"And?"
Roman couldn't say it. It was as if he had a
terrible disease.
"And?" Nick asked again, louder. "You
changed? Into what?"
"…a wolf. Just for a little while."
"Oh, just for a little while," Nick mocked,
"Well, then…You can't come in! You got that? You're on leave until
we can get this figured out."
"I knew you'd do that!" Roman balled his
fist.
"Burk, no way. You hear me? Not only am I not
letting you into the office until we figure it out, I'm sending
someone there to watch over you."
"Don't you fucking dare." Roman began to get
furious.
"Are you kidding me? A crazed wolf-man
running around in Washoe County?"
"Nick! I'm fine! Charlie and Butch are both
here." Roman felt pain in his gut and took a few deep breaths to
calm down.
"Tough! I'm not having one of my agents
responsible for anything that fucked up. You hear me?"
Pain hit Roman hard. He held his stomach and
doubled over.
"Roman? I'll call Phil Dean. He's one of the
few agents that can handle you."
Roman cringed in pain and battled the change
but he knew what was coming. He managed to say, "Don't. I'll be in
Heber for the holidays. So don't." He closed his eyes and clenched
his teeth the agony was becoming so intense.
"Then I'll have Phil meet you. I assume you
are going to Vernon's ranch for Christmas?"
Roman swallowed hard and tried to answer.
"Roman?"
"Yeah. I'll call ya…get the info. Bye."
"Roman?"
He hung up and the phone dropped out of his
hand. Roman fell to his knees and screamed in anguish.
Charlie perked up. He spun around to the
house and sprinted to the front door.
"Charlie?" Butch yelled from inside the barn
where they were cleaning stalls. "What happened?"
Charlie opened the door of his home and
stopped short. A huge black wolf was standing by the hearth, and
when Charlie entered the room, the fur on its neck stood on end and
it snarled.
"Goddamn it!" Charlie shut the door behind
him. "Roman, this cannot keep happenin'. What the hell triggered
it?"
The door opened behind him, hitting Charlie
in the back. "Charlie?"
"Butch, stay out. Give me a minute."
"Oh no. He at it again?"
"Please." Charlie tried to close the
door.
The door shut and he could hear Butch's
muttering as he walked away.
Charlie took a deep breath, trying to keep
his own stress level low so he didn't do the same thing. The wolf
spun around and began growling at something inside the kitchen.
"Roman?" Charlie walked softly towards the
big wolf. "Calm down. I'm here."
When the wolf darted out of Charlie's sight,
as if it was on the attack, Charlie hurried to see what was going
on. The big wolf was snapping its fangs at the back door, clawing
the wood and biting at air.
"Roman! Cut it out!" Charlie felt his heart
race and with it a sense of pain in his stomach. Trying to keep
himself from morphing into another form, he leaned on the wall in
the kitchen and slid down to sit on the wood flooring. Limp, trying
to stop the internal war.
Roman pawed at the door, sniffed under it,
and made strange whining sounds.
"Git the fuck over here, ya stupid dog."
Charlie rubbed his stomach and felt the pain slowly letting up.
The big wolf perked up its ears and looked at
him with its luminous green eyes.
"Come 'ere." Charlie reached out his hand,
wishing to hell this wasn't happening again.
Roman padded over, his nails making clicking
sounds on the hardwood. He dropped down and put his head on
Charlie's lap, blowing out a low exhale through his long snout and
licking his own nose.
Charlie caressed the thick soft fur and
closed his eyes. "You really need anger management classes, Roman.
Yer a fuckin' hot head, and it's goin' to be the end of ya."
A whimper sound came from the big canine, and
then he curled up in a ball.
Charlie covered his ears and closed his eyes,
hating the sight of the shape-changing. It was horrific in his
opinion.
"Gaaad! Auugh!" Roman's human voice began to
emerge from the whelps.
He fell down on Charlie's lap and gasped for
air.
Charlie opened his eyes to see Roman, coated
in perspiration, panting to gain his breath. Charlie caressed his
black hair and shook his head. "Do I even want to know?"
"That man." Roman closed his eyes for a
moment and then opened them. "He was here."
"That man?" Charlie asked. "The one with the
sword?"
Roman nodded, still recuperating, lying naked
with his head on Charlie's lap.
"Hello?"
Charlie heard Butch's voice.
"Any wolves here? Charlie?"
"In here, Butch." Charlie looked around for
Roman's clothing. It was in a line on the floor where Roman had
shed it when he became a wolf.
A moment later Butch was standing at the
threshold of the room, looking down at them. "Jesus Christ. Roman,
can't you control it at all?"
"Don't start on him, Butch. He's exhausted."
Charlie caressed Roman's neck and shoulders.
Butch gathered up the clothing and crouched
down beside them. "What did it? Huh? Was it me?"
Roman shook his head, still looking spent.
"No."
Charlie nudged Roman, wanting him to get
dressed since it was cold, even inside their home. "Butch, why
don't you get a fire going in the hearth? Roman's startin' to
shiver."
"What am I? The new fire starter?"
Charlie glanced up at Butch curiously. "Okay.
Never mind. I'll do it."
"I'm fine." Roman, looking pale, reached for
his clothing, getting dressed.
Charlie stood up and caught Butch staring at
Roman. He nudged Butch. "You've seen him naked. Put your tongue
back in your mouth."
"Huh?" Butch blushed and met Charlie's
gaze.
"Charlie, leave him alone." Roman attempted
to stand and reached out for something to steady him, as if he were
dizzy.
Both men went for him, holding him up.
"I got it." Roman shook off their grip and
stepped into his briefs and jeans.
Using a soft voice, Butch asked, "You want me
to light a fire, Roman?"
"No." Roman put his shirt back on.
"What triggered it?" Charlie asked as Roman
sat down to put on his socks.
"Fucking Nick." Roman shook his head. "I'm
out on leave."
"It's for the best, Roman." Butch stepped
closer, rubbing Roman's back.
Charlie knew Butch was interested in sex with
them…with him? But they had excluded Butch from any type of
intimate contact. He and Roman were a couple, not two thirds of a
threesome.
Charlie had always been conventional in his
tastes, and even allowing Butch to witness his and Roman's coupling
or letting Butch jerk off in the room, was not ideally what Charlie
wanted.
Once Roman was dressed, he sat down at the
dining room table, as if to recuperate. "Is there leftover
coffee?"
"I'll see." Butch headed to the kitchen
counter.
Charlie crouched down in front of Roman's
knees. "That man? With the sword…he was in our house?"
"Yes." Roman glanced over at Butch who poured
him a cup of coffee from the carafe.
"Did he say anything to you?"
"He did." Roman stopped talking when Butch
brought him a cup of black coffee. "Thanks, Butch."
"It's the last of the pot. If it's too bitter
I can make a fresh one."
"This is fine." Roman sipped it.
Charlie looked up at Butch. "The boys all
done?"
"Close. They're just puttin' down fresh hay
and fillin' the feeders."
"Why don't you call Vernon and tell him yer
goin' to head up there…soon."
Butch's expression changed to annoyance. "I'm
goin' with you. I don't want to drive the whole way alone. Why
can't I wait until you two go?"
"Charlie," Roman said, holding the cup in
both hands. "It's fine."
"Well, at least call 'em and see if they want
us to bring anythin'."
"Okay." Butch went for the phone in the
kitchen.
"Can ya give us a minute?" Charlie asked.
Butch picked up the cordless phone and left
the room, appearing irritated.
Once Charlie heard him talking on the phone
he gave Roman his attention. "What did the guy say?"
"Something about being an alpha." Roman drank
more coffee. "I have no idea what he meant."
"An alpha?" Charlie stood and pulled a chair
close to Roman, sitting down beside him so they could whisper. "An
alpha wolf?"
"No. An alpha-bet!" Roman nearly grew enraged
but Charlie could see him biting back his anger. "Yes. I assume
so."
The cup shook in Roman's hand. Charlie
touched it to steady it. "Callin' you one or tellin' you he was
one?"
"I don't know. I just wanted him out." Roman
finished the tepid coffee and set the cup down beside him at the
table.
"Jesus, Roman. I am at a loss on how to deal
with this again."
"I need to get to the computer. I can access
the one at work from home. Nick said the file from our case is in
the archives." Roman went to stand.
Charlie did and reached for him to make sure
he was not going to stumble.
Roman jerked his arm away indignantly, then
said, "Sorry."
"Yer a proud man, Roman Burk. But ya gotta
stop lettin' this get to ya or we'll be puttin' you into a dog
carrier."
Roman didn't take the bait, and left the
room.
Charlie picked up his empty cup and rinsed
it, then cleaned the coffee pot and dumped the old grounds into the
trash. He dried his hands and stared outside, trying to figure out
a way to rid this thing, once and for all.
~
"Butch! So nice to hear from you!"
"Hi, Sherlane." Butch was always shy when it
came to Vernon's two daughters, Suzie and Sherlane. "You back from
college?"
"Yes, both Suz and I are out for our winter
break. Are you boys coming for Christmas? Dad said we should expect
you."
"Yeah. We want to spend it with you. Yer our
family." Butch looked up when Roman moved by him down the hall,
headed to the den.
"I'm so thrilled. Suzie has a new boyfriend,
but I don't. I'm too busy. Are you seeing someone, Butch?"
"Naw. Not yet." He relocated so he could see
Roman, who sat down at his desk and booted up his computer.
"I don't know why a handsome eligible
bachelor like you is still single. You'd be a catch for any
gal."
Roman caught Butch's gaze and then began
typing on the computer.
"Anyway," Butch wasn't about to tell Sherlane
he was gay. Yes, the family seemed to accept Charlie loving Roman,
but…he didn't want anyone to know about him. "So, does it matter
when we arrive?"
"Nope. Hal and JP know you're coming. They're
excited to have you back staying with them, and I've already put
clean sheets on the bed for Roman and Charlie in Charlie's old
cabin."
Butch didn't know how to tell her he'd prefer
staying with Charlie and Roman, so he didn't. "Good. Great. I do
miss y'all."
"We miss you too. It's so nice you are all
coming. I thought for sure we'd see you sooner than two years. But
time goes quick, doesn't it, Butch?"
"It does. Feels like only yesterday I was
workin' as a wrangler on yer daddy's ranch." Butch stared at
Roman's profile as he read the computer screen, tapping keys,
moving the mouse.
"We were just discussing that crazy time. You
know. When Roman and Charlie…changed."
"I know. Hard to believe. But, well, we all
saw it."
"Have they been good since they got
fixed?"
"Fixed?" Butch thought about neutering a dog
for some reason.
"You know. When they were made right. The
curse was lifted."
"Oh. Yeah. They're fine." He wasn't about to
be the one to tell them. Not with Roman hearing every word he
said.
"Phew!" She laughed. "Daddy will be happy to
hear that."
"Ha. Yeah." Butch didn't smile. "So we'll see
ya, probably either Friday night or real early on Saturday."
"Oh, come in earlier than that. That will
only give us a few days."
Butch cupped the phone to speak to Roman.
"Sherlane wants us there for a few extra days. When did you wanna
go?"
Roman, not looking at Butch, said, "You go
now. We'll be there at the end of next week."
Butch spoke to Sherlane, "I'll see if we can
get up there Thursday. Okay?"
"Okay, Butch. Everyone is really excited to
see you all again."
"Us too. Oh, Charlie wants to know what y'all
need. Can we bring anything? Booze? Food?"
"You know Mom, she cooks for an army. So no
food. I suppose you can bring something you like to drink."
"Okay. Thanks, Sherlane. See ya soon."
"Bye, Butch. Have a safe drive."
He hung up and stared at Roman. "Whatcha
doin'?" Butch walked behind him, seeing the computer screen was
filled with text files.
"Trying to figure out where the location was
in Salt Lake City when we located that cult."
Butch still held the phone and tried to read
the print over Roman's shoulder. "You should have the location
written down. You ATF agents don't miss a thing." He leaned down
and sniffed Roman's hair.
Roman glanced back at him.
Charlie stood at the doorway. "You call
Vernon?"
Butch straightened up, holding up the phone.
"Yeah. I spoke to Sherlane. She said anytime we come is fine. She's
already got the cabins all fixed up. She said all they need is
booze."
"Okay." Charlie stepped into the small room.
"Why don't you wrap the Christmas presents we bought?"
"Now?" Butch asked.
"Why not now?" Charlie asked.
"Why do I always feel like yer tryin' to get
rid of me?" Butch frowned.