Since it was well past sunset, the temperature had dropped. Sean had dressed warmly, but now that they were getting up into the trees near the Gibsons' house, he was really starting to feel the chilled bite of the cold fall air against his cheeks and ears. His fingertips were also getting uncomfortably cold, so he stuffed them into his pockets.

Trevor's coat looked more poofy than normal and since he hadn't complained, Sean figured he was warm enough. He glanced up at the sky.

"At least it isn't cloudy tonight," Sean said. "Would've been a lot harder to see."

"For you, maybe," said Trevor smugly. Being a cat really did suit him at times. Right now, he looked a little more like a dog though, nose to the ground and fluffy tail raised high, occasionally circling an area when he lost the trail.

Sean snorted. "Good point." He was grateful for the crunching of the leaves and the occasional comment between them—the woods were sometimes eerily quiet otherwise. "Are we getting closer?"

"Don't know," Trevor tossed back as he bounded effortlessly over a log. "He definitely went this way..."

After what felt like a long ten minutes Sean spoke again. "I've been thinking about what Tobias said about my energy," he said as he scaled a rock roughly the width of a car hood and about as far off the ground. "If it really is flowing in a different direction, one that suits dark magic, why couldn't I tell that it'd changed?"

"I don't know. Seems like he knew too much about you, if you ask me," Trevor said looking back at Sean.

"Like stalker-ish too much?"

Behind Sean, stood a large, four-legged figure, maybe only a few feet away. The high point of its shoulders seemed to be near level with the witch's waist. It was completely silent, staring both of them down.

"Yeah, kinda lik—holy shit!" Trevor hissed and jumped back the moment he'd noticed the wolf.

Sean jumped as well, nearly losing his balance as he spun around frantically and back peddled. "What?" he blurted before his eyes locked onto the pair of gold ones staring at them. "D-Dakota?" Sean managed after a second, though his voice slightly cracked.

The wolf blinked at them before shifting.

Sean needed a minute to calm down. "You scared the piss outta me," he said as he crouched into a sitting position.

"Serves both of you right for wandering around out here in the middle of the damn night."

Dakota casually closed the few feet between them and came to a stop at Sean's side.

"Have you been following us?" Sean wondered.

"You weren't hard to find."

Sean supposed he should have thought of that. If Trevor could smell Dakota then there was no doubt the alpha would be able to smell or hear them as well.

A chill ran through Dakota. His clothing didn't do nearly as good of a job keeping him warm as his coat did, and he'd run off his anger hours ago, so the sudden change was noticeable.

"So, what was so important that it couldn't wait till morning?" the werewolf asked as he offered Sean a hand.

Sean could feel the heat venting off Dakota when he'd helped him up, and it reminded him of just how cold his own hands had gotten.

"I had kinda told Tobias I could get you to meet with him... I was worried you left."

Dakota's head tilted as he quirked a brow. "I told you I wouldn't. Is the word of your alpha not good enough for you?"

Sean bit his lip as he glanced down at Trevor. "It is..."

"And what's the deal with this Tobias guy anyway? Why's this so important to him?"

Sean shifted his weight as he looked back up at Dakota. "Well, it's important to me too," he hesitated for a moment, nervous about how Dakota would take this next bit. "Tobias thinks witches have a sway over wolves."

"I've heard something similar," Dakota said as he motioned for Sean to follow him. "A lot of the pack still believe witches are dangerous for that reason. That's why they were scared of you—didn't want you at the ranch."

"Travis wasn't worried about that?"

"Travis... I think Travis was more worried about Riley using you to start a lotta shit between us and your coven when you and Nate got involved."

"Tobias thinks I swayed you and the pack... that that was why you guys were so nice to me."

Dakota paused and looked back at Sean, prompting Sean to stop as well.

"I was nice to you because you didn't do anything wrong. You're part of our pack because you deserve to be. There was nothing magical about that." Dakota continued walking.

"Maybe..." Sean mumbled, taking a second to scoop up Trevor.

"So when did you tell this guy we'd talk to him?"

"Could we do it tomorrow?"

"If you go get some sleep and stop romping around the woods bugging me, sure," Dakota said with a bit of his usual snark to his tone.

Friday morning came much like any other fall day, although this morning was considerably chilly thanks to the overcast sky. The cloud cover wasn't thick enough to produce any rain but enough to keep the sun at bay and anyone who didn't have a reason to venture out, indoors.

Tobias was fine with that. He had stolen away to his study with a healthy supply of tea and the intent to stay there all day. It was half-past nine when his butler knocked gently on the door. There was no response from the young Beaumont as his eyes darted between two large grimoires that lay open in the center of the desk, every so often he'd turn to his notes and scribble something down before returning to his research. So, when the butler knocked again his irritation was starting to creep into his tone.

"I'm working," he said curtly to the door without looking up.

Despite his reply, the door opened and still, Tobias refused to pull his attention away from the stack of papers.

"Sir, phone call," the butler persisted calmly.

"I don't-"

"It's Sean Brooks. He wanted to arrange a meeting with the pack's alpha," the butler finished and Tobias' head lifted so quickly, he was sure that the young master must have given himself whiplash.

Instantly, Tobias dropped his pen and was leaning over the desk to pick up the line.

"Hello! Yes, it's Tobias, sorry my butler put you on hold. I told him to stop doing that. Oh yes, I'm free all afternoon. Uh-huh, of course! Wonderful, I look forward to it. Alright, see you then."

Since he was off, Sean got a ride from his Dad to the Beaumont estate. Before he knocked on the door, he took a seat on some of the edging out front and texted Dakota. About ten minutes later, the familiar Charger pulled up the drive, and Dakota stepped out.

Trevor waited with Sean, though he would have preferred being inside instead of out in the cold. Still, he managed to keep his complaining minimal until Dakota arrived and they all were escorted inside.

This time, things had been set out in advance—coffee and hot cocoa with adequate fixings and cups for both. There was even an extra saucer, deliberately left for Sean's feline.

Tobias was the last to join them, though he was short any paperwork this day.

"A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Mr. Gibson." He said shaking Dakota's hand before turning towards Sean. "Sean and Trevor, always a pleasure, of course." He added before seating himself in his armchair. "Do help yourselves."

Sean poured some of the cream into the saucer for Trevor.

"Sorry for not taking any of your calls personally," Dakota said, "I'm usually pretty preoccupied. I hope Conor explained that."

"Oh, it's fine, I fully understand," Tobias assured him as he made his own cup. "I must say, I'm impressed, from what Sean has told me your pack's incredibly organized, but then again I suppose that's out of necessity isn't it?"

Dakota raised a brow as he poured himself some coffee. "I guess you could say part of it's necessity. Part of it is just how our culture has developed."

Sean looked back and forth between them. It seemed to be going well so far, but so had things with his mom at first.

"I'm still pretty curious to learn about how it is your coven functions, to be honest," Dakota added before taking a sip of the hot, dark liquid in his cup. "Seems to lack much of a structure."

"I suppose compared to your pack, we do. Think of us more like a church—a collection of houses under the same roof and belief system. The coven was founded by my ancestors and eleven other families to protect and pass down the spells, traditions, values, and knowledge to the next generation. Largely, things are decided democratically between the council, which is made up of the heads of each house."

"Interesting," Dakota said, though his eyes had come to rest on Sean. He still felt a little bad about the way things had gone with Mrs. Brooks and hoped Sean hadn't been too upset over it. When Sean glanced at him, they both exchanged a small smile.

"Pft, not nearly as interesting as your pack I'm afraid," Tobias replied. "Anyway, I'm not sure if Sean's gotten the chance to bring up my proposal to you. I'm sure you're aware of the rumors that witches, being the creators of werewolves, still hold some power over them. I say we test that. If you don't mind."

This was where Sean expected everything to go downhill. Although clearly intelligent, Tobias seemed to be a little too blunt for his own good when it came to speaking sometimes. But surprisingly enough, Dakota's smile turned into a smirk.

"I can assure you I'm not the same as my ancestors, Mr. Beaumont," Dakota said in a smooth tone. "But what kind of test did you have in mind?"

Tobias grinned in return. "Just a few questions and a few tasks, nothing too tedious or strenuous."

While Tobias was speaking, Trevor looked up at Sean.

"Sean, I smell wolf... and it's not Dakota," he whispered although there was no real need to.

Dakota's brows knitted together while he listened, but it wasn't in response to what Tobias was saying. "Sure," he drawled, before lifting his cup towards his mouth and using the moment to inhale for a little longer than he needed to before taking a drink.

Tobias' grin widened and he stood. "Only three questions, and try to be as honest as possible." He said this as if he were conducting a parlor game of some sort. "First, are you single?"

This time Sean's brows raised along with Dakota's.

"Yeah," Dakota said, though it came out almost like a question.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sean asked, genuinely confused.

"Patience is a virtue," Tobias reminded Sean before looking back to the werewolf. "What would you class your sexual preference as? Straight? Gay? Somewhere in between?"

Color tinted Dakota's cheeks and spread across the freckled bridge of his nose, but he maintained a casual expression. "Somewhere in between, I guess." He sighed, ignoring how fast Sean's attention snapped back to him.

"Alright, and last question--are you a virgin? Remember to be honest," Tobias said.

Dakota's composure cracked as he let out a soft snort. "Absolutely not."

Tobias smiled. "Wonderful," he chimed, clapping his hands together. "Now, for the interactive part. Would you mind standing for me and taking two steps forward?" Tobias made a hand motion towards the direction that would avoid the coffee table.

"Maybe you wouldn't mind explaining this next part to me first," Dakota said after exchanging another questioning glance with Sean and even his cat.

"This is the task part, you're free to refuse if you like. In fact, it might be more interesting if you do. Now, up, up," Tobias urged like he was a teacher trying to encourage a reluctant student into participating in a class demonstration.

Sean shrugged, seeming to be at a loss for where Tobias was going with all this. But for his sake, and to make up for yesterday evening's disaster of a social call, Dakota set his coffee down and stood.

The things Tobias requested were probably more childish than anything, like turning in a circle and touching his toes with one hand, until he came to the last task.

"Kiss Sean," he said as easily as anything else.

Shoutout to user79536502, hermiesweety, arcana1204, and UnadulteratedLoathin!! Thanks so much for your support!