Among Wolves (11 page)

Butch shrugged. "Why didn't we report
it?"

Charlie glanced at Roman, who was staring
into space, not eating.

"Should we have, Roman?" Charlie asked.

Roman didn't answer, appearing gone
mentally.

Charlie and Butch exchanged gazes and frowned
at each other.

"We've got to go to Heber." Butch resumed his
eating.

"We do." Charlie tried not to get upset at
Roman's behavior. But it was growing harder to deal with.

~

Roman barely touched the soup, drinking three
cups of coffee while Charlie and Butch spoke about the ranch,
preparing to leave, letting the ranch hands know there was
'something' out there; kids, cults, whatever, harming the local
animals.

Roman knew telling Nick about a local dead
goat was not ATF jurisdiction, and his office would not do anything
about it, except refer Roman to the local law enforcement. That
Roman already knew.

He stood from the table, placed his cup in
the sink and needed air. Needed to get out of the house. It was
nearing four and where the day had gone, Roman didn't know. But the
time seemed to alter when he was a wolf, and his concept of time
was being distorted.

He crouched by the front door, putting on his
black lace-up boots.

"Where're you headed?" Charlie asked.

"I need to get out." Roman stood to put his
leather jacket on.

"I'll go with you."

"I don't need a fucking babysitter!" Roman
reacted in anger, then apologized. "No. Thanks, Charlie. I really
want to go on my own." He put gloves on.

"Ya got yer phone? In case?"

Butch said, "A wolf can't use a damn cell
phone."

Roman bit back his annoyance and nodded. "I
have it. Look, I just need to think, okay?"

"What if that alpha shows up?" Charlie asked,
stepping closer.

"Charlie." Roman pleaded silently. "I need a
little space. Five minutes, okay?"

Butch stood closer. "In five, I'm comin' to
look fer you. I know what I'll find."

"Please." Roman held up his hand to fend them
off. He opened the door and walked out, the ice crunching under his
boots as he went. He glanced up at the sky. The moon was no longer
full, but very bright between the dark clouds. Flurries fell
gently, without a breeze.

He walked behind their home and the stable,
towards the mountains, zipping his coat and raising the collar to
keep warm.

Under the moonlight he could see the trail,
just a slight gap between the deep snow, where Butch had brought
the horse riders through. His breath a cloud of vapor in the air,
Roman kept walking, trying to clear his head and think. He was an
analytical man, and thought things through. Details were his
business and working with the ATF he had been trained to solve
problems, search out intelligence, and fight evil.

The names and addresses he had found in Utah
from the old report, two years back, held some clues, but…those
were humans. Humans who had been part of a 'cult' or a witch's
prank. After looking up a few of the witnesses, Roman knew most of
them had moved on, as if that phase of their life had past. It was
like kids playing with a Ouija board and getting scared at a noise
in the room, then throwing the board out because it was cursed.

What would he and Phil find in Heber? A bunch
of kids who had grown up and no longer dealt in the craft. Or?

This other…thing. This Alpha. Roman knew it
was not one of the 'kids' he had dealt with when the curse was
removed. Nothing like it.

Even the 'red witch' or whatever she was,
didn't seem to be unstoppable. Not like this entity did.

Roman simply didn't know what he was now
dealing with. Or why.

He stood still, taking in the serene
surroundings, inhaling the air which was mixed with the scent of
burning wood from the hearths of the ranches around them.

December. Christmas next week.

As a child this time of year held some magic.
Now? Usually overtime or feeling empty.

He wasn't in touch with his mother and father
very much. The holidays usually consisted of a phone call to wish
them a Merry Christmas. His grandparents had died and his cousins
had moved far away. And even with the internet and social networks,
Roman remained aloof. A gay ATF agent who turned into a wolf or
crow. He never wanted his parents to know what had happened to him
two years ago on an ATF mission.

"Talk about an outcast." Roman glanced up at
the moon again. "So? Is this how it will be? Can't work. Can't
function?"

"No."

Roman spun around at a reply to his
question.

The man was standing a few yards from him, a
leather strap across his chest, the scabbard of the sword visible
over his shoulder.

He wore all black, his shoulders bare, and it
seemed as if the cold did not touch him.

Fear began to grip Roman but he knew what
would happen if he allowed it. "Who are you?"

"You will bow down to me."

"Will I?" Roman actually smiled. "Then you
don't know me at all."

"There is only one alpha male here."

Roman tilted his head, sniffing the air. He
smelled wolf. "Yes. There is."

The man eyed Roman in what was certainly a
challenge.

Roman stepped closer, but stopped, sensing a
boundary which would certainly make this man attack if crossed.
"What do you want? Why are you here?"

The man pointed to the ground in front of
him. "Kneel."

Roman tried not to laugh. "Kneel? What
century are you from? Man, I'm trying not to make fun of you."

A powerful punch landed on Roman's chest,
making him stagger backwards. Roman touched his jacket where the
contact was made and looked at the man. The man had not moved.

"What are you?" Roman asked, feeling his gut
begin to churn with pain.

"Kneel!" The man reached over his shoulder
and drew his broadsword.

Instinctively, Roman reached for his gun, but
it was not there. He wasn't on duty, and had left his gun in the
house. Roman backed up, looking quickly behind him, holding up his
hands.

"Roman?" was shouted in the dark by
Butch.

"Where are you?" Charlie's voice came from
the same area.

Roman blinked and the apparition vanished. He
let out a loud exhale and the vapor of his breath puffed in a
cloud.

"Christ, Roman," Butch said, "Five minutes?
You ever learn how to tell time?"

Charlie approached him. "I'm surprised you
aren't freezin' to death, or naked curled up in a ball."

Butch hooked Roman's elbow and he and Charlie
walked Roman back to the house.

"How long was I gone?" Roman felt
disoriented.

"Over an hour, hun." Charlie put his arm
around Roman's low back. "Come on. I thought you said we have to
pack."

"An hour?" Roman checked his watch. The
confusion clouded his thinking. Once they were inside the house,
Roman said, "That man showed up."

Butch took off his cowboy hat and said, "I
knew it."

"What happened?" Charlie asked, hanging up
his coat.

"He…" Roman felt embarrassed to say.

"He?" Charlie unzipped Roman's jacket for
him.

"He what?" Butch tugged off his own
boots.

"He asked me to kneel." Roman tucked his
gloves into his pockets and removed his jacket.

Butch laughed and hung up his coat on the
rack. "Kneel. That must have gone over big. Why? To suck his
cock?"

"Kneel?" Charlie tilted his head. "What
for?"

Roman untied his bootlaces and didn't
answer.

"Dominance?" Charlie asked.

"More like wantin' to fuck Roman up the ass."
Butch headed to the kitchen.

"Roman?" Charlie crouched down. "Did he hurt
you?"

"When I didn't obey, he managed to hit me in
the chest, but I didn't see him do it."

Charlie made a move to raise Roman's shirt
up, but Roman stopped him. "I'm okay." He stood and toed off his
boots, then looked at the hearth fire, crackling and warming the
room.

"Go pack." Charlie nudged Roman. "Butch and I
are done."

Roman noticed the backpacks and Christmas
presents waiting by the door. He nodded and padded down the hall in
his stocking feet, wondering if this 'Alpha' male was going to
haunt him in Heber. He certainly wouldn't be surprised. And
actually imagined the man had located him through the group that
had hexed him originally. But kneel?

I don't fucking bow down to
anyone
.

Roman took his duffle bag out of the closet
and began stuffing clothing into it. "Kneel…fuck you."

Butch looked at Charlie and said, "Kneel? Is
that a joke?"

Charlie knew it wasn't. "You ever learn about
wolf behavior, Butch?" Charlie walked to the hearth and poked at
the wood with an iron.

"Yeah. I know a little. They have a very
sophisticated culture."

"One alpha male, one alpha female."

"But, you two ain't wolves. Yer men. So, this
guy, he's askin' a man as big and powerful as Roman to kneel? Who's
he kiddin'." Butch dropped to the sofa and picked up the television
remote control.

"That's the battle. Ya get it? I don't know
how this creature found out about us, but if we're in its territory
or near its pack, then…" Charlie set the fireplace iron aside and
looked at the flames.

"You'd roll over and piss on yerself." Butch
laughed and turned the television on.

"Yeah, well, maybe pissin' on myself is
better than fightin' that thing."

"You'll never get Roman to play sub to it.
Never. In…" Butch smirked. "…any way."

"I know." Charlie dropped heavily on the
beige sofa beside Butch. It was a large overstuffed sectional, in
an L-shape, with a coffee table in front of it, and two end tables,
with lamps and coasters on either side, facing the fireplace, and
the TV.

Butch put his stocking feet up on the coffee
table and surfed for a television program to watch. "What's he
gonna do, Charlie? Like he said, we can't shoot it."

"I hope once we do that ritual-bull, get rid
of this curse- again, or whatever the hell it is, it will leave us
alone. It seems to be drawn here because of our animal scent."

"Why? Why'd it come back?"

Charlie peered behind him to see if Roman was
within listening range. He could hear him packing, opening drawers
in their bedroom. And with their wolf-senses, they could hear a pin
drop.

"If ya ask me? I don't think we ever did get
fully rid of it the first time."

Butch reacted in surprise.

Charlie looked behind them again and spoke
softly. "I can feel it…ya know. Sometimes in the night, and…when we
make love."

"Ya never said nothin'. Did you and Roman
talk about it?"

"No. I was afraid to. I thought it was jus'
me. And I knew if I mentioned it, he'd get all railed up an' well…"
Charlie tilted his head in Roman's direction. "It'd come out. Like
it has. So, we're back to square one."

"An' ya say ya never really got rid of it?
Even back when the curse was lifted?"

"At first I thought we had rid it enough to
git it under control. But between the weird dreams an' the extreme
sense of sight and smell hittin' me now and again, it felt as if it
was some kind of strain of virus that hibernates and
reappears."

"Damn." Butch moved away from Charlie.

"I ain't gonna bite ya. That's how Roman gave
it to me."

"He bite you on purpose?"

Charlie heard Roman shifting things in the
bedroom. "No. At least I don't think so. It was an accident."

"Some accident. Now yer
afflicted…forever?"

Charlie thought about it. "It ain't all
bad."

"No? Come on!" Butch lowered the sound on the
television as a commercial aired.

"No. I mean. If I could decide, ya know? If I
could like jus' snap my fingers and say, now I want it. Now I
don't. I wouldn't mind."

Butch's mouth hung open in surprise.

"There's somethin' empowerin' about it. The
freedom. The intensity of all my senses gettin' sharp." Charlie
sniffed the air and could smell both Butch and the burning logs.
"But it ain't like that. There's no control. So it comes at the
worst times. The times when I'm angry or upset. And that's the time
when I don't want it to hit."

"I don't want it. I don't like not being able
to be around my horse, havin' the damn chickens scatter when I walk
into the barn. It's crazy."

"I know. It is." Charlie heard Roman walking
down the hall towards them. Roman placed a duffle bag with the
other luggage by the door.

"What time you reckon we'll be headin' on
out?" Butch asked.

Charlie answered, "The day workers are comin'
at seven. Earliest I can get them."

Butch nodded, turning the volume back up on
the television.

Roman left the room, heading towards the
kitchen.

Charlie glanced at Butch and they exchanged
frowns. "He's real bad, Charlie."

"Yeah. He is. Worse than last time. And I
don't know what to do about it."

"That agent, Phil, he'll be there in Heber,
right?"

"Right." Charlie patted Butch's leg then felt
him flinch under his touch. Charlie took back his hand and shifted
over, not wanting to make Butch uncomfortable. "Butch, I won't bite
ya."

"I know, Charlie." Butch reached out to touch
Charlie in reassurance.

Roman returned, a cold beer in his hand. He
sat on the sofa, adjacent from where they were, and sipped it from
the bottle.

"You won't but he will," Butch said.

Roman glanced over but didn't react to the
comment, as if he knew what they were talking about. "What are you
watching?"

Butch tossed him the remote. "Don't
care."

Roman flipped channels and stopped on a
program.

Charlie realized what it was. "
Teen
Wolf
? Since when are you a fan?"