Lone Wolf

I woke up feeling almost brilliant except for my tender morning wood. After the rough fuck with Oliver the unkind treatment I had given myself the night before, even I could start to feel a little raw. It was a new feeling, like the head of my cock being too big and my foreskin being too tight although I gave it a pull and realised neither was really true. It was uncomfortable but I kind of like it. For the first time in my life, sex was uninhibited, I could do it the way I liked, now I knew what that was, and a little discomfort was a good reminder of that.

The sun was streaming in through my window and I knew I had slept in, something rare for me. I listened and heard Chaz out the back. I guessed he was smoking and was a little surprised he was up before me. I did not bother to dress when I got up and I bounded down the stairs, my hard cock sticking straight out and slapping from leg to leg.

I saw Chaz's mug sitting on the kitchen counter, a clear sign he was desperate for a coffee and waiting not so patiently for me to wake up and make it for him. I was bustling around the kitchen when Chaz came back inside, letting in smell of cigarette smoke with him. I glanced in his direction, seeing he was as naked as me. It was not something that would have bothered us much in the past but after the night before, that comfort we had with each other was reaffirmed.

"Could have least pissed before you came down," he grumbled at me. He was always a little grouchy in the morning. "You could do some real damage with that thing."

"Morning to you too," I said, far more chipper, "Like I could aim at anything other than my own face like this anyway. No thanks. It'll settle in a bit."

Chaz grunted noncommittally. He had probably been in the exact same situation as me when he woke up though it had since resolved itself and I doubted he was any more concerned than I was. I knew from experience he was just taking out his grumpiness at the morning out on me and he'd be more accommodating after coffee.

The rest of the day was thoroughly enjoyable. Chaz and I had breakfast, we lounged around naked for a while then we put on some disreputable shorts and Chaz helped me tidy up my front garden a bit. I often let the yard get a little out of hand and Chaz did not complain. He liked physical activities. working with his hands and getting dirty. After washing up and getting dressed, we headed out and had a leisurely late lunch at a bar and grill in town. I sent Oliver a message, telling him to call me later then we were back home.

Chaz cleaned up after himself and packed his things then he was ready to go home. We stood for a moment and he just grinned at me.

"You're a fucking werewolf!" he exclaimed. I guess he was still adjusting. "Eugh, I'm going to have to talk to Emily about this."

"Come here, you fuckwit," I said, opening my arms to him.

We hugged each other tightly. It was a manly hug with much back thumping but it was filled with genuine emotion.

"Love ya, mate." Chaz said still smiling like a little boy at christmas as we went outside. He tossed his suitcase into his ute.

"Love you too. Say hey to Soph for me.

"Only if you fuck Oliver good for me."

I laughed. "Drive safe." Then he was gone.

The sun was starting to set and I was trudging through the work I had brought home on Friday and probably should have look at earlier when Oliver called.

"Hey handsome," I said when I picked up.

"Hey yourself," he replied, "You still got that pizza? I was walking around town and got hungry. Thought of you."

"Of course," I said, not being able to help my smile, "It's all just food and sex with you, isn't it? Come over and I'll think about giving you one of them."

"Do I get to choose or is it lucky dip?"

"Depends on my mood so you'll have to come here and find out for yourself."

I was still working twenty minutes later when Oliver knocked at my door. My stomach did a backflip before I let him in. I was struck again with just how amazing he smelled to me.

"Get comfy," I said, "I'll warm up the food. Just ignore my stuff, you know, cause confidentiality and shit. It's also pretty boring but let's not get me into trouble. I'll clean it up in a sec. Anyway, you have a good day?"

I put my work away as I waited for the pizza to warm up in the microwave then we were sitting comfortably, eating and chatting. I briefly recounted my day with Chaz before he left and Oliver told me all about the couple of houses he had checked out. It was so easy, just hanging out, eating leftovers and talking. There was no pressure, no need to impress and no expectations. Looking at Oliver, he was so handsome with his unusual hair catching the light and graphite smudges on his hands, sex might have been nice but I was not really horny. I was simply happy.

"So I'm learning there's a pretty strong art community around here," Oliver was saying as I cleaned up, "I found this brilliant art store with a little studio in the back. The owner bought it so she could work and paint at the same time. Anyway, she's got arthritis and can't paint anymore and the studio's going to waste so she's going to let me set up there. I can get back into painting."

I smiled, genuinely pleased for him. "That's great!"

"Yeah, and she's putting me in contact with someone who runs an art therapy workshop to help mentally ill people and troubled kids. I could really get involved in the community and put my talents to some good use. Back home, I thought I'd end up in graphic design or something but I'm really looking forward to this. It'd be great to use my art to connect with other people and make a difference."

"That's really is fantastic, Oli. I might not get the arty stuff but I am happy for you. And I'd love to see some of your work, if you'll let me."

"We'll see," Oliver said with laugh then he blushed, turning nervous, "I was actually kind of hoping you would model for me. I don't mean what I've drawn already. Those are memories and a little too personal. I mean, striking a pose."

I was stunned. "Sure, I guess but why me?"

Oliver thought about it and I could see him struggling to put his thoughts into words. "You're the first proper friend I've made since moving here. Sure, you're gorgeous and that doesn't hurt you or my art but you've been... inspiring. When we first met and you wanted to get rid of me it was like every fear you have when you move to a new country. Then that first night with you coming to gallery then hooking up, it was like sudden optimism for what the future holds. It was endless possibilities which is scary but good.

"Then there was our first proper date, when you just accepted my past and just hanging out with you and Chaz, the way you make me feel and the way being here in your house makes me feel... It feels like finding a new home even though I'm still living out of a motel. And you're in all of that. You're kind of symbolic of my journey so I want you to be my model. It'd be an installation of three pieces, one for each step. So what do you think?"

I sat back down beside Oliver, taking his head firmly in my hands and kissed him solidly, putting as much feeling into that kiss as I could. When I broke the kiss, I look him in the eyes. "I would be so honoured." And I was. I could tell how passionate Oliver was about his art and I could see in his hesitation and the hope in eyes, and how much this would mean to him. "What do you want me to do?"

Oliver let out a breath like all the tension had left his body. He smiled at me and there were tears in his eyes. I could smell some of what he was feeling but there was so much all jumbled together that I could make little sense of it. "I just want you pose and look pretty while I sketch you. I'm not going ot make you stand there for hours while I actually paint you."

"I can do that. You got your stuff? We can do it tonight. I bet you want to get started already." Oliver held up his bag which I was sure help his ever present sketchbook and pencils. I cleared a space in the living room, moving the coffee table out of the way while Oliver made himself comfortable. "So how do you want me?"

Oliver gave vague instructions, wanting me to be as natural as possible. His first was, "Be scary." I had a general sense of what he wanted so I thought back to when he had first come into the office and the rage I had felt. It felt like a lifetime ago but I did my best to act out those feelings.

Next I was asked to be sexy and mysterious. This was a challenge as I had no idea how to do either but Oliver seemed certain I could pull it off. Last, he asked me for something welcoming and friendly. Again, I was at a bit of a loss. I knew the feelings he wanted to see but putting them into body language was tricky. I did my best, however.

Oliver barely took his eyes off me as I picked a posed, stood frozen as long as I could before changing positions. His pencil barely left paper, pausing only long enough to flip to a new page before starting again. I could not, of course, remain serious the entire time, and pulled a number of silly poses to keep the mood light, at one time sticking out my arse and blowing a kiss, and another turning around and mooning Oliver. While I made an effort to bring a little comedy, I took my duties seriously.

It was late when Oliver was satisfied and had over a dozen pages of sketches. "I should go," Oliver said sadly, putting his things away.

"You don't want to stay?" I asked, not hiding my disappointment.

"Wish I could. Busy week. I open the gallery tomorrow morning, I want to start painting as soon as possible and I'm going to organise getting involved with the art therapy thing, not to mention the house hunting."

"Then we should do something next weekend. I've got a bunch of shit coming up at work so we can both do something to unwind." Oliver nodded. "Want me drive you back?"

"Nah, I've been sitting too long. Need to stretch. Might jog a bit. I wish I could go for a proper run. You know, the furry kind of run."

"Then that's what we'll do. There's a campsite not far from here. We'll set up a tent, shift and run around for a bit. It'll be good. I shifted in my sleep so you know I really need it."

"Yeah, that would be awesome." I could smell his excitement and I felt the same. "It's been almost a month for me so I'd really love that."

"Great. I'll find my stuff, get some supplies and all that. We'll head out Friday after work and come back Sunday?"

"Sounds good. Can I leave my stuff here so I don't have to pay for nights at the motel I'm not there?"

"Yeah, no worries. All right. I'll see you then. Now come here so I can say goodnight properly."

We kissed for some time, passionate but without need since we were not going to have sex then. Our hands went up the other's shirt and felt felt each other's abs as we sucked at each other's mouths. Eventually we stepped apart and I waved him off.

"Text me so I know you got back all right," I called after him.

After a weekend that was as close to perfect as I could imagine, I was back to reality and back to work. Oliver and I texted as often as we could but were both busy. I was happy enough knowing I would be spending the coming weekend with him. After work I checked my camping gear, realised I was less prepared that I first thought and went hunting through camping, fishing and other outdoor stores for what I needed. I tracked down the owner of the site I wanted to camp in, paid the fee, checked the weather and paid a quick visit to the local fire station. Finally I cooked some simple meals that could be quickly reheated. When Friday came, I was ready and sent a message to Oliver telling him he really only needed a change of clothes.

My car was packed before I went to work and I went to pick Oliver up from his motel straight after. I took him back to my place. His hands and arms were splotched with paint and I could smell the chemicals on him. When we were at my house, Oliver found an out-of-the-way corner the stash his things while I quickly changed out of my work clothes and into a t shirt and loose cargo shorts. Like I often did, I ignored my shoes and went barefoot. Within half an hour we were driving again, headed out of town and further inland.

It was not long before we were beyond the edges of town on a poorly sealed road surrounded by fields. The only signs of life were rusty barbed wire fences that bordered properties and the cows that lazily chewed on grass behind them. I briefly lost my bearings and had to turn around, much to Oliver's amusement, but soon I was driving up a dirt driveway.

The area seemed completely uninhabited. It was mostly bush but there was a massive clearing at the heart of the property with a large corrugated steel shed, a large concrete fire pit and a sketchy looking brick building near the tree line. There were wide tracks leading from the central clearing to smaller clearings.

"You want to stay here?" I asked when I stopped the car by the shed, "Or do you wanna pick one of the smaller sites? We should be the only ones here but..."

"Somewhere a little less exposed," Oliver said, "We can shift in privacy and run out here if there really is no one else around."

I drove us down one of the those tracks to a reasonably sized clearing, did a U-turn so I could drive out easily then we got out and surveyed our site. It was surrounded by gum trees and some low brush. The clearing itself was devoid of life and the exposed ground was hard packed dirt. The day had been hot and humid and the sun was still harsh, and falling slowly so we discarded our shirts. They would only get in the way later anyway.

"Nice enough place," Oliver said.

"It's a scout camp," I said, "Technically it's private property. Owner said a couple of scout leaders bought it years ago and they keep it in the family, so to speak. Mostly used by the local group but a few travel from around the place and up from sydney to do survival stuff. There's a creek on the eastern border, clean water near the toilet block. I checked with the fireys and there's a fire ban with the dry weather. I'm not really a fan anyway and I have a stove to cook with."

"Fireys? I swear aussies make words up just to mess with the rest of the world. It'll only annoy us when we're shifted and it's not like we need the light. We going to eat before we shift or go for a proper hunt?"

"Not sure there's anything worth hunting. We're not going to want anything too big and locals will miss livestock. All I can really smell is a few rabbits though. We might get lucky and come across a roo but they'll probably stay away."

"Is roo any good? Been curious for a while now."

I shrugged. "I don't mind it with a human tongue. Never hunted one as a wolf though. Wouldn't hunt one on my own. They're big, fast and deadly. They can total a car so I hate to think what they could do to one little wolf."

"Is there anything in the country that isn't at least a little deadly?"

"Not much. Huntsmans? They're basically eight legged cats. Less likely to hurt you than cats, actually." I pulled our temporary accommodation from the car and gave Oliver my best suggestive look. "Wanna help me pitch a tent?"

Oliver shook his head at my corny innuendo but laughed quietly. "Come on, let's do this so we can eat and shift as soon as the sun sets. We can discuss who pitches whose tent later."

Setting up the tent was easy enough. I had put it and others like it together plenty of times in the past and Oliver seemed familiar with the process. We tossed in a couple of pillows, unrolled my sleeping bag and the one I had bought for Oliver. We set a couple of collapsible chairs in front of the tent and I warmed up some sausages and beans on my tiny camp stove.

We were eating and watching the sky fade through shades of orange and pink as the sun set when my phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and saw it was my sister.

"I should of turned this off," I said before answering, "Hey, Em! Whatchu up to?"

"I can't believe you fucking told Chaz without talking to me!" my sister said without preamble, "Like, it would have been nice to have a heads up that someone else was in on the secret. He was like a toddler who'd found the fucking lollies." I heard someone in the background chastise Emily for her language and I imagined her flipping them off. "About fucking time he knew but seriously, what happened to telling each other everything?"

"Em, it wasn't a plan or anything, He figured out Oliver was one and freaked out so I kinda had to tell him."

"Yeah, what the fuck is with that? You have a boyfriend now? He's a werewolf? Thanks for telling me that too, you fucking wankstain. I have to hear all this from fucking Chaz. He called me when I was with friends from school. Do you have any idea how hard to is for me to explain why I'm talking to a twenty seven year old man about dating guys and man sex to a bunch of high school girls? No you fucking don't." There was a pause and when she spoke again the venom was gone from her words and replaced with nothing but sugar. "So tell me everything. What's he like? What does he look like? What's his dick like? Chaz said he's english? When can I meet him? When are you going to tell mum and dad? Is he good in bed? What does he do? When do I get to see cute couple pics on Facebook?"

"Calm down, Em. I'm actually with Oli right now. We're camping for the weekend so we can shift and run around a bit. I'm not going to talk about him with you right in front of him."

"You're going to shift with him? So you're already getting naked with him? I know you're cool with getting naked but you're getting all furry with him too? You don't get furry with anyone. Must be pretty serious. Are you going to have wolf sex with him?"

"Seriously, Em? Yes, we're going to shift together. It would be cool to shift more and fun with someone else. And no, we're not going to have wolf sex. I'm sure he's a very handsome wolf but my attractions don't work like that."

"Yeah but you've never been interested in another werewolf before so..."

I looked to Oliver who turned his lip up in disgust at the idea. "Oliver seems to agree with me. Human shapes are what do it for us. Shouldn't you be doing your homework instead of harrassing me on while I'm trying to have a nice, mildly romantic weekend with a boy I like?"

"I'm taking a break. We haven't talked in awhile and you've got all these things going on now. So seriously, tell me about the sex. Chaz said you guys really go at it. "

"Chaz has a big mouth. I'm hanging up now so I can finish my dinner."

"Come on. I'm not getting any so I gotta live vicariously through you."

"You're too young to be getting any."

"Bitch, please. You were younger than me and I get enough of that bullshit from the rest of the world. You're a better feminist than that. At least send me a couple of dick pics of him." Oliver almost choked on his beans."You got give me something to work with."

"How about a selfie of the two of us tomorrow when the light's better? Then I'll give you all the gory details of my relationship when you're not interrupting said relationship."

"Fine but you have to promise to bring him down for christmas"

"Maybe. Talk to you later. Love you, muffin."

"Love you too."

"She's worse than Chaz, isn't she?" Oliver asked after I had hung up and turned my phone off.

"You've no idea. Don't know what I would do without her though. Ten years between us but that never stopped her from keeping up with me. Mum and Dad were always a little distant because of the werewolf thing but Emily was their miracle baby. They weren't bad parents just...I was more than they bargained for when they adopted me. It's not easy when they don't make a secret of you being second best. They were scared I would turn savage at any moment and terrified I might hurt Em. They tried to keep us separate, never allowed to play together, never allowed me to babysit because it would be too dangerous.