Exhausted, Nathan collapsed into his chair after the long day out. Griffin put away the rest of their purchases and made them both tea. Handing it to his tired mate, Griffin just watched him.
Taking a small sip, Nathan sighed, "As thrilling as it was to see the town, I don't think I want to leave home again for a while." He took another sip.
Patting his lap, Griffin encouraged the small wolf to curl up with him. Nathan didn't waste any time to move over to him, pulling his legs up and letting the dragon hold him. He laid his head on Griffin's shoulder, already half asleep.
As he rubbed soothing circles on Nathan's back, Griffin tried to plan the next few days, knowing he'd have to leave Nathan by himself to go hunt down the drolick hide he wanted.
"Nate?"
"Hmm?"
"I need to leave tomorrow."
Nathan sat up, his tiredness forgotten. "What? Why?"
"I should only be gone a few days but I need to go take care of some stuff before winter."
Nathan tightly gripped his shirt, "Can I come with?"
"Afraid not," Griffin replied as he caressed Nathan's hair.
Nathan pressed his face hard into Griffin's neck, right next to his mating mark. "Promise you'll be back soon?" He asked, his breath warm against the mark.
Griffin pressed a light kiss to his head, "Promise."
"Okay," Nathan said, his voice just above a whisper.
They sat like that for a little longer before Griffin sighed, "Come on, let's have some dinner and go to bed."
**********
The next morning, Nathan was subdued as Griffin got ready to leave.
Pulling him into a hug, Griffin whispered in his ear, "Remember, it's only for a few days. I'll be back soon. Why don't you take this time to start another book. Or you could go through the storage if you wanted."
Nathan nodded against his chest. "I can do that. But what about the stuff I don't know about. You'll be too far for me to reach you."
Griffin nuzzled him, "Make a separate pile for that. Just toss the things you know we don't need to keep."
Pulling away gently, Griffin took Nathan's hand as they walked to the clearing. Griffin pulled him into a passionate kiss, only breaking it when they were both gasping for air. "Love you, little wolf."
"Love you too. Be safe and come home soon."
Griffin shifted then, his large frame taking up the whole clearing. Taking one last look at his mate, he could see tears brimming in those clear mauve eyes. He turned away before he lost the will to leave.
As Nathan watched the red dragon disappear into the distance he could feel the tears overflow, silently streaming down his cheeks.
[He'll be back,] Axel said, trying to soothe him.
Nathan touched his own mating mark lightly, "Yeah, you're right," he breathed.
Returning to the cabin, Nathan stood in the doorway, feeling like the space was too large. He stood there in a daze until his stomach growled at him. Shaking his head, Nathan looked outside, startled to see the sun had already passed noon. "How long have I been standing here?" He asked himself.
[About 4 hours,] Axel replied. [I didn't want to interrupt.]
"Sorry, Axel. Maybe we should go for a run after lunch."
[If that's what you want.]