Love Was Not an Option

by Edward Kendrick

  “Great, Mom. Scare him to death, why don’t you?” Nick said.

  “He knows I’m only being honest with him.” She returned her attention to Greg. “Once it’s over and you’re a vampire, you’ll need to be taught the ins-and-outs of your new life. Technically, that means you have to be with me for the next year.”

  “I do?” Greg frowned, looking at Nick. “You knew this and you didn’t tell me?”

  Jelena held up her hand, obviously to forestall an argument. “Greg, I said technically. Since Niko is half vampire, he can teach you. You’ll still be linked to me for a year. That’s part of the package. I have to know that you are obeying, or not obeying, the rules, and when you might be in trouble.”

  “Think of her as a second mother,” Nick said, “because that’s how she’s going to behave, to make sure you behave.”

  “Okay. I guess that makes sense.” Greg went quiet. So quiet Nick was afraid he was going to change his mind. He looked at his mother, seeing the same concern in her expression.

  Finally, Greg turned to Étienne. “What if you made me a werewolf? If you did, it would solve one big problem.” He winked at Nick. “I could keep my job.”

  Étienne laughed. “True enough.” Then he sobered. “The first shift will be almost as painful as Jelena’s turning you. Make no mistake about that.”

  “He’s right,” Nick said under his breath, remembering his first one.

  “I can handle it. I’m not a weakling,” Greg replied defiantly. “It will be worth it.”

  Étienne studied him. “You’re in good shape, which will help. All the running you do, I suspect.”

  “Then you’ll do it?” Greg asked hopefully before he smiled weakly. “Maybe I should do some more research about being a werewolf, first.”

  “Research is you,” Nick said, chuckling as he hugged Greg.

  “Well, it’s for damned sure you haven’t told me all that much,” Greg replied with a touch of asperity. “But then,” he conceded seconds later, “I haven’t asked, either. At least, having seen you shift, I know it must stop hurting after the first time.”

  “Let’s say it gets less painful each time you do it. By the third or fourth shift, it’ll become so natural you won’t notice the brief pain.” Nick grinned, leaning over to whisper, “Sort of like getting fucked. Your body gets used to it.”

  “Niko!” Jelena said.

  Greg turned bright red. “She heard that?”

  “Vampire hearing, my dear,” Jelena replied. “I’m sure Étienne heard, too. He’s just more polite than I am.”

  “Yes, Greg, I’ll do it, if you’re certain it’s what you want,” Étienne said in reply to Greg’s initial question. “You have to realize there’s no turning back. Once the change has occurred, you’ll be a werewolf with all that entails. That includes having to shift on the night of the full moon. You won’t have a choice.”

  “I’ll be able to other times, too, if I want. Right?”

  “Of course,” Nick replied before his father could. “You’ll learn how to think it, to make it happen. It’s only at the full moon that it happens no matter what, like it or not.”

  Greg chuckled. “Then I’d better get a moon calendar, so I’ll be prepared.”

  “You’ll know when it’s coming up,” Étienne told him. “Your body will begin feeling the urge to change and you’ll be very restless as a result.”

  “Does that happen with you?” Greg asked Nick.

  “No. Because I’m not a full werewolf, I’m not compelled to change.”

  “Okay.” Greg turned back to Étienne. “Can we do it tonight?”

  Étienne glanced at his wife, getting a nod in return. “If you’re absolutely certain it’s what you want,” he said to Greg.

  “I am.”

  “Very well. Niko, we’ll go to the place where you completed your first shift. That way we’ll know that no one will interrupt us.”

  Nick nodded. “It will take us at least an hour to get there, you know.”

  “Since it’s in the Pyrenees, that’s a given.”

  “It is?” Greg said.

  “Remember, I grew up in France,” Nick replied. “Way too many years ago. My folks built a small house, deep in the mountains, soon after they were married. We used to spend our summers there.”

  “Shall we,” Étienne said, standing. He put his arm around Jelena and they vanished.

  “Now if I can remember exactly where we’re going.” Nick grinned when Greg looked at him is dismay. “I’m kidding. First Greenland, for a rest stop, then Ireland, then France.” He looked deeply into Greg’s eyes. “In case you have any doubts about it, I love you heart and soul. Not because you’re willing to do this for us, but because you are you. A wonderful man I can’t imagine not being in my life.”

  “I love you, too. You know that.” Greg smiled wryly. “I’ll prove it to you over and over until the day we die—if I survive the change.”

  “You will. I’ll be right by your side when it happens.”

  Chapter 13

  “The first step,” Étienne said when they were in a small glade not far from the mountain house, “will be my biting you in my wolf form.” Then he shifted.

  “Damn, he’s huge,” Greg said, stepping back. He cocked his head in question. “I thought of something. Doesn’t there have to be a full moon?”

  “It would help, but it’s not necessary,” Nick replied. “He’s old, and powerful. His bite will work any time between the quarter moon waxing and when it’s waning. If it was time for the new moon, we’d have to wait.”

  “All right.”

  “I’d suggest you strip first,” Nick said. “That way you’ll have something to wear when you shift back.”

  “You didn’t, when I saw you shift,” Greg protested, glancing at Jelena in embarrassment.

  She chuckled. “I’ve seen naked men before. Don’t let me being here stop you. I promise you after a few times, you’ll be able to think your clothes away, and back, just like Étienne and Niko do.”

  Swallowing hard, Greg got undressed, keeping his back to her. Then, tentatively, he held out his arm to Étienne, closing his eyes.

  Nick gripped Greg’s other arm as Étienne approached. He could feel his lover begin to shake in fear and said, “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do,” Greg whispered between gritted teeth.

  Étienne bit deeply into Greg’s proffered arm. Greg shouted in pain, pulling it tightly to his body as soon as Étienne released it. Blood flowed from the wound. Nick saw his mother lick her lips. She caught his look and mouthed, “I’m fine. See to him.”

  As he watched—not letting go of Greg’s arm because he needed him to know he was there—hair began to sprout all over his lover’s body. Then, Greg’s nails began to lengthen into claws. By then, Greg had opened his eyes. He looked at them in horror, shaking his head.

  “It’s all right,” Nick tried to reassure him. Étienne, back in his human form now, agreed. He motioned for Nick to let go of Greg, which he did reluctantly—only because he knew what came next.

  Greg screamed in agony, writhing as his bones began to snap and lengthen and his skin stretched to accommodate them, before tightening over his new form. He crouched on his large paws, his back arching, his ears becoming pointed. Then he was howling as his face contorted, pushing forward into a wolf’s snout, and sharp teeth emerged in his jaw. All the time that it was happening, Étienne was by his side, quietly assuring him he would survive while gently stroking his hand over Greg’s thick fur.

  Nick recalled his father doing the same thing to him, during his initial change. It had soothed him, making it, if not less painful, at least bearable.

  When Greg had fully completed the change, Étienne suggested he and Nick shift as well. “He’s in no shape to run quite yet, but if we can get him to move, to walk, it will help him become accustomed to his new body.”

  Nick smiled grimly. “Then, we have to help him go through shifting b
ack. We can do all of it via mind-speak.” He and Étienne shifted and approached Greg cautiously, ready to retreat if he looked as if he would try to attack.

  Instead, Greg swung his head back and forth, he golden eyes seeming to search for a way to escape from the werewolves on either side of him.

  ::Easy, love. You know we won’t harm you::

  There was a feeling of panic from Greg. He stiffened. ::How?::

  ::It’s called mind speaking. A way for us to communicate in our werewolf forms:: Nick replied. ::You just did it, by instinct.::

  Greg gave a nod. ::I hurt, Nick. Every inch of me.::

  ::I know, love, I know. It will help if we walk. While we do, think about what you’re seeing and hearing and smelling.::

  Greg lifted his head slowly, sniffing the air. ::Pines. I smell pines, so sharp and sweet. And…water? I can hear it, somewhere…:: He turned his head in the direction where Nick knew there was a stream a quarter of a mile away. ::I never knew water had a smell.::

  ::You’ll find a lot of things do that you wouldn’t have imagined. In the case of water, it’s more what’s in it, like mud, fish, leaves. They all combine to give it its own special aroma.:: Nick chuckled. ::Think of chlorinated water, I guess. It’s the best example for a human.::

  They began walking, with Étienne in the lead, Jelena at the rear, and Nick right beside Greg. Greg paced slowly until he got the hang of moving on four feet instead of two. He would pause every few yards, sniffing the air or peering at a bush or log. ::There’s something in the trees. A bird. But it should be too dark to see it.::

  ::Not with your enhanced vision,:: Nick told him. ::Can you smell the deer, and hear it moving.::

  ::I…guess? Though I didn’t know that’s what it was.::

  ::As a predator, you’ll learn to distinguish which animals are which.::

  ::No fucking way am I going to hunt for my dinner.::

  Étienne chimed in, laughing. ::Given that attitude, it’s a good thing you’re a werewolf, not a real one. You can shift back and eat your steak without having to kill the cow first.::

  ::How? I mean, how do I get back to being me?:: Greg asked.

  ::Think it,:: Nick told him. ::It will hurt, but not as badly as you shifting to a werewolf. Your body is used to being human. It knows what it has to do, if that makes sense.::

  ::Sort of, I guess.:: There was a panicked tone to Greg’s words when he said, ::What if I can’t?::

  ::Think and believe,:: Étienne replied.

  Nick shifted, clothing himself with a thought, then knelt beside Greg, resting his hand on the werewolf’s head. “You can do it. You have it in you now.”

  He felt Greg shudder, moaning and growling as his body reverted to its human form. When it had, he collapsed, shivering. Nick didn’t know if was because of his shift, or the chill in the air. Either way, he knew Greg would appreciate his clothes, so he raced back to the glade to get them. When he returned, Jelena was seated beside Greg with his head in her lap.

  “For a first time, you did remarkably well,” she was saying, lightly stroking his hair.

  “I feel like someone tore me apart then put me back together again, twice,” Greg replied. “I don’t think I have it in me to move quite yet.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to dress you,” Nick said.

  Greg managed a weak smile. “That will be a change from the norm.”

  Nick laughed as he helped Greg sit up and put on his shirt. The pants were a bit more difficult, but between them they managed. Picking up Greg’s shoes and socks, Nick wrapped his arm around him. “I won’t make you walk back to the house,” he said before teleporting him into what had been his bedroom, growing up. Greg’s eyes closed the moment Nick laid him on the bed and seconds later he was out.

  * * * *

  It was early Sunday afternoon when Nick awakened. He took a fast shower and had barely finished getting dressed when Greg finally woke up as well. “How are you feeling?” he asked when Greg rolled over to look at him.

  “Almost human,” Greg replied, stretching and yawning. “And starving.”

  “Not too surprising. Let’s go see what we can find to eat.”

  “Bathroom, first.”

  Nick showed him where it was. He was tempted to join him, when he heard the shower running, even though he’d just taken one, but thought better of it. He’s still not up to par by a long shot, if he’s like me after my first shift, and I was a lot younger and more resilient than him when it happened. Instead, Nick went into the kitchen, hoping there was something to eat other than canned goods.

  Étienne turned from the stove when Nick entered. “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s up and moving, and showering. He didn’t say anything about last night.”

  “He will, once he’s had time to process it. Right now he needs food and plenty of it.”

  That’s when Nick realized his father was frying eggs—a lot of them. The aroma of the steaks on the outdoor grill wafted through the open window. Going to the cupboard, he got out plates and silverware and began setting the table.

  “Something smells wonderful,” Greg said from the kitchen doorway. “Good afternoon, Étienne.” He crossed the room to kiss Nick. “Can I help?”

  “Naw. Sit.” Nick gestured to a chair. “I think Dad’s got everything under control.”

  “I will, if you get the steaks,” Étienne said.

  Nick did, putting them on a platter which he set in the center of the table. Étienne had already put the eggs, along with toast, on plates. He brought them to the table, poured milk for everyone, and he and Nick joined Greg.

  “This is enough to feed an army,” Greg commented as he speared a thick steak from the platter. It didn’t take him long to eat it, along with some of his eggs. He took a second one and was halfway finished with it when he paused, looking at Nick. “I never eat this much for breakfast, or lunch I guess.”

  “Your body needs food, after last night. It went through a lot.”

  Greg nodded, took another bite, then put his fork down. “It really happened, didn’t it? I mean, I know it did but…”

  “You shifted, and as Jelena told you, did very well for the first time,” Étienne replied. “After we’ve finished eating, we’ll go back to the glade and you’ll do it again.”

  “Dad!” Nick exclaimed.

  “He needs to, Niko. He has to get used to it.” He turned to Greg. “It won’t be as bad this time, I promise.”

  “Meaning it won’t be great, either.” Greg shuddered. “Maybe I could dose up on half a dozen aspirin first?”

  “Somehow I don’t think that would help,” Nick replied, squeezing his thigh.

  Greg looked down at Nick’s hand and grinned. “How about we forget shifting and try a different workout, instead.”

  “Tonight, when we get home.” Nick gave him a kiss. “We’ll go for a run in the park.” He laughed when Greg gave him the finger. “We’ll do that, too.”

  “Without the run,” Greg muttered.

  They finished eating, did the dishes, and then returned to the glade. This time Greg’s shift went faster and was, he said when he returned to himself, less painful. “No joyride, but I think my body’s getting used to it.”

  “As we’ve told you,” Étienne said, “It will get to the point where you won’t even notice it happening.” He chuckled. “Okay, you’ll notice, but only that you’ve become your werewolf.”

  “When it gets to that point,” Greg said as he tied his shoelaces, “will I be able to teleport the way Nick does? And get undressed and dressed just by thinking it?” He winked at Nick. “That could come in handy at times.”

  Nick laughed. “It could, but personally I prefer watching you strip one piece at a time.”

  “You are your mother’s son,” Étienne remarked with a grin. “She’s said the same to me, more than once when we’re, how shall I put it?”

  “Hot and horny,” Greg replied. He immediately turned red. “Sorry.”


  Étienne smiled. “Why? We’re all men. We all like sex. It shouldn’t be a forbidden topic.”

  “It’s…You’re Nick’s father.”

  “That I am, and proud of it,” Étienne replied. “He’s one of a kind.”

  “No kidding,” Nick shook his head. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I’m happy with who and what I am. It took a long time to reach that point, but I did. And now I have you.” He took Greg’s hands. “The perfect man for me.”

  They were still seated with their backs against a large tree while Greg recuperated, so he didn’t have to move far to give Nick a deep kiss. “Love you, too,” he said when they broke apart. “By the way, I don’t suppose there are more of those steaks. I’m starving again.”

  “I think we’ve got a few left,” Étienne told him. “I shocked the butcher this morning with how many I bought, until I told him I was throwing a coming out party. I’m sure he thought I misspoke and meant a debutant party.”

  Nick snorted. “Let’s hope so. If he knew what you really meant he’d be hanging wolfsbane everywhere he could and stocking up on silver knives.”

  “That works?” Greg asked.

  “Nope,” Nick said. “One of many myths which are just that—myths. Sure, if you got stabbed with a silver knife it might stop you from attacking, momentarily. But so would a regular knife. The same with bullets, silver or otherwise. You take one in the heart or head, it’ll probably kill you. The only thing dangerous to us about silver is that it slows our healing rate.”

  “So that myth is true? Werewolves do heal faster than humans?”

  “Yes,” Étienne replied. “Ergo, if you get badly hurt try not to end up in a hospital. You don’t want the doctors wondering why the arm you broke yesterday is fine today.”

  “Or if you do end up in one, teleport out the first chance you get, preferably without them taking any blood. Your blood would clue them in real fast you’re different from true humans.”

  “Which I’m not, anymore,” Greg said. “This is getting complicated.”

  Nick laughed. “Try it from my perspective. If a doctor got his hands on me, I’d become a nine-day wonder, or end up in a research lab. Something I’d rather pass on.”