twenty eight
The two stay in bed for about an hour before Callum comes looking for them. The man doesn't say a word as he slides into bed, leaning against his husband and snaking an arm around them both.
Aldric watches as his love's eyes flutter, pupils dilated and unseeing as he drifts back off into sleep. Swirls of emotions sit heavy in his gut, but he doesn't wake his mate. Not yet.
Milton is still sucking on the empty bottle, teeth absently chewing on the silicon as he mindlessly watches the penguins, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as a small line of the little black and white birds jump across a tiny hole in the snow.
It takes another hour for the human to nod off; the penguin documentary having switched to something about field mice – obviously not an animal worth the boy's full attention.
He sinks against Al who gently shifts to cradle him in his arms so the little human doesn't get a stiff neck. The bottle's pried from his lips and set on the bedside table along with the dying laptop.
Aldric sighs, looking down at his mate who is still tucked against him, fingers gently kneading his arm – the man clearly no longer asleep.
"How was your sleep?"
Callum hums, cracking an eye open to look up at his husband. The expression on Aldric's face has him promptly stretching and pushing himself to sit against the headrest.
"Needed." The man whispers, tearing his eyes away from his love to instead look down at Milton.
Aldric doesn't let his focus drop, instead, he reaches out and gently grasps Callum's chin, redirecting his gaze back to his own.
"Was it really that bad?"
The smaller man shrugs, swallowing down the want to cast blame and argue that the whole lunch thing was too soon. Too soon for Milton— no, too soon for himself.
"I'm glad Milton seemed to enjoy it. At least." The words feel hollow, even to his own ears.
Some part of him wishes Milton had an awful time, but that would make him a terrible person. A selfish wolf.
Al growls softly at his mate, "I spoke to Henry."
Callum frowns. "About what?"
"You."
The man blinks. "What about me?"
The conversation needs to happen. So be it that Milton is sleeping in their arms. At least their voices won't rise in anger with a sleeping child in the mix.
"You haven't shifted since last Summer."
Callum's face pales, his hand coming to push Aldric's gentle grip on his face away. "That can't be right. I remember—"
"My love, you haven't shifted in months."
"I feel fine." He tries to argue but Aldric doesn't let him.
A deep guttural growl vibrates through his chest, Callum's mouth closing with a click at the sound of a very unhappy wolf.
"I swear if you try and bullsh—" Aldric bites his tongue, shifting his grip on Milton with a deep breath to settle the anger boiling just beneath the surface.
Perhaps its more like a deep-rooted frustration. One that's been festering for weeks. Months. But as a husband, he needs to be patient. To be calm and supportive. Right now, though, he doesn't really feel like being either of those things.
"Going downstairs for lunch should have been a relief for you.
" He begins softly; eyes still trained on the boy in his lap.
"It should have calmed you. And your wolf.
Instead, I sat there listening to your heart race and smelling the fear pouring off you.
It was like I'd sent you off to go face a bear. "
Callum swallows. "I wasn't scared."
His husband scoffs. "Yes, you were." A pause. "It's partially my fault."
Cal sits up a little straighter. "Wait, what? Your fault?"
"Yeah." Aldric frowns at him. "I let you fall away from the pack. I let you sit in this apartment for days on end. Alone. As if you would miraculously choose to come back to us when you were ready."
Callum stays quiet. The pain and anger on his love's face enough to make him want to burst into tears.
"It's not your fault." He chokes out.
Aldric sighs. "If you don't shift, these... feelings, are just going to get worse. You'll go feral."
"No, I won't—"
"Yes. Yes, yes you will. And if you go feral who knows what will happen. Henry will probably get into some sort of trouble for letting a feral wolf look after a minor. Milton will be taken away, and honestly, I don't know what will happen to you."
Callum's lip begins to wobble as he curls in on himself, knees drawn to his chest as the covers fall away from him. The harsh words hit hard, stabbing his already damaged heart.
He tries to squeak out an "I'm fine", but it comes out warbled and teary.
Aldric wraps his free arm around his mate. Guilty for speaking so bluntly, but it needed to be said.
"I may not have gone through what you did, my love, but I was there. I watched you. I held you while you cried. It was our..." The man sucks in a breath through his teeth. "We've been through a lot. Together. So why now are you trying to push me away?"
Callum sniffles, tears pouring down his face that he desperately tries to wipe away.
"I don't know."
The two sit in silence, tears steadily making their way down Callum's face.
Neither look at each other.
Milton moves in his sleep, both wolves turning to look at the sleeping boy.
"I'll go put him to bed." Al whispers, slowly standing from the bed with careful movements.
He carries the human back to his own room, taking his time to tuck him in beneath the sheets. Blankets are gently lain over the top of him, the empty teddy-bear hot-water bottle tucked beneath his arm for comfort.
Milton doesn't even stir at the movement, making Aldric smile before he quietly leaves the room – door open just a crack.
He walks slowly back to the main bedroom, pausing at the doorframe for a much-needed breath as he listens to the sound of his love sniffling.
The door squeaks as he pushes it open a little wider on his way in, feet heavy as he takes a seat at the end of the bed beside his mate.
"You know you're as much of a wolf as you are human."
Callum nods softly, hand running through his unruly hair. "We're werewolves, Al. I know."
Aldric reaches out to touch his foot, thumb stroking the skin gently.
"Why deny yourself?"
His husband hides his face in his hands, face red from crying. He doesn't say anything at first, the man trying hard to breathe without bursting into tears.
"Callum—"
"Because it hurts." His love all but whispers. "Every time I even think about shifting skin, it's like- like the whole thing happens o-over and over again. I can't- I can't—"
Aldric climbs onto the bed, pulling his heart into his arms as the man begins to sob, shaking uncontrollably as he tries to explain himself.
"Listen to me." Aldric mutters into his hair as he rocks them both. "You are strong. You're brave. You have a whole pack who wants to support you. You don't have to go through it by yourself, my love."
Callum only cries harder, hands gripping his mate's arms as he falls apart. Together they sit on the bed, crying until the light begins to fade into an orange sunset. The glow seeping in through the curtains and turning the room bright with colour.
Cal hiccups in his husband's arms, eyes swollen and ears a little pink with embarrassment for crying like a child. Al doesn't seem to mind, pressing soft kiss after kiss to his love's head, gentle waves of calming pheromones filling the room.
"I'll be here. The whole time." Aldric whispers, pulling Cal from his chest to press a soft kiss to his lips.
Callum nods. "What about Milly?"
Aldric tilts his head in thought. "I'm sure he'd love to cuddle with a wolf once he wakes."
It feels as if the silence ticks over for hours, but it's only a few short minutes before Callum slowly nods his head, peeling himself off his mate to sit against the headboard, picking at his hands.
Al climbs off the bed to close their bedroom door and returns to the edge of the bed, hand outreached for his love to take.
"Now?" Callum whispers, lip still wobbling.
"Now."
Slowly the smaller man crawls off the bed with the help from his husband, standing in front of him with shaky hands. Together they slowly take off his clothes, Aldric taking his shirt off as well, so his love is not left alone in nothing but his own skin.
Cal grips his cotton cardigan in his hands for a moment longer, the soft fabric somewhat soothing to the overall stressful situation.
Al carefully takes it from him, folding it up and placing it on the end of the bed with the rest of his mate's clothes.
He steps closer, taking Cal into his arms for a much-needed hug, gently rocking the man as he tries to breathe through the rising panic.
"I don't want to do this." Cal all but whimpers.
Al hums, heart aching. "I know, love."
They breathe for a few more minutes before Aldric lowers both to the floor. The whole process is a tedious one, even though it's fuelled by magic. No one really understands how it's possible, only that it is.
And those who refuse the change often face the painful consequences.
Cal whimpers as he attempts to let his skin fade away; hair turning thicker, sprouting along his arms as his nails grow and sharpen.
His face begins to contort too, bones popping out of place as they re-form into something else. He whines through the pain, pausing the momentum on the change as his clawed hands grab at his husband.
"Love, keep going."
Cal looks up at him, heaving as he leans on his mate. Muscles spasm and contract as he continues to shift.
He takes a breath as his body sits half transformed, looking very much like those bi-pedal monsters often shown in old-fashioned fairy-tale stories and horror films. He trembles in place, staring down at his elongated and now very hairy feet.
He whines in his throat, not wanting to continue. Not wanting to see himself as a wolf. Not wanting to relive the memories that still plague him.
The hair begins to recede as his thoughts spiral, his body reversing, but Aldric grips him harder, giving the man a gentle shake.
"No. Stop it." He growls, tone firm. "You're so close, my love. So close. Just keep going."
Callum wants to ignore him. To push him away and scream at him. But he doesn't. Tears wash down his face as he forces himself to continue through the shift.
At some point Aldric helps him to all fours, hands rubbing down his back and sides as he cries through the change. Voice turning wolfish as his vocal chords are warped and stretched into place.
Then it's over. Aldric sighs in relief while his mate stands stock still, now turned wolf. The room is loud with the sound of heavy panting, the sandy-coloured wolf shaking on the spot.
Aldric lowers himself even further on the soft carpet, gently butting his head against his love.
"You did it." He whispers, hands rubbing through the coarse coat peppered in colours of brown and grey alongside flecks of the beautiful sand colour Aldric loved so much.
Callum doesn't hear him. Doesn't comprehend the touch of hands in his coat.
He can only stare at his paws, memories flooding his system in a way that has him wanting to hide, no, run.
Phantom pains rip through his body as he tries to gasp, stumbling on his feet as his husband catches him, and pulls him into his arms. "Hey, you're okay. We're okay."
The tight squeeze has his ears flicking and nose twitching as he finally takes in the scent of his mate. Aldric continuing to dig his fingers through his love's thick coat, humming gently in his ear.
Callum begins to calm. His instincts to runaway still burn in his lungs, but he tries to push those thoughts to the back of his mind and instead focus on the smells. The touch. The soft humming of the man he loves.
The two stay stuck in an embrace until the sun sinks a little lower and the orange glow of their bedroom dims. Aldric never stops running his fingers through fur, holding his mate in his arms until his feet go numb from sitting on them for too long and his voice grows rough.
He releases his love with hesitance, smiling softly as he helps him balance his weight on all four feet.
Callum tries not to panic at how hard it is to simply stand up, but this is what happens when a wolf refuses to shift.
The body forgets. Well, no, the body will never forget about the magic coursing through it's very blood, but the mind.
The mind is what makes being wolf so difficult.
"Did you want me to bring Milly in?"
Cal shakes his coat, taking a few stiff steps forward before giving a small sneeze in response.
Aldric stands to his feet and opens the door, gesturing for Cal to follow him as they both head out to Milton's room. The short walk enough to get the blood flowing back through his legs.
The boy is lying in bed with droopy eyes. Having tried to wake-up somewhat unsuccessfully as his cozy blankets keep him tucked up in the fuzzy warmth of sleep.
"Hey, Milly." Aldric sits on the edge of the bed, hand gently patting the boy's belly on top of the blue covers.
Milton opens his eyes with a big smile, fingers curling in his blankets as he blinks up at his carer.
"I have a surprise."
Milton's eyebrows furrow, the smile not leaving his face and Aldric helps him to sit up in bed.
As soon as the man moves back, his eyes go wide at the sight of the wolf in his doorway. The big creature slowly enters the room, head low and tail wagging ever so softly. Big brown eyes look at him in hesitance until Milton lets out the loudest sound they've ever heard him make.
Both adults jump as he squeals, hands stretched out in excitement as he tries to reach for the wolf, his sleep-addled mind overwhelmed with the fact that a wolf is in his bedroom. A real wolf! A big, brown, wolf. In his room!
"This is, uh, Cally." Aldric clears his throat, gesturing for Callum to come closer. "She's one of the... domestic wolves that lives on site."
Milton reaches down with his hand and Callum lets the boy curl his fingers into the scruff of his neck, nose sniffing diligently at the covers that envelope the human.
It's not common. Not unheard of either. Callum's wolf being female, that it. It was... a challenge. One the man struggled with at his previous pack before finding Aldric. A challenge that easily brought tragedy.
Milton practically bounces in place as he leans over to stick his other hand in her fur, little huffs of excitement escaping him as Callum sniffs at his face.
It may not be all that wise to let the boy get used to being this close to a 'wild' animal considering they live on a national reserve but... it's not like Aldric was about to get in between the two bonding.
Callum puts a foot up on the bed, pupils going wide as he takes in the scent of the human, the scent of himself and Aldric wrapped around the small body.
It only takes a second before the wolf jumps onto the bed, paws on either side of Milton as instincts take over and he's shoving his nose in the human's face, neck, ear, chest.
Milton giggles, hands still rummaging through the thick fur as he's practically pinned to his bed, Aldric chuckling in the background as he makes room for the large animal.
Callum licks his face, tongue flicking across every bit of skin he can reach, Milton's laughter getting louder as this wolf overwhelms him.
He's not sure why he's not scared. Why he doesn't care that beyond that tongue is a set of very sharp teeth. The wolf is kind. Loving. Gentle. Much like Callum is to him.
The boy hums in his throat as the wolf settles down, lying on top of him without crushing his poor feet. She gives him a look, as if to check he's okay, before resuming a much calmer session of licking. Gently grooming him in the only way she knows how. At least, that's how Milton sees it.
Aldric watches carefully as the two settle down. Callum's instinct to protect his pup taking over in a way that has his heart aching in his chest, but he does his best to ignore it. Instead, he gently pats Callum's back, watching the two cuddle close.