I woke with a start in the dark room, drenched in my own sweat.  I was alone in my bed.  My heart was hammering in my chest and I had an overwhelming and inexplicable feeling of loss and I found myself wondering exactly what it was that had woken me up.  I thought hard to try to figure it out.

I'd been having what had begun as a pleasant dream of running through the woods with a wolf pack made up of myself, Elias, Cole and many other wolves that had joined up with us.  In the dream, Cole had fallen behind and I'd gone back to search for him.  I could hear him barking and howling and he sounded distressed, but I was having trouble tracking him down.  I realized I must have only just become a wolf and hadn't yet figured out how to use my new skills.  I couldn't see very well in the dark and I couldn't smell his trail anywhere and I even had trouble zeroing in on the direction of his barks.  They seemed to echo from all around me.  I needed the other members of the pack to help me find him.

I began to panic as I realized the pack had continued on without me and I could not pick up their scent either.  I couldn't figure out why I wasn't able to use my heightened senses to solve the problem.  That was when I finally looked down at my body and realized I was still just a man.  I hadn't changed into a wolf at all.  I had no business being out in the woods with the other wolves.

My anxiety level rose as I realized I was the only one who could help Cole, but in this shape I just didn't have the skills, and there was no chance of finding the pack again to get help from them.  Cole's barks began to fade as though he was moving away from me and I started to truly panic.  I began to feel lost as I anxiously ran in every direction not knowing what to do next.  I was all alone out here and helpless.

The feeling of having suddenly lost everyone I loved because I couldn't keep up hit me hard and I'd snapped awake.

It must have been that sense of urgency and loss and helplessness that forced me up out of sleep as anxious dreams sometimes do.  I was left with a lingering feeling of anxiety but it was rapidly fading as my conscious mind realized it was only a dream and everything was fine.

I looked over at the clock and saw it was only half past five.  It was Sunday morning and I wouldn't need to go to work so I still had plenty of time to sleep if I could relax back into it, though I didn't like my chances.  I felt so completely unsettled from the dream that I doubted I would be able to drift off again.

I fumbled around on the night stand next to the bed to find my phone to check if the boys had sent me any messages but I remembered I'd left it on the charger in the kitchen.  They sometimes sent me little messages while they were out running around to let me know they were OK and they wished I was out there with them.  It always made me feel better to know the change had gone fine and they were having a good time.

I hated those nights that they went off to change in the woods.  I knew how important it was to them so I didn't say or do anything to stop them.  I didn't want to put a damper on their enjoyment of being wolves.  I just wished they could enjoy it as much right here at home.  It was so lonely coming to bed to sleep without them.

Ever since our discovery that they were OK to change together Elias and Cole spent most of the nights right here in the house, and when they were here it almost always ended with me being wrapped up in the fur of two massive and beautiful wolves as I drifted off to sleep.

We'd been having a great time together, but the wolves would sometimes get very restless from being trapped indoors.  They belonged outside in the woods where they could run free.

They decided to get back into a routine that would allow the boys to occasionally ride their bikes down to the woods to change there and spend the night tearing around the countryside together, stretching their legs and enjoying their wolf shapes fully.

I often wished I could join them and become a werewolf myself and it might be my conflicted feelings on that subject that had driven me to my anxious dream where I'd been running with the pack only to find out that I was still just a human and couldn't really keep up.

Any time I gave the idea of becoming like them a lot of serious thought I always came back to the conclusion that it was best for all of us if I stayed the way I am.  I needed to keep my job so we would always have a decent income.  We needed at least one person who could handle any contingency that might come up that required a human.  There were complications resulting from the shape-shifting of the boys and it was best to have someone who would always stay in human form to deal with them.  This world was not designed for wolves and there were some things that required human hands to work.

It occurred to me that I could probably convince Grace to take on that role and watch over us as "den mother" while I allowed myself to be changed by Elias so that I could be with the boys twenty-four seven as a man and as a wolf.  Now that we knew I was safe with the boys as they went through the transition, all I would really have to do is cut my hand and put the cut into Elias or Cole's mouth to get their saliva into me while they're in the process of changing and I should end up changing too.

I wasn't sure how Grace would feel about that idea, though.  She often got nervous and didn't like the idea of Elias and Cole being off by themselves in the woods at night so I think she'd feel a bit better if she knew I was there with them, but I doubt she'd like being the one and only true human left in the family.  It seemed like something I really couldn't burden her with.  It would make her almost an outsider as we all ran off into the woods without her every night.  She would be the only one working and would have to be there for us should we need it while we're wolves and it would be extremely unfair to put all of that responsibility on her shoulders.

For now things had to stay as they are and in the end there was really nothing wrong with that as I truly felt my life was better than anything I could have imagined for myself.

Almost a month had passed since that first time we'd tested Elias and Cole changing in the same room together with me.  Every change since then had gone without a hitch and it was so much easier for the two of them to never have to go through it alone anymore.  I still hadn't been able to convince Grace to stay in the room with us when the boys changed to make sure she'd be completely safe with Elias but I was fairly certain that wouldn't be an issue either.

She and Elias were thick as thieves since their private talk a month ago.  Both of them had spent time in the foster care system at a young age and had many similar experiences in their childhoods that seemed to have put them on common ground almost as if they were brother and sister.  They had become confidantes and the more private chats they had together the more it became obvious that Elias had completely let go of any doubts he'd had about her.  We'd also spent a fair bit of time together as a family while the boys were wolves so her scent was a part of their lives.  I was certain Elias-wolf would be no danger to her even in the midst of his change, but it was obvious Grace was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of seeing the change happen to the boys and there was really no reason to force it on her, so it would likely remain untested.

The fact that the boys would shift back and forth between human and wolf shape had become routine.  We'd all fallen into comfortable patterns and adjusted to our new lives together quite well.  Every day we'd share an evening meal that Grace would prepare, then sit and chat and joke at the table for a while afterwards.  We'd sometimes bring out a board game or some cards to play together as a family for a bit.  Grace would then often have to go off and get ready for work and I'd spend the evening with the boys.  On nights that Grace was off we'd often watch a movie together in the home theater as a family, even though it would sometimes have to be paused so the boys could go off to change, then come back and finish watching the movie as wolves.  On those nights Cole would have to reluctantly go off to bed on his own since Grace was there in the house.  She still wasn't aware of what went on between the wolves and myself when she was at work and I saw no reason to let her know.

The contractors had finished the panic room in just a few more days as promised.  After they'd left I went in and changed out the keypad with the one I'd designed so that the wolves could unlock the door if they needed to.  It was now fully functional but we hadn't gone back into it once since it was completed.  We had no real need for it anymore.  The boys seemed most comfortable simply going into the master bedroom and stripping naked, then lying on the bed together to wait out the change.  I usually joined them to watch over them and be with them and it always went smoothly and calmly now.

I'd also begun the process of changing out all of the doorknobs in the house to the lever type so that the wolves could move from room to room even if the doors were closed.  There were a lot of knobs to change and I'd got to most of them but I hadn't yet dealt with the outside door knobs.  If the wolves were to need to get in from the outside I would have to replace the small keypads built into the electronic deadbolts and find some way to interface them to the larger type that I'd installed in the panic room.  That was going to be a big job so for the time being I'd only changed the inside knob of the doors so that at the least the wolves could get out of the house in a hurry in case of an emergency like a fire or something.

Grace had finally gotten an offer on her house that she was happy with and the sale would go forward soon.  She was looking to make a change in her career also.  She had originally stuck with her night job not only because it was the better paying of the two she had, but also so that an adult would always be at home for Cole if he needed.  She would be home during the day while I was at work and I would be home while she was gone.  Since Elias and Cole were now able to change together, meaning they could essentially spend all of their time together every day, Elias would be there to watch over Cole all the time.  There was no longer any reason for Grace to keep a night job if she didn't want to.  She'd begun the search for a day job and hadn't yet found anything that paid as well as the one she currently had, but she intended to keep trying.

The intimacy that Elias and I shared with Cole when they were wolves would likely have to end if Grace started spending the nights at home, but we'd worry about that only if it came to pass.

Elias and Cole were inseparable now that they were able to spend every minute of every day together.  Much to my delight and surprise, Elias had taken it in hand to continue Cole's education and hoped to begin to learn new things right along with him at some point.  He'd downloaded a syllabus or two for each of the main areas of study starting at the sixth grade level with the heaviest focus on mathematics and the sciences and he made sure to spend a few hours each day with Cole to teach him something new from each subject and grill him on things they'd already covered.  I hoped it wasn't just some fad he was going through and that he would continue it right up to and even beyond university level over the years.  It boggled my mind to imagine just how much these boys could learn over hundreds of years of study.

Life had become a wonderful, happy routine.

The comforting thoughts about how well things were going were beginning to lull me and I was just starting to drift off back to sleep again when I realized that the whole time I'd been lost in thought a dog had been barking outside.  It was somewhat muffled and very faint since it appeared to be coming from around the back side of the house and the master bedroom is upstairs at the front, but now that my brain had locked onto the sound I found it incessant and irritating.

I realized the encroachment of the barking from outside into my subconscious mind while I slept might be what had triggered the dream of anxiously trying to track down the source of the barks and then losing both Cole and the rest of the wolf pack.  It's funny how the subconscious mind works.  It took that sound and used it to shape my dreams so that it somehow fit.  The barking even almost sounded like Cole and that probably further served to help it infiltrate my subconscious and cause me to dream about him.

There were a lot of rabbits in my neighborhood since we're located so close to the river valley and sometimes a stray dog or a coyote would chase one into a tight corner behind a shed or under a vehicle where it couldn't get at the bunny and then get frustrated and bark at it for hours and that was probably what was going on now.

The muffled barking continued.  Every once in a while there was a pause, then it would start again.  It seemed to move from one side of the house to the other, then briefly get louder, then quieter again.  There was no hope of getting back to sleep as long as it kept up.  I decided to get up and go out and try to chase the dog off.  I could check my phone for any messages from the boys while I was at it.  I really shouldn't leave it in another room where I couldn't hear it ring anyhow.  I'd set them up with a tablet that they could use to contact us while they were out in the woods and it wouldn't do much good if I didn't get the message until they got back home.

I slipped into a pair of sweats and opened the bedroom door and went out into the hall.

As I headed down the stairs to the main floor I heard a scratching sound coming from somewhere near the back of the house.  It sounded like the dog was right at the back door and trying to get in.  The scratching stopped and there was a series of louder and more desperate barks and since I was much closer to the source I suddenly realized it really did sound exactly like Cole!  My heart skipped a beat as I wondered what the hell he might be doing back home outside where anyone could see him.

The barking was then split by a long and loud howl and I picked up the pace.  He would get the whole neighborhood looking in our direction if he kept that up!

I just about broke my neck as I lunged down the last few steps in the dark and missed the last one and my foot slipped on the floor as I corrected myself.  I ran through the kitchen to the back door and flung it wide open.

Cole rushed in and ran right past me back through the kitchen and into the hall.  I hadn't turned any lights on so as not to light up the large wolf for the neighbors to see and I looked out into the back yard to see where Elias was but it looked as though Cole had come alone.  My level of concern began to rise.

I closed the door and ran back into the kitchen but Cole had already run through it into the main hallway.  As I walked across the floor in my bare feet I felt something wet and sticky.  I turned on the light and looked down and saw a repeating pattern of a large wolf paw in dark red blood.

I felt my heart start to race as I ran through the kitchen into the hall to see where Cole had gone.

"Cole!  Where are you?  What's wrong?  What happened?" I shouted.

I heard him bark from the direction of the hobby room so I ran towards it and he was sitting in front of the computer and already tapping out a message.

"Hunter!  I think I killed him!  He shot Elias!  HELP!"

I turned the light to the room on just as Cole was pushing the pointer mask off of his face and onto the desk with his paw and I was aghast to see him splattered with blood from head to toe.  His face was completely covered and even had bits of gore around his muzzle as though he'd torn into someone.  Most of it was dried or drying, but I could see fresh blood dripping down his right front leg to pool around his paw.  Some of the blood had splattered around the desk as he'd put his muzzle down on it and quickly brought his bloodied paw up to hold the mask steady as he pulled his face out of it.

"Are you hurt bad?  Were you shot too?" I asked as I approached to check him over.

He growled at me and barked and then ran out of the room before I could take the time to look at him closely.  He must have felt that there was no time to waste.  He'd made it this far and he was still able to run no problem so whatever wound he had mustn't be life threatening.  Most of the blood I was seeing all over his thick fur must not be his own.  It must be the hunter's, or it might be Elias's.  Getting back to Elias seemed to be Cole's priority and I had no choice but to follow.

My chest began to tighten with worry for Elias as I ran out of the room after Cole and I didn't bother to go upstairs to get dressed.

There was no way I could keep up with a running wolf and it would be quickest if I drove us back to the woods so I grabbed my truck keys off the counter near the back door, threw on a jacket, and slipped my bare feet into my hiking boots and I found Cole waiting by the garage door.  He must have come to the same conclusion.

We went into the garage and I opened the back door to the truck to let Cole jump in, but he stood at the wall where my mountain bike was hanging and he barked loudly and repeatedly at it.  He wanted me on the bike, not in the truck.  I could definitely keep up with him more easily on my bike if there was open trail along the way back to Elias but he'd be running along the road where anyone could see him.  I quickly came to the conclusion that it would be worth the risk if it was the quickest way back to Elias.

I grabbed the bike down and opened the garage door and Cole ran out.  I hit the button to close the door and dashed out to join him as it closed behind me.

Cole wisely stuck to the shadows as much as he could as he ran off towards the bike trail leading down to the river valley.  I raced after him on the road and it took us only a few minutes to reach the trail and he got onto it and followed it down into the valley.

My heart was hammering as I shifted up to higher and higher gears while the large wolf sprinted on ahead of me not even looking back to see if I was keeping up.

I rode for a long ways chasing after Cole and the paved trail had switched to gravel, then dirt, then finally was nothing more than a narrow, winding, little-used hiking trail with lots of roots and stumps that were difficult for me to avoid at speed in the dark even with my light turned on.

I nearly lost control of the bike several times as the front tire slipped sideways on a root or jammed hard against a stump as I plummeted at a dangerous speed along the twisting trail through the dark woods racing downward toward the river as I desperately tried to keep up with the large wolf.  He was not slowing at all and the sense of desperate urgency in his headlong dash had my mind reeling with concern.  Elias must be in really bad shape.

I started to lose sight of Cole as he got further and further ahead of me and I was reminded of the anxiety I'd felt in the dream when I couldn't track him and I started to panic.

"Cole, slow down!  I'm losing you!" I shouted.  Then I rounded a sharp corner and nearly ran right into him.  He'd stopped on the trail and was waiting for me to catch up.  I swerved to avoid him as I skidded and I nearly slammed into a tree before I finally came to a stop.  He bounded off into the thick woods and I had to grab the light off of it's holder on the handlebars and drop my bike to chase after him.

I ran headlong through the woods trying desperately to keep up with Cole, who was getting more and more frustrated at how slow I was going.  Tree branches and prickly shrubs were ripping at my jacket and scraping at my skin as I tried to push my way through the thick brush and Cole kept having to stop and wait for me to catch up.  He'd bark and growl like he was urging me to go faster but I was already moving as fast as I could.

Finally we emerged from the bushes where a small creek ran down towards the river.  The night was slowly lightening towards dawn and once free of the trees I was able to see fairly well.  The ground and long grass next to the creek was covered in blood.

Cole ran ahead of me and sniffed around.  It looked as though he was concerned and uncertain, as though things weren't as he'd left them.  He looked up the creek a way and then ran towards a large concrete outlet that the water emerged from.  It appeared this wasn't a natural creek but rather a spillway for storm drains to direct storm water from the city into the river.

I ran to follow him as he went into the opening of the huge concrete tunnel through a rusted metal gate that had a latch that looked like it had been broken off long ago.

As I came in I saw that there was a metal mesh walkway on the side of the wide tunnel a little ways up so that workmen could walk back into it without having to wade in the water.  The boys' clothes were neatly piled on the walkway next to their backpacks and the tablet they used to communicate with us was sitting on the pile of Elias's clothes.  I'd made them a second set of pointer masks to keep in their backpacks and Elias's was sitting next to the pile.  This must be the place they normally used to get naked and store their stuff before going back outside to go through the change.

Cole had already slipped his pointer mask onto his face and was tapping rapidly at the tablet and I moved in to take a look.  The message said, "Elias was hurt bad.  I hurt the hunter bad too.  I thought he was dead!  I tore him open!  They were both here!"

"Are you sure the hunter was killed?  Maybe neither one was as bad off as you thought.  Maybe Elias chased the hunter or the other way around.  Can you track what happened, Cole?"

The wolf slipped the mask off and ran back out towards the scene of the bloody fight and I followed.  He sniffed around the perimeter of the area but seemed to find nothing.  He ran further down the creek and then suddenly stopped and ran across the shallow water to the other side.  He stopped and sniffed around a bit, then barked at me and turned and ran off into the woods.

"Cole, wait!  If that hunter's still alive he could hurt you!  Wait for me!" I shouted as I ran to follow him.  The younger wolf's only thought at this point was likely protecting Elias but he was putting himself in danger.

As I rushed into the woods after Cole I cursed myself for not bringing some sort of weapon along.  If I'd been thinking more clearly I would have grabbed one of the Tasers.  That would allow me to disable the hunter without hurting him any more than Cole already had.  It wouldn't be right to kill the guy.  He's only hunting a dangerous animal as far as he's concerned.  He doesn't realize he's trying to kill a boy.  He might take a shot at Cole too if he sees the large wolf coming at him.

I need to be the first one the hunter sees.  He wouldn't shoot at me.  Maybe I could disarm him.  I sure as hell can't tell him the truth of things but I have to stop him from hurting the boys any further and I'll do what I have to if it comes to it.

If Cole thought he'd killed the guy then the hunter must be in really bad shape.  I would have to try to get him some help even though my priority would have to be Elias.

What a fucking mess.

Suddenly ahead of me I heard a gun shot and I actually heard the sound of snapping foliage as a bullet whizzed by overhead, ripping through the trees.  I heard growls of rage and then an unfamiliar voice yelled out in pain.  Had he shot Cole?

"Cole!" I shouted in terror as I crashed through the brush as fast as I could, but there were no more gun shots or any sound from Cole and I couldn't tell exactly which direction he'd gone.  Once again that panic from the dream of not being able to track down Cole when he was separated from the pack began to grip my heart and I shouted more urgently, "Cole, where the hell are you?!"

I suddenly blundered out into a small clearing and found Cole with a deadly looking rifle in his mouth.  He must have ripped it from the man's hands.  He whipped his head sideways and the rifle flew off into the underbrush and Cole turned back to face the hunter and he growled low and menacingly.

The man was in very bad shape.  He was bleeding profusely from several deep gashes on his arms that looked like defensive wounds and the back of one of his legs was all torn up and seemed to be the source of a lot of his blood loss.  Cole must have been chasing him at some point and ripped at his legs to take him down.  One hand looked completely wrecked, likely from Cole biting into it as he tore the rifle from the man's grip.  There was a wide section on the side of his waist were his clothes had been torn open and a gaping wound exposed what looked like torn muscles.  He was an absolute mess.  Cole had nearly eviscerated him, but must have gained control over himself before finishing the job.

I could see a blood trail in the grass and low brush that continued on past the hunter.  It had to be from Elias.  The man was nearly at death's door but he must still have been determined to follow Elias and finish him off.

My blood began to boil as I moved towards him.  I wasn't really thinking about what I was going to do but I had the urge to kick him in the head to disable him and make sure he wouldn't be able to threaten the boys again.

He briefly struggled to get up but it was hopeless and he collapsed back onto the ground.  He'd obviously lost a lot of blood in the struggle to bring himself this far and he was near to losing consciousness.  He didn't have the strength left to stand and he looked as though he was not going to survive the blood loss.

Even as I realized he was not likely to make it unless I could get him some help fast, he pulled a nasty looking serrated hunting knife from a scabbard at his ankle and brandished it at me and in a breathless, gasping voice he said, "Stay back or I'll cut you.  Keep your fucking wolf off me or I'll cut its throat."

Cole growled again and moved to lunge at the man but I yelled, "Cole, no!"

He stopped and looked at me and I continued, "He's almost gone already, Cole.  He's lost a lot of blood.  If he wants to live we're his only chance.  We're the only ones who can help him."

I turned to the man and said, "Put the knife down.  You're in no shape to fight anyhow.  I might be able to get you some help, but I have to take care of the one you shot first.  If you promise not to do them any more harm I'll do what I can to help you."

"You're the one who's been sheltering them, aren't you?" the man spat in anger, "The news reports said there were footprints of a large man.  The smaller one is your doing, isn't it?  He must be just a kid!  You fucking bastard!"

He coughed a few times and a bit of blood sprayed from his mouth.  He must be bleeding internally as well.  He shook his head as if to clear it and he said, "If you really want to help me, then help me kill them."

"Help you kill them?  Are you fucking crazy?  These aren't wild wolves!  They're no danger to anyone!"

"You think I don't know exactly what they are?  They're abominations!  They have to be put down.  They're a threat to all of us!  You're the one who doesn't know what they really are.  What it means to us.  They're trying to find another one to start up their research again.  They have to be stopped.  I won't be the last to come after them.  I was just the first to track them down."

The man was gasping for breath between every sentence and he looked like he was fading fast.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, but it was too late.  He'd passed out.  The knife fell from his hand as his head lolled back onto the ground.

I needed to know what the hell he'd been babbling about.  Who the hell were "they" that had to be stopped?  What was he saying about research and someone trying to get their hands on them?  What did he mean that the wolves were a threat to us?

I ran up to the man and felt for a pulse.  He was still alive.  I shook at him to try to get him to come around, but it was no good.

Cole barked at me and growled and then ran off into the woods following the blood trail and I realized I was wasting time.  Elias was somewhere out there and he'd clearly lost a lot of blood too.  I had to follow.

I picked up the man's knife and threw it into the bushes as Cole had done with the gun so the man wouldn't be armed if he came around again, then I got up and ran after the young wolf.

He had gone far ahead of me but I had no problem following the trail now.  As the level of light slowly grew my heart sank more and more from the amount of blood I saw in the underbrush.  The foliage was coated with it.  I didn't get much farther before finding the two wolves.

Cole was pushing his muzzle against the head of the larger wolf, trying to get him to move, but Elias was lying on his side quite still and not responding.

Fear gripped my heart as I ran to them and dropped to my knees to check the massive wolf over.  One side of his fur was completely drenched in blood.  I found a large entry wound right behind his right front leg near his heart.  I gently inserted my hand underneath him to see if there was an even larger exit wound anywhere on the other side but I found nothing.  The bullet must still be inside him.  It must have missed his heart or he'd have died instantly.  I put my face against the blood-matted fur on his side and listened for a heart beat.  It was there, but it was very faint and very slow and he didn't appear to be breathing.

Suddenly his sides heaved slightly as he sucked in a ragged breath, but as he slowly exhaled I could hear blood bubbling up and I saw it leaking out the side of his mouth.  The bullet, or at least a piece of it, must have punctured a lung.

A small amount of blood was still coming out of the bullet wound and it appeared to be pulsing lightly to the beat of his heart, but the flow was extremely weak.  Most likely he'd lost a great volume of blood already and he'd lost significant blood pressure.  The bullet may have missed the heart but it must have nicked a major artery.

I put my hand on the wound to apply pressure and slow the bleeding as I desperately tried to figure out what to do.  I could feel a rib in two pieces under the wound.  The bullet must have hit the rib squarely and slowed down or changed direction.  It may be the only reason Elias was still alive.

I looked around, feeling completely helpless.  I hadn't thought to bring a first aid kit.  I keep one in the kitchen under the sink.  Why the fuck did I not bring it?  As I looked around at the amount of blood that Elias had already lost I realized a bandage was not going to do him a hell of a lot of good anyhow.  He needed a doctor, or a vet, or something, and he needed them now!

Cole whined and put his paw on Elias and pushed and pulled a bit to try to wake him and my heart broke.  I wasn't the only one who was about to lose the love of his life.

As the light level rose and I saw just how much blood had pooled out around the massive wolf I knew there was nothing we could do.

Tears began to stream from my eyes as I leaned in and put my face against the side of Elias's neck and buried it into his furry ruff.  "Please don't die, Elias."

Cole whined and went down on his belly and rested his head next to mine.

Elias took another ragged breath, but it seemed more shallow this time.  He held it briefly and then slowly exhaled and it seemed as if he was letting go.

I put my ear to his chest again but I heard nothing.  I couldn't hear his heart.  I lifted my hand off his wound and examined it closely.  The blood in the open wound was still.  It wasn't pulsing or leaking out at all any more.  There wasn't any pressure.

"Oh, Christ, no!" I wailed.

I began to freak out.  This couldn't be real.  I shook at the huge wolf and tried to lift his head off the ground while I yelled at him, "Don't leave me!  Don't give up, Elias!"

Cole sat up and let out a long, mournful howl.

I looked at the younger wolf through tears and shouted, "He's not dead!  He can't be!"

I took off my jacket and began to try to tie it around the big wolf's chest to stop any more blood loss while Cole continued to howl over and over again.

"I have to try to get him to a doctor!  There has to be something I can do!  Help me move him!" I shouted at the other wolf, but Cole just continued to howl in despair.  It was like the wolf could sense the passing of his mate.  He knew it was too late to do anything.

I stood and pushed and pulled to try to move the massive wolf with the idea of dragging him back to the truck.  It was ridiculous of course.  It was simply too late and there was no way I could move him all that way on my own.

I suddenly gave up and realized there was really nothing I could do to help him.  I collapsed onto him and began to cry for real.

"I love you so much, Elias," I cried, "Don't do this to me."

I suddenly noticed Cole had finally stopped howling, but I heard him grunt and groan instead.

I looked over and saw him lying on his side and twitching.  I looked around again and noticed just how light it was getting.  It must be close to dawn.  We were near to the full moon part of the cycle and the moon was setting just before the sun would rise.  The change had started.

Then it hit me.  There might still be hope.  It might not be too late!

I got back to my knees and placed my hands right at the site of the wound to seal it up and with all of my strength I pushed down on the side of Elias's chest to try to force his heart to circulate what little blood was left in him.  I heard a light gurgling as more of the blood that had pooled in his lungs was expelled.  I repeated this several times and then I moved to his muzzle and held it shut tight while I put my mouth over his nose and blew with as much force as I could muster and I saw his chest rise slightly.  I blew a few times then switched back to pumping his chest.

Maybe he wasn't completely gone yet.  People have been kept alive with CPR for surprisingly long periods of time until an ambulance with paramedics could arrive to help.  In this case the change would come to his rescue if I could just bring him back to life enough to trigger it.  I couldn't give up yet.  I pushed hard at Elias's chest several times then went back to breathing into his nose, than back to the chest over and over.  All the while I was watching Cole go through his change.  He was almost the shape of a boy again and he was less than a minute away from being done but Elias was still not responding.

Finally Cole opened his eyes and a look of utter despair came over him and my heart sank.  The change was done for Cole.  Elias was still a wolf.

Tears began to roll down my face again as I realized it was over.  The love of my life was gone.

Cole came over and kneeled down and put his arms around Elias's neck and began to cry.

I stroked the side of the massive wolf as I wept along with Cole and suddenly I felt a twitch under my fingers and my heart jumped.  I held very still and pressed both hands against him and in a moment I felt another twitch like a muscle spasm under his fur.  I got back to my knees and began to push on his chest again to try to get his heart moving and then went back to his muzzle and blew hard into his nose then moved back to his chest again to repeat the compressions.

Cole sat up and looked at me quizzically as he wiped tears from his face.

"He's not gone yet!" I shouted, "I felt a twitch!  Come around here and push on his chest!"

The boy ran around to where I was kneeling and I showed him how to compress the big wolf's chest to try to force his heart to circulate his blood and to push the air out of his lungs.  He put all his weight behind it and began to push rhythmically against the massive wolf's side while I ran to Elias's muzzle again and began to blow into his nose as hard as I could to move air back into his lungs.  We kept it up for almost a minute before I suddenly felt Elias's whole head jerk in my hands.  I heard a crunching sound and Cole quickly jumped back just as the big wolf's ribcage suddenly heaved and began to change shape.

I moved quickly away from the massive wolf as I spat and wiped my mouth.  I wasn't sure what might happen if I got his saliva and blood in my mouth while he was in the middle of the change.  It probably wasn't a danger so long as I didn't get any in my bloodstream, but I had some scratches from the mad rush through the thick brush and that seemed like a distinct possibility if I didn't move well away in case any spittle or blood flew during the change.

The massive wolf began to thrash and jerk as the change kicked into high gear.  It proceeded as usual right up to the point where Elias the boy was lying on his side and the hair on his head was starting to grow back in.  He suddenly gasped and groaned as his voice returned to him and my heart leaped with joy at the sound.

He moaned a few times as I heard the last few sickening crunches of joints snapping into their final positions and then he quite suddenly sat up and looked at me and smiled.

"That was close," he said, "I blacked out.  I was scared I might die before the change but I guess I made it.  What are you doing here, Jake?"

He stood up and brushed himself off as if nothing at all had happened and I jumped up and grabbed him in a tight hug.

"I love you so much!  I thought I'd lost you!" I said.

He hugged me back and asked, "Was it even closer than I thought?"

"You weren't breathing.  Your heart stopped.  I thought for sure you were gone.  I really thought we were too late.  I've never felt so scared in my life."

Cole ran up and put his arms around both of us and said, "I'm so glad you're OK."

Elias let go of me and bent down to hug Cole tighter, "What happened, Cole?  I remember smelling a stranger, then turning just in time to see a man with a rifle.  I remember feeling like I was hit on the side with a sledge hammer and smashing into the ground and rolling and the lights went out.  I came to and you were gone and I was scared shitless that he might have shot you too.  I saw the guy on the ground torn up.  I wasn't sure if you did that or me.  He started to move a bit like he was coming around and I was in no shape to fight, but he still had his gun so I decided to drag myself off into the bushes to hide before he came to."

Cole said, "The wolf took over when he heard the gunshot and saw you go down.  I couldn't control him anymore.  The guy started running towards you and he was bringing his gun up to shoot again.  The wolf chased him down and grabbed his leg and tried to drag him back and away from you shaking at him like he wanted to tear him to pieces.  The guy turned and lifted his gun and I tried to jump away but the gun went off.  It hit me inside my front leg.  It hurt bad but it wasn't deep.  Then the wolf really went nuts.  I don't remember much of what happened next.  I finally got back in control but there was blood everywhere.  The guy wasn't moving.  I thought I killed him!  You were still breathing but losing lots of blood and I couldn't wake you up.  All I could think of was to go and get Jake.  I wouldn't have gone away and left you alone if I knew that guy wasn't dead!  He almost caught up to you and shot you again!"

"It's OK, Cole.  You did the right thing," I said, "You couldn't know the guy was still a danger but you knew Elias needed help.  You couldn't have helped him on your own.  If you hadn't acted so fast he wouldn't be with us anymore."

"If I wasn't breathing and my heart stopped, how did I come through it?" Elias asked.

"Jake pushed on your chest and breathed into your mouth!" Cole said.

I nodded and said, "I didn't know what else to do.  You were gone, but Cole suddenly started to go through the change.  I was trying to do CPR to keep your blood moving and oxygenated long enough so you might start to change too and all the damage would be repaired.  It was really close."

Elias grabbed me and hugged me again, "You saved my life."

I hugged him back harder and said, "I saved my own.  I would have died if I'd lost you."

Elias let go and turned to look around at the blood-covered ground.  He suddenly crouched and picked something up and examined it, then he turned and showed it to us.  It looked like a very large caliber bullet completely deformed from the impact with the massive wolf's ribcage.

"Souvenir," Elias said and he grinned.

I suddenly remembered the hunter and said, "Shit, the hunter was still alive.  We need to try to bring him around enough so we can talk to him.  He knows what you are."

Elias's eyes went wide, "He knows?"

I nodded, "He said you were a threat to us.  I don't know what the hell he meant by that.  He was talking about not letting 'them' get their hands on you.  I think I'd like him to explain to us exactly what's going on.  Let's go."

I grabbed my jacket off the ground and threw it on and we followed the blood trail back through the crushed grass and bent brush a little more slowly this time.  The two boys were naked and barefoot and the bush was scratchy so I led the way and tried to tramp a clearer path for them.  The boys followed close behind and we emerged back at the creek

The man was still where I left him and he wasn't moving.  I crossed the small creek and walked up to him and tentatively poked my boot at him but he didn't budge.

Elias and Cole walked up beside me as I knelt down and placed my hand on the man's neck to feel for a pulse but I could already tell he was getting cold and it was pointless.  He'd lost far too much blood.  He must have died just after we left him.

"Shit, he's dead," I said.

"Oh my God, I really killed him!" Cole shouted.  He looked extremely distressed and agitated.  "I didn't meant to kill him!"

He turned to me and asked, "Am I a murderer?"

I put my hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye and said, "No!  You did what you had to do.  You had no choice.  That guy wanted you both dead and he wouldn't have stopped until he was finished.  Really it was the wolf that did it.  You said so yourself.  He took over and did what was needed."

Elias said, "Yeah, and you went and got Jake, too.  If you hadn't done that I'd be dead for sure.  You did everything exactly right, Cole."

"Really?"

Elias nodded and said, "Really.  I'm supposed to be the one looking after you, but you're the one who saved my life.  If I didn't have you along to take care of me I'd be dead.  You're my hero!"

Cole grinned and wrapped his arms around Elias's neck and the two held each other for a moment and then Cole said, "I was so scared.  I thought you would die.  I don't want to ever lose you.  If I'm gonna live forever I don't want to do it alone.  I just couldn't do it without you."

Elias got a troubled look on his face and he looked over at me, then back at Cole, "I know exactly how you feel.  I feel the same way."

"I don't want to lose either of you," I said, "I think we need to move, now."

"Move?" Elias asked.

I nodded, "We need to get out of here.  This guy said there would be others.  I don't know if there's some group that's hunting down werewolves or what the deal is, but they've obviously found out about you two from the news stories and they're onto us."

"What should we do with him?" Elias asked, "Does he have any ID?  Can we find out who he is?"

I knelt and quickly felt around the man's pockets front and back but found nothing.  His hunting vest had some extra shells in the inside pocket but there was no identification anywhere.

"He's got nothing," I said, "We'll just leave him right here.  There's no point trying to cover this up.  He knew what you are.  He wasn't just hunting a big wolf.  He knew you were a person.  He's the only murderer here as far as I'm concerned and I guess he got what was coming to him.  If there really are others like him out here in the woods somewhere trying to track you two down then you'll never be safe in these woods again."

"Someone's gonna find him here," Elias said, "It'll be another big news story.  You sure you don't want to try to clean this up?"

I shook my head, "The damage is already done as far as news stories go or this guy wouldn't be here.  I don't want to spend one more minute out here than we have to.  We don't know how close the others might be.  If they're as well armed as he was I don't want to run into them.  We need to get out of here.  We don't have to worry about this mess.  There's absolutely no way to trace any of this back to us.  It's obviously just another attack by the gigantic wolf that's been hunting these woods.  This time I'm guessing the city will shut down the parks completely and start a massive hunt for the animal, but as long as you two stick to changing in the house from now on there's no way it will ever come back to us.  It can't."

"I guess you're right," Elias said, "They'll see our bare footprints all over the place too, but it won't help them find us.  So long as we never come back here we should be good.  Let's go."

I walked over to the creek and used the water to wash as much of the blood off my hands and face as I could.  Cole joined me and washed his hands that were covered in Elias's blood from the chest compressions.

The boys then went back to the concrete storm drain outlet to get dressed and grabbed their packs and they went to get their bikes from some deep brush they'd been hiding them in and we walked them back to the hiking trail where my bike was.

We rode back along the trail and up the side of the river valley to the road and headed home.

We came back to the house and as we came into the kitchen Cole said, "I don't think I want Mom to see this mess.  Can we clean it up before she comes home?  She'll freak if she sees my blood all over the place."

I nodded, "Good thinking.  Elias, go see if you can clean up the hobby room.  Cole left a lot of blood in there.  Cole, grab a bucket and cloth from under the sink and head out back to clean up the blood you left all over the steps and the door when you were scratching at it.  I'll deal with the floors and the garage."

We all set to work and got everything cleaned up in plenty of time before Grace got home.  I threw my jacket and sweats in the garbage as they'd gotten a lot of blood on them as well.  All three of us showered thoroughly and changed into clean clothes.  We finished with plenty of time left before Grace would arrive.

I made some toast so the boys could snack a bit before going to bed and the three of us sat around the kitchen table when we were done.

I watched Cole as he ate and every once in a while a worried look would pass over his face and he'd glance over at Elias, then he'd go back to nibbling at his toast.

"Are you OK, Cole?" I asked.

He shrugged and said, "I guess so.  I was scared, but I'm OK now.  I know I didn't really kill that guy.  I couldn't stop the wolf.  That's what worries me.  What if he tried to do something really bad and I couldn't stop him?"

"You shouldn't worry about that.  Wolves don't do bad things.  I think pretty much only people are capable of intentional evil.  The wolf was defending Elias and you.  He knew what he had to do and he did it," I said.

"It's a scary thing losing control like that," Elias said, "Watching what's happening and trying to stop it but not being able to control it makes you feel really helpless.  I've been there.  Just keep in mind that it had to happen and remember you didn't do anything wrong at all."

"OK," Cole said, "So what now?  Are we gonna have to move away?  Are we safe?"

"I can't see how they could ever find us here.  I guess the woods are off limits completely from now on, though," I replied.

"You said the guy mentioned not letting 'them' get hold of another one of us.  What do you suppose he meant?" Elias asked.

"I have no idea.  It sounds like there might be another group of people trying to find you besides the hunter.  He didn't want them to get you but we know the hunter's bad news so I can't say if the other group are good people or bad."

"Do you think it might be other werewolves?"

"I suppose it's possible, but it seems to me if werewolves really wanted to get their hands on other werewolves they could just make some more.  You told me once you thought there weren't werewolves everywhere because they would likely tear anyone who came near them at the wrong time to pieces and kill them rather than turn them.  You said it was unlikely anyone would survive the encounter.  Now we know that's not necessarily true.  I'm safe with the two of you.  If I wanted to I could probably easily use your saliva while you're in the middle of the change to change myself.  For all we know there might be a whole society of werewolves out there somewhere.  I really wish we could have got that guy to talk."

"Maybe it's time we thought about turning you into one of us," Elias said, "Something Cole said really hit home.  He said if he's gonna live forever, he doesn't want to do it without me.  I feel the same way about him.  I feel that way about you, too, Jake.  I could never love anyone like I love you.  I can't live forever without you.  I just can't do it."

The idea of growing old while the boys stayed young and perfect was something that nagged at me off and on, but I generally tried to push it out of my mind to deal with later.  As much as I might want to join them as wolves I felt it likely wasn't such a good idea.  Again it occurred to me that that might have been the true theme of my anxious dream earlier.  The idea of being left behind and not being able to keep up as I grew older and older and stayed human and the boys being forever young and able to shift to the powerful shape of the wolves and run off without me.

The logic I'd used to argue against the change still seemed to hold, though.  It couldn't be ignored.

"What do you suppose would have happened out there this morning if I was a wolf and running along with you two?  I guess a wolf might be able to perform CPR but it would be hard to be effective in that shape and you might have died.  The hunter still might have only managed to shoot you before we took him out, but you would be gone forever.  At the least he would have been torn to shreds by Cole and me and we wouldn't be aware of the further danger that's still out there and the other hunters or whoever the other group is might eventually get us all.  Forewarned is forearmed.  The whole reason I wanted to avoid becoming like you is just because of a situation like that.  Someone has to be human just in case.  I wish I could change and be with the two of you all the time but I still don't think it's such a good idea.  Let's think about it a while longer.  If we do decide to make the change there's no going back.  We know for sure there are two groups looking for you but we don't know exactly why so we need to stay on our toes.  I think for now it's better if I stay this way."

Elias shrugged and nodded, "I guess so, for now.  I've been thinking about this a while now, though, and I really think I need you to change at some point.  I can't lose you, Jake.  I can't stand the thought of you being a fading memory when I'm two hundred years old."

Cole suddenly looked alarmed and said, "You're gonna get old and die!  So is Mom!  I never really thought of that before!  You need to change and be like us!"

I smiled and said, "It's not gonna happen over night, Cole.  Don't worry about it.  There's lots of time, years even, before we need to make that decision.  It's been on my mind too and I think at some point I'll need to make the change.  I can't look out for you if I get old and feeble anyhow.  Really, it's something I'm looking forward to.  We just need to time it right."

Cole relaxed a bit and said, "OK.  I think Mom should change too."

I chuckled and said, "Good luck convincing her of that.  I agree, though.  If she's willing I don't see why we should leave her behind.  When it feels like the right time we'll broach the subject with her and see how she feels about it."

"So when would be the right time?" Elias asked, "What is it you're waiting for?  Is money the issue?  Couldn't you sell your house?"

"It's our house now, not just mine.  We would all have to make that decision together.  Selling it is certainly an option.  Money is definitely a concern.  If we want to live forever as a family we need money to do that.  I already have a lot of money put away in various investments for my retirement.  More than I'd probably need.  I suppose if we sold the house and invested that money too we'd have enough coming in from interest alone to keep us going provided we kept our lifestyle simple."

"We'd be wolves a lot of the time, Jake.  I've spent a lot of time running around in the woods and even ate most of my meals as a wolf before I met you.  Life doesn't get any simpler than that.  If you stop and think about it the only thing that's really complicating our lives right now is trying to be normal people living in a normal neighborhood in a normal city.  We're not normal and we shouldn't try so hard to be that.  Before I met you I was slowly working my way north.  I had this idea in my head that I would eventually make it to Alaska or northern Canada.  There's a crazy amount of wildlife to eat up there and that's why there's lots of wolf populations still.  How much money would we really need if we only needed to take down a big deer, moose, elk or caribou as a family and gorge once in a while.  All we'd really need is a simple roof over our heads to live in when we're human shaped.  I dreamed of having a little cabin of my own in the woods.  The only problem with that would be how lonely it would be, but now I have you guys so even that problem is gone.  I think it would be an awesome way to live.  We wouldn't be people who occasionally turn into wolves, we'd be wolves who sometimes have to put up with changing back to being humans."

I thought about what he was saying and it made a strange sort of sense.  He might be right.  I might have been looking at the problem the wrong way.  All this time I'd been trying to work out ideas and methods to deal with the complication of them turning into wolves sometimes and how to hide that from the rest of the world while keeping them safe and keeping them as much as possible like normal boys.  It was like I was trying to shoehorn the wolves into a normal human lifestyle they just couldn't fit into naturally.  It actually made more sense to flip it around so it was wolves dealing with the complication of being humans sometimes and try to find a way to help the humans fit into the wolves' natural way of life.  If we lived in a remote area where we could hunt our food then that's exactly how life would be.  We'd just have to deal with the fact that we'd sometimes be hairless apes who need a comfortable shelter to hide in and wait until we would change back to being wolves who are happiest running out in the woods and hunting for their food and living life the way it's supposed to be lived.  All we'd need to realize that simple life would be a cabin somewhere far away from anyone else.  Maybe that should be our ultimate goal.

"I have to admit you're making perfect sense and it sounds tempting," I said, "When you first came into my life, the first time we sat together on the couch downstairs, I remember wondering why I'd accumulated so much crap over the years.  It's like an anchor that weighs you down and holds you where you are and sort of defines and rules your life.  I remember thinking how much simpler your life must be when all you needed to concern yourself about was your next meal and where you should sleep.  It seemed like it must be the ultimate in freedom, even if it wasn't anywhere near the ultimate in comfort.  I guess if we had a nice cozy cabin with no other people around and a buffet of prey in a vast forest to choose from when we're the proper wolf shape to hunt it we'd have the best of both worlds.  I'm not sure if I'd like it way up north, though.  I've never been a fan of the cold.  I bet we could do something similar in Central or South America.  We could live in some nice warm rainforest in an undeveloped area.  We could stretch our money a hell of a lot further down there too to support the human side of our lives.  It's something we should probably sit down and talk about some more as a family."

I noticed as I was talking to Elias that Cole's eyelids had begun to droop a bit.  He yawned and stretched and looked at me and smiled.  He must have come down enough from his ordeal that his tiredness was taking him over.

"I guess you should go to bed now, Cole.  You've been through a lot."

"Do I have to?  I don't want to sleep alone.  Can't I go to bed with you guys this time?"

"I don't think that's a good idea.  Your mom will be home in less than an hour.  She always looks in on you."

"I don't care.  I think it's time she knows.  I don't want to hide it from her any more," Cole said.

"We haven't really been hiding it from her, Cole.  We've just been careful not to rub it in her face.  Remember what she said back before we had the sex talk?  She said if it came to us being intimate she wasn't really opposed to it so long as it was really what you wanted, but she'd probably rather not know.  That's all we've been doing."

"But it's too hard.  I want to sleep with you guys.  I don't want to sleep alone any more.  I don't like how you can just go to bed together and I have to go off to my room when she's home.  It's not right.  I love you guys.  We're gonna be together forever.  It makes no sense for me to have to go to my room alone."

He had a point.  Our relationship over the past month had evolved to where the three of us were equally in love with each other.  The age difference simply didn't matter.  In ten years they'd look exactly the same and I would simply have a few grey hairs.  If I were to change into a werewolf, and I was fairly certain now that it would happen eventually, it would matter even less.  In a thousand years we'd all look just like we do now.  Age would be more or less meaningless then, so why should it have any meaning now?  We'd be locked into the physical ages we are forever.

It wasn't fair to Cole to split him from us every night just to spare Grace's feelings.  She was open minded and it wouldn't take her long to get used to the idea.

I thought back again to what she had said the night I'd asked her permission to give Cole the big sex talk.  She'd indicated she wasn't really against the idea of Cole being intimate with us, but that she just wanted to be sure that it was what he really wanted and not just the sudden explosion of hormones driving him.  It had been a month since we had that discussion.  She's had plenty of time to think about it and Cole has certainly had sufficient time to settle into his new life to know exactly what he wants.

Cole had a traumatic night and I couldn't blame him for not wanting to be alone right now.  He'd almost lost Elias and he likely wanted some reassurance that everything was absolutely OK.  It really wasn't fair for us to send him off to bed by himself while Elias and I go to bed together.  I suppose it would be best to just get it out in the open.  I hoped it wouldn't jeopardize our little family, but it was no good keeping it a secret either.  I guess the time has come to let her know.

I nodded and said, "OK, if you're sure you want to.  It might upset her, though."

"I don't think she'll be upset," Elias said, "She won't be thrilled at first, but once she gets used to the idea she'll be absolutely fine.  I've talked to her a lot about her past and the experiences she had when she was little and she really loved some of them.  I never went so far as to tell her what's been happening between the three of us but I think she's got a clue even though she hasn't said anything or asked about it.  She knows there aren't really any other options for Cole going forward and it makes no sense to deny him.  In the end all she wants is for Cole to be happy and I think she trusts us to make sure he's as happy as he can be."

"Nobody could be happier than me!" Cole exclaimed.

I chuckled and said, "Oh yeah?  I might be."

Elias laughed and said, "Me too."

Cole chuckled and said, "OK, so we're all happy.  How can that be wrong?

"Nobody said it was wrong, just that it might be a bit hard for your mom to handle at first.  It's been just you and her for so long.  Now it might feel more like it's the three of us, and she's off on her own.  You won't be her little boy any more.  We'll need to make sure she realizes she's an important part of this family and we all care about her and she'll always be loved.  I think you're right, though.  It's time for her to know."

Cole smiled and got up from the table and ran up the stairs towards the bedroom while shouting, "Come on, then.  Let's go to bed!"

Elias got up and ran after him and I followed.

When I got to the bedroom Cole was already in the middle of the bed.  Elias was growling and pulling the boy's socks off with his teeth as if he were a wolf and Cole laughed as he pulled his own t-shirt up over his head and off and threw it on the floor.

I closed the door and proceeded to strip down while I watched Elias take Cole's pants off and then start to rub his face against his rock hard cock inside his underwear before grabbing the sides of them and slipping them down his legs.  Cole smiled and spread his legs wide and Elias moved into position between his legs and went down on him.  He greedily sucked Cole's cock into his mouth and moaned as he began to bob his head up and down on the stiff tool.

I enjoyed the show while I finished undressing then as I got onto the bed to join them Elias got off and began to take his clothes off.

I rolled onto my back and Cole climbed onto me and grabbed me around my neck and kissed me while he rubbed his hard cock against my furry belly.  I put my left hand behind his head and jammed my tongue into his mouth and he began to moan as he sucked on it.  My right hand slid down and settled at the small of his back and I pulled him harder into me as he continued to pump his hips and grind his cock against me.

I suddenly felt Elias's mouth suck my cock in and begin to work it while he took hold of my big sack and gently fondled my balls.  I moaned into Cole's mouth and then he pulled his face away from mine and sat up.  He scooched his butt forward and he lifted my head up and put a couple of pillows under it to keep it up, then he moved more forward and he thrust his cock into my drooling mouth and groaned as I sucked him in.  He put his two hands on top of my head and began to hump at my face.  I love when Cole gets assertive and takes control and I nearly popped into Elias's mouth as he continued to suck my thick cock while my level of arousal went through the roof.  Just as I felt the start of my orgasm already building, Elias's mouth went off my cock.  I felt him moving further up the bed with his knees on either side of me and I heard him start moaning at the same time that Cole groaned louder and began to move his butt further back before slamming his cock hard into my mouth again.  Elias must be tonguing his asshole and playing with his nuts to give him more sensations to work with but I couldn't see anything past the warm, smooth, flat belly that was slamming into my face over and over.

Cole's breathing began to get shorter and faster as the rhythm of his bucking increased, but his cock suddenly left my mouth and I saw Elias's hands on his hips, pulling him back.  He came up and wrapped his arms around Cole and kissed his neck and then he said, "I want you inside me.  I want my hero to fuck my ass.  Turn around."

Cole moved off me and turned around and then straddled my head again while Elias turned himself and got into the sixty nine position with me.  His beautiful cock hovered over my mouth and I watched as Cole moved into position and pushed his cock against Elias's hole.  He grunted and pushed and his cock popped in and he smoothly pushed the whole thing into Elias's rectum as he moaned.  He immediately began to pick up speed again and I watched, enamored, as he thrust his cock into Elias over and over again.

Elias's mouth went back on to my cock and he slowly lowered his hips to push his cock into my mouth as Cole followed him down, humping away at him.

I put my hand on the small of Elias's back and pulled him harder into me as I sucked his cock right down to the root and began to pull my head back into the pillows and push it back up onto his cock.  Elias moaned at the sensation and he began to play with my nuts again while he increased the frequency of his sucking on my cock.

I reached up with my other hand behind Cole and began to play with his balls and finger his hole as he humped harder and harder at Elias's ass.

Once again Cole's breathing became shorter and faster as he started to gasp from his orgasm rapidly boiling up until finally he groaned and slammed hard into Elias and held it for a second before pulling his hips back and slamming them forward again, grunting each time as he shot a volley of cum into Elias.  I was so turned on by the sight as I looked up between Cole's legs as he drove himself into Elias as hard as he could while Elias's big balls repeatedly bumped against my nose.  I moaned and increased the suction as I worked Elias's cock harder with my mouth and my toes curled up as my orgasm crashed into me.  My nuts tightened up and I shot a wad of cum into Elias's mouth and he moaned and suddenly jammed his hips down onto my face hard and I felt the first squirt as his orgasm hit him and he shot into my mouth.

All three of us moaned and groaned as we road our orgasms until finally we'd shot everything we had and we slowed to a stop and just held our positions for a bit before finally pulling out and collapsing onto the bed.

Elias turned around and crawled up and Cole settled in between us.

"I love you guys so much," Cole said, "I'm glad we can be like this always now."

The three of us held each other for a while and kissed softly and caressed each other until finally the sleepiness of the boys began to overcome them.  Elias pulled Cole over him to the other side and turned him so he could spoon against the boy's back and I spooned in tightly against Elias.

In no time I heard Cole snoring lightly and Elias's breathing became deeper and more rhythmic as he drifted off as well.

I stayed and held them for a short time, thinking about how close we'd come to losing Elias.  It was reassuring to feel the warmth of his body against mine.

After a while longer I gently extricated myself and covered them both up with a blanket.

I got dressed and headed out to the kitchen to make two big cups of coffee.

Grace would be home in minutes and I didn't think it was fair to have her come in and check on Cole only to find his bed empty.  She would likely know what was going on but she would be forced to just go off to her room and think about it on her own.

I felt it would be better if I talked to her directly about it, but only if she seemed to want to discuss it.  She'd said she would rather not know, but at this point it was impossible for her not to know.  It would be right under her nose.  It just seemed better to have a talk with her right away and give her the chance to tell me how she felt about it.

Before I'd even taken my first sip of coffee I heard the beeping of the lock at the back door.  She was home.

I braced myself for the encounter.

***

If you enjoyed this story and would like to read more from the author please look in the Gay/Adult-Youth section at Nifty.org for...

The Patriarch -  The ongoing adventures of a man, possibly the only one remaining in the world, and the young boy he takes under his wing as they travel through a world where the majority of the human race has been wiped out by a plague.  The disease's lethality was linked to sexual maturity killing the adults and leaving the earth's children to fend for themselves.

The Sock Thief - The heart warming story of how a humorous encounter brought about by a fetish not only leads to unexpectedly wild sex between a man and a teenage boy, but also changes their lives in a way neither could have foreseen.

Bang the Drummer - The story of a submissive man who uses his video game skills to win the right to be properly used by some neighbors.

Predators - The story of a man who enjoys a hobby of luring teenage boys in for a bit of innocent exploration in the woods.

or check the Gay/SF-Fantasy section for...

Favors of the First Ones -  The story of an ordinary man who's life is near its natural end, but who suddenly finds himself, at the moment of the unexpected destruction of his world, the victim of an alien abduction with a bizarre motive, that ultimately opens the entire universe to him and propels him into a life of adventure that he'd never imagined was even possible.  He eventually finds himself thrust front and center into events that could, both figuratively and quite literally, change the shape of the entire known universe.

The Hawthorne Accord -  The adventures of a teenage boy who is rescued from a cruel fate in his home village by a friend, but ultimately finds himself on his own and hunted in a world that is being ravaged by brutal race wars between the humans and three races of monsters: kobolds, orcs and ogres.  He discovers in his travels that the world is not quite entirely the way he'd thought it was and that even a single teenage boy can make a difference in the fate of entire races, including his own.

James and the Giant Perv -  A humorous modern fairy tale involving three teenage boys, some "beans", a very tall pervert who dwells in his own kingdom in the clouds, and the various interesting ways they find to enjoy each other sexually.

James and the Giant Christmas -  Another story involving the three boys and the loveable giant they'd befriended, except this time it's Christmas why not?


Feedback is the fuel for the author's engine.  All comments are much appreciated even if they say nothing more than "Liked it, thanks." or "Hated it, don't go there again."

Thank you,

JakeXtraTall@gmail.com


The Nifty Archive is an incredible source of wonderful stories that provides so many of us with countless hours of entertainment. If you enjoyed this story I would greatly appreciate if you would do your part and donate something to the site to help cover the cost of running the archive.

http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html