The door handle flashes green when I press the keycard against it. Our hotel room is large; two king-size beds sit a few feet apart, with huge windows looking out onto the strip.
It’s still light out, and the pavements below are filled with people. There are a lot more families here than I expected. In my head, it was very much going to be like the filmThe Hangover, all gambling and debauchery and fewer dads with toddlers on their shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, I fill my lungs with air-conditioned air and try to tell myself it’s fresh. At least it’s quiet up here.
Once we’ve dumped our stuff, I collapse onto the bed.
“I’m gonna go for a wander, wanna come?” Noah asks.
“Nah, go ahead. I think I’m gonna have a nap.”
I feel almost guilty that I’m flooded with relief once Noah leaves the hotel room. As far as people go, I find him easier to be around than most, but I need time alone more frequently than I realised.
My house wasalwaysfull growing up. Whether it was Connor, Niamh and their friends, my cousins, or random family and pack members, I can’t remember a single day the house was completely empty. Thankfully, Da seemed to realise I wasn’t built quite like the rest of them in that regard and gave me the attic bedroom. It was the one place Connor and Niamh had to ask my permission to enter and where I was generally left alone.
Stripping down to my boxers, I get comfy on the bed and connect my phone to the hotel WiFi. I ignore the incoming messages from my family and get to business because I’m not sure how long I’ll have before Noah comes back.
I switch to private browsing and search ‘twinks topping’ on my favourite porn site. Scrolling through the search results, I look at the preview thumbnail and go for a video of this cute, small blonde in a neon pink jock who’s sucking off and rimming a huge muscly tanned guy.
I slip my right hand into my boxers and slowly stroke myself until I’m hard. Shuffling, I tug down my underwear; my dick is like a steel rod after not being able to wank off for days, and it slaps against my stomach.
When the twink on my phone screen begins scissoring his fingers inside the other guy’s hole, I let my hand roam lower and rub over my taint. The guy is grunting and moaning as he gets fingered, and a few beads of pre-cum leak from the head of my cock in response.
I skip forward to get to the good bit but then have to re-wind so I can see the moment the twink's cock breaches him. So fucking hot.
I stroke myself harder, my foreskin gliding up and down the head, pre-cum making it slippery.
Putting my phone on the bed next to me to free up my other hand, I suck on one finger and push it inside my hole as I jerk myself off even faster. I try to reach my prostate, but the angle is bad, so I just enjoy the feel of my finger going in and out of my sensitive rim.
When the guy getting railed comes all over the sofa they were fucking on, it only takes a few more strokes until I’m right there with him. Ropes of thick, milky-white cum shoot out of me, landing in the hair dusting my stomach, making me a sticky matted mess. My whole body jerks at the force of my orgasm, and I shudder through my release.
I’m quick to shut off the clip on my phone because nobody needs that still playing after they come. I lie there for a few minutes, enjoying how all my muscles are relaxed. Eventually, I drag myself off the bed for a quick shower because waking up from a nap covered in dry cum is never the one.
Noah’s driving for once since I agreed to spend last night with him at the casinos. Gambling with a witch somewhat ruins the fun of it, but Noah ‘won’ enough money to pretty much pay for the entire rest of this trip, so I can't complain. We left shortly before people began getting suspicious.
I stick my head out of the passenger seat window and enjoy the breeze because despite it now being early October, it’s almost thirty degrees here.
“Do you want to behave any more like a dog?” Noah asks dryly.
“More dog jokes, how original.”
“You’re the one hangin' your head out of the window with your tongue out like a fuckin’ golden retriever.” I huff in response,unable to really think of a clever comeback because I suppose Iwaskind of doing that.
We continue the drive in comfortable silence. The winding road steers us past vibrant rock faces in various shades of deep reds and oranges, living up to its name, Red Rock Canyon. I’ve never seen anything like it. Pulling into a few of the viewpoint stops, I take some photos to send to Da later, not that my shitty phone camera does them much justice.
Once we’re a few miles into the scenic drive, a sharp left turn brings us to the starting point of the Turtlehead Peak trail.
Noah parks the SUV we hired in a blessedly empty car park; hopefully, that means the trail will be quiet, too. Loaded up with rucksacks filled with water and snacks, we begin the hike to the top of Turtlehead Mountain.
With nothing to hear except for bugs and Noah’s footsteps, I feel like I can finally breathe properly.It’s funny how quickly fresh air and quiet open spaces can clear your head of the usual noise that tends to circle the drain in your mind.
The trail isn’t challenging, but it’s enjoyable all the same. There’s something about looking out across a huge expanse of desert that reminds you of how insignificant you are.
I was nine years old when I had my first shift. And it was only a matter of days after that before I was informed that I was the Alpha heir everyone had been hoping for, that I’d become the leader of our pack once my da stepped down one day.
I remember people congratulating my parents like my genetic predisposition to lead a pack was anything other than sheer dumb luck. Luck for them, anyway. I didn’t feel very lucky.
I’d run through the woods with my pack and have all their excited thoughts shoved down our bonds and into my head. And while they revelled in the novelty of shifting finally and the freedom it brought them, it felt like leg irons to me, shackling me to a future I felt woefully unprepared for.
