Found

It was a cold day on the ranch and 18 year old Calen Ortiz loved this time of year. School was let out for the Christmas holidays and he loved nothing more than to explore his family's ranch every chance he got. He considered himself lucky, living on a ranch was more than his home; it was his heaven.. While his other friends teased him about being a "country boy", he felt a sense of pride of who he was and where he came from. His best friend Natalie Velarde was like a sister to him. She was the only person who knew Calen inside and out. You could say their bond was soulful. She knew Calen's secret and because of that their bond was tighter than any blood sibling.

On her way to her family's winter home in Colorado, Natalie stopped by Calen's house to tell him bye and exchange gifts with each other. It was the their first time apart in a long time and both were sad.

"I can't believe we won't see each other for almost 2 weeks Nat!" Calen exclaimed.

"I know and I wish I could stay but since this is our senior year, my family wants me to spend one more holiday with them as their 'little girl'." Natalie replied.

Both of them chuckled as Calen coo'ed over at Natalie as if she were still a baby and attempted to pinch her cheek.

"Stop butthead!" Natalie said swatting Calen's hand from pinching her cheek. "We still can call each other every day at least and of course e-mail. And for sure we will see each other at New years eve!"

"Shit I can't wait for New Years Natalie- cause after that it's going to be a count down to our graduation and OUR FREEDOM!"

"I know what you mean Calen, then when we are in college we can do whatever the hell we want!"

Loud laughter came from the two as they both embraced and pinched each others butts- it was a thing they did to be silly with one another.

"OUCH...you pinched me with your nails...WHAT THE HELL?!" Calen said rubbing his butt and seeing Natalie trying to hold off a giggle.

"That's for trying to pinch my cheek douche bag; come on lets hug for real." They held each other tightly as if they were never going to see each other again. Two weeks in "teen years" was more like 2 years, but both were excited for a New Years and a new year of possibilities.

Seeing Natalie drive away, Calen decided to go take his usual walk around the ranch. He loved his walks. He was definitely the most outgoing out of his four siblings. While the others were busy going to malls and movies, Calen was outside in the woods. He simply loved the atmosphere. He loved helping his dad out on the ranch; whether it be fixing the fences or planting vegetables out back. He was in his element out in nature. Going on his walks helped keep him active along with it clearing his mind. He enjoyed the scenery as well. Every walk was like a new experience for him. He was always finding something new, whether it was an unusual rock, or arrowhead or flower. What Calen didn't know was that soon he would find something more unusual.

Walking on the dirt road back to his house, something caught his attention. In the distance he saw a dark figure walk out of the woods. At first glance Calen thought it was a stray dog or possibly a coyote. But as he got closer he saw what he realized was a wolf. Wolves are not common where Calen lives and figuring out where it came from was put to a stop when the wolf stared in Calen's direction. He froze right where he was hoping the wolf would leave.

"Shit please don't come this way," Calen said under his breath trying to stay perfectly still. But as he stood there the black wolf started walking towards Calen. Panicking, Calen looked side to side trying to find a big stick to defend himself with.. As his gaze went back on the wolf, he noticed the beast walking with its head down and walking as if it was dizzy. It was then the wolf collapsed on its left side to the ground. Calen's mind was saying RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION- but something inside told him he needed to see the wolf up close. As he got nearer, he could see the wolf panting heavily. He heard the wolf whimper when it would take in a deep breath. He figured the animal was injured but not sure where as he was still a good distance from full view. As he got within close viewing range, he saw long slash marks on the wolf's side, Calen thought that the wolf was going to need stitches and bandaging. Something in Calen told him to get closer. He stepped close, inch by inch, to the animal. The wolf eyeing the teen with piercing blue eyes.

"Hey boy, I won't hurt you...just trying to see what's wrong," whispered the nervous teen to the wolf. The scent of the teen filled the wolf's nose. It tickled his senses. He could sense the teen was scared, but not as scared as any normal person would be. Still being an injured animal he was on his guard. He let it be known by the growl he let out. But alas, the growl caused him to whimper more. The growl itself was painful and nearly made the wolf lose conscious, but it was enough to make the teen step back.

"FUCK!"

"What the hell am I doing?"

"Ok, just bare with me boy, let me take a look at the cuts."

Calen placed a hand on the wolf's hip and the other hand on his neck. Feeling the touch comforted the wolf. But still he was on his guard with the teen.

"They look pretty bad boy, I need to get you home," said Calen. Taking off his coat he wrapped the wolf in it. It was an older coat so it didn't matter much if it got dirty. Smelling the scent of the teen from the coat, intoxicated the wolf. So much so that it made him even more dizzy than what he already was. He couldn't help himself and just went limp in the teen's arms. He thought to himself, "If I die now, what a way to go...in someone's arms."

Calen brought the wolf into the wash room that connected to the kitchen. He closed the door and made sure the windows were nice and shut. He opened the door into the kitchen and quickly turned on all four burners on the stove. He wanted the warmth to head straight to the wash room. Calen wanted the wolf to be nice and comfortable. He took a bowl from the pantry and filled it with warm milk. He slowly put it in front of the wolf and knelt down next to him.

"Come on boy, you need to drink something warm. Later I will give you something better to eat." Calen gently stroked the wolf's neck in hopes of getting him to drink. The soothing voice of the teen encouraged the wolf to take a few laps from the bowl. Any kind of movement caused the wolf pain, but it didn't matter much since for now he was safe and was hungry.

"That's it, drink up boy, I will be back in a bit to try to clean your cuts- don't move."

A chuckle escaped from the teen as he walked to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Getting what he needed he slowly came to the realization that he had a wolf in his house. How the heck was he going to explain this to his parents? Especially his dad who doesn't like coyotes and now there's a wolf in the house! Walking back to the washroom, Calen could see the wolf and another smile came upon his face. The thought of having a wolf for a pet would be something out of the ordinary and he couldn't wait to call Natalie. Placing the items down he again sat close to the wolf, preparing the clean the wounds with a cloth wet with alcohol.

"Ok boy this is going to sting a lil bit."

The wolf whimpered as the stinging of the alcohol shot throughout his body. The alcohol felt like knives stabbing at his cuts. He wanted to get up and run but something in him made him feel safe with the teen. He dealt with the pain.

"That's a good boy; yeah I know it hurts buddy but I don't want you getting any bad infections."

Realizing he forgot the bandaging, Calen got up and went back to the medicine cabinet. He fumbled through the drawers looking for the ACE bandage his dad had. When he found it, he closed the drawer and turned to find the wolf standing in the door way. A surge of panic filled the teen. He knew the wolf was weak but the fact he didn't hear the wolf walk towards the bathroom was a bit scary. The wolf sensed the panic and simply sat down and wagged his tail. He hoped this would somehow ease the teen down.

It did.

"Boy what are you doing here?" Calen said walking towards the beast.

"You shouldn't be walking right now. You need to rest and get your strength back." He slowly knelt down to the wolf and petted him on the head. This brought comfort to the wolf. Wolves aren't known for being gentle and yet here was this wolf big, and scary letting a human pet him as if he were a common house dog. But the beast felt he couldn't be away from the human for too long. After watching the teen get up, he followed him back to the wash room.

"There we go, just let me tie the bandage up a bit snug and we are good to go boy...boy...hmm I think I need to give you a name. I can't be calling you 'boy' all the time."

"Let's see...how about Fido?" chuckled Calen. The wolf gave a groan of displeasure as if to say YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

"Ok Fido is out, how about Lex?"

The wolf wagged his tail for approval.

"Ok Lex it is then. So are you hungry Lex?"

The wolf gave a small yelp. "Yeah I bet you are- lets see what we have."

Calen went looking for food in the washroom. He knew giving the wolf dog food wouldn't be the smartest choice, so he went to the kitchen and got out some ham and milk. He cut a huge piece of the spiral ham left over from the other night and a few thin slices for a sandwich for himself and some milk to warm up for the wolf. Placing the bowl down and the paper plate with the ham, Calen sat next to the wolf. Both happily eating their food and enjoying the solitude company. Calen was thinking on what he could say to his parents about the wolf. He was really worried about his father. First he didn't like having animals in the house, second he didn't like any kind of wild predator. They've had problems with coyotes killing livestock in the past. And now here was this injured wolf in the house eating leftovers.

Calen heard the engine of the truck pull up into the drive way. He quickly got up and headed to meet his parents.. Nerves shot through his stomach not knowing what was going to happen.

"Calen help your dad with the groceries please," said Calen's mom as she opened the truck's door.

"Sure thing mom, but I need to talk to you guys real quick. I brought a new pet home."

"What kind of pet son- I hope not another dog," griped Calen's dad.

"No...not a dog dad but its something different for sure."

"He was hurt badly and well I had to bring him home."

"What is it Calen?" asked Calen's dad trying to carry four bags of groceries. "If it's a dog just tell us buddy...we won't get too upset if that's what you are thinking."

"It's not a dog but its something close to it," the teen said nervously trying to block his parents from entering the wash room.

"Lord don't tell me it's a coyote...listen son I know you have been wanting one as a pet but they are dangerous and have diseases and they kill livestock," huffed Calen's dad.

"No it's not a coyote dad...it's a wolf...a black wolf."

Both parents looked at each other, knowing very well wolves aren't common around here. "Son, what are going on about? There are no wolves here."

"It's true dad; you know I don't lie!" Calen responded as he walked towards the door to the wash room. He hoped his dad wouldn't do anything to the wolf. He already felt a closeness to Lex and didn't want his dad doing anything to hurt him.

"He's really hurt so please don't scream mom or freak out dad...PLEASE!"

Slowly Calen opened the door. He could hear the soft whimpers of the wolf on the other side of the door. He knew he couldn't hide the beast so he decided he might as well show his parents the animal and the neat way he cleaned the wounds.

"Mom and dad meet Lex!"

As Calen opened the door, the wolf walked of the wash room. Both parents did a double take and both nearly dropped the bags of groceries.

"OH MY GOD CALEN!" screamed Calen's mom Vivian.

"SON GET AWAY FROM THERE THAT'S A DAMN WOLF!" shouted Greg, Calen's dad.

"You guys I said not to scream like that!"

"I know it's a wolf but he's pretty cool and isn't mean." Calen said proudly as the wolf sat right next to him, putting a hand over his head.

Calen's parents cautiously walked towards their son, trying not to make any sudden movements to freak out the beast. They both knew Calen had a special way with animals and knew that Calen would never put himself or his parents in any kind of danger. Slowly they crept up to their son. The wolf saw the fear in the parent's eyes. He wagged his tail hoping that would settle them down thinking maybe wolves are like dogs and wag their tales to show happiness. Greg got closer to his son and his son's new pet and saw the bandaging he did on the wolf.

"Did a nice job there son, what happened to him?"

"I don't know dad. I went walking out back and when I was on my way home, I saw him in the distance."

Calen looked at the wolf and sighed.

"He fell to the ground and I slowly went up to him. When I did that I saw the bad cuts on his side."

"So then I took off my coat and wrapped it around..."

"CALEN MICHAEL ORTIZ I HOPE YOU DID NOT WRAP THAT THING IN YOUR NEW COAT!" Calen's mom shouted sternly about the $150 dollar coat they bought for him.

"No mom it's not that one. I used the older one to wrap him with."

"So...can I keep him...I mean lookit...he is harmless. And as cold as it gets at night he would probably die out there in the wild. I couldn't let that happen."

Calen's dad looked at his son and the wolf.

"I don't know son. This isn't just some stray dog...this is a wolf."

"As it is, the ranchers here shoot coyotes and stray dogs. I can only imagine what they would do to..."

"Lex...his name is Lex!"

"Well I can only imagine what they would do to 'Lex'."

Looking at the three of them, Calen's mom knew what they were thinking.

"I don't care just as long as he doesn't shit in the yard," exclaimed Vivian. Both dad and son gave a chuckle and proceeded to enter the house.

*****

"So what are you going to do with him Cal?" asked Natalie.

"I don't know. He was hurt badly and prolly could of died, so I guess keep him."

Calen and Natalie were in the living room in Calen's house. Lex made himself comfortable on Calen's lap. He became part of the family in the short 2 weeks he was there.. Even Calen's mom bought him a new dog collar; black with "LEX" printed on it. Lex took a liking to Natalie. He felt the closeness between the two friends and it pleased him that Natalie made Calen happy. At first he was cautious with her. His first thought was that Natalie was Calen's girlfriend. He smelled her scent on him a lot. He wanted nothing more than to scare her away. But after really seeing them two together, he saw their true relationship. He felt relief.

"So what do you feed him...Kibbles N' Bits?" Natalie said as she laughed out loud.

Taking a pillow, Calen gently tossed it towards Natalie. The pillow hit her in the head and softly messed up her hair.

"Asshole you messed up my hair...now I have to call Pablo to fix it for me again."

"Please it looked shitty even before the pillow hit you," teased Calen.

Natalie got up and playfully tackled Calen. Both rolled around calling each other silly names and laughing at the same time. Lex wagged his tail in delight. Inside he couldn't help but laugh at their playful banter. The way they acted was more like little cubs play fighting. It only made him want his rescuer more!

"UNCLE UNCLE UNCLE!" yelled Calen as Natalie twisted his arm behind him.

"GIVE IT UP BITCH YOU ARE MINE!" Natalie whispered in Calen's ear and then started tickling him.

"OK NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE...I GIVE UP I GIVE UP!" Calen exclaimed with an exhausted breathe.

"You better recognize!" Natalie said as she got off of Calen. Lex just stood there looking at his future mate. All he could do was laugh inside.

Calen and Natalie's bond had always been strong. They are of no relation but their relationship rivals that of true siblings. They connected in more ways that would boggle other people's minds. They did everything together. Most thought of them as a couple, but that wasn't the case. Calen always knew he was different than most other guys. He always knew he was gay but kept it to himself. The only other person who knew was Natalie. She felt honored that he would come out to her. Because of that openness, they knew their friendship would always last.

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"5,4,3,2,1.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Natalie's parents threw their annual New Year Eve party every year. Calen and his parents had always attended since their kids were small. It was a tradition for them.

"Happy New Years Nat!"

"Happy New Years to you too Calen," Natalie said as she embraced her best friend.

The party started to wind down and people were getting ready to go. Calen knew he had to get home soon to feed Lex.

"Well Nat my folks and I are heading out. Thanks again for the leftovers, Lex will appreciate it!"

"Well I know how close you are to Lexy, and well I'm sure he's probably starving and waiting for you to get home."

"I swear if you call him Lexy again I'm going to bite you and give you rabbies!" Calen said as he tried to get Natalie's arm to playfully bite her.

"I swear if you bite me I will castrate you with a freakin butter knife!"

Both friends laughed and hugged each other. And as always, pinched each others butts.

Calen headed towards the truck with his parents. He couldn't wait to get home to see, and feed his wolf. He hadn't told anyone about his new pet. Like what his father said, he didn't want anything bad to happen to Lex. It would be too much to bear if some harm came Lex's way. So with that Calen got into the truck and headed home. His new companion was waiting for him at the door. Normally, Greg doesn't like animals in the house. He didn't want them causing messes in any room or making the house smell. But come to find out Lex was probably the cleanest animal they ever knew. No stains. No smells. Nothing. It was for that reason, and the fact he was a wolf, that they kept him inside the house.

"Hey Lex how's it going?" asked Calen trying to hold the wolf back form getting the plate of food.

"Look boy, Nat sent some good food for ya, hope you like it...what am I saying...of COURSE you are going to like it!"

Calen carefully put the plate down and peeled away the saran wrap. Lex went to town on the plate, munching down on the food as if there was no tomorrow. Less than a minute passes and the plate was completely clean.

"Dang boy you were hungry huh? Well let me go change clothes and we can go pass out on the bed. I know I won't be getting up early!"

Both wolf and young man headed down the hall way into the teen's bedroom. As soon as Calen closed the door, he took of his shirt and threw it on the floor. This was the first time seeing Calen shirtless and it sent an erotic charge down the wolf's body. When the teen turned to face the wolf, he saw the light treasure trail leading from his belly button. It was too much to bear and the wolf whimpered out of frustration. Concerned, Calen went to see what was wrong.

"What's the matter pup, are your cuts bothering you again?"

"They shouldn't be since they are healing pretty quickly."

The wolf just stared at Calen with no expression.

"Are you still hungry?"

"No?"

"Does your stomach hurt? I wouldn't be surprised since you scarfed down all that food so fast!"

Something did hurt, but it wasn't his stomach. He felt the twitch of his cock and tried to put weight on it so it would go down. It did help some but then it was made worse when Calen took off his pants and revealed his boxer briefs. He slowly crawled into bed. Lex couldn't decide which pain was worse; the cuts he had or his erection.