Three Wild Werewolf Tales (14 page)

He opened his eyes, and noticed Nathan was sitting up on the couch, arms wrapped around his knees as he stared at Alex, who had completed his transformation. Stephen felt some pity for the vet, but then again, Alex had said Nathan was very curious about werewolves. “We’re fine,” he rasped, thinking that he could do with some water.

Nathan’s wide eyes turned to him. “Stephen?”

“Yes, Stephen,” he replied.

Alex was shaking his hands, smiling with relief his transformation had gone well. “Nathan, it’s okay, that’s how it’s supposed to go.” He frowned. “Probably, it’s not like I’ve ever seen anyone turn myself. Does it look weird?”

“Painful,” Nathan said, relaxing slightly. “Is it?”

“It hurts the most the first time,” Alex explained. He patted Nathan’s legs. “I’m glad you came to help us last night.”

Stephen moved out of his corner, still on his hands and knees, to see if Daniel was all right. He hadn’t heard anything from him yet. “Daniel?”

Daniel was sitting up with his back to them, his otherwise smooth skin marred with some older wounds. He was slender like his wolf had been, and some of his dark blond hair was sticking up. Stephen wanted to run his fingers through it, maybe trace a path down Daniel’s spine and – no, he wasn’t going to think that. “I think I must’ve flung my arm in the fireplace, I burned my hand slightly,” he said.

“Let’s get you into the kitchen, then.” Nathan got up from the sofa. He helped Daniel, who was a bit unsteady on his feet, and led him down the hallway.

Stephen had been staring at Daniel as he had walked past, and the werewolf had seemed unaware of the other two men in the room. Stephen’s mouth was definitely dry now, and he swallowed hard. Maybe he should go join them in the kitchen, just to see Daniel’s face again, to check if his eyes really were that blue and his lips soft and perfect for kissing.

“We should grab our bags,” Alex told him, smiling smugly. “Get our clothes on. Unless you’d rather stay naked?”

Stephen tore his mind away from the gutter and shook his head. It was just the usual spike in his libido during the full moon that was making him think like this. He should be concerned for Daniel’s health, the wounds he had, nothing more. “No,” he said gruffly. “Let’s get our clothes and see if Richard’s awake. The others’ll be here soon and we need some spare clothes for Daniel.”

“Yes, he can’t stay naked either,” Alex agreed, still smiling. “That’d be terrible.”

Stephen glared at him. “It’s November, it would be terrible,” he told Alex and his own libido.

Alex nodded and got up to open the cupboard that held their backpacks. “The black one with the green stripes is yours, right?”

Stephen caught his backpack and quickly opened it. Normally he didn’t care about being naked in front of the pack, they’d all seen each other naked before, but right now he needed his clothes. He felt better when he put his jeans on and pulled a sweater over his head, like he was more human, more in control. “Nathan’s taking his time, isn’t he?”

Alex, now fully clothed as well, nodded. “I guess he’s checking the wounds as well.”

Richard came in, already dressed. “Where’re the other two?”

Alex pointed at the kitchen. “Bit of an accident with your fireplace, Daniel burned his hand. Didn’t seem too serious.”

“Oh, right,” Richard replied, nodding. “I’m guessing he doesn’t have any clothes with him?” He glanced at Stephen, who shook his head.

“Not as far as I know.”

“I’ll tell him he can borrow some of mine; he needs something to wear,” Richard told them, and turned back to go into the kitchen.

Alex sat down on the couch, and stretched his arms over his head. “I hope we don’t need to have a long discussion about Daniel; I’m still tired and Nathan’s probably not feeling much better.”

Stephen knew exactly why Alex was keen to leave with Nathan. It was the same stronger urge to fuck he felt himself. “That is going to take as long as it takes. We do have a lot to discuss, Alex.” This time, it was Alex’ turn to scowl while Stephen could smile smugly.

~*~

Half an hour later, Daniel was wearing one of Richard’s hoodies and some jeans that were slightly too big for him. While they had been in the kitchen, Nathan had checked Daniel’s wounds and Richard had offered his first-aid kit to bandage the worst of them.

The other four had arrived safely at Richard’s cabin, getting their own clothes on, eager to head back home after a night in the woods. They also introduced themselves to Daniel, who was surprised these werewolves were so concerned for his health.

“You poor thing,” Holly said, after shaking his hand. “Please tell me you aren’t planning on heading back home today?”

“No, maybe tonight, I don’t know.” Daniel shrugged. “I ran away last night on a whim, and now I’m stuck miles from home with nothing. I didn’t really think it through at all.” His stomach rumbled, and his cheeks turned red. “Sorry, I’m always hungry after I’ve turned back.”

“I’m pretty sure we all are,” Peter told him, laughing a little. “Look, Daniel, how about you come back here with the rest of us tonight? We’re all tired and hungry, but we need to talk about your situation.”

“Sounds good,” Daniel replied, and he nodded. “If no one’s minds?”

“It’s fine,” Stephen said, before anyone had the chance to object. He hoped Daniel wouldn’t decide to either go back home or run away further tonight. He wanted to help the younger man.

“Some rest will do you good.” It was the first thing Nathan had said since the other werewolves had arrived. “I’ve got a guest room you can use for -”

“No, he can’t,” Alex said, frowning as he looked at Nathan. Stephen was inclined to agree with Alex. Daniel should stay with another werewolf.

“I’m the closest thing you guys have to a doctor,” Nathan protested. “What if he needs my help?”

“Then he can visit you.” Alex sent Daniel a glare, then put an arm around Nathan, who was looking confused and annoyed. “He’s not staying in your guest room.”

Daniel was also rather startled by Alex’ behaviour. “If it’s a problem I can stay in a hotel or something,” he muttered, his eyes nervous.

“Relax,” Richard said, amused. “It’s just Alex being a little territorial and possessive, it’s nothing personal.”

While Alex looked slightly embarrassed at Richard’s explanation, he mostly just looked angry. “I just don’t see why he has to stay with Nathan,” he grumbled, while the vet hung his head and sighed.

“Alex, I’m not interested in Daniel, all right?” Nathan turned to the other man. “If you need my help, the others know where I live. I think it’s best if I take Alex home before he decides to mark me as his territory or something.”

Daniel smiled a little as Alex spluttered with indignation. “Thanks, don’t worry about it.”

“I would never - you know I wouldn’t do that,” Alex told Nathan as they walked off. “You offered the guy your guest room, Nathan, what was I supposed to think?”

Stephen couldn’t hear Nathan’s reply, and he swallowed back his nerves when he nudged Daniel. “I’ve got a guest room,” he offered. “It’s better than a hotel.” He hadn’t wanted to make the offer in front of Alex, because he would just jump to conclusions. Yes, Daniel was attractive as a human, but Stephen only wanted to help him. He would’ve done the same for any other werewolf who was injured.

“And no jealous boyfriends?” Daniel asked, his blue eyes bright as he smiled.

“No,” Stephen replied, looking down at him. “No, definitely not.” There was an odd look in Daniel’s eyes, only for a few seconds before he walked over to Holly and Peter. Had he said something stupid?

“I’ll see you all tonight,” Daniel told the werewolf couple, shaking their hands again. He moved over to Karen and Lily. “It’s great to know that the way McClanahan is, isn’t how all werewolves are, y’know?”

“Y’mean that not all werewolves are assholes?” Lily gave him a stern look. “You said you ran away on a whim, right?” When Daniel nodded, she continued. “That was you finally listening to your wolf’s instincts. I’m guessing you’ve been thinking about running away for a while? Thought about doing it last month?”

Daniel nodded slowly. “How did you guess?”

She shrugged. “Me and my sister have been werewolves our entire lives, we understand our inner wolves. And we’ve seen our fair share of humans learning to understand. Just keep listening to your wolf’s instincts - when you are a werewolf, obviously - and things’ll go better for you during the full moon, trust me.”

Daniel still seemed a bit dumbfounded by Lily’s words as he said his goodbye and thanks to Richard. Then he followed Stephen to his car, an old Ford pick-up truck from the eighties. It didn’t look great and was in need of a new paint job, but it got him around. He opened the passenger door for Daniel before climbing in himself, scolding himself for feeling nervous. He was a grown man, not some blushing teenager on his first date.

“Thanks for putting me up,” Daniel said, once they were driving. “Seriously, you’ve already done so much.”

“It’s nothing,” Stephen replied, his eyes firmly on the road. “I’m just shocked that you’ve been treated like that by the werewolf who first bit you.”

“I feel like an idiot.” Daniel slouched in the passenger seat. “I’ve got nothing with me; I should’ve prepared rather than run away.”

“Hey, you heard what Lily said,” Stephen told him, smiling reassuringly. He didn’t like the way Daniel was beating himself up over this. “It was your wolf’s instincts and you know what? They were right to get the hell out of - wherever it is you live.”

Daniel’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. “Thanks,” he murmured. “Still, I don’t like being this dependent on others. No offence.”

“None taken,” Stephen replied, his nerves vanishing. This was easy, a simple, friendly conversation. He understood where Daniel was coming from; he wouldn’t have felt great himself being stuck somewhere without his wallet or keys, knowing he had to depend on others for help. They stopped at a diner for some breakfast, both too hungry to wait much longer, and Daniel muttered he felt bad about Stephen having to pay for him.

“If it’ll make you feel better, you can pay us back in the future. You never know, we might need your help some day,” Stephen told him, once they were driving again. Most of Daniel’s scent was masked by Richard’s clothes, and Stephen didn’t like the way Richard’s scent mingled with Daniel’s one bit. He thought Daniel looked less nervous than before, but it would take scent to be certain.

Daniel scoffed at that. “Oh, right, big strong wolf like you, yeah, that’s gonna happen.”

Stephen couldn’t help the pleased smile on his face, and was relieved Daniel was looking out the passenger window. “Just two more streets to my place. I have to go to work today, but you can, I don’t know, get some sleep or rest or - or something.” He wished he didn’t have to leave Daniel alone. He trusted the guy not to run away, but he also didn’t want to abandon him. Still, work came first. Fortunately, his current contractor job was nearby.

“This is your place?” Daniel asked, once Stephen parked in his driveway. “Just yours?”

Stephen glanced at his house. It wasn’t that special for a detached home, nor was it really big enough for a family. Perfect for him, though, which was why he had bought it three years ago and fixed it up with some colleagues. “Yeah, why?”

Daniel got out of the car and Stephen followed him, curious. “Because seriously, my apartment can probably fit in this like, four times or something.” He smiled at Stephen. “There’s a lot of upsides to living in the city, but the rent isn’t one of them.”

“Guess not,” Stephen replied, locking his car door. It wasn’t that he didn’t take pride in the job he’d done on the place, and he was glad Daniel liked it, but he still wasn’t sure how to respond. They entered the house, Stephen quickly showing Daniel around. “I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go; I’m doing maintenance work on the nearby cabins. They need some work before they’re ready for the rush of tourists during the Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas break,” he explained, once they were in the guest room.

The room was sparsely decorated with a wardrobe containing some of his own old clothes and extra blankets, a table he wanted to paint a different colour some day and two single beds pushed together. They were already made up, and Daniel had sat down on the nearest one. Stephen was very tempted to join him. Dammit, why did he have to work today? He could use a nap himself, and his libido had a few ideas of its own that Stephen quickly suppressed. Daniel was a werewolf too; he’d realise what was up if Stephen didn’t rein in his thoughts.

“That’s fine, I don’t wanna keep you from going to work.” Daniel gasped, his eyes wide. “Fuck, my own job, I need to call them, call in sick or something.” He jumped up, and Stephen put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve got a landline, you can call them,” he told Daniel, who sighed with relief.

“Thanks.” Daniel smiled, and Stephen was really starting to like what those smiles did to Daniel’s eyes. “Will you be back for lunch?”

“Probably not,” Stephen replied, feeling as disappointed as Daniel looked. “I’ll be back before sunset, don’t worry.” Realising he still had his hand on Daniel’s arm, he quickly pulled it back. “There’s food in the fridge and the cupboard if you need anything.”

“I am definitely gonna pay you back for everything,” Daniel told him firmly. “When I get back home I’ll wire you money or something, okay?”