Van, Axel linked me, near startling me off the bed. I sighed, getting up to go sit on my desk chair as Axel continued. I'd wasted so much time, I should have been studying. He's working on homework. What should I do?

Bake a cake, I retorted, rolling my eyes and grabbing my Werecreature Studies textbook, one of the few original copies in the world. What else do you think? Do your homework too, and maybe he won't think as badly of you. Maybe you can convince him you do, in fact, have a brain.

I could feel his frown. It made me bite back a grin—he always furrowed his brows when he was concentrating seriously. Homework?  Axel grumbled, upset like a child. I wanted to seduce him...

Axel wanting sex over homework wasn't a surprise, but... Yeah, that's not happening. After seeing Oliver's behaviour in the car, I didn't think he had any chance of being successful with that. 

Oliver was very clearly not relaxed or comfortable around Axel. It wasn't like he flinched or glared at Axel—but in fact, I think the vaguely polite, distant, and uninterested behaviour was even worse. 

Not only was Oliver not interested, he was wary and cautious. I was pretty sure Oliver had the worst possible image of Axel—all Axel's fault, of course. But if Axel wanted to have a chance, he needed to first work on showing Oliver his good sides first. 

Seriously, try showing him you're reliable as a partner, I suggested. It's good if you can get him to rely on you even a little, make him relax a bit. You know how conditioning works. Train him to relax and feel good in your room, and maybe one day...

Axel grumbled discontentedly, but sighed in resignation. I knew I had lit a fire under his alpha-male pride—he would naturally want to show his mate he was capable and trustworthy, even if he didn't like strategizing for sex in the long-term. I couldn't help a snicker. Axel's simplicity and straightforwardness was so cute. 

Fine,  Axel agreed. But also, why does Oliver seem to like sitting on the floor so much? 

I raised an eyebrow, baffled. What? 

Axel seemed aware of how bizarre a question that was. He recapped how Oliver refused to sit on the bed with him, disliking the germs. I couldn't help but feel a bit glad knowing they weren't sitting on the bed together. The spot next to Axel on his bed was still mine.

Change the sheets, I advised. Show him you're listening. He doesn't know that we're wolves and that germs like that can't affect us. He's a little human who can get sick, remember? And worse, his sickness could get Axel sick too, until they stabilized their bond.

Axel agreed, realizing what I meant. I did it, Axel reported in a few minutes later. I rolled my eyes, lips turning up. It really felt like I was in the room, even if I wasn't. ...By the way, Van, how do you have gay sex?

My eyes widened. What?

Like is it different than with a girl? Axel mused, frowning seriously. I mean, obviously the parts in the caboose are different. But what is it like? What feels good? 

I closed my eyes, swallowing. I really appreciated the lack of boundaries between Axel and I. But this was—even I couldn't handle talking to guy I liked about sex like that! 

What if he heard my dirty thoughts?! 

This is what the internet and porn is for, Axel, why the hell are you asking me?!

Ew, I don't want to watch gay porn, Axel complained. You're gay, Van, so don't you know about it? 

Axel's voice was quiet and slow, his words dripping with a heat that I knew wasn't for me, but still turned me on. Come on, Van. Tell me what feels good. 

The deep tone of his voice made shivers run down my spine, and I dropped my head to my desk. The cool paper sheets felt jarring against my hot cheeks. 

This was unfair. This was so unfair. This was like sexting, only so much hotter because we were connected. I'd be damned if I hadn't dreamed about this before. 

Well, I-I do, uh, know about it, I guess, b...but... I flushed deeper. 'Tell me what feels good'. What was I supposed to say to that?! 'Anything feels good if you're the one who does it, Axel, but why don't you practice your gay sex skills with me?' That was hardly helpful advice, and I couldn't expose myself like that!

Dammit, Axel! You--Ask me this again when you're actually close to having sex! You won't be mating with him for a while, so knowing won't help! Just focus on, like, your project or something!

. . .Fine, but- oh Oliver's up. Just a second.

I sighed. Any arousal I was feeling instantly disappeared at the cruel reminder of my place to Axel. I started highlighting the section about Siren-Werewolf relations. 

He's in the washroom, Van. I can hear him peeing.

I slammed my pen down on the desk. Not only was my arousal gone, so was my appetite. Jesus christ, Axel! I didn't need to know that!

Yeah, sorry. Axel didn't sound sorry. Do you think I should get him a snack or something? He said he was taking a break.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Yeah, something light should be fine. Aunty Cindy and the other ladies are probably making a big feast for him downstairs.

Okay. I could hear the footsteps of him going downstairs as I picked my pen up to continue. A while later I heard them go back into his room. Oliver took 8 pretzels, he informed me.

I resisted the urge to get out of my room, head over to Axel's, get in and throttle him, and then kiss him. And then throttle him again. Why? Why was I in love with this idiot?! Axel, you piece of shit, what am I, your babysitter?! Why do I need to know that?!

Dunno, you're my best friend? 

I put my head down on my desk, face feeling hot again. Shit. How dare he use that fond, cheeky tone with me? Axel was so unfair. He knew I couldn't fight back against that. Well, he didn't, actually. But he should have! 

Shit, Van, he's on my bed. His scent is getting on there. I can see his neck. Fuck, Alex wants to claim him. What do I do?!

A pang of jealousy shot through me and I sat back up, sighing quietly and soberly. How many times have I laid there, on his bed? Not once did I have the same effect on Axel during my entire life, and here Oliver went out arousing him in seconds. 

Just... study. Focus on your project. I blocked Axel out of my head, ending the connection a bit coldly. He probably didn't notice. He could still contact me if he needed to, but I didn't want to hear him gush about Oliver's skin or scent or whatever. 

I forced the jealousy away by picking up the highlighter and returning to my textbook, flipping to the next section. Werewolf pack review.  

I skimmed the pages, already knowing this, but needing to review just in case. The textbook was a bit outdated, anyways. 

The Alpha was traditionally the leader of the wolf pack, but in a modern pack as large as ours, they were often more of an icon. With how many wolves we had, and with our connections to modern civilization, not every dispute between packs could be solved by physical battles between alphas or their packs. In fact, our decreasing populations, over the years, meant that we were less likely to punch away to get our way. 

No, we lived in a society. While physical violence was definitely an upholding feature of our supernatural halves, a lot of what went down in our supernatural world came back to what it did in the human world—politics. 

Relations between packs, agreements with different species, long historical grudges and promises and treaties, all of that troublesome stuff was where I came in.

As the future Beta of the pack, I wasn't just the second strongest man in the pack like it used to be. Instead, I was the chief advisor and strategist. 

Axel, as the future Alpha, was the face and voice of the pack, but as future Beta, I'd be the one whispering in his ear, telling him what to say. 

And since Axel, frankly, wasn't reliable or interested in the intricacies of politics, I knew I had to make up for that. I'd have to have an even tighter grip of our circumstances and everything surrounding us, that way it wouldn't matter if Axel was a bit... well, simple. As long as I could handle things myself, everything would be fine. 

And It wasn't like I was alone—Jayy was a reliable Gamma. Despite his lack of communication skills, he was very sensitive to others around him, and had a good understanding of the pack and its position. 

Even some of the other wolves—especially the rouges, like Kai and Zoe—were really useful when it came to interacting with other species and packs. And hell, the elders in our pack wouldn't be gone for a long time. I'd always have them to turn to for advice. 

But nobody would respect me as an authority figure if I wasn't actually capable in my own right. Axel's physical prowess demanded respect, but I didn't have that same presence. 

If I wanted to be the one by Axel's side, I had to make sure I was the best. Even if Oliver was Axel's mate, I would still be the most important person to Axel.

I wasn't about to lose to some annoying human with an inflated ego.