Slight nod.
“No fire with wet wood, huh?” When I chuckled, I realized I was also trembling, and that was probably another reason he wouldn’t release me. Romy, always the protector.
My clothes were soaked through, and my Romy no longer had fur to warm himself or me. I thought about how many times I’d dressed in front of him and figured I had nothing he hadn’t already seen. I began to let Romy go, but he was not willing to loosen his hold. I rubbed his face with mine, which started another round of intimate affections, but I got Romy to let me go so I could begin to remove my clothing.
As I lifted my undershirt over my head, Romy couldn’t hold himself up without my support any longer and allowed a somewhat controlled fall to take place. When his eyes closed, my heart hammered in panic. “Romy!”
Without opening his eyes, he tried to reach for me. I rushed to finish taking off my pants. “I’m here, Romy. I’m coming to you.”
When I was done, I quickly retrieved my jacket, ignoring the other items because I was so worried about him, and raced to lie by him to help ease his violent shaking. With my jacket covering over us, it felt surreal to press my naked body up against Romy’s. Again, it didn’t feel sexual. It didn’t feel wrong because it wasn’t. It was simply something I had never done before. Romy had no reservations, wrapping his arms firmly around me and intertwining his legs with mine. His face pillowed mine as he pulled me closer. Moments raced by as our hearts raced blood through our frozen bodies.
Once our shaking subsided a little, Romy pulled his face from under mine and touched his lips with his fingers, then his tongue, trying to tell me something.
“Thirsty?”
His nose rubbed mine, as if he was pleased that I understood him.
“I have water. Hold on.” I reached over my head for my backpack and quickly pulled out a water bottle. Unable to open the bottle with one hand—and seeing how Romy was not releasing me anytime soon—I lifted my other arm over my head.
Unfortunately, this placed my breast directly in Romy’s face. He was still nuzzling me with his eyes closed. Under my jacket, my wolf was now innocently rubbing his cold nose all over my chest. As I tried to ignore the interesting tickle my breast was experiencing, I continued to open his water, playfully telling him, “Oh Romy, you just took us to a whole other level without even knowing it.” I brought the bottle to his lips. “Remember, this is different than licking out of a bowl.”
I guess old habits are hard to break because when I brought the bottle to his mouth, his tongue came out immediately to retrieve some fluids. If he wasn’t so parched and if it wasn’t the prettiest tongue I’d ever seen, I would have teased him some more. Instead, I did my best to help him get as much water as possible into his mouth.
Two bottles later, my wolf’s thirst was finally sated, and his exhausted body was demanding and forcing sleep. I made my backpack our pillow to share. With the moon bright and my flashlight on next to us, I was able to watch him sleep in my arms and allow all that had taken place that evening to sink in. Wet leaves gently blew into the cave as I wondered about what could have happened had he not embraced his calling. But he did, and he seemed just as happy as I that he had survived.
For tonight, it was just my wolf and me.
Chapter Six:
Fascination and Simplicity
A familiar nuzzle, but with bare skin instead of fur, woke me, and everything from the night before crashed through my mind. I jerked and opened my eyes in a hurry. “Romy?”
The sun had returned, the cave was bright, and he was… smiling.
My body relaxed at such a beautiful sight. In the light, I saw just how dark his hair really was and how his skin was gently kissed by the sun. Romy had made it through the change, and he had made it through his first night as a man. I inhaled a deep, thankful breath. “You’re here, Romy… with me.”
He happily snuggled close to me again. Then he pulled back slightly, and his mouth began to move. At first, I thought he might be thirsty again.
“M-Marley.”
Romy said my name.
My eyes teared up with mixed emotions. My wolf had experienced a miracle that no one would ever believe and was strong and brave enough to try to speak again. And he chose me as his very first word. My heart was torn because that word meant so much and because it was his mother’s last. She had passed before completing my name.
I caressed a face that could take two shapes and forms. I didn’t know how or when, if ever again, he would be a wolf. “You remember your mother’s last word?”
His eyes saddened at the mention of her passing, but he nodded yes.
“It was so long ago,” I told him, “that I think a part of me forgot till this past year. Do you know what you are, Romy?”
His mouth struggled, but he spoke. “Y-y-your… f-friend.”
Sudden joy busted through a barrier of worry, and I exploded with uncontrollable tears. “Yes, yes, you are my friend, Romy, and I am yours.”
“F-for-e-ever.”
I kissed him all over his face. “Yes, forever.”
“M-Marley, w-will I ch-change b-back?”
“To a wolf?” I asked, sniffling.
He nodded.
“Your mother, Romy, she said… you have the ability, if you choose.”
“H-how?”
The wolf asking the human how to be a wolf made me chuckle until my father’s words echoed in my mind once again. I smiled and wiped some of my tears away. “Just be one.”
His eyebrows came together in deep thought, and a shadow of a wolf began to appear, and the ghostly form imprinted onto Romy. I don’t know why, other than being afraid of losing him, but I pleaded for him to stop the change.
“Romy, wait.”
But his eyes were already closed, and he seemed not to be able to control it.
“Sebastian!”
His shadows disappeared, and his human form remained. Romy’s eyes opened. Or were they Sebastian’s eyes? I realized Romy was my wolf, and Sebastian was the human.
I nervously nodded because I wanted him to know I understood he heard me. “I was not ready for you to go… Sebastian.”
“F-forever, M-Marley.”
I wholeheartedly whispered my truth. “I love you.”
“I love… you, t-too.” His hand caressed my cheek.
In theory, it was a simple, tender moment, but Sebastian got a glimpse of his hand for the very first time. He stretched his fingers out and slowly flipped his palm to examine every little detail. I watched him in amazement.
Then I watched him as his hand gently came to touch my face again. He started to explore my skin. He touched the wetness under my eyes. He examined his thumb, rubbing my tear between his fingers. “I a-always wanted to do that.” He looked at me. “Do y-you hurt?”
“No, I’m having happy tears.”
He smiled again, and his expression showed his serious thought.
“What is it, Sebastian?”
“Do I h-have to s-stay here n-now?”
Not having my best friend with me would end me. “No, we stay together. We will just have to figure out how. I was told to keep you a secret. Maybe you should stay in wolf form in front of my parents, ’til we know what to do next.”
He smiled, still in my arms with his head resting on my backpack. “I like th-them. S-So nice to me.”
“They love you.” I slowly ran my fingers through black, silky hair. “Your father’s fur was black.” Sebastian nodded. “Did he ever become human in front of you?”
“N-No. Neither d-did my mother till sh-she passed.”
“Do you know why?”
“No… b-but both a-always watching.”
“Think they were… nervous about something coming?”
Sebas
tian nodded.
“See? I hate to lie to my parents, but your mother must have had good reasons. If anyone finds out, what happen to her could happen to y—” I couldn’t even finish that godawful sentence. “Do you miss them?” I hoped it wasn’t a stupid, cruel question.
“S-Some, but not as much as before. I h-had you.”
His stomach growling broke the serious moment, and I sat up in a hurry. Putting on my undershirt that had dried, I apologized. “Oh, Sebastian! You’re hungry.”
“M-must hunt.”
“Umm, how about a Pop Tart?”
He slowly sat up.
“Do you hurt?”
“No… never… sat up… before.”
“You’re talking so much better already.” I held up my sweatshirt to his chest. “This is never going to fit you. I didn’t think to bring you clothes.” I looked down and saw Sebastian in all his glory. I laid my sweatshirt over his lap. “Let’s just let you be a little modest.”
“Am I… ugly there?” he innocently asked.
“No, but seeing how I’ve never seen a—uh—penis in the flesh before, we shall keep it… under wraps, ’kay?”
“I have seen you unwrapped.”
Cue blushing. “Uh, yeah, that’s coming to an end.”
“Why?”
I was lost for words. “Well, uh, it’s not proper?”
“Why?”
“How about them Pop Tarts, huh?” I dug into my backpack before there could be any more questions about each other’s genitalia. I handed him a package, and his long, inexperienced fingers fumbled with the wrapping. I showed him an example by ripping mine. “See?”
“Yes.” He successfully opened his package. “F-feel like a child… leer-learning new things.”
“Something tells me you will catch on quickly.”
As he chewed, his expression showed him puzzled with new teeth.
“My parents are going to freak that we’re gone, so we have to get back, but do you want to be… human again tonight? So we can talk more?” I was already missing this new side of Romy, and Sebastian had not even left me yet.
“I want to talk more… with you.”
My heart did a pitter-patter. “Good.”
“But b…fore we… go home, can we v-visit my mother?”
My hand grabbed my chest. “Yes, of course we can.”
I wanted to get up and put my pants on, but the sun was bright. I was calmer and a little shy this time. “Sebastian, can you”—I pointed to a cave wall—“look over there while I finish dressing?”
“No,” he answered simply while he kept chewing, inspecting his Pop Tart.
I was about to have my first argument with him. “Sebastian, it is needed.”
“Don’t agree. Can I finish your… Pop Tart?”
“And no more butt sniffing.” That bothersome activity was going to be even more awkward picturing Sebastian’s human nose between my cheeks.
He grinned at me.
I heard his unspoken answer loud and clear so I mumbled, “You’re as stubborn as your wolf self.” I handed him my leftover Pop Tart. “Here.” I got up to dress in front of Sebastian as I always had with Romy. Sebastian did not seem fazed in the slightest by my tone, probably because Romy had heard it plenty.
I was putting my flashlight in my backpack when Sebastian decided to stand by himself. My sweatshirt fell off him, and I got to watch a naked Sebastian teeter and totter until he found sturdy feet. Unlike when I got dressed and Sebastian minded his Pop Tart, I did not. My eyes were traitors as they kept glancing at all that was teetering and tottering. I hadn’t had years to become accustomed to the opposite sex’s nudity the way Romy had. Not that he cared or even knew what he had been seeing this whole time, but I did. And my curiosity found Sebastian’s body fascinating.
Sebastian stood proudly. “Look… I did it.”
The saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” was now making so much more sense to me. I glanced up at the smiling, naked wolf/human and found myself smiling grandly. “Yes, you did.”
Neither of us spoke as we walked to his mother’s gravesite. Sebastian seemed deep in thought, and I respected that. I wasn’t sure I could even find the gravesite, and then I realized I didn’t need to. Sebastian led me straight to an area where the grass was matted, as if someone had lain there often. I could barely swallow with the emotions choking me. “You-you still come here?”
He sat down. “Every day.”
I sat next to him with shame in my heart. “I’m so sorry I forgot, Sebastian.”
He ran his hand over the earth that covered his mother. “I understood. You did not mean to.”
I whispered, “No, no I didn’t.”
The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was needed. We had experienced quite a night. I was surprised when Sebastian asked, “Do you think I made… my parents proud?”
That was such a heartfelt question. “Yes, very proud.”
“I hope so,” Sebastian quietly replied, looking at the ground.
“I know so, Sebastian. I saw how your mother’s eyes adored you and how your father’s spoke of pride every time he looked at his son.”
Sebastian glanced at me. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I gently asked.
“For c-coming with me. I like you… here.”
I had never seen anyone so amazed at the walking process most of us humans took for granted, but as Sebastian conquered this simple act on the way back home, I realized how much I didn’t appreciate the simple things. Sebastian was like a child, finding magnificent magic in what I had considered to be everyday normality.
“Everything looks so different from up here.” Sebastian clearly had no concern about being completely nude. “It is…odd to have my nose not… lead me. Feel… half blind yet with different eyeballs.”
Trying to keep my eyes at chest level and above, I reached for his hand. I just wanted to touch someone who found mystery and fascination in simplicity. He looked at our joined fingers. “Your hands are soft… yet you are strong.”
I was too overcome to reply.
With his other hand, he reached out and touched a tree trunk. His fingers grazed the bark. “Not soft but…strong and sturdy. Like you.”
I wondered what he had seen me do over the years to believe such words when describing me.
He inhaled deeply through his nose. “I don’t get to smell… the details with this nose. I wish you could experience the dance.”
I was a little confused. “The dance?”
“Yes, the way the dirt… flirts with the scents of the flowers. How nectar… teases and entices the tiny creatures of this grand forest and how the freshness of the trees… of the forest complement… the world.”
I listened to his words, his understanding, in complete awe and with complete awareness of my unfortunate shortcomings.
As we came closer to where Romy became Sebastian for the first time, he calmly said, “They’re looking for you.”
Our walking and talking came to a stop. “Who? I don’t hear anything.”
“Everett, Trevor, and Jimmy.”
“But I thought your senses were human now.” I was perplexed.
“Can you smell them?”
“Uh, what? Smell—no.”
“I’m suspecting even though I’m not in wolf form, my senses still surpass yours.”
“Surpass? Wow, you really paid attention to schoolwork. How far are they from us?”
“Under a quarter of a mile, but they’re moving fast.”
I chuckled. “Quarter of a mile—I’m a great teacher.”
Then I went quiet because it was time for Sebastian to become a wolf again. I felt anxious.
“Marley, once transformed, I will go and hunt.”
Loving my new nickname, I nodded and tried not to become emotional. “Pop Tarts didn’t do the trick, huh?” He looked at me with sympathy, so I asked, “What is it?”
“I feel your sadness but wonder why you feel so.”
“What if—what if you don’t turn back to… this?”
“Then you shall love me as Romy only, and Sebastian will fade away.”
Tears brimmed.
He touched my face. “But I don’t feel that is what will happen. Forever, Marley.”
He backed away. The ghost took hold, and within a couple of seconds, Sebastian was once again my Romy. My chest felt torn because seeing Romy again reminded me of how much I loved him, too. With immense gratitude, I watched him circle me, his fur brushing my hips, before he ran away to feed.
As I broke the tree barrier of the clearing, my father, Trevor, and Jimmy entered on the other side, clearly following my tracks with Hound in the lead. When they saw me, they ran to my side. But one look at my tears and they jolted to a stop. They looked around but saw no wolf. My father grabbed his chest. “Romy?”
I smiled through more happy tears. “No, he’s okay. Romy will be just fine.”
Three grateful men sighed in relief.
After I stretched the truth, saying Romy had had a rough night but was now back to himself, Trevor and my father got to talking and were exiting the clearing. I looked back to see Hound examining the ground—something I did not want. “Gonna be a gentleman and walk me home?” I called out.
Jimmy looked at me, eyebrows crunched together. He finally pulled himself away and jogged to catch up with me. He whispered, “You okay?”
“Much better now that Romy is well,” I answered, hoping he would drop the subject.
“Who’s the heavy man you struggled with last night?”
Lying didn’t come naturally to me. I looked at the ground. “Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
My Wolf and me Page 6