Three Wild Werewolf Tales (11 page)

He had to smile at that, at how tentative Nathan sounded. They’d just had amazing sex, why wouldn’t he want to get something to eat with the other man? “I’ve only got the sweatpants you loaned me, though,” he replied, after thinking it over. He’d have to get to the cabin and get a change of clothes, and that would mean having to talk to the others.

“True.” Nathan sighed. “Hadn’t thought of that.”

“I do want to meet up,” Alex assured him. “I just need to get my things first, and explain.” He didn’t think that would take him hours.

“Good.” Nathan pressed a kiss against his shoulders. “You should let them all know you’re fine.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Alex joked, and laughed when Nathan punched his arm again in the same spot. “Ow!”

Nathan sniggered. “And then I took care of you, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Alex said softly, moving his head to kiss Nathan’s forehead. He’d never been happier to have been hit by a car.

Nathan raised his head to smile down at Alex. “So, agreed? Shower, you get your things and talk to the other werewolves and you’ll call me when you’re done?”

Alex nodded. “Sounds like a plan, except for one thing.”

“Oh?”

“We take it easy in bed for at least half an hour.” He didn’t just want that to rest, he wanted it because he liked being cuddled up with Nathan, and judging by the way Nathan was smiling, the other man liked it too.

“I think I can manage that,” Nathan replied happily, resting his head on Alex’ shoulder and shifting to get more comfortable. “I can definitely manage that.”

Saved Wolf

by Calandra Hunter

Copy right 2014 Calandra Hunter

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deal, is purely coincidental.

~*~

There were far better ways to spend his Saturday afternoon, Stephen thought to himself as he glared at Richard. Richard, who had transformed from wolf into man right in front of another human. Oh, sure, the older werewolf had explained himself to the rest of the pack. It had been necessary, Sean the lost hiker would never have come down from his place high in a tree otherwise, it wouldn’t have been safe.

Stephen snorted, and glanced at the other members of their pack. Holly and Peter were the eldest, a married couple in their fifties who didn’t look impressed with Richard either. Then there were the two sisters, Karen and Lily. The two blonde women were in their thirties and had been born werewolves. Their parents had moved out of town some years ago, and had been members of the pack as well. Karen had shaken her head during Richard’s explanation, while Lily’s face had remained impassive.

The seventh and final member of their pack, Alex, looked nervous as Richard tried to explain. Stephen could smell the nerves on him, and even without his heightened werewolf senses he would’ve noticed Alex’ anxiety. “So, let me see if I’ve got this clear,” Stephen said, folding his arms and looking at Richard. He was about as tall as the older man, though not as broad. “Alex here couldn’t resist chasing down a lost hiker, you step in to scare Alex off, the hiker climbs a tree and the only way you can think of to get the hiker out of it is to transform in front of him? Rather than oh, I don’t know, run away? Maybe warn us to stay away from that area? Ask us to keep an eye on Alex so he doesn’t go after the hiker again?”

“Well, if you put it like that, I sound like an idiot,” Richard argued, looking at the other werewolves for support.

“You were an idiot,” Holly replied, her grey eyes stern. “We don’t reveal ourselves to humans. Ever.”

“Alex was close to biting Sean!”

“And you chased him off.” Holly still wasn’t impressed. “The hiker was safe. Scared, but safe.”

“I wanted to make sure he stayed safe,” Richard argued. “Come on, Alex, help me out here.”

“Richard’s got a point,” Alex said. As the newest member of their pack,  he usually remained quiet during disputes. “He made sure the hiker was safe, there’s no harm done.”

Stephen didn’t like arguing with Alex. He had bitten Alex a few years ago, back when he had been the one unable to resist chasing a tempting human. He still felt guilty over it, especially as Alex avoided him most of the time. “We know he did it to protect, what was his name, Sean? We know that. It just wasn’t the best way to handle it.” He sighed, and ran a hand across his face. He was still tired from his night running around as a wolf, and there’d still be two more nights. “Look, we can’t change the past, so we’re gonna have to deal with it. Richard, you said the hiker reacted positively?”

“Very,” Richard replied, grinning meaningfully. The smell of sex on him had been obvious.

Lily rolled her eyes. “And you mentioned he’d be staying for two more nights?”

“That’s right. Now, Sean wouldn’t do that if he was scared of werewolves, right? He’s not gonna leave and tell everyone he got fucked by a werewolf. They’ll think he’s crazy,” Richard explained. “He’s looking for a little fun, I’m looking for a little fun.” He sighed, dropping his pleased smile. “I screwed up, I admit that. But I saw him, smelled how scared he was. I wanted to assure him that he was safe now. Besides, all he knows is that I’m a werewolf, he’s got no idea any of you are wolves too.”

“Well, don’t let it happen again,” Peter grumbled. “And if we hear of any rumours your boy’s been spreading, we’ll hunt him down.”

Richard gulped. “Yes, sir.”

“And what about you, son?” Peter asked, turning his steely glare to Alex. “Richard mentioned something about you having been in an accident?”

Alex’ cheeks turned a little red. He had smelled of sex as well, which had Stephen wondering what sort of accident he’d been involved in. That, combined with the obvious nerves, led Stephen to a worrying conclusion. “One with a human,” he said. “You’ve been found out too, haven’t you?”

Karen swore while her sister closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in clear irritation. Peter grumbled something, no doubt also some curses while Holly’s expression turned stony. “Is that true?”

Alex nodded. “I’m sorry, after Richard chased me off I wasn’t careful as I crossed the road and I got hit by a car.”

“So?” Peter demanded. “You crawl into a ditch and rest until you feel better, didn’t we teach you that?”

“I was run over by the vet!” Alex exclaimed. “And then I - I passed out. Next thing I knew I woke up, muzzled and in the back of his car.”

Stephen struggled not to laugh, and from the corner of his eye he saw Lily’s mouth twitch too. “You spent the night in the vet’s office? You still got your balls, Alex?”

“Yes,” Alex said, briefly narrowing his eyes at Stephen. “Since I can’t turn back, I figured my best option was to play docile so he wouldn’t sedate me. He locked me in a dog crate I couldn’t escape from, and early this morning he came in to check on the animals and found me.”

“Still in the dog crate?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Alex replied, his cheeks red with embarrassment. “I explained things to him and I, er, he made me breakfast.”

Amongst others, clearly, or else Alex wouldn’t have been this late. “I’m guessing the vet’s reaction to you being a werewolf was, ah, as positive as Sean’s was to Richard?” He smirked when Alex’ flush deepened.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He sighed. “How about we all get the mocking over with now? I’m sorry, I should’ve been more careful.”

“The local vet, you said?” Peter asked, looking thoughtful. “You don’t mean Doctor Brook?”

“Nathan Brook, yeah,” Alex replied. “Why?”

Peter and Holly exchanged a glance. “He’s all right,” she said. “Was great with our Skipper three weeks ago.” Skipper was the couple’s Golden Retriever, and Stephen vaguely remembered them saying the dog hadn’t been well.

“It could be worse,” Peter reluctantly admitted. “How did he react to the existence of werewolves?”

“Uhm,” Alex said, and Stephen could tell he was trying to figure out what Peter and Holly wanted him to say. “He was curious, mostly. Asked me about a dozen questions while I was - busy.”

Curious was better than angry. It was also better than enthusiastic. The last thing Stephen wanted was someone joining their pack who had an over-romanticised idea of werewolves. He’d already been relieved Richard’s hiker wasn’t that type of person, and it seemed that Alex’ vet wasn’t either. Still, Stephen remained wary. “Curious how?”

“Oh, you know, about the biology, the science of it all,” Alex said. “He wanted to know how it works. I mean, the guy’s a vet, you can’t blame him for being interested.” Despite his best attempts at acting casual, there was still some shiftiness to his posture.

“And what else?” Stephen asked. There was something Alex wasn’t telling them yet.

Alex remained quiet for a long moment as the others looked at him expectantly. “He, er, sort of offered to, if we need it, not that we have to, but he could be, y’know, our vet.”

Stephen stared at Alex, not sure if he should laugh or get angry. “A vet?” he asked. Why would they need a vet? They healed fast and, ignoring Alex’ idiocy from last night, could take care of themselves. If they needed helped, there was the rest of the pack. “What for?”

“Emergencies?” Alex tried, but Peter huffed.

“We don’t need a vet, even if Doctor Brook is good at what he does,” the older man said. “You let him know that we won’t be needing his services.”

“For ourselves,” Holly added, shooting her husband a quick glance. “Besides, werewolves aren’t like normal wolves or dogs. What if he tries to treat us, but makes it worse?”

That was definitely a risk. “Thank him for the offer, though,” Stephen said. There was no point angering the vet, not if he knew about them. “And, well, if you don’t mind him treating you if you get hurt or feel sick, go ahead. We can’t decide that for you.” He was happy to see Alex smile gratefully at him. “He knows about werewolves, nothing we can do about that.”

“You never know, it might come in handy one day,” Richard said with a shrug.

Stephen snorted. “Richard, you focus on making sure your hiker stays out of trouble, all right?”

Richard grinned, his eyes twinkling. “Oh, I’ll make sure of
that
,” he drawled.

“If that is all,” Holly said, briefly shaking her head at Richard, “this meeting is over. We will meet here again, an hour before sunset to prepare. Alex, Richard, I better not see either that hiker or Doctor Brook around tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Alex and Richard both said.

As the others walked off, Stephen went up to Alex. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Alex said, but stayed where he was. “You want to berate me some more?”

“No, no, I was just -” Part of him did want to berate Alex, but he reined that in. “What Richard said about you chasing after the hiker… I wish he’d been there like that for me.”  

Alex looked at him, his expression neutral, then he smiled a little. “You know, for the first time since - since then, I think I understand why it happened. The urge to chase and bite is too strong to resist.” He sighed. “We still have a lot to learn about being a werewolf, don’t we?”

Stephen nodded, glad Alex was talking to him. This was the longest conversation they had had in a while. “Well, even those who have been werewolves for a longer time still mess up.” He nodded at Richard, who was climbing into his Jeep.

“Nathan would like do a bit of research on us,” Alex said quietly, glancing around to see if anyone else was nearby. “I told him no, of course. We’re not labrats. But, well, if we do need him in an emergency, I think it’s best if he does know a bit about werewolf physiology.”

Stephen didn’t like where this was going. The only thing he could think of was some stereotypical mad scientist poking him with needles. “You volunteering to be his guinea pig?”

“No! Just that, if Nathan stays curious, I’ll make sure he won’t bother the rest of the pack. I won’t even tell him who you are, trust me. If he wants to know more, I’ll do my best to answer his questions.”

That was something. If either Sean or Nathan went blabbing to anyone, Richard and Alex would be the ones to suffer. “Good,” he said. “If he stays out of my way, I’ll stay out of his.” It wouldn’t be hard. Stephen lived alone and had no pets, and had only seen the vet once or twice in the local supermarket.

Alex smiled. “You never know, Stephen, you might need Nathan at some point.”

Stephen snorted. “I really doubt it.”

Several months later

True to what Alex and Richard had promised, neither Nathan or Sean having discovered the existence of werewolves had harmed the pack. Stephen still felt it had been a very great risk, but Alex and Richard had been more careful, had kept their heads down during the full moon and stayed away from the roads and the cabins. Not that there were many people staying in the cabins, it was early November and the night was crisp and cold. To humans, at least. Stephen, as a wolf, always enjoyed the autumn and winter. He ran around the forest, enjoying the soft ground underneath his paws. Everything smelled as it should, the rest of the pack was out hunting as well and - he stopped running for a moment, sniffing the air again.