“Okay, that sounds good to me. Perhaps we can go out somewhere—depending on when the conference finishes. I haven’t even looked at the schedule yet, have you?”
“Nope. Didn’t have time.”
“God, we’re awful, aren’t we? So-called medical professionals sitting in a restaurant feeding our faces and drinking when we should be preparing for a day of learning.”
Isaac snorted. “Yeah, I suppose we are. We’ll just have to be extra attentive tomorrow to make up for it.”
“Don’t forget we’re going to bed soon too.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d say it counts as an early night for me. What about you?”
His tongue and brain were so tied in knots at the other man’s words that Isaac couldn’t formulate a reply. Instead he forced himself to nod and was saved from any further embarrassment by the arrival of their wine. “Thank you,” he managed to choke out. “Do you need my key card? Or just the room number?”
“Just the number is fine, sir, thank you.”
Isaac gave the required information to the waiter, who thanked him and left. He pushed his chair back and stood up. Grabbing the wine and the two glasses, he said, “Ready then?” He sounded brave to his own ears, confident even, but that definitely wasn’t the case. It was more that he wanted to firmly jump over that line of no return before his nerves failed him altogether. He was going to have sex with a hot almost-stranger, and that was that. Christ, he hoped Aaron had condoms and lube.
“Yep.” Aaron stood up too, and they made their way out of the restaurant toward the elevator.
Looking around to make sure they weren’t being overheard, Isaac asked, “Your room then?” It was silly and he knew it. He was carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses—it was bloody obvious they were going to have a nightcap. And why did it matter? Whether they were friends, brothers, lovers, whatever, it was nobody else’s business. It wasn’t as if they were going to get down to it on the reception desk, was it?
“Fine by me,” Aaron replied, pressing the call button for the lift. One of the cars was already on their floor, so they stepped straight in and Aaron selected his floor—the one above Isaac’s.
They weren’t joined by anyone else, so the journey up to the seventh floor was eerily quiet. Isaac’s mind was a maelstrom of thoughts, and he suspected that Aaron’s was too. Seconds later the lift sounded its arrival at their chosen floor and they engaged in a silly after-you-no-after-you dance before they eventually jumped out to avoid the doors closing on them. Aaron moved in front and led Isaac down the corridor to his room. Retrieving his key card from his pocket, he pushed it into the slot and waited for the green light before removing it and opening the door, gesturing Isaac inside.
Sucking in a deep breath, Isaac stepped over the threshold, pausing while Aaron switched on the lights. He didn’t want to head farther into the room only to find that Aaron was messy and left stuff everywhere for an unsuspecting visitor to trip over.
When light filled the room, Isaac quickly discovered that wasn’t the case. The man was tidy—tidier than him, even. Stepping over to the table in the sitting area, he put down the wine and glasses, then dropped into one of the comfortable leather armchairs. He’d gotten this far, now he just needed a little more liquid courage and he’d be all right. Resisting the temptation to roll his eyes at his own antics, Isaac wondered what his brother would say if he could see him right now. He’d be pleased he was having fun, of that much he was certain, but he’d probably be mildly embarrassed to have a brother who messed about so much when it came to having this particular kind of fun.
Matthew, despite his staid attitude in so many other areas, had always been the forward one when it came to sex. He was forever fighting off the attentions of women in the village, but when he wanted a woman he pretty much always got her. No qualms, no messing about. He was equally efficient when it came to moving on too. Never got attached to anyone—or rarely, anyway—and always managed to find a way to send his lovers on their way with smiles on their faces and no misconceptions about seeing him again. How he did it, Isaac had no idea, but he was going to do his best to channel his brother’s attitude. He didn’t have to deal with the entanglement part, but he could make the first move on Aaron—all he had to do was decide what he wanted and go for it.
Aaron sat down on the seat opposite him and reached for the bottle of wine. “Want one now?” he asked.
Nodding, Isaac said, “Yes, please, that would be lovely. I hope it’s okay—in hindsight letting the waiter decide probably wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t like us—it’s probably bottled piss.”
Sniggering, Aaron pulled off the foil covering the bottle’s cork, then rooted around in his pocket. Producing a set of keys, he fiddled around with a key ring and Isaac realized it was one of those nifty gadgets that included a bottle opener.
“Magic, eh?” Aaron said, sticking the pointy end into the cork and making short work of it. “I’m always prepared, me.” Pouring two glasses, he replaced the bottle on the table. The two men reached for their wine at the same time, clinking their glasses together.
“Another toast,” Isaac said. “To you being prepared.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow, clearly getting the intentional double entendre, and replied, “To me being prepared.”
Then without breaking eye contact, they both drank deep. Isaac longed for the pleasant buzz and feelings of bravery and inertia that alcohol gave, but it wasn’t going to happen. Gritting his teeth, he told himself it was a good thing. The last thing he needed was to get pissed and do or say something he’d regret. There was no need to be drunk—he liked Aaron, he was pretty sure Aaron liked him, so what else was there to worry about?
A silence that soon stretched into awkwardness overtook them. Hiding behind his glass a little, Isaac sneaked periodic glances at the other man. It didn’t stop him from jumping when there was a noise. Looking down, he saw that Aaron had placed his empty wine glass on the table and was now peering expectantly at Isaac.
“You still up for this?” Aaron said, running a hand through his hair, which promptly bounced back into the exact same bed-headed position it had been in beforehand.
“Y—yes. Of course.” Downing the last dregs of his wine, he put his glass down next to Aaron’s, wishing like hell his heart wouldn’t pound so damn hard and fast. It was almost painful.
“Good.” Standing, Aaron stepped next to Isaac’s chair and held out a hand. “Come on then. I won’t bite. Unless you ask me nicely.” Wiggling his eyebrows, he let out a bark of laughter.
“That’s all right then. I’ll be sure not to ask!” Taking the other man’s hand, Isaac stood and followed him over to the large bed, kicking his shoes off en route when he saw Aaron do the same.
Once they reached their destination, Aaron turned and looked at Isaac, for once appearing a little shy. “I’m happy to top or bottom. What about you? And I have lube and condoms.”
“I’m happy with either too. It’s been a while, so taking it in turns sounds good to me. And excellent news on the lube and condoms. I think we’re probably going to need plenty of both.”
With that, Isaac took a firm hold of the courage he’d managed to screw up and stepped even closer to his soon-to-be lover. They were the same height, more or less, so all he had to do was lean forward, slip a hand behind Aaron’s neck and pull him in for a kiss. It appeared that Aaron hadn’t shaved since that morning, or possibly the night before, and their considerable stubble scratched together, the sound and sensation sending thrills through Isaac’s body. Their lips pressed harder against each other, tentative yet curious, gentle but needy.
Suddenly Aaron’s hands came down and cupped Isaac’s buttocks through his jeans and pulled him close. Now their crotches were mashed together, two rapidly hardening cocks aching to be touched, pleasured, given release. The act ramped up their passion considerably and their relatively gentle kiss quickly turned into something much more desperate, feral.
The last thought t
hat went through Isaac’s mind before he was lost to arousal was that it was going to be a long, hot night.
Chapter Thirteen
“So we’re going down to the caves this early because…” Isaac said to his brother as they walked out of the village on the main road.
“Because,” Matthew replied, “although Tom assured me him and his stupid friends have seen sense and aren’t going to attempt to follow us down there, I’m being cautious. Overly cautious, I’m sure, but you know the saying—better safe than sorry.”
Isaac nodded. “Fair enough. It’s a small price to pay. And come morning, this will all be over. They’ll know the dead sheep was a tragic one-off and that it was nothing to do with us, and we can forget all about it. Thank God. It’s seemed like a really long month, hasn’t it?”
Something in his brother’s melancholy tone drew a sharp glance from Matthew. “Yeah, I suppose. This isn’t just about the sheep thing, is it?”
They were well out of the village now, almost at the junction where the Eyam road met the Stoney Middleton road. They’d head into a wooded area before long, which used to be a rubbish tip and had now been turned into a pleasant green space popular with hikers, dog walkers and climbers. Those were, for the most part, daytime activities, so they didn’t expect to meet too many people as they headed along to their preferred entrance to the cave system. Still, Isaac looked around to see if there was anyone to overhear their conversation. Unsurprisingly there wasn’t, so he continued.
“No, not really. Obviously that’s been the most horrible thing. But then with Nathaniel turning up and fucking with my head, then the conference—”
“Why?” Matthew said, interrupting his brother. “What happened at the conference?”
Isaac sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said anything. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t be stupid. You can tell me. I may be a grumpy, judgmental old bastard at times, but you’re my brother and I want to be there for you.”
Raising an eyebrow, Isaac said, “Wow. That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
They headed into the trees and bushes now, following the path that clung to the bottom of the cliff face. If they climbed the cliff—or, more sensibly, used the footpath at the very far end—they could get back into Eyam across the fields, passing the Boundary Stone. The road was the much easier, faster option.
Punching his brother lightly on the arm, Matthew replied, “Probably. But I mean it. You’re worrying me now. What happened?”
“Er, I kind of did a ‘you’ and went and had a fling. Well, a two-night stand.”
Matthew frowned. “I don’t understand why that’s a bad thing.”
“Because although it was incredible and did me the world of good in some ways, in other ways it’s messed me up even more.”
“Oh Christ, you’re not crushing on this other guy now, are you? Tell me he lives miles away. On the south coast? In France!”
Isaac rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not crushing on him. He was hot, yes, we got along and it was fun. But it was never going to be any more than that and we both knew that from the word go. And not France, but yes, miles away. It’s not really to do with him. More how I felt afterward. Guilty, as if I shouldn’t have done it, as if I was cheating.” He paused, sucked in a deep breath, ran his hands through his hair. “As if I was cheating on Nathaniel. Now before you say any more, I know that’s ridiculous. Believe me, I fucking know. I can’t cheat on someone I’m not in a relationship with, but it’s just how it felt. I’d hoped a quick shag with someone else would help me get him out of my system, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.”
“I have a plan,” Matthew said immediately.
Turning incredulously to his sibling, Isaac said, “Seriously? What is it?” His eyes were wide, hopeful, and a stab of guilt lanced through Matthew’s gut.
“Ah, fuck. I was only messing about. I was going to suggest killing Nathaniel. That might help.”
“Oh.” Dropping his gaze to the stony path, Isaac’s body slumped, all the fight gone.
“Sorry. It was a crappy joke. Though if you want me to…I will. Just let me finish his garden first. He pays well.”
Isaac snorted, the corners of his lips quirking up, and Matthew grinned. He didn’t say any more, didn’t need to. He’d let his brother get things off his chest, and given that he couldn’t magically wipe away the connection between Isaac and Nathaniel, all he could do was support Isaac and hope it didn’t all blow up in his face.
Suddenly a noise made both men stop in their tracks. Glancing at one another, then back out at the land around them, they watched and listened carefully. After a few seconds, the unmistakable sound of someone whistling hit their eardrums and they relaxed.
“Even those idiots wouldn’t whistle if they were following us,” Matthew said. “And besides, they’d be coming from behind us, not in front.”
“Yeah. It’s probably just a dog-walker.”
A minute or so later they discovered that Isaac was right. They passed the elderly gentleman walking his collie, exchanged nods and pleasantries, then continued toward the Gin entrance, which they used to get into Carlswark cavern. It was a mixture of mines and natural caves that had served their purposes perfectly for many years—since the mines had gone out of use.
Once they reached the opening, they scouted around the surrounding area for a few minutes, making sure there was no one watching, no one passing nearby and definitely no one following them. Satisfied, they took it in turns to clamber down onto the ledge that took them below ground level, then squeeze down the long and narrow passage, twisting, turning, ducking and crawling until they were in the Oyster chamber, where they could stand up straight.
“Phew.” Matthew dropped the backpack he’d been carrying onto the cave floor, then brushed a hand over his hair and clothes to remove all the dusty residue and spider webs, despite knowing he’d have to do it all again when he left the caves the following morning. “Never gets any easier, does it? It’s a good job our metabolisms won’t allow us to get fat, or we’d never get down there.”
“True. I can’t believe those idiots could even think our wolves can get back out of here once we’ve changed. Christ, part of the reason we started changing here was because once we’re in, we’re in.”
Matthew shrugged. “I know, but I think a lot of the villagers still don’t quite believe what happens down here. They’ve never seen it, so they can’t get their heads around it or understand it. So they don’t truly believe. Perhaps they think our wolves are more like cute family pets. The sort that roll on their backs and lie in front of the fire and let you scratch their bellies. Fetch your slippers.”
This time Isaac laughed out loud. “I shudder at the very thought! Well, if you think folks really need an education, maybe next month we could bring a video camera down here. Mount it in the corner somewhere out of the way, and they can see exactly what happens to us, exactly what we change into.”
“Nah. I think it would just make them even more afraid of us than they already are. And it’s not worth taking the risk of having physical evidence of what we are just to prove a point.”
“I know, brother, I know. I just wish we could make them understand, preferably without scaring the shit out of them.”
“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
“Mmm-hmm. So what do we do now? It’s still pretty early. I’m certainly not feeling the urge to change yet.”
Reaching down, Matthew opened up the backpack. He unloaded drinks, sandwiches and snacks, then pulled out a wind-up lamp. Finally he produced a deck of playing cards.
“Food and drink and a game of rummy, perhaps?”
They ate and played various card games until they felt the familiar tingles across their skin that indicated the sun had gone down and the moon was coming up. As one, they gathered up all the litter and stuffed it back into the bag along with the cards and the lamp. Then Matthew retrieved two
large waterproof sacks from the side pocket of the bag. Holding one open, he waited for Isaac to strip and drop his clothes and shoes into the backpack, then they swapped places. Finally they shoved the bulging pack into a crack up near the ceiling of the cavern. They had their routine down to a fine art, and they’d never yet ended up having to walk to the village the following morning with torn clothes. Or worse, none at all. That would be difficult to explain to those not in on the secret.
“You wanna go deeper into the caves?” Matthew asked. “Up into Eyam Passage?”
Isaac shook his head. “No, we’ll be fine here. I reckon if they were coming, they’d have turned up by now. And if they do, surely they won’t be idiotic enough to come in?”
“Probably not. Okay, here it is then.”
Then all they could do was wait. They had the power to initiate the change earlier, but there was no point. It was easier to wait until the moon forced them to, making the entire transition faster and much less painful.
“Okay,” Matthew said, after what felt like forever. “Here we go. See you on the other side, brother.”
Isaac nodded, and after a beat an invisible force made them drop simultaneously to the ground, their hands and knees crashing onto the unforgiving rock floor. But that was the least of their worries. Small fry compared to the agony they experienced as their bones began realigning, their muscles and tendons stretching, popping, tearing, skin stretching and sprouting hair.
Matthew wished, and not for the first time, that their human consciousness was not involved in the change. Because everything they felt, experienced as they morphed from man to wolf, was imprinted into their memories forever, and of course made them dread each and every time they changed. The pain and discomfort never got any less. The only saving grace was that the process had grown quicker over the centuries, so their agony was that much briefer.