15. Dodge

Working overtime was never fun. Working, in general, was never fun. It wasn't until nearly nine o'clock that Warden was finally able to leave his office and head back to the tiny apartment above the pet shop.

On his way up the stairs Warden shrugged off his jacket and took a deep breath, blowing it out along with a good deal of stress. He just wanted to throw something in the microwave, drop onto a chair by the table, since they hadn't gotten a sofa yet, and eat before he passed out.

I've got Cerat tomorrow. He thought, a little more upbeat. Sure, he was still unsure of how to deal with him, but he would figure it out. After a meal and a good night of sleep.

The second he stepped into the apartment, his nose wrinkled at the smell of smoke. He hurried into his kitchen, surprised to see that it wasn't on fire. He was also surprised to see Drake standing over the sink, washing... dishes?

"I'm afraid to ask." He said as he walked past the man to take a slice of triple meat pizza from the box on the counter.

Seeing Drake doing the dishes, though he could have sworn that he had barely cooked anything in the past few days, and not having to pay for the pizza he ordered?

"You left a twenty sitting out." Drake mumbled as he finished drying a pan, then pulled the drain on the sink.

Shaking his head, Warden hopped up onto the counter and nudged off his work shoes. "Why am I not surprised." He said before taking a big bite of the pizza.

If he ordered pizza, and it's not burnt, then why do I still smell smoke? Warden thought as he eyed Drake. The man turned and returned the stare for a moment, before reaching for the pizza box, only to stop when his fingers opened the lid and there were only two slices left.

"I uh, am full." He mumbled to himself as he let the lid drop back into place.

Now I know something''s up. Warden thought with narrowing eyes. Drake never got full. He could eat two pizzas easily. One? He should have had it gone by the time Warden had gotten home from work.

"Alright, Drake. What's up?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

The other man shifted awkwardly, then ran a hand through his hair and stared up at the ceiling. He was silent for a moment before lowering his gaze back to Warden's and shrugging. "I tried to feed Cerat earlier, because he was hungry, but he threw up on me almost right away. And I tried to uh, cook."

That's it? Warden thought, confused.

"You aren't telling me something. Is Cerat okay? Did he do something bad to get your blood?" Warden pushed, leaning forward where he sat on the counter. He knew he could just go check on Cerat since he had seen him in huddled in his corner in the living room, so he had a feeling that the young man throwing up wasn't causing Drake's stress.

As he watched him, Drake paced around the kitchen, running his fingers through his hair and tugging at the short strands repeatedly. When he wouldn't stop walking and actually speak, Warden blew out a breath and slid from the counter. "Fine. Don't tell me, darn dog." He grumbled as he stomped past him.

He could feel Drake's eyes on him as he headed for the bedroom and heard him take in a deep breath, but if he wouldn't talk to him, he wasn't going to waste his time watching him pace.

Seeing Cerat actually out from under his blankets was a welcome surprise as he passed through the livingn room. Warden gave him a smile. It wasn't returned, but at least the vampire didn't try to hide.

"Are you still hungry, Cerat? Or did you manage to feed again?" He asked as he stopped near the bedroom door and tugged his shirt from where it was tucked into the waistband of his pants, then undid its buttons.

"Careful." Cerat mumbled quietly, glancing sideways toward the kitchen.

Warden raised a brow as he tossed his shirt into the hamper just inside the bedroom door, then began turning toward where Cerat was staring. He barely moved a couple of inches before he felt something hard slam against his back. The hit made him gasp, and if there weren't two familiar, muscled arms holding him tightly, pinning his arms to his sides, he would have stumbled forward.

"Drake?" Warden rasped out, his voice suddenly scratchy from shock.

Instead of answering, Drake nuzzled against his neck and growled. The sound was deep and dangerous. His wolf is nearly out. Warden thought as he felt claws inch their way out of Drake's fingertips, where they curled against his abs.

He had no idea why his best friend was losing control of his wolf so suddenly. Sure, it was always just beneath the surface, but he hadn't done anything to provoke it, and Cerat didn't seem to be worried until just before Drake grabbed him.

"Drake, I'm sorry for whatever I did, but please let me go." Warden said, trying to keep his voice steady. He didn't need the wolf thinking that he was begging. He wasn't weak, but he didn't have Drake's muscles or his strength. He was agile and did have a good bit of muscle, but against a wolf that already had him disabled? Resisting would be useless.

"Shut up." Drake growled after several tense seconds.

Warden did. He could feel the man's heavy breathing against his back as his chest rose and fell. He could tell that Drake was trying to gain control back, but even so, Warden knew that he was having trouble. There was a muzzle slowly growing from his jaws and the claws on his fingers were already fully formed.

It could come to a fight, and that realization made Warden's stomach twist into knots. They'd fought before. Several times, in fact. He'd lost every single time, though, and got hurt pretty badly if he couldn't fly away fast enough.

"Hey dog!"

Cerat's voice was like a balm to Warden's stress. He stood a few feet in front of them, baring his fangs at Drake.

Drake clearly wasn't happy about the interruption and returned Cerat's gesture with his own snarl and a snap of his jaws. Cerat didn't back down, and that was what Warden had hoped for. A wolf couldn't back away from a challenge. They were too proud and too cocky.

When Drake's claws slowly disappeared from Warden's belly, he dropped to the floor, leaning forward onto his arms as he panted. His eyes were on the carpet, but his focus was completely on what he could hear of the other two.

"You have no right to try and force him to let you claim him, Drake." Cerat hissed, making Warden's head whip up in a blur. Claim?

He wasn't stupid. He knew about wolves claiming their mates. It wasn't pretty. Lots of blood and possible broken bones, especially around the shoulder and neck area, were involved and it sure as hell wasn't something he expected to have to worry about from his best friend!

"You've got to be joking." He said quietly in disbelief.

Cerat just glared at Warden while Drake eyed him from over his shoulder before returning his attention to Cerat.

"I'll do what I want with him." Drake finally growled to the vampire. His voice was extremely deep and hard to understand. His wolf is talking. How is that even possible? Warden thought as he gaped at his best friend.

While the two eyed each other up, Warden quietly began backing away on his hands and knees. It looked like Drake was about to lunge when Warden finally got close enough to the entry door to make a run for it.

He must have made some sort of sound that he hadn't noticed because in less than a second, Drake was darting after him, running on his hands and feet. His wolf was mostly out, but a small bit of Drake's human form still remained. Half transformed. I need to get out, now. Warden thought as he scrambled through the door as his wings unfurled from panic.

When he finally got them straightened out, he was stumbling outside. The air currents int he alley where the side exit was located weren't nearly strong enough, making him run as quickly as he could manage toward the entrance. He just barely made it and picked up enough wind to lift his body before Drake was able to make a grab for him. Once at a safe height, Warden turned his attention back down to Drake, only to watch the man turn around and run back into the building.

Worried, Warden let himself descend in a circular pattern. He was surprised to see Cerat running outside a few minutes later. Drake was hot on his heels, but when the vampire leaped up, Warden dove, snagging him just in time to pull away from Drake's attack.

He could feel Cerat laughing against his chest as he wrapped his arms around his neck and then locked his legs around his waist.

Warden was about to tell him something but paused when he felt Cerat's slightly blunt fangs tear into his neck. He winced, then scowled as he continued to fly. It wasn't like he could remove the vampire without killing him with a fall, so he just kept his mouth shut and let the man feed.

At least I still have my wallet on me. He thought as his stomach growled, needing its own food.

He would give Drake some time to regain control and find some dinner for himself, then return and figure out what the hell had gotten into him.