Isaac had hoped to never repeat the whole damnable process of being part of a police investigation. Such things were grueling and drawn out and repetitive by nature, as only persistence would draw out the truth of a situation. People changed their story, for better or worse, remembered new details, forgot others. Inconsistencies might appear, calling for even further investigation.

He hated it. There was only so many ways that he could state the same damn things over again.

And he knew the cops hated it, too. He smelled their frustration, saw the littlest of details which revealed their boredom. While he might have been a suspect in their records, those leads had all amounted to nothing. He was innocent, and Arlo was guilty as sin.

But they had to make sure of it. Over and over.

The first few times, Isaac stayed angry as hell. He gestured wildly with his hands, thumped his fist on the table between him and the officer, tore a napkin to shreds, and those shreds to slivers. After that, the more he talked, the more drained he felt. Adrenaline abandoned his system. His wolf instincts went into slumber. He was just a tired man in a scary room, talking about how he and Moody managed to break out of the basement by the docks.

He was aware of Moody’s presence, elsewhere in the station, probably repeating the same damn things.

And if Moody’s injuries didn’t look like they were from a concealed knife, if he was already no longer bleeding from his strange, bite-shaped wounds when the ambulance arrived, leave that to the humans to figure out on their own. Everything else they told could remain more or less the same, if they replaced “pack” with “friend group” or “community.”

In the windowless interrogation room, there was no knowing the passage of time. However, when he was finally released, Isaac was not at all surprised to discover that the gray of dawn was being burnt away by stronger morning sunbeams. As dead as Daphne had been several hours prior, now the streets and sidewalks bustled with a proper amount of city traffic.

Not that anyone chose to walk right in front of a police station, but there were a few. A small group of young women, hardly out of their teens, still enjoying their ability to wear tank tops and short shorts.

They turned to look at him as he emerged from the station, a burly man with torn and stinking clothes who looked like hell. Their eyes widened, like deer who knew a predator when they saw one, and they hurried onward, taking their long legs and skimpy clothing with them.

Isaac turned his head as he reached the sidewalk, looking for something in particular.

“Isaac!”

Looking in the direction of the jubilant call, he caught a glimpse of dark hair and pale skin before a gentle weight hit him. Long arms wrapped around his neck, followed by a very nice pair of legs that went around his waist.

Isaac smiled at Moody clinging to him like a tick, sliding his hands underneath the omega’s ass to support him. As fucking exhausted as Isaac was, he felt a rush of desire head straight for his groin. Moody’s soft ass felt good in his hands, making his very blood tingle.

“Hey, Moody!” he said, laughing. Hugging the other man closer to his body, Isaac gave him a kiss. Their lips pressed together, their souls brushing.

“Are you okay?” Moody asked, his body still wrapped around Isaac.

“I’m just glad it’s over.”

It wasn’t over, not quite yet. There would be a trial. Isaac would be called upon to testify. His presence at the court meant the prosecutor could call on his situation to appeal to the jury, giving them a story of a man who had suffered because of Arlo’s negligence.

Juries ate that shit up.

And so would the media.

Only when a verdict had been given, Arlo had been sentenced, and the media attention had died down, would this whole thing be considered over.

But the hard part? That was over. Isaac no longer needed to live his life with the shadow of his past overcasting everything he did. He could move on, step into the light.

More people were walking by. “I wish someone would hold me like that,” a passerby commented, to an appreciative chuckle from a friend.

Moody smiled a little, his cheeks heating with a soft blush. He looked damn good with some color on his face.

Now that he had a reason to get up in the morning, Isaac figured he could stand to be out in the sun and get some color, too.

Moody wriggled a little, kicking his legs. Isaac gently set him down, though he kept his hands on Moody’s shoulders. Looking right into his lover’s warm, deep eyes, he said, “What do you want to do now? Rhode Island? Or do we go back to Pensacola?”

Moody tipped his head to one side, as cute and sweet as a puzzled puppy. Isaac’s heart twisted in his chest, and his groin throbbed in response. “Don’t you want to stay here in Daphne?” he asked. “You belong here. This is where you live. And what about your pack? They need someone to take care of them. Shouldn’t that be you?”

Isaac didn’t hesitate. He started shaking his head halfway through what Moody said, knowing where the rest of the conversation was going. “I don’t belong here. My pack isn’t my pack anymore. They chased me out, let false evidence guide them instead of reason. How could they even hope to welcome me back, when every single one of them knows what they did? And if I was to be their leader… that’s just not right. I don’t want to lead. I’m not cut out for it.”

Moody’s gaze went soft and contemplative. “What do you want to do, then?”

Isaac gazed into Moody’s eyes, bringing their lips so close they brushed together when he spoke. “I want to be with you,” he said. “I want to do everything right. Let’s go back to Pensacola, let everyone know what’s going on. Then, let’s just… be us. Take some time for ourselves. That sound good to you?”

“It sounds perfect,” Moody whispered. “Except for one thing.”

His heart gave another twist inside him, though this time it wasn’t nearly as pleasurable as the first. “What’s that?”

“I’m really fucking tired,” Moody said.

And he looked it, Isaac realized. It was hard for him to see the flaws in someone he loved, but when he looked for them, he saw the dark smudges under Moody’s eyes, which were a little bloodshot.

Got punched in the head, still managed to get both of us out of the basement, read like 40 fucking books, recovered from a bite on the neck. The attack Arlo delivered in desperation was shallow, easy enough for a shifter to heal from. Moody now only had tender scabs to show for it. And on top of all that, he just went through hours of police investigation. No wonder he’s exhausted.

Now he was paying attention to Moody’s tiredness, Isaac realized he was more or less in the same condition. He had been shocked, knocked around, and had his emotions generally beaten up. His stomach hurt it was so empty and his thoughts felt all muddled and confused.

“Then, change of plans,” he said. “Let’s get a hotel room. We’ll call Destiny from there and fill him in on everything. Then, we sleep for as long as we want. And then we head home.”

“What about our bikes? How are we supposed to even get home?”

Isaac smiled wryly. “You ever been on a bus before?”

“Great. Never, but I’m really looking forward to it based on your tone of voice.”

“We’ll worry about that when it comes to that,” Isaac said. There were too many things for him to keep track of right now. When he’d slept some and gotten some food inside him, he’d feel more capable. Reaching down, he took Moody’s hand in his and then looked around to orient himself.

It was strange how, after so long, he still remembered his way around this place like it was the back of his hand. Being a wolf, and having a motorcycle on top of that, created a need to wander and explore. He knew corners of Daphne that no other ever would.

He pointed off down the street, against the trickling flow of foot traffic. “There’s a hotel down that way. $50 for a room. I don’t think it’s check-in time yet but they never used to be the busiest location. I’m sure they’ll just be glad to rent out a room.”

They walked together, just enjoying the simple act of existing together. Isaac couldn’t really sustain his erection, not when he was so tired, but he had hope for one sometime in the near future. Maybe tomorrow, when they were well-rested and in top shape once more.

Besides, he didn’t need to be horny to just be happy that Moody was with him. Their hands clasped together, the occasional contact of their hips brushing, was more than enough to make him happy. All the little things he had taken for granted before, he would never take for granted again. Every moment with Moody was to be treasured.

They reached the hotel, which was really quite nice for its diminutive size and cheap prices. The receptionist looked at them carefully as they came into the lobby, one eyebrow raised. “Hi, gentlemen. Can I help you with anything?”

Isaac had already taken in everything about the lobby that there was to see. Clean floors, a couple dents on the wall near the breakfast buffet area. Steam rose up from a set of two coffee pots nearby; most places provided free coffee but it was rare to see the pots actually in action unless someone specifically went up to the reception desk to ask if the brew was fresh. The answer was usually no.

Potted plants and trees of various sizes gave a lively feel to the place, though it was the sort of liveliness that also meant a place was trying too hard.

That was the feeling he got from this place, he realized. It was a trying place, an effortful hotel, desperate to be more than it seemed.

Maybe they wouldn’t be allowed in after all.

“We need a room,” Isaac said.

The receptionist kept her eyebrows raised. “It’s not our normal check-in time yet, sir. It’s actually quite early still. Guests haven’t even started checking out yet.”

Which meant they were going to end up at a seedy motel.

“However,” she continued, brightening his terrible day with one word, “we’ve got some spare rooms that need filling. You’d almost be doing me a favor if you occupied one. Or two?” She cast a hopeful glance at Moody.

Smiling, relieved, wanting to kiss this skeptical, generous woman, Isaac said, “Just one. For one night.”

“Of course. Let me get you set up right away.”

Five minutes later, it was done. They had a little envelope with two key cards inside, and the receptionist’s personal recommendations on which room service meals were actually up to snuff.

The hotel had two floors and they were on the ground level, needing only to follow a series of two hallways before arriving at their door.

Isaac didn’t even look around at their surroundings. He had been taught from a young age that hotel maids tended to skip out on refilling all the right things, or cleaning certain areas guests might not think to check. He should check the pipes to see if they leaked, the shower pressure, the trash bins, inside the closet…

He did none of those things. He went straight to the bed,without caring whether or not the top sheet had been actually washed, and collapsed on it with Moody at his side.

The moment his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

For a very long time now, he dreamed whenever he slept. It didn’t matter whether or not he had gone to bed or if he was only dozing lightly for five minutes or so. He dreamed. He dreamed of being detached, of missing something important and trying to catch up to it. He dreamed of running, yet never being able to go fast enough. When he tried to call out, his voice never emerged as more than a hoarse croak.

This time, he had no dreams at all. He slept like a newborn, given innocent and pure into a world full of hopes and dreams.

When Isaac awoke, nearly nine straight hours later, he stared into the murky darkness of the hotel room, trying to orient himself. He felt contented, completely delighted, in fact. Never before had an awakening been so good. He was always one of those people who spent the morning with their eyes squinted shut, a cup of coffee never far away.

Now, his eyes had opened, and so had his mind. He was awake, ready to get going.

Details and memories filtered back in, answering the question for him of why he felt so happy and warm. Propping himself up on his elbow, he turned over carefully to look at Moody.

The omega was sprawled out on his back, occupying a good two-thirds of their shared bed. One arm was tossed against the headboard, while the other flared out to the side. His legs were similarly splayed, making him resemble a dancer in the middle of a graceful leap.

Unable to help himself, Isaac leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Moody’s cheek.

The omega stirred around a little, then sighed and relaxed back into sleep with his lips slightly parted.

His heart aching it felt so full, Isaac slid off the bed and headed in the direction of the bathroom. He felt positively gross, his skin crying out for the cooling touch of moisture. When he moved his hands, he could feel grease and grime and dust smudging around on the surface.

Turning on the shower, he stepped inside and let the spray hit him for several minutes. His head down, water streamed past his face, dripped from his chin like cleansing tears. Once steam started to swirl around his naked form, he picked up the complimentary bar of hotel soap and pulled the wrapping off with some difficulty. His fingers were large and also wet, a combination not exactly meant for finesse.

When he surpassed that arduous task, he set down to washing himself. Suds cascaded down his body, following the lines of his muscle down to the apex between his legs.

And suddenly there was a hand there that didn’t belong to him, claiming the soap and using it to gently wash his upper thighs and pretty much everything else in that general area. Heat pressed in behind Isaac, hotter than the shower spray, hotter than anything else he had ever known in his entire life.

Moody’s dick pressed against the back of his thigh, his other arm wrapped around Isaac’s waist while he worked. His chin rested on Isaac’s back, between his shoulder blades.

“I’m helping,” Moody whispered.

Isaac still had quite a few physical dilemmas to worry about, such as the fact that his stomach no longer felt empty. Instead, it felt full, harboring a ravenous wolf which would not be quieted until it had been fed. He was hungrier than he had ever been in his entire life.

However, even that need paled in comparison to what he was feeling right now, like there were fireworks going off inside him. Tingles raced through his blood, making his muscles tense. Moody pressed more firmly against him in response, grinding on the back of his thigh.

A rush of heat consumed Isaac. That was all he could take. Something inside him broke. Reaching down, he turned the water off. Whirling around, he grabbed Moody in his arms and pushed him up against the wall. Their slick bodies pressed together and he shoved his thigh between Moody’s legs, rewarded when the omega started to thrust and grind against his hard muscles.

One hand on either side of Moody, Isaac leaned in close and brought their lips together. He tasted droplets of water, the bitterness of sleep, and the underlying sweetness which he imagined defined Moody’s entire existence. Pushing their lips together hard, he forced his tongue into Moody’s mouth, roaming and exploring his wet textures for an instant before thrusting for the back of his throat.

Nails dug into the wet, goosebump-riddled flesh on his back. Moody’s hips bucked and grinded rhythmically on Isaac’s thigh, his dick like an iron rod between them. They kissed harder and harder, devouring each other’s mouths, tongues thrusting, lips clashing together again and again. They breathed the same air, tasted the same tastes, felt the same things.

Isaac pushed his hips forward hard, fucking his own cock roughly on Moody’s thigh. His thrusts pushed Moody back hard against the shower wall, and then Moody would fuck back against him, their bodies rocking in rhythm.

Reaching out to the side, Isaac grabbed the shower curtain and yanked it back. Several of the shower rings snapped from the force, a thing he noticed without much care. Grabbing Moody, he stepped out of the shower with him, causing curls and swirls of steam to break apart around their bodies.

Laughing, Moody clutched at him and kissed him again, their lips fitting together perfectly, their tongues dancing between them. Isaac captured Moody’s tongue, curled his around it, and sucked.

Moody trembled, his knees going weak. He leaned more of his weight against Isaac, his hands roaming up and down over wet, overheated flesh.

No lube.

Whether this thought was his, or he picked up on something Moody thought of, Isaac had no idea. It was also another thing he just plain didn’t care about, because gay men had been fucking for untold eons and lube had not existed up until very recently. Love found a way.

Out of the corner of his eye, Isaac caught sight of a little rack on the sink, holding a bar of hand soap and a few tubes of something milky-white in coloration. His hopes soared and he removed one hand from Moody to grab at one of the tubes.

Moody laughed into his mouth, his breath sweet from his delight. “Excuse me? Where do you think you’re going?”

“Makeshift lube,” Isaac explained, cupping the little tubes in his palm. He had no idea how much lotion these vials actually held, or how slippery the consistency would be, but he was going to make it work one way or another. He wanted sex, goddammit. He wanted to be as close to Moody as one man could get to another.

He could feel Moody shivering a little against him, cold leeching in despite the humid bathroom atmosphere. And that wasn’t right. He wanted the omega to shake, to convulse, to spasm instead.

Wrapping both arms around Moody’s waist, Isaac shoved the bathroom door open with his shoulder and headed over to the bed. He tossed Moody down onto the rumpled sheets and climbed up after him, setting the lotion down nearby while straddling his prize.

Moody smiled up into his eyes, one hand curving around his ass cheek while the other wandered between their bodies and took hold of Isaac’s cock. “I had no idea you were so old-fashioned.”

“I’m not,” Isaac growled, leaning over his lover’s body. Having Moody holding onto him like that made him breathless, and he could hardly get any words to come out. “But I want this to be good. I want it to be right.”

“So give yourself to me,” Moody whispered.

The words hung in the air between them for a brief moment. Isaac trembled at the power they held, at the depth of meaning behind the simple syllables. As an alpha, he was meant to take. No matter what it was that he wanted, he had been raised to believe that he could find a way to have it no matter the obstacles.

But that was wrong. He knew that now, and Moody had confirmed it here for him whether he knew it or not. An alpha didn’t just take. He gave.

Isaac closed his eyes and reached out for Moody with his thoughts, finding the other man already waiting for him. They came together like a spark of static, fur brushing against fur.

He could feel Moody’s pleasure alongside his own now, felt the tracery of tingles racing through his blood, his breathlessness, his need, his want. He could feel his own weight, the pressure of his own body, the rigid length of his cock in Moody’s hand, as intimately as if they switched bodies.

And he could feel that Moody knew everything he was experiencing.

There were no gaps between them now. They had become one.

Isaac looked into Moody’s rich eyes, watched his face -so emotive now, so high of color, so much more beautiful than that mask of bitterness he had worn so recently- and reached for the first bottle of lotion.

Moody swiped the lotion from his hand, flipped open the cap, and squeezed out every last drop of the contents into his palm. He rubbed his hands together, gently, until the cold substance turned warm, and then he wrapped both hands gently around the base of Isaac’s cock and stroked up to the tip in a single motion.

Isaac tossed his head back and cried out, his body rocked with a wave of spasms like the first shock of an oncoming earthquake. His cock twitched and jumped in Moody’s hand, as if with a life of its own. His groin pulsed and throbbed, his balls feeling very hot and swollen and tender. Wave after wave continued to rock through him and he grabbed at the mattress on either side of Moody’s body, struggling to hold himself back from the edge when he was already so close to going over.

And then Moody reached his end and Isaac opened his eyes, looking into the face of the omega who he knew would always be his. His heart trembled, and so did his cock.

“Do me,” Moody said. He wrapped one lotioned hand around his own needy organ, and grabbed at the mattress with the other. “Do me or I’ll die, Isaac.”

Isaac didn’t know much about self-expression, but he thought those words were the best damn poem he had ever heard.

Bracing himself, he slid slowly back, off Moody, until he could hold his cock in his hand and guide his slick tip between his round ass cheeks. Moody’s tight little pucker was a tender and pink thing, a portal of pleasure.

Isaac entered, sliding in easily.

Moody cried out and grabbed at him now instead of the mattress, his fingers working up and down the length of his shaft. He pushed his ass against Isaac’s cock, wriggling, adjusting, helping to guide him further.

There was no hesitation this time, no need to continuously backup and start the process over again. They were shifters and their bodies had adapted for each other. Moody was tight, but not constricting. Isaac felt every intimate bump and ridge of his lover’s inner walls, gliding hotly over his own textured surfaces.

And he could feel what it was like for Moody, to be stretched and filled and fucked. Pleasure with every inch, rocking his body, making him moan and cry out.

In only a moment, Isaac was fully embedded up to his hilt. He closed his eyes.

I love you. I should have seen it earlier. And now I’m going to give you everything you deserve.

If Moody responded, if he said something aloud, Isaac had no idea.

His hips started to thrust, his body moving in a vaguely circular back-and-forth motion that had the subtlest of curves. Moody moved with him, rising as he did, falling with him. Spearing himself, backing away, then coming forward again.

There was no real sense of urgency, lost as they both were in the dreamlike act of sex. With their minds touching, there was no need for communication or interruptions. They sensed intent, felt adjustments, and adapted automatically. Back and forth, for an eternity, heat and pleasure blocking out the rest of the world. Spasms rocking both of them, coming faster and faster, closer together, until they blurred together into a measured, intense rush without limit and end.

Moody threw his head back, breaking the pattern. His hand slid up the length of his shaft, tightening all the way to his swollen, dribbling tip. His body stilled entirely, except for the motions which could not be controlled.

Intimate interior muscles clamped down around Isaac, holding him in place. He couldn’t have withdrawn even if he wanted to. They were locked together, knotted together.

Their thoughts clashed together again, and they both lost it.

Two wolves, howling. Two men, crying out, orgasming together, the moment tense and tight and beautiful, composed of feelings for which there was no real adequate word.

Even before he had finished exploding, before the jolts of pleasure faded from his body, Isaac leaned down and wrapped his mouth around Moody’s shoulder. His fangs slid out, piercing skin, making the omega bleed for him.

He knew it wouldn’t be the last time that he hurt Moody with something he did, but this was the last time it would be intentional.

Moody cried out again as he was marked, as Isaac claimed him, and his body rocked with another weak spasm of pleasure as his strength faded.

Their minds touched again, even more intensely than before. United now not just in thought but also in spirit, there was no way they could ever be separated. They were mates, destined for each other from the very beginning.

Isaac pulled back, discovered he had literally no strength left whatsoever, and flopped over onto his side. Breathless, he pulled in great, heaving lungfuls of air.

A small, warm body nestled up against his side. An arm and a leg were tossed over him, though these limbs were limp from a pure, contented sort of exhaustion. Isaac responded in kind, flopping a leg over Moody, wanting to do more and finding himself incapable of it.

For a very long time, they just lay there, tangled together. Then, a soft voice broke through the silence. “I guess we’re mates now.”

Even though Isaac knew that Moody had been just as happy and lost in the moment as he was, he nevertheless felt his stomach clench with fear. “Is that okay?” he asked. He dreaded the answer. For a very long time, he had known nothing except sadness and dread and an endless apathy. It was going to take him a very long time to get over that, he knew.

A mating mark could not be undone.

Shifters were such fantastic healers, yet a bite made with the intent to claim always left a scar. It was the purpose behind it, the marked one’s body responding to what the marker wished. It might fade with time, but it would never go away.

Someone else could mark on top of it, but that just wasn’t the same.

If Isaac had just fucked up, he’d fucked up big time.

“That’s what I’ve always wanted, you idiot,” Moody whispered, very kindly. He reached out, wrapping both hands around Isaac’s face. His fingers roamed, caressing along his jawline and cheekbones.

Isaac sank into the touch with a shudder, all of his fears chased away.

They kissed, very softly, and then Moody sat up. The process of actually sitting seemed to drain what little strength he had left, and he just perched there on the edge of the bed for a moment.

Watching him, Isaac became aware once again of the gnawing ache in his empty stomach.

“I want to actually take a shower,” Moody said. “Think you could order room service?”

“I think I need to hop back in, too,” Isaac said, laughing a little. “I’m pretty sure I’ve still got soap in my hair. Mind if I join you?”

Moody flashed a teasing smile, then shook his head. “We’d have to have sex again and I don’t think either one of us could survive.”

Isaac smiled back. “You’re probably right. Go on. Hopefully the food will get here by the time you’re out. Any preferences?”

“All of it.”

Rising a little gingerly, Moody walked off in the direction of the bathroom.

Isaac admired the way his ass cheeks moved together. Moody flashed a grin over his shoulder at him, sensing the attention, and then disappeared into the bathroom. Within only a second, the shower was running again.

How could all of this have happened in such a short time?

The only thing Isaac could see as a possible reason was that maybe the universe was trying to realign itself, speeding up a process that had been slowed down by his stupidity. Stranger things had happened.

Whatever the reason, he was just happy to be able to look forward to the future again. The cloud of dread, the sense that things must inevitably come to an end, had been blown away. His sky was clear. Anything could come his way, and he wanted to be able to experience it all with Moody at his side.

And, someday in the future, maybe with a pup in his arms.

Smiling a little, a secretive little smile which he was hardly able to feel, Isaac reached over to the nightstand to check out the room service menu.