Pack Mentality: A Wolf Alone

Chapter 4

When it came to tracking full moons, Seth usually drew a large circle on his calendar, almost like a sideways egg. The actual night of the full moon was always the worst, but the days before and after were touchy too. Sometimes he could feel the effects as early as a week before or as late as a week after, which led to his mother making jokes that drew parallels to menstruation—not really something he needed on quite a few levels.

Sex on a full-moon night was supposedly incredibly risky, and he had yet to try it. The day before was also fraught, but he had managed without any major issues so far. Strangely the day after could be worse, particularly if he didn't have an especially satisfactory run. Then he would be left with an overdose of feral energy that was hard to control. Considering the fight he'd had with the strange werewolves under the full moon, Seth was pretty confident that he had worn down the worst of his edges, but because it was Becky he still worried.

Since Roman and Dean were in the house, they kept it quick and mostly quiet, and Becky was still sprawled across the bed, catching her breath. As much as she teased him about his wolfish energy, she had more than enough to burn herself, and he knew some of that was anger at being excluded. It was something they would have to talk about, but it was hardly fair to bring it up just after sex. She was taking longer than usual to move, though, so Seth got back on the bed, running a hand over her leg. "You okay? I wasn't too rough or anything?"

Burying her face in her pillow, Becky made a sound somewhere between a giggle and a contented purr. "All good. I just need to be able to feel my legs again, and then I'll need a cold shower." A shiver made her shoulders bunch up as Seth's hands moved up her thighs to her ass. "That's not helping, you know."

"I'm just making sure you don't have any scratches, that's all." Seth kissed his way down her back. "If Roman thinks I've hurt you, I'll never hear the end of it."

Becky turned onto her side to look at him. "So it's just an examination, is that it? Not 'playing doctor' or whatever that American saying is?" When his hand started to slide between her legs again, she caught it. "We can't stay in here all day. Roman and Dean are here—"

"I'm ordering in pizza and putting it on your card, Rollins!" Dean's bellow carried through the bedroom door before knocking. "Irish, you good with a veg?"

"Yes, please," Becky called back, grabbing Seth's wrists when his hands kept wandering.

"Cool, cool. Rollins, let your girlfriend out of bed already. We want to hang out with her too." After a moment, Dean added. "You can stay up here, though. Means more pizza for me."

Seth nuzzled Becky's neck and laughed, listening for Dean's receding footsteps. "He's gone," he announced. "Hey, listen, if they bug you—"

"Roman and Dean?" Becky rolled her eyes as she sat up. "We're all good. They know how far they can push and they don't go further, and I bug them right back. It's just like having my brother around, but without the accent." She grimaced a bit as she stood, stretching her arms high above her head until she caught Seth staring. "God, stop it!" She was laughing as she grabbed clean clothes from her bag, though. "I got dibs on the shower. I'll be quick."

"No rush. I can go use another one." Seth only grabbed a pair of workout shorts: he was warm most of the time anyway, but especially right around a full moon. Since he could hear Dean and Roman were downstairs, he didn't bother getting dressed as he went across the hall to the guest bathroom; he could have ducked into Becky's room and used hers, but he didn't want to get distracted if she came in. The cold water felt like being sliced open diamond-sharp knives, but he forced himself to stay under the frigid spray until his heart rate was back to normal and his libido was sufficiently muted. He was even shivering when he stepped out of the shower, though he knew from experience that it would pass soon enough. After winding his wet hair up into a bun, Seth dried off, put on his shorts, and headed downstairs.