Unwilling: a shifter romance

by Hannah L. Corrie

  The next morning was dedicated to gymnastics training and a glance at his bedside clock showed he was late. He hated being late. Gymnastics club was one of the few things Darwin did just because he loved it. He would have had more time to work if he dropped that club, but it would also have killed something inside him.

  The gym was located next to Statsby Hall. His gymnastics team was warming up in the left part of the giant, airy building and his friend Harry waved at him as soon as he saw Darwin. "Where have you been? Coach Ronson asked for you," he whispered when Darwin reached the group.

  "Long night," Darwin muttered and sank to the floor to join their stretching. Harry just grinned at him and went back to his own moves.

  On the right side of the hall, another group of athletes were waiting for football tryouts. Darwin didn't spare them a glance. The sight of jocks always made his stomach flutter and he despised that helpless, giddy feeling. He didn't need some jock catching him salivating over their behind and beating him up later.

  As a result, it took him almost thirty minutes to realize Jared was over there. He still had his band-aid stuck on his forehead, but otherwise looked no worse for wear. He actually looked mouthwatering in his simple sports clothes, which made the knowledge of his presence all the more torturous.

  Darwin tried to steer clear of the football team, but his eyes wandered ever so often and he caught one glimpse of Jared in the same moment Jared looked over to him. Their eyes locked, then a pile of bodies buried Jared and he was out of sight. Those two seconds still felt like an eternity of agonizing and slowly building arousal so intense it shook Darwin to the core. It took all his willpower to concentrate on the formation his team was training and even then, he fucked up and the carefully arranged pyramid crumbled, with people falling to the ground everywhere.

  The last hour of training was excruciating. His trainer yelled at him, the new team members giggled like a flock of geese every time they caught him looking over at the football players, and his mind drifted off more often than not, making him clumsy and nervous. When training was over, he scuffled to the locker rooms like a man on his way to the gallows. He was so ashamed of his bad performance, he didn't realize that the football team had also ended their training and started to pile into the showers.

  From one second to the next, the tiled room was filled with friendly banter, laughs, and dozens of athletic, muscular, naked bodies. The aroma of their sweat flooded the hot, misty air and made Darwin feel lightheaded from the hormones and testosterone. Worse, the stench of so many males, so much prey, made his wolf rear its head.

  Darwin started to pant as well-known panic clawed at his throat. Had he been any other werewolf, he would have had full control over his animal side by this age. It was almost laughable how long it had taken him to overcome even the simplest of triggers, like being startled or getting angry, or hungry, or any other strong emotion or physical need. He had worked so hard on this, hammered precautions into his mind, stayed away from every possible situation where he might lose control over himself, done everything humanly— ha!— possible to be safe.

  But here he was, gritting his teeth against the battering of his wolf's will against his mental walls and trying his best not to cause a catastrophe in a shower. He couldn't move for fear of getting too agitated and provoking a change. His tailbone tingled, the skin on his back crawled with the need to shift, so he bit his tongue until he tasted blood. That helped a bit.

  Breathing shallowly, he leaned his forehead against the cold, wet tiles of his shower stall and waited for the room to clear out, clenching his hands into fists as he silently counted to a hundred. Everything would be alright as soon as the others left, he'd just have to hang in there until—

  All of a sudden, one scent masked all the others, wafting over him like a thunderstorm. With that scent came a sudden and intense sense of peace and security. The scent of another werewolf.

  "Problems?"

  Jared's quiet, amused voice sounded right next to Darwin's left ear and made him jerk. With that movement came the awareness of a very warm body inches from his back.

  "Go away, I've got this," Darwin snarled, simultaneously trying to keep his body from relaxing. 'Liar,' his mind offered, but he silenced that voice resolutely. Feeling safe is a lie, too. This is nothing but a chemical reaction, nothing but hormones. He can't help us. Don't trust it. Nothing was worse than being fooled into thinking this feeling of helpless, happy bliss may become reality. Being fooled into wanting it, getting it. He wanted it to stop, because it made him remember. Darwin absolutely didn't want to remember.

  "Grouchy. I like it," Jared whispered and moved closer so Darwin had to jerk forward to break contact to the muscular, wet body behind him. It didn't help. Jared followed his movement until Darwin was pressed against the tiles with Jared's body at his back, melding against him from breast to crotch.

  A pulsing, hot column of erect flesh pressed against his ass and slid smoothly through his crack. A moan broke free from Darwin's throat and he beat his fist against the tiles in frustration. How the hell was he supposed to keep his distance like this? He could have dealt with courting or being asked out on a date, then he could have simply said no and been adequately rude about it, but this had no need for words and his body was already betraying him.

  He had to stop this, right now, before he forgot the consequences, before he fell for the lies his body told him. Before his needs overrode his mind.

  He bit down a gasp, turned around and gave Jared the stink eye. "If you lay your hands on me, I will scream like a girl," he threatened, abandoning pride for a small victory.

  Jared's grin widened. "Okay, no hands," he agreed and put his palms against the wall behind Darwin, not so much caging him in but rather balancing himself against the wet tiles. He leaned against the slightly smaller man, lowered his head and started grinding himself against Darwin's crotch. Their cocks moved against each other, slicking themselves with pre-cum and hot water, and the electric charges sizzling through his crotch snuffed out what little reservations had been left in Darwin's mind.

  Another moan escaped him. The wanton sound of his own voice made him want to shrink away ashamedly, but there was simply not enough will left in him to defy that almost painful, lonely pull in his abdomen. He put his hands on Jared's broad shoulders and tried to push him backwards, holding on to him at the same time. "We need to go before someone sees us!" he gasped, though his cock seemed to be perfectly happy where he was.

  The answer came promptly. "Don't worry, the others left already. How about I make you come instead? Wouldn't that be much, much more fun?" Jared almost purred. Muscles on his arms and shoulders bulged when he leaned forward even more, bending at the hips to increase the pressure of his cock against Darwin's length. The meaty, swollen head rubbed against his ball sac, then moved further up, leaving a hot, wet trail on his wet skin. He shivered violently under the onslaught of lust. It was frightening, enticing, and arousing like nothing he had ever felt before.

  Why didn't he want this? He couldn't remember. Absent-mindedly, he started humping back, savoring the sweet jolts it sent through his body, moaning softly against Jared's shoulder. Darwin hadn't realized that his head had fallen forward to rest there. Now that he gave it a thought, he also hadn't meant to wrap his arms around the hunk's broad chest. The trail of golden hair tickled against his hard, pointed nipples and he wanted to let go, to shove Jared away, but he couldn't bring himself to break the glorious moment.

  Still, there was the matter of that nagging worry at the back of his mind. "We shouldn't do this," he rasped, his voice shaky with need and the self-control it took to say the words, much less mean them.

  This time Jared didn't flinch, he just kept moving. "I'm not holding you prisoner. No hands, remember?" he said, sounding way too pleased with himself. A small groan of delight followed his mocking words and he sped up, rubbing, pressing, sighing, bringing Darwin closer and closer to climax.

  "I'm going now,"
Darwin mumbled, even though he still had his arms around Jared and hugged him like life itself depended on his grip. "I hate you. I wish you'd never—"

  Suddenly the room was filled with Darwin's drawn-out, strained, incredibly happy moan. He came hard, shooting hot, sticky cum against Jared's belly, shaking with the intensity of his own orgasm. It felt as if he was burning up from the inside, and it made him see stars as he buckled, his knees giving out on him.

  Strong hands gripped his sides, pulled him up and slipped under his shoulder blades and his knees to carry him out of the shower stall and right to the towel hangers. His heart was pounding, his blood racing through his veins at a dizzying speed. A fluffy yellow towel was pulled from its hanger and placed on the tiled floor and he was put onto it. Jared's tanned, sharp and unusually cheery features appeared in Darwin's line of vision, grinning like a maniac.

  "Oh gee, are you alright?" Jared asked happily.

  He's so beautiful, if I could just--

  Then his memory came back. Darwin's heart skipped a beat and flooded his body with gut-wrenching panic. He reacted thoughtlessly, striking out against that face.

  The sound of the slap reverberated throughout the shower.

  "Never ever do that again, you bastard." Darwin balled his hands into fists when Jared opened his mouth to answer. "No, don't even try. Get out!" Darwin spat before Jared got in a word. He probably had just ended his existence with defying a dominant were, but he really didn't care.

  Much to his shock, Jared put a hand to his stinging cheek, smiled again, and got up to leave the shower room. He didn't even stop to dry himself off.

  Ah, right, Darwin was still sitting on Jared's towel. Oh, well.

  Darwin stayed where he was until he heard the door of the locker room fall shut. Then he scrambled to his knees and looked down at his cock with renewed dismay. Rigid like a flag pole. Great. Now I have to jerk off just because of that last smile. Every time he remembered Jared's face, his whole body throbbed with need. I'm in trouble, Darwin thought, filling the shower room once again with the sound of needy, hushed moans while his hand moved with intense, quick, jerking gestures over his cock. In so much trouble.

  Jared

  The first week flew by with lightning speed. There was so much to see, so much to do and so much to remember that Jared didn't get a chance to sit down and orientate himself. The classes were awesome but intense, there were student clubs, and of course football practice. He nearly had failed the tryouts because that Darwin guy had been right down the gym hall, dancing around in snugly fitting cycling shorts that left absolutely nothing to imagination. Jared's brain had short-circuited when their gazes had met, causing a major pile-up in the middle of their warm up training. Luckily the coach had taken a liking in Jared, mainly because he had proved to be an unbreakable wall when it came to tackling.

  Of course, nothing came more natural to a werewolf than stopping a fleeing target. Dolphins could swim, birds could fly, werewolves could tackle.

  Still, Jared couldn't banish the memory of Darwin in those damn shorts out of his head. It proved increasingly difficult to keep himself in check. For example, when he had seen the dark haired, lean, athletic boy alone in the showers, he had snapped. Well, snapped in a very sating, erotic manner, but it had also made things between him and Darwin more awkward. Jared's cheek still stung with phantom pain from the slap. On the other hand, how was he supposed to know his attentions had been unwelcome with him all but humping his leg?

  Now the weekend was coming and Jared tried to decide what he would do with two whole days of not having to run around like a headless chicken.

  He moved to sit down at the right side of the entrance steps of Statsby Hall when someone bumped into his side and sent his bag flying. Instead of scrambling after his things, he snatched the culprit's collar, ready to pummel the sweet bejesus out of them and vent some of his pent-up tension.

  "Oh, geez, I'm sorry, are you— Hey Jared! It's you!" a female voice chattered away.

  Darla. He couldn't hit her, humans didn't hit their women. Well, humans didn't normally hit anyone just because of a small body collision.

  "Hey, Darla. Are you alright?" he sighed and let her go.

  "I'm good! Sorry for the bump-in; I'm such a klutz!" she chirped, hugging her books with a happy smile. Her curly brown hair brushed her shoulders with every move of her head and her honey brown eyes sparkled. "Where are you headed to on this beautiful day?"

  Jared registered her looks with detachment. He didn't care for women. His tastes went more into the direction of men. Darwin-shaped men. Darwin, especially. He was pretty sure she was used to men swooning at her face and he suspected that his lack of swooning made her stalk him so much. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm just waiting for—"

  He stopped himself from finishing the sentence. Mustn't tell his stalker whom he fancied. Stalkers didn't cope well with stuff like that.

  "Waiting?" she replied, still cheery as hell. "Who are you waiting for? Someone special?" She gestured to the side of the steps, inviting him to sit with her where he had intended to settle down anyway.

  Jared fished for his bag and slumped down onto the step grudgingly, trying not to let his impatience show. He wrung out a smile, nodded and mumbled, "I'm waiting for a pal. Gonna hit some bars tonight." It was a white and smooth lie. In reality Jared just wanted to intercept Darwin at the entrance to their residence hall and maybe, probably, possibly, do a bit of stalking himself.

  His words didn't discourage her at all. "That's good! I was worried. You seem to be such a loner. You'd be really popular if you just tried," she said, giving him the starry eyes. Damn. "I know at least three boys who would give their right arm for a date with you."

  In the following short silence, Jared eyed her like the devil incarnate. How had she found out? He tried to remember if he had told her, but drew a blank. Finally he managed to open his mouth, but all that came out was a croaked "Wha-what?"

  Darla drew her eyebrows together. "You are gay, right?" she asked, examining his face.

  Jared dropped his face into a palm, inhaling deeply. He hadn't meant to be this obvious and it riddled him how Darla had found out— they spent minutes at most together every day and he didn't ogle anyone who wasn't Darwin. It didn't matter. At least now he knew the expression on Darla's face had nothing to do with fandom. "Yes I am," he answered hesitantly, lifting his head to smile at her apologetically. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now, so please don't try to set me up on a blind date." Half-truth. Why look if you had already decided on a partner?

  Darla giggled, patted his shoulder and grinned. "You're safe, don't fret. But if you're interested in a good place for not looking for relationships, try the Triumph. It's a gay bar about seven blocks from here. Loads of studs there, or so I've been told, and promise to take me there some day. I need a good drooling from time to time." She stood up, hugged her books tighter and shrugged loftily. "Have a nice weekend, you hear me?"

  Jared nodded, dumbfounded. That girl's brain moved way too fast for his own thoughts. Before he got in a word, she was gone, jogging to catch up to a group of girls further away.

  He stared at her retreating back, brows drawn together in thought, when something yellow and soft hit his chest and dropped into his lap. It was his towel, and right next to him stood Darwin and his friend Harry, both clutching the shoulder straps of their respective bags.

  Jared already knew Harry, another werewolf studying at BCU, and although they had gone through considerable lengths trying not to bump into each other, Jared also knew Harry was another submissive and no danger to him in any way. He was on the same gymnastics team as Darwin and they tended to stick together whenever they could. That was something he understood, werewolves abhorred loneliness and therefore tended to flock together.

  "You forgot your towel in the showers," Darwin snapped in his typical snarky voice, but he couldn't meet Jared's eyes, obviously fighting a blush.

  Jared got up, carefu
l to not stare at them so they wouldn't think he meant to threaten them. He could have stayed seated, but he wanted to be ready to follow Darwin if he tried to flee. "Why, thank you, Darwin. I was wondering where I'd left it," he drawled with a broad smile, watching Darwin's face first redden, then cloud over with anger. He loved to rattle Darwin's cage. It was easy and fun to watch.

  "Next time I'll throw it away," Darwin huffed and whirled around to stomp off, a snickering Harry following behind. And of course Jared had to follow too.

  "Leaving already? Don't you want me to thank you properly?" he asked, easily keeping up with them.

  Darwin tensed his shoulders and sped up. He was so angry that Jared expected to see smoke come from his ears any minute. "I don't want your thanks, Jared. Go away," he said, not looking back.

  "But I'm pretty good at thanking," Jared purred, catching up to Harry. He didn't try to keep his voice down, though, and soon all eyes were following them. Darwin finally had to stop. It was too obvious Jared didn't intend to quit following them.

  "Look, Jared, I need to go to work, and I need you to stop stalking me. Go fuck some chick. I don't care, just leave me be!"

  Jared nearly staggered backwards at the bubbling anger in Darwin's voice. He too hadn't tried to keep his voice down this time, and their audience was growing in numbers.

  "What, no snide remarks this time?"

  Jared just looked at him with a peaceful, neutral expression.

  Darwin whirled around again and stormed off.

  When Harry moved to follow him, Jared grabbed his shoulder and whispered, "Where does he work?" Okay, so Jared wasn't planning on listening to Darwin, so what?

  "Baneswood National Park. He's a tour guide there," Harry answered with a knowing smile. "But only for three more weekends, then the season's over." With that, he deftly shrugged off Jared's hand and jogged after Darwin.

  Jared watched them disappear. Three more weeks to prepare himself. Then Darwin would be his, for good.