The Prodigal and the Pac

Part One: Zack

When I regained consciousness I was flat on my back in an unfamiliar place. I launched upward with a start, but felt firm hands push me back down.

"Easy there, son. Just relax. You're safe now."

Apparently, I was in the back of an ambulance. Two paramedics loomed over me as I lay on a stretcher. One was older black man, the other was a white guy that looked to be my age. My mind flashed back to the creature in the woods. In a panic I started babbling, "Did you see it? Did you get it? The werewolf! Did you get it?"

The younger of the paramedics laughed and said, "You got a love Halloween! Always brings out the movie monsters. Had a girl last year, high as a kite, was convinced her landlord was Saw."

The other, older paramedic looked down at me. "Easy now, we are you going to give you a little something to help you relax."

My head was pounding. They didn't believe me.

The younger one suddenly laughed. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a werewolf movie."

"Really?"

"My girlfriend made me watch that Twilight shit. But that don't count. I never saw, like, the classic, old black-and-white one."

The older paramedic looked at his co-worker. "There's one where Jack Nicholson plays the werewolf. Now that one was good."

I drifted off again.

I had fucked up dreams.

I was back in that clearing in the woods, but it was daylight. No werewolf but for some reason there was a certain cartoon dog owned by a certain mega entertainment corporation. Dreams never make sense.

I stood in the clearing and I realized I was standing in a pool of blood. I remember asking who's blood it was.

"Well gawrsh," said the cartoon dog. "Its yours, silly."

I figured he must know what he's talking about.

"They didn't believe me about the monster," I said to the cartoon dog.

"Nope, ah-hyuck!" He shook his head. "The real question, buddy, is do you believe it happened?"

"What are you talking about?," I exclaimed. "I was there! Of course I believe it happened."

He looked down at me.

"But are ya sure? I mean, ya are having a dream conversation with a fictional cartoon character. Are you sure your perceptions aren't a little, ya know, impaired? Ah-hyuck!"

He proceeded to get tangled in a garden hose and fall down a well. Dreams are fucking weird.

But he made a good point. No one was going to believe me. Did I believe me?

The next time I woke up I was somewhere different. I was laying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. The lights were dim but not completely dark. On the wall was a digital clock that red 6:28 AM. I was groggy, and my head was pounding. As I tried to move I realized I had an IV in my arm.

The most surprising thing however, was that I was not alone. There was someone standing at the foot of my bed. For a moment my heart began to race until i realized it was a woman in scrubs.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Wilson?"

I tried to talk but by mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls. I finally croaked out, "Fine..."

"There's a glass of water there, have a drink."

The water was cold and felt good in my mouth. I was able to ask, "Where am I?"

"University Hospital. You had a wild night last night. One of your friends thinks someone spiked your drink with something. We ran tests but we are not sure what it is. You were dehydrated when they brought you in, but you are doing much better now. The doctor will be by later to check you out. If she says it's ok, we'll send you home. Try to get a little more rest."

Drugged? I wasn't drugged. I mean, I had smoked a little weed, and had way too much to drink. But I wasn't tripping balls. Yet, I also thought I had an encounter with a seven foot tall werewolf. What was the more logical scenario? At the end of the day, I'm realist.

I was feeling more subdued later when the doctor cleared me for release. I was staring to wonder about getting back to my dorm when Jessica and my roommate Lenny showed up with clean clothes.

Jessica gave me a big hug and kept apologizing as if everything was her fault. I finally got her to stop by agreeing to buy me breakfast. It's the most important fucking meal of the day. A short time later found Jess and I at a Waffle House where much coffee and bacon was consumed.

She filled me in on all the details that I had missed. When I didn't return from the woods, people started searching for me. Apparently I was missing for about two hours before I was found. And of course, she didn't mention anything about werewolves, wolves, or even particularly spooky furries. Just that some of the searchers had heard me scream. When they found me, I was alone. So I didn't mention it either. I mean, maybe I was tripping last night. That had to be it.

"You have an admirer."

"Huh?" I asked, drinking more coffee.

"Check out the guy two booths back."

I pulled off a classic yawn/stretch/checkout guy maneuver before casually returning to the waffle in front of me. "You talking about the dark haired hottie?"

"Yep. He keeps looking over here at you."

"Hmmm...yes please!"

We both laughed, and for the first time I felt like the events of the last night were some sort of bad dream. The rational part of my brain was working overtime to pack it all away into little boxes: dehydration, spooky woods, bad trip. No werewolves to be found.

Jessica paid our bill and headed out. I walked by the dark haired hottie. He was quite sexy. He glanced up at me and smiled as I walked by and I felt a little flutter. He was my age, maybe a little older. He had amazing dark eyes. His body was smoking too. For a second I contemplated going back and introducing myself but Jessica was dragging me back to the car.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

Part Two: The Sinclairs

Conner and Eddie had worked out a plan on the late night drive to the hospital. As the elevator opened onto the third floor, Connor headed straight for the nurse's station while Eddie hung back, sniffing discreetly at the air.

Connor approached the lone nurse at the nurse's station, a middle aged women who was focused on her computer. He put a little swagger in his step, and let his large chest puff just a bit.

"Hello there."

The nurse looked up, and smiled in recognition. "Well, hello sheriff!"

He smiled back, flashing his pearly whites. "Sorry to disturb you."

Connor knew exactly what he was doing. The guys at the station sometimes joked that the sheriff had a kind of animal magnetism. If only they knew just how right they were. Connor could work his charm on women, men, or anyone with a functional libido. He just needed to cause a little distraction while Eddie did his part.

"No problem at all Sheriff. What brings you here at this hour?"

"Well, I heard there was a little trouble out close to my place. College kid who got lost in the woods. Thought I would follow up. See, I had a little trouble on my property a few weeks back, and thought it could be related."

"Really? They think this kid was on some sort or drugs. The paramedics said he was raving about monsters."

"Ah. Well, that's unfortunate. He local or from the school?"

"School."

"Figures."

"He'll be fine. They're running some tests to see what he took. He'll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up, though."

Conner smiled. "Better him than me."

The nurse laughed, batting her eyes. Conner was about to launch the next wave of his charm offensive when he sensed his son returning from down the hall. Part one of the plan was done.

"Hey, do you think I could poke my head in and take a quick look?"

"Well, I shouldn't..."

"I'm just playing a hunch. If it's nots my guy, no harm no foul." He smiled again, and her resistance crumbled.

"Well, okay. Follow me."

The nurse led Conner down the hallway. Eddie had slipped out of sight, but Connor knew he was near by, waiting for the second part of the plan.

Connor hated hospitals. Despite the many chemical smells, you could never completely hide the smell of blood from a nose as sensitive as his. And one of the top two things a wolf couldn't help but to react to was the smell of blood. The other being sex.

And there was something in the air, as Conner approached the hospital room. It wasn't abrasive cleaner, and it wasn't blood. The sheriff stopped in the doorway, and looked at the young man sleeping in the bed. His body was covered by the sheet, but he could clearly see his face. He was young, with clear skin and auburn hair. A sprinkling of freckles graced his nose and cheeks. He was instantly both exotic and familiar. Connor's wolf bristled inside. The boy's scent was enticing. Eddie was right. This boy was special.

"That your boy, Sheriff?"

Conner smiled at the nurse. "Nope."

"Sorry, hun."

"Its okay. Just just playing a hunch."

Conner and the nurse made small talk as they walked back to the nurses station. She went back to her charting and Conner made his way back to the elevator. Eddie was waiting.

Connor nodded to his son. Eddie smiled. The elevator doors opened.

"What do you think, Dad?"

"He's...something."

"I got everything you asked for; pictures of his chart, and the all the info I could find in her computer. His name's Zack Wilson, campus address, birthday..."

"Good job, son."

The elevator doors closed.

Connor suddenly grabbed his eldest son by the back of the neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss. The older man shoved his tongue past Eddie's lips, sliding it down, tasting the essence of his son. A moment later his son was kissing back, working himself against his father, sucking at the man's tongue greedily. Connor groped his son's crotch, and could feel that he was as hard as his father. Both were wild with lust.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the two men broke away. As the doors opened, it was as if the kiss had never happened, except beneath the surface of the two humans, two wolves thrashed with desire. The full moon meant that their wolves were each at their strongest. The wolves wanted out; wanted to sniff, howl, and fuck. They were only held at bay by the iron will of the two men.

As they walked across the hospital parking lot to the car, the two men discussed what to do next.

"What do we do, Dad?"

"Later on, I'll take this info to the station, run it through the databases, and see what I can find on this boy. For now, you are going to get a few hours sleep, then get back here. They will discharge him today. You're gonna follow. Don't let him out of your sight."

"Yes Sir."

"When he's back at his dorm, we'll figure out the next steps."

Sometime later, Eddie Sinclair found himself sitting in a Waffle House, drinking bad coffee, and watching Zack. Eddie hadn't been able to sleep. He was too keyed up by everything that had happened. He could draw on the strength of his wolf to keep himself awake for days at a time. But the coffee helped.

At one point, Zack turned and looked directly at Eddie. Eddie tore his eyes away, and stared into his coffee cup. Clumsy and stupid. getting caught like that. Later as Zack left the restaurant, Eddie made eye contact again. Zack smiled at him. Inside he could feel his wolf tense, wanting to come to the surface. Eddie smiled back and nodded, and Zack walked on. Eddie took some deep, calming breaths, calming himself and his wolf.

Eddie placed a twenty on the table and followed Zack outside. He wouldn't lose his quarry now. He stood at the door and watched as the boy and his friend walked towards their car. Eddie felt his cock twitch as he saw Zack's ass walk across the parking lot. Eddie knew that he and his wolf wouldn't rest until they solved the mystery of who this young man was, and why he smelled so irresistibly good.