Kane woke up to the feeling of someone's arm wrapping around his middle. His eyes opened and he saw the top of Mason's head as he was snuggling his body into Kane's side. Kane was overcome by a feeling of contentment as Mason rested against him. This is what he was fighting for. Moments like this, a future like this.

He glanced over to the window, the sunlight streaming in. He sighed as he threaded his fingers into Mason's blonde hair, pushing it away from his face. He wanted to memorise his face, every shadow and line.

He had hoped to not wake him, but soon enough Mason's grey eyes were facing him. "Hey there, bad decision boy," he whispered.

Kane chuckled. "Good morning, philosophical boy."

"Did you sleep well?"

Kane nodded. "How could I not with you next to me?"

Mason blushed. He slowly sat up. Kane suddenly felt very cold without Mason on his chest.

"What time is it? We should probably get going soon."

Kane reached for his phone on the bedside table. "We have to check out in thirty minutes."

The door to the bathroom opened. Nora emerged with wet hair and fresh clothes. "You two are finally awake," she said. "Do you recon we can find some breakfast soon? I'm starving."

"I vote for pancakes," Mason proclaimed.

"Yes!" Nora agreed. "Pancakes sounds like a great idea."

"I'll google what's on the way," Kane told them. 

He was still in awe that the two of them were on speaking terms let alone agreeing on something. He couldn't help but look between them suspiciously. He had hoped that moments like this would happen, where they could almost pretend that they were in a normal situation, but he didn't really believe it would happen. Their lives were a bit of a mess, but everyone was getting along, and that was more than what he expected. 

"What?" Nora asked, noticing Kane's strange gaze.

"Nothing," he murmured.

An hour later Kane found himself in a diner, a plate of pancakes being handed to him. He poured syrup over them.

"No way, pancakes are way better than waffles," Mason declared.

Nora shook her head. She stopped cutting up her waffle to set him straight. "You're so wrong. Waffles taste so much better."

"Kane, what do you think?" Mason asked. He waved his finger between their plates. "Pancakes or waffles?"

Kane tapped his fingers against his chin sarcastically. "Such an important question. This requires a lot of consideration."

Nora huffed. "Just pick one. No fence sitting."

Kane sent Mason a sympathetic smile. "Sorry babe, waffles it is."

Nora smiled brightly. "Knew I was right," she murmured before turning her attention back to her breakfast.

"Well, babe, you're wrong," Mason said.

Kane didn't miss the red tinge to Mason's cheeks. Kane had never called him that before. He wondered if that was some kind of relationship step.

"Listen up babe," Kane said, "waffles have a much nicer texture."

Mason rolled his eyes. "Whatever babe."

"There's a lot of babes going on at this table," Nora muttered.

Mason laughed. "Are we going to start calling each other boyfriend now too?"

"Were we not before?" Kane asked.

"I don't know, but we can now, right?"

"Of course, boyfriend," Kane told him, "even boyfie if you will."

Mason laughed. He shook his head profusely. "I will not. Thanks, boyfriend."

Kane couldn't hold in his laugh. His smile ended quickly when he was hit with a feeling through the bond. He quickly looked over at Nora to see that she was focusing hard on the plate in front of her, her hands frozen over the cutlery.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yep," she replied.

Kane knew that she was covering. He could feel it through the bond. It was pain, a kind of heartbreaking pain. Kane sighed, he and Mason flaunting their relationship in front of her was setting the bond off. Nora was feeling it as much as Mason was, probably more so. He wondered how often she felt this feeling.

Mason reached over to Nora. "What's up?"

Kane could tell from Nora's eyes that she was considering lying and was surprised when she spoke the truth. "It's just the bond. It kind of, well, gets upset when you guys like flirt and stuff."

"Like what happened when we kissed?" Mason asked.

Nora shook her head quickly. "No, not as bad as that at all. It just doesn't like it."

"I can feel it too," Kane admitted. "I have a feeling that you feel it a lot more than I do."

Nora nodded.

"I'm sorry," Mason said. He and Kane locked eyes. "We didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Nora said. She shrugged. "Hopefully this bond will be gone tomorrow anyway. I can handle one more day."

"That's the plan," Mason said.

"That's what's going to happen," Kane corrected. He hoped that his words would reassure Nora, and he was quite sure that they did because she sent him a small smile. He felt the bond relax between them.

They turned back to their food in silence. Kane's phone lit up on the table. That photo of he and Adam popped up one screen. He stared at it, that anger he had for Adam suddenly making a reappearance.

"Are you going to answer?" Mason asked softly.

"No." Kane pressed decline.

"Violet told me what happened," Nora almost whispered, "and I don't think he ever meant to hurt you. He was kind of doing what I was, wanting to believe we could make it work."

"He should have told me the truth," Kane said, "there's no excuse for that."

"You're right," Mason said. He reached for his hand across the table. "There is no excuse, but he is your cousin and your best friend. You two will have to move past this at some point."

"I'll talk to him when we get back. I just can't think about it all when the bonds still broken."

Mason squeezed his hand. "Okay."

"Is Violet back at Adam's house?" Kane asked Nora.

"Yeah, they had a big talk the other night."

"Good." At least he followed my advice, Kane thought.

The mood lifted as they continued on their drive. Nora was the one driving this time. She had the windows down and he couldn't stop looking over at her, at the smile on her lips and the fingers she tapped against the wheel to the songs she was humming. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time.

"Such a beautiful day," Nora mused.

Kane looked up, the sky was bright and clear. "Perfect day."

"It's a shame to waste a day like this in the car," Mason said.

"What else would we do?" Nora asked. "It's just trees and hills around here for the next few hours. Not exactly much to do."

Mason leant forwards between the seats. "I haven't seen a car or human in miles and miles."

"So?" Kane asked. He recognised the cheeky tone to Mason's voice.

"So," Mason proposed, "maybe we could pull over somewhere and have a run around."

"Transform, you mean?" Kane asked.

"Yeah, just for like ten minutes. Stretch our legs, you know."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Kane said. He looked over at the dense mass of trees to their side and considered it. This place was pretty deserted, but transforming anywhere foreign to them was a danger in itself. He so badly wanted to do it, but he reminded himself of the dangers. He was going to say no, but Nora interrupted him.

"It would be nice," she commented. "I haven't transformed in weeks."

"Come on, Kane," Mason pled, "just for ten minutes."

Kane couldn't say no to Mason, nor could he ignore Nora's request. "Five and you've got yourselves a deal," Kane conceded.

Nora took a turn down a dirt road and followed along it. "You mean that I finally get to see your wolf?"

"Mines not as impressive as Mason's," Kane said. "Just wait until you see him."

They found a nice area where they could pull the car over. Kane hopped out first, listening to the surrounding area and letting his eyes focus between the trees. It seemed just as deserted as he had assumed, but he wasn't going to be led into a false sense of security. "Stay vigilant," he instructed the other two.

"Okay, dad," Nora said with a sarcastic huff.

"Yeah," Mason smirked, "whatever you say, daddy."

Nora pretended to gag. "Never repeat those words around me again!"

Kane laughed. He wrapped his arm around Mason and covered his mouth with his hand. "You have a dirty mind, do you know that, boyfie?"

Mason shrugged, a muffled sound coming from behind Kane's hand. When Kane let go, Mason narrowed his eyes. "I distinctly remember vetoing that title."

"I don't remember that," Kane told him, feigning ignorance.

"It was an hour ago. I'm pretty sure you'd remember."

"I don't remember that either," Nora chimed in, a smirk on her lips.

"Whatever," Mason sighed, "let's go!"

Nora and Mason started running into the forest. Kane took one more moment to scan the area around them, and came up empty. He followed quickly behind them and almost tripped over a shirt before realising that they had left a trail of clothing in their wake. He picked up the clothes, item by item, as he followed their trail. He found them quite easily, the trail of clothes leading him straight to them.

He found them standing together, in their wolf forms. He did a double take when he saw Mason, almost forgetting how incredible his wolf form really was. He recalled how surprised he had been when he first saw Mason's wolf, that first night they met. He had thought he was beautiful, and now, seeing him again this way made him feel worried. Yes, he was still stunning, with his beautiful light grey fur that shone with silver strands when the light was cast over him, but it was a stark reminder that he was a wanted man. That fur was the reason he was being hunted, and Kane regretted entering the woods.

Nora made a light yapping noise towards him. Kane nodded. "I'm okay. Just picked up after you two as usual."

Nora rolled her head and Kane acquainted that to a rolling of her eyes. He stared at her for a second, taking in the fact that after all this time, this was the first opportunity he had to really see her as a wolf. He locked eyes with her piercing blue ones, that were the same as the ones she had as a human, only bigger. Her fur was light brown with patches of dark scattered through her coat.

The bond must have liked them bonding like this, as he felt their connection grow suddenly while he was looking at her. The bond told him to go to her. It wanted him to fall for her, in this form, just as it had wanted him to in her human body. He looked away, the change in her expression telling him that she felt the same.

Mason strode over to him and nudged him with his nose. Kane conceded. He dropped the clothes to his feet and pulled his own shirt over his head. Soon enough he was on the ground, feeling his bones shift under his skin. He pushed his paws into the earth and shook his head, feeling the fresh air enter his lungs.

His feet itched to run. He knew that he and Mason could have ran for miles and miles, but he wasn't so sure about Nora or the safety of that. Stay vigilant, he reminded himself. He sniffed the air, he couldn't smell much over Mason and Nora's scents, but he focussed his nose and ears. He sighed in relief when all he smelt was fresh air.

The two of them were staring at him, waiting for him to do something. Kane started walking, only slowly, for a second, before running at full speed past them. Kane heard their hurried paws hitting the leaves below with giant thumps as they chased after him. Kane looked back for a moment, Mason was tight on his heels and Nora was right behind them.

He led them in a circle, slowing his steps to a light run. Mason had been right, it was more than nice to stretch his legs. He hadn't realised how cooped up he had felt after being in that car and tiny hotel room. He finally felt free and untroubled by the worries on his shoulders.

He must have slowed down, because suddenly he was being tackled to the ground. He knew that it was Mason from the second he saw him, the shine in his coat under the direct sun being almost blinding. He pushed back against him, rolling them around on the forest floor until Mason gave up, panting heavily with Kane's paw on his chest.

Kane reached down and licked a big stripe up Mason's cheek before howling. Mason took that opportunity to gain control and pushed Kane over, so that he was lying on his side. Mason pressed his paw into Kane's chest. Kane pulled his paws up in defeat and Mason ran off, Nora tight on his heels.

Kane quickly gained on them and joined them, running next to Nora and allowing Mason to take the lead. He knew that they had been running for well over five minutes when they stopped. He knew that they were back where they had started when he saw their pile of clothes on the ground.

He transformed back into his human form and grabbed his clothes from the pile. Kane wished that they could have kept running. He had forgotten how nice it was to run during daylight. He saw Nora transform too, out of the corner of his eye, and so he threw over her clothes as well. When he heard footsteps he turned around to see that Mason was still in his wolf form, nodding back towards the forest.

"I'm pretty sure that five minutes is up," Kane told him with a laugh. "Come on, get changed."

He threw the clothes to Mason's feet, but the wolf just stood there, his eyes pointed at the woods behind them.

"Come on, Mason," Nora tried to convince him, "we did make a deal."

Mason whined.

"Mason, I'm not playing, it's not safe for us to-" Kane stopped speaking. His eyes widened as he saw three wolves emerge from the trees behind them. The wolves growled at them. He ran towards Mason. "Get behind me, both of you," he told them.

Nora ran behind him, but Mason didn't budge. He stood next to him, still in his wolf form. Kane glanced over at him, and Mason's eyes were filled with fear. 

Kane pulled his hands up in the air, his palms open. "We were just leaving," Kane told the three wolves. His eyes jumped between each of them, two omegas and one beta. He sized them up with his eyes, thinking of ways he could overpower them, but coming up short. In his human form he didn't stand a chance against them. They growled again, a deep noise that sent shivers down Kane's spine. "We didn't know this was anyone's territory."

The beta nodded at the other two and suddenly they were all transforming, three men standing up from the ground. The omegas stood to the side, skinny boys with stark white hair and scars littered around their bodies. The one in the middle was obviously a beta, and much older than the other two, with dark brown hair and muscles that stuck out from under his skin. He took a step towards the three of them.

"Now, don't go leaving so soon," the beta said, his voice husky. "We've been looking everywhere for a wolf that looks just like," he pointed to Mason, "you."