Dell lay on his back and looked up at the stars, tracing the constellations with his eyes. Though he’d made an effort not to keep track of the days passing by, he knew it was the night of the battle. It would begin soon, if it hadn’t already. He might be able to hear the howls, the feline screams of pain, if the wind was just right.

The air near him stank of blood, though from a less sinister source than a battleground. He had been living as a true wolf, hunting for his food. His most recent catch was a gangly hare, disemboweled and half-eaten with its eyes gone as blank and sightless as his mind felt. There was less and less inside him by the day as he rid himself of his unnecessary humanity. He strove to forget who he was and what hurt him. Perhaps if he couldn’t remember Corey’s face, he could bear the anonymous pain.

If I had a second chance, I would do it all over again much differently, he thought. I would let him know right from the start what he meant to me.

Too late for that. Too late for anything but forgetting. Hell, perhaps that would bring him and Corey closer than they had ever been before, united by their lack of memories.

He rolled over and curled up on his side so that he wouldn’t be looking at the remains of his dinner all night, and prepared to sleep.

That was when he felt it.

It came from nowhere and seemed to be nothing more than an errant bit of wind brushing through his fur. A warm breeze, which was unusual for the night, but what did he know about weather? However, even as the breeze faded, the warmth remained on his skin. It almost seemed alive; almost seemed to be gently billowing as if it breathed.

Dell picked up his head from his paws and turned to look at his flank where the heat was. Nothing out of the ordinary, but now the warmth moved, brushing a gentle circle around him before wafting gently into his face. He smelled sweet musk and closed his eyes, luxuriating in Corey’s scent. Somehow, it was Corey without Corey, his soul present without his body.

“I’m going insane,” he murmured, the words hardly more than a growl.

“No,” the warmth of Corey’s soul replied softly. His growl was like music, soothing and encouraging all at once. “Dell.”

“Corey.”

And at Corey’s side, what was that? Another flicker of soul, barely as warm as a candle flame. Small and young, almost negative in terms of age. A pup?

“I need you.”

Those words called him back to the first time they shared a bed, and all the times they had shared one since.

Wait. A pup? It can’t be… mine?

Dell sprang to his feet and whipped around, but by the time he completed the turn he was alone in the world once more. The sensation of souls wreathing around him was gone and in their absence he could only theorize that he had gone insane.

But what if he hadn’t?

He was very aware that two mated wolves could feel each other’s presence and pick up on moods, but he hadn’t ever heard of anything like this before. A call for help that crossed the distance between them – both physically and emotionally – or a sign of his failing mind?

Before he knew it, he was up on his paws and heading back the long way he had come. If there was even a slim chance that Corey had actually been reaching out to him, that Corey was pregnant with a child that Dell hadn’t ever wanted until right now, then he had to return. And if he was rejected again? There were a great number of high places for him to jump off.

He had come a very long way, though the distance he traveled was greater than the distance he had actually gone because he spent a lot of time simply meandering back and forth through an area. He didn’t run, but neither did he walk. Soon enough, he picked up on the faint lights of Eureka far in the distance.

Someone howled from even farther away than the city. It wavered on the wind, a high and pure note that was cut off almost as quickly as it began. The tone resonated within his soul, speaking to him. His wolf translated, pelt prickling all the way down to the tip of his tail. It was a battle summons. The fight was about to begin.

Dell ran. He ran and ran as if he’d never run before, but only managed to arrive once the fight was in full swing. It was a scene that had repeated itself often throughout the history of time, canines clashing against felines. Blood flew and clumps of fur littered the torn grass. Bodies crashed together in a writhing pile, too close together to distinguish who might be who. Colors were muted by the night and his predator eye, so he couldn’t even begin to guess based on fur color.

Letting out a bark, he leapt down the ridge and burst into the fray to search for Corey. The omega would be here participating in the fight, as were all the other omegas. The elders and children were gathered in Eureka as a last ditch resort if the enemy made it so far; everyone else was here.

Chaos seethed around him. He swung his head this way and that, crying out his lover’s name until his voice failed him and he was only barking. Scents mingled. Panther, wolf, blood, fear. There were no individuals here.

Suddenly, pain seared through the base of his spine as someone grabbed at his tail and yanked. Screeching, he swung his head around and bit at the panther attacking him. It released his tail and sprang backward, balanced on the tips of its toes.

Growling, Dell faced the attacker and swung out at its face. Apparently, it wasn’t expecting such a direct assault because his claws sliced a ragged wound on its cheek.

The panther flicked out its tongue, tasting its own blood. Lips peeled back from its lips and it hissed, rearing up onto its hind legs and crashing its front paws down on top of him. The weight behind the attack would have broken the spine of a lesser animal, but Dell only collapsed, hitting his chin on the ground. Blood filled his mouth as he bit his tongue, but the pain was lost beneath buzzing adrenaline.

The two rolled over and over, landing blows that hurt but didn’t incapacitate. When they finally came to a stop, Dell was crushed against the ground in an awkward position where he couldn’t successfully get enough momentum to free himself; the panther straddled his spine like a lover, fangs poised to pierce into his spine in an imitation of a marking.

Through the bloody chaos of battle, he saw a flash of red fur. At first, he thought he was watching a badly-injured wolf approach but then quickly realized that wasn’t it at all. Walking toward him without even a scratch on his pelt was Jefferson.

“Jefferson!” Dell grunted, though his hoarse throat threatened to betray him. “Help me!”

And help came, though not in the way he expected. Jefferson growled, “Let him up,” and the panther sprang away, back into the battle. The two wolves were left alone, staring hatefully at the other. Dell didn’t need an explanation to know what was going on. The fact that they were practically surrounded by a ring of panthers that weren’t touching the red wolf at all revealed enough of the story by itself.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Jefferson growled. “Too late.”

Bastard, Dell thought, and then he did what he’d been dying to do for ages. He ran right up to Jefferson and bit him on his flank, tearing away a great chunk of flesh. The wolf screamed in agony and fell upon him, and the true battle began. Though wolves in a fight never sought to kill each other, that was what they each attempted to do now. The madness wouldn’t stop unless one of them turned up dead, and Dell was determined the death not be his.

Each blow went toward a vital organ. Fangs reached for arteries. They sought to kill the other and in doing so could only reach a stalemate of offense, where neither ever gained the advantage.

And then, from nowhere, came Ian Blackwell. Dell saw him approach and swore internally while twisting so that Jefferson’s death bite landed awkwardly on the scruff of his neck. The immense panther slithered out of the darkness like a snake and Dell knew it was over. He was hungry and weakened from his travels. He could perhaps defeat Jefferson by using the red alpha’s stubbornness to his advantage, but he couldn’t defeat Jefferson and Ian. He couldn’t, but he would die trying.

And from behind Ian…

Moonlight embodied. A beautiful, shimmering creature with its head held high and eyes shining like the night’s absent celestial body had come down to vacation within it.

For a moment, Dell couldn’t make any sense of the beauty before him. And then he realized it was Corey, looking exactly as Dell had drawn him all that time ago.

What’s going on? Why is that panther leading Corey?

Jefferson swung around, mouth open in a snarl. “What?” he barked.

Ian Blackwell possessed an ability to speak perfectly while in his animal form. He put it to use now, coming to a stop between the two wolves. “Enough is enough,” he rumbled. “I see now I was wrong.”

Jefferson’s eyes were wild with terror. “No! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Shut up!” Ian roared. He swung his massive head in Dell’s direction, eyes flashing. “This man sought us of his own will and spurred us on with fairytales. I believed him, until…” The panther faltered, spitting with disgust. “Until he came to us, bringing this little one with him. He had the little one bound and imprisoned. That is when I realized how wrong I was to trust such a man.”

All around them, the fighters had noticed that something was happening that wasn’t a fight. Panther and wolf alike stopped and watched in an ever-widening wave as others noticed their neighbors had gone still.

Dell couldn’t bear to be a wolf any longer. He needed his voice. He shifted and stared down at Jefferson. “You kidnapped Corey?”

“No,” Jefferson spat. “He came here willingly because I told him to. He’s found his place as an omega.”

Those simple sentences held a world of hurt for Dell. He could only imagine the sort of treatment Corey had gone through at the hands of someone who believed he was only good enough for housekeeping and popping out babies. It was true that omegas tended to be more domestic, but they weren’t slaves!

Corey shifted and came to Dell. There was no time for a tearful reunion. All they could do was hold hands and press their sides together, taking comfort from being so near once again. The warmth of the omega at his side convinced Dell that he hadn’t been going insane out there on his own. Corey had called to him.

Ian became human as well, and now the only animal was Jefferson. It suited him to be less than they were, to be a four-legged scrap of fur and insignificance before them. “This foolish man deserves to be cast out. To kill him would be a blessing.”

“He will be banished,” said a new voice. It was Chief Michael, with the sandy-haired Timmy at his side. They both looked wild and fierce, exactly like two parents fighting to protect their pride and joy. “That’s for sure. I won’t have a man like that in my town.”

Ian grinned with satisfaction, baring his pointed teeth. “We meet again then, Chief Wolf. We’ll need to discuss this, you and I.”

“Yes,” Michael sighed. “Yes, we will. But for now, I think we all just need to go home. This has been enough strife for one night. We’ll tend to our wounded, both of us, and you are welcome to come into town at any time.”

Dell kept an eye on Jefferson, figuring that it wasn’t going to be that easy to just declare a truce when the reason they were fighting was still sitting right there. The wolf stood motionless. Not even a hair on his pelt stirred as he deliberated, clearly plotting something. When he made his move, Dell was ready for it: he sidestepped the attack, though not quite fast enough to avoid having his cheek sliced open by a single claw. Blood sprayed in a mist from his face as he whipped around, prepared to counter the next attack, but there was no need. Jefferson had run away.

“Let him go,” Michael ordered. “He won’t come back.”

Things happened very quickly then, as the leader of the wolf pack and the leader of the panther clan set about separating their forces and ensuring that their message had been heard by everyone. A new sort of chaos occurred. Instead of the opposite sides rushing toward one another, now they were striving to pull apart.

Dell ignored all of it and grabbed onto Corey’s face with both hands, crashing their lips together for a kiss he’d been dying to deliver for ages. Their mouths were as one, as were their spirits. When they parted for breath, Dell whispered, “I’m so sorry. I would have come sooner if I’d known.”

His omega reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck, clinging tightly. “It’s okay,” Corey whispered into his ear. His breath was hot and stirred Dell’s curly hair around. “I forgive you for everything if you forgive me too.”

“Of course I forgive you.” Dell choked on what he had to say next, not because he didn’t mean it, but because he meant it so much. “I love you, Corey.”

He felt Corey’s smile deep in his soul. That other little presence smiled as well, though it couldn’t have known why. “I love you too.”

Much later that night, when the battlefield was abandoned and covered up and all the wolves had returned home to Eureka without being missed by the regular citizens, Dell and Corey fell into bed together. They were both naked, though sex was the last thing on their minds. They just wanted to be touching in as many places as was possible.

Dawn light filtered in through the window. At some point, a new day had begun and the new moon was over.

Corey had his rear nestled against Dell’s lap, head laying back against his shoulder. The position was pleasant and slightly erotic, though Dell didn’t encourage those thoughts. He slid his hand around from Corey’s hip to his stomach, caressing the delightful softness there underneath his fingertips. “Is my baby really in here?” he murmured.

Corey nodded, placing his hand over Dell’s. “It is. It’s yours. I didn’t sleep with Jefferson, you know.”

“A pity.” Dell tried to make a joke of it, although he couldn’t help but to growl. “You could have told me who was a better lover.”

Corey rolled over so that their eyes met. He touched Dell’s jawline, and the alpha sighed as the contact stirred arousal deep in his groin. His dick stiffened, pressing against the other’s soft thigh. “It would be you,” Corey said. He flashed a handsome grin almost too wide for his thin face. “Because you’ve always paid attention to me. Jefferson never pays any attention to anyone but himself.”

And wasn’t that the truth?

Dell shook his head and sighed. “Well, all that’s over now. We should get some sleep. My day starts in a few hours.”

That mischievous grin again appeared on Corey’s face. “I’m sure Michael would understand if you missed one day of work. After all, you just got your boyfriend back after he was captured.”

As tempting as that was, Dell knew that he couldn’t go along with it. “I know that Michael is going to want me to take Jefferson’s place as deputy. I don’t think I can reject his offer this time.”

Corey furrowed his eyebrows, thinking hard. “Are you all required to be police officers?”

“No,” Dell replied. “It’s not required, though we’re kind of expected to carry on the tradition. I’ve never thought about being anything else.”

“You’ve never thought about being a lot of things.”

“True.”

He certainly never contemplated the idea that he would one day be a father. If that had happened, who knew what else was possible?

Corey lifted up Dell’s hand and began to play with his fingers. “Have you ever thought about trying to get some art in a gallery?”

He laughed. “I don’t think any gallery would accept a tiny piece of paper from a notebook.”

Corey shrugged. “Maybe they would. You can call anything art these days. But what if you drew some real pictures? It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?”

“I guess it wouldn’t,” Dell admitted. He already knew that he would be trying to do it, if that was what Corey wanted. “But what would I draw?”

“Me, of course.” Corey propped himself up on his elbows and planted a chaste little kiss on Dell’s lips.

They were both tired, and Dell had minor injuries from being in the fight. His cheek hurt like hell. All he wanted to do was go to sleep before having to face the responsibilities that he had put off for so long.

His body had other ideas, of course. His erection was almost painful by this point, throbbing between their warmth. Corey rubbed teasingly against him, hands sliding down his back to dig his nails in. “Dammit,” Dell sighed. “What are you doing to me, baby?”

“Making you mine,” Corey whispered. “I’m ready. I want you to mark me.”

Dell closed his eyes, knowing that he didn’t deserve what he was being offered. When he opened them again, Corey had moved away and was positioned with his ass in the air as an offering. The muscles of his cheeks were tight and irresistible, and his puckered opening was swollen with acceptance.

Neither Dell the man nor Dell the wolf could have resisted such an offer. He rose up and straddled Corey from behind, too eager even to find the bottle of lube. He grinded his red, engorged tip against Corey’s opening until they were both panting and shaking with mutual need. Only then did he feel capable of pausing and retrieving the lube. He applied a generous amount to both of them so that, when he pushed deep inside that perfect ass, it was as smooth as flying.

The omega yielded to him greedily, wiggling his ass as Dell’s shaft buried itself in him fully. Their bodies pressed together as Dell leaned over him, planting both hands on the mattress.

“Fuck me,” Corey purred.

Dell was only too eager to obey. He started thrusting inside Corey, who rocked beneath him with sharp cries of lust and delight. Their souls connected in a way that had never happened before, creating new heights of pleasure for the pair. It was almost as if Dell could feel himself being penetrated, and knew Corey would be experiencing the duel pleasure of being taken and being the one doing the taking. Fire was everywhere, all around them as they burned.

They moved faster, hips bucking. Corey stroked himself with feverish need, close to losing control. Dell sensed it, could feel it from the way the omega’s inner ass muscles gripped his cock. Now was the time, so he leaned over the other beneath him and whispered in his ear, “I love you.”

And then he bit. He put everything he had into the marking, delivering it swiftly and fiercely. His teeth sank deep into the skin on the side of Corey’s vulnerable neck, drawing blood and leaving a love wound that would be slow to fade.

Corey screamed beneath him, but not from pain. The pleasure coursing between them consumed all else in its path, taking what it was given and pushing the omega over the edge of orgasm.

Dell continued his thrusting while Corey shook and spasmed, until he too had cum. The pair collapsed onto their sides together, still tangled, and now forever bound.