23. Annoy

The moment he stepped back into the apartment Drake felt his wolf slip away, leaving him naked as he turned and shut the door, then turned again to face Cerat. He was perched on the arm of the sofa like a cat, watching him with a slight head tilt.

"What? Clearly you've got something to say." Drake growled, more than a bit frustrated that Warden had just literally run from him.

"Bite me." Cerat replied, earning a frustrated grumble from Drake as he stomped up to him.

"You're asking for it, leech. I only have so much restraint." He hissed angrily.

To his surprise, though, Cerat just shrugged and tilted his head. "I'm serious. Bite me. You both only did it once, and while I don't want Warden to do it anymore since I don't want him to be able to influence me, I do want you to do it."

Drake took a step back, putting some space between them so that he could think. Warden had not wanted to do that whole sire thing again, but he had no qualms with getting more control over Cerat... although, he was curious as to why he wanted to do it.

"What's the deal with wanting to continue that, by the way? Aren't you already meshing better with your vampiric side? Do you really need to be bitten again?" He asked.

Cerat nodded, licking a bit of blood away from his lips that he'd missed earlier.

"I think I need it more, until a bond is formed, at least. I sometimes feel like my old self, but at the same time, my new personality revolving more around my vampire takes over. It's frustrating to feel like my mind is sometimes split in two."

I can understand that. Drake thought as his wolf growled inside his head.

"Fine, you just want me to take a nibble?" He asked. Drake knew that Warden wouldn't be too happy, but he doubted that Cerat would intentionally tell him about it.

Hopefully the mark heals before War gets back.

Licking his lips once, Drake stepped forward and leaned over, reaching around Cerat's head to pull his hair aside.

"Don't cry, cause I'm not gonna care." He said before abruptly snapping his teeth down, and through, Cerat's cold skin.

He definitely wasn't the best tasting thing he'd ever bitten into, but Drake forced himself to hold on for a few seconds before releasing Cerat and running to the kitchen to rinse his mouth out.

"You taste like roadkill by the way." He grumbled after he spat out another mouthful of red-tinged water.

Cerat walked over and took a few paper towels, pressing them against the injury he'd just been given. "Comes with the whole undead thing." He said with a half smile.

"Whatever. You feel less like two people and more like one now, or no?" Drake asked, eyeing Cerat with concealed interest.

"Not sure if it's that simple... but, tell me to do something." Cerat said, then quickly added. "That doesn't involve anything perverted."

Rolling his eyes, Drake lifted a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Go make the bed, please. We all seem to forget to do that."

Of course, they never really forgot, they just chose not to do it, but it was a pretty simple command to try out. He expected Cerat to mouth off to him, or at least give him a decent glare, but surprisingly, he just shrugged and did as he was told.

Following him, Drake was shocked to see the bed completely made in all of three minutes. It looked like it was professionally done... until Cerat jumped right in the middle of it and rolled around for a few seconds.

"Hey, I told you to make the bed, not destroy it afterward." Drake chided, though he couldn't help but smile slightly.

When Cerat stopped rolling, lying on his belly, he looked up at Drake and grinned. "You only said to make it, not keep it made."

"Smart ass." Drake said before tugging on a pair of loose shorts, then dropping down onto his back on the bed.

They were both silent for several minutes before Drake patted the spot next to him and nodded toward Cerat.

"Come here."

Cerat only seemed to consider the order for a moment before moving toward him on his hands and knees. When he was close enough, Drake reached forward and tugged him up against his chest.

The cold chill from Cerat's skin drew an uncomfortable shiver down Drake's spine, yet he refused to push him away. Cerat, surprisingly enough, didn't try to put space between them, either. Instead, he just gave a quiet sigh and turned his body so that he fit a little better and could rest his head on Drake's shoulder.

"This is a little closer than I wanted to get... especially because you really smell like wet dog right now." Cerat said, a hint of humor in his voice.

Drake chuckled and shoved him away, letting him roll to the other side of the bed.

"I thought about taking a shower." He said.

Cerat stretched out, dropping his head onto the other spare pillow before turning to look at Drake. "Thought about, huh? I know you took a bath, so does stress-shifting into your wolf bring out his less than pleasant scent?"

Drake nodded. "Yeah. Usually only when it's forced out of stress, and not all the time."

"Thanks, by the way." Cerat said, drawing a raised eyebrow from Drake.

"For agreeing to bite me again. I don't think it will be the last time I'll ask you, but it definitely helps. Even your simple orders are helping my harder to control side, because he wants me to listen to you. He's starting to consider you a possible sire."

Drake grunted a sarcastic laugh in response. "Aren't I just a lucky mutt."

The next bout of silence was interrupted after only a few moments by a strong knock at the front door. Drake immediately thought that it was Warden, but he knew that he wouldn't lock him... most times. Getting up, he wandered through the small apartment until he came to a stop in front of the door. He didn't open it quite yet, though, because a familiar scent met his nose at that moment that just about made him gag. Casius.

Baring his teeth, he snapped them once toward the closed door before forcing himself to clamp his mouth closed and open the door partway.

"Hello, Drakesh. It has been quite a long time, my friend."

Drake lifted his upper lip at the use of his given name. He hadn't used it in years, and quite disliked it. Of course, that's why Casius used it every chance he got. Focusing on where the angel was suddenly looking, Drake scowled.

I'm not a piece of meat.

They had been almost-friends in high school, but Drake had slept with Casius's whore, err, girlfriend, at the time, and that had basically torn apart their meager friendship. Casius had never forgiven him, not even when Drake had explained that she had asked him first, and he'd slept with her to prove to him what she was... and also because his wolf could never pass up humping anything with boobs.

Warden doesn't have any. He thought to the animal. It snarled in his mind, warning him not to pick at the topic of Warden. If he wasn't distracted by Casius standing before him, Drake would have done it just to have something to piss it off. As it were, he had Casius, so he'd use the angel.

First though... Narrowing his eyes, he tried to imagine the blond haired, blue eyed angel beneath him like he'd seen Warden in his dreams. Okay. Gross. Nope. Not my War. The test had been to try and see if he would be attracted to another man, or if his wolf only had eyes for Warden.

At least I'm not drooling over this scumbag of feathers.

"What can I help you with, Cassy?" He asked, loving the annoyance that sparked in Casius's eyes with the use of the nickname.

Trying not to appear that he had his feathers ruffled, Casius crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. Instead of feeling embarrassed, Drake mirrored his pose, then lifted an eyebrow. "My eyes are up here, poultry. And I suggest you hurry up and say what you need to say, as I prefer to not let people who don't deserve to look upon my amazing body see it for long."

When Casius rolled his eyes, Drake felt his wolf snicker in his mind. He also felt an emotion he was surprised to sense coming from his dog. Unease. He could tell that it wasn't happy with him being half naked in front of Casius, but he couldn't even come close to guessing why.

"I came to check up on the little special case you've got glaring at me behind you. Call it curiosity." Casius replied.

Drake's body stiffened, and not even in a good way. "We've got it under control." He said, hoping that Casius would just leave it at that. Of course, he knew darn well that the man wouldn't.

"Do you? One of my dear friends told me that it wouldn't even let him file its teeth down, though. That was part of the agreement, and yet it refused..."

Drake bared his teeth, but couldn't argue the fact.

"What? No snarky comment?" Casius replied as his eyes dropped from his eyes, again, making Drake smirk.

"I always knew you were too interested in my lower half. Sorry, the dick's taken, but maybe you can just go fuck yourself."

Casius was just opening his mouth to reply when he was tugged backwards, making him stumble to catch his balance as Warden slipped past him into the apartment, then turned and shut the door in his face.

"I want to be mad at you right now, Drake." He said as he locked it, ignoring Casius's banging on the aged wood in the hall. He wasn't technically an enforcer, so he couldn't really do anything to them, even if they weren't following the rules.

Warden's hurt whisper tore apart Drake's heart, but he knew he had to stay put. When Warden took a deep breath, then turned around and shook his head, Drake feared that he was going to be kicked out... possibly for good. The apartment might be junk compared to his own place, that he rarely stayed in, but it wasn't the apartment he needed, just the person in it.

But then Warden shocked him by stepping forward and taking his hand, then silently leading him into the bathroom.

Drake didn't argue when Warden motioned toward the tub and grabbed a large bottle of shampoo. Shifting back into his wolf form, Drake climbed into the bathtub, then sat with his head down and shoulders drooped. He didn't even think that he deserved the bath, but he stayed put and cooperated the entire time Warden scrubbed the musty scent from his thick fur.

When he had finally finished, Drake was ready to fall asleep. When a towel was draped over his head, he was eager to get out of the tub, but instead of backing away, Warden leaned in and wrapped his arms tightly around his wolf's damp neck and buried his face in his fur.

"You're an idiot. You both are."

Tilting his head, Drake noticed Cerat sitting on the edge of the closed toilet seat, his fingers gently playing with the feathers of Warden's left wing.

Drake snorted and nuzzled his face against Warden's as his tail gave a wet thump on the bottom of the bathtub. After a few moments he felt his body slowly begin to shift. The hug was a bit awkward since he was leaning over the edge of the bathtub, but Drake made it work. He'd make everything work again, somehow... Even with the little leech that was currently stealing a side hug, having slipped in under the wing he'd been playing with.

Rolling his eyes, Drake moved his right arm and swung it around Cerat, pulling the annoyingly cold vampire closer as he leaned back slightly and pressed his lips to Warden's.

(Stares at clock. Oh, it's midnight. *glances up and starts rereading to edit... pushes Publish button right away and passes out.*)