(PART 1- the title was too long to put that lol)
"You made it!" Nathan said, smiling and holding his arms out in greeting, "I was wondering when you guys would get here. Did you have fun touring?"
Nathan was very clearly wiggling his eyebrows.
"What do you want?" Derrick growled, crossing his arms. Jake looked at him with a twinkle in his eye.
He growls more than the werewolf does.
Aw baby kitten, cooed Pickle.
"So, I was thinking last night- you know, after I left you guys to do whatever. I don't really know what you guys did and I don't want to know, but at the same time I do want to know. I mean, it's a little intrusive, but it's exciting. It would also kind of disgust me, which will hopefully put me out of this little crush I have on Derrick- Anyway, as I said, I was thinking and- I- I want proof of this werewolf stuff," Nathan said quickly with wild gestures, leaning against the wooden stable door, "So...show me the magic."
"The what?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow, slightly confused by Nathan's outburst and not really knowing what he said. Usually, Nathan was cool and collected, but strangely, he seemed nervous. As if Jake would pounce on him and eat him alive.
"I want to see the beastly side of you," Nathan said, simply. The two nobles wrinkled their noses at how that was worded. Jake, however, was not phased.
"You don't want that," Jake shook his head, "Actually, he doesn't want that."
Jake pointed at Derrick.
"Why not?!" Nathan asked, swinging his hands up in the air dramatically.
"See, when I'm human, I have an inner wolf right? Well, when I turn into a wolf, my 'inner wolf' becomes my 'outer wolf'," Jake explained.
"What?" Nathan asked, "Can you give me a more simplified version of that?"
"So you mean," Derrick reasoned, ignoring Nathan, "Pickle gets a physical body, and you are the voice inside of his head?"
"Pickle?" Nathan asked.
"More or less," Jake shrugged, also ignoring the king, "But who knows what he would do? He's insanely crazy about you, you know."
"WHO IS PICKLE?" Nathan asked, getting the two's attention.
"The inner wolf," Jake and Derrick said at the same time. Jake smiled in amusement, while Derrick huffed. Both were starting to see signs of the bond between them growing stronger. And it had only been one day.
Please let me out, Pickle pleaded, Please, Please, Please!
I will if you promise me some things, Jake thought.
Anything! the wolf agreed.
Don't go near Derrick, Jake thought.
Except for that! Pickle pouted.
No kisses then. Or dirty things, Jake amended.
The ground is dirty... the wolf trailed.
Jake was silent.
FINE. I get it. No kisses or pinning him down on the ground and-
Good, Jake interrupted, before turning to Derrick and Nathan, who had gone silent from watching him.
"I've got it all covered. He says he won't try anything, "Jake promised. Derrick raised an eyebrow.
What did Jake mean, "not try anything"?
"Okay..." Nathan said, sort of unsure and sort of excited, "Now, show us the beast!"
Jake started to take his shirt off, which pulled the prince from his side-thoughts immediately. It had been a long while since they ate breakfast, and, even in the snow, the sun shown bright. Jake was sweating from not being used to warm clothes and now, almost tauntingly, the beads of perspiration was shining down Jake's bronze skin.
"Woah woah woah," Derrick said, holding his hands out in front of him defensively, "What are you doing?"
"My clothes rip when I change into a wolf," Jake explained, pausing his actions. He had one arm tangled in the white undershirt he was wearing held over his head. Jake lowered it, as it began to tire.
Derrick turned and glared at Nathan, as if he was the cause of this, but Nathan shrugged innocently.
"I still want to see your wolf," Nathan said, "It's not like we are unfamiliar with a naked Jake."
Jake actually smiled at that and looked at Derrick to see the prince's reaction.
Jake smiled even more when he saw the faintest blush blossoming on Derrick's cheeks.
The werewolf continued stripping until he was down to his underwear. Derrick was trying hard not to stare. It was extremely difficult, but he wasn't going to let life tease him like this.
Fortunately, Jake didn't strip any further. He calmed his senses down and took in a deep breath. The change was pretty quick and the process wasn't as long as usually described in the usual stories. To Derrick, it was mesmerizing. He watched as his soulmate's bones rearranged themselves, as fur pushed through his tan skin, and how his faced shaped itself into a wolf's snout.
And then, in seconds, there stood the wolf that ran into Ollie the morning of his twenty-first birthday.
Nathan watched in silent shock.
The wolf whipped it's head around until it locked it's chilly human eyes with Derrick's pale green irises.
Then, like a dog to it's owner, the werewolf bounced over to his soulmate happily.
And that's when Derrick freaked.
What was this wolf doing?
Why was it coming near him?
Was it going to eat him?
"Not going to try anything~"
He realized just then that being eaten alive was a possibility.
With that, he closed his eyes, waiting to feel the teeth in his flesh. Waiting to feel the pain of being eaten alive, wondering if his father would even hang a picture of him up on the wall, just like his mom. Wondering if anyone would really grieve for him, or if he was stuck with only his incompetent father weeping at his grave.
Instead of burning pain, he felt something soft nuzzling into his side. Warmth and feelings exploded in that one spot, assuring Derrick the animal wasn't going to kill him. Like the bond was physically telling his mind: It's going to be okay.
He opened his eyes and peered down at the loving wolf trying to bury it's head into Derrick's stomach.
It wants to be petted, the prince realized.
Derrick wondered what the fur of a wolf felt like while still on the wolf. He had always hated the creatures so much, he didn't even stop to think more about them. Was every wolf a werewolf or was there only a few?
The prince paused his thoughts, still staring at the beast in front of him. Derrick slowly rested his tentative, pale hand on the wolf's head, not moving it, just letting it sit there. It was warm where his hand was, the breathing of the animal moved his hand ever so slightly, and the coarse hairs underneath tickled his palm. The wolf's eyes were closed, as if basking in the feeling of it's soulmate's rare touch. The prince couldn't take in how alive the animal felt, how uncharacteristically human it seemed to act. It had a comfortable tension, like the wolf was patiently waiting to be stroked and petted by the hand of the one before him.
So, very slowly, Derrick stroked his soulmate's head with the tips of his fingers. The wolf shivered, as if silently purring under the mask of it's fur coat. Derrick then flattened his hand out and ran his fingers through the beautifully colored coat covering his lover for life.
Wait, what?
Derrick pulled his hand back as if the wolf bit him, holding it close to his warm chest, still fluttering with warmth from touching his soulmate.
The wolf whimpered and began nuzzling Derrick's side again, but Derrick backed away.
What was he doing?
This was the animal he had hated since he was thirteen. The animal that ruined his life. The animal that made him motivated and determined to try harder during his sword fighting lessons. The animal he hunted, ate, and wore on his shoulders. The very animal he wished to kill off, to exterminate, to obliterate, until none was left in this kingdom.
And here he was, petting one, hugging one, and falling in love with it.
To be honest, Derrick knew deep inside that he liked it. He knew that he was slowly forgiving the wolves for what they had done. Some part of him even imagined sitting in the library, reading a book, and petting his soulmate's wolf.
But he was too stubborn to admit that he did want it. It was too soon for him. It had only been one day since he had met Jake. That wasn't enough.
If Pickle could frown, he would. He was upset that his soulmate didn't want to touch him. Jake would've let it go, but Pickle was Jake's confident, protective, and temperamental side and he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.
What are you thinking? The wolf heard Jake say in his mind.
Nothing, Pickle responded.
Uh huh. I'm serious. What are you thinking? Jake questioned.
Pickle didn't reply, but if a wolf could smile-
Pickle would be grinning like a psycho with a knife on Christmas.
Without warning, the wolf turned and used it's strong, powerful hind legs to project himself in the air, aimed like a bullet straight to Derrick. The impact of the hit made both the grown man and the one hundred thirty pound wolf fall onto each other. It knocked the wind from Derrick's lungs and left him with no words. Good thing too, for Derrick didn't want to speak anyways.
Not with a possibly hungry, uncontrollable over-sized dog laying on you and snuggling it's nose dangerously into your neck.
Now, Pickle could snuggle his kitten without the scaredy-cat moving away from him, making him a pleased wolf. Sure, he was forcing the hateful prince to be affectionate without his consent, but if they were really, truly soulmates, Derrick was enjoying this too.
Derrick was not enjoying it.
He was scared for his life, angry at the fact he wasn't given a choice, unwillingly happy because of the stupid bond making him feel fuzzy, cold from the winter ground, and don't even get him started on how nervous he was.
He had his soulmate on top of him. He had never really thought about what Nathan constantly teases about until now and it made him feel like he was going to throw up. Obviously, Derrick isn't very loving, so he had never done anything romantic, sexual, or couple-ly ever. He didn't know what to do.
He squirmed, wanting to get up, but the wolf seemed about as stubborn as him.
Jake (or was this Pickle?) was warm and, since it covered a little more than half of his body, Derrick could almost feel those weird tingly sparks of happiness everywhere, shooting straight to his heart. Then some dark part of his imagination wandered what it would be like if Jake, someone taller than him, would feel like on top of him.
He blushed and immediately shoved that mental image into the very back of his mind.
Ew. Gross. No. Derrick thought.
Pickle felt a weird feeling in his stomach and retracted his snout from the prince's neck, witnessing the beautiful pink blush on Derrick's cheeks.
Awwwwww, Pickle cooed.
Did you feel that? That weird feeling? Jake asked Pickle.
Yeah, I did. And I don't think it was our feelings, Pickle reasoned.
What do you mean? Jake asked.
Sweetheart, eventually you'll start noticing it, but every single day you two are going to get closer and closer together. Until you can't get any closer. That's how soulmate bonds work, Pickle huffed.
But what was that feeling? Jake questioned.
My guesses are, that Derrick felt a good feeling and today you and I have gained the power to feel his good feelings, Pickle said.
How do you know so much about soulmates? Jake asked.
Boy, I'm the Dumbledore of your brain. I know everythinggggg. And also- I remember the sensitive-topic conversations that your parents had before you were old enough to understand what they were saying, Pickle explained.
"Can you please let me up?" Derrick tried talking to the wolf, wondering what happened to Nathan. The king had been quiet the whole time, making Derrick assume that the talkative man-child had died.
As long as he'd known Nathan, he had never known the guy to be quiet.
"Nathan!" Derrick growled when the wolf wouldn't budge, "Get this beast off of me!"
Silence.
Derrick then grew concerned and wiggled his body sideways to see if he could get a good look at Nathan, if the man was still standing there.
And Derrick did see him.
He looked like he was still a little shocked, but also sad. He was watching the two soulmates with a wistful look on his face, smiling painfully at their happiness.
Derrick almost felt bad, but still.
Lucky him, the prince thought, He doesn't have to deal with all of this.
Derrick turned his attention back on the wolf, who was already staring at him. Those calm, yet sharp, eyes were so strange to see on an animal so renowned as barbaric. Those eyes held real human emotions: Adoration. Assurance. Satisfaction.
Maybe it isn't so bad, the dark part of his mind thought.
Maybe that's what Nathan wants, His rational side thought, Maybe he wants to be adored and assured.
Derrick groaned out loud. His mind was in a civil war. One side wanted love. One side was afraid of what would come of it.
Derrick's groan alerted Pickle, making him think that his heavy body was hurting his soulmate. The wolf quickly, but reluctantly, scurried off of the prince, hoping he was okay.
Derrick saw his chance and jumped up swiftly, warm tingles still bubbling under his skin. Pickle looked over at him once more to check for injuries before heading over to Jake's clothes and allowing Jake to change back into a human. Jake made sure to go inside of the stables before he did so, since his underwear had ripped and he didn't want a repeat of yesterday.
Nathan wanted to chuckle or make an inappropriate joke to lighten his own mood, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Watching the encounter with Derrick and the wolf just reminded him that he's- just- just completely and utterly...
Alone.
Nathan felt a little tug of his shirt.
"Excuse me?" said a shy voice-a little servant boy next to him- "Uh- I'm- I-Um- Are you King Drake?"
"Yeah," Nathan sighed, a little discouraged.
"Oh, um good. The King requests you, the prince, and uh Jacob-?"
"It's just Jake, "Nathan corrected. The kid looked about eleven or so, making Nathan's mood lift ever so slightly. He had a hate/love relationship with kids. He loved other people's sometimes, but there was no way on God's green earth would he ever want one.
Well, maybe he would make an exception if his soulmate wanted one.
"Oh! I-I'm sorry! Uh- Your majesty would like you and the others to join him at the table for dinner," the kid said nervously.
"Is it really time for dinner already?" Nathan raised an eyebrow. Time really does go by when you're sulking.
Nathan glanced at Derrick, who was brushing wolf hair off of his chest, and to the stables, where Jake was still changing.
He looked back at the kid, who was nodding furiously.
Nathan took a deep breath in and put on a fake smile, a smile he has perfected over the years.
"Well then, let's go eat, shall we?" Nathan said in his usual happy tone. The boy smiled happily, before running off. Before reaching the castle doors, the boy stopped and turned around, running back to Nathan. Out of breath, the child bowed courteously and then skipped off back to the castle yelling "I did it, Mama! I did it right this time!"
Nathan let out a chuckle before walking over to the prince he has had his eyes on for a while, but only able to do just that.
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