Title: Howl at the Moon
Author: DizzyDrea
Summary: Ever since Kate had found out about the dire wolves, she'd wondered why she hadn't freaked out as much as she'd expected. She'd been surprised, and yeah, she could admit to being scared when faced with a furious wolf, snarling and snapping at everyone within range. But once she'd understood what was really going on, she'd changed her tune.
"This is who you are, and I'm okay with that."
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Author's Notes: I wrote this a while ago, but I hung onto it because it was supposed to be the tag to a longer story that would sort of explain how we got here. Needless to say, I haven't written that story yet, but you don't need to have read that one to get what's going on anyway. I've always been a bigger vampire fan than I ever was a werewolf fan, so I have no idea where this came from. Now that I've done the research, though (and I've done a ton of research, believe me), I'll definitely be revisiting this 'verse.
For the transformations square on my Trope Bingo card.
Disclaimer: Castle is the property of ABC, ABC Studios, Beacon Productions, Andrew Marlowe and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.
~o~
The moon hung low in the sky, casting its silver light over the grass, glinting off the water lapping at the shore.
Kate Beckett sat in her chaise, a well-loved book in her hands and a glass of red wine sitting forgotten on the side table beside her. In the distance, she could hear howling, the only sound to be heard for miles.
She wondered, from time to time, on nights like these, what the neighbors thought. They'd been hearing it for years now, the sounds of the wilderness creeping into the city, but that didn't mean that they never wondered just what it was.
She shook her head, reaching for her glass and taking a sip. The pages of her book rustled in the slight breeze coming off the bay, drawing her attention back to the story. It was a book she'd read before, but like the best stories, she'd found herself drawn in once again.
Movement out of the corner of her eye pulled her away from the book. She raised her head, watching the shadowy figure as it emerged from the trees and trotted over to the edge of the grass.
The dire wolf was a magnificent creature. It was larger than its modern counterpart, more muscular, but with shorter legs and a shorter muzzle. In some ways, it more closely resembled an Alaskan Malamute than a grey wolf. Kate simply admired the wolf for long minutes, her eyes taking in the strong lines and mottled brown fur. The wolf stared back at her, its blue eyes shining with intelligence, and perhaps a little mirth, something that still arrested her because it was so unexpected.
As it moved closer, she could see the moonlight reflected in its eyes.
"Are you finished running around?"
The wolf shook its head, whuffling indignantly. Kate chuckled.
"Yeah, right," she said, as if she could understand the creature staring her down.
The wolf gave a short bark, then trotted over the grass and up the steps to the back porch. Kate set her book on the table beside her wine glass as it sidled up to her, dropping its head in her lap and looking up at her, working the sad puppy eyes for all it was worth.
"You better not have run through any poison ivy," she said as she carded her fingers through the soft fur. The wolf yipped once, as if affronted by the mere thought that it wouldn't know to stay away from that sort of thing, then pushed up into her hand, practically purring. When it started drooling on her leg, she pushed its head off her lap. "Go on, get out of here. I don't need you giving me another bath."
The wolf backed up, whuffled again, then trotted into the house as if it owned the place. Kate leaned back on the chaise, closed her eyes and let the quiet surround her. Out here, in the Hamptons and far from the bustling city, the only sounds she could hear were the lapping of the water and the chirp of the crickets now that her wayward lupine explorer had come in.
She heard the squeak of a floorboard behind her, sensing the shadow falling over her. Opening her eyes, she looked up into those same intelligent blue eyes from before, this time in the familiar face of Richard Castle.
She smiled, stretching up to kiss him as he bent over to meet her lips. "Have fun out there?"
Castle shrugged as he circled around the chaise, and Kate scooted over to give him room to settle. He set the wine glass he'd been carrying on the deck, then proceeded to curl himself around her, pulling her close and humming contentedly. The sound was so close to the rumbling purr of his wolf counterpart that she chuckled quietly.
"What?"
She leaned back and smiled at him. "You purr. Did you know that?"
"I do not purr," he said, affecting that same indignation that he'd had before. It wasn't any more effective in human form. "Wolves do not purr."
"And yet, you purred," she said playfully, carding her hand through his hair, shorter now but still the same sandy brown. "Like a big cat."
He opened his mouth to refute her, but then closed it and smiled, leaning in for another kiss, the touch of his lips setting something warm curling in her chest. "Not that I'm saying you're right, but if I purred, it's because I'm content."
"Mmmm," she hummed as she brushed her thumb over his eyebrow. She looked deep into his eyes, seeing them sparkle in the low light coming from the living room. The lines of stress that normally marked his forehead were barely visible, and the pinch around his eyes was filled with happiness instead of pain. And she could feel it—deep in her bones in a way that still amazed her—that he was indeed content, that the creature that lived within him was at peace.
He trailed his hand up her arm, gentle fingers brushing skin and raising goose bumps along the way. He finally settled his hand over her shoulder, pressing into the join of neck and shoulder and sparking echoes of the bond they shared. It wasn't visible, but just his touch could evoke the tingle of the moment of claim, as his soul wrapped itself around hers and left its mark. She leaned into the touch, stretching her neck back to allow him access, the move unconscious and instinctive, even if she was only human.
It still confused Kate, these newfound desires. And for all he'd explained them, she knew Castle was still both awed and confused himself.
The feel of his lips against the vulnerable skin of her neck drew her sharply back to the moment, and she realized that she'd closed her eyes at some point. She opened them again as she felt him nuzzle into her neck. Her gaze landed on the ceiling fan spinning lazily above her. Its blades spun in a circle, hypnotic and mesmerizing and not unlike the swirling feeling pooling in her belly.
"Hey," he whispered into her ear, nipping at the shell as he nudged her over onto her back.
He pulled back and brushed her hair away from her face, raising an eyebrow as he gazed down at her. A slow, lazy smile spread over her lips, her own eyebrow rising in reply. She could feel herself being drawn in by the magnetism unique to him, that pull welling up within her until she knew she'd be hard-pressed to ignore it.
Just then, there was a crashing sound, and then a dark blur, followed by another lighter blur racing across the yard.
"Hey!" Castle yelled, pushing himself up to sit at the edge of the chaise. "Watch the landscaping!"
Kate tugged him back down by the back of his t-shirt, muffling her laughter in the soft cotton stretching over his shoulders. He settled down beside her, still craning his neck to see if he could catch a glimpse of the others. She laid a hand on his cheek, drawing his gaze back to her.
"They're fine," she said, leaning in to kiss him.
"They're going to trash the yard," he said, frowning. "When did I lose control of the situation?"
"Did you ever really have it?" she asked back.
He groaned, flopping back on the chaise and huffing out a laugh. "Good point."
Kate chuckled as she leaned over his chest to pluck his wine glass from the deck. She offered it to him, smiling coyly as he took it.
"Trying to get me drunk so I'll forget that my daughter is running around the Hamptons with a bunch of strange guys?"
"One, they're not strangers," she said, settling against his side, "and two, you wanted a pack."
"What was I thinking?"
"That a lone wolf is not healthy," she said, repeating his own words back to him. "That Alexis needs to be around her own kind. That you were tired of not having a family of your own."
She felt Castle shift under her, tension evident in the stiff way he held himself. Kate pushed up on an elbow, catching his gaze. His eyes were troubled, a slight frown tipping his lips as he looked out into the distance.
"Hey," she said, nudging him. He swung his eyes to her, then looked away. "What's wrong?"
"Are you really okay with all of this?"
She could hear the uncertainty in his voice, the little-boy-lost way that his shoulders hunched. Smoothing a hand over his cheek, she pulled his gaze to her.
"I'm here, with you, because I want to be," she said quietly but firmly.
"And this doesn't freak you out at all?" he asked. "The whole—" He flapped his hand, waving at himself, the back yard, everything.
Kate looked out at the yard, green grass rippling in the light breeze, and at the water beyond. Ever since she'd found out about the dire wolves, she'd wondered why she hadn't freaked out as much as she'd expected. She'd been surprised, and yeah, she could admit to being scared when faced with a furious wolf, snarling and snapping at everyone within range. But once she'd understood what was really going on, she'd changed her tune.
"Castle, part of my job is to accept things as they come and adjust to the new reality," she said, turning to face him. "Even when it doesn't make any sense, I still have to accept it."
He frowned. "But—"
She silenced him with a finger to his lips. "This is who you are, and I'm okay with that."
"Really?" he asked.
She could see the hope burning in his eyes. "Really."
His face broke out into a pleased smile as he pulled her close, nuzzling into her neck and breathing deeply of her scent—their combined scent. He nibbled at the sensitive skin over her pulse point, kissing and nipping at her skin as he worked his way from one side of her neck to the other. Kate moaned as the sensations rolled through her, carding her fingers through his hair to scrape at his scalp with her nails, holding him close so that he'd keep doing what he was doing.
The sound of laughter and splashing drifted to them on the evening breeze, and Castle popped his head up, craning his neck to try to catch a glimpse of the pool.
"They're fine," Kate murmured, pulling his head back around and setting about nipping at his neck.
More splashing and the sound of shouting pulled his attention away from her again.
"I'm just gonna—" he said, pointing over his shoulder as he pushed up off the chaise, abandoning his wine glass on the side table beside Kate's book.
Kate rolled her eyes, but followed him up and around the corner. When they reached the pool, she had to stifle a laugh. There was a full-on splash-fight going on; the pool deck was soaked, and so were the occupants of the pool. She made to take a step closer, to join Castle as he stood there gaping at the scene before him, but the second before she did, a wall of water hit him, soaking him through in an instant.
"Hey!"
Kate couldn't hold her laughter anymore; she burst out, bending double as she cracked up. Castle shot a frown over his shoulder at her, but she knew he wasn't mad.
"Please tell me you're not naked in there," he said, addressing his comment to the pool.
"Ew, Dad," Alexis said as she treaded water at the far end of the pool. "I brought my swimsuit out earlier."
"Yeah, Dad," Esposito said sarcastically, aiming another splash at Castle. "That's gross."
"Oh, it's on now," Castle said, pointing at the detective as he struggled to pull off his wet t-shirt. His jeans were soon in a heap, and he dove into the pool head first in just his boxers.
They wrestled and splashed like little kids—Castle, Alexis, Esposito, his cousin Jody and his two brothers—behaving like the family they'd become. Kate settled into a chair at the table near the pool, content to just watch. When Castle called out to her, trying to get her to join in, she begged off; right now, in this moment, she was the outsider, but far from feeling left out, she was pleased to see them bonding together.
She sighed, letting her gaze shift to the moonlight painting a silvery path across the lapping water of the bay beyond the house. The howling from earlier had been replaced by the shrieking laughter of people at play. Castle had found his pack—or more accurately, his pack had found him—and now he had a place where he belonged.
And as she watched them playing with each other, Kate realized that she belonged to them, too.
~Finis