Sincere apologies to all of you reading this story. This story is a slow process but I'm slowly moving forward with it so bare with me please! Remember I enjoy feedback - good, bad, even suggestions. I have to thank my new buddy Kenny for some of the ideas in this chapter!
Note -- Just wanted to take this moment to add something important. My character's names reflect who their wolf is more then who the person actually is, it's a wolf custom that they find their wolf's name and then take it for their own. The idea is as they age the human part of their soul achieves more and more harmony with the wolf part of their soul and will eventually mirror their wolf. Like Koen's name means Honest and his wolf's defining character trait is honesty. Honest is the true source of who his wolf is and who what he is slowly becoming.
CHAPTER SIX
KOEN
Koen was dreaming. Only it didnt feel like a normal dream, Koen felt it was a summoning dream. Koen found himself out in the old familiar vale in 'wolf form. It had been the meeting place of his pack for generations and Koen found himself waiting for something as he sat on his haunches patiently, relaxed but alert. The darkness of the night was all around him, broken up by the cold glow of the stars and the subtle blue-white light of the heavy waxing moon hanging high in the sky above him, showing only a quarter was left before it was showing all of its pale face. The tall oak and birch trees that stood at the edges of the grove spread out as far as his wolf eyes could see and a thick mist, nearly a fog drifted lazily around the area with no breeze to push it. A huge, ancient apple tree sat at the centre of the clearing with huge, flat granite stones scattered about it at random. It looked to Koen the same as it always had, but there was no smell and it was eerily silent of the normal noise made by such a vale , nor was there a breath of wind or the natural breathing rhythm of a forest at night.
But Koen wasn't disturbed by this, he just waited patiently, still as the clearing around him. The reason he was here would be answered in due time he told himself as he waited.
Time passed and yet it didn't for Koen, he had no idea how long he waited there but where there was no noise suddenly there came a howl. Low, solemn, not commanding but it was demanding an answer all the same. Koen's sensitive ears swiveled as he listened to the howl as it seemed to carry on tirelessly, effortlessly, as if the wolf howling had all the time in the world to howl like that. The tone of the howl had him cocking his head curiously. The tone and the voice were familiar to him, young, female. Raising his muzzle he answered her with his own voice in a similar low, solemn fashion, but his had a chiding, less serious edge to it. It conveyed that she didn't have to be that formal with him, or that demanding. He'd done what she wished and he was here wasn't he?
The howl stopped and knowing she wasn't far way stayed where he was indulgently, still in no real hurry to be anywhere else. Before long he heard a soft yipping sound coming out of the misty trees ahead of the slender red wolf that loped out of the trees. Her teeth were showing in a wolfish grin as she loped towards him, pale green eyes a mirror to his own reflected amusement and annoyance. Stopping in front of him she nuzzled him affectionately in greeting, rubbing her chest and side against him vibrating with that growling purr. Koen nipped her shoulder affectionately, making sure to drape a heavy leg over her shoulder to hold her still so he could wash her ears and muzzle with his tongue to be irritating. She sneezed rubbing a paw over her muzzle and ears as she moved back from him, glaring her opinion of a gesture she hated. Koen laughed silently at her, cocking his head to the side he asked her in wolf language what she wanted. With a very human roll of those pale green eyes the slender red wolf reared up on her rear legs and slipped into her human skin. Unconcerned with her nudity she sat cross legged on the grass, a pointed expression on her face as she waited for Koen to slip back to human. With a huff Koen did and mirrored her position on the grass.
"Well out with it Kaula, you don't usually go to this much trouble unless its important." Koen prompted his twin sister. The slender young `wolf across from him looked almost identical to him, lean, as tall as he was, but her dark red hair was cut short enough that the silky looking stuff brushed her jaw. Her features were more feminine then his but they were the same, mirror images of each other.
Kaula gave him a penetrating look her lips twitching into a smile. "Can't a little sister just want to say hello to her older brother?"
Koen returned her look without the smile. "You know this isn't a good idea."
Kaula snorted. "Oh cut that crap. They're human they can't track us into our dreams and I doubt if the `wolves they enlisted will be looking for us this way."
Koen arched an eyebrow. "That's not the point and you know it. Leaving meant no contact between us, but you guys still managed to follow and find me."
Kaula frowned a touch of anger glittering in her pale eyes. "We miss you, you know. I miss you"
Koen softened a little. "You think I don't go a day without missing any of you?"
Kaula scowled. "Well if you miss us that much why are you still not with us? Come back, we need you. You shouldn't have left us in the first place. But you had to go and play the hero." She responded heatedly. "You had no right to just do that. We had a right to fight with you, be by your side. But no, oh no, you have to be the way you are, all pig headed and bad assed."
Koen felt his own temper straining it's leash. "Hey! Listen to me! I left for a very good reason. They weren't just human you know. It was my fault they found out about our serum. They weren't giving up and they killed Dad thinking he was me and came very close to catching Rey and Raine. They severely injured Brant and Mum. I had no choice! I mean fuck me, they got Rain! He was just a baby!"
"Oh fuck you Koen! That's bullshit. Dad knew what he was getting into and the risk he was taking, so did Rey and Mum. Raine I grant you shouldn't have happened. But that didn't give you the right to just abandon your pack. Without Dad to lead us we need you. You know it's your damned responsibility to lead our goddamned family." Kaula snarled back.
Koen snarled right back at her. Gritting his teeth he forced calm on himself, he wasn't going back into this argument, he just wasn't. "I'm not going to sit here and trade insults with you Kaula, I'm just not." Koen told her firmly, glaring at her, making sure his eyes met and locked with hers, forcing his will on her.
Kaula growled and glared right back, he eyes as feral as Koen was feeling. The staring contest and clashing of their wills went on for a few more minutes before Kaula had to give into Koen's stronger will and dropped her eyes. This was about the fourth time that Kaula had summoned him into a dream so she could talk to him, or more importantly talk him into coming back.
Koen could hear Kaula grinding her own teeth together as she breathed slowly, her chest rising and falling raggedly as she struggled to control her strong emotions. Finally he heard a grunt and she raised her eyes to meet his own.
"Your right, I didn't actually come here to argue with you again tonight. I came for a reason."
Koen looked at her waiting for her to get to the point.
"I had one of my dreams. But I'm not sure if it's precognitive, present tense or if it's a combination of both. It included you and held dodgy omens." Kaula finally said a worried expression crossing her face as she rubbed at her temples, looking tired.
Koen felt his own expression getting worried but he was curious about what she dreamed. Kaula had been born with some unusual gifts, Kaula's wolf wasn't called prophetess for nothing, she got everything from waking flashes to dreams both precognitive, past and present. Koen and the rest of their pack had come to rely on her instincts, her inner knowledge, trusting her visions.
"Tell me." Koen instructed her.
"I see you, a red wolf running through city streets. Your tired, injured, hunted again. There's something pursuing you, I can see the dark shadow behind you, it has an air of menace following it but it feels familiar to me. Then nothing, till I get a second image. There's another's perspective, it's like I'm looking through his eyes, but he too is running, always running, as he too searches for something, desperately. Finally I get a third image of nothing but darkness, shadows and an awful scream. That scream is like nothing I've ever heard in my life and I'll hear it`s echo till the day I die. It haunts me Koen, that scream sounds like a soul being ripped out and the start of hell for whoever that noise came from. Then as the darkness fades I hear sounds of terrible destruction, terrible anguish and rage fairly radiates from the darkness. Then nothing." Kaula explained quietly, face pale, haunted, anguished as she is talking, her hands clutching the grass next to her thighs as if the ground were a lifeline.
Koen feels himself moving automatically, seeking to comfort her he wrapped his arms around her shaking, naked shoulders and hugged her. Allowing the soft growling purr to escape him as he rubbed her shoulders and upper arms trying to get some feeling back into her, to get her mind to come back to where they were. He knew from experience that she wouldn't be sleeping properly, the dreams or images always lingered long after the event, she often got stuck in them when replaying the memory. Koen felt Kaula lean against him taking comfort from the smell and nearness of her brother and pack mate. Even though this was technically a dream, it all felt very real to both of them.
"I have a bad feeling in my guts that it's you my instincts are warning me about. Be careful Koen." She whispered into his ear as she stayed where she was for a few moments soaking up the comfort. Koen too felt himself soaking up the same comfort of having his sister so closer for a change.
Reluctantly pulling away from her he eased away gently. "I think we both need to be getting back. I'll take what you said seriously and hope you are wrong that I'm not in danger." Koen reassured her as he got up and stretched. Slipping his skin he felt the familiar feel of his wolf form and trotted over to nudge Kaula's hip affectionately. He was just beginning to melt away as wolves do into the trees when he heard Kaula call his name. Stopping he turned his head to look over his shoulder curiously. His sister's expression was fierce and determined looking.
"Just so you know, you might not want us too. But we haven't stopped looking for you and we'll keep looking. We will find you and when we do Rey wants to smack you one." She promised him as she slipped her own skin, going wolf, as she herself melted into the trees leaving Koen standing there.
Koen woke up from his dream feeling exhausted. Summoning dreams for wolves weren't exactly a restful experience as it actually took energy. Dreaming was the way wolves sent or received messages from themselves, from others, or from Gaia herself for those lucky few fortunate enough to hear from the Great Lady herself. Dreaming was even the access point for how a `wolf died naturally, the spirit disappearing out of his or her earth bound shape to join Gaia and their ancestors. He found himself in his own bed, the bedding barely disturbed from when he'd gone to bed some hours before and hours had gone past since he'd been called in his sleep by his sister. The pale blue digits of the alarm clock on his bedside table told him that it was 4am and that the warm weight curled up in bed next to him smelled like Rudi.
Yawning sleepily Koen felt his wolf stir inside him, awake because he was and curious about what he'd dreamed. Sharing his experiences in the dream with his wolf Koen lay there conferring, trying to puzzle out what Kaula's dream could have meant. Koen knew and trusted his sister too much to just ignore her warning and his wolf was in agreement. A wolf never discarded information, all information was important so they would mull this over between themselves and be more alert. Reminding his wolf that it was still too early to be up yet Koen yawned a second time, rolling over in the bed to a more comfortable position on his stomach. Inside him Koen felt his wolf stretch out and almost roll over himself as they both dozed, falling back towards the comforting arms of sleep. In the moment or two before he succumbed Koen found himself missing Raul next to him.
RAUL
Raul woke up on the couch to the smell of coffee and subtle noise of Koen padding around in the kitchen. Sniffing appreciatively he shifted around in his make-shift bed, moving around so he could sit up, wrestling for a moment or two with the sheet that had got tangled around him during the night. Yawning he stretched lazily, feeling his wolf stretch with him ignoring his morning wood as he went to the bathroom to piss. Done with that pressing matter, he padded into the kitchen in just his boxers. Raul smiled sleepily at Koen as he gratefully accepted the cup of coffee the wolf was holding out to him.
"Cream and sugar are where they always are." Koen grunted as he trudged out of the kitchen with his own black coffee and the morning newspaper that somebody had already brought.
Raul had learned that Koen was a far from charming person before he had his morning coffee and stayed quiet as he fixed his own coffee the way he liked it, heavy on the sugar and milk, wimp coffee Koen and a lot of Raul's friends called it. Following Koen out of the kitchen he leaned against the open French doors as he watched Koen sitting in the deck chair out on the balcony. As with any other time he was close to Koen Raul felt his wolf stirring to the red wolf's presence, his cock too was starting to harden too as he watched the way the morning sunlight fell on Koen, highlighting the deep red in his loose, sleep tousled dark hair, the reddish shade of his sensual mouth, the pale skin on his naked upper body. So far in the two days since they had played on the carpet there hadn't been a repeat of the experience much to Raul's disappointment. He knew part of it was because Koen seemed to be acting as if it hadn't happened which frustrated but didnt surprise him. Raul admitted that he'd have been more shocked if Koen had acted differently. But he knew it wasn't helping that Rudi was around constantly. He knew that Rudi hadn't been there the night it had happened, nor had she come back at all during the morning when the pair of them had woken up still sprawled out on the floor together. They'd both showered so she couldn't have smelled the night's mischief on either of them. But she seemed to sense perhaps unconsciously that something was happening or threatening her secure position, that something being Raul. She rarely left Koen alone with Raul and when he was there she was never far away from Koen either as if she felt Raul would jump him in front of her. To Koen's irritation he felt that Koen noticed what was going on but didn't try to stop it or even acknowledge it even as he flirted or teased him all the time.
"You having something to say or do you just get your rocks off by staring at me?" Raul realized that Koen had spoken a few seconds after the words had been hanging in the air between them.
"Huh?" Raul asked uncertainly focusing on Koen's curious face and the amused smirk starting to grow on those subtly curving sensual red lips.
"You seemed to be trying to examine my brain. Your staring practically fried a hole in the side of my head." Koen teased him.
Raul felt himself blush as he realized he had been staring for several minutes without saying anything. Raul realized he'd been silent too long when Koen's arching dark red eyebrows drew together in a frown, his eyes still more amused then annoyed.
"Do I have snot on my face or something?" Koen was asking in a more serious tone, reaching up to brush at his face.
Raul shook his head in the awkward silence. "Nope, not that I could see." He replied with a flippant smile, deciding that he'd just have to go with it.
Koen grinned the start of the frown disappearing. "Well good, I'd hate to have heard that I had snot on my face and nobody'd said anything."
Raul grinned back using his eyes to subtly appreciate and admire. "As I said your face looks the way it always does to me."
Koen smirked sipping at his coffee.
Raul wondered where Rudi was but then realized he really didn't give a fuck, Koen was responding to him and they were without Rudi.
Moving forward Raul wondered how far this could go as he moved to sit in the second deck chair that was on the balcony and stretched his legs out. He nearly crowed to himself and had to fight his own smirk as he noticed Koen's eyes lock onto and linger on the tight, sturdy muscles in his long legs. Raul stretched his arms over his head and arched his back allowing the smirk this time when he felt Koen's eyes running up his body as his felt his muscles flex and shift.
"Tease." Raul heard Koen growl softly and felt his own cock twitch as he noticed the bulge in the pair of old gray track pants Koen was wearing. It was a pair of familiar pair of pants that Koen liked to wear around the house. He was wearing nothing else though which Raul never minded, although the sight of all that bare upper body had him hard all the time.
Raul`s grin was taunting. "Care to do something about it if it bothers you so much."
Koen grinned cheekily at him but didn't move from where he was sitting, merely leaning back in his chair and stretching. His movements stretched his long, muscled legs in the grey pants and the muscles in his upper body. Raul found that his eyes were locked on the tight muscles shifting in Koen's six pack abs and had to tear his eyes away before he was tempted to start drooling only to see Koen's smirk. Deciding once again to go along with it Raul allowed his eyes to drift down Koen's half naked body lazily, lingeringly, allowing a subtle smile to pull at his own lips. He felt his smile become a smirk when he heard Koen's soft moan feeling the first stroke of victory in two days, feeling proud of the sexual tension he'd managed to build between them. He wants you Raul's wolf told him with a pleased growl, go and get him. Raul shook his head deciding that if Koen could deny and tease him as he had over the past few days then he could play as well. Raul's wolf huffed at this, not understanding why his human half was presented with an opportunity and wasn't taking it. They waited for such signs all the time and his `wolf was confused because they usually used them to their advantage. Not this time, we can be patient and play his game. If he wants to do it this way, then fine, but I refuse to be the only one suffering, Raul told himself firmly. Squaring his shoulders he ignored the hungry look in Koen's eyes that was making his cock thrum with want for him. Raul merely arched an eyebrow of his own at Koen and sipped his own coffee and he relaxed in his chair ignoring the clear invitation.
"By the way I forgot to tell you that I saw an unfamiliar wolf come into the pub last night. He had short dark brown hair and pale green eyes like you. Only he was more muscular and bulkier then you are, but of a similar height. He even looked a bit like you come to think of it. He was alone and was asking questions about your band, but particularly you for some reason. A mighty curious wolf if you ask me, I'd have called him a fan but he wasn't any groupie I've seen before." Raul found himself saying distracting himself from giving into those hungry eyes.
Raul say Koen's eyes narrow and gleam with an unreadable emotion as the hunger disappeared from his expression. Seeing that he had Koen's attention Raul was curious about his reaction, feeling that a nerve had been hit here.
Raul had a feeling something was going on, the mysterious Brant from a few days ago and now this brown haired `wolf. He had a feeling they were connected somehow but each time he brought it up Koen evaded answering his questions.
"He didn't give me a name, didn't say if he was coming back either and he left after a second Jack D and coke. " Raul went on, prodding for a spark that might answer some of his questions.
Raul like any other wolf liked a curiosity, the expression curiosity killed the cat could also apply to curious wolves but he had to know. The mysteries surrounding Koen just seemed to keep growing the longer he spent around him.
Koen's reaction to this added bit of information was a closed expression, even his expressive green eyes were cold, empty of expression.
"I take it you know this person?" Raul prodded unable to stop himself as he ignored the clear warning in Koen's expression.
Still no reaction from Koen, not even in his body language. Most `wolves gave away every emotion or thought they had in their body language but not Koen. Koen was too good at controlling himself for that and it was pissing Raul off.
"Just as you knew the person who called for you. Don't play cold bastard with me again Koen, I'm not stupid, I can see what's right in front of me just like anybody else." Raul dared to push.
The air between them visibly chilled even further but Raul met Koen's eyes and held his grip on those green orbs. Tension was beginning to edge into the relaxed line of Koen's shoulders but nothing else showed but Raul felt like crowing, this was more progress then he'd made in weeks.
"Koen!" Raul barked, deliberately sharper then he needed to.
"He shouldn't have come here." Koen gritted out, but his expression and body language still revealed nothing. "Where'd they get this number?" Raul heard Koen mutter in such a soft, irritated tone of voice that he barely caught the words at all.
"Who shouldn't have come here?" Raul prompted. "Who shouldn`t have got this number? Come on Koen he looked like you, you must know him, he could have been your brother."
"Half." Koen grunted.
"Half what?" Raul asked feeling frustrated and knowing that his tone sounded harsh with it, getting blood out of a stone was easier then this. But Raul wasn't one to give up, not when he was getting ahead and he felt he was cracking something here. He and his wolf were now both dying to know more about the wolf they regarded as their mate.
"Brother. Half brother." Koen ground out after a long, tense silence. He said it so quietly and so reluctantly that Raul almost didn't hear him again.
"Your half brother? Which one? The `wolf in the pub, or the one on the phone?" Raul pushed again.
"The one in the pub." Koen answered with an irritated growl. "The one on the phone was my adopted cousin."
"They are your family right? Your pack." Raul went on feeling that if he'd got this much out of him that he had to push for more while he had this small door open. He didn't know when he'd get another chance at another window into Koen.
Koen nodded but didn't add anything else.
"This is good progress here Koen. I now know more about you then I've learned in several weeks. I now have knowledge of an adopted cousin called Brant and now that you have a half brother running around somewhere. Nice to know you have similarities to the rest of us." Raul goaded him, smirking at him, going with being deliberately annoying this time as he changed to another angle.
The beginning of a smile was causing Koen's lips to twitch slightly as one corner of those red lips inched up. "What similarities?" Koen asked, some of the tension leaving him as his own wolf like curiosity showed itself.
"Oooh there goes another similarity to the rest of us! Koen has a curious streak!" Raul needled him.
This time the lip actually quirked up to a little half smile that nearly had Raul pouncing on him then and there but he held himself back with an iron grip. He had another purpose today he told his throbbing cock and equally insatiable wolf.
"Any other family members I need to be aware of? Does the half brother have a name?" Raul carried on eagerly, perhaps too eagerly because the half smile disappeared and the wary reserve returned to Koen's face.
"Yes. Rey." Koen answered in a clipped tone of voice, the coldness had returned it seemed, making Raul want to punch him or rip his own hair out in frustration, they were back to where they started.
"You going to tell me more then just yes there buddy?" Raul urged before he clammed up completely.
"Kaula is my twin sister. Rain is my baby brother by several years. Rey or Reynard is the same age as me but is a few months older then I am. Farrell, Dior and Alair are my younger cousins, triplets. Gisele is my father's sister and then there's Diallo and Lecia my parents." Koen answered sounding reluctant, the words coming slowly as if pulled out of him against his will but Raul could see the pride, love and wistfulness in his eyes for a moment or two as he named them.
"So where are they?" Raul asked quietly, not wanting him to stop now but he already noticed that Koen's expression was controlled again, his expressive eyes cool as if that emotion hadn't been there a moment or two before.
"Not here." Koen replied curtly, shifting restlessly he got up and walked away from Raul without saying anything else.
He left Raul feeling bewildered, even more frustrated and curious then ever.
Koen had a family somewhere and now Raul knew there names at least. He also knew that it seemed that Koen's family was getting closer to Koen and that Koen didn't want them to be. The situation just got more interesting as the days passed and Raul was determined to learn what was going on. What he'd heard today was at least a start and there was a crack in the hard visage that was Koen. Raul wasn't stupid, he knew there was more to Koen then what he chose to show the world, but he needed to know more. Koen was his mate and if something was going on to endanger or trouble his mate then he needed to know to help protect him or fight beside him. He promised himself if it took till the day he chose to leave this world for the next that he'd find out more. Raul had the feeling that Koen's story would be a difficult, if not tragic one, and had the instinctive feeling that Koen had left his family not the other day around. As Raul sat there, left alone with his thoughts and now cold coffee he drifted back towards the 'wolf from the night before. Rey as Koen had called him could give him the key to more of what was going on here. But he had to be careful, he had the feeling that Koen wouldn't appreciate him sticking his curious nose into his business. He knew that this Rey had seemed a prickly and suspicious person, even rude in his coldness, but then that made sense Raul thought in amusement. He was Koen's half brother and Raul now realized why the 'wolf had felt more familiar to him then just in looks. His plan now in place Raul settled back to enjoy the morning sun, listening to the sounds of Koen moving around in the apartment behind him.