“Damn that felt amazing…” I said, petting his back.

“Mmmhm, yeah…” He sighed lazily. I closed my eyes, listening to his heartbeat, to the sounds of the pack, talking and drinking downstairs. Then I felt his fingers brush my lips. I opened my eyes and found him staring at me, concern etched into his face. As I looked down I saw his fingers red with blood. Oh. Oh no. Oh god no! I licked my lips, shuddering at the sweet taste of his blood. My wolf purred with satisfaction while the darkness in me woke up with hunger. Oh, fuck no. I looked at Matt’s shoulder. Small rivulets of blood flowed down from the bite, pooling on my chest.

“You bit me,” he said a lot more casually than I would have thought.

“I’m sorry, fuck, I’m so sorry. Does it hurt? Fuck I’ll get a bandage or something!” I tried to get up, already panicking. Humans didn’t bite each other at least not so deep. How the hell was I supposed to explain that? I could see the imprint of my fangs, going deeper than the rest of my teeth.

“Will I turn into a werewolf now?” he asked me, which made me freeze halfway off the bed. I turned to stare at him. He was just lying there in my bed, looking absolutely serious and not at all that fazed.

“What?” Was all I managed to say. He smiled, he fucking smiled and sat up to hug me, his chest against my back.

“How stupid do you think I am?” He sighed, nuzzling my nape. “The way you could always hear and smell stuff no one else could… Your nightly runs in the forest. That already made me suspicious and then I come here and you’re all talking about packs and alphas and inner beasts. And come on. This big fight? If you guys were mafia there would be gunshot wounds, not scratches and bites.”

Oh fuck… There was a good reason why humans weren’t allowed into pack houses. Damn it.

“It’s alright Reid, it’s fine,” he said, his warm breath on my skin made me shiver. “I grew up on fantasy books. I’m not scared.”

“You should be,” I said honestly. “This is not a stupid book. In real life good doesn’t always win over evil…”

“But you guys just won right? You’re safe now.”

Damn was he an idiot? This was not the reaction someone had upon realizing the person they spent the last three years with was a werewolf right?

“It’s fine, I already went through a mental breakdown when I arrived here, remember? And I had a lot of time to think about this when you were fighting.” He let go of my back and instead sat down next to me so I could see his face. Oh… There was no fear, no hidden panic, nothing but trust and happiness.

“You really are weird, you know?” I sighed but pulled him up on my lap, running my hands over that perfect skin. I leaned down and ran my tongue over the bite. Surprisingly it wasn’t bleeding anymore. Thank the Gods I didn’t hit a vein or something. Fuck that was risky. Just because the fight was over didn’t mean I could lose control now.

“You won’t turn into a werewolf. It takes a lot more than a single bite,” I explained, nuzzling his neck, taking in his delicious scent. “And my saliva should keep it from getting infected.”

“How handy.” He chuckled, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Do werewolves usually bite when making love? I mean, you never used to do that…” he asked. I actually felt myself grow red with embarrassment. I had to look away.

“Reid?” he asked. Fuck his eyes were gorgeous. Big and blue like the sky in summer. I ran my hand through his blond hair, damp with sweat.

“Dominant wolves… tend to be bitey… It’s… like proving dominance over someone. I lost control there for a second,” I said, quietly. “Sorry I usually have better control over myself.”

“Laying claim are you?” A grin appeared on his face. “But I don’t mind.” He shrugged, taking this much better than I thought he would. He pressed a kiss to my lips, it was light and happy and I couldn’t help but smile. Well, I wasn’t going to complain. I would enjoy this for as long as I could before he finally came to his senses and left me. Before I could deepen the kiss a knock sounded on the door, making us both jump. “Reid, I hate to interrupt your happy hour but your father is asking for you.” That was Yuri’s voice.

“Sure, just let me get cleaned up a bit, yeah?” I called back, smiling against Matt’s lips.

“Well I don’t think he expects you to come down there covered in cum, idiot,” Yuri said, which made Matt giggle.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck off asshole.” I laughed too, then quickly made my way into the bathroom. Since my arm was bandaged I just used a wet cloth to rinse off. I would still smell of sex but frankly, I was pretty sure everyone heard what we were doing so it didn’t matter. As I put on my clothes, I found Matt in front of the mirror, his fingers brushing the bite carefully.

“I’ll be back soon, yeah? And we’ll talk,” I said and pressed a gentle kiss on the bite, rubbing his shoulders.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll go grab a shower.” He smiled and kissed my cheek before leaving for the bathroom. As he left I noticed the food and water still waiting on the table. Guess we got a little distracted. I grinned and grabbed a sandwich.

When I opened the door, I found Lowell waiting there. “Hey, I’m here to babysit.” He smiled, peeking inside the room.

“He’s taking a shower,” I told him, feeling my cheeks grow a bit warm. Lowell just grinned and squeezed my hand.

“It’s nice to see you happy. I’m really glad he’s here,” he said and went inside sitting down on the desk. “Oh, father is on the porch.”

“Thanks.” I closed the door. I did feel happy, almost giddy. I was here in Silver Springs not only with Matt but also with a pack. I was welcomed at least by some wolves, that was more than I could’ve hoped for.

Downstairs celebrations were in full swing. The pack was laughing and drinking, sharing stories from the battle. For once the crowd didn’t go quiet and judgmental as I descended the stairs. No one shot me a look or whispered something behind my back. I was ignored, which was actually an improvement.

“Heard you’ve made quite a mess.” Someone grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. I turned around to find Jack standing behind me. He looked good considering the last time I saw him. He looked a bit thin and pale but he was standing on his own and smiling.

“I seem to be good at that,” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich. “I’m surprised Holly let you out to celebrate.”

“Actually Nadia kind of broke me out against her will.” He grinned his cheeks flushing a bit.

“Well enjoy your freedom while it lasts, I’m off to see Father. Don’t overdo it.” I slapped his shoulder lightly and went on my way. In the kitchen, I found Ivan and Scott, they raised their glasses to me, I raised my sandwich in an answer. Holly squeezed my hand as she passed me by. Katashi nodded at me very seriously. It was quite weird, but I didn’t complain.