Shadow Tales

by L. J. Hamlin

"Some people get a little fuzzy after a tattoo. Don't rush off after you pay the twins. Sit for a while. My next tattoo is short. If you want..." Zack hesitates, biting his lip.

  "If I want what?" Tobias asks.

  "You could hang around, and we could grab lunch," Zack replies, hoping he's not reading things totally wrong here.

  "I'd like that," Tobias says with a smile.

  "Okay, see you in a little while." Zack grabs the paperwork and heads out to the waiting room with Tobias. His next appointment is a regular, and the guy is already waiting for him.

  "Holden, Dawn, be nice to the pup," Zack warns.

  "Pup?" Dawn says with a raised eyebrow.

  "Don't tell me the big, bad wolf is your type?" Holden asks Tobias, pouting.

  "Sorry," Tobias says, blushing, which Zack is taking as a yes.

  "Be nice," Zack repeats, and goes over to greet Greg.

  He manages to keep his mind on the job, just. His workspace still smells of Tobias. Tobias's scent is in the air, and Zack wants more of it. He's not normally controlled by his dick, but this isn't just instant attraction. In the short time he's known Tobias, he's found Tobias to be sweet and kind.

  "Ready to go for lunch?" Zack asks, leaving the twins to deal with Greg's payment.

  "Ready." Tobias jumps out of his chair, and Zack is pretty sure that if he had a tail in this form, he would be wagging it.

  "Have fun, boys," Holden says, and he sounds like he means it.

  "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Dawn says brightly.

  "And that rules out what? Sea World and figure skating?" Zack asks, remembering the only two things he has ever heard Dawn say she really hates and would never do.

  "Pretty much."

  "Which still leaves lots of fun things," Holden says, wiggling his eyebrows.

  "Behave," Zack says in his best big, bad wolf voice, but he ruins it by breaking into a smile. "Let's go to lunch," Zack says, putting a gentle hand at the base of Tobias's back to guide him out of the shop. "I know a place near here."

  Tobias smiles. "Wherever you want to go. I'm not a fussy eater."

  They go to a diner where Zack eats often. They get seated in a booth near the back and order burgers.

  "So, what's it like being a werewolf? You guys have all the legends written about you. I can't imagine that," Tobias says.

  Zack sighs. "It can be weird. Some people think I'm going to eat their hearts. I don't like scaring people."

  "I'm not scared of you, if that helps," Tobias says, sipping his soda.

  "You haven't seen me in my wolf form," Zack replies.

  "I'd like to. I told you: I'm an animal photographer. It'd be cool to get a close-up of a wolf, if you'd be up for that."

  "I'm game, but only if I get to see your animal form as well." Zack smiles.

  Tobias laughs. "It's not that interesting. I'm just a dog."

  "I still want to see. I think you'll be cute." Zack smiles.

  "You just want to pet me," Tobias replies with a grin.

  Zack just raises an eyebrow.

  "I swear I didn't mean for that to sound dirty," Tobias splutters.

  "It's okay, I'm just teasing you." Zack acts on impulse and reaches out and takes hold of Tobias's hand across the table. Tobias blushes, just a faint pink tint across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and he smiles.

  Their hands stay joined as they talk, until their food arrives. When their meal is finished, Zack isn't ready to end their time together. "I have this afternoon free. Do you want to do a photo shoot with a wolf now?".

  "That'd be great. I need to get my equipment. I guess we could go to my place and take the pictures there. I'm looking for close-ups mainly, so the background doesn't really matter," Tobias says.

  "My car's near the shop. Did you drive here, or do you want a ride?" Zack asks. He doesn't care about the background for the photo shoot. He just wants to spend more time with Tobias.

  "A friend dropped me off. I was going to call a taxi to get home. But it's not far, if you don't mind driving," Tobias says with a soft smile.

  "I don't mind." Zack nods, and it worked out well last time, so he grabs hold of Tobias hand for the walk back to the car. He likes the feel of Tobias's hand in his, just a tiny bit smaller. It's a perfect fit.

  They walk to his car, and Tobias tells Zack where he lives. They chat as they drive about their jobs, both very different kinds of art, but still art, still requiring an artist's eye. Zack likes that Tobias gets it, gets the way he feels about creating something beautiful.

  Tobias lives in a studio apartment, and when they go inside, Zack sees that much of the space is dedicated to Tobias's craft. There are cameras and camera equipment everywhere, lots of photos, some hung up, others spread out all over different surfaces. One wall has a big white sheet pinned to it and cameras and lighting equipment around it. The place is cluttered, lived in, but not messy. It's full of Tobias's personality.

  "Sorry about all the stuff," Tobias says, his arms wrapping around his own waist.

  Letting someone into your personal space can be a big deal. It's showing a personal part of yourself to someone else. By inviting him here, Tobias is showing Zack a part of himself.

  "Don't be sorry. Your place is great," Zack replies.

  "Thanks. Anyway, I was thinking some pictures against the white backdrop? I'm doing this whole thing focusing on paws and teeth and eyes, so it'll be close up shots of those parts. No one will ever even know they're of you, if privacy is an issue," Tobias says, going over to one of the stands and fiddling with something that Zack thinks might be for lighting.

  "I'm not shy. I like both my forms. Being a wolf is cool." Zack shrugs. He likes his wolf form, likes being strong and fast. He wonders what his wolf will look like on camera.

  "So, um, if you get undressed, we'll get started," Tobias says, ducking his head, clearly shy again.

  "This can go two ways. I could go into your bathroom, change forms and come out. Or I can just change here. I don't mind either way. But if seeing me naked will embarrass you, we can avoid that." Zack drifts into Tobias's personal space, just a little.

  "You're really not shy at all, are you?" Tobias asks, his chest just brushing Zack's as it rises and falls steadily.

  "Not at all. Plus, I'm kind of hoping you'll want to see me naked," Zack admits.

  "I do," Tobias blurts out, and then he blushes again.

  "You know you don't have to be embarrassed about that," Zack points out as he tugs off his T-shirt.

  "I'm not embarrassed, and, whoa, your nipples are pierced." Tobias sounds a little shocked, a little turned on.

  "That's not all that's pierced, and I'm not talking about my ears." Zack grins, dropping his shirt to the floor.

  "Really?" Tobias asks, eyes wide.

  "Really." Zack nods, kicking out of his shoes and socks. "So, once you take the pictures, can you turn so I get to see you, too?" Zack asks as he undoes his belt.

  "I can do that." His eyes follow the movement of Zack's hands on his belt.

  Zack has taken his clothes off in front of a fair few people, often before he's going to shift into his other form, when he's gone running in his wolf form with his family and friends. He's also undressed for lovers before, but he can't remember the last time he wanted to impress someone so much when he took his clothes off.

  As he shimmies out of his jeans, he's totally focused on Tobias, watching his reaction, breathing in his scent. He wants to impress Tobias. He wants Tobias to want him. Tobias likes him at least a little; he said yes to lunch for a reason, but Zach doesn't know exactly how Tobias is feeling, what he wants to happen here today.

  It's almost a relief when he drops all of his clothes to the floor that he can see desire on Tobias's face, smell the want and need in Tobias's scent. Zack stands there, unembarrassed by his nudity, proud of his body. Zack works out. He runs a lot. He's in good shape.

  "I like your tattoos," Tobias says, and he sounds a bit breathless.


  "Thank you," Zack says, skimming his hand over the intricate tribal work on his chest and stomach.

  "I'd like to photograph them another time, but not for my work," Tobias admits.

  "I think I'd like that." Zack would like it if it means more of Tobias looking at him the way Tobias is looking at him right now, so heated.

  "But, ah, I can use the wolf ones for work, right?" Tobias asks.

  "Yeah, of course." Zack nods. "Where do you want me?" he asks, and then giggles, because it sounds like a line out of a bad porn film.

  "Shift whenever you're ready and then go over to the backdrop," Tobias asks.

  Zack stretches, loosening all of his muscles before crouching down on the ground. He takes a few deep breaths and focuses on his other form. He thinks about what it's like to be the wolf, how it feels, how different it is. It takes a few moments, but his skin begins to tingle, and the transformation rushes through him.

  He shakes out his fur, flexes his paws, and stretches again, getting used to his new form. He pads over to Tobias's side and rubs against Tobias's leg. He really likes Tobias's scent. It's even stronger now that Zack has shifted. He wants to roll around in it.

  Instead he walks over to the backdrop.

  "You look amazing. So much more impressive than a dog." Tobias laughs. He has a camera in his hands, and he starts to take a few pictures.

  After a little while, he starts asking Zack to move and pose, and he really seems at ease, comfortable with a camera in his hands. Zack isn't sure how long they spend taking pictures, but after a while, Tobias puts his camera down and starts to undress.

  He transforms, and Zack finds himself nose to nose with a chocolate Labrador. Zack can't resist darting forward and licking Tobias's muzzle. Tobias nips at him, but it's playful. He sits down next to Tobias and focuses on his human form until he's once again human and naked.

  Then he does what he'd been thinking about and pets the soft brown fur behind Tobias's ears. Tobias lies down, his head landing heavily in Zack's lap, and it seems he doesn't mind being petted at all. Zack makes the most of it, cuddling the pup in his lap.

  He's disappointed when Tobias moves away, until he realises why. Tobias returns to his human form, beautiful and naked, skin unmarked apart from the tattoo Zack put there this afternoon, which makes Zack feel a flash of possessiveness.

  "Get all the shots you needed?" Zack asks.

  "Yeah, your wolf is amazing," Tobias says, sitting down next to Zack, their thighs just touching.

  "Just my wolf?" Zack jokes.

  The answer he gets isn't verbal. It's better. Tobias kisses him. Zack slides his hand into the back of Tobias's shaggy hair and kisses him roughly. He ends up on his back with Tobias straddling, and it seems Tobias isn't shy when it matters.

  They end up rolling around on the floor, trading kisses, hands exploring naked skin, the tattoo already healed enough to touch, but tender, and everything in Zack is screaming for more, more, more. He pins Tobias beneath him and kisses Tobias's neck, sucking at the skin, determined to leave a mark. He wants his marks all over Tobias.

  He slides down Tobias's body till he's between Tobias's legs. He uses one hand to pin down Tobias's hips, and the other he wraps around the base of Tobias's cock.

  "Oh, fuck," Tobias hisses.

  "Can I?" Zack asks, looking from Tobias's hard cock up to meet his eyes—eyes that are unfocused with pleasure.

  "Yes, please," Tobias says, voice husky.

  Zack doesn't hesitate. He lowers his head and sucks the head of Tobias's cock into his mouth. He loves the broken sound of Tobias's voice as he sucks. When Zack sinks down, taking all he can, Tobias sounds broken.

  Tobias curses and makes these hot little noises that are so sexy that Zack is aching. He takes as much of Tobias as he can, swallowing around Tobias, licking at the underside of Tobias's cock. He hums around Tobias's length, and the sounds Tobias makes make Zack's cock throb.

  "Oh, god, I'm gonna come. Fuck, I'm so close." Tobias groans, his voice sounding rough.

  Zack sucks hard, picking up his pace as much as he can, and out of the corner of his eyes he can see Tobias's hands gripping at the floor, spasming as he loses control. Zack pulls up, sucking on the head, and Tobias comes with a shot. Zack swallows, spilling just a little, and when he pulls off Tobias's cock and crawls up Tobias's body, Zack's panting.

  "Zack," Tobias says breathlessly, and then Tobias is licking Zack's chin clean before kissing him, and all Zack can taste is Tobias. All he can smell is Tobias and sex, and he loves it. He loves it even more when Tobias's hand trails down between their bodies and wraps around Zack's cock.

  "I can do anything you want," Tobias offers.

  "This is good. Your hand feels great. I just need to come so bad," Zack pants.

  They kiss deeply while Tobias jacks him off. Zack grabs Tobias's back, holding on tight, his hands sliding all over Tobias's body. Zack has to break the kiss as his orgasm gets closer and closer. He can feel pleasure washing through his body, his balls drawing up.

  "Fuck, Tobias," Zack moans, and he comes hard, his dick jerking in Tobias's grip. Zack slumps back on the ground. He hadn't even realized he'd arched up off it. His back is slightly damp as it touches the floor, but he feels warm, hot almost. Zack pants a little, petting Tobias's back.

  "That was..." Zack trails off.

  "Pretty damn good, right?" Tobias asks, lifting his hand up and licking it clean of Zack's come.

  "You are so hot." Zack groans. He swears, if he hadn't just come he'd be hard again right now.

  They lie there on the floor until it starts to get uncomfortable, but Zack doesn't want to move, doesn't want to ruin this moment. But Tobias sits up, offering a hand to Zack.

  "Umm, I was wondering if you'd like to take a nap and then, like, order pizza and have sex?" Tobias asks.

  "That sounds like an amazing way to spend the night," Zack says, getting up and letting Tobias lead the way to his bed.

  They both crawl under the sheets, getting comfortable. Zack does what he's wanted to do from the start and buries his face in Tobias's neck and breathes in his scent. Something about it just calls to him. Something about this man calls to him.

  As Zack relaxes, sleep tugging at the edge of his consciousness, he can't help but think that he doesn't know where things will go from here. He's met an amazing man, this playful sexy pup, and they clearly have a connection.

  Zack doesn't know for sure what lays ahead for them, but he has a feeling they have a place for each other in their lives, as permanent as ink on skin.

  Spirit Wolf

  Dawson Ray is a self-confessed city boy at heart, despite being a panther shifter, which is why he's not too sure why he'd thought this was a good idea. Instead of being in his comfortable apartment in town, above his favourite coffee shop-slash-bookshop, he's in the woods of Ohio, in a cabin.

  His trip is supposed to be for one thing: to help him get his next book finished. Dawson was proud at twenty-nine to be able to call himself the top shifter mystery writer in the country. This 'writing retreat' was his agent's idea. She was worried about him. Dawson guesses he shouldn't have admitted he was in a bit of a funk.

  Before he knew it, she had booked him a cabin and sent him off with orders to write. So Dawson had packed a bag, and here he is, not far from home, but far enough away that he won't see anyone unless he goes out of his way to.

  Dawson has been unpacking his things, wandering around the cabin, exploring a little, when he stops at the window in the front of the cabin. The view isn't anything spectacular, but it's beautiful in its simplicity. Dawson is a little lost in himself, zoned out watching the view, when he sees something move in the woods. But by the time he snaps to attention, he can't see anything.

  He's not the only shifter in these woods. On the other side of the woods lives a pack of werewolves, and then there are many shifters from the town who come up for a run. As well as shifters, there are all the normal animals you would expect to find in
the forest. So the movement could be nothing. Dawson should dismiss it, but he finds himself straining to catch another glimpse.

  "Get a grip," Dawson tells himself after a few moments, and he goes back to unpacking, getting settled into the cabin.

  Dawson is in the kitchen some time later, cooking lunch with the groceries he brought with him, when he gets the oddest feeling. He's sure he's being watched, but when he goes to the window, nothing is there. Dawson makes himself a rare hamburger and tells himself he's being stupid.

  It's not like he hasn't had strange fans before, but none that would follow him into the woods and hang out around the outside of his cabin, peering in windows. It's probably just a raccoon or something. With the burger cooking, Dawson hadn't been able to pick up any other scents, but with whatever it is being outside, the windows closed, he doesn't think he would have anyway.

  Dawson is cleaning away his lunch when his cell phone rings. Seeing on the caller I.D that it's his agent Casey, he answers.

  "Hi, Casey." Dawson leans against the kitchen counter.

  "Hi, Dawson. Did you find the cabin okay?"

  "Yeah, it was easy. I'm here now," Dawson replies.

  "Do you think you'll be able to finish the book there?"

  "I hope so. It's a beautiful spot, peaceful. I should get a lot of writing done. I have the whole story in my head. I know what I want to write, it's just getting the words out," Dawson says.

  "I don't know how the whole writing thing works for you. I know it can be different for every writer, so I won't claim to know how you feel, but a change of scenery can help with most things. If you need anything, I'm a phone call away. But I'm hoping you'll be too busy writing to call me."

  "I'll have something ready for you soon. It might be a bit rough, but I'll have something," Dawson promises.

  "That's what I like to hear," Casey says brightly.

  They chat for a few more moments, then Casey has to go, and Dawson finishes washing up his lunch things before going into the main room, to the desk where his laptop is waiting.

  Dawson sits down and boots up his laptop, opening a yet to be properly titled document. Dawson reads through his last writing session quickly, getting it all fresh in his mind before he starts writing again. He really does know where he wants to go with this story, it's just getting there. Motivation has been lacking.