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... and Hauntings

We arrived home and with only a little effort I had Cleo and cubs inside the house. She had chosen my bedroom as her den without me even asking. She padded straight in from the door, headed up the stairs far easier than she had previously, and sat on the small rug at the edge of my bed, looking at the space between the foot of my bed and the dresser that was from the foot of my bed to the corner of the wall. I shrugged as that was as reasonable a place as any, and the furnace vent was on the other side of the room near the door, so the cubs wouldn't get cooked when the furnace kicked on. I laid down some large heavy blankets, covered that with a layer of newspaper, and then a few thick poofy towels over top so that things would be easy to clean up and they'd get used to the crinkle sound the paper makes underfoot.

Julie and I weren't exactly hungry, having eaten a quick meal of sub sandwiches and chips in the office before the nighttime event crowd really started showing up, so she just changed into a nightshirt and I sighed. I still had the other cats to feed, so I trudged back down the stairs and out to the mudroom to get their thawed chicken out of the old refrigerator out there. Julie followed me down the stairs and put on the TV to watch for awhile as I did my chores.

The cats seemed to be somewhat agitated as I fed them, not paying so much attention to their food as to voofing and milling about, as though something unusual was happening. I was tired so I just figured they were disturbed by the late hour of their dinner, and the fact I wasn't at my best. Then I heard it, too. Someone was in my office.

I went down the hall like usual and got one of my pistols from behind the door of the shop bathroom. I drew back the slide, chambering a round. I stood to the side of the door as I slid my key in the lock just in case whoever was inside was inclined to shoot me through the door. Turning the key slowly, which both unlocked the mechanism and turned the knob, I threw the door wide open and quickly pointed my pistol straight ahead, then swung it side to side as I quickly surveyed the room.

A flash of white fur jumped up towards me, planted two paws on my chest, and knocked me backwards into the doorframe before licking my face. My heart stopped and a cold chill ran up my spine. My eyes examined the face before me - the pointed ears, the black lips, the white teeth... the panting pink tongue. "It... it can't be. It can't be you..." I gasped, tears welling in my eyes.

Max backed up half a step and plunked his butt down to a "sit". "It is me..." a voice said. A voice seemingly familiar but yet unfamiliar.

"But... you're... dead. You've been dead for... for... 15 years!" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I started shaking and collapsed to the floor. Max came over and licked the tears from my face.

"I know," the voice said. "I don't know how, but I've come back to you. You need protecting and so I was sent back, but... there's something else, too."

I looked confused. "How... how can you talk? You're just a dog." I could see a bit more clearly now, though my tears had turned to snot plugging my nose.

"I can't talk... You can hear me because you loved me in life. No one but those who loved me can hear me," the voice said. I ran my hands all over my beautiful Max. His body was all there just as he had been. No bullet holes, no... severed head. Just the well-muscled body, wagging tail, and happy grin of my old white German Shepherd so long absent from my life.

"But... how? I don't understand." I said.

"I don't know. However... my time is short. I'm here to give you three gifts before the night is through. Shall we go in?" the voice asked. Max's smile was happy and he wasn't acting like I remembered him, like... like he was almost human now or something.

I nodded and uncocked the pistol, setting it down on top of the old TV set before he padded out and I shut the office door. He padded ahead of me through the complex heading towards the house, even though he'd never been here before... at least not that I'd known.

I had gotten Max as a young adult dog with a biting problem. A purebred German Shepherd, he was a magnificent animal and though he did occasionally bite me, sometimes violently, he was generally an amicable dog to have as a pet. He minded me quite well and was a wonderful companion to myself and my other dogs of the time, except he could turn very defensive in a hurry - defensive of his body, of his territory, of objects he considered his. And most of all he would bite and fight against what he didn't want to do. That turned out to be his downfall.

Julie looked up as I entered the house. "What took you so long, was something wrong?" she asked, then noticed. "And why are your eyes red? It looks like you've been crying." The white shepherd padded into the living room and sat down in front of where Julie was seated on the couch. "Where'd he come from?" Julie asked out of curiosity as she drew her feet up onto the sofa, folding them under her as she tugged her nightshirt down over them.

"I don't really know... and I don't quite understand it myself. This is my old dog, Max. He said he's come back to protect me... and I guess us both." I said.

Julie looked at me as though I was speaking Swahili, or had somehow fallen off the deep end of the gene pool.

Max took the half-step forward and laid his head in Julie's lap, something he wouldn't typically have done in life to a person he didn't know. She was a bit concerned but I sat next to her and pet his head. She tentatively pet him as well.

"Jim... are you sure you're alright? You said this was your old dog... how can that be? He's... right here with us." Julie looked at me with genuine concern. "And what do you mean "come back"? You mean to say this dog is... a ghost? I must be having some kind of weird dream or something...." Julie's brow furrowed.

I sighed and thought for a moment. I could be dreaming, but if I were... did I really want to wake up just yet? I hadn't thought much about Max in years and hadn't seen him since that awful day so many years ago.

"I don't have too much time..." the voice said. "Does she like dogs?"

"Julie, do you like dogs?" I asked. She swung her head to look at me in the bright moonlight filtering through the window and the illumination from the television screen. "Huh? Yeah... yeah... they're great. I even wondered... about.... how you said Larry and Terry's... stuff... was like a dog's. I wondered how it'd feel.... having one..." Julie blushed deeply.

"Having one mate you?" I asked. Julie nodded. Her expression was odd, and I couldn't quite read it. The whole thing was etherial.

"I know you liked to masturbate me," the voice said "and I always appreciated it when you did. I also know you desired to touch and feel my insides. Under my tail. But I was too uptight to let you. I hurt back there from time to time, and so it took so very long for me to accept you even touching me there, let alone doing more. And then... we never got the chance."

I looked to Max, not quite understanding. Somehow he could speak to me in words I could understand, but... his lips weren't moving to make the sounds. He leaned back to a "sit" again, panting a little as he smiled at me. "I said I had three gifts to give you tonight. The first is myself. I never allowed you under my tail when I was alive. Now that I can, I'd be glad if you'd enjoy me how you desired to back then. Show me the pleasure you intended for me all along. And your lady friend can join in it, too, if she wishes."

"Julie?" I asked. "Would you like to mate with Max, here?"

Julie looked stunned. "He's... but if he's.... How can I, if this is just a dream? It has to be a dream." Her mind must have been awash in so many different conflicting emotions and thoughts. I bent down and unlaced my boots to remove them.

"Perhaps... up there?" the voice inquired as Max looked to the staircase.

"That... probably would be good." I said and smiled then started walking towards the stairs. Julie stayed on the couch. "Come on, Julie. I don't know why this is happening, but... I'm sure it's something good." I held out my hand to her.

Julie haltingly took it and with Max leading the way, we ascended the stairs. He seemed to know just where everything was and headed into my room. I could hear Cleo start growling. I stepped into the room and saw Max standing just a couple feet from where Cleo was laying. She was full-out growling, fangs bared in a snarl, body tensed defensively, and then, she acted shocked. She then laid her head back down and let her cubs nurse, even closing her eyes as Max jumped up onto the bed.

"Did you say something to her?" I asked aloud.

"I let her know it's alright and that I wasn't here to harm her, but instead to protect you, and her as well," the voice said.

"Who are you talking to?" Julie asked confusedly.

"Max. For some reason I can hear him speaking to me. He said you can't because you didn't know and love him while he was alive." I looked to her. I couldn't really believe I was saying it myself, but... on some level that made perfect sense even though it sounded like absolute insanity.

Julie looked confused, but I went over to the bed and turned down the heavier blankets to bunch them at the foot of the bed.

Julie sat on the edge of the bed, along with me, as I disrobed, letting my clothes fall in their customary clump. Max milled about on the bed behind us and nuzzled my ear.

"I know you wished to have me inside you, also, and we never got that chance, but the night is growing short so I'm afraid I won't be able to give you that pleasure," the voice said, somewhat sorrowfully.

I reached back and fuzzled Max's head, rubbing his ear with my one hand in the same ways I did so many years ago. "It's alright, boy. Just having you here is good enough for me, even if this is just a bizarre dream."

"How should I...?" Julie blushed deeply at the subject of her inquiry.

I patted her thigh. "You'll probably want to put a pillow at your chest below your brests, and have one ready for your head for when he ties. Have your chest and head down on the bed, rump high on your knees. Have room to adjust your knees wider if necessary to lower your rump height. He and I will do the rest."

While I knew that being on a soft surface like the bed was a somewhat bad idea, especially for someone's first time with a dog, I thought about just how things would end up if everything went like I figured, and I knew I didn't want to give up hope that could happen. Julie got into position and Max started wagging his tail, bouncing a little bit in a happy manner then started licking Julie's rump.

I chuckled and grabbed a tube of lube from the drawer, and a sheet of paper towel. While Max was licking Julie, I smiled as my gaze fell upon his rump. His furry balls in their black-skinned pouch dangled, wobbling a bit from her and his movements. Above them was his puffy pink pucker, set in that wide furless area just beneath his high-raised tail. How I had wanted to give him the pleasure of having something within him there, all those years ago. He trusted me enough to tolerate me touching the outside flesh, and even getting the fleshpad of a fingertip amongst the folds of his anal pucker, but beyond that he had been far too scared to allow anything further.

I lubed the tips of two fingers with a splut from the tube, and touched them to his pink pucker. His tail naturally drew down a bit, but he relaxed after a moment. He stopped licking Julie and turned his head to look at me, true to how he had been. But this time, I felt his flesh part as I put gentle pressure against his rumpring, and though he whined a little bit as his rear was penetrated, my fingers slid into him without issue and without him becoming violent.

He returned to licking at Julie, who was moaning a bit from the sensations. Likely she had been a little aroused before this all started. Max's rear was fluttering a little around my fingers, and I could feel the swollen bulge of his prostate. I rubbed the gland gently, and he whined some among his licking. There wasn't any mess inside him - I guess that would figure as I don't know if ghosts eat... or angels or whatever he might be. I pet along his hip and down his flank as I left my fingers inside him, his body having long since adjusted to the sensations of my digits parting him in such a manner.

I reached between his hindlegs with my free hand and noticed his sheath was quite firm. I reached forward around Max's side and touched Julie's thigh. She jumped a little at the contact and then looked back to me. "This is.... so.... weird," she managed to pant.

"Do you like it?" I asked. She nodded and moaned in reply.

Max must have known it was time because he stopped licking and mounted up on Julie, scratching her sides a bit with his dewclaws and pulling off of my fingers as he did so. His hips started oscillating in their frantic manner, his cocktip clear of his sheath and he was stepping from side to side, humping against Julie's rump as he sought to push into the warm wetness he knew was there.

I reached between his hindlegs again, his scrotum rubbing along my wrist as I aimed his furry cover at the right spot. Julie felt him poking her a bit low and widened the space between her knees, providing him a direct shot into her depths. As soon as his tip touched her opening, he thrust hard and was deep inside her in a fraction of a second. She squealed a bit as he did that, and I sat back and masturbated myself a bit as I watched a ghost dog breeding my girlfriend. I loved them both and adored the sight of Max's thigh muscles thrusting, his tail whipping around a bit, and that glistening pink pucker squeezing.

"Oh... Jim... he's so... deep! It's like he's poking... something inside me!" Julie grunt-moaned as she was panting, her whole body being wracked by the force of Max's thrusts. I couldn't help but chuckle. "He always was long for a Shepherd..."

A few seconds later. "Jim! Something... something's wrong. He's trying to push... something into me... it's going in and out... and... Oh Jim, what do I do?" Julie's voice sounded worried.

"Just squeeze your muscles down tightly when you feel it pop inside you, and it'll give you a sensation you've never experienced before. Just go with it. It might hurt a little bit, but you'll get a lot more pleasure from it than you ever expected," I replied as I squirted some lube onto my right hand, letting it warm some before applying it to my thick cock.

"Ohmyohmyohmy," Julie moaned as Max's knot swelled inside her. I could see it bulging a bit and Max was doing his superhump thing as he knotted up and tied with Julie. Soon enough his thighs stilled and his tail was squeezing downwards in a rhythmic manner.

"He's pressed so... tightly inside me...." Julie mumbled.

"If you reach to your clit, it'll probably be sticking out from his knot." I said as I moved behind the white shepherd and touched my cocktip to his hole.

"Please... be gentle, but I want you inside me," the voice said as Max lay flumped over Julie's back, drooling a bit as he was panting there from his exertions.

"Oh, wow!" Julie exclaimed as I saw she had a hand between her legs. "It's... massive!"

I chuckled and pressed my tip more firmly to the dog's large pink pucker. "Not really... he's actually smaller than the lions or a rottweiler. You'll feel a pressure... that's just me pushing into him."

Max whimpered as his rear spread larger and larger, then he yelped as my glans slipped inside his flexing back passage. I pet his flank and then along his back. "Easy Max.... easy... it'll be alright...."

Max's anus gripped my cocktip tightly, repeatedly squeezing on it for a few moments after it slipped into my lovely shepherd. After a time, it was only his peristaltic ejaculatory contractions that milked along my tip and I pushed a bit, nudging my cock deeper into his soft insides. It slid forward more readily, and I could soon feel the tip of my member passing over the pulsing bulge that was his prostate. This caused more firm contractions of his insides and he whined a bit. Soon my hips met his and I was inside him fully.

Julie was moaning a little bit. "So full... he's pushed hard against something inside me and it's making my tummy grip..."

"He might be against your cervix, hon... it happens sometimes." I said as I started cycling in and out of the shepherd's rear. He would grunt a little on the more firm in-thrusts, his ejaculatory contractions continuing to milk at my member, once in a while he whined some.

"Cum in me, master... seed me as your bitch.... I need it..." the voice said, pantingly.

I oscillated a few more moments, feeling my orgasm getting closer and closer, then I pushed deep, causing him to yelp a bit as I then squirted deeply within him. I collapsed a bit over his back, my hands on Julie's hips.

As soon as I could catch my breath, I panted. "Julie... I'm going to roll us.... to our sides... to the right.... Are you... ready?"

Julie nodded a bit against her pillow. I kissed Max's head and threw my weight to the right, and over we toppled, still connected. There we lay, all three of us panting heavily. I barely had enough strength to draw the covers up over us before sleep overtook me, still sandwiching my tender shepherd between us, connected by our genitals.

* * * * *

I awoke to daylight illuminating the room. Julie and I were still in bed laying just how we fell, separated by about a foot or so between our bodies laying in a spooned position apart from the gap.

Julie stretched some and rolled over to look at me. She then looked confused and patted her nude body. "How did I..." then a look of terror crossed her face. "Did we have sex last night, Jim? Or why is my nightshirt off?"

I smiled a bit. "Oh, we did have some fun. Why?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh... well, that'd explain it. I had a very bizarre dream and... it was sort of scary. I dreamed I had sex with a ghost."

I looked curious. "With a ghost?"

Julie blushed and snuggled up to me. "A ghost dog. It was a white shepherd... and you were in the dream and... it hurt me some as he mated me... and you mated under his tail. You said he was your old dog."

I nodded. "Yes... Max."

Julie's head snapped up and her eyes were wide with stark terror. "Jim... that was.... a dream, right? It had to have been. You must have told me about him before or something..."

I shook my head. "I don't think it was a dream, hon... The only thing that would explain it would be a shared hallucination, and that would be so very rare that... it's three shakes from impossible. And I know I'd never mentioned Max to you. That's...." I sighed deeply. "That's one of those memories I wouldn't have wanted to share with you except in the daylight."

Julie looked at me, her expression having changed to one of concern. "Was it really that bad?" she asked.

I sighed. "Well, not as bad as some, but... yeah. I was volunteering with a group that day. It was coming spring so the ground was swampy and I'd had two of my dogs, Max and a rottweiler, in wire-crate cages in the garage of my family's home. Max had a habit of peeing in his cage and so the lower levels of his woodchip bedding were soaked. That wasn't that big of a deal for me, as I intended to clean it out and replace the shavings with fresh ones the following day. I had told my mother repeatedly to leave him in his cage, because he didn't like going back in. He respected my authority enough to not balk too much, but my mother isn't as... well... assertive? dominant as me? So I knew she'd have trouble. My rottweiler didn't mind any which way so taking him out for a walk to do his stuff would be fine, but Max... Well, my mother was someone that thought she knew better than me, because she was mother and I was just a boy. Well, I wasn't, but in her mind I still am." I rolled my eyes.

"Long story short, she decided to take him out for a walk around the property to do his stuff, which was perfectly fine. He'd walk great on leash, but when it came to putting him back in his cage, he balked and got defensive. He'd bite when getting defensive... and that's just what he did. He attacked in defensiveness and messed up her arms as she protected herself. Since he was loose, he just toured the neighborhood and by the time the cops arrived he was headed back for his bed placid as ever." I took a deep breath and sighed. "They shot him to death, about 100 feet or so from his bed, at the corner of our property. Of the 20-some rounds fired, only nine hit him."

I swallowed hard and Julie's face showed terrible sorrow. "I arrived back home from doing my volunteer work to find the house dark, Max wasn't in his cage in the garage, his collar on the ground. I didn't have a cellphone so I had no idea what was wrong. My brother showed up and said mother was in the hospital getting her arms stitched up. The doctor asked if the dog had his vaccinations, then when I showed him that he did, he said the dog should be killed. I controlled my ire at that statement and grunted that the police shot him, but wish they whould have shot my mother instead. That drew an interesting expression from him but he just went on his way."

My jaw was clenched and my eyes full of tears. "To this day, my mother insists it was my fault for not doing what she wanted, rather than her fault for not following my explicit instructions NOT to have him out."

Julie cuddled close to me. "I'm sorry, dear. I.... I didn't know."

I swallowed hard and gave her a squeeze as I sighed deeply. "There's no way you could have known, and there's no need to be sorry. What happened was long ago and you have no fault in any of it." I smiled a bit and kissed her forehead. "Max was a great dog, but for a few flaws. He was great for me and towards me and to people he respected. How... how things happened last night, I don't know. Why they happened, I don't know. But I'm glad they happened all the same. I got to do something with him that I had wanted to so very much back then, but just couldn't do. And he... I think he must have enjoyed his time with you, too." I swallowed hard. "Though I do wonder...."

Julie looked up to me. "Wonder what?" she inquired.

"Max had said he had three gifts for me... and that the first was his body. I guess that meant being able to mate with him like that - like how I'd wanted to so long ago. I never did get his actual body back... they decapitated his corpse to test for rabies, and then likely just incinerated anything left. He had no burial... I don't even have his ashes. He was just gone... forever." I frowned a bit. "But that still leaves the other two gifts... I wonder what they are."

Julie looked up to me. "I don't believe in ghosts, Jim. And I can't explain what happened last night, if it wasn't some odd dream."

I sighed and smiled to Julie. "I don't really believe in ghosts either, hon. And with all my knowledge, I can't explain last night either. I just know it wasn't a dream... it couldn't have been as there are too many parallels for it to be just coincidence or something dreamed up." I sighed. "Ah well... we better get started on the day. You, at the very least, have work to go to."

Julie chuckled. "Well, you probably should, too, while you still have a job." She winked and I couldn't help but laugh.

Cleo looked up as I sat up, then I thought of something and nudged Julie as she swung herself to the edge of the bed. "Cleo, was there a white dog here last night?" I asked.

Julie looked to Cleo, then she shivered as my lioness nodded in reply. Julie's head snapped around to look wide-eyed at me. I chuckled. "I don't think all three of us could have the same hallucination, hon. I guess it really was Max here last night."

"And.... that doesn't weird you out?!?" Julie exclaimed.

I shook my head. "Max was a good dog when he was alive. Last night he proved he was always my good dog, no matter what. I can't believe that his visiting me was something heinous. It just wouldn't fit."

I sighed and scooted to the edge of the bed and put on my flip-flops that I used for bedroom slippers. "You want the shower first, or me?"

"You can go first... I don't... I think I have a fair bit to think about... especially if you're being haunted by a dead dog." Julie's face was one of pondering and concern.

I shrugged. "Ok... I'll use up all the hot water on you like you do on me." I winked and though it took a moment for her to react, she smiled and stuck her tongue out at me as I headed out the bedroom door, having grabbed my bathrobe.

It didn't take me long to shower, shave, and spiff up for the day. I walked out of the bathroom without shoes, robe over one arm, and buttoning my work shirt as Julie ducked in past me to do her morning routine. I went back upstairs and got my change and other things from yesterday's clothes and put on my shoes, lacing them up. I then went to the hall closet and fished around for something I thought was in there. I found it and set a wicker basket, lined with soft cloth, on the floor before repacking the other material into the closet where they had been. I figured the basket would be suitable for moving the cubs back and forth until they got too big for it. Cleo sniffed it as I put it near her, and apparently it was good enough for her as she showed no objection to the object.

I then went back downstairs and poured myself a glass of Dew, then sat down in my recliner to wait for Julie to be ready. It wasn't really all that early, since the sun was rising later and later in the day as we drew closer to the winter solstice, it being already November 1st. I then heard an odd noise on the front porch and looked out the picture window to see what was causing it. Since I couldn't see anything there due to the position of the window, I went to the door, and couldn't see anything out that window either. I opened the door and there on the porch were two wolves, one obviously male and the other smaller, likely female. I held the door open and they padded in and began lapping at the water bucket in the kitchen as though they knew it was there. I furrowed my brow and watched them with curiosity. After drinking, the male then came over to me, sat down and looked at me intently. His amber eyes locked on mine. His ears were pinned back, then he leaned forward, closing the foot distance between him and my leg, and just leaned up against me. I rested my hand on his head - something I shouldn't have typically done - but as I made contact with him, instead of ripping into my hand with his teeth, he relaxed some and whimpered a bit. As soon as the female finished drinking, she nosed my other leg and I pet her head as well. They both then stood up and padded over to the door, as though they wanted back out. I let them back out and they curled up again on the porch, nestled together as the breeze blew, fluttering their fur as they lay there. Something told me - not in words, but in just sensations - that they were the second gift Max meant to have given me last night... Somehow, he must have guided them here to me, as wolves were not known to naturally occur here... at least not for quite a few decades, to be sure, and were illegal to have and breed without a crapload of permits, and it was clear the male was definitely capable of breeding.

I had no sooner shut the front door than Julie came out of the bathroom, brushing her hair a bit more and dressed for work. "Something up, Jim?" she asked.

I pondered for a bit whether to tell her what I thought or not. "Oh... somewhat. It seems a couple friendly wolves decided to join our little menagerie here."

Julie frowned at me. "That's not funny, Jim... not after last night's weirdness."

I shrugged. "I'm not kidding... they're curled up on the porch right now. And I know no one came up the drive last night or the cats would have roared us awake. They had to have come here all on their own."

Julie pushed past me and looked out the door window, then frowned at me. "Very funny, Jim. There's nothing there." She shoved me a bit firmly in the side. "That wasn't funny, winding me up that way."

I shrugged and smiled. "Ready to go, then?" I asked.

"What are we going to do about Cleo and the cubs?" Julie asked.

I sighed. "Well, Jack already knows she was with me at work last night, so I think he'll be a bit hesitant to enter my office now anyway, so it should be relatively alright to bring her to work like usual, and I dug out a basket for the cubs, so they'd be easier to bring back and forth." I said as I climbed the stairs and Julie followed.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" she said as I put the cubs in the soft lined basket, atop a layer of newspaper and a folded towel. Cleo seemed to approve as well and down the stairs we went. I opened the front door and stepped out. Cleo stepped out as well, and the two wolves sat up. Cleo showed no animosity or concern about them and actually nuzzled each in turn as she then stepped down the front steps. Julie stopped the moment she got one foot out the front door. "Jim....." she said with worry.

I turned, basket's handle in the crook of my left arm, and looked to her. "Yes, hon?"

She shakily pointed to the two wolves, who were just seated there, placidly watching her. I nodded. "Yeah, I told you they were here. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure they mean you no harm." She shut the door behind her and warily made her way past the two canines, giving them wide berth as she made her way to the Blazer, which was parked in front of the single-bay of the garage. Both wolves stood up to all fours and stayed at the edge of the top of the porch as Julie got into my car.

Cleo piled into the back seat like always, and I put the basket just behind the median armrest where she could keep an eye on her little ones with them still being secure as we drove. I shut my door and whistled for my two newest residents. They came padding over to me, tails low and wagging a bit and I led them into the pumphouse at the base of the windmill. There I got a bucket and filled it with water from the tap inside. They both lapped at it some, and I backed out the door, shutting them in. Years before I owned the farm, someone had put a dog-door in the side of the pumphouse, and someone else had put a hinged cover over it, turning it into a flap so cats could come and go but any bigger creatures couldn't. I opened the flap and turned the toggle at the top to keep it up, and whistled again. The male stuck his head out through the burlap bag flap, and then came bounding out and up to me. I pet his head and the female followed with less certainty.

"There you go, you two. Water's inside, do your business outside... and hole up if it gets too cold. I'll feed you later, but for now I have to head to work," I told them... not because I expected them to understand, but... it was just what I did. I'd always talked to my animals and I guess these two were now mine as well. I got into the Blazer and started it up. The canines milled about it a bit but got out of the way as I backed the bit down the driveway. They headed to the porch and howled as I took off down my farm lane.

"You're... not scared of those two?" Julie asked.

I shook my head. "Why would I be? They seem friendly enough. And even if they weren't, I know I can kick their butts if it came down to it. I might get a little messed up, but I wouldn't be the only one leaving blood on the floor."

Julie looked confused. "But they're wolves, Jim...."

I nodded, then thumbpointed back to Cleo. "And she's a lioness." I then chuckled and pointed to my neighbor's pasture as we bumped along the lane. "And those are cows. Of all three, those cows are the most dangerous."

Julie looked at me as though I'd spoken Swahili again, then raised her eyebrows and looked out the window at the holsteins just on the other side of the fence. "I wouldn't have thought they were more dangerous than wolves... but I know you wouldn't lie to me about something like that."

I nodded. "Besides... after last night, Max wouldn't have led anything to my house there without it being right and fitting they be there. Perhaps they were someone's illegal pets that needed a home... perhaps they're some ReCirq animals that escaped whoever had them. Perhaps they're just wild wolves needing a place they can be free. Whatever the reason, they were friendly to me. Far friendlier than I expected, and they didn't bother you, and Cleo wasn't upset by them, so that's good enough for me. I half expected Cleo to get all huffy like she did when Max came into the bedroom, but she just nosed them and they nosed her back like it wasn't anything out of the ordinary."

Julie looked to me, then looked back at Cleo. "Yeah, I guess it'd have to be alright if she doesn't mind. After all, she has the cubs to be defensive of."

I wrapped my arm around Julie and gave her a snug. As we reached the end of the driveway, I looked in the rearview mirror to see if the two wolves had followed me... and for the life of me, I thought I caught a glimpse of something white moving back up the lane in the distance, but when I turned around fully, there wasn't anything there. Was it just my imagination? I didn't know, but it left me with a smile on my face, all the way in to work.