by T. S. Ryder
“I think it’s best if you go there and find out for yourself.”
“So where will I be going?”
“I can’t tell you that, but the place is safe.”
“My mother will want to know.”
“I’ll handle your mother. Besides, you’re grown woman. Tell her to stop being a helicopter parent.”
“I’m sure you know how it is,” I said. “Security issues and all that.”
He nodded, finishing his drink.
“Are you going to keep the baby?”
“I’ll decide when I talk to Harrod. I think we’ll make a decision together.”
“Well, whatever you decide, I hope you do keep the baby. This life is lonely. Harrod and I have always been alone. It wouldn’t hurt to have a pup in the den.”
“A pup?”
“You know, a baby wolf.”
“I doubt such ferocious beings exist among our kind.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said.
He stayed for another half an hour and chatted. In spite of his cockiness and impassiveness, I saw a lonely man. He told me about his wife, her mental illness and how he never married again because he was still in love with her. He also talked a lot about the baby, what I’d do and where I’d stay, if we decided to keep the baby. His eyes sparkled whenever he mentioned the baby, icy cold and blue like Harrod’s.
An hour later, I found myself on a private jet, circling a forest on a mountain. Down below, the only sign of civilization was a short strip of tar and asphalt — a runway.
Chapter Ten - In The Middle of Nowhere
Siobhan
As the plane landed, I spotted two heads in the trees. One of them was Harrod, of course, although I couldn’t tell which one. From the distance, they both looked the same. The plane halted and I waited inside until those guys were here. The forest was beautiful, but also terrifying.
When Harrod walked in, I’m surprised at how different he looked.
“Harrod,” I said, getting up. “You look so different. What have…” Then the actual Harrod stepped in.
“Siobhan,” he said, surprised. He pushed the other guy aside, locked me in an embrace and kissed me. “What are you doing here?”
“I went to your place and raised hell, so your father sent me here.”
“Did he? You must have been pretty convincing.”
“You never told me you had a twin. Who is this?”
“This is my brother,” he said.
“Hi, I’m Harrison,” the other guy said.
“Wow, the resemblance is uncanny,” I said, shaking his hand. “Harrod never told me he had a brother.”
“Yeah, he didn’t know,” he said.
“How are you now?” Harrod asks.
“I’m fine. I still have the stomach bug.”
“I was worried about you,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”
As we stepped out of the plane, I asked, “So, where are we? Your father’s secret science facility?”
“Something like that,” he said.
It was a 15-minute walk into a fenced community, a village of sorts. Harrod introduced me to his Grandpa and a woman called Mishayev. ‘Misha is my teacher here,’ he told me.
“What does she teach you? What are you here for, secret service training?”
“No. I’ll tell you later.”
“No, you said you’ll tell me when we are together, I can’t wait anymore. Tell me what took you away from me.”
I perched on an ottoman in what appeared to be a common room, and Harrod got on behind me, legs and arms around me. It felt safe inside his arms.
“I need to warn you first and prepare you. This shit is crazy.”
“Whatever it is, tell me. Go ahead, I can take it. Can’t be crazier than everything else that has happened, with me coming out to the middle of nowhere to be with a guy I only had one date with.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I said, cutting him off. “Tell me now.”
“Harrison, do the honors, will you?”
What happened next was, simply put, crazy. I should have freaked out, I should have, but I didn’t. I was inside his arms, I was safe. I knew that no harm would come to me. But it took my breath away anyway.
“So, your brother is a shape-shifter,” I said, letting out a long breath.
“Not a shape-shifter,” he said, rubbing my arm, turning me on. “A werewolf.”
“And you?”
“Me too. Everyone here is.”
“And your dad knows about this?”
“He’s one too. Like I said, Siobhan, we all are. Except my mother.”
“Oh.”
“I think that’s probably why my dad sent you here, so you could find out before things get serious.”
“Before things get serious, Harrod, seriously? We still have a before?”
“I mean, you know, so you can get out while you can.”
“So if I want to get out, you won’t stop me?”
“If this is too much for you, why would I?”
“So you’d let me go just like that,” I said, slightly angry.
“I’d try like hell to stop you, but I won’t force you.”
“I’m cool with it,” I said. “Growing up in a political family, I’ve seen stuff way more messed up than this. Nothing like this, but still. I think I can get used to this. But I sure as hell won’t be living here forever.”
“Neither will I,” he said. “But we’ll have to come here every full moon. I’ll have to.”
Then I asked him something really stupid, something a child would ask. “Can you turn me into a werewolf?”
“With a bite, yes.”
“Cool,” she said. “Do it. Bite me.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” he told me. “Only an Alpha’s bite can do that, and I am not an Alpha yet.”
“Get the Alpha to bite me then.”
“Six days from now, I have to face my brother in The Pit. If I can beat him there, I’ll become the Alpha. We’ll think about it then. But I can’t wait to bite you in other circumstances.” His hand found its way into my shirt and around my stomach. He turned me around, rubbed my back and kissed me again.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said.
“I missed you, too,” I said.
I closed my eyes and drew in a long breath, taking in his masculine smell, his intoxicating juniper cologne. He pushed me down on the ottoman and tried to get on top.
“Not here,” I whispered.
“They don’t mind.”
“I’m shy.”
“Okay,” he said, kissing me again. “You should go rest, anyway. You must be tired. Mishayev will show you to our room.”
“Okay.” I gave him a quick kiss and left with Mishayev.
She took me to Harrod’s room, which was a mess, as could be expected.
“You will get cold. Let me bring you some fur.”
“Thank you.”
She came back ten minutes later, carrying three different colored fur coats.
“Wow, these are real,” I said, feeling the soft fur, trying one out. “These are so warm and light.”
“Yeah, these are real.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She smiled, then looked at me strangely.
“What is it,” I asked.
“You love him?”
“I guess…yeah.”
She smiled. “He’s a good guy. Training here is hard, coming to terms with everything, but he’s patient. He’s doing it all very well. He’s a keeper. Don’t break his heart.”
“I won’t,” I promised, hand over my heart.
“If you need anything or have any questions, you can come to me,” she said, and turned to leave.
“Misha,” I said, “I can call you that, right?”
“Call me whatever you want,” she said.
“I wanted to ask you something,”
“What is it?”
“Is there a doctor
here?”
“We have an infirmary. It has all the modern equipment and our doctors are great. But don’t go there alone.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
“I’m fine. I was just curious.”
“Right. You should rest now, and I’ll wake you up for dinner.”
Chapter Eleven - The First Snow, The Good Tidings
Siobhan
Mishayev woke me up late in the evening.
“Put on your coat,” she said. “It’s going to be freezing tonight.”
“As if it isn’t already,” I replied, shivering in my skin.
When I stepped out, I saw the snow falling softly, slowly, mixing with the dark mud. It complimented it, made it look nicer, somehow serene. The sun was setting in the distance, and although we couldn’t see it from there, the snowflakes gathered on the ground were bathed in a soft orange light.
“It’s a good omen,” Misha said.
“Snowfall? People hate snow where I come from, but then it never looks this beautiful.”
“We have a saying among our pack, passed down the generations. It says visitors bring the weather with them, and if they bring snow, it means they bring good luck. You have brought us glad tidings.”
“What tidings?” I asked, as we stepped outside. A gentle gust of wind hit me, getting under my fur coat through the sleeves, freezing me to the bone. I removed my hands from the sleeves and wrapped it around me like a shawl, blocking the wind as best as I could.
“It is not always known right away,” she said. “But they come out soon. Here, at least.”
“What do you mean?”
“Keeping good news to yourself is considered a sacrilege here. There is a lot of misery out there in the world, and when the Almighty sends his blessings, they should be shared and spread. What’s his to share is not yours to conceal.”
“Do you believe in God?” I asked, hoping she says no.
I didn’t want to get tangled with this sort of thing. What if Harrod asked me to convert to his religion or something? I would never be up for that. I made a mental note to get these issues out of the way before telling him I’m pregnant. That is, if I were to tell him I was pregnant. I was having second thoughts. In the safety of his arms, under his warmth and scent, I felt safe. I wasn’t shocked by what I saw. Maybe it was because I was too tired to react, too hormonal to give a hoot. But reality was sinking in now and I was starting to feel creeped out.
“No,” she said. “We don’t worship beings like that.”
“Then what do you mean by Almighty?”
“You can use whichever word you want for it. It’s just a word, at the end of the day. We believe in a higher power, but we don’t know how or what that power is. The teachings have been handed down from generation to generation to spread goodness and tolerance. Our focus is not on the being but on the teachings. What harm does that do? We don’t differentiate or label people or treat them differently for what they are.”
“As in?”
“In the other packs, Harrod and Harrison would be half-bloods. They wouldn’t be allowed to become Alpha, ever. You wouldn’t be allowed to marry or breed with Harrod; it would be an abomination. The other packs are harsh, divided. We aren’t. It’s the teachings that keep us grounded and strong. We don’t treat you as different, even though you are an anomaly in our world. To us, you are a person. If it were some other pack, you’d have been killed.”
“Misha,” I said, inspired by her motherly tone, or perhaps guilt-trapped. “I do bring tidings, but I am not sure if they are good or bad. I wanted to talk to Harrod first before I told anyone.”
“Shh,” she said, one finger on her dark lips. “Don’t speak of it until you are ready. The wind does not keep secrets.” She put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. “I’d offer you one, but…” She paused mid-sentence and gave me a knowing smile.
“It’s fine, I don’t smoke anyway.”
“He’ll be happy,” she said. “I won’t force you to tell him, but don’t hold it in for too long.”
Chapter Twelve - When the Reality Sinks In
Harrod
When I returned from my training with Harrod and Grandpa, I found Siobhan sauntering in the woods with Mishayev, away from the cabins, her expression serious.
“Is she bothering you?” I asked, pointing towards Misha with my finger.
“No, she has been educating me,” Siobhan said.
“What if I am bothering her?” Mishayev said. “I could rip your throat before you could bat an eye.”
“Try me,” I said.
“Don’t do anything, please, stop,” Siobhan pleaded in a panic.
“We’re joking,” I said. “Misha and I banter a lot.”
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Mishayev said, nodding. As she walked back to the cabins, she flicked out her cigarette and put it out with her foot.
“Finally I have you to myself,” I said, reaching for her hand.
“Finally,” she said, with mock excitement.
“You look worried,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“Harrod, I don’t know. I think I’m confused. So much has happened so fast, so much is happening.”
“I know, believe me, I do. I found this out when I came here, and trust me, I was freaked out way more than you are. But living with them, it’s not too different. They are just people. The shifting can be terrifying, though.”
“No, I am just worried about the other thing,” she said.
“What thing?”
“Oh, nothing. Don’t mind me, I’m just rambling.”
“Siobhan, what are you not telling me?”
“Nothing, let it go.”
“Tell me, come on.”
“I am just…”
“What?”
“I am just a little freaked out.”
“About what?”
“About us, about the future, about everything.”
“We’ll take it in a stride, don’t you worry about it.”
We walked to the lake. I brushed off the fresh snow from a boulder and we sat on it. The wind rustled her hair and I pushed a stray strand away from her face.
“Harrod,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t freak out if this sounds weird, but I have to let it out.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never dated anyone before.”
“I think I could tell that you hadn’t. Ask away.”
“Do you think you want to get married? Not right now, but in the future, maybe?”
“I never thought about it seriously until I met you. And if it is you, then I think yeah, I would want to marry. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, making you happy.”
“What about having kids?”
“Never thought about it. It would be cool, I suppose. Dad would be very happy, though,” I said. “Would you be okay with marrying a werewolf? What do you think about marriage?”
“I think I am past all that. I always knew I would marry, so yeah. But don’t feel any pressure.”
“I’ll be the Alpha soon. I don’t feel any pressure other than having to fight against my own brother.”
“Don’t fight your own brother,” she said.
“I have no choice. I’m a half-breed here. I have to prove that I have what it takes.”
Chapter Thirteen–Love by the Lake
Siobhan
“I’m cold,” I said. Instead of helping me or giving me his coat, Harrod took my coat off and laid it on the boulder we were sitting on.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to heat you up,” he said, taking off his own coat and piling it over mine. “Lie down,” he said.
I laid on my back on the fur coats and looked at the sky, at the dark clouds. Harrod laid down next to me, his arm under my head; his other hand was across my chest, stroking my side. We both shifted our gazes to the sky, the sn
ow flurrying in our faces. My face started getting cold, and I can picture my cheeks getting red. My teeth started chattering until he put his warm mouth over them. His tongue pushed into my mouth, hot with lust. The kiss felt different, more aggressive somehow. I wondered if that was the wolf in him.
The night smelled like thorn bushes and fresh snow. He kissed me on the side of my lips, smelled my perfume and licked my cheek. He unbuttoned my shirt and exposed my breasts to the cold winds.
“God, I love your tits,” he whispered in my ear, before his tongue moistened it. My breasts were slightly swollen and larger than before, tender. He grabbed one and licked the other, twisting my nipple hard.
“Be gentle, Harry. It hurts.”
“I have wanted you so badly. I can’t wait to fuck you in every hole. Please don’t stop me.”
As the memories of our first encounter rushed back into my mind, I was overcome with a desire to have him inside me. I wanted the pain that brought me closer to him, that connected us, that made us one. I tried to get up and unbutton his shirt, but he continued working on my tits and tossed his shirt off. He was paying extra attention to my swollen boobs, but I hoped he wouldn’t find out the reason why they were bigger until I told him. His body felt warm against my hands, and I rubbed them on his hard muscles, drawing the heat. He embraced me tightly, pushing his groin against me, and I could feel his hardness. I could feel how hard he was for me, the hot rod ready to explode lava inside me. He licked my body and went lower, literally ripping my skirt in two with his bare hands.
He smelled me down there, his nose pressing into the soft flesh. His kisses near my pussy got intense and then his tongue pushed inside me. He started getting frantic, feeling me up, touching me, turning into a primal, wild being. He spat on his finger and pushed it up into my ass. A small moan escaped my lips, but he didn’t move the finger until I got used to it. Then he pushed another, and then another. His tongue made love to my pussy while his fingers took me from behind, preparing me.
I got up and jumped off the boulder, my naked body bombarded with tiny flecks of snow. He stood up on the boulder; he looked savage. Looking back I remembered what he used to look like only three weeks ago. He had changed somehow. His muscles were more defined, his body more muscular and hairy. He let out a long howl and his body changed. Misha told me that their eyes turn yellow when they transform into a wolf, but his eyes were red and glowing. He gained mass in front of my eyes, his legs slightly bent, like a wolf on its feet. He was half-wolf and half-man right now. Compared to what I could see right now, he used to be a boy. Now he was a damned wolverine. His nails had turned into claws. As my gaze was drawn to his manhood, I realized he had gained another inch at the very least. He was easily 8.5 or 9 inches right now: thick, hard, and erect. I didn’t think I could take him.