Will played with the pen on the table in front of him, idly spinning it in circles. He was at the packhouse, meeting with the Council as the Beta representative. Inside the tables arranged in a square, a scout was speaking about his recent trip to the Orso Pack, and how they wished to arrange a party with the Celeste Pack. Will had to suppress a yawn.

“A…party?” Their Alpha, Caleb, intoned. His dark eyes stared him down, making the 23-year-old man squirm.

Jared, the scout, nodded hesitantly. “Yes, Alpha, they want to…well, they’re interested in cross…breeding?” He shrugged slightly. “Their numbers have been dwindling over the past few years, with omegas finding mates with alphas that came through, and alphas moving out to seek out their own mate.” Jared fumbled through some papers in his hands. “And after the incident with Bradley Garrett, I think Alpha Wyatt is looking for some security for the whole of his pack. For some unmated omegas to find a place here.” Will felt the atmosphere become heavier at the reminder of Garrett’s attempted coup.

The man had been in a Delta position in Orso Pack but felt owed the Alpha position because he was in alpha. “What a shithead,” Will thought to himself. Fifty percent of the pack was made up of alphas but not every single one could be the fucking Alpha. And with his dangerous beliefs about how Omegas should be treated, he definitely didn’t deserve the Alpha title. But he’d still tried to lead a rogue attack on the Orso Pack to take it.

“So,” Jared started again, “Alpha Wyatt thinks maybe it’s a good time to bring our packs together for a night.”

The woman at Alpha Caleb’s side spoke up. “I think that’d be wonderful.” Luna Trinity’s eyes lit up as she smiled. “Who doesn’t love a party, right?”

Will watched the briefest smile play on the Alpha’s face as he glanced at his mate. Then his stony expression returned and he announced, “Jar, pass out the notes you acquired during your trip.”

Jared nodded quickly and scurried to pull out a stack of papers from his backpack. A piece was handed out to each representative.

Over the next half hour, more of Jared’s talk with the Orso Pack was presented. Will had a tough time listening. He had already concluded that a gathering of the two packs, even if it wasn’t to play matchmaker, was a good idea.  Will was also over his day of responsibilities. Every Wednesday, he was the Beta-of-the-Day, splitting the role on weekdays with Harry and their friend, Rex. He started the day early by checking in with the Holding House, where any caught rogues and any disciplined pack members were held. No rogues were found but two teenage Pups had been in a nasty-enough brawl the evening before to warrant an overnight visit. After having a Sentinel escort them back to their homes, Will had conducted a change of the guard, broken up another Pup fight, visited the sentinels set up at the local high school where the Pups attended, roamed packland for hours to check on the other werewolves, took a break for lunch and visited the high school, roamed again, then visited the Healing House. After ensuring that a Hunter who had been injured on a run and a sick Elder were both being treated carefully, he’d made it to the Council meeting, where he had been for the past hour and 56, he checked the clock...57 minutes.

Finally, when voting on the party, Will had no hesitance to agree. But with three nays, from the representatives of the Sentinels, the Elders, and the Omegas, the vote was tabled for the next meeting. 

Will pushed himself to stand as soon as Alpha Caleb dismissed them. He was ready to get back to Harry in the city. But before he could leave, the young scout came up to him, his chin tucked into his chest. 

Will sighed. During the meeting, Alpha insisted that alphas and omegas all address each other as equals. So, the omega Sitter, Scout, Elder, and Delta were all on the same level as the alpha Caretaker, Hunter, Sentinel, Healer, and Beta. Even the Alpha and Luna were meant to be treated as such, even though they still had the final say for certain matters. It was supposed to be the same even outside the confines of the meeting. But certainly, some omegas, like Delta Marianna, had an easier time remembering that when they were in a higher rank, while lower-ranked omegas, like Jared, didn't.

“What’s up, Jared?” Will tried to smile at him.

The man glanced up, ducking his head again after seeing Will’s smile. “Um, I was wondering if,” he picked at his nails as he paused, “If you’d want to go out some time this weekend.”

Will’s smirk was genuine. He knew what he had going for him. But his eyes were set on someone else.

“I’m flattered, and I think you’re very cute,” he added on when Jared’s shoulders hiked up, “But I’m pursuing someone else right now. I’m sorry.”

Jared’s tension released and he nodded his ascent. “Gotcha. Well,” he raised his head to offer a smile, his eyes still downcast, “I hope you get them.” He ducked his head back down and scurried toward the door. 

Will grinned, thinking about the one he was chasing. Dusty Miller would be quite the catch. But, right now, he had to get back to the man who already held his heart.

Harry leaned up on his elbows when he heard Will approach the bed at midnight. He swallowed hard at his profile appearance. His thick black hair, wet from the shower, hung to the nape of his neck, pieces falling in front of his eyes. A water droplet ran down the curve of his nose, falling onto the Cupid’s bow of his lips. His tongue swiped out to swipe away the offending liquid. 

Harry’s scent peaked with arousal at the appearance of that tongue. But he ignored the sleek line of Will’s body, his damp curls decorating his pecs, leading down in a line between his abs, like an arrow pointing directly to…

Harry blinked his eyes. He was supposed to be ignoring Will’s beautiful body and he was doing a piss-poor job of that. His cheeks burned as he forced himself to meet Will’s eyes, which had turned to face him. The other man was smirking and Harry glared instead of pulling him into his arms like he wanted.

“Babeeee,” Will whined as he started to undo the towel around his waist, “Is that any way to greet me?” He pouted, taking off the towel and…

Harry turned onto his side, facing away from the striptease. Will laughed and Harry knew he was adorable when he laughed so he refused to flip back.

“Harry,” Will said softly, the bed dipping as he placed a knee down. “Harry, what’s up?”

“You know what’s up.”

“I really don’t.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “You say that once a week.”

Pause. Will chuckled under his breath. “Ohhhh, right.”

Harry gritted his teeth and still didn’t turn over. That wouldn’t stop Will, who, still naked, climbed over Harry, inserting himself between Harry and the wall. Harry should've pressed his nose against the plaster. Mischief danced in the green eyes before him. Will reached a gentle hand up to Harry’s face, caressing his cheek, then circling the curve of his ear. His smirk softened as his eyes followed the movement.

Harry's eyes drifted closed and felt the hand slide down the side of his neck to where it met his shoulder. It was a loving stroke over where a mark between mates would be. A mark that two high-ranking alphas shouldn’t be making on each other. 

A swipe of Will’s tongue against his flesh made an involuntary gasp leave Harry's lips. On an exhale, his head fell back, exposing his neck better to Will, who was branding him with his hot mouth. His lips were sucking insistently, little nips peppered in along Harry's jawline. Pressure pushed Harry onto his back and he opened his eyes to find Will straddling him, his long legs on either side of Harry's hips, his hands on his chest. Even with the comforter between them, Harry could feel the heat of Will's flesh.

"Get up," Harry ordered.

Will smiled devilishly. He unfolded himself to stand by the edge of the bed. Sometimes Harry could only gape in awe at how beautiful Will truly was. But he wasn't patient enough for gaping anymore. He whipped the comforter off and grasped Will's wrist, pulling him to the bed so he could loom over him. He caught Will's laughing lips in a kiss, now holding down both of Will's hands. This was his chance to explore. This was his time to get caught up in the activity, otherwise he might talk himself out of it.

Because once a week, Will would convince Harry to have sex. And every time they woke up the next morning, Harry promised himself he'd never be convinced again.