In the aftermath of a werewolf versus vampire massacre that left a third of the county’s warriors dead, two of the young wolves sent to fight for their pack lay side-by-side in bed, silent as they contemplated the previous few days and the scenes they may never be able to push out of their minds.

Since returning from what was definitely the deadliest mission of their lives, Ash and Malachai, along with every other warrior who was dispatched to fight on their pack’s behalf, had been granted a week’s recovery leave by their alpha, although they were still technically on-call for emergencies as the pack couldn’t be left completely defenceless. They had been officers within their pack since leaving school at the age of twenty and even though they were still junior officers they were expected to pull almost as much weight as their seniors.

So far they had spent their first day off lying completely still together on Ash’s bed without a word to offer between them. Occasionally one of them drifted off to sleep for an hour or two but mostly they simply enjoyed the feeling of being safe and being together.

When the battle ended it took three hours for Ash’s body to cease trembling. He had staggered his way into Malachai’s arms first though, panting and caked in both dry and fresh blood, unable to genuinely believe they were both still inside their own skin. He had watched so many wolves being torn apart, complete strangers to officers he had patrolled with. But they were together, bodies glued together since that moment until the present. They had refused to completely untangle the entire journey home and even in bed they still held hands, keeping a constant flow of connection between them.

It wasn’t until the sun was setting that Malachai broke the silence, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Ash breathed, although he knew his answer was pure reflex. He wasn’t okay, he couldn’t be, not yet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re not though, are we?”

They glanced at each other with grim expressions.

Malachai sighed, “I’m sorry for breaking down like that, you know, before we went in for the final push…” he said awkwardly.

In the moments before they charged into the heart of the battle, Malachai had fallen apart and confessed, in front of their best friend, Markus, who was also going to be their alpha in a few years.

“It’s fine, Markus was going to find out eventually.”

Ash meant it, he really wasn’t bothered about Markus knowing. And Markus didn’t seem bothered about knowing either. So what did it matter? Since the big reveal had happened that day in The Council’s fortress, on the grimy tiled floor awaiting their demise in the final battle, Markus had been completely absorbed in his little bubble he had forged around himself and his mate, the pack omega, Sam. At the same time Ash and Malachai had revealed themselves as mates, Markus had confessed his own soul mate secret. Now he could barely drag his eyes away from Sam, constantly hovering around protectively, devoting all of his energy to the omega’s safety and happiness. It had been all of twenty-four hours since their return home and they had already lost him to love sickness.

For a couple of years Ash and Malachai had been fighting their urges for each other, slipping up occasionally behind closed doors of course. It was heated and passionate and very combative. Sexual relations between them was always a battle, more specifically a power struggle. They were both dominant wolves, something unheard of in their pack. Every pair of mates had a dominant and a submissive partner, you knew what you were from childhood, you could feel it. But they could also feel their wolves calling for each other, as much as their pieces didn’t fit together, they knew they were part of the same puzzle.

Malachai rolled onto his side and Ash mimicked him so that they were facing each other.

“Great kiss though.” Malachai said with a grin.

And it had been, Ash had to admit that. There was something about being on the brink of death that made everything ten times more intense, including the wet kiss they shared before the final fight.

Ash rolled his eyes before responding, “I thought we were going to die.”

“You said we weren’t allowed to think that!”

“You weren’t allowed to blubber about dying, you were allowed to think it.”

“Well, I’m glad we didn’t die.”

Malachai’s hands wrapped around Ash’s waist and pulled him the half a foot closer to press their foreheads together. Ash’s muscles bunched involuntarily, his wolf clenching its teeth defensively. Malachai’s smile turned sad, sensing Ash’s discomfort. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were soul mates, bound together, a perfect match. And yet they weren’t, because they were both dominant, a pair of plugs with no socket. In the most basic and primal way, they didn’t fit together.

“I’m not in the mood.” Ash mumbled. They both knew he didn’t mean ‘not in the mood for sex’, he meant not in the mood to be submissive.

Ash had been getting weird… urges since he and Malachai had realised they were mates… flashes of submissiveness that completely overwhelmed him. They didn’t last long and it didn’t happen often but when they did he felt hot and nauseas and achey. He hated it. He knew it was to blame for his ‘Ash Attacks’ (the name Malachai and Markus had so kindly given to his angry outbursts that seemed to come out of nowhere) it left him feeling frustrated all the time. Frustrated at his stupid body for releasing such a weird feeling into him and frustrated that he couldn’t handle it in private. Malachai turned into a complete horndog if Ash showed the slightest signs of a submissive episode, desperate to dominate his mate. It was natural and Ash had the same urges to dominate too, but he didn’t have anyone to release it on.

People joked about ‘switches’, wolves that could swing back and forth between being dominant and submissive, but no one believed in it. Ash sure as shit had never met anyone who claimed to be a switch. It had been three years and he was still holding onto the hope that this was a hormonal problem, some kind of puberty issue lingering on into adulthood.

Malachai’s mouth dragged him from his thoughts, it was on his neck, mouthing at the skin hard.

“Hey!” Ash grumbled, “You’re gonna leave a mark!”

“So?” Malachai said, pausing his ministrations, “I thought after our near-death experience we were going to stop hiding?”

“I guess…” Ash mumbled, keeping his eyes pointed over Malachai’s shoulder to avoid catching his eye, “I get to give you a mark too though, it has to be equal.”

Equality was something Ash seemed to cling to these days, he couldn’t help but fixate on any slight to his masculinity or dominance. He wanted to be treated the same as Malachai by everyone, including Malachai.

“It might take you a while,” Malachai chuckled into the soft spot under his jaw, “my skin is a hell of a lot darker than yours.”

Ash rolled his eyes again, he was no porcelain doll himself thanks to his Latino roots. Markus was the white one of their trio and even he wasn’t exactly pale. That’s just how it was when you spent everyday training and sparring out in the sun.

“Makes no difference to me.” Ash huffed, he could spend all day sucking on his mate’s neck.

Malachai mumbled something against his skin and continued working at his chosen spot, sending tingles down Ash’s spine, the soft and wet tongue filling him with lust so suddenly he let out a small gasp. It still shocked him how easily his best friend could make him… horny. They had been like brothers when they were kids, how had it all changed so fast? It had been years since the moment their eyes connected and their bodies responded, the soul mate call drawing them together, but it still felt like yesterday.

“Hah.”

Ash’s underwear began to strain a little as he grew inside of them, his body incapable of ignoring the stimulation. He let his eyes half-close and Malachai immediately took advantage, flipping him onto his back and pinning him to the bed. His eyes snapped open and he growled warningly but Malachai took no notice, his lazy grin still hanging in place.

“Just relax, you don’t have to be in control all of the time.”

Ash made a weak attempt to lift his chest and Malachai pushed him back down automatically, his expression turning sheepish when he immediately realised what he’d done.

Ash raised his eyebrows, knowing his eyes would be full of fire as he snapped, “Stop trying to dominate me.”

“I’m not, I’m trying to make love to you.” Malachai said with an exasperated sigh, “You’re my fucking mate.” he added, trying to pull up a small smile that Ash knew was supposed to be reassuring. It wasn’t.

“But I know you’re gonna be on top.” Ash said suspiciously.

“I’m bigger.” He responded with a shrug.

“Not by that much.”

“Look,” Malachai sighed, “it’s been a really traumatic week, can we just have sex and enjoy each other for one night and then argue about this tomorrow?”

Ash considered his words, “Tomorrow I get to be on top.” he grunted.

“Fine.” Malachai huffed dismissively.

Ash didn’t believe him for a moment. He had yet to be on top ever, he didn’t think Malachai was going to have a sudden change of heart now. But he also wanted to be intimate with his mate, even if that meant the minor humiliation of playing the submissive role.

Malachai climbed up and pulled Ash into a slumped sitting position. He undressed him slowly, turning his limbs around as he did to peer at the bruises and scratches he had brought back with him from the fight. They would heal in a few days, as would Malachai’s. Once Ash was in nothing but his underwear his mate stripped as well although he didn’t stop at his boxers.

“I’ll let you do the honours with your panties.” Malachai said with a wink.

Ash rolled his eyes up and his underwear down with an awkward shuffle, his dick springing free eagerly.

Malachai’s grin lit up his entire face and he pushed Ash’s legs open until they were uncomfortably wide and lowered himself between them, biting his lip annoyingly seductively. He reached forward to rub at Ash’s cock with teasingly slow and limp strokes. Ash growled as gently as he could, warning him but not wanting him to stop.

Malachai smirked up at him and added his other hand, bouncing them both with a much faster twisting movement. The change in pace and pressure caused a sudden wave of pleasure to build from his balls, the crest at the tip. Thighs tensing, tummy clenching, lips pursed, Ash was breathing deep through his nose as his body seemed to react of its own accord to his mate’ ministrations. It had been far too long since he last had an orgasm.

As the pressure built he was humming and moaning through tightly sealed lips, shifting his legs when the intense tingling and pulsating sensations were causing shivers and trembles to run through them.

When a hot tongue lapped at the head his eyes slid shut, it worked its way down with a curling motion and back up again.

He was getting close, so close…

“Beg.” Malachai growled.

“What?” Ash blurted, his muscles tensing instantly in shock and embarrassment.

“You heard me, beg for it.”

This man really was something else, Ash thought, thinking he would just slip into submissiveness that easily!

“N-no!” He grunted furiously, “I’d rather finish myself off than beg!”

“You could do that, but would it be as satisfying? Hmm? When you could have me sucking on you, licking at you... doing all the work for you?” He ran his tongue from balls to tip again, “I want to take care of you.” his words rumbled against Ash’s skin tantalisingly.

The hand was still squeezing him.

“You want to control me,” Ash panted, “you want to control my orgasms.”

“Do you want to come or not?”

“I do.” Ash groaned.

Malachai said no more, filling his mouth with Ash’s cock and sucking hard, running his tongue round him like a carousel.

“Fuck!” Ash growled through gritted teeth, his hands bunching in the sheets and his thighs trembling just a little as he reached the edge again, pleasure bubbling along his skin with a light yet satisfying feeling.

Malachai moaned around him and the vibrations finished him off. Ash shivered, biting his lip and closing his eyes as he panted through the all-too-quick release swirling through him like a hurricane.

Every ounce of energy shot out of his body with his cum and he fell back against the pillows with limbs that felt like rubber. He was allocated a whole thirty seconds of deep breathing and muscle unclenching before his mate’s shadow loomed over him.

“Now you’ve got yours, it’s time for me to get mine.” Malachai announced with a greedy grin.

He took Ash by the hips and dragged him down the covers towards him, his hard cock waiting not-so-patiently.