What follows is a work of complete fiction.

This story begins with a fairly standard and often used homosexual theme involving sex between a grown man and a homeless teenage boy he tries to help out.  It will start with a very intimate encounter between the two and then will take a turn for the furry and will alternate between human/human human/furry and furry/furry at random.  Any of you freaks who have something against sex between intelligent, loving, horny, furry creatures and people should stay away and leave those of us who are normal and who like that sort of thing to our innocent fantasies.  :)   Keep in mind that none of this is real and has not nor would not ever happen, and some may not even be physically possible.  It is simply a sexual fantasy.

If this is not the type of story you would enjoy, please stop reading now.

If there is any reason legal or otherwise why you should not read such a story, please stop reading now.

If you are the type of person who has any difficulty whatsoever separating fantasy from reality, please stop reading now.

The events depicted in these stories have not happened, and will not ever happen. No one should ever attempt to replicate them in any way in real life. These events are a work of fantasy for the enjoyment of those with a healthy mind who have no problem keeping them in the realm of imagination. I have never attempted, nor would I attempt, any such acts myself and as such I am likely to get some details completely wrong. One thing I am certain of is that in real life, young boys would NOT appreciate this sort of thing being done to them and they are INCAPABLE of giving informed consent to allow these things to be done to them. If you ever even consider attempting these acts in real life then you should immediately seek help.

Children are wonderful innocent little people. If there are any in your life I would appreciate if you would consider it your duty to shelter them from any of the sorts of ideas presented in this story. Let them grow up without the knowledge that anyone even thinks this way. Let them become the excellent men and women they are destined to be without knowing these thoughts exist until they are adults and old enough to decide for them selves what they like to fantasize about. Respect them, protect them, and defend them from anyone who may seek to harm them in any way, and most of all just let them be kids.

That said if you are still reading I do hope you enjoy the story.

This story is the property of the author and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any way without my express, written consent. Nifty.org has my express consent.

Look for more of my stories under the pseudonym JakeXtraTall at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/authors.html#JakeXtraTall

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Love and Lycanthropy - Chapter 6

I stayed in the woods for most of the night with Elias and Cole.  The new wolf was testing not only his own limits, but those of Elias and me as well.  Anytime Elias showed signs of getting tired from the game of chase and would come over to me to lay down and rest, the smaller wolf would come over and start prodding at him, then growling and nipping at him until finally he'd coax Elias to get up and chase him around again.  I'd take over once in a while to give Elias a break, but I wasn't much of a challenge for Cole.

We switched to playing hide and seek for a while.  I'd tell Cole to lie down and put his paws over his eyes, then I'd rush off into the woods to hide.  I'd do my best to circle around and zig zag to try to leave a confusing trail, then I'd pick a tree to climb up and wait.  After a long count, Elias would bark at Cole to let him know it was time to seek.  Cole would begin to sniff around and then come into the woods, hunting for me.  Elias would follow him as he searched.  The instincts of the wolf were perfect of course, and Cole had no trouble using his heightened sense of smell to find me over and over again.  He absolutely loved the game and kept wanting to try again.

At long last the sky began to lighten up again.  Dawn was not much more than an hour away.

"OK, Cole, the sun's gonna come up soon.  We need to head home so you can change back into a boy," I said.

He whined as he came over to me.

"Don't be sad, you'll be a wolf again a little while after the sun goes down again tonight.  You'll change every night for a while."

His tail wagged and he yipped.  I chuckled and shook my head.  I went over to Elias and knelt and wrapped my arms around his neck, "I love you.  I'll see you home in a bit.  I want you to come with me to Cole's house.  I think it will help if you can explain to his mom that you've been like this for three years and you're still a perfectly happy guy."

The massive wolf nodded and I stood and led Cole-wolf back through the woods to where I'd locked my bike.  I walked it back out to the trail and got on and he followed as I rode back to my truck that was parked up on the road.  I asked him to hang back in the trees as I unlocked the tonneau cover and put my bike in the truck bed.  My truck is a heavy duty crew cab and has full sized doors for the back seat.  I popped the door open and beckoned at the trees.  The wolf that was Cole popped out and ran towards the truck and hopped into the back.  He just barely fit as he lay down along the bench seat.  I made sure his tail was inside and I shut the door.

We drove the short way home without incident and I parked in the garage and opened the door for Cole and he got out.  We went into the house and I kicked off my shoes and followed him as he raced into the kitchen.  He immediately started sniffing around excitedly and moving around the main floor and I continued to follow him, switching on the lights in the dark house as he worked his way into the front room.  He sniffed at the carpet and the couch and he must have smelled Elias and me there.  He suddenly lifted his leg as though he were going to squirt on the couch to add his own smell and I yelled, "Hey!  Stop that!"

He looked at me sheepishly as he brought his leg down.

"You need to control the instincts of the wolf better, Cole.  Do not pee on the furniture please, no matter how strong the urge to mark might be."

He nodded and whined his apology.

"Come on, I'll show you the room where you're going to change back into a boy."

I led him upstairs to the small room that had been converted to a panic room.

"We rigged this door so that it swings both ways.  You can push it open to go in when you're a wolf," I said.

He pushed on the door and walked in and I followed.  I switched on the lights.  They were the only electrical thing that was working in here so far.  When the whole system was installed and activated, the lights would come on automatically when anyone entered the room.

Cole sniffed around, but didn't seem to find it too interesting.  Elias and I hadn't spent any time in here yet, and the construction workers normally wore covers over their feet so they could take them off as they left the room and not track their construction dust through the house.  It probably smelled pretty boring in here.

Cole turned to face me and sat in the middle of the floor, panting a little with his wide, pink tongue hanging out, and wagging his tail.  Now that I saw him in such good light, I noticed for the first time that he didn't quite look the same as Elias.  He looked more like a cub who was almost, but not quite, fully grown.  It made sense I suppose, since he's only eleven in human form.  His paws looked too big for his body.  They were large and heavy.  His legs looked just a bit thicker than the correct proportion would be.  The ruff around his neck was not nearly as big as Elias's.  His fur overall looked sort of finer, fuzzier and softer, and not nearly as full and shaggy or wolf-like as Elias's.  His ears were a bit too big for his head, too, as were his big blue eyes, and his muzzle was just a bit shorter and wider than a full grown wolf would have.  Elias looked like a pretty much full grown wolf, but Cole looked like he was still in the process of leaving his cubhood behind him and working towards growing up completely.  He looked absolutely adorable.

I smiled at him and said, "You look fantastic, Cole.  We don't really have time right now but I'm gonna take some pictures of you next time you change so you can see yourself.  You're the cutest damn wolf I've ever seen in my life."

He yipped and wagged his tail more and got up and hopped his front paws up onto my shoulders and began to lick my face as I laughed and scratched at his neck and behind his ears.

"I wasn't giving you compliments just to get kisses out of you, but thanks, I appreciate it," I chuckled.

He got back down on all fours and than sat again, still wagging his tail.  I looked at my watch and saw there was still over half an hour before sunrise.  I realized I'd forgotten to bring Cole's clothes in from the truck, so I asked him to wait in the room while I went to get them.  I went back downstairs and out to the garage and got his clothes from the truck, and I grabbed a couple of wooden wedges I had in the garage that I could use to wedge the panic room door shut.

I went back upstairs and dropped the wedges just outside the door, then went into the room, but it was empty.  Cole wasn't there.  My heart jumped and I went back out into the hallway and shouted his name.  He hadn't passed me earlier so he still had to be upstairs here somewhere.  The only door that was open was the master bedroom, so I ran in there and turned on the light.  He wasn't there either.  Then I heard splashing coming from the master bath and I went over to the bathroom and looked in.  There was Cole, drinking out of the toilet.

I flicked on the light and shouted, "Hey!  That's dirty!  Stop it!"

Cole got startled and jumped and spun to to look at me, spraying toilet water from his muzzle around the room, and then he put his tail between his legs and looked at me guiltily.  I realized right away the poor kid was probably dying of thirst.  He'd been running and panting almost non-stop all night long.  I was so frazzled by all of this it never occurred to me that he wouldn't be able to deal with his thirst himself.  I should have thought to give him some water first thing.

I said, "I'm really sorry, buddy.  I should have known you would be thirsty.  I feel like an ass.  Go back to the panic room and I'll go get you a bowl of clean water.  You can drink as much as you need."

He wagged his tail again and got up and followed me back out into the hall, then he went into the panic room as I went back to the kitchen and filled a large metal mixing bowl with water.  I brought it back upstairs and set in on the floor for Cole.  He immediately ran to it and began to greedily lap at it, splashing water all over the floor in his rush to get it in his belly.

"Take it easy.  You don't want to drink so much that you vomit it back up."

He slowed down, but kept going until his thirst felt slaked.

"I'm sorry, Cole.  I should have thought to give you water first thing.  We're gonna need to work out some sort of system so you can ask for things when you need them and you're in wolf form."

He wagged his tail and he came up and licked my hand by way of saying everything was OK and I was forgiven.

I chuckled and said, "Don't use that tongue on me, it's been in the toilet!"

He growled and jumped up again to put his paws on my shoulder and started licking all over my face while his tail wagged and I laughed.

I pushed him off and I went and sat on the small sofa that doubled as a pull-out day bed.  It was the only piece of furniture in the room other than a small table in the corner.  The rest was simply open floor covered with a thick, deep pile rug that would be comfortable for a giant wolf to curl up on.  The small table had one of the Tasers on it, charging and ready for use.  A large can of bear spray was there too.  It occurred to me that I should probably 'Cole proof' the house.  He would be sorely tempted by the cool looking weapons.  He might be spending a lot of time here while Elias taught him the ins and outs of being a werewolf, assuming his mother would permit it.

Cole came over and sat in front of me and wagged his tail again.

"You're gonna change back in a bit less than fifteen minutes, so I'm gonna leave soon, OK?"

He whined and shook his head.  He seemed to tense up at the memory of the pain he'd gone through and he suddenly wasn't looking forward to going through it again.  He got up and walked over to me, then sat again and put his head in my lap and whined longer and louder.  I noticed he was starting to shake, and before long he was panting again from the heat his tremors were generating under all that fur.  I felt horrible for him.  He shouldn't have to go through this, and he was scared to be left alone again.

I scratched at the top of his head and behind his ears and said, "I'm so sorry, Cole.  I know this is hard for you.  It's not fair that you have to go through this alone, but you would kill me if I stayed with you."

He whined again and the shaking increased.  I wished there was some way I could help him through this.

I suddenly remembered the shark suit I'd ordered the first day Elias had come back.  It had taken them nearly a month to make it for me.  It had arrived a couple of weeks ago.  I'd tried it on for fit and found that it was OK, which wasn't surprising considering I'd given them my dimensions, then I'd put it away and forgot about it.  I never thought I'd have a use for the thing but had bought it just in case.  It would be risky to use it now, but in all fairness I couldn't leave Cole alone during this change.  He would get used to it eventually, but right now he was a scared little boy in a wolf's body who knew he was about to get hit by the worst pain of his life again and he didn't want to be alone.  Elias and I were responsible for this happening to him.  I had to do everything in my power to help him through it.

"Wait here, Cole, I'll come right back."

He whined and whimpered loudly and my heart broke at the sound.  He was really scared.

"Come with me then.  I'm not gonna leave you alone, don't worry.  I just want to get something that will let me stay in here with you, at least for the first part of the change, so you won't have to be alone."

He followed me out the door and into the hallway and I went to the closet where I'd put the suit.  I quickly pulled off my shorts and left them on the floor, but kept my briefs and t-shirt on as the suit should fit over them no problem.  I slipped into the suit and fastened it up.  It was made of strong chain mail that covered every inch of me, except my face.  The double-weave was designed to not let a sharp tooth puncture the suit, but rather to disperse the pressure as much as possible.  It even had a hard shell of laminated polycarbonate inside the front half of the neck to prevent a bite from crushing my windpipe.  I might get bruised badly if he tried to bite my arms or legs, but he shouldn't be able to break the skin.  It had a helmet that the suit fastened tightly to, and the helmet had a tough visor that could be pulled down and latched to protect my face.  The helmet and visor were made out of laminated, bullet-proof, polycarbonate plastic as well.  I wasn't entirely sure that the suit would work as we'd never tested it, and I couldn't exactly ask the manufacturers if they felt it could stop a raging werewolf, but since it was designed to stop killer sharks it should do the job.

I would only stay with Cole until he started to lose himself and would forget who I was and would start to become dangerous.  I had a pretty good idea when that shift would happen from watching the video of Elias's change earlier.  I should be able to get out safely before he can lay into me.  It would be risky to use the suit, but seeing how scared the poor little guy was I couldn't bring myself to leave him alone to deal with it if there was another option.  The suit would definitely keep him from killing me.  The worst that could happen is he might still manage to work a tooth through the mail and break the skin.  It seemed unlikely, but if he did manage, I would probably get his saliva in me and I would change.

I briefly thought how that wouldn't be such a bad thing really.  At least that way I would be a wolf along with the boys and we could all look out for each other.  It just seemed better to have one of us stay normal, to handle unexpected contingencies, like what we did to Cole tonight.  It would be better if I didn't become a werewolf.  Besides, I couldn't subject myself to something like that without thinking long and hard about it, and talking to Elias about it too as it would affect him.  If it happened right now it might be dangerous anyhow.  Since he'd be biting me as the sun was rising I wasn't sure what would happen.  Chances are I'd be cursed but wouldn't change until the night, but I didn't know that for certain.  Maybe I'd start to change toward the wolf shape as the infection burned into my body and then change right back to human.  Cole would be done his change and be a helpless little boy while my change was just getting started and I would likely tear him to bits as I morphed into a near-wolf, then right back into a man.

I'd have to be really careful and watch him closely as he changes so I can jump out of the room and wedge the door shut as soon as he seems the least bit threatening, to ensure there was no chance of getting bit.

I thumped my way back into the panic room dressed in full chain mail, and Cole followed.  I went over to the couch and fell into it.  The suit wasn't super heavy, but it was a lot heavier than clothes would be.  It was a bit awkward with all the extra weight hanging out at the ends of my arms and legs from the chain mail gloves and booties that covered my hands and feet, and it felt very strange.  Cole sat on the floor in front of me and looked me up and down, then cocked his cute, giant wolf cub head sideways.  It looked comical, like he was essentially saying in doggy language, "What the fuck?"

I laughed and said, "I look awesome, don't I?  I bet you never saw a real life suit of armor before.  I bought this for when I play World of Warcraft so it would feel like I was really there.  I still need to get a cape and a tabard but it's a start.  Luckily my class doesn't get to wear plate or I'd barely be able to move at all."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head at the lame joke.  At least he'd temporarily forgotten to be nervous and the shaking had stopped.

"Check it out, put your jaws on me and try to bite, just not too hard or you might bruise me," I said as I lifted an arm out in front of him.

He opened his jaws and clamped down on the arm.  He was holding me tight.  I tried wiggling my arm around to see if the mail would give, but it was fine.  It didn't even hurt.

"Try a bit harder, I'm curious."

He clamped down much harder and I immediately felt the pressure ramp up to where it felt like the bone in my arm might break.  He had incredibly strong jaws.  I pulled and pushed hard but again the suit held.  It was starting to hurt so I asked him to let up and he did.  I examined the arm and couldn't even see any dents where his teeth had made contact.  The suit had been very expensive, but it seemed I really got what I'd paid for.  I was impressed.

Suddenly Cole yelped and jerked slightly.  Then he looked at me and I saw him start to shake again.  He grunted and his head went down once more, then he looked at me again and whined.  It was starting.

I slid off the couch onto the floor and said, "Lie down.  Put your head here, Cole."

I indicated my lap and he lay down and on his side with his head across my legs.  I started to stroke his side and the top of his head.

"It will only hurt for a minute or two, Cole.  I promise.  It'll be over before you know it.  You're a tough guy and I know you can do this.  Hang in there, buddy."

The shaking seemed to ease off a bit and his tail thumped a couple of times against the floor, then he suddenly tensed and another spasm hit him.  He whined more and began to wiggle a bit like he was trying to find a position that would hurt less, but it was only going to get worse.  My heart began to break at the thought of this innocent little kid going through this shit because of me and Elias.

"I'm so sorry, Cole.  I wish I could make it not hurt for you.  I wish this hadn't happened to you."

The sound of my voice seemed to calm him slightly and I continued to speak as I held him and stroked him.

"You're such a great little man.  I don't think I could handle this but I know you can.  When this is all over, I'll let you kick me in the junk for doing this to you.  I'll keep the suit on though."

He made an odd coughing sound like he was laughing as his tail thumped a couple of more times, then he suddenly jerked violently and curled up and I felt something moving under my hands as I stroked him.  I saw his skin begin to bulge in spots and I even heard some horrible crunching sounds as bones began to shrink again and joints moved around and his rib cage widened while becoming shallower front to back.  His fur began to take on a strangely wiry feeling as it began to stiffen while it shortened.  He was beginning to change fast.

"Can you hear me, Cole?  You're doing great.  It won't be long now, buddy."

He whimpered and then the sound cut off as his neck and head began to change shape dramatically.  His forehead began to bulge as his muzzle began to shrink into his face.  This was it.  It was around the point when Elias stopped making sounds that I could tell he'd gone out of himself.  The brain inside the rapidly changing skull must be going through hell and it was unable to think clearly or make memories now.  I pulled the visor down on my helmet and locked it in place to protect my face and I carefully extricated myself from under Cole and crawled over towards the door.  I stopped and turned.

He was thrashing more violently now and his back legs were suddenly moving to stretch out behind him much further back than should be possible for a wolf.  His hips were rearranging themselves to give him the normal upright gait of a human.  It suddenly occurred to me as I watched that I was likely not going to be in any danger at all.  When Elias had change into a wolf, he'd ended in the massive, dangerous wolf shape while still not fully back to himself, and he was able to do a lot of damage to Cole and would have killed him if the boy hadn't thought to go up the tree.  In this case, Cole was going to end in the relatively harmless shape of a small boy.  He might still rage against me, but he certainly wouldn't be hard to control, and his little boy teeth would sure as hell be no match for the chain mail.  I decided to stay in the room and be with him through the whole thing.

I moved closer to him, but I didn't touch him.  He was so far gone now I thought it might cause him even more pain if anything came in contact with his rapidly morphing body.  I watched as the stiff hair grew shorter and shorter and it seemed to be retracting right into his dark skin, which began to slowly lighten.  His ears began to change to a more rounded shape and turned on the skull to move towards their proper positions on the sides of his head.  His tail was naked of fur now and it began to get shorter as it was absorbed back into his body.  His hands and feet seemed to be getting the worst of the change.  I could hear a wet, crunching sort of sound coming from the bones as the joints popped and moved and the bones of the paws became longer and more spread out to form fingers and a hand.  His feet were doing the same.  It must be horribly painful, but even though the not-quite-human face had the mouth open and looked to be screaming, no sound came out.

My heart ached and tears welled in my eyes as I watched the poor boy's body get run through the grinder.  He was shrinking quite steadily as all of the changes were happening and he was close to the size of the eleven year old boy now.  It wouldn't be much longer.  I heard him moan and then he cried out as he started to gain his voice back.  He blinked and looked at me and started to look confused, then angry.  He was almost done and he was becoming conscious enough to be enraged at the pain.

"You're almost done, Cole.  Hold on, little man."

He writhed a bit then rolled onto his stomach and tried to get up on his knees.

I heard him groan and then he turned his head to look at me and it was like he wanted to kill me.  His face went dark and he frowned at me and the corners of his mouth turned down as he sort of growled with what was left of the wolf in him.  He was enraged and he didn't recognize me, but it was as if he knew it was my fault that this was happening to him.  He stared at me in a murdering rage.  The look was totally unsettling coming from a little kid who looked like a bald and naked proto-human.  I stayed still and didn't do anything that might make him even more angry with me.

"I'm so sorry," was all I could say as a few tears slipped down my cheeks.

His look softened.  It was like he realized I was feeling bad for him, then he jerked and cried out as another violent spasm hit him and I heard the pop of several joints landing into their final positions.  His head hung down and I saw his soft, black hair begin to grow out of it incredibly rapidly.  He held the position as I watched his muscles rapidly take shape on his frame.  Finally he rolled over into a sitting position with his back against the couch, breathing heavily.

I pulled my helmet off and threw it aside and pulled the gloves off and dropped them on the floor.  I quickly went over to sit next to him and support him.  He was still jerking and twitching, but he was almost completely done.  The transition was amazing.  His skin was smooth and supple and human again.  He was a fit, healthy, eleven year old boy.

He leaned against me and put an arm out across my chest and held on to me as the last of the pain began to fade.  I stroked his soft, black hair, kissed the top of his head and said, "You made it.  You did great, Cole.  I'm really proud of you."

He held me for a bit, then suddenly sat upright and looked up at me and smiled.  The change was so abrupt it was shocking.

A single tear slipped down his cheek as he grinned at me and then he said, "You stayed with me!  Thanks, Jake, it really helped."

"It was the least I could do for you," I said, "I wish I could have taken the pain for you instead."

"It wasn't so bad," he said, still smiling, "It hurt a lot, but not for long.  I was really scared, but you were there at the start and the end and I heard you talking to me and I knew it would be over soon.  I think next time it'll be even easier.  It's over really fast, so I think I can get used to it."

I couldn't believe he was smiling after all that.

"You're amazing, Cole.  I can't believe you would take it so well.  You're a hell of a tough kid."

He shrugged and said, "I feel great now.  I don't think I ever felt so good."

He stood up and I noticed immediately that he didn't quite look the same.  He was the same boy, of course.  His height hadn't changed and his hair was exactly the same color and he still had the same face.  He just looked much healthier.  The sort of thin, frail look he'd had was gone.  He even looked a bit more fit than a regular boy of his age would look.  His muscles where nicely developed and he had the posture of an athlete.  He looked down at himself and then looked at me with a start.

"Something's wrong with my wiener!" he said.

I looked, but didn't see anything wrong.  In fact, it was incredibly plump and long for an eleven year old kid.  It looked great.  He was uncut and had a healthy amount of foreskin covering the head and the hole at the tip looked large enough for the skin to retract back completely already.  His balls were much bigger than I would expect too.  He looked like a healthy boy fast approaching the end of puberty.  He looked fantastic.  He was well endowed.

I wondered if that was what he was talking about.  Maybe being a werewolf somehow affected him there.  Elias was certainly well endowed, so it made sense that Cole would be too if it had something to do with the 'curse'.  I loved Elias's big balls, and his penis was about average size for a full grown man even though he had the body of a fourteen year old.  Maybe it had affected Cole in the same way.

"What do you mean, Cole?  It looks awesome to me.  I don't see anything wrong with it at all."

"The tip!  There's something wrong.  It doesn't look right!"

It suddenly occurred to me what exactly he was on about.  He must have been circumcised before.  Elias said that the change from wolf back to boy wasn't like rewinding a video back to the way he'd been, it was more like growing from scratch inside himself following the original plan of his body.  Cole would have regrown his foreskin even though it had been taken from him before!

"Do you mean your foreskin?  Did you not have that before?" I asked.

"No, the tip looked way different.  Is that what that skin on the end is called, foreskin?  This is so weird looking," he complained.

"It really looks absolutely fantastic to me, like I said.  Foreskin makes it look natural and better.  Believe it or not you had that when you were born.  Someone cut it off when you were just a baby."

"What?!  Why?"

"It depends.  It could be religious reasons or just for reasons of hygiene, or maybe they think it looks better, which just isn't so if you ask me.  Whatever the reason, it's wrong to cut it off as far as I'm concerned.  Mine's gone too but I wish I still had it.  I wish mine was like yours.  It looks so great."

"Really?  Why do you like it so much?"

I thought briefly about why I liked it so much.  I just love all things natural I guess.  That's why I prefer guys who don't wear cologne or aftershave or antiperspirant or deodorant or use excessive amounts of scented soap.  Stay clean enough, but smell like a man, not a fucking flowerpot.  I hate artificial and I love natural.  I love a natural cock versus one that's been mutilated.  Cole's cock looked terrific.

I suddenly realized I'd become completely erect inside my chain mail suit as I'd been studying his fantastic package.  This was not an entirely appropriate state to be in around an eleven year old boy.  I tried to think about other things to get it to go down, but it was hard with this beautiful little guy standing here in front of me.

"We don't need to get into that.  You're too young for that discussion.  Just don't worry about it.  Trust me when I say it's absolutely perfect the way it is.  A lot better than it was before, even.  You look beautiful.  I don't have a foreskin myself, like I said, so I can't advise you on the proper care and feeding of it.  You'll need to make sure you clean yourself more carefully there.  You're old enough that you'll probably be able to pull it back so it looks more like it used to, but the head will be a lot more sensitive.  It can get dirty under the skin so you need to keep it clean.  Just be gentle with it.  It's there to protect the head of your penis.  You can have a talk with Elias about it.  He has one too."

"OK."

He looked himself over more and suddenly lifted one leg, then the other, then he hopped up and down a couple of times.

He looked up at me again and grinned, "I don't believe it!  My leg works!"

I smiled at him as he started jumping up and down on the spot, crouching lower and jumping higher each time.  Whatever injury he'd had would be gone too as his body regrew from scratch.  It occurred to me that his bad leg might have been the reason for his overall frail look.  He wouldn't be getting out and running around getting exercise like most kids, so he probably was wasting away a bit from inactivity.  His body regrew the way a healthy body would, though he still looked a bit better built to me than an average kid his age.  His penis was flapping up and down along with his jumping and it was doing me no good.  He needed to get his clothes on and get the temptation out of my sight.

"I think you should get dressed now, Cole.  I'll just get out of this armor and go make us something to eat."

I stood and undid the shark suit and stepped out of the bottom half and then removed the tunic and dropped it on the floor and moved to go out into the hall to get my shorts.

He grinned at me, and before I could exit the room, he ran up and jumped at me and I caught him in my arms.  He held his little naked body tight to mine and wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist and hugged me hard.  I grabbed him just under his little butt to lift him up high enough to make sure he didn't rub against my hard cock.  This was getting more inappropriate by the minute and I needed to extricate myself from this situation quickly.

"Thanks so much, Jake!  I've never felt so good in my life!  I'm so glad I changed!  This is so great!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm.

I chuckled and patted his back.  He still wasn't thinking far enough into the future to realize just how badly we'd fucked his life up.  To him it was all great.  I suddenly realized he really didn't know exactly what this meant yet.  He wasn't aware yet that he was stuck at this age forever now.

I set him back down on the floor and said, "Don't thank me yet.  Give it some time.  You might not be so happy with all of this after a while.  We need to have a long talk about what this means to you.  What time does your mom get home?"

"Not usually until around eight in the morning," he said.

We still had lots of time.  "OK, get your clothes on.  I'm gonna make us some breakfast and we're gonna talk.  I want you to understand what all of this means before we go and talk to your mother."

He nodded and went and got his little briefs and stepped into them.  I took one last look at his nice package before it got covered up again as he pulled his underwear up.  I went out in the hall and picked up my shorts and put them on while he dressed.  I waited for him to come out into the hallway and I led him back downstairs to the kitchen.  I showed him where the bathroom was and he broke and ran for it immediately while I turned to making our breakfast.  I made enough for three of us.  Elias would be home soon and he wouldn't be going straight to bed this time.  I wanted him here to talk to Cole with me.  Nobody knew better than Elias just how Cole's life was going to be now.

I was just finishing up the cooking when I heard the beeping of the lock on the back door.  Elias came in to the house, took off his shoes, and walked into the kitchen.  He came straight to me and slipped into my arms and kissed me, then put his arms around my neck and just held me.

"I fucked up so bad," he said, and I could hear the pain of it in his voice.

"No, don't beat yourself up.  We both should have been more careful.  We shouldn't have been taking it so lightly, making videos and screwing around so close to the bike paths.  There shouldn't have been anyone out there at that time, but it was still a stupid risk, and now Cole's the one to pay for it."

"How is he?" Elias asked as he pulled away and went to get plates and drinking glasses.

"He's amazingly great.  He really is.  He's in the bathroom right now.  He came through it like a champ.  He's thrilled with it all.  He doesn't get it yet, though.  We need to explain what it really means for him.  Right now he thinks it's the greatest thing that could have happened to him.  He's over the moon.  Remember the limp he had?"

Elias nodded and said, "It's gone, isn't it?"

I nodded and smiled, "He's bouncing around like a basketball player now.  He looks amazing.  He was so thin before and now he looks like a well trained athlete.  Sort of like you.  That was one good thing that came of this I guess.  He can run again.  He was a bit surprised about his cock though.  He wasn't expecting to get his foreskin back."

Elias chuckled and asked, "Does his junk look unusually big?  Mine was bigger after the first time I changed.  It was almost like something I'd been exposed to had affected it in my normal life, but that effect was gone when I regrew inside myself and my privates grew to the size they were supposed to be."

I nodded and said, "Maybe that's it.  I remember some theories going around a while back about some chemicals in preservatives and stuff having some female hormone-like effects that might keep male genitals from developing as fully as they should, and even causing girls to reach puberty earlier than they should while delaying the onset of puberty in boys as well as making it take longer for them to finish.  His junk looks absolutely great anyways."

"Did he go though it all in the panic room?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I was in there with him when he changed.  I couldn't bring myself to leave him alone."

"What?!  Are you crazy?  He could have killed you, or changed you into one of us!  Why the fuck would you do that?!"

I was taken aback by his sudden anger, but I realized he was just concerned for my safety.

"It's OK, Elias.  You weren't there.  I was, and I saw it would work.  I was wearing the shark suit and helmet and had the visor down.  I realized half way into the change that I probably didn't really need it at all.  He was changing from a dangerous form under control, to a fairly harmless form out of control.  He couldn't have really hurt me at the point where he was enraged."

Elias thought about it a bit and then said, "That makes sense.  I never really thought it through.  He's just a little kid and since the rage happens near the end, when he's the shape of a boy, he couldn't do much to hurt you.  It would still be dangerous if he bit you though if he wasn't fully a boy yet."

I nodded, "Yeah.  The surprising thing was that he looked like he was going to go into a rage, then he suddenly calmed down when he saw me crying for him.  I suppose it wouldn't be totally safe without the suit, but there was no chance at all that he would get through the chain mail.  I even had him bite me hard while he was still the wolf and I shook my arm to see if his teeth could get through, but they didn't even come close."

"Cool.  So the suit was a good idea after all," he said.

"Yup, and it was your idea if you recall."

The bathroom door opened and Cole sauntered out and grinned at me, then looked over at Elias and said, "I'm Cole, who are you?"

"This is Elias, Cole," I said.

Elias smiled and put his hand up in greeting, "Hey, little guy."

"No way!  You're Elias?!  You're the great big dog from the park?  Really?"

Elias grinned and nodded, "Yup, really."

"That's so cool!  Do I look just like you when I change?"

"Pretty close," I said, "You're just a bit smaller than Elias and look just a little less grown up, just like you are now.  You're grey and black instead of tan and brown like Elias, but you both look awesome."

"Neat!  I wish I could see myself when I'm like that.  I want to know what I look like," Cole said.

"Like I said earlier, we have a camera.  I could try to get some photos and videos of you, but only if you change here in the house.  I don't think we'll be screwing around with taking videos down in the woods anymore.  That's how we got you into this mess in the first place."

"What do you mean, mess?  This is the coolest thing ever!" Cole exclaimed.

"You haven't really thought it through yet and you don't even have all the facts.  Sit and we'll eat, and Elias will explain how things have changed for you."

He ran up to Elias and hugged him hard and said, "I don't care what you guys say.  It's awesome!  Thanks so much for changing me, Elias!  I love it!"

Elias hugged him back and then turned him around and pushed him towards the table and said, "Go sit.  Let's talk."

Elias looked haggard and tired.  He was obviously really stressed out about this.  He had a right to be.  He set the dishes out on the table and went to the fridge for orange juice while I brought the eggs, bacon and toast to the table.

Cole tore into his breakfast like he hadn't eaten in days.  I knew he'd be hungry so I'd made plenty.  I only nibbled at mine and Elias ate half what he normally would.  Neither of us had much of an appetite right now as we worried about what we'd done to Cole and how it would affect him.  While Cole ate, Elias carefully explained about everything that would be different for him now.  The boy took it all in stride.  Pretty much any time we suggested something to him that was a terrible tragedy, like the fact that he would never grow into a man, or that he'd never get married, he'd say "So what?" like he just didn't get the problem and thought we were nuts for suggesting it was a bad thing.

It made me think harder about what had mattered to me back when I was eleven years old, and I suddenly realized none of this might ever really seem like a big deal to him for quite a while yet.  Girls still had cooties at that age and there was no way he would ever want to even touch one if he didn't have to, let alone marry one.  School was a horrible thing to do to a kid when you were eleven.  It was way more fun to be free and do whatever you wanted, so he was certainly cool with that aspect.  There was absolutely nothing about his new situation that was bad as far as he was concerned.  In fact, when Elias had mentioned the fact that Cole would never be able to go to school again the boy's face had brightened and he said, "Awesome!  I didn't even think of that!  This is so great!"  Couple all of that with the fact that he had full mobility again and was more fit than most boys his age, and even got to spend most nights in the shape of one of the most awesome animals in the world, and it was easy to understand why he was absolutely thrilled.

Elias shook his head and smiled at the enthusiastic little kid, then he looked at me and said, "You know, now that I think of it, he's absolutely right.  I love my life now, Jake.  Being with you is better than anything that could have ever happened to me even if I'd never been changed by that guy in the woods in the first place.  My life is better than anything I could have imagined back then.  It was just the terrible loneliness that was killing me, but that's over thanks to you, and now life is better than ever.  Cole will never have to know that loneliness.  He's got his mom, and he has us.  Why are we so upset about this?  We should just be happy for him."

Cole grinned at him and nodded vigorously, and then he looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back at him and said, "I guess you're right.  There's no sense trying to convince him there's a problem when he'll never see it that way.  There's still your mom to worry about though, Cole.  Are you ready to go home now?  Elias and I need to face the music.  The suspense is killing me and I just want to get it over with."

Cole said, "You guys don't know my mom.  She might be mad, but she gets over things fast."

I shook my head, "Maybe she forgives you easily, but you're her little boy.  She won't be so easy on us."

Cole shrugged as he got up.  I took the camera from the backpack and stuffed it into my pocket and went and got the other memory card that had the first video we'd taken of Elias as a wolf when I'd measured and weighed him.  Needless to say I left behind the card that had the video of us having sex.

We all went to the back door and put on our shoes and then piled into the truck and I drove over to Cole's house.  As we pulled up in front of the house and I shut off the truck I saw a bus pulling away down the street.  A tired and run down woman who looked to be about thirty five was walking slowly back from the bus stop.  She must have just got off the bus.

"Hey!  That's my mom!  She's early!" Cole shouted.

He jumped out of the truck and ran down the sidewalk towards her.  I sighed and got out of the truck.  This was the moment of doom for me.  I didn't know how she'd react, but it couldn't be good.  Elias sat in the truck like he was afraid to get out and face her.  I couldn't really blame him.  When I reached the sidewalk I looked over and smiled at him encouragingly and he reluctantly opened the door and got out to join me.

"Hi, mom!" Cole shouted as he ran towards her.

She saw him running down the sidewalk and she went completely pale like she'd seen a ghost.  "Cole?" she asked in a shaky voice.

She was carrying a small bag with a few groceries in one hand and a big handbag in the other, and after looking closely to ensure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, she dropped both like she'd forgotten she had them, then she fell to her knees.

A huge smile spread across her face as she became certain it was really her boy and she shouted, "Cole!"

Her arms opened up as he reached her and she scooped him in and held on tight.  I suddenly remembered the fact that he was a fair bit healthier now than he'd been before and it had to be a bit of a shock to her.  I didn't know how long it had been since Cole was last able to run and jump into her arms but it must have been a while, judging by her reaction.

Tears streamed down her face as she continued to hug him hard and he wiggled, trying to get free.  She finally eased off and let him go and he pushed away from her and excitedly said, "Come and meet Jake and Elias!"

He grabbed her hand and she was forced to stand up and let him tow her down the sidewalk towards us.  She didn't even look up at us as they approached.  She was looking down at her boy the whole time with a puzzled but overjoyed look on her face.

They reached us and Cole said, "This is my mom.  Her name is Grace.  Mom, that's Jake and that's Elias.  Remember when I told you about my chain breaking on my bike and a man fixed it and made sure I got home safe?  This is him!"

She looked at both of us in turn and smiled and nodded, but said nothing.  She was likely speechless about the change in her son and needed to absorb it for a minute or two.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, "Would you mind if we went inside?  We really need to talk to you about Cole."

Her smile faltered for a moment and she asked, "Is it about the change in him?"

I nodded and said, "We'll explain it all."

"I'll go get your things," Elias offered, and he ran back down the sidewalk to get the bags she'd dropped.

She led us to the front door of the house slowly and just a little unsteadily.  She was visibly shaking from the shock of this and I hoped she'd be OK when she was hit with all of the news.

We entered the house and took off our shoes and she led us into the living room.  Elias and I sat on the couch and she settled into a large chair while Cole just stood beside her.  She looked at Cole for a long while, then she turned to me and steeled herself and asked, "What exactly happened to my boy?"

I said, "I don't know quite how to explain this so as not to shock you too much, but he's gone through a change.  It will affect him for the rest of his life..."

"I'm a werewolf, mom!" Cole shouted excitedly before I could finish.

She looked at him and smiled indulgingly, then she looked back at me, and then Elias.  We both sat quietly and straight faced.  She saw how nervous we looked.  Her smile faltered again and she looked back at her son and said, "Of course you're not a werewolf, Cole.  That's just in stories.  Maybe you could let Jake explain to me what happened to you."

"Aww, I'm telling you what happened.  I got bit by Elias and now I'm a werewolf!  It's so cool, mom!"

She looked back at me and said, "Please, tell me what happened to Cole."

"I guess the best way to approach this is to just tell it like it is," I said, "Cole is telling you the truth.  Elias is a werewolf.  He bit Cole in a moment when he wasn't himself and didn't know what he was doing.  That made Cole change too.  He's a werewolf now."

She began to look a bit flustered and angry, "You're joking.  There's no such thing as werewolves.  It's impossible!  What the hell really happened?!"

"Is it any more impossible than your son suddenly being able to run and jump again?  Look at him.  He's healthier than any eleven year old I've ever seen.  What could cause that much change overnight?"

She looked her son over again and then looked back at me, but said nothing.  She seemed to be running it through her head to see if she could find some way to make it fit.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I can show you that it's true.  I have a video of Elias as a werewolf.  He looks just like a wolf, but way bigger.  You'll see that he's impossibly huge.  I also have a video of him changing, though I can only show you part of it.  The video even shows Cole getting attacked and then changing, but I don't think you should watch that part until you're well used to the idea."

"It hurts really bad to change, mom, but not for long at all.  I feel better than ever after I change.  It's awesome!  You don't need to worry about it," Cole said.

Grace looked at her boy again, then back at me.  She seemed to be struggling with the idea, but wasn't ready to accept something so bizarre and preposterous.  The sudden and equally impossible change in Cole's physical condition was just as preposterous though, and undeniable, so she wasn't quite ready to dismiss the possibility of him being affected by something supernatural out of hand.

"Show me," she said.

I nodded and pulled out the camera and stuck in the memory card that had the first video we'd taken of Elias.

"I'm going to show you the video we took of Elias when he was in his wolf form.  He'd never seen himself properly so I wanted to show him what he looked like.  It was the first time I saw him that way too, so I may say some expletives that Cole shouldn't really hear.  Would it be alright if I played it with no sound?" I asked.

She nodded.

I cued up the video and got up and went over to her chair and crouched beside it and I pressed the play button to start it up, and then muted the sound.

Grace watched the small screen on the back of the camera as I moved into view in the video and turned to face the sound I'd heard coming from the woods, and she gasped loudly as the massive wolf emerged.  She reached over and grabbed the camera from me and held it closer as she watched, mouth agape, as the impossibly huge wolf walked up to me and I dropped to my knees, showing Elias's true size in relation to me.  I was ready to snatch the camera out of her hand if she tried to un-mute the video.  I didn't want her to hear the things I was saying to Elias.

She continued to watch, but said nothing for a bit, and then finally she half whispered, "He's so beautiful."

She watched as I balanced Elias on the scale and he was standing taller than me and she looked over at Elias who was still sitting on the couch and said, "You expect me to believe that the huge animal in the video is this boy?"

Elias said, "It's me.  We can prove it to you easily, but if you really want to see for sure you can watch the video we took last night.  It shows me going through the change."

"It's true, mom!  That big dog is Elias.  The night I broke my bike chain and Jake fixed it for me, I saw him.  I didn't tell you that time because Jake asked me to keep Elias a secret.  I just thought he was a really cool dog.  He did arithmetic!  Now I know why he could do it.  It's really him!" Cole said.

She glanced at her boy and then back at the video.  She could see Elias nodding and shaking his head at me while I spoke to him.  It finally came to the point where he'd rolled his eyes and turned to lick his privates and I reached over and took the camera from her and said, "That's where the video ends.  I can show you the other one if you want, but I'll warn you it's hard to look at."

"This is all impossible.  I just can't believe it.  I have to see it," she said.

"Do you mind if I show it to her, Elias?  She'll see you nude."

He nodded his head and said, "It's fine.  She needs to see."

"Cole, could you go sit next to Elias please?  I don't want you to see this just yet," I said.

"Aww, can't I watch it?" he begged.

"No, Cole.  Go sit with your friend, please," Grace requested.

"You have a right to see it, Cole, but I really think you should wait a while and get used to what's happened to you before you see this," I said.

"Fine," he moped, and then he went over to the couch to join Elias.

I turned back to Grace and said, "There's a point during the change where Elias loses control.  He's not himself anymore.  He's a mindless beast halfway between being a boy and being a wolf.  He doesn't know who he is and he doesn't know who anyone else is.  He's full of pain and rage.  He's dangerous at that point.  Because he's in the middle of the change, if he bites someone they will begin to change too.  He would never hurt your boy, or anyone, intentionally.  It was bad luck that Cole happened to come to him right at that point..."

"I was looking for you!" Cole interrupted from the couch, "I kept going back there every night trying to find you guys again but I couldn't remember exactly where the place in the woods was that I found you last time.  I finally found it again last night and I was so happy to see Elias there, but then I saw he was hurt so I went to see if I could help.  That's when he attacked me."

I nodded and said, "Like I said, it was bad luck that you came right at that moment.  I should have warned you better not to ever try to find us again.  It never occurred to me that you might do that."

Cole shrugged and said, "I guess you don't know me yet.  It doesn't matter if you warned me.  I wouldn't listen."

I chuckled and shook my head, "Well, you're a kid so I should have expected that and we should have been a lot more careful."

I turned to Cole's mother again and said, "When Elias is in the process of changing, that's the only time that he's dangerous.  If he bit someone when he was a wolf they wouldn't change.  Anyhow, I wanted to explain that to you first, because this video keeps on going and you'll see Cole come into the picture.  I think I should stop it before that, but if you want, I can run it all the way through.  I don't think you will be up to seeing Cole go through that.  The change is exceedingly painful and it's really hard to watch."

"I don't care.  I have to see it all," she insisted.

"OK, just try to keep in mind when you see him going through all that pain, he came out of it fine.  It's intense, but fairly brief."

"It's really OK, mom.  It hurts bad, but as soon as it's over I feel better than I ever felt before," Cole added.

She nodded impatiently and said, "Show it to me, please."

I cued up the video and quickly fast-forwarded past the strip tease that Elias had done and his subsequent masturbation, and I paused it when he had settled onto his knees and was just about to change.  I pressed the play button and handed her the camera.

She watched for a moment and glanced up a couple of times at Elias on the couch to verify that it was the same boy in the video.  Elias in the video suddenly stood up and hunched over in pain and the change began.  Grace's eyes went wide in horror as she watched the boy's body begin to bend and expand and twist into the new shape.  Her mouth hung open and she began to grimace and grunt lightly as though she were feeling some of Elias's pain right along with him.

"Oh my God, it's really true," she whispered in awe as the change was nearly complete and Elias the wolf had expanded to his full size.

I reached in and pressed pause and told her, "He's almost done changing.  This is the point where Cole comes in.  Are you sure you want to see it?"

She looked over at her son sitting on the couch.  Cole was grinning back at her.  She glanced at Elias and he was watching her with interest, waiting to see what she would say.

"I think I have to see it," she insisted.

"Go ahead, just keep in mind, Elias didn't know what he was doing.  He's completely harmless and he's fully himself when he's completed the change.  You'll see Cole get hurt bad, but when he changes, all of that damage is wiped away.  When he changes back to being a boy, he comes back absolutely perfect, as you can see."

She nodded and pressed the play button to get the video rolling again.  I watched her carefully as Cole came into view in the video and Elias-wolf lunged at him and bit his arm.  She seemed unusually calm as her boy scrambled away as fast as he could to save his own life.  She continued to watch and she jerked a couple of times when she saw Elias tear a strip out of Cole's calf muscle, and when Cole fell from the tree to hit the ground as the change started to ravage his body.  She looked up at her son several times to see him grinning back at her from the couch, and I think that was what was giving her the strength to handle what she was seeing in the video.  She watched the whole thing play out right up to the point where Cole was a wolf and he ran off into the woods in panic.  Then she saw Elias come back into the picture and then run off into the woods after Cole, then she saw me come into the picture as I looked at the mess at the tree and finally come back to the camera and the video stopped.

"You weren't there when it happened?" she calmly asked.

"No, I wasn't in the clearing with them.  It's too dangerous, so I was coming on my bike down the path while Elias was changing.  I was trying to make sure the coast was clear and that nobody else came down the path and went off into the woods.  I had no idea Cole had got there ahead of me.  The plan was for me to arrive just after the change to collect the camera and bring it back home."

She nodded and said, "You couldn't have helped him then.  It's not really your fault.  It wasn't Elias's fault either.  Neither one of you had any idea he would go there.  Was it that hard for him again when he changed back?  Will it always hurt him so much?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, I'm sorry.  He's a tough little guy and he handled it like a real champ.  I'm impressed with him."

"Did he change back in the woods?  Was he alone then?" she asked.

"Jake was with me when I changed back, mom.  He held me and he talked to me.  He made it so much easier.  I could have hurt him bad, but he stayed with me anyways.  He's awesome!" Cole exclaimed.

She smiled at her son, then at me, and she said, "Thank you for that.  I can see that he came through it fine, but the thought of him going through that alone is what really bothers me.  I'm glad you had the decency to help him through it even though you were taking a risk to do it."

She then turned to look at Elias and said, "I could see the pain you were going through.  I understand that you were in a rage.  You didn't know what you were doing.  I don't blame you."

I saw tears brimming in Elias's eyes as she forgave him, but he was too choked up to speak.

"It's good of you to be so understanding," I told her, "but the truth is we are at fault.  Elias and I both.  We knew how dangerous he was and yet we ignored that fact in our curiosity and our desire to record the process and see it happen.  It was reckless and stupid and Cole and you will both be paying the price for the rest of your lives.  I'm so sorry about all this."

She didn't look angry, she just seemed a bit dazed by all of this.  I couldn't figure out why she wasn't freaking out yet.  Was she in too much shock?  She should be ready to kill us right now for what we did to her boy.

"What does it all mean?" she asked, "How will it affect my son besides the obvious change in him?"

"When he goes back through the change to being a boy, it's like he regrows inside himself and he is perfect and pristine at the end of it.  From now on, he will always grow back to the exact stage of development he was at when he was first bitten.  You can see that he's like a boy who grew up without ever getting a scratch on him.  He's physically perfect.  That's why his limp is gone and his muscles are better developed.  I should warn you so you don't get shocked when you see it, his foreskin is back too, and his equipment is a bit bigger than it was down there and he's much further along through puberty.  It seems to be part of the change and Elias was affected the same way.  Any fillings he might have had are gone.  Any scars he had or anything at all that was wrong with him physically would be erased..."

She got a shocked look and interrupted me and asked, "Anything?"

I nodded, "As far as I know, yes, anything."

"Even a genetic problem?" she asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know about that.  I doubt it, to be honest.  His genes don't change.  Not as far as I know, anyways, and certainly not significantly.  That's why he looks exactly the same with the same eye color and hair color and height and voice and everything.  I imagine if he had a genetic problem it would stay with him."

"But every time he changes back, he will look just like he does right now?"

"Yes."

"How often does he change?  Is it only on the full moon, like last night?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid not.  He'll change any time the moon is up and the sun is down.  He'll change back to a boy when the moon goes down or the sun comes up.  His change will track the lunar cycle.  Your lives will be much more complicated now.  There's something else important, too, and really it's the biggest problem with all of this and the hardest thing for you to have to live with.  He will never grow beyond his current age physically.  He'll never become a man.  His body will never fully develop as his genes had planned for him.  He'll never be able to fall in love and get married and give you grandchildren.  He'll never have a chance at a normal life now.  I'm so sorry, Grace."

She looked at me strangely for a moment as tears began to well in her eyes.  Then she stood from her chair and turned to face me.  I stood up and braced myself for the slap that was likely about to come my way, determined to hold my ground and take whatever punishment she chose to throw at me.  Tears started to stream from her eyes as she came toward me and I flinched as her arms came up, but to my shock she wrapped them around my neck and hugged me hard as she began to cry in earnest.  I put my arms around her and patted her back gently, waiting for her to get it out of her system.  It had to be difficult to hear that your child would never have a normal life, to know you'll never see him grow into the man he was meant to be.  I expected a lot of anger though, not this.  This was somehow harder to take.  She must be weeping in sadness for the loss of their future.  We had taken it from them.

"I'm so sorry we did this to you.  I know it's not fair," I said.

Her sobs finally began to abate and she managed to mumble the words, "I don't know how to thank you."

I thought I'd misheard her and I said, "Sorry?"

She pulled away from me and faced Elias as she sniffled and wiped at her nose.  She was smiling broadly as she said, "Thank you, Elias.  Thank you both.  You have no idea what you've done for us."

"I told you she'd be OK!" Cole said as he jumped from the couch and ran to his mother.

She crouched and scooped him into her arms and held him tightly for a while and then he pulled away and said, "Isn't it great, mom?"

She smiled and nodded at him as she put her hand on her boy's head and stroked it and said, "It's wonderful, sweetheart.  It's still so hard to believe.  It's like a dream come true."

I was completely flummoxed at this point.  There was something I was missing here.  Why the hell was she happy about this?  She looked up at me and saw the confusion in my face and she stood and said, "Please, sit."

I went over to sit next to Elias as she sat back down on the chair.

"My son has ALS," she said, "Lou Gehrig's disease.  He was diagnosed eight months ago.  Do you know what that is?"

I was shocked at the news, but I nodded and said, "It's a genetic problem.  It affects the motor neurons and causes muscle atrophy.  I don't know a lot of details about it, but I thought it only happened to adults."

She nodded and said, "That's normally the case.  It can show up in children though.  It happened to Cole.  We don't know why.  They did tests on me and couldn't find any markers.  I didn't exactly live very well when I was young.  I was brought up through foster care and had been abused.  I was wild and out of control when I was a teenager and it carried on through my life into my twenties.  Cole saved me.  His birth changed everything and it brought me back down to Earth.  It was so devastating to get the news of his condition when he was diagnosed.  I honestly don't know who his father is so they couldn't test him, but it didn't really matter.  Only ten percent of ALS cases are familial anyhow, the rest they just can't explain.  It wouldn't really help to know why he got it, there's no treatment in any case.  You saw how Cole was before, his limp and his frailty."

I nodded again.

"He was losing more and more of the muscle response in his left leg and it was starting to show in his right leg too.  He was even starting to lose some of the functionality of his arms though it wasn't showing much yet.  The muscles stop responding as well to commands and eventually they just start to atrophy down to nothing from not getting any use at all.  The process was going to continue to the point where he'd be in a wheelchair by the time he was twenty years old, and he'd be unable to move around on his own.  Odds are he would have died of respiratory failure before he reached twenty five.  It's unusual for anyone to make it much past ten years after being diagnosed," She said.

I was in shock.  My head began to spin as I thought about what it meant, and then it all fell into place for me.  The relief was immense as I realized we hadn't ruined their lives at all, just the opposite.  We'd sort of unintentionally fixed a problem that there had been no possible solution for, and given them a future together that they had no chance at before.  He still had ALS and that would never change since it was in his genes, but it's a degenerative disease.  His body regrew to perfection, then the degeneration started again, but there was no way it would ever show again.  There wouldn't be time for it to weaken him before the next change would happen and he'd be reset to perfection again.  He would be strong and healthy forever!

Grace smiled at me as more tears slipped down her cheeks and she said, "Do you see?  The plan his genes had for him was horrible!  You didn't take away his chance at a normal life, you gave him a chance at life he never could have hoped for!  You saved us both!  You have no idea how hard it was for me to watch my healthy little boy begin to deteriorate right before my eyes.  To know that he'd never be able to run and jump and play like a normal kid again.  To know that he was only going to suffer more and more as the years went on.  He never would have been able to grow up and get married and have kids of his own, so you've made nothing worse in that regard.  You've made him healthy and strong.  Look at him!  He's my healthy little boy again, and he'll be that way forever!"

She grinned at Cole and wiped tears from her face again, and then she continued, "We were in a downward spiral.  The medical bills were mounting out of control already and there was no way I could keep paying them much longer, even though they would only get worse as his need for physiotherapy increased.  I had no idea what I was going to do.  I was working two jobs already and looking for a way to squeeze in a third.  I couldn't even afford a babysitter so I left him on his own even though I knew I shouldn't.  I also knew that eventually he wouldn't be able to take care of himself at all and I would have to pay for someone to care for him, or stay home and do it myself.  I couldn't afford either option.  I would do anything to try to keep him more comfortable as he got worse and the cost would simply continue to climb.  I was at my wits end.  I was talking to a realtor to put the house up for sale.  I already sold my car months ago.  We were in really bad shape."

"You won't have to worry about that anymore, Grace," I said, "We did this to Cole so the least we can do is offer to help you in any way we can.  I think you should go ahead and sell this place and come live with Elias and me for a while until you get fully back on your feet.  Our house is a lot bigger than we'll ever need and we've already modified it to help with Elias's condition so it will be better for Cole too.  You're going to have to learn the routines necessary to keep yourself safe.  You don't need to work two jobs anymore either.  One job will be plenty.  You need more time with your son.  You don't even have to work at all if you don't want to.  It might be best for you to be at home with him all the time.  He can't go to school anymore for obvious reasons.  You might want to continue his education yourself.  We'll figure out what happens next at some time in the future."

More tears spilled down her face and she said, "I don't know what to say.  It's such a generous offer.  It would help us immensely.  Thank you very much."

"Wow!  I get to come live with you guys?  That's awesome!" Cole exclaimed, "Do you have a bike, Elias?  We could go riding together!  Oh my God, my bike!  It's down in the woods!"

I chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it, Cole.  We'll get you a new one.  Your mom should have one too so she can ride with you sometimes."

"I can't let you spend so much on us," Grace said, "You're doing enough just by letting us stay with you until I can sell the house and climb out of my debts.  I intend to hold on to one of my night jobs.  That way I would be with Cole during the day and you and Elias could be with him at night.  You don't need to start buying things for us."

"Please, it's nothing at all, Grace.  I've been lucky with my career.  Money really isn't an issue for me at all.  I have no family other than Elias and I'll have no use for the money after I'm gone.  Better to spend and enjoy it."

"So, Elias is your son?" she asked.

"No.  I suppose I should explain that before you make any decision about moving in to our home.  We're a couple."

She got a shocked look on her face and looked over at Elias, then back at me, "How old is he?"

"He's seventeen, but he was bitten when he was fourteen."

She thought about it and then looked me straight in the eye and said, "I'm not going to beat around the bush.  I realize Elias is older than he looks and given his situation he'll never look older than fourteen, but I'm not completely comfortable with it.  I think you're both free to do as you wish if you're happy, but I have to ask.  Is my son safe around you?"

"What the heck are you talking about, mom?  Of course I'm safe with him," Cole said.

I blushed at the implication of what she was saying, but I realized she had a right to ask it.  It was her duty as a mother, really.  I'd already had thoughts in that direction, but I had no intention of acting on them.  Cole is just a little kid and it wouldn't be right.

"Yes, he's completely safe.  You have nothing to worry about," I said.

"I'm happier than I've ever been in my life," Elias said with a hint of anger in his voice, "Jake is the best thing that ever happened to me.  He treats me with nothing but love and respect.  He means everything to me and nobody could ever mean more."

She thought about it for a bit and then her look softened and she said, "I'm sorry.  I really shouldn't have even asked.  You've been nothing but good to us.  It was just instinct really.  You seem like a good man and I feel like I should just trust you until you give me reason not to.  I accept your offer."

"Awesome!  Can we move today, mom?" Cole asked.

Grace looked over at me and I smiled and nodded.

She looked back at Cole and said, "I don't see why not.  We could pack up some clothes and go over right away if you want."

"Yay!" Cole shouted as he got up and ran off to his bedroom to start pulling clothes out of his dresser.

Grace slumped back into her chair and smiled at her son as he raced off.  She looked at me again and said, "This is all such a shock, but a good one.  I think I might faint when the relief of Cole's medical condition being over really hits me.  I've been working all night and I'm exhausted.  Have you got a spare bed set up already or should I sleep here before we go over?"

"Don't worry about it, Grace.  There are two spare bedrooms that are completely furnished.  You and Cole will each have your own.  You can crash as soon as we get over there."

She smiled and said, "You really are a good man.  Do you live far?"

"No, not at all.  Walking distance almost.  You can just grab one change of clothes for now if you like.  We can come back and forth easily to get the rest later on or as needed."

"I think I'll do just that.  I'll take just a few clothes and our toothbrushes for now and we'll head over to your house and I can have a bath and then sleep.  I honestly wouldn't mind putting this house behind me as soon as possible, paying off my debts, and moving forward with our new life."

I nodded and she got up and followed Cole down the hall and went into her bedroom to grab a suitcase and put some clothes in it, then she went to help Cole select just enough clothes to last a couple of days.

"I hope she can get over us being a couple," Elias said after she left the room, "I won't want her living with us if she can't.  I know we sort of messed things up for them, but we fixed them too.  I don't want her messing up our lives now."

"I think she's over it already, Elias," I said, "Don't stress over it until it becomes a real problem.  It's your house just as much as mine now, so if it doesn't work for you she'll have to go, but I really think it will be fine.  She seems like a really nice woman.  I think she'll be OK after she's seen us as a couple for a while.  Give her a chance.  It's just until they get back on their feet and learn how to deal with Cole's condition well enough to go out on their own."

Elias nodded and said, "I guess so.  It sure is a relief to know we didn't really ruin their lives.  We sort of saved Cole in a way.  He's a pretty cool little guy.  It's gonna be great to have company all the time, even when I'm a wolf."

I nodded and said, "Yeah, we got lucky.  We need to really make sure there's never a chance of this happening again though.  We wouldn't be so lucky next time."

Cole and Grace came back out, each carrying a small suitcase, and we all went out to the truck and loaded it up and got in.

As I got behind the wheel and then looked around to ensure everyone was strapped in, I saw Cole grinning at his mom, then at Elias, then at me.  We were all his family now in a way, and he seemed utterly thrilled with the prospect of his new life.

You could almost say that Elias and Cole were related by blood now and they would be linked to each other for the rest of their lives, which could be very long indeed.

I didn't know how well this was going to work or how long it would be this way, but I felt obligated to give it every possible chance of success.  Helping them settle into their new lives and learn to deal with the complications was the least we could do for them.

I started the truck and put it in gear and headed out.

***

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


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