Kale’s Spirit

When Kale comes to a fork in the road, who will you

choose for his happily ever after?

Kale has just a few more weeks of school and can’t

wait  to  graduate  and  get on  with  his  life.  At  home,  he
has  amazing  supportive  parents  but  at  school,  he  has
habitual  run-ins  with  the  popular  kids,  who  want  to
make  everyone’s  life  miserable.  After  catching  the
group in the woods doing drugs, Kale has an encounter
fighting for his life.

The road to recovery is long and Kale has help from

his rescuers, Hunt and Volk. Hunt is the strong, take
everyone under his wing kind of guy, while Volk is the
sweet, caring guy. Kale finds himself falling for both of
them.

Who do you choose for Kale to have his happily

ever after?

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actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Kale’s Spirit

ISBN: 978-1-77111-317-5

Cover art by Martine Jardin

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Chapter 1

was having the worst day and that was saying
something. I swiped my bloody fat lip with the back

of  my  hand  as  I  walked  home  from  school.  It  was  my
last  semester  of  my  senior  year  and  it  couldn’t  end
quickly enough. Spring Break had just ended and all the
guys had come back with dark tans and asshole tattooed
to  their  forehead.  Okay  they  didn’t,  but  they  should
have  with  the  way  they  treated  anyone  smaller  or
different than them.

After a half-mile hike, I finally reached my front

door. This was going to be tricky. I could smell the
home baked bread on the doorstep. If my mom saw the
condition I was in, she was going to flip. Speed was my
only option.

As soon as I entered the house, my mom called out,

“Kale is that you?”

“Yeah Mom! I’ll be right there. I just have to drop

off my backpack to my room.”

I ran up the stairs two at a time to my bedroom. I

always thought I was fortunate in having a bathroom
connected to my room. The few school friends I had,
shared with a sibling. The fights they told me about the
shared domain were epic.

Turning on the light, I went straight to the mirror to

Kale’s Spirit

get a look at my mug. Cheese and crackers, they
worked me over. I could only see one blue eye staring
back at me

—

the other was completely swollen shut. My

usual plump lips were even worse from the fat lip they
had  given  me.  I  would  make  Angelina  jealous  with
these babies. My black hair was matted with grime and
a  little  blood  from  the  cut  above  my  head.  My  natural
tan  that  wasn’t  created  by  the  Spring  Break  sun  was
chalk white, dirty, and clammy.

Why did I bother running up the stairs? There was

no  hiding  this  from  my  mother.  Looking  at  my  face,  I
couldn’t  see  the  defect  that  these  guys  so  clearly  saw.
They  had  tormented  me  for  the  last  four  years.  This
year  began with pushing  me  into lockers and escalated
to this. What was so terribly wrong with me? Was it my
size? Was it that I never let them copy from me? Could
I not hide that I was gay? No one knew that, not  even
my parents. I tried so hard to be the invisible student at
my high school. Why did they seek me out?

I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes and fall

helplessly onto the counter. I always promised myself I
would  never  shed  a  tear  and  continually  broke  that
promise  by  crying when the day got to be too much. I
hated  them  having  this  power  over  me.  I  wish  I  could
go  up  to  Thompson  and  smack  the  taste  out  of  his
mouth.  That  would  go  over  well  since  the  guy  had  at
least  four  inches  and  fifty  pounds  over  me.  He’d  swat
me down like a bug.

It took me a few minutes to compose myself. No

need showing my mom the disaster with red-rimmed
eyes. I did a quick two-minute shower to wipe off the
grime and blood. The tough part was coming out of my

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room and looking for a clean shirt and shorts that were
once folded on the bed. I was lazy when it came time to
put them in a drawer. They usually ended up being
pushed off onto the floor. I finally selected a solid black
t-shirt and khaki cargos and ran down the stairs to the
kitchen.

“What the hell happened to your face?” my mother

asked. I always thought of  her as Betty Crocker meets
truck driver. I was okay with that. Mom and I were two
peas  in a pod. I was nerd meets truck driver. It always
took  my  dad  to  corral  the  two  of  us  in.  Sometimes  I
would substitute my swear words to make an effort but
my  filter  was  a  little  faulty.  Mom,  on  the  other  hand,
didn’t even bother.

I looked at her as innocently as I could, “Gym

class?”

“That’s bullshit. Are those boys bothering you

again? Do I need to go back to the school?”

My mother walked over and took my chin between

her fingers and turned my head side to side. I knew she
was concerned  for  my safety,  but nothing  bothered  me
more than being on the brink of being a man and having
mommy fight my battles. Was she going to come to my
school  next  year  and  remind  me  to  brush  and  floss
before  I  went  to  bed  each  night?  As  much  as  I  feared
my  attackers,  my  pride  would  not  let  me  have  my
mother fight my battles.

“No, Mom. It was off school grounds anyway. They

got me on the way home.”

“Then let me pick you up from school, Kale.”
Senior getting picked up by mother, ugh…no. If I

thought I was having it bad now, it would be ten times

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worse  seeing  my  mom  in  the  pick-up  line  with  all  the
other freshmen parents. I had a license, just no vehicle.
I  had  been  working  as  a  bagger  at  the  local  grocery
store  saving  every  penny,  hoping  that  I  could  get
something  before  I  left  for  college.  At  this  point,  I’d
take the Flintstones car.

“No thanks, Mom. I’ll walk with one of my friends

from now on. George’s last week of track is this week
and then he’ll walk home with me.”

I could see my mom’s mind working at ludicrous

speed thinking of all the scenarios I could get into with
three days left in the week. “I think I should still call
the school and just give them a heads up.”

“Fine,” I huffed out. There was no point in arguing.

She  was  just  worried  about  me.  I  think  she  genuinely
felt  helpless,  as  she  had  to  watch  me  go  through  my
own  teenage  hell.  She  always  felt  responsible
somehow.  It  wasn’t  her  fault  I  went  to  school  with  a
few assholes.

My mother looked at me with a pinched face. To my

horror, I thought  my tough as nails  Mom was going to
cry.  I  could  see  her  holding  it  together  by  sheer
stubbornness.  “Come  on  sweetheart,  dinner’s  ready.
Can you set the table?”

“Sure, Mom.” I went about setting the table. I could

hear her at the stove sniffing. Jesus, now I felt guilty for
having my ass handed to me. I could hear my dad’s car
pull into the driveway. He would calm Mom down, get
her mind off things involving me.

My dad walked into the house with his briefcase in

hand and his suit coat folded over it. I always thought
he was exactly what I would look like in twenty-five

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years, at least I hoped. My dad was just a touch over six
feet  tall  and  had  muscles  from  going  to  the  gym  on  a
regular basis all  his  life. My dad  had no fat around  his
belly.  At  forty-three,  my  dad  still  had  his  six-pack.
Then  there  was  me.  I  was  five  eight  and  about  a
hundred  thirty  pounds.  I  could  only  hope  to  be  a  late
bloomer.

My dad looked over at me with a smile on his face

that slid off faster than a pie in the face. “What the hell
happened to your face?” So much for thinking Dad
would calm Mom down. It was going to be a long
night.

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter 2

was sitting in my AP English class watching the
clock work its way to 2:17 at a snail’s pace. Who

thought to end school at such a weird time? But anyway
I  had  a  plan  today.  I’d  brought  my  backpack  to  class
with all my homework already in it. I figured if I could
get out quick enough I could cut through the back of the
school  and  into  the  woods.  The  woods  would  cut  off
about  a  quarter  mile  of  my  walk  home.  I  just  had
always  been  too  chicken  shit  to  walk  through  it  alone.
George and I would always go that way together, but it
was creepy as hell to trek it alone. I was willing to take
a little hair standing on the back of my neck in order to
avoid Thompson and his friends.

With a minute to go, I had my backpack slung over

my shoulder and quiz in hand to give to my teacher on
the  way  out.  My  right  leg  was  bouncing  with
impatience.  I  could  feel  sweat  trickling  down  my
temple. I hated being afraid.

The bell rang, and I was all but jumping out of my

seat. I practically mowed Rebecca down on my way
past her.

“Jeez, Kale. Watch it!” Of course I would have a run

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in with Thompson’s girlfriend on my way out the door.
She was almost as pleasant as her boyfriend. They
made a stellar pair.

I mumbled a quick, “Sorry,” and got my quiz

dropped off and was out the door in record time. I had
this. I was not going to get my ass kicked today. I
opened the back double doors and tore across the
backfields to the woods.

I made it about a hundred yards in when Murphy’s

Law bit me in the ass. There was Thompson and his
buddies sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree smoking a
bowl. Talk about a bucket of ice water getting dumped
over my head. Oh Jesus, oh Jesus, I was dead.

Thompson turned his cold eyes on me. “What do we

have  here?”  I  could  already  see  his  eyes  were
completely blood shot as well as his two other friends. I
decided  to take  my  chances  and  make  a  break  for  it.  I
turned around to go back toward the school only to see
Thompson’s  other  buddies  come  into  view  with
Rebecca and her group of bitches.

Whipping around, I saw Thompson standing.

Looking  into  his  eyes,  I  realized  I  was  in  serious
trouble. He was high, had a group to impress, and I was
his  favorite  Everlast.  Fear  clawed  at  my  throat  for  the
first  time  in  my  life.  I  hated  being  bullied,  but  always
thought I would come out on the other end. I wasn’t so
sure  about  it  this  time.  Too  many  elements  to  this
scenario were making it the perfect storm.

Rebecca came up next to Thompson and gave him a

kiss that was so slobbery and nasty, it turned my
stomach. Thompson seemed to love it as he wore her
slobber all over his face…eww. Rebecca broke the kiss,

Kale’s Spirit

“That little shit knocked me over on his way out here.
Are you going to let him treat me like that?”

What a precious gem she was. Let’s pull the tiger’s

tail, sweetie. Not only that, I might have ran into her but
she outweighed me by about thirty pounds. I would
never call her fat, but my little body would never be
able to knock her on her ass on a good day.

“Is that true? You touch her?”
I just stood there saying nothing. There wasn’t

anything that was going to help me out of this. I
couldn’t talk my way out of this. He wanted to do
damage and nothing was going to stop him.

“Did you?” I jumped back from his scream.
I did a quick turn realizing all his friends were

surrounding  me.  I  turned  back  only  to  see  knuckles
before  a  blinding  pain  hit  my  undamaged  eye  and  I
went down like a ton of bricks. That was when the real
fun  began.  He  began  kicking  me  then  I  started  to  feel
the others joining him. Oh God, I was going to die. The
pain  was  getting  so  intense  and  I  had  no  way  to catch
my  breath  to  cry  out or  help.  I  was too  far  away  from
anyone to hear my cries anyway.

This was it. I could feel darkness closing in on me. I

knew if I succumbed to it, there would be no coming
out of it later. I thought of my mom and dad. I knew she
would live with regret for letting me have my way. She
would feel she needed to put her foot down and protect
her little boy.

I was just about to accept the darkness when I heard

a pathetic little howl coming from the trees surrounding
us. I couldn’t see anything. Covering my head, I tried to
protect it from the feet coming at me. Thompson and

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the others ceased their kicking.

I looked up to see what had stopped the abuse. Every

inch I moved was pure agony. A single white wolf pup
walked  into  the  clearing  coming  toward  us.  Everyone
seemed to stop moving wondering what this  little wolf
was  up  to.  It  walked  straight  up  to  me  and  looked  me
straight in the eye. Its bright blue eyes consumed me. I
couldn’t  have  looked  away  if  I  wanted  to. I  could  feel
my  heartbeat  speeding  up  out  of  control.  My  hearing
was starting to sound like I was under water. The smell
of  the  forest  hit  me  like  one  of  Thompson’s  fist.
Everything smelled clearer and fresh. I could smell the
pine needles and the dead leaves underneath me. I could
smell my own blood.

“Get lost!” Thompson roared, kicking at the wolf.

The  pup  dodged  out  of  the  way,  narrowly  missing
Thompson’s  boot.  Thompson  was  beyond  reason.  I
don’t  think  it  was  simple  marijuana  he  was  smoking
anymore. He seemed in a complete rage.

I could hear the underbrush being crunched as more

visitors  joined  the  party.  The  air  itself  seemed  to
change.  The  temperature  seemed  to  drop  by  several
degrees  or  it  might  have  just  been  me  bleeding  out  all
over the forest floor. I was struggling for breath. I knew
at least a few ribs had to be broken.

“Step back and let the guy go.” The voice was deep

but young. Maybe he was my age or a little older. I still
couldn’t pull my eyes away from my wolf. As hurt as I
was, I wanted to make sure Thompson wouldn’t go
after him again, even though there wasn’t much I could
do.

“Fuck that!” Thompson bellowed.

Kale’s Spirit

“I didn’t give you a choice. That guy needs medical

attention and we’re going to make sure he gets it.”

I could hear Thompson lunge away from me

screaming  and  launch  himself  at  the  voice.  The  forest
filled with distorted shouting and screaming. Flesh was
hitting  flesh.  There  were  the  sounds  of  Thompson’s
buddies  crying  now.  They  were  getting  taken  down.
Whoever  the  newcomers  were,  they  knew  how  to
defend themselves.

I could hear my rescuer scream, “Protect him!”
My white pup ran up to me and began to lay his head

on  mine.  I  could  feel  fur  surrounding  me  and  looked
around to see adult wolves surrounding me. What the..?
That’s when my vision started to go. It went blurry for a
few  seconds  and  then  it  was  just…gone.  I  began  to
whimper in the coat of my wolf.

I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder and roll me

over. I moaned at the pain. It was excruciating even to
move a little.

“Ssh, I got you now. I know it hurts. I’m going to

get  someone  to  pick  you  up.  We  need  to  get  you  to  a
hospital.”  It  was  the  softest  voice  I  had  ever  heard,
masculine  and  sweet.  Even  though  my  hearing  was
going with my sight, that voice calmed me instantly.

I could hear the forest quieting down. The fighting

had stopped. The girls had run off with a fading of their
distant screams. All you could hear was the quiet
moaning of Thompson. Where his friends were, I had
no clue. I could barely stay conscious.

The calming voice stepped back with the wolves that

were protecting me as I felt a huge presence approach. I
was surprised when I felt him gently wrap me in his

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arms and pick me up. I didn’t think I had it in me with
the cracked ribs but I let out a hoarse cry. Tears started
to run unchecked down my cheeks. Through the pain
only one thought entered my mind.

Taking as deep a breath as I could, I asked the

question I had been dying to know for four years,
“Why, Thompson?”

I really didn’t expect a response and was shocked

when he coughed out, “Because I could. It was fun.”

I heard an unholy roar and the sound of a fist hitting

Thompson,  then  everything  went  still  and  silent.  That
was  the  last  thing  I  heard  before  my  hearing  was
completely gone, too. My mind, however, was working
overtime. It had nothing to do with me. Thompson was
just that hateful and I was the target. He had fun seeing
someone scared and in pain. I couldn’t even fathom his
way of thinking. It was sick and distorted. He must be
full  of  so  much  hate  to  treat  others  this  way.  I  had
constantly  looked  at  myself  trying  to  figure  out  what
was wrong with me. There was nothing wrong with me.
It  was  always  that  there  was  something  very  wrong
with  Thompson.  Luckily,  I  didn’t  have  much  time  to
think  it  over.  Maybe  I  would  later,  but  right  now  I
greeted the darkness that would  let me escape the  pain
for a while.

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter 3

he fog surrounded me completely. I could hear
voices, but couldn’t quite reach them through the

thickness.  My  mind  was  trying  to  reach  the  unfamiliar
yet  familiar  voices.  I  had  heard  them  before  but
couldn’t  place  them.  Finally,  I  got  to  the  end  and  that
was  when  the  awareness  of  pain  surrounded  me.  My
body  was  in  so  much  agony  it  began  to  tremor
uncontrollably.

What happened? I couldn’t remember. Was I hit by a

car?

A big hand rubbed my hair back. “It’s okay, the

nurse is coming to give you something for the pain. Just
hang tight.” His voice was deep, masculine. It had a bit
of rasp in it, like it had been used too much. Whoever it
was continued with rubbing my hair back. I focused on
that instead of the pain that seemed to be in every other
inch of my body. If I focused hard enough, the pain was
almost bearable.

I could hear footsteps coming into what I assumed

was my hospital room. “Hunt, did you need
something?”

“Yes, ma’am. I think Kale is coming around. He

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needs something for the pain.” Hunt kept petting my
head through the entire conversation. It was nice. If I
hadn’t been in so much agony, it would have been easy
to fall back asleep.

“I need to get permission from his parents. Do you

know where they are?”

“They went home to shower and change real fast.

They told me to have you call if you need anything.”

“Okay, I’ll get a hold of them. Give me a few

minutes  and  I’ll  be  right  back  with  the  doctor.”  The
nurse retreated from the room and I could hear the door
closing behind her. I was alone with Hunt now. I didn’t
know  a  Hunt.  Why  would  my  parents  leave  me  with
him?  I  couldn’t  remember  and  it  was  making  me
frustrated.

“It’s okay now. Ms. Caine has been really nice.

She’ll take really good care of you.”

My throat was dry but I managed to choke out,

“Who?”

“Oh, right. The name’s Hunt. My friends and I

stumbled  upon  you  being  attacked  in  the  woods.  We
helped you out and got you over to the hospital. You’ve
been here for ten days now. Got to say, I’m really glad
you’re  waking  up.  The  longer  you  were  out,  the  more
we began to worry.”

I’d been out ten days? Random thoughts went

through  my  mind.  I  had  turned  eighteen,  missed  my
physics exam, and prom had come and gone. Then the
reason why I was  here all started to come  back  to me.
How I tried to avoid Thompson and ran right  into him
and his friends getting high in the woods. The beating I
took,  the  group  of  guys  that  come  to  help  me  out.  I

Kale’s Spirit

could hear everything, so maybe I just got my ears
boxed. It was weird that I was hearing the change going
into the vending machine, but I could freaking hear. In
the woods I thought I had gone deaf. I remembered not
being able to see them. My eyes! I couldn’t open them.

“My eyes?” I warbled out.
“The doctor said they were just bruised, no

permanent damage was done to them. Volk and I
having been taking turns icing them. There’s more to it,
but I’ll have Wulf explain it to you.”

Volk? Who were Volk and Wulf? Hunt was saying

these names like he expected me to be old friends with
them. Maybe I was and had a case of amnesia. I started
to recount names of people I knew.

“How’s he doing?” It was a soft voice that came

from the doorway. I recognized that voice. It was the
calming voice that helped me after I was beaten. I could
hear him approach and suddenly felt his fingers touch
my arm softly.

Hunt said, “Hey Volk. I was just starting to tell Kale

about you.”

Volk continued to stroke my arm. These two were

very touchy feely, making me relish every second of it.
I could feel Volk’s breath near my ear as he whispered,
“How are you feeling?”

“Hurt.” Talking was painful and it looked like I was

going to be reduced to one-word answers for a while.

“Hunt, you call the nurse? He’s in pain.”
“Yeah, I did. We’re waiting on his parent’s

permission. They went home to shower and grab some
food. I convinced them I would have them get a hold of
them if he woke up.”

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“That’s good. They needed to step away for a while.

They haven’t left his side since he was admitted.”

They were talking like I wasn’t there. Maybe with

ten days unconscious, they got used to talking about
me. It said a lot about these two, that my parents would
leave me alone with them to go home for a while. The
only friend they’d ever met was George. Well, I guess
George was really my only friend.

I tried to move my arm to feel my face and felt Volk

grab my hand. “Don’t touch it Kale. Just let it heal.”

“How bad?” I gasped.
I didn’t like their silence. They hesitated too long. It

was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor.

“Hi Kale. I’m Dr. Summers. I hear you’re in some

discomfort. Janice will give you some medicine for that
while I check you out.” He started to feel my face
gently.

“Swelling is starting to go down nicely. You had

three  broken  ribs  and  your  right  shoulder  was
dislocated. Nasty concussion to go with a lot of bumps
and  bruises but they will all  heal  in time. I don’t think
any of the cuts will scar but we’ll give you some cream
to  take  home  with  you  to  help  them  heal.”  I  hissed  in
pain as he felt the left ribcage.

I was eternally grateful there wouldn’t be any lasting

marks to be reminding me on a daily basis. Basically, I
wanted  to  forget  about  this  incident.  Somehow,  I
doubted that would ever happen. There  might not have
scars  on  the  outside,  but  I  knew  that  something  inside
of me had changed from the attack.

I could feel the nurse next to me, “I got hold of your

parents. They are on their way here now. They gave me

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permission to give you something for the pain. I’m
going to start putting it in your IV now. You might feel
a little burn but it will go away quickly.”

Indeed, I did feel a little burn but whatever juice she

was putting in me was working at lightning speed,
making the pain start to dissipate. I was never good on
pain meds

—

they made me kind of silly. Having no

inner monologue, I was a lot like Austin Powers.

I started mumbling in my best Austin voice, “Yeah

baby, yeah.”

Volk started to chuckle, while Hunt said, “What was

that?”

I could hear Volk laughing softly, “He’s quoting

Austin Powers. I think his meds are kicking in.”

My head was starting to get fuzzy. There was a one

hundred  percent  certainty  I  was  going  to  humiliate
myself. Ooooh well. Leaning into the hand rubbing my
head,  I  tried  to  get  the  ultimate  out  of  my  head  rub,
smacking  my  lips  and  sighing.  This  felt  fantastic.  “I
must have died and gone to heaven  if I have two guys
rubbing me down. Hmmm.”

Hunt laughed, “Well, that answers our question.”
Slurring just a tiny bit, I asked, “Did I just admit to

you that I was gay?”

“Yep, I think you did,” Volk said.
“Well congratulations. You two are the first to

know. Let’s give you the door prize. What did they give
me?”

They both chuckled at me then they went quiet,

making me paranoid. Did they leave because I was gay?
Holy cow, I just admitted I was gay? Covering my face
with my hands, I could feel the swelling around my

Jackie Nacht

eyes. Looked like I would never be a high fashion
model. I was going to need to grab one of the paper
bags where I worked at and put it over my head for the
rest of my life.

Volk was so quiet I almost didn’t hear him, “It’s

okay, Kale. We are, too. You’re not alone anymore.”

That did it more than anything. It wasn’t the beating

I took by Thompson or the pain. It was the huge weight
that lifted off my shoulders. To my utter humiliation, I
began to cry. I was never a pretty crier, more like the
type that when I got really going, I would snort and snot
everywhere. The longer I went on, the louder I would
get. I did it all in front of these strangers. Through it all
they just continued to keep rubbing me and telling me it
was going to be okay.

“I still can’t see,” I hiccupped out after my crying

jag.

Hunt kissed me on the forehead, “Couple days and

you’ll be seeing just fine. You’re eyes are really
swollen right now. We’ll take care of you until then.”

“Why are you being so nice?” Except they didn’t

answer me, in fact I could feel them moving away from
me. That’s when I could smell my mom’s shampoo.
“Mom?”

“I’m right here baby.” She squeezed my hand in a

death grip. I knew then that she had heard my entire
confession. How could I hear the vending machine and
not my mom? Oh yeah, my loud obnoxious sobbing.

I was about to start crying again when my mom said,

“I love you, Kale. Nothing is ever going to change
that.”

My father was gripping my other hand. There was

Kale’s Spirit

no way my father was going to accept me.  “Kale, your
mother  and  I  both  love  you.  This  is  not  something  we
haven’t  already  suspected.  We  were  just  waiting  for
when you were ready.”

I had never cried so much in my entire life. It was

the  best  and  worst  day  of  my  life.  Being  hospitalized
after  getting  beat,  but  for  the  first  time,  I  had  four
people  in  my  corner  that  accepted  me.  The  nurse  who
gave  me  those  drugs  was  getting  a  Christmas  present
this year from me.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. Don’t exert yourself. Just get

some rest. There is nothing to worry about. Just
concentrate on getting better,” my mom said.

“Okay, Mom,” and luckily I didn’t have to worry

about anything anymore. Sleep called to me and I
answered…with a few hiccups.

Jackie Nacht

Chapter 4

hat’s it, I forfeit.” I had been in the hospital for
another week. Hunt was trying to teach me how

to play Texas Hold ‘Em. He must have been able to
read my mind or I had the worst tell ever, because this
must have been the twentieth time in a row he beat me.

“You’ll get better, it just takes practice.”
I was amazed at my new friends. Hunt and Volk had

been  spending  hours  keeping  me  company  every  day.
After a couple days of being awake, the swelling in my
eyes  had  gone  down  enough  for  me  to  be  able  to  see
them  for  the  first time. They were complete opposites.
Hunt was massive. He was well over six feet tall, built
like a line backer, with soft brown hair cut close to the
scalp and amber eyes.

Volk was the same as my five foot eight with white

blonde  hair  and  pale  blue  eyes.  I  found  out  he  had  a
passion  for  reading  Greek  mythology  like  I  did.  The
next day he came in and started reading the Odyssey to
me.  I  loved  to  hear  his  voice  as  he  told  me  about  the
journey  of  Odysseus  trying  to  get  back  home.  It  was
even better when yesterday, he decided to come up and
sit  next  to  me  on  my  bed  while  he  read  to  me.  There

“T

Kale’s Spirit

was no helping my head from falling onto his shoulder
as he read.

“Nope, I’m a lost cause. I will never make my

fortune in Vegas.”

“How about dancing there?” Hunt chuckled.
“Nope, two left feet. I look scary when I dance.”
“Sports?”
“Always the kid picked last in gym class.”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to be an athlete.”
“I would, however, like to be a little coordinated.

Sometimes my mind and body don’t communicate.”

There was something that had been bothering me for

a few days and I decided to change the subject, “Hunt
what happened to the wolf pup out there?”

Hunt looked uncomfortable for a moment before

answering,  “I  promise,  all  your  questions  will  be
answered  once  you  get  out.  You’ll  get  to  meet  the
whole  pack  and  your  pup  is  being  taken  care  of  until
you get out.”

“Hunt, I can’t have a wolf, my parents won’t allow

it.” My mom had this white furniture and would be
attacking everything in the house with a lint roller.

“Like I said, we’ll explain everything to you once

you get out. By the way, you have an open door policy
at our cabin. Wulf wanted me to tell you, but you’re
going to need Volk or me to show you how to get there.
It’s kind of isolated. We’ll make spaghetti when you’re
up to coming out.”

“That sounds amazing. After eating this stuff here, I

can’t wait to eat real food for a change.”

Hunt chuckled, “Don’t get too excited. We just

dump a bunch of jars into a pot and heat it up. None of

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us can cook, although Volk mentioned taking culinary
classes next year when he goes to college. He said he
can’t stand one more night of mac and cheese.”

“Maybe my mom can help him out. She’s amazing

at cooking and has a crazy recipe box in the kitchen. It
makes no sense to us, just looks like a bunch of scraps
of paper, but she swears she knows where each and
every recipe is. Maybe she can even give him a few to
practice on you guys.”

“That sounds great. I’m kind of sick of mac and

Cheese myself.”

“Are you in college?”
It was another awkward silence, “I haven’t started

school yet, I’m working right now to pay for it.”

“That’s great. Where are you working and what do

you want to do?”

“I do lawns in the summer and snow removal in the

winter. Its great pay but a little inconsistent. I think I’ll
have enough to start next fall if I have a good summer.
I’ve been applying to schools up north. I want to major
in Fisheries and Wildlife Management.” Hunt shrugged
and reddened.

“I think that’s great. I think you’ll be a natural at it.

You seem to love the outdoors. You always talk  about
the forest to me.” He did, too. He was constantly telling
about the animals, plants, and the wonderful  swims  he
had at the stream there. He  seemed completely at ease
when  he  talked  about.  It  made  me  yearn  to  go  to  the
forest just to experience firsthand what he described to
me.

“What about you Kale? What do you plan to major

in?”

Kale’s Spirit

“I’m not sure yet. I think I’ll go and get my core

requirements done while I try to figure out what I want
to do. It’s not like I don’t like a lot of things. It just
seems I don’t know what will be the best one for me for
the next forty years. It’ll probably be something to do
with computers. I love working on graphics.”

“You sound like you pretty much know what you

want. You just don’t know the details yet. You’re doing
pretty well for eighteen.”

“You act like you’re so much older than me. How

old are you?”

Hunt laughed, “I’m nineteen, but the last few years

have really made me feel a lot older than I really am.”

I squinted my eyes at him, “Umm, I don’t think you

need to apply for your AARP card or anything. So,
what makes you feel old, or am I being too intrusive?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just…” Hunt paused. He looked

up at the ceiling like he didn’t know how to explain or
maybe it was too hard on him.

“If it’s tough to talk about it, you don’t have to tell

me. It’s okay.”

“No, I want to tell you. I’m just trying to figure out

where  to  start.  I  guess  I  could  say  that  some  parents
aren’t as accepting as yours. I was a really good athlete.
Varsity football my freshman year in high school but I
already knew I was  into guys. There was a guy on  my
team  that  I  started  to  date  and  my  parents  caught  us
kissing one night when we were supposed to be having
a sleepover. They sent the kid home and kicked me out
within the hour of him leaving. That was the last time I
saw them.”

“Oh Hunt, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.” He looked

Jackie Nacht

so sad staring at the wall across from us. It seemed like
he was doing everything he could to keep it together. I
grabbed his hands to stop them from shaking.

Hunts voice came out a bit deeper, “It sucks talking

about it, but I wanted you to know. Anyway, I was on
my own for a while. Took showers and got clothes from
Affirmations. I don’t know what I would have done if it
wasn’t for them. Anyway, about three months after I
was homeless, I met Wulf and he took me in. He started
home schooling me to get caught up and the rest is
history.”

“So you live with Wulf?”
“Yeah, we all do. Volk, Mahigan, Farkas, Gayl, and

I live in a cabin in the woods. The ones left in high
school are home schooled and Mahigan is taking online
University classes with Wulf. Wulf’s the oldest at
twenty.”

“So he took you in when he was only fifteen years

old?” That seemed really young. It was boys taking care
of boys.

“Well, the cabin belonged to his grandfather who

gave it to him when he left his home

—

or, I guess, was

kicked out too. So we had a place to stay. We worked at
restaurants to earn money for food. It wasn’t easy but I
felt accepted and happy. His grandpa comes by every
now and then to help us out when he can, but it really is
a hike for the guy.”

I couldn’t even imagine living without my parents

for  the  last  three  years.  They  had  been  there  for  me
through  all  my  hellish  problems  of  school.  I  kept
thinking  my  parents  were  pretty  special  in  the  last
couple days or that I lucked out. My parents didn’t put

Kale’s Spirit

conditions on their love, they just did. It amazed me
how many parents couldn’t look at their kid and say the
same thing.

Hunt seemed to think the conversation needed to

take  a  complete  one  eighty.  “I  think  they  are  going  to
release you tomorrow. Your parents invited us over for
dinner this week. I don’t think they know what they are
getting themselves into.” Hunt smiled. It was one of his
mischievous  smiles  that  I  learned  to  really  like  in  the
last  couple  days  since  my  vision  came  back.  He  had
beautiful  white  teeth  and  full  lips.  When  he  did  that
smile he had a dimple on the left cheek that would pop.

“Yeah, I’m getting pretty antsy to get home myself.

Do you think you guys will want to come over and
hang out?” Did that sound pathetic? Maybe a little, but
I really didn’t want to lose my new friends.

“Sure, we’ll be there to hang out. I said we wanted

you to come out to the cabin. Your wolf is anxiously
waiting to see you again.”

I had been thinking about the wolf pup a lot. I had

dreams  of  his  eyes  staring  back  at  me.  The  more  I
thought  about,  the  more  I  thought  something  kind  of
wonky had happened. I’ve been feeling a little different.
The  doctor  said  my  eyes  healed  but  some  damage  had
been  done.  Somehow  I  ended  up  partially  color  blind.
My  ears  were  another  matter.  I  swore  before  I  lost
consciousness  that  I  lost  my  hearing  however,  now  I
was  hearing  things  I  never  heard  before.  It  was
unsettling for sure.

“Hunt…”
He must have seen the question that was coming his

way, “Don’t worry, I know you’re not feeling like

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yourself. I promise you that we will answer all your
questions and help you out. You have nothing to worry
about and it’s not as crazy as your mind is making it
right now.”

How did he know what my mind was thinking? I

could,  and  was  coming  up  with  some  crazy  stuff.
Looking  down  at  my  chest  underneath  my  hospital
gown, I made sure there was still no chest hair. I guess
that meant I wasn’t getting any furrier. With that, I blew
out  an  exasperated  breath  and  lay  back  down  to
contemplate  while  waiting  for  my  release  from  the
hospital.

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter 5

eaving the hospital was both bliss and agony. I
couldn’t wait to get home and get a hot shower. My

hair  felt  funky  without  being  able  to  take  a  shower
without  my  soaps  and  shampoo  for  days.  The  hospital
grade  stuff  just  didn’t  do  the  job.  Sponge  baths  didn’t
do  it  either.  I  needed  to  marinate  in  my  woodsy  bath
wash to feel normal again.

The part that totally sucked was the drive home.

There  was  no  way  to  avoid  every  bump  in  the  road.  I
never knew how much pain  you could feel  in your ribs
just  from  a  simple  turn  at  the  traffic  light.  Then  there
was getting in and out of the car

—

cheese and crackers,

that hurt like a mother.

My parents rode in the front seat while Volk rode

with  me  in  the  back.  He  was  my  savior,  holding  my
hand  the  entire  time.  I’m  sure  he  has  a  few  broken
fingers from my death grip. By the end of the trip, I had
sweat  gathered  at  my  temples  and  I  was  actually
nauseous from the pain. Never had I been so glad to see
our cookie cutter home come into view.

Volk looked over at me, “We’re here, Kale. The

tough part is getting you settled upstairs. Then your

Jackie Nacht

mom said I could stay over to help you out if you want
me to.”

I could only nod. Truth was, I was a little afraid to

be alone and too embarrassed to mention to my parents
that  I  was  having  nightmares  since  the  attack.  Volk
must have suggested this, because Hunt and he were the
only ones that had witnessed me waking up from them.
It was humiliating at  first, and then the two seemed to
be  my  lifeline  in  the  darkness.  I  don’t  know  why  they
continued  to  alternate  staying  with  me  but  I  would
forever be thankful for it.

Volk helped me get out of the car as my parents

carried my bags inside the house. Walking in, I felt like
a  completely  different  person  than  when  I  left  for
school  the  day  of  the  attack.  I  don’t  think  it  was  so
much the attack but for the first time I was walking into
the house as me. A little bit banged up, but there was no
fear hovering over me that my parents might not accept
me. This was truly my sanctuary.

Volk grabbed my elbow, “Ready to take on the stairs

Kale?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I grumbled.
It was a tough go and I don’t know how Volk did it

being the same size as me, but we made it up the stairs.
I had thought of nothing but that shower since I got out
of the hospital. It was my damn reward for not bawling
like a baby in the car when my dad decided to brake for
that  biker.  Now  that  I  got  to  my  room,  there  was
nothing  I  could  do  but  stand  there  on  trembling  legs
from  the  pain.  I  swallowed  a  sob  and  didn’t  know
where to go to relieve the aches in my ribs.

Volk turned to look at me, “I know you wanted to

Kale’s Spirit

take a shower but you’re not in any shape—”

“Please, a shower. It’s supposed to be my shiny gold

star for being a brave boy at my dad’s terrible ability to
brake gently,” I pled with him, tears beginning to pool
in my eyes. I was having the hardest time keeping it
together. If he said no, the dam in my eyes might break.
They were already puffy and red from too much crying
lately.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. I’m going to go

downstairs and get your meds from your mom. Let me
help you to your desk chair. You take the meds while I
get everything ready for your shower, just point and I’ll
retrieve. Then, I’ll help you take a shower, unless you
want one of your parents to help. I don’t think you can
by yourself.”

“You can help if you’re okay with, you know,

showering with me.” In as much pain as I was in, it was
shocking to realize I was  blushing. Yeah,  he would  be
the  first  guy  see  me  in  all  my  glory.  I  had  become
freaking  faster  than  Superman  dressing  in  a  telephone
booth  when  it  came  to  undressing  in  the  locker  room.
The man of steel could take a lesson or two from me.

I thought I saw him blushing too as he made his

escape to go get me my medication. Maybe I would be
the  first  guy  he  would  see  naked.  I  knew  he  was
eighteen,  a  few  months  older  than  me,  but  living  with
all the guys,  you would think  he’d seen a  few of them
in  the  buff.  Maybe  he’d  seen  Hunt.  That  was  a  pretty
unsettling  feeling  in  my  stomach.  Completely
confusing, really, since I didn’t know if it was because
of  my  feelings  for  Hunt  or  Volk.  I  liked  both  of  them
and  would  have  to  be  blind  not to  be  attracted to  both

Jackie Nacht

and for the first time, I could express those feelings
without being afraid.

Volk came in with a stack of crackers, water and my

pain  medication.  He  walked  over  and  dished  me  out
two  crackers  while  he  uncapped  my  water.  He  then
handed  me  the  water  and  pills.  Volk  was  all  business.
His only tell was the hand not holding his  cracker was
frantically tapping on the side of his leg.

“Okay, let’s just sit for a few minutes until your

meds kick in. Where are the clothes you want to wear?”
Was  that  Volk’s  voice?  It  was  cracking  like  mine  did
my  freshman  year  but  I  didn’t  call  him  out  on  it.
Instead, I began pointing to various places in my room
where clean clothes were strewn about. He held up my
dirty  pair  of  flannel  Elmo  pajamas  before  shaking  his
head and dropping them. He did find my favorite black
super soft  fleece pajama pants. I shook my  head  when
he held up a shirt. No way in hell was I lifting my arms
up.

He was still looking a little tense and I started to feel

guilty for asking him to help me out. I’d only known
him a week. “Look Volk, you don’t have to do this if
you don’t want to. I can do it myself.”

“No, no I’m good. Your mom just told me to make

sure you scrub your own junk, her words not mine.” He
looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop this weird laugh I

developed as a result of the injuries to my ribs. “Don’t
worry you’ll get used to my mom.”

Volk looked down at me shyly. His pale blue eyes

looked a little sad when he said, “I like your mom a lot.
I don’t mind her quirky ways at all. She cares about

Kale’s Spirit

you.” He seemed to shake himself. “You ready for that
shower?”

“Yeah,” I got up and realized the meds had kicked in

and I was having a little trouble with vertigo. Volk was
at my side immediately guiding me to the bathroom.

He had me lean against the counter as he got the

water  adjusted  to the  right temp.  He  looked  at  me  and
waved his hands like he didn’t know where to start. He
finally  focused  on  my  shirt  and  slowly  stretched  it  out
so he could  just  hook it over the  back of  my  head and
roll it down my arms. He was a miracle worker on not
getting me to raise my arms.

Then he went to work on my pants and briefs. I was

a  little  embarrassed  at  first  and  then  realized  with  the
pain  and  meds,  I  had  too  many  things  clouding  my
mind  to  focus  on  anything  like  exposed  body  parts.
Looking  at  his  face  and  seeing  all  the  bruises  being
exposed on my skin, I think he was coming to the same
conclusion.  My  first  shower  with  a  guy  and  it  was
going to be completely clinical. Sigh.

“Kale, are you listening?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you step into the shower and hold onto the wall

while I get my shirt off here?”

“You’re not coming in?” Wow did I sound whiny.
“Fine, but I’m coming in my briefs. “
“Spoilsport.” Yep, the drugs were in full effect.
Volk snorted at me and stripped down quickly

before joining me in his boxer briefs.

“Where’s your soap?” I pointed toward the floor

behind him. He bent over in front of me and I couldn’t
resist giving him a couple of good pats on his ass that

Jackie Nacht

quickly turning into massaging.

Volk laughed and removed my hand off his wet

briefs, “Behave.”

He quickly grabbed it and squirted out a dollop

before  scrubbing  it  into  my  dark  hair.  I  couldn’t  help
letting  out  the  moan.  He  immediately  pushed  my  face
into  the  spray  and  started  to  rinse  my  hair.  I  got  the
message  to  shut  up  loud  and  clear.  He  grabbed  a  pouf
and  started  putting  soap  into  it.  That’s  when  I  noticed
his  boxers  were  not  leaving  anything  to  the
imagination.

Volk caught me looking, “Oh stop it! I would have

to be dead not to have some sort of reaction. According
to my fifth grade Sex Ed teacher, this is perfectly
normal.” With that he shoved the pouf at me, “Now
scrub your junk!”

Volk turn away from me and began washing his own

hair.  I  guess  with  him  coming  to the  hospital  so  much
he hadn’t gotten a chance to shower that much either. I
just stood there staring at the way the soap ran through
his  pale  blonde  hair.  Even  the  water  didn’t  darken  his
hair that much when wet. He began rinsing his hair out
and  I  watched  the  bubbles  slide  down  his  body.  Oh
what I’d give to be one of those bubbles. I reached out
and began popping the bubbles that were running down
his back.

Volk turned and caught me with my finger still

extended.  He  let  out  huff  before  he  took  my  pouf  and
began washing me briskly. I hissed a little when he got
to  my  ribs  and  from  there  on  out  he  went  a  lot  more
gently. When he was done, he looked me in the eye and
whispered,  “Now  can  you  please  do  the  rest?”  He

Kale’s Spirit

looked me straight in my blue eyes. He was telling me
with his eyes that he was trying to be a gentleman and
here  all  I  could  do  was  stare  at  the  water  dripping  off
his  full  lips.  I  slowly  took  care  of  washing  the  rest  of
my  body.  By  the  time  I  was  done,  he  had  washed  his
body and turned the water off after rinsing both of us.

“Hold still for a sec, okay while I get us some

towels.” He disappeared and came back a minute later
with a towel wrapped around his hips and holding out a
fluffy navy towel for me. Volk began to dry me off
gently and I started to actually fall asleep standing.

“Okay, Kale, let’s get your pants on, then you can go

lie down and sleep.” I held onto his shoulders as he bent
over  and  lifted  one  foot  at  a  time  to  dress  me  in  my
pajamas.  He  guided  me  over  to  the  bed  and  laid  me
down.

I looked up at him, “Please don’t go. Will you nap

with me?” I knew the nightmares would come if Volk
wasn’t there.

“Sure,” Volk whispered. He climbed into the other

side of the bed. I reached over and took his hand to hold
it. Before I fell asleep, I felt him take my hand and
softly kiss it before guiding our joined hands to his
heart.

Jackie Nacht

Chapter 6

very day I seemed to be feeling a little bit better.
Hunt and Volk kept coming over and keeping me

company.  We  would  spend  our  days  in  my  room
playing  video  games  and  watching  movies.  I  kept
asking about the pup and how he was doing. They kept
telling  me  he  was  fine  and  that  the  pack  was  taking
good care of him.

I continued to ask them about the strange things that

I kept experiencing. They seemed to have this amazing
talent for steering the topic away from my questions
every time and I didn’t have the effort to fight it either.
It seemed ideal to give up until they decided to tell me.
This forced me to focus on graduating and get ready for
the summer.

There were about fifteen days left and I hadn’t been

to school since my attack. I knew I was going to have to
go  on  Monday  and  was  completely  dreading  it.  The
guys who attacked me never got arrested. They said that
Wulf and the guys started it and we said they did  it. It
turned out the cops didn’t really care who started it this
time.  Next  time  someone  got  hurt,  someone  would  be
arrested. So, I was freaking out about walking the halls

Kale’s Spirit

with all those guys again. The teachers never saw half
the bullshit they did to me. Would they now?

My mom walked in and caught me pouting on the

bed  while  flipping  through  the  channels.  It  was
Saturday  and  I  hadn’t  heard  from  the  guys  all  day.  It
was  the  longest  I’d  gone  without  seeing  one  of  them
since the attack.

My mom sat on the bed and began to fuss with my

blankets, “How you feeling, baby?”

I sighed, turning the television off, “I’m fine, just a

little bit bored.”

“That’s no way to be on your eighteenth birthday.”
“Mom, my eighteenth birthday came when I was

impersonating Sleeping Beauty.”

“Pssh, so we’re a little late on celebrating.”
“Well, Mom. I don’t see you providing those scary

ass  clowns  like  you  did  on  my  ninth  birthday.  You
don’t  have  scary  ass  clowns  downstairs,  do  you?”  I
bolted  up  and  scanned  over  Mom’s  shoulder  for  the
face painted demons.

“You’re right. Those clowns were straight out of a

horror film. However, I did one better. I talked to Hunt
yesterday and invited all the boys over for dinner and
cake tonight. Is that okay with you?”

I looked at my mom, “Really, they’re all coming

over?”

“Yeah they should be here in about an hour. I made

your favorite, lasagna.”

I hugged my mom. I was bored out of my ever-

loving mind. “Mom, this is great, thank you.”

She hugged me back, “Those boys saved my baby.

It’s just as much for them as for you. They need a little

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loving too.”

I didn’t know if my mom knew the whole story, that

they were living on their own, so I just answered,
“Yeah, Mom, they do.”

“Hurry up and get ready. They’ll be here soon.”
She walked out and I quickly went to my closet to

figure out what to wear. The guys had seen me looking
hideous and I was  feeling well enough to care about it
now.  Scanning  the  room,  I  found  my  favorite  pair  of
dark destroyed  jeans. Then I walked over to my  closet
and rummaged through until I found my royal blue shirt
that  was  a  tiny  bit  snug  on  me.  I  loved  how  it  fit  and
how  it  looked  against  my  dark  hair  and  blue  eyes.  I
showered,  styled  my  hair  and  gingerly  made  my  way
down  the  stairs  just  in  time  to  see  my  friends  coming
through the front door.

Hunt came over and handed my mom a bouquet of

wildflowers.  How  sweet.  You  could  tell  she  thought  it
was sweet too because she immediately went back into
the  kitchen  to  grab  a  vase  to  make  them  a  centerpiece
for tonight’s meal.

I noticed the other guys standing their taking in the

atmosphere.  It  was  Wulf,  Gayl,  Mahigan  and  Farkas’
first time here. Wulf was standing straight and proud in
front  of  the  other  three.  Mahigan  was  holding  Gayl’s
hand.  In  all  the  talking  I  had  with  Hunt  and  Volk,  I
never  knew  those  two  were  a  couple,  but  you  could
clearly tell how they were holding onto each other like
the killer clowns might jump out of the closet at them at
any moment. Farkas, the youngest, with huge gold eyes
and  dark  brown  hair,  looked  around  like  a  curious
puppy.

Kale’s Spirit

I walked toward them, “Hey guys, and thanks for

coming.” It should have been awkward but as soon as I
walked into their little circle that they formed in the
entryway, I felt complete. It was like I had belonged
there my entire life.

My guests followed me into the dining room where I

saw  my  mom  setting  out  heaping  plates  of  lasagna,
salad and dinner rolls. I remembered Hunt saying how
sick  of  mac  and  cheese  he  was,  I  thought  maybe  if  it
wouldn’t  be  too  much  trouble  on  my  mom  that  we
could make dinner a regular thing from now on.

My parents took the end seats and left the rest of us

to find  seats on the sides. Volk and Hunt squeezed  me
in  between  them.  I  still  hadn’t  been  able  to  figure  out
what  was  going  on  but  was  going  to  shelve  it  for  the
meal or I might just not make it through.

We all fell into an easy dinner conversation. My dad

talked to Wulf about his lawn/snow removal business. I
could hear Volk asking my mom what she put into the
lasagna, clearly wanting to learn for next year. Mahigan
and  Gayl  were  whispering  to  each  other  while
devouring  their  salads.  The  only  one  that  seemed  to
confuse me was Farkus. He seemed to be examining his
salad like he thought it might walk off the plate.

Mom looked on in concern, “Farkas dear, do you not

like the salad? Do you want something else to eat?”

Farkas looked up, “You mean I don’t have to eat the

salad?”

“No dear, not if you don’t want to. You can just go

ahead and eat your lasagna.”

Farkas pushed the salad plate away and mumbled,

“Thank fuck.” He looked up as his gold eyes widened

Jackie Nacht

and then he quickly looked over at my mom.

That’s when I proceeded to choke on my dinner roll.

Hunt  slapped  me  on  the  back,  which  hurt  like  hell  but
dislodged  the  roll  right  onto  Farkas’  plate.  Seemed
Farkas  didn’t  like  salad  but  didn’t  care  at  all  about
eating a half masticated roll, since he took a little hunk
of it with a great big bite of his lasagna.

He seemed to notice everyone looking at him. While

he was still chewing his food he looked at my mother
and said, “Sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to cuss at the
table.”

“That’s okay. I don’t care for rabbit food either and

it’s nothing I haven’t said before myself.” My dad
coughed into his napkin at the other end of the table.

Farkas smiled at her with a little bit of sauce on his

face and it made him look a lot younger than his sixteen
years. You could tell by the look in his gold eyes that
he was instantly in love with my mom. Looking over at
my mom, I realized she was going to adopt all of my
new friends. I was okay with that.

After the guys ate their third helping, my mom

brought out a massive chocolate cake with butter cream
frosting. The guys looked at it like Christmas had come
early.  My  mom  brought  out  two  huge  quarts  of  ice
cream to accompany the cake  and proceeded to pass  it
out.  She  made  my  day  by  not  pressing  the  whole
candles and singing bit. I was never a big fan of having
someone shine a spotlight on me.

I noticed bodies had shifted seats and Farkas was

sitting next to my mom with a huge helping on his
plate. Hunt and Volk seemed to keep their seats next
me and kept smiling at me in between bites. I couldn’t

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remember having a better birthday. It was pretty simple
really, nothing extravagant, but I had friends with me
this year and that was the big difference.

“Thanks, Mom and Dad. This is really good.”
My dad stood up and walked over to me before he

clunked down a set of keys in front of me. “This is from
your mother and me. We’ll pay for the insurance and
car payments as long as you continue working. You can
work at the store or Wulf just offered to take you on his
crew this summer. You’ll be responsible for gas.”

I sat there with my mouth flapping open and shut,

like a fish out of water. I grabbed the keys and took off
toward the front door.

“Kale, it’s in the garage!” My mother yelled.
Running through the mudroom, I opened up the

garage door to see a lime colored Chevy Spark. It was
unbelievable that they had got me a new car. I had been
saving all my pennies just trying to get a beater to get to
and from college next year.

My dad came up behind me, “This is your

graduation present as well. We wanted to get it a little
early so you can use it for the rest of the year. No more
walking home on your own, son. It was going to be a
problem anyway, with all your injuries.”

Everything clicked into place in an instance. My

parents  probably  planned  this  all  along,  however  since
the  attack  they  moved  it  up  a  few  weeks.  They  didn’t
want their son walking  home while  the other guys that
hospitalized  me  were  still  walking  around.  My  parents
were afraid to have me on my own. I had nothing to say
to comfort them, too afraid myself.

I turned around and gave my dad a huge hug.

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter 7

t had been over a week since coming home. I went
to school and it was pretty uneventful, a few stares

that  were  completely  expected.  Who  wouldn’t  want  to
look  at  the  boy  with  the  purple  face?  Volk  and  Hunt
took turns standing by my car at the end of the day, so I
didn’t even have to go that far on my own. It was nice
to  see them  smiling  up  at  me  at  the  end  of  each  tiring
day. I noticed Thompson was watching us every day as
I greeted them.

Hunt would take the keys and my books while I took

forever  getting  into  the  car.  I  might  have  been  able  to
go to school,  but my ribs ached  by the end of the day.
Through  the  short  drives,  I  found  out that  Hunt  was  a
big  fan  of  Nikki  Minaj  and  would  sing  very  off  key
along with her.

Each day we would come back to my room where he

would take off my shoes and socks. He would go down
and get a snack while I loaded up my gaming system.
We would sit side by side for hours playing. On the
third day, Friday, I couldn’t take it any longer.

“Hunt, why are you helping me out? It’s not that I’m

not grateful, it’s just, well, why?”

Jackie Nacht

His cheeks got a blush that crept up from his neck,

“Well I guess it’s because I care about you. I want to
make sure you never have to be alone like you were in
the forest that day. I want to protect you.”

“What about Volk?” I whispered.
“He cares about you too,” Hunt looked down at his

controller, fiddling with it.

“I’m confused,” I admitted.
Hunt reached over and grabbed my hand. “I know

you are, and Volk and I have talked, too. We want to
just give you time to adjust to the last few weeks. Volk
is like a brother to me. He’s a good guy.”

I was getting more confused with the conversation. It

sounded like Hunt cared about me but was pumping up
the competition.

As if reading my thoughts, Hunt went on, “Volk is a

lot smaller than the rest of us. It’s kind of in our nature
to make sure he’s well taken care of. That’s why for
me, I’m a little conflicted. I want him to be happy, but I
want you for myself.”

My eyebrows shot up. I never expected him to be

flat out honest with me. “I’m not sure what to say. I
always have something to say.”

Volk started to massage my palm, “You don’t need

to say anything

—

just get to know us, Kale. That’s the

best thing to do right now  for all of us. I’m  sure  we’ll
figure it all out eventually. We just need to get to know
each  other  a  bit  more.  Come  on,  let’s  keep  playing,  I
think  I  might  actually  beat  you  by  the  end  of  the
summer.”

Sighing, I fell back on my pillow and began playing

the game. There was an overwhelming need to lean my

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head on his shoulder and I thought what the hell. It was
even better when he leaned his head back on me.

Volk was waiting for me the following day at my

car. After talking with Hunt, I felt a little bit nervous at
first, never  having anyone  like  me  before. He took  my
keys  from  me  and  drove  me  back  to the  house.  It  was
funny how he waited for an approval before stopping at
the  music  station  I  liked.  It  became  apparent  that  he
liked  to  take  a  cue  from  someone  while  Hunt  liked  to
lead. I was always somewhere in the middle.

Feeling restless today, I decided to ask Volk on the

way home, “Can we take a short walk and get some
fresh air? We won’t go far from the house.”

He seemed to think it over for a second before

answering, “Sure, just as long as we don’t wonder too
far. I know you’re feeling better, but I don’t want to be
out so far you can’t get back.”

Volk pulled into my driveway and dropped my bag

off inside. He came out with two apples and a bottle of
water. He handed me the apple, uncapped the bottle of
water, and took a swig of it before handing it over to
me. I couldn’t help but smile a little as I took a swig
where Volk just drank.

We walked into the woods behind our house

crunching  on  our  apples.  It  was  comfortable  walking
silently next to him. Our gait was the exact same, so we
were  in  perfect  pace  with  each  other.  I  felt  equal  to
Volk, unlike Hunt. However, I felt protected by Hunt. It
was  tough  to  figure  out  which  role  I  felt  more
comfortable  with.  None  were  wrong,  they  were  just
different.

Jackie Nacht

Volk interrupted the silence, “I heard you talked to

Hunt last night about the three of us.”

“Yes I did.” Would he feel like we were talking

behind his back?

He grabbed my hand and held it. It sent a chill

straight up my arm. “I never got a chance to tell you
how I feel. I’m sorry for that. I just wanted to give you
time to heal and get to know us.” Thank god he wasn’t
ticked.

“Hunt said the same thing.”
Volk laughed a little, “Well I guess great minds

thinks alike.” He sobered quickly, “The thing is, I like
you a lot. I just don’t know if I’ll be very good for you.
Hunt can protect you against those assholes that hurt
you, I can’t.” The last was said so softly I almost didn’t
hear him say it.

Volk quickly lifted a branch to get out of my way. I

had been a tiny bit clumsy since the accident. Already I
was puffing a little, and Volk had me sit on a stump. “I
don’t  need  protection,  you  know.”  It  came  out  kind  of
childish  but  I  was  feeling  like  maybe  they  were  not
really  into  me,  just  into  wanting  to  save  the  damsel  in
distress.  The  way  they  always  talked  about  protecting
me  was  beginning  to  make  me  feel  like  the  biggest
wimp.

“I’m not really supposed to say too much. Wulf

wanted to explain what happened to you the night of the
attack.”

I couldn’t help but snap, “Will someone just tell me

already? I know I’m a little different and no one will
tell me what the hell’s going on.”

Volk stopped chewing on his apple and looked at me

Kale’s Spirit

with his pale blue eyes, “That white wolf pup chose you
that  night,  being  called  by  your  inner  strength.  You
have  the  spirit  of  the  wolf  in  you.  Don’t  worry  about
changing into a werewolf or anything, but you will take
on  characteristics  of  a  wolf.  You’ll  be  partially  color
blind, run a little faster, have a bond that is really close
to your wolf, and you will hate being alone.”

“So, I won’t grow fur or fangs?” Okay so I was a

little worried.

Volk laughed, “No, but you’ll just have this amazing

connection to the wolves and the rest of us. It’s pack
mentality. You feel it. You already know you belong,
just like we know you belong.”

“So is that why Hunt and you like me?” I really

didn’t want that to be the only reason.

“I don’t think so. Besides Gayl and Mahigan, none

of us have liked one another like that. It’s more a
brotherly, pack love.”

“Pack?”
“Yeah, that’s kind of another characteristic we take

on. Wulf is the alpha, taking care of all of us. Hunt is
the Beta. I’m somewhere in the middle. I think you’re
like me. I think that’s why everyone is so protective of
you. They’re like that with me, too.”

I crossed my legs and turned to look straight at Volk,

who mirrored my position, “So does that make me
weak?”

“No, you’re not weak. Everyone is important in our

pack.  Each  person  has  their  role,  me  included.
Physically  we  may  be  different,  but  we  all  have  equal
say in everything. You’ll find out the others will hover
a  little,  especially  after  what  you  went  through,  but  I

Jackie Nacht

also think that’s pack mentality.”

I thought I was okay with that. Maybe I might have

been  freaking  out  a  lot  more  if  I  hadn’t  had  that  stare
down with  my pup weeks ago. There was a  longing to
see  him  that  went  beyond  a  new  pet,  a  kinship.  My
changes  weren’t  that  strange.  I  wouldn’t  howl  at  the
moon  or  eat  some  innocent  bystander  or  Thompson.
There  was  nothing  that  would  keep  me  from  going  to
college  in  the  fall.  I  just  needed  to  find  housing  that
took pets now

—

my wolf was coming with me.

“Where did the wolves come from?” I had been

wondering that one too. Wolves weren’t popular around
these parts.

“All we know is that they found Wulf at his cabin

before we all got there. Mahigan’s and Gayl’s wolves
are the parents of your pup.”

“Are there any more pups?”
“There’s one other. He’s a runt so we watch out for

him pretty closely. Yours is the feisty one.”

I noticed Volk was playing with a stray tear at the

knee of  my  jeans,  making goose bumps pop up on  my
skin.  His  fingertip  was  warm  and  sent  a  thrill  through
me. I put my hand in my lap to cover up my reaction to
his touch. We didn’t need to add that kind of tension to
an already strange conversation.

“I don’t want to hurt you or Hunt.” I couldn’t believe

I blurted that out.

Volk looked up at me with his pale eyes. They

looked  a  little  sad  almost,  like  he  knew  I  would  pick
Hunt and  not him.  “I think we’ll  all  be okay.  We’ll all
make  the  right  decision.  Come  on,  your  Mom  said  I
could help her with dinner tonight.” Volk grabbed both

Kale’s Spirit

my  hands  and  guided  me  back  toward  my  house.  He
ended  the  conversation  pretty  abruptly  and  I  had  a
feeling  whoever  I  didn’t  end  up  with  would  be  a  little
hurt. I didn’t want to lose either of them.

Jackie Nacht

Chapter 8

olk and Hunt led me into the dense woods. We had
been walking for more than fifteen minutes, which

made me wonder how the hell they had gotten to me so
damn fast. There was a little of the trail we’d left about
five minutes before. The undergrowth was getting
crazy. These guys did not want to be found by anyone. I
had a momentary panic that maybe I was going to be
axed out here then I remembered them saving me, kind
of defeating the purpose.

I was just about to ask the annoying Are we there yet

question  when  we  broke  through  to  the  most  amazing
opening  in  the  forest.  The  sunbeams  came  down  from
the  sky  onto  this  beautiful  rustic  log  cabin  like  a
freakin’ fairytale. The wind was blowing the fresh new
leaves  that  hid  this  sanctuary  from  anyone  ever
knowing it existed. It was the most breathtaking view I
had ever seen.

The wolves were out in front of the cabin playing

and rolling around on the ground. My pup was the first
one to notice us with a tiny  yip. Several of the wolves
decided  to  run  toward  us  to  greet.  In  the  rear  was  my
pup.  I  instantly  went  down  on  my  knees  to  embrace

Kale’s Spirit

him. I had felt a longing for him through my entire stay
at the hospital.

Hugging him to my chest I scooped him up to get a

look  around.  He  was  licking  me  all  over  my  neck  and
face,  making  me  laugh.  His  tiny  baby  teeth  were
nipping at me in play. I was pretty sure he was excited
to  see  me,  too.  My  pup  had  this  fluffy  coat  I  kept
petting to try and get him to calm down, which I think
had  the  opposite  effect.  His  whole  backside  was
wagging, not just his tail.

“Okay, I missed you too, boy. Wait, you are a boy.”

I held him above my head to check. I didn’t think a
puppy had the capability to look indignant but he
managed it.

“What’s his name?” I looked over to Volk and Hunt

and saw them both petting two gray wolves. Volk’s was
much smaller than Hunt’s. It looked like the wolves
matched their human counterpart. My little guy was
going to be small like me, making me feel for him.

Hunt looked up from his petting, “That’s up to you.

We haven’t named him yet. He’s been waiting for you
to name him.”

“Wait, I told you guys I can’t have a pet. My mom

would never go for it and a wolf is not like a dog.”

Volk walked over to me with his wolf at his side,

“We’ll keep him here with us, Kale, but he as much
belongs to you as you belong to him. Now go ahead and
figure out a name for him.”

Jeez, no pressure. I had two sets of human eyes and

three wolves looking at me expectantly. It was like they
expected to pop out this amazing name and all I could
think of was, “Phelan?” Where in the hell did that come

Jackie Nacht

from?

Phelan yipped and squirmed excitedly until I had to

put him down. He took off with the other two wolves
and began to play again.

Volk was smiling at the wolves’ play, “I guess he

really liked his name, and it’s appropriate too.”

“How so?”
Volk looked over and smiled at me with his brilliant

white  teeth.  It  was  the  type  of  smile  that  you  saw  on
high  fashion  covers.  “It  means  little  wolf  in  Gaelic.
Phelan  will  be  smaller,  like  my  Lawler.  Hunt’s  wolf,
Cayden,  is  a  beta.  He’s  been  really  protective  of  our
two  wolves.”  That’s  when  I  noticed  then  that  Cayden
was  making  sure  that  the  other  wolves  were  playing
really gently  with Volk’s and  my wolf. I didn’t realize
how  tense  I  was  watching  them,  worrying,  until  Volk
pointed out the dynamics of their rough play.

Wulf walked out of the cabin holding a tiny dark

puff in the crook of his arm to stand on the porch. “Hey
you guys, the pizzas are done. Come and get it while
it’s hot and before Farkas eats it all.” Wulf walked back
into the cabin, ducking under the door jam. You could
see a tiny little tail wagging between his body and arm.
At twenty, he must have been six five, two hundred and
fifty pounds. He was the biggest guy I had ever seen at
his age. He didn’t have a speck of fat on him, made up
of complete muscles. There was not one muscle on his
body that wasn’t massive.

Hunt waved his hand to guide us toward the house,

“Come  on  guys.  I’m  starving  and  I  don’t  feel  like
beating  on  Farkas  tonight  because  he  took  my  bacon
and sausage pieces.”

Kale’s Spirit

Walking into the cabin, I saw the layout was nothing

I would  have ever expected. Basically, the cabin  had a
small  opening  that  led  into  three  different  directions.
One  led to a hallway with a bunch of doors  lining  it. I
could only guess

—

bedrooms? The opening to the right

led to the kitchen where I could see the guys sitting at a
decent size picnic table. The third opening led to
carpeted stairs that led down to a basement.

Ceasing my gawking, I followed Volk and Hunt into

the  kitchen.  Everyone  seemed  to  have  their  own
designated  spot  at  the  table.  I  stood  there  awkwardly
wondering where I  should go. Volk turned around and
patted a spot in between him and Hunt. Quickly, I took
my spot and waited for everyone to get their pizza.

Hunt looked over at me, “Better pick your pieces

quick  before  Frick  and  Frack  over  there  eat  it  all.”  It
was  strange  to  see  the  difference  between  them  eating
at  my  house  and  them  eating  here.  I  felt  like  I  would
need  to  wield  my  fork  as  a  weapon  to  fend  for  my
pizza. They all had table manners, they were just a little
territorial  when  it  came  to  what  toppings  they  were
going to have on their plate. Didn’t matter what pieces I
picked, I was going to take off all the toppings anyway.
I was a plain cheese pizza person.

It made me come to the conclusion that they were on

their  best behavior  when they  came over to my  house.
This  was  the  first  time  I  was  seeing  them  in  their
environment  and  there  was  a  big  difference.  I  worried
about  them  not  having  parents  but  they  were  really  a
family that worked well together. They were happy.

Picking up a piece, I set to work on removing the

pepperoni when I noticed the noise at the table had

Jackie Nacht

extinguished completely. I looked up to see five faces
of horror. Farkas was the only one smiling, “Kale, are
you going to eat those? If not, I can take care of that for
you?”

The table erupted with a fight for my pepperoni.

Farkas  and  Mahigan  were  rolling  on  the  ground.  Volk
and Hunt seemed to be protecting my plate from grabby
hands. Wulf was laughing. Phelan came strolling up to
me  and  I  knew  exactly  how  to  resolve  this  argument
without getting  myself  into trouble. I grabbed  my  own
pepperoni  and  fed  it  to  Phelan.  Farkas  stopped  in  mid
choke  hold  and  looked  at  me  like  I  just  gave  Phelan  a
million bucks. “Kale, you didn’t?”

I started to laugh at his devastated face, “I did, and

from now on Phelan gets all my toppings. Now let’s
eat.”

After dinner, Wulf guided us out to the front of the

cabin just after the sun set. He turned to look at all of us
with  the  runt  in  his  hand,  “I  know  Volk  told  you
everything so we don’t need to explain too much to you
now. A lot of nights we go running with our wolves and
play around. We’ll make sure that you and Phelan don’t
get too far behind. You’ll get faster as time goes on but
you  and  Phelan  will  be  a  little  slow  and  awkward  at
first.”

Every single one of them took off in front of Phelan

and me. “Well I guess we better gets our butts in gear.”
We took off together and I realized I was like a colt on
gangly legs. This was nothing new. I was absolutely
terrible in gym class

—

add healing broken ribs and it

was my very own layer of hell. Even though I noticed I
saw a lot better in the dark woods, it did nothing for my

Kale’s Spirit

balance. Phelan and I were doing a  lot of  face time on
the ground. He was this fluff ball tripping over his own
feet  and  get  up  covered  in  dead  leaves.  It  seemed  so
cute until I did it too.

Hunt came back to help me up after my latest dive

with  his  wolf,  Cayden.  Cayden  circled  Phelan  with
playful  nips  before the two took off together.  “It’ll get
easier.  It’s  your  spirits  entwining.  Now  you’re  just  as
much a pup as he is. You’ll both grow out of it in time.”

“Was everyone like this at first?” Please say yes.
“Pretty much. Maybe not Wulf, but the rest of us had

to  adjust  a  little.  You think  you  haven’t  had  that big  a
change,  but  sometimes  the  little  things  make  a  big
difference.  It  took  me  a  couple  weeks.  You’ll  get
there.”

Jeez, I hoped so. Being almost healed, it sucked to

fall  like  I  was.  Hunt  started  to  guide  us  to  where  the
others ran off. I could hear splashing in the distance and
a couple of them laughing. We passed a few more trees
before we came to the edge of a stream. The guys were
running  into  the  water,  while  Volk  was  staring  at  the
woods as if he was waiting for us.

He walked up, “You okay? Hunt said he’d help you

out. How’re your ribs?”

Volk looked so adorable, flustered, running his

hands over my shirt, checking me out himself to see if I
was injured. “I’m fine, Volk. I’m a little bit scuffed up,
but nothing major.”

“Do you want to go in the water? It’ll get the dirt off,

but it’s not the cleanest.”

“Yeah, I think a swim sounds really nice.” Looking

over, I saw that Cayden and Lawler were helping

Jackie Nacht

Phelan into the water.

I was trying to figure out how far to undress when I

looked over and saw Hunt running bare ass into the
water. Oh lord, everyone was skinny-dipping. It would
be okay once I was in the water, however it wasn’t dark
enough to actually hide my reaction to seeing Hunt’s
bare ass.

Hunt dove in the water. A few seconds later he

reemerged, throwing his head back. Water droplets flew
behind him in the moonlight. “Come on, Kale!” Damn
that dimple.

There was a huge pile of clothes over by the tree. If I

could pull my super gym move, I might have a chance
of  no  one  seeing  me.  I  began  to  undress  at  lightning
speed. Volk came next to me and began undressing too,
which  put  me  into  high  gear.  I  took  off  for  the  water
and  was  under  before  I  was  prepared  to  choke  on  my
own balls that had crawled up into my body.

“It’s fricking freeeezing.”
Hunt swam up to me and embraced me before I was

prepared, “Better?”

He smelled delicious, was extremely warm and he

was  naked.  I  was  in  Heaven.  Returning  his  hug,  I  laid
my head on his chest. This felt so right, but it felt right
to  hold  Volk  too.  Looking  over  at  Volk,  he  was
laughing  and  splashing  with  our  wolves.  I  couldn’t
believe  how  understanding  these  two  were  being.  I
know I wouldn’t have been.

Hunt must have been reading my mind because he

said, “This is for forever, you know. The one you pick,
it’s not temporary, and that’s why we’re taking our time
on this. We all need to know for sure. I know right now

Kale’s Spirit

that you feel perfect right here in my arms.”

He squeezed me so tight. Hunt was telling me the

truth but I also knew he cared for me a great deal more
than what he was saying. We drifted in the current
while holding each other. I had to admit that at the
moment, I didn’t want to let him go, either.

Jackie Nacht

Chapter 9

he final day for seniors had finally come. Emptying
my locker was a surreal experience. This was the

last  time  I  would  be  doing  this.  I  had  been  slowly
emptying  it  all  week.  All  that  was  left  was  a  locker
mirror,  a  few  end-of-term  papers,  and  a  picture  of  the
guys and me at my birthday party. My mom had taken
it  after  we  sat  down  to  watch  a  movie.  We  were  all
scrunched  on  the  couch.  Volk  and  Hunt  were  on  each
side of me on the couch, while the rest were in front of
us on the floor.

Stuffing what little I had into my backpack, I took

one last look around to try and remember my school for
all the good things that happened here and not my hell
with Thompson. I wanted to remember my eighth grade
trip to Washington, pep rallies, and the people that were
nice and helpful to me. I didn’t want it to be cheapened
by the few idiots that I had to deal with. It was tough

—

they’d managed to shove themselves in my face and
drown out the rest. This was my moment to push them
out of the way and see the good that came through my
years here.

Taking one last look, I turned to go down the stairs

Kale’s Spirit

to  my  car.  Hunt  and  Volk  were  waiting  for  me  today.
Wulf must have dropped them at the school after work.
They said they both wanted to be a part of my last day
and  they  were  going  to  take  me  later  to  the  cabin  to
celebrate.  No  graduation  parties  for  me,  I  would  be
hanging out with my pack.

I greeted both of them with a hug before reaching

into my pocket to dig out my keys.

“What the fuck, man?” Of course I couldn’t count

myself lucky and be done with Thompson. The ass had
to make one last dig at me. “What are you, a fag?”

I could see Hunt tense up. He stepped in front of

both Volk and me. I could see him start to shake like he
was doing everything he could to keep in all his anger.

Thompson looked at all three of us before he

laughed,  “It’s  true,  you’re  a  fag.  God,  I  wish  we  had
worked  you  over  a  little  bit  more.  If  your  boyfriend
wouldn’t  have  interfered,  maybe  we  would  have  been
rid of you for good.”

I had enough of his hateful words. It was bad enough

when  they  solely  focused  on  me  but  my  friends  were
now  being  targeted.  “There’s  nothing  wrong  with  us,
Thompson.  You  need  to  just  walk  away.  You  heard
what  the  cops  said  to  all  of  us.  I  don’t  know  what’s
wrong  with  you,  but  high  school  is  over.  This  is
pointless.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do. Now come out

from behind your fairy boyfriend.”

Hunt went to go after Thompson but before he did,

the principal stepped in front of him. We were all so
focused on Thompson we’d missed Mr. Kensington’s
approach completely.

Jackie Nacht

“I believe, Mr. Young, you need to come with me to

my office. I believe we should call the sheriff’s
department to let him know that you have a confession
to the assault of Mr. Long. It seems these other
gentlemen were falsely accused and I believe the sheriff
would like to know the facts once and for all.”

Thompson looked like he had sucked on a lemon. I

couldn’t  help  but  notice  his  eyes  start  to  get  full  with
tears.  If  I  thought  it  was  because  he  was  remorseful,  I
might have felt a little sorry for him, however, I knew it
was only because he got caught. The worst for him was
that  it  was  his  own  pompous  mouth  that  was  landing
him in trouble. When the sheriff talked to all of us, he’d
seemed  like  he  would  be  extremely  hard  on  the
individual that started it all if more was to surface. We
were  a  small  town  and  the  sheriff  said  he  didn’t  want
any  of  the  bullying  coming  into  the  boundaries  of  his
town.

The principle grabbed Thompson by the neck,

leading  him  toward the  school.  He  stopped  and  turned
to  look  at  me  with  remorseful  eyes.  “Mr.  Long,  you
have  yourself a pleasant summer. Good luck to you in
the future.” He turned back and took Thompson inside.
Maybe  after  the  accident,  the  teachers  were  watching
out for me. Maybe they felt like they’d failed me before
and were in their way trying to make up for it.

Hunt and I were shaking by the time they

disappeared. Volk reached over, “Kale, give me your
keys, I’ll drive us to your house.” Without thinking
twice, I handed him the keys and got in the car shaking.
Hunt sat in the backseat saying nothing.

Turning around, I said, “Hunt, are you okay?”

Kale’s Spirit

Hunt blew out a breath, “Yeah, I just never wanted

to see that guy again. The things he said…I hope they
come down really hard on his ass. Every time I see him,
I see him kicking you in the woods.” With that he bent
over in the backseat and buried his face in his hands. He
was  coming  down  from  a  massive  adrenaline  rush.  I
turned back to give  him  his privacy. That’s what Hunt
wanted most at a time like this. Volk reached over and
grabbed  my  hand,  squeezing  it.  I  looked  over  and  he
was  just  as  affected  by  the  encounter.  His  pale  blue
eyes  burned  like  a  flame.  No  one  said  a  word

—

we all

just let the car ride give us time to let the adrenaline run
its course through our veins.

We pulled up into the driveway and got out quietly,

then  walked  into  the  house  to  the  sound  of  familiar
laughter.  The  three  of  us  entered  the  kitchen  to  see
Farkas sitting with cookies and milk at the island while
my  mom  was  leaning  over  laughing  with  him.  Farkas
looked like he was in heaven as he continued to eat the
homemade  snicker  doodles  while  taking  big  gulps  of
milk. I didn’t know his story, but I knew he really liked
my mom a lot.

Farkas looked over at us smiling, “Hey guys,” His

smile vanished as he saw our faces, “What’s wrong?”

Hunt sat next to him at the island, Volk sat across

and I went to the fridge to retrieve three more glasses of
milk.  Hunt  went  on  to  explain  what  happened  in  the
parking  lot.  My  mother  looked  over  at  me  and  began
fussing  looking  for  new  wounds.  I  wanted  to  tell  my
mom  that  words  don’t  leave  visual  marks  but  I  didn’t
want  her  to  feel  worse,  so  I  just  let  her  fuss.  What
started  to  loosen  all  of  us  finally  was  when  my  mom

Jackie Nacht

went over to Volk and Hunt and  began checking them
out. Volk  looked serene while Hunt  looked like  a deer
in  headlights.  I  don’t  think  he  ever  had  anyone  fuss
over him a day in his life.

I needed to save Hunt from my mom, “We’re fine,

Mom. No one even laid a finger on any of us.”

“I hope they really nail that little shit.” Yep, I loved

my mom.

“Where are you boys going to be tonight?”
“If it’s okay with you, Wulf and the others wanted

me to stay the night and celebrate there.”

“Of course it’s okay. Do you need me to make

something for you all?”

I was about to say no when Farkas piped up, “Could

you, Mom?”

Mom? Okay, I officially had a younger brother. Ooh,

I could have fun with this.

“Sure thing, sweetheart. What do you want me to

make?”  I  noticed  my  mom  was  asking  Farkas  and  not
me.  I  wanted  to  laugh  but  knew  Farkas  was  eating  all
this up.

“Lasagna again?”
“Sure thing. It’s my boy’s favorite.”
Volk perked up, “Can you show me how to make

it?”

My mom smiled at him, “Go and wash your hands,

while I get the ingredients out.”

In a matter of a few weeks, my pack had fully

immersed  themselves  in  my  family’s  life.  Now  it  was
their  family.  It  was  easy  to  forget  about  Thompson
when I got to look at how happy everyone close to me
was, including me.

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter 10

e got over to the cabin around five in the evening
with lasagna in hand. My mom had written

instructions on top to show us  how to warm  it up. We
walked  in  and  Volk  immediately  took  it  and  began  to
preheat the oven. Volk looked so proud that he’d helped
my  mom.  By  the  end  of  making  it,  my  mom  was  just
pointing  things  out  and  Volk  was  mostly  doing  it
independently. My mom said she would work with him
all summer until he took his culinary classes in the fall.
I  had  a  feeling  Volk  was  going  to  be  a  very  talented
chef one day.

It was amazing watching the guys eat lasagna at my

house,  then  turning  around  and  watching  it  in  their
environment.  Their  table  manners  went  out  the  door.
Loud  moans,  and  some  dinner  rolls  flew  through  the
air. The wolves loved that part. They ate the rolls with
gusto.  My  mom  found  out  about  all  our  wolves  and
bought a bunch of bulk food for them. They were lying
around on their backs because their bellies were so full.
She  even  said  I  could  bring  Phelan  home  with  me
sometimes.

After we ate dinner, all of us went into the basement

Jackie Nacht

to watch a movie. I found out this was the family room
for  all  of  them.  It  held  a  large  screen  T.V.  that they’d
bought  the  previous  summer  from  pooling  their  lawn
job money. It had a couch that had seen better days but
was  impossible  not  to  fall  asleep  on  it.  There  was  no
entertainment  center

—

instead, the floor in front of the

T.V.  was  covered  with  game  consoles,  DVD  player,
games, and piles of  movies. In the corner was a bunch
of  blankets  where  the  wolves  would  make  a  giant
puppy pile and sleep for the remainder of the night.

Mahigan and Gayl brought down a cooler full of pop

and water so no one had to go running up and down the
stairs.  Wulf  came  down  caring  five  various  bags  of
chips.  I  quickly  snatched  the  barbeque.  I  would  have
taken the Doritos but that’s not best on your breath and
when you’re trying to impress a couple boys…Hunt and
Volk  sat  on  each  side  of  me  and  shared  from  my  bag.
We watched two movies before the warmth of Volk and
Hunt  had  my  eyes  getting  heavy  lidded.  In  no  time,  I
was fast asleep.

I woke up to complete silence. Looking around,

everyone was gone except for Wulf sitting in a beat up
recliner across from me reading a book. He looked at
me when I went to sit up.

“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s a little after midnight. Everyone else went to

bed for the night.”

“Wow, I’m a real partier.”
“You’re fine just the way you are. I think that’s what

the  problem  is  with  you  not  being  able  to  choose
between  Volk  and  Hunt.  You’re  finally  just  learning
that  it’s  okay  to  be  just  yourself,  and  you  haven’t  had

Kale’s Spirit

enough  time  to  adjust.  You  want  to  make  them  both
happy,  but  you’re  afraid  of  hurting  the  other  one
because  you’re  not  confident  in  your  own  skin  yet.
They  have  a  similar  problem.  Volk  thinks  he  can’t
protect you, Hunt thinks you’ll be happier with Volk.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Then make a decision. They both care for you, but I

know  whoever  you  don’t  choose  will  easily  become  a
very close friend. You won’t lose one of them if  that’s
what  you’re  worried  about.  We’re  pack,  connected
deeper than brothers.”

In the last month, that was what had become my

greatest fear. I was so afraid of losing one of them, I
couldn’t move forward. “You really think I won’t lose
either one of them?”

Wulf looked me right in the eye, “I know you won’t.

I’m heading to bed. Think about it. You already
know

—

that’s why I talked to you tonight. I just didn’t

want  the  fear  keeping  you  back.  Goodnight,  Kale,  and
remember  everyone  else  cares  for  you  like  a  brother.
Your decision won’t change that.”

With those parting words, Wulf made his way up the

stairs  to  leave  me  to  my  thoughts.  Fear  had  been
overruling  my  decision.  I  knew  who  I  wanted  to  be
with,  I  just  was  afraid  of  losing  one  of  them  and  my
new friends. Now that I had the go ahead from Wulf, I
felt ready.

I sat on the couch and collected myself for a

moment. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go see
him. Would it be too forward to go into his room and
just climb into his bed? He had at my place all the time.
Why did it feel so different here? Then I knew why. My

Jackie Nacht

intentions  to  go  up  there  were  not  just  to  hold  one
another  for  the  night.  I  wanted  to  cement  our
relationship  with  something  more.  How  much  more
would  depend  on  both  of  us,  but  I  wanted  more  than
cuddling  tonight.  With  determination  I  got  up  off  the
couch and walked up to the guy who was the one.

Fork in the Road
If you want Kale’s happily ever after to be Hunt,

turn the page to

Chapter Hunt, page 65.

If you want Kale to be with Volk, turn to

Chapter

Volk, page 74

Kale’s Spirit

Chapter Hunt

opened the door to Hunt’s room. This was the first
time I had ever been in his room. It was exactly how

I would picture Hunt’s room to be. It was done in dark
browns and tans, completely masculine with dark wood
furniture and a king size bed. The bed was covered with
a dark chocolate plushy comforter. I looked over to see
that  Hunt  was  awake,  looking  at  me.  Extremely
nervous, I knew what coming here tonight would result
in.  I  felt  ready  but  it  didn’t  mean  I  wasn’t  nervous  as
hell.

Hunt’s amber eyes shone in the darkness. I only saw

understanding and love in them. He knew it was a hard
decision  for  me  to  make.  Volk  meant  a  lot  to  me  and
wouldn’t  begrudge  me  for  those  feelings.  He  quietly
lifted  the  covers,  a  silent  invitation  for  me  to  join  him
with no pressure involved.

I quickly took off my shoes, socks, jeans, and t-shirt,

then climbed under the covers in my boxer briefs. Hunt
immediately pulled me to his chest and covered me up.
I  held  him  like  a  lifeline  to the  unknown.  His  strength
seeped  into  my  shaky  limbs.  Strong  arms  rubbed
against  me  and  leaned  in  to  sniff  my  hair.  It  reminded

Jackie Nacht

me of how different our sizes were. Hunt made me feel
like I would never feel pain again, that he’d protect me
no matter what.

Suddenly, I was completely ready for everything that

was  about  to  happen.  I  looked  up  into  Hunt’s  eyes,
mirroring  the  same  desire  as  I  was  having.  He  moved
first,  rolling  over  on  top  of  me,  and  took  my  lips  into
the  first of  many kisses we would experience together.
It was gentle  but  firm. His  hands started to move over
my  body.  I  reciprocated  with  my  hands.  For  the  first
time,  we  were  at  liberty  to  learn  each  other’s  body.  I
had  craved  to  do  this  since  the  pond.  Things  were
starting to get heavy pretty  fast and then Hunt stopped
what he was doing.

“Are you sure?” he panted.
I was. I gave him a little nod

—

the green light for us

to proceed.

He bent his head back down to kiss me as he reached

for  my  boxer  briefs.  I  clumsily  reached  for  his.  We
weren’t in sync at all. Everything was a little messy, we
might  have  had  to  actually  read  the  directions  on  the
box of supplies, but we laughed it off. When you were
with  the  right  one,  even  fumbling  your  way  through  it
was perfect.

I always pictured my first time waking up next to

someone as them spooning, kissing on my neck, telling
me how perfect I was or if being sexy was a crime, I’d
be guilty as charged. Should have known better. What I
woke up to was me completely frozen, with not a stitch
of blanket on me. I rolled over and saw that my new
boyfriend was peacefully asleep with all the blankets

Kale’s Spirit

wrapped around him. A cover hog! Grabbing the covers
to yank them off, I halted when I got a look at his face.
For the first time since I met him, he looked a lot
younger than nineteen.

So instead of waking him, I watched him for a few

minutes  before  I  ventured  into  the  bathroom  to  take
care  of  business.  As  I  was  washing  my  hands  after
using  the  restroom  I  looked  up  into  the  mirror.  “Holy
shit!” I knew I was sore from the various activities last
night  but  I  was  covered  in  hickies…love  bites?
Whatever.  My  entire  chest  and  neck  looked  like  Hunt
nibbled me up.

I blushed at the memory of my first time. Hunt went

really easy on me, especially since it was his first time,
too. He was as inexperienced as me. Hearing a lot of
stories, I knew how painful it could be. I was sore, but
it was definitely something I wanted to do again with
Hunt, soon.

Hunt rushed in, “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m covered! What are my parents going to say?”
“Kale, they’ll be fine. They’re okay with you being

gay.”

“This has nothing to do with me being gay! It has to

do  with  my  parents  having  evidence  of  my  sex  life.  I
don’t  want  them  to  know that  you  sucked  all  over  me
like  a  damn  Hoover.  Not  that  I  didn’t  enjoy  it.  Do  I
want  to  see  hickies  on  my  mom?  Ewww!  I’m  blind!  I
can’t get the visual out of my head now!”

“You’re being over dramatic. Wear a long sleeve

and they don’t have to see that big fat one by your
nipple there.”

I covered the hickey and gave him my all-time stink

Jackie Nacht

eye, which only made him start laughing at me. “Are
you laughing at me? You are!” He was and he couldn’t
seem to catch his breath. Hunt was bending over
laughing at me. The ass.

“You know my mom, Hunt. The whole damn

neighborhood will hear how her son was deflowered
through her kitchen window. She has a voice that
carries to the next county.”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it so much. You were

loud enough last night to take care of that on your own.
At least she’ll be cool about it. You’re lucky.” He was
right, of course. I couldn’t ask for better parents. They
loved me and I knew that wasn’t always the case. Look
at the other guys. They were tossed out because they
were a little different in who they loved. Wait a minute,
did he just say I was a loud lover?

I walked over to him. Hunt straightened up to look at

me with  his  now watery eyes  from  laughing. Reaching
up,  I  put  my  arms  around  his  neck,  “You’re  right,  of
course.”  I started to nibble along the sides of  his  neck.
For  some  reason  he  had  none  on  him.  Was  it  his  beta
spirit that made him feel like he had to mark me? I was
going to have to remedy that. If I was going to wear his
mark

—

hmm I liked the sound of that

—

well he was

going to wear mine, too.

Hunt starting rubbing the back of my head and

moaned, “What are you up to? Don’t you want to go
over and get breakfast at the diner? I’m sure the guys
will be leaving soon.”

I continued to suck on his neck, “Okay, just give me

a couple more minutes.”

Hunt chuckled at me again but he did let me have

Kale’s Spirit

my way. I wasn’t the only one that was loud.

I was full of anxiety about meeting the rest of the

guys at the diner. We ended up taking a little more than
a couple minutes, so they yelled at us through the door,
to  meet  us  there.  My  stomach  was  full  of  butterflies
from being anxious to see Volk. I never wanted to hurt
him. I just felt that Hunt was the one for me. Hunt must
have  realized  how  nervous  I  was  because  he  held  my
hand the entire way there. He was just as nervous, too.
He  cared  about  Volk  like  a  little  brother.  No  one
wanted to see him hurting.

Hunt led us all the way to the back booth. It was a

circular  booth  with  Volk  in  the  back.  Hunt’s  hand
pressed on my back as he guided me to sit next to Volk.
Settling  down  I  let  out  a  big  sigh  and  looked  up  into
Volk’s  bright  eyes.  I  didn’t  want  this  to  go  down  in
front  of  everyone  like  this,  much  preferring  to  explain
my decision in private.

Volk reached over and hugged me tight. He

whispered  in  my  ear,  “It’s  okay,  Kale.  Hunt  is  a
wonderful  person.  I’m  so  happy  for  you.”  He  pulled
back to look me straight in the eye to verify that he was
in  fact  all  right.  He  was  being  completely  honest  with
me.

“I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing for you to be sorry about. Never be

sorry for falling in love with someone. I can handle
being your friend. Can we be friends?”

“Of course!” That was all that needed to be said. It

seemed Wulf knew his pack very well.

Wulf called the waitress over and we all ordered our

Jackie Nacht

breakfast. Everything was going to be okay. I had my
first boyfriend and friends that were tried and true. I
was a very fortunate person.

That day we all decided to give me round two on

learning to run with Phelan. He had been excited to run
and  swim  all  day.  I  was  a  little  more  confident  this
time. This was  my second go at it and  it was daylight.
My eyes were getting better at night but I could see the
underbrush  clearly  through  the  beams  of  light  coming
through the trees. Phelan seemed to be more sure footed
today too. He was off running with Lawler and Cayden.
Hunt was staying close by me today, reaching out every
now  and  then  to  steady  me.  I  was  also  getting  a  lot
faster, actually keeping up with the pack today.

The weird thing is that I could start to feel Phelan’s

emotions.  Every  day  our  spirits  were  entwining  more
and  more.  He  seemed  to  have  a  way  at  looking  at  me
and  I  would  know  exactly  what  he  needed.  Hunt  said
Phelan and I would get even closer as time went on.

We finally got to the bank of the stream. Everyone

was taking off their clothes to get ready to go into the
stream. I grabbed Hunt’s arm. “Hunt, do you ever
wonder why we were picked by the wolves?”

“Wulf talked to us about this a couple years ago. He

said he thought it was that we needed them and this was
their way of helping us belong. Their spirit senses the
lone human calling out to the lone wolf. That night you
were hurt, Phelan guided us to you. He somehow knew
that you were in trouble and knew you were meant to
be with him.”

A steak was in order for Phelan. He had saved my

life that night, then. Without him leading the others to

Kale’s Spirit

help me out, Thompson would never have stopped. I
remember how brave he was coming out from behind
the trees to take me into the pack.

“Come on, Kale, let’s enjoy the night. I wanted to

show you how much fun it can be in the water.”

He took off toward the water with me fast on his

heels.

One month later
Hunt and I walked into my house as sweaty grassy

messes.  It  was  a  busy  day,  cutting  twenty  yards.  We
were  all  sporting  dark  tans  from  the  long  days  in  the
sun. A lot of the guys went back to the house to jump in
the  stream  with  the  wolves.  Hunt  and  I  decided  we
would take showers at my house and spend some alone
time  in  my  room.  My  parents  were  really  cool  about
Hunt and me being together. I lucked out that one of the
schools that accepted me was the school that Hunt was
going to. My parents helped us find off campus housing
that  would  let  us  have  pets.  It  was  a  bit  hectic  but  I
think  my  parents  were  happy  that  I  was  going  to  start
my freshman cores in the fall. They thought getting into
the  college  atmosphere,  that  I  would  figure  out  my
niche  soon  enough.  They  were  happy  that  I  wasn’t
going alone.

We walked into the house to see we were beat there

by Farkas. His dirty work boots were lying by the front
door.  He  was  spending  a  lot  of  time  with  my  parents
lately  and  they  were  eating  it  up.  My  mom  had
approached  me  the  other  day  saying  Farkas  wanted  to
try going to public school next year. Seemed they were
in  the  process  of  turning  the  fourth  bedroom  that  was

Jackie Nacht

used as a computer room  into a room  for Farkas. Hunt
and  I  had  talked  to  Wulf  about  it  and  even  though  he
looked a little sad, he thought it was best for Farkas.

Hunt and I made our way up to my room where we

hopped in the shower and rinsed off together. We loved
to wash each other and have a little fun in the process.
Let’s put it this way, we were always squeaky clean
when we got out.

We both put on mesh shorts after our shower just in

case  anyone  wanted  to  pop  in.  I  went  down  and  got
Hunt  and  me  a  couple  sandwiches.  I  looked  into  the
family  room  to  see  that  Farkas  was  watching  a  movie
with  my  parents. He  looked so content  laughing  at the
comedy that was playing on the screen.

Hunt was setting up a new game I had just gotten

when I walked into the room. He walked over quickly
and grabbed his plate. “Thanks, this looks great.”

“You’re welcome. The chef has prepared a ham

sandwich with ruffles. Please give extra points for
presentation.”

“Yeah, the M & M smiling in the bread is pure

talent, for a toddler.”

I stuck my tongue out at him.
In between bites Hunt asked, “You ready for next

year?”

Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I said, “Yeah, I

am. I think Farkas is going to help my parents out a
lot.”

“Does that bother you, him living here next year?”
“No! I think he needs some maternal love and my

mom has a lot to give. I think it’s best for him, plus I
always wanted a little brother.”

Kale’s Spirit

“He never talked about what happened to him

before.  We  just  found  him  outside  the  grocery  store
when  he  was  twelve  during  winter  without  a  coat.  We
took  him  home  and  Jalapeño  entwined  his  spirit  with
him.”

“I’m happy he found his way here, since I’m going

to  school  with  you  in  the  fall.”  I  leaned  over  and took
his  plate  off  his  lap  before  I  began  kissing  him.  He
opened  his  mouth  and  I  tasted  Hunt  himself.  Hunt
began  rubbing  my  cheek  with  his  thumb.  I  loved  the
feel  of  his  rough  hand  on  my  face.  It  jolted  me  every
time.

“I love you Hunt,” I murmured between kisses.
“I love you, too, Kale. I always will.”

Jackie Nacht

Chapter Volk

stepped into the room to see that Volk was sound
asleep. He looked so peaceful sleeping in a pile of

blue fluffy pillows and blankets. The only way I was
able to find him was his shock of white hair that stood
out against those deep blues. His mouth was slightly
parted, making him look completely edible.

I walked over to sit on the edge of the bed and

reached out to gently pet his soft downy hair. Volk’s
eyelids slowly parted and then he looked up at me.
“Kale, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Then, I took the initiative and

leaned over and kissed him. Volk let out a whimper and
pulled me down on top of him. There was a little
problem with the covers being between us but I was too
absorbed into the kiss to pull away. Volk tried to fix the
problem by kicking his legs to push them down. I was
going to be singing tenor if he kept it up.

I quickly sat up and threw them off him, noticing he

was sleeping in plaid pajama bottoms. I looked up at
him and realized he was smiling but shaking like a leaf.
“Kale,” he whispered, “I don’t think I’m ready yet. I
love you but I’m scared.”

Kale’s Spirit

“Volk, we don’t have to do everything tonight. I

love you too. We have all the time in the world. If we
just end up kissing all night, I’m okay with that. I just
want to be here with you.” I gave him a soft kiss on his
trembling lips.

“Hunt can protect you better.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I love you. You are my equal

in every way. I don’t need protection, I need someone
to stand by me and be my partner. You’re that guy,
Volk. I just need you to love me, that’s all.”

“I do love you, Kale, so much. I’ve wanted more for

so long…I’m just so happy you’re here.”

I took my shirt and jeans off and got into bed with

Volk in my boxer briefs. We held each other kissing for
the  longest  time.  Our  hands  roamed  our  smooth  skins.
We  were  exactly  the  same  size  and  shape.  The  only
difference  was  his  hair  was  light  next  to  my  darkness.
We  never went any  further than kissing that night. We
would both know when we would be ready.

One week later
Hunt and I sat on the tailgate of Wulf’s truck eating

our lunch. The day was getting hot and we had ten more
lawns to complete before we could call it quits for the
day. It was the first time we had been alone together
since Volk and I got together.

“Hunt, I’m so sorry,” I looked down at my half eaten

sandwich

—I’d lost

my appetite all of a sudden.

“Why are you sorry? Volk and you are perfect for

each other. This past week watching the two of you
together made me realize I cared for you, but there is an
intensity between the two of you that was lacking

Jackie Nacht

between us. It doesn’t mean we can’t be friends
though.”

“I would like very much to be your friend.”
“Someone’s got to keep you from getting Volk into

trouble.”

I looked at him haughtily, “My mother taught me to

be a perfect gentleman.”

“Ha!” Hunt looked up at the sky seriously, “You will

always have my friendship.”

Volk walked over to us slowly, “Is everything

okay?”

Hunt started to laugh, “Yeah, just straightening your

boy out here. He’s been worried that I’d be mad at him.
I’ll tell you what I told him, I’m good, really happy for
both of you. I’ll just be happy to have both your
friendship.”

Volk’s shoulders seemed to relax, “I’d love that. I

heard you were starting at Northern in the fall.”

“Yep, Cayden and I found a tiny place for us to live

off campus. I’ll miss you guys terrible. You have to
make sure you come and visit me.”

Volk grabbed my hand, “We’ll make sure to come

see you.”

Hunt got up from the tailgate and crushed his

sandwich wrap. He walked over and hugged both of us
at the same time. “Take care of each other.” He turned
and went to help Farkas out with the backpack blower.
He was trying to be strong for us, but I had a feeling he
cared more than he was letting on.

“Come on, Kale, sit, you need to eat more. We have

a long day ahead of us.” I had a feeling Volk was going
to take Hunt’s word to heart.

Kale’s Spirit

Two months later
“Kale, don’t forget your pillows.” My mother came

rushing out of the house with two pillows in hand. Volk
and I were moving into a rented house between our two
campuses. He was going to culinary school while I was
going to the neighboring college to begin core work. I
was hoping to get into the graphic arts department next
year. Lawler and Phelan were waiting for us in the
backseat with the windows down.

My mother reached out and hugged us both. “You

took take care of each other. Make sure you lock your
doors at night and use protection.”

“Mom! I can’t believe you said that!”
“Just do it. I put the box in your pillowcase.”
Volk chokingly laughed next to me. He was fire

engine red with embarrassment. I was so used to my
mother, nothing she said anymore could embarrass me.
She might surprise me by buying us condoms, but not
embarrass me.

I saw Farkas coming up behind my mom laughing at

our  predicament.  Farkas  had  decided  to  go  to  public
school  next  year  and  live  with  my  parents.  I  think  he
and  my  parents  were  building  a  special  bond  that
Farkas  needed  badly.  There  were  a  lot  of  times  Volk
and  I  would  come  downstairs  to  see  Farkas  sitting  on
the  couch  watching  comedies  with  my  parents.  My
parents  were  just  as  excited  to  have  him  stay.  I  don’t
think they were ready to be empty nesters yet.

My dad walked up shaking his head. I knew he’d

heard every word that came out of my mom’s mouth.
He gave me one of his great bear hugs. “Take care, son.

Jackie Nacht

Volk, have a good year. You learned from the best.” He
patted his flat stomach for emphasis.

I walked up to Farkas, “Good luck next year. Call if

you need to talk.”

Farkas hugged me tight, “Thanks, Kale, for

accepting  me  into  your  family.”  I  squeezed  my  new
little  brother  as  tight  as  I  could,  wanting  to  be  a  good
big  brother.  He  was  going  to  have  to  live  his  role  as
little  brother  though.  He  would  eventually  be  able  to
wear  his  favorite  Calvin’s  again,  after  he  unthawed
them  from  the  freezer.  Was  I  immature?  Yeah,  but  I
was  learning to be a big  brother too. There  were  some
fun perks.

Volk and I got into the front seat to begin our two-

hour drive to our new home. We waved goodbye to the
three of them, promising to come home for
Thanksgiving.

That night, Volk was pretty quiet. He hadn’t said

much during the unpacking of our stuff and getting the
wolves settle in. I wondered if he was having trouble
leaving the pack. It also brought out a question that I
had longed to ask.

We were sitting down to eat a casserole that Volk

whipped up when I asked. “Volk, do you ever wonder
why we were picked by the wolves?”

“Wulf talked to us about this a couple years ago. He

said he thought it was that we needed them and this was
their way of  helping us  belong. Their  lone wolf  senses
your  lonely  spirit.  That  night  you  were  hurt,  Phelan
guided us to  you. He somehow knew that  you were  in
trouble and knew you were meant to be together.”

I looked over to a sleeping Phelan. He had grown a

Kale’s Spirit

lot this summer and lost all his puppy fluff. I would go
out tomorrow and get him a big fat steak. Phelan had
saved my life. He led me to Volk. I was forever
thankful.

The casserole was delicious. It was an exact copy of

my mom’s. I was just finishing the last bite when Volk
whispered in his soft voice, “I’m ready, Kale. I know
you have been waiting for me, and I’m ready. I want to
be with you tonight.”

This is what had bothered him all day. He’d been

thinking about our first night on our own together. I felt
a little lame that I kept thinking about how to keep my
arms from falling off from moving in. My silence must
have made him unsure.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He began

to fidget with his napkin in his lap.

“Come on, we can clean the dishes later. Let’s take a

shower and wash this sweat off.” I reached out to him
and he took my hand.

We made our way down to our room and into the

bathroom.  Both  of  us  stripped  before  we  climbed  into
the  shower  together.  This  was  the  second  time  we
showered together. The first time I was in so much pain
from  the  beating  that I  really  couldn’t  do  anything  but
stand there in pain while Volk washed me. I wanted this
one  to  be  all  about  Volk.  Grabbing  the  shampoo,  I
poured some into my hand and rubbed it into his white
blonde  hair.  Loving  the  softness  of  it,  I  took  my  time
massaging his scalp and making sure his muscles turned
into jello.

“Oh, that feels wonderful.” Volk tilted his head back

in the water to rinse off. His beautiful long neck was

Jackie Nacht

exposed  to  me.  I  leaned  in  unable  to  resist  kissing  it,
tasting  him through the refreshing water running  down
his  body. Sucking on his  neck a  bit, I  leaned  back  and
saw a small red mark there. I loved seeing him with my
mark  on  him.  My  body  worked  on  its  own  accord,
moving  toward  Volk  to  press  him  close  to  me.  We
began  kissing  softly  at  first,  then  the  kisses  turned
hungry  as  we  began  rubbing  against  each  other.  My
body  was  getting  to  a  point  of  no  return.  Volk  was
panting  through  the  steam  in  the  shower  while  biting
onto my shoulder.

Breathing heavily Volk said, “We need to wash

quick

—

I don’t want our first time in this tiny shower. I

have everything ready for us by the bed.”

We backed away from each other and quickly

finished our shower without touching each other. We
knew that it would only take one touch and we would
never see the bedroom.

Volk jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel

that was sitting on the sink before wiping himself down
haphazardly.  It  actually  looked  a  little  funny.  He  was
missing  spots  all  over  his  body.  Stepping  out  of  the
shower,  I  grabbed  my  own  towel  and  guided  us  both
into  the  bedroom.  I  wrapped  the  towel  quickly  around
my  waist  and  took  Volk’s  towel  from  him.  I  slowly
wiped  him  down,  making  sure  I  got  all  the  spots  he
missed. Volk took the towel from around my waist and
began reciprocating.

Volk began walking to the bed, “Come on, Kale,

we’re ready for this.”

I walked over to him and got into bed next to him.

We pulled the covers over us and lay there looking at

Kale’s Spirit

each  other  for  a  few  minutes.  I  could  see  the  love
shining  in  his  eyes  and  knew  he  was  seeing  the  same
thing in my eyes. Volk leaned in first and began kissing
me. It was soft, slow kisses. Volk and I  might have not
gone  all  the  way,  but  in  the  past  few  months  we’d
learned a lot about each other’s bodies. We knew what
spots to touch that would make the other one crazy.

We took our time that night. It was something we

had been building up to for months. There was a little
pain, even with all the preparation we had been doing
for weeks. We were going to be sore the next day.

That night I lay there hugging Volk as we slept with

limbs tangled together. It didn’t matter how big the bed
was, we always ended up in a puppy pile in the middle
of  the  bed.  I  thought  back  to  when  I  first  met  Volk.  I
was  in  terrible  shape,  but  his  voice  was  one  of  the
things I first fell in love with. He was calming in a time
when I was really stressed out with life. He got to me in
a  way  no  one  else  did.  I  loved  how  he  just  had  to  be
around me now and I was content.

“Kale, what’s wrong?” Volk said sleepily.
I kissed him on the top of his head, “Nothing. Just

thinking how much I love you. I’m really happy we’re
starting our life together, is all.”

Volk kissed me back softly, “I love you too,

sweetheart. Now quit thinking so hard and go to sleep.
We have a busy day tomorrow.”

Volk was always trying to take care of me, always

would.  We  were  partners  for  life.  I  tightened  my  hold
on  him  and  listened  to  his  breathing  as  I  fell  into
slumber, dreaming of the years to come.

About the Author

Jackie Nacht is happily married to her husband for over
nine years. She is currently a stay at home mom where
her  days  are  spent  playing  with  blocks,  dinosaurs,  and
taking  her  little  ones  to  the  park.  At  night,  she  is
typically  curled  up  reading  a  book  or  writing  on  her
laptop,  while  her  feet  are  tucked  under  her  hubby  to
keep them warm.

Please contact or visit her at:

Jackie.nacht@yahoo.com

www.jackienacht.com

www.jackienacht.com/blog

https://www.facebook.com/#!/jackie.nacht