The Lycanthrope Tails. Chapter Ten.
The Lycanthrope Tails
Chapter 10
By Roofles
A baseball bat might as well have materialized in Tess's hand, she pulled it out from behind the couch so fast. She gave a swing at Dakota even before he got two steps inside the door.
"Stay back, mother fucker. Or so help me I'll break this over your head." Tess warned getting into a home run position. The strange, shirtless man, just stood there in front of her looking like a bum that had walked into their home.
Dakota moved his head back as she gave him another warning swing that would've clocked him over the head if Dakota hadn't moved. He frowned at her, wondering if it was best to take the weapon away from her or let her believe she had some form of protection. Dakota wasn't good in these type of confrontations where he wasn't allowed to use force and/or maul things. So he looked at Jared for some kind of support until he needed to take matters into his own hands.
"Wait, Tess, wait." Jared said having to duck himself as the bat swung over his head. Jared had been just as startled as Tess had been, figuring Dakota wouldn't be stupid enough to barge into his house when his sister had just come home.
"Take one more step, I dare you." Tess said challenging Dakota, which of course was a big mistake as the much larger male more than happily took it. Dakota hadn't ever refused a challenge before and he was on a winning streak.
"Fuck, Tess. Wait!" Jared said having to grab her arm to restrain her until she finally looked away from Dakota and at him. "He's a friend! A friend. An idiot." Jared added looking over at Dakota. "But harmless, for the most part." He felt the need to add, muttering under his breath as he said so.
"Oh." Tess said, lowering the bat down but keeping a good hold on it. She gave Dakota a once over, blushed at the nearly naked man and looked away. "I thought you only had two friends." She teased Jared, looking away and putting the bat where she had grabbed it.
"Yeah, well at least I have friends." Jared glared back. "Dakota," he said facing the other man who was just standing in the living room. "I think you left your...cloths in my room." Jared said, pointing down the hallway. He gave Dakota another look until the wolf-man got what he was talking about. The first time it had gone over his head.
"Right." Dakota just grunted. "Forgot. Usually sleep naked." He said the last part as if it were some kind of accuse as to why he hadn't put more cloths on and headed for the bedroom.
Tess watched him go. Drooling over his body. And the second the bedroom door shut she smacked Jared side, hard.
"Ow," Jared rubbed his side looking at her. "What was that for?"
"You. Son. Of. A. Bitch!" Tess said trying to hold back a giggle. "You never told me you had a boyfriend."
"Wait, what?" Jared blinked several times, his face going as red as a tomato.
"No wonder why you didn't call! Or want me to come home the other night." And Tess smacked his arm once more. "You sly dog. How did you? I mean where did you? Who is he!" She practically shouted, covering her mouth and bouncing on the heels of her feet in excitement.
"You're misunderstanding." Jared tried to explain.
"I mean wow." Tess looked back towards the bedroom, ignoring her brother. "And I mean wow. Like a slab of meat tossed onto the grill, wow. Could eat him up." And she bit her bottom lip. "With some barbeque sauce..."
"Tess!" Jared nearly whined trying to stop himself from blushing even more. "Dakota and I are just friends."
"Dakota?" Tess asked looking at him now. "What is he a cowboy? I'd ride him like a-," Tess gave a lusty look back at the bedroom door.
"Tess! For fuck sake!" Jared groaned covering his face.
"I didn't even know you swung that way. Well I figured. And I can see why!"
"Just shut up already." Jared looked away still trying to stop himself from blushing as Tess continued to tease him about it.
Dakota walked back in, pulling on one of Jared's old baggy sweaters and calling it good. He zipped up the front as he headed back into the living room, not bothering to put a shirt on underneath it.
"Hi," Tess said still fawning over Dakota as he walked over to stand by Jared side. Tess quickly offered a hand. "I'm Tess. Jared's big sister."
"Twin sister." Jared pointed out.
"Right." Dakota said looking down at her hand then back up at her, then to Jared. "I borrowed your," and Dakota just pulled on the sweater with out saying anything else. Jared found Dakota to be rather talkative when it was the two of them, or even if it was Frostbite and him. Now Dakota just grunted a few words and called it good.
Jared didn't get any more time than that to worry as the front door was nudged open, and a rather large silver fur wolf joined them. Frostbite looked over the three, ignored the lot and moved back over to the couch he had used before. Jumping up onto it he just laid back down as if he had never moved to begin with. His focus wasn't on them, instead watching the still open front door as if waiting for someone else to join them. No one did. Frostbite narrowed his eyes suspiciously, wandering if he should follow after Raith or not.
This wasn't exactly possible however as Tess was the first to act on seeing him.
"Wow," and she walked over. Frostbite eyes jumped over towards her, narrowing as they had before and he folded his ears back. Tess nearly reached out to pet him when his black lips lifted up and Frostbite bared his teeth at her. "Easy there big guy," and she half looked over at Jared. "Whose is he?"
"Dakota's." Jared said quickly moving over to get between Tess and Frostbite. "Please don't bite my sister." He said as Tess pulled back and he turned to face the silver fur wolf. "She's a friend. We don't bite friends hands off."
"It was my fault." Tess just said to make amends. "I shouldn't have moved on him so fast. Should've gave him room." Still she looked the wolf over, nodding in approval. "Part-wolf I take it?" She asked looking over at Dakota.
"Part-something." Dakota just reply with another grunt. Frostbite glared at him and growled softly.
"Please no fighting." Jared begged, pleading and had half a mind to get on his knees to make sure they didn't act up in front of his sister. He had one hand out and wasn't expecting Frostbite to bump his large snout into the palm of it. Jared jumped, nearly pulled back and looked down, startled to see Frostbite to do such a thing. "Thank you." He found himself whispering down to the silver fur wolf, petting over the side of his muzzle a bit. "Welcome back."
Frostbite only let him pet twice before moving back and Jared wisely gave him space once more. Frostbite focused on the more pressing matter of the missing Raith than that of Jared's accommodating personality. It was still nice to see someone appreciated him being around. It only took a sniff to smell that Jared was thankful for him. And a nose didn't lie. With the sole exception of Raith.
A scent was a powerful thing to a canine, let alone to one that could smell blood nearly three miles away. That was the very first reason why Frostbite didn't trust the pale fur wolf. He didn't cast a noticeable scent as if he could choose to have one or not. Frostbite was still knew to the pack as a whole but never had he met anything that could trick his nose so easily before.
He blamed the man in front of him, this house around them. It had so many scents that were too distracting than that of the wild. The smell of rain and earth beneath ones paws. Or that of the members of the pack. Those were things he was used to smelling.
A pack? He toyed with the word, playing with it in his head. He hadn't really belonged to the one he had been in. Maybe that was why he despised Dakota so much, as he too was just another outcast in the end. A bad reminder of who he himself really was. Frostbite shook it off, growling at himself for being distracted by such childish thoughts.
"Dinner will be ready shortly." Jared spoke down to him, giving him another smile and heading back into the kitchen assuming that was why Frostbite was in such a mood, perking up at his very words. "Tess," Jared spoke over to his sister as Frostbite tried to focus on the larger picture. His stomach still growled at the idea of a warm meal. "Frost hurt himself... in a hunting accident," Jared said not about to tell his sister what really happened. "I was wondering if you or Morris could give him a once over to make sure everything was ok."
"Really? Poor thing." Tess said about to move over again. Frostbite gave another warning growl and she stayed a good arms length away.
"Frost." Jared urged him giving the wolf a stern look. Dakota smiled, resting back against the wall and watching with great enjoyment as the other wolf was told off. "It's just a simple, harmless exam. Don't be a prick about it."
Frostbite gave him a look that told him without words just how annoying the man was for pestering him like this. With a roll of his eyes, the silver wolf let Tess give him a once over. Frostbite still growled as one of his injured paws was touched.
Jared came over after setting the timer on the stove and stayed close by to offer support.
"Some accident." Tess muttered darkly looking over the three cut wounds on Frostbite's back. Everywhere else was healing but these three wounds weren't for reasons she didn't even know.
"We think it was those creeps that came knocking the other day." Jared said truthfully already knowing after all. It was easier to lie when it was based on truths after all. "Dakota has a bad habit of letting Frost run out in the wild." Jared shrugged a shoulder, oddly the only person he was good at lieing too was his own sister.
"Yeah." Dakota chuckled a bit. "Too bad it keeps coming back."
Frostbite waved a paw at him and Jared was sure, if the wolf could, he would've flipped the other man off.
"These wounds are bad, but aren't life threatening." Tess just said standing back up. "I'm sure Morris can do far more than I can. I see you already cleaned the wounds at the very least. They're coming along nicely."
"Yeah." Jared just said in reply not about to point out it was only because of Frostbite's werewolf regeneration that he was even still alive in the first place. "You mind helping me in the kitchen then? After washing your hands." Jared added, teasing his sister who soon joined him.
It had only been a day and a half or so since the two had last seen each other and yet it felt like weeks to Jared. Everything he'd been through, it was just nice to be able to be at home again. Making dinner with his sister and talking as if none of that even happened in the beginning. Just another day in their lives.
"So tell me all about him." Tess nudged Jared motioning over to Dakota who was sniffing the sweater he was wearing. "He's an...odd one." She replied as Dakota scratched behind his ear in a fasion a dog would have done with his front leg.
"That's an understatement, sis." Jared rolled his eyes not wanting to even touch on that subject and decided best to leave it alone. "You mind grabbing me one of those." He pointed over to the bundle of rabbits Dakota had brought home with him.
"Ew, is this a rabbit?" Tess said picking the bunny up by the ear. "It's huge!" Dakota beamed at that, just grinning wolfishly in pride at his catch. And he hadn't even been trying either.
"Rabbit stew." Jared rolled his eyes. "Just as dad used to make..." He smiled softly in the remembrance of that.
"Right." Tess agreed with a similar soft, yet sad smile on her face. "It's almost been ten years now."
"Almost." Jared agreed flaying the rabbit with deft skill as he parted the skin from the muscle underneath. Neither of the two were vegetarians but he knew the value of food and gave thanks anyways.
"How animal of you." Dakota said watching him work; slicing off meaty chunks of rabbit, flowering each one and dropping them into the skillet to cook. Adding bay leafs, red wine and a sauce base Jared favored from a local store into the pot, he dumped the cooked rabbit into the stew, placed the lid on top and then turned the dial.
Dakota had remarked on his treatment of a meal. It was something to savor, even in the wild. To respect. A life was given so another could be lived. The laws of nature, after all.
"It'll be ready in two hours." Jared said clapping his hands together. That got a groan from everyone in the room.
"I need to shower anyways." Tess laughed moving past Dakota in a friendly enough manner before turning around and giving Jared a twin thumbs up and slipping into her room to get ready. Jared just shook his head.
"Seems nice." Frostbite spoke up only after the door slammed shut. He was still frowning now. "We need to get rid of her."
"Excuse me?" Jared took a step forward at that. "The hell do you mean by that?" He looked down at the knife in his hand, the one he had used to cut up the meat with, and quickly put it back down on the counter not wanting to be threatening.
Frostbite lifted up an eyebrow about to rebuke Jared's stance on the matter and just how biased he was with it but chose otherwise.
"We're about to have company tonight." A voice chimed in before Frostbite could pick new words to use. The three turned to see Raith resting in the turned over chair. He was rocking it back and forth like a swing. "A lot of company."
"You're already more than I'm comfortable with." Frostbite growled at the end, baring his teeth. Black lips parting from white fangs. The sound made his lip shake like a lawnmower.
"So hurtful." Raith placed a hand on his chest and shook his head side to side. "After all I've done for..." he stopped as he pushed the chair to one side and got out of it with a small hop. He looped around moving towards the kitchen, sniffing in the air. "Is that rabbit stew I smell?"
Dakota cut him off. So Raith made his way around the other way. He was shorter and far leaner than the wolf on the couch, looking more like a fox than anything else. Where Frostbite nearly came up to Jared's chest, Raith barely came up to his stomach.
"After all I've done for you lot." He shook his head going back to what he was saying again. "My good sir," and the wolf bowed his head to Jared. "I am Raith of the shadow stalkers. The pleasure is all mine."
"Nice to meet you." Jared offered back friendly enough, still nervous and looking around the room to see if any other wolves were about to pop out of the wood work. "The hell did he come from?" He ended up asking Dakota in a sideways whisper.
"I am the Alpha's Shadow." Raith explained, sniffing once more at the air and the meal cooking.
"Oh." Jared just frowned as if that was somehow suppose to explain things. "Why are you here then?"
"That's a very good question." And Frostbite had jumped over the side of the couch, ignoring his wounds and cornering the pale fur wolf into the corner of the kitchen as Dakota blocked the other exit, standing in front of Jared. "Why would the Alpha's Shadow be helping us? What can you gain from all of this." And Frostbite narrowed his eyes on the wolf, still baring his fangs and coal black gums.
"Well you see," Raith shrugged one shoulder. "The Alpha hasn't been himself lately." And Raith smiled at that. "Something I'm all too familiar with." And with that moved quickly, slipping past Frostbite and using his tail to pet the side of the silver fur wolf's face. Frostbite bit at it but Raith had already jumped up onto the couch and out of range. "It's my job to make sure the pack, as a whole, is all good and happy."
"Acting on your own, huh?" Dakota asked in a dull voice.
That seemed to amuse Raith. "And you are one too talk!" And the pale fur head shook side to side slowly. Then one of his ears jumped up.
The four stood silent and still, frozen in place as Tess opened her bedroom door and made her way into the bathroom just across the hall. Only after the door shut did any of them move once more. Raith going on as if nothing had just happened.
"I'm only thinking of the young ones," and the pale fur wolf once more put his hand on his chest. "Think of the children." And the corner of his mouth pulled up in a smile.
"That's very kind of you." Jared said making Frostbite groan, roll his eyes and face palm all in one motion.
"He's lying you idiot!" Frostbite snarled, moving forward slowly towards Raith as if stalking him. "And dangerous! How do we know the Alpha didn't send you to finish the job?"
Raith blinked at that as if stunned, insulted by the accusation. "I came here with only the best of interests at heart, really." And he gave a yellow, grimy fanged smile. "Promise."
"It can't hurt to hear him out." Jared offered washing his hands off. The man was just trying to deal with all of this in slow steady steps. The fact, another, wolf had joined them hadn't phased him as much as it probably should have. Jared wondered if he had gone into shock or was just numb from everything at this point. Maybe a little bit of both.
"Thank you," Raith beamed happily. "Such a welcoming, kind, understanding human." And the wolf wiped a false tear from his eyes. "One that can be reasonable! Who would have thought?"
Frostbite just snarled. "Leave the pup out of this."
"Oh?" Raith jumped from the couch over to the smaller one next to the door. "But it is because of the pup, I have come in the first place." That stopped the other two wolves who had been closing in on him. "Somehow the Alpha has gotten it into his head that this pup, this human, is the whole reason this mess even began!" And Raith shook his head. "Poor thing, I wonder how such a thought could have been placed into the Great Alpha's head." The corner of his pale lips curled into a smile.
"You son of a-," Frostbite moved forward quickly, jaws open wide. With a force of a club, Raith just batted Frostbite's muzzle to the side with his tail. Frostbite stumbled to the side blinking a few times as stars danced in front of his eyes.
"Relax." Raith said the word coldly, all manner of humor lost from his voice as he stared down at Frostbite with a look of pure malice. That was gone as soon as it had appeared and his voice was joyous once more as if it were Christmas Eve. "The Alpha may think this, but it doesn't mean he will directly come for the boy."
"No," Dakota frowned now seeing where this was going. He had trouble keeping up with everything that was going on but when it came down to the hunt, to killing, Dakota was the best one in the room to do the task and thus knew the most about it. "He'll send an army to do his dirty work..."
"The whole pack, most likely." Raith agreed with a nod. "Or what's left of it." Raith scratched his chin with a finger thinking that one over as Frostbite got back up to his feet.
"If I wasn't injured..." Frostbite growled up at him.
"Sylvan won't let hers move, even on the Alpha's order. They are still too... fresh to be of any use in a real fight anyways." Raith just inspected one of his nails now ignoring Frostbite as if he were just a fly on the wall at this point.
Frostbite laughed a bit at that. "Sylvan has no brood, those are just her sister's."
Raith eyes went cold, if only for a second. It was another voice that cut the two off.
"Just like me and Tess then." Jared said drawing the attention of the three. "When we lost our parents, my Aunt took us in for several years." Jared lowered his voice a bit. "Uh... I assume it's the same."
Raith smiled at that, looking at the boy. "Exactly. Dear sister Sylvan," the pale fur wolf said with a loving tone. "Is just babysitting for her beloved sister's litter."
"That'd explain why the Alpha gives her such slack." Frostbite muttered thinking it over.
"I don't follow." Dakota said so Frostbite spelled it out for him, with a roll of his eyes.
"Only the Alpha may have a mate, if he should so deem fit. Specifically in times of food shortage."
"Such as being driven out of your home." Jared nodded understanding where Dakota wasn't. "Must be rough."
"We get by." Raith just grinned.
"In other words, Sylvan is raising the Alpha's puppies. Along with his mate, Sylvan's sister, Lily Pad." Frostbite thought over it all trying to connect the dots, knowing he was still missing several of them.
"Lily Pad went missing from the pack after the great migration." Dakota pointed out glad he had something to contribute to the conversation at this point. It wasn't often, if ever, he was allowed to speak at a pack meeting. Or rather, even wanted too.
"Oh." Frostbite said, blinking a few times. He looked over at Raith. The pale fur wolf gave a shrug not even seeming to notice.
"I'm sorry." Jared said drawing their attention once more. "You all seem to have a lost so much."
"Most of us." Frostbite grumbled looking down and not saying much more on the matter.
Dakota shrugged. "No loss here."
"Getting back on topic," Raith grumbled now. He was hoping his warning would cause some kind of reaction from the others, like hitting a bee hive with a rock. Maybe he needed to use a stick instead. "The Alpha plans on having the pack come for the pup's head!"
"That sucks." Jared said. "Oh." He went on only after it dawned on him who he was talking about. "That really sucks." He muttered now using the counter for support a bit as the blood drained from his face. Having a whole pack of werewolves after his head, left him a little unbalanced. He tried to keep himself from throwing up as fear gripped his stomach with dark talons.
"Which is why we need to get rid of your sister." Frostbite said moving around closer to Jared, keeping one eye on Raith. "It'll be problematic if she gets involved in any of this." And Frostbite nudged the man's hand with his head.
"Right." Jared nodded a bit.
"I won't let anything happen to you." Dakota said placing a hand on Jared's shoulder. The man gave a smile to him and a nod to Frostbite in thanks.
"How do you plan to get rid of her?" Jared said feeling even more numb now on the matter.
"Get her to go to a friends place." Frostbite said.
"I thought she had no friends." Dakota frowned now recalling what Jared had said.
"Or to this Morris fellow she mentioned." Raith offered with a chuckle. "The girls always love the father figures."
"Yeah, no." Jared said to the pale fur wolf. "You aren't allowed to talk anymore."
"W-wait what?" Raith blinked a couple of times.
"You lost your privilege to talk for even insinuating something like that. Ew." Jared shuddered at the idea of Morris and Tess together. "Wrong on so many levels." Raith just frowned at him, but oddly, held his tongue.
"So what's the plan?" Frostbite asked as the shower turned off.
"I'll handle it." Dakota just said moving past the two and waiting for the bathroom door to open. "Hey," he said greeting Tess. "We need the place for ourselves tonight, so get lost."
Tess looked at him for a few seconds then at Jared, eyes widening and then she smiled.
"Ok, ok let me pack my bags." Tess just said without giving a fight, ducking into her room (having already changed in the bathroom) and came out the next second with her bag. "Can I borrow your cellphone? I seemed to have misplaced mine." She asked heading over to her brother who couldn't believe that had worked. "You dog." She whispered to him punching his arm, hard. "Use protection." And with a hug skipped out the house already dialing a number on the phone.
"That went a little too well..." Frostbite said watching her go, skipping away. "I mean I can't believe that worked."
"I'm never going to live this down." Jared just groaned covering his face with both hands and shaking his head. Even still he found himself trailing after this sister, shutting the front door behind him and meeting her in the front yard. "Everything will be ok." He told her as if she were aware of the threat.
"Hm?" Tess asked looking back at him. She had the same smile Jared usually did.
"Nothing, nothing." Jared chuckled, shaking his head. He gave his sister a hug. "I'll see you later then. Save some stew for you." He added.
"Sounds good to me!" And Tess smiled as she moved away from him, giving him a wave and headed down the road planning to meet her ride on the side corner.
And as she left, Jared wondered if he would ever see his sister again. All he could offer was a half-wave in return, watching her go...