Drew moaned something as he caught Sam’s mouth with his, something that might have sounded like ‘I love you’, only it was obscured by tongues and teeth. And he wanted to kiss those perfect, bitten, swollen lips forever. And he would have, except an alarm started to go off and Sam suddenly jerked away.
“Oh no.” His eyes went large and he scrambled off of Drew, casting his hand around for his phone on the nightstand.
Drew sat up quickly, to follow Sam, to stop him from doing whatever he was trying to do. “It’s your phone alarm. Just turn it off.”
Sam stared at his phone, turned off the alarm, but then climbed out of bed and started searching around for his clothes. “I have to go.”
“What? No! No, you don’t!” If he weren’t so utterly dumbfounded, Drew might’ve laughed at the tone of his own voice. He sounded desperate. “We were just—”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, tugging his t-shirt on over his head. Actually, it was Drew’s t-shirt, but that hardly mattered now. “But I have to go. I completely forgot something I have to do tonight.”
Drew gave him the most dumbfounded look imaginable, then he turned to look at the bedside clock. “You have a thing to do at 11:30 at night? Really?”
“It’s for my parents.” Sam said, like that explained everything, zipping up his jeans even though he was still half hard. “It’s really important though, so I have to go."
“Incredible,” Drew deadpanned. I’m in love with a fucking kid.
Sam sat on the bed, pulling his shoes on haphazardly, turning back to face Drew before he rose. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Drew just nodded, still in utter disbelief at the abrupt change in their evening agenda, sitting still as Sam ghosted a kiss across his lips.
“Do you need me to drive you?”
“No,” Sam shook his head as he went for the door. “I can walk.” He felt sick, burdened by his secrets, worn down by his curse. He would give anything to lay the truth out for Drew, to bare his soul to this man. Drew already knew him so intimately, Sam couldn't fathom his lover rejecting him for something he couldn't help. But he thought of his family and of what their secret meant to them. He couldn't put their lives in danger just because he was in love. But he was in love. Damn everything to hell, he was completely, madly in love. That wasn't supposed to happen, and especially not with someone like Drew.
Sam pocketed his phone and looked back to Drew before leaving. The older man gave him one last, longing look. Sam just shook his head and then turned away, voice muffled as he shut the door behind him, “I love you.”
Drew strained to hear the front door close behind Sam and he sunk back further into bed. Eyes fixed squarely on the ceiling fan, he briefly considered getting up to turn it off, but it would mean leaving the comfort of the bed and the secure scent of Sam which still lingered there. Instead, he closed his eyes and willed his hard on to go away so he could get some sleep. And he savored the last words Sam had uttered as he left. 'He loves me. Ha!'
Outside the bedroom window, the full moon cast a bright yellow glow over Rockfort, and for a split second, just before he fell asleep, Drew was almost certain he heard the mournful cry of a wolf.
Chapter 4
Wolf
Drew awoke from his dream disoriented and confused, half-way aroused by his imagination and half-way convinced he’d actually heard something howling outside of his window. He took his time sitting up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he tried to remember where he was and what he’d been doing before passing out. His eyes landed first on the television and the hardcore sex scene still playing out before his attention turned to the bedside table where Sam's cell phone was lighting up again.
“Damn it, Sam,” he sighed as he reached for the phone, not mad so much as annoyed at being woken up. He frowned, seeing the name on the caller ID: Cassius Michaels.
What the hell did he want at this god forsaken hour? Drew was a split second away from taking the call when the ringing and vibrating stopped. Michaels had hung up. Drew gave a shrug and dropped the phone on the bed beside him. He wouldn’t worry about it too much. Sam would get back to him in the morning, once his monthly change was over.
* * *
The streets were like a maze in the dark, veiled by the mist off the water which enveloped all of Blanca in a thick, smothering curtain. Cassius had been wandering for hours, searching for a familiar building, a landmark, another pedestrian, anything to help him find his way out of the night and into some comfort. He was on edge and starting to feel spooked. His feelings of terror were only intensified by the full, silvery moon which peeked out from behind the thick clouds every so often. It gave the city a haunted look, and it being November, it was deceptively cool. Not cold, but the temperature seemed to have dropped a good ten degrees over the last hour and the whole city took on an icy appearance. Cassius decided he hated it. He just wanted to go home.
After happening upon a park bench near a readable street sign, he decided to try Sam’s phone one last time. He dialed the number, looking around cautiously as he waited for an answer.
As the phone rang, he thought he heard something rustling in the shrubbery behind him, but when he turned to look back, there was nothing there at all. His ears were playing tricks on him, he was sure of it. And so was Sam, that dirty little bastard. Cassius hung up as soon as the call went to voicemail again. As he did, his phone cheerfully informed him that he had 5% battery life remaining—enough to make one more call.
That settled it then. He needed to get home, and there was only one person he trusted who could rouse Sam and get him to give him directions to the hotel.
He had to call Drew.
* * *
Drew switched off the lights and TV and was settling back into bed when his own phone started ringing. Brows knitting, he stared at it for a moment before answering, suspicion in his voice, “Yes?”
“Drew! Oh, thank God! It’s me, Cassius!”
“Yes, I know that. What do you want?”
“Is Sam there? I need him and he’s not answering his phone!” The kid sounded so hopeful, so needy, Drew didn’t have it in him to be annoyed with him.
“He’s not feeling well.” Drew answered automatically, glancing over at the empty bed across the room from his. On it, Sam’s pajamas were still laid out neatly, folded up in tidy piles, waiting for Sam to return for them. It was an odd ritual between them on nights like these. In the nine or so months since Drew had been made aware of Sam's condition, their little system worked out fine. No one ever noticed, no one ever said a word. And no one had ever called Drew looking for Sam during that time, either.
“No! No, no! I need his help, Drew! You gotta wake him up for me! Please!”
Drew frowned, wasting the glorious expression on the non-present Cassius. “Look, did you need something? Is this something I can help you with?”
“Only if you can give me directions back to the hotel! I’m lost! And I have no idea where Jonas went!” Cassius sounded desperate, so helpless it was almost laughable. He might have laughed at him, if he were a cruel person at heart. Drew just sighed.
“Tell me where you are and I’ll come to get you. Just, relax. You’re fine. You’re in Blanca, kid. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Cassius’s pout was somehow audible, as was the heightened anxiety in his voice. “You’re joking now, but I swear, I think I’m being followed!”
“Oh, please.”
“I’m serious, Drew! My phone is dying and I swear there is something out there in the mist!”
“It's probably a rat or something, calm down. Now tell me where you are and I’ll come to get you.”
“But how will you even find me?”
“I can look up directions. Just chill. Now, where are you?”
Cassius at last sputtered out his thanks, along with the names of the cross streets near his bench. Drew instructed him in no uncertain terms to stay right where he was, he’d be there to get him in fifteen, tw
enty minutes tops. Pulling on a hoodie, Drew shoved his phone into his jeans pockets and took off into the night.
* * *
As he hung up the phone, Cassius noted that the rustling in the bushes seemed to grow louder. He turned and stared at the shrubs, spying nothing at first—but then he saw the outline of a figure. It was small and fuzzy, with a long, slender tail.
“Oh man, just a rat,” he sighed, laughing at Drew’s prediction, a bit loud from his drunkenness and his fright. “Scram, buddy! I don’t have any cheese.”
The rodent scurried out of its hiding spot and started to cross the cobblestone side street. Cassius watched it for a moment, sinking back against the hard wood of the park bench. With Drew en route, he could at least relax a little. He let his eyes close for just a moment and let the cool evening fog surround him. It wasn’t so bad, really, once he let himself accept it. The fog was refreshing. When he breathed it in, he almost felt brand new.
That’s when he heard it. It was a scraping noise, low, dull, almost imperceptible. Like soft claws on cement or stone. A rat’s claws? No, it couldn’t be. No rat was that noisy. Cassius opened his eyes, spotting the rat sniffing around on the street a few yards from him. It didn’t seem alarmed, so he figured that perhaps the rat had a larger friend somewhere in the mist.
The growl a moment later only confirmed his suspicions.
He sat up straight, looking around quickly but seeing nothing in the thick mist. But he’d heard something, there was absolutely no doubt about it. This time, when he looked for the rat, it was gone. That was definitely not a good sign.
“Fuck…” he whispered, slowly rising to his feet. The precise moment he did so, a shape cut through the mist. It wasn’t a rat, unless rats were able to stand over three feet high at the shoulder and had thick, bushy black coats and pearly white teeth which were the very definition of fangs. No, he was not staring down at a rat at all. He was face to face with a very large, very angry dog.
“Nice doggie! Hi! It’s okay! Hey there, poochie! Hello!”
The animal snarled at him, baring its razor-sharp teeth, saliva spilling from its jaws in thick foam which contrasted with its impressive black fur. As he looked it over, he couldn’t help but notice the massive paws, almost the size of his own hands, as well as the bright green eyes reflecting the silver of the moon.
The more he stared at it, the more it began to sink in that this was no family pet let off its leash. This was a wolf. And this wolf was clearly out of its mind with rage as it stalked toward him. He stumbled back, trying to escape, leaving the bench behind so he could get toward the nearest building for safety.
“Easy, easy! I won’t hurt you, I swear! Good boy!” His gentle pleas went unheeded as the canine let out a sharp, throaty howl. Ears laid back, the animal took on a stance which Cassius recognized as meaning it was about to attack. “Oh God!” He cried, and in that instant, the creature leapt at him and went straight for his throat.
Now, Cassius was a big man, and he was well aware of his physical prowess and of how to manipulate his own body. But he was used to facing down men, not beasts, and this delayed his reaction time by a vital second or two. The wolf took hold of him by the windpipe and brought him down quickly. Cassius was impressed. He knew wolves were powerful, but damn. He began to slip, to lose his focus as the creature clamped its jaws around his neck and wrestled him to the ground. His head hit the cobblestones with a sickening thud and he blinked, stunned and unable to coordinate himself.
The next to last thing he recalled before he lost consciousness was a second pair of paws, the hideous sounds of animal screams, fur and blood literally flying every which way, and the rotten stench of blood coating his nose and lips and face.
Then, after a long, eternity of silence, Cassius felt something rough, yet tender on his face. A tongue. Something was licking him. He forced his eyes open, finding it next to impossible to focus, but just before he faded out again, he saw that the animal eyes which met his were amber. What an odd color, he would have thought, if he could actually think straight. He'd seen amber eyes before, but never on a canine. If he could think clearly, he might have been able to place those eyes and why they seemed so familiar. But everything hurt. He couldn't think. He could barely even breathe anymore.
“Nice puppy,” Cassius coughed weakly as his eyes rolled shut. “Atta…boy...” His breathing changed, became shallower and less effective, and either he'd become used to the smell of blood or he'd somehow lost his ability to smell anything as a result of the attack. He'd dwell on it later, if he made it out alive. The second wolf didn't react to the pained noises Cassius made from the ground. It only stayed there beside him, and waited.
Chapter 5
Savior Drew
Drew hadn’t been too worried about Cassius until he approached the intersection where he said he would be. For some reason, the fog from the harbor seemed excessively thick in that neighborhood, more so than in the rest of Blanca, and it suddenly made sense that Cassius had become hopelessly lost in the fog. Still, there was no need for concern. Or at least there wasn’t until he got close enough to hear the sickening animal sounds emanating from the mist.
“What the—”
Drew stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide in horror as he saw the outline of a lifeless man on the ground, blood dripping from wounds on his head and neck. Looming over him was a figure most dreadful; large, lean, hungry, with white and brown fur splattered with blood and ivory colored fangs, its hideous mouth lowered dangerously over the man’s face.
That’s Cassius on the ground! That wolf—that monster is about to eat Cassius!
Drew gasped at the sight as instinct kicked in. He sprinted ahead without thinking, letting out a most savage and desperate scream as he prepared to kick the shit out of the animal. He ran towards them at full speed, teeth clenched, fear coursing through him when the wolf did something which made him stop. It looked away from Cassius and looked straight up at Drew, amber eyes suddenly illuminated in the moonlight which cut down through the fog, and as it did, it lowered its ears and let out a soft, pleading whimper as it stepped backwards in retreat.
The animal, which by the looks of him could easily have ripped Drew’s muscles from his bones, seemed so docile, so submissive, so absolutely puppyish, that the man felt immediately at ease. And not only that, but Drew realized in that very instant, that he knew the creature and that he and Cassius had no reason to be afraid.
Ignoring the possibility of further danger, Drew dropped to his knees beside the still unconscious Cassius and began checking out his injuries. A gash on the head, hit hard enough to knock him out, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Most distressing were the injuries to his throat. Cassius was still breathing, but his neck was bleeding profusely. Even in the pale light of the moon, Drew could see the tears and punctures which indicated animal bites.
“Oh shit,” he hissed, real fear setting in again. He tore off his sweatshirt, to try to apply some pressure to the still bleeding wound with one hand while fumbling with his phone to call for an ambulance with the other.
There would be a few minutes before emergency services arrived. Drew intended to use that time to interrogate the wolf.
“Did you do this?” He asked, jaw set as he stared at the wolf. It gave no answer besides a sharp sniff as it paced around restlessly. “I know. I know you wouldn’t. But someone did this. Look at him!”
From the ground, Cassius began to stir. His eyes fluttered a bit, head lulling to the side. The man’s eyes went wide with panic as he shushed his teammate, urging him to relax.
“It’s okay, Cass, it’s okay. It’s me, it’s Drew. An ambulance is coming.”
“D-Drew?” Cassius tried to say more, but his throat hurt and it felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine. Just close your eyes and relax, man.”
Cassius wanted to tell Drew that the way he said it made him think that maybe he was actually dyin
g but he didn’t have the energy or the blood supply to say very much of anything at all. So instead he gurgled quietly and tried to nod. “Don’t hurt it.”
Drew’s brows furrowed and he tried to wipe some of the blood from the other man’s face. “Don’t hurt what?”
“The w-wolf,” he said. “It…saved me.” Cassius closed his eyes again, too tired and in need of treatment to keep up the conversation.
Drew exhaled sharply and held him close to his chest as he looked over at the wolf. It looked back at him, and Drew could almost swear he and the creature shared a moment of understanding between them. But that it was impossible, not now, not in this form. He’d looked into those eyes so many times, had seen all manner of emotion reflected in them. Gazing into those familiar eyes now and seeing only a ghost of recognition there made his stomach churn. Drew wanted to scream out loud. He almost wanted to cry.
Instead he just shook his head and whispered, his voice and heart aching, “Sam.”
The wolf didn’t react, didn’t move. It just stood there, glossy brown and white fur speckled with both the blood of Cassius and the blood of the other wolf, haunted eyes locked with Drew’s. Then suddenly it’s ears pricked up and it cocked it’s head to listen to the approaching sound of sirens piercing through the night. Drew turned to look too, cradling Cassius close, ready to protect his friend in case animal instinct kicked in and the wolf decided to finish the job. As he did, though, he immediately felt regret and remorse stabbing at his chest.
Howl At The Moon: MM Shifter Romance Page 3
