The staring match lasted only for a minute.
Aleksandr pushed Leo down with sudden force, the heat in his eyes raw and evident, a low snarl escaping his mouth, revealing just how much of the predator he truly was.
Aleksandr tried to keep his hands gentle, not wishing to hurt his mate, even unintentionally. His breath was warm against the quiet tension between them as he pushed up Leo's sweatshirt and exposed the curve of his stomach to the cool air. He couldn't help bring his mouth down to touch and lick every inch of his mate's soft flesh and leave little marks on his body, claiming him. Aleksandr pressed soft, lingering kisses along the path downward.
His fingers deftly found the button of Leo's jeans, pausing only when he looked up, eyes searching, voice low and rough with restraint.
"Tell me I can kiss you, Lev," he rasped in a voice that was not a request, not quite a plea, but a careful line he refused to cross without permission.
"D-down there?" Leo stuttered.
"Da." Aleksandr bent down, inhaling his mate's skin and not moving further until he had Lev's confirmation.
"Umm.."
"Well?"
Seeing that Lev wasn't really answering, Aleksandr licked the strip of Lev's stomach bared to him. Leo didn't disappoint and instantly reacted to Aleksandr's touch. He could smell his mate's arousal and knew Lev wanted this as much as Aleksandr.
However, Aleksandr noticed his mate's closed eyes, and wanted him relaxed and focused on Aleksandr so he pulled himself up and over Lev's body. As soon as he was face to face, he peppered Leo's face with tiny kisses. He could feel Leo's body losing the stiffness under him and could feel him relaxing as he moved to place his lips on Lev's neck. He was absolutely going to leave a hickey there. No, not one. Multiple.
Claiming Leo always felt like getting injected with a shot of adrenaline, to Aleksandr. Hot and heady.
As Leo opened his eyes, Aleksandr just murmured his mate's name. Still waiting for a reply to his earlier question. "Lev?"
"Yes." Leo whispered.
As soon as he had permission, Leo's trousers and undies got thrown away with lightning speed and his dick was throbbing in Aleksandr's hand. Aleksandr placed the hot, pulsing cock of his mate in his mouth all the way and sucked, making Leo jump off the floor.
He realized, as he worked his tongue on Leo's cock, that his mate couldn't really keep his voice down. Aleksandr couldn't care less about who heard them, though, since he wanted everyone within hearing distance to know what they were doing inside the tent, who his mate belonged to. Hearing his mate moan Sasha's name in ecstasy made his wolf howl in pleasure.
Soon it turned into a game of what would make Lev moan the loudest.
And Aleksandr won all the rounds.
~~~
Their positions had reversed and Lev was now fully lying on Aleksandr's chest as Aleksandr combed his fingers through his mate's silky hair. He could tell Lev would soon fall asleep.
"My great-grandfather came with a few others and settled in Mologa, decades ago. The pack already saw him as a leader so nobody really questioned his authority. Back then, Mologa was more rural than urban, so he wasn't encroaching on anyone else's territory. Things were simpler."
Leo had laid his head on Aleksandr's chest so that he was facing him now and Aleksandr knew he had Leo's full attention.
"He distributed the land impartially to the pack members and asked them to grow their businesses there so that the whole community could benefit, including the future generations. My dad challenged him and took over when he realized that my grandfather was growing tired and thinking of retiring. He didn't want anyone outside the pack to be aware of a frail alpha and take unfair advantage, though I'm told that my grandfather didn't go easy on my father either and gave him a run for his money. Just like the old man did to me, when I challenged him." Aleksandr continued with a faint smile on his face.
"I can't tell you exactly how old I challenged for Alpha. There's not a standard age set for it. It's just something we feel as young wolves. I remember being too on edge, my blood thrumming under my veins, boiling furiously at the drop of a pin, picking unnecessary fights. My mother recognised it before me or my father could pick up on it." Aleksandr let out a short laugh at that.
"She's always been an intuitive woman. I had a few others with me who challenged the Alpha. Have you ever seen the fight challenges? In your old pack, maybe." Aleksandr asked.
Leo shook his head, "No, when we were in the countryside, babushka had a pact with the Alpha then for protection, but she mostly preferred being left alone. Then, my mum moved me and my sister, Nadya, to the city and it never came up."
Aleksandr let out a hmm deep enough that it vibrated through his chest and Leo's.
"Well, basically, it's just like an elimination round battle. Whoever makes it to the last round fights the Alpha while the one who made it till the previous round becomes the new Beta."
"So, Vlad fought with you for Alpha but now he's your Beta?" Leo asked.
"Da, lyubov moya." (Yes, my love.) Aleksandr replied.
"And you're not worried that he might try to overtake you or betray you someday?" Leo couldn't help worry.
"Nyet mate. The dominance was already established when we fought in the challenge and that's something you don't go against in packs. You'd know about it too if you were raised in a proper pack too. Nevertheless, all wolves feel the instinct, the need to stay in pack under an Alpha wolf more dominant and stronger than them. That's how I know my Beta won't betray me." Aleksandr smiled and said, "Besides, I've known him since we were pups together, he's my best friend!"
Feeling satisfied, Leo put his head back down on his mate's chest and wrapped his arms around him, tight like a vise, soaking all the comfort and heat his mate had to offer.
"D'you have any siblings?" Leo murmured sleepily.
Leo could feel his mate's large hand tousling his hair. "I have two. They're both way younger than me. My lil brother Anton's 15 and sister Yuliya's just 5."
"And you are....?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"25." Aleksandr grumbled, anticipating what Leo might say. The age differences between his sibling was no joke. Or maybe it was, a huge one.
Leo didn't say anything for a minute. Then said in a tone full of laughter and sass, "Your dad must really love your mom."
"Why youuu- I'll show you some love, Lev." Aleksandr flipped and toppled Leo on his back just to hover over him and blow raspberries on his stomach, making his mate laugh.
Suddenly Aleksandr stopped and flipped his head towards the entrance of their little tent. "What is it?"
Leo hadn't even noticed that someone was outside, but could smell it now. He stopped laughing.
"Alpha, there's some trouble. We spotted some wolves of the neighboring pack on the other side of the lake, trying to cross the border discreetly."
"How many?"
"Four of them."
"Vlad?"
"The Beta had the situation under control, until.."
"Go on." Leo could hear the anger in Aleksandr's voice.
"Until they attacked us."
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