OLIVER

Olivia had kept her promise. She did not tell anyone about the conversation Oliver had at Walmart. She also had returned to her normal behavior toward him as if she had forgotten the conversation had even happened herself. Oliver was grateful for this. Olivia was a brat sometimes, but the sibling he trusted the most to keep his secrets was her. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were twins, or if it was just because his brothers were assholes.

Oliver had mostly kept his secret as well and did not go into the woods searching for werewolves. He did however venture into the woods to have his almost daily runs. If he just so happened to come across a werewolf while out in the woods, that couldn’t be his fault, right? He had been looking at the missing person’s posters around town, he saw a few more get added to the list over the few weeks it had been since the Walmart encounter. His father had always told him that other werewolves were almost like wild animals, they traveled in packs and hunted humans. They never stayed in one place too long so they could pick people off wherever they went without drawing attention. If werewolves were really behind these disappearances then they were definitely sticking around too long. Oliver counted at least 20 different missing person’s posters. That is a huge amount of people in a town so small.

Every time he went out he paid special attention to any noises he heard. Especially anything that sounded “wolfy”. He did come across some regular wolves once. He thought that was pretty cool as he had never seen even regular wolves outside the zoo. They were terrified of him. No matter what the rednecks at Walmart said, regular wolves are also not stupid and they could tell he was not like them. Oliver was not worried about these wolves as he knew they would most likely keep their distance out of fear. He had never been in a fight in his wolf form, but he felt if it was necessary he could probably take them anyway. He was considered to be a small werewolf, from what he could tell comparing himself to his father and brothers, but he was still bigger than regular wolves. Oliver watched these wolves for a while, he was trying to gauge if these wolves seemed rabid or particularly bloodthirsty. They seemed like regular animals to him, and he never saw them attack anything other than a few rabbits. He came to the conclusion that these wolves were not the cause of over 20 missing people.

It had been a month since the Walmart conversation. Oliver was beginning to become pretty certain that the rednecks were just bullshitting each other, or were just mistaken about the size of the wolves they described. When Oliver came across the regular wolves he was surprised by how big they were, he thought they’d be about the size of a husky or German shepherd, but they were massive creatures. Maybe the rednecks just didn’t know how big wolves were. Oliver was again, very disappointed.

One day while he was out for one of his runs when he got to the point where he would normally turn around, he decided to press on a little further. With how fast he runs, the distance he normally goes into the woods is usually at least five miles. Going further than that had seemed a bit too risky. He was feeling a bit adventurous, however, and he was tired of not finding what he was looking for. Maybe if he went a little further into the woods he could get results. The rednecks had said that you have to go pretty deep into the woods. Maybe he just wasn’t going far enough.

Oliver pressed on past the stream that was normally his cut-off spot. He ran for about another three miles beyond that point. He was starting to feel legitimately thirsty and thought maybe he should have taken a drink at the stream before continuing. How bad could the water be? It probably would have been amazingly cool and thirst-quenching. He thought about turning back when he heard something. The sound of a wolf howl. To a human ear, it would sound completely indecipherable from a regular wolf’s howl, but Oliver knew that howl didn’t belong to an ordinary wolf; That was the howl of an alpha werewolf communicating with his pack. They were most likely hunting. Oliver’s heart began pounding in his chest. He hoped that he wasn’t just experiencing wishful thinking. The rumors were true, there are other wolves in this area. He wasted no time, he took off at full speed toward the direction of the howls. There was more howling now, the pack was answering their alpha. They couldn't be more than half a mile up ahead. Oliver pushed faster. He wanted to catch up with them so badly, to finally meet some of his kind. Some of his kind who weren’t his brothers and sister or his mother and father.

Oliver came to a halt when he realized he no longer heard the echoing howls of a pack communicating with each other. His ears perked up and he listened intently for any sound that could be a werewolf. He heard crickets, he heard the rustling of squirrels and raccoons. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. Oliver began to whine a bit, he sounded like a kicked puppy he knew it, but this was frustrating and this was the only way his wolf brain knew how to handle frustration. He put his nose on the ground, he sniffed all around him, he didn't know what good that would do because he didn't know what these new wolves even smelled like in the first place, but it was worth a shot. Surprisingly, he did pick up a smell. He couldn’t ignore it either, it was incredibly strong, it hit him in the nose so hard that his eyes began to water. He began making his way toward the source of the smell. He made his way through the brush with his nose to the ground. The scent was getting stronger. He started moving faster, he forgot to be hesitant because of his excitement and didn’t think that whatever smell he was tracking might hear him coming. The smell was unbearably close now and it smelled better than it did before.

Suddenly Oliver froze in his tracks as he heard growling come from the direction his nose was taking him. The growling scared him and he whined again. He lowered his body and dropped his ears. He wanted whatever growled at him to know he wasn't a threat. He kept his eyes fixed on the direction the growls came from, ready to run if need be.

The biggest wolf Oliver had ever seen stepped into the light from behind the trees. Oliver whined again and tried to get even lower. The bigger wolf had his teeth barred and the hair on his back was sticking up. He came closer to Oliver. His stance was threatening and he snapped in Oliver's direction a couple of times as he came closer. Oliver had never been so afraid in his life. The other wolf sensed this and lowered his guard a little, this tiny wolf was not a threat. As he stepped closer he realized that the little wolf seemed to be the source of the intoxicating smell he had been following earlier. When the big wolf dropped his guard Oliver lifted his head a little which caused the big wolf to really snap at him. Oliver instinctively rolled onto his back, exposing his belly. This made the bigger wolf let out a sound that almost sounded like a laugh, then it did turn into laughter as the big wolf transformed into a big man; Tall and lean, with curly black hair on his head and face, he stood at about 6’5. He looked down at Oliver who was still lying on the ground with his tummy exposed.

“You want a belly rub boy?” the big man snorted out. He wiped a tear from his eye that had been caused by laughter. Oliver suddenly became embarrassed. He rolled back over onto his feet before transforming back into his human form. “Well, look at you.” The man said once Oliver was standing in front of him as a man. He looked him up and down, Oliver was excruciatingly aware that they were both naked. He turned his gaze away from the man and stared at his toes instead. “Who are you?” the man asked in a demanding tone, he was eyeing Oliver suspiciously. Oliver was terrified, he had found another werewolf. A werewolf who could potentially be the cause of death to over 20 human lives.

“I just moved to this area, I heard other wolves may be around here and I wanted to find out if the rumors were true,” Oliver mentally punched himself for answering so easily, but he couldn't help it.

“Where have you heard rumors of werewolves?”

“From the town, there’s been a lot of missing people.” Oliver made eye contact with the man briefly before dropping his eyes again. The man’s stare was too intense.

The man stared at Oliver unbelievingly. “Yeah, so I’ve heard. People from town think it’s werewolves? Where did they get that idea?” He paused and looked Oliver up and down again. “Where is the rest of your pack?” He asked Oliver.

“That’s not your concern” Oliver was trying to act tough. He wanted this man to think he could be as dangerous as Oliver thought he may be.

“It is my concern when you randomly show up in our territory and suddenly people start going missing!” The man was gritting his teeth and glaring at Oliver. Oliver did not think that trying to be intimidating was working as this wolf could easily tear him apart.

“My family had nothing to do with that! We arrived after the disappearances started. I thought you may be responsible” Oliver’s heart was pounding in his chest. Fear had crept up on him when he suddenly realized that he could essentially be standing in front of and speaking to essentially a serial killer.

“My pack is not responsible.” The man said, he was still eyeing Oliver suspiciously, but his stare was less intense. “You didn’t answer my question, why do the people from town think it’s werewolves?”

“Some rednecks have footage of giant wolves out here. I guess they don’t actually think it’s werewolves. They just think it’s some giant freak wolves. I am the one that thought werewolves when I heard the rumors, being a werewolf.” Oliver’s heart was slowing down. This man was slowly feeling like less of a threat. Oliver felt he was being genuine when he said that it was not his pack that was causing the disappearances. There must be other packs around here. The man eyed him a bit longer before extending his hand out to Oliver.

“Name’s Sean.” He said. Oliver took his hand and shook it.

“Oliver,” He responded.

A loud howl erupted from somewhere on their left, and Oliver jumped. Sean glanced in that direction and then back at Oliver.

“Turn back into a wolf and let me take you back to your pack,” Sean demanded.

“What? no!” Oliver crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t need to leave, and I don’t need you to take me home. I have just as much right as you to be out in the woods.”

“Listen, you’re in my pack's territory right now. And there are some wolves that won't be so nice to a strange lone wolf wandering where they shouldn't be.”

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“I can take care of myself. I could be an alpha one day, it’s in my blood.” Sean shook his head in disbelief. This guy was unbelievably naive.

“Ok fine, you go on then, but I’m not stopping them when they hunt you down and tear you apart.” Sean turned away from Oliver and began walking away.

Oliver wondered if Sean was being serious or not, if his pack wasn’t the cause of the disappearances in town then would they truly kill him just because he happened to be in the woods?

“How many are there?” Oliver asked, Sean stopped and turned.

“I’m not sure, At least 20 from my own pack. Other packs may be out hunting right now as well, it’s about that time.”

“And you’re sure they won’t like me?”

Sean sighed. “Positive. Tensions have been really high since the disappearances started. People going missing isn’t secluded to just the human town. People have been going missing from our packs as well.”

This surprised Oliver, whatever was taking people was strong enough to also take down a werewolf. Oliver stared at Sean a bit longer, before sighing as well. “Ok. If you are so concerned about my safety, then you can take me home.” Oliver did not want to speak anymore as he felt a bit embarrassed so he transformed into his wolf form and looked at Sean waiting for him to transform as well. Sean smiled at him and patted his head. Oliver growled, which made Sean chuckle.

Sean sighed and stretched before transforming. He sat and looked at Oliver. Oliver turned in the direction of home. Sean stood and followed.

---------------------

The two wolves strode into Oliver’s backyard. The trip home was mostly uneventful. To Oliver, absolutely nothing happened besides Sean showing off how much faster he could run by running circles around him. He was completely unaware of all the wolves that watched them from the shadows. Sean was completely aware of them. He kept as close as he could to Oliver so none of them would get any ideas. The wolves watching all knew him by name, they kept their distance.

A wolf much larger than Oliver but smaller than Sean approached them when they entered the yard. Oliver lowered his head, a similar stance he took when he first encountered Sean. This was Oliver’s father. Another wolf about the same size as Oliver followed after him. This was his mother.

Oliver's father barred his teeth at Sean. Sean refrained from showing his, but he growled low in his chest. His wolf instinct wanted to show him exactly who’s boss, but his human side told him it would be a bad idea.

Oliver was standing on two feet now, a man standing beside two angry wolves.

“Dad, it’s ok. He’s friendly. He just walked me home.” Oliver’s father looked between him and Sean, he growled one last time before transforming himself. Oliver’s mother remained a wolf and was sniffing her son. She had been worried sick until she saw them in the yard. She didn't care about the strange wolf, she only cared about her son returning home safely. She licked his hand affectionately before turning back towards the house. She wasn't about to stand outside naked.

“Where have you been?” Oliver’s father was stern, but Sean could see the relief on his face and knew his sternness came from the concern his son had given him. “We heard wolves howling all around and you were nowhere to be found! Your mother was worried sick! I was worried sick.” he pointed a finger at his son. “and who is this? Your friend too good to show me his face?” He gestured towards Sean but wasn't really looking at him. He was still staring intently at his son.

Sean had hoped to get in and out without having to transform again, all these transformations in one night were getting exhausting, but he decided he didn't want to be rude. He now stood on two feet, wishing he had something to cover himself up with.

“My name is Sean, sir. You moved into my pack's territory.” Sean was taught to respect his elders and added the sir to show that. Oliver’s father fully looked at him now.

“Your territory? You’re the alpha then?” Gerald looked at him like he didn’t believe that to be possible and that pissed Sean off.

“I’m one of them.” Sean kept his tone calm despite how offended he was.

“One of them? There’s only one alpha in a pack boy.” Gerald spat at him.

“Well sir, I don't know how long you and your family have been disconnected from the wolf world, but small packs are rare now. Most wolves live together in packs of hundreds or more. With a pack that large there needs to be more than one alpha. I'm the alpha of a sub-pack of about 20. There’s about 500 of us in total.” Sean was finding it more and more difficult to remain calm.

Carol came out carrying a handful of clothes for her son and husband. She even thought of grabbing a pair of shorts to cover the young wolf that had shown up with her son. As soon as she passed out the clothes the three men immediately began dressing. Tensions were a little less high now that everyone was dressed.

“A pack of 500?” Gerald shook his head in disbelief. “That's incredible. How do so many alphas get along without fights?”

Sean sort of shrugged his shoulders. “That hasn’t been a problem, at least not since I’ve been alive. Every wolf has their place and knows it.”

Gerald looked at the young wolf in disbelief. In his day, back when he was in his first pack, any wolf that claimed to be an alpha would have his throat ripped out by the true alpha. Either that, or he would prove he truly was the alpha by ripping out the current alpha's throat. That kind of hostility was why when he had his first child, he and Carol decided to disband from the pack. “That’s… incredible” Is all Gerald could muster, he was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. “Thank you for bringing Oliver home.” Gerald continued “He’s young and we're the only wolves he’s ever known. He is naive to wolf traditions and how an outside wolf would be perceived by your pack.” Gerald gestured toward Oliver. Oliver looked offended, but a stern look from his father kept him from speaking up.

“I noticed,” Sean said. “My pack watched me bring him here. If I would not have been with him it would not have been pretty. I’m sure my father will be aware of your family's presence soon.”

“Your father?” Gerald raised his eyebrows, “I assume he is the main alpha, the leader of your tribe?”

“Yes sir. The others will for sure tell him that there is another pack of wolves in our territory.” Sean wasn’t really sure why he was bothering to tell these strange wolves. They were in fact strangers and should have known better than to come here, but when he looked over at Oliver his heart softened and he did not like the idea of what would happen to him and his family if they were not warned.

“Shit!” Gerald threw his arms up and placed his hands on the back of his head in exasperation. “We just got here, we cannot afford to move again.” He turned to his wife. “Go inside, tell the kids to start loading up.”

Carol just stared at her husband. “Gerald. We can’t leave. Where are we gonna go? We just bought the place, we don’t have the kind of money for a second mortgage!” Gerald was already walking toward the house.

“We will figure it out, Carol. We can rent for a while. Our kids are grown, they can get jobs to help out.” Carol was chasing after him. Oliver was still planted in the same spot he was when they first arrived in the yard. He was already thinking about how it was once again, his fault, that his family would have to move again. Less than a week, that’s a new record. Sean was watching him. Oliver met his eye and glared at him.

“You did not tell me that other wolves saw us!” He spat at him.

“And how was I supposed to tell you when we were both wolves? Did you honestly not see them? Hear them? SMELL them?” Sean spat back, he had never met another wolf that was so unaware of his surroundings. Oliver flushed with embarrassment.

“No, I did not notice.” Oliver felt like he could cry, but there was no way he would let tears come with Sean around.

“Tell your family they don’t have to pack up. I will talk to my father.” Sean was not sure what he would say to his father, but he needed to talk to him anyway before he sent every wolf in the pack here to take out this family. He would think of something.

“Oliver!” Oliver’s mother’s voice came from the house. “Come inside, we have to hurry!” Both boys looked toward the direction of the house and then back at each other.

“Do you think that will help?” Oliver looked into Sean’s eyes for the first time instead of at the ground. There was hope in his eyes. Sean nodded.

“It can’t hurt.” Sean paused a moment and suddenly remembered something important. “Do you have a cellphone?”

“Yes.”

“Cool - Uh-” Sean began rummaging through the shorts that did not belong to him for a pen. “Shit. Do you have a pen?”

Oliver reached in his own pockets. Luckily enough, there actually was a Sharpie marker. How convenient.

“ Yeah, here.” Oliver tossed Sean the marker. Sean caught it, stepped closer to Oliver, grabbed his hand, and began scribbling a number on his hand Oliver assumed was his phone number.

“That’s my number. If you need anything, text me.” Sean handed the marker to Oliver. He gave Oliver a friendly smile before turning toward the woods where he and Oliver had come from earlier.

—-----

Oliver opened the door to his bedroom. All three of his siblings were there to greet him. Oliver was surprised to see them. The three of them stared at him and he stared back.

"He was cute," Olivia said.

"Ok, and?" Oliver walked inside his room and shut the door.

"Just an observation," Olivia answered.

"If you think he's so cute, ask him out!" Oliver was annoyed.

"You should ask him out," Kyle added. Oliver looked at him absolutely baffled.

"Why?" Oliver asked. All three of his siblings shrugged.

"Why not?" Theodore asked.

"Because he could be dangerous! And besides, he probably isn't gay!" Oliver exclaimed.

"How do you know?" Theodore asked again.

"I don't, I guess." Oliver sat down backward in the office chair by his desk and faced his siblings. "I mean, look at him! What about him seems gay?"

The siblings shrugged again. "Doesn't hurt to ask," Olivia concluded.

"Doesn't hurt you, you mean" Oliver rolled his eyes and laid his head down on his arms. "Get out of my room," Oliver said, defeated.