《Learn to Howl》


 Prologue

    <h2>It¡¯s always ¡°Well, Galloway says this, and Galloway says that¡± lately. As if this Galloway knows the first thing about parenting my Pete!</h2>


    Well, parent-teacher conferences are tonight, and I can finally lay into them about how they undermine my authority as Pete¡¯s guardian. Can¡¯t they see I¡¯m trying my best here?


    I debated dressing up as the male version of some Karen for a moment, just to embarrass him a little. I could even go all out with the makeup, maybe some cherry red lipstick.


    I shook my head, instead rummaging through my closet for something business casual. I was going to be professional. So professional that this Galloway will think twice in thinking I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.


    I stared at my reflection a beat longer than normal, chewing the inside of my lip anxiously. I never imagined myself in these shoes, supporting myself and my sister¡¯s baby alone, on my way to a conference as if I had any right to be there. ¡®Pray that this goes well for us, Amanda¡¯ I thought.


    It had been a little over a year since my sister was lost to us. I had very little time to get over it, as I was the only one willing and able to care for her son, Peter. I didn¡¯t even hesitate before offering to take him in. I was there for her when she¡¯d become with child, I was there for her raising him alone, and I would be there for her even in death. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d have done the same. Peter had only just recently started coming out of his shell again. He talks to me more, now, but¡­ most of the time it¡¯s about how he can¡¯t wait to go live off on his own. How he can do all these things. I mean, the boy is barely 16¨Che hasn¡¯t even presented yet!


    Maybe I was just mad that all my gentleness hadn¡¯t been what brought him out of his shell, but Galloway¡¯s influence had been what did it.


    I sighed, pulled my hair up into its ever present bun and left my room, where I found the boy slouched on the couch playing something on his handheld console.


    ¡°Finally.¡± He sighed, pausing the game. ¡°Are you ready to go yet?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t gone that long, is that what you¡¯re wearing?¡± I frowned at his attitude, but said nothing to escalate it.


    ¡°They all already saw me in this outfit a couple of hours ago, so it doesn¡¯t make sense to change now.¡± He shrugged, dragging his backpack onto his lap in preparation to leave.


    ¡°Alright, If you say so. Shall we go?¡± I gestured toward the door.


    Without responding, he stood up and slung the bag over his shoulder, making his way over to the door.


    I resisted the urge to sigh at his impatience, and slipped my shoes on before heading toward my car. It could be worse, I could have a teen who hated the idea of school. I was pretty lucky there.


    ¡°You know the way, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I took you here the first few weeks, remember?¡±


    ¡°Just checking.¡± He conceded. We were left in silence for a few minutes while I thought about him. Clearly he was eager to get there.


    ¡°So¡­¡± I began, fully expecting a one-word answer by the time I finished. ¡°What has you so excited about this conference?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m not.¡± He looked away.


    ¡°C¡¯mon now, you don¡¯t gotta lie to me. What¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been doing really well lately¡­¡± He answered quietly, like he was embarrassed about it. It made me smile.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me your grades more often?¡± I was getting pretty close now. I was thankful to live so near the local high school.


    He didn¡¯t answer, just shrugged, still looking out the window.


    The school was pretty busy from all the parents coming to visit tonight, I knew I¡¯d have to search a little for a parking spot.


    ¡°So! I¡¯m excited to meet this Galloway I¡¯ve been hearing so much about.¡± I announced as I turned into the parking lot. Pete Surprised me by smiling back.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°I¡¯m excited for you to meet him too.¡±


    That had me smiling to myself a little stupidly as I found myself a parking space, turning off the engine and waiting for Peter to get out before trailing after him.


    Pete wasn¡¯t lying when he said he was doing well lately, all of his teachers thus far had only good remarks to make, showing off his grades from when he started compared to lately. I wondered, what changed?


    Finally the moment of truth arrived. I entered the classroom with the sign reading 201: B. Galloway, apparently just as he was finishing up another meeting, giving me a prime opportunity to size him up.


    He had this beautiful golden brown skin, and his hair up in dreadlocks. He had this charming smile revealing white teeth, and big hands he used to shake the hands of the parents in front of him. I realized too late that I was more checking him out than sizing him up. Oh brother.


    As the parents left, his warm amber eyes turned to meet mine, a move that had me breathless by just a look, before he was suddenly distracted by Pete coming over with a big grin, dabbing him up as they met over the desk.


    I quietly cleared my throat, and avoided eye contact for the time being before making my way over to meet them. Pete already sat himself in a chair, leaving the one closest to Briar¡¯s desk to me. I dragged it slightly away, giving me a bit of space. I gave him a polite smile, shaking his hand over his desk. His skin was warm, and I caught the barest hint of spice in the air. He had to have been an alpha, with the way he was built.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, my name is Liam. You must be Mr. Galloway?¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Briar. So, you¡¯re Pete¡¯s uncle, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, sure am. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± There was that smile again. I had to avert my gaze, subconsciously avoiding checking him out again. What was wrong with me?


    ¡°So.¡± I cleared my throat again. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Pete.¡±


    ¡°Lets.¡± He agreed.


    <h2>I didn¡¯t notice him immediately when he entered my classroom, but I wish I had.</h2>


    Even as the last couple left my room, my attention was immediately on him, until Petey came over to greet me. So this was Liam, Pete¡¯s uncle.


    He was short, and carried with him this regal prowess that reminded me of a large cat, like a Jaguar, maybe. I almost frowned as he dragged his chair further away. If only he didn¡¯t avert his eyes when I met them, my instincts wanted to drag those pretty gray eyes back to mine. His skin was lightly tanned, with features that made me believe he could be of Mediterranean descent, perhaps Spanish or Greek.


    When he spoke, his voice carried the sweetness of his personality with him. When his smooth hand entwined with my own, I caught the hint of something floral on him, unsure of whether it was a perfume or his natural scent, I resisted the urge to lean over to get a better sense of it.


    I caught Pete giving us both a look, and reminded myself that we aren¡¯t here to flirt. So went the meeting. We went over all the important bits, how he was improving, what he could do better, and things like his general demeanor in class. All good things, he was, admittedly, probably one of my favorite students.


    I had to wrap the meeting up soon, I noticed with reluctance that there were other parents waiting at the door.


    ¡°I need to get to other parents now, but there are a few other things I¡¯d like to discuss about Pete. If you¡¯re willing to keep the discussion going, would you be willing to send me a text or a call at my personal phone number?¡±


    ¡°Oh! You don¡¯t mind that?¡± Liam¡¯s surprise was not lost on Briar.


    ¡°Not at all. I insist.¡± I smiled, passing along a sticky-note I¡¯d prepared while we talked. Of course, I didn¡¯t really have much else to share about Petey, but the wolf within me was furious by the thought of watching this man walk away from me. I had to do something to appease it.


    ¡°Well, thank you for meeting with me, Briar. We¡¯d better let you get on to the next group.¡± Liam reached across the gap between him and Pete to give him a proud pat on the shoulder, before standing.


    I followed suit, taking the opportunity to subtly scent the air as we met to shake hands one more time. I still couldn¡¯t tell if it was perfume, regardless, it was addicting.


    I watched the pair walk away, giving a last grin and wave to Pete as he retreated, before shifting my attention to the new parents. I gave them a polite grin before we started, taking my seat to start the meeting all over again.


    <h2>Sitting back in the car, Liam was lost in thought. Something about that man was so enticing, I completely forgot my initial crusade against him.</h2>


    ¡°Liam?¡±


    ¡°Oh, hmm?¡± My attention went back to Pete.


    ¡°I said that went well¡­¡± He was giving me a weird look now. Pete was a smart kid, he probably suspected why.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it did!¡± I pushed Briar out of my mind for now, Pete was more important. ¡°Agh. I¡¯m so proud of you, all of your teachers, every single one!¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He gave me a sheepish grin as I reached across to ruffle his hair.


    ¡°I know you said you were doing well, but after hearing such good things!..¡± I couldn¡¯t hide my grin. ¡°I think this deserves a treat, what do you think? Ice cream?¡±


    ¡°This late at night?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s never too late for a celebration, Peter.¡± I said in a mock serious tone of voice, before snorting a laugh. He joined in.


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear. Let¡¯s go.¡± I peeled out of the parking lot, our moods jovial the entire way to the ice cream shop, and even until we made it home that night.

 Chapter One

    <h2>The news was always a bummer these days, but today was particularly heart wrenching as I half-listened over the stove making breakfast the next morning.</h2>


    The news cast told of a teenager not much older than Pete, taken from a hiking trail a town or two over. I frowned as I separated Pete¡¯s eggs onto a plate, trying to not let parental nervousness take over. I had work in 40 minutes, so I didn¡¯t have time to get lost in thought right now.


    ¡°Peter!¡± I called. ¡°Breakfast!¡±


    I waited for the resulting groan from his bedroom, and huffed in amusement. We had a little system going, his noises of complaint always meant he was unfortunately awake and would be there soon.


    Sure enough, Pete appeared, looking appropriately groggy for having just woken up.


    ¡°Honey, your hair is a mess.¡± I informed him as I went around the counter to put the plates down on the table, setting a container of orange juice down for him as well.


    ¡°Ngh.¡± He sighed, patting down his hair until it was presentable enough. ¡°Orange juice is for babies.¡±


    I caught him reaching for the container from the corner of my eye anyways, as I quickly ate my share.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll stop buying it when you stop drinking it.¡±


    ¡°Fair.¡± He sighed again, resisting the urge to yawn for the tenth time.


    ¡°Goofball.¡± I shook my head as I set my plate aside. I¡¯ll do dishes later, I needed to head out the door soon.


    ¡°Are you already leaving?¡± He sounded unusually concerned, so I gave pause.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little late for work today. You still have time though. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to talk.¡± He confessed, picking at his eggs.


    ¡°What about?¡± I risked running late for my boy, and always would.


    ¡°College. I wanted to know where you thought¡­ I dunno, it¡¯s a little stupid to be thinking about it this early, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I softened. He was so excited about growing up, I understood that. I approached him at the table.


    ¡°It¡¯s not silly at all,¡± I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and I spend some time this afternoon looking at colleges together? We can get a head start.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure? It¡¯s not too much of a hassle?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, Peter! It could be fun, researching together. We¡¯d have to share the laptop for it, but that¡¯s about it.¡± I rubbed his shoulder while I talked, absently. He didn¡¯t seem to mind it. I recalled the sticky note I had on my fridge. ¡°I could even ask your Mr. Galloway for advice, I¡¯d bet he¡¯d be happy to help.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking that, too!¡± He smiled up at me, I returned it. My watch started beeping, suddenly, and I blanched.


    ¡°Hahaha. Just go, Liam. Have a good day at work!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Pete! I¡¯ll see you after school!¡± I called, running out the door while nearly hopping on one foot to get my other shoe on.


    Work was painfully boring. At least I had a pretty boy to think about to pass the time. Between writing reports and sending emails, I thought about the phone number I¡¯d saved to my phone the night before but hadn¡¯t the courage to send a message.


    What the hell, I thought.


    ¡®Hey!¡¯


    The lack of quick response didn¡¯t surprise me but I couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed anyways. It was halfway through my eventual lunch break when I finally got a text back.


    ¡®Hello there!¡¯


    I beamed to myself, typing out another message.


    ¡®Has Pete said anything about college to you today?¡¯


    ¡°What has you smiling like that?¡± Someone asked me, startling me away from the screen.


    ¡°Uh, no one.¡± I was embarrassed, I hadn¡¯t realized I¡¯d been smiling.


    That someone was my work friend, Leah. She was a tall girl for a beta, beautiful, with thick curly hair and this deep voice that I was sure could attract men and women like flies. She gave me an unimpressed look with her eyebrow hidden behind her hair.


    ¡°Uh, huh. Sure. Does this ¡®no one¡¯ have a name?¡±


    I sighed


    ¡°Briar. He¡¯s Peter¡¯s teacher.¡±


    ¡°Oof. The teacher?¡± She laughed. ¡°Alright, boy. Tell me about him, he must be pretty.¡±


    ¡°Oh god, so Pretty.¡± He laughed along with her. ¡°He¡¯s tall, too. Built. He must go to the gym when he¡¯s not teaching, because he¡¯s so fit it''s unreal.¡±


    ¡°Not in the gross way, right?¡±


    ¡°No. Like a natural muscular god build.¡±


    She laughed again. I did too.


    ¡°You make him sound like a dream.¡± She leaned against the counter. ¡°You get along?¡±


    ¡°So far¡­ We haven¡¯t really talked outside of Pete¡¯s education.¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh, Change that! What did you say to him?¡± She scoffed.


    ¡°I just asked about Pete¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She would have facepalmed, I¡¯m sure. She shook her head, her watch beeped and she sighed. ¡°Look. You can¡¯t make Peter your whole life, Amanda would have wanted you to have fun, too.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°If you knew, you¡¯d have set up a date already.¡± She dumped the last bit of her coffee in the sink, it was mostly grounds at that point.


    ¡°I barely know him!¡± I protested.


    ¡°I mean in general.¡± She gave him a pointed look. ¡°Ask him out this weekend, find something fun to do, and good god, get l-¡± her watch beeped at her again. She groaned.


    ¡°I gotta get back to work. Listen to what I said, though.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯ll be there soon. Davey at 3 o¡¯clock, right?¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± She waved as she left the break room.


    I sighed to myself and stared at the wall for maybe another 30 seconds, before begrudgingly, refilling my coffee and taking it with me into the office.


    I had nearly forgotten to respond to Briar as I sat back in my seat. I checked outside my cubicle quickly before setting my phone on my lap for me to text.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡®I don¡¯t have him until later in the day¡¯ he had said. ¡®Is there something I should know about?¡¯


    ¡®just that he has been wanting to look into colleges¡¯


    ¡®already?¡¯ His surprise made me feel a little better. He thought to ask me before Galloway.


    ¡®I thought you might be willing to help us search, he thinks very highly of you so it would mean a lot to him to show your support.¡¯


    ¡®of course I¡¯ll support him! I¡¯m just shocked he¡¯s planning that far ahead is all. Why don¡¯t we three call when you decide to start looking?¡¯


    "We were thinking of looking after school today," I said after some deliberation about whether I should invite him or not.


    ¡®That works for me!¡¯


    ¡®Are you sure? I don¡¯t want to make you feel obligated.¡¯ I felt bad enough as it is.


    ¡®Liam, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯d love to help you two :)¡¯


    I smiled. He was so willing to help Peter through this, I wondered if he was like this for all of his students, or if he just liked Peter. I couldn¡¯t decide which I liked better.


    ¡®My lunch break ends soon, but I¡¯ll be home around 5:30 to 6, why don¡¯t you give me a call around then and we can talk about college with Petey¡¯


    I stifled a snort, Petey, I never considered calling him that. I could tell they were close even without having all the context from before.


    ¡®Perfect. see you then :)¡¯


    I closed my phone, and finally started getting back into the swing of work.


    Finally free from the corporate grind, I kicked my shoes off after closing the front door. Pete should already be home. I sighed, feeling better now that I wasn¡¯t in those damn heels. They weren¡¯t tall, but they certainly weren¡¯t comfortable.


    Sure enough, upon entering the living room area I found Pete lying belly down on the couch, playing his handheld console.


    ¡°Hey Petey. How was school?¡±


    His head snapped up, looking at me with this indecipherable expression, before he quirked his lip upward in a semi-smile.


    ¡°It was good. Did you talk to Mr. Galloway?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, I did. Why?¡± I was confused about why he was suddenly bringing this up.


    ¡°He knew about the college stuff. Also, you called me Petey.¡±


    I straightened as I dropped my briefcase against the wall. Embarrassed, I couldn¡¯t help but apologize.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Liam, Chill. It was just funny.¡± Pete laughed at my expense.


    I pouted as I flopped on the couch, sore from a long day.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay with Mr. Galloway joining us this afternoon, then?¡± I asked him, of course it would be over the phone, but I wanted to make sure Pete was comfortable.


    ¡°Course, why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±


    ¡°Just checking on you, is all. He said he¡¯d be ready to call us around 6, you gonna be ready by then?¡±


    ¡°Already am. Got the laptop and everything.¡±


    ¡°Look at you, eager beaver.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just excited. In a year or two, I¡¯m gonna be ready to go off on my own.¡±


    I gave him a sad look, hoping he couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Just don¡¯t forget about us little people when you go do great things.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Pete did a double take, ¡°Oh, Liam, no. I¡¯m not going far.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still gonna be in your life, I mean, the colleges I was looking at aren¡¯t even that far.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were excited to leave?¡± I frowned a little in confusion.


    ¡°I am. I never said I was excited to leave you, though¡­ I¡­ Galloway says¡ªI mean¡­ I need you, Liam.¡± He was looking pointedly away from me. He didn¡¯t want to be seen as emotional, even when his mother died, he tried hard to hide how he felt.


    ¡°What did Galloway say, Peter..?¡± My frown deepened, I didn¡¯t want him saying things that weren¡¯t his own words. I didn¡¯t want him lying to make me feel better.


    ¡°Just that¡­ I dunno. He made me realize¡­ You¡¯re not some replacement mom. You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re a good parent. I didn¡¯t realize that before, but I know it now¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say, I was still frowning, but now it was because of the emotions stuck in my throat. I said nothing, instead coming to sit beside him so I could pull him into a hug, pressing him tightly to my chest. We never talked about Amanda. This was one of the few moments where he got close to it, though.


    Peter stiffened as I hugged him for a few moments, before slowly, almost hesitantly, he brought his hands around my midsection to hug me back. His hold was loose, but he lowered his face to rest on my shoulder. I felt him breathe in my arms for a moment, before all at once he pulled away, clearing his throat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s, ah¡­ let¡¯s call Galloway now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just gimme a minute.¡± I sighed, pulling away and heading off to my room to get changed out of my work clothes.


    <h2>I got a call at 6:15 pm, and I didn¡¯t let it ring even twice before picking it up.</h2>


    ¡°Briar.¡± I said.


    ¡°Hey! This is Liam, Pete is here too.¡±


    ¡°Hey you two!¡± I smiled though they couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°I¡¯ve opened my computer. Do we have a specific place in mind to start?¡±


    ¡°I wanna stay in-state!¡± Pete called.


    ¡°Gotcha, in-state it is. Let¡¯s see here¡­¡±


    I did my best throughout the phone call to provide my professional opinion about the colleges we looked into and next steps needed for Petey to get accepted to one. By the end, he¡¯d put together a list of all the places he¡¯d wanted to go. Only one of them was out-of-state.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Pete hummed. ¡°I don¡¯t feel super great. I think I¡¯m gonna go rest, give my brain a break.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, kiddo. You did a lot of thinking today, go take your break.¡± Liam spoke as Pete retreated to his room, shutting the door softly behind him. I could only barely make it out on the other line.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s it for today. Thanks again so much for all your help.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait.¡± I called, reluctant to let him go already.


    ¡°Yeah? What is it?¡± I could almost hear Liam¡¯s curiosity.


    ¡°I was wondering¡­ and forgive me for being presumptuous¡­ I wanted to know if maybe you wanted to go out with me, maybe this weekend?¡± I hadn¡¯t planned on asking him this already, but I could hardly resist as the opportunity presented itself.


    The line went quiet for a little longer than expected. I would have asked if he was still there if I couldn¡¯t hear the soft sounds of white noise from the other line.


    ¡°Yeah, sure!¡± He finally said. ¡°Sorry I just¡­ it surprised me, is all. I¡¯d be happy to, though.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± I released a breath that I didn¡¯t realize I¡¯d been holding. Relief. ¡°I know a nice restaurant, down by Lexington. Would you be open to meeting there? Maybe Saturday?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah that sounds great!¡± I could imagine his smile as he spoke, I hoped it was real.


    ¡°Perfect. I¡¯ll text you the address tomorrow. You have a nice night, Liam.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yes. I mean. You too¡­¡±


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Bye¡­¡±


    I hung up, still smiling. I had to remind myself that it was just a date, nothing more. Yet.


    <h2>I felt like a teenager, giddy with excitement. Who knew you could still feel this way at my age.</h2>


    I hugged my phone to my chest, wondering about how ridiculously easy that was. I mean, we¡¯d only just met, and yet¡­


    I stopped that line of thought. I wasn¡¯t going to let myself talk myself out of this. Like Leah said, I really needed a social life.


    That said, Nothing was more important than Pete, so I¡¯ll have to ask what he thinks before I actually go.


    I put my phone away with a pleasant sigh as I got to work on making dinner. I enjoyed cooking, I let myself get lost in thought as I combined all the ingredients and waited for it to come together in a pan. This evening I was thinking something spicy. I hummed to myself as I went about the work, taken by surprise when Pete appeared behind me.


    ¡°You¡¯re in a good mood.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hi Pete. I thought you weren¡¯t feeling well?¡±


    ¡°I was wondering what¡¯s for dinner.¡±


    ¡°You want spicy ramen?¡±


    ¡°Sounds great.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± I smiled, going back to humming while he went to the counter and sat. I turned around after I put the pork broth to boil. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Better. I think I just needed to get away from the screen for a little bit.¡±


    I nodded understandably.


    ¡°Any plans for the weekend?¡± I asked him, after a brief silence passed between us.


    ¡°I was thinking of hanging out with Jonah.¡± He answered back. This surprised me, he normally preferred to stay in. Though, lately he¡¯s been going on walks, so perhaps it was related to that.


    ¡°Good for you, I think that sounds like a great idea.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± he asked, like he knew something.


    ¡°¡­ I was thinking of going on a date.¡± If he knew, I should just get it out of the way. He answered with a grin.


    ¡°Is it with Mr. Galloway?¡± he asked so quickly, almost breathlessly.


    ¡°¡­ yes?¡±


    ¡°Oh man I knew it. You guys were giving each other goo-goo eyes when you met¡ªit was so weird.¡±


    ¡°Well, sorry.¡± I pouted, I didn¡¯t like being told it was weird. ¡°Is that bad?¡±


    ¡°Nah, you go out, you deserve it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be weird going to school later?¡±


    ¡°Nope, Galloway and I are tight. I don¡¯t see it being a problem.¡± He was kicking his legs, for all the world looking relaxed and even amused.


    ¡°Okay, okay. Let me know if that changes.¡± I huffed, turning back around to check on the broth.


    ¡°I will.¡± He agreed. ¡°So, I take it I have your permission to hang out with Jonah then?¡±


    ¡°Go for it, kiddo. Take pictures if you go anywhere fun.¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure.¡± he laughed. I smiled to myself in response. It was so nice to see him in such a good mood.

 Chapter Two

    <h2>Friday rolled around, and I made it back home to find Pete in the living room playing his handheld console as usual. He wore a frown on his face.</h2>


    ¡°Hey kiddo, how¡¯s it going?¡± I had to ask.


    ¡°Mh.¡± He grunted. ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°You sure? You look a little pale.¡± I took stock of his appearance while I spoke, His brow furrowed, with sweat beaded at the edge.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel super great, but it¡¯s fine. It¡¯ll go away soon.¡± He dismissed again, after realizing I wouldn¡¯t give up after one word answers.


    ¡°¡­ alright, if you¡¯re sure.¡± I conceded, but still offered a watchful eye over him after I returned from changing out of my work clothes.


    Just like he said, about 15 minutes later he was back to his normal appearance, playing the game on his lap as if he didn¡¯t just look ill a moment ago. I frowned, but trusted him to tell me if it came back, turning on the TV to let my brain shift from its work mode.


    It didn¡¯t seem to bother him again, not until dinner that is. I frowned as he paused his eating to wipe at the sweat gathered on his forehead.


    ¡°What are you feeling, tell me please?¡± I put my silverware down, waiting for his response.


    ¡°I dunno. My body aches, and it feels so hot.¡±


    I frowned, it sounded suspicious, so I stood up and made my way around the table.


    As soon as I got close I sensed it, the scent was strong enough that I was surprised I didn¡¯t notice it before.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, let''s get you in bed.¡±


    ¡°But what about dinner?¡± He complained, but relented when I gently pushed him away from his chair.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it to you, you¡¯ll need the nutrients.¡±


    ¡°What''s wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s rut, honey. You¡¯re presenting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an alpha?¡± He sounded so vulnerable, I had to be careful with my tone of voice.


    ¡°Looks like it. It¡¯ll be okay Pete, we just need to get you in bed. I¡¯ll stay home tomorrow and I¡¯ll make sure you get your food and water but you can¡¯t leave your room, unless its for the bathroom, okay?¡±


    ¡°What about my game? What about your date?¡± He complained.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it for you too, c¡¯mon honey.¡±


    ¡°What do I do?¡±


    ¡°Whatever helps, I can¡¯t answer that for you.¡± I frowned, this would be easier if he were an omega, I could help him that way. However, as an omega, there was only so much I could do to help him as a parent.


    As soon as I got him into bed, I turned around to go get his food and drink from the table, which I set on his bedside before leaving. I frowned at him in the threshold, wishing there was more that I could do. I shut his door and left, going to the living room to pick up my phone.


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    ¡°Hey, you.¡± The person on the other line greeted.


    ¡°Hey, Briar.¡± I breathed, I felt awful for what I had to do.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I think I need to take a rain check on that date.¡± I told him. ¡°Pete just went into his first rut and I need to be here for him.¡±


    I thought I heard the sound of crackling or rumbling from the other side, before he answered.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s okay. I understand.¡± His tone was light. ¡°Do you need any help?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I doubt he¡¯ll break anything or lose himself. He¡¯s mostly upset about it.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about needing to cancel.¡± I felt like I needed to apologize.


    ¡°Me too, it¡¯s alright. You gotta take care of your boy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for understanding. Can we reschedule?¡±


    With that out of the way, we were able to move to lighter conversation topics. Soon enough, I had completely lost track of time.


    ¡°Shoot, it¡¯s getting late. I have some things I have to get to.¡±


    ¡°Ah, me too. I¡¯ve got to grade homework.¡±


    ¡°Have a nice night, Briar.¡±


    ¡°You too, Liam.¡±


    I felt reluctant to hang up, but I really did have work to do around the house, not to mention checking on Pete from time to time through the door.


    <h2>The line clicked as Liam hung up, and I felt the need to bite back another low growl.</h2>


    It didn¡¯t seem like Liam noticed the first time I did it, which was a good thing, but I chided myself for not having perfect control.


    It wasn¡¯t his fault, I really did feel for his situation. However the wolf within me had other things to say on the matter. Even insisting I go to his house just to check up on the pair. I shook off the subconscious need to be near him, and instead turned to leave through the back door of my house. I could do homework later, I decided. For now, I needed to run.


    The snapping and cracking of my bones and joints as I shifted used to be painful, but after years of shifting and honing my abilities the change was reduced to a dull ache, that had even become satisfying in my age. Like how a deep massage might hurt for a little while, but the effect it had was freeing. I left my backyard, darting between the trees leading into the woods behind my house.


    These woods weren¡¯t as big and plentiful as the forest surrounding the manor belonging to my pack about an hour away, but it was deep enough that I could run free without concern that a neighbor would spot me. Plus, it was close enough to the school that I could make the drive every morning without issue.


    I had been out no more than 20 minutes before I caught the hint of something in the woods with me. I wasn¡¯t the best tracker, or fighter in the pack for that matter, but I knew that whatever it was didn¡¯t belong there.


    I put my snout to the ground, looking for that hint again. Finally catching it, about 50 feet away from where I initially caught it. A wolf, no doubt about it. I would put money that it wasn¡¯t wild. I couldn¡¯t frown, so a low rumble in my chest was the way I chose to show my displeasure. Everyone in the pack knew this was where I lived, why wouldn¡¯t they announce themselves first, if they weren¡¯t a rogue? I started running back home, fully intent on informing my alpha, Clarice, that there could be an intruder in our territory.


    ¡­


    It turns out I was right. No one in the pack had visited my area, not to anyone¡¯s knowledge at least. Unfortunately our hunters were away on business at the moment, so we didn¡¯t have many people around who were willing or able to go check on it. Clarice promised to send someone over as soon as they were back, understanding my territorial discomfort at having a foreign body in my woods.


    I could content myself for the week, I thought. No problem.


    With that out of the way, I dragged myself over to the bathroom feeling sweaty and dirty from my traipsing through the woods a moment ago.


    If werewolves were possible, how come we hadn¡¯t figured out how to magically wash the mud off my paws-hands, I mean, once I¡¯ve shifted back to my human form.


    I didn¡¯t look at my reflection in the mirror as I stepped into the shower, feeling a warm mist shroud my body before going into the spray and watching with satisfaction as evidence of my run through the woods began washing away down the drain. I allowed myself to relax, letting the many thoughts of the day subside before I eventually, reluctantly, left the shower.


    Okay. Time for grading papers.

 Chapter Three

    <h2>Liam: Since presenting, Pete seemed to be feeling leagues better.</h2>


    He was going out for more walks, hanging out with his friends, and even showing off the things he¡¯d been learning in school. I couldn¡¯t have been more proud. Of course, I easily accepted when he¡¯d asked if he could go hang out at his friends¡¯ house that night.


    He got a ride from said friend and for once I was alone in the house. Perfect opportunity to catch up on some work and maybe even call Briar.


    Which is exactly what I did. We remained talking even while the man was working on grading papers, about whatever came up. He didn¡¯t seem to mind, even when I started rambling about this show I liked. I was midway through explaining the season finale when I noticed a car pulling into the driveway.


    A quick glance to my watch reminded me just how late it was, and that it was probably Pete coming back home, albeit later than usual.


    The door opened not much later.


    ¡°Hey Pete! Welcome back!¡± I called without hanging up, I was in the middle of a story after all.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, hi, Liam!¡± He sounded¡­ weird. I looked away from what I was doing. His eyes were blown wide, he was covered in a sheen of sweat and I smelt the twang of copper in the air. I saw something red on his shirt. He was hiding something bad.


    ¡°Peter. What¡¯s on your shirt?¡± I used my best adult voice, and he looked down at his clothes like the smearing of red was a surprise to him too. It wasn¡¯t lost on me that he had his arm hidden behind his back, shoved in his jacket.


    ¡°This is¡­ uh¡­ I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Peter. Show me your arm.¡± I hadn¡¯t hung up yet, I wasn¡¯t sure why. I could hear Briar faintly on the other line asking what was going on while Pete deliberated.


    ¡°Peter, show me what you¡¯re hiding, right now.¡± I commanded. He wore a guilty expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get mad, it was an accident.¡±


    I gasped audibly as he revealed his arm, a bloody, thankfully not too mangled mess.


    ¡°I have to go.¡± I said into the phone as I stood up. I could hear him beg for me to wait on the other line. It sounded like he said he was going to come over, but I couldn¡¯t hear him right and I admittedly hung up before I could ask.


    I was already across the room, looking at the damage and dragging the teen into the bathroom. I urged him to sit on the toilet while I rummaged through the cabinet for my first aid kit.


    ¡°This is gonna hurt a little, but I need to see it clearly. We¡¯re gonna run it under some water, okay?¡±


    ¡°I already did that at Jonah¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Do it again. I need to be sure it¡¯s cleaned.¡±


    He whined, getting up and holding it under the faucet, hissing at the sting it brought.


    Now that I could see the wound without the blood it was easy to tell what had happened. He was bitten¡­ by something big.


    I sat him down on the toilet again and tried as carefully as possible to dry him off before pouring saline on the wound, then bandaging it carefully.


    ¡°After we get this all bandaged, we are going to have a serious talk about what happened. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir¡­¡± He was looking down and away, submissively. I sighed. I didn¡¯t want to yell at him but I was scared half to death just now. At least he didn¡¯t seem too hurt by it, judging by the fact that he thought he could hide it.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I began as I finished wrapping the arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go lay you down, I¡¯ll go get a cup of juice, you need sugar.¡±


    I ran to the kitchen, pouring a glass of the orange juice I still had into a glass, and I stopped by the pantry to grab a couple of cookies as well. I didn¡¯t know a lot about bites, but I figured some sugar for the blood loss couldn¡¯t hurt.


    Running back into the room, he didn¡¯t look a lot better. He was still sweaty, and looked on his way to becoming sick. I feared the creature may have had rabies or something, so I brought my phone with me in case I needed to call an ambulance.


    ¡°Okay. Tell me what happened.¡±


    ¡°There was a dog.¡± He whined. ¡°We thought it was a stray, so we tried to catch it.¡±


    ¡°And it bit you?¡±


    ¡°¡­it was a really big dog. I thought it was a wolf, but Jonah says they aren¡¯t in this state.¡±


    ¡°Okay, the big dog bit you. What did it look like?¡± I dabbed at his forehead with a wet cloth.


    ¡°Mean. It snarled when we got close, I tried to show I wasn¡¯t a threat.¡±


    ¡°What color was it?¡±


    ¡°Dark, I don¡¯t know. It was too dark.¡±


    ¡°Did you see foam at the mouth? Was it acting weird?¡±


    ¡°It was running away from us. We just wanted to help it. It didn¡¯t do nothin, don¡¯t call animal control.¡±


    ¡°Honey, I don¡¯t know about that yet. Let¡¯s just worry about you right now okay?¡± I sighed, petting his hair away from his face. ¡°Is there anything else? What happened after it bit you.¡±


    ¡°It just ran away, I dunno. I didn¡¯t chase it. It hurt so bad.¡±


    ¡°I know kiddo I¡¯m sorry, let me call the hospital, okay? We¡¯ll have a doctor look at it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna.¡± He whined again.


    ¡°I know, but we need to make sure you didn¡¯t catch anything from the dog.¡± I felt awful, but there was only so much I could do, and he was quickly looking even weaker than before. I opened my phone to dial 911, but was interrupted by a frantic knocking on the door. I almost ignored it, if only Briar¡¯s words weren¡¯t ringing in my head. Did he really show up?!


    ¡°One second Pete, I¡¯ll go get that. You rest, okay?¡± Against my better judgment, I went to check the door. Even though I guessed who it was on the other side, I was still surprised.


    ¡°Briar? What are you doing here?¡± my voice betrayed my worry, which he thankfully didn¡¯t comment on.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to help, where is he?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s¡ªin his room. You didn¡¯t need to come.¡± I frowned, especially when he turned to face me with one of his own.


    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right about this. Let me help, please, Liam.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Okay, alright.¡± I started walking him into my house ¡°How did you find my address?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in Pete¡¯s files.¡± He answered smoothly, passing me by when he got close to Pete¡¯s room. He paused in the threshold. ¡°What did he say happened to him?¡±


    ¡°A big dog. It could have rabies, I was just about to call an ambulance.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± He frowned, stepping into the room, kneeling beside Pete¡¯s bedside.


    ¡°Mr. Galloway?¡± He sounded confused, voice thick with sleepiness.


    ¡°Hey Petey, I¡¯m just gonna take a quick look at your arm, okay?¡± He carefully picked at the bandage, peeling it away just barely enough to look at the wound.


    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± I asked nervously. I didn¡¯t mean to doubt him, but I was just so worried.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Liam. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± He said, but his voice sounded grave.


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    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± I asked quickly, I didn¡¯t like the look Briar was making. It was too serious, too upsetting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside.¡± Was all he said, pulling Pete¡¯s blanket up to his chest leaving his arms exposed as he began to fall asleep.


    His hand was gentle on my shoulder as he turned me around, shutting the door behind him and leading us toward the living room.


    ¡°¡­ You can¡¯t take him to the hospital.¡± He finally said, conflict written across his pretty features.


    ¡°What? Why not?!¡± I resisted the urge to raise my voice.


    ¡°Because, look, I¡¯ll show you why but you have to promise not to freak out.¡± He was whispering, but his voice demanded I take him seriously anyways.


    ¡°That sounds exactly like what someone says before they freak out. what do you mean?!¡± I whispered back harshly.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a dog that bit him!¡± He responded in kind. ¡°It was definitely a wolf.¡±


    ¡°How would you know that, there aren¡¯t any wolves in this state!¡±


    ¡°I know, because I am one.¡± He said it normally this time, his voice loud enough to contrast with the relative silence in the room and startle me into pausing.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, suspiciously.


    ¡°I mean I¡¯m¡ªlook, I¡¯ll show you but if you scream or otherwise freak out it''s not just Pete who¡¯s gonna be in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Is that a threat?!¡± I took a nervous step away, one that Briar was quick to match with a step forward, panic on his face.


    ¡°No! It¡¯s¡ªI¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to be in trouble. Please, just trust me, let me show you what I mean.¡±


    I was quiet for a long moment. Too long, because he started backing away.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± I shook my head ¡°Okay. Show me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Please, just give me a chance.¡±


    I nodded instead of answering, watching closely as he stepped past me into the living room. I flushed when he started taking his shirt off, and flushed even harder when his pants followed.


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± I went red hot, covering the lower half of my gaze with my hand as he presumably removed his boxers as well. He looked amused, from what I could see. Before the horror started, that is. He at least saved me the trouble of seeing his face by covering his nose with his arm, bending down as bones creaked and joints cracked and his skin slowly grew covered by a thick coat of fur, washing over him top to bottom like water.


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± I said again, this time in a mixture of awe and fear.


    Before me, in broad lamplight, stood a large hound. A wolf, my mind supplied. He had brown and tan fur, and stood sideways before me. He lowered his head, and hunkered low to the ground, showing me he wasn¡¯t a threat. There were stories of werewolves during ancient times, a long lost lineage leading to what people were today. Those stories were chalked up to myth, though. Simple theories. They weren¡¯t supposed to be real.


    Only, the very proof of such a thing existed in the flesh right in front of me.


    My knees grew weak, and I felt myself slowly sinking to the floor until I couldn¡¯t hold myself up any longer and I collapsed all at once.


    The wolf, Briar, launched up with a whine. Coming over to where I¡¯d collapsed to the floor. He kept whining, like he was reminding me he wasn¡¯t going to hurt me, before he nosed at my face. His cold nose shocked me into moving again.


    ¡°Hey, stop that, I¡¯m-I¡¯m fine. Stop that.¡± I waved him away, and he sat back on his haunches and gave me a huff that was full of attitude. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say. I can¡¯t process this right now.¡±


    Briar whined again, backing away, and turning to sniff at his clothes.


    The snapping and crackling started up again, and I barely reminded myself to cover my eyes for the ensuing nudity as he became a human again.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said, as the sounds came to a stop, and Briar began dressing himself again. ¡°Okay.¡± I repeated.


    ¡°I¡­ I will process this, but I need time.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have a lot of that.¡± He fixed me with a sad smile.


    ¡°Why? Is this what¡¯s happening to Pete?¡± I couldn¡¯t decide if I was just concerned for him or horrified by the idea.


    ¡°If he¡¯s lucky.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s¡­ you don¡¯t mean..?¡± Realization dawned on me. My Pete, he could be dying on me right now, and I was in here ogling a werewolf. I got up, somehow finding the strength to stand again, and rushed to his room. Briar hot on my tail.


    ¡°Hey, Liam, wait!¡± He stopped me just as I opened the door. He was fast. He took me by the shoulders. ¡°You need to let him rest, Liam. We can¡¯t do anything for him now.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t just stand here while he could be dying.¡± I fought back tears.


    ¡°I know, and I¡¯m sorry. I truly am. There¡¯s nothing we can do for him now, we just need to wait for the sickness to pass.¡±


    ¡°What are the chances he survives?¡± I asked, flatly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know. Even if it¡¯s good or bad, I¡¯ll only either give you false hope or make you fear even more. I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ What can I do, then?¡± A tear fell, misery beginning to force its way out of my throat.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Come here.¡± He pulled me into his chest, suddenly. I couldn¡¯t help it, I cried. I clung to his stupid chest and I cried and cried like a stupid baby. I couldn¡¯t help it. I already lost my sister, now I was potentially on the verge of losing her¡ªour baby. I couldn¡¯t take it.


    He shushed me, calmly rubbing soothing circles into my back until I slowly stopped sobbing. I took a deep shuddering breath, allowing myself to be calmed.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I eventually said, slowly. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°Good. Should we go sit down?¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to leave Pete¡¯s side, but if what Briar said was true then there was really nothing I could do.


    ¡°How long until we know what happens to him?¡± I asked as he sat me down at the counter, and started rifling through my cabinets until he found my tin full of teas.


    ¡°It depends on the person, but¡­ a doctor would be able to tell for sure.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said not to call an ambulance?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°I said don¡¯t take him to the hospital, yeah. Not that you can¡¯t bring a doctor. We have a doctor who¡¯s one of us. She¡¯s good at what she does, she¡¯d be able to tell you more.¡±


    ¡°When could she visit..?¡± I dared let myself get hopeful.


    ¡°I can call her tonight, but she probably won''t get it until tomorrow. I need to call my alpha anyways, tell her there¡¯s a rogue attacking people near here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what happened, then? Some lone wolf attacked him?¡±Briar was midway through making two cups of tea when I asked. He didn¡¯t turn to face me to answer.


    ¡°If we¡¯re lucky it was just an accident. Sometimes though, not everyone can handle the change. So they go feral. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s probably a new wolf.¡±


    ¡°What will happen to the wolf once he¡¯s caught? Pete didn¡¯t want it getting in trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, right now Liam.¡± Briar set a cup of hot tea in front of me, cradling his own in his hand.


    I stared at him for a long moment, before giving up. I sighed, and accepted the warm drink.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call now.¡± He reached into his pants pocket, retrieving his cellphone and going around the corner, passing the dining table, and winding up in the living room. He sat on the couch with his tea like he owned the place. I turned in my chair, pretending to not be listening to the one sided conversation he was having.


    ¡°Sadie. It¡¯s me, I¡¯ve got a boy down here who¡¯s been bitten, it¡¯s a bit of an emergency. Get to the address I sent you as soon as you can, please. I¡¯ll see you later.¡± Then he hung up. He barely waited a minute before dialing the next number, taking a sip from his too-hot tea while it rang.


    I tried a sip of my own, realizing too late that it was too hot for my stupid human mouth, and I burnt my tongue. A gesture that earned me a glance from the man on my couch before the line picked up.


    ¡°Clarice. Remember that call the other day?¡± He began, paused, then continued. ¡°I¡¯ve got a boy who was bitten. Yeah, smells the same. He¡¯s one of my students, yeah, I told his guardian. Yes, he understands.¡± He glanced at me again, I wondered what this Clarice person was saying.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not. It only just happened within the last hour or two. Okay, yes sir.¡± He hung up, then took another drink. I warily made my way over to the couch, seating myself carefully beside him.


    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± I asked carefully.


    ¡°Well enough, considering the circumstances.¡± He said. ¡°Clarice and Sadie will visit tomorrow, the ladies will make sure he¡¯s doing okay. They¡¯re also going to send someone down to look for the wolf.¡±


    ¡°That was my next question.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say whether they¡¯ll succeed. Our hunters are still away for the week, so those who are coming aren¡¯t our best and brightest.¡± He seemed bothered by something.


    ¡°Where have the hunters gone?¡± I hazarded a guess as to what was bothering him.


    ¡°There¡¯s been more rogue wolves lately, all appearing around smaller towns like this one, only they don¡¯t have as big a pack over there, so they needed our help in tracking down the missing wolves.¡±


    ¡°Missing wolves?¡±


    ¡°Some pack is gone, too. We don¡¯t know yet if it''s a coup or if something is taking them away. They¡¯re there to investigate.¡±


    It reminded Liam of the girl who went missing the next town over.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­ it¡¯s related to that missing girl on the news, do you?¡±


    His expression was grim. ¡°If it is, we need our hunters here, more than there anyways.¡±


    He sighed, suddenly, bringing his arm off the back of the couch to rest on my shoulder.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure this out, Liam. You¡¯ll see.¡±


    I took a deep breath, trying to will myself to relax. I leaned into his touch. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stay the night on your couch, if you don¡¯t mind. Just in case-, if Pete wakes up. You know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, for being here for him.¡± I took a sip of my tea, it was nice.


    ¡°Any time, rain or shine.¡± his hand on my shoulder patted me a few times before withdrawing. ¡°You should head to bed now, get some rest for tomorrow. I¡¯ll wake you if anything happens.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I feel like I should be awake for Pete.¡±


    ¡°I insist, you need the rest.¡± He urged gently.


    ¡°Okay, alright. Anything happens, anything at all, come wake me up, please.¡±


    ¡°You got it.¡± He agreed, setting his cup down.


    ¡°If you get tired, there¡¯s blankets in the cupboard beside the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Liam.¡±


    I gave him another lingering look, before taking another drink of my tea and setting it down on the coffee table.


    I had to admit, I was painfully tired now that the ordeal had been over with, though I couldn¡¯t imagine sleeping much. Maybe just a little nap.

 Chapter Four

    <h2>Liam: I awoke the next morning suddenly at about 6:00 AM to the sound of talking coming from my living room.</h2>


    For a second, a brief, blissful second, I had forgotten all that happened last night. Maybe it was all a dream, I thought. Reality did as it does, though, and came crashing back down when I fully awoke, remembering all that had happened.


    My first order of business upon waking up was to go check on Pete, I can worry about how fast I fell asleep later. I quickly walked down the hall and into his room, the door still open after I left it last night. He was still sleeping away, which wasn¡¯t too surprising, thankfully. He could sleep like a tank when he put his mind to it. At least he wasn¡¯t sweating profusely anymore, though he didn¡¯t look well by any means yet.


    I left him like that, going into the living room to find Briar on the phone yet again.


    ¡°Family emergency. No, I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t get into it. You tell the sub my notes are in the folder with yesterday¡¯s date. Bye now.¡± He hung up.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± He smiled when he looked away from his phone, like he was happy to see me.


    ¡°Morning.¡± I still hadn¡¯t fixed my hair from its tangle it was in, and suddenly felt a little self-conscious. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to sleep so much.¡± I confessed.


    ¡°I told you, you needed the rest.¡± He laughed.


    ¡°What, could you tell with your super wolf senses?¡± I was joking, but he responded seriously.


    ¡°Sorta, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Can you detect lies like in the books and movies?¡± I sat down at the counter, interested now.


    ¡°Some can, not me. It takes a more powerful wolf to be able to pick that out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so interesting. Can your alpha?¡±


    ¡°She can, so you better be on your best behavior when she visits.¡± He winked with a grin.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep in check.¡± I laughed, then stood back up. ¡°Do you want breakfast?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not about to eat six raw steaks on my coffee table there then I¡¯m happy.¡±


    It was Briar¡¯s turn to laugh now.


    ¡°You read a lot of paranormal romances, don¡¯t you?¡± He asked.


    Guilty, I didn¡¯t respond, just shrugged with a grin in place before I got distracted cooking. Once again lost in thought, I started thinking about more than Briar¡¯s existence as a werewolf, specifically, Pete¡¯s condition. It¡¯s true he was looking better than yesterday, but¡­ was now really the time to be flirting? I scolded myself under my breath for being so careless.


    If he heard, he didn¡¯t say anything. Just accepted the food I brought him with a patient smile. I noticed as I moved to sit myself down that the cups from yesterday were gone. Nor were they in the sink. He must have washed them while I slept. I also noticed the lack of blankets on the couch, so either he didn¡¯t sleep or he already put it away. I put my money on the former.


    ¡°So¡­ when is that doctor coming?¡± I asked after taking a sip of my coffee.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be here in about an hour.¡±


    ¡°That early?¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my surprise.


    ¡°Well, I did tell her it was an emergency. She lives about 40 minutes away, so give or take some time for her to get ready and everything.¡±


    ¡°Remind me to thank her when she gets here, I feel awful waking her up and making her drive so far.¡±


    ¡°If it helps, she¡¯s happy to help, especially with the kids.¡±


    ¡°Are there kids in your pack?¡± I noticed the wording.


    ¡°Sure are. Some are Pete¡¯s age, even. A couple of younger ones too.¡±


    ¡°So you can be born a werewolf, then.¡± I confirmed. He nodded.


    ¡°I was. My mother is human, though, so I didn¡¯t manifest the wolf till my early teens.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fascinating. I¡¯m sorry, I hope you don¡¯t mind my questions.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I want you to know these things.¡± He forgave me quickly, unbothered by my curiosity. ¡°Of course, that being said, it¡¯s important that you understand no one can know about this.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I figured as much. Secret werewolf society and everything.¡±


    ¡°Hah, something like that, yeah.¡± He nodded.


    We continued talking as the minutes ticked by. Soon enough, before I was ready, there came a knocking on the door.


    ¡°That¡¯ll be them.¡± Briar said, standing. I quickly remembered my disheveled state, and shoved my hair into the loosest ponytail I could manage with my tangled hair while Briar went to answer the door.


    ¡°Clarice, Sadie. Thanks for coming, he¡¯s this way.¡±


    Briar showed the pair to Pete¡¯s room, like he lived here. I couldn¡¯t help but take a back seat and let the others lead the way. I followed them into Pete¡¯s room, hovering near the door but staying standing while the doctor knelt down to take a look at Pete¡¯s bandaging.


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    She studied it closely, and I noticed with an anxious breath as Pete shifted uncomfortably in his sleep.


    Then she leaned down further, holding the wound up to her face, then she leaned away, holding her face uncomfortably near Pete¡¯s neck.


    ¡°What¡¯s she doing?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask, anxiety spiking at the utter silence as the doctor worked.


    Sadie paused, and turned half towards me.


    ¡°I understand your anxiety, but maybe mom can wait outside?¡± She asked in as polite of a tone as she could muster, accent thick. Sadie was a short, round young woman with glasses perched at the apex of her nose. She was of Asian descent, and her accent reflected that. I wondered if she was Vietnamese.


    I didn¡¯t bother correcting her.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Liam. Let¡¯s wait for her in the hallway.¡± Briar offered gently, coercing me with soft hands to leave the room with him. He didn¡¯t make me wait alone, staying by my side, and thankfully answering my question.


    ¡°She was inspecting his scent.¡± He began. ¡°To see if he smelled of sickness, or rejection.¡±


    ¡°Rejection?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Some people¡¯s blood can¡¯t handle the change to become a werewolf. Their body rebels, white blood cells attack the changed blood cells and the immune system shuts down, essentially.¡±


    ¡°Fun.¡± I swallowed dryly.


    ¡°It¡¯s usually genetic. If someone else in your family were a werewolf we¡¯d have a better idea of which way this would go, but¡­ well, we can¡¯t always be lucky.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Hey, if I knew anyone in my family was a werewolf, I¡¯d let you know.¡± I offered, half jokingly.


    Briar didn¡¯t have any time to respond, as Sadie reappeared shortly after.


    ¡°No need. I already know the answer.¡± She inserted herself in the conversation. I latched onto it quickly.


    ¡°You do?! What¡¯s the prognosis, will he make it?¡±


    ¡°Your boy is fine, I see no sign of rejection. In fact, he seems to be taking it well. I¡¯d say give him another day of rest after today, and he¡¯ll be good as new. Better, even.¡±


    Relief washed over me, thank god, my Pete will be okay.


    ¡°What about his temperament?¡± the other woman, Clarice, suddenly asked.


    ¡°Well, that I can¡¯t tell you. You¡¯ll have to keep an eye on him.¡±


    The pair left the bedroom fully, and I finally took stock of Clarice. She was also short, about my height but not as short as Sadie. She was blonde and wore firetruck red lipstick that matched her ruby necklace and otherwise black attire. I was expecting someone large and imposing, but with the way she carried herself, I could see her carrying the title of alpha. She looked like she could be really, really mean, if she wanted to.


    The four of us traveled into the living room where I suddenly felt like I was lacking somehow.


    ¡°Um¡­ you can feel free to make yourself at home¡­ Would you like tea?¡± I asked with caution.


    ¡°No, thank you.¡± Clarice turned around to face me, and it''s like all the air was sucked out of the room as she fixed me with a critical eye. ¡°So. How much about werewolves have you been told?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± I peeped. ¡°Just the basics, I think?¡±


    She nodded, thinking. ¡°And you haven¡¯t told anyone?¡±


    I shook my head quickly. ¡°No. No one. Not even Pete.¡±


    She nodded again, ¡°Good. I take it you won''t, in the future, either?¡±


    ¡°Nope, never.¡± I confirmed, trying to resist shrinking back. It suddenly dawned on me, she probably could smell my fear, if that¡¯s really a thing they can do.


    She smiled suddenly. ¡°Good. I¡¯ve got to go check if our temporary hunters are doing their jobs.¡± She announced, turning to the rest of the group. ¡°Sadie, you coming?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, I am.¡± She smiled back, and fixed me with a quick reassuring grin and a thumbs up before she left.


    ¡°Briar, I want you to stay here and monitor the boy. If he gets aggressive, you know what to do.¡±


    Briar nodded, soberly.


    ¡°Good. And you, find him something to eat. He¡¯s going to be very, very hungry when he wakes up.¡± She turned to me one last time.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯¡ªsir.¡± I nodded.


    Clarice gave a half chuckle, I could see the amusement settle in her chest before she turned and mouthed something to Briar, before finally leaving.


    Left in relative silence once more, I felt like I could finally breathe again.


    ¡°She likes you.¡± Briar suddenly told him.


    ¡°Why?!¡± I barked. ¡°I was a mess just then!¡±


    Briar laughed. ¡°You amused her, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    I watched him laugh, amusement washing over me in turn. I shook my head to dismiss the grin which threatened to grace my lips. This was serious, I¡¯m being serious.


    ¡°What happens if Pete is¡­ Aggressive?¡± I chose my words carefully.


    Briar lost the smile, and sighed. I felt bad ruining his mood, but I needed to know.


    ¡°You don¡¯t wanna worry about that, right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m his parent. I need to know.¡± I disagreed. I wanted to be present in this, no more secrets.


    Briar sighed again. ¡°It depends on if he can be talked down or not.¡±


    ¡°If he can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll have to die.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I reeled back in shock.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to tell you for this reason, please, don¡¯t run. Let me explain.¡±


    My heart raced. This was too sudden, too real. I know I asked, but, what could have prepared me for that?


    ¡°If he¡¯s feral, he won''t be able to control the shift, worse, he becomes no more than a wild wolf with added anger and power to boot. He becomes a danger to everyone around him, including himself. He would either die from humans or kill them first. There¡¯s no alternative, unless you¡¯d rather keep him in a cage.¡± He explained, the barest hint of a glare at the last part wasn¡¯t lost on me.


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want him in a cage! I don¡¯t want him to die either, though!¡±


    ¡°Then you have to hope with me that he won¡¯t be feral!¡±


    ¡°How soon could we tell?¡±


    ¡°Soon. If he recognizes you, then we know he can be talked down.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I tried to regain my breath. ¡°What are the chances he¡¯s feral?¡±


    ¡°Small. I know this kid, he¡¯s good, and kind. You do too. Have some faith in him, he needs it right now.¡± His voice became soft.


    ¡°Of course I¡­¡± I took a deep breath, held it, then let it go. ¡°I¡¯m not going to freak out again. I just¡­ I was shocked, there¡¯s really nothing that can be done?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been trying for centuries to find a way.¡± He frowned.


    ¡°I see.¡± I swallowed thickly. ¡°Okay. Faith. I know my Pete would never hurt me.¡±


    ¡°Good, hold onto that faith. He deserves it.¡± Briar breathed, it seemed like he was just as freaked out by the concept.


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°What time does Pete usually wake up for school?¡±


    ¡°School! Work!¡± I gasped, I had completely forgotten about that. I quickly scrambled to find my phone, calling both Peter and myself out of work and school due to a family emergency.


    Briar hovered near the doorway to my room, where I¡¯d called them. He seemed reluctant to enter, like it would embarrass him. I didn¡¯t push him.


    ¡°So¡­ Clarice said something about Petey being hungry.¡± I began, walking closer to Briar until he was close enough to touch. I didn¡¯t resist the urge to do so, ghosting the tips of my fingers over the front of his shirt.


    ¡°Wanna help me make pancakes?¡±


    ¡°Pancakes?!¡± He scoffed, grinning. ¡°Thought you¡¯d never ask.¡±

 Chapter Five

    <h2>Liam: When Pete woke up it was suddenly and frightened, like waking up from a nightmare.</h2>


    ¡°Liam!?¡± He called out, not seeing his uncle in the room with him.


    I dropped everything I was doing to rush into his room and be by his side. He looked relieved when I appeared, and returned the hold I had on his hand when I knelt beside him.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Peter. I¡¯m here.¡± I soothed, vaguely aware of Briar appearing behind me in the doorway.


    ¡°I feel weird.¡± He whined.


    ¡°I know honey. It¡¯ll pass. Where does it feel weird?¡±


    ¡°Everywhere.¡± He sounded defeated, I squeezed his hand a little tighter.


    ¡°Are you thirsty? Hungry? What do you need, kiddo?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Was all he said. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m starving.¡±


    I didn¡¯t need to ask Briar anything, he already turned to leave. I assumed he was getting the pancakes and sausages we¡¯d prepared. Briar insisted on the sausage, saying he¡¯d need the protein.


    He returned shortly after, passing the plate to me so I could hold it for Pete while he struggled to sit upright.


    ¡°Easy, easy.¡± I cooed, I didn¡¯t want him moving too fast in his excitement for food.


    He didn¡¯t pause to say anything as he shoveled food into his mouth. I had to look away for a moment as he all but inhaled the food on the plate, only slowing when two thirds of the plate was finished off.


    ¡°Feeling better?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Much.¡± He agreed, closing his eyes for a moment as if he were still tired. I supposed he probably was.


    ¡°So¡­ how bad is it?¡± He eventually asked. ¡°The bite, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Well, we had to call a doctor to be sure, but she says you¡¯re healing well. You¡¯ll be fine after another day or two of rest.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t wake up during all that? Damn, I was out.¡± He hummed, and I smiled tightly, he was looking normal, but I could tell he was in pain. We hadn¡¯t even told him the other news, yet. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to that conversation, but I wasn¡¯t sure when would be the best time. Do I get it out of the way, while he¡¯s lucid? Or do I wait for when he¡¯s healed.


    He must¡¯ve seen the conflict written on my face, because he frowned.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Something you¡¯re not telling me. Why¡¯s Mr. Galloway here, what¡¯s going on?¡± His hackles were raised. I looked to Briar for guidance while Peter shoved the plate of food aside.


    Briar must¡¯ve taken it as permission to enter the room, setting his hand on my shoulder as he came to kneel beside me.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got something we need to talk to you about, but I don¡¯t wanna start until you¡¯re ready. You¡¯re still hurt.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care that I¡¯m hurt, look, I¡¯m fine now.¡± He complained, but that whine was still in his voice.


    ¡°We don¡¯t wanna stress you out any more.¡± I tried, gently.


    ¡°Not telling me is doing the opposite. I feel like you¡¯re looking at me like I¡¯m dying.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not dying.¡± Briar said with finality. I knew he wouldn¡¯t, since the first thing he said upon waking was my name, so clearly he wasn¡¯t feral. The doctor gave me no reason to doubt her, either. It filled me with relief, anyways.


    ¡°Do we tell him?¡± I asked Briar, ignoring Pete¡¯s agitation for now.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you. As long as he doesn¡¯t panic.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t panic.¡± Pete supplied with annoyance.


    I decided to bite the bullet, gripping his hand tightly with my own. He got the message, and met my gaze with poorly concealed concern.


    ¡°You¡¯re turning into a werewolf.¡± I said it seriously, but even I could see the ridiculousness of it.


    ¡°Sick.¡± Pete answered after a long silence. I frowned.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡±


    ¡°Werewolves aren¡¯t real.¡± He said, like he was trying to convince himself.


    ¡°I would have believed that too, if Mr. Galloway didn¡¯t prove me wrong.¡±


    ¡°What, he¡¯s a werewolf?¡± He still sounded incredulous, but there was a glimmer of interest in his eye.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Briar¡¯s tone tried to relay just how serious he was.


    ¡°Proof.¡± Pete demanded, ¡°I won¡¯t believe it till I see it.¡±


    I looked to Briar, who sighed. He looked tired, but met my gaze with his own. He seemed to think a little longer on it before nodding. I felt bad, it must be tiring to shift.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He agreed. ¡°I want you to see it for yourself.¡±


    ¡°Wait, really?¡± Pete spoke up, sitting up further as Briar moved to the doorway.


    ¡°I¡¯ll save your eyes, Pete. I¡¯m changing in the hallway.¡±


    There were the sounds of cracking and creaking once again, and I had to remind myself that this was normal for him, to keep my stomach from rolling.


    Soon enough the large brown wolf came wandering back into the bedroom, huffing at Pete¡¯s look of bewilderment.


    He growled lowly, putting his front paws on the edge of the bed and lifting up, sniffing around in Pete¡¯s direction without getting too close.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I watched the intrusive thought enter his brain, and did nothing to stop it as Pete reached over and ran his hands through Briar¡¯s fur.


    ¡°No fucking way.¡± Pete said with awe in his voice while Briar patiently tolerated his inspection. ¡°This is¡­ happening to me?¡±


    I nodded in lieu of answering.


    ¡°You need to remember how important this secret is. It¡¯s not like who has a crush on who with your classmates, your life could seriously be in danger if you tell anyone.¡± No one had told me what would happen if the secret was spilled, but it didn¡¯t take a genius to guess that it wasn¡¯t good whatever it was. I needed Pete to understand that.


    ¡°¡­ I get it.¡± He swallowed thickly. Briar whined and turned tail, trotting back out the door only to return a few minutes later looking like a human if only a little tired.


    ¡°There¡¯s an estate about an hour¡¯s drive away. There are other people like us there, always. It¡¯s where my¡ªour, alpha lives. She is willing to take you into the pack.¡±


    This was news to me, it must¡¯ve been what Briar was talking on the phone this morning before he called out of work. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little left out, not that I wanted to be a werewolf or anything, but to be a part of a community was something I wished for.


    ¡°How many others like me?¡±


    ¡°Tons. There are other packs, too. Some of them are your age.¡±


    ¡°Do they go to our school?¡± He sounded hopeful.


    ¡°No, they live in the next town over. If you heal well, I can see about bringing both of you to the estate to meet the rest of the pack.¡± He said, which made me feel a little better, to be invited.


    ¡°How many wolves live in this town?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Just me and Pete, at the moment. I think some of my friends back home have been considering moving, though.¡± He answered truthfully.


    ¡°Why did you move away?¡± Pete asked.


    ¡°The high school there is small, and I already know everyone in that town. I guess I just wanted something new for a change.¡± He smiled softly, like he was recalling something.


    Pete was about to ask something else, when his body betrayed his exhaustion with a big yawn.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s let him rest some more.¡± Briar spoke softly, placing his hand on my shoulder and drawing me away from his bedside.


    ¡°But I have more questions.¡± Pete complained.


    ¡°Ask them later. You need to sleep, Peter.¡± I told him instead, brushing his hair away from his face and taking the plate of mostly finished pancakes away.


    He didn¡¯t complain anymore, just grumbled softly before turning over on his side and closing his eyes. I closed the door after us as we left, going back into the living room to talk more.


    ¡°So.¡± I began. ¡°Taking him to the estate, huh?¡±


    ¡°Both of you. You¡¯re just as much in this pack as he is.¡± He told me, sitting down on the couch. I followed.


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m not a werewolf, though.¡±


    ¡°We have humans in the pack, too.¡± He told me, laughing lightly. ¡°Family and mates of the wolves.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ and the pack will be okay with us joining? Even though it¡¯s so sudden?¡± I couldn¡¯t help my concern.


    ¡°They¡¯ll have to. Clarice herself allowed your entry.¡±


    ¡°Why did she do that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Being a lone wolf is a hard life, especially for a teenager who doesn¡¯t know the first thing about being a werewolf. He needs a guiding hand to be able to teach him.¡±


    ¡°Like you?¡±


    Briar nodded, but said: ¡°It takes a village.¡±


    ¡°And what about me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡ªis a longer story. Why don¡¯t I tell you when we finally have that date, hm?¡±


    ¡°Oh so now you¡¯re hiding things from me.¡± I accused with humor in my tone. He smirked.


    ¡°I gotta keep some aces to myself.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°So this whole thing didn¡¯t put you off at all then?¡± I waved my hand around me like I was pointing to the elephant in the room.


    ¡°Far from it. I¡¯d say I¡¯m more excited than ever to spend time with you. Under¡­ less stressful conditions, hopefully.¡±


    I laughed ¡°Dinner and a movie at home then. Nothing more relaxed than that.¡±


    ¡°Sounds perfect.¡± He chuckled.


    I decided I liked hearing him laugh. I accidentally let my eyes drop to his lips for a second, snapping them back up to his eyes in time for me to catch him doing the same. I became aware of how close we were, then. I had sat so close to him, and he only leaned closer while we talked about going on a date. Now we were close enough to feel the ghost of the other¡¯s breath. Just a little closer¡­ and¡­


    My mind came back to me all at once, and I blinked, pulling away suddenly. I cleared my throat.


    ¡°Pete¡¯s still sick, we¡­ can¡¯t.¡± I swallowed. It was a sorry apology but he understood, nodding, and pulling back as well.


    ¡°Do you want to watch anything?¡± I turned away, fighting against the part of my brain that craved his touch, reaching over to the table for the remote.


    ¡°Sure.¡± It sounded a little forced, but when I looked at him he was smiling again. I nodded, clicking the TV on and finding something for us to watch.


    ¡­


    There came a knocking on the door later that evening. Briar looked at the door before it even knocked, and he was the one to get up first. I was a little bummed, he was so warm.


    I followed him to the entryway, curious about who it could be. When Briar opened the door, there was a brunette woman with a round, pretty face a little taller than me, and a very tall muscular man with dusty blonde spiked hair and wraparound shades. He looked like the personification of 2000¡¯s men¡¯s fashion.


    ¡°Jeanette, Axle. What a surprise! How did you find this address.¡±


    ¡°You know Clarice and new wolves. She sent us over with this.¡± Jeanette smiled charmingly, pulling a gift basket of all things from beyond where I couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°He¡¯s hardly an infant.¡± Briar laughed, but accepted the package, passing it to me.


    ¡°Yeah, well. I think she¡¯s more excited than she lets on.¡±


    ¡°How did she know Pete was awake?¡± I asked after glancing at the note card.


    ¡°I texted her when he went back to sleep.¡± Briar told me. Funny, I hadn¡¯t seen him do it.


    I put the basket on the table and returned, I invited them in ¡°Come on in, you two.¡±


    Jeanette walked right in with her head held high, while Axle looked a little sheepish.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Liam, I¡¯m Pete¡¯s guardian.¡± I held out my hand to the newcomers.


    ¡°Hi there! I¡¯m Jeanette, the walking boy band is Axle. It¡¯s nice to meet you!¡± Jeanette shook my hand first, smiling wide.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± Axle greeted me with a smile when he shook my hand. Catching their scents, Axle surprised me by being a beta, while Jeanette was another omega.


    ¡°These two are my friends from the next town over.¡± Briar explained, and suddenly it made sense as to why Clarice sent them specifically.


    ¡°Well, feel free to have a seat. Leave your shoes at the door, can I get us some tea?¡±


    ¡°No thanks, I really appreciate it. We are just stopping by to give the basket and offer our congrats to Pete¡¯s recovery.¡± Jeanette shook her head.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll pass the message along the next time he wakes up.¡±


    ¡°Did Clarice send you to investigate the rogue?¡± Briar asked in Axle¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Yeah, well, we¡¯re helping at least. Jonah¡¯s the one doing most of the legwork.¡± Axle shook his head.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    ¡°Not great. We found a couple trails but nothing conclusive. It¡¯s like he disappeared.¡± Axle tutted.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Briar frowned, a motion I mirrored. It could mean that rogue is still out there. What if it was a danger, or even got in trouble.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost hope yet, though. Thank you for your hospitality, Liam, but we¡¯d better get back to looking for the rogue.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure. Feel free to stop by.¡± I waved, while Axle gave Briar a pat on the shoulder, and Jeanette gave him a big hug, making me frown a little with the way she clung to him.


    ¡°Bye now!¡± Jeanette called as she left out the door shortly after, leaving Briar and I in a quiet house once again.


    ¡°They seem nice.¡± I filled the silence.


    ¡°Heh, yeah, they can be.¡± He chuckled. I got the sense that they were close.


    He started moving back toward the couch, but this time instead of following him, I went to go check on Pete.


    Still sleeping away, I satisfied myself and returned to Briar¡¯s side.


    ¡°Another episode?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± I snorted.

 Chapter Six

    <h2>Liam: When I awoke the next morning I was surprised to find Pete out of his bed.</h2>


    I found him in the living room, showing off his video game to Briar on the couch. This time there was a blanket on the couch, telling me he finally slept.


    ¡°Hey you two.¡± I yawned. ¡°Pete, you¡¯re out of bed!¡±


    ¡°I slept wayyy too much yesterday.¡± Pete decided, pausing the game.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Better, a little sore.¡± he scratched lightly at his bandaging, until I gave him a look that made him stop.


    ¡°What do you think of this, Briar?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s great. He may just manifest the wolf faster than even I did.¡± Briar looked relaxed on the couch, leaning in such a way that he could have seen the game better while Pete played. I picked at the hair band I wore on my wrist in thought.


    ¡°Alright, as long as you¡¯re being careful. I don¡¯t want you passing out unless it¡¯s in bed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Pete rolled his eyes. He was taking this¡­ weirdly well. I shook my head, going into the kitchen while Pete started up his game again. I was able to deliberate more while I cooked, setting aside more portions than usual for the two ravenous wolves I was harboring in my home. The thought made me chuckle.


    Pete finally finished off the orange juice with his breakfast, while I tried not to be embarrassed by Briar¡¯s compliments for the meal. After which, Briar finally allowed himself time to go home and get some real rest. Pete and I were left alone for the day.


    The day passed quickly, Pete and I spending time together throughout. He even went through the painstaking process of showing me how to play his video game. Something he¡¯d never done before.


    <h2>Briar: On the other side of town, part of I was fuming.</h2>


    That is, the instinctual side of me, where I described the wolf to take residence. How could I leave like that? When I was beside my mate and content for all the world¡ªMate. That word entered my mind again.


    I showered, the water was cold. Cold enough to shock me out of being angry and able to think rationally. My father always said when you met your mate, you¡¯d know. It would be this inhuman need to be close, an unknowable draw bringing you together.


    I¡¯d felt it the moment I met him, but fought against all I knew to keep my distance. He was a human, after all. Humans don¡¯t understand the concept of mates, not in the way wolves do, at least.


    God, I was down bad for him. The moment they nearly kissed replaying itself in my mind on repeat. Pete, too, I was already forming a pack bond with. Clarice gave as good of an approval for Liam as I could get out of her, confirming what he already knew. He was cute, she said. The way he tried to hold his own against a powerful alpha¡¯s influence. He did well, too. He knew humans in the pack who could hardly stand talking to her normally, with the force she exuded around her.


    A strong mate.


    I pushed those thoughts from my mind. I wanted to run, but I didn¡¯t feel comfortable knowing there was a rogue out there. I¡¯ll save it for after the hunters return from their mission, I resolved.


    Speaking of running. I couldn¡¯t help but be a little excited, as I thought of something I¡¯d yet to ask Clarice. I picked up my phone, not thinking twice about calling her so many times in the last few days. She understood, I knew.


    ¡°Briar, what news have you got?¡± She sounded agitated.


    ¡°Peter¡¯s up and about. Seems like he¡¯s accepted it already.¡±


    ¡°That fast? Damn, kids these days.¡± She snorted on the other line, she sounded a little better.


    ¡°I was wondering when you think I should bring him down for a test run, with your permission of course.¡±


    ¡°Find out if he¡¯s manifesting, you¡¯ll know better than I if he is. Bring him then.¡±


    ¡°It could be as soon as tomorrow, I don¡¯t know how fast it¡¯ll be but it seems to be very.¡±


    ¡°Then bring him tomorrow.¡± She said flatly. ¡°You can relax, Briar. The pack will like him, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°What about Liam?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What about him?¡±


    ¡°When I bring him. I¡¯ve never been the one to bring an outsider in.¡±


    She sighed on the other line. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, as long as he¡¯s not rude.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the part I¡¯m worried about.¡±


    ¡°You think someone would take him from you?¡± She didn¡¯t phrase it like a question, I felt silly for it, but that part of me is still nervous.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the most dominant wolf, Clarice.¡±


    ¡°Except when it comes to your territory.¡± She supplied. ¡°Remember when you bit Jacob for fucking around on your side of town.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bite him for that reason.¡±


    ¡°It sure as shit didn¡¯t help.¡± She bit back. ¡°I¡¯m not worried. I don¡¯t think if anything happened you¡¯d take it sitting down. You¡¯ve got more power in you than you realize.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always right. Tell the boys I said hello, make sure you give Peter that crash course.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I agreed.


    ¡°Call me when you¡¯re on your way.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    The line clicked off. I sighed at the ceiling. Tomorrow then, I¡¯d have to suss out where Pete¡¯s at. I sent a quick text to Liam.


    ¡®If you notice Pete behaving strangely, gimme a call and I¡¯ll be right over.¡¯


    Satisfied, I finally got started catching up on the neglected homework.


    <h2>Liam: Well now I¡¯m paranoid. I thought, hours after receiving that text message.</h2>


    This entire situation was weird. What was he expecting to happen, Pete, scratching himself with his leg?


    I pushed the goofy image out of my mind and returned to making dinner, but I kept my eye on Pete from the corner of my eye the whole night, noticing nothing odd aside from the occasional itchy wound. A part of me thought it¡¯d stay that way.


    Until I was woken up, at about 4:15 AM.


    ¡°Liam!¡± I bolted upright.


    ¡°Pete! What, what is it?¡± I shook the sleepiness off as panic set in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel right.¡± He whined.


    ¡°Explain, tell me what it feels like.¡± I was already midway dialing Briar¡¯s number.


    ¡°Like there¡¯s something in my skin.¡± He was gripping his arms. I noticed absently that he¡¯d picked off the bandages at some point. I clicked on my bedside lamp to get a better look while the phone rang.


    ¡°Let me see your arm, honey.¡± I asked, and he shoved his arm at me like he wanted it off him. I frowned, the injuries from before were now bright pink, with no open wound anywhere. It didn¡¯t even scab, just scarred over.


    ¡°Where does it feel like it is?¡±


    ¡°Everywhere, can¡¯t you feel it?¡± He cried.


    I didn¡¯t say anything for fear of distressing him, I couldn¡¯t feel anything in his skin whatsoever, aside from it being hot to the touch.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Briar¡¯s voice was rough and deep from sleep.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Briar? Something weird is going on with Pete. He says it feels like something¡¯s in his skin.¡± I couldn¡¯t help the subconscious worry that there actually was something in there. Like this whole werewolf thing ended up being a false alarm, but that wouldn¡¯t explain the rapid healing of his bite.


    ¡°Shit, okay. I¡¯m on my way. Put him in a cold bath until I get there, it¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°Okay, alright. Okay.¡± I quickly got out of bed, leading Pete into my bathroom where the tub was. I turned on the faucet while Pete scratched furiously at his arms.


    ¡°Peter, stop scratching, it¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    ¡°It feels awful.¡±


    ¡°I know kiddo I¡¯m sorry. I need you to take off your pajamas and get in the tub okay?¡±


    He groaned as he was forced to drop his arms, taking off his shirt and pants although leaving his boxers on as he stepped foot in the tub.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°I know, but it¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fucking freezing though!¡±


    ¡°Peter, stop complaining, I¡¯m trying to help you.¡± My voice grew stern, in a way that told him I wasn¡¯t gonna let him have his way. He pouted, then grimaced as he slowly lowered himself into the cold water.


    He panted for a minute, like his body was trying to warm up by breathing. Surprisingly enough, he stopped scratching.


    ¡°Oh.¡± He breathed.


    ¡°Feel better?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, actually. It¡¯s like you froze all the bugs.¡± he said, leaning all the way back into the water.


    ¡°There were no bugs, Peter.¡± I sighed. I instructed him to stay while I went into my bedroom to get dressed out of my pajamas and to wait for Briar.


    When he finally arrived, we shared no words as I directed him to my bedroom, and then my bathroom from there. He only hesitated for a moment in the threshold before passing through and following me to the bathroom.


    ¡°Petey, hey, how are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Better, now that the bugs are gone.¡± He was relaxing now, like he was in a hot tub.


    I didn¡¯t bother correcting him this time, knowing he was just being stubborn. Briar didn¡¯t ask what that meant, he seemed to know.


    ¡°How long ago did the bugs start bothering you?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I dunno, I woke up from it like 10 minutes ago.¡± Was the answer.


    ¡°Okay, we should have time, then.¡± Briar turned to me. ¡°Go get him some clothes, I¡¯ll get some ice packs. We need to get him to the estate.¡±


    ¡°Now?! It¡¯s almost 5:00 AM!¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately it doesn¡¯t seem to want to wait.¡±


    ¡°What doesn¡¯t?¡± Peter asked, worried now.


    ¡°Your wolf side, it¡¯s coming out.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it early? I thought we had time?¡± I was anxious now as I stood in the doorway, wanting to do as Briar ordered but too concerned to leave.


    ¡°Yeah, it sneaked up on us this time, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He looked apologetic, I sensed he really did feel bad.


    ¡°Okay¡­ Okay, I¡¯m going. I¡¯ll be right back Pete!¡± I ran off into his bedroom, I heard Briar pass by in the hallway and open the fridge shortly after. I grabbed his favorite hoodie, in addition to a spare change of clothes, and made my way back to Pete.


    ¡°Okay, honey. Here¡¯s your clothes.¡± I stacked them on the counter nearby while Briar returned with the ice packs.


    ¡°Alright, Petey. Get dressed, we¡¯ll take my car.¡±


    We left him to get dressed in privacy while we talked briefly in my bedroom. Soon enough, the boy appeared looking better than when he¡¯d entered.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Briar asked him.


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°Good enough, let''s go.¡± Briar passed him the ice packs before leading the way out and to his car.


    He gave me time to lock up before getting into the SUV, holding the door open for me politely. I shook my head, now was not the time for niceties.


    Instead of addressing us once he was in the driver''s seat, he picked up his cellphone.


    ¡°Clarice.¡± He began. I could only faintly hear her on the other line as he started the car, I had to strain to listen.


    ¡°Briar, you better have a good reason for calling me at this hour.¡± I couldn¡¯t tell the tone, but the phrasing seemed less than pleased.


    ¡°Forgive me, but you said to call when I was bringing the boys.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± Even she was surprised.


    ¡°He¡¯s already starting to shift.¡±


    ¡°Shit. Keep him on ice.¡±


    ¡°Way ahead of you. We¡¯re on our way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll wake up Jacob and Maddie.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± He hung up.


    ¡°She sounded mad.¡± Pete said.


    ¡°She¡¯s not, don¡¯t worry kiddo. She just sounds like that.¡± He huffed, turning onto the main road out of the neighborhood. I was amazed he could hear her at all, being in the back seat and all.


    ¡°My head hurts.¡± He suddenly announced.


    ¡°I know Pete. It¡¯ll feel better once you shift.¡± He sighed. ¡°Look. Here in a bit, you¡¯re gonna start feeling a lot of different things. Some good, some bad. You need to focus on not letting it get to you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Anger, confusion, excitement. All those things, and it¡¯s gonna be real intense, but you need to try to keep yourself still okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re also starting to pick up on your other senses, you could hear the phone call, that¡¯s good. You¡¯ll also be able to start smelling us.¡±


    ¡°I think I can already. It¡¯s making my head worse.¡±


    ¡°Do we smell bad?¡± I asked, frowning.


    ¡°No.¡± he whined. ¡°Just intense.¡±


    ¡°I know. You¡¯ll get used to it really quick, here.¡± He opened the windows, allowing the cool breeze from the dark world outside into the SUV.


    ¡°Is it gonna hurt?¡± Pete asked after a long period of silence.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°Shifting, like you said. It didn¡¯t sound good when you did it.¡±


    Briar stared at the road for a long moment, in thought. I wondered that too.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna lie to you, Petey. It¡¯s gonna hurt like a bitch for the first few times.¡± The cuss word startled me. I didn¡¯t mind it, but it set the tone for how serious he was being.


    ¡°¡­ Great.¡± Pete sounded defeated. ¡°I take it I can¡¯t just¡­ not shift?¡±


    ¡°Not the first time, no. Resisting will make it hurt more. The first few times will suck, but once you get used to it, it kind of feels like a massage. Your body will adjust, with time.¡±


    ¡°Is there a way to make that happen faster?¡±


    ¡°Not at your age. The only thing you can do is shift more often and that¡¯s not recommended because it¡¯ll tire you out if you do it more than twice in a day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to see the downsides of this whole werewolf business.¡± Pete was frowning, but Briar offered a comforting smile over his shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The pros outweigh the cons. I¡¯ll let you figure those out for yourself.¡±


    We spent the rest of the car ride talking about the various terms and conditions associated with being a werewolf, including social cues and common words that are used and what to avoid. It seemed like Briar started having fun after a while, and I could see the teacher that he was in the classroom reflected in his speech.


    Pete on the other hand was having a less than good time, complaining once more as the bugs returned to his skin and refused to leave him be, his only alleviation a normal ice-pack and a frozen bag of peas that were fetched from my freezer.


    It all came to a head when we were about 15 minutes from the estate, and Pete started whining even more than what was normal for a teenager. He really sounded miserable.


    ¡°I know kiddo.¡± Briar breathed. ¡°We¡¯re almost there. We¡¯ve got people ready to help you through your first shift but you need to hold out just a little longer.¡±


    I felt helpless to the pain he was carrying, yet again the odd one out in the small space. What could I possibly do, in my position, other than hold his hand and comfort him through the pain.


    ¡°Hold out just a little longer honey, you can do it. C¡¯mon Pete just breathe with me, see, inhale, exhale.¡± Pete was crying, what could I do? ¡°Breathe Peter, stay still and breathe.¡±


    He screamed suddenly, and I looked over horrified to see a patch of ginger fur poke through his cheek.


    ¡°Oh god, Briar, it¡¯s happening. I see fur!¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± Briar floored the acceleration. Thankfully we were close by now, we only needed to drive another minute or two before he peeled into a long dirt road, leading to an even longer gravel driveway.


    He parked just in front of this massive house deep in the woods, and Pete didn¡¯t waste any time before launching out of the car. I gave chase, rounding the car to beg him to stay still. Briar was there too, holding his other hand while two strangers came sprinting out of the house.


    ¡°Breathe Pete, c¡¯mon.¡± I begged, he hadn¡¯t inhaled audibly for a while, and I was rewarded by a gasp. So he was still listening, thank god.


    ¡°Hey, Pete? My name¡¯s Jacob, we¡¯re gonna help you through this okay?¡±


    ¡°Let go of his hands honey it¡¯s okay now, we¡¯re gonna help him.¡± Another voice, a woman, gently pulled me away from my boy. Briar followed without prompt.


    Jacob was whispering feverishly into Pete¡¯s ear, careful not to touch him.


    It was another moment of panting and crying before the first crack resounded through the air.


    ¡°Get his clothes off, quick.¡± Jacob and the woman quickly began tugging the shirt and pants off of Peter, leaving his boxers to be destroyed by the events that followed.


    It looked horrible, and far more painful than Briar¡¯s shift back at my house.


    Where Briar shifted all at once in one smooth motion, Pete seemed to shift part of the way before getting stuck, over and over again. He had stopped crying, only to be replaced by panting and growls and yelps as he slowly, painfully slowly became more and more wolf-like, until the final patch of fur filled in with trembling muscles, and then he collapsed to the ground in one big heap.


    I couldn¡¯t breathe for a moment, panic struck me. Briar was quick to my side.


    ¡°He¡¯s okay, Liam, he¡¯s okay. Just resting. Look, he¡¯s breathing.¡±


    It barely helped, I wanted nothing more than to run to him, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I could yet.


    I heard more cracking and popping, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a very naked man shifting right before my eyes. Like Briar, he shifted all at once, fur washing over him like water before landing on all four paws. He approached Pete laying on the ground, and hunkered down low. Low until he was belly to the ground watching and waiting for the moment Liam opened his eyes.


    ¡°He¡¯s okay, this happens for everyone who¡¯s not born a wolf.¡± the woman¡ªMaddie, my mind supplied¡ª spoke, using a soothing tone toward me. She glanced at Briar for a moment. ¡°Almost everyone.¡±


    I controlled my breathing. If no one else was worried, I needed to get control of myself and not freak out.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m calm.¡± I said.


    ¡°Not really. Seriously, he¡¯s okay. He¡¯ll wake up in just a moment.¡± She said again. I stayed kneeling on the ground, waiting.


    Finally, he opened his eyes.

 Chapter Seven

    <h2>Liam: He stood up with a growl, then continued growling and yapping in a way that reminded me of a husky.</h2>


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk, buddy.¡± Briar told him, still kneeling


    I finally allowed myself to take a whole breath.


    ¡°Oh, Pete.¡± I sighed, slowly reaching out for him to sniff my hand. I didn¡¯t wanna touch him until he was ready. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±


    He answered with a rumble, licking the tips of my fingers.


    He was noticeably smaller than Briar was, perhaps it was an age thing. He had a smattering of gray and red short fur. I finally took stock of the other two.


    Maddie had long black hair, Latina by the looks of things. She had a kind face and almond shaped eyes that flickered back and forth between Pete, Jacob, and me.


    Jacob was a large wolf, perhaps around the same size as Briar, with gray and white fur and these big blue eyes.


    Maddie played translator for Jacob, explaining to Pete the various how-tos while in this form. I watched carefully as Pete explored his new body, prancing about in circles and jumping around. Briar directed me to the porch while they talked on the front lawn, taking a seat on an old swing bench beside the front door.


    We spent a long time in the front yard, long enough that around 8:00 AM another truck came rumbling down the gravel path. A family of five came spilling out the sides. A large, gruff looking man and a woman with fiery red hair in the front and passenger seat. While in the back an older, bored looking teenager, a younger one, and a young excited child from the back seats. They looked like a typical nuclear family, but since they were here, I knew the truth.


    ¡°Maddie, honey how are you?¡± The woman greeted, embracing the shorter girl and kissing the air beside her cheeks.


    ¡°We¡¯re doing better now.¡± She sighed, ¡°This here is Pete. He just went through his first shift.¡±


    ¡°How ya doin¡¯ Pete?¡± The large man lowered his hands on his knees, grinning nice and wide. Pete barked back, but took a few steps away. The large man laughed, before turning his attention to the porch.


    ¡°Briar! Get down here.¡± he called, Briar answered with a grin, taking me by the arm to gently lead me down to greet them.


    ¡°Heya Grant.¡± Briar smiled, the man pulled him into a bear hug.


    ¡°I heard ye were on this side¡¯o town with a new dog. Had¡¯ta see it myself.¡±


    I wondered if calling them dogs was supposed to be demeaning, but Briar didn¡¯t say anything if it was.


    ¡°You must be Liam, Never thought I¡¯d see the day.¡± he said as he pulled me into a bone crushing hug. The man surprised me, he was an omega.


    ¡°You know me?¡± I peeped through the squeeze.


    ¡°Course I do!¡± He began, then trailed off when Briar gave him a very strong look, ¡°Ah, ye haven¡¯t talked yet I take it. Never mind, never mind. I¡¯m happy¡¯ta meet ye regardless!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s he talking about?¡± I turned to Briar, who looked embarrassed enough to crawl into a hole.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Briar cleared his throat.


    ¡°Said too much?¡± Grant asked before launching into a full belly laugh. The other woman approached, I assumed she was his alpha which was confirmed when she came close enough to shake my hand.


    ¡°Honey, quit teasing Briar.¡± She began as she shook my hand. ¡°I¡¯m Diane.¡±


    ¡°Liam. I¡¯m Peter¡¯s guardian.¡± I informed her, she smiled and turned around to gesture at her kids.


    ¡°This is Daniel, my eldest. Micheal, and then Samantha, my youngest.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you three.¡± I smiled. Sam hid behind her mom with a shy smile, while Daniel only nodded. Micheal was the only one to greet me verbally.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, too.¡±


    ¡°How old are you three?¡±


    ¡°Daniel is seventeen, and Micheal is fifteen. Little Sammy is six.¡± Diane spoke.


    ¡°Oh! Pete is sixteen now, you might get along!¡± I smiled at the older two of the three. Micheal smiled with interest, and I caught the barest glimmer of curiosity in those eyes.


    ¡°What do you think, guys? Wanna go for a run?¡± Diane asked her children.


    Micheal was already running back to the truck, midway to taking off his shirt when he opened the car door and jumped inside.


    ¡°Hey! What have I told ye about changing in the truck!¡± Grant called after him.


    ¡°Honey, it¡¯s fine.¡± Diane disagreed.


    ¡°Easy for you to say! He¡¯s putting scratches in me seats!¡± He protested, and I couldn¡¯t help but giggle a little.


    Soon enough a young wolf hopped out of the car, running up to Pete who was watching the introductions with interest while Daniel used the open car door as cover for his own change. He was a little bigger than his brother in wolf form, but the coloring was very similar. I had trouble picking them out when they approached Pete together, sniffing him around his body.


    Pete looked confused by their inspection as he sat down on his haunches and rolled his head away from a particularly intrusive nose. Then the other wolves dropped their upper bodies low, leaving their hinds in the air. They took the typical dog-play stance and it made me giggle which turned into a full laugh when Pete hesitantly returned the gesture, and the two wolves before him took off in a full sprint around the yard. Pete looked at me curiously.


    ¡°Go on!¡± I urged him to play, and it¡¯s like he was waiting for it, because he took off next as well, although a little more hesitantly than the other two.


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    I sighed as I watched them chase each other in circles.


    ¡°Have they taken him into the woods yet?¡± Grant asked Maddie, who was hovering nearby. Jacob was watching nearby as well.


    ¡°Not yet, no.¡± She answered, then turned to me. ¡°We can, with your permission.¡±


    ¡°Is it safe?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Every hunter in town knows these are our woods. Your boy will be safe.¡± She smiled comfortingly.


    ¡°Okay, then. I don¡¯t see the harm.¡±


    Jacob took that as his queue to join the play fray, running into the round and leading the charge into the woods. Pete hesitated at the border, looking back at me one more time before following him.


    ¡°Hey, wait for me!¡± Grant called, awkwardly hopping out of his pants and making me shield my eyes as he shifted while moving.


    I heard Briar hum beside me, and I gave him my attention.


    ¡°What? You can go too, if you want.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Briar asked, I wasn¡¯t expecting that to be what the matter was, even though I told him he could. I laughed.


    ¡°Go on, big guy. I¡¯ll be here.¡±


    He flashed me a blinding smile that made my heart flutter, stripping out of his clothes right there and running off in the direction of the woods, shifting midway through before disappearing in the treeline.


    I sighed as I watched him leave.


    ¡°The boys will be hungry when they get back.¡± Maddie commented, and Diane agreed.


    ¡°Want to make some food for them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to help.¡± I offered, and was met with smiles all around.


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± Diane invited.


    Maddie led the way into the estate, easily the largest piece of property I¡¯d ever seen, and that was saying something as someone who lived in small towns my whole life. Sam went to play in the living room while we went to the kitchen.


    Said kitchen was neat yet rustic, with a generous island in the middle with metal chairs surrounding it. I wondered if Clarice lived here, or if it was just Maddie and Jacob in this massive house all by themselves.


    We got started, working together fluidly as a team while gossiping about regular small town drama. They seemed really excited to be able to relive some of these experiences, like the time Ms. Abernathy tried to call the cops on the neighbors for having Halloween decorations up during the summer. Silly petty stories that were as much fun as they were innocent dramas.


    This continued for a long while before the front door creaked open and closed. I wondered if they were already back, when suddenly there came a pretty brunette into the kitchen. I recognized her as Jeanette.


    ¡°Oh, hi Jeanette!¡± I smiled at her, she didn¡¯t return it.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Was all she said, before turning to the other ladies. ¡°What are you making?¡±


    ¡°Macaroni, coleslaw, pork chops, and watermelon slices.¡± Maddie explained, avoiding eye contact with her.


    ¡°Hm.¡± She huffed. I frowned. There was something going on, here. She turned back toward me.


    ¡°So. He brought you along.¡± She noted.


    ¡°Ah, yeah. Peter started shifting this morning, so we had t-¡±


    ¡°-I know what happened.¡± She said flatly, I resisted the urge to flinch. What was going on?


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying he could have left you at home.¡± She set her purse down on the table nearby. I couldn¡¯t take the attitude, so I rounded on her.


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± I faced her head on.


    ¡°Did I say there was a problem?¡± She lifted her chin defiantly.


    ¡°I can read between the lines. The other day you visited my house you were all sunshine and rainbows and now you¡¯re speaking to me like I¡¯m dirt. What¡¯s going on?¡± I put my hands on my hips, and behind me, Diane slowly stopped what she was doing to watch.


    ¡°Then read this: I don¡¯t like you.¡±


    ¡°Why? I didn¡¯t do anything to you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done plenty.¡± She scoffed.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve barely known him for what, a week? And here you are, coming to our territory making lunch for the boys as if you belong here. Get real. You don¡¯t belong here.¡± She glared, voice full of venom. I barely resisted the flinch this time. She was preying on my weakness. My insecurity that I didn¡¯t belong, I knew that, but it still hurt.


    ¡°I¡¯m just as much pack as Pete is.¡± I told her, voice quieter.


    ¡°Well, then maybe he doesn¡¯t belong here either, then.¡±


    ¡°And who are you to make that claim?¡± Someone else said, someone more powerful than anyone else in the room. Clarice stood by the doorway in a white shirt and a taupe blazer, glaring. Immediately Jeanette¡¯s head was down.


    ¡°N-No one, sir. I was just¡­¡±


    ¡°Being a cunt.¡± Clarice finished for her, and Jeanette flinched.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it¡­¡±


    ¡°You meant everything by it. Watch yourself, before I suspend you from pack resources for your insolence.¡±


    Jeanette looked like she was about to cry. She didn¡¯t say anything, just grabbed her purse again and left the house.


    We were left in tense silence for a while, Clarice still glaring at the space Jeanette occupied.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to forgive her behavior. She¡¯s¡­¡± Clarice began, trailing off in thought.


    ¡°Jealous?¡± I offered. Clarice nodded at my guess. ¡°I guessed. She seems sweet on him.¡±


    ¡°They were childhood friends.¡± Clarice explained, approaching. With her attention on me, I could feel that unnatural focus once again, like she and I were the only two people in the room and I was being interrogated.


    ¡°You were mistaken about one thing, though.¡± She began, ¡°You¡¯re not just as much pack as Pete.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I finally looked away, saddened, the motion was interrupted by her hand gently lifting my chin to face her.


    ¡°You and Pete are just as much pack as everyone in this room, including myself. Being pack means being family. Don¡¯t forget that, that¡¯s an order from your alpha.¡±


    Well now I wanted to cry. I avoided tears gathering in my eyes, thankfully, but I sensed she knew I was emotional.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± I said. She smiled approvingly.


    ¡°Well? How soon till the food is done, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Clarice turned away from me, walking over to the counter to steal a watermelon slice. She barely stayed around for the answer, heading outside next. I finally felt like I could breathe again. Diane put her hands on my shoulder comfortingly.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay.¡± She said softly.


    ¡°Jeanette is a bit of a bitch to everyone.¡± Maddie said, finally finishing up the last of the pork chops.


    ¡°Except for when she¡¯s not.¡± I said, frowning. ¡°She was so nice when we first met.¡±


    ¡°Briar was there. He¡¯s the only one she¡¯s nice to. He still doesn¡¯t fully believe people when they say she¡¯s got the mouth of a viper.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± I groaned.


    ¡°Something tells me he¡¯ll believe you though.¡± Diane chirped in.


    ¡°I dunno. I probably won''t tell him.¡± I sighed. ¡°They¡¯re friends, I don¡¯t wanna seem like I¡¯m taking that away from him.¡±


    ¡°So sweet.¡± Diane patted my hair, turning to a closet just outside of the kitchen, and pulling out a white fold up table.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this outside.¡± She grunted, lifting it higher. I approached to help, only to be shooed away. Maddie gave me a watermelon slice as if she were pacifying me, before grabbing two of the trays of food. I quickly devoured the sweet treat before grabbing the other two in my arms, reminding me of my long ago waiter days as I chased her out the door.


    ¡°Shall we call them?¡± Maddie asked, and Diane cleared her throat.


    ¡°Boys!¡± she called out, ¡°Lunch time!¡±


    A resulting howl resounded shortly thereafter, followed by another, and another, until a chorus of howls sang from the hills.

 Chapter Eight

    <h2>Briar: It had been too long since I had been able to run free like this, even longer since I ran with my pack brothers.</h2>


    I was careful to stay near Peter, who seemed equally keen on running near me.


    When we heard the call for lunch I realized we must have been out much longer than I thought we were. When Jacob began howling it was easy to fall in line with him, I heard Grant join, then the boys. Signaling back home that we heard, and would be back soon.


    Home. I hadn¡¯t thought of this place as home in a long time.


    Setting aside those thoughts became easy when Pete suddenly got distracted, darting off between the trees after a furry creature, likely a rabbit or squirrel. I had to run back and in front of him, interrupting his path. I crowded against him, herding him back toward home. He gave a gruff of attitude, but followed. I would have laughed, had I been able.


    Breaking through the clearing and running up the hill, my wolf side rejoiced at the sight of my mate smiling at our arrival. I resisted the urge to barrel him over as I got close, instead choosing to nose at his thighs and wag my tail until he gave my head a pat with a jovial laugh.


    Behind me, I could hear Diane scolding Micheal for trying to eat without shifting.


    ¡°Uh-uh. You get back in human form and wash your hands and you can eat.¡± She shoved his nose away from the table. He gave an impatient ruff, then trotted back to the car while she passed Sam a plate with macaroni and a couple slices of watermelon.


    I followed suit, shifting back over where I had dropped my clothes facing away from the rest of the group. Clarice came over from around the backside of the house, alongside Jeanette. I decided not to approach, with Jeanette looking upset as she was.


    Instead I went inside for the moment, washing my hands and arms of the dirt covering them, before returning to my Liam¡¯s side.


    ¡°Have you already eaten?¡± I asked him as I arrived.


    ¡°Some, here and there.¡± He answered, looking after Pete who still remained shifted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help Pete come back to us, then I¡¯ll get you something.¡± I offered, rubbing his shoulder before walking back over to Pete.


    ¡°C¡¯mon buddy, let''s head back to my car.¡± I said, Pete didn¡¯t need to be asked twice, hopping into the backseat when I opened the door for him. I picked up his clothes off the ground and put them on the seat beside him.


    Pete whined. He smelled of fear.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s scary, Petey. You can do it though, it works the same as getting to the wolf. It¡¯s gonna be so much easier than the first time. You can do it.¡±


    He whined again then groaned. I made sure to give him privacy, facing away as I heard the struggling within the car.


    It took a couple of minutes, but as predicted, he emerged from the car moments later.


    ¡°That sucked.¡± He groaned, not bothering putting his shoes back on with how dirty they were.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be even easier next time.¡± I tried to console him, giving him a hearty pat on the shoulder. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll show you to the bathroom.¡±


    Shortly after, I was watching Pete officially introduce himself to Daniel and Micheal. The boys seemed to hit it off in wolf form, I hoped that meant they¡¯d get along now, as well.


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    I grabbed us some food, and finally returned to my Liam, passing him a plate.


    ¡°This is so much.¡± He scoffed, but accepted it anyway. He was hungrier than he let on, because he ate almost all of it. I chuckled, before parting to go find us something to drink, going back into the house.


    It was like my worst fear coming back, though. At the hands of Jacob, no less. He had his arm wrapped around Liam¡¯s shoulder, who stood tensely beside him. He was holding a plate of his own and talking about something or other relating to the kids, gesturing to the yard in front of him while Liam nodded and smiled patiently.


    I growled, loud enough for Liam to hear. He jumped slightly, looking over his shoulder to give me a relieved stare. Jacob let go of him.


    ¡°Hey Briar.¡± Jacob said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®hey¡¯ me, knock it off.¡± I bit.


    ¡°Knock what off?¡± He asked, but he knew damn well what he was doing.


    I growled again, knowing anything I said would make him sound like the bad guy. Except maybe one thing.


    ¡°You were making him uncomfortable.¡± I said.


    Jacob looked back to Liam for a second, before meeting my eyes. ¡°Sorry man, my bad.¡± He apologized to Liam, but I didn¡¯t let him stick around, lightly shoving him off.


    Jacob gave me a sour expression, but walked away, getting the hint.


    ¡°So growly.¡± Liam commented. ¡°What was that?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°He was messing with me?¡±


    ¡°By talking to me?¡±


    ¡°By holding you. He knows I like you, he knows why I brought you here.¡± He blushed at my words.


    ¡°And why did you bring me here?¡± Liam asked, giving me a look like he knew. He didn¡¯t, but it did things to me anyway. I chuckled.


    ¡°Patience.¡±


    He tutted, shaking his head. He was about to give an answer of his own when Pete interrupted.


    ¡°Liam?¡± He asked, drawing his attention away from me.


    ¡°Yeah, Pete?¡±


    ¡°Can I spend the night here?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he was surprised. I noticed them talking about it a minute ago, so I wasn¡¯t particularly shocked.


    ¡°Sleepover. Here. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ here, here? Or at Micheal and Daniel¡¯s?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Here here. They said it would be okay.¡± Pete pointed at the ground while he spoke.


    ¡°I dunno honey. What do Grant and Diane say?¡± He frowned, I hated that look. I wanted to fix it.


    ¡°They said to ask you.¡± He said a little impatiently.


    ¡°It would give us an opportunity to have that conversation.¡± I noted, looking at Liam. ¡°Diane and Grant would keep him safe.¡±


    ¡°I know I know¡­ I¡¯m just not sure, just the day before yesterday you were sick in bed.¡±


    ¡°Please?¡± Pete asked again. I didn¡¯t want to seem like I was intruding on his authority, so I simply remained quiet and let him come to his own decision.


    ¡°Okay, fine. One night, then we come to get you. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Yessss.¡± Pete hissed, turning around to run back to the other two boys.


    ¡°We¡¯ll keep ¡®im safe, don¡¯t worry.¡± Grant gave Liam a pat on the shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m not, I know you¡¯ll watch over him.¡± Liam smiled. A gesture I returned.


    We spent a couple more hours spending time at the estate, before finally clamoring back into my SUV. Peter waved us goodbye, giving Liam a hug before running back toward the house and saying something indecipherable to the boys. All three ran inside, and I could only imagine the chaos they¡¯d be getting up to. I hoped Clarice wasn¡¯t too bothered by tomorrow.


    I peeled out into the dirt road, and eventually on the main road.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Liam began. ¡°You gonna tell me that secret yet?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°You¡¯re dead set on finding out, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    He laughed as well. ¡°I can¡¯t help it, I don¡¯t like being left in the dark.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll shed a little light on it tonight. How about after dinner?¡±


    ¡°Deal, but I¡¯m holding you to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on it.¡± I chuckled a little more, before finally falling back into normal conversation topics.


    Tonight, I would tell him.

 Chapter Nine

    <h2>Liam: When we pulled into the restaurant an hour later I felt a little under-dressed for a date.</h2>


    Even though Briar didn¡¯t seem to mind at all, I felt a little self-conscious when he came to my side of the car to escort me into the restaurant as if it were fine dining. It wasn¡¯t, we¡¯d decided on somewhere more homey than fancy. Just because it¡¯s what I wanted.


    When we were seated I decided now was the time to get to really know him. I asked him things like his favorite music, TV shows, his favorite thing to get at coffee shops even. He was a perfect gentleman the entire time, answering each question with a smile.


    ¡°What do you like to do in your spare time?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I enjoy going for runs through the woods near my house,¡± He began, ¡°Otherwise I used to whittle pretty often.¡±


    ¡°Whittling? Like carving little creatures?¡±


    ¡°Exactly that.¡± He hummed.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you stop?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, it''s not so much that I used to, but more so that I haven¡¯t had the time for it. Grading homework usually takes it out of me, so I usually prefer to relax once I finish with that.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. I¡¯m sorry it takes so much of your time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, teaching is my passion. I love it, even when it¡¯s tiring.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any funny stories or drama from the workplace that you¡¯d be willing to share?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ One time, one of the rudest boys in my class messed with his seatmate for the last time, and he couldn¡¯t take it anymore, so he asked me to move him.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I nodded, as the waitress added more water to my glass.


    ¡°So I moved him to the last kid in the world I wanted him to be with. Shy little girl, meek and basically what you imagine for a stereotypical omega.¡± he continued. ¡°But I had him sit next to everyone else already, this was the last chance before I had to try to have him removed from the class. I didn¡¯t wanna do that, you see.¡±


    I nodded again, ¡°Of course, kids probably got other stuff going on to make him act out.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So he¡¯s sitting next to her for half the class, picking on her and ignoring me anytime I tell him to stop. Then she stood up, like a rubber band snapped.¡± he made a gesture with his hand. ¡°And punched him as hard as she could in the side of the head. She hit him so hard, the kid hit the floor. I thought¡ªy¡¯know, I felt bad for it at the same time¡ªbut I thought that was karma, you know?¡±


    I put my hand up to my mouth to conceal my gasp. ¡°No way. That little girl did that?¡±


    ¡°Then she just sat back down in her seat and kept taking notes. It was incredible. Of course, I had to punish them, so I brought them out into the hall to talk to them. She understood she had to get written up and took it like a champ, then sent her on her way. The boy though, he was on his hands and knees, begging and crying for me to not tell anyone that he was floored by a girl.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit.¡± I was still shocked by this story. ¡°That sounds fake, holy-¡­¡±


    Briar laughed. ¡°I know, but it¡¯s not! I promise you that actually happened.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually crazy.¡±


    ¡°The funniest part, you wanna guess?¡± He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.


    ¡°What, tell me.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re dating now.¡±


    ¡°No way. Really? Tell me he¡¯s not acting that way, still.¡±


    ¡°Not to my knowledge, they¡¯re in another grade, now. So I don¡¯t have them, but from what I¡¯ve heard they worked out their differences.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I wasn¡¯t expecting that story. Do you have any other dramatic ones?¡±


    ¡°Oof, dramatic. There was the time one of my coworker¡¯s students sat on a pencil and had to go to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Like¡­?¡±


    ¡°Vertical pencil. Someone was sitting behind him holding it upright, he didn¡¯t think the kid would sit down so heavily.¡±


    ¡°What was he thinking!?¡± I exclaimed, before needing to lean back for the food to be passed over our places and set in front of us. I shifted my demeanor for the waitress. ¡°Oh, thank you!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that now. He¡¯s okay, for the record.¡± Briar chuckled, ¡°What about you, any office drama?¡±


    ¡°Nothing that funny or shocking. The best I got is that Larry from HR got caught cheating on his wife with some 20 year old mistress recently. Larry is in his 40s.¡± I let my expression show my distaste.


    ¡°Yikes.¡± Briar agreed. ¡°Age gaps freak you out?¡±


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    ¡°A little bit, mostly when it''s obviously predatory. This girl isn¡¯t even out of college yet and he¡¯s so¡­ I feel bad for saying this but he¡¯s always given me skeevy vibes.¡±


    ¡°Yikes. Not a pretty guy, I take it.¡± He guessed. I shook my head with a grave expression.


    ¡°And his wife, oh I feel so bad.¡± I started. ¡°They got married like¡­ the same year the mistress was born, how messed up is that?¡±


    ¡°Very, I can¡¯t even imagine.¡± He sounded like he genuinely felt bad. ¡°Cheating is¡­ almost unheard of, for werewolves. Sure, people fall out of love and break up sometimes. Intentionally going out of your way to be with another person is chemically difficult to do.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We are hardwired to be loyal to our mates.¡± He said seriously. ¡°Going against that is¡­ impossible in my mind.¡±


    ¡°So I have no reason to think your eyes will wander elsewhere?¡±


    ¡°None. They¡¯re only for you.¡± He reached out, holding my unused hand in his own.


    I flushed, but smiled. He was so pretty and so warm, like he radiated sunlight. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh happily.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I decided to go to that parent-teacher conference.¡± I told him.


    ¡°Me too.¡± He said, smiling.


    ¡°Did you know I was planning on going there as a crusade against you.¡± I told him suddenly, it felt like so long ago but it was only a week or two ago.


    ¡°Against me?¡± He scoffed.


    ¡°I had it in my head that you were judging me for how I was raising Pete.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d never do that.¡± He snorted. I looked sheepish.


    ¡°Well I know that now. But, you know¡­ you had such a positive effect on him, I felt like I was being swept under the rug.¡± I ducked my head.


    ¡°If you believe that, you should have been in my classroom with me. All he¡¯d talk about is how you were saving him.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on now.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe that.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like it was a team effort, then.¡± I grinned, squeezing the hand that held mine.


    ¡°We make a good one.¡± He agreed, squeezing back.


    ¡°Is it crazy that I feel like I know you better than I do?¡± I asked him suddenly, withdrawing my hand. ¡°It feels crazy. We barely know each other.


    He frowned slightly when I pulled away. I felt similarly, wanting nothing more than to go across the table and hold him in my arms, but I wanted to rationalize my feelings somehow.


    I¡¯d been in love before, but it ended messy. I didn¡¯t like how fast I was falling, now.


    ¡°No, Liam, it¡¯s not crazy, it¡¯s¡­¡± I saw him hesitate. He swallowed thickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish up here before continuing this, I think it¡¯s time we had that talk.¡±


    I agreed, if only to find out sooner what was so obviously bothering him.


    We finished our dinner with much more normal conversation topics, before getting into the car and driving in relative silence on the way to my house.


    We got inside, and Briar urged me to sit down before we started talking.


    ¡°So, what I¡¯m about to explain to you is very important, and you¡¯ll need to think about it seriously if this continues.¡±


    ¡°¡­ okay.¡± I was wary, it was never a good way to start a conversation that wasn¡¯t leaden with serious consequences.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to scare you, I just need you to understand. You¡¯ll be experiencing this a little differently as a human.¡±


    ¡°Experiencing what?¡±


    ¡°I mentioned the concept of mates before, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I figured you were just old fashioned.¡±


    ¡°No. I mean wolf mates, the concept of belonging to one another for life. You don¡¯t choose it, your wolf side does, your instinctual side.¡±


    ¡°Like soulmates?¡±


    ¡°Like soulmates.¡± He agreed.


    ¡°And¡­ I¡¯m yours?¡± I gathered. He nodded, looking serious as can be.


    I stood up, despite his earlier urges to be sitting for this conversation. He arose with me, watching me with these saddened eyes as I paced the living room.


    ¡°This is-¡­¡±


    ¡°Hard to believe, I know.¡±


    ¡°No, one thing I¡¯ve learned the past few days is that you never lie to me. I believe you.¡± I began, undoing my bun and carding my hand through my hair. ¡°I meant to say this is¡­ too sudden. I don¡¯t understand why you would pick me, and how¡­ final it sounds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where I need you to consider. If you aren¡¯t interested in being my mate, you need to tell me now and have me walk out the door. Any longer of this and¡­ I fear I may never be able to let you go. It took everything in my power to not come driving back once I went home yesterday, but I can do it again.¡± He explained, walking closer but not touching. ¡°I need you to look within yourself for the answer, Liam.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to decide?¡±


    ¡°The more time we spend together the more attached I get.¡± He said, ¡°You must feel it too, at least a little? That inescapable feeling of needing to be close?¡±


    ¡°I-I know it. I¡¯ve felt it, I just¡­ What if I¡¯m not what you want? I¡¯m just a human, you need¡ªyou deserve someone who can keep up with you. A wolf.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you are. I care who you are. I want you.¡± He stepped even closer.


    ¡°What if I change my mind later?¡± I whispered. I couldn¡¯t physically imagine doing so, but it entered my head anyway.


    ¡°I would do everything in my power to keep that from happening.¡± He whispered back. ¡°You¡¯d never want for anything. I could make you happy. You and Pete.¡±


    ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t understand?¡±


    ¡°We can show him. He could learn, just like you are.¡± He stepped even closer. He was close enough to touch, if I wanted to, I just needed to reach out. I knew if I did, though, I may as well be making my decision.


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t decide.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± He swallowed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave.¡±


    ¡°-No!¡± I panicked, stepped forward, even closer. We were so close now.


    ¡°I mean¡­¡± I trailed off, but it seemed like he knew.


    He finally, finally reached over, brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes.


    ¡°I know.¡± He whispered.


    ¡°How do I know I¡¯m not going to regret this?¡± I asked him, eyes trained on his own.


    ¡°You wont. I¡¯ll make sure of it. You¡¯ll never regret choosing me¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help it, I stepped closer, filling in that small gap between us. I pressed my mouth to his, finally kissing him.


    I thought books and movies were ridiculous for it, but it¡¯s true. Sparks went flying between us, blinding my senses to anything other than the man before me, holding me close. One of my hands went to the back of his neck, while the other held tight to his shoulders.


    He stood bent over me, hands equally held fast to my body. Carefully, too, like I was bound to shatter if he released me. Perhaps I would have.


    Perhaps he¡¯s the one who would shatter, instead of me.

 Chapter Ten

    <h2>Liam: The kiss between us grew fiery and passionate, my fingers clinging to muscle as he put equal pressure on me as he held me to him</h2>


    He took a step, and I followed. I took a step, and he followed. His tongue graced my lips, as we slowly began walking, and I allowed him entry, entangling my muscle with his own as I slowly but surely led him toward my bedroom.


    This time, there was no hesitation in the doorway. If anything, he surged forward even faster, leading to my knees bumping into the bed frame before he pressed even harder, sending me backwards and onto the soft cushioning of my bed.


    Finally he paused, bracing himself on his hands on either side of my head. He leaned down, forehead making contact with mine as he closed his eyes and panted. I was just as out of breath, I noticed.


    ¡°Tell me.¡± He breathed, ¡°Tell me you want this.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I panted. ¡°Please.¡±


    I felt fire in my veins, and a sticky dampness gathering between my thighs. We¡¯d barely done anything, and he was making me feel like my insides were on their way to melting.


    His hands skated their way up my torso, under my shirt, massaging the skin until he had bunched up my shirt all the way to my arms and thumbed at my nipples on either side of my chest.


    I sighed as he massaged the sensitive nubs, sending tingles down my spine and further adding to the gushing between my thighs. I grabbed the edge of my shirt, and pried it away from my body before tugging uselessly at Briar¡¯s own.


    He removed it without another word, much to my pleasure, as I returned the same treatment he¡¯d given me onto him. He rumbled pleasantly as he spoke, the growl affecting his voice in ways I thought impossible, sending shivers down my spine.


    ¡°Perfect, just perfect.¡±


    I gasped as he lowered his head to my chest, tonguing where his hands had just been, nipping the nub gently between his teeth. I never thought my chest was particularly sensitive, but I felt like I could orgasm just from this right now. I was starting to be really really pleased with my earlier decision of staying with him.


    While he used his mouth on my chest, his hands went lower, lower still. He palmed my erection through my pants, making me whimper, before finally pulling at the edge of my waistband and stripping me of the last articles of clothing I wore.


    I resisted the urge to cover myself, a little embarrassed about being nude.


    ¡°Absolutely beautiful.¡± He rumbled again. If the man could purr, this was the closest to it, I thought.


    ¡°You, too.¡± I said, ¡°Let me see.¡±


    He only grinned, and I felt my lower muscles clench at the look his eyes gave me. He inhaled suddenly, closing them for a moment.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you do to me¡± He said, before he lowered his body still, prying open my thighs with his large hands and biting the inside of my leg.


    I gasped. He was close, so, so close to where I needed him most.


    I opened my mouth to beg, but he beat me to it.


    His head and devilish tongue dropped low to lick the bottom of my omega hole nestled on my perineum and up to the top where my cock started, and kept going all the way to the head.


    I keened.


    He did it again.


    I couldn¡¯t resist locking my ankles behind his head as he continued pleasuring me with his mouth, even going as far as inserting my penis into his mouth¡ªa gesture that most guys I¡¯d been with never felt comfortable doing


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    ¡°Briar!¡± I whined, my hand tangling in his dreadlocks.


    He pulled his mouth away, taking that intense heat away with him.


    ¡°I love your taste.¡± He growled, one of his fingers snaking its way down my thigh and pressing against the entrance of my vagina.


    I wiggled my hips at the feeling, hoping to urge him inside me faster.


    ¡°Please Briar.¡± I whispered, trying to pull his body up toward me so I could kiss him again. The man groaned, and followed my direction, finally slipping that digit into my wet heat.


    I sighed at the pleasant feeling, before finally kissing him again, tasting myself on his tongue. Another finger entered.


    Boldly, I lowered my legs to fit around his hips, locking them at the ankles once again before pulling him hard against my body. Implying the act that was to come with eager motions.


    He growled in my ear, nipping my neck just below it. One of his hands disappeared from my body and I heard the telltale sounds of a buckle being undone.


    Giddy, I wiggled my hips once more.


    ¡°C¡¯mon. I wanna feel you.¡± I breathed. He groaned in response, removing his fingers from my pussy.


    ¡°You¡¯ll kill me.¡± was all he said, before I felt something large and hot nudge my hole.


    Quickly, I looked down, wanting to see all of him before he disappeared within me.


    He was large, with an already sizable knot forming at the base of his cock. It pulsed while I watched it, and I moaned.


    ¡°Looked your fill?¡± He asked, and I sighed, leaning back down.


    ¡°Fuck me.¡± I commanded. He responded with a grin, and pressed hard.


    It was big enough to knock the air out of my lungs for a second, like a solid punch that I felt deep in my womb. A punch that felt far better than it should.


    I groaned out loud, squeezing him between my thighs, and accidentally digging my nails into his shoulders.


    ¡°Again.¡± I begged. He obliged, pulling away and snapping his hips forward.


    Absently I noticed the sound of his knot breaching me in the otherwise quiet room, but was mostly preoccupied by how fucking good it felt to have him in me.


    I didn¡¯t have to ask him again, as he snapped his hips back and forth to ram himself as deep inside me as possible and fill me with pleasure again and again and again.


    ¡°Oh god-¡± I could only hold on as he fucked me faster and faster, harder and harder. Groaning and moaning hotly in my ear, whispering everything that came to mind about how this was an earth shattering experience for him.


    If I could catch my breath long enough to say anything longer than ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®more¡¯ I would have returned the sentiment as he well and truly rocked my fucking world.


    I could feel my high beginning to crest, and I assumed he was getting close as well judging by the increase in tempo and decrease in rhythm.


    ¡°Briar, I¡¯m close.¡± I told him, after a successful inhale.


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯m cumming.¡± He grunted, panting in my ear as I felt his knot try and fail to lock me to him.


    A shame, I wanted it.


    He didn¡¯t give up, though, lifting my hips and pressing even harder than before. I would have told him it was too late if only my pussy didn¡¯t somehow part and give way to the brutal weight as it popped inside me.


    I yelped at the suddenness of it, feeling a bit of pain as he settled inside me. It was quickly washed away, though, when he pressed forward and backward again, grinding deep inside of me.


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± I panted as the grinding continued, and he moaned his pleasure in my ear as he unleashed a torrent of fluid deep inside of me. With a final grind against my prostate, I gave way to the rough treatment, and came hard around the fullness of his knot within my body.


    I contracted around him, squeezing more pleasure out of him as he dug as deep as he could. He had more to say, apparently, and had the proof to back it up. He barely paused between my orgasm and his.


    ¡°I¡¯m not done with you yet.¡± He growled, I whimpered at his possessive hold on my body as he started grinding faster and faster once more. I couldn¡¯t believe it when he used my body to jerk himself off a second time before unleashing yet another hot batch of sperm into my womb.


    He didn¡¯t leave me in the dust, jerking me off with his hand and only faltering when he came the second time. I almost complained of over stimulation, before the pleasure and pain bled together into another jumbled mess of an orgasm, ripping through me with a scream.


    Finally he stopped, once he was sure I was good and done. He panted where he lay over me, before sitting up and standing with my lower half hanging off the bed.


    I voiced my complaints via a whine, which he gave me an apologetic smile for.


    ¡°Let me move us, then we can sleep.¡± He said, while gripping me closely and trying as carefully as possible to maneuver us into a proper sleeping position, rolling us over so that I lay on his chest. I had to admit, it was awfully cozy.


    ¡°Mm. So sleepy.¡± I murmured. ¡°That was¡­ too good.¡± I yawned in the middle.


    ¡°Can¡¯t agree more.¡± He hummed, tracing circles on my back. He kissed my temple. ¡°Go to sleep, Liam.¡±

 Chapter 11

    <h2>Liam: I had my happily ever after, I thought, as I drove Pete out to the woods on the edge of Briar¡¯s neighborhood a few days later.</h2>


    We parked in the lot leading into the public park with a trail leading into the woods, it was foggy out and the weather had turned chilly overnight. Still, though, it was important for Pete to go out and exercise his wolf side now.


    I spoke on the phone with Briar while we went out into the woods, walking together until we were a far distance away from the car and any public eye. Pete stripped out here in the woods. He would have done so in the car, but there were too many people about. Briar insisted I stay with him when we go out to run together, with no sight of that rogue being seen since the initial bite.


    The hunters were apparently coming back home today, so as soon as they were all rested they''d make the hour long drive to get here and investigate, although hopes of finding the rogue were now slim with how long it had been.


    I put it out of my mind as Pete ran around me in circles and chased after the squirrels and birds in the area.


    ¡°Pete, if you eat a Live Squirrel I swear to God you will never hear the end of it from me.¡± I told him as he got particularly close to one. Briar laughed on the other line.


    I smiled. Things were going better than I could have hoped between us. He spent a lot of time at my house since I agreed to become his mate, but occasionally had to go back to his home. Today was one such day, otherwise he¡¯d likely be there with us.


    Pete dashed forward, suddenly, slipping in the dirt and landing in a puddle of mudd.


    ¡°Oh, gross. C¡¯mon, Pete.¡± I sighed as he stood up, utterly filthy. ¡°I have to drive you home after this.¡±


    Pete growled, sniffing himself awkwardly before sneezing. I laughed at him, he did this to himself. That didn¡¯t stop him from trotting over to me and shaking his fur, spattering mud all over me.


    ¡°Pete!¡± I scolded.


    We walked through the woods together for maybe fifteen to 20 minutes before somewhere thunder roared.


    I frowned as it started to drizzle.


    ¡°Might be time to pack up soon, Kiddo.¡± I bunched his clothes to my chest even tighter. He made an annoyed grumble.


    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s cold and wet, though. It¡¯s time to go.¡± I sighed. He grumbled even more. ¡°Tell you what? You can have 10 more minutes. I¡¯ll leave your clothes here, they¡¯re getting soaked anyways. I¡¯ll go get the car started while you get dressed, sound fair?¡± I told him, setting the bundle on a rock.


    He wagged his tail, which I took as a yes. I nodded, turning around and starting the walk back toward my car.


    I hadn¡¯t been separated from Pete for long when I trailed off on the phone call. I noticed a couple of men shuffling about in the woods in the direction Pete and I came from. One of them said something into a radio. They definitely weren¡¯t cops, though.


    I told Briar what I was seeing, turning the volume down on my phone as I got closer. I got a real bad vibe off these guys, but I needed to get back to my car.


    I took a wide berth around them. I decided I¡¯d go start the engine in my car since I was close now, and walk back out to make sure Pete was okay. They were traveling really slow, surely I had time.


    I made it to my car without any further incident, breathing a sigh of relief as I turned my back to the white van pulled into the lot beside me. I leaned into the passenger side of my car to set up the towel I brought to protect the seat from mud, laying it across the seat and tucking it into the sides.


    I was midway to standing back up when I felt something hard and cold pressed against my back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, I have a gun.¡± Someone spoke, and I froze.


    The phone was yanked out of my hand, where I assume he hung up, and dropped it on the ground, stomping on it to try to break it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± I told the voice, raising my hands into the air.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want your money.¡± He spat. I kept my eyes pinched shut for a moment, blinking the rain out of my eyes as it began to downpour.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked, hoping it was something I could give so that I could get out of this alive.


    ¡°The wolf.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I tensed.


    ¡°I want the wolf.¡± He said again. A million things crossed through my mind. He wanted Pete.


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    ¡°There are no wolves in this state¡­¡± I said slowly, carefully.


    The gun clicked, and I flinched.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking lie to me.¡± He growled, a human sound, but just as threatening. Why couldn¡¯t anyone see this? I looked around me without turning my head. There was no one close enough to see exactly what was going on.


    There was no way I was letting him have my Pete. I realized the men in the woods were likely looking for him too. I had to think fast.


    ¡°Okay.¡± I said. ¡°Okay. You want the wolf.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m gonna get it.¡± He bit.


    ¡°Right. You already got it.¡± I said, thinking hard. This was the only thing I could think to do.


    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± He grunted, moving the gun to the back of my neck. ¡°Do I?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± My voice cracked. ¡°You got me. I won''t fight you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to hear.¡± The gun moved away slightly. ¡°You¡¯re gonna do exactly as I say.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I nodded. Hoping to God that none of those men had seen Pete. Hoping that someone saw me.


    ¡°Walk to the white van behind you. Slowly. Don¡¯t try to look at me, just turn nice and slow and walk to the back of the van.¡± He ordered, moving away to give me space to follow his directions. I did, trying to hide how my arms and legs shook from fear.


    The van doors were already opened. There was a cage in the middle.


    ¡°Now climb inside.¡±


    I slowly, tentatively willed my joints to move, creeping along into the van, pausing in front of the cage.


    ¡°I said inside.¡± The gun clicked again, and I moved, crawling on my hands and knees into the kennel. Didn¡¯t turn to face him then, not until he closed the door behind me. I saw him then, he looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, but hadn¡¯t aged well, with creases in his face from where he scowled. Utterly unremarkable, the only real notable feature was the hooked nose. He tugged his hat lower to cover his eyes from me, but I had already seen too much.


    He didn¡¯t seem to care, picking up the radio latched to his hip and speaking into it.


    ¡°I got him.¡± was all he said.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s him?¡± Came the reply.


    ¡°Matches the description. Only difference is the guy¡¯s an omega.¡± He said the word with malice.


    ¡°Could have been mistaken the night of the attack.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone else out here.¡± the static voice responded, ¡°We¡¯ll pack up and head over.¡±


    I was flooded with relief. They didn¡¯t see Peter. That also probably meant Pete hadn¡¯t seen what happened to me. I stifled the tears that threatened to well up and spill over, hiding it from the man when one of them fell.


    ¡°I have a question.¡± I said after a long silence, the man was waiting for his friends to arrive.


    ¡°Shut the hell up, mutt.¡±


    ¡°How did you find me?¡± I asked, wondering if I ever got out of this, what I could do to keep it from happening again.


    ¡°You dogs are all the same.¡± He grinned over his shoulder, ¡°You never learn to cover your tracks.¡±


    It didn¡¯t make sense to me. Tracks? Like literally? Our¡ªtheir paw prints?


    He walked away suddenly, rounding the car to go around to the front, getting in the passenger seat while one of the men from the woods came into view, along with another one.


    ¡°Well well, what have we here?¡± He beamed, ¡°A pretty one.¡±


    I felt sick.


    ¡°Wonder what kinda breed it is.¡± The other pondered as they jumped in the back of the van, taking a seat beside the cage. It. I tried to keep from crying as they shut the doors, obscuring me from the outside world


    God, if you exist. Please help me.


    <h2>Briar: The last thing I heard before the line went dead was ¡°Don¡¯t move, I have a gun.¡±</h2>


    I immediately panicked, I stripped down and tied my pants around my neck like a loose collar and threw open the door, shifting as I ran out into the woods in the direction they had been playing in.


    I ran faster than I ever had before, dropping my nose to the ground every other second in search of some hint of Liam or Pete. It was still a little distance away, but surely if I ran fast enough I could¡ª


    I made an impact with something hard and heavy, collapsing together in a massive heap.


    When I stood up and assessed the situation, I realized it was Pete. He was in wolf form, but was wearing his t-shirt. He must¡¯ve witnessed what happened and shifted to run to me. We sniffed each other for only a moment before continuing to sprint together toward the parking lot of the local trail. We barely bothered hiding from humans in our effort to get to his car. The passenger side was left wide open. He was taken.


    The rain muddled it in the air, but I could still scent Liam on the towel inside the passenger side of his car. I noticed his phone on the ground, and jumped into the vehicle and awkwardly shifted in the cramped space. I almost forgot to put on the pants around my neck as I reached down to the ground where I grabbed Liam¡¯s very wet cracked phone. It was barely functioning, but I managed to make an emergency call to Clarice while Pete jumped into the backseat to begin his own transformation.


    ¡°Clarice!¡± I didn¡¯t wait for her to answer ¡°Liam¡¯s been kidnapped! I don¡¯t know entirely what happened, we were on the phone when a man with a gun showed up. I need your hunters down here now!¡±


    ¡°There were four of them! I saw it happen, they were looking for me!¡± Pete answered as he regained control of his human limbs. ¡°He told them he was the wolf and they took him!¡±


    ¡°Peter, did you hear anything else?!¡± I asked.


    ¡°Nothing useful.¡± He sounded frantic, hyperventilating and on the verge of a panic attack.


    ¡°Sl- dow-¡­ endin- ba-up.¡± The phone was a garbled mess, I could barely make out what Clarice was saying.


    ¡°What!?¡± I asked, desperately.


    ¡°Sen-ng backup.¡± She responded, she was sending backup. Briar wished he could do more, but he had no way of knowing which way they went.


    ¡°Peter, did you see which way they went?¡± I remembered he was a witness, suddenly.


    ¡°That way, left!¡± He pointed toward the main road. It only helped so much, but at least he knew that much.


    I could only wait as I tried in vain to console Peter. The boy was truly panicking now. I wanted to do it too, but I had to be patient, for my Liam.

 Chapter 12

    <h2>Liam: The van rumbled for a long time, with my group of kidnappers chatting together as if it were a simple Sunday drive to the theater or something.</h2>


    Perhaps to them it was, I couldn¡¯t imagine this was their first time doing this.


    It finally slowed to a stop, still rumbling as the two men in the back with me got up and opened the doors. All I could see of the outside world was an old farmhouse, and a few trees nearby.


    At least that was until another person appeared with a trolley cart, and the two men beside me pushed my cage until it dropped unceremoniously onto the cart. Slamming me uncomfortably against the cage door.


    I remained quiet through all of this, only now able to see my surroundings. The farmhouse appeared to be deep in the woods somewhere, my eyes widened at the thought that this horrible place was potentially right in the backyard of some wolf¡¯s territory. One of my kidnappers laughed.


    ¡°I love the look on their face when they see where we are.¡± He began. ¡°So close yet so far, eh mutt?¡±


    They started wheeling me in the direction of the farmhouse, and I panicked. I wanted to leave something behind. Something to let someone know I was here, just in case. The only thing I could think of was¡­


    I spit in the direction of the man who laughed at me. He scowled, scoffing.


    ¡°You missed.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care, my saliva was on the ground outside the farmhouse now. If they couldn¡¯t tell I was inside, now they had a clue. It was a last ditch effort, I knew, but there was very little I could do from my cramped place in the cage.


    They wheeled me inside, it was a large house, but it didn¡¯t look like one on the inside. It was like they repurposed the building to create a makeshift kennel as I was wheeled into a room lined wall to wall with cages like mine and dropped in a slot big enough for me to fit.


    ¡°Careful, keep your hands away from the bars.¡± One of the men who were already in the room informed my kidnapper, as if I was going to bite them. Maybe I would have, if I could get my face close enough to the bars in the corner.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, this one¡¯s mild.¡± He patted the cage confidently, and the other man frowned. He had thinning black hair, a white scientist''s coat, and a clipboard in hand. He wrote something down, before approaching me, kneeling down.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked, but I didn''t say anything before he continued.


    ¡°What¡¯s your age?¡±


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± I bit, enraged and frightened. He didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Mid to early thirties, looks like.¡± He continued as if I said nothing. ¡°A little older than the description, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°He matches it, otherwise.¡± The kidnapper shrugged. The scientist frowned, leaning forward to sniff me.


    ¡°He¡¯s also an omega. Are you sure this is the right one?¡± the scientist lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°If he¡¯s not, we can just do what we did with the last girl.¡±


    The lab coat frowned at him. ¡°That¡¯ll take more time. If he survives.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to go all the way back there. We didn¡¯t see anyone else, there were wolf tracks near where we picked him up. It must be him.¡±


    The scientist sighed, standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll find out.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The kidnapper agreed, backing out of the room. The scientist followed him out, and I finally had a moment to myself where I could look around the room.


    There were various cages, some with wolves, some with people, some were empty. I gathered that these were werewolves.


    ¡°What do they want with us?¡± I asked the room. No one answered.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± I tried. Nothing.


    ¡°What have they done to you?¡± I was holding the bars of my kennel, when finally a girl, no older than Pete and utterly naked turned from her hunched position. I recognized her. The girl from the news.


    ¡°Shush. They don¡¯t like us talking.¡±


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t?¡± There was no response as she returned to her original pose, curled around herself defensively.


    The scientist returned shortly after, kneeling down beside my kennel and wearing protective gear on his arm. In his other hand he had a smoker like they used for honeybees.


    ¡°What is that, what are you doing?¡± I asked, leaning away from the cage door. He unlocked it, and reached inside with his protected arm. I lashed out, kicking and pushing at that hand as it came close to my shirt.


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    ¡°Relax. It¡¯s just smoke burnt from a flower.¡± He tutted, as if that helped, I struggled in his hold as he found traction on my shirt and dragged me closer to the cage door. I used my hands on either side of the bars to keep me from getting any closer but he didn¡¯t seem to care, just using his other hand to put the nozzle of the smoker in my face. I sacrificed my hold on the bars to push it away, and he successfully dragged me closer to the door where he unleashed a cloud of smoke directly at my nose and mouth.


    I coughed and sputtered as he released me all at once, slamming the cage door closed and latching it in place quickly and haphazardly.


    ¡°What the hell did you just do to me?¡± I spat, trying to get the cloying, burning sensation out of me. He didn¡¯t answer, just set the smoker down on top of my cage and pried the protective glove off of his arm. Then he picked up that infernal clipboard and started scribbling something.


    He remained there for no more than 5 minutes, all while I struggled to get my lungs feeling normal again. He said nothing, turning around and leaving the room. I heard arguing coming from the next room, before two men with sour expressions appeared. One of them was the first man who kidnapped me, while the other was one of the men who sat in the back with me.


    ¡°Get up.¡± He ordered, jerking the cage door open and reaching inside.


    Once again, I tried to avoid the grabby hands, but he was much stronger than I, and there were two of them to boot. I was yanked out of my cage, grabbed by either side and dragged out of the room.


    I was led down the hall, struggling the entire way when suddenly I was thrown against the wall by a door.


    ¡°You fucking lied to me.¡± He growled in my face, I whimpered. ¡°I hope the dog eats you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to ruminate on his words when suddenly the door was thrown open and I was shoved inside, stumbling to my feet and knees before it slammed shut.


    Inhuman growling had me staggering to my feet in record time, backing away and pressing my back to the door I¡¯d been thrown into.


    Before me was the largest, blackest wolf I¡¯d ever seen in my life. It looked like midnight on legs with large menacing teeth.


    ¡°H-hey. I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± I tried pleading with it, those dangerous eyes showed no recognition.


    ¡°I¡¯m a friend to wolves, I¡¯m pack. See? I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± I tried again, sweat beading down my face. I could feel my legs shaking from fright as it snarled in response.


    ¡°Please.¡± I couldn¡¯t help it, I finally cried. It¡¯s like a dam burst and the water flowed freely from my eyes.


    I was forced to move when the wolf lunged for me, teeth gnashing wildly. There was no doubt about it, it was feral.


    I did the first thing I could think of, survival instincts kicking in as I paused my crying. I reached for the offending article of cloth covering my torso, and wrapped it around my arm as I ran from the wolf¡¯s lunge a second time. It wasn¡¯t a great barrier, but it did something when the wolf finally snapped its jaws around my arm. I prayed it didn¡¯t reach my skin as I felt my bones creak from the force of her jaw.


    It thrashed around suddenly, knocking me over in my attempt to keep it from breaking my arm, tearing the shirt to shreds as it jerked its teeth away.


    I knelt on my hands and knees as it rounded for its next attack, and all I could do was protect my neck as it launched for it. I felt teeth scrape my knuckles as it scrambled to take me out, permanently. It settled for the next closest thing, teeth clamping down on my shoulder and yanking. It pulled hard enough to drag me forward and onto the ground, where I remained covering my neck as desperately as possible. I lay on my belly, protecting it as I felt its claws dig into my back as it bit at my hands again, failing to find purchase. I heard someone at the door.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, call it off.¡± Someone said, I heard more complaints, but I didn¡¯t bother trying to make it out as it landed on my back again, knocking the wind out of me and causing me to struggle for breath.


    Finally the wolf was off of me, as hands gripped my arms hard and pulled me off the floor. I didn¡¯t resist this time, the only thing I wanted right now was to be out of this room.


    I was led into one of the main rooms, where a kitchen used to be and my sore body was pushed against the counter where the old sink was, and bent over until my chest was perpendicular to it. They used the retractable faucet to spray the hell out of the wound, causing me to cry out and struggle against the hold they had, but they refused to relent until all of my wounds were cleaned. Then I was thrown into a chair and forced to sit still while the scientist cleaned and bandaged the wound on my shoulder, seemingly uncaring for the scratches on my back. They must¡¯ve felt worse than they were.


    Dazed and in pain, I was all but dumped back into my kennel where the scientist shut me in just as haphazardly as last time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be checking his progress every half hour.¡± The scientist told the men, but I was hardly paying attention. My body hurt so bad, all over.


    They left, leaving me to whimper in pain on my own.


    They were gone for what felt like hours, but I knew it couldn¡¯t be more than a few minutes when I heard someone quietly begging my apologies.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± A man said, and repeated. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t find the energy to respond, but I looked at him.


    ¡°The boy in the woods; he looked like you.¡± He continued, whispering. ¡°I escaped, for just a little.¡±


    ¡°Jose, shut up.¡± The girl from before whispered.


    I was too involved now, though. I needed to know what he was saying.


    ¡°What do you know¡­ about.. Pete.¡± I ground out. Why did talking hurt.


    ¡°The boy¡­ I bit him. He was¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I closed my eyes, understanding now. This was how they found out about Pete, he was the man who bit him. Then they reduced him to nothing more than a dog in a cage. Just like me.


    Like me. I realized. I knew what was going to happen. I knew what my fate was.


    I could feel myself drifting off to sleep, despite the uncomfortably cramped space. Jose didn¡¯t say anything more, nor did I.


    I never opened my eyes again before passing out.


    <h2>Briar: The hunters arrived in record time, with Pete and I still unsure of what to do while we waited.</h2>


    Pete thankfully stopped panicking long enough to get dressed into a spare change of clothes he¡¯d brought, but otherwise it was a waiting game while Liam was brought elsewhere to an undisclosed location all alone.


    The hunters used a mixture of modern and ancient techniques to be able to get the job done. I had faith in their ability, but I couldn¡¯t help the inkling in the back of my mind that told me it would be too late. The fear I had was choking me.


    Hold on for me Liam.

 Chapter 13

    <h2>Liam: I woke up with more aches and pains than when I¡¯d initially fallen asleep.</h2>


    I attributed that to my poor sleeping conditions just as much as my injuries, but at least I was alive. That had to count for something. I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but I heard talking, now.


    There were men in the room again, one of them observing the various wolves in their cages. The other talking on the phone.


    ¡°Yeah, we are thinking we¡¯re just about ready to film. Just need another day for the last one to finish up.¡± he paused, catching my eye staring at him. I didn¡¯t look away.


    ¡°Sure.¡± He finished, before hanging up.


    He came over to my cage, looking at me with a small grin.


    ¡°Wakey wakey, how you feeling?¡± He spoke to me like I was a friend of his.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I turned away, not interested in talking to this asshole.


    ¡°Feelin a little rage in ya?¡± He asked me, continuing. ¡°Like you might wanna bite someone?¡±


    ¡°Wanna find out?¡± I challenged, staring straight at the bars of my cage. He laughed, standing up.


    ¡°You¡¯ll learn your place soon.¡± He patted my cage, jogging my memory. I realized he was probably the same guy who sat in the back of the car with me. My memory was struggling to keep up with the situation I was in. I wondered why.


    The two men wandered out of the room, talking among themselves as they went. I watched their backs as they left, before my eyes drifted to the door to my cage. I grabbed the bars, rattling them gently to test their give. Then my eyes went to the latch, the one that the doctor locked before when he left me in here the second time.


    Only, he didn¡¯t lock it. I saw it right there, the lock was on it but not secured. All it would take is a light tug and it would fall apart.


    I reached over to it, barely making contact with the tips of my fingers. I knew I could reach it, but my body was fighting me, becoming sluggish with exhaustion. I was stubborn, trying to fight sleep but even I knew that even if I escaped from the bars I¡¯d just end up passing out midway later.


    I fell asleep while I thought about what to do.


    <h2>Liam: The next time I woke up, it was to bright orange light shining through the window. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was sunrise or sunset, but I knew I must¡¯ve been asleep for a long time.</h2>


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± I asked after a while, to no response.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, guys. I¡¯m not gonna tell anyone you answered a simple question.¡± I tried, and got nothing. I huffed. These poor people were broken. One of the wolves whined in response, and I wondered if they were shifted would they talk to me.


    At least I didn¡¯t feel particularly tired, anymore. I sat up in the cramped space, craning my neck to be able to fit properly. I looked at the hunched, defeated expressions on the people around me. I sighed. I wanted to help, but had no idea how to. Then I remembered the broken lock on my cage.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s awake!¡± Someone interrupted my thoughts, and immediately my hand dropped to my lap from where it had been about to sneak toward the lock.


    It was the guy again, he turned to call someone down the hall, and soon enough the doctor appeared. Or was he a scientist?


    Was he both?


    The lab coat fixed his glasses on his nose, said something to the man, then left.


    My head hurt.


    Too soon for me to fiddle with the lock, the men reappeared with two of those smokers again. Some of the wolves became agitated, jerking around in their cages only to be shouted at into silence.


    Those of us who were still human, they sprayed with the smoke by dousing the cage in a blanket of that awful smoke, which felt even worse than before, coating the back of my throat in this film of chemical that reminded me of too-strong perfume. I coughed and sputtered, as did the other people who were exposed to the smoke. The men in the room wore respirators as the entire room became a smokey pit.


    They put the smokers down, and returned with cameras in hand. One took photos with his, the other recorded video.


    A few minutes passed, and the people in cages began growling low in their throats and thrashing about in their cages. It was frightening, a cacophony of snarling and growling as everyone started cracking and breaking together as they shifted from human to wolf. I realized the purpose of the smoke now, something about it made the wolf come out.


    I braced myself for a shift that never came, and I sighed in relief. I wasn¡¯t ready.


    ¡°Hurry up.¡± the man with the video camera said to me, kicking my cage. I backed away toward the wall, and surprised myself when a low growl emerged from my throat.


    I startled myself. I didn¡¯t know where that came from.


    ¡°Hey doc, one of em¡¯s not changing!¡± The man with the photo camera called.


    He emerged a moment later, peering into the room and making eye contact with me.


    ¡°He might not be ready yet.¡± Was all he said as he left, and I can¡¯t believe I managed to hear the ¡®dumb dog¡¯ he muttered as he walked away.


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    The man with the video camera shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got enough footage for now. We can try again tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Said the photo camera guy. The two men left the room, shutting the door behind him.


    I felt myself relax a little. I felt no fear, for some reason. Just rage. I barely resisted to contain another growl as I launched for the broken lock on my door, fingers squeezing between the bars and ripping it off.


    It took a few minutes to pry the damn thing open, but I managed to lift and open the latch on the top of the bars, before making my way to the bottom. I was aware of every set of eyes in the room being on me, enraptured.


    I burst out of my cage, barely catching it before it slammed into the cage next to mine.


    I felt energized, amped up, whatever analogy you could think of to explain that I had too much energy when I needed to be quiet. I walked over to one of the empty cages, lifting it up with surprising ease before carrying it over to the door where I set it down as carefully as possible against the wood.


    I turned my attention to the locks of the cages next. They were cheap, the kind you get from dollar stores. There were no keys to be found, but I knew I could fix that. I started with the door to the teenage girl, grabbing the smoker and listening carefully to the rest of the house. I ignored the growls of the girl as I grabbed the smoker, focused on the men in the house. I could hear them. They were watching TV. I recognized the voice of the character from my favorite TV show and once again, I felt sick. I grimaced as I waited a beat, a second. BANG


    It didn¡¯t break right away, I was too nervous the first time. No one seemed to bat an eye outside, used to the rattling of the hounds in the cages. I did it again, breaking the lock. Still nothing from our captors.


    I unlatched her cage, releasing the girl inside. She only hesitated for a moment before joining me outside of the cage.


    I went to the next cage, and knocked the lock off on the first try.


    ¡°Can you turn up the volume?¡± I heard this time. I smirked, even better than before.


    I released this wolf, but they refused to leave. I frowned.


    ¡°If we all leave together, they won¡¯t be able to catch us all.¡± I told them. They whined. I got down low, to make eye contact. ¡°I won¡¯t make you run, but this could be the last chance we get. Are you coming?¡±


    The poor thing just stared at me. I frowned, sighing. I turned to the next cage. This wasn¡¯t a very big room so there weren¡¯t too many to go. but still enough that I wondered for a second if this would actually work. I decided I didn¡¯t have time to worry about it.


    It took two hits to knock off this lock. Still nothing from the captors.


    Again, and again. I beat off the locks of the cages, releasing the wolves one by one by one. The smoker had a gnarly dent in it, and I was worried it wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the job. Good thing I had another one at my disposal.


    I smashed the smoker into the last lock, it didn¡¯t break.


    ¡°What the hell are those damn dogs up to?¡± Someone asked outside, and I froze, so did the wolves that chose to follow me. It became so silent in here that you could hear a pin drop.


    ¡°Hm. Weird.¡± They walked away, returning to the TV. I breathed a sigh of relief.


    I broke the lock off, finally.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m gonna go check on them.¡±


    ¡°Fuck, hurry up.¡± I commanded the wolf as I quickly threw open his cage. I grabbed another cage, throwing it on top of the first one. There were more cages at my disposal, now. I dragged one more over, barricading the door just as the man tried to open it.


    ¡°What the shit?¡± I heard from the other side of the door. ¡°Did someone lock this?¡±


    I ran to the other side of the room, dragging another cage underneath the window, uncaring for how loud I was being now. I tore out the window screen and desperately tried to open it but the window was jammed, stuck, maybe even sealed.


    I grabbed the unused smoker on the floor and hurled it as hard as I could through the window, breaking it with a loud smash. If that didn¡¯t alert them to what was going on I wasn¡¯t sure what would. There was banging on the door, now. I saw a glimmer of the man who kidnapped me through a crack in the door, before I turned to the window and knocked as much of the glass out of the way as I physically could with the busted smoker before urging the wolves to jump through.


    ¡°Go, go go!¡± I rushed, running up to the door and pressing with all my might against the cages to keep the door shut. More people were on the other side, pushing it open. I knew I didn¡¯t have time.


    As the last wolf jumped through the door, including the one who was hesitant to leave, I sprinted and hopped through the window, catching cuts in my hand from the glass I pressed against in my escape.


    Without me holding the door closed, they were able to burst through into the room, although it was too late. The wolves and I were running like the wind.


    <h2>Briar: The hunters said they had some clues as to who was behind the recent kidnappings, and would bet money that they were the very same people who took Liam.</h2>


    They had reason to believe they were after werewolves. For what purpose was lost on them, but they clearly knew enough to hunt them down with certainty.


    I sat in the car, we left Pete at home so he would be safe from harm, but I couldn¡¯t be dissuaded from joining the raid. I had no combat experience, I didn¡¯t belong here.


    I didn¡¯t care, though. They had my mate.


    They explained they found an old house in the middle of the woods while they were out that had leftover equipment in it like whoever occupied it left in a hurry. Among those things, kennels. The kinds that house big dogs. The house stank of fearful wolves, both feral and human alike. They checked up and down every possible avenue leading into the woods where Liam was taken in case there was any hint of abandoned property somewhere in them, with me riding in the back seat, but nothing turned up.


    That was yesterday.


    Today they had to travel to a different set of woods on the other side of town. A bigger, more plentiful set of woods, but there were more hunters there.


    ¡°What are the chances that they¡¯re in these woods?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Dunno yet.¡± Deacon answered honestly, ¡°We need to find some evidence, first.¡±


    He was the head hunter, and the one who agreed to let me come along. The other group of hunters were in a separate car, traveling the opposite direction.


    The window was left open, a way for Deacon and Marie to scent the air for any sign of wolf.


    We were driving around the edge of the woods for what must¡¯ve been 30 minutes when suddenly Deacon piped up.


    ¡°There, you smell that?¡± He said, allowing Marie to lean over his body and smell the air as well.


    ¡°I do.¡±


    I rolled my window down, hoping to catch the scent as well. It was so barely there, I don¡¯t know how they noticed it. It was a wolf.


    ¡°Gotta find a road, there¡¯s no way they took him on foot.¡± Deacon said, slowing the car to a creeping roll as he searched ahead for any sign of a road.


    ¡°There, in the brush.¡± I called out, my eyes barely picking it out among the foliage, but I could see tire tracks.


    ¡°Good eye.¡± Deacon agreed, pursuing that worn down trail while Marie spoke.


    ¡°We might make a hunter of you yet, Briar.¡± She said.


    I didn¡¯t say anything. I didn¡¯t care for hunting, I just wanted Liam.


    As we went down the trail, I tried not to worry about the sound of a smaller car trailing behind. I couldn¡¯t see it, with how the woods were in the way, but I could hear it.


    It was following us.

 Chapter 14

    <h2>Liam: We heard the sounds of yelling and slamming of doors, before the deafening sound of a gunshot rang through the area.</h2>


    I felt more than I saw the spray of wood chips hit my arm as I passed the tree that had gotten shot. They were aiming for me. I swerved slightly, trying to use the very same tree as cover for my sprinting.


    Branches and weeds tripped me up as I sprinted, some ghosting over my injuries and causing stinging pain shooting up my back. I realized absently that the neck injury stopped hurting sometime during my escape.


    Another gunshot, and I heard the yelp of an animal go down. I blinked back tears at the thought of them ending a life over this escape attempt, but we were too far gone to turn back now.


    The men couldn¡¯t keep up with us, and I knew it, we just had to run and never stop running until hopefully we found a road. I followed the wolves in front of me, swerving every now and again in hopes of avoiding any stray bullets, trying to keep the trees between us and them.


    We made great headway, before I felt something unnatural claw its way through my throat. For a moment, my head felt like it was full of that smoke from earlier, its taste still clinging to the back of my tongue.


    Then I felt a little tickle. It was easy to ignore at first, but soon became nearly unbearable. Like there was something itchy crawling around under my skin.


    I ran out of time.


    While I was thinking, I tripped over a large rock, sending myself sprawling into the dirt. I didn¡¯t give myself any time to shake off the daze before I stood up again, running for my life as if I never fell in the first place.


    The wolves were faster than me, though, and they all ran ahead before I could catch them. I cast a brief glance behind me. The men were so far away, they had no hope of managing to hit us with their pistols unless it was accidentally. There still wasn¡¯t enough space between me and them for a first change, though.


    So I kept running.


    <h2>Briar: Deacon was in the middle of explaining that we had to go into this pretending to be investigators, before suddenly the sound of a gunshot rang out around us.</h2>


    ¡°Scratch that.¡± Deacon said. ¡°Marie, get the gear.¡±


    She nodded, climbing over the console between them to join me in the back seat before pulling the seat down in order to access the storage in the back. She pulled out a large duffle bag, containing a pair of rifles. My eyes bugged.


    ¡°If anyone asks. We were here on a hunting trip.¡± Marie told me as she brought the bag with her to the front seats once more.


    ¡°What if there are bodies?¡± I asked, still freaked out.


    ¡°We¡¯ll mostly just try to scare them off.¡±


    Another gunshot, followed by a yelp. This one was closer.


    ¡°Briar, whatever is about to happen you need to remember to¡ª!¡±


    Deacon cut himself off, slamming on the breaks as a wolf dashed in front of the car. I hadn¡¯t even heard it over the sound of chaos around us. Focusing, I heard more wolves, scented them. I knew Liam was out there.


    We all hopped out of the car, yelling to the wolves to come this way. That we¡¯re here to save them. Some ignored us, running for their lives. Others paused, keeping a wide distance from us while breathing heavily. Marie passed a rifle to Deacon, and the pair walked ahead into the brush.


    ¡°Over here!¡± I called, taking on the responsibility for them while they focused on their hunting rifles. I heard shouting as the men who kidnapped these wolves got closer. Deacon fired his weapon. Suddenly there was silence aside from the running of the wolves.


    They realized they weren¡¯t alone. The jig is up.


    Some of the other wolves joined those who paused to rest, likely scenting the wolf on us as well, and thus, trusting us enough to give them a break.


    ¡°Hey! Over here!¡± I called again, waving my arms in the air to call more over.


    As if to help, one of the wolves who paused to rest let out a bellowing howl. One that the others joined in for.


    <h2>Liam: Howling, from up ahead.</h2>


    My head hurt, the howling didn¡¯t help. It¡¯s like it made every neuron in my brain fire all at once, a prickling sensation throughout my skull followed by a pulse. Someone else shot a gun, I couldn¡¯t tell who. It was coming from up ahead, but the howling of the wolves told me to follow.


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    Someone was yelling.


    I collapsed, just as I came into view of whoever was out there.


    Another pulse, and I was fully on the ground among the dirt and bugs, writhing in pain. The sensation of skittering in my skin only got worse, and a spattering of fur began sprouting across my arms.


    I could still taste smoke.


    Someone was by my side, talking to me. My head hurt so bad and the rushing in my ears drowned him out until all I could hear was that howling.


    I couldn¡¯t even think enough to remember the advice we gave Pete. I couldn¡¯t think enough to remember anything. Who was touching me, didn¡¯t they know I was in pain?


    I growled against my will. Then again because it alleviated some of the ache in my bones.


    Something popped, and creaked within my body. I could feel my bones getting longer, sharper. Like growing pains everywhere all at once, crackling against my skin and threatening to hatch.


    It stopped, but the agony continued. I tried to move but I couldn¡¯t, not until another wave of growing pains struck, and I gasped out. How long has it been since I breathed?


    Everything was bleary in my vision, I couldn¡¯t see who was talking to me even if I wanted to.


    I felt my jaw pop and snap as it rearranged against my skull, lengthening into a point. My teeth too, sharpened and snapped at the hand that held my shoulder. I tasted blood. I smelled it too.


    Finally after several agonizing minutes, with the occasional gunshot firing in the distance, everything came together into one solid mass and I gave out, falling unconscious once again.


    <h2>Briar: I wasn¡¯t expecting him to bite me, although I guess I should have suspected it might happen.</h2>


    I shouldn¡¯t have been touching him whilst he shifted, it was my bad. I knew that, but it still shocked me.


    I waited in tense silence as the gunshots slowly ceased entirely, and the wolves stopped their howling. I turned to Deacon and Marie, who were watching intently ahead through the scopes of their rifles.


    ¡°Are they dead?¡± I dared to ask.


    ¡°No. They¡¯re surrendering.¡± Deacon said, scope still trained on the men from far away.


    ¡°How did you manage that?¡±


    ¡°Shot a gun out of someone¡¯s hand.¡± Marie stated proudly, I knew she was an excellent shot, but that really shocked me. ¡°He might need to go to the hospital for a broken hand, though.¡±


    I shook my head. As long as they weren¡¯t shooting at us anymore.


    Now that the firing had stopped, I was finally able to take notice of the car that followed us down here.


    ¡°Forgive me if I¡¯m wrong, Briar, but isn¡¯t that your boyfriend''s car?¡± Deacon noticed the tail as well, and I frowned, only one logical explanation coming to mind.


    Peter¡¯s head peeked above the dash, making eye contact with me.


    He got out of the car, looking sheepish.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you go off to find him alone.¡± Was all he said.


    ¡°Peter, you could have died!¡± I struggled to keep my voice level.


    ¡°So could you! So could he! I¡¯m sticking this out!¡±


    ¡°No, Peter, get in the car!¡±


    ¡°He said it¡¯s fine now, the bad guys surrendered!¡± He tried, shaking his head stubbornly and stepping closer.


    ¡°Peter, do not take one more step.¡± I stood up, raising my voice at him. I was so close to losing Liam, I wasn¡¯t about to let him step into danger as well.


    ¡°Do as he says, boy.¡± Deacon pressed, taking a wary step away from the ruckus.


    Peter refused, he opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted him.


    ¡°I won''t take any excuse right now, this place is too dangerous¡ª¡­¡± I trailed off, hackles raised as a loud snarling came from behind me.


    It was a red wolf, bigger than Peter and a little fluffier. Standing in the place Liam had just passed out in.


    ¡°Liam, you¡ª.¡± I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned fully to come near him, only he snarled even louder. ¡°Liam?¡±


    The wolf barked its rage, stepping forward with malice in its eyes. It looked like it was about to pounce at me.


    Deacon shoved me aside, gun at the ready and trained on Liam. ¡°Get outta the way, he¡¯s gone feral.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I panicked, running back and shoving Deacon away, grabbing the other side of the gun in my hands and angling it away from Liam.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone bad!¡± Deacon grit, struggling to regain control of the gun. I snarled in response, allowing what little dominant traits I had come to the surface to try and snuff out the threat to my Liam.


    Marie was busy with keeping the surrendering men in check, and keeping them from coming closer, or else she¡¯d have shot him herself.


    ¡°Liam..?¡± A soft voice spoke, I panicked as I realized Peter had approached Liam.


    ¡°Peter! Stay away from him!¡± I half-turned until the gun was almost seized from my grip, and I had to return my attention to struggling him off.


    ¡°Liam, it''s okay. The bad guys don¡¯t have you anymore.¡± He whispered to his uncle, ignoring the snarling of the wolf before him.


    He reached his hand out, slowly, so slowly, and touched his nose.


    Liam immediately rounded on him, biting the tips of his fingers with an enraged snarl that suddenly¡­ died.


    Liam went quiet all at once, at the same time as Peter winced and pulled his hand back.


    The sight nearly killed me with sadness, and all at once, Deacon ripped the gun from my hands and aimed it at Liam once again.

 Chapter 15

    <h2>Liam: The first thought that entered my brain was one of family, of my son, Peter.</h2>


    The son that I just latched my teeth onto and drew blood. What had I done?


    The man with the gun was ready to kill me for what I had done. I bit him, my boy. I didn¡¯t mean to. I was just so scared, so angry. That smoke was in my head and filling it with hate.


    I stared down the barrel of that gun, but Peter was quicker, rushing to my side and raising his arms in the air to try to block the gunshot.


    It never came.


    The man with the gun grimaced, hands shaking.


    ¡°Dammit, boy, get out of the way.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He said, midway to crying. ¡°He didn¡¯t mean to bite me.¡±


    Briar stood defeated, his own hands shaking as well.


    I whined in response, licking Peter¡¯s shoulder to try to show I was okay


    Briar cried in relief at the sight.


    ¡°He¡¯s okay now, Deacon!¡± He said through his tears, so rarely did they fall. He ran over to my side as well, lowering Peter¡¯s arms and holding me tight to his body. I allowed it, with another whine. I licked the jaw of the man I loved, thankful for him being there to help. His tears were salty.


    Deacon lowered the gun, looking conflicted. ¡°Dammit.¡± he hissed ¡°You gave us a fright, little shit.¡±


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    Pete relaxed all at once, smiling in relief and turning to face me, hugging me just as tight as Briar was. I was squeezed between both boys, grumbling in strain before they finally relaxed their hold on me.


    When I looked over at the man with the gun, Deacon, he was on the phone with someone.


    The events that followed were a blur. More people came, and started taking away the wolves that made it out in their cars and trucks. Briar said they were being taken home, wherever that was. Meanwhile, Briar, Pete and I went home in my car while Deacon and Marie stayed behind to set up a cover story for the police.


    Something about there being an illegal fur trafficking ring here in the woods, with the feral wolves and countless cages to prove it. Said they started shooting when they got too close, and Deacon and Marie were just defending themselves.


    It was a little loosey goosey in my opinion, but I was sure they¡¯d iron out the finer details. Besides, I wanted out of there ASAP.


    The car ride home was mostly filled with the boys telling me exactly what had happened when I was taken, and a long chat with Clarice about how they¡¯d found me. They conveniently left the details out about my little hiccup with the whole going feral thing but otherwise seemed to be mostly on point with what had happened save for my side of the story, which I would recount later in the evening after Briar walked me through my shift back to human.


    It really was better the second time, I realized.


    I was also able to officially apologize for biting not one of them, but both of them, which I did the best way I knew how: Food. I pulled out all the stops, and found my new senses as a werewolf only helped me to find what I needed to enhance the flavor.


    Of course throughout the meal I apologized numerous times but both boys just dismissed me and said they were glad I was safe and back home.


    Briar had some theories about the smoke they used to force a shift, since wolfsbane really did affect wolves, depending on the type they used it could have forced a reaction as well.


    All three of us spent the evening in a big pile on the couch, watching feel-good family movies to wind down from the excitement of the day.


    Excitement is an understatement, but I really did feel okay now that I was home.


    ¡°This time¡­¡± I thought to myself out loud in the shower.


    ¡°This time is my happily ever after.¡±