"Your hair smell like sweat"

"Then why don't you stop smelling it?"

"But, it's right in front of my nose"

"Then fucking let go of me"

"Hehe. No can do" Silver rolled his eyes and put his hands down with a sigh, facing defeat again after his millionth attempt. He was stuck in between Arion's legs who had his back stick to the tree and hands on either side of Silver's slim waist bringing him closer. He had his chin settled on Silver's shoulder, blowing air occasionally to his sweated neck but never letting him go, at least not anytime soon. "Plus I like the way it smells" Arion added with a proud grin.

"You are gross" Silver shivers. It was boiling in California. The weather had got so handsy in the woods with thunderous rain a day and then the sun slow dancing in the sky on the other day. It becomes utterly impossible to breathe when a stupid hot-blooded wolf refuses to let you go.

"You know, Silver?" Arion started making the other wolf groan internally. They have been doing this "you know, Silver" loop for an hour now.

"No, I don't and I don't even want to know" he states trying his best to remove the dominant beta's arms but couldn't.

"Then you should certainly need to know this. 'Cause if you don't then this question will keep striking you in the middle of the night which will make you unable to sleep. Then you will keep rolling to your sides trying to doze off but couldn't. Then you will have to switch on your lights, find your phone and call me to ask what was I going to say at the moment but you didn't let me. Then I will have to turn my lights, put my sleep aside and tell you what I am supposed to tell you now. So, I should explain it right now to save yours and my precious sleep from getting ruined" Arion finishes with a grin and without a huff of breath even though he said all that bullshit in one breath. Silver just blinks at the man with disgust and more.

"You should tell what you eat for breakfast because it makes some fabulous reaction in your stomach which indeed makes it impossible for you to SHUT UP" the recessive wolf sighs.

"Oh, I had eggs with maple syrup and bacon with some salted peanut butter. It was heaven" Arion proudly states recalling the wonderful breakfast he had.

"That should be a crime!" the other wolf almost threw up at the thought of the neutral taste of eggs mixed with the sweetness of maple syrup and he didn't even want to talk about the other combination. "Anyways, what do you want me to know?" At this point, Silver didn't even expect anything sensible from his mate.

"See, I knew you would be curious" Arion chimes with glittery happiness which Silver replies with a "whatever". "And..... I forgot what I wanted you to know" a stupid grin still plastered on his face making Silver furious. He glared, turning in the beta's hold, with his face burning red.

"I will kill you" he chokes on the beta's neck which only results in Arion breaking down in fits of laughter. The hold was anything but tight, more like tickling him. Watching Arion laugh carelessly a nostalgic smile pulls on Silver's lips before he starts chuckling and then laughing with the same tempo as his mate.

Few seconds into the laughing ocean, Arion stops just to look at his beautiful mate giggle in his arms. His body burns with the desire to kiss those lips but he hated that intention because it would gulp down his mate's laugh. Which was too precious to stop. Resting his head back on the bark, not moving a single muscle, and without blinking an eye he watches as Silver's expressions change. He drags him back to the days when these things were absolutely familiar for the pair.

Sitting around the lakeside, playing with the soil, talking gibberish, and laughing their worries out. But, what changed? The fact that Arion had to leave because the elders wanted him to? Or then, he couldn't get in touch with Silver at all and had to come to this world? What did he even do to make Silver hate him this much?

Silver's laugh comes to a halt with big drops of tears rolling down his cheek which he wasn't even conscious of. His expression change from happiness to grief. "Why?" the words hurt Arion like an arrow that he didn't even know was coming his way. The alpha cries hitting Arion on the chest continuously with all his strength and, very hard. "W-why?" his voice break shaking the wolf by the shirt and then burying his face in it. "Why did you leave me?" he sobs, his words coming out muffled, further shredding beta's heart into chunks.

Arion straights up from his position and brings his hands from his mate's waist to the drenched face, he tries to hold the red cheeks between his palms but Silver slaps away the hands and stands back from the wolf. "Silver-" a hand raised against the beta and in between them, stops him from making any further move. "You know I was taken by the board" he still tries to explain.

"And I-I begged you to stay" the anger, agony, and all other feelings were all jumbled up. Neither Ezra nor Silver could understand their emotional balance. Everything was all over the place with heart beating hard against the chest, beads of sweat dripping down their forehead, legs almost giving out due to the overwhelming stress. This was the first time Silver has ever confronted the beta about the thing that happened back then in the before life.

Silver fell onto the ground with his knees hitting the floor, he folded them back and supported his body with his palms which were pushed against the muddy place, the small but sharp pebbles break through the skin and drawing out blood. "It would've been different if y-you were one to hurt me. I wouldn't have let them do it " the alpha with always a strong-front was now a mess.

The last words made Arion lose his calm. He rushed to his mate's side and held him up by the shoulders. "Who did what?" he spits. He was furious yet confused. "Why would I hurt you?" he shook Silver desperately. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, SILVER?" he yelled louder than a roar making all the animals running for a shelter. The birds flew away, the rabbits ran into their openings, the deer ran for their lives, and Silver stopped crying. He looked at Arion with the eyes holding the same emotion when they first met.

"What. Did. They. Do?" Arion made sure to spilt every word in the sentence. He held his mate close to his face with eyes glowing yellow. Silver's eyes danced between the beta's and he didn't see the usual mischievousness, the eyes only showed raw anger. "You will answer me, won't you?" he asked in a calmer voice.

Silver nodded his head, as Arion dropped his hands from his mate's shoulders. "I-" he hiccupped, gathering his sentiments and trying his best to stop crying. "T-the elders asked me to deliver the message to Aziel that his beta would be out for a few days" the younger alpha started taking a deep breath.

Arion knew when this happened, he was packing his bag for a short trip with the elders to the outskirts for his training for the beta position. Aziel was just back from his training, so he most probably must not have heard about his beta's departure. "I was on my way to your room, but I heard you near the staircase" Silver's voice was changing, there were no more lumps and no more cries.

He remembered stopping by the staircase and hugging Arion a "bye" and an "I will miss you". So, he jumped on his toes and neared the place humming the melody he and Arion made the last night when Silver pleaded with him not to go. "I stopped when I heard you talking to Marium" the alpha wolf made eye contact with his mate who looked puzzled. "I heard how you asking them to get rid of me because I was too annoying and would be a bother for your beta position" he spits venom burning everything between them mentally.

The words were like acid to the ears, Arion couldn't believe what he just heard. Or was he already disabled "I never-"

*********WARNING***********

"No, you did. I heard you, Arion. I even smelled you!" he screamed. "Right, after you left that day. Marium with all other wolves of your "group" he scoffed. "-attacked me in my sleep. They trashed me with cables, leashes, wooden sticks, and whatnot. They cut me through, with the knives, scarping until drawing out blood, and until I couldn't feel anything but numbness. And I couldn't do anything!!" Silver growled his eyes glowing the beautiful color which looked soulless now.

Arion was hit by a storm. Something like this happened and he had no idea at all. Even when he came back, Silver distanced himself away from him and avoided him until the day when he actually left for this world. "I-I" He stumbled on his feet. "Why didn't you fight back?" Even been a recessive Silver was a strong wolf. Fighting off few other wolves wouldn't have been a big issue.

"BECAUSE THE ONE I LOVED THE MOST WANTED ME TO DEAD!" the phrases flew out of the alpha's numb mouth making it impossible for his mate to miss them. "I pleaded them to stop, I called for you. I begged for you, but you didn't come" the anger turned tears were falling now. "Their sinister laughs and chuckles as they watched me squirm for h-help- I-"

Ezra was senseless, he had no idea what to feel anymore. He knew nothing and he kept pestering his wolf to open up, talk to him, and makeup with Arion. He was being pathetic. He hated himself was ever asking Silver to talk about his past life. He was being a most useless human, a wolf could ever get.

"I'm so sorry" Ezra cried in the back which was felt through their bond.

...................

Silver neither did nor can say anything. He kept quiet while he watching Arion have his own time regaining his posture and absorbing the vicious words. Unknowingly, the alpha wolf walked to his mate with trippy steps and settled his hands on Arion's chest. "Why did you do that?" he pleaded the words out with a bitter smile and a tear sliding down his cheek, then his eyes roll back, passing out in Arion's arms.

---------------------------

"He's just exhausted with the overwhelming emotions. He'll be fine" Tib says putting down the wrist of the alpha. Easton was sitting on the couch with his fingers intertwined and hands settled on the knees while he watched Arion and Tib converse. "Please stop with that gaze. You will burn a hole in his head which will be very vulgar to use, to be honest," the half-vampire commented towards the older alpha who kept staring at Arion with a ticked jaw.

"What did you do to him?" Easton used his alpha tone because he wanted an answer as soon as possible. He couldn't afford to stay static when his baby brother was passed out, pale on the bed. And also had blood on his hands.

"Not pale, Easton. He just sleeping" Tib interrupts. "This overprotective drama queen. Or King. I don't really care" he thought.

"Arion" a warning growl left the alpha when his beta didn't reply to him.

"I hurt him m-mentally, alpha" he admitted honestly, he blamed himself entirely about how the situation turned out. The one word "hurt", gained him a massive smack right in the jaw. He hasn't yet regained from one and another one was delivered on the opposite side.

"Easton stop it!" Tib yelled grabbing on the wolf's arm but he was too angry to think of anything else. He stopped himself after one more punch which didn't draw out blood but was strong enough to leave a bruise.

"Now, tell me what you did," Easton asked in a calmer voice. He loved Ezra very much but that didn't mean he could hurt Duncan. Those punches were directed towards someone who hurt his brother but not his best friend. And everyone in the room knew that faultlessly. Arion regained from the peps and adjusted his jaw.

Arion sighed and walked to the coffee table to gulp down some water. He hissed when the water passed through the cut of his lip. Putting the water mug down, he plopped on the chair. "There is this big stupid misunderstanding!" he yelled running a hand over his face.

"Wow, tea" Tib perks up and sits adjacent to the beta on his chair. Arion glared at the vampire but the proud man didn't care and smiled it off.

"Is Alpha Aziel there?" the beta asks as Easton nods and changes form. Amber eyes glowed which showed the arrival of the alpha wolf. Taking long strides towards the seating pair, Aziel makes himself comfortable against the book rack. "Alpha, remember when I had to leave for the "beta training camp"?" Aziel, being the man of few words just nodded his remembrance.

"Apparently then Silver was attacked" he states which gains another nod from the alpha. It was that evening after Arion left, Aziel found Silver wrecked near the terrace. Blood running down from his open mouth as he groaned for the other wolves to stop. Several cuts were made through his body with leaking red liquid.

"I caught Marium, Beckett, and the others battering him" Aziel admits.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Arion rapidly stood from his seat. Aziel growled at the casual tone but it did not flinch Arion. He stood determined because this matter involved his mate bond. He ain't backing up now.

Aziel took a deep breath, calming himself. "Silver requested me not to tell you" Arion huffed dramatically, sinking back down. "And alpha keeps the secrets of his pack" he states proudly. The beta wolf sighs and looks at Silver.

"That sleeping beauty there" he points at the alpha who was snoozing peacefully. "thinks that I planned a cold-blooded murder for him" Arion had nothing functioning inside his brain. Silver hated him for all these years without even confirming what the truth was.

"Oh, did you?" Tib asks as his curiosity bubbles up more.

"Of course not!" the beta yells making Tib sigh in disappointment.

"Guess, I got no more tea here" he stands up from the seat and makes it vanish in the air, and walks downstairs of his house.

"And that day you were packing for the trip with me" Aziel states. As far as Aziel remembers he walked into Arion's room to watch him packing stuff and then helped him through.

"Exactly!!" the beta wolf chimes. "Thank goddess, at least you know" it was a relief that his best friend and alpha trusted him. "What did happen to the culprits?" he asks sure that they must have been punished.

"Oh, they were suspended from the pack and declared rogue. I made sure not to take them in even in the afterlife" Aziel explains.

"Only eliminated? Not executed? They manipulated my scent, my voice, and almost killed my mate wolf. How could they only get removed?" It was a common thought for the beta that someone who hurt his mate should not be eligible to take any more puff of breath.

"No can do. The elders ordered to do so and I was still a training alpha" Aziel sighed sitting on the couch. "Well, you will have some explaining to do when he wakes up"

"I hope he trusts me" Arion nods then smiles looking at his love.

-----------------------

"I loved this, mom. It still tastes amazing as it did back then" Blake side-hugged Cora who was collecting their plates to the sink. Cora made them some lunch which Blake requested to be Chicken Alfredo. "I will do the dishes" the alpha announces running into the kitchen. Easton was called on an urgent issue by Tib which only left Christopher, Cora, and Blake in the house. Chris refused to leave his son's side but he didn't even have a choice to open his mouth. He stayed quiet and gawked Cora's every move from far.

"My son is all responsible now, huh" she stroked the alpha's hair who blushed at the compliment. "In no time you will start a family, have kids-" she stops herself from continuing by slapping a hand over her mouth.

Blake's hand moments pause hearing the words. Kids?

"I'm so sorry, Blake" the mother concerned upon Blake. "I didn't mean to-"

"Nah, it's all good, mom. I'm fine" Blake smiled it off. But, did it hurt him? Yes. Blake always dreamt of a perfect family which he didn't have growing up. And kids were always there in the frame. He adored them. The first time he met Elena (Easton's sister) his heart melted in seconds. Kids were his weakness.

"Though, Blake, the moon goddess didn't do you guys right. Two alpha without an offspring. You would've been better without a female mate than with someone like Easton. He is just a big mouth alp-"

"No, mom!" Blake raised his voice a little. And it took Cora by surprise because the alpha was being only sweet all this time. She thought he would listen to her without a word. But, guess she thought wrong.

"You are wrong, mom. Very wrong" he says putting down the plates and wiping his hands off. "Easton is perfect. He has always been. He is hardworking, responsible, caring, loving, and whatnot. He got every quality a wonderful alpha should possess. And he is a splendid mate. He was there for me when I needed him the most.

He puts me first whenever he had to take any decision. He takes care of my meals, checks the blanket in the middle of the night, cuts down the extra work just to spend some extra time with me" Blake smiles getting a bit emotional. "He gave me the equal status of an alpha though he is my senior in everything. And he had no obligation to do that. He is everything I wanted, mom. So, it's more like Easton with a female mate and kids would have been better but he is stuck with me forever. He is mine now"

He pulls himself off from the counter and exits the kitchen with a smile. He stops in his tracks when he sees his mate leaning against the staircase. "W-when did you come?" Blake shuttered with a blush.

"Umm... When you were walking out of the kitchen" Easton replies, his hands folded. Blake takes a breather and nods. "Or when you said that I'm now yours" he continues. "Or when you said how I tuck you into the bed in the middle of the night" a smirk on his lips while Blake squeezes his eyes in embarrassment. "Or when you said I was perfect?"

"From the start then," Blake says with a fake cool face.

"Yep," the older alpha says popping the "p" with a wider smirk.

"Great, now you know everything" Blake states rushing to the stairs and then towards their room with bright red cheeks and a happy Easton running after him. The bedroom door is slammed out open then shut with Blake caged against it. Sparkles of current erupt between them as Easton goes right for the lips he missed for the last twelve hours when they weren't speaking. Blake craved these lips of his mate and melted against them the second they touched.

Putting his hands around Easton's neck, he pulls the alpha closer. Easton slips his hand around Blake left thigh to wrap it around his leg making the position more intimate. Once, Blake locks his leg to Easton's right, the older alpha transfers his hands to the younger's ass kneading it. Blake buck at the contact and deepens the kiss.

He turns his head to the right and grabs a fistful of Easton's hair while his left leg tickled his mate's leg. Their tongues intertwine together and no one of them hurried to take action. Blake takes Easton's tongues between his lips and starts sucking onto it making goosebumps rise all over the alpha's body. His hand inside Blake's shirt come to a halt while the other stop patting his ass. Easton pushed himself more into his mate making their lower halves meet and pleasure shoot.