The Prodigal Son

Damian sat in his car outside the pack’s gates. It had been a long time since he had set foot in his homeland. He had given up his birthright to what he believed was a higher calling. He needed to be free; he needed to run. He didn’t want to be bogged down with politics of the pack, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be responsible for every single pup in the pack. At the time, he justified his decision to go rogue by telling his father that his calling was to ensure other packs were well-trained in security. Even went as far as to tell him that it was his duty to the goddess and that he felt it deep in his soul. After 10 years on the road, he had been summoned back to his homeland to train the upcoming army of pups. Most of the elder warriors had long since retired and were no longer able to perform their duties. Damian’s own father, not far from the great beyond himself, gave his son one last plea to come home if for no other reason than to do his duty to the goddess. So now he sits here staring at the gate. His hands were trembling, and his wolf was whimpering in the back of his mind. This feeling was new to him. He never really felt nervous, but this was different. It had been a long time since he had been around people who shared his bloodline. He wanted to see them, wanted to hug his mother and see his father’s smile. He wanted to see what kind of man his little brother had grown into. He wanted to know whether his sister had finally found the wolf of her dreams. He didn’t know if he had nieces and nephews. He didn’t know how his parents aged, but he wanted to.

“ What are we waiting for? I can smell home!” Demon, his wolf screamed in his head. His wolf was solid black with eyes as red as the blood that had drained from his enemies. So far, he was the only one of his kind. In all his years of searching, he had never found another wolf with red eyes. He never understood why the goddess had blessed him as she had, or even what she really had used for him. All he knew was his insatiable urge to run. Not the normal running, like his wolf needed an open field, but his human form needed space, needed distance, needed purpose that he wasn’t going to find inside his small community of wolves. Trapped in the gates of Harlin, the pack rules and regulations. He needed to be free to roam in towns and freedom to enjoy being human, until a pack would summon for ruthless training and power-building exercises. Where he could satisfy his wolf’s need to feel the blood-lust of enemies and how powerful it is to be an amazing creature, the goddess had made him to be.

He didn’t know how long he had been there, just staring at the gate. His mind was in a tailspin as he argued with his wolf. His wolf wanted to run into the embrace of his pack, but his human wanted to run. Run away from all the hold the Harlin Pack had on him. He was startled by a knock on his window. The face he didn’t remember, but the scent, the scent of pine, sap, and bark. The huge smile on his face confirmed it was only his younger brother, Dametri. When Damion left, Dametri was only seventeen and hadn’t yet come into his wolf. But where a boy flooded the memory, a man stood. With his tall and lean stature, Big blue eyes, and sandy blond hair, he is just like their mother. It didn’t take his human long to join his wolf in craving the embrace of the man that stood before him.

He opened the door and only made one step out of the car before Demeti had his long, lanky arms around him. “Damien! How many moons has it been? Father said you would be coming, but I didn’t have the faith he did. How the hell are you, brother?” Damien was having a hard time controlling the emotions he was feeling, again, not sure if it was his wolf or his human. Or maybe they both had come to an agreement; this was needed.

Damian listened as Demetri told him about getting his wolf for the first time, how bad it hurt when his body faded to take the form of his wolf, Dozer. Demetri told him his wolf is the color of fall, brown mixed with orange and yellow. Dozer’s eyes were yellow as well. “I’m a pretty normal wolf, nothing like you. Dozer is not even as big as Demon, but we get the job done OK I guess. We really haven’t seen much battle outside of training. It’s a good thing, I suppose. I do dream about it every once in a while. Ripping someone or something’s jugular out with my teeth. You know the normal stuff pups dream about.” Damian giggled at his little brother. Little did he know the hard truths of battle, and hopefully never will. But like all wolves, there always comes a day when they will have to do unspeakable things. Learning to live with those unspeakable things is the real hard part. Killing a man is instinct for a wolf. But living with those images is hard for a human man. “So, have you found the love of your life yet? Any sweet little pups I need to know about?” Damtri blushed as he forced his hands in his pockets. Kicking a rock across the ground. “Do you remember Emmy? Damian’s mind searched his memory, trying to remember Emmy. Demrti must have seen the confusion on his face. “ You know the girl who used to beat me up when we were kids.” He did remember her. She was pretty in her own right, with short blond hair that framed her face, and her eyes were a deep shade of green. Mean lit pup that’s for sure. What she lacked in looks, she made up for in hell’s fury. Her parents were meek and mild wolves. Ran the General Store and made sure that the needs of the pack were met. Not ones for battle, but Emmy was made for the battlefield. Not that she would ever see it. But Goddess help anyone who pissed her off. “Yeah, I remember her. What did she do? Hold you down and tell you she would stop beating you up if you made an honest woman out of her?” Demitri laughed and just said, “Something like that. We are married now. You know our birthdays are the same day, right? Our mothers gave birth 10 minutes apart. So our wolves showed up on the same day, within minutes of each other. We had been fighting that day, so our parents sent us to the woods to gather some herbs. My wolf showed up, and I couldn’t even stop the transformation. She petted me and helped me through it, and no sooner than my transformation was complete, she began to transform, and all I could do was watch because I didn’t know how to control my wolf. But man, when I saw her in wolf form, I knew at that moment she was meant for me. Her wolf is blonde, kind of like a golden retriever, which by the way, don’t ever say that to her. She will lose her whole mind. We ran for hours and played like kids. When we found the strength to change back, we did it together. Not really knowing that when we transformed back, we would be completely naked. So when we were back in human form, she pounced on me, and the rest is history. She is carrying our firstborn now. She wants a boy, but if we have a little girl who looks just like her, I will be completely satisfied. She’s mean, and she really wears the pants in our house. But that woman is the love of my life.” Damian was a little jealous of his little brother. He has spent so much time training and being alone that he has never found the time to look at a woman like that. Of course, he had women in his bed to fill his needs, but he could never bring himself to kiss them. He tried, but it was too intimate. He felt dirty after. And the women in his bed never stayed overnight or saw him completely naked. He always kept his shirt and pants on. Only releasing his member to insert himself inside whatever woman was bent over his bed. Once he had emptied himself on the floor or the bed and sometimes even whatever woman’s back he would ask her to leave and never speak to her again.

Human women were the only women he had ever been with. He had heard too many stories of how hard human women would fall for a wolf, and once his seed was inside her, she would drive herself crazy trying to be whatever it was he needed her to be. So he just steered away from all that. He mostly would relieve himself in his hands, but there were times when his hand just wasn’t enough. He needed to feel the inside of a woman, the warmth of her skin, her moist center, and the soft moans that escaped her as she climaxed on his member. His body was beginning to react to his train of thought. Damian turned his attention back to his younger brother, who was still going on and on about Emmy. “ I am happy for you, little brother. Maybe one day I too can enjoy a love like no other. While you dream of battle, I dream of a love to call my own. Demetri smiled at his older brother, not really knowing the things he had seen. But there was a sadness in his eyes that only the love of a mate could take from a man. “Ahhh, brother, are you sure that’s what you’ve been dreaming of? From what I remember, you were running away from just that.” Damion felt the sting in his heart. Whatever did come of the girl Goddess had matched him with, all those years ago, but he knew now, just like he knew then, he was not and still not anything she needed. No woman deserved to deal with the shit that went on inside his mind. It was best if he just remained a lone wolf, a rogue wolf. He wasn’t even stable enough to run any pack. Especially the pack he grew up in, his father’s legacy, the land he loved more than anything. He wasn’t worthy. Not for this pack, not for his father’s legacy, and definitely not for her. “You might not be worthy, but I am,” Demon rang out in his mind. Damion shook off the angry sounds of his wolf. He only needed to focus on his brother.

After catching up for what seemed like hours, the emergency sirens sounded, and both men took off like a bullet. Instinct took over, and he had no control of his mind, body, or wolf. The only thing he could see was the blur of the tunnel vision as he raced to the middle of the little pack town where the siren bell stood. Everything came to a screeching halt when he saw his father standing in front of the bell. His body was frail, and he leaned on a cane for support. With his equally frail Beta at his side. Although his face and body looked fragile and easily broken, his voice still sounded like thunder. Damian stood in the middle of a crowd of people that didn’t seem to notice him. Because when the Alfa spoke, nothing else mattered. He knelt with the rest of his people as they paid their respects to the man who had been their leader and protector for the past 40 years. Brax Damian’s father took the throne when his own father, Brooks, was laid to rest after his life was taken on the battlefield when a pack of mangy rogue wolves tried to overthrow them. After many weeks of battle, the pack of rogue wolves retreated, and victory came to the Harlin Pack. Many lives were lost that day. But none hurt the pack more than seeing their alpha’s bruised, broken body. Brax immediately took hold of his birthright and his rightful place at the head of the pack. His father’s words rang out like thunder from a distant storm.

“My beautiful pack, I know you all ran here thinking this was a cry for help. I do apologize for any fear I may have caused in your hearts and minds. I do, however, would like to replace your fear with a little bit of joy.” Not a single pup made a sound as their Alfa spoke. You could hear a pin drop in the multitude of wolves that surrounded the bell. Many faces he had known his entire life. Knew them so well, he had no trouble picking out the proud parents of some of the pups. To his left was old man Reems, better known as Bear. Although he was a gentle man, he was a beast on the battlefield. He grew up listening to stories of the war cries of the big, fuzzy wolf. Grown men really thought the man was a bear. To his right was Mr Janz. Never saw the battlefield, but when it came to protecting this land, there was never a better wolf. Each wolf held their own place in the pack, and no one questioned it. Everyone knew their palace and what job they held.

“After many years of running, the prodigal son has returned. Damian, come say hello to your people.” Damian couldn’t move his wolf, and his body froze with fear. Fear of what? His father had just told the pack he had returned, but how long could he stand to be here? How long would he be able to stay still on this peaceful land? “Stupid move your legs!” Demon screamed inside his head. He watched as the crowd began to part. Finally, he was able to put one foot in front of the other and make his way to the platform where his alfa, his leader, his teacher, his father, stood.

When he was finally face-to-face with his Alfa, he kneeled down, head bowed, right hand over his heart. “My alfa, I am here to serve.” With words like thunder, his father spoke once more. “And serve you will, soldier, that you will..” When Damian looked up, he was eye level with Brax. His father had knelt down with him. “My son, it’s been too long. Welcome home.” Damian couldn’t even stop the emotion from pouring from his eyes. As his father cried tears of joy and smiled from ear to ear, with his arms stretched wide. And just like a child, Damian fell into his father’s embrace, and for once in his life, he didn’t even care who was watching. He and Demon knew they were home. They didn’t know for how long, but one thing was for certain, they were going to enjoy whatever time they had on the grounds in which they grew up.

​