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Chapter 38
John's POV
It is several hours before the two of them awaken. This time and when he does awake it is to sharp pains as the muscles in his shoulder protest his rough treatment of it. Shifting on instincts, he forgets for a moment that his lover is not used to him changing so quickly, and startles the tall human who had just been waking up. One moment his mate is beside him, the next moment, he is jumping backwards, smacking his head into the fireplace. Almost instantly he has returned to his human form, shuffling forward to check on him.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry, so sorry." His voice is worried as he carefully checks his bondmates skull, relieved when he does not find anything wrong with him with either check. "I don't normally sleep in a room with someone who is not used to my shifting. So I forgot for a moment that you're not accustomed to me shifting between forms."

Worriedly, he uses just a touch of iota power to relieve any bruising before it has a chance to form.

"What was that?" his dark-haired bondmate demands, eyes wide as he stares at the fingers that had just left his scalp.

"Iota gift, I made sure there was not going to be a bruise since it was my fault." He replies with a small shrug.

"Oh." for a minute his human stares at him before stating, "I would like to touch your fur."

Smiling slightly, he nods before he shifts back to his wolf form. Sitting there calmly while his mate starts petting him, running his long fingers through the fur and feeling the different textures based on where the fur is at. Relaxing, he enjoys the feeling, and it takes him a minute to realize that Sherlock has figured out ever discoloration matches up with one of his human scars. He was also murmuring what he thought had made the scar, as if doing so would make them better. It was a completely adorable thing to do.

When he hears his bondmates stomach start to growl, he chuckles even as he shifts forms, resulting in him having an arm-full of indignant human who had been shocked by the shift.

"Why'd you do that?" his dark-haired human inquires as he absently traces a scar on his stomach.

Kissing the humans shoulder he replies, "Because we're both getting hungry, and don't try telling me your not, your stomach gave it away."

The look of betrayal the tall man gives his stomach is ever so hilarious, as he lets go so he can go make some food. Checking the fridge he is surprised to find there is actually food in it and not just body parts. Got to love Daria, he thinks as he grabs some stuff out and heads to the stove. She probably had Eric check in the back of my head while I was getting cleaned up the other night and bought food accordingly since it is all stuff that Sherlock will eat.

While he cooks, he hums, not realizing that it is one of the songs that his bondmate often plays on his violin. Apparently his mate had realized because a moment later he is playing the song that he was just humming on his violin. When the food is done, he carefully makes up a tray and carries it out into the living room to place on the table. By the time he has it all arranged, his bondmate has finished the song and carefully puts his violin up before joining him at the small table, sitting down on the rug beside him to take his small plate of food and tea.

The two eat in silence, his tall human picking carefully at the food. "John."

"Yeah Sherlock?" he replies, waiting to see what else he has to say.

"How long were you in the army? You're a captain. Which says not long, but you said you knew Eric for ten years, the math does not match." He inquires after finishing his next bite.

A wistful smile curves his lips, "I went into the army at twenty, the condition of me doing so by the pack alpha was that I had to go to officer school in order to enlist as an officer instead of a regular soldier. My first week there I was paired off with a falcon and a black cobra who had decided to team up as the only shifters in our training group. The three of us together to pull of stunts entire teams could not do and while we were in class we got along fine with each other. Outside of training and class however, Eric was a complete and utter ass. Jacob and I became fast friends, we were both elites of our varieties training with a bunch of humans with either little natural talent whose families had paid for them to go to officers training or humans who were older than us and had earned their way into the program." He pauses looking back, "Eric joined our friendship when the two of us came across him fighting with some of the regular enlisted shifters who thought it was a good idea to bait the person who could easily kill them because he was on his own. It was the first time I used the alpha gift on someone other than a fellow wolf during my training. After that, the three of us worked together in nearly everything, but we had not created the pack link at that point. That wouldn't come for another three years."

He watches his bondmate narrow his eyes, the wheels just about spinning in his head. "Captain is only two ranks higher than that, why didn't you go up in ranks?"

He chuckles, "Well technically its classified, I mean, even your brother couldn't get the files and I am sure he has already tried. I was a regular army doctor for three years, which is how I got to the rank I am at. Then there was a situation that the higher ups thought was unsalvageable, at that time the military pack had four members in it, Jacob, Eric, Cyanne, and me. We had actually only recently formed the pack bond and were still feeling it out but we decided to see if we could do what all the 'specialized' humans could not. We succeeded. When we were done, one of the commanders for the shadow units approached me about our team joining the shadow units, it meant that our ranks would not change much but we would no longer be within the normal chains of command. After a quick conference in our heads we agreed. We had actually been on a mission when I was shot."

His bondmate nods slowly as he considers it, then looking over at him smiles, "Well that explains why you seem so used to being in command and fading into the shadows." Narrowing his eyes he asks, "Can you do a mixed form the way Eric does?"

Chuckling, he shifts to the hybrid form rather than saying anything. Short, golden fur covers his entire body. His face elongates slightly as his mouth and nose become a short version of his wolf's muzzle. Pads appear on the underside of his feet and all of his nails are replaced with claws. His ears go from being regular human ears to the large wolf ears that are erect. He also grows in height by several inches and is very happy that he is not dressed at the moment since it is hell on clothing.

Well here you go, me as a hybrid. I cannot control it nearly as well as Eric, but then he is always in hybrid form, changing how much of so based on his needs, I rarely use this form. He tells him as his bondmate starts to explore his body.

Like with his wolf form, his bondmate carefully takes the time to identify every single mark on him. Long, slender fingers touch, brush, and sink into his fur as he explores his body. Only it has a noticeable effect on him, and after a while he shifts back to being fully human in order to catch his bondmate around the waist and kiss him silly.

Sherlock's long fingers came up to hold him in place as he kissed him back, both men taking the time explore each other's mouths in turn. Neither the dominate one in the exchange, instead giving and taking equally.

By the time the two of them are equally aroused, he suggests, "Shall we actually take it to the bedroom this time?" against his lovers lips. He can feel the smile in response and the two of them make it to his bondmates room in that it is the closer room.

The next several hours pass in a blur for the couple as they take turns exploring and pleasing, teasing and enjoying. They stop twice to sleep for a bit before picking up where they had left off, and once to more to eat. However by the time the forty-eight hours is up, the two of them had christened every room in the flat at least once. He was highly pleased by the fact that Mrs. Hudson wasn't home, because this was a lot like one of his weekends when he was in uni with a female wolf shifter.

Just a little bit after six p.m. there was a soft knock at the door stairs door before he heard the lock click and it slowly swing open, it was their warning to get dressed. Reaching over, he grabs a throw blanket off the back of the sofa and tosses it to his bondmate who is stretched out on the rug before shifting into his wolf form and waiting for the viper he can smell coming up the steps to get there sooner than later.

Evening Elder, Elder-second, I will trust by the over-whelming scent of you two that it has been a pleasant forty-eight hours. I am here to make sure that there was no lingering harm from the pool incident. She tells them, keeping her mouth firmly shut and using the pack link.

Check him if you'd like, but I am sure we are both fine. He replies, waving one large paw towards his bondmate.

She nods, stepping over to where the tall human is sprawled on the rug just relaxing. The scent of their last coupling is still strong in the air.

Barely hovering her hand over top of his head her eyes glaze over and he can feel as she sends her power seeking. While he is an iota, he does not use his gifts as often, so she is insuring that he had missed nothing in his check of his bondmate. It is perfectly acceptable. Once she has done that she turns her attention to him, stepping over and placing her slender fingers against the side of his skull below his ear. After repeating the process she nods.

You're both surprisingly healthy, I would say that is your gift insuring the link. She tells them, then the link changes and he knows she is speaking only to him, his mind is fighting the bonding, the mark will not appear until he has fully accepted that you are a permanent part of his life. However the bond is still strong. Both of you should develop the bond gifts despite that. I believe his gift is going to be a minor gift of rememberancy. I cannot tell what yours is, your nature is blocking me.

Thank you Daria, now go away, we need to get cleaned up before Mrs. Hudson gets here. He replies to the viper, inclining his large golden head respectfully.

She nods, bidding both of them farewell before she leave, locking the door behind her.

"So why was she using telepathy to speak instead of talking aloud?" his tall bondmate inquires after she is gone.

Shifting, he chuckles and replies, "Snakes can smell with their tongues, even in their human forms Daria, Nathan, and Eric tend to keep their mouth shut when there are strong smells around because they notice them better than anyone else." He shrugs, "their sense of smell even out does the wolf's sense of smell. Since right now our flat smells strongly of us, she did not want to have that good a whiff."

Upon realizing what he means the tall human's light skin turns a lovely shade of pink, nearly his entire body is part of the blush which just makes him smile even more.

"Come on, we should probably get cleaned up and get back to the real world at some point in the near future. Possibly air this flat out before our landlady gets home because even with her human nose I am sure she would be able to heavily smell the sex in the air." He suggests to his lover, watching as he stands and the small blanket falls to the floor.

His dark-haired human nods once distractedly, asking, "Shower together perhaps?" with a small smirk.

He nods, grinning mischievously and accompanies him to the shower, well Mrs. Hudson isn't due back for a few more hours…

AN: so that's the end of the smut marathon those two were having, now back to the regularly scheduled plotline.