The next morning, Declan woke up in a haze, his head was fogged up, thoughts cloudy. The one thing that registered on some level was the presence of Faun lying across his chest, still very much asleep.
That cleared Declan's head somewhat and he tried to think about why he felt so off that morning, and the answer crashed into him at the same time that Faun lifted his sleepy head to look down at him.
"Declan? Your heart is beating so fast," He mumbled, still half asleep.
Declan however was frozen in place, a panicked expression on his face. It was his rut.
In the year and several months that he had spent hiding out in Oakwood before he met Faun, he had made use of a witch to hide his identity, it invariably meant that he didn't get his rut. It was one of the reasons he avoided alcohol, he hadn't wanted to lose control and have the spell break.
Not only could he not bring himself to use Faun that way during his rut, but this was also one long due and he was mated so it would be more intense…
He needed to call up Ash and Cade - good thing they both decided to move to Oakwood - he needed them to chain him up and lock him up tight till his rut passed. He just needed to get his phone…
Faun was fully awake now, the room felt like it was slowly filling with dark chocolate and although it wasn't that hot as the sun had barely risen, Declan's shirt was sticking to his body.
He sat up, concern on his face as he tucked his hair behind his ear. "Declan?" He called in a more lucid voice, reaching out to push his inky dark hair out of his face. "You're burning up!" He realized with a panic, making a move to get off the bed.
He didn't get very far because Declan snagged his waist and pulled him back onto him, "I'm not sick," He mumbled, nuzzling Faun's neck. The wave of dusky blue violets that filled his nose and lungs calmed his erratic heartbeat down somewhat.
The fear in Faun's eyes was difficult to look at, "W-What?"
"I'm a werewolf, I don't get sick, just like you," He said slowly, his hands roaming over Faun's back, soothing himself over the fact that his mate had tried to leave.
It took only a moment for the realization to hit, Faun's eyes sparkling, "You're having your rut?" He asked eagerly, pressing closer.
Declann gritted his teeth, he shouldn't have told Faun that, and although, it was nice to not have him worry, this could easily backfire on him. "Yeah, so I need you to get my phone and call Ash," He slurred, feeling the haze return.
Faun's expression fell, a fragile look in his eyes, "Y-You want me to call Ash? You don't want-"
He didn't have to finish his sentence for Declan to realize that his request had been taken the wrong way. He just slammed their lips together, too strung up to explain.
Faun broke away from the rough kiss, gasping for breath, lips glistening.
"I'm not using Ash, I need him to keep me away from you," Declan explained, his expression growing pained.
Faun cupped his face, ears flicking in distress, "But you're having your rut, I want to help..."
Declan sucked a deep breath and pushed himself to a sitting position, taking Faun with him. He knew that his half-assed explanations were only going to stress out his mate even more.
"I know, but I couldn't have my rut for a while so it's going to be intense, it's better I stay away from you." He explained gravely.
Faun fell silent for a long while, his eyes down, making Declan worry that he had said something wrong.
"I don't want you to," Faun finally lifted his head to say, soft green eyes filled with determination. "I'm not that fragile," He continued, voice steady. "I'm also not leaving you to deal with it alone, are you thirsty?" He casually asked, managing to get off the bed this time because Declan was so stumped by his words.
"I'll take that as a yes," Faun smiled, drifting out.
Declan should have predicted this outcome, of course, his mate wouldn't let him do something stupid like that, It didn't ease his worry though, he was clear-headed now but there was no telling when he would lose his self-awareness.
Now that Faun was gone though, he could still get his phone and reach out to his friend… friends but he didn't, he trusted Faun after all. More importantly, he loved him enough to try to trust himself.
Faun's hands trembled as he prepared a glass of water and a bowl of water, and a towel to get Declan's temperature down. He wasn't anxious or scared, maybe a little too excited though.
He didn't hear Declan come into the kitchen, a powerful wave of his mate's scent was enough to have him clutching the edge of the counter to keep himself upright, knees weak.
"Declan…" Faun turned around to face him, his eyes searching, making sure his mate was okay.
He had lost his shirt, damp hair sticking to his face and he was rapidly closing the distance between them.
"Are you alrig- ah!" Faun squealed when Declan swept him off his feet. "Wait! I have to get your-" His protests were cut off by Declan crashing their lips together, heat radiating from his body.
Faun couldn't protest even if he wanted to and pushing Declan was out of the question. He was scent-drugged as Declan placed him on the counter, parting his thighs to slot himself in the middle, all the while keeping their lips joined.
There was so much of Declan's scent that he could taste the chocolate in the back of his throat. He moaned into the kiss when Declan ground against him, a throbbing in his lower body that quickly spread everywhere.
He threw his arms around Declan's shoulder, pressing even closer to him, letting him lead the heady kiss.
Declan pulled away to trail heated kisses down the side of Faun's neck, his head tilting back to better give him access. This didn't seem to be enough for Declan's, his mate's clothes kept getting in the way and there wasn't enough space to spread him out as he liked. So he picked him up again and made for their bedroom this time.