Skins & Needles (COMPLETE)

The Last Night Part 1

Arsen

You dumb fucking sonofabitch. You can't mark her. She's not a shifter. You stupid, no good, goddamn—

"What the fuck?" Nathan said when he saw my appearance. I'm sure I was a sight to behold. Half soaked clothes, dick still trying to bust out of my pants, breathing like I was going into cardiac arrest...

"Don't even ask," I grumbled, and walked out my door without looking back at him. A moment later, Nathan shut the door behind us, but he didn't walk forward.

"I have questions," he said slowly, and I began stomping toward the woods.

"Of course you do." I shucked my wet clothes once we were a solid distance from the house and shifted. I didn't want to see his expression, and could talk in shifted form more easily.

"Seriously Arsen," Nathan projected, and I braced myself for an onslaught. "You came out soaked, for one."

"For one..."

"Yes, for one," he snapped as we began running toward the Pass. "Also, you smell like her. I can literally smell her... her, ah..."

"Don't say it."

"Were you fucking her?"

"No!" I growled, and Nathan flinched.

"Well it seemed like it when you walked out!" he protested. "Also, your breath smells like raspberry. Care to explain?"

"No, I don't!"

Nathan backed off then, and I sighed heavily as we fell into step. If there was anyone I could discuss these things with on neutral ground, it was him. Adrian was my brother, but he was too intensely loyal to Kase. Not that I wasn't, but I could keep things from our leader, while Adrian could not. Nathan was more like me. Dedicated to the circle, but independent in personal matters.

"I almost marked her," I admitted, and Nathan faltered in his gait.

"Technically you're not supposed to do that," he reminded me, and I huffed.

"Yes, I know," I groaned. "But it was like... like..."

"Instinct."

Yep. That. Something borderline uncontrollable driving me to make Charlotte mine and mine alone. I was so confused I could hardly focus on the fact that there was a breach in the Pass.

"Is there a mate bond?" Nathan asked, and I clenched my teeth.

"How the hell would I know?" I demanded. "I have no idea what they're supposed to feel like. Plus, don't they take time to form? I've known her for approximately two weeks!"

"I'm not really the right person to ask," Nathan said sourly. "I don't even know if it's possible for a gay shifter to find a mate."

I had no idea the answer myself, so I just stayed quiet and continued to run. There were records of LGBTQ+ shifters in all of Lycan's history, but Arizona wasn't always the most inclusive, and Nathan hadn't gotten much opportunity to explore the shifter world outside of Phoenix due to the Volkov circle duties. I'd always wondered if he should leave his position for a while, travel like my parents chose to do, but we needed shifters here now more than ever. We were almost there, and I felt like I needed to say something encouraging to Nathan, but had no clue where to begin.

"You could talk to Adrian," Nathan suggested at last, and I shook my head.

"He would suspect it was about her, and probably tell Kase," I worried, and wondered how Kase would react if he found out I was questioning a mate bond with a human prisoner, more specifically one who didn't know.