Call of the Wild - Pt. 02

***

He pulled her close. His heart beat in rhythm with hers. Soft. Warm. Family.

He blinked his eyes. Rather, Kal blinked his eyes. It wasn't the warm and cozy den anymore. It was his bed. Hana breathed easily in his arms, spooned tightly by him. Kal closed his eyes again, happily cuddling into her.

Kal's eyes shot open. He sat up.

No. No, no. What had he done? What had he done to his sisters?

"What's the matter, Kal?" Kaylie wrapped him in her arms from behind. "Are you still worried about Natalie?"

Natalie. She was still out there. Alone. And he had been cheating on her, this whole time. With his sisters.

A knot of panic and disgust stuck in his gut. He tasted bile.

Hana roused, sleepily turning onto her back, and smiling up at them. Her hands reached for Kal's face, softly caressing his cheeks.

His breathing slowed as he looked into those pools of soft brown. Nothing but happiness and contentment lay there. He let her pull him down. Her lips, soft like flower petals, caressed his forehead.

"It's okay. It'll all be okay." Hana ran her hand lightly along his cheek. Pulling him down for a kiss. "We're together now."

"Hana, you're just saying that because your memories are all messed up. This isn't right."

"But it feels right, Kal," Kaylie said. She lay beside Hana now, nuzzling her neck. "We're a family. We're your family. Nothing could be more right than that."

Kal's weak protest was cut short by another kiss, more passionate than the last. He lost himself in Hana's taste, in her scent, as she clung to him.

"Make love to me, Kal. Please?"

"Hana...."

"Please?"

Whatever resistance he had crumbled beneath her loving gaze. He met her kiss with his own. It built slowly, her lips pressing harder against his, her mouth opening wider, her tongue dancing along his. Her moans grew louder, more insistent as her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him tight against her. He growled lightly, almost a purr of fulfillment as her warm body pressed against his. He nibbled her neck, the tips of his teeth playing along her soft skin. She nuzzled his neck. Her hips rolled against him.

"Please, Kal," she said breathlessly. "I want you in me."

Kaylie rose and nuzzled Kal, her hands tugging at his pants, releasing him from his confines. She nipped his neck, opposite of where Hana licked. She slid aside Hana's sodden panties, rubbing Kal's tip against her waiting hole.

Kal groaned as Hana opened to him. She pulled him in, her need growing as he slid deeper into her. Kal's lips locked with Kaylie's as her fingers drew slow circles over Hana's clit.

Hana cooed as he sank completely into her, her wet folds fluttering around him. She pulled him from Kaylie's kiss into her own.

Kaylie nuzzled at Kal's neck, moving behind him. Her hips bumped against his back, pressing him further into Hana's steaming tunnel.

Kal pulled out, her folds rippling over him as Hana moaned softly. He bumped into Kaylie's hips, which pressed him back in. He nibbled on Hana's elegant neck, causing her to tighten slightly around him. He licked her throat and she moaned. Her hips clenched. Her pussy quivered. Soft cries arose as her body shivered in pleasure.

Their love making was slow. So different from the times before. Intimate. The way it should be.

Kal gazed into her hooded eyes as she looked at him pleadingly. "Please, Kal. Inside me. I want to feel it again."

He groaned as his knot swelled, cum churning and surging through him into her waiting womb. He pressed in deep, Kaylie nibbling on his ears, pressing down on him as well.

Hana's mouth opened in a blissful cry, a single note that carried in the room. Her womb drew on him, the rhythmic pulling and squeezing drawing more out. Her tummy swelled, heavy with his cum. Her eyes hooded in bliss.

It was a familiar feeling, being knotted in her. Kal had been aware before, but now it was so much more. He could feel her heart beat through it. Feel her clench in aftershocks. This was right.

Kaylie lay beside Hana, wrapping her arms around her and nuzzling her neck affectionately. Hana rubbed her cheek on Kaylie's head, smiling as Kal continued twitching within her.

###

Chapter Twenty

Melissa cuddled into Kal's arms on the couch again. She eyed the bowl in his lap, the plump strawberries called to her. Opposite her, Hana plucked out a large one and pushed it against Kal's lips. He bit into it, but she tugged it playfully away, causing some of the juice to run down his chin. She giggled and wiped it with her finger, before licking it clean.

"When did you become Kaylie?"

"Hm?"

Kal took the moment of distraction to catch the rest of the strawberry in his teeth, closing his lips over her fingers.

"Your PDA has really spiked. You're almost as bad as Kaylie now."

"Aw, is my cute little one jealous?" Hana disentangled herself from Kal and rushed to Melissa's side, sandwiching her between them. She nuzzled into her neck affectionately. "There, is that better."

"...maybe."

Truthfully, it did feel good. Feeling physically close, knowing that people loved her, it made her feel better. It chased those dark clouds away and let her enjoy a rare bit of happiness in her life.

A strawberry bumped against her lips. She glared up at Kal, but her heart wasn't really in it. It just seemed to amuse him.

Melissa parted her lips and took a bite. Sweet. Unseasonably sweet. This was likely their plan; to coax her into eating with all these sweet fruits. Well, it was working. She took another bite, nipping Kal's finger when he couldn't get away in time. She chuckled as he shook his finger and made a big production of sucking on it.

###

Chapter Twenty-One

"Skinwalker?" Bethany mumbled, leaning back in the car seat, and flipping through the pages of her book. "Could be impersonatin' Kal."

Allison grunted, sipping her coffee as she kept an eye on the house from down the street. Kal and Hana were still in there, and she wasn't going to risk running into him. Not yet.

"Maybe a god? Veles is from Eastern Europe. Might have found his body and used it?"

"There's no point to guessing. It could be a million things."

They both sank lower into their seats as the Aberdeen's door opened. Kal and Hana left, walking arm-in-arm, with her nuzzling him every few steps. They headed down the street opposite them and waited at the bus stop.

"Those two seem oddly affectionate," Bethany said.

"Yeah. That's really weird. Don't seem like brother and sister from here."

"Maybe he is a skinwalker. One of their favorite past-times is knocking up loved ones."

"Even then, that'd be weird. I didn't get the sense that anything was off with her, so why the one-eighty?"

"Pod people."

"Shut up."

The bus arrived after ten minutes of watching them cuddle.

"Kaylie and Melissa are out too?" Allison asked again.

"Yeah, the coast is clear."

"Alright, hand me the EMF reader. I'll snoop around. Let me know if anyone shows up and I'll sneak out the back."

Allison affixed an earpiece and grabbed her equipment, including her trusty lockpicks. Years of practice and ancient locks had the front door swinging open in moments.

"Check upstairs in his room first." Bethany's voice came over clearly from the earpiece. "Might be some residue you can collect."

"Yeah, yeah."

Allison extended the antenna on their homemade EMF device. Plenty of commercial brands were available from a million ghost hunting 'experts', but most of them were nothing more than flashlight and phone parts. They certainly looked nicer, but hers actually worked. If something was possessing him or haunting the place, she'd find it.

She waved it around as she walked the halls, heading up the stairs to nothing but the occasional blip near some electric wiring. She cracked the door at the top of the stairs, but the amount of dust seemed to indicate no one used it.

The hallway to a sitting room didn't offer any clues either. It seemed perfectly normal, though the furniture could use some attention.

Allison cracked the door to a messy room.

"Alright, this has to be his room."

"How can you tell?"

"'Cause it smells like dude. What do you mean, how can I tell?"

"Just askin'. Does it smell weird? Sulphur?"

Allison sniffed and crinkled her nose. "No, but he's a musky smelling guy. Anything in there about guys who could use extra deodorant?"

"Like, he's actually dead, kind of musk?"

"No. I don't know, reminds me of a gym more than--"

Allison stopped near the stripped bed. It looked sticky.

"Uh, was his girlfriend over, 'cause I think I know why it smells so strong."

"No, nothing in the logs. She hasn't been around in a while."

Allison turned from the bed and moved to the shelves that lined the room. Stuffed animal, some books, action figures, but nothing that stood out.

The electronic screech as she passed the shelf closest to the bed startled her. She waved the EMF reader back and forth, watching the readings spike over one area. It was just a few books though. Allison looked at the spines. Just a bunch of Sci-Fi books of different sizes. That's when she spotted the little black camera box tucked away between two of them.

"Oh shit. They got surveillance cameras, and I'm staring one directly in the face."

"Of course, they do. Shit. Recognize the make?"

Allison picked up the camera and read out the serial number on the back.

"Okay, okay, might not be too bad. Those hook up to their wi-fi. I'll try to get into that and wipe the drive."

"Since when have you been a hacker?"

"Hacker my ass. Most people never change it off the default password. There, got it...."

"Yeah? And?"

"They got a ton of videos here. I'll pull it all and wipe the last couple of minutes. We can sift through it back in the room. Best get out though, no telling if someone was watching it live."

###

Chapter Twenty-Two

Natalie gingerly placed her clawed hand against the rough bark of the tree. That coarse texture scratched at the pads of her fingers as she ran her hand down it.

Her stomach growled. It cramped, hollow from not having fed in days. She couldn't do it, though. No matter how hungry, she couldn't bring herself to kill anything. Whenever she stared into the eyes of the deer, frozen in fright, she only saw her grotesque form reflected. It had been so much easier when she hadn't known.

Natalie tore a chunk of bark from the pine, exposing the softer wood beneath. Her claws dug into it, stripping pieces that she chewed on. The horrible bitter flavor spread on her tongue, but it was better than the alternative.

Fat tears gathered and rolled down her leathery cheeks. She hated this. Hated being this. Hated not being with Kal.

She wanted to hate him, too. Wanted to scream at him, take her anger and frustration out on him.

But had he even known?

His face swam in her memory, that pained expression as he begged her to come back. Maybe he hadn't known. But so what? She still wasn't the only one. Regardless of what happened, he'd never be hers. Not really.

A scent tickled her nose, and for a moment, she hoped that it was Kal, come to rescue her.

No. It was familiar, but not his.

Jason.

Had Kal called in her family to find her?

Natalie stood up and howled. A long note that lingered in the air and traveled through the forest.

It wasn't long before Jason's steps crashed through the underbrush and he skidded to a halt before her. His eyes were wide upon seeing her in her transformed state.

Natalie tried to talk, but all that came out was a bunch of growls of different pitches. She sat on her haunches, her broad shoulders sagging.

"Nat? Is that you?"

She nodded as Jason approached. Perhaps the shock of seeing her like this had worn off, because he didn't hesitate to draw nearer.

"We were so worried." He hugged her, seemingly unconcerned about her current state. "I'll call the others."

Jason radioed back, and soon her entire family surrounded her. Her parents, her cousins, Jason and Monique as well. They had all come for her.

"Sweety, can you change back?" her mother asked. She rubbed Natalie's arms comfortingly. "It's okay now, we're here."

"Did he hurt you?" her dad asked. Anger now replaced his relieved expression. "Did Kal do this to you?"

Natalie covered her eyes with her massive claws, tears rolling down her cheeks again. She shook her head. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. She just wanted to be with him again.

She wasn't sure how long she'd cried, but her mother's arms wrapped around her shoulders, gently rocking her as a blanket was placed over her bare shoulders.

Natalie hadn't even felt the transformation. She was cradled in her mother's arms while the others set up a camp. The smell of cooked meat filled the air. Her stomach rumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Here. Eat something first. You've been out here for days. Didn't you eat anything?"

Monique handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. Natalie took it with shaky hands. The bacon disappeared in moments, followed by the eggs. She licked the plate, her stomach still rumbling.

"I guess not," Jason said, handing his plate to her.

"I couldn't do it," Natalie answered after she'd eaten a third plate. "I wasn't the wolf, not really. I was me, stuck in it. I just couldn't bring myself to kill and eat anything."

"So, this is Kal's fault," her father stated.

"No. Dad, it's not his fault. I lost control. I think being with him is changing me. Whenever my emotions go wild, I lose control, but I'm becoming more aware as well."

"We're going to have a very long talk with him when we get back."

###

Chapter Twenty-Three

Focus on the little things that get you through the day. That's what she had said. The smell of a flower, the sounds of trickling water, anything that brought forth good memories. Melissa was surprised at how well it worked.

Melissa sniffed the collar of the shirt she wore that she'd borrowed from Kal. He didn't wear these as often, but his scent still lingered, even after numerous washes. They were old and soft, and he didn't seem to mind too much if she helped herself to some. The colors were faded, and the face of Avatar was cracked in places, but it was comfy and reminded her of watching the series so long ago.

Focus on the little things. It had gotten her this far, and it got easier every day.

The bus approached her stop, the brakes squeaking loudly as it eased to a stop. Melissa stepped out and headed home, her breath still making little puffs of frost in the air.

The door to a car ahead of her opened and a woman stepped out. She looked familiar, but Melissa couldn't place her.

"Excuse me, Melissa?"

"Yes? Oh, I remember. The reporter, right? Jennifer?"

"Yeah, that was me."

Something was off. She seemed nervous, or anxious. She darted glances down the street toward the house.

"Was there something else you needed for the piece?"

"No, ah, I have something to tell you, and I think it's going to come as a bit of a shock."

"About Trent? I'd really rather not talk about it. Excuse me."

She moved to walk around her, but the woman caught her elbow.

"No, about your brother."

"...What about Kal?"

"He, uh, maybe we should sit down for this."

"Okay, you're starting to weird me out. I'm going to go."

"Your brother didn't make it back from Finland."

The sentence was so absurd that Melissa stopped in her tracks.

"What? He's at the house, right over there."

"That's not your brother. I don't know what he is, but he's not Kal."

"Okay, you're crazy. Kindly fuck off."

"He's fucking your sisters."

Melissa rounded on her, face burning with fury. "What the fuck is wrong with you! Is this funny to you? Is this some fucked up hidden camera thing!"

The woman clicked her tongue. "Okay, fuck the soft approach. Here. We pulled this from the cameras in your house." She held up her phone and a video started, sound blaring as a couple fucked each other stupid.

"What the fu--"

All that rage turned into a leaden ball in her throat as the girl screamed out Kal's name. The video focused on her face as she shook in ecstasy.

It was Kaylie.

Melissa's eyes stared until they went dry. She forgot to breathe.

No. It wasn't real.

The woman stopped the video and loaded another.

Melissa's stomach churned as Hana, on all fours, screamed out Kal's name as he pounded her from behind.

"No," she whispered, "no, that's, this, no." Her hands shook as she watched on.

The next video played, a close up of Kal and Kaylie from behind as he wetly thrust into her. Melissa's eyes grew wide as Kal seemed to swell, his cock bulging and spreading Kaylie wide. His balls pulsed as Kaylie squealed.

The cold ground scratched her legs as Melissa collapsed. Her body was numb. Not even a tingling sensation. Just... numb.

"I'm sorry I had to do it this way, but we need to get you out of that house. Whatever it is, it's already taken control of your sisters. And it killed Trent to get to you."

"He... Kal... no. No. Please, no."

"Listen, Melissa. We can't stay here. We have a safe place to stay while we figure this out. I promise you we'll try our best to get your sisters back. But that man's not your brother. Not anymore."

It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. This wasn't happening.

The air felt oppressive, hard to breathe, like she had to fight for every gasp. She didn't know how, but she was sitting in the car. Shapes passed by, but she didn't see any of them. Not really.

The voices never registered. Something tugged at her. All she could do was follow.

No, it was real. That had been Kaylie. And Hana. And Kal.

It had happened again, like she always knew it would. They had left. Just like all the others. Just like her parents. Just like Trent. Just like Kal. They'd all left.

She was alone.

No one ever came back once they left.

###