All was pleasantly silent. The clock struck midnight moments ago, but Preto didn't bother looking up from his book to acknowledge it. His heir had long-since gone to bed, worn out from their evening's event. His pup hadn't even had the energy to keep its eyes open until they'd gotten home, making Sebastian carry him upstairs in his arms. 

That young black wolf had taken quite a bit of his energy. 

Once their friend, Verander, had retreated back into the mansion, their group had decided to rejoin the festivities for one more set of dances. Well, it had mainly been his decision, but Sebastian did not argue. 

Stretching out his long legs, Pretennon gave a quiet hum of approval before settling back into his large wingchair and flipping the page to his book. It was a murder mystery, his favorite genre, but of course, there was quite a bit of romance mixed in. 

Elder Pretennon...

Pulling his mind from his book, Preto tilted his head. 

Rain beta Kandza, is it not quite late for an unannounced visit this evening? 

His words were met by silence before he heard the faint sound of claws gently scratching at the spot beneath his second story window. They had had quite an interesting meeting during the night's festivities, but it had ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. 

I am no courtesan, Kandza. 

There was another bout of silence before he finally got the wolf to respond. 

Absolutely not, Elder Pretennon. I... 

Preto waited a few moments before replying. 

You? 

He could tell that the werewolf was struggling to find words, and while he was normally quite patient, even for a vampire, for some reason, Kandza made him lose most of his situational control. He wanted the man in front of him, standing tall but ready to bend to his will at a moment's notice, too. And those ears...

Baring his teeth at the crackling fire in the hearth before him, Preto let out a stern warning hiss as he closed the book he'd been intent on enjoying. 

I apologize for upsetting my lord, Kandza thought to him... and yet, he didn't leave. 

Pretennon could easily tell that he was also in his wolf form, too. He did not even bother to come calling for him as a human.

Why have you come here at this hour, Kandza? I will not entertain you. 

He knew that he was being harsh, but he wasn't sure if he really liked the way their situation was unfolding. The man, though he'd never even seen his full face yet, drove him to submissive behaviors he'd never even considered displaying. Not even way back when he had been a poor dirty human boy on the streets of old London. 

His scent is on you...

Clenching his jaw, Pretennon stood from his chair and promptly strode toward the large double doors of his balcony. He shoved them open with minimal effort, ignoring the sound of them hitting either side of their supporting walls. 

Kandza's wolf appeared on the decorative railing before him not a second later, his paws easily balancing on the carved surface. The midnight color of his coat easily allowed him to blend into the darkness around him, but Preto's eyes could easily pull his form from its camouflage.

Without warning he blurred forward, his dark, long hair whipping behind him as he allowed his claws to extend. Kandza easily dodged the slashing attack, but that was no surprise. He wasn't honestly trying to injure the wolf, so much as he was needing to release some pent up frustration. 

I do not mind sparring, but there are other ways to relieve stress... 

Preto hissed again as he sped up, nearly catching the wolf's left flank with a claw before it could dodge. They danced around his large balcony for several minutes before he slid to a stop, his eyes wide as he watched Kandza's wolf dart into his bedroom. 

"Kandza!" 

The wolf stopped abruptly and turned, its tail tucked the slightest bit between its legs. It had found itself in front of the hearth, panting quietly as the fire behind it outlined its form in dancing oranges and yellows. 

The light turned his dark coat into obsidian and highlighted his bright caramel eyes as they calmly watched him. 

A low growl hummed to life in Preto's chest as he stepped back inside his bedroom, his hair blowing gently in the breeze coming in from behind him. 

"Why are you here, Kandza? It is of no concern to you whose scent is on me, but if you must know, nothing came of our interaction," Preto said, trying to hold back his growing frustration. "His interest was strictly towards my heir."

Kandza's wolf twitched an ear and licked its nose before looking away and downward. 

"You think you'll be forgiven for this little outburst now that you have the answer you came for?" Preto said as he strode up to the hunching wolf. 

I meant no disrespect, my lord. 

Preto knelt in front of Kandza and grabbed his bottom jaw tightly, lifting it so that he was forced to look at him. 

"Whether you meant it or not, you do not simply come to a vampire's home at such an hour, let alone an elder's, without a very good reason," he growled out. 

The silence that stretched out between them once he'd finished speaking had Preto slowly calming his anger. He didn't expect Kandza to speak anymore, since he'd been so harshly reprimanded for his childish reason for disturbing him, but when his wolf opened its mouth just enough to allow its tongue to slip free and press against Pretennon's wrist, he bristled. 

Shoving the wolf's jaw away, Preto stood from the floor and turned to walk back to his comfortable chair. He had a book to finish, and a stubborn wolf to be rid of. Once he settled back down, he retrieved his novel and opened it back to the page he'd been reading before he'd been so rudely interrupted. 

"See yourself out," he stated simply as he crossed one leg over the other and relaxed into his seat, already allowing himself to return to his favorite place... being lost in a book. 

He barely heard the wolf as it quietly padded its way toward the open double doors. It stopped right at the threshold, but Preto paid him no more mind as he delved deeper into his story. It was heating up quite quickly, and since he'd been waiting for the climax of the story for so long, his attention completely focused on the words he was reading faster than most humans could ever dream of doing. 

The author had been quite descriptive with their romances, but of course, good taste was still used. It almost felt like he was the one who had strong, firm hands slipping beneath his long-sleeved shirt after the laces across his chest were undone one tie at a time. 

The sensation of being touched moved just like it did in the book, yet he had no bosom to fondle. That did not seem to stop the sensation of being touched around his nipples, specifically on his right side as the story guided the other hand away from his upper body to a much lower location. 

Pretennon felt his breathing pick up as that warm hand hungrily slid beneath the shirt he had never bothered to tuck back in after his meeting with K— his eyes jerked open at the same time his fangs descended on a snarl. In the next moment his form blurred. 

Kandza had tried to retreat, but he was the slightest fraction too slow to avoid the harsh bite Pretennon aimed for the right side of his jaw. He hadn't meant for it to be sensual, in any way, and the startled, pained yelp he heard in response made him smirk as he bit down harder. 

He waited for nearly a minute before Kandza's human form slowly lowered himself to his knees, whimpering every few moments from the pain that was, no doubt, radiating through his jaw. Normally, a vampire would numb the area that it bit before actually penetrating the skin with their fangs, but if they didn't? The bite could easily be as painful as breaking a bone, if they chose it to be. 

I-I submit to Elder Pretennon. 

Preto gave one final warning growl before retracting his fangs and releasing Kandza. The man quickly reached up to lick at his fingers, then press them against the two small bleeding wounds on the side of his jaw. He did that several times as Pretennon shut his book and stood up to douse the fire in the hearth. 

He expected the werewolf to retreat after such an aggressive reprimand, and yet, when he turned back around in the darkness, Kandza was still kneeling beside his chair with his head bowed and his messy hair covering most of his downcast face from view. 

Everything in him wanted to chase the man out of his room, but the scent of his drying blood... It was very tempting. There was also something else he wanted to do, too. He would control his anger for the few moments it would take. 

That reassurance had his bare feet moving forward until they stopped in front of Kandza. The man, wisely, did not raise his head or even move a muscle. 

It was hard to see his targets pressed tightly beneath the man's hair, but that didn't stop him from leaning forward and reaching down. The moment his fingers grasped either ear, Kandza flinched. He tried to tuck them tighter against his head, but Pretennon refused to allow it as he knelt down on one knee and gently but firmly began to massage the soft, furry wolf ears. 

He felt the man try to fight him again, but after a few moments he relented and allowed Preto to tend to his ears until they were finally free of his dark hair. 

I knew they would be adorable. 

They weren't just adorable, though, they were possibly the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Add that to the fact that Kandza's heart was beating in overdrive again and Preto was slowly forgetting his previous upset. 

He'd wanted to touch the man's ears again the moment he'd accidentally brushed against them hours earlier, but Kandza had run off on him. Now that he had them in his grasp, he allowed himself the enjoyable distraction of paying them quite a bit of attention. 

He probably should have paid closer attention to the horrific embarrassment he was sensing from Kandza, but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't until twenty or so minutes later that he finally released the poor guy. 

Of course, his ears were immediately tucked back into his hair, much to Preto's upset, but he wouldn't torture him any further that evening. In fact... Leaning over, he gently grasped Kandza's jaw and tilted it up and to the side. Carefully, he then began licking at the two puncture wounds he'd made that hadn't quite healed yet. 

They sealed up in just a few moments, leaving only the slightest scar from the lower of the two wounds. He was just about to say that he had finished healing the injuries when Kandza scrambled backwards, shifting back to his wolf form in a blur. Soon, there was a black wolf standing just outside his double doors, its tail tucked tightly between its legs and its ears pinned nervously to the side of its head. 

Shaking his own head, Preto leaned back against his large reading chair and blew out a tired breath. 

"I feel as if we are dancing together, but not understanding what steps the other is taking," he said with a half shrug. 

I apologize, Elder Pretennon. I... do not know what I am doing. I have been very rude. 

He could not argue that. Not only had he come calling at such a late hour, he'd also touched him without verbal permission, twice. 

Sighing, Preto gestured toward the wolf. It lifted its ears for a second before pinning them again and tilting its head nervously. 

"Come here, Kandza." 

The wolf did as told, but kept its tail tucked tightly as it approached. As soon as it was close enough Preto reached forward with his right hand and immediately began scratching behind Kandza's left ear. 

"I do not know what you are doing, either. Have you not courted someone before, Kandza?" he asked, truly curious. The wolf was aggressive with his attention and after showing up at such a late hour, he was beginning to understand his situation a little better. 

Instead of responding verbally, the wolf laid down next to him and, after resting its head on its paws, turned to face away. 

"Such a stubborn pup," Preto teased before giving an exhausted yawn. 

He normally read for at least a few hours each night, but the events of the evening... especially the most recent one, had really worn him out. 

"I believe it is time to sleep, my friend," he said as he calmly got to his feet. 

When Kandza stood, but didn't head for the balcony, Pretennon smirked and reached down to press a finger to the wolf's wet nose. 

"I will be sleeping alone this evening," he said, making the wolf look off to the side, clearly the slightest bit disappointed. 

"We have some things to discuss before I consider inviting you to court me seriously, let alone share my bed," he added, making the wolf return its attention to him with a pout. 

Turning, Preto held back a smile as he guided the wolf back out onto the balcony. He was about to turn again to bid his final farewell for the evening when he felt warm arms wrap around his middle. 

What a stubborn pup you are. 

He couldn't help his reaction, though. His temper had cooled, and since Kandza was just resting his forehead against his shoulder, like he had done earlier that night, Pretennon decided to humor him and lean back into the hug. 

"I will learn how to court my lord properly," Kandza eventually rasped out, drawing Preto's lips up into a slight curve before he slowly turned in the man's arms. 

Kandza, seemingly finally reading a bit of his body language, released him and took a half step backwards. 

"Have a good rest of your night, beta Kandza," Preto said as he looked into the soft caramel eyes he knew he would see in his dreams later. 

Kandza hesitated to leave, but after a few moments he bowed his head, then shifted back to his wolf form. After one more quick ear scratch, he hopped over the railing and disappeared into the darkness around them. 

Preto stood there for several long minutes as the cool wind rustled his hair, wondering if his friend had really gone, before relenting and turning. He walked back into his room, then turned and shut the double doors. 

"Such an odd pup... yet here I am almost wishing that I'd let him stay." 

Those hands he'd felt on his body while reading that passage from his book, and the scent of his blood... he had really had to fight himself to attack the man instead of yank his own clothing off and prostrate himself before him. 

Go to sleep, you perverted vampire. 

And so, very reluctantly, he did. 

(Edited)