Griff
Pruitt scooped up and carried him on his back as the trio made their way down a leaf-laden path on the other side of the cabin. Uriah followed closely behind, a backpack over his shoulders. Their surprise couldn’t be kept for long, though, and picked up on the sound of rushing water as they continued further.
“What’s back here?” asked, his arms tight around Pruitt’s shoulders. “Are you guys trying to get me to skinny dip in this brisk fall weather?”
His boyfriends looked at each other and chuckled.
“Not at all,” answered Pruitt.
Taking another turn on the path, the three men found themselves in a large clearing—and at the end of it, a flowing river and the series of several small waterfalls that produced it. Uriah pulled his hood up and put his sun shades on while and Pruitt marveled at the beauty of the setting sun reflecting through the trees and onto the water.
“Whoa,” exclaimed as his werewolf suitor gently brought him to his feet. “What a view.”
The familiar breeze of a vampire using its super-speed tickled ’s skin, and he was impressed to see a blanket laid out along the edge of the river, a picnic basket in the middle, and several snacks and utensils laid out as though the spread was for a high-end photoshoot.
“Was feelin’ sentimental, I guess,” Uriah said coyly as he studied the look on ’s face. The witch stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him as a sign of appreciation. “It was kind of Pruitt’s idea.”
“There’s few places where we could all have a cute little picnic date together without it being too crowded, or too sunny, or—you know?” Pruitt said with a smirk, closing his arms around both and Uriah and pulling everyone into a big group hug.
“You two never cease to amaze me,” whispered as he enjoyed the moment.
“Even brought some wine,” added Uriah. “Figured if I got you drunk enough, you’d reconsider the skinny dippin’ thing.”
The trio laughed, though could tell Uriah was only half-joking.
“These forests are so beautiful,” Pruitt exclaimed as he released the two and took off his light jacket, placing it on the blanket. He inhaled deeply, his wolf senses exploring the nearby smells. “Would you be interested in some wild berries, ?”
Taking a seat on the blanket, nodded. “Why, is that what you smell?”
Pruitt nodded. “Wild blackberries, it smells like.”
“Great, you do that, and how about I grab a couple of salmon out of the river?” Uriah teased. “You know, if we’re going full Wilderness Family now, that is.”
got comfortable as Pruitt disappeared into the nearby trees.
“The view from the top of the waterfall is one of the best. That’s one thing I remember,” Uriah told as he skipped a rock across the water. “Don’t suppose I can get you to go up there with me while Wolf Man does his hunting thing?”
“With my luck, I’ll fall into the water,” replied .
“All part of my master plan to get you naked,” Uriah said with a chuckle. “Fine then, I’ll go alone. But don’t worry. I won’t let you out of my sight.”
Before could even respond, he saw Uriah now balanced on a large boulder at the top of the largest waterfall some twenty feet above him. “Any use for deadly nightshade, little witch?” came Uriah’s voice from above. “All kinds of rare finds up here on the edge of the water.”
“Really?” asked, getting to his feet. He grabbed for the small personal pleather satchel he had carried with him, opening it and looking inside. It was empty, and he contemplated stuffing it full of herbs and a few other plants that could be useful for simple spells. Maybe, he thought to himself.
“You know, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately on nature magic!” shouted up at Uriah.
“I know, cutie. S’why I asked,” Uriah chuckled.
“Well, what if you brought some down for me to practice with later tonight?”
watched as the vampire nodded and quickly disappeared out of sight.
“Sweet,” thought aloud before deciding to explore the picnic basket. “Now, let’s hope it was Pruitt who did the food prep for this meal,” he joked to himself as he dug through its contents.
The snapping of nearby branches alerted the witch to Pruitt’s return—or at least that’s what thought at first.
“Babe, is that you?” asked . “You really spoiled me with all this food here. I know Uriah couldn’t possibly prepare us a meal that wasn’t either expired, frozen, or microwavable.”
Pruitt didn’t reply. That’s when turned around.
“Whoa!” he nearly fell off the picnic blanket. “So, this is your idea of a surprise, huh?”
Standing only a short distance from him, a werewolf stared out of the forest’s edge and into ’s eyes. Although the creature was shaded under the cover of trees, it appeared as though he had locked eyes with Pruitt’s lycan form, the Silver Wolf.
“Did Uriah tell you to scare me like this?” chuckled uneasily, still unable to make out the coloring of the creature’s coat as it remained underneath the shade of long branches. “The whole scaring me, then fucking me fantasy? Is that it?”
The wolf smiled at , which instantly eased his nerves. I mean, come on. What wolf would smile at me if not my wolf boyfriend?
“Oh, shy now, huh? I bet you’re hungry. Here,” tore off some of a grilled chicken sandwich and tossed it at the wolf. It caught the morsel in its mouth from where it was, scarfing it down before taking a step closer. “Good boy.”
Although trying not to share his thoughts, deep down was relieved to know his magical magnetism hadn’t lured in yet another supernatural threat. His mind raced back to Old Mother Madge’s cautioning. Even though his interactions with wolfed-out Pruitt were still few and far between, he felt almost embarrassed to not recognize his boyfriend at first.
“Guess I’m used to you calling me good boy; not the other way around,” said with a wink as the calm wolf drew near.