Nick had left his cabin about ten minutes ago, so far encountering no werewolves and none of their pets. He'd worn a jacket Adam recently gave him so he wouldn't be chittering his teeth the whole time. The lights were on in the main dining area for some sort of party, at least that's what he thought it was as he wasn't welcome to find out. Not yet for the time being and he wouldn't be quick to break any unspoken rules or preferences.

Save for the one about staying put, that is, but it wasn't like he was sneaking out of the campsite!

At some point he would need to report to the organization before they came looking for him. If their reports gave an impression that he was dead, it could be a massacre. They didn't know that Dominic and his pack meant no harm to humans. On the other hand, trying to run off without his permission could potentially harm what little trust he'd gained from the alpha. Ultimately he decided that avoiding it wouldn't be a wise decision.

To pass the time he'd been exploring with Adam, and to his surprise he found a few areas not exactly monitored by the pack. Under other circumstances he could've, and definitely would run to escape back to society. Except leaving Adam without so much as a letter would be cruel, and it would break his heart. The pack itself was also quickly growing on him despite their distaste for his presence.

Nearby was a rustling of leaves that made him dive behind a tree, hesitating a moment to see what or who it was. Whoever it was had let out several sad whines typical of a lonely dog, or one of their wolven pets. The dark didn't make it any easier to tell, but it looked like Adam's grey coat of fur. And if he was running out on his own near the boundary of their territory then something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Luckily he didn't go much farther and stopped at the very border of the pack's stake of land. Definitely Adam now that he could get a good look at him in the moonlight. His partner sniffed a bit before bursting into tears and hugging his legs. His ears were flat against his head and Nikolai had to hide for a moment as the wolf looked back towards the cabins. Adam looked as though he would howl, but shook in fear and turned back towards the vast forest beyond their home.

What followed was something that Nikolai had never seen before. Adam howled towards the moon as though he had no one else to do it for. A twinge of guilt sprang up in the hunter's chest from seeing him so lonely. That wolf was the most important thing in the world to him, and he'd be damned if he couldn't provide comfort.

Regarding how this all happened, Nikolai couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to him? He'd never seen him so vulnerable before...

Another noise sounded from his right and Nikolai was greeted with the friendly licks of Emily, Adam's wolf. They had been introduced a few days prior and immediately took to each other's company despite the hunter's initial hesitations. Wolves and werewolves were not just master and pet, they could communicate and understand each other's whines or words even if they were wildly apart in intelligence. Nikolai enjoyed the docile behavior of an otherwise feral beast, and the wolf got her fair share of pets and hunting. His werewolf partner had insisted it was just more proof of his changing self and how more of them could eventually trust him.

Right, Adam.

He snapped back to focus and beckoned Emily to follow at his heel. One bad step resulted in a twig snapping, Adam almost ran off again before taking a look at who did it. Nikolai thought it better to announce himself with a noise rather than spook him into possibly defending himself. The smaller wolf came up to rub her head into his fur and groom him, offering a few sympathetic whines.

"N- Nick! You're not supposed to b-be outside," Adam remarked to him with a slight glare. Probably the first he'd ever done towards him.

"I know, I know, I wanted to check a spot really quick. There's a lot of places where hunters can get in if they want to look for me. Places we can put up some security just in case they try to come for you all."

Adam sniffed, "I wish you'd waited till daylight to tell me. Dominic's gonna be pissed and so are the rest. They already think you're a bad guy, sneaking out isn't gonna help."

"Well, I kinda wanted to see you too. I would've gone to your cabin afterwards but then you raced past me like somebody hurt you..", Nikolai sat next to him and pressed a hand in his thigh.

"I..I don't think they like me anymore. Because I like you, and we do things, b-but it just h-hurts when they don't say anything and i-if they do they treat me so coldly," Adam confessed as he sniffled in the cold air.

"What?"

"Ever since I tried being f-friends with you, they started to see me differently. At first they were telling me to be careful, then they could tell I l-liked you," the wolf curled even further into a ball, "After we slept together, I f-felt like an outcast in my own….h-home. And I don't know where to go.."

Nick sighed, "You don't need to leave, we just need to-"

"You don't understand! I had nowhere before Dominic found me. No friends, no family, I was starting to feel loved here," Adam hid his face between the legs, "Now I went and fucked it all up….."

"They can't blame you for what I did to them," Nick began to say, "And you are loved, even if they don't want to show it right now."

Adam sniffed again and offered a curious look, starting to sit normally. Moments ago Nick had taken his paw in a soft grip. His fingers wiped the tears from the fur under his eyes, slowly and not chiding him for continuing to cry. He calmed down a little and accepted a hug from his friend, sadly maybe the only friend he had right then.

"If you're feeling lonely, come to me. I love you Adam, and I don't wanna lose you so easily."

"What?"

"I love you? Isn't that what people tell their boyfriend?", Nick smiled at the hopeful tone in his wolf's voice.

"B- but we haven't made it official yet, I-I thought that you just wanted to be friends.."

"Friends?", Nikolai quietly laughed, "We sleep together, we hang out, we cuddle and make out, not to mention fucking like four days out of the week. Isn't that what boyfriend's do?", Nick asked him.

"I..I know… but I was thinking we should take things slower… I still haven't really gotten to know you under the surface. I think sleeping with you so quickly was a bad move."

"Hey, I'm new to all this. Besides, you're a hell of a sweet lover," Nick flashed him a smirk before kissing him fondly.

Adam's mouth stopped quivering enough to look happy, one last sniff of his tears before sharing a kiss with him. Nikolai enjoyed a warm hug and pet behind his ears as they embraced. Some of the leaves around them were kicked up in the commotion of his tail, and he couldn't help but feel relieved his confession worked and the wolf felt wanted by somebody.

"You wanna head back? It's a cold night and I think you need someone to warm you up," Nikolai proposed to his lover.

Adam fondly licked at him before the man led his werewolf down the hill. So far no one had found them yet and if he was careful he could make it back without anyone noticing. That poem about woods being lovely in the dark wasn't very accurate, he thought to himself.
Thankfully not so deep.

Not even two minutes back to Nick's cabin, Adam froze in his tracks and whined towards the right. Piercing yellow eyes in the trees were the only thing in a massive outline. Then the growling pack member stood into moonlight as it stared Nick down. Judging by the fur and if he recalled right this was John.

"Sneaking out at night, huh? Did you think you'd get very far with me and my kin on your back?", he growled out.

"I.. I didn't sneak out to escape. I was trying to see something near the borders."

"Bullshit!", the brown-furred wolf snarled at him before it lunged.

"Leave him alone!", Adam snarled back as a challenge, grabbing John out and tossing him aside.

Up until now they had all been normal, docile wolves that maybe growled and put up a fight. But something snapped in the two wolves, their arms thickening up and their fur bristling with rage. Nick was too far to see for certain but their pupils had disappeared and left only yellow.

Both had bared their teeth in a taunt, the fangs of which seemed to lengthen and possibly even sharpen at the ends. Nikolai took a stance between them to try and make him back off, but was easily thwacked aside by John's paw. A crack sounded out and he landed with a painful cough and a pitiful grip on his chest.

Adam snapped attention towards his boyfriend, ears pinned back and a few tears let out.

John growled towards Adam, "I told you not to trust-"

Nikolai felt a bit proud watching the uppercut to the wolf's jaw, the way he had taught Adam to bring down hunters or to get an advantage in any fight. His boyfriend, enraged as he was, took the chance to put in a few for him. For a moment it seemed to work until John flipped the two and trapped him in a chokehold, squeezing tightly. Lucky for Nick his body wasn't completely immobilized so he could easily tackle the werewolf off his guard and help his partner. The wolf snapped at him until Nick laid a sucker punch, hard.

He was about to get a few more back at him for the rib still aching, maybe a few more for Adam. Painfully he was ripped back, a force yanking him by the back of his jacket. Though the claws soon switched to holding him up by his throat. Nick was stuck staring down the yellow angry eyes of their alpha.

Shit.

"What the FUCK is going on?!!?!", the wolves leader boomed out.

John and Adam stood farther apart and idly growled in each other's directions. Dominic was pissed as hell and his grip was actually choking him. It wasn't long before the rest of the pack and John's boyfriend came running by. So he'd managed to get the entire search party then. The alpha tossed him on the ground while they closed in, Adam tried to step forward but a few wolves prevented that.

"Allow me to..fuck..explain," Nick said as his chest ached.

"Oh, do tell," the alpha growled out as he crept towards him.

"I was checking blind spots. I found some with Adam during our walks so I snuck out to see how well guarded they were. I was going to tell you in case other hunters try to invade again. If I wanted to leave I already would have. I've known about these for two weeks already, and I haven't tried anything."

Some of the wolves seemed to consider his words, still not entirely dropping their cautious wall.

"And you couldn't have told me any other time?!", the alpha spat out.

"Yeah, I could have, but if you didn't know-"

"I already knew about them!"

"THEN WHY CAN'T YOU FORTIFY IT?!", Nick shouted at him.

"If they ever came to attack you all, you're not gonna be their prisoner. Worse than that! They don't just kill, they will rip out your wolf spirits and call it purification. And if you resisted too much they would shoot you dead, they wouldn't even bury you. If they did that to any of you, to Adam...I…"

Nick's words were lost to him as another burst of pain came down. Adam brushed past the wolves to get some support for his mate. The pack looked between each other with some uncertain eyes about the truth of his intentions. It was also possible they didn't believe him for a second. Deep down he hoped a brutal truth could let them see he wasn't out to hurt them anymore.

"And you convinced Adam to go along with this?", Dominic asked.

"No. I did it on my own, Adam was as mad as the rest of you when he saw me sneaking outside my cabin. But if it wasn't for me sneaking out, none of you would've stopped him from leaving."

"What?", Dominic said, as confused as the rest.

"Yeah. Something about getting treated like garbage by everyone. No one talks to him anymore, right?", Nick managed to stand and face his audience, "All of you want to hold me against him even though he's the reason I came around to werewolves. Oh sure, it's all Adam's fault, right? Not the alpha either who kept me alive!"

"Oh here we go..", one said, it looked like Shane from the description Adam gave him.

"If you have problems with me, say it to your leader and leave Adam out of it! He's the best thing to happen to me and I'll be damned if I let a few "friends" of his make him feel this way."

"Y'know what, you're right. You're right! Why does he even need me to be his friend when he has you," Shane held up his arms in a manner as if he had enough.

Adam trembled and pinned his ears back as tears flowed once more from the harsh reprimand. Shane seemed disappointed more than anything and tried to walk off before Nikolai grabbed at his arm. The wolf growled before barking him off and tugging his arm back.

"Wait!", Nick said to the wolf.

"No, I'm done with this shit. And don't fucking touch me ever again," Shane warned him before disappearing down the trail.

"Hunter, enough," Dominic ordered as he gripped the humans shoulder.

"I'm not a hunter! Not anymore.."

"Then act like it."

The alpha shook his head in shame at the young man, and didn't even bother looking at his packmate as he departed. The rest of said pack were silent as they dispersed with their pets. John spit at his feet and hardly acknowledged Adam either, the other human present was lost for words but seemed a bit sad at the turn of events.

Fuck.

How could he have been so stupid to act like this.

Not one word was exchanged between the two as Nikolai led him to the cabin. Stranger still, he didn't even cry, but he could tell the argument had taken a toll on the poor wolf. The most worrying was the silence, he simply stared ahead and gave off a numb vibe to the room. Maybe a cup of tea would help, if little at all.

It wasn't long before the water was ready and a few more to get the chamomile prepared. Normally the smell of it exactly how he liked brought a smile to his face. And yet the wolf remained with a thousand yards stare, or something close to it.

"Here you go, hon," Nick said as he set the cup down.

"Thank you," Adam mumbled before taking a small sip. Still not smiling….

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just… I didn't think they would abandon me so quickly. But I'm used to being a fucking loser, why should it be any different here?"

"You are not a loser," Nikolai assured as he slowly pet his fur.

"I can't hunt as well, I can't keep consistent exercise, I don't even have a job to give money to the pack," a few teardrops ran across his fur, "The only thing that I am is a punching bag. This just gave them a reason not to hold back and stop being nice."

"Adam..", he held his paw slightly tighter but not too hard.

"And I don't want to leave you either, they just can't see how hard you're trying..", Adam tried to smile but it ended up becoming a frown as his fur ran wet with tears.

Trying.

That's it!

"Then we'll prove it to them. If I can actually put up some defenses against other hunters, then they'll know I'm telling the truth."

"Maybe…", Adam sighed and leaned into him, accepting a few tender scratches.

The tone in his answer didn't sound very confident. Still, being honest with direct action would be a much better first step. His boyfriend clearly couldn't take the cold shoulder much more. If Dominic went into town and got the right supplies they would have a camera system. Maybe even a fence if it wouldn't disrupt their wildlife too much.

"Y'know, despite everything, this was a good night," Adam mumbled.

"I don't see how you'd think that," Nick said as the pets continued.

"You want to be my boyfriend.."

Oh yeah, he did confess that an hour ago, didn't he? But it had a second, just as important connotation to accompany it.

"And I love you, can't forget that," he whispered to the wolf.

"I love you too.."

Nikolai still wasn't as used to kissing his furry muzzle as he wanted to be. Still wasn't used to a lot of this stuff, if he was honest with himself. Still, no way he could deny the warm feelings it brought to be loved by Adam. Happiness filling his brain with each kiss and affectionate lick that could accompany one.

"You ready for bed?", Nikolai asked as he scratched his pup's ear.

"Yeah.."

"If you don't mind, can I try holding you?", Nick asked as he flicked a light off.

"Mhm…", Adam softly spoke as they got to the bed.

Nikolai did his best to get himself on one end of it, even using a pillow to raise himself. Adam seemed to appreciate this gesture as he settled against him. One benefit to his massages was they were achievable even during cuddles, and one hand. Usually his giant tail would target everything in the room but only a small wiggle of it was given. His wolf yawned and adjusted to cling a bit more to the small body.

A sigh let out, lamp flicked off, and his werewolf was held like the treasure he was. One last thought filled his mind about the rest of the packs reaction to their relationship.

Screw em if they can't take a joke, he thought as he too passed out.

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Pub: 26 Nov 2021 21:45 UTC
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