"Why would Jareth challenge you?" Fenrir asked when you called to tell him about the dominance challenge.

"He hates me and wants to kill me. A dominance challenge will give him a legal way to try to take me out," you suggested blandly as you sat brushing Loki's hair out of nerves. You'd been wary to make this call to Fenrir. So Loki sat on the floor in front of your spot on the couch and let you brush his hair. It was calming for both of you, but he could roll his eyes and make a big production about doing it to keep you calm and hide how much he enjoyed it from the others. Except that he was purring and fooling no one.

"Samuel will be there to referee the match. He will not let it go to your death. Jareth should know that," Fenrir protested.

"Accidents still happen," you replied.

"I can forbid him to challenge an Omega. It would do him no good to challenge you..."

"If he doesn't force the challenge as a dominance fight, he will challenge on philosophical differences," you reminded Fenrir. "Either way, he'll get his fight. A dominance challenge is easier for Samuel to stop if it gets out of hand,"

"Very well, but Samuel will be calling it if the match gets out of hand... against you. I can't prove anything against Jareth, or I'd kill him myself. I know Mr. Stark said his fingerprints were all over that silver collar that was sent to the tower at Christmas, but he hasn't done anything since he took over the pack besides not yet take a mate..."

"Well, he can't have me, and challenging me isn't going to change my mind on that point either. I don't know what his play could be besides trying to kill me. If he wins his rank in the pack won't increase. If he loses..." he'd be dead, but you weren't telling Fenrir that.

"At the very least he would be ridiculed for losing to a little Omega..." Fenrir supplied. "I am giving you an order, Daughter, and I expect it to be followed, though we both know that I can't force you to. If Samuel calls the match, do not attempt to keep it going. No matter the reason. There is no reason for you to get seriously injured during this. It will not help anything for you to be hurt. Promise me," Fenrir growled.

"I promise," you replied meekly. You had no intention of dying.

*

"One of these days I'm going to stay awake on the drive to Sarai's," you told Loki as he parked in front of their house. "And maybe even drive so you don't have to every time." The second you were in the car, Loki had summoned his fur-lined cloak for you, though you had insisted you didn't need to nap on the way, not this month anyway. But you had been lulled to sleep by his comfortable warm cloak and the movement and purrs of Tony's car.

"That would get us both killed, little wolf," Loki teased while you stuck your tongue out at him. You climbed out of the car without waiting for him to open the door for you, just to annoy him. He enjoyed being courteous and gallant and got bent out of shape when you didn't let him. You hefted the heavier than usual duffel back from the backseat of the car and Loki took it from you while you were walking up to the house. Sarai ran out to greet you both with hugs.

"Loki, so you mind checking on the boys? They're only puppies and get so affected by the moon..." Sarai asked as if Loki were a friend or family and not a guest. You saw his smile that he was being treated as such.

He bent and kissed her cheek with a warm smile. "Of course." He stepped into the house with no more invitation, but made sure to call a greeting to Joshua before dominance issues started. You and Sarai followed him into the house and up the stairs, breaking off to drop your bag off in the guest room. Loki entered Sarai's bedroom where the puppies were sleeping. You and Sarai were both immune to moon fever this month.

"You two are cutting it close today," Sarai commented innocently while you hefted the bag up on the bed.

You nodded. "He wasn't in such a rush since I'm not half-unconscious because of moon fever,"

"You're not letting him run with us, are you?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

You shook your head firmly. "No, but I still kinda need to tell him that..." you hadn't done that yet and were pretty sure he wasn't going to be happy about not following you into the woods. Sarai gave you a look that was a mix of disapproving and a bit of fear. She had issues with dominants after dealing with Jareth. Joshua was so gentle and patient with her, but she didn't want Loki angry around her, even if he wasn't a wolf. "I'll tell him, and I'll deal with any fallout. Don't worry," you told her and gave her a hug so she'd calm. Peace and calm were kind of your thing.

"I'll go check on the boys and tell Loki you need to talk to him. The rest is up to you. I'm not dealing with angry alphas, even if he's not a real wolf,"

"Fair enough. Thanks for your help," you gave her another hug and she went to go check on her puppies.

Loki entered the room a moment later, looking concerned. "Sarai said you needed me, is everything ok, little wolf?" he asked. You heard the worry in his voice and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, but there's a conversation we have to have. Close the door?" you asked softly, trying to keep your voice calm to not worry him. He raised an eyebrow, but did as you asked.

"The other wolves can hear through a closed door," Loki commented dryly as he stepped further into the room.

You nodded. "But they'll pretend they didn't. It's a courtesy among the wolves to treat closed doors as if they're actually effective against our ears." A closed door was a request for privacy, so the wolves pretended very well that they didn't know what happened on the other side of the closed door. You sat cross-legged on the bed and gestured for him to join you, on the other side of the duffel bag. He did so warily, obviously not trusting where this conversation was going to go.

You pulled the first item from your duffel bag and handed it to him. "An entire box of chocolates from that shop I fancy?" he asked, even more wary. "Just how unpleasant is this conversation going to be that you must bribe me so heavily at the beginning of it?" His wariness didn't stop his child-like glee at the bribe as he popped a chocolate into his mouth. Desserts were one of his weaknesses. One of the others was the other bribe in your bag.

"You're not going to like it," you admitted.

He rolled his eyes. "Ergo the bribe," he gestured to the box of chocolates. "Go on," he added so you would continue the conversation, appeased at the moment by his bribe.

You sighed heavily. "You can't go play in the woods with us this month," you blurted before you lost your nerve. He growled. You weren't surprised at all.

"And why not?" his voice was an angry snarl. He didn't want you out in the woods without adequate protection.

"It's too dangerous. Unlike normal months where the human is there along with the wolf, tonight, Sarai and I won't be there. It will only be the wolves. We will have no control,"

"I can take care of myself. I don't want you out there with no protection. Joshua will be too busy guarding Sarai and the puppies," Loki replied in a manner that he probably thought was quite reasonable.

"You can't defend against two out-of-control wolves without getting bitten or scratched," you insisted. "Even you can't, oh high and mighty god. I don't want to have to worry about your safety," he growled again, but softly. You were right, and he knew it, much as he hated it. "I have a compromise and a threat prepared. Which would you like?" you asked pleasantly.

He smirked that you were playing his kind of game and looked interested. "What compromise do you offer, little wolf?" his voice was a warm purr. He was really pleased with this kind of game. Negotiations weren't your strong suit, but you had worked hard planning this one out.

"You stay here while we play in the woods with your box of chocolates, and these-" you pulled out a stack of journals from your bag, your second bribe. He opened his mouth to speak. You held up a hand to stop him. You weren't done yet. He closed his mouth and nodded. "And you can send an illusion to keep an eye on me while your body stays here, so I don't have to worry over your safety,"

He thought over your words and your negotiation, then looked pointedly at the stack of journals you were holding. "What are those?" he asked before he gave his answer to your proposition. He still looked like he was having fun.

"The diaries of Stark, Cap, Nat, and your idiot brother," you told him with a grin. He grabbed for the journals with glee. You clutched them to your chest, giggling. Secrets were one of his other weaknesses and you were offering him four journals worth of secrets. "Nope, you don't get these unless you accept my compromise,"

"You drive a hard bargain, Lady," he told you with a grin. "I accept your proposition," he added and held his hand out to you.

You shook it with a smile. "I am glad you are pleased. We have a deal." You handed over the diaries. "We do have to sneak those back to their owners before they notice they're missing, so read fast,"

"Out of curiosity, what was the threat?" he asked as you both climbed off the bed to head to dinner. He still held the journals, grinning over the prospect at reading them.

"The spelled chains in the duffel bag and something very large and heavy to chain you to," you replied unashamed. You weren't risking his safety, no matter what it took. You were just glad he was easily bribed.

"Compromising was much preferable," Loki commented dryly. You could tell that he was dying to start reading the diaries, but he was waiting until you had gone to do so. It would have been rude otherwise. "How did you acquire these, anyway?"

"Jarvis told me where Stark and Nat hid theirs. Cap's was just sitting on his nightstand. Surprisingly your idiot brother's was the hardest to find and I now know what kind of underwear he wears... thanks for that," you grumbled at Loki, who just laughed. You'd known that he would want Thor's diary too and you knew Thor kept one, it has just been hard to find it. Jarvis couldn't see into the bedrooms or bathrooms, so he hadn't been able to help you. Tony hid his in his lab and Nat's had been hidden up in the air vents, supposedly guarded by Clint.

You had a pleasant dinner with Sarai, Joshua, and the boys, then kissed Loki goodbye to go out to the woods. The sun was still setting when you left the house. "Don't leave the house until dawn. Promise me?" you asked nervously. He was the god of lies. He wouldn't lie to you of course, but agreeing to your compromise didn't quite mean that he wouldn't do something stupid anyway.

"I promise. I'm going to curl up in the guest room with my bribes and miss you terribly all evening. I'll come find you at dawn," he promised and kissed your forehead. "And, of course, I will keep guard from here,"

You nodded, relieved, and kissed him again. "I'll see you at dawn," you bid him and rushed from the house before the last rays of sun were gone. You'd spent too long saying goodbye, so you stripped as you ran for the safety of the woods. You saw the sun set and caught a glimpse of the full moon.

*

The next thing you knew, Loki was wrapping his cloak around you and was lifting you off of the cold ground into his arms. You made a soft noise, not quite awake. "It's alright, little wolf, just me," he told you softly and kissed your forehead. "Rest, you had a hard night," he added just as softly. You cracked your eyes open. He rolled his in reply. "That is the opposite of resting," he told you dryly. "You're safe,"

"So tired," you mumbled, laying your head more comfortably on his shoulder.

"I know, darling. Lady Wolf ran all night without pause and without slowing. I don't know why she did, what she was running from or chasing, but even my illusions had trouble keeping up with her. It's no wonder you're exhausted,"

"Don't remember,"

"It's alright. Nothing bad happened," he told you gently, carrying you effortlessly back to the house.

"Good," you murmured and closed your eyes again.

"Winter's moon is over now?" he asked.

"Yes,"

"Good, I'll be glad to see you back to normal,"

"'m never normal,"

He chuckled. "That's true enough. Ok, darling. Much as I enjoy having you in my arms, you're too exhausted to function and you have a big fight tomorrow. Let's speed this along so I can get you back to a proper bed faster." His grip on you tightened and you were suddenly in the guest room of Sarai's house. He waved at your bag and it vanished, then carried you back downstairs to he could say goodbye to Joshua and Sarai. She wasn't in nearly as bad of a state as you were. Her wolf had enjoyed a pleasant evening with her mate while the puppies played far enough away that they had privacy but close enough that they'd know if there was trouble.

Loki told Jarvis to drive your car home and teleported you back to his room in the tower. He managed to keep you upright long enough for you to put on one of his shirts as pajamas before he let you pass out in his bed. You needed rest before the fight tomorrow.

"Thank you," you murmured, knowing that wasn't enough for how much he was doing for you.

"I love you too, little wolf. Now get some sleep." His cold lips meeting yours was the last thing you remembered until much, much later that day.