Sailing Deep by Noah Harris

that even if they did defeat me, you wouldn’t accept them. Therefore, there was no point in continuing.” He shrugged. “So they went off probably to find more willing partners for the night.”
                  “I … I didn’t realize that would be so effective.” He said slowly. He looked like he was having a hard time accepting what Blake had told him. And like he didn’t know how to react to such revelations.
                  Blake took his hand gently with his right hand and pulled it to him, pressing a soft kiss to the back of Dylan’s hand. He smiled up at him and cooed, “I’m proud of you, love. You did well.”
                  Dylan stiffened, his eyes hardening as he yanked his hand away. “We need to clean and bandage that wound.” He said, changing the subject. He released Blake’s arm and stood quickly. He brushed off his back and side before holding out a hand. Blake took it with his left hand and was pulled to his feet. Dylan gestured toward the forest. “Lead the way.”
                  They started back toward the compound with Blake leading the way. He knew the way by heart. Blake had spent nearly every full moon since he arrived near the small clearing. Even if he didn’t spend all night there, he always ended up there by morning. He even went to the clearing some nights to clear his head and spend some time alone. He had never brought anyone else there, until Dylan. He smiled to himself. He was happy that he had shared his secret spot with Dylan and only Dylan. It felt … special.
                  Dylan followed alongside him for most of the way, except for when the game trails weren’t wide enough for two people. Then he fell behind, ignoring Blake’s comments about staring at his ass. The wind was brisk, but not too cold. It would take a lot more than a one or two-hour walk while naked to chill him. That being said, Blake was looking forward to being in his room and dressed again. Though he’d much prefer being snuggled up in his warm bed with Dylan. Not that the man would be down with that.
                  Their walk was mostly silent. Blake, occasionally, made comments about the local plants: things that were pretty and things that were poisonous. He talked about the local wildlife, and he pointed out the signs of them when he saw them. Dylan seemed to be curious, and so he kept up his narration. He pointed out the differences between signs of natural wildlife and signs made by the other shifters. There were a lot of different breeds and, therefore, a lot of different tracks and marks made by their passing.
                  Dylan asked a few questions, but mostly just made sounds of acknowledgment whenever Blake spoke. They were both comfortable in silence. It wasn’t a strained silence or an awkward one. It was natural and peaceful.
                  As they neared the compound, Blake tilted his head to the side and listened intently. His steps slowed until he stopped. His nostrils flared, sniffing the wind, sorting through the scents. He smelled wolf and tiger.
                  “Why did you stop?” Dylan asked, nearly running into him. He sounded offended.
                  “Take my hand,” Blake said casually, holding his left hand behind him.
                  “What?”
                  “Take my hand. Trust me.” Blake said. His voice pitched low. He put enough urgency into his voice to make Dylan do it without more questions. Then he kept walking. The path widened, and Dylan came to walk next to him. Blake laced their fingers together and turned to smile at Dylan, who was looking at him with a questioning eyebrow raised. “Relax.” Was his only warning before a woman’s high laughter danced on the wind.
                  Dylan stiffened, glancing toward the sound. It was still out of normal human hearing, but not for