Hour of the Wolf (on hold)

If you go out in the woods today...

If you go out in the woods today…

**Dean**

I haven’t been this excited in years!  Most of the morning was spent driving to and from the closest town, which mercifully contained a deli.  The rest was easy. 

I could not help but grin to myself as I walked down the path with Elle in tow.

“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” she wanted to know.

“Which part of ‘surprise’ is unclear?” I looked over my shoulder to make sure that she was managing the trail.

“The whole part,” she said with a pout.

I burst out laughing.  “We’re almost there,” I looked at the dark circles on her face again and sobered up a bit “are you too tired?”  She had confessed to not sleeping well last night, but no amount of persuasion could get her to tell me why.

“No, I’m okay but I’m hungry though.  When you said lunch, I didn’t realize I’m going to have to catch my own food!” she was joking but for the first time I doubted myself. 

Well, there was no going back now.

We turned a corner where an excited Abby was bursting out of her skin.

“You’re here!  Finally!” she hopped over to Elle and gave her a hug “Happy Birthday!”

Elle looked frozen in surprise and blinked a few times before coming to and hugging Abby back.

Abby gave me a quick hug too, and with a wink she left.

“Abby has been standing guard for me,” I took Elle’s hand and led the way “Happy Birthday Elle.”

I watched her face as the scene before us unfolded.  It was half-way up a hill, and a jagged ledge overlooked part of the forest.  Abby had laid out a wonderful picnic with all kinds of treats and a bottle of champagne.

“You can see for miles,” Elle breathed “it’s beautiful!”  She stared in wonder at the tree-tops before the food caught her attention.

“Food!” she yelped “Thank you!”

In her excitement she whirled around pecked a kiss onto my lips before dropping down onto the blanket and peeking inside the containers.

I stood frozen to the spot for several moments before returning to reality.  The sheer volume of emotion that that quick kiss elicited from me was staggering.

I swallowed hard before I joined her.  Clearly I misjudged my attachment to her. 

Elle was already chewing on a strawberry and looked edible herself.

Down boy…   There will be time for that later.

I grinned and handed her a glass of champagne.

“Happy Birthday Elle, may the moon goddess shine down on you every night and keep you safe from harm.  May your worries be light and your life filled with charm.”

I clinked my glass to hers and sipped the bubbly liquid.

“This is so amazing Dean; I can’t believe that you remembered!   So sneaky!” she said and sipped from her glass.

“I could never forget,” I said seriously “this is a very important year for you.”  I picked out another strawberry and handed it to her.

“Why would you say that?” she looked at me suspiciously but accepted the strawberry.

Suddenly I smiled, “because you met me!”  I lifted my glass in a toast.

Elle blushed and laughed.

“I suppose…”

That was close.

I opened up some more containers looking for the one with the éclairs.  Cautiously I held one out to her but pulled away when she reached for it; instead conveying my intent with my eyes.  She understood, leaned forward and I fed her the cream-filled puff. 

The look of adoration that crossed her face amused me to no end as I licked the extra cream off my fingers.  Suddenly something shiny caught my attention.

It was a warm day and Elle was dressed in light slacks and a crisp white top.  When she leaned forward the sun reflected off of something around her neck.

Intrigued I pulled the top of her collar away to reveal a thin silver chain with a crescent moon dangling off the end.

Elle looked down to see what had caught my attention and instantly her face fell.

“Where did you get this Elle?” I ran my finger over the raised inscription. 

She took the pendant and dropped it back into her shirt. 

“Duke gave it to me a few days before he died.  It was his first, he never took it off.”

Interesting…

“Well, it suits you.  Have some cheese,” I spread some of the soft cheese onto a cracker and fed it to her as my gaze fell to her perfect lips.  The almost kiss from earlier came rushing back; the sweet temptation.

I could get used to this.

**Elle**

It had been such a wonderful afternoon with Dean.  All the treats were too delicious and we finished them all!  Afterwards we stretched out on the blanket and talked the afternoon away. 

As the sun started to set Dean dropped me off at the road to my camp.  Before he left to perform the evening patrol, he hugged me tight and kissed my cheek.

I touched my cheek and smiled to myself as I walked down to my tent, until I stopped dead in my tracks.

The scene before me was unbelievable!

My first thought was that I was at the wrong spot, but there stood my Jeep, and the familiar blue colours of my tent.

From the spot that I had stopped a trail of wild flowers led the way down to the fire pit.  My feet followed them down as my eyes were distracted by the lights.

From every available branch hung a lit lantern, casting a soft glow as dusk fell.

It was magical!

As I approached, Aiden stepped out from where he had been waiting with a big smile on his face.  He was freshly showered with his hair still damp; looking very sexy in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt.

In his hand was an apple with a single lit candle stuck onto the top.

“I couldn’t find a cake,” he grinned “but the wish still counts!” 

A wide grin made its way across my face and I slowly shook my head in disbelief.

He held out the candle to me; I blew it out and closed my eyes for the wish.

When I opened them again Aiden had put the apple down; he was standing in front of me and before I could react he pulled me sideways into the crook of his arm and dropped me low.

“Happy Birthday gorgeous,” he said and leaned down to plant a delicious kiss on my lips.

Best. Birthday. Ever!

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Authors Note

Both guys are pulling out all the stops!

So, are you Team Dean or Team Aiden?

Vote!  Comment!  Enjoy!

Stormy!

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