His Soft Fur
● XVIII ●

Everything was quiet at school. I sat with Ty in the library. He was skipping his class to have lunch with me. I was going to skip my next period to have lunch with him. He hasn't been talking much, but he says he's tired so I wasn't going to push him. I was reading a book and he was doing his homework for another class.

“Three people got shot.” Ty finally told me.

I only remember hearing one gun shot yesterday but I didn't want to ask him for details. It seemed like he didn't want to talk about it.

“And Conrod?" I asked.

“Paying for their families' expenses.” he said.

Well it's easier to shut people up with money. It worked on my family. My dad has been more frustrated ever since. And he would've been just as frustrated if he had medical bills on his shoulders, but at least then he would mouth off to Conrod.

I have a feeling that Conrod doesn't care about words being said to him. I know my dad has told him off before, but that didn't cost him his job and that's because my dad makes him money. All of Conrod's businesses are making him money. He could care less about what people are saying to or about him.

“You’d think he’d back off, you know, instead of letting eight wolves cause problems, but whatever.” I didn't want to complain, but it's not like things have been good for me.

"You know Conrod talked to my dad." Ty looked me. "Channing would be in so much trouble if my mom wasn't on our side."

"Well, you get it from her."

"My dad isn't a fan. When we all shifted and got ourselves together, my dad tried to tell us to let everything run it's course."

I thought Ty got his flusteredness and anxiety from his mother, but it seems like it might be his dad. His dad is a quiet man and he doesn't speak much. So I wonder what happens when he does talk.

"How's Channing?" I asked since he's been going through a lot these past few weeks.

"Dealing with Candice." He sighed. "Dealing with Conrod. Trying to focus in school." Ty could list a lot more. "He's tired." He summed it up instead.

I wanted to ask about Ty. I know he's tired. He's miserable. He's fighting with his brothers and his instincts. I'm stressing him out. His family is stressing him out. Everything else probably stresses him out too.

“What happened to the twins?” I asked instead because he probably didn't want to talk about himself now.

“Lowe broke his arm.” he stopped writing and looked up. I was confused because he only said Lowe broke his arm.

“Both of them had a brace.” I said. Ty glanced at me, then shook his head knowingly.

“Lowell broke his arm afterwards because Lowe broke his arm.” he explained. I still didn't...I didn't believe him.

“On purpose?” I asked.

“Yeah."

I put my book down. "They're ridiculous." I almost didn't want to believe that Lowell would break his arm because of Lowe. They're crazy.

Ty just shrugged and continued writing again.

It was quiet between us for a moment, and then I nudged him gently. “Are you tired?” I asked him.

“I have a fever.” he said.

Oh.

“You’re starting to get sick again.” I moved his hair out of his face, and he looked at me slowly, a little hesitant because I touched him. He shouldn't act like that. “Do you want to come home with me today?” I asked.

"I... shouldn't." He looked away again, a faint blush on his cheeks. I smiled to myself as I looked at my book.

“If you accidentally change, I can let you outside so you can play.” I'd be a great dog owner and he knows it. He sighed beside me and I laughed. He doesn’t like all my dog jokes. “Okay, or we could have a little fun.” I added slowly.

“I definitely shouldn't come over.” Now he wasn't interested because I was suggesting something different.

“Listen. I just thought about it now and I want to seriously ask if there might be a time where we-”

“Please stop.” he said quickly.

“I’m just curious.” I got a little defensive.

"I'm trying...you know what I'm dealing with." He stressed. "Why would you suggest anything when you know I might say yes?" It's like he thought I betrayed him.

"That's why I'm suggesting it." I said. If he's in heat or whatever, I'm bored. I've never done anything before and I want to.

There's no harm in that.

Well Ty thinks it would be the end of the world. He needs a nudge in the right direction to persuade him.

"So this book talked about mating cycles and actually mating and-"

"Gabriel!-"

"What?"

"I'm not going to have sex with you if you keep bringing it up like that." Was he flustered because of his wolf side of things?

I wasn't thinking about that. Well, I was...but I know what I'm asking for.

“I’m just saying we have a free house for the next five hours if we leave right now.” I said quickly. He looked at me, being completely serious now.

“No.” he said and looked ahead again.

“Oh come on-”

“Why tonight? I have a fever.” he said.

“But you're not contagious.” I said, making a point. "And you're probably all hot because you're horny." I was joking, but the way he stared at me said I hit the mark. I lost my smile as I stared at him. "Am I right?" I asked him.

"When I said no to skipping my class with you, it was for a reason." He said.

I actually had to spam text him and beg him because I was so bored today, but he said he was feeling sick.

He wasn't sick! "Oh my-"

"Gabriel, please." He begged me.

"Well you should've told me what was going on. I would've left you alone." Now I felt awful for making him suffer.

"I don't really..." He took a breath before he spoke. "Why are you so interested?" He came right out and asked me, and he seemed concerned about it, too. "I mean... we're both...we've never done anything."

That's true. I know Ty hasn't attempted anything before, he knows I haven't either.

"I like you." I leaned my head on to my hand. "And I'm comfortable around you." I added. "Also, porn is a thing so I mean, if we have to learn-"

Ty put his head on the table. I know I say things that get to him sometimes. It's either I make him anxious or frustrated. At this point, I like having this conversation with him because it makes him flustered. He was blushing and trying to hide his face, and that's why I was enjoying myself.

"I feel like you're more in heat than I am."

"It's breeding season."

We don't have to have that talk, but Ty already knows he's going through a lot of changes and hormonal fluctuations. And he's growing. Still. I'm not surprised that he's feeling the way he is.

I wanted to know what I could do to help, but I literally have to stay away. Just walking by him sets him off, and I took that lightly because I didn't believe him at first. Ty would shift uncomfortably when I get too close. He'd blush more, and it may be from embarrassment or from being hot.

Like right now, as I tied my hair up to keep it out of my face, he was staring. I saw the way his nose flared when I moved my arms down, and he opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't speak. I smiled at him, and it seemed to make it worse. His dark eyes seemed so far away now.

Was he trying to control himself?

I was tempted to see if he had something to cover up, but I didn't want to scare him away.

"You're killing me." He whispered.

"We can still skip the rest of the period." I suggested, placing my hand gently on his arm and leaning closer to him.

He stopped breathing on purpose so he wouldn't be able to smell me. I saw the way he had to fight the urge to come closer. His instincts were telling him to come closer. The way to show affection is by touching me. Just putting his arm around me could send him spiraling.

What always gets me is that he's good at hiding it. I never tease him either so it's not like I notice. But the days are getting colder now, and December is really when breeding season starts.

I felt like I had a spell on him.

Ty could really do anything I tell him to do. I would never control him like that, but I don't realize how much he has to stay by me, or know what's happening with me, or what I do to him. I wanted to know what it was like for him. What does he see? What does he smell?

"I like you, Ty." I said to him, trying to flirt. "I'm here for you if you need me." I whispered as I got closer to him. He let out a shallow breath just as my forehead pressed to his.

I wanted to tell him not to fight it but it's his choice.

He moved and I felt my chair being pulled closer to his so I was right next to him. I began to smile again when he kissed me. He was slow to open his mouth more; he paused when my lips pressed to his again, his breathing picking up.

I know he's not nervous.

His hand was on my thigh. I thought he wanted me to stop, but he squeeze his fingers on me as he kissed me again. If he lifts his hand any higher, he'll have to come home with me. He was almost tempting me to move on him.

It's not just us in the library. Someone could walk by and see us.

But Ty was so occupied with kissing me that I don't think he was worried. If he wasn't, then I wasn't either.

Now and again, Ty would pause and I would wonder what he was feeling. He's trying to hold back and he was fighting hard, too. But every time he kissed me, I wished that he wouldn't try so hard to hold back. I always get excited to feel him on me. I like it when he kisses me.

His skin is so warm. And when I'm lucky, he likes to lick the inside of my mouth. When that happened, my heart began to skip beats. It's not so rare anymore for him to get into it. But when he gets to this point, he has to try harder to stop himself.

He paused again, breathing just as hard as before. His hand was at my waist now, and I felt his fingers gently press into me when I kissed him again. He was hesitant, so I figured he reached his limit. If I were to touch him again, he might not be able to control himself.

I pulled away to see his face. My hand touched his cheek as I looked into his eyes that changed color, a cold ice blue that shows up when his other half was coming out. He couldn't close his mouth, not with his canine teeth growing. Usually about now, he would seem scared. Today it wasn't like that, he didn't have this terrified look in his eyes.

He was almost...gone.

It was different this time. He really needed to control himself.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. If I knew it was so bad today, I wouldn't have done anything.

"No...it's..." He had to take a breath.

He wasn't tired...he was riled up, and he couldn't handle it.

"I have to go." He said abruptly, packing up his things, and he left quickly.

This wasn't the right place to do anything. He's doing his best to control what he can, and I guess he isn't ready to let go with this. I shouldn't tease him the way I did before. I felt bad that I made him rush off like that.

When the bell rang, I got up and got my things together. I wasn't going to skip the rest of my classes today. One more absence and I get a phone call home to my parents. I'm still grounded, I don't need to be home schooled.

I saw the twins in class. I sat down behind them, not sure what questions I should ask them. They both had their arms in a sling, just like this morning. They tensed up when I sat down. I already know that I smell like Ty, but I don't know if I'm just unsettling.

"So uh...Lowe..."

They both turned around. I know I wasn't talking to Lowell, but he was looking at me too.

"What happened to your arm?" I asked him.

At least I thought I was asking him. I was looking at one twin, but the other answered. "I fell." he said.

"You're Lowell." I said to him.

"No." He said flatly. "I'm not."

"The world's not going to fall apart if someone figures out who you are." I told them, since that was their issue. "You don't have to do everything together."

"You shouldn't worry about us." The other twin said.

"Last I figured, Ty's going through some stuff."

This was no longer a pleasant conversation. I wanted to be as nice as I could be, but I felt...threatened. Were they mad that I called them out?

"Maybe you should make yourself useful and help him out." they both said.

They don't have to be mean.

"Look, I just wanted to know how you broke your arm-"

"We fell." They answered. And they almost sounded hostile, too.

"Alright, I get it." I don't want them hating me, too. "I won't ask anymore."

"We're sure you're going to anyway." Lowell said. I don't know how to respond to that. "We heard what happened with Jackie."

"Sorry about him." Lowe apologized for Jackie, which his other brothers have been doing for him.

"I'm not..." I don't know how to put this. "I never meant to cause issues with Ty and Channing."

They started laughing, and I wasn't sure why.

"Jackie could care less." Lowell looked at his brother.

"After not sleeping for five days, anything causes him to snap. He just needed someone to go off on that day." Lowe explained, both of them laughing at the situation.

"He finally knocked out last night."

"And woke up a whole new person."

They kept laughing about it and continued the conversation without me. I shouldn't say I'm surprised that they cut me out of the conversation because they do it a lot, and at this time I know when and how they do it. I sat there quietly as they talked to each other.

That was a great experience.

By the end of the school day, I was ready to go home. I begged my mom to let Ty stay tonight, and that took some time to say yes to, but she did. Ty was feeling better since he took care of his issue himself. I didn't make any sly comments or say anything inappropriate.

We saw a lot of trucks around the neighborhood on the way to my house, and they belonged to Animal Control. When I looked at Ty, he seemed just as confused as I was. He said that they hadn't done anything today.

Was it about yesterday?

A few others were speaking with a few of the people from Animal Control. I wanted to know what was going on, too. I stopped my car on the side of the road, and we both got out to hear what was happening.

“Excuse me? What’s going on here?” I asked one of them.

Two other men turned towards us. “We keep getting reports about dangerous wolves in the area.” he didn't seem surprised, like he saw them before. “Mr. Conrod is serious about finding them before they cause more harm.” he said.

Harm? I looked at Ty, and he didn't believe it either. Mr. Conrod is really getting to people now.

"What harm?" I had to entertain the conversation.

“Didn’t you hear?" The other man asked as he put his hands in his coat pockets. "Three workers were killed yesterday by those wolves. Mr. Conrod is demanding that we find the animals and put them down.” he tried to say seriously, but it seemed like the job was outrageous.

I could tell they weren't going to do much. Animal Control wouldn't put the wolves down, but it sure as hell doesn't look good for the area if Conrod is spreading that people are being killed by the wolves.

So at least we know Animal Control isn’t siding with Conrod. They still have to do their jobs.

“How long will all this be going on?”

“I don’t know but we shouldn't be that much longer.” he said to us.

I pulled Ty with me to my car. He seemed just as confused as I was, and he was actually there yesterday. No one killed anyone yesterday. I could tell by the way Ty wanted to say something but didn't.

“We didn’t kill any workers yesterday." he told me quietly. "It got a bit hectic and we distracted them, but two of those guys accidentally killed their coworkers." he explained.

That was the first time he told me that.

“Then why do they think that...” So why not tell the truth about what happened? It's not like Conrod would get in trouble.

If it gets called a murder and this becomes an actual law case, everything will be halted.

Anything that makes Conrod lose money gets shut down. “Conrod didn’t release the actual statements of their deaths.” I said when I realized it.

He lied and said the wolves did it so he could have more power over Animal Control.

"That seems like a bit much." Ty said. "We're not the only one causing problems." He's not wrong. There are kids vandalizing the equipment and protesters making it difficult to do work.

Police have gotten involved as well.

“Conrod has this whole place surrounded with officials. What are you going to do?”

"I can talk to Channing, but after yesterday, he wants everything to calm down a bit." He said.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to be out with Animal Control everywhere."

"Channing doesn't care about Animal Control. He's worried that the hunters are being testy with their guns." He explained as he leaned against my car. "I don't know but I'll tell him."

"Be careful." I wanted him and his brothers to be cautious. "Between Animal Control and Conrod's workers, I'd prefer if you...take things easy."

"I'll talk to Channing about it." He seemed to understand that I was worried.

I didn't want anything to happen to him.

We went back to my house and I wanted to finish my homework while Ty read his book. Now and again he would tell me little things that he learned about his heritage and what he found interesting. His mom gave him and his brothers a few things to go through to see if it answered any questions and it did.

His mom's side has all the secrets that are being let out. He mentioned something about the whole Turkish and Native American decent and all that on his mother's side, so this was a big deal for her. When Ty gets interested in things, he gets a little chatty. But I enjoyed hearing him talk.

We sat on my couch together, and he let me flip through the pages.

"My parents will be home soon." I said plainly as I flipped another page. "You're staying for dinner."

"If your parents knew how much I stayed over, you'd never leave."

"They aren't going to find out." I leaned closer to him as I lifted the book higher. "As long as we keep quiet." I added in, though I felt shameful seconds afterwards since it wasn't a very nice comment.

I said I wouldn't make sly remarks but here I am doing just that.

"I actually don't think that would be an issue." He admitted casually. I moved off him so I could look at him. He had a plain expression on his face as he looked back. "Oh." He caught on, but he didn't look surprised. "You thought that we would actually do something while your parents are home."

"You don't have to be sarcastic, you know." I frowned as I lifted the book again to read.

"I promise that one day will be your day, but I don't feel good today so no." He leaned back more on the couch. I put the book down and touched his forehead.

He's burning up again.

"Should I make tea or something?" I asked him.

"No," he sighed quietly. "I'm just a little tired."

That happens a lot. It's a good thing that he's laying down. If he passes out, I don't have to worry about him hurting himself.

I let him stay there peacefully and didn't say anything. He might get worse later tonight but I can take care of him. There's no storm tonight, so if he wants to go home, he can. He said he wanted to stay so he did.

My parents came home, and they were talking about Mr. Conrod's project site being swarmed with Animal Control workers today instead of police like this morning.

"...at this point, he might as well give up." My dad was telling my mom as he walked by. "The value on that place is plummeting." He said to her.

"He'll find a way to fix it. And you know that Walmart is happening, too. Tell Mr. Gilbert his shop is going out of business." She said.

"Next thing I know, there's ten houses on this block and it gets all crowded."

Everyone's hoping for the death of this project, but I can't say I wasn't either. I had my bad day over there already. I got shot there so I did my part, now everyone else has to pitch in.

"Hi, Mom." I said when she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Hi, Mrs. Wallace." Ty turned to greet her.

"How was school today?" She asked us.

"Did Gabriel bring someone home?" Dad called from the kitchen. "He's grounded."

"It's Ty."

"That doesn't change anything." He didn't care.

"Don't mind him. He's had a rough day." She said to me. "Apparently, Animal Control will be out and about for a few days and it's causing a bit of a disturbance." She explained.

Well we knew that.

And if there's one thing my dad doesn't like, it's disturbances. He doesn't like anything hindering his ability to do what he's supposed to do.

Conrod has done that so many times that he's sure he'll pop a blood vessel.

And my dad was still going on about it as my mom went to him in the kitchen.

“...I only have three rules for life. Do my job, be a father, and be a husband. And Conrod is making all three difficult.” Dad complained.

I looked at Ty and he looked at me. "If we got your dad out there, all this would be over." He said to me.

I believed him. If my dad actually put that anger to use, all of this would stop. But he's not going to do anything when Mr. Conrod is signing his pay checks now.

“Conrod isn’t protecting his men," he continued to complain. "So all this is his fault. Instead of stopping this whole thing, he just gets Animal Control on his side.”

“Its easier to blame something else." Mom said.

Then I had a feeling that they knew those men weren't killed by animals. It's not like Animal Control is spreading the truth, but they aren't lying either.

“Yeah, I bet." Dad wasn't buying any of it. "Now there's all these kids out there protesting and that place is just a graveyard."

I heard about the multiple protests happening everyday. Some kids are skipping school. The other kids from the other side of town are coming over to help, cause if it's happening here, it will happen there soon enough. I know my dad would be upset if I show my face there so I haven't yet. One day I'll ask but not when he's in a bad mood. Plus I'm still grounded.

Ty got to stay for dinner. It's always nice to watch him fake being interested in a conversation or be chatty. My mom asks a lot of questions, and to make her stop, he had to go on and on about things just to make her forget what she'll ask. That's a challenge for him, but he doesn't do it often. Dad always wants to know my friends' plans for their future and mostly if they'll start a life outside of here as a way to persuade me to leave too.

It wasn't till then that I saw how heart broken Ty was. He said he wanted to be an engineer and I knew how hard it was going to be for him. He won't be able to leave for a while, and if he does, it won't be for long. He told my dad what school he wanted to go to, how long it would take him, and exactly where he wanted to be. He had the exact plan because he thought about this before everything happened.

All of his brothers had plans to leave and now it's not going to happen.

I felt so bad for him and I couldn't say anything because I'd make it worse. If I were to leave Ty to go to school, I have no idea what would happen to him.

We haven't talked about things like this, and right now, with the way he looked after dinner, I'm not sure he wants to.

We stayed in my room for the night.

Ty's fever got worse so he stayed in bed under the blanket. I got a cold towel to place on his head but it didn't do anything to help his fever.

There was no snow storm tonight, but the temperature dropped dramatically once the sun set. His fever was getting higher by the hour.

"I don't know what to do." I sat next to him.

His face was flushed, his eyes were glassy, he was sweating and shaking like he was cold. I wiped his face with the towel and I felt how hot his skin was when I pressed the back of my palm to his cheek.

"I'm okay." He said quietly.

"Should I call your brother?" I asked.

I wouldn't want him to be miserable here. I'd call Cina to come get him if Ty gets any worse. But Ty shook his head instead.

"I can stay."

I held his hand and stayed up with him.

By midnight he couldn't sleep because he was in so much pain. He was tense and shaking, and trying to hold back from something happening. So he couldn't sleep.

It wasn't till four in the morning that everything stopped and he was finally quiet. His fever broke, too, so he could finally sleep. I didn't want to wake him up for school because he looked so peaceful after the night he had.

So I did call his brother to come get him.

Cina was particularly cheeky to be in my house at four thirty in the morning. He had thirty minutes to do what he has to before my parents wake up for work.

"Nice to know that you're interested." Cina said to me. "I never would've thought you wanted me in your room."

"You're kidding, right?" I stopped walking up the stairs and turned around in the dark, looking down in his direction. He took another step up and now he was at eye level.

"What's wrong, princess?"

"It's Gabriel." I keep correcting him.

"I keep giving you pet names because you blush when I say them." He said. I wanted to tell him that he can't tell if I'm blushing or not.

Then he took another step up, and he was closer to me. I was still looking at him, but now I had to look up. I should've just went to my room. No, I shouldn't have called him.

"If you ever change your mind, you know I'll be around." He whispered as he leaned closer to me.

I hadn't moved when he was really in my space. He stopped right when I tensed up because I thought he might've kissed me. He would've if he wasn't so sure I would hit him for it.

"Can you just take him home?" I didn't need to deal with Cina's behavior right now.

"Right to the point."

"That's why I called you." I turned away to continue going up the stairs so we could go to my room.

Ty was under a few blankets but he was still shivering. I tried everything to keep him warm, but nothing was helping. The only thing that calmed him down was that he finally went to sleep. Cina walked in my room and sighed when he saw Ty under all of my blankets.

"I can't believe this is how you treat him."

"I took care of him." I didn't want him saying that I don't care about Ty when I do.

But Cina snorted at my comment. "Yeah, right."

He sat on my bed next to Ty and waited a second, being completely quiet. Then he touched Ty's shoulder, gently shaking him to wake him up.

"Mm." Ty groaned miserably.

"Come on, it's time to go home." Cina said.

Ty couldn't move on his own so I helped him out of bed. He wasn't burning up like he was earlier, but he was still sick. He didn't want to move, and I couldn't hold all of his weight so Cina had to help me.

We barely got Ty out the front door, and the second he felt the cold air, he wanted to lay on the ground. That'll make things worse and he knows that. But Ty didn't hold himself up and he was down on the ground, not moving.

"Cina." I hit his arm. "Help him."

"He likes it-"

I hit him again since he didn't attempt to get Ty off my front steps. Cina shrugged away from me before I could think about hitting him again.

"Look, he's not going to make it." Cina said when Ty started groaning.

"You're going to let him shift now?"

"Hey," Cina held his hands up. "That's none of my business. The more we fight it, the worse it gets. Ty has the right idea." Cina was going to back off and let things run it's course.

I can't believe this.

"You might...want to find a safe space." Cina was walking to his car.

I wasn't going anywhere while Ty was in agony. It hasn't been this bad in weeks. It was freezing cold outside, more than usual, and this had to make it hard on him. I crossed my arms over my chest to keep my fingers warm, but the rest of me felt the cold air with the small wind that passed by.

Ty couldn't get himself up. He tried but only made it on his hands and knees when his body began shaking. By then, I know he stopped trying to fight it. His muscles were getting bigger, his clothes began tearing, and his human side began to disappear as his wolf side replaced him.

The white wolf got himself settled pretty quickly, ruffling his fur and stretching before moving around. It was like he was waiting to come out. Ty had no energy before, but he did now.

I walked closer to him to hug him. For just a few seconds, I felt so warm with my arms around him.

By how sick he got tonight, I know it will be a few days before I see him again. A low rumble came from his chest when I stepped away.

"I'll be here." I told him, rubbing behind his ears.

He doesn't have to worry about me.

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