“And what am I supposed to do until then?” he asked, mostly to humor her. If he had the opportunity to get even, he would take it. He was sure she knew that.
“Rest? Heal? Not get yourself killed? I thought that was sort of a common sense thing,” she countered, eyes rolling. If she could die, she would have sworn he’d be the death of her.
That was something Ark was definitely right about. Kelly hadn’t even bothered with breakfast before he’d gone out, hellbent on trying to fight his natural urges before he knew really what they were.
“Don’t tell Ari or she’ll come around trying to fatten me up.”
“Do you really think she didn’t notice you out there all day with no breaks taken? Not much gets passed her and you should know that one by now.” There was a reason he trusted Ari and Adam as much as he did. They didn’t much if anything.
“It’s fine. Honestly. I’ve done worse at the gym.” He laughed softly, although Ark was probably right and he was underestimating how much strain he’d actually put himself under.
Sleep did sound pretty good, however, now that he was starting to relax again.
“Why am I not surprised?” A low chuckle passed his lips as he shook his head and stood.
“You also need to eat. I don’t think I’ve seen you touch food or water all day.” It was concerning, to say the least, but an easy enough fix. If only everything were that simple.
Kelly nodded again, a small smile curling his lip. In all honesty, if he listened to the wolf alone, he had the urge to just plunge headlong into things, but his human restraint won through a little on acknowledging that it would take some getting used to.
“They’re okay. A little sore, but they’re not bothering me, really.” He answered, only now really registering the physical discomfort of the injuries he’d caused himself.
“I’ll see if Esther or Hattie have anything for that later.” He knew he didn’t, but his hands were calloused, too many years of hard labor toughening his skin enough to take damage better.
“For now, you need to rest. You were out there destroying blocks of wood for hours and I cannot imagine how sore your body must be feeling.”
Kelly nodded, keeping his gaze locked with Arkos’s. When the other had pulled away, he’d nearly followed, reluctant to break the kiss, but knowing it was only because Ark wanted to make sure he wasn’t pressuring him in any way had him settling again almost immediately.
“I’ve just… never been with a guy before.” He confessed, feeling a little silly, but he figured honesty was the best option if they were going to make things work. “Never even kissed one before now.”
“We can take this as slowly as you need,” he assured. He meant his word, he always did, but this was different than any of the usual promises he made to pack.
“How are your hands?”
Though the second kiss was still gentle and tender, it took Kelly’s breath away, making his need spike again, but this time he recognised it for what it was and that, along with the physical contact, made it more bearable.
It also suddenly made complete sense why he’d never felt comfortable when he’d tried to be with girls. This just felt so much more right to him and the relief of it almost made him a little teary-eyed.
The scent of Kelly’s emotions was almost overwhelming and Arkos eased back just enough to look at him. His own feelings were laid bare in his gaze as he brushed his thumb over his cheek.
“Are you okay?” That was the one thing that mattered the most to him and he wouldn’t take things any further than Kelly could handle.
The younger wolf reciprocated, trying to quieten the noise in his head and let his instincts tell him what to do. He still felt distressed, but things were starting to unravel and make more sense at least, like a tightly wound spring finally being eased loose bit by bit so it didn’t just break instead.
One hand moved to cup his face, the the second kiss more confident and lingering. He had to swallow back a small whimper, the wolf in him desiring for a faster progression, but Ark had long ago learned to control those damnable urges.
Kelly didn’t know what he was supposed to do from this point on. Things suddenly felt so awkward but all he wanted was for all the frustration and pain to go away.
It didn’t exactly help that Arkos hadn’t actually confirmed whether or not he felt that way, so it left Kelly feeling like he had the werewolf equivalent of an unrequited crush.
Silently, Ark leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Kelly’s, unsure of everything for the first time in decades. The tension in him made it hard to read signals, but he hoping like hell he wasn’t overstepping any boundaries when his lips brushed against Kelly’s.
“Then maybe I should just take the possibly better one out of the shitty odds.” he shrugged, seeing no other option, since if he did fall apart way down the line, it would at least be for a legitimate reason and not because he was denying a part of him that wouldn’t be ignored.
He gave a short nod and reached out, hesitant before his fingers skimmed over one of Kelly’s bandaged hands. He had no doubt that the bandaging would be useless come morning, but it made him feel better to have dressed the wounds for now.
“It’s not a guarantee though, is it?”
He wanted to hold onto there being some possibility he could survive if and when the worst happened, but the odds weren’t favourable either way, especially with how badly he was already suffering.
“Are the chances better than if I try to ignore this?”
“In life, no, not often.”
He was quiet, considering his words and trying to weight the possibilities. There were far too many factors to take into consideration.
“Ignoring it will only make it worse. You’re already beginning to lose control enough to harm yourself. I can’t say for sure on the future, but you stand a better chance of surviving things further down the line if only because we can’t tell the future.”
ofviolentdeath 