he finally did? They took him apart in the best possible way.

“You're so sweet to me Darlin.”

“I’m exactly what you deserve.” They promised, “can I?” 

“Please.”

With his consent they let the devilish smile they had been holding back crawl onto their lips. Slowly unbuckling his belt, sliding the leather out from his belt loops, carefully unbuttoning his pants. They made sure to keep their hands as close to him without touching him. 

By the time they had finally finished his pants he was just as undone as them. Panting and cussing as they slid their hands up his thighs untill they reached his waist band.

“You seem a bit out of breath Sam,” they tried to hide the snicker that threatened to escape, “do you maybe wanna take a bre-“

“Damn it Darlin, please just ruin me!”

They almost ripped his pants with how hard they yanked them down. Taking him into their hand they started to stroke him, pulling a loud low moan from his lips.

“Oh good god…” His trailed off, head rolled back as they kissed him from base to tip. 

“Your noisey tonight.” they teased.

“You clearly-“ he said through moans- “are forgetting about the last time we were together.”

“Mhm,” they hummed as they teased him with their tongue, ”remind me then cowboy.”

“Your god awful,” he panted.

“Remind me.” They demanded before taking him into their mouth.

“Holy fuck-“ they felt as his whole body tensed under then, they loved feeling him as they pleased him. They way they could hear him tearing grass out as he tried to keep his hands to himself. His control always fascinated them. The few vampires they met before him always took as much as they could from them. They didn’t mind the lack of control then but they loved having it with him.

They pulled off of him, breaking the suction with a pop, listening to the groans of disapproval from their partner.

“Now why’d you go and do that?” His voice dropped with need.

“I asked you to tell me about the last time we were together.” Rubbing his thighs gently as they watched him twitch in anticipation. “I’m only going to keep going as long as you keep talking.”

“That sound… interesting.” He noted.

“I like hearing you talk, especially when you're struggling to do so.” They placed a kiss low on his bare stomach.

“You're the worst.”

“And you’re going to start talking , unless you want me to stop…” they teased again.

“Don’t you dare.” 

They snickered as they took him back into their mouth, listening to him intently as he began recounting their last encounter.

“God fucking- we, we were at a meeting, some useless meeting about something or other, couldn’t care less.” He huffed, “you were sitting across from me and the whole tim- ugh- time all I could think about was you.” They took him deeper in their mouth, making his mind slip farther and farther.

“I remembered, after the meeting, you took me to some room with a lock-“ he choked on his own words as he felt their hands grip on his thighs- “fuck, in William’s manor. You pulled me on top of you, and you-“ they pulled up off of him to breathe before giving him that trademark, devilish grin.

 “Keep talking cowboy.” They sank back into him, humming on his cock.

“Fuck me- you, you said something like that but a lot sexier then how I said it,” they loved the way he rambled, “I, I pinned you down after we both almost tore our clothes to shreds and kissed your gorgeous fucking body everwhere I could.” They sank him into their throat, tears welled in their eyes as they felt the tip of their nose touch his stomach.

“Holy fuck Darlin, I- fuck, you, I-“ hearing his mind slipping as they made him feel good pulled a moan from them, the felt his body spasm under him as their throat vibrated around him.

“I remember, I picked you up and had you against the wall, kissing your neck while you moaned my name-“ they listened to him as he began to fall apart. 

“Fuck, and then,” they watched as his eyes rolled back into his head, “your nails, clawing- please don’t stop- as you told me you where coming.”

His hands tore a patch of grass from its roots as they felt him getting closer and closer to that edge, “I couldn’t- fuck, you sounded so perfect around me- please Darlin.”

“Please, I’m so close Darlin- I’m-“ They felt him shake under them just as they pulled off of him with another pop. The cry he let out almost made them want to give him what he wanted.

 “Why- I was so-“ they cut off his whining with a kiss, a deep quick kiss that left him wanting more once they abandoned his lips. 

“You know I love you Sam but I have a patrol to do! This is enemy territory after all.” They hummed as they stood up, leaving the man on his back, exposed.

“You-“

“See you at the wedding sammy!” They began as they started running for the woods. 

Just as they were about to shift, disappear into the woods, leaving their vampire lover in the clearing to take care of himself, they were grabbed and pushed up against the closest tree by him.

“Please don’t tell me you really thought I would just let you leave without getting you back for that stunt?” They could feel his smile on the back of their neck as he spoke into them.

“Fuck,” 

“Is that what you want? Hmm Darlin?” His hands played with the hem of their top. 

“Please-“ was all they could manage as they felt a familiar wanting heat filling their body.

“Good fucking job-“ he got out befor kissing their neck, sucking and making marks all over them as he began to strip them, his lips only ever leaving them to take off their top.

Once they were bare for him, they felt his hand cling to their waist, the other played with their lips.

“Open wide Darlin.” He kissed their jaw as his fingers slid into their mouth, “good job…” he trailed off as he continued to love on them.

Pulling his fingers from their mouth he slid his hand down their body before finding the spot he was looking for, fingers slick with their spit he sank one digit into them. 

“Oh fuck-“ they choked out. As he slowly fingered them his other hand dipped to their front and started to rub them exactly where they wanted him. The feeling of the trees rough bark and the soft moss that grew on it teased their body as it burned for him. 

Another finger slid into them as he moaned softly into their neck as they woke up the forest with their voice. 

“The fucking things that voice of yours does to me.” They didn’t know how long they stayed like that, him 

mumbling sweet nothings into their ears as he dragged them closer and closer to the edge.

They whined as his fingers left them “I can’t wait anymore, Darlin, can-“ 

“Fucking yes please!” They begged, they needed his body pressed to theirs, they needed his lips on theirs and they needed him inside them.

He snickered into their neck as they felt him line up to them, the tip of him pushed up against their entrance. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Sinking into them they both knew neither of them wouldn't last very long.

“Good fucking lord Darlin-“ he huffed as he moved in them, slowly bottoming out in them them before pulling almost the way out sinking back into them. The way he fucked them made their head spin.

By now his slow even pace picked up and got more and more sparstic while Darlin spiraled into a moaning begging mess.

“Please cum for me Darlin,” he moaned into their jaw as he kissed them, “please.”

His begging was to fucking much for them, hearing him plead for him shoved them right over that edge. They felt the trees bark break under their grip as they fell apart around him.

“Oh fuck- thank you” he moaned into their neck as he followed after them, losing himself in them. 

Giving into gravity, they sank into each other. Laying under the stars next to the love of their life.

They both stayed in a comfortable silence as they both tried to catch their breath, until Sam broke it.

“Darlin?” he huffed, still out of breath.

“Sam?” They huffed right back.

“Stay with me?” He asked.

“Always.” They promised, sealing it with a kiss. 

Chapter Text

“So, hold on, let me get this straight.” Babe started as the horses trotted along the dirt path, trotting right by the place Angel had met the shifter. “You ran away for what, the sixth time this year?”

“Seventh.” They corrected.

“Seventh, then while you were out planning your next move, you found basically a homeless man-“

“A hot homeless man!” Angel gave a good slap on their friends back

“I'm going to need you to be very quiet and understand that you still thought he was just some random guy living in the woods when you started flirting with him.” Clearly holding in a snicker babe continued “you probably would have still slept with him if he hadn’t told you he was a shifter.”

“No I wouldn’t” they lied, “I have standards!” They lied some more.

“You absolutely do not!” They retorted with a grin, “remember Michael?”

“Gods please don’t remind me.” 

“And that other guy, he was such a hot head…” babe trailed off as they thought.

“Damien, that was Damien, and I didn’t sleep with him!” Angel fought for their honor.

“No, but you flirted non-stop with him for months every time you saw him at any sort of royal meeting.” Babe knew they had no honor left. “He’s just lucky he’s oblivious.” 

“I don’t know why you would put Damien on the same strange list as Michael. Michael was a horrid nasty man who cheated on me and took my cat,” they would get that cat back one day, they swore it “Damien was a bit rough around the edges and helped solidify peace between unempowered and empowered.” 

“But there's one common factor between all of your past relations,” making their way through the gates of Angel’s family estate Babe continued, “every one of them is kind of a jerk.”

“Once again-” Angel shoveled the last bit of their baked good breakfast into their mouth- “Damemum ishent uh jewk.” (Damien isn’t a jerk)

“Close your mouth idiot, let me talk.” Babe closed Angel’s mouth with their free hand, “your taste in men is trash, every one of them is grumpy and rude, ‘a little rough around the edges’ as you put it.”

“Not all of them…” they thought “Ok you might be onto something.” 

“I’m always on to something.” They smiled as Angel thought it over in their head. 

David wasn’t rude, he was grumpy. He was the fun kind of jerk who meant well, right? They thought the same about Michael before he turned sour and Damien was also a little short fused… maybe babe was right, maybe they did have a type?

“Your royal highness!” A guard shouted as they rolled up to their home.

“Oh please, I’m not crowned yet.” They took the guard's hand as he helped them down, others went off to take and carriage away as Babe followed them into the massive mansion their parents owned.

“Babe?” They groaned as they walked through the halls.

“Yes?”

“I’m devastated to have to admit this, but I think you're right.” they admitted with a sight.  

“You're joking.” 

“Your sarcasm is not wanted, jerk, I’m dealing with the harsh truth right now.” The pain in their voice was too much for babe not to laugh at. “Stop laughing Jackass I’m grieving!” 

“What on earth are you grieving about?” They cackled.

“The loss of my taste in men!”

“What??”

“It’s gone! It’s awful and it’s gone!”

“You are a mess.” Babe noted as they held the door to Angel’s room open.

“Please don’t remind me.” They huffed as they fell onto their bed.

Babe rang for a bath before sitting next to them on the soft bedding.

“Well you're gonna have to get it together, you're meeting the man of your dreams today” They said sarcastically as they patted their friend on the back.

With a loud and dramatic sigh, Angle pushed themself up “do you know when the ‘love of my life’ is supposed to show?”

“I believe he and his party will be arriving by foot in a few hours.” They thought, “I would say you have about 3 hours?”

“Is that enough time to convince you to take me for a stroll over the gate?” Looking up at babe with puppy dog eyes.

“Trust me, I would if I could but they pulled every guard they could to make sure you stay put today. I hear Aaron’s been on the clock for almost 72 hours.” They huffed as they stood up, two maids stood at the door to Angel’s bath.

“He’s what?” Sitting up fully now at that “why on earth is that?” 

“He had to take over for someone and once you ran off your parents called on everyone so that when you got back they would be able to keep as many eyes on you as they can.” 

“Well fuck.” They could scratch another escape off the roster of ways to stop this marriage.

“Maybe the maids should wash your mouth out during your bath.” Laughed babe as they walked out, leaving Angel to the maids.

—

The rest of their day was spent preparing for their suitor to arrive, being scrubbed of the night before, having their hair styled perfectly, and being an uncomfortable outfit was all needed to make them look perfect.

“Ow! You poked me!” Whined the heir.

“You must relax your highness, if you keep wiggling i will only poke you more!” The maid scolded as she fixed a small hole in the back of Angel’s outfit. One of the newer maids got it caught on something when bringing it to them, she was on the verge of tears when Angle found out. They hated how other nobles would scold their workers for a simple mistake that they themselves would have made a hundred times over. They simply thanked the maid for telling them and got someone who knew a bit more about sewing to fix it.

It just so happened the maid who knew how to fix it was also one of the oldest, and one that Angel had to stop themselves from calling mom as a child.

“Are you threatening the heir? That’s treasonous crime Elisabeth! OW!” The feeling of the needle poking their back again.

“Hush you!” They felt a small tug as the fabric closed up perfectly. “There, you're all set.”

“Thank you.” Murmured Angel as they stepped back, admiring the outfit in the mirror. The white and gold fabric shimmered in the light.

“You look beautiful.” She hummed, her old hands rubbing small circles in their back, the same way she did when Angel was young.

“Thank you…” their voices trailed off as they looked at her, she had raised them when their parents wouldn’t, which was all the time. She had given so much to their family, to them. “When are you going to retire?”

She laughed, "You're not getting rid of me just yet!” 

“I didn’t mean it like that!” They twisted to see the old woman with a twisted grin on her face.

“I know you didn’t.” Her crooked grin made Angel feel all soft inside, like what a hug from a mother should feel like. A hug from one who didn’t just have them to check off a box. “When I think you got yourself someone who can do my job for free, I’ll retire.”

“Who would take care of me for free?” The woman’s toothy grin twisted in just a way that made her turn from soft, sweet, grandma to sneaky, scheming, witch.

Faster than Angel thought was possible, Elisabeth slapped their bottom. They let out a small yelp that just seemed to make the old woman laugh.

“Hopefully the man who's here for your hand, but if not, what’s a little adulterer to a royal?” She cackled, Angel rolled their eyes. Ignoring the snickering old woman and looking at their outfit. The white lace trim went well with the just barely blue fabric. a corset cinched at their waist with baby blue ribbon shaped their figure to something more appealing, but it crushed their ribs so they would rather be wearing anything else. The well tailored cloth itched and squeezed them. If they failed to get out of this place and were forced to take the throne, they would wear whatever they wanted. A good balance of frilly nonsense and comfortable “commoner” clothes. 

They thought about that comment, ‘what’s a little adultery to a noble’ . When Angel was younger they loved reading cheesy romance novels, and when they were younger then that, they would beg for Elisabeth to tell them stories with mushy happy couples, always ending with a “and they lived happily ever after!”. Like any young noble, they believed they would marry for love, just like their parents! 

After catching their dad sucking face with one of the bitcher maids when they were 15 they realized how stupid of a thought that was. Nobles don’t get love. They get comfort and security, and if they're lucky, an affair. 

Now, Angel wasn’t a pessimist. It’s not like they didn’t try to fall in love! They had tried with a noble named Michael. Total piece of shit. But that’s besides the point! They tired at every turn, another “rebellious tantrum” that’s what their mother liked to call it. 

Eyes drifting to the cape, draped across the end of their bed. The memories of the night before flooded their mind, heating their face significantly in return. 

‘What's a little adulterer to a noble?’

“Now,” the old woman gave their cheek a lit tap, “I’ll see you later dear.” Her crooked smile, just as sweet as always, made Angel grab the woman in a warm hug. “Oh- oh… it’s ok. You’ll be ok.” 

She rubbed Angel’s back. They swayed gently for a moment. Angel fought back tears, they can’t have puffy eyes in front of their parents. They only broke when Babe walked through the door. 

“Sorry to break up this touching moment,” They said as they walked in, “but your fiancé is here.” 

—

Their walk down the halls of their home felt less like they’re here being walked to meet their future husband, and more like they were a criminal on death row being walked to their execution. There were two guards walking with them. Babe to their left and Aaron on their right.

They could only bring themselves to look at the two knights at their sides once. Babe had a determined look on their face, the same they had one when they ended up saving Angle from a pack of bandits a few moons back. They looked like they were about to walk into battle. 

Aaron, on the other hand, looked almost… almost sad? That surprised them, Angel couldn’t remember a time they saw him sad. The sad look in his eye wasn't drastic, but it was enough. Enough of a change for angle to notice the way his eyebrows furrowed and how whenever he looked at them his lips twitched down just a touch. 

They felt bad. This whole thing sucked. Arron hadn’t gotten any sleep in three days now and it was their fault. Nothing they could do now. 

Stopped in front of the door to the throne room, waiting for their que, babe finally said something.  

“David, right?”

“What?” 

“The man you met last night, his name was David, right?”

“You met a man last night?” Aaron butted in.

“That is none of your business, Aaron.” They poked his side, “but yes, that was his name.” 

“And he was a shift, yes?” They asked.

“Babe what the fuck!” They slapped their chest while Aaron made a strange noise. 

“Is that why you had that cape-“ his jaw snapped shut, he looked at babe who nodded. His jaw went slack again as he looked at them and then at the door, then down to Angel, before he fixed his posture and kept his eyes on the door in front of him.

“What the…?” They couldn’t finish their sentences because right at that moment the doors to the throne room opened.

It hurt their eyes to go from the dark hallways to the brightly lit throne room. Quickly, they composed themselves, best to look good infront of their parents. They forced their eyes to stop squinting at the light, put on their best forced smile, and after to walk in. 

The room was quiet as they walked in, the only noise they could hear was the sound of Aaron and Babes boots on the tiles. Their eyes finally adjusted enough to see the small group in front of them. It looked to be about four people, almost all of them were pretty tall, taller than Aaron, who was the tallest guy (other than David) they had seen in their home. They assumed the one man who wasn’t as tall would probably stand just below Aaron. They started to wonder how tall Aaron actually was…

Angel could only see the faces of three of them, the fourth, the tallest, was facing their mother and father. They all looked… strange. That was a good way to describe it. They wore a lot less clothes than they would have expected. Loose, flowy, fabric and furs. Some of them had… paint on their skin? No. They had heard of these from someone, Gavin was it? Tattoos! Gavin had markings across his body that pulsed with magic, these ones didn’t pulse, and they weren't as colorful as Gavin’s. Infact, these ones were just black. The one whose skin was mostly scars had the most, followed by the leaner one who had far less. The shorter one had a large one on his back while the tallest didn’t seem to have any, his back seemed to be totally clear of anything, other than a pair of healing scratch marks down his back.

Strangely enough, all these people were dressed just like shifters! But that could never happen, humans and shifters were at war, enemies. Angel’s parents hated shifters, they would never in a million years let one into their throne room let alone let one marry their only child. 

But then their father spoke.

“Don’t worry Mr. Shaw, you and your packmates will all have rooms here, now if you’ll turn around you’ll see-“

Packmates? What? That was 100%, without a doubt, a shifter term. Their eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they looked around the room. There were twice as many guards on duty, and every one of their faces looked scared. Both of their parents seemed antsy, their mother seemed to be trying hard not to bite her nails. 

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

The tallest man turned around. They knew who it was immediately. They didn’t know their face could get that hot. David. The shifter from the night before, was standing just a couple of meters in front of them.

“David Shaw, this is my child, and your fiancé!” Their father said as they tried to stop their jaw from dropping. 

He looked at them, first he looked at them with a glare, his eyes looked over them slowly. They realized he might not have noticed it was them. Their hair was looking a lot better than the night before, they were dressed to meet their fiance, not wearing their night robes. When he looked at their faces a little longer, they watched as he realized who they were. His eyes grew wide as his face went through a few different emotions. First he looked surprised, clearly he wasn't expecting to see them there, then he looked happy, the edges of his lips pulled up into a small smile before it turned into a scowl. He glared at them. He fucking glared at them! Like somehow having to marry them was worse then some fucking random other noble with a stick so far up their ass they cant bend over. So they returned the glare,

 “Oh don't act like that, you need to be civil.” their father huffed. “Shake the… man's hand.” Angel hated the way their father said ‘man’. Sure David seemed to be acting like a total dick right now (even though he hadn't said a word to them) but it's not like he was a monster. 

Walking up to him, past the other shifters who stood beside him, they held out their hand. “It's lovely to meet you David.” They gave him their best smile as they waited for him to take their hand, trying to do as their father said. 

He just looked at their hand, he didn't even try to pretend to not despise them. What the honest to god fuck did they do? They had met this man once and they got along great! Babe was right. They did have shit taste in men. 

Instead of dropping their hand they instead brought it up and flicked him on the nose, the same way you would a disobedient dog. 

“Ow- what the- ?” he grabbed his nose as they took another step forward into his space, grabbing his ear and pulling him close enough so just her could hear them. 

“I don't know what I could have possibly done to make you hate me this much, but just so you know, I will not be made a fool in my own home.” releasing his ear, they stepped back again, raising their hand again. “Let’s try that again. It's lovely to meet you David.” they said again, their smile was clearly fake, they could see the horrified look on their father's face and the amused one on the other shifters face’s. David looked down at their hand again, huffed, and took it. 

“And you as well, your highness .” 

When he released their hand they gave him a small nod, looked at his companions, nodded at them as well, a much friendlier smile for all of them, and turned to leave. Walking past Aaron and Babe and back into the hallway and, hopefully, back to their room.

They only regretted two things while they walked. That they couldn't see the look on their parents faces and the fact that they still didn’t know why David seemed so mad at them. 

Chapter Text

David knew exactly why he did that. 

He knew why he did everything. He slept with Angel in the first place because he was rebelling. He left his cape with them because he didn’t want the prissy royal he was forced to marry to have it. He did both of these things to take some semblance of control back into his life. Now his only act of rebellion was twisted into being exactly what everyone wanted him to do, get along with his future spouse. 

So, the moment he saw their face, their lips, those lips he had heard gorgeous moans come from the night before, he knew what he had to do. 

Make this marriage be as miserable as he was.

— 

Asher didn't expect David to get along with his Fiance right away, he expected him to make a fuss in private, be all quiet and brooding around his soon-to-be spouse, and then eventually realize that marriage was a lot easier then war was and learn to enjoy the high life as King consort to the Human’s and Alpha of the shaw pack. 

What Asher didn't expect was for him to immediately pick a fight with them. 

When David saw his fiance, he watched him glow, watched his eyes light up at them. It made sense to Asher, they looked good in white. It made more sense when he caught their scent. Shifters have a better sense of smell in their wolf form, in fact, all of their senses are better in their wolf form, but even as a human Asher could still catch the faintest hint of them in the air as they walked in. they smelled like expensive soap and roses, that was a nice smell but not the one he was focusing on, no, what he was focused on was the faint smell under that, a faint smell that he was all too familiar with smellinging, I mean, he had grown up with the man whose smell it was. Under all that fancy pants soaps and perfumes was David, clear as day. 

Looking back at David, a goofy yet confused grin growing on his face, he assumed he would still see that light in his eyes, instead all he could see was rage. Pure, unbridled, rage. Smile dropping he looked back at the heir to the throne who, after a moment of shock, gave the glare right back. The man who introduced himself as their father said something about shaking David’s hand, something about the way the Duke said it felt racist but he didn't have the energy to care, he was busy watching the heir walk up to David. 

They took a quick breath before walking past him and up to David, a behemoth of a man who towered over everyone he met, smile up at him with their hand out and say

“It's lovely to meet you David.” with the sweetest voice they could muster. 

Him, the rest of his pack, and every other person in that room held their breath as they waited for David to respond. 

They would have all suffocated to death if it weren't for the heir. 

In one swift motion they flicked his nose, grabbed his ear, and whispered something to him. Asher may not have heard the words but her heard the tone, and that said “fix your fucking aditude!” 

Taking a step back while David rubbed his ear, the heir took another deep breath and smiled once again with what Asher could now tell was a very well rehearsed smile, and held out their hand. 

“Let’s try that again. It's lovely to meet you David.” 

At this point, Asher had to shoot looks at both of his packmates as they both looked to be holding in fits of laughter, Asher had to admit, seeing someone like David get knocked down a peg was always funny. 

With a huff, David took their hand. “And you as well, your highness .” 

They nodded at him, then at Asher and his companions, a much more genuine smile for him, Milo, and Darlin, and then they turned and walked out of the room.

Asher knew only one thing in that moment, that somehow, someway, this arranged marriage had just paired David, the stubbornest mule Asher had ever met, with possibly the only person alive with the balls to tame him.

—

“I can’t fucking belive him!” Angel waved their hands around frantically, causing their bath water to slosh around in the large tub placed in the center of their bathroom. ‘Standing guard’ at the doorway was Babe, they had their nose in a book, half listening to Angel rant, Half reading their book on shifter culture they managed to dig out of the library.

“It's been a pretty unbelievable night, be more specific.” They hummed out. 

Angel huffed, “dinner.” 

“Ok, now who is he, your dad or your fiance?” They asked again.

“Both! I mean, why on earth would my dad tell us to move into the fucking guest house! My wedding is in a week! I could kinda understand moving in then but before the wedding? Is he crazy? Has he finally lost it?” They babbled on, splashing water and bubbles onto the pink and white tiles.

“Mhm… didn’t we agree he never had it to begin with?” Babe asked.

“Yeah! But like come on! Isn’t he scared we’ll have sex before marriage or something?” Angel flipped over to face Babe, their arms draped over the lip of the rose quartz tub that had been a gift from Gavin, the Demonic ambassador for D.A.M.N. Infact, the whole guest house had been a gift from the school. An architecture project made by the then top students, one of which being Gavin.

“Dude.” Babe looked up from their book to give Angel a look.

“And? He doesn’t know that!” Angel felt their face grow hot.

Babe rolled their eyes back to their book.

“And David, why the hell did he react like that? He just glared at me like I was the one who suggested it! What did I even do to him! Though we had fun! Why is he so pissed at me?” They continued to babble on, Babe snickered at their friend. It had been over an hour of them just tossing around in their bath, they had talked the ears off the two maids who had been tasked to stay with them so Babe was out of babysitting duties. Not that they minded, Angel was their best friend, they loved them.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you eyeing that other guy!” Babe looked up from their book and at their friend who was now struggling to get out of the bath. “I saw how you were eyeing that guy up, what’s his name… Asher!”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Babe did their best ‘on the job’ face, trying hard to look serious.

“Uh huh, then why are you reading that shifter culture book? Hmm?” Angel taunted as they wrapped themselves in a towel.

“Because, along with you, I’m going to be living in a house full of them.” They replied, eyes now turned back to their book. It wasn’t like they were reading it anymore, instead they stared at the paper and imagined the shifter who would be sleeping in the room across from them. 

They would be lying if they weren't nervous to be living with him. Sure it wasn't the same as Angel and David, he and them had to share a room way up on the top floor. Babe, Asher, and the other two shifters that had come along were all staying on the ground floor in their own rooms. That didn’t stop Babe’s face from growing hot at the thought of him just being a room away. He was attractive, there was absolutely zero doubt about that, infact, all the shifters were very attractive in their own right, but Asher just so happened to be just their type. 

Not just being physically hot, he was also really funny. After Ange and David’s “first” meeting Babe and Arron introduced themselves to the four wolves.

Milo was the shortest of the four, infact, he was about their height. He seemed pretty chill, if not a little cocky. Him and the person he referred to as Tank started some argument about whether or not he could pick them up. The answer was yes, he could. Tank was a lot more quiet then the other three, they talked to Babe about their accommodations and food and that was about it, though it didn’t seem to be out of character for them, like this was just how they acted with everyone. David was grump, he huffed out one word answers till Asher elbowed him, that’s when he became a lot more polite. Babe was glad to know there was at least one person who could handle him.

Then there was Asher. He was the most talkative out of the four, it was like keeping a conversation going was a game to him and he had never won anything lower gold. He laughed with Milo, teased Tank on the way they smelt after a patrol they took the night before, equally comforting and annoying David. He talked with Aaron and Babe about how hard it was to take care of an heir to a throne. 

He was Hilarious, and when you live grown up in a world where talking out of line was met with swift and immediate punishment, a bit of humor was enough to make Babe fall head over heels.

“Well just so you know,” Angel said as they wrapped a fluffy bath towel around themselves, “that book is full of shit.”

“What do you know? You don’t become an expert on shifters after you bone one.” Babe huffed, tucking the book under their arm and grabbing Angel’s night garb, passing it to them as they walked behind their privacy wall.

“No I didn’t learn everything-“ they stop talking for a moment as they pulled on their clothes- “but that book says they become bloodthirsty monsters when they shift and I’m clearly not dead.”

“Well damn.” Babe had to admit, the book did say some pretty strange stuff. ‘Shifters aren't human, they lack basic empathy’ ‘shifters will eat the skin off your bones when they are in their wolf form’ ‘shifters hate silver, it burns their skin’ all very confusing statements, the silver one made them double take seeing as silver seemed to be the only metal the werewolves wore. 

“You know, if you want to learn things about shifters, you should probably ask a shifter, not some book written by some racist unempowered old man.”  Angel stepped out from behind the privacy screen, they had expensive silks on, their hair was also wrapped up in silk as it dried.

“You know what I could do?”

“Follow my advice?” Angel walked over to their small collection of colognes, perfumes and oils.

“I could ask someone from D.A.M.N!” They exclaimed.

“Or you could just ignore me.” 

—

Standing outside of their new room, Angel let out a breath. Their hand on the ornate door knob, the gold matched wonderfully with the dark wood of the door. How does one go about something like this? A hook up gone right, a “first meeting” gone wrong, was it a pattern? Was this night going to go right? Or was it just going to continue to go wrong? Was the David they met on that first night it? Were they going to be stuck with this grouchy asshole for the rest of their life? 

With all of these questions running rampant in their head, they knew the only way to solve any of them was to walk through this door.

Twisting the knob and pushing, the door made a polite little squeak, as if to alert anyone inside that someone was coming in. Angel heard the sound of fabric rustling before they saw it. David had taken their fathers ask of “make yourself at home” literally. The originally white bedspread had been taken over by many colorful blankets and pillows. The bed was overflowing with bedding. Each piece of fabric, cloth, and fluff seemed to be hand stitched with patterns of all sorts, the moon on more blue and purple fabrics, suns of the yellows and reds, trees and flowers on the greens. The door closed behind Angel as they watched, mouth open, as David continued to make the bed his own.

“Oh my gods.” Was all Angel could say. 

David sent a glare their way, as he fluffed a pillow. They watched as he reached over across the queen sized bed, grabbed a piece of his fabrics, and pulled them over to his size, revealing the white bedding  underneath. He made a spot just big enough for a person. 

Climbing into bed, he pulled his covers over him. He didn’t say a word to them.

Angel stood in silence at the man. The very attractive man, who was laying in a bed they were also supposed to sleep in, refused to look at them.

With a huff, Angel walked around the room. They walked to each candle and blew them out, one after another, leaving the one on David's nightstand for last. Picking up his candle, they turned to look at the shifterz he looked beautiful in the candle light, even if he was scowling at them. With a quick exhale, they blew out the candle, casting the room into darkness. The only light that would help Angel direct themselves to their side of the bed was the soft moonlight coming in from the two wall to ceiling windows on either side of the bed. 

David’s eyes followed them across the room. Refusing to give him any sort of satisfaction, Angel sat laid down in bed and pulled their pathetically light blanket over themselves. 

David, giving them one last glare of good measure, also rolled over, very dramatically. 

They lasted in peaceful silence for about 6 minutes.

Feeling just a bit chilly, Angel grabbed a corner of David’s many blankets and wrapped it around themselves. 

Feeling slighted, David yanked it back over to his side.

Little did David know, Angel had one hell of a grip. And little did Angel know, David could pull them with one arm.

As David yanked the bedding back over, Angel came right along with it. Rolling right next to the very grumpy werewolf.

“Good fucking going genius!” Angel yelled as they sat up to look down at the man.

“Your the one who took my fucking sheets! It’s not my fault you didn’t let go.” He shot right back, sitting up with them.

“You're the one who covered the bed with these comfy as hell blankets!” 

“Comfy- wait what?” He looked… shocked?

“What? You cover this boring ass bed with cool bedding and then expect me to not want to sleep on them?”

“You… you like them?” He looked confused, but also a little happy? Angel couldn’t quite pin what it was.

“Of course I like them, look at them, they're gorgeous!” They gestured to the pile of fabric on the bed.

“Oh.” He kind of looked nervous. He crawled over them to get to their side of the bed and shoved the bedding over so it covered the whole bed. Confused, Angel watched as he climbed back over them and into his spot and rolled over.

“What just happened?” They asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Just go to bed.” He huffed.

“No! I won’t let either of us sleep until you explain why you did that to me!” Angel huffed, they grabbed one of the smaller pillows and hit David with it.

Sitting up quickly, David gave them another glare. “Did what?”

“Don’t act stupid.” They huffed, not backing down at his admittedly very intimidating gaze.

“I’m not the one who tricked someone into sleeping with some prissy noble.” He spat the words ‘prissy noble’ like venom.

“Excuse me?” 

“You heard me.” 

“No, no I don’t think I did.” They tossed the sheets off of them and sat up on their knees to look him in the eyes. “Why would I want to trick you?” 

“I don’t know, you're the one who did!” Angel could feel the heat coming off of him.

“Yeah, me, the person the guards have nicknamed jailbird, left to go trick you into hooking up with me. Like I would even know who I would be looking for! My parents don’t tell me shit!” 

“What on earth are you talking about!” He hissed.

“Go fuck yourself David.” They huffed as they turned away from him. As they turned away they felt his hands grab their shoulders, pinning them to the bed. They felt as he straddled their hips, they felt his warm breath on their lips as they opened their eyes to see his face just inches away from theirs.

“What did you say.” He demanded. 

“Go fuck yourself?” They asked.

“No- ugh. Your parents, this marriage! What did you say.” 

“Uh, that they didn’t tell me who I was marrying. They didn’t even tell me I was getting married, I overheard them saying it and I ran off. Why do you think I was dressed in my nightwear?” They felt as heat twisted low in their stomach as he stared down at them. Those eyes, those intense eyes, they shone a light yellow in the moonlight, it reminded Angel of the cat they had as a child. 

The feeling of his breath hitch as they spoke, like their words were catching his breath in his chest.

He looked over them for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

“Kiss me.”

That was definitely not the question Angel thought they would hear him say.

“Excuse me?”

“Kiss me.” He repeated “please.” 

Angel had to admit, they wanted to, they really wanted to . But they also didn’t really feel like giving up to him just yet. 

“No.” 

His face flashed with confusion and concern. They felt as he backed off, they felt as he began to lift himself off of them. 

Quickly, they grabbed onto his hips, holding him still. 

“Not yet. David relax.” They huffed as he relaxed in their lap. “I don’t think you deserve a kiss.”

He scowled at them as they spoke. “What the hell does that mean? Do you want to kiss me or not?” 

“I do.” 

“Then kiss me.” He huffed impatiently.

“Hold your horses Davey, you can keep it in your pants for longer than 30 seconds can’t you?” They barked out. They watched him let out an annoyed sight.

“You come into my house, try to make a fool out of me, accuse me of tricking you into sleeping with me, and then ask for a kiss.” They slide their hands up to his waistband. “Do you think a person like that deserves a kiss?” 

It took him a moment but he eventually got out a “no, no I don't.”

“Glad we can agree on something.” They hum as they tug on the fabric. “So Davey, what do you think that person would have to do to be allowed a kiss?”

Angel watched as a devious smile grow on his lips, they watched as he started to slide down their body, dragging his hands from their shoulders, down their arms, over their sides and eventually to their waistband.

“Would something like this make it up to you?” He asked.

“It would,” they hummed, feeling their body already reacting to his touch, “it really would.”

—

Slipping his fingers into their waists band, David felt himself aching to touch them.

The little oath he made after their “First meeting” was apparently a lot harder than he anticipated. Watching them walk around, dressed to the nines, hair neatly made up, the smell of them wrapped around him at almost every moment. It was hell. He wanted nothing more then to pick them up, pin them against a wall, rip apart their clothes and fuck them till they where crying out his name. 

After finding out that they in fact hadn’t orchestrated this whole thing, he couldn’t find a reason to keep up with his deal to himself. So he asked to kiss them.

Tugging the fabric down their thighs and off of their legs, he thought about them no. “No” he didn’t expect a no. But to be fair he didn’t expect anything. The No scared him more than it disappointed him. He was scared he was scaring them. He was on top of them, his face just an inch away from theirs. He was massive, he could never deny that. He could do whatever he wanted to Angel and they knew that. Their fearlessness towards him was his favorite part of them, the fact they could look him in his eyes and just trust him. That's why he was scared. What if he truly scared them? Then they told him what to do to make it up to them. Then he was reminded of that wonderful fearlessness he saw in them in the first place.

Climbing his way up their legs, kissing them all the way up, nipping softly at their inner thighs. He could feel the heat coming off of them as he got closer to their sex. Hands on either hip, he looked up at them as they unbuttoned the silk top they had on. They look adorable like this.

“Please?” He asked.

“Go right ahead.” They panted. For a person who was trying to be dominant, they where doing a shit job, they  broke too easily under his touch. Sinking into them, he began to work Angel with his mouth, squeezing their thighs gently as he did.

He felt their whole body shake as they moaned for him. Their hand shook at their side, trying hard not to grab ahold of him. Letting go of one of their thighs he reached up and took their hand in his, guiding it to his hair, an offer they took greedily. As they rocked their hips against him moaning each time he deepened into them. 

“Oh fuck- I-“ they struggled to get a word out “I’m close-“ 

He felt them tug him away, slightly, a warning. Instead of backing away, he grabbed their thighs, and hooked them over his shoulders. “Then come for me Angel,”  immediately, as if they were waiting for him to tell them what to do, he felt their thighs squeezed down around them. He felt them spasm around him while they cried out a moan. 

As Angel calmed down and their legs relaxed and fell from his shoulders, he started to move up their body. 

As he crawled up to their face, David only stopped to pepper kisses up their stomach, chest, and neck. When he was once again overtop of them, looking down at those tired eyes, he asked them “can I kiss you?”

Their hands slid up his sides and up to his face, cupping it gently. “Please do.” 

Not wasting a second, David kissed them. Cupping their face just as they did his, he kissed them. Breathy, soft kisses quickly turned into a breathless, harsh kissing. David had tasted them already and wanted more, and Angel seemed just as hungry to taste him, if not more. 

If David wasn’t hard before there was no way he wasn’t hard now, and there was no way His Angel didn’t know.

With a hand in David's hair and hand on his chest, Angel tried their best to flip him over. It didn’t work as well as they would like but it got to point across. Hooking his arm under them, David flipped him and Angel over so they were now sitting in his lap.

Breaking away from their lips, Davdi watched as they fumbled with his pants, yanking on the fabric till it came undone. He couldn’t help but snicker as they fumbled.

Looking up at him, Angel gave David a as they spoke “do you want me to ride you or do you just want to laugh at me?” 

He felt himself twitch in his pants at the thought, “I would rather the first option.” He hummed.

“Then stop laughing at me.” They quickly went back to work, finally tugging his pants down enough to take him out. Their hand was like heaven to him. Their breathy moans drove him wild, hearing them in his ear as they lined him up with himself was forcing him to use every bit of will he had left not to grab their hips and slamming them down on him.

As he slipped into them he listened as their voice hitched in their chest, he listened as they let that voice out in airy gasps as they eased down on him. Once they were settled in his lap again he joined them in the sounds. 

As they pushed up and fell back down on him he couldn’t help but tell them how gorgeous they looked. How he couldn’t stop himself from fantasizing about all the ways he could have ruined them today. 

As they sped up he couldn’t stop his hands from feeling up and down their back, he couldn’t help but give them scratch marks that matched his from yesterday. When they returned the favor and started to suck and bite his neck, leaving marks that would be a struggle to hide from his friends, he couldn’t help but take hold of their hips.

“Gods fucking Damn it Angel-“ he growled into their ear as he fucked up into them- “your going to be the end of me.”

“Good- ah- good way to go huh?” They moan out in return. 

“Fuck im close-“ he managed to get out.

“Please Davey-“ 

It wasn't their begging that pushed him I’ve the edge, it wasn’t the feeling of them being just a little off from coming with him, it was the feeling of their teeth against his earlobe. As they whispered “please” they nipped at his ear. That small act broke the dam inside of him.

Flipping them over, David buried his head into their shoulder as he fucked into them harder then he had all night. He heard them cry out, begging for him to keep going. forcing himself to keep it together long enough for them to come a second time, when he heard them break around him with a muffled cry into his shoulder, he snapped entirely. He felt his body go into autopilot as his teeth bit down onto them, leaving a mark he knew would bruise. They basically sang in his ear as he did, their body wrapped around him, squeezing him in their warm grasp as they both slowly started to calm down.

After a solid minute of just holding each other, just breathing each other in, David finally pulled out and off of them. 

“I… I’ll get you a towel.” He huffed as Angel laid on the bed.

“Mhm” they mumbled, eyes just barely open.

Pulling his pants back up, David made the daring trip to get some towels.

—

After David had finished cleaning them up, they both decided the best next course of action was cuddling. Angel’s head resting on his chest, his arms around them, his chin resting just on their head. 

There was something wrong with this man. Not something wrong like there was something wrong with Michael or any of Angel’s other exe’s, something was hurting him. 

They could tell in the way he clung to them, a total stranger, a total stranger that just so happened to be his fiance. Why was he holding on to them like he might lose them? Like someone might just walk up and take them away from him?

They didn’t know the answer, but they did know that there was something wrong with him. They only hoped they could help him without hurting themselves.

Chapter Text

Sunlight shone through the windows, flooding Angel’s new room in warm light. With a pleased smile, they rolled over in their bed with warm, soft fabrics wrapped around them; it reminded them of waking up on the rocky shore just the other day. Reaching over for the man that made their rest so lovely —thanks to both the bedding and the way he tired them out— their hand found nothing but empty space. Sitting up, they confirmed what they already knew. David was gone.

“David?” They asked aloud, looking around the room for a sign of him. 

What are the chances he ran away? They thought. The idea of him being just as much of a flight risk as they were almost made them laugh, almost. The knot twisting in their stomach that told them that something was actually wrong was too tight for them to crack jokes, even if it was just to themselves. 

Getting up, the whole house seemed quiet. Peeking out the window, they saw the sun had just started to rise above the treeline, it had to be no later than eight in the morning. They had overslept. So, with the number of people in the home and the time of day, they would have assumed the house would be alive with people. Maids tending to guests, conversations in the hallways, a kitchen alive with voices. And yet, the house was dead quiet. 

“Where the hell is everyone…?” They asked themselves aloud. Pulling a simple outfit from their closet, something quick to put on before going on a hunt for their missing fiance. 

—

David had gotten up early, he hadn't wanted to, he would have rather stayed in bed, warm, asleep, wrapped around his Angel. Instead, he was woken up by Asher. 

“David!” he whispered, shaking him slightly “Wake up dude, it's important.” Eyes strained open as his best friend shook up awake, 

“Calm down Ash- why are you in my room?” 

“Good you're up, just get dressed and meet me in the hallway, ASAP.” 

That woke him up faster than seventeen cups of coffee shot directly into his veins. Here David was, laying naked in a bed with his fiance, the smell of each other and their actions of the night before heavy in the air, and Asher had yet to make a single joke. His eyes finished adjusting, looking over his face, a worried expression painted on his friend's face. It was never a good sign when Asher was serious. 

“Alright Ash, I’ll be out in a minute.” 

In the hallway, Asher’s back was pressed against the wall, foot anxiously tapping, waiting for David. The bigger shifter closed the door behind him softly, careful not to wake Angel. He had pulled on his usual clothes, flowy pants paired with a plain cloak for the morning chill.

“Alright Ash, spit it out, what the hell happened.” His voice was soft but stern. His mouth pulled into a line before he pushed off the wall, 

“Come on, I’ll tell you as we walk.” turning down the hall, waving David to follow. David huffed, but followed. “So, the guards here made an arrest last night.” Panic immediately flooded every sense in David's body, along with a thousand questions. 

“Who was it?” he prayed to whatever gods would listen that it wasn't someone from his pack.

“It's no one you know,” he said, answering David's prayers. “A vamp, apparently the guards here caught him ‘slinking’ around the grounds.” he put a strange emphasis on the word ‘slinking’, like he didn't believe it. Vampires had never been allies to shifters, especially not wolf shifters, sure, they weren't currently at war with them, but they would hardly call each other friends. Also, a vamp in human territory? There's only one reason one would be here, so why would Ash feel the guards were lying? 

“What aren't you telling me Ash? It sounds like any threat has been handled.” No longer whispering, the two had started walking down the stairwell to the front door. The house was too quiet, he saw a maid poke her head out from behind a doorway, she hid quickly when she noticed that she had been spotted.

“I know… ugh it's hard to say…” he trailed off as he pushed open the front door. The garden was beautiful in a perfect, pristine way. He preferred his nature a little more wild, but at least the roses were nice.

“Spit it out Asher.” 

“He's a friend of Tank. like, the same kind of “friends” Christian and Amanda are.” David had hoped he wouldn't have to hear Asher this serious ever again. It was a common occurrence before the engagement had been confirmed. He used to think it was worth it to marry a preppy stranger if it meant he could see Asher smile. Seeing him like this again, it lit an angry fuse in David's heart. “He said he’s part of the Solair house, that they had been invited to the wedding. Turns out that's true, but they won't let him out without the house’s King present to confirm.” 

“Alright, well, why was he hanging around the grounds? Shouldn't he be here with his clan?” David questioned, the pair had made it to the ward, the part of the building that held everything the guards could need, he could only assume that inside was the cell with this mystery vampire, and the rest of his pack.  

“Yeah so, his story is that he was sent as a scout for his clan.” 

“I can see why the guards didn't trust him.” David grumbled.

“Yeah, it's a mess.” Asher pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“What do you need me to do?” he asked as Asher walked him down the stairs to what David could only assume was the dungeon. He found it cruel, locking people underground, but in this case, he was glad the prisoner was away from daylight. 

“You’ll know, trust me.” The pair made it to the bottom of the stairs, a large wooden door and a guard stood in front of them, Ash turned to the man “We need in. I brought our leader here, he's here to talk with Captain Aaron.” With a nod, the guard unlocked the door for them. With a nod, the two wolves walked into the dungeon.

Inside was the rest pack. Milo was standing next to a wooden chair that Tank had claimed as their own. His arms were crossed and he was sending angry glares across the room towards the head of the guard, Aaron. David had met the man the night before, he seemed reasonable enough, tired, but reasonable. His hand was clenched into a fist over his mouth, a frustrated look on his face as he looked over a pile of papers. Another guard was in the room, he had also met them last night. They had accompanied Angel almost the entire evening, chatting with them and his pack. David may not be the most observant man when it comes to people's relationships, but you would have to be blind to not notice the way they looked at Asher, and vice versa. 

The Captain looked up from his papers as David walked in, quickly standing to greet him. 

“Mr. Shaw, thank you for coming, could you please handle your unruly friend.” He spat the words out as he glared over at Tank, who was shooting an equally nasty look his way. 

“I would suggest you never call any of my pack unruly in my presence.” Aaron was in no way a small man. He stood at almost the same height as David, but what Aaron had in stature couldn't make up for David’s intimidation. His eyes stayed locked on Davids for no longer than a minute before he let out a sigh and sat down. 

“My apologies. I've been told I can be irritable when I haven't slept.” His hand rubs over his eyes, dark circles confirmed his statement. He turned towards Tank, “I’m sorry for my outburst.” Then back to David. “If you could talk to your, uh, packmate, about this? I would like to talk to someone who doesn't look like they want to tear my throat out.” 

With a nod, David turned to his friends. Walking over he looked over them. Tank’s arms were crossed tight over their chest, and a look that could kill was plastered on their face. Milo had a similar expression on his face, slightly less murderous, but just as angry. “One of you is going to explain what the hell is going on.” 

Milo’s gaze softened as he turned to Tank, their eyes now glued on the floor. Their chest heaved up and down, it was a tell that only a few people knew about. Turning back to David, he started talking.

“They won’t let Tank see him- he won't let any of us see him.” 

“Alright.” David wracked his brain for solutions while fighting off the urge to grill his pack mate. It was irritating not knowing the full picture. He wished someone had woken him earlier. Tank wasn’t about to start talking, and I looked like the only other thing Milo had in this situation was an undying loyalty to them. He chewed his cheek as he thought. “Thank you Milo.” 

Turning back to Aaron, he dragged a stool to the table he sat at. The Head of the guard looked him over, a tired and annoyed look in his eye. Sitting down in front of the desk, David waved his hand to get his pack mate’s attention, then pointed to the door. “Leave.” was all he said, his gaze locked on the man in front of him. His fellow shifters quickly filed out of the room, leaving just him, the guard who had been eyeing up Asher, and Aaron.

“Now that we have some more privacy, you should explain what happened.” 

The shiver that shot up Aarons spine was nearly unnoticeable. To anyone else, he was simply just sitting, staring at the shifter in front of him, but to David, he saw something flicker in his eye at his words. He knew this man was powerful, he hadn't become head of the guard for nothing, but standing face to face with a shifter? The scars that scattered David’s body told a story of a man who was no stranger to combat. When it came down to it, if it were just David and Aaron facing off, David would leave with just a few more scars while Aaron wouldn’t leave at all.

With a sigh, Aaron spoke. “How much do you know?”

“You are currently holding someone here and not allowing my pack to speak with them.” The shifter stated plainly, his eyes never leaving Aarons. 

“We have a Vampire held here-” 

“And you aren't allowing my pack to speak to them.” Interrupted David, “I don't see what their race has to do with this.” 

“We can't let strangers down into the hold to see someone as dangerous as him.” Aarons fingers jab the table, a sliver of rage slipping between the cracks of his stoic facade. 

“I am to marry the next Heir to the throne, my people should not be considered strangers.” something angry started to bubble in David as well. “And what crime has he committed to make him such a threat? Unless being a vampire is all it takes around here.”

“He was found lurking around the castle-”

“He was a scout.”

“We have no way to verify that without his King.”

“Then wait for his King to arrive and allow my packmates to see him.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aaron let out a sigh. “I am aware that your people are much more capable of taking care of yourselves.” he shuffles through the papers he had scattered around the table before pulling out a few newspaper documents. “But we don't have that kind of raw power, it doesn't flow through our veins the same way it does for our empowered allies, the same way it does for you.” Newsletters warning families to stay inside at night, stories of bodies found drained of blood in alleyways, twin puncture marks on their necks, photos of said bodies. “We can't take chances like your people can. When people more powerful than us threaten us, even if it's unintentional, we have to act. We must stay as vigilant as possible, because when we aren't, bad things happen. People die, David.” 

Looking through the photos, letters, and papers, something clicked for the shifter. Unempowered humans had been a dominant force in the political climate of this world. Rotating rulers to ensure there is always a head for the crown, tightly knit communities across the kingdom, and armies that could do impressive damage, damage he had seen first hand. It clicked in his head that this impressive strength these humans had wasn’t from pure power alone. It was strategy. Strategy gave them strength, it kept them alive. Wolves were known for their impressive hunting techniques, but those paled in comparison to the ones humans used just to keep themselves alive.  

Rubbing his face, David let out a disgruntled sigh before continuing. “We need to come to a compromise.” 

“How?” Aaron looked exhausted.

“You can’t release him without confirmation he’s not a threat, but that is no reason to isolate him.” He placed the photos he had in a death grip down on the table, his imagination replacing the lifeless bodies in them with someone more familiar. “I'm sure we can come up with some kind of visiting hours for him.” 

“How could we do that without risking an escape? Keeping a vamp locked up isn't easy, the only reason he's still alive is because of his claims and the lack of bodies. We can't just let him out.” Aaron made a point. Although David had never met this vampire, and the last one they were ‘friends’ with ended up as ash between David's teeth, he trusted their judgment. If they believed he deserved to be imprisoned they would have been the first to throw away the key. Whoever this person was, he didn't deserve to be locked away. 

“If you are unwilling to release him for any amount of time, why don't you allow my packmate to see him themselves?” he asks.

“It's too risky, especially seeing their connection to him.” 

“They won't be alone, they can have a chaperone.” David offers.

“Like who?” 

“I could.” Both men’s heads turned to the door, the guard who had stayed silent had finally spoken up. “I will request that someone else comes with me, preferably someone that could hold their own in a fight against a vampire.” 

The two look at one another, then back to the guard. Aaron is the first to break the science. 

“Are you sure?” he asks.

“I am. If it helps reduce conflict between us, I am sure.” The guard’s helm covered their eyes and most of their face, only their mouth was visible. They let no emotion slip past them, a stone cold expression held their jaw tight. 

“Who would go with you?” Aaron asked, “Other than me, there aren't many people here who can follow your request.”

“If you would allow it,” David began, “I can assign Asher to join you. He is more than capable of standing his ground in a fight.”

“He’ll work.” The guard responded almost too quickly. David had to fight back a small smile. 

David watched as Aaron’s lips pulled into a thin line as he contemplated. Fingers tapped a short melody before balling into a fist. 

“Fine.” He huffed “I’ll allow it.” 

“Thank yo-“ David began before promptly being cut off by Aaron grabbing his cloak, pulling him in close.

“If anything goes wrong, it’s going to fall on you. Got it?” His gaze was unwavering, it was David’s turn to hide the shiver that ran down his spine.

“I got it.” He stated, not letting the head of the guard see the effect he had on him. 

“Good.” He said, letting David go. “Take them to see him, I’m going home. I need a fucking nap.” 

And like that, Aaron was gone. Leaving David and the guard alone. They turned from the door to David, waiting for an order.

“Call in Asher please.” 

—

He couldn’t take it. Pacing up and down the halls of the massive building that, according to the greedy old fart who owned the place, wasn’t a castle. Milo hadn’t seen a house this big, but he had heard stories of the massive structures the human lords and ladies would live in, castles.

He had assumed, when he first saw the home, it must have been a castle. Being told it wasn’t? That was a shock. Why on earth would anyone want to make a building any bigger? This was already overkill. 

He took to the long and seemingly never ending hallways that connected the house, looking for some sort of distraction from the current situation that was happening in the basement of this place. He couldn't stay there. That place wreaked the same stench the fields did. A sad stale smell of useless pain and suffering. They were both places of loss. Loss of life and loss of freedom. He couldn't stand being in a place like that, it's why he left with David in the first place. It was an escape. Then he was back, in that stupid dungeon, watching one of the strongest people in his life almost cry. 

He had seen Tank like this only one other time. It was half a year ago. A shitty ex turned out to be more than just an asshole. Turns out, there had been a few missing persons cases in the nearby towns, then there were a few more, and more. And more. And more and more and more. They had confessed about the abuse they suffered from him to David, along with the suspicions of his crimes. After that, Milo and his friends had become very acquainted with the taste of vamp ash. Tank looked like the world had turned inside out. A person who stood so strong all the time, a fighter, a protector, struggling not to fall apart. 

He couldn't take it. 

So he walked the halls. 

Definitely not lost. 

He turned another corner, the hardwood floor stretched out before him. It was identical to the one he had just walked down. Totally not lost. 

With a sigh, he turned around, it would probably be best if he tried to retrace his steps. Maybe he could find a maid who could-

He froze. 

A sound. 

It was almost inaudible. Like a pin falling in a stack of pillows. The quiet sound of just another person taking up space in the empty halls. Whipping around, eyes scanning the room for a sign of life. It was the same as before, empty, there was no place to hide here. A side table with a bouquet of flowers, paintings of some long gone humans hung on the walls, doors littered the walls, but no one was there. 

The house is settling! He had heard of that. Having grown up in a war camp, he didn't know much about homes that were built to last. He had read books that described the way the foundations of homes would creak and crack as it ‘settled’. He never understood how a house could settle. It was a building, it wasn't alive, how could it ‘settle’? It didn't matter, it was happening. That must have been it. No other reason. 

He turned back, ready to ignore the sound and move on with his day. That was, until he heard it again. A tiny sound, a step, it sounded like it was trying to match his pace but it was just a second off. It was near impossible to hear, but thanks to the fact Milo was a shifter, his ears were just good enough to pick it out. This time, instead of turning around, he kept walking, ears locked on the now rhythmic sound of someone following. Someone he couldn't see. 

Some deep, carnal instinct was triggered. The feeling of chasing something down, using all his senses to track down his prey. Every single nerve in his body was on fire as he fought the urge to smile. It was clear whoever was here with him didn't know he knew they were there. It was an upper hand he couldn’t lose. Stealths were hard to deal with. If they were good, and this one clearly was, they could mute their already quiet core so it was impossible to detect. Along with the loss of a visual, Milo had to rely on his sense of hearing and smell. His nose wasn’t nearly as good in this form as it was when he was shifted, but his hearing was almost the same in both. 

Carefully tracking their steps, whoever was following him was only a few paces behind him. He counted the doors. He had peeked into a few of them, boredom along with being nosy was his reasoning. 

Bedroom, bedroom, another hallway, bedroom, bingo. 

In a swift motion, he spun on his heels and grabbed at what looked like nothing. For a split second, he thought maybe he had been wrong, those doubts were quickly eased as his fingers intertwined with fabric. A quiet yelp came from nothing as he pulled them into his arms, trapping them in his grasp. He barrelled into the supply closet he had spotted, kicking the door shut behind him. The invisible someone was quickly pinned between Milo and a wall. Shelves filled with strange cleaning supplies surrounded them, along with darkness. The only light came from under the door that now trapped them in her together. 

Milo smiled at whoever was under him. He must have looked feral, a crazed look in his eye and a wide toothy grin, all while his chest heaved. Milo might have wondered if there really was someone there if it wasn’t for the quick panicked breaths he could feel on his skin.

“Come on sweetheart,” he teased, “show yourself.”

A beat of silence followed, and Milo’s smirk twitched.

 “I’ll ask you one more time, drop the cloak.”

After a shaky breath, the intruder revealed themselves. His gaze racked over them, they were dressed in a nice white blouse and a tight pair of black pants. They were by all accounts very attractive. As his gaze travelled back up them, he noticed a familiar emblem stitched into their breast pocket. 

“Oh absolutely fucking not.” He grabbed their arm and looked at their shoulder.

“Hey!” They whisper shouted, trying to pull away.

“Shut it.” He all but barked as he checked for the badge he knew would be there. He had to stifle a growl as he realized who exactly he was looking at. This wasn’t some run of the mill intruder, this was a mother fucking Department officer. He could have snagged a thief or even better, an assassin, but no! A fucking Dump employee. He pushed them away and stepped back. “What the fuck are you all doing here?”

“That is none of your business!” They hissed back, moving closer.

“Oh it sure as fuck is!” He took a step closer, pushing them back up against the wall. “Seeing as I’m still standing between you and that door.”

They gave him a devilish grin and shoved their hand into his chest. He felt a shiver run up his spine as they did. They pulled it back out and let out a chuckle at his face. “You're not much of an obstacle.” 

He shook off the feeling and glared again. “Then how come you're still here? Or maybe the better question is why haven’t you yanked out my heart?” 

They looked him up and down, their confident look faltering only for a second. “That's none of your business.”

“As I said before, it sure as fuck is.” He tapped his chest. “I’m here,” he poked them on the embroidered logo, “you're there,” he slammed his hand next to their head. “And the walls behind you. It’s my business because you're making it my business. That make sense sweetheart?”

They scowled again, not answering. 

“I don’t like your type, department lackeys, but I do know a thing or two about what you can and can’t do.” Leaning in closer, Milo’s chest pressed against the stealth’s, his leg between theirs, and his face just a breath away from them. He could feel the shaky exhale they let out. “And I know that breaking and entering isn’t on the ‘can do’ list,” he dipped his head to their ear, “So Sweetheart, tell me how your lurking isn’t my business?”

They swallowed hard before speaking. “It’s an undercover mission. Reconnaissance.” 

He stepped back, giving them room to breathe, dropping his arms to his sides. “Reconsonce for what?”

They visually relaxed at his movement. “The wedding.”

“That’s vague, Sweetheart, maybe a little more detail.”

“We have some concerns about the guest list.” Gaze locked back to him. 

“What kind of concerns?” Worry wore deeper into him. What if this was about Tank's “friend”? Milo knew they were smarter than that, well, he hoped. 

“Concerns for the royal family.” They grumbled. 

A new fear shot threw him. David. “If you department fucks think something is going to happen to the couple, you should say it out right instead of sending someone to spy on em.” He barked.

“What would you know?” They hissed back.

He laughed, “A lot, Sweetheart. My name is Milo Geer. That name ring a bell? Cus it should, my deadbeat dad worked there for over 30 goddamn years.” He scowled at them, exposing sharp teeth. “So yeah, I know a bit.”

Their expression twisted from annoyance to surprise and reconciliation. Milo scoffed and they shook the look off, their face turning to something more serious. “Then you should understand how important this must be if I have to stay undercover!” 

“I understand that the department cares more about themselves than keeping other people safe.” He growled.

“Not this time. This Marriage, it’s happened too suddenly. Isn’t that strange? A war between two of the most powerful people, one that's lasted almost a hundred years, suddenly, the heirs to their respective powers are engaged? It’s suspicious. It’s incredible, but suspicious.”

It was a thought everyone has been having. A worm of doubt that had been slowly crawling into his mind. The excitement of the war ending had overshadowed it in the beginning, but as it dulled, the truth was becoming more and more clear.

“What does the department think is up?”

“That’s why I’m here.” They responded “I need to figure out how we got here.”

“Are you gonna try and ruin the wedding?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“No! That’s the last thing we want.” They wave their hands out before dropping them to their side. “Peace is our goal. I know you may not like me, but my job is to protect. I want to find out what is happening behind the curtain and end it.” They take a step towards him. “I know that’s what you want too.”

“It’s what we all want.” Milo steps close as well, they didn’t waver, standing their ground. “I think it’s not the only thing you want. I think you want something from me.” Their gaze dropped down to his lips for just a second, a quick movement he shouldn’t have been able to see in the dark. Fortunately, shifters had better night vision than most, even when they were shifted. “Am I right, Sweetheart?”

They stared at him through their lashes, sucking in a deep, shaky breath, before responding. “I want your help, Milo.”

That shocked the wolf, “My help?”

They smirked, poking his chest, “Be my eyes on the inside. Tell me about suspicious activity from staff or guests. Help me keep people alive.”

He growled. He hated the department. Asking him to help them was like asking him to chew his own limbs off. 

“What? Don’t think you can do it?” They mocked.

“No.” He barked, a scowl forming on his face. He had to suppress a growl as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. There was no way he was about to agree to this. “I could totally do it.”

“Will you?” They said, something close to excitement in their voice.

He scowled at them, “I said could. Not would. I don’t even know your name.” 

They smiled something wicked and told him their name- “-but Sweetheart works just fine. So will you help me?”

He shot them a nasty glare, one that would normally make someone cower. He was a wolf, he may not be as big as his friends but he was in no way small. He could still rip them limb from limb. Instead of shrinking under him, they arched a brow, a smile stuck on their face. “Fine.”

“Great!” They pulled his hand from his chest and shook it hard. “Would say it was lovely meeting you but it wasn’t.” And just like that, they vanished. 

A shiver shot up Milo’s spin and he knew he was alone in the room. Pushing a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh. He had left to find a distraction and he sure as hell found one. Pushing open the door, he stepped back into the hallway. It was dead silent. 

“Gods damn it.” He hissed, shaking his head as he walked down the hall. How did he get himself into this? As he walked down the expensive carpet, he thought over the events, his mind lingering on the way their chest heaved when he pressed himself against them. The way their breath caught in their throat as he whispered against their ear. 

He shook off the thought. Was he really getting all hot and bothered about a fucking department spy? He needed to get laid bad if that was the case. I mean, sure they looked good in their tight, white uniform. How it stretched across their arms and chest. The way their lips twisted when they scowled, pushing out just enough. The determined look in their eyes when they spoke. The way their shirt collar was unbuttoned just enough to show off their collarbone- Fuck!

When he found one, he would ask a maid for the baths. He needed a cold shower immediately.