Absentee Wolf

  “I was thinking. All those boxes we packed, and we still forgot something.”

  “What?” Kent looked around the room. It was completely empty. The bed still had its linens, but he wasn’t taking them.

  “Where’s your porn stash? Every guy has one.”

  Kent’s eyes grew round, and he dashed to the side of the bed. Reaching under the pillow, he pulled out a picture and placed it on the comforter. He then lifted the mattress and yanked out a few magazines.

  “Shit. Could you imagine if my mom found these?”

  “Yeah, she’d probably remind me to tell you to take them when you move out.”

  Kent slowly turned toward Toby. “She did not!”

  Toby was smiling and nodding.

  “Just let me die!” Kent fell back onto the bed. His mother had found his porn stash. This was one of the most embarrassing days of his life. He thought it could only be worse if she caught him having sex or found his dildo, which he had never even taken out of his duffle.

  “Don’t worry. She said you have excellent taste.”

  Kent groaned and pulled his knees into his chest while Toby laughed. His laughter lessened to chuckles when he left the room carrying another box. Kent listened as his steps retreated. Kent didn’t want to go down stairs and run into his mom or his dad since she most likely told him, too. If his parents weren’t such good friends with Toby, she probably wouldn’t have mentioned it to him. His mom would have had to gather the nerve to take Kent aside and tell him or just act as though it didn’t exist altogether. The only reason she said anything was because Toby was their friend.

  Toby sat on the bed next to Kent’s curled up body. “You gonna make me carry everything?”

  “Uh-huh. Then I’m going to run out the door and jump in the car so you can speed me away.”

  “I don’t think it’s all that bad.”

  “Um, hello, my mom casually chatted to my mate about my secret porn stash.”

  “No, your mom told her son’s mate about the stash because she thought it would be easier coming from me than her.”

  “It was easier for her to talk to one of her best friends than her own son and in doing so embarrass her son!”

  “Oh, I see now. This is about me being your parents’ friend before I was your mate.” Kent nodded his head and allowed Toby to pull him into his arms. He knew that Toby hung out with his father, but that didn’t mean that Kent wanted to. Right now, he didn’t even want to make eye contact with them. “Kent, I thought the whole porn thing was funny. Every guy has one. Your dad did. I did. And I think every mom has found them, too.”

  “Yeah, and moms might tell their friends, but not who their kids are dating.”

  Toby sighed and rubbed circles on Kent’s back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but I can see why it is for you. Just so you know, I don’t expect you to become your dad’s best friend with me. You’re an adult and mated now, so your relationship with them will change drastically and very quickly.”

  “But what about your relationship with them?”

  “I won’t want to come over their house as much since I’m not alone anymore.”

  “That’s good. I don’t want to eat dinner with them every night.”

  “I think that guys’ night will still be just Tay and me. You can have a guys’ night with your friends. Now that you’ve moved home, you’ll make your own friends.”

  Kent had the relationship he wanted, but he understood what Toby was saying. Happy that he wasn’t going to be forced to tag along or coerced to be another letter in “TnT,” he let Toby hold him a while longer just because. Toby’s attentions drifted slowly lower, and soon he was grabbing Kent’s ass again.

  “Fine! Let’s load up the car so we can go home.”

  “Yes!” Toby grabbed two boxes and headed out. Kent turned to snag the last few and realize there was only one box left. Toby really had carried everything. As Kent hefted the last box, he thought about giving Toby a massage as thanks. He walked past his mother and intentionally avoided her gaze. His father was outside his line of sight, but not out of ear shot.

  “Toby, you were always like family to us. Guess now it’s official.”

  Kent dropped the box he carried into the bed of the borrowed trailer. “Don’t say that! If we were related before then this is weird.” He gestured between Toby and himself.

  “And I’m pretty sure illegal.” Toby followed up with his own comment.

  Tay scrunched his face in disgust. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that. Sorry, Toby, you were never family. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m out here.” Kent’s father turned and left, grabbing his wife’s hand as he passed her. The door to the house slammed shut, ending the conversation.

  “What just happened?” Kent scratched his head. “We were just talking, and he took off.”

  “I think your dad figured out a way to get your mom inside without any awkward good-byes.” Toby opened the passenger door for Kent.

  “Awkward good-byes?”

  “Her baby is moving out.”

  Kent realized quickly what Toby meant. When Kent had left for college, his mother cried for a week and called him multiple times a day. He understood her reaction then since he was miles and miles away. But now he wasn’t leaving, and she could see him within ten minutes at any given time. He hoped she didn’t cry this time. Kent turned as though he might go inside to check on her, but Toby snapped his fingers, startling Kent. “You still with me?”

  “What? Oh, yeah, I’m here.”

  “Good. Get in the truck. I have a mate to take home.” Toby waggled his brows at Kent.

  Kent grabbed Toby’s shirt and kissed him before climbing into the truck. “I wouldn’t dream of running away.”

  Epilogue

  “Victor, I hope you have some good news for me.”

  Ben stopped outside the glass observation window of one of the enclosures attached to the administration building to stare at the captured wolf while he spoke to the alpha of the Teton Pack via phone. Ben had been coming here most nights after the employees and pack members had left. Each time he stood outside the window and watched the beast pace along the fence line. The wolf often made eye contact and maintained it while he padded through the enclosure.

  After capture on the preserve, the wolf had been placed inside a pen reserved for injured wolves. It was set up like a small zoo habitat built on the side of the administration building. There was a door inside the building that allowed employees to enter the enclosure. They could remove wastes and supply food and water. A small cage acted as the wolf’s sleeping quarters. A sliding door locked the wolf inside those quarters, so members could enter safely without having to tranquilize the beast each time. They normally lured the inhabitant in with food, but this wolf could not be enticed.

  He knew what they were doing. That only made sense since he was a shifter.

  “Ben, I have Seth here on the conference call, too. He’s the virologist I had working on the samples.”

  “I remember meeting him. Thanks, Seth.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.”

  Ben leaned on the window, his hand stretched high on the glass and his head resting on the cool pane. “That bad?”

  “It’s not all good news I’m afraid. I’ve been delegating as much time as I can to study the virus, but with my other responsibilities, it’s honestly not the time it deserves. Charlie is right that transmission has to be direct. In fact, even if you were bit by an infected animal, you wouldn’t contract it.”

  “That’s great!”

  “I wouldn’t bet my life on that though, but it’s what I’ve observed. The virus is very delicate, requiring a specific temperature window for survival. That part’s actually the good news.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a long shot, but I’m theorizing that if we can increase or decrease the infected victim’s core temperature, we might be able to kill off the virus.”

  “So if we take th
e captive wolf and freeze him or heat him up, we might be able to cure him?”

  “Hold on there, Ben. Seth isn’t sure. He’s over here waving his hands looking for me to help him.”

  “Okay, okay. I gotcha. It’s just the first glimmer of hope I’ve had in months. Things are getting worse here. There’s this plant that’s invading the preserve and destroying my fences. And, I don’t… I’m at a loss for what to do.”

  Ben’s heart broke a little more. He wasn’t sleeping. He wasn’t taking care of Leah. He was just going from task to task directing everyone and trying to keep them safe. He was falling apart inside with worry and fear of the unknown. His father would never have behaved this way. His father was always strong, and Ben wished he were here now to handle the pack.

  “Ben, listen to me. You’re a good alpha. Take it from me. I’ve been leading my pack for a long time. Probably too long.” Victor’s raspy laugh carried through the phone and reminded Ben of his father’s. “You’re doing everything I would do. I heard you’re even getting help from a local bird pack.”

  “It’s a convocation. They remind me. Frequently.”

  Ben pressed his face to the glass and looked for the wolf. It had walked out of his line of sight, which was uncharacteristic of the captive. He listened to Victor but scanned the enclosure carefully. Like an actual forest, there were many places the wolf could hide.

  “See, I don’t know that I would be brave enough to ask for help. Especially from another species of shifter. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

  “They offered. I didn’t ask.”

  “Now, Ben. Don’t quibble. You still took them up on the offer.”

  Ben nodded even though he knew Victor couldn’t see the motion. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “You need a break, son. Nothing’ll happen in a day that your circle can’t handle.”

  “Not to be an ass, but have you seen what’s happened around here in a day? One day we had a man die, another day we found a rabid shifter. Three days ago we found plants that dissolve fencing. Tomorrow we might get hit by a meteorite!”

  “Point taken, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re gonna run yourself into the ground and be no help to anyone.”

  Ben screamed and jumped back from the window. The wolf launched at the glass, throwing its body into it with such force that blood smattered the plate.

  “Ben! Ben, are you okay?”

  Ben picked up the dropped phone and placed it to his ear. The angry wolf snarled and clawed at the glass.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I’m standing outside the enclosure where we’re keeping that wolf and he jumped at the window trying to attack me. I wasn’t expecting it.”

  “Have you tried to command him? Make him submit.”

  Ben snorted. He was such an idiot. He was so wrapped up in the rabid nature, and the fence, and his pack, he had overlooked something so obvious. “No, I haven’t. I don’t think I’d be able to right now. I haven’t got the strength.”

  “I understand. I’m gonna let you go. You need sleep, and take care of that wife.”

  “Thank you again, Victor. For everything and tell Seth thanks, too.”

  “I’m still here. And you’re welcome. I’ll email Charlie my findings now that I’ve told you the most important parts. You can read the rest for yourself.”

  “Sure.”

  “Good-bye, Ben.”

  Ben disconnected the call and placed his phone in his pocket. The shifter had gone back to pacing the grass. Spittle hung from his muzzle. His eyes were feral. They showed the focus of a human but lacked the control.

  “I don’t know who you are, but I promise I will do everything in my power to help you.”

  THE END

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I am a military wife, a homeschool mom, and a hard-core crafter! Tedi made her first appearance during the most boring freshman English lecture of all time. When my physical body could no longer stand the droning, my conscious self retreated, and Tedi surfaced. Now, Tedi comes out to do crazy things like write erotic romance! She is also responsible for most of my sarcastic comments, epic jokes, and snort laughs.

  For all titles by Tedi Sinclair, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/Tedi-Sinclair

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