Prowl had tried everything, but nothing was working. He couldn't get the symbol on his hand to disappear.

He didn't understand what it was nor why it was there, but he knew one thing.

He had to see Jazz again.

The moment he woke up, he began to clean himself up and refuel. They had agreed to meet where they had parted ways the previous night, and so that was where Prowl headed.

No one was there. Prowl tried to not feel too put out – after all, they never specified a time – and Jazz probably had other things to do. Things by far more important than fragging a Praxian stranger.

What was he thinking?! He wasn't here to interface, no – he wanted answers.

Prowl sat down and leaned against a tree, sensing a long wait ahead of him.


Prowl didn't realize that he had fallen into recharge until he woke up with a warm weight curled up against his side and a warm breath ghosting over his shoulder.

Jazz was back.

He looked down, expecting to be greeted with the obsidian pair of ears he saw the night before, only to see a pair of audial horns instead.

What…?

They looked exactly like Jazz, however they were lacking ears, a bushy black tail, teeth that could only be described as fangs and blade-like claws.

"Ya're cute when ya sleepin'."

They also sounded exactly like Ja-wait, what did he just say?

"Excuse me?"

Jazz giggled, onlining his visor to a bright blue. "Ya cute."

"Oh." Typical Prowl. He wasn't entirely sure how to react, and instead of being clever about it and formulating a proper response, he just had to look stupid instead. In his haste to cover up his blinder, he returned the favour.

"You're cute too."

And now he had to resist the urge to shoot himself in the face, because there were many far better things he could have said instead. To Jazz's credit, he didn't appear to be too perplexed by the comment and instead giggled, cuddling up closer to Prowl.

"Aww, thanks Prowler! Ah'm flattered!" Jazz cooed, tracing shapes onto Prowls thigh. "Ah am curious though. What made ya come back so soon? Did ya miss meh?"

That's right – what was he here for? Prowl paused for a moment, momentarily distracted by the hand on his thigh before he noticed the marking on the other mech's palm. He had it too.

"Not long after I arrived home, a strange mark appeared on my hand." Prowl replied, bringing the hand up to show Jazz. "I wanted to know what it was."

Jazz paused, his whole body freezing.

"Jazz?"

The mech didn't reply, and quickly looked between Prowl and his hand before slowly slinking away from him. Prowl found himself wanting to scrabble closer to the mech and not lose contact with him, but stiffly controlled himself. He had no idea what the impulse was being driven by and it wouldn't do to succumb to it.

"Ya promise ya wont get mad?" Jazz quietly replied, slightly crouched as though to sprint away at a moments notice. Prowl nodded without so much as a second's thought.

"I promise."

Jazz relaxed, although he didn't close the distance between himself and Prowl. "It's a marker. It shows that ya mine."

Prowl nearly choked on air.

"A what?" He'd heard of markers before – how couldn't he with the 'family business'? And he knew exactly what they were. He'd just never seen one before, and had never been told how they formed. They showed more than who belonged to whom – they were an open warning sign. 'Do not touch', in a sense. He'd seen what happened to those who ignored it as a youngling, and it was an experience he never wanted again.

Jazz nervously grinned, twirling his fingers. "Well, Ah'm sure that ya'll be jus' fine?" He tried, trying to sound much more confident than he felt.

It wasn't working.

"I know what they are and what they imply, Jazz. Neither of us will be 'just fine.' I've seen what happens." Prowl snapped.

"Ah'm sorry, Prowler. Ah knew the risks." Jazz meekly replied, looking down at the ground.

Prowl found the anger that had slowly been building up dissipate in an instant. He was angry for what had happened. In a single instant, he'd been tied down and permanently bound to the mech who sat before him, his freedom stripped away. But he was not angry at Jazz.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." Prowl meekly offered. Jazz looked up at him, visor dim.

"Nah, Ah deserved it." He replied, looking down briefly before locking optics with Prowl. "How much about it do ya know?"

"It's something that dictates property. We are tied to each other and cannot bond nor interface with anyone else." Prowl replied, shrugging at the end. "I have not been taught any more than that. My creators saw no need to."

Jazz froze. "Ya creators?"

"Yes, I was taught this among many other things regarding the changed as a youngling."

Jazz audibly swallowed and looked ready to faint. "An' just what is it that ya creators do for a livin'?"

"Their sparks extinguished vorns ago. They were hunters, died on the job."

"What did they hunt?" Jazz asked quietly.

Prowl pulled a face, brow crinkling and the corners of his mouth twitching downwards. "I don't know. They never told me, kept me safe. My brother continued where they left off, while I was already working with the enforcers."

Without a single word, Jazz immediately leapt to his feet and began to back away from him. "Ah know what they were huntin'."

"It wasn't animals, was it?" Prowl asked, also getting to his feet. Jazz laughed mirthlessly and shook his head.

"Nah. It was mecha like meh. Ya said ya brother picked up where they left off, right? So he's also huntin' us. Funny ya ended up 'ere."

"I was under the impression we were visiting my grandcarrier." Prowl admitted. "I had no idea…"

"Thank ya, Prowler. For lettin' meh know." Jazz replied, finally closing the distance between himself and Prowl again. He gathered Prowls hands into his own and held them close to his spark, but not close enough to touch. "Ah've gotta go now. Ah need ta tell the Alpha."

Prowl looked disappointed but nodded, leaning down to steal a kiss. "How will I be able to contact you again?" Lack of contact wouldn't do. He knew that they'd be constantly driven to find the other, and would slowly go insane until they held the other in their arms.

"Ah'll come to you." Jazz grinned, visor flashing. "Ah'm bonded to an unchanged. The barrier will let meh through."

Prowl nodded and stepped back from Jazz, allowing his hands to slide from his grasp. "I will be seeing you later then."

"Don't let ya brother see ya hand." Jazz warned as he stepped back. "An' keep ya window open." He added as an afterthought before turning and transforming, speeding away.


Jazz could feel his spark thudding against its casing. It was beating so fast, faster than he thought was possible.

And he was terrified.

Navigating the tunnels, Jazz made a sharp left and continued down a tunnel that was full of roots that clawed at his paint, scratching it away. Ignoring the slight irritation it caused, Jazz pressed on until he reached an open room and transformed.

"Alpha!" he cried, unable to stop the tremble in his legs. "Alpha!"

There was a rumble from a tunnel just ahead, and the panel covering it slid away. Jazz immediately clambered into the tunnel and ran through it and into the much larger chamber that lay at the end, skidding to a stop on the metal floor.

The room was by no means elaborately decorated. In front of Jazz, ten paces away, sat a giant mech who could only be described as a titan sat upon a pile of ripped up plants, a few blankets thrown over for good measure. Their optics were a dark amber, and their chassis was painted a dark green with a few splashes of gold here and there.

The walls were lined with bookcases crammed with datapads and nic-nacs, and the only light in the room came from torches that hung from the ceiling.

"There's a hunter here." Jazz panted, chest heaving. "It's not safe for us to leave the den."

The mech sitting on a large pile of ripped up plant matter looked up from the datapad he was reading. "How can you be so sure?"

"I met a mech, and I learned of his brother. A hunter. They're here, in the forest."

The giant mech hummed, a deep noise that vibrated through Jazz's chassis, and nodded. "I will alert the others. In the mean time, come here. You look as though you need comfort."

Jazz nodded and carefully padded towards the mech, careful to not let them see his hand. He didn't want to think about how he would be punished for being marked by someone outside of the pack.

But an Alpha is nothing if they are not observant.

The moment Jazz was close enough, they swooped down and grabbed hold of his wrist, tugging it up and drawing a yelp of pain from Jazz. Dangling helplessly like a doll, Jazz could only wriggle and whine as his palm was scrutinized by the Alpha.

"I didn't authorize this." He snarled, turning to glare at Jazz. "Who is it?"

"That's not important!" Jazz gasped, whimpering when the Alpha tightened his grip.

"Yes, it is. Tell me. Now."

"Please let go Alpha, you're hurting."

"Not until you tell me. You're hiding things from me, Jazz. Now of all times you are hiding things!" The Alpha snarled back, voice slowly rising until he was shouting, oral lubricant spraying from his mouth and wetting Jazz's face.

"Please!"

The Alpha growled deeply, the sound echoing in the chamber and making Jazz physically vibrate. Jazz swallowed hard, yet he couldn't bring himself to look away from the piercing pair of optics that were glaring so hotly into his own.

"The mech who warned me." He quickly spluttered. The Alphas temper was worn thin, and Jazz wasn't dumb enough to push him past the breaking point.

"You dirty little glitch! You fragged a mech for telling you his brothers occupation!" The Alpha roared, throwing Jazz at a bookshelf. Jazz released a sharp cry as he collided with the object, grunting when the contents of the shelves fell off onto him.

"Ah met him last night. There was a trap set in the brambles 'n' Ah got stuck in it. They helped meh out." Jazz ground out as he picked himself up. "Ah helped him get to the edge of the forest and it went from there. Not planned, an accident."

The Alpha wasn't interested in any explanation Jazz had to offer and stalked towards him, stamping on his hand. Jazz bit down on his lip to stop the scream that threatened to rip free from his throat.

"Get out of my sight. I will decide your punishment later."

Jazz didn't hesitate to scramble to his feet and run out.


Prowl had spent his day in his room, reading datapads, completing some work and playing card games with himself. Smokescreen knew he was still annoyed at him and had wisely stayed away, entertaining himself with whatever it was he did. But given Prowls rather insightful conversation with Jazz, he now had a better idea. Most likely cleaning his guns and polishing his silver.

Their grandcarrier had gone into the town to buy some more energon and some other supplies they needed, and Smokescreen had gone with them to help with the load. So Prowl had the house to himself.

He barely flinched when he felt someone slip in through the open window, and turned with a smile on his face to greet Jazz when he stopped in his tracks as he took in the dents and scratches on the mech's frame.

"Primus, Jazz-!" Prowl whispered, scrambling towards him.

"Ah told the Alpha, he's gunna put the den on lockdown. No one in, no one out."

"What about you? Surely you'd prefer to be there than here."

"It's not gunna be until sundown, there are too many of us roaming around outside at the moment." Jazz replied, allowing Prowl to gather him up and pull him onto his lap. "Ah'll also be getting' a lot a bad looks from everyone for a lil' bit, Ah'd rather be here than hidin' away in my room."

"Why would you be receiving bad looks?" Prowl asked as he began to rub circles on Jazz's back.

"Ah'm markered by someone outside the pack. First black mark." Jazz replied, sighing and relaxing into Prowls frame. "An' then even worse, Ah did it without permission. Second black mark."

Prowl didn't reply, continuing with his hands movements, although he made a small noise to let Jazz know he'd heard and was listening.

"An' third black mark. Ya're not a changed. Ya normal. It's not natural."

"Are they aware I hold hunters coding?" Prowl asked quietly, unsure himself if Jazz was even aware of that fact. The way Jazz tensed was incredibly telling.

"Ya what?"

"Why did you think I was not afraid of you? I am what others would call a 'pure-blooded hunter", although I never saw the allure in it." Prowl admitted.

"Ah didn't know that." Jazz mused. "Ah've never met any other normal who aren't hunters while Ah'm changed."

Prowl nodded, his marked hand reaching up to wrap around one of Jazz's. Their palms brushed, and they simultaneously gasped, bodies jerking at the sudden bolt of pleasure that shot down their backs.

What the…?

Prowl looked at Jazz's palm and saw it was the one that had been marked.

Theory forming in his mind, Prowl traced his fingers over the marking and watched in awe as Jazz immediately gasped and began squirming in his lap, panting into his chassis.

"Primus, Prowler please!" Jazz gasped, grip tightening on his other hand. "Don't tease me like this!"

"Teasing?" Prowls fingers paused.

Jazz nodded into Prowls neck, twisting himself so that he was straddling Prowls lap. "Teasin'." Jazz confirmed as he brought Prowls hands to his lips and kissed it, causing Prowl to gasp and arch up and away from the wall, doorwings violently trembling.

"I… I can see what you mean." He breathed, locking optics with Jazz. The other mech simply grinned before sitting down firmly in Prowls lap.

"Ya probably wont be seein' much a meh for a lil' bit. Not until we're sure that it's safe for us."

Prowl nodded, wrapping his hand around the outside of Jazz's. "Stay for a little while?"


Jazz had woken up to a pleasant tingle and his thighs coated in telling evidence. Prowl was deep in recharge, his face relaxed in a way that made him look at least fifty vorns younger and his arms thrown over Jazz to keep him close. Reluctant to wake the slumbering mech, Jazz wriggled out from under them before quickly cleaning himself up and leaving him a note before slipping out of the window.

The stars were already beginning to appear and Jazz knew that he didn't have long until he was locked out of the den. Increasing his speed, Jazz pushed on.

A mech was waiting for him at one of the entrances, and smiled when they saw him, quickly waving him in before sealing the entrance behind them.

"Ya nearly missed it mech, Ah kept this one open fer ya. Don' let anyone know that, though. It'd be meh helm."

"Thanks, mech."

"Were ya off visitin' ya pretty mech?" they teased as Jazz transformed, receiving a playful punch to his shoulder.

"Ya're just jealous."

"Sure, sure."

Jazz laughed, patting them on the shoulder. "Did the Alpha wanna see meh or am Ah a free mech?"

"Nah, he didn't say anythin' about wantin' ta see ya."

"Good. Ah am exhausted."

"Ah do not wanna know."