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What Was Broken -

Chapter 6

"The prosecution would like to call Mister Sean Garret to the stand." Le'thal intoned portentously with a slight turn to point out where Sean sat alone in the first row of the gallery. Through the morning the defense had sought to rip apart the Doe's testimony but, while weakening it in a few places, had only cemented the damning details in the minds of the Jury. Sean had noticed a hardening of their expressions which, while at times appearing profoundly bored, had assumed a mien of resolve against the defense each time they tried to exploit any weakness. After the doe Sean felt that his own brief encounter was a side note hardly worth explanation to the panel. It was almost one thirty in the afternoon before she was released from the stand and returned to her seat in the back of the gallery.

The cat's fate was sealed and it was becoming ever more evident that the defense knew it, they were fighting a staying action rather than making any forward progress at defeating the prosecution's position.

Standing slowly, Sean gave the cat, who was looking across at him with an expression of pure hatred, a level stare and, surprising himself, a self-satisfied wink. The cat coughed a snarl and lifted the lips on one side of his muzzle. The other side, tight and inflexible, seemed to have lost the ability to do anything but sneer. Bright, deadly teeth flashed but Sean could not bring himself to feel trepidation at the display. Adjusting his suit with small tugs and a roll of his shoulders Sean stepped through the swinging door of the partition wall and walked easily to the witness stand.

"Please state your full name for the court, sir." Le'thal, who seemed to be the de-facto inquisitor of the male witnesses, asked genially after the bailiff had completed the swearing in oath over a bible bound in supple blue leather.

"Sean Adam Garret." Sean offered calmly with a glance at the jury. All of the females actually offered smiles in return and some of the men nodded their greetings.

"And what do you do, Mister Garret? May I call you Sean?"

"I work in an advertising firm in New York City, and yes, you may."

"So, suffice to say that you are strictly a middle-of-the-road sort of fellow, no fancy background of military training or extreme sports, anything like that?"

Sean raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "No, sir. I've never served. Prior to a few months ago I never worked out, beyond what was necessary to keep my suits from getting too tight."

"Prior to? Subsequent to what, sir? What's changed, and how?"

"Prior to my first visit to Las Vegas, where I realized just how out of shape I was. Since then I've started working out, attending Akido for self-defense, and I've taken a firearm safety course to gain a firearm permit."

"A permit you lacked?"

"Training I lacked, actually." Sean shrugged noncommittally, "Prior to that class the only training I'd had concerning firearms was to avoid them - particularly having them pointed at me."

"So, previous to your visit to Vegas, you'd never held a handgun?"

Sean shook his head, "No, sir, until I blew that puma's balls off, I had never picked up a pistol before."

"Mister Garret," the judge growled in warning, but his caution was eclipsed by an explosive roar from the side of the defense. Surging to his feet the puma caught the table in front of him and sent it sliding across the courtroom floor with a powerful surge of his muscles. Before the two burly bailiff's could do more than dodge he had catapulted over the table and charged the witness box.

"Bastard!" was about the only intelligible word that Sean, who merely stood in surprise, could make out as he stared down at the looming threat. Despite months of intensive training in his martial art of choice Sean still held out little expectation that he could take the cat in a one-on-one confrontation. Lucky for him the courtroom was hardly that situation.

Le'thal faded slightly to one side of the witness stand but did not retreat and Tracy leaped forward a shade more slowly than the cat, darting from behind the prosecutor's table to stand boldly in front of the enraged puma who was easily twice her mass. He never reached her, however, due to the pair of thick-shouldered uninforms bulling into him at a flat run. All three of them went down in a heap, the cat snarling and spitting as he tried to wrestle free.

"Mister Mullhune, get control of your client!" snapped the judge furiously, standing behind his bench and leaning forward over it. The baboon stood in front of his chair with a glower of angry surprise at the puma's unexpected, explosive outburst. The two bailiffs were quickly joined by four more and the floor in front of the judge's bench had become a mass of roiling limbs and explosive vocalizations, chiefly from the puma that was quickly being subdued and shackled. "Mister Garret, one more asinine comment like that and I'll have you up on contempt charges and thrown out of my courtroom!"

Sean glanced at the judge and offered an apologetic, contrite lift of his arms, as if not expecting the cat to take exception to his bald statement.

The puma was wrestled to his feet, still trying to jerk free of his captors, spitting furious epithets as he sought to get at the man who had crippled and disfigured him. The two burly bailiffs, panting from the exertion of fighting down the cat, hauled him away perfunctorily. The weimeriner, growling in irritation, had to rap his gavel several times before the chaos of the courtroom began to lessen. "That's it. Mister Mullhune, if you cannot get your client under control he will be forced to observe these proceedings via a video monitor in a cell, is that clear?"

The baboon nodded soberly after watching his client get dragged out of the court and the door leading to the detainment cells elsewhere was closed. "Yes, your honor. I apologize for the unexpected outburst, but that man's flippant goad was unacceptable."

"Agreed." The judge leveled another glare at Sean who could only try to offer a penitent expression, doing his best not to smile. He was rather pleased that he could elicit such fury and face its onrushing charge without breaking out in a cold sweat. "I am declaring a recess until tomorrow morning. I trust your client will have learned some self-control by then." With a rap of his gavel the judge spun and stalked off the stand, leaving the courtroom in a surprised tableau. Sean stepped down from the witness stand and approached the prosecutor's table while the jury was being released.

"That was fucking stupid." Liebengood snapped in a sharp hiss when Sean got to the table. "You may have painted a rosy picture of animal rage for the jury, but you could just as easily have damned your entire testimony by being a cocky asshole, Garret."

Contrite, Sean nodded, "Sorry, I - it wasn't something I sat down last night and thought about saying, sir. It just came out." He glanced over toward Tracy who had relaxed her hunting-cat fierceness to once more lounge on the edge of the table, one leg crossed over the other. "And thanks for coming to my defense, ma'am."

She leveled a flat stare at him that would have done Oda proud, "He could've knocked your skull in, and I would've let him after that stunt. But, honestly, I'd love to have ripped him apart just on the basis of Miss Dancer's testimony." Her tail twitched and lashed as it draped off the corner of the table.

Sean raised an eyebrow, nonplussed by the anger of his own legal team, "He's got over a hundred pounds on you."

"And that makes him easy, and slow." Tracy stood and stepped closer to Sean. Raising one hand, she poked him firmly but lightly just below the midpoint of one clavicle. He was surprised at the sharp pain her poke sent through his entire shoulder. "And you, kid, you deserve a good ass kicking for costing us almost an entire day of testimony."

"Ow," he rubbed where she had poked but the pain faded swiftly. "I'm sorry, it just came out."

"Well, don't let it come out again," she replied in a rumbling growl. "You've already saw to it that I can't rip his balls off. Don't give me an excuse to go looking for substitutes." She softened the admonishment with a gleaming smile of sharp teeth before turning to gather up her material. The others were also collecting their things and much of the sparsely populated gallery was already empty.

Sean joined the last of the reporters in the queue to retrieve his cell phone and, once that was secured, sent a quick text off to Oda explaining the unexpectedly early recess.

"That took balls." A voice commented blandly from nearby and Sean looked up, finding himself regarding a human probably a decade older than he was, with dark hair and brown eyes. He recognized him as the man who had been sitting in the back row of the prosecutor's gallery the past two days.

"Pardon? You are?"

The man held out a hand, "Gary. Gary Reginald, DEA." His handshake was firm and strong, "And that took some balls, what you did in there, challenging him like that. I've dealt with Bachman before, he doesn't take too kindly to stunts like that in his courtroom. He wasn't kidding about throwing you in lockup for contempt for what you did."

Sean shrugged, dropping his phone in his pocket and leaning back against the wall while foot traffic passed to and fro, wholly oblivious to any concerns beyond their own. "Yeah, well, I don't have a whole lot of my own. That's why I had to take our friend's."

The man named Gary chuckled softly, "Touché. Honestly, though. I read your dossier while I was recovering from surgery. The puma shot me in the back not ten minutes before he assaulted you. Took a lot of," Gary's mouth twitched in a sardonic smile, "courage to turn the tables on someone like that and neuter him in the process. Then chase down a couple of kidnappers and take one out single-handed on top of all that, well..."

"None of it was planned." Sean admitted, "It was supposed to be a quick slip in, secure my ex, and get the fuck out, no muss, no fuss. And sure as hell no rape, car chase, or any of that."

"Get her out and leave all the others? Lucky for them things went south for you, then."

"Look, it was the best we could hope for at the time," Sean shot back, bristling. "It was four of us verses all of them. Getting Ashley out was the best we could hope for. Once she was out and could tell the authorities about what was going on, _then_we figured we'd have enough manpower to go back for the rest. No one expected it to blow up this way, no one!"

"Alright, alright kid. Sorry if you think I'm busting your balls on that. It's just that me and mine have been spending the last few months in the aftermath of it all." Gary shoved his hands into his pockets and surveyed the milling crowds a contrite look on his face. "I just wanted to thank you for meting out a bit of well-deserved justice." He drew out a hand and offered it again and Sean clasped it warmly for a second time. "Now I just sit in the back to see what comes of him, and to see who else manages to get in on the defense side. Every last one of them is a crook of the highest order; those that have managed to stay out of the current purge. All of them want to make sure the cat doesn't say anything."

"Think they'll kill him?"

Gary nodded slowly, "Sure as hell hope so. It all depends on how his lawyers can leverage what he knows in the plea bargaining. If he says too much, he's as good as gutted. If he says too little, he'll be in a cage for the rest of his life. Maybe that'd be better, I think."

"What? Life in prison rather than a brutal gangland example?"

With a sinister grin Gary shook his head, "Yeah, a lifetime of suffering being pimped out as a ball-less bitch behind bars."

Sean chuckled, spying Oda emerging from an elevator at the far end of the hallway. "Now that would be satisfying justice." The crowds parted for Oda unconsciously as he strode down the hallway without any apparent indication that he would adjust his path for any who might be in his way. It was not that he appeared aggressive or threatening, but exuded a presence of predatory focus that the others near him sensed and moved to avoid without even being aware of the fact.

Oda nodded towards Gary and turned to Sean. "What happened? Why'd Bachman shut it down so early? Don't tell me the cat saw you up there, went weak in the knees, and decided to plead guilty, throwing himself on the mercy of the court."

Sean grinned and chuckled with a shrug, "I created a bit of a row with the defendant after being on the stand for, what, about one minute?"

"Less." Gary observed.

"'A bit of a row?'" Oda raised an eyebrow.

"Laid it out pretty boldly that I blew his nuts off. He didn't take it well for some reason."

"He charged the witness box." Gary explained with a smile of his own, returning his hands to his pockets. "Bachman got a bit angry about the disruption and adjourned until tomorrow." With a nod toward them he turned to leave, "And that's where I'll be tomorrow, too. See you there, Sean."

"I'll have to think up another zinger for him. See you then, Gary."

"That was? Another witness?" Oda asked.

"DEA agent that the cat shot."

"Ahh, I forgot about that."

Sean paused when Oda turned left rather than right, not toward the central atrium and instead down a back hallway that was relatively unused. "I parked on the staff deck, out back." The wolf explained when Sean caught up. They passed several lesser courtrooms and office clusters to a lone elevator at the far end. Just as they arrived the doors opened and a custodian emerged pushing a utility cart. The man thrust back a foot to hold the door while they made their way around the cart. The car was empty when they stepped on. When the doors closed it went up rather than down and Oda pressed the button for the third floor.

"It's good that you got out so early. We can hit up the bar I usually hang out at when I'm off duty." The wolf relaxed his stern mien to lean against the back wall. "Let you meet some of my friends." Sean raised an eyebrow with a chuckle.

"Friends who wear leather chaps and biker caps, with whips and riding crops? And who are all terribly fabulous?" He quipped as the elevator made its way slowly upward. The only illuminated button on the panel indicated that they would be stopping at the twelfth floor.

Oda grunted a laugh and grinned with a flash of powerful wolfish teeth, "Maybe."

"Well, at least I'll have a worthy escort to protect my... chastity." Sean grinned back, "Any friend of a big bad wol-" He was interrupted when the elevator doors opened to a roar of shouting voices that brought his head around with a snap. It was a litany he had heard before - Drop the gun, release the woman! - and it's reprise sent an express train of ice racing up his spine. Oda pushed away from the back wall of the elevator before quickly dodging to one side. Two forms, human both, surged backward onto the elevator, the one in the rear with an arm around the waist of the one in front. The one being so held seemed to be the motive force of their rearward charge, driving the pair into the back wall of the elevator where the wolf had been standing with a grunt from the human in the rear.

"Bitch," an angry male voice cursed under another, deeper rumble of growing anger; the dangerous growl of a surprised wolf. The doors began to close and Sean reached to stop them, only to find a large, angular black object thrust toward his face. "Don't, motherfucker!"

A pistol.

Fat and deadly, its barrel a black cavern of steel spiraling into darkness, halted Sean in place. As the doors whispered shut they cut off the angry shouts from beyond with a banal elevator ding. The pistol swung away from Sean's face to level at Oda's as the elevator began to move.

"Back the fuck up, asshole." The man snapped, tightening his grip on the startled, but furious rather than frightened, woman who had driven him into the back wall. Sean took them both in with a single eye blink while the weapon was transitioning from him to its new target. The man; middle aged tanned white tending toward paunch, black ink tattoos on his exposed forearm and neck, dressed in a second-hand brown business suit, a set of handcuffs dangling from one wrist. The woman; also middle age, also tan, much higher quality dress suit, her facial expression pure fury.

Hostage taker; hostage.

"Back it up or die , dog, I don't fucking care!"

Sean stood from the corner into which he had retreated, "Hey!" he bellowed. The man's head snapped toward him, his body twisting to follow, using the angry woman as a shield. His arm swept across to bring the weapon around on Sean again.

It never arrived.

Sean jerked up one hand and struck the man's gun hand with the flat of a palm, knocking his arm wide. A deafening explosion filled the elevator car when the gun went off sending a bullet into the wall behind Sean and filled the confined car with a haze of gunpowder smoke. The woman screamed in surprise and Sean wrapped his hand over the gun, hooking his index finger against the man's meaty trigger finger. He grabbed the beefy forearm with his free hand to push upward still further as he stepped in, turning his body and pushing the arm away while he stepped into the widening gap between the man's gun arm and his hostage. "Bastard! Let the fuck go!" The man hissed with surprised anger, releasing the woman to grapple with Sean.

She immediately turned in place and slammed her knee into his groin with enough force to make him grunt in pain. She fell back when the man's head was driven forward by the hard fist of white fur that hammered into the back of his skull. Despite both agonizing blows the man struggled on pure adrenaline, caroming about the confines of the elevator while the woman scrambled to stay out of the way of the two struggling men and Oda tried to find an opening past Sean to land another crushing blow. Sean bulled the gunman into the back corner of the elevator, his attention solely on the gun, trusting the wolf to handle everything else.

Slowly, inexorably, he watched the hammer cock back. He had managed to hook the man's trigger finger with one of his own, but the man was still strong enough to keep adding pressure to the trigger. Knowing that when it went off the pistol's slide would mangle his hand Sean repositioned his grip down to the hand holding it. A blinding flash stung his eyes and a thunderous explosion filled the elevator when the gun fired. Burning gunpowder nipped at Sean's face as a shower of sparks and shattered plastic rained down from a ruined light fixture above.

Sean quickly shifted his grip back to the firearm as the man squeezed the trigger again, the barrel hot against his fingers. The hammer quickly cocked back once more but when it dropped forward it struck the back of Sean's thumb impotently. Surging forward, the tattooed man forced his way out of the corner and Sean hauled heavily on his arm causing them to spin across the elevator again.

"Let it go," Sean grunted when they were both temporarily face to face, "Or I'll let the wolf eat you!"

"Asshole!" The man grunted, his face a rictus of frustrated anger, "Die, fucker! I'm gonna ki-" His head turned abruptly, the furious visage was displaced by a large white fist against which his face deformed alarmingly with a wet, meaty crunch. A fan of bloody spittle flew from the squashed circle of his mouth and he staggered. The hammer of the pistol slapped Sean's thumb twice in painful, rapid succession. The stagger became a twitchy jerk as the woman's foot slammed up from behind to land another merciless blow to his crotch.

"Bashturd!" The man's voice was slurred with a foam of frothy, bloody spittle, his eyes dazed as they sought Sean. He cocked his unencumbered arm back while the hammer crunched down on Sean's thumb again. His first blow missed as Sean hauled upon the arm he held, pushing and twisting the man whose balance was beginning to falter under the painful onslaught of woman and wolf. With a wordless snarl of fury he cocked his arm back again.

Into the gaping jaws of an enraged white wolf.

Pearl white teeth gleaned as they clamped down on the brown clad arm, arresting its swing with a violent jerk, at last distracting the man from the struggle for the gun. A noisy tik-tik-tik joined the heavy panting, grunts, snarls, and rising howl of pain from the outnumbered gunman. Oda's lips peeled back in a terrifying snarl as the muscles of his jaw bulged. The man's body jerked and twisted with muffled thumps as the wolf plowed a fist mercilessly into unprotected ribs. The man gurgled an inarticulate scream and stiffened when the noisy tik-tik-tik became a snapping electrical buzz. Standing next to Oda, mirroring the wolf's toothy snarl, the woman held a hand tazer shoved against the naked flesh of her attacker's neck.

Sean felt the grip on the gun tighten in spasmodic shock and shifted his grip further down the barrel. With a jerking twist he rotated the weapon toward the man's fingers, twisting it until the barrel touched the back of the man's hand, ignoring the muffled pop of the man's trigger finger dislocating. By that point the man was beyond noticing one more agony. In a coup-de-grace the woman took the tazer from his neck and jabbed it against his cheek with a fresh electrical snap. His face contorted stunningly, eyes rolling up, and a froth of bloody spittle foamed from his mouth.

Oda released the man's arm, now with a markedly unnatural bend between wrist and elbow, and the three of them watched him collapse in an unconscious heap. Sean looked down at the gun in his hand and then up at the shattered light fixture with a ragged hole in it.

"Sean," Oda rumbled, kneeling over the unmoving body, "Hit the emergency stop."

Blinking, Sean dropped his gaze to the wolf. Without a shred of gentleness Oda flopped the man over on his face and wrenched his arms behind his back. Sean sought the bright red stop override and pushed it with his thumb. A loud, buzzing claxon filled the car as it slowed to a smooth halt. Ignoring the bend in the man's arm the wolf secured both wrists with the handcuffs the man conveniently brought with him. Sean rubbed his ears, not surprised to find them ringing after two shots from a high caliber handgun in such a confined space.

"Open the panel, take out the phone." Oda stood and leaned against the far wall. "Tell them that the perp has been subdued and secured."

Sean fumbled the phone from the cradle, not surprised to find his hands shaking. As he put it to his ear he held the pistol, butt first, toward Oda. With reflexive ease the wolf took it, dropped the magazine, and cleared the chamber catching the loose round as it tumbled free.

"We're here!" A voice crackled through the phone as Sean put it to his ear, "Got you folks on camera. You okay?" Sean looked up, casting about for the camera but he could not see it.

"Yeah," he signed while, at his feet, the man groaned as he came around. "Perp's subdued and secure."

"Gotcha! Good job. Any injuries?"

"To him, yeah," Sean said, inspecting his battered thumb. "He's gonna need a doctor." He stepped back further into the corner as the man began to stir, writing slowly on the floor leaving a bloody smear beneath his battered face.

"M' arm," the man moaned, his voice heavily slurred. "Y' brode m' fuggin arm!" Sean glanced up at the display over the elevator door.

"Looks like we stopped between five and six, on our way down to three." He said into the phone.

"We've got people on the way there, don't worry." The voice assured him from the other end of the phone. It sounded male but Sean could not determine, nor did he care, if it was human or not.

"Just tell them not to shoot." Sean pushed the red button again. It sank in slightly and then popped out to its original position. The alarm went silent as the elevator began to move again.

"M'ff fuggin ashole, y' brod m' -" The man's burbling, bloody protests went silent when the woman squatted down and held the tazer, still crackling with that menacing tik-tik-tik, in front of his face.

"Sean, how're you holding up?" Oda rumbled loudly. Sean held out one hand, palm down, to show him how badly it was shaking. He struggled to hang up the phone and waited for the elevator to finish its descent.

"Scared shitless, but I'm okay," he said as he kept flexing his thumb. Beyond it being badly bruised he had emerged from the fight unscathed. "Ears are ringing pretty good. You?"

"I'm good." Oda shrugged, rolling his shoulders, "Can't hear shit, but I'm good. How about you ma'am?" he asked of the woman menacing her kidnapper with the tazer. She stood, turned it off, and slipped it back into her handbag.

"I'm with him." She jerked a thumb toward Sean, holding up one hand which shook just as badly. "Scared out of my mind and right fucking pissed off. Fucker just ruined my smoke break." She cocked her foot back as if to kick the man but resisted the temptation. "And right now I could really use a smoke." Abruptly she turned and threw her arms around Sean in a crushing hug, staggering him back into the wall. "Thank you," Giving Sean a quick peck on the cheek she turned and strode over the downed gunman, stepping on one of his hands. He let out an agonized bellow and bucked against the handcuffs as the narrow heel of her shoe ground his fingers against the floor. Oda was more prepared for her grateful embrace, draping one arm around her as the elevator dinged and the doors began to open. "Thank you both!"

Three Nevada troopers were positioned just outside the elevator doors; one kneeling with his gun at the ready. Two others were standing just to either side of the door, hands on holstered pistols, positioned where they could scan the interior of the elevator quickly. The kneeling trooper focused on the writhing man screaming on the floor and covered him with his sidearm. Sean found himself under the regard of a uniformed pit bull but no gun was pointed at him. "Clear and secure!" the kneeling officer shot back over his shoulder without taking his gaze from his target. The pit bull held one hand up toward Sean and beckoned him forward.

Sean needed no further coaxing than that, quickly sidling around the open door of the elevator while the kneeling officer stood and stepped back a couple of paces, without lowering his gun. Oda followed Sean out, his arm still protectively around the woman's waist, every inch the dashing hero. Beyond the elevator the hall had been cleared and locked down by a score of edgy uniforms. At the far end a throng of gawkers and media clustered tight behind a wall of police, cameras held high to get a view, any view, of the action.

The pit bull touched Sean's upper arm and waved toward a nearby door. "Gentlemen, ma'am, this way." He pushed the door open and held an arm out to guide them into the room beyond. "One of you recovered the gun?" Behind them the elevator was swarmed and the injured man yelled in angry protest as he was man-handled out and to a waiting wheelchair.

"I did." Oda offered, his voice still overly loud, drawing back the waist of his suit coat slightly to reveal the unloaded pistol thrust under his belt just below the shoulder holster that held the wolf's own sidearm. He fished the magazine out of a pocket along with the one loose bullet. The dog nodded, noting also the badge clipped to the wolf's belt.

"Very good. Were any of you injured?" The pit bull was joined by a couple more officers, one of them with a large plastic yellow toolbox. Setting it on the table the officer took out a couple of heavy duty plastic bags and then donned a pair of vinyl surgical gloves. She held out one of the bags and Oda dropped the magazine and bullet into it. Into the second bag went the pistol.

"No," Sean answered while the wolf and evidence technician secured the weapon. He held up his hand and looked at his thumb; it was abraded and a few small cuts bled where the hammer had cut skin. He hardly counted that an injury considering what could have happened. The dog looked at it as well, then handed him a band-aid with a toothy canine smile.

"Even better." He whuffed with affable good humor, "If you folks would just wait here, I'll get the paperwork so we can take your statements, then you can be on your way." He stepped out with the evidence tech and the third officer took up post just outside the door.

Oda sank down into one of the opulent conference room chairs and leaned back, "Well, so much for the afternoon." He rumbled sourly, "You two do a couple pages of statements, I've got a whole report to file." His gaze drifted over to the woman who leaned back against the table. "And she still needs a cigarette." He barked with a smile and laugh.

"Bad." She concurred with a twitching smile, but it was clear the adrenaline of the event was beginning to fade. Sean felt wrung out and exhausted as his own rush began to taper off. His knees felt far too weak and his hands were shaking even more than they had been, now from fatigue rather than excitement. "I'm Trish, by the way. Who're you?" Introductions were passed around while they waited for the return of the officer who had become their liaison.

A few moments later the pit bull returned with a sheaf of papers and a handful of pens. Another officer, this one in a far more official looking uniform and silver bars on his collar, accompanied them. While the dog arranged the paperwork on the table the newcomer looked them over. "I'm sorry that happened, gentlemen, ma'am." His gaze fell to each of them in turn. "Drew was brought in on bench warrant and broke free outside the courtroom. Have you had any interaction with him before, ma'am?"

Trish shook her head adamantly, "I never even saw his face until these two forced him to let me go. No, I've never seen him before, but if I do again he'll regret it."

"Unfortunate for him, having these two on that elevator." The lieutenant nodded, offering his hand, "And thank you, both, for your service today. We'll try not to hold you any longer than necessary. Officer Stands will take your statements." His attention settled on Oda, "Agent, you can submit your statement now, we have the incident on video so your prepared report can be submitted when you're complete with your current duties." Sean shook the proffered hand and Oda did likewise, finishing with Trish who seemed to just want to be out of there as swiftly as possible.

"Thanks, LT. I'll drop it off at your precinct house here, if that's okay with you, tomorrow sometime."

The lieutenant shrugged with a smile, "Tomorrow or next week, either will be fine. He won't be arraigned on these new charges until his current warrant is dealt with. But he certainly won't be seeing the green side of the grey bars for a long time to come. Thanks." Sketching a salute he turned and wandered out. They heard an immediate change in his demeanor even before the door swung closed; bellowing for the media and gawkers to be cleared out of the area.

Sean looked aside at Oda, "You had a gun?" he grunted, "Why the hell didn't you use it?!"

Oda leaned his elbows on the table, dropping his head to rub his ears with his hands. "I didn't dare, not enough space. I didn't want to risk hitting either of you." He tilted his head to look up through his thick white brows at Sean, "You handled him just fine, Sean, just fine."

By the time they were done Sean was utterly wrung out and almost as tense as he was after his first day at court. The pit bull helped Trish with the complicated, multi-page form that comprised a 'witness statement' while Oda helped Sean through his own packet. The wolf had his own finished within minutes. It only took them a shade more than an hour and, once that was dealt with, Oda drove into a more commercial area of town to a bar called the 'Dusty Hat and Tumbleweed'. Half of it was sports bar, with flat screens everywhere, including at each table. But the other half, separated by a solid wall to block out the sound of the sports bar, was more low-key and a lot quieter.

Oda greeted the bartender by name and secured a table even though the sign at the door said 'wait to be seated'. A waitress glided up with a winning smile and greeted Oda with a dramatic, asset enhancing lean and kissed him on the nose.

"Whitey! It's been almost two weeks! Where you been?"

Oda dug in his coat pocket and produced his tobacco pouch. "Coast to coast, lass, coast to coast, stalking big game as always. Brought a friend to town to show off the sights." Oda whuffed and gave her nose a very doggish lick, making her titter merrily. "Sean, Stacy. Likewise?" He waved the stem of the pipe, pointing to each of them in turn, before connecting it to the bowl.

She turned and gave Sean a once over, beaming. "He's a looker, wolfy, hon." She gave Sean a flirty wink after her inspection drifted across both of his hands and noted no rings. "Certainly a cut above the typical claim jumper you bring around here."

"You know I don't bring my runners by here, Stacy." Oda admonished with a chuckle while he packed tobacco into the bowl of his pipe. Already the warm vanilla and berry overtones stood out at the table. "He's just the fiancé of my best friend's sister."

The pretty woman shifted gears smoothly without breaking stride, the bold challenge in her eyes softening, "She's a lucky girl, then. What can I do y'all for?"

"Something smooth and long on the wet. Sean?" Slipping the pipe between his teeth he lit it with a small windproof lighter before slipping it back into the pouch and returning that to his pocket.

"Rum and vanilla cream soda, if you know the mix? Make it long on the soft, lean on the hard, with lots of rock." Sean offered with a smile of his own, relaxing back into the booth once he had ceased being a prospective score. Stacy bobbed her head with a good natured smile and flounced off to the bar. "Come here often, do you? And with your 'other' boyfriends, to boot?" Sean challenged jokingly, feigning a jealous tilt of his head and upraised eyebrow.

Oda leaned back and laughed warmly, smoke puffing through his whiskers. "I've been in Vegas four years and, in all that time, I haven't had a 'boyfriend' of any sort. A few dates, now and then, but nothing steady, and nothing in almost a year." The wolf's teeth gleamed around the stem of his pipe with a grin, "Until you."

"Last night, yeah." Stacy returned in a few minutes with their drinks, in surprisingly tall glasses. Throughout the rest of the afternoon Oda held court at the corner table, a few regulars coming by to chat, some taking seats for a time, others standing, all laughing and jocular without a single serious issue. They all seemed to think he was a bounty hunter and Sean figured that his actual job could not be that far from the truth; he did go out and apprehend fugitives. He just didn't get paid a bounty to do so.

They ordered a meal while they traded stories and conversations with a host of people both fascinating and alien to Sean's east coast sensibilities. From rustics in shtick western wear to sports fans in five-digit suits, all seemed to be familiar with the white wolf 'bounty hunter'. Sean worked his way through a too-large but perfectly prepared steak with spicy thick cut home fries while Oda just had a steak, if a somewhat larger one still.

The bartender abandoned his post a couple of times to wander by, refreshing their drinks personally, and chatted between orders. As the sun crept closer to the horizon he came by one last time with a huge grin on his grizzled, wide face. "Why, ain't we playin' the 'ero t'day." He rumbled good naturedly. At Sean's confused look he turned to one of the nearer televisions suspended from the ceiling and changed the channel with the remote jutting from one pocket.

" - leaked earlier today, an attempted escape at the Las Vegas Federal Court House was foiled by a couple of good Samaritans." The news anchor was saying as the football game was replaced with news. Floating just to one side of the anchor was a frozen tableau that looked all too familiar; a view over Trish's shoulder while she stood immobile, digging in her handbag while three others fought tooth and nail in the far corner. Sean's back, his head blurred out, both hands holding up the forearm of a man who looked like a prize fighter, while Oda stood with an arm cocked and a bestial snarl rippling his muzzle. "Earlier today convicted carjacker Drew Patterson assaulted the police escort bringing him to court, escaping with a weapon and taking a hostage, entertainment license manager Trish Yarbrough.

"In his haste to escape he dragged her into an elevator where two, as yet unidentified, men were. After the surprise entry, they began to struggle with Patterson, during which the gun went off. In the ensuing struggle Mister Petterson was subdued, suffering multiple broken bones, bruises, and tazer burns." The still image was switched to a mug shot of the gunman's face, taken soon after he was recovered, showing two nasty black welts on one cheek. One eye was almost swollen shut, his face a collection of purpling bruises and cuts. "In the following video clip, leaked by unknown sources within the court house, you can see how quickly things went from bad to worse for the would-be escapee."

The still image returned, then switched over to a video feed of Sean and Oda in the elevator as the doors opened. Sean leaned back in his seat and stared, slack jawed, as he watched himself fight with an assailant who looked to have an easy hundred pounds on him, all of it solid muscle. The video played on violently for almost two minutes before the man collapsed and the video froze again. "Whoever these two gentlemen are, the city of Las Vegas thanks you for your heroic efforts! And when we return, Barker will take you through -" The channel flipped back to the football game already in progress as the bartender laughed loudly.

"I'd recognize tha' big ass wolf inna forest full o' 'em, I would." The man drawled as he slapped a beefy hand on Oda's shoulder and thrust his other one out toward Sean. "Pretty bangup job y'all did, there! I'm sore glad yer on our side, big fellah." He said to Oda as he pumped Sean's hand vigorously. "Hate t' be on th' wrong end o' yer anger inna dark alley, sure 'nuf. 'Er a brigh' lit elevater, too!" Laughing, he turned and strode back to the bar. Stacy glided up a few minutes later, all smiles.

"Was that there you guys on the news?" She asked, eyebrows lifted. Oda nodded slowly with a smile of his own and Sean could only shrug. "Damn, y'all could've told me! I'd have loved hearing about it before seeing it on the news." She tittered and tapped Oda on the side of his broad muzzle with a fist lightly. "Dog th' bounty hunter aint got nothing on you, Whitey."

"Yeah, like teeth." Oda drawled, "We gotta be heading out, Stace. Let me get that tab so we can get the night started. Got a trace to follow all too damn early in the morning."

Stacy winked and cocked her hip, "Tab? What tab? Y'all just sat here all afternoon and didn't drink a drop." She scolded with a wink before flouncing off with the ever present insouciant sway of her shapely hips.

Sean glanced across at the wolf, his own eyebrows raised. "What the hell is it about this city, Oda? Every time I come here, it's all women and men with guns!"

Oda slipped out of the booth and stood, stretching, "You're just a hero and don't know it, Sean." He offered a hand to help Sean out of the booth, then slapped him on the back. "You did real good today. You did real good months ago saving your ex. You're just a good man, Sean, and those are all too rare nowadays." Sean slipped a couple of Jacksons under his plate before they left. Oda draped an arm around his shoulders and leaned close, "Just don't go making a habit of it, okay? We've only got so many guys with guns to go around!"

On the short drive back to the safe house Sean's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and answered, not surprised to see that it was Taws calling. "Hey there, love."

"Hey there, love." Taws' voice echoed in a tense, level growl that sent Sean's nonexistent hackles up immediately, "What am I watching right now?"

Sean did a quick mental calculation, Nevada was in the Pacific time zone, three hours earlier than where she was in New York. The phone gave the current local time as just a little after seven in the evening which meant that it was just after ten pm where she was. "From your voice, love, I'd have to imagine you're watching the news?" He hazarded with a wince.

"You bet, and what do I see on the news but you in your Garvisci suit going toe to toe with some guy in an elevator?" the edginess had not left her voice; if anything it had gotten deeper into the zone of frayed temper.

"Sorry, dear, he just kind of ... ran in on us!" He explained gamely with a glance at Oda. The wolf flicked one ear without looking away from the road ahead to indicate that he was listening.

"You could have called!" Taws barked in a mixture of anger and fearful frustration at being so far distant, "Why do I have to find out you're almost getting yourself killed - again - by another crazed gunman_, on the news?_"

"Hon, it just happened a few hours ago! I didn't think that it'd make the nightly news in New York that fast."

"But you still could've called to let me know, Sean. I miss you and I'm worried, then I see that? They said that people had been shot! And here I am sitting and watching and wondering why I haven't gotten a call after that!"

"Taws, Taws, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to not tell you. It's all still a confusing mess. I've got Oda here with me and you know he would never let anything hurt me."

"Yeah, because if anything did, he'd have to explain to Lazy why he needs to be rescued from his little sister. I'd be all over his ass if anything happened to you on his watch."

Sean felt his lips twitching slightly as he glanced aside knowingly at the wolf who he saw was likewise grinning slightly at the corners of his muzzle. "He's been helping me out a lot, hon, but I miss you."

He heard Taws take a breath and let it out in a huffing growl as she forced aside her ire, "I miss you too, love. How goes the trial?"

"Pretty well, so far, but I was only on the stand a minute today before they adjourned until tomorrow. I was just on my way out when that guy charged the elevator." It took him a while to talk Taws down the rest of the way, but eventually he managed. He never could stay mad at her, and thankfully she was the same way with him. An angry girlfriend with teeth and claws was not something he needed! Thankfully, once she was calm their talk drifted into more mundane aspects of her work. She only asked about the trial again tentatively, at the end. "Hardest part's tomorrow, love. But I'll manage."

"Dry cleaners worth a damn, downtown?" Sean asked as they stepped into the house. After the torrent of the night before the day had been positively pleasant, though the rough hardscrabble road had been unpleasantly bumpy to navigate that morning due to erosion. During the day someone, either a resident or a road crew, had taken some machine and smoothed it back out.

"There's one in the court house on the third floor, not far from where we got off the elevator." Oda replied. Sean took off his coat and looked it over. Other than a couple of smudges across the back where he had ended up against the elevator wall it had come through the melee with only the lingering stench of spent gunpowder on it. "Considering that they're serving lawyers and judges that should tell you about their quality. And prices."

"Impeccable and steep." Sean conceded as he hung up the coat and began taking off his shirt. "Just like home. I'm going to hit the shower." Setting the shirt aside he then turned his attention on his pants without any consideration of modesty, as he might have around Taws. He almost added 'feel free to step in', but somehow couldn't bring himself to say it.

The wolf did, anyway, popping his head in just as Sean was rinsing off. "Don't shut it off when you get out." He rumbled with a smile and a slow up and down leer, "I need to rinse off this gunpowder stink." Sean had to acknowledge that; despite having worn two layers of suit he had found himself stinking of pistol even naked. Reaching out he grasped one of Oda's ears and tugged.

"Like you can get that stench out from between your shoulder blades." He pointed out as he dragged the laughing wolf into the crowded shower. "Let me help, then we can catch a movie."

As they had the morning before they shared the shower in relative quiet, Sean lathering up the fur of Oda's back while the wolf worked his own front. Rather than limiting himself to Oda's upper back, which was difficult for anyone to reach themselves regardless of species, Sean merely started there and worked downward. He grinned as the wolf looked back over his shoulder curiously when Sean's lathering ministrations worked down to his lower back, then tail, and beneath that to his rump.

"Okay now, tease." The wolf rumbled when Sean stroked the rich lather into the valley under his sodden tail. "Get out of here before I ravish you in the wet." He laughed. With a last wet whop of his palm on Oda's lathered rump Sean stepped out and snagged a towel. Scrubbing himself dry and eschewing clothes beyond his tattered pale-red robe, Sean wandered out into the main room to ameliorate the sharp chill of the AC before stretching out on the couch with the towel draped around his neck.

Oda emerged almost twenty minutes later while Sean was browsing the plethora of satellite channels on the television. The old, worn CRT was better than nothing since Sean had left his laptop at home. The wolf's damp fur stuck out at comical angles. "The Last Paladin is on tonight if you want to catch it. Starts in about fifteen minutes." They had watched the first part of the trilogy, End of Stars, the night before

Oda stepped to the back door, "Perfect. I'm going to air dry a bit." He stepped outside where the dryness of Nevada's air would complete the job a heap of towels could not. Sean flipped to a national news show, catching once again the end of 'an attempted escape; foiled'. The national team, however, had linked the heroes from the elevator to an earlier exploit by the same duo in the same city some months before, replaying Sean's takedown of Abraham's minion during Ashley's rescue but without revealing the identities of the heroes there, either.

Oda padded in just before the hour rolled over, his fur less disheveled, and wandered into the kitchen with a click of claws and a squeak of protesting floorboards. "Popcorn?"

"Sure. What kind?" Sean craned his neck to look over the back of the couch, "Oh, we're on the news, again. This time with the video of Ashley's hostage rescue added on."

"Fun times." Oda glanced up from examining the box of microwave popcorn, "It's kettle corn, apparently. A little sweet, less butter. You good?"

"Yeah, that's my preferred flavor, actually."

"You know, if you stay in this city much longer, Sean, they're going to end up giving you a damned parade." The wolf commented humorously, tossing a bag into the microwave.

"Still won't improve my odds at the slots, though."

"Hah! With the key to the city you can just unlock the damn things and take what you want."

"As if." They lapsed into companionable silence while the popcorn rattled away in the microwave. When it dinged Oda fished it out using just his claws. "Oh, pro tip; turn the bag over before you open it all the way, you can shake the un-popped kernels out without losing the popped ones."

Oda grunted in admiration as he tried it. "Neat trick," he granted, his tail bouncing behind as he moseyed over and crunched on a handful of popcorn. Instead of taking a seat beside Sean he plopped himself down in front, sitting cross legged and leaning back to rest his head against one of Sean's leg while he continued to snack. "World of the internet and 24/7 news media," Oda muttered around his popcorn, pondering back on the news Sean had mentioned "Can't escape it."

Sean supposed not, as he began to absently run his fingers through the fur at the back of Oda's neck without thinking about it. He was used to such casual closeness with Taws while they watched television so he did not realize what he was doing until Oda pressed his head back slightly with an agreeable rumble. Sean glanced down, his fingers stilled but still buried in fur, until Oda looked back with one eye curiously.

"You don't have to stop."

Sean felt a brief heat suffuse his neck as he smiled, "Yeah - sorry, habit." He splayed his fingers and curled them into the thick white ruff, "I've come to like the feel of fur, with Taws." He worked his hand slightly to one side and into the fur beneath one of Oda's ears. The wolf tilted his head into the gentle stroke while the opening credits of the movie, replete with a starry galactic vista, played on the low resolution television. "She always enjoys it." Sean was somewhat surprised to notice that the tips of Oda's ears were tufted, like those of a Mexican wolf or lynx. How that detail had escaped his notice was rather jarring. There were so many things about the wolf that were right out there to see but so easily overlooked.

Oda half closed his eyes and nodded slowly, "Indeed. She's trained you well." His head rested back against Sean's stomach while his blunt, clawless human fingers gently worked into the fur and massaged beneath his ears. As the movie played Sean worked lightly at the warm, now dry, fur under his fingers. After procuring a second bag of popcorn, Oda joined him on the couch, forcing Sean into the corner at one end while the wolf's head rested against his leg. Sean tried to ignore how close the wolf was to his just barely covered manhood and envied the wolf that nicely concealing sheath. With Oda so posed he worked at his throat and upper chest, glancing down when the wolf chuffed and twitched slightly, to find one of his fingertips brushing a small, fur hidden nipple. With a smile he decided to see if it was even half as sensitive as Taws' were.

It was; both of them were, and while the movie's epic final battle scene played out he teased the pair with light brushing strokes of his fingertips. Oda rumbled and growled but did not protest in the least. Even when Sean's hand worked lower, splaying out and massaging deep into his fur, and found the subtle thinning that marked one of the vestigial hints of the wolf's secondary nipples. Where Taws actually had small, firm nubs in the center of those vestigial points Oda merely had less fur, but they proved to be similarly sensitive.

Oda cocked his head back with a huge, toothy yawn as the last remaining Paladin, beaten and bloodied but not bowed, shouldered his pulse rifle and strode through the remnants of his carnage and into the ending credits. "Hmmm, getting late." Sean glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost eleven thirty, later than he had expected because he had not remembered just how long that movie was.

"Yeah." Sean drew his hands up and set aside the empty bowl that had once held the third bag of popcorn until they emptied it. "Exciting day, now some peace." Oda stood and shook himself, settling his fur, then reached out to grasp Sean's hand and haul him bodily upright. While Sean took their glasses and bowls into the kitchen Oda killed the television and turned out the lights.

Oda preceded Sean into the room that had been ceded over to the human's use and Sean smiled, actually looking forward to sharing his sleep with the wolf, now. After years with Ashley, and now with Taws, the idea of an empty bed left him feeling forlorn. He flipped off the last of the lights, plunging the house into inky darkness and shuffled over until he reached the bed. There was a little moonlight filtering in through a slight gap in the curtains but his eyes were not yet used to the dark, forcing him to fumble a bit. He found one of Oda's legs, then his hip and, as Sean moved his knees up onto his bed, the wolf's rump and tail. He gave the muscular, fur clad curve a stroke before moving his hand up toward the small of his back.

As Sean managed his way onto the bed and stretched out Oda rolled onto his side and shifted further back to give him more room. Sprawling out on his side Sean cracked a yawn equally as wide, with his unimpressive square toothed human mouth, as the wolf's had been earlier. Oda reached an arm across his side and drew him back, shifting himself closer, until once again they rested comfortably close as they had the night before, replete with the comfortable, warm rigidity of the wolf's sheath shifting about and then settling almost naturally in the hollow of Sean's ass.

"Dream well, Sean."

Sean nodded sleepily and stretched a bit as he finally settled himself, unruffled by the familiarity of the wolf resting his sheath just so. Oda was not just any male, to Sean, and he gave him more freedom than he might ever otherwise extend to another male, wolf or otherwise. "Yeah, no cats."

But, alas, there were indeed cats in Sean's dreams.

For a time he slumbered and dreamed of inconsequential things, but eventually found himself lost in a cityscape of dark, unidentifiable buildings. Some were towering, blocky edifices built to the specification of pride and hubris, while others were low and sprawling built to other ends. All were foreboding and unlit, dark windows gaping out at a landscape of ice and snow.

For a time he wandered, lost and alone and cold, wondering where the city had gone. The streets were empty; no cars, operational or abandoned, populated them. No pedestrians on the sidewalks, street level windows dark and empty of even mannequins. "You'll never escape." The rumbling, angry purr was close yet distant, echoing through the dark alleyways of untenanted buildings. "I'll always be here, waiting!" Sean spun about, clad only in his business suit and exposed to the biting cold. Looking down, Sean raised his hand slightly to find that he held a nondescript pistol, similar to the ones that he and Taws owned, but also different; more deadly, full of eager potential to kill.

"And I'll be here, looking!" He yelled into the darkness, his voice echoing from the buildings and fading away, muffled by the lazily drifting snow where the cat's was not. "I will find you and I will kill you!"

"You won't!" the cat's triumphant yowl filled his dream, coming as if from every building at once, above and around him, with deafening volume. "You can't! I am as much a part of you as death; something you will never escape!"

"Come out, we'll see whose death awaits!" Sean challenged, brandishing the pistol. Something warm brushed Sean's shoulder and he started, turning only to find Oda at his side, not dressed at all. His thick pelt shifted subtly under an unfelt breeze and his gentle regard was only a veneer over the predatory deadliness beneath.

"Shhh, Sean, I'm here." The wolf in his dreams rumbled. "Let's kill him, together." The wolf was then behind Sean, his arms draped loosely around his middle to rest against his stomach, pulling him close. Sean was naked, and the icy bite was bitter. He pressed back against the comforting warmth of the wolf, feeling that firm ridge against his backside.

"I'm here, Sean." Oda rumbled as Sean twitched, his eyes flashing open to dim moonlit darkness. The edge of the bed a short distance away greeted his startled gaze. His breathing was swift and the air conditioner had plunged the house to a biting chill. Against his back Oda moved slightly, nuzzling Sean's shoulder. "It's just a dream, I'm here. He can't get you." Heaving a huge sigh Sean let his body slump back against the protective reality of the wolf.

"Fucking cat," he groused.

"Where he is, so will I be." Oda rumbled reassuringly with a gentle embrace of the arm that draped over Sean's body. He could feel the wolf's chest moving against his back, soft fur warm and comforting. Further down the wolf's hips pressed against his back, the sheath moving ever so slightly against his ass with each breath, strong legs swathed in fur against the back of Sean's thighs and calves. "Close your eyes, and I will be at your side. He has no more power."

Sean closed his eyes and let his breathing slow, consoled by the physical presence at his back, but sleep was denied him for fear of that icy, empty city echoing with the cat's sinister growl. His wandering thoughts went nowhere for a time as he felt the wolf slip back into his own slumber, the gentle embrace of that arm slacking in relaxation. Against his ass Sean could feel the shift of the wolf's fur enshrined length sliding with each slow, easy breath.

Is that what Taws felt, that first night they ever spent together? Sean close at her back, his flaccid maleness resting against her ass? Had that light, warm closeness prompted her to do what she had done then, to go as far as she did?

To that memory Sean's thoughts turned, flitting from detail to detail and trying each on as if from Taws' point of experience. The presence against his back, the slow breathing of slumber, the gentle weight of an arm across him, and the teasing warmth against his ass. He shifted a little, matching the subtle shift against him, turning his thoughts inward to focus on that point of contact, but from the point of his memories of that night, two days before Christmas last.

After some time the warm furry touch changed slightly, topped by a naked touch of flesh against flesh, slick against his backside. It slid downward a few inches, then back up in time with the slow breathing of the wolf and the equally slow rolling of Sean's hips. Then the slick, warm shift became something of a poke, high at first, then lower as Sean sifted against the wolf behind him. A breathy, whuffling growl escaped the wolf's throat and his body tensed a little but he did not seem to waken, lost somewhere in a dream, perhaps one elicited by Sean's teasing.

What am I doing? Sean thought, but with self's inner laughter rather than horror. He was seducing the wolf by night with his own body; seducing a male in his slumber, with his own body. When did his desires shift so dramatically that he would elicit a male's arousal and seek to offer them the pleasure of his body? He bit his lower lip when the gliding dampness of the wolf's exposed tip nestled at the base of his ass and pressed lightly against his entry before sliding away with the slumbering hunter's next breath.

When that pleasure became mutual, Sean realized. When the compassion and gentleness of the wolf to help him offered something new, something taboo, something he had given to Taws but never knew for himself.

When next the wolf's slender shaft descended to settle against him with another slick poke Sean focused upon his muscles, willing them to relax, and that poke became a slithering, wet pressure that delved into him. He hissed a soft breath through his teeth, expecting searing pain but finding only a moment's dull resistance. His body reflexively squeezed the hot bulk invading him before relenting and allowing passage. The hand at his chest splayed, the arm becoming tense as claws pressed against his skin.

"Sean?" Oda rumbled quietly in the dark, forcing his body to still even as the pulse of his quickening tumescence throbbed just within the gateway that Sean had allowed him to plumb. Sean closed his eyes and shivered, pressing back and down to force another couple of slim inches into that carnal offering.

"Shh, Oda, be still." He mumbled quietly as the wolf's growing arousal thickened just within him. "It's okay. I'm okay."

Tightening the embrace of his arm Oda shifted his entire body, drawing Sean back against his chest as he gave his hips a slow, muscular roll. Sean's eyes rolled up and a low huff or breath escaped his throat as the wolf's entire length slid into him smoothly until the thickening bulge of his knot came to rest against his painlessly stretched ring. The wolf dipped his head to nuzzle at the back of Sean's neck, powerful teeth nibbling lightly but slowly, caught half way between slumber and full wakefulness.

"Sleep now, Oda, it's okay."

"Okay," Oda reiterated with a sleepy growl, not moving further beyond that deep thrust, his erection thickening rapidly against Sean's warm embrace. For a time Sean simply lay there, feeling how his body responded to that invasive presence, rippling and pushing, tightening and then relaxing. It was far from unpleasant and, adrift in his contemplations, Sean settled back into his own slumber.

The cat did not return.

Chapter 5 < > Chapter 7