No Better Than The Beasts

Bonus Chapter 1

(Happy Fourth of JULY!! ANd for all non-American readers...Happy random day of the week!!)

Jake observed Derrick as his prince munched on an apple, reading a book in the library. The granny smith apple matched so perfectly with the pale green of his soulmate's eyes. The sun shined through the open window behind him, like a gate of heaven pronouncing an angel. And, completely oblivious to Jake's staring, was Jake's angel, reading his favorite book...again. Jake had given up on trying to read such complicated books; he had the ability to read basic sentences, but nothing of that which Derrick could read. However, Jake was perfectly content with watching his prince instead of reading the book that was in his hand. He liked watching Derrick's focused eyes, his interested gaze, his blonde hair getting lit up by the morning sun as dust flittered around him like fairy dust, and- oh boy- those lips as he munched on his apple. So cute. So quaint. So perfect.

It had been a while since the war, since David and Nathan left to the kingdom of Mare, and since his mother's funeral. He sometimes felt lonely. Sure, he had the pack, which was like family to him, but other than that, all he had was Derrick. And Derrick was perfect. But Derrick had responsibility. He was soon to become king, and his father had gotten harsher on his training. Jake had used the time Derrick was away to explore the castle; he still sometimes got lost, but it was easier to find his way now. However, in times like these, when Derrick had no duties, all Jake wanted was his attention. The werewolf tried to give his soulmate some space, but at the same time, he had been staring at Derrick for the past twenty minutes.

Derrick finally sighed a heavy sigh and slammed his book shut, throwing his apple in the trash by the bench he sat in. He looked at Jake with a nonplussed expression, and simply said, "If you want cuddles, you could just ask."

"I-I don't really want cuddles," Jake sighed and sat back, shutting his unread book as well.

"Then what do you want, Puppy?" Derrick asked, arms crossed. His prince had gotten used to calling him Puppy, and Jake's heart soared above the stars whenever he heard it. Derrick was his Kitten, and he was Derrick's Puppy.

Yeah, what DO you want, Jakey-Poo? Pickle asked after Derrick's question, If not cuddles, then kisses? GASP. Sex, maybe?! OH BOY! Please let it be sex, Jakey-Poo! I need a slice of my Princey-Pie before I DIE. We hafta be the longest werewolf to ever survive without a marked mate. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

Not until Derrick is ready, Jake replied firmly, then heard Pickle groan.

"I-I don't know," Jake said to Derrick out loud, "Maybe- Maybe something other than cuddles?"

Like naked, adult cuddles? Pickle chimed.

"Like-Like a kiss?" Derrick's eyes furrowed, "You know, we've kissed a couple of times already. You can kiss me when you want to. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I-I know," Jake said, biting his lip, "I'm just- it's stupid but- I've been craving...more...recently."

"More?"Derrick's eyebrows rose, and the prince started to shift uncomfortably on the bench, "I-I don't know if I'm ready for like- that yet."

"I-I know, I was just- forget about it," Jake sighed and closed his eyes, "I was just getting too... excited... you could say. Pickle has been filling my head with thoughts that have been getting harder to resist. I'm sorry, Kitten."

Jake heard shifting and opened his eyes to see Derrick by his side. His prince placed his hand on Jake's and smiled softly, but in his eyes, there was also concern.

"Am I going too slow?" he asked, which made Jake's eyes widen and his head shake frantically.

"No! I wasn't alluding to- to sex, I just wanted to try something other than just kissing, "Jake said, but then quickly added, "B-But, if you're not ready for that, that's okay! Going slow is okay."