His Soft Fur

“I’ve seen you naked before.” I told Ty, who was squirmish because I saw him naked again as he did his best to put clothes on quickly. I tilted my head to the side as I watched him put a pair of my pants on.

“Stop.” he caught me staring.

“Huh.” I had a lot more questions.

I know Ty wanted to hide behind a corner or something. I saw what I saw and I was...curious.

He pulled the sweater over his body, but I got a good look before he had the chance to cover his torso. I made a face as he stared at me, and I had a feeling he knew what I was going to say.

“Anyway...” I turned away so I could go up the steps. “My parents will be home soon, so I was going to start dinner.”

“I shouldn’t stay long.”

“That’s up to you.” I wasn’t going to force him to stay. But the weather was about to be hazardous, and there was no way he was going to leave later tonight unless he leaves now.

I think he knew that, too. That’s why he wanted to come in.

I got upstairs and walked through the living room to the kitchen.

“Are you hungry? I can-”

“I’m fine.” he was quick to say just so I wouldn’t do anything for him.

When I turned to look at him, I noticed he was shaking. Was he still cold, or was it his other side ready to take over again? I didn’t ask. Instead I stood next to him and took his hand. He wasn’t cold like I thought he would be. In fact, he was warm.

He didn’t stop me from holding his hand.

“Are you always this hot?” I asked as a genuine questions.

“Keeps me from shivering.” he said as he looked away.

It must be nice to always be warm.

I waited for him to meet my gaze again. Just like earlier, he had the same look in his eyes immediately. I wanted to ask him why it looked like he was staring at me like he would risk it all. I’ve seen that look before in other people, but it’s never towards me. This was the first time someone’s looked at me the way Ty was looking at me.

I almost wanted to tease him for it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

“Like what?”

“Like...you want to kiss me.” I said, and I didn’t look away from him.

And what was unlike him was that he didn’t look away either. He watched and waited to see if I would take back what I said, but that’s not like me.

He didn’t answer my question either.

“Tell me it’s a wolf thing.” I said, curious that it might be.

I wonder if he...

“I would if I knew.” he said quietly.

I moved closer to him and he didn’t stop me. I had this urge to get closer and I wonder if he felt the same. He hadn’t moved away. I didn’t want him to.

I didn’t get too close, however. Not close enough to kiss him. I was curious about what he would do, but I didn’t get any closer than being able to feel his breath on my skin. If he wanted to kiss me, he would. If he doesn’t then he won’t.

“You shouldn’t.” he whispered.

“I won’t.” I was just as quiet as my gaze lowered.

I think I make him nervous. His breath was shaking. Maybe he was trying to control himself, though it didn’t look that hard for him which. I continued to tell myself if he wanted to kiss me, he would. So I shouldn’t do anything to make him upset.

I moved away from him, running my hand through my hair as I turned to go to the fridge. What ran through my mind was the idea of kissing him, and that’s my fault because I got so close to him. I noticed the way he looked at me, and I thought he liked me, but I guess that’s not the case.

I’m just surprised that he didn’t push me away. I was in his personal space and making him nervous. He doesn't have to deal with me if he doesn't want to.

“You know, you could tell me if you’re not interested-”

“That’s not it.” he was quick to say.

“Oh.” I wanted to know what it was, but he wouldn’t tell me even if I asked him. I wanted to see his expression, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I just got everything out of the fridge because I know my mom would want to get dinner ready.

And I wanted to keep myself occupied. If I don't, then I'll start asking myself if I like Ty or not. I wouldn't tease him. I wouldn't just play around with him. But we just recently started talking, and one of the conversations we've had is him telling me all about his secret.

Did I like that he trusted me enough to tell me? I don't know what it was, but it was something that made me think it was okay to try.

“I’m not like my...brothers.” Ty said slowly.

“In what way?” I asked.

“I’ve never...I never had an interest in anyone.” He admitted.

“Yeah, Cina would touch any moving object.” I sighed because apparently, thinking about Cina gets me frustrated. He’s always in people’s personal space, and I never thought it was a big deal till he was in my space.

“And Channing literally thinks he can move in with his girlfriend.”

“Oh yeah, that blond who moved away, right? Candice? She’s so nice.” I remembered her. She had this habit of bringing baked goods to school and everyone loved her for it. “I didn’t know the two of them were that serious.”

“They were supposed to go down south together for school but it’s not like Channing can go anywhere anymore.”

He has that curse he has to deal with.

“I’m not going to move in with you if that’s what you’re worried about.” I laughed to myself, but Ty didn’t find that funny. He must be paranoid. “What? You think you’ll hurt me or something?”

“I could.”

“Ty, it’s not like you have a temper or anything. I’ve never seen you lash out at anyone or anything, so I doubt you could hurt me even if you wanted to.” I told him.

He doesn’t get upset. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood. He always has the same expression on his face, like there’s nothing in the world that could bother him.

He didn’t say anything to that.

In fact, he just walked away, leaving the kitchen. I guess the conversation doesn’t interest him anymore. I sighed to myself as he left the kitchen. I didn’t leave. I just prepped the ingredients so my mom doesn’t say anything about the food might be ready late.

When I was done, I left the kitchen, finding Ty sitting on the couch quietly. I almost forgot he was here.

I wanted to ask if I made him mad, but I think the question might be a little disrespectful.

“You know what I thought about earlier?” I asked. He didn’t even glance my way. “You know how you said everything started around two months ago? You know what was finished two months ago? The mall.”

I had made the connection earlier, but it didn’t register as much while I was with him. Now that I think about it, the abrupt change with the brothers could be because of the tearing down of the forests in the area. That’s their home, and it’s about to be replaced. Of course they would come out to protect what’s theirs.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Ty said plainly, staring off.

“All the tree huggers and animal lovers are definitely going to fight this. Fight with them.” I suggested as I sat down next to him. “It’s not going to be easy but I’m pretty sure eight wolves can get the point across.” I was hopeful.

He looked over to me, a plain expression on his face. “Why do you care so much?”

“I grew up with all this wilderness. Don’t tell me you don’t remember literally having sleepovers in the forest.” I said.

All the kids do it.

When I was younger, everyone was always outside. All the kids would play in the forest and go on adventures. Because of that, we’re all nature freaks. We love this place.

“I haven’t been camping since I was ten because my dad got mad that I brought a raccoon home.” I laughed to myself.

I love animals. I've always wanted pets. I used to bring strange things home because I wanted to love it with all my heart. I'm not the only one like that. Even if some people don’t like animals as much as others, they’re here because the place is quiet. The town is practically silent, and we’re all friendly to each other.

It’s going to change when tourists come in.

“You said you’re supposed to be a protector.” I said to him. “I care because I live here, too. The community likes it the way it is, so protect us.” I smiled at him.

He looked at me, almost stunned. When I say certain things, he gets shocked, like he can’t believe what I said. He stared at me and I wasn’t sure if what I said upset him or not.

But in the next second he moved, coming closer to me without stopping. And he kissed me.

Now I was stunned.

I didn’t know what to do.

Before I was ready, this time I wasn’t, and maybe it’s because he was the one to make the first move. I almost didn’t move, not because I didn’t want to kiss him but because I was shocked he kissed me in the first place. Can I touch him? Should I touch him?

He was definitely touching me.

His hand was pressed to my face, his palm right over my cheek. He kept me close to him so I couldn’t move away. My hand was shaking as I touched his over my cheek. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest.

I kissed him back but I was still stunned.

What was he thinking? I’m surprised he even made the first move.

I could feel the heat on my face from his skin. Maybe I was blushing, too. It felt like my blood was boiling under my skin. I know I said I make him flustered, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel that way either.

I didn’t want him to pull away from me. When he did, it was like I could still feel his lips on my skin. I wanted him to come closer again so I could feel his warmth. I had this mindset that I could pull him closer, but I didn’t move. I let my hand move so he could back away from me.

I don’t know what made him want to kiss me, but I would love to know so I could get him to do it again.

“I shouldn’t, but you can, right?” I asked, reminding him that he told me not to earlier.

“I didn’t mean...”

“Don’t apologize.” I didn’t want him to feel bad. “Do it again.” I inched closer to him and he didn’t move me away.

Just like before, I wanted him to make the first move, but he waited again. What did I do that made him want to go for it? He won’t tell me so I won’t do it again.

We were close, too close.

And that’s how it stayed.

“I shouldn’t.” he said quietly, yet he was so close to me like he would.

I could feel his nose press to my cheek. I could feel his breath on my skin. The only thing I didn’t feel was his lips on mine. Neither of us would go for it. I closed my eyes, and I was content with thinking I could wait all day for him to kiss me.

Being this close was making my heart flutter.

I’ve never had that feeling before, not for someone else.

I know it’s because he just kissed me and that he’s so close to me right now. I know it’s because I like him a little and want to get to know him more.

My lips parted slightly, and I hoped on everything he would kiss me again. I wanted to feel his lips on me just like before. If I wanted it, I should go for it, but I was basically paralyzed. I didn’t move, and neither did he.

I don’t know how long we stayed this close to each other, but it almost made me frustrated. My hand moved to his shoulder gently. I felt his at my waist.

When he pressed his lips to mine again, I got this burst of energy that exploded inside me. I liked every second of it.

There was this abrupt sound at the front door. Keys. And in that second, Ty pulled away from me because my parents were home. I just mashed my lips together and put my hands in my lap, sitting quietly because I didn’t want to hear anything when my parents walked by.

I heard them both. They were talking about the bulldozers out in the streets. Then I heard my mom calling me.

“Gabriel- oh, you brought a friend home.” Mom said, pausing before she walked by.

“This is Ty.” I said to her.

“Oh, hello!” she seemed excited. “It’s nice to meet you.” I know she knew him, but she was surprised to see him here.

Ty responded quietly, greeting her in a soft voice before he turned away again.

Dad was going off about his day at work and what he saw with Mr. Conrod’s workers. He has a tendency to be vocal about what frustrates him. It doesn’t matter who’s around him.

“I can’t wait for someone to do something. I just want to go to work and do my job so I can come home and pay my bills and I can’t do that if there’s construction going on everywhere.” he said loudly from the kitchen.

“Why don’t you do something?” Mom called back to him.

“That’s not my job.” He called back.

“Don’t mind him.” Mom said to us. “So, Ty, are you going to stay for dinner?”

“Gabriel brought a friend over?” Dad shouted from the kitchen.

I hate when they do that. I sighed and brought my hand up to my forehead.

“Oh n-no, I shouldn’t stay.” Ty got up slowly.

“You might want to. Its going to get horrible outside in five minutes.” Dad called out from the kitchen. We looked over to glass windows; it got dark quickly, and I hadn’t noticed.

“You should stay over. It would be safer if you did.” Mom said to him politely and smiled. “I’ll be happy to tell your parents you’ll be staying with us tonight.”

Ty couldn’t say no.

“Uh s-sure, I don’t mind.” he said, looking down like he was just bullied into staying.

“We’ll be in my room. Call us when dinner is ready.” I said to mom as I pushed Ty forward towards the stairs so we could go up to my room. He didn’t seem too happy, and I know it wasn’t his idea to stay here.

“This is a bad idea.” he said to me.

“I know you can leave but it would look real suspicious to my parents.”

“I know, but still.” He didn’t want to be here and I wanted to know why. He made it seem like a big deal like he could hurt me earlier so I paused. Maybe he thinks he might not be able to control himself tonight.

“So the guest room is down the hall.” I said as I walked upstairs.

He’s not going anywhere tonight.

“You can wear my clothes.” I added.

He didn’t respond to anything I said. I could keep talking and he would say nothing. I think I make him nervous. This entire situation makes him nervous. The last thing I would want is for him to be uncomfortable.

Ty did his best to play it off like he was fine. He was polite to my parents, and he did his best to join in on the conversations. My parents know his parents, so they’re already aware that he’s a quiet kid. They thought it was shocking that he could talk about a lot of things but he’s not usually like this. I just think he didn’t want to make the situation worse than it is.

But he got through dinner okay.

And he just quietly went to the guest room without a word.

I stayed down stairs during the night to do my homework. My eyes were heavy and I wanted to go to sleep, but there’s a lot I haven’t done yet and I wanted to finish so I wasn’t behind. It was two in the morning and the wind was howling outside. I could hear the structures for the house shaking because of the wind. It’s been snowing all night, too.

I’m guessing there’s no school tomorrow, so it would be the perfect time to get all my homework done.

Ty came downstairs quietly and sat next to me on the couch without saying a word. It didn’t look like he had the chance to sleep, so he might’ve been up like I have been.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked.

“Not...really.” He said slowly as he put his hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt he was wearing.

“So are we going to have the conversation, or not?” I asked.

He didn’t answer the question.

“I don’t think it’s fair that you’re not going to say anything.” I finally looked at him, upset that he really won’t talk. He needs to come up with something to say.

He just shrugged when I looked at him.

“Fine. I’ll say something.” I put my textbook down on the coffee table. “You probably don’t want to do anything because you’re scared, and that’s fine. I’ll respect that. I won’t cross your boundaries. But I would like to know if you like me or not.” I was straight forward because I have the right to know.

Ty seemed frustrated. By the way he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, I knew he was frustrated. That’s not my fault. I know he has something to say now, so he should say it or he’ll just feel worse.

“Say something.” I said when he didn’t respond.

“I just want to figure myself out first.”

“And you couldn’t tell me that?”

“I didn’t know how.” he didn’t like that I was pressuring him to talk to me.

I got my answer so I don’t have anymore questions for him. I get that he has to figure himself out first. That’s fine. That’s all I needed. I reached for my textbook again so I could put it on my lap, but Ty put his hand over my mine to get my attention. When I turned to look at him, he kissed me without a second thought.

I guess he’s more action than words.

I closed my book and pushed it off my lap, it hitting the floor. I turned towards him more so I could kiss him. I don’t know if I’m making this up but he seems more eager than earlier. I liked that, but I want to know what’s making him more interested. There was a lot going through my mind as he kissed me.

I had so many questions.

But I wanted to focus on the way that he kissed me, the way that he felt on me. I could feel every time his lips pressed to mine. I could feel his breath over my skin too. My hands moved in his hair just so he couldn’t pull away from me. For some reason though, I felt like he wouldn’t pull away.

It felt like hours we were kissing though I know it was just a few minutes.

When I tried to take a breath, I could still feel his lips pressing on mine. My heart fluttered the way it did earlier as he took my breath away. My lips parted more so I could feel him kiss them. His skin was so warm, and him kissing me made me heat up more. My blood was boiling underneath my skin.

The only reason I had to pull away was to breathe.

I needed a moment, and I know he does too.

All this, what we’ve been doing today, it was abrupt. But I saw the way he’s been looking at me, and I knew something was going on. I didn’t know it would lead to this.

I mashed my lips together as I sat back on the couch, fixing myself properly so I could stare at the wall instead of him. He shifted next to me, moving away from me to put some distance between us. I didn’t want him to do that, but I didn’t say anything.

We need a moment.

We didn’t talk at all. Ty didn’t move closer, I didn’t try to move either. I was tired now but I wanted to finish my homework.

However, the next thing I knew when I blacked out was I suddenly got this feeling of waking up. The clock on the wall said it was four in the morning so it hasn’t been long. I guess I took a small nap.

But what woke me up was how hot I felt.

I was sweating and my hair was mashed against my wet skin. When I tried to move, I couldn’t. Ty was leaning against me, sleeping, but he was burning up. I lifted my hand up to touch his skin, and he practically burned my fingers.

My hands moved on his shoulders to shift him off me.

He has a fever and he’s sweating. He was so hot that I was sweating. He was breathing harder, too.

He’s sick.

“Ty, wake up.” I said quietly.

His eyes barely opened.

“Let me get you to bed.” I tried to lift him up. He got up with me so we could go. I didn’t take him upstairs. There was one guestroom down here so I brought him there and got him in bed.

“I shouldn’t stay.” He whispered.

“You’re not going anywhere like this.” I told him as I pulled the blanket up over his body. “Tell me how to help.”

“It’s just like any other fever.” He said.

And he didn’t have to say anymore than that.

I went to get a hand towel and poured cold water over it till it was wet. I rung it out and folded it up to get the water out.

I walked back in the room and put the towel over Ty’s head. I went into the closet to get another blanket for him. This one was thicker so it might help. I put that over him and left the room to get some other things.

I grabbed two bottles of water and went into the medicine cabinet to get something for his fever. When I thought about it, I grabbed a lot of other things too.

I brought my handful of stuff back to the guest room. He was already falling asleep but I woke him up again.

“Hey, take these.” I pressed on his cheek so he’d open his mouth. “You’ll probably burn through this pretty quick but it should help.” I said as he shifted up in bed as I handed him the water. “Also, you need to stay hydrated, but also electrolytes, so there’s stuff in the other water bottle.” I said to him.

I don’t know if any of this will help but I tried. He didn’t ask me to call his brothers so I didn’t. They wouldn’t be able to make it in this storm anyway.

“I’ll stay on the couch.” I told him as I left the room.

I cleaned up my mess in the living room and turned off all the lights. In a few hours, my parents will wake up and will have no choice but to find a way to work. School’s cancelled for sure.

When I woke up again, I could smell food right in front of me. I opened my eyes and saw a plate of pancakes on the coffee table with a note on the side. Mom made breakfast before she left. There’s some for Ty in the kitchen. I slowly got up and stretched before I went to check on Ty.

He was buried under two blankets. I wasn’t sure if I should wake him up but I wanted to check on him. I lifted the blankets to see what he looked like. He wasn’t as flushed as before, and he wasn’t sweating as much either. He didn’t look like he was in pain. I put the blanket back down over him and left the room.

Outside was covered in snow, but the roads were clear. I stared out the windows to the front yard. There was snow all over the house across the street. Their car was buried in snow too. What was shocking was my car was still under all the snow. If Dad cared about me, he would’ve gotten the snow off, but it’s his way of telling me I’m not going anywhere today.

I ate breakfast quietly and went upstairs to shower and change clothes. I brought extra clothes down for Ty. It was only eight in the morning so I didn’t want to wake him.

Nothing was going to happen today.

When he wakes up, he’ll probably want to go home.

I made myself hot chocolate and made more food for me to eat. I grabbed my textbook too so I could study. It was a few more hours before Ty stumbled out of his room and into the kitchen. I could hear his slow shuffling on his way over here.

He looked an absolute mess.

But he wasn’t sweating.

“Feel better?” I asked him.

“I’m in so much pain.” He complained quietly to himself as he ran his hand through his messy curls. “I should’ve left, now my muscles ache from straining.”

“You fought the change the entire time?” I asked him.

“It took all of my strength to hold back.” He seemed so sad. I can’t imagine what it was like to control himself, considering he said he’s the only one out of his brothers that’s having a hard time.

“At least you did it.” I was happy for him.

He wasn’t that happy.

He stared at the plate of pancakes on the counter. Right next to it, there was a cup of hot chocolate that I made for him. He was debating if he wanted it. And in the next second, he pushed the cup to the side and took the plate of pancakes only.

He didn’t go far with the plate.

“It’s still hot.” He said and left the kitchen.

I heard him go to the front door and open it. All he’s wearing is a sweatshirt. He has to know that it’s cold outside. I got out of my seat and rushed over to him, going outside but not making it far because of how cold it was.

The air was harsh on my face and I was tempted to go back inside, but I saw a brown wolf standing in the snow and it was growling towards us. I didn’t move. Ty did. He walked over to the wolf that wasn’t so friendly.

“Who’s that?” I asked him.

The wolf was resisting Ty’s hold, but Ty didn’t stop trying to hug it.

“Cina.” Ty said when he finally got his arms around.

“He’s going to kill me.” I said plainly as I kept my eyes on the dark brown wolf.

It's not like Cina was going to be nice to me now. He's not particularly happy that inserted myself into Ty's situation, though Ty was the one venting to me first. Cina will probably do everything he can to keep me away so I have to brace myself.

As I watched Ty hug him, I saw the look in his cold blue eyes. It's like Cina was warning me to stay away.

Ty didn’t say anything when he let go. He made a motion with his fingers, and the wolf sat on his hind legs obediently.

“So all of you are trained dogs?” I asked.

“I mean...” Ty looked back towards me. “Yeah.” He said and turned to Cina again. “He’s not going to hurt you.” He assured me as he rubbed behind Cina's ears.

I just turned away so I could go back inside because it was cold and I wasn't dressed to be outside. Ty was fine out there with his brother. I didn’t want to look Cina in the eye while he has the strength to rip me apart.