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The wolf walked out of the front doors of the hotel in only a pair of sweats and a tank top - he didn’t even have shoes on. His change was three days out but the moon was full and his limbs ached for a run, his lungs craved the night air, and he desperately wanted to feel the grass on his bare feet.
The moon wasn’t the only thing heavy on his mind though - he’d scented something on the convention hall floor, and then again in the lobby. It was stuck in his nose, clouding his senses and making a single word pound in his head in time with his heartbeat.
Mate.
He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth; yes, this helped. He set off east, the breeze blowing in his face and helping him clear his mind.
There was a strip of grass separating the back of the hotel from a section of woods, and initially he kept to the edge, not wanting to head into the brush and potentially get injured or lost. His mind wandered as he jogged, thinking about the concrete things he knew about being a wolf to keep his mind off the instincts pressing into the back of his mind.
Wolves were born, not created like vampires. The genetic mutation could appear spontaneously but it typically ran in families, like it did with his own. Wolves lived longer than humans, to about 120 years. Humans and wolves could create children together without issue. If men had the gene, they would absolutely go through the change once a month, but women could be carriers of the gene without changing.
Vampires and wolves didn’t always get along - the reason the mutation appeared in humans in the first place was as a defense mechanism against vampires. Unfortunately ancient humans didn’t realize this, and wolves faced the same discrimination vampires did until legislation was passed in the late 70’s that made them “legal” (for lack of a better term). They got along better in society because they were more easily able to hide among humans, but if a wolf was found out they’d be shunned.
He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, lifting his head and letting the fresh air wash over him. A shiver ran up his spine as it chilled the sweat beading on his skin, but it was lovely to feel something else other than that itch. “I’m too busy with shit right now to go through this,” he mumbled to himself.
He knew vampires mated for life, and that the process was different for each couple - sometimes lasting years before they finally declared they were mates.
Wolves, though, were another thing. Mates were rare and decided by scent - if both parties smelled the thing in the other, then that was it. They’d be bonded and nothing could separate them until one of them died.
"At least wolves don’t go crazy when the other passes," he mumbled to himself.
The problem was both people had to smell it. If one of them didn’t, then it wouldn’t work. Finding someone with that thing was rare; finding someone who smelled the thing in you was even rarer.
That’s why he was running. He didn’t want to bother with trying to find this person - they were probably both in from out of town and the chances of them finding the thing on him were slim anyway. Not worth his time.
He turned around with the intention of heading back to the hotel and took another deep breath, but this time the wind carried something else on it. He sprinted off into the woods, instincts taking over in an instant and overpowering any common sense he had left.
Mate.
The rhythm in his head helped him keep pace as he followed the scent deeper into the woods. It was stronger than ever and he growled low in his throat at it - something in the back of his head nagged at him about what they could possibly be doing in the woods so late at night but his wolf side didn’t care. All that mattered was finding the source.
Half a mile later, his pace slowed as his adrenaline wore off. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for - surely if the person was this deep in the woods they’d be in wolf form and hunting, and yet the tracks he was finding here and there were human.
There was a little clearing just ahead, and he slowed and hid behind a tree as he looked out. The moon was bright enough for a human to see - it was nearly day to his enhanced wolf eyes.
He smelled the deer before he saw it; a large doe in heat. She stepped cautiously into the clearing, and he watched her ears swivel around before she bent down to chew at the grass.
He was so intent on watching the deer that he didn’t even smell or see the vampire until he was on top of her, snapping her spine and tearing open her neck to drink from her. His jaw dropped and he waited for the panic to rise in his belly as it did the last time he watched a vampire feed, but it never came.
The wind changed direction, and suddenly there his instincts were again, chanting mate loudly in his ears. He tried to shake it off but couldn’t, and looked around for the source, getting confused when all he could see was the vampire in front of him.
He stepped forward, and the vampire heard the action. “WHO’S THERE?” he called out in his voice, and he found himself stepping forward into the clearing against his own will.
He could feel the vampire’s gaze looking him over and he cursed his short form. Yeah, he was built like a brick shithouse, but he was also five feet four inches tall - not exactly intimidating. He blew out the breath he was holding, and watched the vampire as he dropped the deer and stood up.
He was tall, and skinny, and his blue eyes reflected the moon strangely. He crossed the clearing towards the wolf, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re out late,” he said in a neutral tone, obviously testing him.
"It’s a full moon, lots of wolves are out on nights like this," he sent back.
The vampire stopped a couple yards away from him. “But you’re also half a mile away from anyone else. I hope you’re not looking for a fight.”
"No. I was looking…" he trailed off as he smelled it again. Where the hell was it?
"You scented a mate!" The vampire laughed at the look that crossed the wolf’s face. "Don’t be shy, I can feel your instincts from here. I really hope it wasn’t that deer," he said, thumbing over his shoulder. "I knew wolves were into kinky shit but—"
It was the wolf’s turn to laugh. “No! I’ve been trailing the scent since I left the hotel. I wasn’t expecting to find a vampire, that’s for sure.”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “Wait, I’m confused. You should’ve scented me easily. Is the mate thing that much stronger than me?”
The wolf was stricken speechless. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I’ve never scented a mate before but I gotta be honest, I’m not—”
His instincts flared and his jaw dropped as it finally clicked together in his brain, and after a moment, they hit the vampire and his jaw dropped too.
Mate.
"Oh," the vampire said, stepping closer. "I see."
"This is awkward," the wolf grumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "Now what?"
"We can introduce ourselves I guess. I’m Matt," he said, holding out his hand. "Matt Bragg."
The wolf accepted his hand, long fingers wrapping easily around his square palm. “I’m Jeremy Dooley.”
"Dooley?" Matt’s eyebrows shot up. "Jerem6401?"
Jeremy’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
Matt poked his own chest. “Axialmatt!”
A big smile crossed Jeremy’s face and he shook Matt’s hand harder. “Holy shit, man! Awesome to meet you! You going to the Rooster Teeth panel tomorrow then I’m sure.”
"Why? You wanna be my date?" Matt smirked and snorted at the shorter man.
"Oh shut the hell up."