I couldn’t have imagined what we did would have such a profound effect on Tsuki. Sure, it was intimate, and I’d enjoyed both the pleasure of the act and how much closer I felt to the omega since I had taken him to bed. But Tsuki… was different.

Stronger.

It was obvious the first morning. After the first time we had fallen into bed together, we’d taken a break for food and to run with the dogs, only to end up right back in the same place. We secluded ourselves away from the rest of the pack; Alyx was probably smart enough to take the hint, and nobody bothered us. We woke in a tangle, laughing as we awkwardly found our way out of the mess we’d made of the sheets.

Seeing Tsuki walk around in one of my shirts was even more enticing than it had been before. The fact that he was standing in my kitchen, humming softly under his breath as he made breakfast for us, was both cute and vaguely erotic. Which didn’t surprise me; for some reason, every movement seemed to hold a hint of seduction to it. It reminded me of his mother, of every other omega I had ever encountered. It was normal for the rank, though it wasn’t something I would have expected from Tsuki. He seemed calmer, more confident in his own skin, and there was a proud look in his eyes every time he caught my gaze straying to the glimpses of soft, pale skin which were just barely revealed every time he stretched his arms up over his head.

My frightened, traumatized little omega was growing into his identity more strongly with every day, and I was proud- and slightly worried, because I didn’t want that growth to take him away from me.

Tsuki seemed to sense my worry, giving me a warm smile as he came around the counter to put my plate in front of me. His lips pressed to my cheek for a moment before he bent down with a scrap of bacon in his hand. He’d become accustomed to my pets quickly, and they almost seemed to like him more than me. Especially when he was offered them fried meat.

He was grinning when he stood back up, raking his hair back from his face. “Eat up. I’m sure you need the strength.”

“Me?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re the one whose voice is rasping.”

Tsuki flushed, soft color spreading over his face. “Well whose fault is that, exactly? I distinctly remember telling you it was too much.”

“You enjoyed it,” I answered with a teasing smile, and was rewarded with his flustered huff as he turned away from me. The quick movement made him wince, a hand pressing to his lower back, and I felt a twinge of guilt. I had probably been a little too enthusiastic. But to be fair, I hadn’t known it had been his first time until I’d seen how much it hurt him at first. “Are you okay? I have heating pads in the laundry room.”

Tsuki shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I’m a wolf, we heal fast. It feels much better than it did this morning- I was in agony.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, glad my dark skin kept my face from turning hot red like Tsuki’s. “I didn’t mean to be so rough.”

“Rough? I though my back was going to break!” Tsuki’s words might have worried me, if he wasn’t holding back laughter. “Really, I’m fine, I promise. Though… I might take another sick day. You should go to school, mister. I know you’ve missed classes while I was healing.”

“Oh, you’re my mother now?” I rolled my eyes at him, but it felt good to have somebody worry about me. It had been a long time; not to say that the rest of the pack didn’t worry about me, I just didn’t want them to. I wanted Tsuki to worry about me, because that meant he cared. Meant he liked me enough to be concerned about me. “What reason do I even have to go to school? I told you, I already graduated.”

“You also said you wanted to finish the business degree anyway,” he reminded me as he took the stool next to mine, comfortably close. “Besides, I have to go back. I’m not going to be your housewife, Viktor. I’ll finish out my degree, and that mean somebody has to go make excuses for us and get all the classwork we’ve missed. I think that’s the least you can do for me today, don’t you think?” He knocked his knee into mine, snickering at the deadly look I shot his way.

It gave way to an exasperated sigh. “I guess,” I grumbled, hiding how pleased I was. I would whine and complain because it was expected of me, but I was glad he trusted me to get his schoolwork. It would protect his future- and I knew I was reaching, but he was entrusting me with the rest of his life, even if in a small way. God, how far gone was I that I was turning something as stupid as homework into something romantic.

There was something wrong with me, and I had a suspicion it had something to do with my happy animal side. My intense connection with my wolf was the source of my power as a child of the stars, and the wolf’s instincts crept into my life. It had me wary of what I did around Tsuki. Not that I thought there was any falsity to my feelings for him; the affection was all mine. The fierce need to claim and protect, however, were all wolf and could very well get me in trouble.

“Oh, don’t be a baby,” Tsuki scolded, getting up and padding across the kitchen with the same muted sensuality which had come to infuse even his smallest movements. “You’ll be fine. I’ll keep an eye on Cindy and Camellia, we’ll have a great time. And we’ll be waiting right here when you get back.”

I couldn’t say anything for a long moment, the growing urge to put my mark on him overwhelming me. Did he even realize what he’d just said? He’d wait at home for me like a good housewife, the picture perfect werewolf bride as I was sure they were raised in his pack, submissive and there to make children and keep the house clean. Revered and treated like princesses, spoiled to hell, but never given power to make real change. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted it, and I had to wrestle with my animal consciousness to get myself back in a human state of mind.

“Fine, fine. But you’re making dinner again,” I bargained as I moved to deposit my dishes in the sink with his.

Tsuki laughed, without hiding his mouth or shifting his eyes away, so different from the way he acted when I had first met him. “Somebody’s got to make use of this gorgeous kitchen you were going to let rust away to nothing.”

“I use it!” I protested, and fidgeted under his suspicious stare. “I mean…. I use the microwave and the dishwasher.”

“Figures. And it’s a wonder how you haven’t wasted away,” Tsuki said, poking a finger at my chest. “I’ll have you fattened up in no time, just you wait. Maybe you’ll get really lucky and I’ll find a recipe for cookies while you’re gone.”

I brightened immediately at the prospect of cookies. Not just for the sake of the food itself, but also because the image of Tsuki baking in an apron was too adorable to forget. “I’m sure there’s one or two online. You can even find recipes that are safe for the dogs.”

“Really?” Tsuki’s face lit up, and I couldn’t help laughing, even if I felt a little bad for the way he blushed. “What? I like the dogs, okay? I’d have had a dozen of them if I had known they were like this.”

I smiled and reached out to pull him close; though I was prepared to give up on it if he stiffened, he folded into my arms with a happy sigh that made my heart skip a beat. “You can always adopt one of your own if you move here, you know.”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Viktor,” Tsuki muttered, whacking his palm against my chest. “I’ll make my choice soon. Just… let me weigh the options a little more, okay? It’s not like I’ve really had time to process everything. I crashed my car, almost died, and found out that not only is my mother alive but she and my father hate each other enough to threaten each other. And then we… ah… did the horizontal tango-”

I snorted, and Tsuki whacked me again.

“Jerk. It’s a lot, okay? Give me a few days to figure things out again. You’ll be the first to know, I promise. Even before Alyx,” Tsuki said, pushing away from me and waving his hands in a shooing motion. “Now, get gone. You have schoolwork to collect, before I fall behind irreparably.”

“I don’t think that’s even possible. You’re stupid smart, it’s why all the teachers love you.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, idiot,” Tsuki muttered, but I knew he was pleased with the compliment when he focused a little too intently on the poodle who was scratching at his leg to get his attention. He ignored me to pick up the dog, cooing at her and laughing when it sent her into a fit of frantic wiggling and whining.

I understood a dismissal when I saw one, and snuck forward to press a quick kiss to his forehead before I beat my retreat; the soft look in his eyes was worth that third whack before I left the room. My keys and shoes were waiting neatly by the front door, and I was gone before I could find a reason to delay any longer.

Luckily, the school wasn’t far from the edge of Alyx’s territory; being a banned pack wiped from history had its benefits. I only had to survive a few hours, that was all. Grab some course materials, make sure I had everything written down for Tsuki, and then I could run right back to him.

If I stopped to think about it, I would have been concerned about stepping onto his pack’s territory, but I didn’t. It would have saved me a hell of a lot of trouble if I had. But I wouldn’t realize that until a hallway floor was covered in blood and I feared for my life for the first time in years.