Magic in the moment

The evening had settled into a blanket of indigo, stars winking in the clear sky above. Crickets chorused their nocturnal serenade, their music blending with the rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl. The Harrison pack had ventured into the heart of the forest, their flashlights bobbing like fairy lights in the distance.

The children darted through the waist-high grass, their jars clutched tight in small hands. Moonlight painted silver streaks across the field as tiny lights blinked in and out of existence around them.

"Look, look! The blinkers are everywhere!" Thor called out, his voice rising with pure joy as he spun in circles. His hair whipped around his face, catching the glow of the fireflies that danced just out of reach.

"Go one!" Titus thrust his jar into the air, the fireflies inside pulsing with a gentle light.

Seth sat on a fallen log nearby, a few other teens had joined him. Every now and then, he would glance up at Brandon and Zack, a silent question in his eyes.

Zack's arm grazed Brandon's while he bantered with Hugo about childhood firefly catches. His laughter rang through the forest as Brandon watched him, head thrown back, dark hair gleaming in the fireflies' light. He looked carefree, content - devastatingly beautiful.

Brandon's chest constricted painfully as he continued to remind himself he'd need to leave, watching the fireflies dance like earthbound stars while Zack's cedar-wild scent enveloped him. His body betrayed him with an involuntary release of sweet, mournful pheromones, his knees weakening as the Alpha's scent washed over him.

Zack's head turned instantly, nostrils flaring. Their eyes locked across the small distance between them, and Brandon felt naked beneath that gaze. The Alpha's scent shifted, deepening with something primal and possessive that made Brandon's breath catch.

"I found another one!" Reese's voice cut through the moment as she ran past, jar held high.

Brandon tore his eyes away, focusing on the little girl's excitement instead of the Alpha whose pheromones now reached for him like invisible hands, tugging at something deep inside.

"That's five now," Brandon said, forcing a smile. "You're in the lead."

But his skin tingled with awareness as Zack moved closer, the Alpha's scent growing stronger—protective, questioning. Brandon felt it like a physical touch against his skin.

"You okay?" Zack murmured, close enough now that his breath stirred the hair near Brandon's ear.

"Fine," Brandon lied, the word bitter on his tongue.

The fireflies blinked around them, nature's countdown to when he'd have to leave. Each flash felt like another second ticking away. Another moment lost. Another piece of himself he'd have to tear away when he left with Mike.

Zack's eyes narrowed, his nose caught the bitter notes in Brandon's scent, faint under the scent patch, but there. Without a word, he reached down and took Brandon's hand. His fingers were warm, calloused, and wrapped around Brandon's with gentle insistence.

"Come with me," Zack murmured, his voice low enough that only Brandon could hear. "I want to show you something."

Brandon hesitated, his chest tight with the knowledge of time slipping away. But Zack's hand in his felt like an anchor, and Brandon found himself following, weaving between trees away from the laughter and chatter of the pack.

The forest thickened around them, moonlight filtering through leaves in dappled patterns across the forest floor. Brandon's senses heightened in the quiet—the soft crunch of leaves beneath their feet, the whisper of wind through branches, and the Alpha's steady breathing beside him.

Zack's fingers tightened around Brandon's as they circled a massive oak tree, its ancient bark rough and dark against the night sky. The Alpha glanced back, moonlight catching the curve of his smile. "Almost there." His voice held a secret warmth that made Brandon's heart stutter beneath his ribs.

They stepped into a clearing where fireflies hung thick in the air, a living constellation that mirrored the stars above. Brandon's breath caught at the sight—hundreds of tiny lights pulsing in perfect rhythm. They drifted between ferns and around tree trunks, creating living constellations that shifted and reformed with each passing second.

Zack's scent wrapped around him, warm and tender. "Found this place when I was a kid." His thumb traced circles on Brandon's palm. "Never brought anyone here before. Couldn't think of anyone I wanted to share it with."

The raven haired Alpha stepped closer, his scent wrapping around Brandon like a caress. "Until now." He slowly lifted his fingers, brushing Brandon’s jaw, then trailing along his cheekbone. A shiver raked through Brandon, not from cold, but from the raw, exposed feeling. Zack's thumb smoothed over the pulse point in Brandon’s neck, a tender pressure that spoke volumes.

A low rumble vibrated from Zack's chest, so deep Brandon felt it in his own bones. It was a sound of profound contentment, of something settling into place. His blue eyes, usually sharp and quick, held a soft, intense gaze that seemed to peel back layers Brandon had spent a lifetime building.

This was intimacy, real and unguarded. It was everything Brandon craved and everything he knew he had to destroy.

Zack leaned in, his lips brushing Brandon's temple, then slid lower to the sensitive skin behind his ear. "I feel…this pull with you," Zack breathed, the words a raw whisper. His fingers trailed down Brandon's throat, coming to rest near the scent patch that seemed to not be working much anymore.

"I know I said it this morning but…," Zack whispered, his voice rough with emotion. "there's just something about you."

Brandon trembled, caught between instinct and fear. Every fiber of his being recognized something in Zack—something true and rare. His throat tightened as Zack's fingers brushed his cheek, leaving trails of heat on his skin.

"I..." His gaze dropped to Brandon's full lips, "Can I-" A question in his eyes as he leaned in, slow enough that Brandon could pull away.

But Brandon didn't want to pull away. He wanted this—needed this—one perfect memory to hold when everything else was gone. His body moved before his mind could catch up, surging forward to press his lips against Zack's.

The kiss blazed through him like wildfire, hot and consuming. Brandon's hands found Zack's shoulders, fingers digging into muscle as he poured everything he couldn't say into that kiss—all his want, his fear, his desperate need to belong somewhere, to someone.

Zack made a sound deep in his throat, his arms encircling Brandon, pulling him closer until there was no space between them, just heat and scent and the thundering of their hearts.

The Alpha tasted like everything Brandon had denied himself—warmth and safety and want. Each slide of Zack's tongue against his own unwound years of programmed responses. This wasn't technique or training—it was chaos, raw and unpracticed, drawn from some primal well he'd thought long dry. His body remembered things his mind had forgotten: how to want, how to take, how to ask for more without fear coating the request. This was his desire, raw and unfettered, and the realization made him desperate.

His hands roamed across Zack's chest, feeling the solid strength beneath his fingertips, the heat of him burning through his shirt.

"Bran," Zack breathed against his mouth, the word vibrating between them.

Brandon answered by nipping at Zack's bottom lip, drawing a growl from the Alpha. The sound vibrated between them, primal and possessive, making a warm flush spread through his groin, a liquid heat gathering between his thighs. The scent of it rose around them, sweet and heavy like summer honey warmed by the sun, mingling with Zack's deepening musk—that made Brandon's head swim. Brandon his body responding without permission, preparing itself for an Alpha—for this Alpha who held him like he was something precious rather than something to be used.

As a Regent Omega he should have been ashamed, should have pulled away and apologized for his wantonness, but all he could think was more, please, don't stop. His body moved of its own accord, hips rolling forward instinctively, finding Zack's hardness with his own. The delicious friction sent sparks dancing behind his eyelids, electric currents racing along every nerve ending, and Brandon gasped into Zack's mouth, the sound desperate and needy even to his own ears.

Zack's hands tightened on Brandon's waist, fingers digging into the soft flesh there, a groan rumbling in his chest as Brandon rocked against him again, harder this time, frantic and needy like a starving man finally offered sustenance. His skin grew hypersensitive, his inner thighs sticky with his own readiness as his body prepared itself for the claiming it had been designed for—the claiming it now desperately desired.

"Zack," Brandon panted, breaking the kiss to drag air into his lungs. A heavy ache settled in his groin, each brush against Zack's hardness sending jolts of pleasure-pain through him.

The Alpha pressed him back, back, until the rough bark of the large oak caught at his shirt. Brandon's legs trembled, threatening to give out entirely as Zack's teeth grazed his jaw, his neck, dancing dangerous-close to his scent gland.

"Need you closer," Zack rasped, hands sliding down to grip Brandon's thighs. He lifted Brandon like he weighed nothing, pressing him against the tree as Brandon's legs wrapped around his waist. The new position aligned their bodies perfectly, and Brandon's head fell back against the bark with a broken moan. His scent patch on full view.

Zack’s mouth licked and sucked along the soft skin over his collar bone, teeth grazing the junction of neck and shoulder, just shy of his scent gland. A low, feral growl ripped from Zack's chest, vibrating against Brandon's skin.

“Mine,” Zack snarled, the word a brand against Brandon’s flesh. His hand fumbled at Brandon's neck, fingers catching on the edge of the scent patch.

With a frustrated sound, Zack yanked. The patch ripped away, a sharp sting against Brandon’s tender skin.

In an instant, the air changed.

Brandon’s undiluted scent exploded into the clearing, a torrential wave of distress, arousal, and raw, unadulterated Omega. It was sweet, achingly so, laced with the metallic tang of fear and the heady musk of desperate need. It flooded the space, rich and potent, a siren call that drowned out the crickets, the rustling leaves, everything but the sudden, predatory stillness in the Alpha holding him.

Zack froze, his entire body going rigid against Brandon’s. His head snapped up, eyes blazing with an intensity that stole Brandon’s breath. The cedar and earth of Zack’s scent deepened, thickened, morphing into something fiercely territorial, overwhelmingly dominant. The air crackled, charged with a primal energy that sucked the oxygen from Brandon's lungs. The careful tenderness from moments before vanished, replaced by something raw, immediate, and utterly consuming.

"Fuck," Zack choked out, as he buried his face, almost violently, into the pulse point of Brandon's neck. The incredible, undiluted scent—sweetness, desire, pure Omega—was a firestorm in his blood, an intoxicating brand against his senses.

Need. Mine.

His hips jerked, a desperate, uncontrolled roll, grinding his erection hard against Brandon's ass. "You smell… gods… un-fucking-believable," he rasped, his voice thick, almost broken with the sheer force of it. "Like every atom of you was crafted just for me. Designed to slot right here. Perfectly. Like you were always meant to be mine."

The words shattered something in Brandon. His carefully constructed walls crumbled beneath the onslaught of sensation—Zack's scent, his touch, the solid heat of him pressed so close. Slick gushed between his thighs as need clawed up his spine.

"Please," Brandon whimpered, the sound thin, raw, breath caught, not even sure what he was begging for, his mind blank, senses reeling sharp. More. Gods, he needed more of this. Everything. Anything Zack would give him.

The world tilted as Zack lowered them both to the ground, his movements careful despite the tremors wracking his body. Cool grass pressed against Brandon's back, a stark contrast to the burning heat of the Alpha above him. Zack's arms bracketed Brandon's head, muscles straining as he held himself up.

"Should do this right," Zack panted between kisses that tasted of desperation. His hips jerked, the hard length of him pressing against Brandon through layers of fabric. "Court you proper. Ask your—" He broke off with a groan as Brandon arched beneath him.

Brandon's fingers grabbing Zack's shorts, holding the Alpha hard again him, anchoring himself as waves of need crashed through him. Every brush of Zack's lips sent sparks dancing across his skin. His body sang with want, instinct drowning out the voices that usually haunted him.

"- your family," Zack managed, pressing his forehead to Brandon's. His breath came in ragged gasps. "They should—gods, you smell incredible—they should know my intentions."

The mention of family pierced Brandon's haze of desire. Guilt twisted in his chest, sharp and cold. He had no family to ask. No one to give permission. Just lies and secrets that would destroy whatever this was between them.

"No," Brandon cut him off, dragging Zack's mouth back to his. He couldn't bear to hear about families and courting—not when he'd be gone in hours. Not when this was all he could have. "Just you. Just this. Please."

His hips bucked up, desperate for friction, for pressure, for anything to ease the burning need consuming him. Slick soaked through his pants now, the scent of his arousal thick in the air between them.

"Alpha," Brandon pleaded, the word torn from somewhere deep and primal. His fingers tangled in Zack's hair, pulling him closer as he bared his throat in submission. "Please, I need—"