Chapter 15: Never Leave Your Buddy

A week later, Sasha was spending a lazy Friday afternoon watching movies with her wolfman on the couch. She was very excited, for this night was a full moon, which she thought about her belief that it was suicide being in a same room with a werewolf on a night like this. Instead, here he was sprawled out on the couch shirtless, while she snuggled up under his arm watching Scooby Doo and the reluctant werewolf.

His mother walked in back from work, which she smiled happily. “Hey! I rented a cabin during winter break…would you like to stay a couple nights with us?” she asked.

Sasha’s face lit up. “Ooh…I’d love to get snowed in with a pack of werewolves” she said before she winked at him. “Maybe your winter coat will have grown in by then” she said as she stroked his downy chest.

He blushed brightly, and his mother snickered. “Well, Toby does love to play in snow. He’s more of a mountain werewolf if you know what I mean” she said.

Sasha nodded. “Yea…I can tell” she said before she scratched at his chest. “You’re built for power not speed” she said.

He scowled at her taking offense. “Are you calling me slow?” he asked.

His mother snickered. “Yes, we are, now take my backhanded compliment and accept it” she teased.

Toby growled before Sasha tapped her fist back into his chest. “Hush you!” she said under her breath.

Later that evening went on Sasha was in bed lying on top of a giant mass of fur caught up in the afterglow of their antics. The music played lowly in the background as a slow cool breeze blew in through the window. She groaned clutching onto his fur tightly as she looked into the eyes of her big lover. “I think Shaggy should have stayed a werewolf” she said as pushed off his chest to sit up.

She brushed her disheveled hair with her hands trying to bring some order back to it. She smiled as he set his mighty paw-like hand onto her hip giving it an appreciative rub. “You think so?” he said in a deep monstrous voice.

She leaned in and crossed her arms over his colossal chest smiling at him. “Yea…if you think about it…Shaggy was always a werewolf, and he could change back and forth. Maybe with a little practice he could master it…like you” she said before she touched the underside of his maw and kissed him on the nose.

She smiled awkwardly. “This is still going to take some getting used to” she said as she ran her hand over his face smiling mischievously. “That was the weirdest way to have sex though. Are you werewolves always this kinky?” she asked.

He chuckled wholesomely. “Don’t get used to it…Things become less interesting and predictable otherwise, right?” he said before he licked her neck affectionately.

She sighed with content. “Alright! You definitely are interesting…though as far as being unpredictable…” she said before she started scratching behind his lupine ear. She grinned as his leg moved on its own accord. “…I will give that a maybe” she said smugly.

She scooted her way down his body. “Would you like to do it again?” she asked with a slight hint of red.

He let off a seductive growl and wagged his tail. “I am if you are” he said.

She licked her lips before she bit her bottom lip. “I’ll try not to make a mess this time” she muttered feeling embarrassed.

He rolled his eyes. “It happens…just don’t worry about the mess. Messes can get cleaned up” he said. She smiled faintly before she looked at him with hungry alluring eye as she began to press and rub her body against his.

She leaned in near his muzzle and rubbed the side of his neck blushing as she had urges. “I can’t believe we’re doing with you in this form. It feels so forbidden…” she said before she started kissing him on the nose before she moaned to his long tongue invading her mouth, which she allowed it to explore her mouth. It was extremely strong, firm, ductile, and it felt almost completely prehensile. She closed her eyes getting lost in her supernatural romance with a completely shifted werewolf on the night of a full moon, and she was completely turned on by the peril she was in as she wanted more from him.

She parted lips with him as she clutched onto his tufts of fur hanging off from his neck. “You’re really something else you know that right?” she asked as she sat up and pulled her hair away from her face to flip it over her shoulders. “Let’s do this again” she told him eagerly.

•••

Meanwhile outside Todd was walking Makita through the neighborhood lost in thought with all the craziness that had been going on in the past couple months. He came around the corner, and he heard heavy footsteps galloping behind him. His dog’s ears bent back and began to pick up speed down the sidewalk. “Makita! Hold up!” Todd shouted as he futily pulled back against her leash.

The footsteps got louder, and Todd fell forward. He turned to see Tommy and Nathan standing over him looking slightly concerned. “Hey, you alright?”

Todd sniffed and grabbed his scraped knee wincing at the sting. “Ow!”

“Dude you left a skin skid mark in the street” Nathan shouted with excitement.

“Dang it! Why are you two always running?” Todd grumbled.

“Why are you always walking?” Nathan retorted. Tommy snickered at this.

“I just ran, didn’t I?”

“More like your dog was dragging you all over town” Tommy whispered to Nathan. The dog sat on the grass watching on patiently.

“Yea, like that your Brother does with that fat chick he’s been smashing?” Nathan remarked.

“Heh, yea…but she’s a good cook” Tommy muttered.

“Hey! That’s my sister you’re talking about!” Todd exclaimed.

Tommy and Nathan snickered at each other. “Oh, is that right? We didn’t notice” Nathan said before he nudged Tommy a nudge. “Are you mad bro? To know Toby’s boning your sister?”

“Fuck you!” Todd protested.

Zoe had come up behind them and slapped them upside the back of their heads. “Hey chickenshit! Watch what you say…we all can hear you” she spoke harshly to him. Todd stared up at her and gulped not wanting to upset her. “Tch, why you all out? The sun’s almost down”

“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.

“Idiot, don’t you know the full moon is out tonight?” Zoe asked.

Todd shivered at the thought having flashbacks at what he saw not too long ago. “D-d-did you say…a full moon? Y-y-you mean like something that would turn a man into beast right?”

Zoe made a strange face holding back her urge to confirm his suspicions. “Yea? That’s kind of how it works don’t it?”

“I think Toby is a werewolf…do they change during the day time?” Todd asked.

“Psh, werewolves change anytime they want!” Nathan remarked.

Todd quickly turned. “My sister is in danger!”

Zoe stopped him, and he looked back at her annoyed. “What are you doing?” he yelled.

“Just stop, I’m going over to Toby’s house already. Besides, what can you do against a beastman? You’re just a kid”

“I can tell my dad”

“Your sister is fine. Trust me” Zoe assured him before she continued down the street.

“Hey, you aren’t scared, are you?” Nathan teased.

“No! I’m not scared!”

Nathan and Tommy looked at each other and grinned evilly. “Hey, you want to go to where that girl was attacked?” Nathan asked.

“What?”

“Yea, Tommy and I are going to walk down the tracks. Wanna come?”

“I…”

“See he is scared!”

“Okay fine!” Todd shouted before he went over to grab Makita’s leash.

“Aw man…he’s just going to slow us down!” Tommy protested.

“Ssh, he’s going to give us some fun” Nathan whispered into his ear.

“He’s boring”

“You’re boring…It’s better than playing Fortnite for 4 hours straight”

After Todd left Makita at the house and let his parents know he was hanging out with Toby’s brother, he took off with the two rapscallions. They snuck past a loose board in the fence and made their way out onto the railroad tracks behind the house. The moon had rose above the mountains in the East, huge and bright. The fog rising up off the wetland was illuminated giving a spooky feel, and the clouds above were yellow with ominous shadows casting onto the trees giving them life.

The cold autumn wind made the trees sway, and the leaves raining from above brushed past his ears. His breath projected out steam three feet out, and his teeth clattered as a freezing draft infiltrated his heavy coat. The boys ahead were in a mere t-shirt and shorts, no coat, no gloves, no thick socks. “How are you guys not freezing?” he asked.

“It’s only 40 degrees out” Tommy remarked.

“What do you mean only 40?”

“Tch, yea, we’re used to this stuff. This ain’t nothing” Nathan spoke proudly.

Todd shivered and tried to catch up to them. “Um, you’re in 8^th grade right?”

They laughed at him. “No dude, we’re in 6^th grade just like you” Tommy explained.

“No freaking way!”

“Yup, you heard about what my brother did to a high schooler right?”

“Why do you think I’m so worried about him?”

“Dude, your sister knows everything about him. Maybe she likes to know that he can break her in half and rip her up into tiny pieces”

“Just so you know…you probably not want to walk in on them when they are…well…doing it. Just the sight of his thing and her bent over is just…” Tommy said before he shivered. “Zoe is saving you from that”

“Oh…you think she hulk can take on Toby?” Todd asked.

“Psh, my sister kicks his ass all the time”

“Well that’s just because that he lets her” Tommy remarked.

“No, your brother’s just lazy. He’s lucky he ain’t treated like an Omega”

“He ain’t lazy. He’s always doing his homework and working out with Zoe. What more can he do?”

“Not be a shitty ass hunter”

“But he kicked Ian’s ass” Tommy protested.

“Ian’s an old timer. Zoe would have done better. My dad took his boomstick to that mongrels face and that was the end of that” Nathan brushed him off.

“Just you wait until I tell Toby”

“Go ahead. He ain’t gonna do nothin. I ain’t scared of him”

“You’re just saying that because your dad’s the Alpha”

“What are you talking about?” Todd asked.

Tommy glanced back at him and rolled his eyes. “It’s none of your business” he snapped at him. Todd flinched, and Nathan looked back at him frowning.

Not another word was said as they walk the rest of the way. The fog grew much denser going over the bridges, but eventually they came to an abandoned railroad substation from a time when the railroad was once electrified. They found a way inside the building where there were newspapers, old magazines, a mattress and beer bottles. “What is this place?” Todd asked.

“This is just where the teenagers hang out and get drunk. Bunch of homeless people around her too” Nathan explained before he started to shine a light on the wall exposing all the graffiti. He panned the light onto a corner where there was a wet red substance with flies flying around, which spelled out, “Slaughter them Pigs who love their own filth!”

“Ew, gross, what’s that?” Todd muttered in disgust.

Nathan walked over and ran his fingers over the wall and sniffed it. “It’s blood…human…blood”

“What? Nuh-uh!” Todd shouted before he shivered. “Is it that girl’s blood?”

“No, this is fresh…” Nathan muttered as his tone shifted serious.

“What?”

“There must be a body lying around here somewhere”

Suddenly Tommy started groaning and wincing. Nathan pointed his light at him. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Eh…It’s happening again” Tommy muttered before he stared at his hand. Todd was horrified to see claws and swelling in Tommy’s hand. “It’s been getting worse”

“Oh wow, you’re almost full anthro now” Nathan remarked.

“What the hell is happening?”

“Haven’t you figured it out?” Nathan questioned him before he shined the light to his face unveiling his fangs to him. Todd panicked and ran out of the building before Tommy slammed his fist into the wall.

“Is it supposed to be this bad?”

“I dunno…you haven’t gone this far before have you? Dude, I told you to eat something” Nathan told him before he reached into his backpack for a pack of beef jerky. He threw it at him and muttered, “Just eat that…you owe me later”

They heard Todd screaming outside, and they we not in any hurry to check on his well being until they heard what sounded like another werewolf outside. They sprang up and shot out the door. Todd was on the ground by the tracks bleeding from his side and standing behind him was a shewolf.

The boys ran out to shield him after Nathan picked up a rusty rod of rebar, and he held it out like a samurai wielding a katana. “Alright bitch! Don’t make me lop of that arm of yours” he spoke out in a deep voice albeit his voice cracked.

It was hard for the shewolf to take him seriously before Tommy added. “You’re that cheerleader around you? What are you doing? Didn’t you get locked up?”

The Olivia was caught off guard at this. “I was chasing off another werewolf”

“That’s bullshit! You’re the only one that I smell here!” Nathan shouted.

“Why don’t you fucking go down wind and smell dipshits!”

“It fucking hurts!” Todd shouted.

“What do we do?” Tommy asked.

Olivia had run off, and Nathan growled. “I don’t know…call dad?”

•••Two hours later•••

In the midst of their tomfoolery, Sasha’s cell phone started ringing on the night stand. Toby growled very irritated with the interruption, but he allowed her to reach for her phone. She looked at it and sighed lowly. “It’s my mom” She said softly.

He sighed heavily closing his eyes and listened in on the conversation as she put her phone up to her ear. “Hello?” She asked.

“Where are you!? Are you still with, Toby!?” Her mother yelled frantically.

Sasha gulped. “Yea…why, what’s wrong?” She asked.

“Todd got attacked by some animal…it’s really bad!” her mother panicked.

He reached up to touch Sasha’s shoulder to console her as he had a very bad feeling about the situation. “Where are you?” Sasha asked.

“Legacy Meridian Hospital. You know that hospital on the other side of the freeway” her mother said.

He gulped. “We’ll take you there Sasha…” he said nervously.

Sasha stared at him in disbelief, and she put her finger over the receiver. “During a full moon? Are you crazy!?” she whispered to him. He reverted to his human form, and she stared at him. “Toby…you know that’s not good for you” she muttered to herself before she removed her finger from the receiver. “Toby and his mom can take me…but it will take some time” she said.

“Let me talk to his mom” her mother said.

Sasha got up and rushed to the door. “Lilian!?” she hollered as she opened the door slightly.

Lilian hurried over to Sasha while holding her belly, which she looked up at the phone that Sasha hung out before she took it. “Hello?” she asked.

“Lilian? Hey, can you look after Sasha. Todd got attacked by an animal, and they are keeping him over for the night for some tests”

“How did that happen? Wasn’t he with Tommy and Nathan?”

“I guess he got separated from their group, but they saved him”

“Are they with you?”

“No, they are with Zoe’s father”

Lilian was furious and balled her fist up. “I would have come if they called me. I don’t know why they wouldn’t tell me. I am a trauma surgeon for pete’s sake!”

“The doctors said that he should be okay. You must have taught them well with first aid”

“I would have liked to know that they got into trouble. What if it were worse?”

“I wouldn’t want to think about it being worse, and actually with everything that’s been going on, I know Sasha will be safe there with you. You know with your family being…well you know…being supernaturally gifted” she whispered. “Oh, I have to go!”

Lilian sighed heavily. “Well, Please let me know if you need anything else”

“Thank you” Sasha’s mother said before she hung up.

Lilian handed Sasha back her phone and gritted her teeth. “Well, that’s no good”

Toby was extremely stressed out, and Sasha looked towards the floor. Lilian rubbed her head vigorously as a headache ensued. “Sasha, you’re staying here for the night…I’ll start making dinner soon” she said before she made her way into the kitchen.

“Can we go hunting now?” Zoe spoke out impatiently as she looked up from her phone.

“Hey, since I’m staying the night, why don’t you go out with Ulf and Zoe. I’ll help your mother cook”

“Alright” Toby muttered.

•••2 hours Later•••

Toby came back with Zoe and Ulf dragging a deer carcass with them over the fence. Sasha was a little unnerved with the three werewolves invading the backyard, which she was still not sure how to tell the difference between wolves; however, she was able to tell which one were Zoe. She was shocked that Toby was the tallest out of them, only she was not completely surprised.

She walked outside and wondered over to him wrapping her arms around him. “Please turn back into a werewolf” she asked before she looked up at him smiling weakly. She felt something wet against her face and ran her finger over it. She saw the crimson fluid, and she noticed the blood tricking down the corners of his mouth. She covered her mouth immediately thinking the worst. “Oh no! Are you hurt, Toby?” she gasped.

“Hehe, He’s fine…nearly bit that deer’s head clean off” Zoe bragged. They both seemed to be jubilant over this slaughter.

Toby was clearly bothered about something. “Awe, you don’t like that you killed Bambi?” Sasha asked.

He did not say anything; although, his eye twitched. “Ah, he’s just upset that the priest is out and about”

“Priest? Should we be worried?”

“We’re on it. It’s none of your concern” Ulf spoke up.

“Ulf, she’s a part of our pack” Lilian scolded him.

“This is confidential. I don’t want even the pups to know about this” Ulf told her before he glanced over at Zoe annoyed. “No playing superhero!”

Zoe made a face. “Are you calling me a pup?”

Ulf growled at her before Sasha tugged at Toby’s arm. “Hey…do you want to take a shower with me? You’re covered in blood” she asked hoping to distract him from his thoughts.

He let out a huge heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders. “Come on!” she said as she tugged on his arm once more. He gave in and she dragged him into the bathroom. He stared at the floor transforming into his anthro form, and as he entered the shower, he was quickly welcomed with a vigorous massage on his shoulder blades. “You’re worrying me when you do this. I thought you were thinking Todd was bitten by a werewolf for a second there”

“Well you said it”

“Not helping!”

He growled lowly. "I can’t help myself…at least he’s alive" he muttered.

She sighed and pressed her breasts into his back hoping to distract him farther. "Yea, thankfully" she said as she moved to massaging his lower back. “Let’s not think about it…please?” she asked.

He dropped the subject before he allowed the water take him immerse him into a deep meditation as his endearing mate felt up his abdomen descending downward all while she rubbed her breasts into his back. Her diversion actually worked, and they focused only on each other for the remainder of the night.

•••One week later•••

Sasha started to notice that she was starting to crave meat all the time. Her appetite had grown quite a bit, and just the other day she managed to wedge her hips in her door frame. She had to pass her door angled like her mother had to, but she only thought she was stress eating. Afterall her brother had become very ill having some kind of crazy infection. Lilian periodically went over to her house to check on him. He was still lying in bed miserable running a fever and sore all over. Sasha sat on the hammock in the backyard lost in thought as her dog laid crosswise with her head nestled into her lap.

Toby leaped over the fence, which she gasped as he nearly twisted the hammock over when he tried to sit on it. “Jesus Toby!” she exclaimed as she struggled to keep herself from rolling off. Her dog looked up at him and quickly jumped off to give her master time alone to the handsome wolfboy. “You’re going to bust our hammock you crazy wolf!”

“Are you alright?” he asked calmly.

She shook her head. “No…” she said lowly before she leaned into his frame. “Just hold me…”she said softly. He did as she asked and started rubbing her side tenderly, which she murred happily. He looked at her strangely at her werewolf imitation. She snickered to herself at his adorable response.

“Oh my god! 114 degrees!! Oh, baby you're burning up” Sasha’s mother yelled.

“114 degrees? How is he not dead?” Toby muttered.

“Maybe it’s wrong…maybe she was using a rectal thermometer?” Sasha rambled off trying to think positive.

“105, we need to get him in an ice bath” Lilian told her after retaking his temperature.

“Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital!?”

“I’m going to get a second opinion. He needs his temperature reduced immediately”

Lilian made her way downstairs and back outside. She gave her son a stern look and crossed her arms nervously. “Toby, could you come here for a moment?”

Toby’s eye widened and he leaped out of the hammock muttering, “Scheiße!”

“geuga neugdaee gam-yeomdoeeossdago saeng-gaghasibnikka? (Do you think that he is infected with the wolf?)” She asked.

“Ye (Yes)”

Lilian gritted her teeth and shifted her hip leaning up against the threshold muttering, “naega deudgo sip-eun ge ani eoss-eo (That was not what I wanted to hear)”

“geuneun sal geos-inga? (Will he live?)

“moleugessda (I don’t know)” Lilian explained before her head sank down low. “choeseon-eul dahagessseubnida (I will do my best)”

Sasha gulped and approached them. “Toby, do you know what’s going on?” she asked which Sasha touched his back firmly knowing full well of his suspicions, but she herself did not want to believe for it to be true. “You don’t have to hide it from me…he’s becoming like you, isn’t he?”

“He could die from this” Toby told her.

Sasha stared at him horrified, which his mother looked at him very irritated with him. She turned back helping collect ice from the freezer.

“What do we do now?” Sasha asked.

“Stop his brain from becoming fried egg”

“I mean how?”

“Get more ice”

“Let’s take my car” Sasha told him as she went for the key hooks.

They left for the store and bought twenty pounds of ice, and they came back in a hurry. Toby lugged the ice out and accidently smashed one up against the door and busting the bag open in the process. By then, Sasha’s father got back home, which he was standing in the hallway beside himself watching Toby bringing in the ice.

Sasha’s mother was holding Todd’s head up above the water as he lay motionless. Toby smashed up the ice with his fist and dumped it into the bath tub, which he took note that Todd’s wound had not healed yet. “Thank you…now go. There’s not much else you two can do” Lilian told them.

Toby and Sasha both left feeling just as helpless as their father. He looked up at him grateful for his help, but he said nothing in fear that it would show vulnerability. Sasha followed Toby back to his house where Tommy was on the couch quietly watching videos online.

“Hey” Toby called out

Tommy looked over nervously and gulped. “Is he okay?”

“He’s chilling out right now”

Sasha slugged him in the arm before she sat down on the other end of the couch. “What’s it like being a werewolf? Do you like it?”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “It’s fine…I guess” he told her before he looked up at Toby. “Toby…is it supposed to hurt bad when you turn? Last week it got really bad. I think I went past anthro”

Toby sat down on the floor and looked up at him. “Yea, it hurts bad” he said with sympathy. “Ain’t much change between Human and Anthro, but when your body is trying to grow a tail and your face is rearranging…you can see why not a lot of werewolves don’t want to go that far”

“But how do you and Zoe do it so easily?”

“We’ve transformed so much that we are numb to it”

“Must of sucked going Lycaon then huh?”

“Yea”

“Um, Toby? If my brother gets turned…could you bestow me?”

Toby stared at her apprehensively. “Um…are you sure?”

Tommy gulped. “What does bestow mean?”

“It’s nothing” Toby said as he stood back up. He looked towards Sasha and sighed. “You’re going to have to talk to Bernie about this one”

“Um…maybe later?” Sasha said meekly.

“He’s off duty today”

Sasha grew nervous only imagining the intense outbursts the Alpha had with relatively minor things. She knew just how much pressure he was under, and she did not want to add one more thing on his plate. “I’d rather not…really. It’s okay”

“Look, he’d rather hear it from you than me”

“Toby, I’d rather not get my head bitten off”

“Come on, you’re already a part of the pack already”

“Um, Toby…I wouldn’t be bothering him. He’s still pissed about what happened with Todd” Tommy said.

“Just because he’s pissed at you don’t mean he’s pissed at everyone” Toby remarked.

“Yes, yes it does”

Toby headed towards the door, and Sasha stood up reaching out for him. “Really Toby…you don’t have to do this”

He looked at her intensely. “You don’t sound like you want to do this”

“No, I do…I’m just afraid of him”

“This is small potatoes compared to everything else” he told her as he headed out the door.

She ran out after him, but he was already clear down the end of the street. Her heart pounded and stood in the driveway. “Really?”

Toby ran over to Bernie’s house and walked right in without knocking just as Zoe does when she arrives at his house. Bernie laid on the lay-z-boy skimming through documents sipping from a cup of coffee. He glanced up at him with a straight face. “How’s Todd?”

“Not good…”

Bernie frowned and looked down at the floor heavy hearted. “I’ve figured” he said solemnly.

“Sasha’s afraid to ask you if I could turn her. She said that if Todd becomes a wolf that…”

“I had a feeling she would say this” He said before he stood up. “I would prefer that she stay human for now. I will have a word with her”

Zoe came out and poked her head over the railing. “You going to teach Sasha’s brother on how to wolf?”

“If he lives”

“Aren’t you optimistic today” Zoe jabbed.

“He’s mind is literally melting, and you think he’ll live?”

“Don’t they all have nasty flu symptoms when they turn?” Zoe retorted.

“He has a fever of a 105”

“What are you an expert on humans now? Leave that doctor stuff to your mom. Nuff said” Zoe said before she scratched behind her ear. “You know what’s happening to him…he’ll live”

Meanwhile Bernie found Sasha sitting in the swing on her front porch. Her head hung low; although he saw that she saw him coming and pretended not to see him. He approached her neutral and leaned up against the wall. He hesitated with what he was about to say before she said, “I know what you’re going to say. I didn’t want to cause any trouble”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what do you think I was going to say?”

Sasha gritted her teeth and tensed up. “You don’t want one more thrall to deal with. And that I don’t know want. I’m thinking emotionally”

“Is it because of your brother or is it something else?” Bernie asked.

“Just being hypothetical here, but…do you know what were to happen to a fetus if their mother were to be bitten?” Sasha inquired.

“10 out of 10 times the mother miscarries or stillbirths…”

“And what would happen if a human were to bear a werewolf pup?”

“The mother would become very werewolf like…”

“What do you mean werewolf like?”

“Well, when my wife was pregnant with my first born. She did things that we normally do…only she couldn’t transform at will or infect people. Let’s just say that the fetus hijacks the mother’s body and hormones for 9 months just for survival. You know…like how pregnancy goes?”

“Gee, that’s encouraging”

“Heh heh, would you feel better if I told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about the pup spearing through your womb like an alien?”

Sasha crossed her arms over her stomach cringing. “No! That doesn’t. I wasn’t even thinking about something like that. Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know are we still being hypothetical here?” Bernie retorted.

She swallowed her tongue and gulped. “Uh, err…” she sniffed and gripped at her knees. “I was only asking” she muttered.

Bernie let out a huge heavy sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “I would hold off on turning just a little more”

Toby came back around and Sasha looked towards him very annoyed. She got up and went back inside, which he looked at Bernie confused. “What happened? What did you say to her?”

Bernie patted Toby’s shoulder as he walked by. “Just leave her alone for now…you did good”

•••Later that day•••

Lilian came back over for the fifteenth time for the day. This time Toby came along with her being very quiet as Eric gave him that thousand-yard stare. “How’s he doing?” she asked Sasha’s mother.

“His fever has gone down, but he’s shivering a lot. He’s got a bad headache, he’s sore all over even nowhere near the bite, he’s complaining about stomach pains. I think I’m going to take him back to the hospital” she said.

Sasha and Toby peered in through the doorway and watched on. Lilian went over and felt Todd’s head then his stomach erupted with a loud rumble. He whimpered and curled up in tremendous pain. She immediately knew what was going on, and she looked back towards Toby.

“Um…can you give Todd something to eat honey…something raw” She asked him nicely.

Sasha’s mother looked at her as if she was crazy. “Why raw?!” She yelled.

Lilian leaned in and whispered, “I want to test something”

Toby sighed heavily going into the kitchen with Sasha. “I think I can help him. He shouldn’t be able to transform that drastically” He asked.

“Toby…have you noticed anything different about my smell?” Sasha asked.

He glanced at her confused. “You changed your shampoo again”

“No, not that!” She shouted before she bit her lip. “Um…do you not smell something” He stared at her blankly. She growled to herself and blurted out, “I’m late Toby!” He cocked his head cutely like a dog and this farther infuriated her. “Are you serious?”

“You’re not pregnant” He muttered as he snorted out loud as if trying to remind her about his nose. He pulled out a packs of ground beef, and she looked down at it remembering what Bernie said about a werewolf pregnancy. As to make a point, she took one of the packs and cut it open.

She pinched off a corner of meat and looked at him defiantly. He raised an eyebrow as she stuck it into her mouth and made a disgusted face. She tried to chew but the combination of the texture and cold made her dry heave. He watched on in confusion as she forced herself to consume the meat before he said, “You know I prefer my meat to be warm” he told her as he threw in the package into the microwave oven.

“Oh yea? I’ve seen you eat it cold before”

“I said preferred…I didn’t say it was mandatory” He rebutted as the microwaved beeped. After he pulled out the meat, he sniffed it. “This will have to do”

“It’s still raw”

“You gunna try to eat it again?” he asked before he waved it around her face, which she dry heaved once more.

“Still think you’re preggers?” He asked as he took it away.

“Okay Toby…I get it…I just don’t know why I’m craving meat all the time now…and the weight gain”

“I dunno, maybe it’s Psychosomatic?” he suggested as they walked back upstairs.

“Gee thanks Toby” She muttered.

As they entered the room, Lilian frowned and bit her tongue. Toby came over and stuck the meat in front of Todd’s face. He stared down at it appalled. “I’m not eating that!” he protested.

“Todd! Trust me! Toby says that it is going to make you feel better. I know it sounds gross but believe me when I say he knows a lot about what you’re going through than any of us do” Sasha said. Her mother raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“So Todd, tell me, have you been having strong senses of hearing, smell, and sight lately?” Toby asked. Todd stared at him blankly not fully grasping what was happening to him before Toby finally asked, “and tell me…can you understand or think you can understand Makita?”

Todd stared at him speechless. “Yea wow how’d you know…why? What’s wrong with me Toby?” he asked now sounding panicked. He refused to believe what had attacked him was nothing anything more than a mere coyote.

Toby glanced over at Sasha’s mother who backed up to the door closing it. “Todd…you have to listen to him”

“Why!? Do you think I have Covid or something?”

Toby growled at him ramming the meat into his chest. “Just eat the meat, you aren’t going to get sick from it…not anymore” he said.

"What do you mean? Not anymore?" Todd asked.

Toby’s eye twitched beginning to lose all patience with him. "Just eat it…cause if you don't I will ram it down your throat!" he shouted.

Lilian grabbed him and pull him away before he could go through with his theat. “Please Todd…it’s alright” she assured him. Sasha took her turn holding Toby back, which she held onto him tightly by the waist band of his shorts.

Todd gulped before he dug his hand into the meat and cringed. “My poor baby” his mother muttered as he took a bite.

“Wow, that actually tastes pretty good" Todd muttered before he smiled. "Hey, I feel much better…how did you?” he asked sounding much more lively.

Lilian snickered. “Just get some rest. I’ll explain more about what’s going on later. The main thing is that you’re comfortable. Get some sleep pup. ‘Cause boy you're going to need it” she said.

“Kay…” Todd said.

Sasha's mother’s mouth was agape as she stared at her son amazed. “Aren’t you going to tell him?” she asked in a whisper.

“I will” Toby blurted out before his mother slugged him in the arm.

Todd’s eyes widened in a panic and sat up “What do you mean? What’s didn’t you tell me?” His mother gasped not realizing that he could hear her.

“Oh nothing serious you just got bitten by a were…” Toby said before his mother slugged him even hard over the same spot from before. “…ow!” Toby said.

“Bitten by what?” Todd asked.

“Wa, wa, a wombat!” Sasha said abruptly reaching up to cover Toby’s mouth.

“Idiot…” Lilian muttered in frustration.

Sasha quickly drugged Toby out of the room passed her father who was on the other side of the door and out into the backyard. She looked at him worried as they sat back down on the hammock. “So, what now?” She asked. Lilian met up with them outside as Eric watched from afar.

“He’s not finished conversion yet. Might take a couple years of flare ups before all is said and done. I’m going to have a talk with Haley about this one” She told them.

“So, will he…” Sasha asked before she looked back over noticing her father. Her voice got super quiet asking, “So will he turn on the full moon?”

“Probably” Toby muttered.

Lilian looked at him annoyed crossing her arms over her chest. Sasha smiled confidently. “Don’t worry…I’ve got this handled. I think I’ve learned enough about you guys to help keep this buried” she said before she went for Toby’s hand. “And, if anything happens, I got him as my back up anyway” she said.

Eric walked up to them with his arms crossed anxiously. “What’s going on? Why are you having a meeting in the backyard?” he asked.

Sasha smiled. “Nothing…” she said before she looked up towards her brother’s bedroom window. “Todd’s better now” she said.

“Oh, Thank god!” he muttered under his breath.