Page 48 of Nico

Claim him. Mark him. Keep him. My wolf pressed insistently against the inside of my skin. The urge was startlingly powerful.

For one dangerous second, I understood exactly how wolves lost themselves to instinct. Then reason returned. Not yet, I told my wolf. Nico trusted me, and I wouldn't betray that trust.

If I marked him, everything would change and not just for us, but for everyone. There would be no taking it back, and no pretending it hadn't happened.

I would deny him the choice and I couldn’t have that. As much as my wolf howled his disagreement, forever was a conversation for another day.

Not tonight, because tonight belonged to our bodies tangled around each other, the steady beat of Nico's heart beneath my hand. I pressed another kiss into his hair.

My wolf grumbled, and I ignored him. Nico shifted slightly against me. He was half asleep already.

"You know," he murmured.

"Hm?"

"Your brother is never going to let us live this down,” Nico said.

Despite myself, I smiled into the darkness. "Unfortunately, you're probably right."

Nico laughed softly. A few minutes later, his breathing evened out.

Sleep claimed him quickly, but I stayed awake a little longer. I watched the moonlight spill across the room, and listened to the quiet sounds of the cabin. Eventually, I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.

When I woke up, Nico was still asleep with his head tucked beneath my chin, one arm draped across my stomach as though he'd claimed me in the night and intended to keep me. Not that I was complaining.

My wolf stretched contentedly beneath my skin. Mine, the thought came immediately. I pushed it aside for the moment. Nico shifted against me, making a soft sound in his sleep before burrowing closer.

Apparently my personal space no longer belonged to me. Again, I wasn’t complaining. I brushed a hand through his hair, and Nico wrinkled his nose.

"You know," he mumbled without opening his eyes, "if you keep doing that, I'm never getting out of bed."

"That sounds like a you problem."

"It sounds like an us problem."

I snorted. A knock interrupted whatever clever response I might have come up with.

"Isaac!"

Nico groaned, and I closed my eyes, willing whoever was outside to go away.

"Isaac, are you alive?" Logan’s voice sounded loud and shrill this morning. "More importantly, is Nico alive?"

Nico buried his face in my chest, and I noticed his cheeks had turned pink.

"Pretend we're dead,” Nico whispered.

Unfortunately, my brother had superb hearing at times like this.

“So you’re both alive,” Logan said.

I groaned, already picturing his smug expression. “Go away, we’ve just woke up and need more sleep!”

“Aw, don’t be like that, bro,” Logan called out.

I considered murder. When the door opened, I growled, realising I forgot to lock it the night before. Logan stepped inside and I yanked the comforter further up Nico’s body.

Nico kept his face against his chest. A grin slowly spread across Logan’s irritating face.