Autumn was drawing in now. Sub zero, crisp nights that meant freezing when you Changed back after a run and had to find your clothes - not something Reese was used to. The cold, not the running, that was. He'd always been running, human and wolf. And now, it seemed, he would have to again. Reese tried to think of alternatives. Could he disconnect the phones, or 'accidentally' break them? No, his father had the other numbers for the Pack anyway. And the Sorrentinos were bound to notice something suspicious like that, they weren't stupid.
Nick bounded out of the trees toward him and barked an enthusiastic greeting, breaking his reverie. Even in his wolf form, Nick was unfailingly friendly to Reese. Never even snapped at him when Reese got maybe more than his fair share of the prey, just nudged him aside. At first, Reese had been suspicious, trying to figure out what this guy and his Pack's motives were. When their 'nice' facade was going to crack and reveal their true colours. But months afterward, Nick and the others were still the same. Maybe he was a genuinely nice guy. Yeah, and maybe those Russians who took your fingers really did want to show you the delights of Anchorage, not bury you in a shallow grave. You couldn't trust anyone. Not really. When Nick found out his secret, Reese was sure he'd be just as disgusted as the others.
Still, it was good to have his company.
The other wolf jogged beside him through the forest, dodging tree branches and frightening small animals. Reese could hear the enticing sounds of prey scuffling beneath the carpet of fallen leaves, desperately trying to escape them. But today was just a run, not a hunt. Nick made the gruff sound Reese had learnt to interpret as his wolf laugh, and increased the pace. He wanted a race? Fine by Reese. The trees blew past now as he pumped his legs harder, losing himself in the chase. Reese snapped playfully at the heels of his competitor as he got closer. An adrenaline high soared through him, and he remembered why he loved wolf form so much.
Realising that Reese was faster than him on the straight, Nick tried to lose him, jinking and weaving through the forest. He led Reese under hollow logs, over low lying branches, moving so quickly it looked almost like flying. But Nick's strategy had a flaw - even when Reese lost sight of the other wolf, he could still smell him. He followed the trail, determined to catch up and win. Reese concentrated hard at separating Nick's scent from the myriad others in the forest (pine marten, vole, rabbit, deer, rotting leaves, was that a squirrel?) and tracked his twists and turns, 'seeing' his trail as glowing colours in the air.
This will be the last time you ever run with Nick. He shrank from the idea. Shut up, stupid human thoughts.
Distracted, he noticed too late the overhanging branch in his path. There was no time to swerve around, he was moving too fast. Reese felt a splitting pain in his head and was brought to an abrupt halt, stars shooting across his vision. Dizzy blackness swallowed him up.
When he came to, Nick was standing over him, looking worried. He nudged Reese with his snout. Reese tried to explain his stupid accident, forgetting he was in wolf form. All that came out was a whine. He knew he sounded pathetic, and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see Nick looking so damn concerned at his weakness. A tongue licked his bruise, and Reese fought the urge to bite or claw. Nick was just trying to help.
The other wolf pantomimed going for help, and Reese shook his head hurriedly. He wasn't an invalid, he could walk! Reese got to his feet shakily and followed Nick back to where they'd left the clothes. Fortunately it wasn't too great a distance - their run had been circular. Every step of the way, Reese was aware of Nick's presence beside him, and resented it. He knew this wasn't a rational feeling, it was a wolf thing. Reese needed to prove he was stronger than Nick.
And why? You don't feel like this with the others. Nick's never threatened you, you don't even tussle in the normal way because he knows you don't like it. Reese knew why, really. He was attracted to Nick, he wanted to prove he was worthy of him. He forced the stupid feeling down. He would never reveal his secret again, he knew what it led to. Disgust. Rejection. Murderous rage. And Nick would feel that way about him in less than a day's time when his Dad told the Pack. Might as well try to enjoy his friendship while it lasted.
When they got back to the clothes, Reese padded aside into a nearby thicket and Changed. It was always painful, but this time combined with his bump on the head it nearly made him pass out. Reese clung determinedly to consciousness, completed the Change and got dressed. He'd made it a rule always to dress straight after Changing with others around. The Pack seemed to give no thought to hanging around naked all afternoon following a run, but Reese never felt comfortable doing that.
He heard Nick call out, "You finished?" and made his way back to the clearing, where he saw with relief that Nick was fully dressed too.
"So what happened?" asked his friend, "How'd you manage to knock yourself out?"
"Ran into a branch," mumbled Reese, embarrassed. What a crappy end to his last ever run with someone else. Well, maybe running with other wolves was over rated, anyway.
"What did you say?"
Reese pitched his voice slightly louder. "Ran into a branch."
Nick snorted and tried not to laugh. "Sorry, I shouldn't mock. Must've hurt."
"You're telling me! Hey, promise me you won't tell the others about this. It'd just be too embarrassing."
"I'll try to resist the temptation." They started to walk back to the house.
Reese felt his head gingerly and found a spot that felt tender when he pressed it. Luckily his fur had prevented an actual cut. "Great, I'm probably going to have an enormous goose egg."
"Goose egg?"
"You know, a big raised bruise. A lump."
"Don't think I've ever heard that phrase before. Must be an Aussie thing." Reese had let the Pack think he was Australian. Aussie, Kiwi, their ears couldn't tell the difference in accents, right? And it was best to keep their info about him as vague as possible, just in case they found out his secret. But for some reason he corrected Nick. Hell, his friend would find out soon enough anyway.
"Actually, it's a Kiwi thing. I come from New Zealand."
Nick raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? Not many werewolves in those parts, I hear. Hey, do I get to find out your home town? Might even have been there... Did you run away from home to see the world, or what?"
Abruptly, his sharing mood was over. "No." Reese turned away and set off briskly for the guest cottage, just wanting to get out of there.
"Wait!" Nick chased after him. "Look, I'm sorry if I touched a nerve. I'm not going to make you tell me if you don't want to." Sure, Nick, the famous torturer, extractor of information. Hardly. That was more Clay's side of things ... and what would Clay do to him when he found out? That made for an unpleasant day-dream. He'd seen the pictures of what Clay did to mutts who'd offended him. "Hey, listen," continued Nick, "Do you want to head out this evening, grab a few beers with me and Antonio? Maybe that'd distract you from your bump on the head."
No, going out was bad. It'd lose him valuable running time, particularly if it turned into an all-nighter. "No thanks. I'm going to take an early night."
"C'mon, you always have fun when we drag you out of the house! You just never go unless we force you."
"No, honestly, not tonight."
"We're going to the Horseshoes," wheedled Nick. "I know it's your favourite bar. Hey, you never know, tonight you might get luc - "
Something inside Reese snapped. "Look, why do you have to be so God damn nice all the time? Maybe I don't want your company. Why don't you piss off and leave me alone!" His words ended in a snarl. Nick's face fell, and he turned away, wordless. Reese immediately regretted his outburst, but he couldn't take it back, and the irrational anger was still filling him. So he fled like a coward to the house.
Antonio greeted him as he came into the kitchen. "Hey, Reese. Have you seen Nick? I heard he was out running with you."
"He decided to stay out a while longer," lied Reese. "Say, do you have any chores need doing?" He'd welcome anything to take his mind off what was to come.
"Well, there's not much at this time of year. All the real jobs are over, since we got the herd indoors last week."
"Does that mean you don't need me to stay on for the winter?" Maybe he could leave honourably.
"What? No! You know you're part of the family now, we want you to stay. Jeremy was hoping you'd consider Pack membership, actually."
Reese didn't know what to say. He felt so torn - this was a life, a great life, that he couldn't have. That he'd have to turn his back on.
"I know you need time to think about it, but please stay on with us until you have."
"Thank you. I - I'm honoured." Nick heard the screen door open, signalling Nick's entrance into the house. "Are you sure there aren't any chores that need doing?" he asked again, hastily.
"Well, I guess you could always sweep the leaves off the lawn," joked Antonio.
"Think I'll do that. See you later." Reese hurried out, not fast enough to avoid bumping into Nick. His friend didn't speak, just looked at Reese differently. There was an anger and hurt in his eyes that Reese had never seen before. Get used to it.
