“What’s the matter, Blake?” Dylan paused several yards ahead of him on the trail, one hand resting on the strap of his backpack, and the other hanging loosely at his side. Considering they’d been walking most of the day, trudging through snow, he didn’t look the least bit winded. Reddened cheeks and a pink nose, yes, but other than that, he was not the least bit exhausted. Blake would hate him for it had he not been impressed. “Having a hard time keeping up?”

His smirk was cocky and teasing. It hit all the right buttons for Blake to rise to the bait, his own pride on the line. “I’m keeping up just fine,” he said, lifting his chin and nearly stumbling as his foot caught in a root hidden beneath the snow. His eyes narrowed as Dylan’s eyes crinkled. “Not a word.”

Dylan, graciously, let it slide. “You’re only keeping up because I’m slowing down for you.”

“Well, aren’t you thoughtful.”

“Computers have made you soft.”

“Not all of us spend hours a day running around in the woods.”

Dylan rolled his eyes, head lolling to the side as he drawled, “What kinda werewolf are you if you can’t pick your way through a forest?”

Blake lifted a brow, stopping when he finally reached where Dylan was waiting. He tried to catch his breath as subtly as he could. It wasn’t that he was out of shape; he simply wasn’t used to this kind of exertion. He wasn’t familiar with the terrain, and thus had to spend time carefully picking his way in Dylan’s footsteps to avoid tripping or twisting his ankle. Unfortunately, Dylan was determined to practically sprint the whole way there. He kept them going at a gruesome pace, moving swiftly and efficiently through the snow without breaking a sweat.

Blake had the distinct impression that the omega was showing off, and it was working.

“I’m not exactly in wolf form right now, am I?” he replied, rolling his shoulders to ease where the bag strap dug into it.

Dylan turned around, facing him more squarely and directly. He crossed his arms over his chest, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you saying you could go faster in wolf form?”

Blake mirrored his stance. “I feel like that goes without saying.”

“Do you think you could actually keep up with me in wolf form?”

Blake leaned forward, tilting his head and lifting his chin until their mouths were lined up, even if they were still a foot apart. He saw Dylan’s eyes flicker down to his lips quickly, and he smirked. “I know I could.”

Dylan’s gaze returned to Blake’s, lidded and sparkling. His smirk curled wider. “Is that a challenge?”

Blake lowered his voice, letting it rumble off his tongue in a purr. “You know it is.”

They stood there for a moment, neither of them moving. The chilled breeze drifted past them, tugging at the hair that curled out from beneath their hats. Dylan sized him up, searching his face before he let his gaze sweep down Blake’s body. It was unnecessary. Dylan still had his memory. He knew exactly what Blake looked like. Still, the slow rake of his eyes was appreciative, and Blake wasn’t about to complain.

When their eyes met again, Dylan smiled. He lifted his chin, stretching out the strong column of his neck, a challenge of his own in the drop of his voice. “Try to keep up, alpha.”

Dylan was quick and efficient as he undressed. He dropped his bag, peeled off his clothes, rolled them up, and stuffed them into his bag without preamble. They were precise and practiced movements that gave Blake clues to his soldier background. It was impressive. It was also incredibly distracting.

He hadn’t seen Dylan’s naked body since he gave birth to Adrien, and while his clothes had given Blake enough to go by on imagination alone, it was nothing compared to the real thing. His chest was broad, hips lean, stomach flat and defined.

He was...a piece of work. A mighty fine piece of work. A piece of work that Blake really wanted to appreciate...and take his time while doing so.

Still, a challenge had been issued, and now wasn’t the time to be drooling like a raging, hormonal teenager after a man he’d rejected several months ago, at the first sight of his body. There was plenty of time for drooling later.

He undressed as quickly as he could, trying and failing to keep up with Dylan’s practiced movements. He undressed, rolled up his clothes, jacket and boots, and stuffed them into his own bag.

Then, standing naked and vulnerable in the snow, cold seeping into their feet and the air chilling their flesh, they paused. Their eyes met for just a moment before Dylan’s gaze slowly looked him over once again. Blake’s gaze remained on his face, feeling a heat rise to his skin despite the goosebumps and the chill. Interest and intrigue flared in his gut. When their eyes met again, Dylan smirked, and he lifted his backpack to his back, making sure it was properly in place for the shift.

Blake returned his smirk and did the same, and then they both fell to their hands and knees, the air around them swirling and tensing as they shifted. Blake reached inside him, letting his wolf free. The pain of his body breaking and reshaping was sharp and agonizing, but the release of endorphins and relief as everything clicked into place was worth it.

It was part of who he was. His wolf was just as much a part of him as his human form was. Powerful, heightened senses, primal instincts at the surface, the feeling of being one with the wild: untamable, and unstoppable. He loved his gadgets, his programs, and his computers, but he reveled in the primal power of his wolf form all the same.

Shifting with his bag on his back wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, but it was easier than trying to get the bag on after shifting. Besides, their bags were specifically designed with their wolf forms in mind, able to sit comfortably and snuggly on their backs as both wolf and man.

When he was fully shifted, he shook himself, feeling the weight of the bag on his back move. He pawed at the snow and dirt, swishing his tail as he got a feel for his secondary body once more. He reached down and after a few struggling tries, grabbed hold of a few strings hanging off his bag with his teeth. He pulled, feeling the straps around him tighten until they would no longer jostle around while he moved.

Once he was satisfied everything was secure and he was ready, he turned to Dylan.

Even in his wolf form, he was beautiful. Powerfully built and nearly the size of Blake, his fur was the same rich copper as his hair. It was dark brown in the shadows and dazzled with flecks of deep red in the light. He stood ahead on the path, bag already adjusted on his back. His head was held high, ears perked forward as he watched Blake with single minded attentiveness. He was poised, powerful, and still.

Blake lifted himself, head held high as he approached. He moved his head forward, nosing playfully at Dylan’s neck, bumping his shoulder into the other wolf’s side. Dylan barely budged and blinked slowly, subtly pushing Blake back.

Then his tail shifted, wagging a couple times, slow and playful, before he turned and darted down the path. Blake growled low in his throat before taking off after him.

Together they ran, charging through the woods at full speed. In this form, it was easier for him to avoid the obstacles that lay hidden beneath the snow. His instincts and his senses guided him, and he gave himself over to them. His paws crunched the snow beneath him, nails digging in as he pushed off. He felt the burn in his lungs as he panted, the cold air stinging and sharp. He felt the ache in his legs and his muscles, but it was a familiar ache. It was the burn of running at full tilt. The burn of freedom.

It felt good. It had been so long since he’d run like this. He rarely shifted around the witches, and the past few month’s worth of full moons had been spent alone. To have someone to run with, to have someone familiar, to chase an omega that fueled a fire within his alpha, was a thrill of its own and one he had desperately been craving.

They were far enough away from the castle that the trail was disappearing. The snow was untouched, save for a few animal footprints and the shifting of the wind. Still, Dylan wove through the trees as if he had the whole path memorized. Which, Blake supposed, he probably did.

In this form, Blake kept much better pace with him. But despite the playful challenge of a chase, Blake never actually attempted to overtake him. The fact remained that he didn’t know the way, and Dylan was his guide. He did, however, run quickly. He got right up behind Dylan and nipped at his heels and snapped at his tail. He received yips and growls from Dylan in response, but none of them serious. Dylan merely pushed himself faster, and Blake gave chase.

They wove through the woods, breaking through untouched snow as they crossed the edge of the Arulean’s official property line and out into the edges of his unspoken territory. Blake was certain no one besides patrols and those going to visit the human settlements ever came out this far.

The pack scent out here was minimal and vague. The smell of cold snow, sharp ice, and frozen earth were much stronger. Dylan’s scent, however, overpowered his surroundings. The spicy sweet scent of him, the musk of wolf and omega, of sweat and fur. In this form, it was even harder to resist. Dylan could lead him on an endless loop around the massive island and Blake would still chase him until his legs gave out beneath him.

Dylan’s pace slowed once they reached the edges of the pack’s territory and human scents became more prevalent on the wind. Blake slowed with him, keeping close as a protective instinct rose in his gut, but not so close as to push the omega to run.

From his knowledge of the island, and from the maps he had poured over, Blake knew most of the human towns were settled to the west of this point. Instead of heading straight in that direction, Dylan skirted around the edge, heading in a vaguely westerly direction. They darted across snow covered fields and wove through smaller patches of forests. Blake couldn’t see any sign of the human settlements, but he could smell them.

On an instinctual level, he worried about Dylan. Blake himself blended well into the snow with his white fur. The backpack on his back stood out in stark contrast, but not nearly as much as Dylan did. Dylan was a streak of color against the grayscale landscape. Beautiful, but obvious. Not that wolves would be too strange an occurrence this far north and on a massive island with untamed wilderness, but it was still best to avoid attention.

Dylan, however, seemed to be a step ahead of him. While he clearly knew where he was going, he didn’t seem to be taking the direct route. Occasionally he paused, sniffing the air and ground, ears perked and twitching in various directions. He changed their heading quickly and sometimes with little warning, always headed in the same general direction but often taking more indirect routes to get there.

There was a fierce bubble of warm pride welling up in Blake’s chest, and he had to physically restrain himself from playfully nipping at Dylan to show it.

He knew they were getting close when they broke from the trees into a small clearing with a telephone tower. Dylan turned, following beneath the wires as they moved from tower to tower. From there, it was easy to spot the new satellite tower rising in the distance. It was far taller than the rest of them.

They slowed as they approached, pausing in the shadow of the trees to shift back to their human forms. They dressed quickly, knowing the residual inner heat of their beast forms would only last so long before the chill began to seep into their human bodies. That didn’t, however, stop Blake from sneaking sidelong glances at Dylan’s backside as he got dressed.

And judging from the completely unnecessary wiggle Dylan gave his hips while pulling on his pants, he knew it, too.

Once they were dressed, they slung their bags back onto their backs and marched out of the woods and into the clearing. It had taken most of the day to get this far, and the sun was low on the horizon. Not quite setting, but beginning to cast the sky in warm shades, painting colors across the clouds. The radio tower rose silent and imposing out of the snow. No fence surrounded it. Either it hadn’t been constructed yet, or they simply thought it would be pointless for a structure on a fairly remote island. No one would dare mess with it. Except himself, of course.

He stopped near it, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. He breathed in deep, using the close proximity to his wolf form to sift heavily through the scents in the air. He could smell humans, but none of them were close and none were fresh. Still, it never hurt to have a second opinion.

“You picking up any traces of people?” he asked, eyes still closed and face turned toward the wind.

“No,” Dylan’s response came quick enough that Blake was certain he had already been doing the same thing. “My guess is it’s been a couple days since anyone was out this way.”

“My thoughts, too.”

“There are no tracks or trails. This snowfall was fresh yesterday morning. Tracks from anyone here in the past two days wouldn’t have been covered up.”

“So we’re good to go?”

“I believe so.”

“Good enough for me.”

He opened his eyes, gazing up the length of the tower. It was tall, and looked even taller from this angle. It rose ominous and imposing above them. It looked thin from this angle, too. Tall and thin like it might topple over in a gust of wind.

“It’s...really tall.”

He turned his head to find Dylan standing next to him, chin tilted up and eyes locked on the distant peak of the tower. His brows were furrowed, lips pursed into a thin line. Blake couldn’t help the tug at the corner of his lips. “That’s why they call it a tower.”

Dylan’s glare was sharp, but his frown looked more like a pout. Blake could feel his smirk reach his eyes, but Dylan otherwise ignored him. “Do you have to climb it?”

Blake eyed the tower, his gaze sweeping from the top down the metal frame to the base. There were several boxes at the base of the tower, attached to the metal structure. He rolled his shoulders, holding onto the strap of his bag as he started forward. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

He picked his way carefully through the snow, Dylan trailing along behind him. The metal casing of the box was locked, but the lock wasn’t a complicated one. He unhooked his bag from one shoulder, pulling it around him to reach into one of the pockets for his set of lock picks. He could feel Dylan’s curious eyes on him, and he turned to give the omega a wink as the lock popped open quickly.

Dylan rolled his eyes, turning to run his gaze along the tree line, but there was a pinkness to his cheeks Blake didn’t think was caused just by the cold.

Blake tugged open the door to the box, half encrusted with snow, but there wasn’t much inside. Definitely not the electronics he needed to hack. His lips twisted into a frown as he snapped the box shut, clicking the lock back into place. He stepped back, arms crossed over his chest as he tilted his head back. “Looks like I’m going up.”

“You are?”

“I have to if I want to get the job done.” He tilted his head then, eyeing Dylan sidelong, lips curling into a smirk. “Why? Worried about me?”

Dylan huffed, crossing his arms and turning away. “Not likely.”

“It’s okay if you are.”

“I’m not.”

“I mean, we do have a rather complicated history…”

“Blake…”

“And we are part of the same pack…”

“I’m not…”

“And I am the father to your children, so it only makes sense that you would be…”

“Blake.”

Blake snapped his mouth shut as Dylan rounded on him, face twisted into a scowl, his narrowed eyes sharp. Blake raised both brows, but kept his mouth shut. After glaring a moment longer, Dylan sighed, body sagging. “I’m not worried,” he said, voice blank and face slipping into a neutral mask. He straightened a little, lifting his chin as he looked away. His voice remained carefully blank, but there was a softness in his tone. “I know you’re perfectly capable of doing this.”

Blake blinked, eyebrows still raised as his mouth dropped open. “Oh?” He hadn’t been expecting that. Not just the casual confidence in his capabilities, but also his ability to do so safely. Without much else to say, he simply said, “Well...thank you.”

Dylan nodded, glancing sidelong at Blake. Beneath the serious edge and the blank mask of his expression, there was a lingering tease to his voice. “But if you fall, I’m having the witches bring you back so I can kill you myself.”

“Noted,” Blake said with a grin. “You gonna keep guard on the area while I’m up there.” Dylan nodded, and Blake shrugged his backpack back on fully, making sure the straps were secure before he started toward the ladder on the other side of the tower.

Dylan placed a hand around his arm, pulling him to an abrupt stop. Blake met worried eyes, attempting to hide behind a petulant frown. “Be careful.”

“I’m always careful.” Dylan gave him a flat look that had him wilting. “I’ll be careful,” he said softly, and Dylan nodded once more before letting him go.

He watched as Dylan stalked away from the tower, further toward the forest. He watched as the man dropped his bag to the ground at the base of a tree, already reaching to unzip his jacket. He knew Dylan would shift to his wolf form and run patrols around the area while he waited.

Blake turned away before Dylan could undress, squaring his shoulders as he strode toward the ladder and thanking any god listening that he wasn’t afraid of heights. The metal rungs were cold, even through the leather of his gloves, and they clanged with each step he took, the sound muted by the snowy landscape. He climbed as quickly and carefully as he could, keeping his grip sure, each step cautious of ice.

He wasn’t sure how long it took to get to the top, but it felt like hours. With nothing to focus on but the next step and the next rung, time dragged on. Looking down made it seem like he had climbed a long way, but looking up made it look like he still had a long way to go.

When he finally made it, he sighed in relief. He nestled into a small, cramped space meant for the maintenance workers that climbed up here on occasion. He wedged himself between metal struts, propping his feet up to keep his body tight on its perch, and pulled his backpack around. Keeping one arm through one of the straps, he carefully pulled out his tablet and the other devices he would need. The box here at the top wasn’t locked, and the insides had far more electrical components hooked up to the tower.

Good. This was what he needed to work with.

He hooked his tablet up to the mainframe and analyzed the initial firewall. With a glance down below, he could have sworn he saw a blur of copper against the white backdrop of snow. Smiling to himself, he turned back to the tablet and got to work.

* * *

By the time he made his way back down the tower, it was well past sunset and deep into the night. His climb down was slower and more careful, fingers stiff with cold and feet numb in his boots. But there was a fluttering warmth of accomplishment in his chest, and he was feeling good. All he wanted was a hot bath, a warm meal, and to curl up in his bed. He knew, however, that he’d have to settle for camping in the snow.

Dylan was waiting for him when his boots touched ground, crunching snow beneath them as he pulled away from the tower. The omega stood there, arms crossed over his chest, and a familiar scowl on his face. Blake had no idea how long he’d been standing there watching his downward climb, but judging from the look on his face, it had been a while.

“Hey, man, why the grumpy face?” Blake turned to face him, rubbing his hands together in a poor attempt to warm them up.

“What took you so long?”

Blake cocked an eyebrow. “You told me to be careful, so I was being careful. Didn’t want to slip on my way down.”

“I know that. I watched you climb down,” Dylan said, already shaking his head. “I meant what took you so long up there?”

Blake scoffed, crossing his arms so his hands were tucked up under his arms, seeking the warmth there. “I’d like to see you go faster. It’s not exactly easy to hack into a new system, even if their security was subpar. It wasn’t straightforward to find the program for the satellite, hack into the satellite, find the data patterns for the surveillance of said satellite, and then adjust them so it skips over a large chunk of the island while still feeding the database basic info so it doesn’t look like it skipped a giant chunk of shifter infested land. It’s a delicate art to make us invisible, and I’d like to see you find someone better.”

“I can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t find anyone better.”

It was said with complete certainty and so matter-of-fact that Blake was momentarily thrown off. He opened his mouth, found no words, and closed it before pursing his lips together. “What’re you getting at?”

Dylan rolled his eyes, turning on his heel and gesturing for Blake to follow as he made his way through the snow. “What I mean is you’re the best. I can’t find anyone better.”

“Oh,” Blake said softly, trailing after him.

Dylan led them into the woods picking his way through the trees. It was dark, but Blake’s natural night vision let him see the path they followed had footsteps already, no doubt caused by Dylan pacing back and forth along it. “But I’m asking what took you so long because I’ve been with you for years. I’ve seen the stuff you can do. And while I don’t really understand half of it, I know something like this is easy for you, and you usually work faster.”

“Careful, Dylan, or I might start to suspect you actually care about me.”

There was a light ahead, flickering and casting a warm glow across the snow, stretching the shadows of the trees. They stepped into a small clearing that had been cleared and packed down. A fire crackled to one side, a stack of logs next to it. A small tarp had been laid out over the packed down snow. Placed on the tarp was a single sleeping bag.

“I do care about you.” There was that certainty again. A firm sincerity that left Blake reeling and at a loss for words. “I’ve always cared about you, and that isn’t going to change because of some witch’s spell.” He crouched down by the fire, grabbing his bag and digging around in it. He kept his eyes down and his head turned away, but Blake heard the soft admission, “The problem is that you don’t remember that I care about you.”

His stomach twisted with a familiar sense of guilt, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had once been. There was a softness around the edges that hadn’t been there the last time he’d stayed with the Shadow Pack. “Yeah, well.” He crouched next to Dylan, holding his hands up to the fire and reveling in the warmth. “I’m starting to see that, memories or not.” He could see Dylan turn to look at him, but he kept his eyes on the fire. He didn’t like admitting running into problems with his work, but...he didn’t feel like he had to hide things from Dylan. “It took me so long up there because it was cold as hell and the wind was pretty bad. My fingers were frozen, and it took forever to type anything. And I had a lot of typing to do. The work was easy. Just the conditions left a lot to be desired.”

Suddenly Dylan was taking his hands, cradling them between his own. Blake was far too surprised, and curious, to stop him as the omega slowly peeled off his gloves, resting them on his lap as he took Blake’s hands, bare against his own. He frowned, a pinch between his brows as he brought them to his lips, breathing on them and rubbing them between his own hands. He then held both their hands up to the fire.

Blake found it very hard to speak around the lump in his throat, so he simply stayed silent.

“I told you to be careful,” Dylan muttered.

“I was careful. I can’t stop the cold or the wind. It’s not like I asked to freeze up there.”

A small smile twitched at the corner of Dylan’s mouth, so subtle it could have easily been missed had Blake not been attuned to the smallest change in Dylan’s expression. When had he gotten so good at reading Dylan? Was it something inherent in him that memories couldn’t erase or was it merely because he’d been spending so much time watching him lately? “I would fight the cold for you.”

“I don’t think you can fight the cold, dude.”

“I would try.”

“Is that some sort of romantic declaration?” Blake asked, a smile of his own playing across his lips. “You’d fight winter itself for my affection?”

Dylan’s eyes were on their hands, but he couldn’t quite hide his smile. “Would that work?”

Blake shrugged, thumb running lightly over Dylan’s knuckles. “Guess you’d have to try.”

“Lily would never forgive me if I punched a snowman.”

“Actually, I think she’d join you in fighting a snowman.”

“She’s your daughter, after all.”

“Contrary to popular opinion, in this case, I think she gets her aggression from her omega father.”

Dylan grinned, and Blake found himself mirroring it. “If that’s the case, what does she get from you?”

“My dashing good looks and charming personality?”

Dylan hummed thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side. “Perhaps.”

“So you admit it?”

“Admit what?”

“That I’m attractive and charming?”

“I never denied that. I did fall for you once, you know. Clearly you have some things going for you.” Dylan finally let Blake’s hands go, and Blake found himself missing his touch. Dylan sat back on the tarp, still close enough to feel the fire, and started rummaging in his back again. He pulled out an insulated bag that contained their meager dinner and passed it to Blake.

He took it gratefully, sitting down next to him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me.”

Dylan pulled out his own bag of food, setting it in his lap before reaching back into his bag. He pulled out two thermoses, placing them in the snow to both hold them up and chill them. “And why wouldn’t I?”

“Not too long ago, you agreed there wasn’t much of a chance for us,” he said slowly, eyes on the fire as he took a bite of his food, chewing slowly. He was approaching dangerous territory, but it was territory he needed to tread. They’d been dancing around it recently, and with all the things he was feeling and finding hard to ignore, he needed to clear the air. Needed to know if it was okay to pursue Dylan. He needed to know if he stood a chance before he put his heart on the line.

Dylan hummed, opening one of the thermoses and holding it near his mouth without drinking. “I said I was done chasing you. Done trying to force you to remember me.” He glanced sideways at Blake, hazel eyes reflecting the firelight. Shadows from his smile stretched across his cheeks. “I didn’t say I wasn’t interested.”

Blake tilted his chin, a slow smile curving his lips. “Good to know.”

Dylan took a long drink from the thermos and handed it over to Blake. He only got it halfway to his mouth before the smell of it hit him hard. He blinked. “Whiskey?”

Dylan shrugged.

“You’re getting me drunk, alone in the woods. You are flirting with me.”

Another shrug. Another small smile. “Perhaps.”

They talked while they ate, passing the whiskey between them along with the second flask full of water. Blake explained the work he’d done up the tower, and while he knew Dylan didn’t understand the intricacies of it, he listened, looking interested. He told Dylan about the things he’d been doing over the past few months with the witches, meeting the different covens and the treaties he’d helped form.

In return, Dylan told him the things he’d been up to in the past half a year. He told Blake of the work he’d been doing with the security team. He told him small anecdotes of getting used to having a baby around again, and how Lily had been an extremely eager helper. He told him all the things he’d missed in Adrien’s life, and Blake felt twin pangs of pride and guilt.

By the time the moon was high over head and the fire was burning low, whiskey warm in their veins, they decided it was best to at least attempt to get some sleep before dawn broke.

“You only packed one sleeping bag.” Blake said, pausing on his hands and knees as Dylan unzipped the bag. He eyed him with one eyebrow raised, a lazy grin stretching his lips. His tongue felt heavy, eyelids drooping as he lazily drawled the words. “Gonna make me freeze?”

“I told you I’d fight the cold for you, didn’t I? I won’t let you freeze.”

Blake chuckled, leaning forward to bump his head against Dylan’s back, playfully nuzzling between his shoulder blades. “My hero. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you planned this.”

“You were supposed to bring your own sleeping bag if you wanted one.”

“You didn’t tell me that. You said you would take care of necessities for the night.”

“Did I? I must have forgotten.” It was delivered flatly, with an offhanded innocence that felt false.

Blake hooked his chin over Dylan’s shoulder. “So you were planning this.”

“Perhaps.” He unzipped the bag all the way, laying it out like a blanket. He peeled off his jacket and boots, setting them aside before crawling beneath it. “Coming?” he asked, holding it up in an open invitation.

In his haste, Blake struggled to unlace his boots, smiling when he heard Dylan’s soft chuckle. When he finally managed to get them off, he shrugged off his jacket and crawled in beside him. The omega turned his back to him, and Blake took that as permission to snuggle up against him, fitting their bodies together. Together they were warm, the heat from where their bodies touched easily warding off the chill of the night air.

Blake sighed contently, fitting his body behind Dylan’s, tangling their legs together and nuzzling his nose in the back of his neck. One arm lay beneath the omega’s head, while the other was draped over his waist, pulling him until their bodies were flush. Dylan squirmed, but he didn’t protest. If anything, he wriggled closer. He let out a deep breath that Blake couldn’t hear but could easily feel.

“Is this the part where you seduce me?” Dylan asked, voice heavy with sleep and muffled by the sleeping bag.

Blake chuckled, breath drifting out over the skin of Dylan’s neck. “As tempting as that might be, no. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it properly.”

There was a long pause before a curious, “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m going to woo you.”

“Woo me?”

“Yup, so be prepared to be swept off your feet.”

“You’re confident.”

“People tell me I’ve done it before and I intend to do it again.” He pressed a soft and lingering kiss to the side of Dylan’s neck, feeling the omega shiver against him. “Goodnight, Dylan.”

“Goodnight, Blake.”