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Lykos Chapter 10 (Kintsukuro)

Ethan could feel it all so richly, more intense than ever before. The cold, icy wind blew over him, cutting through the puffy olive green coat he'd worn. After years of shaving his head, he was finally letting his hair grow out. It had managed to gain a half inch of fuzz, but not just on his scalp. His cheeks were rugged as well, getting the start of sideburns. It made Ethan feel different, more normal, but nothing about the situation felt normal. The full moon was high above, gleaming in its intensity, taking on an alien hue... a red hue. But most of all, there was the bitter desolation of the forest, the feeling that there were no barriers, no other keepers, no one and nothing for miles... Nothing except the beast.

Ethan turned and broke into a sprint, running at full speed. His foot steps were light, his movements always with the wind. He carried his scent with him, leaving as little trace as he could, but it was no use. His dander, his sweat, his exhaled breath - each was enough on its own, but together it painted a gleaming trail to follow, and follow it did. Ethan could hear the sounds of branches breaking, leaves getting crushed, and the pounding of feet somewhere behind. Ethan jumped over a branch, ducked under another, but then he mad e the mistake of looking back.

The beast came crashing through the trees like a bear in a murderous rage. Its fur glistened in the moonlight like black satin dipped in blood. The fur was messy, almost slimy. Flecks of the juices dripped off and the fur tried to dry, but it kept its crimson hue. The beast's muzzle was gnarled, its yellowed fangs oversized. Its nose had scars, its ears had tiny chunks missing out of it, but the most intense feature of all was the complete, uniformly black eyes the wolf had. The direwolf took a few sniffs of the air before it lunged forward again with nearly seven hundred pounds of muscle, fur and flesh.

Claws pounded the ground, sending out vibrations. Drool dripped from the deadly fangs, a kinked tail swayed back and forth. The keeper kept sprinting up ahead, cutting through narrow spaces but the direwolf merely reached out, swatting the trees with a paw, snapping them like twigs. It was on the hunt. Ethan knew it was ruled by instinct, unable to stop itself. He skidded as he rounded a corner and moved along the thinning tree line. A wide open clearing was head, the view of the grand mesa beyond. Ethan didn't want to be caught in the open, but he was running out of space. His heart pounded in his chest.

The direwolf didn't give up, staying at full speed. He was gaining ground, closing in. Steamy breaths spilled from his leathery nose. He could smell the earthy musk of his prey, the fear and the excitement, the vulnerability. The direwolf nearly shuddered, feeling a quiver in his sheath. The opening parted and the pointed, tapered tip of a deep purple cock began pushing out, coated in thick juices. It reeked of sex and flesh, the juices stringy and dark. While most werewolves had a naturally yellow spunk, the direwolf's was nearly gray, tainted with the fluids of his transformation. The rod looked wicked and unrelenting, just like the beast from which it extended.

Ethan's eyes darted around, finding less and less space to hide in. Before long he took a few stumbling steps into the open before stopping. There was no where else to go, no where to run. He had lost. The shadow lunged from the forest and Ethan was down on the ground. Claws shredded into his clothing, cutting the coat to shreds, then his pants. Ethan gasped, his back arching as the claws cut through more than just their target, slicing his skin. The pain singed his brain before fading again, the lines welting up a bit.

The direwolf drooled slowly, its thick saliva dribbling down onto Ethan's shoulders... but the drool was the least of it. Ethan could feel it all. He could feel the luke warm blood on the direwolf's fur from its emergence, he could feel the smeared juices from the creature's groin. It felt like he was in bed with the devil, with evil itself, but at the same time he felt oddly protected and guarded. The direwolf watched the human squirm before it leaned down and opened its maw. Ethan felt sharp, deadly fangs sliding around his neck. Ethan froze in place, afraid to move. With its prey pinned, the direwolf began to move.

Ethan had never before felt anything remotely like what he was currently experiencing. The hot, stiff cock tip was edging between his ass cheeks, prying him wide. His pucker was tight, his nerves high, but ever so slowly he started to relax. The ring retracted just enough for the direwolf to begin pushing in deeper. Ethan squirmed and called out, knowing his body couldn't take a normal werewolf, let alone a direwolf. This was impossible, it couldn't happen... but it was only a dream after all. Ethan gasped as the cock worked deeper. He could feel a rush of pleasure and pain both, the burning spreading in his loins.

"Demeas... Why... are you holding back?" Ethan panted. The direwolf growled, licking its fangs before it pulled back and speared into Ethan deeply again. It began pushing forward and back, harder and faster, ramming into the human. Ethan's brain worked over time to focus on the details of the dream, devoting less and less ot the surroundings. The mesa grew unclear, the trees grew blurry. More and more detail etched away until it was just Ethan and the direwolf left behind. Ethan tried not to think about the shell that the direwolf must have broken out of, the body he was in. He focused merely on the sensations in his loins, the feelings he had never expected to feel in his life.

Ethan threw his head back and growled, panting, his fingers digging into the ground. Demeas growled even louder, his fangs still around Ethan's neck, a powerful tongue licking against the flesh. The direwolf worked forward and back harder and deeper, getting a real pattern up. It felt the dream most keenly, the power of the throat in its mouth, the body beneath him. It fucked Ethan's ass raw, smearing it with the pungent, spicy direwolf pre. Ethan's ass was dripping with it all.

Ethan groaned more and more, his sounds a symphony to the imagined night. The pleasure was overwhelming, but it wasn't just from the sex. Each thrust, each moment beneath that moon, Ethan could feel it all sinking in deeper into him. His hair grew out longer, his side burns thicker, his muscles firmer. Ethan knew if this had been reality, if he had actually been taken by a direwolf, he would simply be dead. Humans couldn't survive such intrusions, but as a dream... He was waking up to his new life, the life of a dark keeper. He basked in it, relished in it, his body shifting more and more - at least in their mental pictures. He drooled openly, having fully submitted. Demeas groaned more and more, feeling the knot of his shaft expand for the first time in centuries. He tried to pull back, to pull out, but the knot lodged in Ethan's ass, trapping him in place. Demeas tried a few more vigorous thrusts before he tipped his head back and howled.

The howl was loud enough that Fletcher's eyes snapped open, returning his awareness from whatever dream he'd been having to the waking world. He blinked bleary, looking around on confusion. The dorm room was quiet other than the box fan adding the white noise. Marco, Yom and Udo were fast asleep and Fletcher was cuddled in the middle of them all. The fragments of the dream faded so quickly that Fletcher couldn't hold on to a single piece, leaving him no memory of what he'd just been witnessing - but his body remembered.

A deep, rosy blush crossed Fletcher's cheeks as he felt the hot, slick wetness spreading across his lap, his cock emptying his load. It only took a few more moments before the cum soaked through his boxes, staining them with a wide wet spot even as the semen ran down over his legs and balls. Fletcher felt embarrassed by it, but at the same time it felt so good. Whatever his dream had been, he hoped he'd have it again in the future.

Having been so pleasantly awoken, Fletcher looked around to try and orient himself before he froze, realizing Udo was awake as well. Fletcher started to blush even brighter at that.

"Did I wake you?" he whispered. Udo shook his head a bit and reached up to brush his bangs out of his hair.

"I was already up." Udo replied, whispering as well. It seemed Yom and Marco were out cold enough to sleep through it. Fletch glanced over at the clock, seeing it was six twelve in the morning. He blinked a few times before looking back at Udo.

"Why in god's name are you up?" he whispered back. Udo almost looked as if he was ready to tremble.

"I wanted to enjoy this while I could... We have to pack for Christmas vacation today." He said softly. The words took a moment to sink into Fletcher's mind, but as they did they fell like led bricks. He'd been so wrapped up in the new pack life, in taking finals, in passing his courses... for the first time in his entire life, he had forgotten about winter vacation - and the thought of it terrified him. Fletcher looked at Marco and Yom's sleeping faces and then back at Udo. He now understood why Udo was up and even more importantly, he understood the look of growing despair in his pack mate's eyes. The pack was going to have to split up for Christmas.

****

Rafael, Andres and Jesse were cuddled up in their pushed together beds, their chests rising and falling in practical unison. The dorm room was still a bit of a mess, clothes strewn about and dirty dishes stacked up. It was a cozy and quite messy den for the werewolves... A den that was about to be disrupted. The first knock at the door was loud and resounding, passing through the wood and filling the room. It was almost enough to wake the neighboring dorms. The wolves opened their eyes, their teeth sharpening, their ears coming to points in the surprise. The second knock oriented their focus, all three looking to the door. Jesse stumbled out of bed in his boxer shorts, sprinting to the door before there could be a third. He flung open the door and nearly skidded back, seeing the last person he expected to see on the other side.

Ren Sekimori was dressed in a black dress with red flower blossoms, her black hair bound up into a tight bun with ornamental chop sticks. Her honey colored eyes were focused, her lips tight and her fingernails painted as black as her dress. Jesse hesitated, his mouth hanging slightly agape. Ren looked at him, her eyebrows lowering the longer it took him to respond.

"Pack what you will need for vacation." She instructed.

"Wh... what?" Jesse asked, "I'm... I'm just going to stay with Raf and Andy in town for vacation..." Jesse murmured. Ren let out a sound somewhere between a derisive hiss and a dragon growl.

"You will be staying at the historical museum for winter break, receiving lessons from me." Ren replied. Jesse's lips slowly curled.

"I'm not about to spend all vacation taking lessons from so-" But Jesse was unable to finish his statement. The thumb pressed to his throat and the fingers to the side of his neck not only inhibited his ability to speak, but were starting to affect his circulation as well. The steady burning of his wolf, the edge of his abilities that were always there, were starting to fizzle. He could feel his strength dying away like a fire deprived oxygen. His eyes grew wider before Ren released.

"You received your punishment from your pack, that is true..." Ren said softly, "I imagine it was quite brutal... and for that I am sorry." Ren said, "But there are lasting consequences for what you did." She explained, her voice rich with the accent of her native language, "Do you know what a keeper does?" she asked.

"They keep the secret..." Jesse murmured. Rafael and Andres stood behind him, not certain what to do.

"Keepers keep the secret of the werewolves, to protect their kind. We do this in many different ways. Sometimes it is harsh, sometimes it is merciful. Some wolves take it upon themselves to kill or convert anyone that comes across the secret, sometimes the keepers do the same." Ren said, lifting her hand, "You brought three lives into our world with no warning, no preparation, and no consideration. You warped their minds and it was for selfish reasons." Ren said.

"I know, and I-" Again Jesse fell silent, but this time merely because Ren raised her hand.

"This isn't the time for judgment, that has passed. It is merely fact. You changed these lives... We cannot undo the loyalty these boys have to you, but as their beta, as their leader, as their pack mate and as a human being you owe it to them to help them find themselves. When they are more whole, you will be as well." Ren said. Jesse looked over his shoulder at Raf and Andy before he looked back at Ren, his shoulders slumping.

"Are you... Are you sure there's no way to give them all of themselves back?" he asked softly. He looked wounded and vulnerable, open and apologetic. Ren took a slow breath and then sighed with relief before nodding.

"The truth is, my young pup, that if they didn't find some value in you they would have killed you already." Ren said. Jesse looked up at that, his eyes wide in shock.

"What?" he whispered.

"Creating a werewolf in the full moon unleashes the animal completely. They go right from humanity to the primal animal. In the best case scenario, they lose all ability to rationalize and are slaves to their instincts. In the worst case scenario, you are far more likely to create a member of the fang clan with such reckless actions... In either case, they wouldn't have had any ability to keep from killing you if you didn't have something worth following." Ren said.

"B... But I thought that when you give someone the bite, they are usually subservient..." Jesse whispered. Ren gave another soft smile.

"That isn't a power of the bite, it's a power of the human mind, of the situation. If the bite is given as a gift or forced upon someone, if it's shared... The human is still getting the blessing and the curse, they are receiving. That elevates the wolf to a position of power. The context almost always gives them authority, and that authority is almost always respected." Ren said.

"But not Marco, not his pack..." Jesse said softly. Ren's eyes lifted gently, glancing briefly at the window before coming back to Jesse.

"No, not him." She said simply.

"Why?" Jesse asked. Ren shook her head.

"Enough questions for now. You're going to come stay with me and learn what you need to know." Ren said, showing a very different side to her. She almost seemed maternal in her tone. Jesse glanced at the others before nodding, moving to gather up his things himself. As he collected his clothes, though, he turned and looked back at Ren.

"Why are you giving me this second chance?" he asked softly.

"Have you heard of Kintsukuro?" Ren asked. Jesse shook his head. Ren nodded, "Imagine you have a stone bowl... You cherish it, it is perfectly crafted... But one day it falls and breaks, shattering into many pieces." Ren explained, "If you rebuild the bowl, pouring gold into all the cracks to bind the pieces... The damage is still there, the scars and cracks, but the bowl is restored. The memories are held in place and the bowl is stronger and more beautiful than before. It becomes something unlike anything else, and is worthy of many more memories." Ren said.

"So I am like the broken bowl... And I'm going to be better?" Jesse asked, hope glimmering in his eyes.

"Yes, but not just you. This is a time all of the wolves need to become stronger, to cope and grow and adapt." Ren said softly.

"Even Marco?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, even Marco." Ren said.

"And Seamus?" Jesse asked. Ren said nothing for a moment, almost seeming as if she had been caught off guard. She slowly shook her head.

"No, not Seamus." She replied. Jesse stopped what he was doing, looking up at that.

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked. Ren took a breath and moved to stand over by the window. She debated for a moment before continuing.

"When the new semester begins, Seamus will no longer be a student at Grand Mesa University." Ren said.

"What will happen to the campus pack?" Jesse whispered.

"The same thing that happens any time an alpha graduates or leaves. His strongest and most diligent beta will rise to be alpha." Ren said. Jesse's jaw dropped softly again.

"B... But Yom... isn't part of the pack anymore, that would mean it'd be Seamus' enforcers, it... O... One of the twins..." he whispered, staring at the wall, trying to picture it... and wondering which twin would be dominant - Kieran, or Liam.

****

There had been a break in the snow and the air had cleared, enough that the clouds over Echo Creek had parted to reveal a glistening blue sky. Most of the students took it as a good omen as they filed out of the dormitories to the waiting cars and busses. Udo, however, wanted nothing to do with it all. He stood at the edge of the parking lot, his head resting against Marco's chest, trying not to whimper. Marco had one arm around his shoulder. Marco didn't know what to say or what to do. It was clear that Udo was heart broken. They all were. Marco looked at Fletcher whose eyes were distant in thought and then at Artyom. He was sure Yom would get through it the best. He had his family, he had the truth to live in, but the rest of them... They were heading to disparate reaches of the country and they were going to be with families that didn't know the secret.

"Well it looks like that's the last of Keller hall." Yom mentioned, watching the last lights turned out as the doors were locked up. He had on a hiking pack full of the possessions he didn't want to leave at campus during its down time, but it still felt like they were leaving home.

Ahead of them a pale powder blue rental car pulled up, passing them before stopping at the end. Fletcher turned and watched a man in his forties or fifties get out, accompanied by two young men. One was a blond and the other brunette. Fletcher bit his lip gently in thought, wondering why anyone was coming to the campus while everyone else was leaving. Yom, however, sniffed the air a bit. His eyes focused in on the strangers, able to tell they were wolves. As the brunette pulled out a camera, he assumed that they were looking into coming to the college.

"We'll stay in touch, right? You won't forget me?" Udo asked softly, looking up from where he had been keeping his head.

'I promise you, we'll stay in touch. Phone calls, skype, chatting, everything." Marco said, moving to ruffle up the wolf's hair. Udo seemed reassured at that, releasing a slight sigh of relief.

"You sure you don't want to come with me for Christmas Udo?" Yom asked. Udo considered for a long moment before sighing.

"I know there will be a time when I leave my family behind for good, but it isn't yet. As much as I'm going to hate it, I should go back." Udo said.

"My sister would kill me if I didn't go back home." Fletcher murmured, "It's going to be weird though, like seeing all of the cosmos and then being grounded back on Earth." Fletcher said.

"If it's any difference, it's going to be tearing me up to not have you guys around." Marco said. Fletcher smiled at that and leaned in, kissing Marco. Marco's eyes fluttered shut and a hand came up, holding his head close. Their lips wrestled and wrangled before Marco's tongue slid effortlessly into Fletcher's mouth. As they kissed, the young werewolves across the parking lot seemed to notice, the brunette taking more pictures. Intrigued by their interest, Artyom waited for the kiss to part before he leaned down toward Fletcher and took his turn kissing him, bridging the gap between their heights.

Fletcher let out a soft squeak of surprise before he melted into the kiss. Yom's mouth tasted different than Marco's. Marco's saliva tasted like water with just a hint of milk, but Yom's was saltier and thicker. Their beards were different textures too, Marco's being much softer. Fletcher broke the kiss and gasped for breath, smiling happily, but he couldn't leave anyone out. Fletcher flung both arms around Udo's neck and swooped in for a kiss. Udo groaned into that, playing tongue hockey with the human.

After snapping up several pictures, the two young wolves seemed too distracted to take anymore, mystified by what they had witnessed. The older man put one hand on each of their backs, pushing them away from the car and onto campus, disappearing between the buildings. Yom grinned in satisfaction at that, enjoying giving people something to think about... but he'd have plenty to think about himself. He looked up as he saw the next set of busses coming in, ready to ferry people out to the airport. It was really starting to sink in just how long they would be apart... and he hated it.

****

Mattias stood outside the museum, his breath exhaling from his mouth in thick vapor. He'd bundled up for the cold with a beanie cap, a scarf and thick gloves, but it still didn't seem like enough... He looked down main street all the way to where the university campus started, but for the first time in months the snow was undisturbed. The students had departed, the campus was empty and Echo Creek's resident population had shrunk dramatically. It seemed almost like a ghost town... but it was the perfect atmosphere to study.

The keeper moved back into the museum, navigating around the corner and past the recreation of the internment camp housing. He went into the side hallway and to Ren's office before letting himself in. Once the outer door was shut, he moved to the book case and slid it just far enough over to reveal the doorway behind. Thackary and Ethan were already in the secret room, sitting around the laptop they had acquired from the Hunter that had come to town.

"Did you make any progress?" Mattias asked.

"I wasn't making any at first... Every layer I peeled back seemed pretty rudimentary, but... Well... Ethan got me heading in the right direction." Thackary admitted. Ethan shook his head.

"I was thinking about how Steever Lamb's blog about Artyom's direwolf was what brought the hunter to town... He was drawn in by a story, he might be interested in other stories." Ethan explained.

"So with that in mind, I started searching for fragmented data that could connect together into text files or photographs of text. I hit the jackpot." Thackary said.

"Well, go on, what did you find?" Mattias asked, moving over to sit down next to the other keepers.

"He practically had knitted together his own encyclopedia. He had the first half of the story of Lycaon, he had a story about an ancient Egyptian slave that became a bat beast, he had legends about the gods leaving this world... Fragments of werewolf lore and lore I've never heard about before in my life." Thackary said.

"But only the first half of Lycaon's story? Not anything about Nyctimus as a keeper? Or the werewolves changing back? No wonder he things they are all monsters." Mattias murmured.

"And no wonder he wasn't smart enough to know there were keepers around to protect them." Thackary mused.

"Well we know what he was looking for and how he knew what he did, but we don't know the most important thing... Was he working alone?" Mattias asked. Ethan leaned forward in his chair a bit.

"I... I actually think I want to research more about the gods leaving, look at all this new information he brought to us. There might be something important there." Ethan said. Thackary shot him a look of complete confusion.

"What does any of that ancient legend have to do with us? We have a real threat to contend with." Thackary said.

"What about that passage Ren mentioned? 'On the darkest night, on the day the moon hides from the sun, the darkest shadows will reach out from beyond the grave to lay claim to the earth once more.' That doesn't concern you?" Ethan asked.

"Hey, calm down boys, you're like a bunch of sparring wolves... Why not do both? Every keeper needs to learn anything the hunters know that we don't. It's the only way to survive. Ethan, you should look into that, but Thackary's right. We can't rest until we know if more Hunters are on their way here. Steever and his blog aren't going to be a problem any more, but anyone Killian told about this could complicate things." Mattias said.

"Plus we have to be on good behavior the next few weeks..." Thackary added. Mattias tilted his head.

"Why's that?" He questioned.

"Ren's bringing the pups in to get them back on track, AND she hired a werewolf from out of town to make sure Seamus goes peacefully." Thackary explained. Mattias groaned.

"It's already crowded in the loft..." Mattias sighed.

"Listen, I'd stay in my dorm if I could over break, but they close it..." Ethan said.

"It's not that, I'm just not eager to be cooped up with a wolf that got someone killed... They've all been so reckless recently." Mattias murmured.

"That's why Seamus is getting booted. Hopefully the new alpha will get things ironed out... assuming they can decide which one is the alpha." Ethan considered.

****

The door to the apartment opened up with enough force that the door knob slammed into the rubber stopper, giving Fletcher enough room to come in with a paper grocery bag overflowing with junk food. Bags of chips, boxes of crème filled doughnuts and tubes of other over-processed foods poked out of the top alone. Fletcher had forgone his typical beanie cap for a black hoodie, his glasses sitting lower on his nose as he moved in. He was followed close behind by a twenty two year old girl. Her hair was dark brown and came down to her shoulders, a single streak of purple running down one bang. There was a glint of a silver nose ring in her right nostril and on the many bangle bracelets she wore.

"Rayne, you can't bring that kind of stuff in here while dad's on his purge..." She chided. Fletcher rounded the corner, navigating between the two vases filled with peacock feathers, heading down the narrow hallway to the last door on the right.

"I'm not bringing it 'in here', I'm tucking them away in my room Kirstie. Why don't you go see if any of your veggie headed boyfriends is ready for a gluten free half caf colonic or whatever it is you're into these days." Rayne said, kicking his bedroom door shut behind him. Kirstie stormed up to the outside of his room.

"That doesn't even make sense!" She shouted through the door.

"You don't even make sense." Fletcher shouted back. When there was no response from the other side, Fletcher gave a soft smile of a diminished victory. He crossed his small bedroom over to the window, flipped three sets of locks out of place and then lifted it up slowly. The window pane resisted but eventually gave way. While Fletcher lacked the enhanced senses of his werewolf pack mates, he didn't need them for his home. He could hear the sirens of the New York police cars, he could smell the scent of pizza baking away, he could hear the diverse musical interests of two dozen ethnic groups and he could taste the pungent ozone full of a coming rain and a bit of smog.

Fletcher crouched down and crawled through his narrow window before he sat down on the cold black wrought iron fire escape, looking down the endless stretches of brick and mortar buildings, then down at the people filing by down along the streets. New York was so different than Colorado. The people were... thinner, busier, more distracted. They used their phones like they were extensions of their bodies. Fletcher's brow furrowed a bit at that, thinking about how much he had changed since he had gone to college. At one point in high school he had three cell phones at the same time in case one got confiscated.

Fletcher leaned back slowly despite the extreme cold of the metal against the exposed skin on the small of his back. He looked at the people passing by, wondering what they were like, where they were headed... if they could survive the bite of a werewolf. Rayne exhaled slowly, his eyes slipping shut. As his eye lids lifted again, his eyes were a solid and deep black. Fletcher flexed his fingers a bit before he reached up, running them down his cheeks.

"Still such a boy..." Demeas whispered to himself, "But what a territory you own." He said, looking around New York. It was truly fascinating to the ancient spirit. Humans had progressed so very far and there were so many of them. The apartments were impressive, but so too were the people. Demeas looked at the muscled police man on the street corner, then the teenager with the dew rag and the handkerchief hanging out of his pocket. There were so many strong specimens to choose from, ones that had no idea that werewolves existed... but a slow grimace crossed Fletcher's face.

Demeas was powerless to do anything about that. Rayne was perfectly human, perfectly normal. That left Demeas vulnerable and powerless in almost every way... Every way except his mind. Demeas hoped that Ethan would succeed in what he was trying to do, that when he got back everything would be ready. He only had to be patient a little while longer. Demeas tilted his head, hearing footsteps approaching the door. Rayne went limp and slumped against the fire escape. There was a click and a pop and Fletcher's door opened.

A seventeen year old stumbled in with brownish black hair spiked up. His lower chin showed the faintest traces of a soul patch running all the way from his lower lip down the curve of his chin, but it was still faint and wispy, barely taking on any color. Green eyes searched the room before settling on their ultimate target - the bag of junk food. The teen moved over and started tearing into the box of doughnuts. In seconds he had popped an entire one into his mouth, getting white powder all over his fingers and his soul patch before his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Rayne?" the teen asked, turning around in a circle, then a second circle, "Fletch?!" he called out. Fletcher murmured outside, waking up slowly before he sat up. The teen inside lowered his brows in dismay, "Did you fall asleep out there?"

"I guess it was a long trip..." Fletcher yawned, moving to crawl back inside.

"Do you have that sleeping sickness everybody gets at college from making out?" The teen asked.

"No Omri, I do not have Mono." Fletcher rolled his eyes.

"Then did you catch stupid at college? You could have ended up as someone's ass candy falling asleep out there." Omri replied.

"Good to see you too bro." Fletcher said, reaching to snatch back one of his doughnuts. Omri smirked at that.

"Thanks for the good grub. I've been going crazy." He replied.

"Just remember, too much of this stuff can make you fat." Fletcher said before finishing his first doughnut. Omri looked Fletcher over.

"Doesn't seem to be doing you any harm." Omri observed.

"Well, my roommates eat most of my food... and they've got pretty good metabolisms." Fletcher said.

"More than one roommate? You didn't tell us you moved to a quad room. Do you get cheaper housing that way?" Omri asked. Fletcher stood there for a moment, realizing he'd already tripped onto the edge of a conversation he wasn't sure how he'd bring up.

****

The large television in the living room was displaying the football field in high definition. Every blade of grass was accounted for and a digital display overlaid the field with a banner and logo of the team in possession of the ball. Numbers scrolled across the bottom and a chart to the right showed little animal heads next to numbers... but Udo couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. He'd tried for years, but nothing about it made sense. Then again, that had been the general conclusion he felt with his family as a whole.

Two of his cousins sat on the couch, each wearing the cardinal red sweatshirts of their high school, their black hair buzzed short and uniformly cut. They could have been twins if it hadn't been for their age difference. Then again, anyone could have assumed they were still in high school given the sheer number of jackets and sweatshirts they had with their school logos and the stories they recounted about their glory days... days that were now a few years behind them. The cousins had graduated and moved into the world of business, just as Udo's father had. Only his mother had completed as much college as he had, but it was hardly new to not share anything in common with them all.

Udo turned his back to the TV and started meandering along down the wall, looking at photographs of himself. He had grown up with Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, but he had been neither an elf nor a wizard. The smile on his face seemed to shrink from one photo to the next and then his clothes started to darken, leading up to his first year of high school. Jet black hair, black fingernail polish and black and purple striped socks. He'd stayed that dark until Jesse had bitten him, turning him into a white werewolf. It was ridiculously ironic... especially given that the werewolf negated any hair dye he added to his hair.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the pictures of his youth, wondering what his alphas were like when they were younger. A soft smile started to spread as he imagined Marco running across the sands of Hawaii, his black hair waving in the wind, salty sea water evaporating from his toned brown skin. Udo closed his eyes slowly and tried to imagine himself in that life, in that moment, in that place. He pushed out the sound of football, of everything beyond himself. He thought only of Marco in that moment and smiled deeply.

At the edge of his mind it was almost as if he could feel the sand beneath his toes, he could hear the waves beyond. Udo latched onto that moment with his whole being, not wanting to let go. He wanted to play with Marco when he was young, to be with his alpha that much longer, to know true love and true connection. Udo looked up in his imagination, expecting to see Newport or Depot Bay... but the beach before him was unfamiliar. Udo turned around and around before he met eyes with someone he didn't know, someone in a toga and sandals... and then it all clicked together - Nyctimus.

"Marco..." Udo whispered, his eyes snapping open. He gasped and panted, looking at his reflection before something was even more concerning. For a brief moment his eyes seemed bluer than they had ever seemed, bright and colorful, practically a turquoise in shade but they soon faded back to the pale blue.

"Polo?" One of the cousins asked from the couch. Udo blushed sharply before turning to face them. Both cousins were staring at him with a strange expression. Udo grimaced.

"I'm going to go check to see when the polish sausage and sour kraut is going to be ready." Udo murmured before excusing himself. The cousins rolled their eyes before returning their focus back to the game.

****

Waves crashed up onto the white sandy beach, swirling around Marco's feet as he gazed out at the sunset across the pacific. He could feel the salty wind on his bare cheeks, he could feel the kiss of the sun on his neck. He felt like an alien in his own skin. He had arrived in the airport on the big island and felt like an outsider. His hair was so long and his beard so thick. He didn't even look like the same man anymore... so he'd cut his hair, he'd gotten a shave. He knew it was an almost useless gesture. All it would take would be to turn into a wolf a few times and he'd be right back where he started. His sideburns had already proven to be impossible to rid himself of and his skin betrayed a shadow across the rest of his face.

Marco had put his things away, he'd talked with his parents, he'd had a bit to eat and then he'd headed out to the beach. He looked at the sea and thought of where his pack was. Yom was in Washington, Udo in Oregon, and Fletcher was a continent away on the east coast, tucked away in New York. They had all traveled such great distances, and their lives had fallen together by such happenstance. Marco had to smile a bit at the randomness of getting Fletcher as a roommate.

At first he thought he'd hate the hipster kid from New York, but his fast wit was just what Marco needed to balance his go-with-the-flow attitude. Yom's inclusion was no doubt the strangest of all... Dying one moment to stalking him the next, and then turning out to be such a romantic... And Udo, loyal to a fault, cute and fit and... Marco felt very, very lucky... and slightly horny. Marco blushed as he felt his manhood swelling in his shorts, sliding down his leg. He didn't often bask in the glory of being an alpha, but he had three amazing men in his life and he had little doubt that he was one of the luckiest guys out there, at least when it came to them.

He closed his eyes and lowered his head, trialing his fingers through the sand. Marco could feel his fingernails push out into claws, digging deeper before they retracted back into human length. There was no denying what he was now, at least to himself. He was a werewolf and his future was with his pack. He knew it wouldn't be easy. He'd had to face such challenges already, but he knew the only way his life would continue was with them. The only questions were how and where.

Once he graduated they'd have to find a community, find somewhere to settle. Marco had started learning more about where regional packs had been scattered, though the information was kept vague. Keepers tried not to tell other keepers such things in case their knowledge was ever compromised. It seemed the blind cells worked to keep werewolf packs and resistance groups alive in just the same way. A resistance fighter... Was that what he was relegated to? Marco shook his head, groaning softly. He didn't want to have to live in hiding, to live in fear. He wanted to live happily ever after but he had this deep, dark secret in his soul, something he could never express or let out, something... actually, two things.

Marco slowly lifted his head and looked out across the sand, letting his eyes wander where they would. He soon found himself looking at a tall, muscled, bronze skinned young man with flowing black hair half way to his waist, gliding across the waves on a surf board. Marco looked away at that and spotted a lithe young man in a black and green wet suit. Marco huffed slightly.

"God damn it, I'm a gay werewolf in the closet." He groaned under his breath before he laid back in the sand, kicking up a slight cloud around himself. He'd barely realized he was gay when Fletcher came onto him. In such a short while it had become natural to consider the three his mates, his pack, his lovers and his partners, but his parents knew nothing. Their son had gone to college eager eyed and with great exuberance. Now he was a raging gay werewolf that had three willing partners ready to take his cock. He was a stud, an alpha, an amazing man... and the fact that he couldn't tell his parents any of it felt disabling. Marco clenched his eyes shut tighter, wishing the waves would just wash up over him and end his problems before they got any deeper... but he couldn't do that to his pack. He couldn't just shove it all away.

Marco sat up and then rose to his feet, dusting sand off of himself. He sighed out and turned, starting to walk back along the beach, heading for his house. If he hadn't been an only child it might have been easier. He could shift the burden of lineage to his siblings, let them carry on the family name. But it just wouldn't work. He was the hope for the future, he was their investment. He knew they would love him no matter what, but in a way that was even worse. Being gay, to his parents, was a sign that they had failed, that they had damaged him.

He felt his heart sink in his chest. He could face a dripping, deranged direwolf but breaking his parents hearts scared him too much. He wasn't ready, he wasn't equipped, it wasn't time. There was no full moon before he headed back, there was nothing to force his hand. He would simply fold his cards and pack it in. Marco knew he just had to get through vacation and head back to his pack and then they would have an entire semester to figure out what they were going to do so they'd never have to be split up like that again.

****

Night had fallen and with it a biting cold... and yet, nothing compared to what the Colorado Rockies could manage. Udo was actually surprised how temperate it felt in comparison as he sat on the cement, looking inward at the town mall. The vast parking lot was completely empty. There wasn't even a single abandoned car. In that vacancy, though, there was also more warmth. A string of white Christmas lights ran along the roof of the mall and the leafless trees scattered around the parking lot were shrouded in webs of lights. It was tranquil, peaceful and almost serene.

Udo sat there with his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. He gazed at the lights for what felt like hours, listening to cars roll down the street behind him. He felt the cement leaching his body heat away, he saw his breath turn into vapor in the air until he was so cold that the breath turned invisible again. Udo sat there as the stars above drifted and sparkled.

"You used to come here a lot, didn't you?" Came a soft, melodic voice. Udo gasped and turned, his muscles tensing even more. Sitting next to him was the same young man from his vision. Well tanned, lanky with curly brown hair and deep green eyes. He seemed to be in his late twenties, though his Greek clothing had been swapped out for a gray shirt with a wooden horse on it and cargo shorts. Udo bit his lip softly.

"I didn't have any lotus, how can I be having a vision?" Udo whispered. Nyctimus chuckled softly at that.

"That is a good question... Why do you think it might be?" Nyctimus asked. Udo considered.

"I've frozen myself half to death, if I was a human I'd have hypothermia. Plus I probably went crazy when I left both my alphas to come back to this place." Udo whispered. Nyctimus shrugged a bit.

"Well, I suppose those are fairly plausible theories... But in my experience it is more than that." Nyctimus said.

"If you are a hallucination, then your experiences are mine." Udo replied.

"But if I am something tangible, then you'll have to give me some more weight." Nyctimus replied. Udo looked at him in disbelief. Nyctimus shifted his feet a bit, "Your pack is broken, in more ways than one. You all harbor great hidden pain, and for the first time you started to achieve healing together."

"Yom and me, sure... We've been pretty screwed up, but what about Marco and Fletcher?" Udo asked.

"Even them... though perhaps not as much yet." Nyctimus said. Udo slowly stared to bare his fangs.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he growled, his ears slowly pushing into points. Nyctimus held up his hands.

"Your alpha has been battling with fear and doubt, with uncertainty, and with the shadow of a threat that has not yet risen. He has reached out through darkness and time itself, grasping for the strength he needs. You are part of that strength and you will need to be ready." Nyctimus said.

"Ready for what? Ready for who? For when? This is all too vague. Nothing you've said..." Udo trailed off, hesitating, "I can't help him, not like I should."

"But you can, you must... You were already so close!" Nyctimus exclaimed, "You opened your mind, you reached out... You did something today that few wolves have ever managed to do." He assured Udo. Udo paused, thinking back to earlier in his day and his reflection.

"But that was selfish, I was trying to run away, I was trying to hide in memory and thought." Udo whispered. Nyctimus nodded gently.

"And that was why it didn't work, not all the way." He replied softly, putting his hands behind him, leaning back, "Your world would be painfully plain if it hadn't been for some very brave and some very foolish people across the expanse of time. Most humans go through life with no doubt that life is as they see it. A few wonder, a few dream, but you know there is more to life than this society. You live it."

"I'm a werewolf, I had this other life thrust upon me. Secret societies, magic, rights of passage. Doesn't mean I'm not crazy." Udo said. Nyctimus rolled his eyes.

"What were you thinking of when you tried to run away?" he asked. Udo didn't reply. Nyctimus groaned, "Come on." He urged. Udo took a breath.

"I wanted to be somewhere better." Udo replied, feeling like an idiot to play along. Nyctimus slowly sat up.

"Where was that?" he asked.

"With Marco." Udo said.

"When?" Nyctimus replied, leaning closer.

"When he was young, back when things were better." Udo grumbled.

"Why then?" Nyctimus whispered.

"I don't know... So I could be happy with him, so I could protect him and he could protect me, so we could have always been together, so I could... be better." Udo whispered as if a great epiphany was washing over him. Nyctimus grinned wide, nodding his head.

"That was what you almost did..." Nyctimus whispered, "Everything my father and my brothers did before my death were vile and terrible, for selfish and awful reasons. They were cursed for it, turned into monsters... But some of them worked their way back, regained what they had lost." He said. Udo nodded.

"I know, it is the story of the fang and claw clans, the direwolves and the werewolves." Udo replied. Nyctimus looked at Udo.

"But it isn't all we could achieve, it isn't all that the wolves could be." Nyctimus whispered. Udo paused, looking back out across the parking lot, his brows furrowing.

"So like... becoming more harmonious and balanced let us come this far, if we were able to hone ourselves even more? To be more noble and true? We could become something better?" Udo asked, turning his head... but there was no one there. No trace of Nyctimus, no shadow, no reminder. Udo closed his lips, shrinking back on himself a bit. He reached up to touch his head, to check his temperature. He hadn't hit hypothermia yet. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, taking a few more breaths, trying to sear everything he had heard into his memory. His thoughts were only disturbed when a distant rumbling sounded. Udo lifted his head and looked across the parking lot, seeing two teenagers roll across the sidewalks around the mall on their skateboards, designer headphones covering their ears.

Slowly Udo rose to his feet and stretched, feeling how cold his ass cheeks had gotten on the cement. If the skaters were finally headed home it would be safe to crawl back in through his window and catch some sleep before morning - after writing down what he could remember at least. Udo turned and crossed the narrow strip of grass to the sidewalk on the street, hoping that the rest of his pack was having an easier Christmas than he was.

****

Marco sat at the dining room table, poking at the roast ham and pineapple with his fork, his eyes distant in thought. Normally he would have been eating anything within sight, trying to feed the ravenous wolf inside him, but for once his mind was overpowering his instinct. His lack of focus didn't go unnoticed by his parents. His father sat across the table, his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, his bronze skin perfectly tanned. He was as tall as Marco but his shoulders were broader, showing all the Hawaiian heritage of his ancestors. Marco's mother by comparison was much more slight. She was only five foot eight but she carried the fierce Latina spirit and could hold her own. At the moment though she kept glancing at her husband and then back at her son.

"So how is school going for you Marco?" She asked. Marco looked up at that, his eyes showing a brief flash of hope as a smile played across his lips.

"Really good... I mean really good. I was having a little trouble in a few classes but I think I got it fixed by the end of the term. At least my grades were okay, but... I'm having so much fun. There are so many interesting people to meet and so much to do." Marco said, feeling his heart lighten.

"What sorts of things are you doing? Basketball? Lacrosse?" His father questioned, sipping his water. Marco hesitated. He hadn't really thought about playing sports as a werewolf. It seemed like too big of a gamble.

"Actually I've been going on a lot of nature hikes and stuff, exploring the canyons and valleys around Grand Mesa. There's a lot of interesting geology in those parts." Marco said. His mother smiled at that.

"I remember when you would go along the beach, looking for polished lava rock." She grinned.

"I guess I've always been a bit of a rock hound... Geology is going really well for me, that's for sure." Marco said.

"Have you thought about doing any internships as a geologist?" Marco's father asked. Marco hesitated a bit. It was true, geology was one of his best subjects. Plate tectonics, rock formations, the whole nine yards... But it was rarely the sort of job a werewolf could settle down into unless you were at the USGS... And somehow it felt like that wouldn't be a meaningful use of his powers, like he was destined for more. Marco put on a fake smile.

"Im keeping my options open, seeing what's out there." Marco admitted. His mother sensed the apprehension of her son returning and moved to slide the salad bowl over to him.

"Well, you can do whatever your heart leads you to... I know you will be good at whatever you do." She said. Marco seemed a bit relieved at that.

"So, is any of this fun including any special ladies?" Marco's father asked. Marco felt his stomach tighten at that and his fingers close tighter around his silverware. He looked up at that, trying to decide if he should meet eyes with his father or not.

"It's an all boy's school dad, I thought the point was not to get distracted by that sort of thing." Marco said.

"I think when the time is right he will meet his soul mate, there's no need to rush him Haku." His mother chided. Marco's eyes dropped back down to his plate. He already had met his soul mates, all three of them... and now he felt completely cut off, broken and alone. Marco knew the reunion would be sweet, that they'd be unified stronger than ever, but it still didn't feel like enough - not so very far away from the rest.

****

Ethan yawned gently, laying on his stomach, his legs dangling off the end of the bed. His finger stroked down the touch pad of the laptop, watching ancient engravings, scrolls covered with messy scrawling and other written passages drift by. The hunter's laptop had been nearly impossible to decipher, but pieces were starting to come together. What struck Ethan the most about it all, though, was the commonality of it. From the Egyptians to the Greeks to the Mesopotamians. In each culture there came a time where their gods faded. The stories drifting from walking among their gods to merely thinking of them. That division, that separation, it had to be what Demeas was talking about. It was almost as if the continents had separated with gods on one and man on the other. Ethan re-read several passages, contemplating it all. He hoped it would all come into crystal clarity but before it did, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and brought it to his ear.

"Hello?" Ethan asked.

"Ethan? This is Udo." The young man's voice came from the other side. Ethan slowly pushed himself up, kneeling in bed.

"Udo, how are you doing?" Ethan asked, a bit uncertain as to why he'd been called.

"I... I was wondering if... Well, what do the keepers think about dreams and visions?" Udo asked. Ethan hesitated.

"Have you been having visions?" Ethan asked, thinking about his own, and the one Fletcher had been re-living.

"I think so, I'm not sure... I mean, he knew more than I did so hopefully." Udo replied.

"He... He who?" Ethan asked.

"Nyctimus, the first keeper. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like he was talking to me." Udo said. Ethan was stuck in silence. While he was dreaming of Demeas, Fletcher and Udo were both dreaming of the first keeper. It felt almost like a war of dreams itself. Ethan swallowed a bit.

"Sometimes... dreams can be another way for our subconscious to bring things to our attention they wouldn't normally understand. You know more about keeper lore than many wolves, maybe your brain used Nyctimus as a tool." Ethan said uncertainly. There was silence on the other side for a long moment.

"I guess that could be it... I suppose it is still good advice." Udo considered.

"What sort of advice?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Well, to be better, to be as good as I can be. To be worthy of the love I have for Marco and your pack." Udo said. Ethan smiled softly at that, closing his eyes.

"In the end, what we would do for our family is the only important thing. I think you're right to trust in this, no matter the source." Ethan said.

"Thanks Ethan, I... I know you're not exactly our keeper but you're the closest thing we have. Thank you for looking out for us." Udo said. Ethan felt a pang of guilt in his heart at that comment.

"Merry Christmas Udo." Ethan said softly.

"Merry Christmas Ethan." Udo replied before the line went dead. Ethan slowly lowered the phone before looking back at the laptop. He hoped he was doing the right thing... but it would all be for his brother, it would all work out. Ethan was about to lay back down before he heard an odd sound, a crackling sound.

Ethan turned and slowly stood up in bed, hearing the sound again. He approached the door and slid it open. Thackary stood in the living room, brandishing a small black device with metal prongs at the tip. As he depressed the trigger, blue electricity jumped between the points and let out the scent of ozone.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Ethan asked.

"We received an interesting update from keepers in Washington." Ren said softly, "Apparently a human chased off a direwolf with nothing more than a tazer." Ren commented.

"It's a bit of a surprise that no one's thought of it yet, being a non-lethal weapon and all. If it works, though, it could revolutionize the way we deal with threats to our packs." Thackary said.

"Just so long as the information doesn't fall into the wrong hands. If the hunters learned of this weakness, it could spell disaster for their kind as a whole." Ren said.

"If it affects a direwolf, would it be even more damaging to a werewolf?" Ethan asked.

"Well, it isn't something we can really test..." Thackary said.

"I suppose not." Ethan said, taking another breath.

"Is that the only update for now?" Ethan asked. Ren shook her head.

"Seamus has been remanded into the custody of a werewolf pack in Montana. The trip went alright for the most part. Now he'll learn what he needs to be part of werewolf society at large." Ren said.

"So I guess the big question is who will be top dog when the new semester starts..." Ethan murmured softly, turning to look out the window and across the town of Echo Creek. The future would most certainly be different.