Jamie and Diego fell asleep with their backs to each other. In the morning, however, Jamie woke up sprawled atop Diego. Groaning, he sat up. He rolled his shoulders and then his neck to work the kinks out, feeling Diego stir behind him. He felt embarrassment from crying his heart out to his mate the night before, but not nearly as much as he thought he would. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. Despite his sore muscles and headache, it had been one of the best sleeps of his life. Diego grunted and shifted, lying on his side. He tugged the blankets over his muscular body and Jamie kissed his teeth in annoyance, slapping the small of his back lightly, ‘’oi. Wake up.’’ ‘’Afternoon shift,’’ Diego mumbled sleepily. ‘’Wow. Lucky you,’’ Jamie said sarcastically, ‘’I have to be at the coffee shop at eight,’’ he ignored the painful knowledge that the coffee shop – and his life as he knew it – would be closed soon. Today was Christmas Eve. Tomorrow was Christmas. After that, a week u

Jamie sat, unmoving, throughout the whole movie. He’d sat on the couch, tucked his legs under his chin and watched the movie silently, not daring to glance at his mate. He sat even through the credits and by the silence from the armchair; he knew Diego was under the influence of his wolf. Eventually, Jamie turned the movie off. The TV went static, casting a soft light on the otherwise dark living room. Jamie knew he had to move, but he also didn’t want to. If he moved, then he’d have to go to his bedroom and leave Diego in his armchair. For some reason, Jamie didn’t want to be alone. Or, maybe, he just didn’t want to be apart from Diego. He sighed softly. He’d been aware of those feelings surfacing over the last weeks and he knew he couldn’t ignore it forever. He turned towards Diego, set on saying goodnight and catching some sleep. Diego’s eyes were glowing gold; his intense gaze was set on Jamie and th

At eight thirty pm on New Year’s Eve, the whole Bay Street gang landed in Ellie’s apartment, where she was hosting a party for her pack. Ellie had invited them weeks prior and all of them accepted – because of their mates, inability to refuse free booze or the fact that from tonight until the end of reparations, they were barred from the building that was the centre of their world. Half of them low-key expected something fancy and proper, like Ellie seemed to be – maybe a dinner with red wine and thick napkins. Instead, it looked rather...chill. Ellie had dragged her coffee table to the corner and it was loaded with every alcohol imaginable from champagne to prosecco to 40% vodka. There were mixers somewhere between the bottles but not nearly enough – it looked like half the guests would be getting smashes tonight. The party was strictly for pack – and for mates – which made it intimate and relaxed. Fritz’s sub-pack was lounging around, eating and wrestling on the couch. Dom

Diego did as Ellie said. He went home and slept. He set alarm clocks on his phone to wake him up after only a couple of hours. But as soon as he collapsed in Jamie’s bed, and inhaled his scent, his nerves were calmed and he was out like a light. He slept straight through the day and awoke after sun down. ‘’Shit,’’ Diego scrambled out of bed in the dark, groggy and confused. It took him a couple of minutes to gather his thoughts. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths before hopping in the shower. He scrubbed himself down, brushed his teeth, changed his clothes and left his house. Ellie had been right. Diego felt much stronger and more determined when he walked out onto the streets, now that he had all of his energy back. He tried to catch Jamie’s scent, but it wasn’t anywhere around the house. So Diego set out, walking around all the places he thought Jamie might be. He went to the last building on Bay Street first. There were building materials strewn all over

48 hours after the fight, Gus and Alex were back in Alex’s hostel room. They were fresh after sex, lying on top of the covers in just their underwear. Gus was splayed atop his mate, tracing patterns into his chest. Alex had his arm thrown over Gus and was dozing off a little. Gus was deep in thought. Now that the New Year was well and truly underway, the date of Alex’s dispatch was creeping up on them. Gus knew how much Alex wanted to be a proper soldier and he’d never try to cap his dreams. But it hurt, every time Gus thought about it. How in less than six months, Alex would be gone, for years on end. How they wouldn’t be able to do this – lay together and soak in each other’s presence – all the time anymore. Gus buried his face in Alex’s chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. There was another thing plaguing his mind. An idea that had blossomed a while ago and had since been flitting around his head. S