Boundaries

Chapter 22

"Come on, Dyl, that was weak." Orion taunts, his lips crawling up into a smile at the frank outrage on his friends face.

"I'll show you weak." Dylan mutters, lunging suddenly.

Orion is big and strong for his age, as all Alpha's should be. Something his father constantly reminds him of.

But freshly turned fifteen, Dylan is deceptively strong and fast. And absurdly handsome, Orion thinks to himself. Growing into his features more and more every day, he has the face of a young man. To Orion's delight, he's kept his cheeky dimple and the freckles that scatter across his nose, small glimpses of the boy that came before him.

Dylan takes advantage of his best friend's distraction.

All of the breath in Orion's chest whooshes out of him as his back thuds against the floor, reminding him that Dylan's not just fast, but quick as lightning. However, this doesn't stop him from lifting his arm, shoving his lightweight best friend off him with ease.

They continue to tussle, neither of them holding back, and whilst outsiders might see it as a violent, hate fuelled battle to the death, each boy is smiling wildly beneath their sweat-ridden brows.

With the exception of a few warriors, and their dads, they can't really go for it with anyone else.

Orion tries not to think about the way none of the warriors' skin tingles beneath his, or how none of his opponents make his heart hammer in his chest the way Dylan does.

Dylan pounces upon Orion's sudden preoccupation again, flinging his body weight at him and pinning the larger boy to the ground with tactical placement of his knees and elbows. When he glances up, their faces are just inches apart.

The air in Orion's lungs escapes him once more, but this time it has nothing to do with the impact. Dylan's eyes are shining like the depths of the ocean, his wide smile pulling his gorgeous dimple from deep within his cheek. His wayward hair is plastered to the sweat on his forehead.

Orion can feel his chest heaving against his own, their bodies pressed together.

"Nice one." Orion breathes, trying to distract himself from the undeniable excitement growing in his groin.

"You're getting slower in your old age." Dylan says tauntingly, smirking as Orion rolls his eyes.

"I'm turning seventeen, not seventy." He mutters but Dylan shrugs. The idea of his birthday is usually something Orion shrugs off, but this one looms large with unspoken importance, and both boys are silently aware of it. With this birthday comes the dreaded inevitability of Orion's mate. There's a change coming, they can both feel it.

Dylan makes no move to let Orion up, his body pulsing and thrumming with electricity at their proximity. He'd carelessly accepted the crush he has on Orion years ago. Nothing seems to make it ebb or fade, and the reality of the fact that they are sworn enemies sobers any daydreams of their potential relationship.

But still, it doesn't hurt to look. And he does, at every opportunity, while he still can.

Dylan's eyes roam Orion's face now, appreciating the way that age is changing the shape of his face. Each day his jaw is a little sharper, his cheeks a little less chubby. His hazel eyes are gorgeous, Dylan's always thought so, and his lips are perfectly full and round, regardless of how pompous the words are that come from them.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Orion suddenly asks, his voice strained.

Dylan's eyes trail back to Orion's lazily, shifting his body so that he is pressed closer to Orion's warmth.