Pack Mentality: Natural Selection

by Julia Talbot

  Tasting the wolf trying to break free.

  “Why isn’t it? We’re a pack. He needs a pack. It’s like, natural selection and shit…”

  “Enough, baby. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Steve smiled, rising up on tiptoe to kiss his mouth. “That I can do, lover. I promise.” Stiffening in his arms, Steve stared out the window. “Here she comes.”

  “Outside.”

  They met the others outside, shedding their clothes as they went. The moon rose just as they finished, and Kamen felt the wolf start to take him, his body pulling down, gravity taking him to the ground. His face pulled out, the rest of his body pulling in, joints and bones popping and creaking. The last thing to sprout was his tail, and Kamen used it for balance when he put his head back to let out a long, full-bodied howl.

  One by one his pack answered him. From Sasha and Liam, who were starting to howl in unison these days, to Steve’s thin wail, to Colin’s deep bay, they all responded. They could even hear Jenny from deep inside the house, the sound a little mournful because she wasn’t allowed to run.

  Kamen snapped a little at Liam’s nose, keeping the big, red wolf from attacking the front door. It was time to hunt.

  Chapter Five

  Loyal didn’t even try to keep up with Ryan.

  He’d watched his wolf change, watched the moon take hold. Then he’d sought the bear inside him. It was so different for him. He had to concentrate hard on letting the human form go, had to think about huge paws and a set of teeth that wouldn’t quit. Then the bear would come, and his body would change, growing ponderous and furry, the whole world sharper, different than what his human senses could manage.

  His bear always had to fight that moment when Ryan’s wolf smelled like danger. Like an enemy. A few seconds maybe, but it seemed like a lifetime when every instinct in him wanted to attack.

  Which was why he let Ryan run ahead of him, that wolf’s tail like a flag in the growing darkness.

  Once the disorientation wore off, Loyal followed Ryan out into the aspen grove, marking this tree, scratching his back against the rough bark of that one. Ryan came bounding back to him, tongue lolling, touching noses with him before running off again.

  His bear smile was more a baring of teeth, but it worked for him.

  Ryan romped and played, his short, stocky body just the same in the form of beautiful brown wolf as it was when Ryan was human. Loyal loved to watch. Loved to see Ryan in his element.

  They ran for hours, Loyal breaking into the occasional lope to catch Ryan chasing a rabbit or a squirrel, Ryan leaping over his belly when he stopped to roll on his back, paws waving happily in the air.

  Ryan smelled them first. Loyal saw it in the way that fine wolf form went stiff, tail up but not wagging. Then the scent invaded Loyal’s nose, and he stood up on his hind legs, scenting the air.

  Wolf. Not his wolf, either.

  Rumbling, he took a swat at Ryan’s backside, turning back toward home. He’d taken maybe three steps when two wolves appeared out of the trees, bursting into the little clearing. One red. One black. Both amazing specimens.

  They stopped dead, staring from him to Ryan in a hilarious parody of the puppy head tilt.

  Loyal growled. The other wolves growled. Ryan whined, running right over and rolling to his back, giving the other wolves his belly and throat.

  Well, shit.

  Sitting back on his haunches, Loyal watched, feeling anger and sorrow in his gut. Ryan was his, but Ryan was a damned pack animal, needing the presence of others, needing to be part of a group. Why the damned fool couldn’t just join the Unitarian church or something, he didn’t know.

  More wolves came, all of them scenting Ryan, all of them giving him a wide berth, and when the big gray and black wolf barked, the others gave Ryan a nuzzle or two, then faded back into the woods. The alpha, because no other wolf could be as big or scarred as that one, gave Ryan one more lick, gently closing its teeth on Ryan’s throat.

  Then they were all gone, fading away like smoke from a campfire.

  Ryan bounced right up to him, legs straight, butt up and head down, wanting to play. Growling, Loyal took Ryan down, rolling him to his back. His wolf. His.

  Whining, wiggling, Ryan gave it up for him, licking at his snout. Telling him it would all be okay. Loyal understood enough wolf these days to know exactly what Ryan meant. I love you. I’m sorry. I’m yours.

  His senses filled with Ryan, with musk and need… and with the almost human smell… Humans.

  Loyal turned, raising up on his back legs again, facing down the humans he hadn’t even smelled or heard until now, letting his roar fill the sky. Ryan snarled, on his feet and circling around to rush at the men with guns, but their awareness came too late.

  Something sharp and hard slapped against Loyal’s neck, digging deep, and he grunted, going back to all fours, the world blurring around the edges. He roared for Ryan to run, to get away, and the last thing he saw before everything faded black was the brown plume of Ryan’s tail, disappearing into the trees.

  * * *

  Ryan limped the last few feet to the cabin, his bare feet bleeding, leaving a bloody trail up to his front door.

  Loyal wasn’t there. Ryan knew it, and he didn’t want to go into his empty house, didn’t want to see all of the places Loyal should be and wasn’t.

  He had to, though. Had to go in and call in to work, had to get some clothes. Men expected you to wear clothes, and if he was gonna find Loyal, he’d need to be all man.

  His fist met the front door with a smack, the sound a soggy thump. His hands were all but useless. Ryan’d gone a little crazy when they took Loyal away, the huge bear looking small and helpless with the tranquilizers and the weird stretcher thing with the net.

  There had just been too many for him to take them all on.

  “Hey, Gina,” he said once he dialed the Park Service. “I’m out today. Sick as a dog.” His voice sounded like raw hamburger, so at least he didn’t feel like he was lying.

  “Oh, you would call in,” Gina said. “We had a bear sighting last night. They got him. They’ll relocate him tomorrow.”

  Forcing himself not to howl, Ryan managed a, “Oh, bummer. You know how I love bears.”

  “I do. Get better. You can come help us in the morning.”

  “Will do.”

  Brain racing, he hung up, grabbing a couple of Power Bars. At least he knew Loyal wouldn’t be moved until the next day, and he knew where they’d be holding him. They’d keep the big bear sedated until they moved him, wherever that was, and that would keep Loyal in bear form.

  The change back to human wouldn’t happen until they gave Loyal the reversal drug, and Ryan didn’t intend for that to happen.

  Throwing on jeans and a T-shirt, Ryan avoided the mirrors, not caring if he looked like shit. There was no way he could get Loyal out of the holding cells by himself. He knew exactly where he had to go. If he and Loyal hadn’t been so distracted, Loyal would never have been caught.

  That new pack owed him one.

  Chapter Six

  Jenny made them breakfast. Well, Jenny and Myra, but Liam really only worried about thanking Jenny. Which he and Sasha did. Enthusiastically.

  Liam kissed Jenny hard, savoring her warmth and the taste of maple syrup. He cupped her breasts, weighing them, feeling the tiny changes there since she’d gotten pregnant. Heavier. Softer, almost.

  He pushed his cock into Jenny’s hot, wet pussy, his hips snapping back and forth, driving him into her, then back on Sasha’s thick cock. Sasha held his hips, slamming into him, teeth set on the back of his neck.

  Moaning, Liam sawed back and forth, his lips sliding along the skin of Jenny’s neck. She held him, her hands buried in his hair, fingers clenched tight. The sounds she made went right to his balls, and Liam bent even farther, licking a line down her breast, lips wrapping around one hard, pink nipple.

  Sasha reached around with one hand, finding where Liam and Jenny joined,
rubbing at their sensitive skin. Liam howled, head lolling against Jenny’s shoulder as he came, filling her deep. Jenny cried out, her body arching hard, pushing him back on Sasha so fast that their skin smacked.

  Wet heat filled him, Sasha’s cock jerking inside him, and Liam’s balls clenched in sympathy, his cock making one last valiant effort to squeeze his come out of him.

  Goddamn, he loved the day after the first turn.

  Jenny chuckled, stroking his sweaty hair back off his forehead. “That makes me feel less like I missed all the fun, boys.”

  “Was it so awful to stay home with Myra?” Sasha murmured against the back of Liam’s neck, hands moving lazily from his skin to Jenny’s.

  “Well, it’s not like I can watch movies or anything.”

  “You didn’t miss much,” Liam soothed, rubbing his bristly cheek against Jenny’s soft skin.

  “All we did was meet the new wolf,” Sasha agreed. “His boyfriend is a bear.”

  “No shit? Huh. Well, that’s not nearly as neat as Myra. Cool, though.” Jenny seemed pretty unconcerned, so Liam didn’t bother to try to smack Sasha for telling her.

  “He’s huge,” Liam told her. “Really pretty.”

  “Awesome. Now, let me up, boys.”

  Sasha slid free, leaving Liam room to pull out, and Jenny climbed off the kitchen table, brushing pancake scraps off her ass.

  They were all still laughing when the back door flew open, the new wolf standing there looking like death warmed over. Liam and Sasha growled, putting themselves in front of Jenny so she could get her robe on.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Sasha rumbled, staring the man down.

  What was his name? Ryan! Ryan just stood there, staring back, hands on his hips. “I need your help,” he said, glaring at them, one after the other. “Loyal got caught last night, and it’s your fault as much as it is mine. We have to get him out.”

  * * *

  “Wait,” Kamen said, pacing back and forth across the front room. “I don’t see how this is our problem.”

  Steve sat on the couch with Ryan, kinda keeping the guy still while Myra doctored his feet and hands.

  “Well, if it wasn’t for you guys, we would have seen it coming. We were so busy with me making an ass out of myself for you that neither of us heard those animal control guys until it was too late.”

  Poor guy was bouncing his leg, and Myra was cussing softly, trying to get him to stop so she could wrap the last bandage. Steve reached over and grabbed Ryan’s knee, holding it down.

  “He’s got a point,” Steve said. Everyone turned to stare at him, all but Myra and Ryan glowering. Steve lifted his chin. “What? If we stayed away like we all said we were supposed to, instead of running into his territory and shit…”

  “His territory?” Kamen asked, staring him down even harder.

  Thing was, Steve wasn’t about to be intimidated by his big, alpha lover this time. They were in the wrong. “Yes, his. We got out of bounds. He says we were what? A mile from his cabin?”

  Ryan nodded quickly. “Yes. We were on our way home.”

  Sasha sighed, scrubbing a hand over his head and giving Kamen a look. “That’s close to home, man. We might ought to help him.”

  “Might?” Myra’s pretty, green eyes flashed fire. “I think you’re all assholes. All but Steve, who for once I agree with. It doesn’t matter who or what is in trouble. We need to help. We all wished someone had stood up for us once upon a time, instead of kicking us out of town, don’t we? Ryan, honey, do you want a smoothie?”

  Steve shook his head and made a choking sign at Ryan when Myra’s back was turned.

  “Um. No, thanks. I’d take a drink of water, though.”

  Nodding, Myra headed for the kitchen, leaving her last words lingering. “I’m ashamed of all of you.”

  Everyone sat around, red-faced, until Jenny cleared her throat. “I assume they have him sedated?”

  “Yeah.” Ryan shrugged. “They’ll keep him that way. Park Service policy. It’s when they give him the reversal drugs that we’ll have issues.”

  “That will stimulate the change? Is he lunar?” Jenny went on.

  “No. But yes, it will stimulate the change.”

  Kamen sighed again, shaking his head. “Which will be bad for all of us. We can’t let him be a study case. Okay, guys. Saddle up. We have to do this before the moon.”

  Steve pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! My faith is restored.”

  He got another one of those “I’ll get to you later” looks that made his cock try to get hard, but Steve ignored it, patting Ryan’s knee. “We’ll get your bear back.”

  Myra pottered back in, handing a bottle of water to Ryan before clapping her hands. “Oh, wonderful. You’ll bring him back here. I’ll make snacks.”

  God help them. They were going on a rescue mission.

  Chapter Seven

  The containment facility wasn’t hard to find. Ryan knew where everything was, even if he wasn’t on the animal control team. The problem was that tons of people milled around between the cages and the clinic and the lab, and it was gonna be a bitch to get to Loyal.

  His heart felt like lead in his chest. He saw Loyal, sleeping the sleep of the drugged in his cage, just right over there. The temptation to rush over and tear the cage apart with his bare hands was strong, but he knew it would be better to wait. Patience was a fucking virtue.

  Sasha, Liam and Colin were going to be the distraction. Then Kamen would stand guard while Jenny administered the reversal drug to Loyal, and Jenny and Ryan would get Loyal to safety.

  All they needed was the distraction.

  The lab sat about twenty yards from the cages, but they did have the advantage of the shade trees back behind the wire enclosures. Cottonwoods and pines ranged this far down the side of the Mesa, along with other hardwoods, and they offered a lot more cover than aspens would.

  Creeping forward, Ryan made the edge of the enclosures. He could almost reach out and touch Loyal’s big hind paw.

  Jenny motioned for him to go around to the front of the cage so she could take the back. The reversal drug would go into the bloodstream a lot faster if it came up from the legs, and Loyal would need Steve right there when he woke up.

  Kamen loomed behind them, ready to run interference, and suddenly everyone was in place. Time to rock and roll.

  Something landed in the center of the compound and started spewing smoke, and Ryan wanted to cheer. Sasha and the others were coming through for him. It sucked to see his co-workers start to run around in a panic, but Ryan didn’t feel too bad. They’d kidnapped his lover, after all.

  Big bodies shot into the clearing, Sasha, Colin and Liam all tossing smoke bombs and padlocking doors, avoiding confused and screaming people.

  Jenny shot like a rocket to the edge of Loyal’s cage, drawing up the shot that would wake the sleeping bear. Ryan trusted Kamen to watch over them and scooted out to kneel next to Loyal’s big head, lifting the long snout in his hands, talking low and easy, even though his voice shook.

  It seemed like forever. It took maybe a few minutes. Loyal started twitching, that big bear body shrinking, losing hair, slowly becoming human before their very eyes.

  “Cool,” Jenny said. “So different than us, huh?”

  “Yeah.” It fascinated Ryan every time. Even when the shit hit the fan.

  “Less talk, more action,” Loyal growled, his words slurring, but right there and awake.

  “Definitely,” Kamen agreed, coming to pull Jenny away and wrestle the cage open. The lock popped open like a plastic toy, and Ryan stared. He’d never seen a wolf whose strength carried over into his human form.

  Loyal crawled out on all fours, looking bruised and hungry. “Did you bring me clothes, baby?”

  “I have sweats. The smoke won’t hold out long.” Neither would Colin and the others. Ryan could feel the moon rising, feel it along his spine and between his ears. They had a few hours yet, but they would all st
art to lose focus, would all start itching.

  They got Loyal up and moving, got him dressed, Jenny a solid prop under Loyal’s arm. Ryan liked her. Hell, he liked Myra, too, weird as she was.

  Kamen pulled up in the truck, gravel spraying, and they stuffed Loyal in the back of the king cab, the wheels spinning, finally finding purchase. They fishtailed out onto the main road, and seconds later the roar of another big truck followed them, Colin, Sasha and Liam right behind them.

  Hopefully no one else would follow. Ryan didn’t figure they would. The Park Service wasn’t used to having break-ins.

  Or breakouts.

  * * *

  The wolves ran while Loyal slept.

  He had to admit, it was disconcerting to wake up to a Ryan who wasn’t Ryan, trying to feed him snacks and shit. Myra had been in the room when Ryan told Loyal goodnight, and damned if she hadn’t shimmered right in front of his eyes and taken on Ryan’s form. The possibilities there hadn’t escaped his notice, even if he would never cheat on his baby.

  Morning found Myra back to herself, wandering in with a steaming plate of eggs, bacon, toast and fried potatoes. Loyal sat up and stretched, his back popping hard. “I thought Ryan said you were a vegetarian.”

  “Oh, I like healthy food,” Myra said in her musical voice, “but I know you carnivores well.”

  “Do you have any honey for the toast?”

  “Oh! I do.” She bustled off again, jewelry jingling.

  Ryan came back, though, bearing honey and another plate.

  “Hey, baby,” Loyal said, smiling hugely. “Your new pack has a nice house, huh?”

  “I don’t know about my pack, but yeah, the house is nice.”

  Loyal didn’t argue, but he could smell it on Ryan. He’d been accepted. Amazingly, Loyal felt at peace with that. Ryan was still his.

  Crawling into bed with him, Ryan handed over the honey, digging into his own plate. “Jenny says she taught Myra how to make breakfast when Myra and Colin got married. Are you okay, honey?”