Love Was Not an Option

by Edward Kendrick

  “I’ll stick with being only a werewolf and leave it at that, thanks.”

  Étienne stood, suggesting they get back so Greg could eat. Nick helped Greg to his feet and they walked, arms around each other’s waists, to the house.

  Greg got his steak, while the others settled for sandwiches as they weren’t particularly hungry. By the time he finished eating it was getting dark, so the three men moved to the patio.

  They’d just sat down when Jelena appeared. “You’re looking better than the last time I saw you,” she said to Greg as she joined them at the table.

  “I’m feeling better, too. I shifted again, a bit ago, and didn’t come out of it totally drained.”

  “A couple more times and it will be second nature.”

  “That’s what they keep telling me.”

  “And they should know.” She smiled at her husband and son. “Are you leaving tonight?” she asked Nick.

  “Yep. Pretty soon, in fact. We have to work in the morning, unlike some people I could mention.”

  “I work,” Étienne protested. “I slave to keep your mother happy.”

  “You do it very well, too,” she replied, kissing his cheek. “Niko, you had better start visiting us more often. Greg, it’s up to you to make certain he does.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Greg replied. “He can be stubborn at times.”

  “Me? Never,” Nick said in pretend dismay. When the rest of them laughed, he admitted, “Okay, I do have my moments.”

  They chatted for a few minutes more before Nick said it was time he and Greg left.

  Jelena made it a point to hug both of them. “You’re a good man, Greg,” she said. “I’m glad Niko found you.”

  “I am, too.” He smiled at Nick. “Though I’m the one who found him, but who’s keeping score.”

  Étienne also hugged them, reiterating Jelena’s words that they should visit as often as possible. Then, with his arm around Greg’s waist, Nick teleported them home, with the usual rest stops along the way.

  * * * *

  They ended up in the bedroom. As Nick had promised, they made love, putting their hearts into showing just how much they cared for each other. When they finished, and had recovered, Nick pulled Greg to him, holding him tightly.

  “You’ve been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours.”

  “No kidding.” Greg brushed a kiss over Nick’s lips. “Before you ask, I have no regrets.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely! If someone had told me, six months ago, that I would meet a man and fall in love with him despite the fact he was totally different from anyone I’d ever known, I’d have said they were crazy. I wasn’t looking, and for sure if I had been I’d have wanted someone very normal.”

  “Didn’t quite work out that way, did it?” Nick replied, ruffling Greg’s hair.

  “Nope. It’s been a hell of a ride. Maybe things will calm down a little, now.”

  “Let’s hope. Starting with getting some sleep. Tomorrow’s Monday and you know what that means.”

  “Staff meeting,” Greg groaned.

  Nick laughed. They kissed, and after spooning together, fell asleep.

  Chapter 14

  Niko, we need to talk. D. That was the message Nick found in his email Friday evening, a week after Greg’s first shift.

  “Now what, Darwin,” Nick muttered. He replied to the email, telling Darwin he could be there in an hour. He immediately got a three word one back. With your friend. He had no illusions about who Darwin meant, and it worried him.

  “He wants to meet me?” Greg asked when Nick told him as they fixed supper.

  “Apparently. I don’t have to bring you along if you’d rather I didn’t.”

  “I have the feeling it wouldn’t solve the problem, if there is one. At least if it’s what you think it is, I mean why you think he wants me there, you’ll be able to tell him honestly that I’m not human anymore.”

  “True, thank goodness.”

  As soon as they finished eating, Nick teleported them to Darwin’s living room. When they landed, he saw Darwin wasn’t the only one there. Kasper and another man Nick worked with sat on the sofa.

  Kasper sniffed, then smiled slowly. “I guess our worries were unfounded, gentlemen. It seems Niko has taken care of the problem.”

  Nick bristled, and felt Greg stiffen. “He was never a problem.”

  “He was human. I’m presuming he learned about us, or would have eventually. Ergo, he would have been a problem,” Darwin replied.

  “Funny, that,” Greg said, stepping forward. “I think you are the problem. Without asking me or Nick, you presumed that I would reveal what I knew. The fact I love Nick, Niko to you, wouldn’t have placated you in the least. Humans are suspect in your eyes, not matter what. If we…” He paused, smiling grimly. “If they, because as you’ve figured out I’m not one anymore…If a human learns that the man or woman they love is more than they seem, it does not mean they will instantly announce it to the world. In some cases they might react badly, I agree. Nick told me about one of them who did. But what about the ones who can accept it? Why should they and their lovers, spouses, whatever, have to suffer because of your prejudices?”

  “We’re not prejudiced,” third man protested.

  “Actually, Ualan, we are,” Nick said. “Me as much as any of you, until I met Greg. I know that mine is a single case, but how are we to know whether you’ve sent me and others in to wipe a man or woman’s mind when they had no intention of revealing a supernatural’s secret?”

  “Are you willing to take the chance?” Kasper asked.

  “Yes. At least I’ll explore their thoughts before taking the final step. Don’t worry. If you give me a case where it’s obvious the human is planning on, or has caused us problems, I’ll deal with it any way I see fit. But I won’t indiscriminately erase memories just because a human has found out about us. Not anymore.”

  Darwin nodded. “I can accept that, if the others can. However, be very careful, Niko. You know what would happen if the existence of supernaturals was revealed.”

  “Some of the population would go berserk, calling for the deaths of all of us,” Nick replied. “Others wouldn’t believe to begin with, and I think the rest would find the idea fascinating. They would be wary at first, but in time they’d accept us.” He smiled. “And no, I’m not willing to test my theory.”

  “I would certainly hope not,” Kasper replied with some asperity.

  “Was Greg the only reason you wanted me here?” Nick asked.

  “Yes. Things have thankfully been quiet in the last few weeks. Oh, by the way, Isidora and Rinaldo sent this.” Kasper took an envelope from his jacket pocket, handing it to Nick.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Nick said after looking at the photo and announcement it contained. “He made an honest woman of her.” He handed the photo to Greg. “She’s the vampire I told you about. You might say she was the inspiration for my revealing what I am to you.”

  “Then I owe her big time. We both do. We should send them a wedding present.”

  “A magnum of blood wine,” Darwin suggested.

  Greg snorted. “You’re a Star Trek fan? I doubt it really exists.”

  “Believe me, it does,” Ualan replied. “I have several bottles. It’s a mix of full-bodied red wine and fermented blood, and not to everyone’s taste. Well, unless you’re a vampire. The blood adds its own unique flavor.”

  “I bet it does,” Greg replied, wrinkling his nose. “I’ll take mine in a steak, thanks.”

  “Werewolves have no class,” Ualan grumbled, getting laughs from everyone.

  “If we’re done here,” Nick said, “I’m taking my werewolf back home.”

  “Greg,” Kasper said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, even if you are somewhat opinionated.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Greg replied. “It was good to meet all of you.”

  Nick took Greg’s hand, and after saying �
�Good night” he teleported them home.

  * * * *

  “If you’re going to do it, you have to concentrate,” Nick said.

  “I am, damn it,” Greg replied, his frustration showing. They were in the backyard, which was safe to use because it was surrounded by a tall, cedar privacy fence.

  “Think about our bedroom. Picture it.”

  It was their bedroom because, a few days after their visit with Darwin and company, Nick had come to a decision.

  “You spend almost all your time here, when you’re not at work,” he said to Greg as they were eating dinner. “The only reason you go home is because you still have clothes there.”

  “Pretty much,” Greg agreed. “And to give the place a good dusting once a week.”

  “Exactly. So why not move in here, instead?”

  Greg didn’t appear all that surprised by Nick’s suggestion, since his immediate answer was, “No reason that I can think of.”

  So the following weekend they rented a small truck and moved what Greg wanted to keep of his furniture and other belongings, as well as all of his clothes, to Nick’s house. It took a bit of time and rearranging Nick’s furniture, but in the end, everything of Greg’s had a place without making the rooms look like a near-new shop, as he put it.

  Now, Nick put one hand on Greg’s shoulder, reiterating, “Picture you being there, not here. It’s inherent within a werewolf that they can teleport.”

  Greg clenched his hands, closed his eyes, and suddenly he wasn’t in the yard anymore. Nick heard a whistle and looked up. Greg was standing at their open bedroom window, a huge grin on his face. Seconds later he was standing beside Nick again.

  “I feel like a wrung out dishrag,” Greg carped, leaning against Nick’s shoulder.

  “It takes energy. I’ve told you that. It’s why I can’t get us from here to my parents’ house in one hop. In time, you’ll be able to get from home to work without even breathing hard when you land.”

  “Uh-huh. I can see it now. I show up in your office just as Brenda walks in. She’d have a screaming fit.”

  Nick laughed. “She would, which is why, if you were going to teleport to work, you’d better pick a closet to land in.”

  “I think I’ll stick to driving there. It’s safer.”

  Greg kept practicing going to the various rooms in their house until Nick ordered him to quit before he dropped from exhaustion.

  Saturday evening, a week after Greg’s first, but not last, practice in teleporting, Nick said they would go for a run in the mountains. There was a reason behind his suggestion. Greg had been restless for the last two days. The result of the coming full moon.

  “At this hour?” Greg asked, pacing the living room. Then he understood. “We’ll be doing it as werewolves, because I have to. It’s the full moon. No wonder I’ve been feeling so antsy.”

  “Exactly, and—” Nick grinned, “—we’re going to teleport there. Or we will if you remember what the top of the path looks like.”

  “That’s pretty far,” Greg protested. “And I’m not sure I do, even though we were there a couple of times.”

  ::Like this:: Nick said in his mind and gave him the image.

  “What if I don’t make it there?” Greg asked with a worried frown. “What if I land God knows where and can’t stop from shifting?”

  “We’ll do it in two parts. First to the park, here,” He gave Greg another image, “and then on from there. Ready?”

  “No,” Greg muttered before vanishing.

  Nick followed, laughing when he landed and Greg said, “Beat you.”

  “Brat,” Nick replied fondly. He made them wait a few minutes to allow Greg recover before they took the second hop to the mountains.

  “Now comes the fun,” Greg said, his eyes already turning golden in anticipation.

  “Clothes,” Nick cautioned. Greg had finally gotten the hang of thinking them away and back again, when he shifted in their backyard. That was, if he remembered to do so.

  Greg nodded, and seconds later he stood there in his werewolf form—with no shredded clothing on the ground beside him. Nick shifted as well. ::Catch me if you can,:: he said before racing away with Greg right on his tail.

  They zigzagged through the trees, leaping over rocks and brush, even chasing a mule deer they startled into running at their approach—although all they did was chase it, allowing it to get away in the end.

  ::We may be predators, but I for one have never wanted to kill to eat,:: Nick said.

  ::I don’t think I could ever do that,:: Greg replied, sounding relieved that Nick wouldn’t expect him to.

  Hours later, they came to a small, stream-fed pond in a grassy glen, where Nick suggested they shift back to their human forms. When they had, fully clothed, they stretched out beside the pond, Greg’s head on Nick’s shoulder.

  “That was exhilarating,” Greg said. “I felt so free, as if the world was mine for the taking.”

  “In a different time and place, it might have been,” Nick replied.

  “One where we wouldn’t be ostracized, or killed, for being what we are?”

  “Yes. It will never happen, I’m afraid. That’s why…” Nick shook his head.

  “Why you and others like you work with Kasper and Darwin.”

  “Yes. I wish it was otherwise.”

  Greg kissed Nick’s cheek with a whispered, “We can dream, can’t we?”

  “We can.” Nick turned his head to look at his lover. With a lustful smile, he said, “We’re getting morose when we could be doing something much more interesting.”

  “Mr. Fontana, are you coming on to me?”

  “If you have to ask, you don’t know me as well as I thought you did,” Nick replied, as he began undressing Greg. His lover returned the favor and soon they were both naked.

  “Moonlight becomes you, to quote a corny line from some song,” Greg said, his gaze raking over Nick.

  “It makes you damned sexy, too,” Nick replied, stroking his hand up Greg’s already hardening cock. “Sexy enough to eat.” Nick put his words into action, kneeling between Greg’s wide-spread legs, planning to take his cock into his mouth. He let out a yelp when he suddenly found himself flat on his back on the grass, with Greg straddling him.

  “Me, first,” Greg said before going to work to torment Nick’s cock with kisses, licks, and sucks that drove him nearly delirious with need. He didn’t stop until Nick came, flooding Greg’s throat with his cum. “Tasty,” Greg said after swallowing. “But then it always is.” He rolled onto his back, grinning at his still panting lover. “I think you were about to do something, before I changed the game.”

  “I was, and I will,” Nick replied—and he did, although he didn’t take Greg to completion. Nick was already hard again, which didn’t surprise him in the least, and he intended to put his cock to use in the best way possible, by fucking Greg slowly and with love. He sat back on his heels, saying, “Lift your legs, please.”

  Greg did, his gaze moving between their throbbing cocks. “My wallet,” he panted.

  Nick understood immediately. There were two packs of lube in it. “You came prepared,” he joked while opening one of them, spreading the contents over his hard member.

  “Always, just in case…” Greg gasped when Nick entered him. “In case you decide you want to get kinky at work.”

  “Kinky?” Nick lifted an eyebrow, amused at Greg’s choice of words.

  “Whatever. Would you stop talking and screw me.”

  “With pleasure.” Nick pushed in until he was fully engulfed. “I love you,” he murmured leaning in to kiss Greg.

  “Love you,” Greg whispered kissing him back.

  Nick eased almost out and thrust in again, watching the play of emotions on Greg’s face—desire, lust, and most of all love.

  Despite their mutual needs to come, he took it slowly, letting their pleasure build until it became impossible to hold it in. He exploded the moment he felt Greg’s channel tighten
around him. Their simultaneous shouts of release startled sleeping birds into flight, their cries mingling with Nick’s and Greg’s.

  “That was amazing,” Greg said, wrapping his arms around Nick when they had stopped shaking.

  “The sex or the birds?” Nick asked in amusement.

  “The sex, you nut, although the birds were a great added touch.” He looked up at the sky. “Can we come back here every full moon?”

  “That’s up to you,” Nick replied. “This place, this area, holds memories for both of us.”

  “Good ones, despite how I reacted the second time I was here.” Greg kissed him deeply. “At least I came to my senses, eventually.”

  “And now look at you.”

  “I’d rather look at you,” Greg teased. He gave Nick another kiss, which was returned in kind. “By the way, I’m freezing.”

  “Then shift. We both will. We’ll stay warm that way.”

  “Are we going to spend the rest of the night here?”

  Nick nodded. “Why not? We have nothing planned for tomorrow, or today I guess, given how late it is.”

  “Then let’s.” Greg shifted, snuggling against Nick’s side when he did the same. ::I could get used to this,:: he said sleepily.

  ::Then we’ll do it as often as possible.:: Nick smiled to himself when he realized Greg was already asleep. How did I get so lucky, finding you? Whatever gods were watching over me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. He nuzzled Greg before resting his head on his lover’s shoulder. Soon, he was sleeping as well.

  * * * *

  Nick and Greg spent most of Sunday morning in the mountains, hiking in their human forms or running as werewolves, until Greg suggested it was time to return home.

  “I’m starving, and I desperately need a shower.”

  “You’re not the only one,” Nick agreed. With a thought, they teleported back to their bedroom. “Shower together?” he asked.

  “Well, duh.” Greg’s expression left no doubt in Nick’s mind that showering wasn’t all they were going to do. He was right. Sometime later, they made it down to the kitchen.