Three Wild Werewolf Tales (6 page)

And the whole thing could’ve been a lot worse. He could’ve been hit by a hunter who figured he’d put Alex out of his misery and shoot him instead of treating him. He could’ve been hit by someone who had no idea how to handle animals.

All in all, the vet hadn’t been that bad. Sure, he was still wearing his muzzle and stuck in a dog crate, but the vet had been as gentle as possible, talked soothingly and tried to take care of Alex to the best of his abilities. Hell, any other night Alex would’ve been happy to meet a nice, caring animal lover. He liked that sort of thing in a guy.

He sighed, putting those thoughts out of his mind in favour of trying to get some sleep. He did his best to ignore the noise from the other animals and closed his eyes.

~*~

Alex woke up at the start of his transformation back to being human, and as usual, it wasn’t exactly comfortable. It wasn’t as painful as the first few times, when Alex had felt like his skin was being torn in two while his bones were about to break. Now, it felt more like a persistent cramp in his legs and arms, with some lingering nausea and briefly being unable to breathe. He pushed and pulled against the crate as he thrashed, panting heavily as fur turned into bare skin. Some of the other dogs in the room let out panicked yelps.

He lay curled up on his side for some time, resting. As usual, his body felt stiff and sore, as if he’d finished a gruelling work-out. His headache was gone, and while the leg that had been hit last night felt more sore than usual, he could move it freely, and Alex smiled, patting his thigh. That was one thing he wouldn’t have to worry about anymore.

His senses were still heightened, and would be for the next few days, which made him all the more aware that he had spent the night in a dog crate, sleeping on a blanket usually meant for an actual dog. The scent was all over him by now, and once he got out and back to the other werewolves, they’d mock him for days.

He slowly got up on his knees, thankful that the vet had put him in a large enough crate. He was able to kneel down, wincing as his right calf cramped up. It always took some time to recover after a transformation. Turning into a wolf was equally uncomfortable and disorienting.

Alex curled both hands into fists, then stretched them a few times to get used to having fingers again. First things first, he had to get this ridiculous muzzle off. It was uncomfortable and painful now, and he fiddled impatiently with the straps on the back off his head, relieved when he was able to unbuckle them and slide the damn thing off. He ran his fingers through his shaggy blond hair, massaging his head briefly to get rid of the last remnants of pain.

All right, time for his great escape. If only he could actually see the latch, as working with a metal plate in the way was annoying, and his fingers couldn’t entirely reach. He did feel a metal bar, and was that some of lever? He tried to push it up, then tried to push it down, but it wouldn’t budge. Okay, maybe that bit was supposed to stay where it was.

He lay his head down and peered up through the bars to figure out what he had to do. The angle was awkward and told him there were two separate latches rather than just one. He should’ve paid more attention to the vet closing the crate last night.

He sighed, then went back to fiddling with the latches, getting increasingly impatient. He’d managed to get something moving, but he couldn’t tell if it had been moving in the right direction or not. He glanced up at a clock on the wall underneath the window. 6:30 on a Saturday morning, he should still have a few hours before the vet got up. Everyone liked to sleep in during the weekend.

“Morning, buddy, just thought I’d – what?!”

It was the sound of something breaking that made Alex look up into the eyes of the guy who had hit him. His brown hair was standing up at an awkward angle, and the light blue striped pyjama bottoms and the faded black shirt with a band Alex had never heard of told him the vet hadn’t been awake long. The breaking sound had come from a mug of coffee, a pool of black fluid at the bare feet of the other man, along with remains of the mug.

The Dachshund started barking, and in a reflex, the vet made some shushing noises at it as he stood in the doorway. “What the – who – what –– how – what?” the vet eventually managed, after some incomprehensible sounds.

“You’re the one who put me in here!” Alex was crouching now in the back of his crate. The wolf inside of him wanted to run or attack, and he could do neither. He resisted the urge to bare his teeth.

The vet stepped forward, realised he was standing in coffee, then stepped back, wincing. “You’re not a wolf. I would’ve remembered hitting a –– a not a wolf last night.”

Alex remained quiet. The other man smelled scared and panicked, much like he had last night when he had got out of the car to check on Alex. And while Alex hadn’t wanted to be bundled into the backseat of a car, it was a rational response considering the situation. When you’re a vet, you take care of wounded animals. So no matter how panicked this guy was, he was able to think under pressure. “Last night I was a wolf.”

The guy stared at him, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t real, this isn’t fucking happening...” He took a big step across the puddle of coffee and the shards from the mug, coming closer towards Alex. “What the fuck do I do now?” He took another step closer, staring at Alex.

Alex moved back, reacting on instinct and feeling threatened, even though the human side of him shouted at him to stop acting like a wolf.

The other man crouched down about three feet away from the crate. “Can’t exactly call the police and tell ‘em there’s a naked guy in my office, can I?”

“You could let me out,” Alex said, watching him closely. “Maybe you can give me trousers or something and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“If it’s a prank, it’s a ridiculous one,” the other man muttered to himself. “And too elaborate. Too much that could go wrong. Who’d put a wolf or a dog at risk of serious injury?”

He slammed his fist against the side of the crate, wincing at the pain and the noise. Two of the cats were hissing now. “Let me out.”

The man started, and moved back. “Look, I don’t know who you are, how you got into this crate and –”

“My name is Alex, and you put me here last night.” The other man was thinking rationally, but in completely the wrong direction. “I’m fine now, my leg’s healed.”

“You really were the wolf I hit with my car?”

“Yes.”

The other man shifted closer. “Right, okay, what happened last night?”

Alex stared at him with some surprise. “You hit me with your car, I passed out, you dragged me into your backseat and drove here.”

The man still looked sceptical. “What song was playing on the radio last night?”

Seriously, he was supposed to have been paying attention to that? “I don’t know, Aerosmith? Springsteen? It was some classic rock channel.”

“Close enough.”

“Thanks,” Alex snapped. “Now will you let me out?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

Alex waited, staying away from the door. He didn’t want to scare the other man off, nor did he trust himself enough not to snarl or bite at him. His wolf side wasn’t happy. When the other man stood up after opening the door, Alex crawled out, sighing with relief when he stood up. “Much better, thanks.” He turned to the other man, his wolf side pacified by the fact that he was about a head shorter than Alex. The other man posed no threat anymore, and now that Alex got a good look at him, he realised the guy was rather cute with his dark brown eyes and full lips. He wondered what the other man would look like out of that band t-shirt. He wanted food, yes, but he was also hungry for more than that.

“So, you really are a werewolf or something?” the man said, his eyes wide behind his glasses as he looked up at Alex.

“Werewolf, yes,” Alex confirmed, firmly focusing on the here and now. He was in deep enough trouble without his libido joining in. “You should probably keep quiet about that.”

The other man let out a nervous laugh. “Right, because people are gonna believe me when I tell ‘em I nearly ran over a werewolf.” He frowned. “Do I need to take you to a hospital?”

“Don’t worry, like I said, I’m fine now. We heal fast,” Alex told him. He was pleased to notice that the man didn’t smell as scared anymore. This was good, he was out of the crate, they were getting somewhere. “If I could borrow your shower and some clothes, that’d be great.”

“Of course you can! I mean, I hit you with my car, a shower and something to wear is the least I can do.” He looked Alex up and down. “Assuming I can find something that fits you.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something,” Alex replied, watching the other man and how his eyes lingered on Alex’ naked body, and he smiled. “What’s your name, anyway?”

The other man’s eyes snapped up, almost guiltily. “Nathan,” he said, holding out his hand. Alex shook it. “You were Alex, right?”

Alex nodded, and was about to ask if they could get out of the vet’s office, when his stomach rumbled.

Nathan started and jerked his hand out of Alex’ grip, then realised what had happened. “I, er, guess breakfast is also something I can do to apologise,” he offered sheepishly.

Running around all night and transforming left Alex hungry on the best of days. Add healing from an injury to that, and he was famished. “Lead the way.”

~*~

A door from the office’s hallway led to an open kitchen, and Alex decided that was a sign he should have breakfast before his shower, especially when he smelled the coffee. “I’ll pour us some,” he offered.

Nathan looked surprised, then nodded. “Sure, top cupboard on the left. I’ll, er, see if I can find you anything.”

Alex opened the cupboard, then raised an eyebrow at Nathan when he didn’t hear the other man leave. “You keep your clothes here as well?”

Nathan flushed. “No! Shit, sorry, no, I’ll – upstairs.” He sighed, and walked into the living room and through another door.

Alex grabbed two mugs, smiling to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the only one dealing with his libido. He poured the coffee, and left the one for Nathan on the counter as he sipped from his own. It was just what he needed to wake up and feel more alert. He wondered if he could persuade Nathan to satisfy more than just his hunger for food.

He gazed out the window, at the backyard. It was mostly grass, with bushes along the borders with the other neighbours and a tiled area with a few plastic chairs. Alex’ view from his apartment back in the city was an office, and Nathan’s was definitely better. Alex picked up Nathan’’s scent before he entered the room, and he turned around to greet him.

“Here, I found some sweatpants for you,” Nathan said, passing him a grey pair, his cheeks flushed. “I washed them pretty recently.”

Judging by the size, they were big enough for Alex, but way too big for Nathan. He eyed Nathan, who had gone for the coffee, and wondered who this pair of sweatpants belonged to. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Hey, you wanted breakfast, right?”

Alex nodded and put the sweatpants on. “Sure. It doesn’t have to be much, cereal with milk is fine.”

Nathan smiled at him, and opened his fridge. “No way, I owe you.” He gestured at the kitchen table. “Sit, relax. Breakfast will be served.””

“You sure you don’t need any help?” Alex asked, watching as Nathan grabbed a frying pan. The other man seemed calmer now. Maybe he had needed a moment to himself. Or maybe he had needed Alex not to be naked. Or maybe he was working up to an interrogation. Any of the explanations worked for Alex, who was happy most of Nathan’s panic had gone.

There was a newspaper lying on the kitchen table, so Alex idly leafed through it. It was either that or watch Nathan cook and that was... well, it was a lot more domestic than he was used to. Not that he minded having someone make him breakfast, it really was the least Nathan could do. But he also couldn’t ignore the fact that this was the closest he’d been to a date ever since he had become a werewolf. He had had his fair share of one-night-stands over the past few years, and he had always left quickly in the morning. The only reason he was still here was because he hadn’t been able to get out and what did that say about him?

“Fried eggs with cheese, bacon and toast,” Nathan announced proudly, shoving a plate across the table. “Eat up.”

The delicious smell drove all other thoughts out of his mind, and Alex had finished half a slice of toast before Nathan passed him a knife and fork.

“You really are hungry, huh? I can make some more,” Nathan offered, clearly surprised at the speed with which Alex ate.

“Please,” Alex said, swallowing some of the fried egg and toast. He felt a little bad that Nathan’s portion was getting cold, but not enough to tell Nathan to stop frying him another egg.

Alex managed to finish his second round before Nathan was even halfway through his first, and Nathan stared at him. “Seriously, how do you eat that much, that fast?”

“Werewolf,” Alex replied, and got up to pour them both more coffee. “You try turning into a wolf and back in the same night.” He gave Nathan a level stare. “Being nearly run over didn’t help either.”

Nathan sat back. “I’m really sorry about that, I really am. You’re not gonna eat me, are you?” He sounded genuinely scared, and Alex laughed.