Chapter 97 - Show Me Your Fur - Part 2

Despite Josh's eagerness to see Ryan's fur and even pet it, he still didn't do anything about it. He was probably aware that there was still a human hiding underneath, and maybe that was weird to him. Evan honestly had no idea what could be going through the minds of humans who saw a werewolf in front of them and weren't used to it.

"Come here, love," he addressed Ryan when even after a moment none of them reached out to him. Their eyes, however, followed every step he took in Evan's direction.

The big black wolf quickly found a way to squeeze into Evan's lap and rubbed his head against his chin in a tender gesture. Evan's hands immediately went into his fur and began to gently scratch his back, and Ryan leaned fully against him.

It wasn't until Evan pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head that one of his friends finally spoke up. "That's so cute. He almost looks like a big dog, snuggled up to you like that." Rory smiled at them and moved closer so he could pet Ryan as well.

"Now you've put a terribly inappropriate question in my head," Josh stated, and Evan raised an eyebrow at him, awaiting an explanation. But Josh just shook his head and instead of saying anything else, just like Rory, he shifted closer.

"Is he okay with this?" Kieran asked, moving closer as well despite his cautious question. "He's still human after all."

"He'd let you know if he minded, don't worry," Evan replied since Ryan couldn't right now. Apparently, that was enough for Kieran and Josh to reach out and put a hand on his fur.

"I don't know why I'm waiting for him to start purring," Josh chuckled.

"I can assure you that Ryan is the only wolf who won't be offended by that sentence," Michael spoke up, the only one not involved in the petting action.

"Oh, right!" Josh suddenly seemed to remember something important. "I was gonna ask you." He looked at Evan and added, "Do you hate cats because you're a wolf?"

That question obviously got Ryan's attention too, as he pulled away from his mate slightly and looked at him intensely. With a sigh, Evan raked a hand through his hair and decided to answer as best he could. "Mallow is still an exception," he told Ryan first, intentionally using the nickname he often used for the ball of fur. "I honestly have no idea if it has anything to do with me being a wolf but my wolf definitely agrees."

"Your wolf," Kieran repeated after him. "You talk about him like you're two different beings."

"Because they are," Michael replied before Evan could find the right words.

"What do you mean?" Kieran asked, and Rory and Josh shifted their attention as well. Michael frowned at first, obviously not keen on a long explanation, especially since he was breaking supernatural laws by doing so, and Evan was beginning to think he was going to have to take over, but eventually, he spoke again.

"Werewolves are humans and wolves at the same time. A wolf and a human share the same body shell. Some would say we're half human and half animal, but it's more accurate to say we're both humans and wolves that simply exist together. Our wolf still has its animalistic side and instincts. And just as in human form, we take control, in animal form our wolves take control. It doesn't mean you can't control your body at all when you're in wolf form, but you share that control with your wolf. Our wolves still have some of our human intelligence, which makes them more evolved beings than normal animals, but they're still essentially animals," he explained, and it was obvious that the human participants were hanging on his every word.

"So we're actually petting a wild animal now?" Josh asked, shifting his gaze briefly to his hand that was still resting in Ryan's fur.

"Basically," Michael replied. However, the black-haired boy could clearly see that his words weren't fully understood so he sighed and added, "The easiest way to explain it is with an example. When a human gets lost in the forest for a long time, they die. If a werewolf gets lost, they will simply shift and leave control to their wolf. The longer the wolf has control, the more he becomes an animal and less of a man. Let's suppose that if you found a werewolf after a year of living away from civilization and not transforming back into his human form at all, convincing them that they were also human would be very difficult."

"How often do you have to shift to keep your mind clear?" Rory asked.

"That's individual, I guess," Michael replied, shrugging. It was obvious from his attitude that he'd had enough explaining for the day, so Evan took that as his cue to continue from now on.

"There are wolves that shift every day. There are wolves who shift every week. I know that if I don't shift for two weeks, I start to get nervous and I can't think as easily as I usually do," Evan admitted. At the word think, Michael gave him a look, but Evan chose to ignore it.

"I have a stupid question, but I have to ask," Josh warned. "Doesn't it bother your wolves that they get less time than you?"

"I suppose not. I can't exactly ask him, but I can sense his emotions and he doesn't seem displeased. I suppose our wolves are used to it, since they don't know anything else. Plus, wolves follow their instincts and strongest emotions. In the case of werewolves, a wolf's strongest instinct is being with its mate, so I can't say mine is complaining." Evan shrugged and Rory stuck his bottom lip out at him in response, hinting at the cuteness of his statement, causing his cheeks to flush.

"What if they don't have a mate yet?" Josh asked the next question.

"Protecting their pack," Michael replied, surprisingly. Evan, however, quickly figured out that this was probably his attempt to end the subject and decided to help him.

"I'm beginning to feel that we should have left all these questions for tomorrow," he said, bringing up for the first time a subject that no one had mentioned before and somewhat changing the overall mood. Until now they had been serious because they were more or less trying to understand another species, but now the seriousness came from somewhere else.

"We'll at least be able to help you answer tomorrow," Josh encouraged.

"I don't think the reassurances will be necessary, since it's Aiden and Lola, but Josh is right. We understand the whole thing better now and will be a better support," Kieran added.

"Thanks, guys." Evan gave them a sincere smile and pulled Ryan closer to him. He also expressed his support in his own way and Evan felt his wet tongue on his chin, tickling him and making him laugh.

"I think I have enough to explain too, so we're in the same boat," Rory added with a sigh, though a small smile played on his lips as he watched Evan and Ryan.

"I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help, Ro." Kieran leaned closer to him, looking as if he was truly sorry that he couldn't help his friend, even after understanding this world a little more.

"Nah." Rory shrugged. "Just being here with you helps me. Are you sure you don't want to move?"

His question made everyone laugh and brought a grin to his face as well.

"The only place I want to move to is New York," Josh assured him. "Correction: where we want to move to." He bumped Kieran's shoulder with his fist. The mention of New York lifted his spirits even more and obviously contributed to his next idea.

"Hey, Ryan," Josh called to the wolf in Evan's arms, as if he had only just realised he could still talk to him. "Would it be very offensive if I wanted to throw you a ball?"

"Dude, what?" Rory replied first, laughing in disbelief. "Would you like someone to throw you a ball?"

"Yeah?" Josh replied, although his answer sounded more like a question.

Evan had to quickly pull his arms back to his body as the wolf in his arms began to wriggle, and the moment he gave him a free pass, he jumped and shook, fluffing his fur back up. Then he turned to Josh and looked at him with an intense gaze.

"Does that mean yes?" the brown-haired boy asked, and Ryan wagged his tail in response.

"Okay, werewolf 101, if we can't answer you in this form, we'll use our tail to do it - a sideways wag is a yes, two thumps on the ground is a no. Got it?" Evan clarified quickly.

Josh seemed excited to be able to communicate with the wolf and nodded his head eagerly in agreement. "So Ryan, do you want a ball?" he asked, his smile widening as the wolf responded with a wag of his tail.

Josh didn't need any further encouragement as he jumped to his feet and headed for the house, presumably in search of the ball. Ryan thought for a moment about what to do but then ran after him.

All four of them watched in amusement, shaking their heads, but no one said anything.

"If Angie was here she'd say he's stolen another friend of yours," Kieran laughed.

"If Angie were here, she'd say we're all idiots," Rory corrected him.

"True," Michael confirmed.

"By the way, thanks for trusting us, both of you," Kieran said suddenly, his eyes turning serious. Then he turned to Rory. "You too, Ro."

Rory just waved his hand at his words as if it was the obvious thing to do, but Evan felt he needed to say more. "Angie and I used to talk about this, you know. We always said that if we were to trust anyone with our secret, it would be you," he told him with a small smile. He knew that Kieran would realise that there was more to his words without having to say them out loud. And judging by his smile, which had a hint of sadness in it, he did.

This sentimental moment, however, was quickly destroyed by Michael. "I had no choice, so..." He shrugged.

"You had a choice." Evan turned to him with a scowl. "Either join us or report us and have no friends. Simple choice."

Michael just raised his eyebrows and then shook his head, as if he couldn't believe he was actually having this conversation.

Before anyone could react, a ball landed between them, immediately bouncing off the ground, followed in a second by a werewolf that looked almost like a black blur as it rushed for it.

"I found the ball," an excited voice said behind them a few seconds later. Evan just rolled his eyes at the obviousness of it and looked over at his boyfriend, who was busy playing with a small yellow ball.

"We should make it a competition," Josh said and stood on the spot where he had been sitting a while ago.

"A competition?" Rory asked.

"Uh-huh," he said in agreement. "Do you know which one of you is the fastest?" His eyes darted from Evan to Michael.

"If you think you're going to make me chase the ball, you're wrong," Michael assured him.

Evan was about to say the same thing, but before he could, Ryan dropped the yellow ball into his lap and gave him puppy dog eyes.

"Looks like we have a second contestant," Josh beamed excitedly.

"They're wolves, not dogs," Kieran reminded his best friend.

"I know," Josh assured him. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We can throw the ball either way."

Evan gave him a quick look before glancing back at his mate, his hopeful look quickly deciding it for him. With a sigh, he stood up, dropped the ball to the ground, and headed towards the house.

"Give me a second," he said, and the others immediately understood what he meant.

"I'm still not changing my mind," he heard Michael's voice behind him and then heard Kieran reassure him that he didn't have to.

It only took a few seconds for Evan to shed his clothes and let his wolf take over his body. Before he knew it, he was on all fours and was thrilled to find that even in this form, he was no longer in pain.

However, he still needed to stretch his legs, so he quickly ran back to his friends and went straight for the ball, taking it from under Ryan's nose.

The black wolf looked at him in shock, almost offended, but then his expression changed to one of determination, and in a second he was running towards his mate, focusing on the ball between his teeth. Of course, Evan didn't wait for him to reach him and ran quickly in the opposite direction.

"Let the games begin!"