He was absolutely exhausted. 

After finishing the ritual to seal away Marquise's wolf, the man had been forced back into control permanently. Of course, at that time he was also unconscious. So, Pretennon had had to carry him all the way back through the small tunnel until they reached a more open area where he could pass him off to one of his packmates. 

Once that was done, he helped transport anyone else who still had injuries to the local hospital for treatment. He'd then stayed with Kandza while they'd cleaned and stitched up his cut ear and allowed the doctor to put a salve onto the holy water burn on his own face, but that was all he'd wanted to tolerate for himself. 

Of course, Kandza wouldn't let him off the hook so easily. It took him nearly half an hour of arguing, but he'd somehow managed to wear down Preto's determination.

And now he was lying down on a cot in the hospital that smelled like blood, hungry and utterly at his strength's limit. It truly was hard to wear out a vampire, and especially an elder one, at that, but... Heaving an exhausted sigh for the fifth time since arriving, Preto slowly turned his head on the uncomfortable pillow beneath it and stared into his wolf's soft caramel eyes. 

"Kandza, go see your packmates," he said with a voice so quiet that he could barely believe that it was his own. 

When Kandza simply shook his head and leaned down to nuzzle his nose against Preto's cheek, right above the spot that had been burned, he grumbled. 

"Why are you so stubborn? I'm perfectly fine, that's why the doctors haven't bothered with me yet." 

He really didn't have all that bad of an injury. Yes, his face was burned, but it would heal. His foot would also heal, though he'd overdone it and it definitely could use a little help along the way now. 

"Pardon me, can I have your name and birth date, please?" a young female nurse asked as she poked her head around the small curtain blocking them from the other patients in the busy ward. 

Pretennon answered with his full name and date of birth, and fought back a slight grin when he noticed Kandza's face turn a little red. 

What did you expect? I'm an elder vampire. You are a pup compared to me.  

He felt Kandza growl into his mind, but he knew that he had a point. If he had wanted a young person, or even one only a little bit older, he should have kept his focus on other werewolves... or at least, humans. By courting him, the stubborn werewolf now had a partner that had a lifetime of years already behind him. 

I don't care about how many years you've lived. I only want the remainder of them to be with me. 

Preto would have blushed if he wasn't running so low on blood already. 

"Excuse me, sir?"

Stop distracting me!

"Yes ma'am, sorry. I've already gotten the burn on my face taken care of, but I wanted to have my foot looked at. It got injured a few days ago in a trap covered with holy water and hasn't been healing correctly." 

Because you refuse to stay off of it, Kandza added. 

Preto hissed at him mentally, but his werewolf didn't seem to have even heard him as he scooted over so that the nurse could remove Preto's boot and unwrap the bloodied bandages covering his injury. 

"How long have you been staying off of it?" she asked, though didn't seem like she expected any kind of reasonable answer since it was so bloody from overuse. 

"He hasn't stayed off of it at all. He refuses to," Kandza said without waiting for Preto to even take a breath in to start his own response. 

He was just about to chastise him when Preto abruptly swallowed his words, nearly going into a coughing fit as Kandza's hand moved to grasp his inner thigh, hard. 

What are you doing? And in front of the nurse! 

Kandza flicked his good ear and spared him only the briefest of glances. But in that look was everything Preto needed to know about why he'd suddenly grabbed him. 

Behave, was the only word he got back in response, though. 

Overprotective, stubborn, jealous, brat! 

He could go on, but it was clear that Kandza wasn't paying him the least bit of attention anymore, so Preto just scowled and turned his head away on the pillow as the nurse began gently examining his messed up ankle and foot. 

"You said that the original injury was from a coated trap? I see those wounds, but the damage has spread down to the sole of your foot," she said as she got up for a moment to go retrieve a basin of water and some wash rags. 

Before she could begin cleaning the area, however, Kandza reached forward and took the damp rag in her hand. 

"I'll do it," he said without an ounce of hesitation. 

Preto glanced at him briefly, but pursed his lips and said nothing as the nurse moved to the side in order to give him room. 

"Are you sure? The entire area needs to be completely scrubbed so that the doctor can come clean out the dead tissue and do some stitches," the nurse said. 

Kandza only nodded his agreement before getting to work, being gentle but meticulous in his attentions. 

Preto was honestly glad that the man had decided to clean his injury, because he really didn't want to have to wait for the nurse and her delicate hands to do it. It would take forever. 

I want to lick. 

Preto made a face. 

Don't you dare. I get that wolves lick their wounds, but there are limits. 

Kandza grunted but continued his work, thankfully with his hands and the rag. The nurse left after a few moments to go tend to other patients, returning about forty minutes later with an older doctor right as Kandza was finally finishing carefully wiping away all of the blood and dirt. 

"Ah, elder Pretennon, I'm glad you decided to allow us to examine your injury," he said, seemingly pleased. 

The man had questioned him about it a couple times as he was running around helping with the sick and injured wolves, but Preto had declined his assistance each time. 

Now, with his wound finally decently cleaned, Preto was just about ready to pass out. It hadn't hurt too badly, but he was just at the end of his energy reserves. 

"Ah, here. I brought you some blood since my nurse mentioned that you were looking quite pale," he said as he began leaning over to hand him the cup. 

Kandza, of course, intercepted him, taking the cup quickly but carefully. 

"I'll take care of it," Kandza said as he helped Preto sit up against him with one arm, then began helping him take small sips from the cup as the doctor turned his attention to his injured foot. 

You know, I am capable of feeding myself, Preto chastised, even though he didn't try to move away from his werewolf at all. Nor did he bother trying to take the cup. 

I know. Elder Pretennon is as strong as he is handsome... and as stubborn.

Preto was smiling faintly against the lip of the cup before he heard that last little part. He was just about to scold him in response when he suddenly hissed and bit the cup as pain radiated up his left leg. 

Well, the added pain of nearly breaking a fang on the cup definitely helped distract him from his damaged foot, at least. 

There's always a plus side, he joked to himself without humor... right before Kandza licked the spot just beneath his eye after having set the half-empty cup aside. 

What are you—

Another lick. 

Will you beh—

A third lick. 

Dammit Kan—

Preto heaved a sigh and pressed his forehead against his werewolf's shoulder, resigned to the awkward attention of having his face, and now hair and ear, licked. 

"I'm almost done," the doctor said after a while, making Preto widen his damp eyes as he looked up. 

Wait, why is Kandza straddling my lap? And how did the doctor finish so quickly? 

He paused for a few moments as the doctor continued working together with the nurse and Kandza continued to lick his hair softly. His werewolf had distracted him quite thoroughly... and honestly, done a bit too well of a job.

I... I'm hard. 

"Alright, I think you're all good now. We're just going to bandage this up, then get some pain medicine for you and you'll be all set," the doctor said as he began wrapping up Pretennon's foot and ankle. 

He wanted to argue that he didn't need pain medication, that he was an elder vampire and all that shit, but Kandza quickly nipped that argument in the bud when he bit down on his ear, making him focus everything he had on stifling a moan. 

You're a bad dog. A terrible, bad dog! 

"Thank you for everything, doctor. We really appreciate it," Kandza said as he glanced over his shoulder at him with a smile. 

At the same time, he was patting the back of Preto's head like one would when trying to calm a frustrated child. 

The doctor and nurse said a few more things, mainly information on how to care for the injury correctly, then they walked away to get the medication ready. 

"Why are you sitting on me? This is not the place!" he hissed out as quietly as he could once the other two were out of sight. 

Thank god the man had at least tugged on a pair of pants earlier, before they'd arrived at the hospital, but still! 

Kandza tilted his head and flicked his good ear, drawing Preto's attention immediately to it, then over to his injured one. His previous frustrations drained away immediately as he reached up with the gentlest of fingers to softly grasp that poor, cut ear. 

Obediently, Kandza tilted his head down, allowing Preto easier access... but not without a cost. His hands immediately drifted downward along the vampire's body until they attempted to slide into the waistband of his pants. 

Preto quickly snapped out of his ear-daze and snagged the man's hands right as the top button of his pants was undone. 

"Why won't you behave? We aren't doing anything here!" he hissed out, refusing to let Kandza's struggling hands go back to what they'd been doing. 

When the man finally realized that he wasn't going to be allowed to touch, he lifted his brooding eyes back up to Preto's. 

Um... 

He'd never seen Kandza look so... wolfish. 

Is... is he really just a beta? 

"Here you are, lord Pretennon. If you need anything else, please come back any time," the nurse said as she set their paper bag of medication on the cot, then hurried away back behind the curtain. 

I don't think I can ever show my face around here again. 

He was still hard, too, so when Kandza finally got off his lap, he was stuck pulling the blanket up over his pants... after having rebuttoned them, of course. He also noticed that he wasn't the only one who had a little problem in his pants. 

"Sit down and relax for a minute," Preto said as he patted the cot beside himself. 

He thought that the man might finally listen to him for once that day, but instead, he pinned his fuzzy wolf ears to the side of his head and began pacing. 

As he moved, it was clear that he was getting more and more frustrated. He was even growling quietly with each turn and backtrack. 

Alright, enough of this. 

Pushing himself to his feet, Preto winced as he tried to put weight on his bad foot, but before he could adjust to the pain, he was abruptly scooped up into Kandza's arms!

He barely managed to reach down and swipe his medicine bag before the man carried him right out of the hospital, not giving a single damn if people stared or not. 

Thank god my body has calmed down enough to not embarrass me worse...

A few werewolves were stationed at the entrance to the hospital. Some were clearly guards, while others looked like they were waiting for other werewolves to be discharged after treatment so that they could help them get home to rest. 

They bowed their heads to them, but didn't speak. In fact, neither Pretennon, nor Kandza, spoke the entire short walk home. Preto honestly stopped paying attention about halfway there and tucked his head more comfortably against his werewolf's chest to rest. 

He dozed for a short time, then blinked open heavy eyelids when he heard Kandza's muffled voice rumble through his chest and into his cheek where it was pressed against it. 

"What?" he whispered, wanting to know what he'd missed. 

He felt a soft kiss press against the top of his head before Kandza replied just as quietly. 

"I asked them to fill the bathtub for you." 

Preto groaned inwardly. He did not want a bath right now. He wanted to sleep! For at least a year or two...

"Elder Pretennon is very dirty. I only cleaned your foot," Kandza stated logically, even though Preto didn't want to hear it. 

Instead of responding with more words, he simply gave out a quiet grumble as he was calmly carried upstairs and to his room. He could sense his heir and alpha Ruoka in Sebastian's room, but he didn't bother trying to reach out to either. The tension coming from inside was more than enough to ward anyone away. Sebastian had seemed quite upset with Ruoka's decision to stay and help with Marquise's wolf, and even though he'd left immediately afterwards to find his vampire, his heir had still been unhappy. 

We are both a bit too stubborn. 

Kandza gently set Preto down on his large bed, then reached down to help undress him as his servants continued to walk back and forth behind him to fill the bathing tub. 

"Can you not be patient for one minute?" Preto growled as he tried to swat the man's hands away, but continued to fail miserably as he was stripped of his coat, shirt, and pants. 

By the time his servants had finished their task, Preto sat on his bed, stark naked and, awkwardly enough, hard again. He'd leaned over to try and hide the obvious, and Kandza had moved the slightest bit to help shield him, too, but the damned man wouldn't let him even have a blanket to cover himself!

He'd said that he would have tried to lie down immediately if he was given the blanket, then refuse to get up... which had been one-hundred percent correct, but still! 

Kandza was just leaning down again to help lift him up when Preto hopped up on his own, then nearly dropped to the floor. He managed to catch himself, with Kandza's help, but when the man tried to lift him again he hissed, finally getting his point across that he was tired of being carried. 

Kandza grumbled in response, but relented and just tugged Preto's arm over his shoulder and helped him limp toward the bathroom. The guy didn't waste any time getting him situated in the warm bathtub with his foot out of the water, then tied his hair up. It was definitely a task for another day. He then grabbed a clean washcloth and wiped down Preto's entire body, besides his bandaged foot, with a decent amount of soap.

The water turned dark quickly, making Preto silently grateful that the man had forced him to wash before allowing him to sleep. He also watched Kandza wipe his own body a bit with an extra damp towel, removing most of the faint layer of dirt that had gotten on him during the raid. The man then laid a new dry towel on the floor once he'd finished rinsing off Preto, then got a second one to wrap him in as he was carefully helped from the tub. 

Preto gladly slumped into the man's arms this time, not even caring that one of Kandza's hands had immediately slid down to his damp, partially-uncovered backside. As long as the guy kept holding him, he could do whatever he wanted. 

He dozed a little as he was, once again, lifted and carried over to his bed. There was no grumbling this time, though, but not because he was exhausted. His left arm had found its way up and around Kandza's neck, but his right one had drifted downward and behind him to claw at his loose pants. 

With everything the man had been doing in the past few hours, he'd been distracted and, especially while giving Preto a bath, the borrowed scrub pants he'd tugged on while in the hospital had slipped from around his waist and lowered quite a few inches. 

"Elder Pretennon needs to behave and rest," Kandza said as he gently unwrapped his arm from around his neck as he laid him down in his bed. 

Preto couldn't believe what he was hearing from the werewolf who had practically ridden him in front of a doctor earlier! 

Pursing his lips, Preto got himself more comfortable, then reached up with shaky hands and undid the tie in his hair. The moment he had the tie off, Kandza took it from him and tossed it aside, then began gently running his fingers through Preto's long, tangled hair, nudging most of the knots loose with ease. 

The gentle attention had Preto closing his eyes as he felt the other man carefully climb into bed with him after he heard the sound of something akin to fabric drop to the floor. Curious, and more than a little horny, Preto let his hands wander to the man's too-warm body, then greedily began groping everywhere he could reach. 

He tried, several times, to get the man to lower himself down onto him, but each time, Kandza refused to budge more than an inch or so, eventually making Preto so frustrated that he forced his aching eyes open. 

Why can't you just beha—

His words were erased from his mind as he stared up into feral, caramel eyes. Saliva quickly pooled in his mouth and he fought himself not to simply reach up and yank the man downward. One of his fangs extended a little farther than the other, sneaking past his upper lip. 

Even within the darkness of the room, it was clear that Kandza could see that little fang. His bright eyes shone down at him, hunger clear as day within them. 

Preto licked his lips slowly, contemplating what he could do to get the man to ravish him. He nicked his tongue on his fang but didn't even acknowledge it as he reached up with one shaky hand and grasped the back of Kandza's neck. 

"Kandza, come here," he said, his voice quiet with exhaustion but still determined. 

When the man simply turned his head and licked the side of Preto's arm painstakingly-slowly, Pretennon scowled. After a few moments, he let his arm fall back down to the bed, unsure on how he could get the darn man to act on the obvious desire shining in his eyes. 

"Why are you just staring at me? I can smell your arousal and feel the heat of your body even though we're not even touching right now," Preto said, needing to know the reason why he suddenly wasn't good enough. 

Kandza gave out a long, tired sigh before finally, slowly, lowering his body down onto Pretennon's. The sheer amount of heat that the man was producing at that moment made Preto sigh as he hurried to spread his legs and wrap his arms around the werewolf, worried that he might try to get away. 

He'd hoped that he would just get busy and relieve them both, then they could sleep away the next day or two, but when the man still refused to so much as grope his ass, Preto growled and nipped at his neck. 

He waited, and waited, and waited for a response, but what caught his attention some ten or so minutes later, after both their bodies had finally calmed down a little, was the faint sound of sniffling next to his right ear where Kandza had tucked his face against his pillow. 

Kandza? 

 "I still wonder, too," Kandza finally said in a scratchy, muffled voice against Pretennon's hair. 

Wonder? Wonder about what? 

"What do you want to know?" Preto asked as he began to gently sift his fingers through Kandza's soft, messy hair. He avoided his fuzzy ears so that he wouldn't get distracted, but it was hard. 

"Elder Pretennon, you let me mark you... but for what purpose?" 

Preto's brow furrowed as he pressed his hand down firmly against Kandza's hair and his other one's claws dug slightly into the man's back. His mouth felt dry as he tried to say the obvious, I let you mark me because I want you to screw my brains out, but no words came out. 

I... didn't want you to get physical with someone else. 

Those words also didn't get past his lips. 

I have a disturbing addiction to your fuzzy wolf ears. 

Yeah, definitely not the right words for any situation. 

Holding the man a little tighter, Preto nuzzled his face into Kandza's soft hair and sighed. 

"I don't want you to go anywhere," he eventually said, unsure if the words were what Kandza wanted to hear or not, but they were what he could manage to push past his slightly trembling lips.

He felt the man move against him a little bit, likely getting more comfortable. Just that slight bit of movement had Preto groaning as his body reacted again, clearly hopeful that they would be getting busy soon. 

"Why not?" Kandza asked, taking Pretennon by surprise. 

He tightened his hold on the man immediately, not caring that he was making him bleed a little where his claws dug into his back. 

"Because you're mine," he growled out, pushing aside his exhaustion to make sure that his words were heard loud and clear. 

Kandza made a quiet grumbling sound as he lifted his head to nuzzle his cheek against Preto's for a moment before pressing his face into the crook of his neck. 

"Why?"

Why? You marked me! You've been at my side constantly! You only wanted me to look at you, and now I only want you to look at me! 

"Because I love you, you darn stubborn wolf!" 

Pretennon made a face as he realized what he'd just said. He hadn't really meant for those words to come out of his mouth, but he couldn't just tell Kandza to erase them from his mind, either. Even if he'd begged, he doubted that the man would entertain his request for even half a second. 

His mind grew fuzzy with wave after wave of nervous nausea, making him dizzy enough to have to squeeze his eyes closed. 

"I love elder Pretennon, too. I am sorry I stressed you and made you confess, but I needed to hear those words," Kandza whispered just loud enough to be heard over the blood rushing around Preto's head.  

"What...? You really needed to hear me say it? Even after I let you mark me, and touch me...?" Preto questioned, not able to wrap his mind around what his werewolf was saying. 

When Kandza simply nodded against him and gave his neck the slightest, gentlest lick, Preto felt his chest tighten. 

"I wasn't sure if I was good enough. I knew that elder Pretennon coveted my body, but I wanted him to want more than that. I wanted him to want all of me... but you hesitated." 

Preto slowly forced himself to relax and not say anything he would regret. For so many years, he hadn't bothered trying to get close to anyone in such a way. He was a bit of a rake, and preferred to just enjoy himself as opposed to tying himself to a single person. He'd done that many years ago, but an elder vampire's lifespan was far greater than a humans, or even a werewolf's. He hadn't wanted to go through the heartbreak of losing a loved one again. 

You are good enough, though. You're the first and only person I've wanted to keep by my side in so many years. 

"I... apologize for not saying what I needed to sooner. It has been many, many years since I've tried to love someone," he finally replied, hoping that he was saying the correct thing. 

Kandza was silent for a few moments before he lifted his head high enough for Preto to finally meet his caramel eyes again. The faint, boyish grin on his face made him nervous, but also a little excited. 

"I forgive elder Pretennon, and I love you, too," Kandza said before leaning down and pressing his mouth of Preto's. 

The kiss enflamed Preto's previous arousal, making him spread his legs wider, hoping to invite Kandza to finally take care of their needs. 

They kissed for quite some time, and the man's hands wandered to quite a few places to grope and rub, but, somehow, he still refused to slide himself just the slightest bit farther down Preto's body and connect them together. 

When their heated kiss finally ended, Preto groaned as he stared up at Kandza. The man looked like he was starving, so why...? 

"It is time to rest, elder Pretennon. You must regain your strength." 

You... did not just say that after sucking on my face and groping me for so long! 

But he had, and right after Kandza had finished speaking he got himself off of Pretennon and dropped down to the bed beside him. 

Livid and beyond frustrated, Preto turned onto his side to give the man a piece of his mind, but his words got caught in his throat when Kandza pulled him against his chest and began gently licking his face. 

Why the hell isn't he ravishing my body? He would have totally done it if I had told him that I loved him the last time he'd confessed, instead of pushing him a—shit. 

Nearly roaring with anger, Preto pushed himself up to a sitting position abruptly, startling Kandza into rolling onto his back and looking up at him with a surprised, confused expression. 

"Are you getting back at me for the first time I rejected you?" he ground out, fuming. 

When Kandza simply tilted his head on one of Preto's pillows and gave him a lazy, lopsided smile, Pretennon wanted to tie the man down and take what he needed... and yet, all he did was growl pathetically. Kandza waited patiently until he'd managed to exhaust himself again, then slowly sat up and reached forward to tug him back into his arms before lying down again. 

"I am sorry, elder Pretennon," he said quietly as he stroked Preto's back with one hand while tucking his head against his chest with the other. 

"I'm mad at you," was all Preto could say as his eyes finally got too heavy to stay open. 

Kandza gave an acknowledging sound but didn't speak again. 

This darn wolf...

"You better make it up to me tomorrow," Preto eventually mumbled out, his words slurring with sleep. 

He felt Kandza's arms hug him tighter in response, then, right as he was finally drifting off to sleep, the man's whispered words met his ears. 

"I will make it up to both of us tomorrow." 

(Edited)