Wolves At The Door

by Girl, Breukelen

  After all, Thane had hit his brother. Twice. Not that Thane didn’t think it was justified. He’d never hit a woman, ever. And Booker should have had more awareness than that, to throw the punch at Bg. He was an alpha lycan for god sakes, he had more abilities than Hooper did.

  Thane circled around the clearing, sniffing at the shrubbery and air around it. But there was no scent of Hooper there. It was possible he wasn’t there at all, after all, Thane was only guessing his most logical action would be to revert to his tribal form and run. It was also possible that Hooper had chosen to do just that, but at another park land.

  However, Thane wasn’t that familiar with the Bronx layout yet that he knew the other park lands around or where Hooper would go for his run, if he had chosen to do just that. He needed to find Hooper and make sure he was alright, that they were alright. Because the idea of not mating with him was just about enough to kill him.

  A small part of Thane’s brain remembered its conversation with his own brother earlier that morning. “You get obsessive about you’re intended.” He knew right then he was giving in to that side of himself again. But it was Hooper and he couldn’t think of anything in the world that made sense for him not to go after the distressed lycan.

  Thane stripped out of his clothing, folded it up into a small neat pile and found a hiding spot under some shrubbery for it. Covering it with leaves as well. He knelt down on his knees, his feet turned back into the dirt underneath him, turning his face up to the moonlight. Closing his eyes he stayed in silent admiration of the moon as she bore down her light onto him and it called to the werewolf within.

  Thane welcomed the rise of the werewolf in him, and felt the shift take him over from one being to another. The sooner he shape shifted, the quicker he could find Hooper Parish. In his tribal wolf form his sense of scent and his ability for speed, were far greater than that he had in his human form, even during lunar week.

  His back bowed and his chest arched, and he lent forward, landing on his hands. Finger nails digging into the soft earth as finger nails elongated till claws emerged. His legs pushed back into the earth, digging in as his muscles changed and his tendons snapped, to realign with the werewolf that needed to come out of him.

  Thane shouted out in pain as his abdomen contracted and his muscles moved, letting him know he was merely the rider in this body, not the owner. It was a slightly rougher shape shift than normal, as Thane couldn’t quite clear Hooper out of his head to allow his werewolf free access to all of him.

  Emotions played a part in a smooth and fast, or long and hard shape shift, normally that wasn’t much of a problem for Thane. Because normally he wasn’t involved with someone. Not like he was with Hooper.

  But it still didn’t take long before a large black wolf pushed off the ground and shook himself quickly. Thoughts of the lycan Hooper Parish still on his mind. Thane sniffed around the ground. He had to find the lycan. Couldn’t allow any other male wolf to get to him, not tonight, not tomorrow night, not ever.

  Thane began to run through the woods of the park. Hunting for his prey, hunting for Hooper Parish.

  29

  Thane walked down the corridor towards the end of the hallway, looking at both apartment doors and lingering his gaze on the door to the right of him. He automatically reached for the door handle and turned it. It was locked. A piss weak lock wasn’t going to stand between him and his wolf. Thane turned his body side on and gave it a shove. Breaking the lock open.

  He could always apologize to Hooper later and get the damn door fixed. Right now, he’d just settle for seeing Hooper again. His run in the Bronx Park had proved useless. He’d shape shifted, run and came across several lycans and other wolves. But none of them had been Hooper and he hadn’t been interested in mounting any of them. He’d searched the majority of the parkland until he was satisfied that Hooper was nowhere to be found in it. He hadn’t been able to pick up any trace of his scent at all.

  Running in his werewolf form usually made Thane feel rather content and at ease when he came out of the shape shift again. But not this time. He’d shifted back fast and gotten dressed and made his way back to the apartment building with one thought on his mind. Hooper.

  It been hours since the club and the moon was high in the night sky, given Hooper seemed to be so easily affected on a lunar night, it was likely he’d have to shape shift. And the thought that he’d go get his ass fucked out of spite, by another wolf was playing on Thane’s mind. His next stop after his apartment was to try that damn bar he’d been to the other night. The one with all the lycans.

  If came down to finding Hooper there, Thane already knew exactly how that would go down. He closed the door as best it could, given it now didn’t line up properly in the door frame and he looked around the silent apartment. It smelled like Hooper, it smelt of food, dishes, and unlaundered clothing. The living room was vacant so Thane headed straight for the bedroom.

  Hooper’s bedroom door was open and Thane’s eyes already adjusted to the dimness of the unlit apartment peered into the room. There in the bed, laying on his front, over to the left side, was Hooper Parish. Thane felt a small wave of relief rush over him, Hooper was safe and more importantly, he was alone in bed.

  Thane watched him from the doorway, as he slept and twitched. Mumbling something in his sleep. A frown appearing on his forehead. Thane walked over to him quietly and stood beside the bed, listening to the small noises from Hooper. He sounded distressed, like he was caught in a nightmare.

  The thought of Hooper having nightmares, something Thane couldn’t control or take away disturbed Thane. He reached for Hooper’s arm that hung out of the bed. Picking up his hand, he held it and sat down beside the dresser drawer on the floor.

  “It’s okay Elie, you’re safe now love, I’m here.” Thane said softly stroking his thumb over Hooper’s hand as he held it and closed his eyes. Thane sighed and closed his eyes, “You’re safe. I got you.”

  30

  Hooper dreamed of wolves, lots of werewolves, and teeth that tore at him, buried into his skin and tore him apart. Blood that ran down the gutter with the rain water, like it was nothing and should not be there in the street. Pain racked his muscles and he felt broken into pieces as life went on around him.

  Laughter and howling and stomping feet, water splashing loudly. Where was his brother? Where was Benico? He tried to open his mouth and call out. But he didn’t know how. Couldn’t make his mouth work. There was so much pain. Large claws pressed on his chest, pushing him into the road, like they wanted to bury him in the gravel and bitumen.

  Elie, you’re safe now.

  He knew those words. That name. It was meant for him. But it was not Benico leaning over him, looking into his eyes, blocking out the street light, saying it to him.

  He couldn’t see the person that was saying that to him. They kept saying it, it was like a whisper on the night air. Elie your safe now. A promise that he was safe and that these werewolves, snarling teeth that where sinking into his throat, couldn’t really rip him apart.

  Elie, you’re safe now.

  There was one person who called him that name. Hooper tried to remember, tried to see past the street light that was blocking out the face over the top of him, looking down on him.

  Hooper Parish jerked awake, kicking at his bed sheets and finding himself attached to another person.

  “Fuck!” Hooper called out scrambling across his bed quickly as Thane too woke alert and jumped up to a crouch. His silky black hair falling in front of his face, hiding it. Thane let out a breath and flicked his hair back.

  “Hooper, it’s me. Thane. It’s Thane.” Was all Thane could think to say as Hooper stared back at him bewildered and wide eyed and half awake. He must’ve dozed off too. Shit, he hadn’t meant to.

  “What? What the fuck man!” Hooper yelled at him, wiping at his face clearing his eyes. He’d fallen asleep crying and his eyes were crusty as a result. He knew he looked like shit with puffy eyes.


  “I only meant to watch over you. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. You bolted out of the club before I could find you.” Thane started talking quickly.

  “How the fuck did you get in here? I locked the fucking door because of you.” Hooper growled back at him angrily.

  Thane’s eyes widened in surprise. Okay, that wasn’t good to hear. “I uh, got around it, I’m going to have to fix it for you in the morning.” Thane replied as honestly as he could. “I was worried about you. I know tonight was a weird ass night and that you must be feeling, well,” Thane paused straightening up till he was standing again. “You must be feeling all kind of things, and none of it particularly good.” Thane continued on. “I just didn’t want you to be alone, going through it.”

  Hooper snorted and shook his head. “That why you beat my brother up?”

  Thane sighed and bowed his head, clasping his hands together. “No, that was, unexpected. I didn’t even realize I’d done it until afterwards, when I had a moment to stand back and realize the situation had gotten out of hand. Till I looked for you.”

  Hooper’s chest rose and fell heavily, as he breathed loudly. “I guess, some part of me can understand you’re reaction. He shouldn’t have hit her. I mean, if it were my sister, I’d probably do the same damn thing.”

  Thane moved closer to the bed and sat on the edge of it looking back at Hooper. “I was mostly just worried about you.” Thane said back at him.

  “So you thought you’d make sure I was safe by breaking into my place while I slept?” Hooper muttered back at him.

  “Uh yeah, you weren’t answering your phone.”

  “Because I didn’t want to talk to anyone.” Hooper replied.

  “I couldn’t track you down and I had to know that you were okay.” Thane went on.

  “Oh my god, stalk much?” Hooper said sitting up on the far side of the bed and settling the sheets around himself, so he was covered from the waist down.

  “It’s my alpha side, during lunar week, it gets kind of,”

  “Dominant.” Hooper interjected.

  “Yes. I didn’t mean to scare you Elie, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Because it looked to me that you got a lot of information back at that club, that you weren’t expecting. I just want to be here for you.”

  Hooper ran his hands over his face, waking up more, he hadn’t been asleep all that long. “I wasn’t answering my phone because I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I di didn’t want to be there, I just wanted to get away from all of it. All of you.” Thane held the look Hooper threw at him as he got his point across with just his eyes. They looked confused and sad.

  “Elie, I’m sorry. Truly I am.” Thane replied quickly feeling like a piece of shit for being part of Hooper’s unhappiness. That was the last thing he wanted from his encounter with the lycan. Far, far from what he wanted. “I realize that probably sounds contrite.”

  “You think?” Hooper fired off full of sarcasm. “I ran out of there not only because the guy I’ve been sharing a bed with for these past few days and more of myself than anyone else in the past seventeen years of becoming a lycan, was beating up my one and only family,”

  “Hooper,”

  Hooper arched a questioning eyebrow back at him. “But also because of what Booker did. Holding that information, secret from me for all this time. Letting me think, that all these years, those that had attacked us, did this to me, to him, were still out there!” Thane remained quiet, letting Hooper talk it out. He needed to and it was the least he could do for the lycan.

  “He lied to me, all this time. He knew they were dead, and he never said anything to me. And I never suspected, I never had reason to.” Hooper’s voice suddenly sounded small and weak and made Thane want to reach out and hold him. Pull him into his body and shelter him from the world they lived in.

  But Thane was fearful if he tried, Hooper would simply reject him in anger, not that he could blame him. “And so I ran okay? I fucking ran. I needed to run as myself.”

  “I went to the park looking for you.” Thane said as Hooper’s face softened.

  “I wasn’t looking for an anonymous fuck. I need to run to let it all out, so I went to Phelam Bay park instead. Shifted and ran there.” Hooper answered him.

  Thane frowned in thought. “How’d you shift back?”

  Hooper wasn’t an alpha wolf, and therefore would lack the ability to pull himself out of a shape shift, at any time, like an Alpha wolf could. Which meant he had to have had help from another wolf.

  The thought of Hooper naked and with another wolf, made Thane angry, but he reigned in his mood. Now was not the time to go off at Hooper, not if he hoped to patch things back up with the young wolf.

  “My shift wouldn’t hold.” Hooper replied. “I shape shifted and ran for about forty minutes, then the shift just pushed me back out. Fucking annoying as all hell. I found myself on the far side of Phelam Bay park, stark naked and freezing cold and having to get back to where I’d came from. It’s never happened before. I don’t know what happened.”

  “Emotions play a part with us, they can trigger shifts or hamper them. Usually a shape shift, has a set period of time to run it’s course. The wolf in us knows just how long to let it go, and then transitions back, accordingly. Stress and anger, often make shape shifting harder and more unpredictable.”

  “Then I came back here, tired and fell asleep only to wake up to find you scaring the shit out of me in my room.”

  “You were having a nightmare.” Thane said softly. “At least, it sounded like you were distressed. I wanted to get in there, to help you, to stop you from being in that state. But I can’t, at least, I don’t think I can. I’ve never tried. My sister however, she uh, she might be able to teach me a trick or two about the dreamscape. So I just sat here, held you’re hand and told you, that you were safe, and I guess I fell asleep too.”

  “That was you.” Hooper said in a whisper, looking back at Thane wide eyed in wonder. “You were there,”

  “Where? In the nightmare?” Thane frowned. Hoping he wasn’t going to find out he was the cause of Hooper’s internal distress.

  Hooper leant forward and moved slowly, crawling towards him. Thane watched silent, as the bed sheet dropped away and Hooper moved on hands and knees towards him. “You were the one who kept telling me I was safe. I heard you’re voice when they were attacking me.” Hooper lowered himself down, till his head was in Thane’s lap.

  Thane felt his chest clutch tightly as he began to stroke Hooper’s hair. “You were there, looking over me.”

  “In the dream?” Thane asked.

  Hooper nodded his head, and instantly felt the stiffness of Thane’s package in his jeans against his face. Hooper closed his eyes, sighed and rubbed his face against Thane’s contained erection, that was becoming harder by the second, with the more loving attention Hooper paid to it, with the side of his face.

  31

  Thane didn’t know what to do. Hooper was feeling vulnerable and he didn’t want to take advantage of him. So he just sat there, letting Hooper take what he needed. Rubbing his face, outlining Thane’s erection in the jeans with his hands.

  There was no need for words, because they were both all spoken out. Emotions were running high and Hooper was seemingly, content again, as he lay against Thane. He was in control again, Thane thought to himself. Until Hooper started mouthing the outline of his erection in his jeans, against the material.

  Thane shuddered with pleasure and shifted with pain at having his cock so contained in a tight confined space. He wanted to rip the damn coarse material off himself so he could feel Hooper against him.

  “I should probably let you get some sleep.” Thane found himself saying as he was unable to take the discomfort anymore and began to slowly move away from Hooper. It pained him on another level to move away from Hooper. It would be so easy to take care of him. To take him his werewolf brain told him.

  Hands reached for him and he paused. Hooper
looked at him. “Stay. Chase the bad away from me.” He replied softly.

  There was no need to think twice about the request, Thane hadn’t really wanted to go to begin with. What he wanted was right there before him on the bed. Thane stood and began to undo his shirt. Hooper knelt up on the bed before him and took over the unbuttoning in silence as Thane hands dropped off his own clothing.

  Thane ran his hand through Hooper’s hair. “Elie, you’re not bad, you know that right?” Thane asked slipping a hand under his chin and making Hooper met his gaze.

  “If you say so.”

  “I want you to say so. To know so.” Thane replied holding Hooper’s chin in his hand and bending down to kiss his mouth hard. Hooper moaned without restraint as Thane’s tongue demanded its entrance into him and stroked his own tongue with pleasure untold.

  Thane tore his mouth away from Hooper’s. “Being attacked, becoming a lycan, that was in no way you’re fault. There are werewolves who disobey pack laws, who lack control and get out of control. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, circumstances outside you’re control happened. You never asked for this. If you had thought being a werewolf was all Hollywood glamour and romance and had deliberately gotten yourself bitten, I wouldn’t be so easy on you. Things happen to us, not all of them good.”

  “I know all that.” Hooper whispered back at him. “But doesn’t feel like it.”

  “You’re searching for a reason where this is none, Elie. Those werewolves, deserved whatever they had coming to them. You’re not responsible for that either. Booker knows right from wrong, he’s an adult. He knew there were other options available to him to dealing with your attackers. Don’t let his actions guilt you into regret.”