FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_As always, comments and feedback are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

• HP_

Tommy sat in silence on the living room sofa, staring at the hardwood floor.

He could barely remember what had just happened. It was just a minute out of his life, but going from the grief of losing a friend to the rage that caused him to attack Ryan made his memory of the incident hazy. All he could remember was being pulled off of Ryan's sprawled body after the fight and seeing the deep crimson scratch marks covering the younger boy's arms. If his understanding of the lore was accurate, it didn't matter what form he was in when attacking another person; breaking the skin with tooth or nail would be enough to transfer the curse. It was a near certainty that he had just made Ryan into a werewolf.

What he didn't know was how a Paladin would react to his son contracting lycanthropy. The thought of that was enough to make Tommy's body quake in his seat.

After an hour of silent brooding, the ringing of the telephone pulled Tommy back to reality. Even though he was ordered to remain in his seat by his father after the fight with Ryan, he decided to walk into the kitchen to answer it - anything to take his mind off of the dreadful situations he was thinking about. "Hello?"

"Hello... is this Tommy?"

"Yes it is, sir."

"Hey there, Tommy. It's Benny. Are your parents home?"

Tommy thought back to the pack gathering from the month before. Benny was the man who had revealed not only who his original parents were, but the fact that they had been killed by a Paladin. "No, not right now. What's going on?"

"Nothing good, Tommy, nothing good. I heard about what happened to Anthony and Justin last night. Looks like we've been found out."

"It's my fault," Tommy said somberly. "Me and Justin tried to talk to Ryan about his dad, and he took it the wrong way and thought we were threatening him. He probably told his dad everything."

"Tommy, don't beat yourself up over it," Benny replied. "It was probably just a matter of time that Linus was going to find out. The important thing is making sure this doesn't happen again."

"That's not all," Tommy continued. "I think I just turned Ryan into a werewolf, too."

"You what?!"

"I didn't mean to," Tommy said, as tears began to appear in his eyes again. "He was standing in the street when I found out about Justin. I got so mad that I... I just went after him. He had scratches all over himself when I stopped."

A heavy sigh came from the other side of the phone. "Dammit Tommy, that's the last thing I needed to hear today. Just because you're a werewolf doesn't give you the right to start acting like a wild animal. Things like that could expose the secret completely."

"So what are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know," Benny replied. "I'm supposed to serve as the Alpha whenever Anthony is incapacitated. I was just calling everyone to check in on them after I heard about last night. But this is just going to complicate things further. I don't know. If you and your folks want to come by the restaurant later tonight, we'll see what we can figure out. But we need to come up with a plan soon, before this gets completely out of hand."

"All right, I'll tell them."

"Good. And Tommy, remember: you let the wolf run wild in the wild. In the human world, you stay human. You have to have control over the wolf, not the other way around. Otherwise, we all get in trouble. You got it?"

"I got it," Tommy mumbled. It felt like he was disappointing everyone he came in contact with today.

"Good. I'll talk to you later. Stay strong, Tommy, all right? We'll get through this."

Tommy hung up the phone, shaking his head. Things just seemed to get worse with every passing minute. He glanced at the counter beside the phone, and noticed that the light was flashing with unheard messages. He played the tape, and the messages began.

BEEEEEP. "Hello, Mr. Ainge? It's Anthony Grey. Justin told me about the incident between your son and Linus' kid, and we need to discuss plans for tonight. Call me as soon as you can, thanks. Bye."

BEEEEEP. "Mr. Ainge, it's Anthony again. Please call me as soon as you hear this. Your son is in danger. We need to figure out what we're going to do tonight. Sundown is in half an hour, and we don't know where you are. I'm starting to get worried. Call me. Bye."

BEEEEEP. "Ainge, where the HELL _are you?? Sundown's in 10 minutes! I don't know where you decided to run off to, but you can bet your sweet ass that you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do in the morning! Don't you _EVER do anything like this again without contacting me first, you got it??"

BEEEEEP. End of messages.

Tommy shook his head softly, thinking back to the night before and their plan to head straight to a hotel for the night rather than contact the local Alpha about what they were doing. He wondered if it had been the right decision after all.

Knowing that his father would want to hear the messages too, Tommy preserved the tape so they wouldn't get erased, and returned to the living room. He'd just sat back down in the same spot on the sofa when his parents came through the front door. His mother went down the hallway straight into the bedroom, where Tommy could hear her softly weeping. His father came into the living room, and the look on his face said it all: disappointment, disgust, and shame.

"Thomas, I don't know what to do with you anymore," Mr. Ainge said, frustration evident in his voice. "I'm at the end of my rope. I did what I could to smooth things over with Linus, but he's furious right now. He's ready to have you arrested for assault, and then sue us on top of that for the medical bills." He took his seat at the armchair in the back of the room. "Just what is going on with you, Thomas? Do you realize you could've killed Ryan this morning?"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' isn't gonna cut it this time, Thomas. Do you know the kind of stress you've put us under for the last three months? Your mother has been having nightmares almost every night, ever since she first saw you in your room when the moon was out. She's convinced that one of these days you're just going to snap, and that you're just going to go on a murderous rampage, and that we're going to be the first victims, because you won't have the ability to recognize us as family. I've been doing my damnedest to tell her that you would never do such a thing, but..." Mr. Ainge's head shook in exasperation, "...you're not doing a lot to prove her wrong. What you just did to Ryan? You almost did that to me last night, when I tried to come into your room. And there would've been nobody around to stop you if you did."

Tommy could only stare at the floor, guilty and ashamed.

"Can you at least tell me what's going on in that mind of yours? Is there any sort of logic that gets through, or are you just going berserk? I need to know, Thomas, because if this keeps up I don't know if I can protect you."

Tommy gathered his thoughts for a moment before replaying. "The wolf... it just reacts to whatever's going on. It's not like it wants to hurt anybody. But at the same time, I just can't control it when it wants to do something. Like last night - I was so scared that it was Linus coming through the door that the wolf in me didn't want to wait until the door opened to find out. When you finally said something, it pulled back."

"And just now, with Ryan?"

"Same thing. I saw him there, and the wolf got angry. Furious. It knew that he was partly to blame for what happened to Justin, and it wanted to get back at him, even if I didn't have the fangs and the claws that I had last night. It just wanted to do something about it. I didn't even realize what I was doing until you pulled me off of him."

Tommy and his father shared a quiet moment as Mr. Ainge digested what was just said.

"Look, Thomas. Your mother and I love you very much. We love you no matter what you are. You understand that, right?"

Tommy nodded, even though knew he wasn't going to like what his dad said next.

"Good. Because it's time for you to start taking responsibility for your actions." Mr. Ainge got up out of his chair. "Come on, let's go."

Tommy watched as his dad walked past him to the front door again. "Where? Where are we going?"

"Linus told me to bring you over to his house," Mr. Ainge replied. "He wants to talk to you about-"

"What? No! I can't go over there, Dad! Please!"

"He says he just wants to talk, OK? That's all."

"You can't trust him! He'll kill me, Dad, I know it!" Tommy was nearly in hysterics as he pleaded not to go. "I'll do anything else, Dad. Ground me for a year. Get rid of all my video games. Anything! Just not-"

"Thomas!" his father bellowed. "It's out of my hands. Linus knows about you, he knows what you did to Ryan, and he said I either bring you to him or he's going to press charges. The only way we solve this is by owning up to it and taking responsibility."

Tommy looked up at his father. "Will you be there?"

Mr. Ainge smirked. "Of course I will, Thomas."

Tommy could already feel the wolf inside him rebelling. The half of him that was so quick to pounce on his father the night before, and sent him into a violent fury just an hour ago, was now doing everything in its power to resist, to keep Tommy's butt firmly glued to the sofa cushions. But this time, Tommy himself willed himself not to listen to his wolf side. Even as he slowly got up off the sofa, the wolf seemed to make his arms weak and his balance shaky, trying desperately to keep Tommy from rising to his feet. Tommy's father could see the struggle going on in the boy's mind, fighting back against the lupine instincts that were screaming at him to stay away from the man across the street. But finally, after almost a minute, Tommy finally managed to stand up and come to his father's side.

"It's OK, Thomas," Mr. Ainge said softly. "I'm right here."

The two of them walked out the front door, and made their way across the street. When they reached the doorstep of the Colton family's house, Tommy felt sick to his stomach, but kept managed to keep a brave face. Before they made their presence known, Mr. Ainge looked at his son. "I won't let him hurt you, OK? Just stay calm."

Tommy nodded. "I'll try."

"You're going to have to do more than just try. You've got to do this, Thomas. For everyone's sake."

Three knocks on the door, and soon it opened. Standing before them was Linus Colton, Ryan's father. His face looked like that of a man who was well into his late 30s, light brown hair starting to gray at the temples. A thick pair of glasses sat atop his nose, shielding a pair of hazel eyes. His build was neither imposing nor frail; regardless, there wasn't much indication that this man was capable of killing. Still, his expression was serious, a small frown implying the gravity of the situation as he surveyed the two guests standing at his door. He studied over the two men for a couple of seconds, then spoke softly and directly.

"Come in."

Tommy nervously glanced around the rooms he was led through. It was the first time that Tommy had ever seen the inside of Ryan's house. The living room was bathed in sunlight as the large sliding glass door welcomed in the sun's rays, still streaking in from the east. Plush chairs and mahogany tables surrounded the perimeter of the living room, all of them focused towards the ornate fireplace on the back wall, over which a family crest was mounted. Tommy knew little about the symbolism of the crest, but he could make sense out of the two swords and shield, a fleur de lis sprouting from the top of it. The kitchen, where Tommy and his father were ushered to, was bright and clean, all white flooring and all white appliances, a sterile look that reminded Tommy of a doctor's examination room. When the Tommy, his father, and Linus sat around the kitchen table, Tommy finally broke the silence.

"Where's Ryan?" he asked.

"Ryan isn't home right now," Linus replied. "After what happened, I told my wife Denise to take him and the little girl out for a while. Get him some ice cream. Buy him some toys. Anything to keep him out of the house for a couple of hours. I don't think he realizes what has happened to him yet."

"What are you talking about?" Tommy inquired further.

Linus responded with a cold, disgusted glare directed straight at Tommy. "As if you don't know." He turned back to Tommy's father. "The changes are already taking effect. There should be scratch and slash marks all over his arms as as result of that fight. But they're all gone now. Completely healed up, like they never even happened. Ryan told me that he felt three of his teeth get knocked loose afterward, but they're right back into position. Totally fine. I'll bet they're even better off now than they were before." He sighed heavily. "Which means, in all likelihood, that my son has become a werewolf. Just like you, Thomas."

Tommy barely had the willpower to look Linus in the eye when he said that. His gaze dropped to the kitchen table.

"Is there a chance that he wasn't infected?" Mr. Ainge asked.

"It would take a miracle at this point," Linus replied. "Nobody heals from injuries like that so quickly without an external force influencing it. A supernatural force. I would place his chances of having contracted lycanthropy at this point to be at least 99 percent. Occasionally the immune system is able to fight off the werewolf pathogen enough that the symptoms dissipate before the next lunar cycle, but I've only seen that in adults. Children Ryan's age don't have a strong enough immune system for that."

"I'm sorry," Tommy blurted out.

Linus turned back to the boy. "What was that again?"

"I said I'm sorry." Tommy repeated in a distraught tone of voice.

"You're sorry," Linus said dismissively. "You know, Ryan never said anything about you. Not until this morning, at least. I know you think he came over here after you had your little argument a couple days ago and told me about the whole pack, but he didn't. He said nothing about you, he said nothing about the other boys, and he didn't say a word about how there was the leader of a werewolf pack living half a mile down the street from me. He protected you, Thomas. You were the only friend he had around here. He was hoping that your friends would accept him, too. And this is how you repay him."

"You can't just lay all of the blame at Thomas' feet like this, Dr. Colton," Mr. Ainge rebutted. "I don't excuse anything he did here, but none of this happens if there isn't the threat of a Paladin stalking the neighborhood."

"Paladin??" Linus looked wide-eyed at Tommy's father. "Is that what all of this is about?"

"The pack's been at Defcon 1 since they found out that you moved into the neighborhood," Mr. Ainge replied. "You don't deny that you're a Paladin, do you?"

Linus stared in disbelief for a few moments, but then chuckled nervously. "And to think... the reason I got out was because I didn't want my family to get involved." He sighed loudly. "Well, I guess the joke's on me."

"You mean..." Tommy gasped. "You aren't a Paladin?"

"Not anymore," Linus replied. "I haven't been associated with the Paladins for over 10 years," Linus replied. "Even when I was, I worked in the infirmary. I'm a doctor, Thomas. It's my job to treat people, not hunt them down."

"But what about Justin and his dad?" Tommy argued back. "You're the only one who had a reason to kill them."

"I had nothing _to do with what happened to them," Linus replied angrily. "The police already questioned me about that, before you even got to the crime scene. My wife and I went out to dinner and a movie last night. I have the receipts to prove it. We didn't get home until well after midnight, and by the time we got home the police had already responded to the scene. You can call the restaurant - I had the surf 'n' turf, Denise had the linguini. Call the theater - I got us some popcorn on the way out. Call the babysitter we hired to look after Ryan and Natalie - I had to wake _her up to pay her. I'm not the one who killed them."

"But... if you didn't kill them... who did?"

"Who knows. I've been out of the loop for so long I couldn't even tell you who's in their ranks anymore."

"I find this all hard to believe," Mr. Ainge said. "You're telling us that you never knew about Thomas or Justin being werewolves, and that you didn't kill Justin, but that there just happens to be another Paladin in town, one who knows enough about the pack to go straight after their leader?"

"It's the truth," Linus declared. "I left the Paladin organization when my wife was pregnant with Ryan. I've had zero briefings regarding the whereabouts of any werewolves since then. I never would've moved my family into an area so saturated with them if I had known in the first place. I had no interest in picking any fights, and Ryan getting turned is precisely the reason why. Whatever you may think of me, I am not a killer, and never have been." Linus sighed. "The point is, none of this matters now. With Ryan contracting the curse, my family now has just as much chance of being targeted as anyone else in the pack, if not more."

"Do you have any way to talk to them?" Tommy asked. "Tell them what's happened. Maybe they can tell you who the other Paladin is."

"You don't know the Paladins very well, do you," Linus said sarcastically. "If a werewolf bit St. Peter, they'd go after St. Peter as the easier target. No way I'm putting my son in the firing line like that. We have to lay low until we have some idea who the killer is - and in the meantime, Thomas, I'm making it your responsibility to guide him through all of this."

"Me??" Tommy yelped. "What do you want me to do? I don't know how all of this works! If I did I wouldn't've gotten in a fight with him!"

"You're the only friend he's had since we moved out here," Linus explained, "and the only one in the pack who's treated him with an ounce of respect. I don't think we'll get much help from the pack until your Alpha has recovered - and even then, we're probably not going to be welcomed with open arms. You're going to have to be our liaison for a while, just so we know what we're up against here. If you don't like that, the other option is that I call the police, have you arrested for assault on my son, and let the courts figure out what to do with you. Your choice."

"You can't do that!" Mr. Ainge protested. "This is blackmail!"

"My son is a werewolf now, Mr. Ainge," Linus replied flatly. "And I used to have a sworn duty to protect others from their kind. Just because I don't put on the insignia anymore doesn't mean I don't know who to call if I don't get cooperation. And if Thomas is going to lash out every time he has an emotional outburst, then in my professional opinion... he's too dangerous to be kept alive." He looked back at Tommy. "So are you going to help?"

Before Tommy had a chance to answer, the three of them heard the front door open. Voices could be heard echoing through the entry hall - and Tommy instantly recognized one of them.

"Hey Mom, what're we having for dinner?" Ryan asked.

"We just had lunch and you're already asking about dinner?" a female voice asked back. "I haven't even decided yet."

It was only a few seconds before both Ryan and his mother came into the kitchen to find Tommy, his father, and Dr. Colton sitting at the table. The two boys locked gazes immediately. There was clearly some lingering tension between them after the fight that had broken out just hours ago and the argument they had previously, but his lupine instincts no longer reacted to Ryan's presence in a hostile way. If anything, Tommy felt a closer bond to Ryan than they had before, even trumping the moment the two boys declared their love for one another. This was a deeper, more complete sensation that went beyond a simple attraction and had graduated into an unexplainable urge to keep Ryan safe. As both Tommy and Ryan stared at each other from across the room, he could tell that Ryan was struggling with a similar conflict of emotions. Something was pulling them closer together, and it took a moment or two before Tommy realized why that connection had rebuilt itself. Nothing had to be said between the two of them. Even though Ryan didn't know the word for it yet, he could feel it - the same gravitational pull that directed Tommy to his other friends years ago.

It was the aura of a werewolf, and Tommy felt it coming from the younger boy, just as he was sure that Ryan felt it coming from him.

"What are they doing here?" Mrs. Colton asked, her infant daughter perched atop her arm.

Linus looked at Tommy and his father, sighed, and looked back at his wife and children.

"Sit down, honey," Linus said somberly. "We need to talk."