IV

It was Friday, the weekend. "Let's go to the mountains, Belle... I want to run free." Brady said wringing his hands, the look of sheer want in his eyes.

"How 'bout I just take you for a midnight stroll in the park, Brady." She said continuing to read her Cosmo.

Sometimes he really wanted to strangle her, he really did. He knew she didn't understand his need, she wasn't like him, but damn it he had been here with her all week long cooped up in this place. Pacing, night after night, longing to explore.

"Fine you won't go, I'll go alone." He said grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

"Be careful!!" Belle called but he was already out the door.

The night air was cool as he drove out of town. Reaching look out point high above the city, Brady parked the jeep and breathed in the fresh night air. The edge of the moon was starting to rise as he peeled the clothes from is body. In an instant he stood tall and proud all four paws firmly on the ground. If he could see himself he would agree with what his sister had once said, that he was a magnificent creature. He had a shimmering golden coat and his blue eyes gleamed through the darkness. If there had been a pack to belong to he would definitely be an alpha, he was strong and commanding with just a touch of arrogance. These traits he carried with him in his day form as well as his night. Interwoven among those traits were also his ability to love and his most dominant trait of all, loyalty.

Brady ran into the night, his paws pounding into the dirt beneath him. He was free, free to breath in the night air and race the wind. And he was alone. "No, no, don't think about the loneliness!" his inner voice shrieked. He kept running. Finally exhaustion hit him. Brady sat on his haunches, heavily breathing his tongue hanging out in deep laborious pants. From where he sat he could see his jeep, he had come a full circle. Within him hunger was raging, his need to feed upon him. In his frustration with Belle he had not eaten before he left the penthouse, in fact he hadn't eaten since he had had Meems bring him that rare double burger from The Burger Barn at noon.

From the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Instantly mid-pant he froze his ears pricked forward. The only movement he made was the drip, drip, drip from his tongue that now hung unmoving from his jowls. Where was it, what had he seen. There it was again the a small streak of white, a cottontail. With swift lightening precision, instinct took over. The predator was in pursuit of his prey.

Normally when Chloe overslept no one cared or tried to bother her but not today. She had forgotten that it was Saturday. "Chloe, honey!" her father knocked at her door waking her, "Chloe, wake up, you have a visitor downstairs."

Chloe slowly stretched and yawned and while wiping the sleep from her eyes asked, "Who is it?"

"She said her name is Belle Black."

"Oh my gosh!" Chloe said jumping from the bed and running into her bathroom, "Tell her I'll be down in a few minutes."

Patrick returned to the living room and the petite blond waiting on the couch, "She'll be down in a few Miss Black."

"Please call me Belle, everyone does." She said looking at the man before her. He was balding but she could tell that he had been a shocking red head in his youth. His green eyes gleamed like her friend Mimi's.

Patrick sat down in the recliner across from her, "So Belle, are you any relation to John Black of Basic Black?"

"As a matter of fact, he's my father..."

"Really, small world, he's my boss."

"You work at Basic Black, so you probably know my brother too!"

"Oh yeah, Brady he's quite a guy... always in by eight, seems to never stop working..."

This made Belle smile, actually she wanted to laugh. She knew for a fact that Brady never made it in before noon. Mimi was doing her job well.

Chloe could hear her father jabbering away as she descended the stairs. Belle might have met her match because Patrick Lane could talk your leg off.

"... and in a couple of weeks I'm supposed to go out of town on company business for a week, thinking about making a vacation out of it and taking the missus with..."

Chloe couldn't believe her ears. "You and Mother are going out of town without me?" Chloe asked stepping down from the last step. They had never left her alone before.

Patrick's eyes lit up seeing the smile on Chloe's face. "If that's alright with you, Chloe... you're old enough to take care of yourself."

Chloe launched herself at her father, "Oh thank you , thank you, Daddy!" she cried while Belle looked on. She couldn't figure what the big deal was, her parents left her alone all the time.

Patrick was so happy that he had made Chloe happy. When their hug ended he pressed his credit card into her hand. "Now you and your friend over there go buy out the stores... I'm tired of seeing you in black all the time."

Belle shrieked with glee and grabbing Chloe's hand drug her from the house. Destination, the mall.

"Yeeeeowwwww!!"

"Damn it, Brady, hold still!" The dark haired blue-eyed doctor stood with a pair of pliers poised to dive back into Brady's open mouth.

"Dr Wesley, are you purposefully trying to dislocate my jaw?" Brady asked with apprehension filled eyes.

"Of course not now open back up and hold still."

A few tugs later followed by a moist popping sound, Dr Wesley finally stood smiling his prize at hand. Grasped at the end of the pliers was an inch long gleaming white bone.

"Brady, how many times have I warned you about eating the wildlife while out on a run?"

"But, Dr. Wesley..."

"Don't give me any Buts... Brady, we are civilized, and we do not eat woodland creatures." He lectured wagging his finger mere inches in front of Brady's face.

"I know..." Brady hung his head, shameful for what he had done.

"Don't be ashamed, Brady, we all have our moments of weakness."

Brady raised his head to look into Dr. Wesley's eyes. He had known this man for most of his life. He and Brady's mother had been pack mates when they had been young, years before his mother's death. Dr. Wesley, Craig Wesley had reentered Brady's life at the time of his first change. He had know Brady would need guidance.

"Do you, Dr Wesley, have moments of weakness?"

"Of course..." then with a sly grin and a wicked twinkle in his eye Craig asked, "Did it at least give you a good chase?"

Brady nodded, chuckling, "Yup, it sure did!"

"Oh wow! Mrs. Wesley would never let me go out and chase rabbits."

"No?"

"Never, no way!" Craig pulled up the stool and sat in front of Brady, "But I have my memories... Me and your Mom... oh man... we would chase rabbits..."

Brady recognized the faraway look in the man's eyes and knew he was in for a treat. He loved hearing about his mother and her pack mate's exploits.

"There was this one time..."

"Chloe, come on in... Chloe?" Belle had already made it into the penthouse and was at the bottom of the stairs with her packages when she realized that Chloe was not behind her.

Chloe stood herself braced in the doorway breathing in the beautiful scent that wafted about the penthouse. What was it? She had caught lingering whiffs of it over the past few days but nothing like this. It was glorious wrapping itself around her and warming her from within. She had never, in all her live experienced anything like it.

"Chloe?" Belle had put her bags down and was cautiously approaching her friend, "Are you alright? You don't look so good... you're all flushed."

"Umm... yeah I'm alright." Chloe said letting Belle lead her into the room further.

"Let's go out to the kitchen and get something to drink," Belle pulled her toward the kitchen, "Maybe you just got too much sun..."

"Yeah, you could be right... maybe..."