“So, do you think you’re gonna get a kitty of your own?” Rico asked from atop Derek’s shoulders.

“I’m not sure one would survive too long out in the woods,” Derek told him as he carried the boy through the living area.

“Kitties can survive anywhere, and they’ll fight anything, I bet they’d even fight a bear if you had one. You could train them to,” Rico said.

Derek chuckled. “I don’t think it would be a very fair fight, do you?”

Rico pondered that for a moment. “Are you really going to go back to the woods?”

Derek paused, looking up at Rico. “It’s my home Rico, I do eventually have to go back there. That’s where my family is.”

“I guess so, I just like you being around,” Rico said with a small-shouldered shrug.

“Well, that’s good, it’s nice to know someone around here likes me,” Derek said smiling.

“My daddy likes you being here too, he said that you’re alright for a wolf from the sept,” Rico told him proudly.

“Did he now? That’s some big praise,” Derek chuckled.

“Everyone says people from the sept are rude and think they’re better than us, but you’re not like that. Daddy said you’re not like that at all, and he thinks you get a ‘bad rep’ because of it, and that’s why Uncle Sean is mean to you,” Rico said.

Derek peered up at him again. “You think he’s mean to me? You been eavesdropping with Annie again?”

“No! I mean, it was an accident. I was playing with her and I was hiding, and I heard you guys talking. You guys sounded pretty mad and then you ran out of the room afterward. I felt really bad, but Daddy said to not say anything,” Rico told him.

Derek snorted, trying to ignore the idea that there had almost been a witness. “Which you’re doing very well at.”

Rico leaned forward so he could see Derek’s face. “Won’t you stay? My Daddy needs a new friend and I want a new one too. Uncle Sean will start being nice soon, and if he isn’t, I’ll yell at him for you.”

Derek reached up to hook his hands beneath Rico’s arms and lift him down. “How about this, I’ll make sure to visit even after I go back. I can come back here sometimes and play with you, that sound good?”

Rico frowned up at him. “That’s not the same thing.”

“No, but I have to go back. I have to help my own dad back home sometime soon,” Derek told him.

Rico sighed. “I guess so.”

Derek smiled. “I’m glad you agree, now how about you go find your dad? I’m sure he needs you to tackle him again.”

Rico rolled his eyes. “I’m not really tackling him. He’s too big to tackle.”

“Fine, then jump on him, and be sure to tell him I’m the one who told you to do it,” Derek said with a laugh.

He watched Rico take off, running at full speed as he went on the hunt for his father. Stephan had managed a few hours of spending time with them before Derek had noticed the werewolf’s eyes drooping. Stephan hadn’t said anything about it, but Derek was sure the man had been up all night, or had gotten very little sleep the past few nights. With the promise of keeping Rico occupied and happy, Derek had sent Stephan off to get some rest. It had been a good excuse for keeping himself away from Sean for as long as possible, but as the day wore on, he knew he couldn’t keep stalling.

Rico turned before disappearing into the living quarters, waving at Derek before continuing to run. A pang of regret shot through Derek as he waved back. Despite his initial impression of the pack, he was beginning to grow fond of them. Despite Richard’s continued stoic silence, and Sean’s abrasive attitude, the rest of the pack was warming up to him. He hadn’t realized that by coming here, he might end up getting attached to some of them.

Taking a deep breath, he turned and entered Sean’s office with a soft knock. The Alpha was sitting behind the desk, typing something on his laptop. His eyes narrowed slightly when he looked up and found Derek standing in the doorway. He motioned for Derek to close the door behind him as he finished typing.

“I expected you to come sooner than this,” Sean said as he folded the computer down.

“Stephan asked me if I wanted to help him keep his son occupied for a little while. Rico insisted days ago he wanted to show me what a cat was like. I apologize if I kept you waiting, I lost track of time,” Derek said.

“I guess I can’t complain if you were keeping the kid busy. All he really has to play with anymore is Annie, and she’s gone with her mom a lot. Gotta say, you didn’t strike me as the paternal type, but it sounds like the pup is really taken with you. It’s gonna break his heart when you inevitably leave,” Sean told him.

“I know, and he’s already aware of the inevitability of me leaving one day. I’ve made sure he knows that it will happen when I’m done here,” Derek said.

“I’ve always thought about having one of my own, but it doesn’t seem right when I barely have time to spend with the whole pack as it is. That and I guess it don’t seem fair to make a kid have to put up with me too much either. Seems like a lot of work too, I’d have to get with one of the women, probably one in the pack, and I just don’t know if I can be bothered. I think I like being Uncle Sean better than Dad,” Sean said as he rounded the desk to sit on the edge.

“Never really been an option for me, I’m supposed to have kids. One is okay, but the more the better in my pack’s mind,” Derek explained.

Sean snorted. “And how’s that work for you sept boys? You can’t tell me your daddy is okay with you diddling guys?”

Derek sighed. “You aren’t magically more accepting than we are simply because you live in a human city, you know. That sort of thing has existed for ages, and my people accept it as a part of nature. As you already said, it just requires a few extra, sometimes difficult steps in order for me to have children of my own, but it’s still possible. My father would be displeased at the extra work, but so long as I made sure to have children in some way, he wouldn’t be bothered too much.”

Sean grinned cockily, spreading his knees apart. “Well, it’s good to know your daddy won’t care too much about you having fun while you’re here working.”

Derek frowned. “I have no intention of telling my father anything about what has happened between you and I.”

Sean’s brow rose. “Let me see if I can guess why, is it because, not that I’m a guy, but that I’m a street-raised wolf of the city?”

“My father has…very strong opinions on you and others like you, yes,” Derek admitted.

“And you? How do you feel about us?” Sean asked, kicking his legs.

It felt like they were having a normal conversation, but Derek couldn’t help notice how his attention was repeatedly drawn back to Sean’s groin. The Alpha was sitting so his hips were pushed forward, and his upper body was stretched backward as he leaned on his hands. It wasn’t quite an erotic pose, but it certainly drew attention not only to his groin, but to the muscles in his arms which stood out. Derek licked his lips, trying to focus on the conversation, rather than the thought of walking forward and pushing the Alpha onto his back.

“I didn’t have a strong opinion about City Wolves before I came here. I know what I was taught, but I guess I never really thought about it too much. To be quite honest, I almost began to believe the stories about City Wolves when I met Richard and then yourself. My time here has taught me that despite the fact that he was cold and you’ve been rude, that you’re not all like that. Stephan has been very helpful and kind, Rico and Annie are sweet kids, and despite how odd he might seem, Luca seems nice as well,” Derek admitted.

Sean cocked his head. “You saying that it’s my fault you almost thought the same thing as your dad?”

Derek stood straighter. “I’m saying that you did nothing to improve any impression I might have already had to begin with. Meeting your leader helped tremendously as well, but it’s the time spent with your pack that has really cemented my positive thoughts in place.”

The Alpha rubbed a spot beneath his shirt, showing his toned stomach. “Ah right, you did meet the Big Man, didn’t you? I almost forgot about that for a second there. I guess him being a perfect gentleman really helped huh?”

Derek still refused to admit to Sean that he and Trent were related. “You could say that.”

“Hmm, Big Man wouldn’t tell me anything about what he talked about with you either. Is there any way I could convince you to give me a few details?” Sean asked, reclining a little further back.

With a sigh, Derek gestured to Sean in exasperation. “Is there a particular reason you asked me to come here? I assumed you called me because you had a specific reason. You haven’t really struck me as the sort to start up idle chit-chat with someone you barely like.”

Sean laughed. “I didn’t like you because you came off as a stuck-up priss when you first came here. You’ve already done wonders in changing my mind about that.”

“You still haven’t told me what you wanted,” Derek said, knowing what Sean wanted from him.

Sean canted his head in the other direction. “You’re no fun, fine, I’ll be straightforward with you. Things have been getting crazier around here, and I haven’t been able to get out much. You’ve been the first bit of fun I’ve had in ages. I have to say, I definitely enjoyed the times we did something and I wanna keep doing those things.”

“And I keep trying to tell you it’s probably not the wisest course of action. I’m supposed to be here to help your pack in their fight against the vampires. It’s meant to be a professional relationship, not a sexual one,” Derek said, even as he felt himself growing hard at Sean’s reminder.

Sean nodded slowly. “Okay, but why does it have to be anything complicated? We can fuck around and still work together, unless you’re one of those types who gets attached.”

He’d never gotten attached to anyone before, but he didn’t think that was quite the point. What they were doing was enjoyable, that was for certain. Derek’s problem was he didn’t think it was proper for them to be doing it. There weren’t any rules against two adult werewolves sleeping together if it was consensual, even if one was hosting the other in his territory. Some part of Derek couldn’t help but think of the situation as violating the rules of etiquette.

“Oh God, you are, aren’t you?” Sean asked, misreading Derek’s hesitation.

Derek sighed. “That’s not…no, that’s not what’s happening here. I can assure you I’m not becoming emotionally attached to you.”

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t one day want to share that closeness with someone. None of his previous sexual partners had been much deeper, emotionally speaking, than what little he’d already shared with Sean. It wasn’t that Derek hadn’t enjoyed his time spent with those partners, but sometimes he found himself wanting more. Now he found himself facing down another sexual partner, with a shared emotional connection that was about as deep as a puddle after a light rain. His frustration at his inability to find anything meaningful with another person only compounded his wariness of complicating things between him and Sean.

Sean gave a long, deep sigh. “Then what is it?”

“It’s asking for trouble down the line,” Derek answered, refusing to give the Alpha the full answer.

“Anyone ever told you you think too hard about this sort of shit?” Sean asked.

“No,” but he attributed that to the fact that his previous partners would have probably been too wary of speaking against the sept leader’s son to be that blunt.

“Well, someone should have because good lord, you’re putting too much thought into this,” Sean huffed.

Derek shifted uncomfortably. “I feel as if I have a good reason.”

Sean hopped off the desk, stepping toward Derek. His hands rose to slide over Derek’s chest, and down over his stomach. There was nothing innocent about the gesture, and Derek could feel his body responding to the touch. It had been so long since he’d been with anyone before Sean had found him in the showers. What little they had shared had been enough to drag Derek’s sex drive back into the light. He was finding it difficult enough to think clearly as Sean gazed at him with naked want. His own personal morals seemed to edge out the door in the face of his own growing desire.

“Look, you want me, and I want you. It doesn’t have to be anymore than that, alright? I’m not going to wait until a couple weeks down the road and freak out on you. I’m not going to blackmail you to do what I want by threatening to tell your daddy that you’re fucking around with me. I’m not going to gossip to everyone about what you’re like in bed. I can separate fucking from professional conduct,” Sean told him, as blunt as ever.

Derek watched the other man, trying to figure out if he believed him or not. It was tempting to believe Sean could be that mature, if only because it meant that Derek could sleep with him without having to worry. It was the ease of the lure that had him nervous though, and he didn’t move as Sean’s hands roamed over his body.

“Man, just learn to relax a little and let things happen without having to figure out if it’s right or proper. You get yourself all riled up over stupid shit. You could have me bent over that desk right now, but you’re standing there, hard and confused, while I grope you instead,” Sean told him, sounding exasperated again.

The straightforward words dove straight to Derek’s groin, and he felt his self-control begin to ebb away. He couldn’t argue with the man’s logic, and if he was telling the truth about being capable of separating what they did physically from what they did professionally, then there was no real threat. Even if it did feel somewhat wrong still, there were no rules they were breaking, and it was simply him being paranoid.

Sean cocked his head, a smile forming on his lips. “I can hear the wheels turning in your head right now, you know that?”

Derek moved before he could second guess himself again. Sean moved with him, allowing Derek to push him back until his lower back pressed against the edge of his desk. Derek glared down at him, hating the man for being right and at the same time grateful Sean somehow knew how to press his buttons. It wasn’t the emotional connection he’d dreamed of having, but at least it was some sort of emotion beyond simple physical desire.

“We keep this between us,” Derek repeated, making sure that point was clear.

“And I don’t use it against you, I got it,” Sean replied, grinning now.

It wasn’t perfect, and it certainly wasn’t what he wanted, but it was better than the confusion and worry that currently rattled through his brain. In some ways, he respected Sean for his willingness to stop and settle the air between them. It was an unexpected facet of the Alpha that Derek hadn’t expected. Yet, as much as the physical attraction between them was still there, and they could enjoy that as much as they wanted, it didn’t change anything. He could grow to respect Sean, and maybe one day even grow to like him as a person, but the sexual attraction between them wouldn’t grow intimate and warm. It might not be the realization of his hope of something more meaningful and fulfilling, but at least he knew that now.

Smiling softly, he nodded. “Agreed.”