Wild Thing (4 page)

Disappointment speared Jack. He’d given Ryan the opening. Ryan had chosen not to take it. He talked about forever and relationships and love. Didn’t he know there couldn’t be love without trust?
“Yeah, let’s take turns,” Jack answered instead.

Jack rolled, throwing an arm across his face. He opened his eyes to pitch black, blinking against it as though it would help. Something had changed. Something was different. He lay still, listening, quieting his breathing.

There. He heard rustling.
Jack reached behind him, hoping to nudge Ryan awake. His hand kept going into nothingness. Jack turned his head, cocking his ear to listen for the sounds of sleep. He stretched his hand out again, only to find that Ryan wasn’t there.
Where the fuck did he go
?
The purposeful regular movement headed away from the tent. Maybe Ryan went to check it out. Or maybe he went to the bathroom.
Jack’s heart raced, nearly drowning out the sound outside. But it had moved off, and if it was the wolf, he needed to follow it, tranquilise it. Jack grabbed his rifles where he’d put them when he’d gone to sleep and groped blindly for the flashlight. Items in hand, he left the tent.
“Ryan?” he whispered.
Ryan didn’t answer and Jack didn’t want to scare away the animal. He set out in the direction of the rustling. Clicking his flashlight to the lowest setting, he barely discerned branches to step over them.
A large shape crossed an open expanse of trees. Jack pursued. It loped just out of reach and well beyond the limitations of the flashlight. Jack kept going until the creature broke the tree line into a clearing. It looked back in his direction. The moon high over head left no doubt. The Timber wolf was huge.
It paused as though waiting for Jack. Jack cautiously reached the edge of the clearing, lifted his tranq rifle.
The wolf whined, then turned and came straight for him. Jack fumbled the rifle, levelled it and took aim. The wolf stopped ten feet from him. A low growl curled its lips and the animal flashed its teeth in warning. Lowering its massive head, he looked directly at Jack, neither submissive or aggressive.
He’d seen that look before. Jack squeezed the trigger.
The wolf yelped and turned to run. Jack followed him until the graceful strides became sluggish. Only then did he realise that the wolf led him straight back to the campground before it collapsed.
“Easy, boy. Easy, now.” Jack approached, hands outstretched.
The wolf drunkenly raised his head and whined. He flopped back down. Jack turned the flashlight on its brightest level looking over the amazing beast in wonder.
“You’re magnificent,” he murmured.
The wolf blinked sleepily, panting rapidly as the drug took effect. Jack came closer, stroking his neck and shoulder.
“It’s okay, big guy. I won’t let anyone hurt you. We just need to find you a safer home.” Jack twisted on his heels, looking out over the campsite with his flashlight. “Ryan! Ryan where are you? You gotta come see this guy. He’s enormous.”
Silence greeted him. Nothing stirred. Had he gotten hurt? Was he out taking night shots?
“Ryan? Ryan!”
Jack sighed, disappointed.
He picked up his kit and pulled out the rope and bound the wolf’s legs. This one was too big to move without the truck. Probably too big to move unless he had canvas and another person helping him. Either way, this would require a cage and the truck, but he couldn’t just leave him here bound. Where the hell was Ryan?
“That tranq isn’t going to last more than a few hours. It’s now or never.” He looked around one more time. In a moment of dread, he cautiously climbed the rocks and shone the light down over the drop. Nothing. Nor did anything light up from the blind Ryan had used.
“Ryan,” he shouted, trying once more. “I’m going for the truck. If you can hear me, I’ll be back in half an hour with headlights.”
He almost worried that the wolf had attacked Ryan except there was no blood on its muzzle. Distracted, concerned, he jogged through the woods as fast as he dared. Reaching the truck, he revved the engine and drove the narrow dirt road to the rock wall. It took him another hour to haul the Timber wolf into the cage using canvas as a sling.
Jack covered the cage with the tarp. The evenings were cool enough and the shock great enough on the animal that it could be dangerous for it. It was better to help it conserve heat. Reluctantly, Jack drove back to the cabin, thinking Ryan had returned without him, but the cabin was locked up tight.
Reluctantly, Jack picked up his walkie. “Allen to base.”
“Base. Over.”
“Notify the Sheriff’s office, we’re gonna need a search party south east Aitkin Lake on the land bridge with Big Sandy. Over.”
“Who went missing? Over.”
“Ryan Walsh,” he couldn’t bring himself to say
over
.
“Got it. Over and out.”
Jack climbed back into the cab, looking out the windshield and praying for an idea. He drove to the campsite, hoping Ryan had come back. He searched the tent, trekked around the site and looked over the bluff again.
They’d known each other for years, but in the grand scheme of things, he’d just found Ryan. He couldn’t lose him now.
“Ryan, goddamn it! Where
are
you?”
He waited for the deputy to arrive and explained what had happened, even showing him the enormous sleeping wolf. Finally the deputy made him leave the scene. The sun was coming up and though he really wanted to search, he needed to check the cabin one last time, leave a note or something, before he took the wolf to a safe habitat.

Ryan groaned against the throbbing in his skull. He raised his hands. Rough rope chafed his wrists. Experimentally, he shifted his legs. They were tied too. He blinked past bleary vision to the metal cage and dingy canvas.

“I can’t wait any longer. The animal needs to be relocated before he wakes up.” Jack’s voice drifted to him. “No, nothing yet. Jeff said he’d call on our channel if they found Ryan. I just can’t figure out where he went.”

Ryan didn’t hear another voice. Phone conversation, most likely.
“Thanks, Clancy. I owe you one.”
Jack slapped the side of his truck. Ryan felt it vibrate against his side. “Jesus, Ryan, just give us a sign. A yell. Anything,” Jack muttered under his breath. Ryan swallowed past the dryness in his throat. “Water would be good.” “Ryan?”
“Here.”
Hesitantly, the tarp pulled. Jack’s face filled the opening and fresh air rushed in to

greet Ryan. “Untie me, please?” Ryan asked.
“How did you get in there? Where’s the wolf?” Jack asked in rapid-fire. Ryan waited for the truth to come to Jack, but the dawning fury on Jack’s face wasn’t

what he’d planned on.
“Sonofabitch! Is this some kind of chain-me-to-a-tree, nature-lover passive aggressive
shit? You think by taking the wolf’s place you’re making a statement? Do you know what
you’ve just done to that wolf? He’s gonna be a prize for a hunter. He’s gonna get shot and
mounted because you couldn’t put its needs before your own set of principles.” “Jack, no, that’s not what happened.”
“Really? Because the wolf didn’t untie himself, unlock the cage, and then strip you
down to take his place. You did that.”
“You’re right on both counts. He didn’t untie himself and I did take his place, but
you’re barking up the wrong conclusion. Excuse the pun,” Ryan snapped with irritation.
“Haven’t you ever been unable to explain something?”
“Yeah, like right now and why I thought you’d help me find him before he had a
bullet lodged between his eyes,” Jack fumed.
“While it’s truly heart-warming to have you worried about a furry four-legged
creature, could you let me out of here so I can get dressed? We’ll go inside and talk about
this. You’ve got the wrong idea.”
Momentary confusion clouded Jack’s eyes. He frowned. “Who tied you up?” “I’d tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me. You might call off the search party
though.”
“I’ll call it off. You’re staying put.”
Jack flipped the tarp over the top of the cage, letting in more light. Then he turned his
back and punched numbers into his cell phone. “Jeff. Call off the search. I found him. Some
asshole tied him up naked.” A pause, then, “No, he’s fine.” Jack pulled the phone from his
ear. “Do you want to press charges?”
Ryan stared at the back of Jack’s head. “No.”
“He says
no
. Thanks, Jeff. Tell Theresa I said hi.” Jack spun back around and unlocked
the cage. He pulled a pocket knife out and reached into the cage to cut the ropes. “I can’t get through the door of this thing,” Ryan noted drolly. “You’ll have to take it
apart.”
“You and the wolf, both. Wasn’t made for giant wolves or men. Tell that to the guy
who put you in here next time.”
Ryan shot him a look. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Once Ryan had his feet on solid ground, he grabbed Jack’s shoulders and hauled him
in for a kiss. It took him a minute to respond, but having Jack’s arms circle Ryan’s naked
body to hold him close felt like his world had been righted again.
“Let’s go inside. I’ll tell you everything,” Ryan promised. “I just have one request.” “What’s that?” Jack said, his voice husky. “Don’t think I’m letting you off on this one.
Whoever helped you free the wolf is going to be on a work order with the DNR for the next
year,” he scolded. “I’ll make sure Deputy Jeff approves it.”
“You’re getting ahead of the discussion.” Ryan smiled to soften his words. “My only
request is that you let me finish talking before you start yelling, or walking out my door. Will
you do that?”
Jack’s lips tightened. He nodded briskly.
“Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind, I need some clothes.”
“And if I do mind?”
“I still need clothes. More fun to tear off later,” Ryan teased, winking. Jack thought it would be nearly impossible to stay mad at Ryan, he was wrong. Aside
from the chemistry, the stunt Ryan had pulled made him angrier than hell. It showed little respect for Jack’s job and his position as a DNR officer. It showed selfishness Jack hadn’t seen
in the man before.
Above all, it mocked their relationship.
Granted their relationship was new, but it didn’t feel new. They’d grown up together,
built forts in the trees not far from here where Jack’s family home butted up against Ryan’s.
They’d dared each other and the other boys they knew to jump from rope swings into Aitkin
Lake. They’d jet-skied on Big Sandy Lake and fished on the piers.
They’d even spent the summer scratching themselves and each other’s backs when the
lakes developed the micro organism that caused The Itch, yet they’d refused to quit
swimming. In Boy Scouts, they’d camped together and learned things about nature that had
sent both of them into their respective fields.
Jack had once hitched a ride to the local drive in, by hiding in Ryan’s trunk. Then
they’d spent the evening with two other friends running around the dark lot behind the
concession stand playing tag.
He thought he knew Ryan. This latest stunt didn’t fit with what he thought he knew.
It disappointed Jack. Maybe it was because they seemed to know each other so well that
they’d jumped right into a physical relationship from the years of friendship they’d already
built. Maybe it was the honeymoon stage of lust and crushes and discovery of a mutual
attraction.
Jack hadn’t thought so. But having Ryan take advantage of Jack’s dedication to his job,
then making light of it, hurt. Probably more than it should have. It felt like the betrayal of a
lover, an irreversible fracture to the rose-coloured dream Jack had been in for the last twentyfour hours.
Jack sat silently on Ryan’s couch. Whatever this explanation was, it had better be
damn good.
Ryan came back to the living room, having gotten dressed. He sat sideways on the
couch beside Jack.
“Do you remember telling stories around the campfire when we were in Boy Scouts?”
Ryan began. When Jack nodded, Ryan continued. “There was one the troop leader used to
tell about enormous wolves that roamed the woods and snatched young boys out alone.” Jack nodded again. He remembered. It had served the very important point of making
sure none of them ventured into the woods without a buddy. Effective story, if a little mean.
Considering the size of the Timber wolf he’d just found, Jack wondered what the troop
leader would say about this one.
“Those wolves do exist. There aren’t many of them around, never were, but they exist.
For their size, the wolves are difficult to find and mostly come around at night.” Ryan stopped, picking up Jack’s hand before he spoke again. “I’ve known about them
for a long time. My family—we’re protective of them.”
Jack clamped his jaw to keep from talking. He had a lot to say about protection and
idiot hunters with guns who didn’t care about rarities in the animal kingdom. “More than protective, it’s more like—” Ryan sighed suddenly. “Fuck it. I’m getting
nowhere pussy-footing around the subject, so I’m just going to say it.” He seemed to be
steeling his reserve. “Last night, you caught a wolf. You caught me.”
Jack felt the adrenaline hit his bloodstream, thump his heart twice erratically, then the
cold sweat hit. He’d been prepared for honesty. Instead he got Halloween. He started to
protest. Ryan squeezed his hand, keeping him from yanking it away.
“You promised to hear me out.”
Sure he’d promised, but this bullshit wasn’t part of the deal.
“One male relative per generation turns in his thirty-fifth year. I’m the last of my kind,
and apparently, a late bloomer.” Ryan rushed ahead, talking over any objection Jack would
have made. “We don’t attack people. The blood you saw on the ledge was mine and in that
form I heal fast. Sometimes I hunt game, but I bring it back here to clean and cook when I
change back.
“I didn’t start changing until this year. My grandfather once told me that generations
ago, the changeling came into his new form on his twelfth year. The wolf our troop leader
used to talk about was my dad.”
“Your dad died of cancer,” Jack interjected when he found his voice. It still shook with
anger, but he was proud of the way he held his temper in check.
“Twenty years ago, Dad died of cancer. Grandpa died a year after him. It’s not
romantic and it’s not Hollywood, it’s just the way it is. Why do you think there’s a carved
Timber wolf in the town square?” Ryan pressed.
“Because the Timber wolf is representative of Minnesota and we’re surrounded by
forest land,” Jack contested.
“Because my family founded this town and named it after a great-great-greatgrandmother. She was our Native American tie to these woods, Jack.”
“Wow. You’ll say anything to sell a story.”
Ryan got up and began pacing. “Okay. I’m keeping you to that promise you
made…which you’ve already broken. No talking, no leaving, got it?”
Once again, Jack nodded his consent.
Ryan slowly removed his clothes, reluctantly taking them off and folding them on the
coffee table. Jack watched with interest.
This oughta be good. He’ll strain a little, writhe, then tell me he needs a full moon to change
properly
. So why did he feel distinctly uneasy?
Ryan stripped, squatted on the floor, closed his eyes and bowed his head. His dark
locks fell forward concealing his face. The energy in the room seemed to change, growing
warmer until Ryan’s shoulders gleamed with a fine sheen of sweat.
He grunted, bowed his back. His skin stretched, darkened. Hair sprouted down his
spine, a dusky coal on beige.
Jack clenched his fists into the couch cushions.
Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run
, he
chanted.
Seconds passed, and yet they developed with horrifying clarity as each one
manifested another canine trait that was both impossible and terrifying. Hands became
paws. Black hair became tan and charcoal. Human back became furred and narrow until the
creature that stood across the coffee table had no trace of humanity left.
Ryan whined, cocked his head. His tongue lolled playfully.
Jack got up on rubbery knees. “You won’t bite me. You’re Ryan. I wouldn’t believe it,
but I saw it myself.” He was talking to himself, yet his soothing tone was all for the giant
beast sharing the living room with him.
Jack edged around the low table. Ryan sat patiently. Jack reached him, cautiously
holding out his hand. His heart raced and he licked his lips to re-wet them. Patting Ryan’s
head, he sank his fingers into the thick fur, then rubbed firmly into Ryan’s scruff around his
neck.
“You’re amazing,” he murmured.
Ryan whined, rose up on his hind legs and pushed Jack to the floor on his back. Jack
laughed, turning his head away when Ryan enthusiastically licked his face over and over. “Stop. Geez, Ry, you need a toothbrush.”
Ryan stopped, panting happily on Jack’s chest. Jack’s attention snagged as the scruff
grew smaller. He felt like he needed to open his eyes wider to take in all the changes. Not one
feature, but several at a time shifted and transformed until Ryan sprawled across Jack,
completely naked.
“Wow,” Jack murmured. What he’d just witnessed went beyond words. “Just…wow.” “So, you okay with this?” Ryan asked.
“My boyfriend is so
cool
!”
Ryan laughed.
“I’m sorry. I really thought you were jerking me around. I couldn’t figure out why,
since you’d never been that selfish before. I should’ve trusted you and stuck with my
instincts.”
“Yeah,” Ryan agreed. “You should’ve. You’re important to me. I wouldn’t have
shown anyone else this.”
“You developed your change after Justin left,” Jack mused, counting back the years. “He didn’t know it was a possibility. I knew him a matter of years. I’ve known you my
whole life. I want you to be a part of all the pieces of me.”
Ryan seemed to be hedging cautiously towards hopeful acceptance. It was strange
because Jack thought of him as being a confident, self-sufficient sort and the idea that Ryan
needed Jack to be all right with his other side, touched him.
“I definitely like all your pieces,” Jack murmured, running his hands down Ryan’s
naked back.
“You’re hard,” Ryan noted.
“So are you.”
“It doesn’t freak you out that two minutes ago I was a wolf, and now I just really want
to get physical with you?”
Jack felt a little sheepish and it must have translated in his expression, because Ryan’s
smile widened and his dark brown eyes twinkled with mirth.
“I won’t deny it’s a little unsettling, but it’s also a turn on,” Jack admitted. “I want to move forward with you. You’ve been a major part of my life, and I want
you to stay in it.”
“I’m staying. You’re one wild thing this particular DNR officer wants to protect on a
permanent basis,” Jack said. He grew thoughtful. “You won’t do that randomly, will you?” “Change? Not anymore. For the first few weeks, I would feel it coming on and get
somewhere unpopulated. Unfortunately, some of the town people saw me. I growled to
warn them off.”
“You think you would have hurt them?” Jack asked.
“I wasn’t sure. It’s not like I have another werewolf around to talk to. I felt in control,
but scaring them away seemed smarter. I’ve never hurt anyone. I’d never hurt
you
,” Ryan
added.
“But you have control now, right? No changing form in the middle of, say, sex.” Jack
tried to be subtle, but it was a critical question for him. That was one thing he’d have trouble
getting past. The shape-shifting? There would be questions later, he was pretty sure, but for
now it was just cool. And sexy.
“I’m in full control now. I can shift at will.”
Jack looked into Ryan’s melted chocolate eyes. It wasn’t like Ryan had a choice in the
matter of his abilities. And what if he did? It wouldn’t change the way Jack felt about him, or
the fact that Ryan trusted him enough to make Jack the only person he’d shared his truth
with.
That counted for a lot. Jack would be an idiot to let him go over a technicality. They’d
work out the details later, but right now, there was something Jack wanted, and no
reservations kept him from following through.
“Remember when I said I wanted to wait to have sex until I thought our relationship
was serious?” Jack whispered. He pushed back a curtain of Ryan’s hair.
“I remember.”
“There’s nothing more serious than the way I feel about you. Let’s go find those
condoms.”
Ryan stood, holding out his hand to Jack. He pulled him up and linked their fingers as
they walked down the hall.
“You’re really okay with this,” Ryan said, sounding incredulous.
“Everything but one.”
“What’s that?” Ryan asked.
“I’m wearing too many clothes.”
They got into the room and Jack practically tore off his clothes, eyes locked on the man
of his dreams. Ryan held out his hands. Jack went to him, dropping the last article of clothing
as he went.
When Ryan pulled him to the bed, Jack came readily, rolling together until they
stopped somewhere near the middle. Ryan traced Jack’s eyebrows with the sides of his
thumbs. “I trust you,” he said.
“I trust you, too. It was a stupid lapse.”
“It was a reasonable lapse. Among regularly received explanations,