Chase (Chasing Tails Rewritten)

Ten - Choking

 Dresden leans against the counter, running his fingers through his hair as he drinks from a nearly empty beer bottle. The alcohol inside will hardly do a thing to him but the bitter taste is something his beast likes. Every time he blinks, his mind is constantly showing him the image of Julie looking around her room. She was so serene and so beautiful that it took everything in him to hold himself back from touching her. Even his wolf, who has been adamant of giving her time, struggled to keep his distance.

"You look worked up."

Jack enters the big kitchen, smiling at the older ladies who have taken it upon themselves to cook their meals. He opens the fridge and takes out his own beer before leaning against it and studying Dresden closely.

"Are things going well up there with Julie after all?" He grins, teasing his Alpha.

"She's staying in bed."

Jack nods, taking a drink. "So she knows about you being her mate?"

"Not yet."

Jack chokes. "You're joking."

"No." Dresden swallows down his own gulp of beer. He can feel his beta staring at him and he knows exactly what he's thinking. "I decided to wait until she's settled."

"You mean you choked." Jack snorts. "You chickened out."

Dresden snarls. "No, I-"

"Dresden, that's not good." Jack scolds him, ignoring his arguments. "The longer you put it off, the more dramatic it's going to be for her and the more she'll be at risk with everyone else."

"Well, I can't exactly just tell her after everything that's happened!"

"That's the perfect time to tell her!" Jack scoffs. "If she knows her mate is right next to her, she'll be more opened to trusting you. She'll get over things quicker and feel more secured. Especially around these horny bastards."

"Or it'll scare her even more," Dresden grumbles. "She's already terrified of me. She knows it's mating season and if she knows about me, she'd feel even more fear."

"Fine," Jack sighs, shaking his head. It's clear he still doesn't agree with Dresden but he knows better than to continue arguing with his Alpha. "Let her heal her wounds and then tell her. The more you keep it off, the harder it'll be to be around her. You might slip and actually hurt her. Or someone else will since she hasn't been claimed."

"I know. But you'll keep an eye on her when I'm not around." Dresden assures himself.

Jack chuckles. "Yeah, why did you ask me that? I'm flattered and all but you know me. I'm unmated. It's mating season. And Julie is very pretty - beautiful, I imagine when she's in better health. Are things connecting?"

Dresden releases a deep, hearty laugh. It's dark and intimidating as ever and just as quickly as it's there, it's gone. Turning into a snarl, Dresden sharply traps Jack against the fridge, his eyes completely black.

"You touch her and you're dead," Dresden warns before twisting his lips into an awkwardly scary smirk and slapping Jack on his cheek a few times. "I trust you know that already."

Dresden leaves Jack there to finish his beer and heads back upstairs to check on Julie. It's late in the evening and he's more than sure that she's already settled in but he hasn't heard anything about her and it doesn't seem like she's stepped out of her room. As he makes his way up the stairs to the top floor, his pack greets him with submissive bows and acknowledgments. His eyes stray a little to focus in on Lea, remembering how the she-wolf had his mate cornered up against a tree. The she-wolf doesn't notice him closing in on her right away but by the time she does, she can't escape.