Three Wild Werewolf Tales
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Authors: Calandra Hunter
Three Wild Werewolf Tales
by Calandra Hunter
Copy right 2014 Calandra Hunter
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deal, is purely coincidental.
~*~
Night with the Werewolf
by Calandra Hunter
Copy right 2013 Calandra Hunter
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deal, is purely coincidental.
~*~
Sean looked at his watch, then his GPS, and then the sky. The sun was definitely close to setting, and he still didn’t seem to be anywhere near the lodge he was meant to be sleeping in tonight. A weeklong hiking trip had seemed like a great idea three months ago when he had made the arrangements with his then-boyfriend Charlie, but then a few weeks later Sean had found Charlie getting way too close and comfortable with one of the members of the basketball team and after a lot of shouting, they had split up.
And now Sean was here, by himself, in the mountains, surrounded by the forest. Going by himself had seemed like a good idea at the time too. Get away from everyone and everything, be one with nature, take some time to think and return to college in the fall refreshed and ready to take on his final year.
He grunted, shifted his backpack into a more comfortable position on his back, and went back to walking. He was on one of the wider roads of the trail, and when he heard the rumbling of a car in front of him, he looked up.
“Hey, wait!” Sean shouted, waving his arms at whoever was in the Jeep. Maybe they’d know how far away he was from the next lodge.
The Jeep was driven by an older man in his late thirties or early forties, with a bit of grey at the temples, his unruly hair otherwise dark and slightly curly. He looked down at Sean, frowning slightly. “You need a ride, kid?”
“No,” Sean said, putting on a friendly smile and brushing his slightly too long blond hair out of his face. “I was just wondering if you know where the next lodge is.” When the other man still looked confused, Sean continued, “you know, for the hiking trail?”
“Oh, that one,” the man nodded, then scratched his short beard, which was peppered with silver. “That’s about three more miles.” He gave Sean an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“That’s all right,” Sean replied, admiring the man’s tight blue t-shirt and the way they emphasised his biceps. If there was one thing college was sadly lacking in, it was rugged, older guys who loved the outdoors. “Thanks anyway, sir.”
“You wanna hurry, though, there’s plenty of wolves and wild animals around here at night,” the man warned him.
Sean shrugged. He had done a hiking trail in this area before and had been fine. He knew wolves tended to stay away from humans, and he still had time to get to the next lodge. With some luck, he could cover the three miles in an hour, maybe two. “Thanks for the warning, sir, but I’m sure I’ll be all right.”
The man grunted. “Can’t believe they let you do this trail on your own.” He looked Sean up and down. “Far too dangerous.”
It rankled a little, the way this man assumed Sean was going to get himself in danger, but Sean rather liked the way those dark eyes looked at him appraisingly. “I’ll be fine, sir, best be on my way. Thanks again.”
“Stay safe,” the man called out as Sean started walking.
Sean was left to his thoughts as the Jeep drove off. The trail, from the research he had done, wasn’t that dangerous. While not recommended for the complete beginner, he hadn’t read or spotted any parts of the trail in particular that should give him trouble. Maybe Jeepguy simply assumed all tourists who came here were useless at hiking.
Determined to make it to the next lodge before it was completely dark, Sean continued his way.
~*~
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck.
It was three hours later, and he must’ve taken the wrong path somewhere. The GPS told him it was still two miles to the next lodge, even though Sean had been sure he had been on the right track. It must’ve been that fork about a mile back. Should’ve taken the left rather than the right.
He looked up, grateful that the sky was clear and the moon was full. At least he had plenty of light to guide his way.
In the distance, he heard wolves howling, and shivered. He reminded himself once again that packs stayed away from people and lodges and busy hiking trails, and this particular trail had been busy enough during the day. Apart from Jeepguy, Sean had run into a few couples and a group of five friends.
Those people were probably happily resting in one of the lodges along the trail by now.
He used his flashlight to keep an eye on the path and his GPS closely, relieved that he was definitely headed in the right direction this time. His heart was pounding as there was another howl.
Just because it was closer, he assured himself, didn’t mean a wolf was about to attack him.
Even if the rustling in the bushes was getting worrying.
He glanced around using his flashlight. At least the ground was mostly flat here, so if he needed to run, he could. And some of the trees looked like he could climb them pretty fast. Not ideal, though. His GPS told him he was still at least 1,5 miles away from the next lodge.
Time to walk faster.
About a hundred yards down the path, Sean froze when a large shadow jumped in front of him. It snarled, and Sean took a few steps back. It was a wolf, and a damn big one. His heart was racing now, and he walked back some more. He knew he should make himself look bigger and shout in an attempt to scare the wolf off, but knowing what he was supposed to do was one thing, doing it was another.
The wolf took some steps towards him, its eyes completely focused on Sean.
He gulped, waved his arms up and down and stood up straight. “Go away, bad wolf!” he shouted, feeling like a complete idiot.
The wolf stood still, and tilted its head, looking confused but not intimidated at all. After a few moments, it snapped at him.
So much for showing dominance. Maybe it was after the food in his backpack. Slowly, Sean started undoing the straps. Better his backpack than him. “It’s all right,” he said. “Just give me a moment, you can have my yummy sandwiches all to yourself.”
The wolf snarled again, its sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight, and despite the fact that Sean knew that running from a dog and therefore a wolf only made him a target, he turned and ran off the path and into the woods. His fight or flight response had opted for flight. Find a tree. Find a fucking tree to climb. Wolves couldn’t climb. Or, well, they weren’t very good at climbing which made them likely to give up if he could find a good tree.
He heard the wolf behind him and Sean ran faster, jumping over a fallen log in his haste to get to a tree with a low enough branch so he could pull himself to safety. His backpack was loose, but he couldn’t remove it now, that would only slow him down. And fuck, if there was one wolf around, there had to be more, the rest of its pack had to be around.
Sean almost wanted to laugh when he saw another wolf appear from the shadows in front of him, bigger than the one after him. He stopped running, and heard the snarls and growls behind him, and the wolf in front of him stepped closer, snarling as well.
Fuck, he had been herded into a trap. He looked around, desperately looking for a way out. The nearest tree with a low branch was still twenty feet away. The wolf behind him was closer, and the bigger wolf in front was gaining ground fast. He did the only thing he could think of, and quickly pulled off his backpack and threw it on the ground a few feet away from him.
Neither of the wolves seemed impressed or interested in the backpack. Sean took a careful step towards the nearby tree, and the wolf behind him growled. He turned his head, and the wolf snarled before leaping at him.
He ran towards the tree, expecting teeth to sink down into his flesh any minute, expecting the wolf to simply tackle him down, its weight heavy on top of him, but there was none of that. Instead, the bigger wolf leaped forward as well, but instead of coming for Sean, it came for the other wolf.
As he reached the tree, he heard the two wolves growl at each other, and Sean was relieved the two had decided to get into a fight. It was the perfect distraction and without his backpack he was quickly able to pull himself up, relieved the branch held his weight. He climbed higher before he risked looking down.
The two wolves were circling each other, the smaller one snarling while the bigger one growled. When the smaller one bared its teeth, the bigger one snapped at it quickly, going for the smaller wolf’s shoulder. The noises sent a shiver down Sean’s spine, his heart racing.
Sean watched as the smaller wolf’s growls became quieter and its ears flattened against its head. It was obvious which of the two wolves was the dominant one, and after another snarl from the bigger wolf, the other wolf ran off into the darkness.
He didn’t let out a sigh of relief yet, because there was still one wolf way too close. It briefly pawed at Sean’s backpack before moving over to the tree and sitting down underneath it.
Sean stared down. “Go for the fucking sandwiches!” he yelled, pointing at his backpack. “They taste better than I do and they’’re easier to grab!” He wasn’t coming down from this tree. If necessary, he would sit here all night.
The wolf briefly turned its head to look at the backpack before looking back up at Sean.
And then it was very fortunate that Sean was clinging to the trunk of the tree, because as he watched, the wolf transformed into a man.
It was a slow transformation, and at first Sean thought the wolf had a seizure or a fit of sorts, the movements were that strange, but then he noticed the changing limbs and the fur turning into skin and a snout becoming a nose and a mouth. A mouth that curled into a smile when the transformation was complete. “You can come down now,” the man said.
Sean kept clinging to the tree. “No thanks,” he said, his voice shaking. It was the same guy from the Jeep, although his beard now looked longer and fuller along with the rest of his hair. Jeepguy was also completely naked. While Sean usually appreciated ruggedly handsome naked men asking him to come closer, in this case he decided it was best to stay at a safe distance. Well, sort of safe.
The man glared up at him. “You wanna spend the night in a tree, fine, but you’re not gonna survive without my help, kid.”
Sean remained quiet, watching the other man closely. His hands seemed to end in long, sharp nails, and there was a yellow glint to his eyes. “What the fuck even are you?”
“Seriously?” the man yelled. “Get down here, now, before I decide to leave you alone to let you die.”
He found himself slowly climbing down the tree. Whoever Jeepguy was, he had just scared off a wolf. Sean landed on the ground with a soft thud. The other man stood only a few feet away from him, and yes, his hair was longer and wilder than it had been that afternoon, and his eyes were a golden yellow. Maybe climbing down hadn’t been such a great idea after all.
Sean looked further down, at his hairy chest, broad shoulders, the ridges of his abs and Sean’s eyes lingered on the large, flaccid dick. On the other hand...
“What are you?” he asked, again. He tore his eyes away from Jeepguy’s groin to look at his eyes again.
“The guy who saved your life.”
That was exactly no answer, and Sean glared at the other man. Adrenaline was still coursing through him, and he stepped forward, ignoring the fact that he was way shorter, and poked Jeepguy’s shoulder. “You just turned from a wolf into a naked guy,”” he said. “I’m gonna need a better answer than that.”