Page 113 of Homecoming

The rest of the team stands mouth open in silence as Rocky strips the rest of his clothes.

“Holy shit!” Zak’s eyes widen in his head, as he quickly covers QT’s with his hand. “Is that thing even real? I mean… fuck me,” he laughs. “Wowser… I did not know bears were built likethat.” He swallows before he turns QT around and pushes him away. “And that is notsomethin'you should belookin’at.”

“Sweet wolf gods save me.” Darius gasps in disdain under his breath. “Alright, let’s just get this thing done. Hold out your hand and close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Rocky sniffs and with his hand outstretched, he proudly steps forward. “This is an initiation, right? Do you know how long I’ve been looking forward to this? It’s so damn cool. It makes me feel like a real wolf in the pack.” He grins before he turns and winks at Digby—who sneers with a growing air of disgust.

“Hey Rocky,” Zak questions, “I need to know, are all bears built like you?”

“Pretty much. Why?”

“That is so gross…” Digby shakes his head. “I need to getsomethin’to eat. I can’t look at that…this… anymore. Dee, I’m gonna leave you to it, man.” He grins, noticing the seething snarl on Darius’s face.

“Alright Rocky, it's like Kat said. Youneed to trust me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know. It’s fine. You’re gonna cut my hand with that knife, right? That’s fine, I get it. You want me to trust you, so I have to trust you’re not gonna hurt me, but just so we’re clear, I totally trust you.”

“Close your goddamn eyes and shut the fuck up,” Darius groans.

“I’m good if you want me to keep them open. I mean, I’m not bothered by blood.”

“I don’t.” Darius frowns as he takes a firm hold of Rocky’s large hand and slowly, he draws the knife across his sweaty palm. As he makes the incision, he can’t help notice the way Rocky holds his breath and gets an erection. Darius hisses in disgust and as blood pools through the bear’s thick fingers, the team leader calmly lowers his head before quickly licking his tongue across the bleeding wound.

As the taste of Rocky's blood fills his mouth, Darius takes a step back and sneers in disgust. It has a sweet, unfamiliar taste that makes him want to gag. “Uggghh… Oh man, bear blood is nothing likewolf. That is fucking awful.Ugh… What the hell does it taste of? It’s sweet, like…”

“… honey. Yeah, I’ve been told before, that bear blood tastes like honey. Probablycuzwe eat so much of the damn stuff. I have to say personally I can’t get enough of it—honey,not blood.” Rocky opens his eyes and smiles as he and Darius stare at each other. “You know, if I can just say something else?” He ignores Darius’s muffled groan. “Lieutenant Morgan, she’s pretty damn good—hot too, for a wolf. Are you sure you’re not making a huge mistake letting her go from this team?”

“I don’t make mistakes and the sooner you get to grips with that fact, the better you’ll do on this team. Now go back and join the others. Get some rest, you’ll need time to recover after that.”

“Sure thing. Sleeping is my specialty. I can sleep any place, any time.” Rocky winks at Kat before he heads to the warmth of the crackling campfire where the others are bedding down for the night.The evening sky darkens and the last of the setting sun can be seen just beyond the horizon.

Rocky lays himself on the sleeping bag next to Bud and, rubbing a hand over his brow, he can feel his mind swirl with clouded dreams of Darius. His vision fades, his eyelids grow weary with tired drunken dizziness as the thud of sleep pounds in his skull. Stretching his arms high in the air, he growls with a loud yawn. “Wow… I feel koala bear tired… I think I could sleep for a month.”

“Yeah, well, don’t do that,cuzthe helo’scomin’at five and you know, you might wanna put your clothes on before it arrives.” Digby yawns too, watching as the naked bear closes his eyes and rolling from side to side, disappears into his dreams.

“Hey Rocky… Rocky…” Digby calls out to the bear as he climbs into his own sleeping bag next to the already sleeping Kat.

“Yeah bro,” Rocky mumbles incoherently as his thoughts fade into a whirl of rambling visions.

“I just wanted to say, welcome to WOLF team, buddy.”

“Ah...thereyouare.Can I have a quick word with you in my office? It won’t take a minute.”

“Not now.” Kat snaps as she pushes past Darius and hurries down the corridor, her large duffel slung over her shoulder.

Darius frowns and as he quickly follows after her, he grabs her arm and pulls her back. “Kat, please… I just need a minute. I want to discuss your… Wait, are you alright? Are you crying?”

She breathes hard and stops in the corridor to wipe the wet from her tear-stained face. Her cheeks are puffed and reddened, her eyes bloodshot and her lashes drip with a constant stream of tears.

“What the hell happened?” Darius stares as he watches her cry.

“I need go. Noah’s waiting at the gate to pick me up. We’re going to the mountain for a couple of days with the pups. I need to get away from here.” Her eyes dart in several directions, trying to avoid direct eye contact. “Please Darius, just let me go.”

“But Kat, I need to talk… discuss your place.”

“Please, let go of me. I can’t do this with you right now. Rocky’s a really nice guy and totally deserves his place. He earned it and I'm sure he’ll be great for the team. I’m sorry I just can’t talk about this, not right now. I told you, I need to go.”

“But Kat, I just… I wanted to—”

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