Transfiguration

Prologue

“Come on, dudes!” Jax hissed. “We gotta get outta here! That’s all of ‘em!”

He watched the last of the wolves disappear out the kennel door, running across the frozen expanse of the yard to the awaiting refuge of the forest. He knew that they only had a few more minutes before the secondary alarms kicked in and they needed to be as far away as possible. Unfortunately, the rest of his activist team didn’t share his sense of urgency, preferring instead to celebrate their victory. Jeremy and Diego were busy spray painting “EFC rulz” on the corrugated siding of the kennels and the rest of the team was busy trashing the breeding facility.

“We gotta run! NOW!” he yelled again, not caring if he was being too loud. Fuck! What was wrong with them?

No one looked up. No one appeared to hear him. 

Jax debated what to do. Time was short and he didn’t know if there was long enough to get everyone out. Shaking his head, he made his decision, running back to pull on Diego and Jeremy’s arms.

“Get the fuck out of here, guys! We don’t have time for this!”

They laughed and pulled away from him. “Relax, Jax,” Diego said, giggling at his rhyme. “We got plenty of time!”

Jax growled at them before turning and heading to confront the remaining members of his band of activists. His headlamp barely penetrated through the dark, hazy air, and he suppressed a cough. The smell was awful, a mixture of animal scat and chemicals. Off to the side, he saw flames licking up the side of a giant holding tank. Far away, he could hear the sound of glass shattering and a loud battering as the team tried to get into the hospital wing. He swore loudly and was rounding the corner when there was a loud bang and a flash of light. He stopped, chest heaving. With a sick sense of dread, he watched the heavy steel safety doors sliding down, sealing off all of the exits. Bright emergency lights flooded over them. There was a blare of a horn followed by static over the loudspeakers overhead.

“Alright, everyone,” a droll voice echoed through the smoky room. “You’ve all had your fun. Now it’s my turn.”

Jax sagged, dreams of making a perfect escape vanishing. The wolf liberation project had just gone completely to shit.

***

“Holy fucking shit!” Gage McIntyre shouted. “Look at those bite marks! That wolf must be huge!”

Dr. Sorenson shrugged. “Yes, it is. I mean, they are. I’ll show you a preserved specimen when we get back to the lab but right now we need to get to the ranch before the storm hits. Or,” he added ominously, “before the pack that did this shows up again.”

He’d said it more to get the biologist moving than to frighten him but took private delight in watching the big man suppress a shiver. So, he thought, the mountain man isn’t as quite as brave as he acts. Gage stood up a little too quickly and headed up the trail, leaving the scattered remains of the black bear behind him.

Dr. Sorenson smirked, admiring the American biologist’s prominent backside. (He’s got an ass that won’t quit! Too bad he’s straight. Straight dudes don’t know what to do with an ass like that.) At least they sent him some eye candy this time. The last biologist had been a feisty woman who was anything but hot. Fortunately, behavioral biology was not her area of expertise and she’d been recalled. Gage was supposedly a rising star in the field and had published many papers even though he had yet to complete his doctorate. Dr. Sorenson hadn’t read any of his work but, he admitted to himself, behavioral bio wasn’t his thing. He was a geneticist and took only a passing interest in anything that didn’t have to do with DNA, gene splicing, and heredity.

The storm was roaring in behind them as they struggled up the mountain. It was early October but the weather at this altitude was unpredictable at any season and the doctor had been surprised more than once by these early season snowstorms. He was pretty sure, though, that if they picked up their pace, they had enough time to make it to the ranch before it hit. He didn’t relish the thought of spending the night outside in a snowstorm.

Unless…

He shook himself, suppressing a chuckle. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I was trapped with Gage out here. We would have to snuggle up to each other to get warm. The thought of cuddling with the strapping biologist was enough to get him hard and he adjusted his cock in his jeans. Gage had put a good hundred meters on him while he’d been daydreaming and he had to push it to catch up. He slung his rifle across his shoulder and broke into a jog.

They reached the ranch compound just as the first ice shards began to shower down on them. The rancher’s son, Devin Mallory, opened the barricade when he spotted them running across the cleared area in front of the enormous fence.

Gage was panting and soaked with sweat in spite of the cold. Dr. Sorenson knew that the kid was trying to impress him with his youth and vigor. He shook his head. Even though the doctor was barely forty, Gage probably thought of him as an old man. Well, he wasn’t. He was in excellent physical condition. Plus, he had the advantage of being adjusted to the altitude. Gage had just flown in from sea level in India where he’d been working on a Bengal Tiger reintroduction project. 

“I didn’t think you guys would make it back before the storm hit,” Devin was saying in his pleasantly deep voice as he closed and locked the enormous door behind them. He nodded to his father who was stationed in the observation tower above them and the elder Mallory lowered the ladder. Devin swung a foot onto the rungs and scaled the ladder gracefully, leaving Gage to blink up at him from down below.

“We might get a look at the wolves,” Dr. Sorenson explained as he followed Devin up the ladder. “They tend to prowl around the ranch at dusk and Mr. Mallory has a spotlight up there.”

Gage sighed, clearly wanting to go inside the ranch house where it was warm, but dutifully pulled his hood over his head and climbed up behind them.

The sky was rapidly growing dark as they emerged from the trap door in the floor of the observation tower and joined the Mallorys to survey the cleared area outside the compound. Rather than looking out, though, Gage turned and looked back at the ranch.

“You bring the sheep in every night?” he asked, amazed. The yard between the fence and the ranch house was filled to bursting with sheep. Most of them were huddled in crude shelters the Mallorys had erected to give them some protection from the elements.

“We don’t have any choice,” Rex Mallory growled, not bothering to turn around. “Those damned beasts killed more than a quarter of our flock before we built this fucking fence.”

Dr. Sorenson cleared his throat. “That’s why Mr. McIntyre is here, Rex. The company sent him to help us figure out how to control the wolves.”

Mr. Mallory scowled as he lifted his binoculars to his face. “I don’t see why they bothered. What we need is more hunters! We need to kill every last one of those freaky bastards!”

Dr. Sorenson raised an eyebrow at this but remained silent. He was interested to see how Gage responded.

“Mr. Mallory,” the younger man said evenly. “I believe we’ve already tried killing the wolves and that hasn’t worked. Instead, we need to figure out how to coexist with them.”

Rex Mallory swung around at this and would have launched into a tirade if Devin hadn’t stopped him. Inserting himself deftly between Gage and his father, Devin held up his hand. “Gage is right, Dad. Killing the wolves isn’t working.”

Bemused, Dr. Sorenson noted the look of longing that briefly flashed across Devin Mallory’s face as he made eye contact with Gage but the biologist was either too clueless or too distracted to notice. So, the pup likes ‘em big and brawny, he thought, smiling to himself. Dr. Sorenson hadn’t picked up on the gay vibe from Devin before but realized he’d had no reason to. There were only women and ‘old men’ at the Mallory ranch these days. Gage was the first manflesh under the age of forty that Devin had seen in a long time.

And, Dr. Sorenson agreed, Gage was definitely 100% man.

He settled against the window to enjoy interaction unfolding in front of him. Devin was an undeniably handsome kid being tall, broad-shouldered, and well-muscled for a nineteen year old. He had close-cropped blond hair and stunning blue eyes. A bit too young for the doctor’s taste–Devin’s father was more to his liking physically, although he didn’t care for the older man’s attitude–he nonetheless had to admit the boy was stunning. 

As was the young biologist. Being shorter, wider, and darker, Gage was the perfect complement to Devin’s pale beauty. Even though he wasn’t quite 180cm tall, he seemed much bigger, radiating a potent masculinity. With a close-cropped beard and shaggy brown hair, he screamed outdoorsman and inhabited the role perfectly. His beefy body was practically bursting out of his clothes and the doctor had had ample opportunity to witness the young peacock posing. Gage knew he was attractive and loved to be admired, both for his intellect and his body.

He shook himself when Mr. Mallory turned to him accusingly. “I’m sorry,” he said, “What..?”

“I was asking how much this is going to cost me. I’ve already lost half of my profits to the wolves and to building the fence. I can’t afford to lose more.”

Dr. Sorenson cleared his throat. “Mr. McIntyre’s costs are being covered by Deoxy Corp, Rex. The company appreciates what you’re going through with these wolves and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure your flock is protected.”

Mr. Mallory gave him a look of contempt. “The company!” he spat. “Fuck the company! Sometimes I think those ecoterrorists were right when they attacked your lab. You idiot researchers created this problem!”

Dr. Sorenson barely managed to stop himself from launching across the tower at the rancher. With supreme effort, he maintained his composure as he replied, “Now Rex, you know very well that those terrorists are responsible for our wolf problem. None of this would be happening if they hadn’t attacked the wolf breeding facility.”

Out of the corner of his eye, the doctor saw Gage stiffen. He’d been briefed by Deoxy Corp and had signed the nondisclosure agreement before flying out but Dr. Sorenson knew the biologist had not been happy when he learned about the genetic experiments his lab had been conducting on the wolves. As much as the biologist might not like it, though, the doctor knew that Gage was no threat to the program. The rich sum that he would collect was good insurance against this. After Gage was done here, he would be a very wealthy man.

Rex Mallory fell silent but his eyes were burning with barely concealed hatred. Dr. Sorenson and he had a complicated relationship that had evolved over the past several years but, as much as he knew that Rex detested him, he also knew that Deoxy Corp, and the vast sum the company had paid the family after the wolves escaped, had been a godsend to the Mallory family. They had been teetering on the brink of insolvency for years. The wolves might be a problem for the family but they had also become a perverse source of profit.

The elder Mallory appeared to be on the verge of another cutting remark, when once again, Devin intervened. Turning to Gage, he asked, “Did you manage to find anything while you were out there?”

Gage gave him a wan smile. “Not much. I found a fresh kill but we had to get moving before I could examine it.” He stopped, unable to suppress a shiver. “The wolves had killed a bear and ripped it to shreds. I’ve never seen anything like that before! I didn’t even know that wolves attacked bears!”

Rex Mallory snorted. “Shit, boy! Are you blind and deaf? These ain’t no ordinary wolves. These are monsters!”

“They are not monsters,” Gage responded, a little too forcibly. He caught himself, though, and lowered his voice. “Even though they’ve been…modified, they are still  just hungry wolves. We only need to teach them to go after other game and leave your sheep alone.”

Mr. Mallory snorted but Devin nodded his head eagerly. “Yes! You’re right! They are just misunderstood animals.”

“If they’re so misunderstood,” The boy’s father interjected, voice dripping with scorn, “why do we have to lock ourselves up at night behind a five-meter fence?”

“Because you’ve trained them to attack your sheep, that’s why,” Gage replied, clearly fed up with the rancher. “It won’t be easy but I know that I can retrain them. I’ve got some ideas on how to make them avoid your ranch.”

Rex puffed himself up and was about to launch into a tirade when Devin called out.

“Look! I think I see them!”

All three men swiveled to the stare out the front window. It was nearly full dark by now and snow pellets were hailing down from all directions. Dr. Sorenson couldn’t see anything out there and suspected that the boy had merely been trying to defuse the tension in the cramped room when Rex turned on the spotlight. Gage gasped and the doctor belatedly realized this was the first time he was seeing the wolves in person. The bright beam of the light was illuminating a group of dozen or so of the huge creatures.

“Those…those can’t be wolves,” the biologist stammered, face turning white.

“Told you,” Rex commented, unable to keep from gloating. “They’re fucking monsters!”

Even though Dr. Sorenson had seen the wolves many times, he was still impressed. The beasts stood nearly as tall as grown man’s chest and prowled around with a preternaturally lithe grace. Unlike normal wolves, these creatures didn’t flinch away when the beam of the light hit them. Rather, they seemed to take it as a challenge and leaned back on their great haunches and howled.

The hair on Dr. Sorenson’s neck stood up and Gage took an unconscious step backward. Devin’s shoulders hunched.

“That’s it, you lousy bastards,” Rex Mallory whispered between clenched teeth as he raised his rifle and stuck it through the slot in the window. “Just sit right there and I’ll blow your fucking brains out…”

They all jumped at the roar of the rifle. The wolves scattered but not before one of them took the shot in its shoulder. There was an angry yelp as the wolf ran off, leaving a scarlet trail in the snow.

Rex shook his head. “He’ll be back. I know it. Those bastards are impossible to kill.”

It was true, Dr. Sorenson realized. For all of the times they’d managed to shoot a wolf, they had only killed a handful. The beasts’ cunning and ability to heal were unnatural, something that they hadn’t anticipated when they bred them in the lab. Even trapping and poison had proven ineffective against the devious canines. He’d never seen anything like it. They had been unable to make a dent in the population. Worse, every few months there were more of the creatures. He estimated the size of the pack on the mountain had more than doubled over the past year. This was why they were becoming such a problem on the ranch. When there were just a handful, there had been plenty of other game for them but as their numbers increased, they had run out of options and started preying on sheep. Dr. Sorenson knew that they had only attacked and killed the bear that he and Gage had found because they were ravenous.

And this led to the real reason that Deoxy Corp was so interested in getting the wolves under control. Rex had been right, of course. These were no ordinary wolves; they were dire wolves, Canis dirus, a formerly extinct species that been revived through the genius of the Deoxy Corp scientists in coordination with a parallel project to restore the equally extinct mammoth. The Canadian government had sponsored the research in a desperate attempt to counteract the effects of global warming in the arctic.

Dr. Sorenson shook his head. In theory, it was a brilliant if somewhat implausible idea. Restore the mammoths and the beasts’ grazing habits would bring back the native grasslands that had once blanketed the tundra. The grasslands would act as a barrier against the release of carbon trapped in melting permafrost, preserving a vast part of the planet’s natural carbon sink.

The wolves had been bred as a natural means of controlling the mammoth population but no one had calculated on their intelligence, speed, and reproductive capacity. Dr. Sorenson had made sure that every measure was taken to prevent the wolves from escaping into the wild but he hadn’t counted on those damned ecoterrorists breaking into the facility and releasing them.  Since then, he’d been fighting a losing battle to contain the wolves.

All other means of control had failed and Gage was their final hope. Deoxy Corp had hired the biologist after learning about his success in getting humans and predators to coexist. The plan was to deploy Gage to train the wolves to avoid sheep while at the same time administering chemical birth control measures to bring the population down. Once the mammoth project was farther along, they would relocate the wolves to arctic. Until then, they had to do whatever they could to keep the wolves from leaving the mountain in search of food. If that were to happen, the Canadian government would pull the plug on the whole program.

God, Dr. Sorenson thought fervently, Gage had better know what he’s doing!

He watched the hunky biologist out of the corner of his eye. Gage was standing there with his mouth hanging open. Straightening, he ran a shaky hand through his shaggy mane and exhaled.

“I…I can’t believe that,” he said finally, his voice wavering.

“Those are demons, not wolves,” Rex pronounced. “They should all be killed!”

Devin reached out and put a hand on Gage’s shoulder and squeezed. The biologist ignored him, though. He was too stunned to do anything but gape.

Dr. Sorenson grimaced. Devin’s attempts to get Gage’s attention were so transparent; he almost felt bad for the boy. The poor kid was in for a serious case of blue balls, though. Guys like Gage might be pretty to look at and love being admired but they didn’t put out no matter how cute you were–unless, of course, you were a hot chick. In his life, Dr. Sorenson had met his share of Gages and had learned to avoid them. Devin had a lot of growing up to do.

“I think they will stay away for a while now,” Dr. Sorenson said, addressing Rex. “Is it Ok if Gage and I stay at the ranch tonight? The road back to the lab is going to be snowed in by now.”

Rex nodded, unwillingly. He really didn’t like the doctor or the upstart biologist but he also knew he was dependent on Deoxy Corp for his livelihood. “Yeah, Ok,” he muttered. “I think Steven has cooked up another one of his concoctions. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Has saffron or something in it.”

The doctor smiled. Steven was one of the hired hands on the ranch who improbably prided himself on being a foody. Dr. Sorenson loved to indulge his fetish by bringing him exotic ingredients every time he left the mountain to report back to civilization. It had gotten to the point where Steve had told Rex’s wife, Cora, to stay out of the kitchen. In truth, though, the woman hadn’t objected too strenuously. It was no secret that she detested cooking, preferring instead to be out in the pastures with her husband.

***

“Have they ever caught the terrorists who released the wolves, Dr. Sorenson?”

The doctor looked across the dinner table and momentarily lost himself in Devin’s clear blue gaze. Christ, that kid is pretty! he thought before shaking his head. “No, Devin. The RCMP are still looking for them.”

Devin nodded his head gravely. The boy was sitting next to Gage and doing everything he could to engage the guy. The biologist, however, seemed completely unaware of Devin’s designs on him.

“I remember reading that the Earth Freedom Coalition claimed responsibility,” Gage commented, taking a big mouthful of mutton and chewing loudly. “They said that eight of their members participated in the action but they haven’t been heard from since.”

Mr. Mallory snorted. “Sneaky bastards! I hope the wolves got ‘em!”

“No, the wolves didn’t get them,” Dr. Sorenson replied, uncomfortably looking down at the table. “The company hired a private detective firm that is still working on the case. The RCMP seem to have given up on it. They’re more interested in getting the wolf population under control at this point.”

“Is it really true that the wolves haven’t attacked a person yet?” Gage asked, focusing his steady gaze on Dr. Sorenson.

Shit, between him and Devin, I’m going to cum in my pants! the doctor thought. It had been too long since his last foray into civilization. He needed to get laid! With great effort that he wrested his attention away from Gage’s succulent lips long enough to formulate a reply.

“Well,” he began but Rex jumped in.

“Killers! They’re fucking killers!” the rancher shouted, stabbing his fork in the doctor’s direction. “It’s only dumb luck that those bastards haven’t killed one of us yet!”

Gage lifted his bushy eyebrows at this and Dr. Sorenson took a deep breath, calming himself before answering. “No one has been attacked but Rex is correct to be worried.” He paused to give Mr. Mallory an artificially cheerful smile. Rex scowled back at him. He continued, “The wolves are starving and beginning to get desperate. Unless we manage to steer them toward another food source, it’s possible they will begin to attack people.”

“Which is why I’m here.” Gage said proudly, sitting up straighter. “And I’m sure I can do it. It will be a challenge but I’m up to it.”

Devin smiled at him and the doctor drew his mouth into a tight line. There goes the peacock displaying his plumage again, he thought dourly. As handsome as Gage was, his need to impress others was a bit tiresome.

He decided not to feed Gage’s ego, though, and instead turned to address Steven, the ranch hand turned gourmet chef. Raising his water glass to him in a toast, he said, “The kesar rice and mutton are delicious!”

Steven flushed and bowed his head. He was sitting off to the side and too afraid to chime into the potentially hazardous dinner conversation. When everyone else joined in to express their appreciation, Cora Mallory took the opportunity to change the subject and bring up the unusual autumn weather. The talk at the table drifted back into safe territory.

They settled down for the night after the delicious dinner. The wind was still howling outside and the snow was coming down in earnest. It was going to take quite a while to dig out in the morning and the doctor was glad to have a relatively warm place to wait out the storm. Before retiring, he noted that Devin managed to coax Gage into his bedroom with the promise of a comfortable bed. Gage had taken one look at the basic cot in the drafty side room where the doctor was bedding down and joined the boy.

***

True to his boast, Gage achieved success over the next few weeks, managing to lure the wolf pack away from the ranch with the careful placement of mountain goats. Deoxy Corp had spent a fortune on the goats, purchasing more than twice as many as they thought they’d need, and Chase was kept busy working with the wildlife biologists to manage the goat herd and monitor the location of the wolf pack. 

Devin Mallory was never far away from Gage, acting as a self-appointed guide and generally following the biologist around like a lost puppy. Dr. Sorenson could tell that Gage had figured out that the boy had a crush on him and the biologist had gone up a few notches in the doctor’s book by playing along to some extent. Gage was careful not to encourage Devin too much but also didn’t give him the cold shoulder. The cynical part of the doctor insisted that Gage was doing this because he liked having a sidekick but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the guy legitimately liked the boy’s company. In any case, the two had settled into an easy if somewhat fraught rapport.

Dr. Sorenson had stopped keeping track of Gage once the biologist was established in his role at the facility. He would see him occasionally at the lab, usually in the evenings returning from a day out in the field. They would exchange pleasantries for a few minutes before Gage went to sleep in the bunkhouse he shared with the other researchers. Dr. Sorenson, being the lead scientist at the field laboratory, had his own suite of comfortable rooms and often stayed locked up inside so he could focus on his research without being distracted. He quickly put all thoughts of the biologist out of his head, reassured that the company had hired the right person for the job.

It was therefore a surprise one afternoon when he returned early from a trip to the research facility on the other side of the mountain to discover the biologist sitting at his desk and looking through his computer.

Gage jumped, startled, as the door swung open and Dr. Sorenson pocketed the ID badge he used to unlock his office.

“Gage, what?” he started to say but the big man was already launching himself out of the chair, barreling across the room at him.

“I can’t fucking believe it!” he shouted, grabbing the doctor and throwing him against the wall. “You fucking did it! I knew I couldn’t trust you!”

Dr. Sorenson collapsed on the floor, the wind knocked out of him. Gage took him by the arms and, lifting him in the air, shook him violently. He was a big man and the doctor was like a sack of flour in his hands.

“I’m going to fucking turn you in, you bastard! You’re a fucking murderer!”

Head lolling to the side, Dr. Sorenson blinked. His vision was swimming and he was dangerously close to blacking out. “Gage, wha…are…you…?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Gage screamed. “You’re a fucking liar! When the Earth Freedom Coalition told me you did it, I didn’t believe them. I didn’t fucking believe them!”

Despite his condition, alarm bells went off in the doctor’s head. Struggling, he managed to say, “No, I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what they told you but I didn’t do anything!”

Gage gave him a look of pure hatred. “Oh, yeah? Well, according to your own notes you did. You injected the activists with a genetic reagent, didn’t you?”

How the fuck had he found that file? He’d kept it encrypted! No one had his passcode! Desperately, the doctor tried to think of something, anything to throw Gage off his trail. “Gage, there’s a logical explanation for this, I swear,” he tried to reason, tasting blood in his mouth from where his teeth had torn into his cheeks. “I can tell you exactly what happened to the activists. It isn’t what you think…”

Gage’s eyes flashed. “I’m sure you can but I’m not going to let you. I’m going to make sure you’re locked up for the rest of your life for this. Those wolves!” he spat. “You turned them into those wolves! And you let Rex shoot them!”

Becoming frantic, the doctor pleaded. “No! Listen to yourself. This is crazy! That’s not what happened. I don’t know where they went after they broke in here and released the pack! You can’t turn a person into a wolf!”

“Save your lies for the police, asshole,” Gage said coldly. “I’m taking you in.”

He threw the doctor down on the floor and was swinging him around to put in him a headlock when Dr. Sorenson, getting a burst of adrenaline, lashed out and kicked his legs out from under him. Gage toppled over and the doctor scrambled desperately away. The biologist growled in the back of his throat before giving chase. The doctor, shaken and injured, was an easy target and it didn’t take Gage long before he caught him around the neck in a chokehold.

The doctor’s windpipe started to crumple and he gasped for air. The room began to go dark and he was quickly losing consciousness when, thankfully, Gage’s grip loosened.

“What? Fuck! No!” the big man cried out but it was too late. His knees gave out and he crumpled to the floor, clutching at the syringe lodged in his thigh. In another few seconds, he was out cold.

Shaken and bloody, the doctor sagged on the floor. He rubbed his throat and tried to swallow, grimacing at the pain. Yes, there was no doubt about it. Gage McIntyre was a big, strong guy. Yeah, a big, strong guy alright. And that was a good thing because the sedative that he’d injected into him would have killed a smaller man. He mopped his brow and tried to catch his breath as he surveyed the sprawling body of the fallen scientist.

“Well, Gage, that was too close,” he murmured. “But not close enough, unfortunately for you. Now you get to find out firsthand what happened to those fucking EFC terrorists.”

***

“Monster!”

Dr. Sorenson regarded the captive biologist impassively as he prepared the reagent. Gage was naked and strapped down, splayed out on a stainless steel table.

“Monster?” he murmured, smiling to himself. “I’m afraid that you’re the only monster here, Gage. Or you will be soon enough.”

“Fuck you! You’re fucking sick!”

“Sick? Maybe. I can’t deny that I’m really turned on by the thought of making you into a hulking brute who is too dumb to remember his own name or even the fact that he used to be human.”

Gage fell silent, his face going white and his pupils dilating. In a moment, he started to shake. The doctor looked down at him and laughed.

“Not so bold now, are you?”

“Doctor, you can’t do this!” Gage pleaded, squirming on the table and trying once again to get his hands free of the bonds. “I don’t deserve it! I have a life! I have a career! They will come looking for me!”

Dr. Sorenson ignored him and instead reached down to cup Gage’s testicles in his hand, giving them a brief squeeze. Gage shuddered and tried to pull away but couldn’t. It was cold in the room but even so Gage had a pretty small package for such a big guy. He made up for it, though. The rest of his body was beyond impressive. Muscles were piled onto his body, bulging out in all the right places. His carefully trimmed body hair accentuated every curve and hard line. Gage was a fucking stud!

He would look even hotter if…

The doctor shifted, feeling his cock harden. Yes, this would be fun. More than fun. It would be fucking delicious. Very slowly, he released the guy’s balls and let his fingers trail lingeringly down his hairy taint. Gage was spreadeagled and couldn’t close his legs, though he clenched mightily as the doctor’s index finger entered the cleft of his buttocks and he gently probed his butthole.

“Get your fucking hands off of me,” Gage gasped, gritting his teeth. “You’re a fucking pervert!”

“Hmmm? A pervert, you say? Just wait until the reagent takes effect and we’ll see who the real pervert is.”

Gage lost it then, howling loudly. The doctor had never seen a grown man cry like that and it briefly made him feel bad. Sort of bad anyway. Even the EFC terrorists hadn’t whined like this. They had fought back, of course, and, when that didn’t work, tried bargaining, pleading, and finally begging. But none of them had been this pathetic. Then again, he realized, Gage was smart and he’d read the doctor’s notes. And he’d seen what became of the EFC idiots. He knew enough to be afraid. Very afraid. 

God, this was fun!

Reaching up and wiping away the single tear that trickled down Gage’s cheek, Dr. Sorenson made his voice soft, soothing. “You know what, Gage? I’m not all bad. I’ll make you a deal. Unlike those bastards from EFC, you haven’t done any lasting damage. And you’re a fellow scientist. This makes me want to give you a fighting chance.”

Gage’s lower lip was quivering but he remained silent, eyes hard and staring straight ahead. The doctor knew he didn’t trust him, knew he was toying with him, yet he couldn’t stop himself from hoping. Hoping for a miracle. Hoping for a chance…

“The reagent I’m concocting is different. It’s triggered by changes in your body, specifically hormonal changes. It won’t kick in until you cum. And the more you cum, the faster the changes will happen.”

He watched with satisfaction as Gage clenched his jaw. Another tear trickled down his cheek, falling into the opening of his ear. Dr. Sorenson smirked.

“But, unfortunately, there is a downside. There has to be a downside, right?” He patted Gage’s cheek with his hand. The biologist pulled his head away, scowling. “The longer you go without cumming, the more sensitive your skin will become and the more turned on you will be by the slightest stimulus.”

Holding up his finger, he paused before continuing. “But, the reagent won’t last forever. If you can make it for twenty four hours without cumming, the chemical will have broken down and you will be safe.”

Gage relaxed slightly at this and the doctor could see the wheels turning in his head as he feverishly thought through what Dr. Sorenson had just said. He knew Gage believed he would be able to control his body, control his urges. He knew that Gage was steeling himself inside to suffer through anything to get through this. Grinning, he shook his head. The kid didn’t stand a chance.

The infuser chimed and he turned to extract the liquid from the collector. Lifting a syringe and carefully filling it, he returned to the table. Gage couldn’t help it. He stared at the lifted syringe, filled with the glowing purple solution, and tears streamed down his face.

“Please, Dr. Sorenson, please! Don’t do this! I won’t tell anyone. I’ll leave and never tell anyone what I found. Please!”

The doctor sighed. “Now, Gage, we both know that’s not true. We both know that you can never forget what you read and that you are too honest, too good, too…noble to let this perceived crime go unpunished.”

Gage was sobbing. It was really, really disappointing. The doctor had thought the biologist was tougher than this. Better to just get it over with. Yes, why prolong the poor thing’s suffering? They both would be better off after this was over.

He leaned down and positioned the needle against Gage’s voluptuous upper buttock. The young guy cried out and fought marvelously but to no avail. Dr. Sorenson smiled. It was so touching to see the boy this worked up. Losing one’s humanity really had that effect on people. He remembered how Jax Dixon had struggled at the end. He remembered the fierce, bright light in the kid’s eyes. He remembered watching it fade, grow dim, and finally extinguish as the animal brute inside him took over. Ah, Jax Dixon. Now there was a handsome youth! ‘Was,’ the doctor thought ruefully, ‘is correct. He’s not handsome any more.’ Too bad he’d been forced to ruin the activist, turning him into that unlovely beast. It would have been so fun to play with him for a while a longer…

“Listen, Gage,” he said, bringing his thoughts back to the present. “These are your last few seconds as a man and it’s important that you remember what I’m going to tell you.”

Gage screamed, a sound of such bitter anguish that the doctor was momentarily disturbed. He had to take a deep breath to compose himself before pressing the needle into Gage’s flesh. He slowly injected the bright, shining solution, savoring the way that Gage cringed and shook and wailed as milliliter after milliliter of the precious liquid entered his bloodstream, changing him, changing him, changing him forever.

“I am going to let you go in a minute and you are to run as far and as fast as you can from here. Do you understand me? I will give you a five-minute head start and then I will release the wolves. They will smell the attractant I’ve sprayed on you and come running. You will need to make it past the barrier around the facility before you are safe.”

Gage’s face was red and his cheeks were puffy. His screaming had become a high pitched keening that was beginning to give the doctor a headache. He really couldn’t wait until this was over. Whatever attraction he’d felt toward Gage McIntyre had vanished in the last several minutes and now he was thoroughly over the young kid. He couldn’t even muster the enthusiasm to contemplate his ensuing changes. Yes, he couldn’t wait to get rid of Gage.

Giving the hapless biologist one last fond look, he walked slowly out of the room and locked the door behind him. Taking up position on the other side of the window, he pressed the button to raise the plexiglass barriers before he released the young man’s restraints. He slid his hand over the sensor to open the outside door and watched with relief as Gage pushed himself unsteadily up off the table and took a few tentative steps toward the door before hesitating. It was a cold night and he was naked. Dr. Sorenson watched him scan the room for anything to cover himself but there was nothing. Bulletproof plastic surrounded him and there was only the steel table and the wire restraints. Finally, the biologist wiped his face and, casting one last hateful glance back toward the doctor, took off at a jog, disappearing into the darkness and the snow.

***

Chapter 2

The note that Gage had left Devin was cryptic and alarming. He’d gotten back to the ranch to find it tacked under his name on the message board in the barn. It read simply, “Need your help. Come now.” There were GPS coordinates scrawled under his shaky writing. Devin had grabbed his Garmin, a headlamp, and a rifle before hightailing it down the mountain.

Now it was nearly dark and the battery on his Garmin was running low. He was still at least a half kilometer from the spot marked on the note and he wasn’t confident he could find his way back to the ranch without a compass. He was too preoccupied with finding Gage, though, to worry about anything else.

Not far away, a wolf howled, followed by another.

The dire wolves! Their call was different from the gray wolves that used to live on the mountain. 

This howl was louder, deeper, more menacing. Something about it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Logically, he knew that they were unlikely to attack, that Gage’s efforts had been successful and the wolves were now better fed and less aggressive. Still, hearing their howl short circuited the rational part of his mind and he had to fight the panic threatening to overwhelm him.

Where the hell was Gage?

He stumbled and then froze when he heard a sound ahead of him. Was it a wolf? Was it Gage? Should he turn on his headlamp and find out?

There was another sound, closer this time. It sounded like a whimper. Devin took a deep breath and made himself relax. Be calm, Devin! Be calm! You’re not in danger. The wolves won’t hurt you.

He clicked on his light.

And gasped.

Gage was lying completely naked in the snow, a trail of blood behind him. Devin broke into a run before he noticed the pair of big, yellow eyes reflected back at him in the beam of his light. Skidding to a halt, he pulled out his rifle and fired into the air. Gage cried out in alarm, curling into a little ball, but the wolf didn’t flinch. Devin swallowed, feeling his heart pound in his chest. It was the biggest wolf he’d ever seen, a huge, black beast with a funny white forelock. The creature stood nearly as tall as Devin and appeared completely unafraid of him.

Devin tried to make a sound, tried to shout, tried to make himself do something threatening but couldn’t. All he could do was stare as the great beast crept forward on silent paws. When the wolf was within a couple meters of Gage, Devin snapped out of his trance and leapt forward, sliding in a big puff of snow to cover the naked biologist with his body, protecting him from the beast. He cowered there, holding Gage tightly in his arms, their faces inches apart while he waited for the beast to attack.

He waited.

And waited.

Finally, the tension was too much and he looked up.

Right into a pair of yellow eyes.

The dire wolf was standing over them. Devin gaped, feeling the hot puffs of the wolf’s breath on his neck. He stifled a cry and started trembling as the creature sought his gaze and held it. There was a long pause as if the wolf was trying to communicate something with its eyes but when Devin didn’t respond, the wolf lifted its great head and swung around. At first, it seemed like it was going to leave but it stopped a few meters away. Then it did the strangest thing. As Devin watched, spellbound, the beast moved its paw through the snow in the most intriguing manner, tracing a great arc then stopping and making a line over the top. Moving over a half meter of so, it traced out two lines that met in a point before placing its paw in the center. Finally, it made a great slash and then bisected it with another. Devin sat up, bewildered. He had never seen a wolf do anything like this.

As Devin leaned forward to look at the mysterious pattern on the snow, the wolf dragged its foot in a long line that ended with a ‘V’ at the tip. Sitting down at the end of this line, it stared over at Devin.

“What the…?” he started to say.

Then he got it.

He got it!

The pattern in the snow was perfectly clear. It read “JAX” with an arrow pointing directly at the wolf.

The wolf could spell? It’s name was Jax?

Huh? Wolves didn’t spell!

Except this one did.

It wasn’t a random pattern.

No. It was a name.

Where had he heard that name before? It was unusual enough to stand out in his memory but he didn’t remember why it sounded familiar. Jax. Jax? He wracked his brain but came up dry. Nothing.

He realized the wolf was waiting for him. Like it wanted something from him. Devin squinted at it but the wolf only blinked back. Finally, he decided to try talking to it.

“I get it. Your name. It’s Jax, right?”

Did he expect the wolf to nod back? Well, it didn’t. It just stared at him.

And then it left.

***

Gage was delirious and freezing. Dropping his rifle, Devin took off his jacket and pulled his friend’s arms through it. He even took off his pants and tugged them up Gage’s legs but they were too small to fit over his waist. He had to leave the zipper open and even then they didn’t cover his butt. Shit, Devin thought. What the fuck were they going to do? The temperature was dropping and both of them were in danger of hypothermia. Devin knew all too well that hypothermia a serious and deadly condition. 

Wait, there was a ranger station nearby, wasn’t there? He’d found it before and knew how to break into it. The rangers kept their stations well-stocked. If he could drag Gage over to it, he could build a fire to warm his friend. He might even be able to heat up water to give him a hot bath. He remembered reading that the best way to help someone with hypothermia was to warm their core in a bath of hot water.

Suddenly hopeful, he managed to lift Gage up and with difficulty slung the big man’s arm over his shoulder. Gage was barely able to stand and his legs were useless so Devin had to do all of the work. Despite the fact that he had given Gage his jacket and his pants, he was dripping with sweat after pulling Gage a hundred meters. He had to grin at the ridiculousness of the situation but sobered when he felt Gage’s forehead and realized he was burning up with a fever. Shit!

It took an hour and a lot of work but he hauled Gage to the ranger station and broke in. Once inside, he helped Gage over onto the bed, glad that the battery on his headlamp was still going strong. The big guy collapsed, pale and breathing hard. His forehead was glistening with sweat and his eyes were glassy. Devin’s heart clenched seeing the big man like this. Gage was the embodiment of strength and power to him and it was unsettling to see him so helpless and weak. He sat down next to him and placed his hand on the biologist’s cheek. Gage’s eyes fluttered and he briefly focused on Devin’s face.

“Hey, darlin’,” he murmured, smiling wanly and squinting in the beam of Devin’s headlamp.

Devin blinked. ‘Darling’? The big man must be delirious if he was calling Devin his darling. He smiled to himself, wondering who Gage thought he was? Probably a former girlfriend or something.

“How do you feel, Gage?” His voice sounded so calm, so steady. It was funny because he felt anything but.

“I’m warm and cozy now that you’re here, darlin’. Wanna cuddle with me?” Gage lay back then, shrugging out of Devin’s jacket and shimmying out of his pants. Devin’s eyes went round as he took in the sight of the completely naked man. Holy shit, Gage was even hotter than he’d thought. He knew the big man was muscular and buff but, fuck, he had no idea that he was a fucking god!

A very turned on god.

Devin’s cheeks colored as he stared down at the Gage’s straining erection. He was a little disappointed when he realized that Gage’s circumcised cock was so small. (Why do Americans cut off their foreskins?) Fully hard, it couldn’t have been longer than 12 centimeters or so. And it was pretty skinny.

But.

It was a fully erect dick and it was pointing right at him. Devin had never seen another guy’s erection up close and it really got him going. Oh, how he wished that Gage wasn’t delusional! His biggest fantasy was to take Gage in his arms and hug, kiss, and f…

He cleared his throat, straightening. “We’ve got to get you warmed up, Gage.”

With supreme will, he turned on his heel and searched through the cabin for the blankets he knew had to be stashed somewhere. He let out a triumphant whoop when he opened a chest at the foot of the bed and discovered that it was stuffed full of wool blankets. They were scratchy, army ration blankets but there were a lot of them and right now he’d take whatever he could get. Pulling them out and unfurling them, he piled them on top of Gage and tucked them snuggly around his body. In a minute, the big man resembled a mummy with only his handsome, bearded face poking out.

He was watching Devin with a look of pure desire and Devin felt his back and neck grow hot. God, no one had ever stared at him like that before! Oh, why did Gage have to be delirious?

Forcing himself to attend to the important matter of getting Gage warmed up, Devin searched the cabin and was happy to learn the rangers had done an excellent job provisioning the place. There were plenty of lanterns and matches and there was a big stack of firewood on the covered porch outside. He located a large basin that was perfect for bathing in a rear storage room. Even better, the rusty hand pump in the kitchen hadn’t frozen yet and he was able to draw water. He lit a couple lanterns, got a fire going in the wood stove, and heated a giant kettle, gradually filling the basin with hot water over the course of the next hour or so. He took a break to periodically check on Gage and was concerned to find that the biologist was shivering uncontrollably under the mass of blankets heaped on top of him.

He turned and examined the basin. It wasn’t nearly full enough to immerse Gage yet. Turning back, he saw that if anything Gage’s stare had become even more lustful. It made Devin’s cock get hard just looking at him. He pulled on it as he decided what to do.

Well, he does need to be warmed up, he thought, staring longingly at the hunky man. What could it hurt?

But first…

He needed to be sure.

“Gage,” he asked, delighting in the way the big man was drinking him in as he stripped out of his clothes . “Do you know who I am?”

Gage’s brow wrinkled in surprise. “You’re Devin! My beautiful, handsome Devin!”

Devin flushed. Gage really did know it was him! But, the biologist had told him (repeatedly) that he was straight and, while he enjoyed Devin’s company, he wanted to keep their friendship strictly platonic. It had been hard to hear but what could he do? Gage had never shown the slightest interest in him sexually before now.

“I…I thought you were straight, Gage. You told me…”

Incongruously, Gage giggled. It was an infectious sound that made him smile. Holding a hand out, the biologist lowered his voice, “Maybe I was but I’m not anymore.”

Devin caught his breath before slowly releasing it. “I think you must be delirious and have me confused with someone else. A girlf…”

“No!” Gage said, voice rising. “You’re Devin. I know who you are and I want you. Christ, can’t you tell?” He threw back the blankets and shoved his crotch in the air; the tip of his little, hard cock glistening with a drop of precum.

Ok, that did it. In a moment, Devin had stripped off the rest of his clothes and leapt onto the bed, worming his way under the covers. Gage eagerly made way for him and in seconds was enveloping him in a his strong arms, wrapping his body tightly against him. Devin shivered, both from ecstasy and from cold. Gage’s body was chilly. He really did have hypothermia!

Gage’s mouth found his own, his furry beard tickling his face, and soon they were mashing up against each other, exploring bodies, mouths, and…

“Whoa, hey! What are you doing?” Gage pushed Devin’s hands away as the boy’s fingers worked their way to his butthole.

Devin stopped, chagrined. “I was just…”

“Yeah, well, that’s off limits!” Gage grumbled.

Devin drew back, stung. “But you were just doing the same thing to me!”

“That’s different.”

Devin stiffened. “And why is that?”

“Because you’re…”

“Gay?”

Gage nodded his head. He tried to draw Devin back against him as he explained, “I’m Ok with, um, uh, well, fucking you but it just doesn’t work the other way around. I thought that all you gay dudes took it up the ass.”

Not understanding exactly why Gage’s words bothered him so much, Devin frowned and carefully pushed the big man’s hands away, getting out of bed. He didn’t care if the Gage had hypothermia or that he was new to this; he was pissed.  He ignored the little warning voice in the back of his head as he seethed, “With a dick that small and an ass that big, we both know there’s only one thing you’re good for, Gage.”

There was a startled silence and a brief pause as he watched Gage’s eyes get big and his jaw set. When he spoke finally, there was no doubt that his insult had connected and he’d struck a nerve with the big man.

“Hey, fuck you!” Gage shouted back at him. “FUCK YOU!”

Devin’s face darkened and it was with great effort that he bit his tongue and turned away. He tugged back on his pants and shirt before he dutifully–if somewhat robotically– went back to stoking the fire and heating the water. When the basin was filled with steaming water, he returned to the bed.

Giving Gage a hard look, he stated, “The water’s ready.”

The biologist’s face was stoic as he struggled out of his blankets. Placing his feet unsteadily on the floor, he tried to get up but stumbled and Devin was forced to reach out and catch him. He noticed that the guy was still sporting a raging hardon but this only made him angrier for some reason. Scowling, he carried the biologist over to the basin and reluctantly helped him to climb in. 

Gage had stepped into the water and was settling in when he suddenly reached over and pulled Devin in on top of him. Hands waving comically, Devin pitched forward and landed head first, splashing hot water everywhere. He breathed in a lungful of water and emerged sputtering only to have Gage grab his head and pull him in for a ravenous kiss. Soon, despite Devin’s fierce opposition, Gage had undressed him and the boy was lying naked on top of him.

“I’m sorry, Devin,” Gage breathed finally when they came up for air, leaning up to plant his luscious lips on the youth’s mouth.

Devin set his jaw but the corner of his mouth turned up slightly as he struggled to maintain his sense of outrage. Gage smiled at this and nibbled playfully on his lower lip.

“Ok, Mr. Tough Guy, I was wrong,” Gage continued. “Now, come on! I’m getting hornier by the second and you’re driving me crazy!”

“Does that mean that you’re ready to surrender your asshole to me?” Devin asked, sounding a little meaner than he intended. “Because, if the answer is no, then I’m getting out of here right now.”

Gage smiled as he reached down and grabbed Devin’s cock in his big, rough hand and started to jack him slowly. Devin steeled himself but was unable to suppress a shudder. “Tell you what,” Gage bargained. “If I can suck your fat cock, I’ll let you do whatever you want with my butthole.”

When he hesitated, Gage worked his forefinger inside the generous folds of his foreskin and tickled his glans. Devin moaned loudly, gasping, “Yeah, Ok! Ok! It’s a deal!”

“Finally! God, I’ve been dying to suck this big thing FOREVER…well, for at least the last hour or so.”

With that, he lifted Devin up out of the water and, placing his hands on the boy’s buttocks, pulled his crotch up to his face and started sucking exuberantly on his member.

“Shit, Gage! Pull back on my foreskin first!” Devin ordered and smiled when Gage looked up at him sheepishly.

“Oops!” he apologized. “I told you I’m a beginner at this!” He carefully slid the skin back, exposing Devin’s bright pink cockhead and tickling it with the tip of his tongue before opening wide and devouring it.

Devin’s eyes rolled back in his head and he felt his butt cheeks clench as the waves of pleasure began to quickly build. At the last moment, he realized he was close to cumming and, panicked, tried to pull back. “Gage! Gage! Stop! I’m gonna…”

Too late. Just as Gage withdrew his cock from his mouth, Devin exploded, blowing thick wads of cum all over his lover’s face and beard. Stunned, the biologist stared up at him and Devin flushed with embarrassment for a moment before the sight of Gage’s cum-slathered face made him lose it and he barked with laughter. After a few seconds, Gage joined him in this laughter and was reaching up to wipe his face when Devin stopped him. Slipping down in the tub and back into Gage’s beefy arms, he lapped up every drop of his cum as his lover watched him with a queasy expression.

“Uh, wow, I don’t think I could have done that,” the biologist confessed after he was done. “I’ll have to work up to it, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Devin agreed. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you plenty of opportunities to practice!”

Gage flushed at this and Devin laughed, letting the big man pull his head down to rest on his hairy chest.

They lay like that for a few minutes before Gage asked, “How big is your tool anyway?”

Devin grinned as he rolled over and looked down proudly at his cock, saying, “Fully hard, it’s like 20 centimeters or something.” Then seeing Gage’s confused look, he added, “That’s about eight inches, I think. You don’t know that? Even though you’re an American, you’re a fucking scientist!”

“Of course, I know metric!” Gage protested before adding meekly, “I’m just not so good at converting. But eight inches, shit! Mine is less than five! God, I wish I had a dick as big as yours!”

“As I was saying earlier…” Devin started to add but stopped abruptly at a dark look from Gage.

“Shut it, Devin!”

Devin lifted his eyebrows. “Sorry!”

“I hate my big butt and tiny dick,” Gage complained before stopping himself and focusing his attention on Devin’s cock. “You’re so damned lucky! I mean, look at your huge tool and, shit, your ass is perfect!” He reached around and cupped Devin’s butt cheeks. “But, wait! Dude, do you shave down there?”

Devin slapped at his hands. “What? No! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m blond and only nineteen. Not every guy is a hairy beast like you, Gage.”

Gage lifted him up out of the water and made a big show of squinting at his crotch. “Well, I can maybe see a pubic hair or two down there but there’s not much…”

“I make up for it in other ways,” Devin said slyly as he thrust his rapidly engorging member upward.

“Holy fuck! You’re ready to go again?”

“Uh, yeah, dude. And you know what that means…”  He giggled at the squeamish look that flashed across Gage’s face before adding, “Come on, big guy. A deal’s a deal.”

Gage became strangely meek then and Devin had to cajole him and coax him before he finally managed to get the biologist to trade places with him. Shivering, Gage looked down at him pleadingly but Devin merely pushed him backward.

“Turn around. I want that ass in my face now!”

“Devin…”

“Gage, I promise you’ll enjoy this at least as much as I do.”

“But…”

“Butt is exactly it!”

Gage dropped his chin and pouted but Devin already had his hands on his wide hips and was forcing him around. He had turned around and was straddling Devin’s waist as the boy salivated at the sight of his massive ass cheeks covered in thick, brown hair. Not quite able to believe his good fortune, Devin extended his hands tentatively and caressed Gage’s fleshy globes before grabbing them and squeezing.

“Hey! Careful!” 

“Sorry!” Devin said before getting an idea. “Hey, Gage, will you get up on the rim of the tub for me?”

“What? No!”

“Oh, come on! Just do it! I want you to spread your cheeks!”

Gage’s shoulders fell as he said over his shoulder. “No, that’s just gross! Why would you want to see that?”

Devin pinched his butt hard, causing Gage to yelp and slap at his hand. “Because, asshole, I wanna see your asshole before I fuck it.”

“If this is your idea of foreplay,” Gage complained, rubbing his ass where there was already a red mark developing, “you suck at it.”

“Just do it.”

Surprisingly, the big biologist did.

In a moment, Gage was bracing himself on his hands and knees as he grabbed the rim of the tub and stuck his huge butt up and out. Devin’s cock was rigid and pulsing as he drank in the sight that had been haunting his dreams for the last month: Gage’s large, hairy butt cheeks spread wide open, exposing the unexpectedly dark pucker of his asshole. He moaned as he clutched himself; it was even hotter than he’d imagined.

“Hey! I’m cold and uncomfortable here! Can we just get this over with?”

Shaking himself, he sat up and smiled as he saw Gage clench slightly in anticipation. Devin was as new to this as Gage but he had the advantage of having spent years fantasizing and planning for this very moment. He was prepared. He spent the next five minutes tormenting Gage with his tongue, lips, fingers, and chin until the big man was on the verge of tears of ecstasy. Devin smirked in satisfaction as Gage pleaded pitifully, his taint engorged and a long thread of precum dripping down from his little cockhead.

Finally, Devin determined that he’d tortured his new lover enough and gently lowered him onto his lap while he slid back his foreskin and guided his cock into Gage’s hairy cleft.

“Ouch!”

“Just relax, dude.”

“Can’t you start with a finger or something? Your cock is huge!”

Devin sighed. “Uh, in case you didn’t notice, I had three fingers inside you a moment ago.”

Gage tensed. “What?! Three fingers! You had three fingers in my asshole! Shit!”

Kissing him tenderly on the small of his back, Devin added, “Given how stretched out your hole is now, I’m sure you’ll have no difficulty taking me inside of you.”

“Fuck you!”

“Uh huh.”

At that moment, he thrust upward and sent his cock rocketing up Gage’s chute, delighting in the big man’s tightness and intense heat. Fuck, Gage’s hole was hot! He bucked upward and slammed against the biologist’s prostate, sending him into hysterics. The man’s screams would have been enough to wake the neighbors had there been any and Devin had to fight furiously to keep him on his lap. After his initial shock, though, Gage settled down and even worked his butt up and down in rhythm with Devin’s thrusts. Soon, the two of them were moaning, gasping, and crying out in tandem. The windows of the cabin were steaming up and the fire in the stove was blazing just like the heat of their passion.

“FUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!” Gage screamed finally as Devin spewed hot cum inside his virgin hole and he jacked himself to an explosive climax, shooting a thick stream of jizz up into the air to land with a splat on the floor next to the tub.

He slumped down on top of Devin and the boy sighed as he felt the last of the little contractions pulse through his dick. His cock was buried in Gage’s ass! He’d just succeeded in fucking the hottest guy in the world! Shit, he was so happy! He was the luckiest guy in the world! He was…

Gage groaned softly and Devin pulled him backward, letting his cheek rest against the biologist’s forehead. The big man was quivering. It was so adorable! God, Gage was so beautiful! He kissed his bearded cheek as the man started to shake.

At first, he thought Gage was just being emotional, coming to terms with what it meant to have just been fucked by another guy. But the shaking grew worse.  And worse.

“Gage,” he started to say but his voice was cut off by a terrible howl. It took him a moment to realize that the howl was emanating from deep in Gage’s chest.

“Gage!” he shouted, alarmed.

There was a hacking sound as Gage curled up, clutching his chest. His breath grew ragged and uneven as his body was wracked with spasms that grew more and more severe. Frantic now, Devin pulled himself out of the tub and tried to help Gage but the biologist’s body was rigid and he couldn’t move him.

“Gage!”

There was another horrible howl.

And then.

Silence.

Except for Gage’s hoarse and labored breathing.

“Gage?” Devin queried in a small voice. “Are you Ok?”

The big man lifted his great, shaggy head then and Devin felt the bottom of his perfect world fall out from under him. The face that was staring balefully up at him did not belong to anything that could be called human.

***

Chapter 3

Rex Mallory was beside himself. Devin had not come back to the ranch for dinner that night.

The boy never missed dinner.

Now it was past ten o’clock and there was a rainstorm heading up the mountain. A rain storm! In November! The weather was going to shit. Fucking global warming! When he was a boy, it never rained in November. Now, every day was something different. Nothing was predictable anymore.

The rain was bad news for a more ominous reason that Rex didn’t want to contemplate right then. Reaching up to knead his temples, he tried to push the nagging fear away but it was no use. He couldn’t deny it any longer. He had to face the facts as each minute passed and there was no sign of Devin: Rain was not good for tracking. If they had to track his scent, it would be hard to find once the rain started falling.

Shit.

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the satellite phone, punching in Gage’s number, letting it ring and ring, but there was no answer. Just as there had been no answer any of the previous ten times he had tried calling the biologist.

Did that mean that Devin and Gage were both lost?

He called Dr. Sorenson.

After many of rings, the doctor answered, his voice groggy.

Rex didn’t waste time on pleasantries. “Devin is missing. Do you know where he is?”

There was a pause. The doctor cleared his throat. “Rex? Is that you?”

“Of course, it’s me. Now do you know where Devin is?”

Another pause. “No, Rex. I haven’t seen him.”

Rex swore loudly. “Well, how about Gage? Is he there? I know that he and the boy are always together. He will know where Devin is.”

A third pause, this one far longer than the previous two. Finally, Dr. Sorenson murmured so softly that Rex had to listen hard to hear him, “Mr. McIntyre has left the company. He flew back to the States this morning.”

“WHAT?” Rex shouted, no sure why this news enraged him. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? SHIT!”

“It was…unexpected. Mr. McIntyre tendered his resignation by email and left before anyone at the station was awake.”

Rex hung his head. “Devin went with him,” he stated before adding vehemently, “Fuck! The boy went with him, I know it! He’s had a thing for Gage ever since he showed up here.”

“Rex, you don’t know that.”

“I do. I do fucking know it! Fuck!” He was getting ready to throw the phone across the lodge when he looked up to see the ranch hand, Steven, standing there, his face white. He was holding a rifle.

Devin’s rifle.

He stared at the man, his heart pounding in his chest as time seemed to freeze and each horrible moment took forever to pass. Steven’s throat was moving up and down as he tried to form words.

Finally, he managed to choke out, “I found it just before the rain started. There was…blood in the snow around it. A lot of it..”

***

“Gage! Fuck, Gage! What’s going on?”

Devin couldn’t stop himself from taking a step backward and then another. The…man?…in the tub was staring at him with hungry eyes. He..it..Gage’s face contorted in what Devin guessed was supposed to be a smile but instead came across more as an evil leer. As his big lips spread open, one of his human teeth fell out and a shiny, sharp, white fang took its place.

There was a heavy, ragged breathing. Then, “Devvvvinnn.”

Devin felt the skin on the back of his neck stand on end. His back was against the cabin wall. He was completely naked and he was alone in there with this…creature…that had once been Gage McIntyre but was now becoming some…thing else entirely.

He screamed. He couldn’t help it. He knew that it was what all the stupid people in horror movies did right before they were hacked to death by the axe murderer. He didn’t care, though. He screamed.

The creature that had been Gage leapt out of the tub and crossed the distance between them with preternatural speed. One moment, Devin’s back was pressed against the cabin wall and the next it was pressed against the bed, the beast’s hard body pinned against him.

“Devvvinnn, I lllovvve youuuuuu.”

Devin’s eyes were screwed shut but he opened them at this.

And found himself staring into an alien pair of eyes that were too big to be human. They were fathomless, feral, devouring.

“Gage?”

The creature nodded its big head. There was still enough of the old Gage, the human Gage, for him to recognize but somehow this only made it worse. His face wrinkled and, even though he fought hard to stop himself, he started to cry. The beast made a soft sound in the back of its throat and took him in its arms–it’s very muscular, very hairy arms–cradling him, letting him sob. Devin felt something hit his forehead and dimly realized it was another one of Gage’s teeth falling out. This was followed by another and another. When he opened his eyes again and looked at the pillow, there was a gruesome pile of teeth strewn about his head like a bloody crown.

“Gage! What is going on?”

There was silence as Gage struggled to speak. Finally, he managed to growl, “Ch-ch-ch-chang-ging.”

Absurdly, the refrain from one of his mother’s favorite David Bowie songs started playing in the back of his head and Devin had to shake himself. What the fuck? David Bowie?

He forced his attention back to Gage. God, his mouth was full of the longest, sharpest teeth! And his face was elongating, making it hard for the big man to form words. As Devin stared, Gage’s tongue flopped out of his mouth and hung long and red out to the side for moment before he pulled it back in. His breath was fetid and moist.

The Gage-beast pushed down on top of him and Devin felt something slimy pressing against his thigh. What was that? It felt hard like a… Wait, was that Gage’s penis? Improbably, he realized that his own cock was hard again despite his confused and frightened state. Then the Gage-beast sat back on its haunches and, grabbing Devin’s cock in its clawed hands, positioned it behind him before pushing its butt down. There was a loud slurping sound as Devin’s member slid into its hairy hole.

Everything changed as his mind exploded and his cock pulsed inside the creature that had been Gage.

God!

As much as he tried to resist them, heady feelings of desire overwhelmed him. Desire so potent that it was like mainlining a powerful drug. A drug of pure animal desire. He was hooked instantly even though he knew he needed to figure out what was happening to Gage, try to help him, try to make it stop. 

But…

The sensations flooding through him easily bypassed everything else. He stopped being afraid, stopped trying to figure things out, stopped being in control.

His rational nature receded as an animal lust filled him and an inhuman growl emanated from deep inside his chest. He shoved Gage backward on the bed, landing on top of him and thrusting violently. His cock had developed a will of its own, flaring red hot and swelling fatter and fatter inside Gage’s hole as his arousal raged toward a climax.

When the orgasm ripped through his body, he could feel his pole explode and then form into something new as Gage’s anatomy squeezed him like a tight vise and he bayed loudly. It was cruel and vicious but also incredibly satisfying as he felt the creature’s chute close around his member and mold itself into a volcanically hot wall of muscle. A distant part of him wondered what the fuck was going on, full of horror and revulsion, but it was too far away and too weak. It didn’t stand a chance against the animal lust and he pounded away deliriously at Gage’s new, improved butthole, letting out a triumphant roar. When he was finally spent, he collapsed on top of his animal lover and made little playful thrusts with his hips, teasing the huge brute. He could feel the beast’s slippery member throbbing against his belly and he smiled.

God, why was he smiling?

Because it felt so good.

And he was with his lover.

Gage.

He pushed himself up on his elbows, sweat running down his face and torso as the beast beneath him leaned up and lapped his cheek with a huge tongue. Something feathery slapped across his ass then and he batted it away before he realized it was a tail. Gage had grown a long, bushy tail! He laughed and Gage’s newly wolf-like face lit up. God, why had he been afraid? If anything, Gage was more attractive now. He was becoming something more than a man, something better. Devin’s pulse raced as he stared fondly down at his enhanced lover.

Wait, there were even more changes!

Thick hair was curling out from every crevice on Gage’s bulky body. His arms and legs were crawling with hair and his armpits were a fragrant morass that stimulated Devin’s nostrils with tantalizing, musky scents. He breathed in deeply. How had he missed all of these odors before? He savored the rich perfume that emanated from every orifice.

Gage’s hair had grown into a shaggy mane and his beard had thickened, filling out and enveloping his throat and chest. His pointed ears poked out and up, slanting backward and giving him an almost devilish appearance. His wide shoulders were now far broader and rippling with muscles. He was staring at Devin with hungry eyes that seemed to glow red but then Devin realized it was the just the light of the fire reflecting in them. His hands were huge and he held them up as his human fingernails rained down in a bloody mess on the bed. The claws that emerged were long and wickedly sharp. He flexed his fingers and the corners of his huge mouth drew up in a fiendish smile.

Devin tried to move then but realized his couldn’t. His cock was stuck inside Gage, held fast in the clenching walls of his anal cavity. He pulled back but had to stop because it hurt. Bewildered, he stared down at his lover. In answer, Gage reached up and took his head in his hands, leaning up to plant his tongue over Devin’s mouth. Then he guided Devin’s hand down, down, down.

“Holy shit!” Devin exclaimed as his fingers closed around Gage’s hard, hot, and moist organ. What the fuck had happened to his cock? Still short, it was much more bulbous and slimy. There was a large knot at the base that held back a hairy sheath. Devin felt something pressing against his belly and realized as he lowered his fingers to cup Gage’s balls that they had swelled to a prodigious size in their leathery sack. He felt his cock pulse at this while at the same time realizing that his own balls felt different between his legs. And his cock…

Heart pounding, he gently pushed Gage backward, forgetting that their bodies were stuck together and he couldn’t move far. Still, it was enough for him to notice that the changes weren’t restricted to Gage. His own body was transforming, though not quite a radically as his lover’s. He marveled as he took in the shifting state of his body. Thick blond hair was sprouting all over his belly and his pubes had exploded in a dense profusion of nappy fuzz. As he watched, his chest began to crawl with hair until his nipples all but disappeared under a dense carpet. He could feel prickly hair filling up his butt crack and spreading over his ass and down his legs. It was itchy and he wanted badly to scratch himself but had to keep himself braced with one arm while he explored his backside and…

Shit, his balls!

God, they were huge! And the skin of his nutsac was just as leathery as Gage’s. He playfully thrust his hips forward and relished the heavy thud of his balls against his lover’s taint. Gage growled in the back of his throat before reaching up to move Devin’s hand back to his organ, carefully folding the boy’s fingers around his sticky shaft.

Devin stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he worked his hand up and down on Gage’s freaky penis. The big creature squirmed beneath him, clenching his butt muscles so tightly that Devin nearly fainted. Shit, Gage’s hole was tight! And his cock was so weird. Devin squeezed it, eliciting a yowl and a grunt from his lover.

Gage screamed to orgasm almost immediately because his newly transformed cock was so sensitive and the slightest movement was enough to make his entire body shake in ecstasy. In moments, he had plastered Devin’s newly hairy belly with a fragrant load of cum and, arching his head backward, let out a bloodcurdling howl. Devin collapsed on top of him and made little cries of delight as Gage scored the skin of his back with his razor-like claws. His tail curled around Devin’s buttocks, tickling him.

They lay like that for at least ten ten minutes before Gage’s sphincter relaxed enough to allow Devin to pull out. And when he did…

“Holy fuck, Gage! Look what you did to my dick!”

Devin gaped at his bizarre new appendage.

It was…

Fucking huge now! Easily more than a foot long and shaped much like Gage’s, it glistened blood red in the lantern light as a yellow thread of cum dribbled out the long slash at the tip. It looked hideous.

And fucking hot!

He reached down and pulled his newly-formed hairy sheath over it but his cock was still mostly hard and the sheath only covered about half of it. The tapering red shaft jutted out like a glistening rod of lipstick. He couldn’t make himself believe that it belonged to him. His formerly long, fat, and pink cock had morphed into an alien penis that looked like a dog’s but was much, much bigger. His huge, hairless balls were resting on Gage’s stomach, the skin of his pouch stained dark brown. There was so much hair on his crotch now that it was practically a pelt. Yeah, a pelt of fantastically kinked blondish-brown hair radiating out from his pubes, down his legs and up to his neck. He felt his face and discovered that he now possessed a heavy beard.

Gage was watching him with his long tongue hanging out of his mouth and Devin realized that this was what his animal lover now looked like when he was smiling.

“B-b-b-eau-t-t-i-full,” the beast said finally with great effort and Devin laughed.

“Well, I can’t see my face yet but if I look anything like you, I’ll agree.” 

He could tell, though, that he hadn’t transformed as much as Gage because he didn’t have any trouble talking. Tentatively, he felt his face. Yes, his face was basically the same, maybe a little longer and his features felt heavier. Probing around inside his mouth, he licked his teeth and realized they had lengthened but were basically the same. The hair on his head had grown more than a fifteen centimeters. He shook his head and felt the new mane slap against his neck. God, it was great! He felt like a whole new man! 

Taking a deep breath, he saw that the world had changed around him. There was a host of subtle odors that he could pick out now, adding a rich dimension that he’d been completely unaware of before. And his eyes were sharper and more attuned to the dark. He doubted he would need to use a flashlight again. Finally, but by no means the least, there was his hearing. He was attuned now to a symphony of soft and subtle sounds that played continuously in the background, revealing hidden and vital knowledge to his delicately sensitive ears. He felt like he’d been asleep his whole life until now. And now he was awake in the real world. 

The real world.

It was all so new and exciting that he leaned his head back and howled out of sheer delight. His voice had was deep bass that emanated from the bottom of his chest and echoed against cabin walls. After a moment, it was joined by another, even deeper howl as Gage leaned back and let loose. They laughed as they heard their call answered far in the distance by their brothers and sisters.

The real world.

Taking Gage’s clawed hand in his own, he breathed, “Let’s go meet the our pack.”

***

Dr. Sorenson was not a stupid man. He knew that he was playing a dangerous game at the research facility and stood a good chance of having his…experiments…on the Earth Freedom Coalition terrorists discovered.  Because of this, he was prepared for just about anything. Yes, nearly anything. He was expecting a visit from the RCMP and even the sudden appearance of the Canadian Special Operations Forces wouldn’t have surprised him. But nothing could have prepared him for the woman who was seated in his study surrounded by the most heavily armed men he’d ever seen in his life.

He had just hung up with Rex and was walking back to his office when he heard the sound of voices coming from inside. Curious, he swiped his hand over the biometric panel. The door swung open and he was straight at the stern countenance of Adela Constantin, the CEO of Deoxy Corp. Her arms were resting lightly on his chair as if she sat there all the time. In fact, her demeanor was of someone who owned the room, the building, and indeed the entire compound. 

Someone who owned him.

It was a victory of sorts that he kept his features schooled, smiling and nodding his head to her as he came to stand about a meter in front of her.

“Adela,” he said evenly. “What brings you here to the research facility?”

She chose not to answer his question and instead asked her own. “What happened to your face, Dr. Sorenson? Did you get into a fight?” Her voice was crisp, clear, and only slightly accented with her native Romanian. It sent a shiver down his spine.

He cleared his throat as he realized that he had just stepped into a chess match with a master who was already several moves ahead of him. He resolved that, even if he was destined to lose, he would play the damned game well.

Hesitating only a moment, he replied, “I slipped while I was out gathering data and slid down an escarpment. I’m a bit bruised but that’s all.”

Adela raised an elegant eyebrow. “Where is Gage McIntyre, Dr. Sorenson.”

Shit, she knows about Gage! The doctor only just managed to keep his eyes from widening with this news. “He…resigned from the program earlier today and left the facility. I believe he is flying back to Miami as we speak.”

The eyebrow rose higher. “Really? He sent me the most fascinating email this morning.”

Shit! Shit! Shit! The bastard! Feeling the blood drain from his face, he asked, “An email?”

“Yes, an email, doctor. And this fascinating email contained an even more fascinating attachment.”

God, the woman was made of ice! He frowned slightly, feeling his heart beating crazily in his chest. His voice was pinched as he stammered, “An a-attachment?”

Adela exhaled. “Oh, come on, doctor! Cut the shit! We both know what that email contained. Just as we both know what you did to those EFC terrorists.”

He felt his ears get hot as she stood up to face him. She was a surprisingly tall woman and she was a wearing a big pair of hiking boots that gave her an extra inch over him. Her eyes were the color of slate and just as hard. He looked down at his hands, feeling his shoulders begin to shake.

“You are relieved of your duties here, Dr. Sorenson, and I am closing down the dire wolf reintroduction project.” She paused before adding, “More than that, I am taking you into custody on the charge of murder.”

He looked up at her, gaping. “Murder? But I didn’t kill anyone! Not one of those damned terrorists died! I personally verified that the ranchers only killed real wolves!”

Her gaze slid over his shoulder to the heavily armed men behind him. When she spoke, her voice was low, ominous. “Perhaps. But by morning every last one of your wolves–real or not–will be dead.”

***

Chapter 4

Note: This final chapter bounces around between characters. In order to make it less confusing, I’ve titled each section with the narrator’s name. Enjoy!

Dr. Sorenson, (Former) Chief Research Scientist of Dire Wolf Reintroduction Project

Escaping was easy. 

The musclebound brutes threw him in a utility closet off the main lab and locked the door. One of the mercenaries stomped off but he could hear the the telltale sounds of rustling and clinking as the other one stood guard nearby. Soon, it became clear where the other merc had gone as gunshots rang out followed closely by howls, yelps, and finally piteous mewling.

The bastards were murdering the wolf pups in the kennels!

As hard as it was for him to hear the sounds of the dying wolves, he knew he had to get moving and use the commotion as cover for his escape. He pushed his horror aside and clicked on the flashlight on his phone, propping it nearby to illuminate the floor. Now able to see, he got to work removing one of the tiled squares from raised floor under his feet. Fortune smiled on him because a quick scan of the room yielded a pair of suction cups designed for just such a purpose. In moments, he had pulled up a tile and slipped into the space between the cement slab and the raised floor. He was glad that he was so thin because a bigger man would never have been able to squeeze in. 

Dr. Sorenson knew the exact floorplan and dimensions of the building. Taking in account the fact that the floor tiles were 50 by 50 centimeters, it was a matter some quick math to determine how many tiles he had to slide under before he was clear of the main room and under the floor of his private lab. The last of the whimpering was dying out as he pushed up the tile and emerged into the dim light of his beloved laboratory.

After he made sure the door was locked, Sorenson allowed himself a moment to feel sad both for the wolves and for himself. He knew that his entire career had just imploded in the space of a few minutes and, no matter what happened now, he was a ruined man; he would never find work in a laboratory again.

Still, he knew he had to do something. He couldn’t let that damned woman win! Adela Constantin always won at everything.

Until now.

He smiled to himself and got to work preparing the antidote to the serum he had injected into those Earth Freedom Coalition terrorists. Dr. Sorenson didn’t believe in a god but that night he found himself praying for the first time in his life. He prayed that he would find those wolves and administer the antiserum before Adela and her hired butchers got to them.

Adela Constantin, CEO of Deoxy Corp

“The wolves in the kennels are all dead, Ms. Constantin.” The commander of the mercenaries was stoic, his face flat and his voice hard. His snow-camouflage uniform was splattered with blood.

“Excellent, Commander,” she said, looking up for a moment before turning back to rummage through Dr. Sorenson’s desk. “Now if I can just find the…” A moment later, she clenched her fist in triumph, breathing, “Got it!”

She held up the tracking device. “Once this boots up, we’ll have the GPS coordinates of every wolf on this mountain.” The commander nodded but his expression remained closed. He was a good mercenary: No emotion, no questions, preferring to get right to the business of killing. She had hired the right man.

The little computer hummed to life in her palm and her face was illuminated by the glowing screen. Her eyes narrowed. How convenient! One of the beasts was no more than a couple of kilometers away, just off the boundaries of the research compound. This was going to be easy.

“Gather up your men, Commander,” she ordered. “And make sure everyone has night vision goggles.”

The commander started to leave but she held up her hand. “One more thing,” she said, motioning to a stack of boxes on the floor. “Take that ammo with you when you’re ready.” 

He paused, followed her finger, and nodded before continuing out the door. The boxes had only arrived minutes ago. They were a special drop-shipment from her home country of Romania, containing hundreds of rounds of ammunition. They had cost her a fortune in expedited shipping, not to mention the large sum she’d paid to get them through customs.

The doctor is a naive idiot, she thought as she pulled out a black leather case from her backpack and set it atop the desk. He has no idea what he created in this godforsaken lab! Not even that fool biologist has grasped the full extent of the doctor’s meddling with the ancient wolf DNA. She shook her head, snapping open the case and admiring the prize inside. 

No, it took someone from the Old World to recognize the true danger these wolves represented. Someone like her. Someone who knew how to…take care of…them. It was fortunate indeed that Gage had tipped her off, otherwise she might not have learned about Dr. Sorenson’s experiments until it was too late.

Unconsciously biting down on the tip of her tongue, she pulled the crossbow out of the case and assembled it with practiced ease. In a moment, it gleamed black and lethal in the low light of the office and she patted it fondly.

“You are a very expensive pile of ammo,” Adela murmured, taking a box of bolts off the top of the stack. Expensive but worth it, she thought. You can’t buy silver-tipped bullets and crossbow bolts just anywhere. She reached back and tied her long, blond hair in a knot before opening the box. Snapping a bolt in place on the bow, she stood up as the commander reappeared at the door.

He saluted as she pulled on her jacket and slung the bow over her shoulder before picking up the tracker.

“Time for a wolf hunt,” Adela said, mouth set in a tight line. The men stood at attention, waiting for her move.

“Kill every last one of them.”

Devin Mallory, Gage’s lover/partly transformed to wolf

Raindrops from a passing shower pelted down on them as they dashed out of the cabin, naked and cavorting in the slushy snow. Devin felt free and alive for the first time in his life. He was with the man-beast he loved and had a changed body and the senses to go along with it. Life had gone from dull to amazing in the flash of one evening. He was so lucky!

He raised his head and sniffed the air, reveling in the cascade of scents. If he concentrated and closed his eyes, he could even tell which direction each smell emanated from. It blew his mind. He shook his head, relishing the weight of the mane of his hair as he splattered Gage with water droplets. 

The huge beast that had once been a hunky biologist gave him a gape-mouthed grin, his sharp teeth glistening in the low light. He reached out and slashed playfully at Devin with his long claws. Devin tensed, breathless, as the flesh of his arm sliced open. Before any blood could flow, though, the wounds had already begun to seal over. How was that possible? His transformation must have given him the ability to heal with unnatural speed. He massaged his bicep, feeling the ridges from Gage’s slash disappear. Too weird.

He didn’t have long to marvel. Gage shoved into him and he pitched backward and landed on his ass in the snow. He clenched, expecting to feel cold but realized that, even though he was naked, he felt no discomfort in the cold or rain. His newly-grown body hair was not exactly a fur coat but it protected him like one. He looked down at himself and smiled. God, his hairy torso, thighs, and legs were fucking hot! And his cock! It was slung out in front of him, long, fat, and shiny above his huge balls. He looked up at Gage and grinned when he saw the hungry look in the beast’s eyes.

“See what you’ve done to me, Gage!” he teased. “I hope you’re proud of yourself!”

His lover answered by leaping on top of him and pinning his arms over his head. Devin gasped in delight as his extremely sensitive member tickled against the beast’s hairy thighs. Then he laughed as Gage ran his long, sloppy, wet tongue over his face. He reached up and took fistfulls of his lovers shaggy mane in his hands and leaned up. Their tongues met and they rolled around, licking and tasting each other. Devin felt his heart grow warm and full in his chest. He couldn’t imagine being any happier.

He ended up on top of the big beast and stared down affectionately at him, cupping his lengthening muzzle in his hand. Gage was continuing to transform, his shoulders were even broader and more muscular than a few minutes ago. His dense, brown hair was lengthening and creeping down his neck to engulf his neck and torso. Devin loved the way Gage’s head was more wolflike while his body became more bestial, arms getting longer and beefier and waist narrowing. His hands sported wickedly long claws. His eyes were feral, devouring, and alive.

Devin kissed him and leaped up, laughing merrily as he raced through the woods. Behind him, he heard Gage let out a low growl before giving chase. An intense game of hide and seek ensued with Devin realizing one drawback to running naked with his huge, new balls was the way they slapped painfully back and forth, sometimes getting tangled between his legs. He was forced to reach down and hold onto them with one hand while he bounded away.

Gage caught him easily, running on all fours now and graced with eerie speed. He toyed with Devin, nipping at him from behind and then leaping ahead when the boy turned to look back. A moment later, Devin skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with the big wolfman. They stood facing each other, chests heaving and bodies emanating heat in the darkness. Devin realized then that he could see perfectly despite the fact there was no moon and the sky was clouded over. He looked around, amazed. The night was alive around them. It was a whole new world of sight and sound and smell. 

A new world of smell…

Flaring his nostrils, he sniffed deeply and growled in the back of his throat. Shit, what was that smell coming from Gage? God, it was fucking amazing! It smelled so rich and musky. Fucking sexy. Yeah, it was a fucking sexy scent! He felt his cock slide sticky and plump out of its hairy sheath as he leaned up against his lover and inhaled deeply.

Where was the tantalizing smell coming from?

It took only a few seconds for him to become frantically aroused and he buried his nose in Gage’s armpit, wuffling, desperate to find the source. The odor in his lover’s pits was alluring but it was not quite the smell that was driving him crazy. Gage shuddered as Devin took him by the shoulders and spun him around, forcing him roughly to his knees. Splayed out before the boy, his beefy thighs wide and his balls dangling ripe and heavy, Devin started to shake with desire.

That smell!

That fucking smell!

Where was…?

He plunged down on his hands and knees and was momentarily startled by Gage’s long tail. He’d forgotten about that! Lifting it high, Gage was practically imploring Devin to have at him. How quickly the biologist had gotten over his aversion to anal play!

Devin didn’t need an invitation. He buried his face in the cleft of Gage’s butt with gusto, desperate to find the source of the maddening aroma.

That was it!

The tempting and titillating smell was exuding from Gage’s butthole. Tongue out, he slurped noisily down there, licking and grunting. Fuck! That smell! And the taste. Holy fuck, Gage’s ass was delicious! He devoured it, rooting so hard that Gage had to brace himself against a nearby tree as Devin worked on him. The big beast arched his back and thrust his butt backward, giving Devin full access. His tail curled down and tickled the back of the boy’s neck.

Finally, overcome with arousal, Devin pulled back and shoved Gage’s knees farther apart as he took in the mesmerizing sight of his beast lover’s huge, hairy ass and butthole. The biologist’s asshole was no longer round and puckered; it was stretched out, engorged and swollen. Devin’s mouth watered as he stared. 

Gage had a man cunt! (Beast cunt?)

A man cunt designed to fit his new cock perfectly.

Not hesitating, he slid inside of him, panting and sweating, and moaned loudly as he felt Gage mold himself around his cock. His huge balls slapped against Gage’s huge balls with a satisfying thud that sent a thrill buzzing throughout his body. The butt sex that followed was brutal and pounding with Devin attempting to tear the beast in front of him apart…and nearly succeeding. Gage’s hole was blazing hot by the time Devin pumped him full of cum. He sagged back on his haunches, pulling Gage along with him. He was spent and happy, loving the way his cock was glued inside his lover’s butt. Gage was whimpering contentedly as his anal muscles alternately clenched and loosened around Devin’s freshly-drained member. They sat like that for a long time until Devin’s cock finally slipped out of Gage’s hole. He sighed and lay back, blissfully exhausted.

But.

There was no time for rest.

The next moment, he was being pressed savagely against a tree. It happened so fast, his mind was spinning! All he could was stare helplessly up at the big wolfman leering down at him, fangs bared and saliva dripping down his jaws.

It was Gage’s turn now.

The beast spun him around and threw himself against Devin. Grabbing a mouthful of his hair in his big jaws, he held him down and entered him forcefully from behind. White lights exploded in Devin’s head as he felt his sphincter give way to Gage’s slimy cock and he howled both in pain and in ecstasy. He had never been fucked before!

His eyes rolled back in his head as the strangest sensations began to radiate through his butthole and anus. It was like he could feel his flesh down there both expanding and contracting at the same time, like he was growing new muscles. With mysterious certainty, he knew–he just knew!–that his tender anatomy was being forever altered. Seconds later, he felt his new muscles clench down on Gage’s bulbous cock as the big beast grunted and groaned. Devin realized he had a new skill: He could clamp down on Gage and keep him inside of him as long as he wanted. Even though he was being fucked, he was fully in control and he fucking loved it!

They rutted like animals in heat, rain pouring down on their merged bodies. Soon, they were soaked and sweating with Gage growing stronger and bulkier and more wolf-like all the time. Devin screamed out at the top of his lungs, completely transported to the heights of unparalleled pleasure. This was beyond his wildest dreams, beyond even his most carnal desires. Beyond…

He was in the midst of savoring his enhanced butthole’s ability to drive Gage mad, playing his cock like a pro, when there was a loud clap of gunfire behind them and a bullet slammed into Gage’s shoulder, showering Devin’s back with blood. Gage howled and abruptly ripped his cock out of Devin, leaving the boy screaming in pain. Devin crumpled to the ground, grabbing his aching butt and unable to stop screaming.

Another shot ricocheted off the tree in front of them but Gage had already disappeared, vanishing without a sound. With supreme effort, Devin pulled his attention away from his agony long enough to realize what was happening. He swung around, trying to pinpoint the direction of the shooting. He held his nose up to the wind and detected a familiar scent.

His father.

Rex Mallory, Devin’s father

Rex was panicking but doing his best to stay focused. He’d heard Devin’s screams from far up on the mountain and raced as fast as he could through the forest in the desperate attempt to get to him before it was too late. He had to save Devin! The wolves were attacking his boy!

Rain had begun to fall again and a warm wind was blowing up from the south as Rex tore through the woods, dodging branches as best he could. He was running so fast and his headlamp’s beam was so askew that he didn’t see the jagged limb until it was too late. He cried out as his pant leg shredded and the branch pierced his leg. Cursing, he ignored the waves of pain radiating out from the wound and pushed himself up again. He would worry about his leg later. Right now, he had to get to his son. Rex summoned up strength from an unknown well deep inside of him and sped on.

The boy’s cries were getting louder and more terrified. It killed him to hear his son screaming in such anguish! The boy must be in horrendous pain! Unsteadily, Rex pulled his rifle off his arm as he crested a hill and came to a halt. He was really close. Devin’s cries were loud, barely fifty meters away. The beam of his headlamp was moving frenetically and he fought to make himself stop shaking.

When he saw the…thing…savaging his boy, he lost it. Without hesitating, he raised his rifle, took aim and fired, blasting a shot right through the shoulder of the huge beast. The wolf-thing collapsed on top of Devin. Rex hopeful that he’d killed it but, barely a second later, the creature leaped up and disappeared into the underbrush, leaving poor Devin torn, bleeding, and crying out in pain behind. He fired again into the tree above Devin, a warning shot this time, hoping it convinced the creature to keep running.

He slung his rifle back over his shoulder and raced to Devin’s side, frantically turning the boy over and seeing where he was wounded.

What he saw made him stop short.

“Devin!” He shouted. “Devin! What happened? What…”

Devin recoiled from him, staring up at him with unnaturally round eyes. His face was covered in a full beard and his hair was long, thick, and shaggy. The hair didn’t stop at his face, though; his entire torso was covered with a dense pelt of kinky hair. Then Rex’s eyes slid down to the boy’s waist and he almost fainted.

“You shot Gage!” Devin was screaming at him. “You fucking shot Gage!”

Rex collapsed on his knees, head spinning. His entire world felt like it had just turned upside down. He stared at his…son uncomprehendingly.

“How the fuck could you do that? You’re a fucking murderer!”

Devin was struggling to stand up, trying desperately to get away from him and Rex still couldn’t make himself move. As if from far away, he heard himself say, “Gage? But Gage is…”

“Shut the fuck up!” Devin’s voice was harsh, furious. His eyes were burning with hatred. “You don’t know anything. Gage is my lover. You just fucking shot my lover!”

The rain was soaking through Rex’s jacket. His headlamp was starting to dim. All he could do was sit there helplessly as Devin called out for the beast. 

Gage? 

The beast was Gage? 

But how?

Devin Mallory

New smells.

Smells of death.

Smells of killing.

Smells of men.

And a woman.

Devin struggled to his feet and was turning to go into the brush in search of Gage when he was hurled backward, pinned to the tree behind him, a searing pain radiating through his arm. He screamed and tried to move but his shoulder was pinned to the bark of the tree. In confusion, he stared down and saw a long, thick metal bolt jutting out from the tender flesh above his armpit. The piercing pain from the horrible thing was unbearable. It was eating right through him!

His vision clouded red and he hung his head, unable to stop wailing. He was only dimly aware of the woman who stepped out of the shadows surrounded by a cadre of soldiers carrying the biggest guns he’d ever seen.

“We know how to deal with beasts like you where I come from,” the woman announced coldly, loading another silver bolt into her crossbow.

Devin cried out again. His whole arm felt numb and on fire at the same time. He thrashed valiantly but was unable to free himself. The men flanking the evil woman lifted their rifles in unison, pointing them at Devin.

“Stop! What are you doing? That’s my son!”

It was his father. 

Rex Mallory had snapped out of his malaise and was crawling beseechingly toward the woman with the crossbow. Devin noticed belatedly that his father was wounded. He could smell the thick scent of his blood and saw that his left leg was trailing behind him.

Adela kicked Rex away with her boot, snarling, “That thing stopped being your son several hours ago. Your son is dead!”

Rex tried to lunge at her but one of the men shot his good leg out from under him and he fell to the ground, yelling. Devin howled in rage. It was a sound of such desperate pain and fury that it momentarily startled Adela and her men.

It was long enough.

Gage materialized in front of them, dropping lithely from the branches overhead. He hurled himself at the woman, bowling her over and clamping his jaws down on her throat before her mercenaries could react. There was a sick crunching as her esophagus collapsed and torrents of blood erupted from her severed jugular.

He lifted his dripping fangs off of her throat and snarled. Devin’s sharpened hearing was just able to hear her gasp, “We will destroy…” before she went limp.

Gage lifted his head then and howled. It was a sound that sent chills through the spine of every man who heard it. Every man. But not Devin. No, despite his great pain, Devin lifted his head and joined him in the howl of victory, exulting with his lover.

Gage had saved him!

His relief was short lived. Even as the woman lay dying, her soldiers were turning on Gage. In a few grisly seconds, their bullets ripped through him, tearing him to shreds. Devin could only watch in blood-seared horror as his lover’s torso was ripped off of his body, landing heavily at his feet. In a delirium of shock, Devin found himself staring into his lover’s dimming eyes as Gage gave him one last, tender look before he died.

He screamed and screamed and screamed, his mind blanking and his eyes darkening as the soldiers reformed and advanced toward him.

Jax Dixon, former eco-activist transformed into a wolf by Dr. Sorenson

Jax and his pack heard the sound of gunfire and smelled the metallic odor of blood on the wind. The mane of hair on his neck bristled as he recognized the scent of the injured wolf as one of their own. He had figured something was up earlier that night when he’d detected a host of new human scents on the wind rising up from the research laboratory. And then there had been the horrendous sounds of his brethren trapped in the facility. Sounds of killing. Something evil was afoot. He knew it.

They had to get away.

Far away.

He was leading his pack off the mountain. He wasn’t a stupid wolf. He knew the destruction that humans were capable of and didn’t wish to die. He had to live! 

He had to live for revenge.

The sound of a fellow wolf-beast being killed, though, was enough to change his mind. He was the alpha male and the others followed him without question. If he decided to turn around, they would stay with him. Fight with him.

Kill with him.

He turned and padded swiftly back down the mountain toward the sounds of killing and the smell of blood.

Devin Mallory

With Gage dead, Devin didn’t want to live. He stared down at his lover’s torn and broken body at his feet and felt his precious blood drain out of the wound under his arm as the silver bolt ate through his muscle and sinew. His father was mewling pathetically on the ground in front of the men who had shot him, still pleading for Devin’s life. Didn’t he get that they didn’t care? Didn’t he get that they were going to kill them both?

Nothing mattered anymore.

They shot his father first, mercifully with a bullet through his temple. Devin watched almost impassively. After seeing Gage ripped apart in front of him, seeing his father’s brains splattered out on the soggy snow was almost anticlimactic. He set his jaw and stared straight ahead. He was not going to plead for his life. He was not going to give them the pleasure. He would die with dignity and pray that, if he and Gage couldn’t be together in life, maybe they could at least be together in death. As the mercs lifted their rifles at him, he lifted his head and let out a long, low, loud, defiant bay.

And he was answered!

Incredibly, his low howl was met by another and another. In a moment, the whole clearing was echoing with howls as a pack of wolves coursed over the ridge behind the mercenaries. The soldiers were caught off guard and had to swivel and take aim at a myriad of moving targets. The clearing erupted in gunfire for a third time that night as chaos descended. Within minutes, the slushy remnants of snow were stained dark red with blood, both human and wolf. 

Devin watched it unfold before him with a cool detachment, unmoved as the men fell one by one, eventually covering the bodies of Gage and his father with their own. He was growing weaker and weaker as his blood drained out of him. By the time the last of the men lay dying, he was fading into a black oblivion of his own. 

He swore he heard Gage howling his name as he lost consciousness.

Dr. Sorenson 

Dr. Sorenson was too late. 

His heart sank as he emerged from the facility to the sound of gunfire erupting from the mountainside east of the compound. The mercenaries had left about twenty minutes before; he had heard Adela ordering them to follow her outside. It had taken everything he had not to run after them but he had forced himself to wait. He was at an advantage because he knew the mountain so well. He knew where the wolfpack dwelled and had been reassured when Adela led her squad of killers in the opposite direction.

Only apparently the pack had moved.

More gunfire.

And howls of anguish.

“Shit!” he cursed as he tucked the antiserum inside his jacket pocket. He fastened the night vision goggles over his head and pulled on his hood. Warm rain was splattering down, soaking the snow and turning it to slush.

He had no choice if wanted to save the wolves: He would have to run. Run fast and hard and pray he wasn’t too late. He bounded across the yard of the compound and scaled the protective fence on the edge of the forest, glad that even though he was no longer a young man, he was still in good shape. It was mostly uphill from there but he scarcely noticed. Shoving all thoughts of fatigue and discomfort away, he sped up the mountainside as the echoes of gunfire reverberated around him.

He was too late.

The place was reeking mess of bodies by the time he struggled over the ridge and took in the scene below him. He was glad that he couldn’t see color with the night vision goggles because he would have lost his dinner. Numbly, he lurched forward, forcing himself to survey the destruction. It was beyond horrible. It was… Looking down, he recoiled: Adela’s empty eyes were staring up at him. Her throat had been savaged. He shivered and turned away, forcing himself to take stock of the carnage.

The dead included many wolves, he noted with sickening disbelief. The huge creatures bodies were laced with bullet holes. Many of them had died with their jaws circling the throat of a mercenary. At least they took the soldiers with them when they died, he thought with grim satisfaction. The clearing was quiet and he didn’t see any signs of life; it was just a sodden field of massacre and destruction.

Shoulders falling, he hung his head. A single tear leaked out before he could stop it. With bitter clarity, he realized he wasn’t just sorry for himself, though seeing the results of years work lying dead before him was devastating. No, he was sorry for what he had done. Sorry for the wolves. Sorry for the ecoterrorists. Sorry even for Adela and her band of mercenaries. None of this would have happened if he had just trapped the terrorists inside the facility and turned them over to the RCMP. Why, why had he been driven to exact revenge by injecting them and transforming them into wolves?

And what had he done to Gage?

He forced himself to turn back to the slaughtered mass of bodies and look for the biologist. He knew he was there. Yes, he had to be there…

A sound made him whirl around and he found himself staring straight into the eyes of the biggest wolf he’d ever seen. Wearing the goggles made it impossible to see the color of its eyes but it didn’t matter; he knew that they were yellow. The white forelock gave the identity of the wolf away.

“Jax,” he breathed.

The wolf’s lip curled and a low growl emanated from deep in its chest.

Feeling his pulse begin to race, Dr. Sorenson put up his hands placatingly. “Look!” he cried. “I’ve got the antidote! I can change you back into a human!” When the great beast didn’t react, he took it as a positive sign and reached into his pocket to pull out a little vial and a syringe.

The wolf’s growl got deeper at the sight of the syringe and the doctor took a step back…and collided with another wolf directly behind him. Frantic, the doctor turned and saw that the second wolf was nearly as big as the first. It was gray and white, though, and its coat was shaggier. The second wolf joined the first in growling menacingly and the doctor felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Agitated, he tried to sidestep the wolves but they wouldn’t let him budge. Finally, he raised his hands, holding the syringe in one hand and the vial in the other. “Listen to me!” he cried. “I’m here to help you! Just let me inject you and you’ll see that you can trust me!”

There was an ominous silence during which the doctor was certain that he was going to be eaten alive but then the big wolf took a step backward and raised his paw.

Dr. Sorenson smiled, relief flooding over him. “Yes! Yes! I assure you that I mean no harm. That other business last year when I caught you in my lab was just an unfortunate misunderstanding but I’m over it now. Let’s be friends, Ok? Yes, we’re friends now!”

When the wolf remained passive, the doctor inched forward and, with shaking fingers, managed to fill the little syringe with the antiserum. He thought the wolf was going to run when he positioned the syringe against its paw but it let him inject it without so much as a whimper. Feeling more confident, he pulled another syringe and vial out of his pocket and proceeded to inject the antidote into the paw of the second wolf.

The job done, he carefully tucked the spent syringes and vials into his leather satchel and smiled back at the two beasts.

“There! In a few hours, you will be human again and free to go back to being terrorists just like in the good old days.” 

He turned to go, chuckling to himself. That had been too close! For a moment, he’d thought the beasts were going to kill him. Thank god they didn’t hold grudges! They really were good wolves after all. He smiled at his good fortune. Even though he had caused this destruction, he was now determined to make up for it. Yes, he would leave the lab tonight and start fresh. Maybe he could change his identity somehow and get a new job somewhere in Europe? He was fluent in German and French after all…

He was staggering up the slippery hillside to return to the lab when he noticed the wolves were following him.

“Go on,” he said, turning nervously. “It’s Ok. Really. I’m just going to leave now. You see, I have to get out of here. I’ve lost my job and there is nothing for me here.” He took a tentative step backward.

The wolves took a confident step forward.

Dr. Sorenson felt his mouth go dry. “Please, just run along now. I’m leaving and you’ll never see me again after this.”

When he took another step and the wolves followed him, he panicked and ran.

Jax Dixon

Jax woke up the next morning to something licking his face. He groaned and turned over to find himself staring into the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen: Diego’s eyes.

Diego’s human eyes.

His beta was human again!

Letting out a whoop, he hugged the big guy to him and they rolled around on top of each other in the snow, not caring that they were butt-naked on a chilly November morning in the wilds of Canada. Their boisterous play quickly devolved into groping and kissing, ending up with Jax under Diego with his arms held over his head. God, it felt so good to be human again! He laughed out loud and didn’t even mind when Diego leaned over and threatened to let a big wad of spit fall down on his face.

His beta smirked and sucked in the spit before it could fall.

“Jax.”

Diego’s voice was raw but it was a voice. He could talk again!

“Hey.”

His own voice sounded like shit, too, but it was his voice.

His voice.

God, he had his voice back!

They laughed together, savoring the moment, and then Diego’s lips were on his and he was loving their softness, their tenderness, their fullness. How he’d missed kissing those lips! Somehow, fucking as a wolf just wasn’t as fun without lips.

When they parted again to catch their breath, Jax panted, “It worked then. That asshole wasn’t lying. He really did turn us back into people!”

Diego laughed uncomfortably then and glanced over to his left. Jax followed his gaze and his eyes widened slightly as he took in the mutilated form of the doctor lying prone in the snow about ten meters away.

Jax swallowed. “We did that?”

Diego nodded. “‘Fraid so.”

“God, Diego! We’re murderers! We killed a man!”

“Asshole deserved it.” (When would he cease to be thrilled by the delicious sound of Diego’s voice?) “Besides,” his beta continued, reaching up to scratch his hairy chin thoughtfully. “We killed more than him. I know I killed at least three of those soldiers, too.”

Jax shivered before catching himself and realizing that he didn’t feel too bad about it. Yeah, so he’d killed a few men. Diego was right; they had deserved it. And he’d been a wolf at the time. That was different than being a human when you killed, right?

He looked back at his beautiful lover and smiled. “You look so fucking delicious right now. I never thought I’d see you like this again. I can’t believe we’re fully human again!”

A funny look crossed Diego’s face then and his cheeks colored.

“What?” Jax queried.

Diego looked down bashfully before saying, “Well, we’re not entirely human…”

Confused, Jax shook his head. “Yes, we are! I’m looking at you! You look completely human to me!”

In answer, Diego lifted himself up and slid backward, giving Jax a clear view of his crotch.

“Holy fucking shit!”

Diego nodded. “Yeah, right?”

“We have doggy dicks!”

Each had a big, red, slimy canine penis jutting out from a hairy sheath on his crotch. Jax stared down at himself with a mixture of dismay and excitement. His member throbbed, becoming an even brighter shade of red. He grinned when he saw the pair of huge balls that lay flopped over his thighs, stretching against the leathery skin of his dark brown nutsac.

Glancing up at Diego, his lover gave him a devilish smile before making a dive for his dick. In no time they were fucking like puppies as they cavorted in the snow.

***

Diego pulled Jax up off the snow and they stood unsteadily for a few moments as they got their bearings. It was weird balancing on two legs again after so long on all fours and Jax wasn’t entirely sure he liked it. Still, he didn’t really have a choice now that he was human (or mostly human) again. He took a tentative step, lost his balance, caught it, and then lurched forward another step all the while keenly aware that Diego was watching his unsteady progress with amusement.

They were helping each other across the body-strewn clearing, trying not to look too lingeringly at the massacred bodies of their pack, when they heard a low groan. Jax stopped and looked around. There was a long silence but finally he heard another moan and realized it was coming from a tree across the way.

“Fuck,” Diego exclaimed, following his gaze. “The poor bastard!”

Jax was already picking his way across the macabre landscape to pull the injured man off the tree.

When he approached, he realized the man might be really hairy but he was barely more than a boy. He was covered in blood and his armpit was pierced by a silver bolt. He reached out and pulled on the bolt, ignoring the shooting pain as his skin came in contact with the metal. It took Diego’s help but they were finally able to work the bolt loose and Diego hurled it across the clearing, shaking his hand in pain. The boy fell to the ground like a sack of flour and Jax knelt down to cradle his head in his lap.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Jax pronounced. “I don’t know if he’ll make it.”

Diego leaned down and moved the boy’s head back so he could see the wound on his arm. After a moment, he smiled. “He’ll be fine. Look. He’s already healing.”

Jax stared and realized it was true. It didn’t seem possible but the boy’s flesh was knitting together as fresh skin appeared over the surface of the wound. He stared up at Diego in surprise.

Diego rolled his eyes. “Duh, dude. Look at him. He’s a wolf bro like us.”

Before Jax could stop him, Diego had reached down and pulled the boy’s legs out. His lower body was heavily furred and his feet sported sharp claws. But what really drew Jax’s attention were the huge, hairy sheath of his doggy dick and enormous balls distending from his crotch.

“He’s a bro alright,” Diego pronounced as his mouth broke into a wide grin. “And he has an alpha-sized cock. You two are gonna have to fight it out.”

Jax stared down at the boy, feeling himself bristle. It was true. The kid did have alpha-sized equipment. In fact, the kid’s looked even bigger than his own. A low growl escaped from the back of his throat. He wasn’t going to let some pup take over! He wasn’t…

He shook himself as the boy opened his clear, blue eyes, fixing them on his face. He was really quite handsome, wasn’t he? And he might be young but there was something about him that seemed different. Grown up or something. And the way he smelled…Shit! His smell was potent, powerful, masculine. Jax shook himself, flaring his nostrils and feeling his butthole clench. It was all he could do to stop himself from dropping down in the snow on all fours and poking his ass up in the air so the kid…the new alpha…could smell him.

 Yes, they were going to fight but it wouldn’t be for dominance.

It would be for fun.

Epilogue

They buried Gage under the tree where he and Devin had last made love. It seemed only fitting even if the tree had become the center of a charnel mound of dead people and wolves. Jax and Diego suggested that they burn the bodies but Devin wouldn’t let them. He didn’t want to alert anyone to their whereabouts and he couldn’t bear the thought of setting his lover’s body on fire.

The decision made, he walked back to the ranger’s cabin alone, retracing his steps from the night before, following the trail of his and Gage’s tracks through the snow. Seeing the imprints of Gage’s paws made him cry and he collapsed on his knees, unable to move. The sound of gathering ravens prompted him to get up, though. He had to bury the dead even if it broke his heart to do so.

There were three shovels in a shed behind the cabin. Devin gathered them up and trudged back to find Diego and Jax busy arranging the bodies of the fallen. They had piled the humans, (except for his father) off the side but each wolf was laid out respectfully in a somber row. Jax had managed to piece the parts of Gage’s body back into a semblance of unity.

Surprisingly, Devin hadn’t lost it when he saw his beast lover’s mangled body and his father’s bloodied corpse. He had set his jaw and started digging, refusing to stop until they had finished digging ten holes. The three men were exhausted and daylight was starting to fade when they placed the last of the fallen in the graves.

Devin climbed down into Gage’s grave to give his lover one final kiss on the muzzle. His beloved wolf-beast’s body was cold and limp, so different from the vital and powerful creature he remembered from hours ago. He expected tears but didn’t cry; he was too numb to cry. Crying would come later. Right now, he had to wish Gage farewell.

Jax and Diego hung back as he threw the first shovel full of dirt into the grave, joining in after Devin had covered both Gage’s and his father’s bodies. They didn’t say a word the whole time they filled the graves and stood silently over the fresh mounds afterward, leaning against each other for comfort.

The moon was rising over the mountain and Devin raised his head, a mournful howl building from deep inside his chest to echo across the valley. After a second, he was joined by his wolf brothers, their voices intertwining to rise hauntingly into the cold air above. They were listening to the sound of their call die out when Devin perked up. Their call was being answered by a howl from the far side of the mountain! A moment later, another wolf howled, followed by another and another.

The dire wolves still lived!

Devin smiled fondly to himself, thinking of Gage and his father. Maybe they hadn’t died in vain? If the wolf pack had survived, there was still hope.

Yes. There was always hope.

He leaned his cheek against Jax’s chest as the bigger man gathered him in his arms and nuzzled his ear. Diego joined them and the three not-quite humans pressed their bodies against each other, enjoying the kind of closeness only the brotherhood of the wolf can share.

Devin smiled. He was sad and he missed Gage fiercely.

But he was alive and, even more, he wanted to live. He wanted to live because he knew now that Gage had given him a most rare and precious gift and he was not going to waste it by dying. Or pining away for the past.

He shook himself, reaching down to grab Jax and Diego’s hairy, beefy ass cheeks in his hands. He squeezed and they stiffened, bodies alive at his touch.

“You guys ready to hunt?” he asked, perking up as he caught the scent of a rabbit on the soft breeze. “I’m starving!”