Among Wolves Read Free

fuck! Oh,
God, no!"
    Charlie peeked. Roman, sat limp, slouching
naked on the seat, drenched in sweat.
    Blowing out a loud exhale, Charlie held
Roman's clothing on his lap, waiting for Roman to be able to
function and get dressed. "What the hell happened?"
    Roman ran his hand back through his jet black
hair, looking worn out. He reached for his briefs and put them on.
"I have no idea. I simply left work, and it hit."
    "How the hell did you drive home?" Charlie
held Roman's gun and cell phone as he managed to get dressed in the
tight space. The neighbor's dog finally shut up.
    "I fought it. I fought it with everything I
had." Roman put on his coat and said, "I need to get the hell out
of this car." He opened the driver's door.
    Charlie held the gun and phone, climbing out
of the SUV, seeing the snow had accumulated even while they sat.
The walkway to the house was covered.
    As they approached Butch opened the front
door and his expression was apprehensive. "He goin' to bite
me?"
    "Don't start." Charlie nudged him out of the
way and brought the gun and phone to the kitchen counter. When he
spun back to look, Roman and Butch were staring at each other. "I
said, stop it!"
    Roman took off his coat and hung it on the
tree stand, brushing the snow from his black hair.
    "What the fuck, Roman?" Butch asked, throwing
up his hands. "We gotta go through all this shit again?"
    "Shut up." Roman snarled.
    "Butch, do not get him angry." Charlie tossed
his jacket on a chair and washed his hands. "Dinner's done."
    Roman left the room and Butch stood beside
Charlie to whisper, "He's done somethin' to bring it back."
    "No. No way." Charlie dried his hands. "He
hated it."
    "Yeah? Then why now? Nearly two years to the
day?"
    Charlie was about to answer with a snide
comment, but he thought about it. Why now?
    ~
    Roman stripped off his work clothing and
stood in the bathroom, staring in the mirror.
    He touched his face, his coarse, black five
o'clock shadow, and then ran his hand over his thick black hair.
With both hands on the sink vanity, Roman leaned closer to his
reflection, staring at his green eyes. Why? What happened?
    Full moon? We've had hundreds of full moons
over the past two years. It couldn't be that. The anniversary date?
Again, two years have gone by, nothing.
    "I thought I was done with this." He opened
his mouth to look at his teeth. Normal. Nothing appeared odd.
    Starting the shower, Roman held his hand
under the spray as it warmed. The house was heated but the furnace
had its work cut out for it during these cold months. He wondered
why a fire wasn't lit in the hearth in the living room.
    Stepping under the spray, Roman wet down,
closing his eyes.
    When he did, an image flash of being a wolf
on the ranch in Heber, Utah swept over him. Dizzy, Roman placed his
hands on the tile wall to steady himself.
    Running in the snow on all fours at the Deer
Creek reservoir, bounding over the deep silky drifts, chasing
Charlie around, two crazy wolves frolicking in the winter
wonderland.
    And flying…
    Changing into crows…soaring through the
sky.
    Did he hate it?
    He thought he did. But maybe it was the
unpredictability that he hated. Wasn't it? Not able to control it.
Turning when he was upset, when he and Charlie made love, when he
was angry…
    Emotion ruled that madness.
    It didn't take long for him and Charlie to
realize that.
    And Charlie…he bit the poor man. So his lover
was inflicted too. Inflicted? Infected? What did he give
Charlie?
    Roman opened his eyes and looked at his
hands. Clean fingernails, manicured. He gazed down at his body.
Black chest hair, narrowing to a treasure trail and his groomed
pubic bush, jet black.
    Roman forced himself to keep functioning,
shampooing his hair and scrubbing up. Charlie had made dinner. He
had to be normal. He had to keep calm.
    Shutting the water after he rinsed, Roman
stood still, thinking. Something had brought this back to him.
Why?
    And how would he rid himself of this curse
again? Could