User blog:Breakaway Republic/Crying Wolf- Chapter 6: The Whole of the Moon

Did you ever have one of those dreams where you're falling?

Reading Talia's farewell note felt a lot like that, only I was wide awake as I kept re-reading it. It was almost as though I thought the note's contents would somehow magically alter itself if I read it just one more time.

No such luck.

The urge to crumple up and toss aside Talia's note is strong, but I think better of it. It may very well end up being the only thing that I have left to remember her by.

Somehow this is worse than when Adriana left me. There was some underlying tension leading up to her departure and it wasn't completely unexpected when it finally did happen. However, I'm completely blindsided by Talia's farewell note that I'm re-reading for what must be the hundredth time.

Fuck.

This can't be happening.

I didn't know it at the time, but the scrawny, filthy werewolf beggar with the handmade sign lurking by the off-ramp that I took pity on is the best thing that could've ever happened to me.

She stole my heart.

And now she's gone.

God. Fucking. Damn. It.

Why couldn't I have realized this when she was still under the same roof as me?

She even went ahead and found the ring that I threw out in a fit of rage months ago- long before I even met her.

Talia never did come right out and ask if she should look for the ring- Talia just went ahead and did that on her own. That was something I found both endearing and frustrating about the wolf girl in the fairly short time I known her. Even if I told her that she didn't have to do that for me, I doubt she would've listened.

There seemed to be more to it than her acting out of some sort of debt or obligation. Whenever I'd catch her singing or dancing in an unguarded moment, Talia seemed genuinely happy to be here.

Talia did it because she wanted to do it- she wanted to please me. Because she loved me? But that makes her departure even more inexplicable.

It’s quickly becoming clear that I now have two choices- I can sit here and pout in the darkness and solitude for months on end about how good I had it once upon a time like I did when Adriana left.

Or I can go out there, take my chances with the full moon and go out there and try to find Talia before she disappears forever. Find her and let her know that I want her back, regardless of what she thinks might happen.

Let her know that I miss her and there will always be a place for her here if she wants.

A place where she'd be loved and appreciated every day.

I'm not thinking clearly as I get into the truck and drive off. The first and only place I can really think of while searching for Talia is the old Little League diamond that we went to so many times.

I get as far as the long driveway that leads into the field fast enough, but there's a sturdy, padlocked gate preventing me from driving any further. Normally this isn't an issue since Talia and I get to and from the diamond on foot. However, it looks like I'll have to get the rest of the way on foot tonight.

I park the truck immediately in front of the gate and for some reason feel compelled to leave the hazard lights flashing while I'm off leaving it unattended. On the one hand, it could let passersby know I haven’t ditched it, but on the other hand it could serve as a flashing billboard that said ‘Free Man Meal Here!’ to a particularly astute mamono.

Looking for Talia during the full moon seemed so incredibly out of character for me. I was pretty cautious and guarded to begin with, but even moreso after Adriana had left me. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I had so much to lose if I simply let Talia walk out on me, never to be seen again without me at least trying to find her.

If she still wanted to leave, the least she could do is give me a proper goodbye.

There was a small, abandoned playground and a little gazebo adjacent to the baseball diamond that Talia and I would go to. Little more than a swing set, a seesaw and a merry go round to be honest. In a perfect world, perhaps I would've found Talia sitting on one of the swings, quietly weeping before her eyes lit up at the sight of me, her copper-tipped tail wagging gently- all of this would be a misunderstanding that would quickly be cleared up and we would head on home and live happily ever after and blah blah blah.

Scratch that- in a perfect world, Talia would never have left or had those scars on her face or have been living on the streets to begin with.

This was not a perfect world.

There was no distraught werewolf waiting for me at the diamond or the swing set or the gazebo.

Empty.

However, I sense motion and shine the flashlight’s beam at the swing set. One of the swings was still gently rocking back and forth- as though somebody had been on it just moments ago. There isn't that much of a breeze tonight, either. It could be my imagination, but I'm honestly hoping it is Talia since I have no idea where else I should look for her.

"Talia- are you there?" I call out.

Nothing.

After a few moments of pacing along the treeline, I call out again.

"Talia.....please come back."

I hear a rustling off in the edge of the woods a little further down from me. Even with the flashlight and full moon shining down, I couldn't see very deep into the woods. It sounded more like someone approaching me rather than getting further away.

Maybe it was my imagination. Although Lord knows I wasn't exactly stealthy on my approach. If it was indeed the petite wolf-girl, she'd have ample opportunity to run off.

"Talia?" I ask, trying to compose myself. "Is that you?"

It is definitely NOT Talia.

Illuminated in the beam of my flashlight less than 5 feet away is an ogre- even for an ogre, she's pretty big. I let out a small, involuntary gasp as I take a few steps back.

Even if she was benign and meant me no harm, she would still be an imposing figure.

However, the predatory leer on her face led me to no other conclusion that her intentions are less than benign.

"Well well well....what do we have here?" the gargantuan, green skinned woman cooed menacingly at me. "Don't you know it isn't good for little humies to be out on their own on a full moon? What are you doing here anyways?"

Somehow she doesn’t strike me as being overly-concerned for my well being.

Oh well- time to turn on the charm.

"Looking for my cat- fuck off." I curtly inform her.

"Oooh...well now, little man. If it's pussy you're looking for, I've got one you can play with. All. Night. Long."

I sigh.

"Just curious- are you stupid and deaf or just stupid? What part of ‘Fuck Off' was so hard for you to understand?". Honestly, I really wasn't trying to pick a fight with a seven foot tall ogre woman- I just figured my best defense against her unwelcome advances was to be a complete asshole, which seemingly came so naturally to me.

A scowl was etched on the gargantuan green ogress’ face as she was thinking of an appropriate reply.

A moment later, her clever retort came in the form of a giant green fist sending me flying several feet backwards. My trajectory was altered by a sturdy birch tree a few feet behind me. Reflexively I let out an agonized grunt as I hit the ground and the air escaped my lungs. When I roll over to try and get back up, she's standing right over me.

"Mmm......all I heard was ‘Fuck’, love. And I'm game...." she leers.

I try getting up, but a green foot is now planted squarely on my chest.

"Get off of me...."

"Uh-uh-uh." the Ogress wagged her finger. "And now I heard ‘get me off’. Looks like you're not going anywhere, love."

Mustering all of my strength, I use both arms to grab her leg and try getting the green monster's foot off of me.

Nothing happens. I might as well be trapped under a fallen redwood or solid steel I-beam.

The smirking orge applies more pressure with her foot.

"You should know that there's no getting away from me, but by all means go ahead and try. It's so much fun to watch- gets me nice and hot...."

I say nothing, but try bringing up my right leg to kick her hard enough to get her off balance and try to squeeze out. It glances harmlessly off her lower outer thigh.

She doesn't even look annoyed. Far from it- she seems entertained by my futile efforts. She also had my right leg in an iron grip.

"Hmmmph....normally I like 'em a little younger, but you're plenty feisty, aren't you little humie?" she taunts.

I say nothing- she has me in a no-win scenario. She's getting excited by my struggling and resisting. Asking for any sort of mercy or leniency wouldn't do me any good either.

My quiet and defiant glare is met with a sneer on my adversary's face. She says nothing, put begins pulling on my trapped foot.

"Hmm.....maybe I should make a wish." she taunts.

She pulls harder- to the point where I can't help but cry out in pain.

"No! Ah...damn it! No! No! No! Stop...." I cry out after unclenching my teeth.

"That's it little humie....scream for mama."

"F.....fuck......you..."

With every action I took since leaving the house tonight, I seemed to not only be hitting a new low but digging down even deeper.

More pressure.

"The absolute best part of this? I'm not even affected by the full moon. I just love seeing the look on the face of little bitch boys like you when I have my fun with them! Even if I get caught, I can simply say I wasn't in my right mind because of the lunar cycle...."

I grit my teeth.

"Do you know why I'm telling you all of this humie?" she smirks as a giant green hand clamps over my mouth. "Because there isn't a damn thing you can do about it!"

"Stay the fuck away from me, you psycho!" I cry out, doing my best to maintain a defiant façade.

It isn't working

God damn it....this all happened because I was too dumb and stubborn to say anything to Talia when I had the chance. I'm going to get violated by this hulking tree-sized ogre, and by the time she's finished, she'll probably permanently imprint her Demonic Energy on me. Even if I could somehow get away afterwards and find Talia again, the ogre's DE would almost certainly mark me as off-limits.

And if this not-so-jolly green giantess' pursuit of me was any indication, she liked it rough and clearly didn't bother with the niceties of things like safewords. Certainly the whole concept of 'consent' seemed pretty foreign to her.

Throughout this whole ordeal, a singular thought keeps repeating itself.

Even though I set out to find her at considerable risk to myself, I'll never see Talia again.

Naturally, this thought plunges me further into despair. I just don't care anymore. What little fight I had left in me is gone. There doesn't seem to be any point in resisting or fighting back. At this juncture, my I feel as though my best bet might actually be the ogre being rough enough while having her way with me so I can end up in a coma or just drift away into a sweet, all enveloping dark abyss.

This all happened because I stopped and gave a sad beggar-wolf by the side of the road a lukewarm cup of soda. As hard as I had fallen for Talia, if I had to do it over again, I would've rolled up the window and kept on driving.

Then none of this would've ever happened. I would be sitting down, nice and comfy watching the ballgame with a brew oblivious to the fact that there was a full moon out tonight unless the announcers said something.

Lonely and sad, but unmolested.

But........I never would have known the petite werewolf and the quiet joy she brought to my heart as I'd walk in on her happily singing and swaying in the kitchen. Or the little smartass grin on her face whenever we were playfully bickering. Or the pleasant twilight strolls from the diamond as she asked about the rules of baseball. Or looking into her stunning blue-green eyes that were so full of joy and mischief most of the time.

It hurts so much losing her, but even under these circumstances I can't bring myself to even think that I was better off if we had never met.

I'm  still not ready to accept my fate at the hands of this grabby sociopath when I hear a familiar, meaty-sounding 'thok'. The ogre lets out a startled groan and I can see her rubbing her head. As I notice this, a baseball thumps to the earth between the two of us.

At first, I'm a little confused over what just happened. But in the full moonlight, I can that see the ball almost looks like a regulation Federal League baseball. Kind of like the one Talia chased down at the ballgame we went out to the other day.

That can't be real. An optical illusion conjured up in my moments of despair. If it's real, that could only mean.....

However, my assailant certainly isn't reacting as though it's an optical illusion. Sensing something is terribly amiss, she's rubbing the side of her head while frantically scanning her surroundings. Her attention is no longer on me, but on the possible point of origin of the stitched horsehide missile that just beaned her.

As the ogre's hulking form is towering over me, I make out a shadow blurring over the ground and blocking out the full moon for a moment.

It was an angel with no halo, but rather wolf's ears and a bushy tail.

In the blink of an eye, my lupine savior has her legs wrapped around the ogre's neck and began ferociously clawing at her eyes as she growled. The green giantess bellowed out in fury as she blindly flailed away at the werewolf.

"Get.....off....of.....me!"

The ogre managed to grab hold of the petite werewolf's tail and swung her as though she was competing in the Olympic hammer toss, sending the wolf-girl hurtling towards a nearby oak tree.

Instead of crashing into the tree and crumpling to the ground in an awkward heap, the feisty little she-wolf pivots in midair so that she’s facing the tree and uses her legs to redirect herself, the momentum (with a little assist from her claws) taking her up to the tree’s first limb. In the blink of an eye, the wolf-girl steadied herself on the branch as she turned to face the ogress.

For some reason, I still don’t allow myself to entertain the possibility this lupine figure is Talia until I hear her speak up.

“You’re going to have to do better than that to get rid of me…”

The ogress’ face is fixed in a semi permanent snarl.

"Cheap shot, little bow-wow. Just for that, I'm not gonna share." the not-so-jolly green giant said as she wiped around her eyes, checking for blood.

This doesn’t seem to faze Talia as she leaps down from the tree and closes in on the ogress. Only this time, the ogre is prepared.

The wolf girl swiftly dodges a punch from the ogress, but the other green hand manages to grab Talia’s shirt. Again, the ogress swings Talia around like she’s competing in the hammer toss- the wolf-girl’s feet off the ground. My heart sinks as I realize too late what tall green and surly was going to do as she actually lifts Talia up on the first revolution. The ogre seems to have learned fairly quickly and instead of trying to throw her off again, she slams the petite werewolf into the ground.

Oh fuck! I try and cry out, only for the words to die in my throat. Forgetting my own pain, I try and get up to go to Talia's side, but my own legs seem to be working against me as I'm barely able to stand up.

The ogre doesn’t waste much time stomping her foot down on the patch of real-estate Talia was occupying an instant prior. However, the smaller werewolf managed to roll out of the way only to be sent flying after taking a glancing kick from the ogress.

However, the werewolf lands in a hunkered down position, looking almost like an Olympic runner at the starting gate somehow propelled backwards as her claws dig into the turf, slowing her momentum. She immediately gets back onto her feet seemingly unbothered by the abuse the ogress has been dishing out.

"Don't you know better than to go after a wolf's prey?" she speaks up.

"Wolf?" The ogre snickers incredulously. "More like a plushie, little bow-wow."

"He's MINE!!" Talia snarled, now back on her feet.

"Oh really now? Get lost. I don't see your name on him..." the ogre chortled as she slowly and confidently closed in on the scrappy werewolf.

Talia sprang back to dodge a swift kick from her burly green adversary. Before I knew it, she had made her way next to me in the blink of an eye and held up my arm- the same one she bit a not too long ago.

"He has my Demonic Energy imprinted on him now....." she began to explain.

The ogre frowned before speaking.

"Nice try, little bow-wow. If he truly was yours, I would've detected his spirit energy on you....and there's only a minute amount of your demon's energy on his arm to begin with."

"I marked him for later, Skankenstein!" she retorts quickly. "Nothing gets the blood pumping like a good old-fashioned man hunt on nights like these."

The ogre frowns.

"Well now. I see that I'm going to have to beat some manners into you, little bow-wow."

Neither combatant seems to realize I'm on my feet and able to move around right now. I need to make the most opportunity. Common sense should dictate that I get out of there as fast as my legs can carry me while the gargantuan ogre's attention is focused on Talia.

But my actions haven't been governed by common sense tonight.

Not one bit.

And there's no way I can just leave Talia like that. However- if the VERY recent past is any indication, there's no way I can take on that ogre.

"How about this, little Bow Wow? If you leave right now, I promise I won't break your spine in two." the ogre smirks. "I'm being pretty generous considering-"

As she's threatening Talia, the werewolf simply hurls an apple-sized rock that hits the ogre right in the cheek. I can hear it impact from several feet away before the ogre's hands belatedly flew up to her face. In baseball terms, Talia's throw had good velocity while moving high and inside..

"OW! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" my green assailant bellows, only to have another missile hurtling towards her face. Her eyes widen as she barely ducks out of the way, the rock grazing her left temple.

It was a diversion. Talia lunges at the ogre with an incredible speed, her claws still swiping at her while she's airborne. The ogre is too shocked by Talia's aggressive charge to do anything  but hastily attempt to shield herself right away. However, if pays off for her as a sweeping kick from the wolf-girl destined for her throat instead glances harmlessly off of her forearm.

However, she is not prepared for what Talia does next. As her momentum is taking her past the ogre, the petite werewolf reaches out and grabs a claw full of the ogre's white hair. Some of it is ripped out, but most of it remains intact as her head is roughly jerked back. In the blink of an eye, Talia is on the green giantess like a lupine backpack. This time, she sinks her fangs into the ogre's right ear before shaking her jaws vigorously.

"YOU BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" the ogre's face is now a mask of rage as she's frantically trying to pry Talia off of her back.

The wolf girl is unfazed as her fangs continue tearing into the ogre's ear.

My giant green attacker is trying to pivot and throw Talia off her shoulder, but it isn't working. The petite werewolf is holding on tightly while vigorously shaking her clenched jaw back and forth.

With the top half of her ear being torn to shreds, It finally dawned on the ogress that she had to conjure up a more forceful method of trying to get the werewolf off of her. Talia was not letting go as the ogress almost cautiously spun around in a complete circle. I wasn't quite sure what my not-so-jolly green assailant was up to until I saw her take a few steps backwards and slam her back into a tree with Talia still clinging to her. It was hardly enough to phase the wolf girl, but the ogre seemed satisfied that she had found what she needed to remove Talia as she staggered a few steps forward.

She was getting enough momentum to knock Talia off by ramming backwards into the tree.

I try calling out a warning to Talia, but it’s too late. The ogress rammed her back hard into a sturdy oak tree. Talia cried out, but still maintained her grip.

She rams her back (and Talia) into the tree harder this time. Talia’s still hanging on, but struggling to keep herself attached.

I realize that one more run like that and the ogress will have almost certainly have successfully dislodged the wolf girl.

As I get to my feet, I can see that the ogre has successfully gotten Talia off of her back. The instant the werewolf hits the ground, the ogre raises her foot to stomp Talia like she was a bug underfoot.

Baseball was more my sport growing up, but I had to call upon my limited football experience from some touch football games awhile back.

Finding my legs, I’m debating whether I need to hit her high or low. If she still had both feet planted on the ground, I should go high. But she still had one foot up in the air as she was getting ready to stomp Talia.

Here goes nothing.

I went low, lowering my shoulder as I ran into her at full sprint. In football terms, it was more a timely block than a full fledged tackle, but it was enough to send the green giantess staggering a few feet away. Not checking on Talia yet as I get down on my haunches and quickly scoop up a handful of dirt from the forest’s floor.

Before the ogre can regain her bearings and launch herself at either Talia or me, I run in front of her and throw the fistful of dirt right into the not-so-jolly green giantess' eyes.

"You fucking he-slut! No more going easy on you!" She roars as she wipes her eyes.

That little move brought about as much time as I could've hoped for.

"RUN!" I call out as I grab Talia by the hand. Before I know it, I'm pulling her through the woods faster than I thought my legs were capable of carrying me. I'm not exactly gentle with her as I'm doing this, but that hardly seems to matter considering what the ogress was dishing out earlier.

As the two of us are sprinting through the woods, the branches and bushes brush past us- an occasional one grabbing at my shirt's sleeve or collar. Still feeling as though this is a dream, I give the wolf girl's paw a gentle squeeze.

“''Can I make it to the truck from here? Even if I do, will Talia want to come with me?''”

It feels like the two of us against the world, but nothing can stop me now that I have her by my side once again.

She squeezes back. It's a small gesture, but I feel as though all is right with the world when she does that. That simple gesture from her makes me falter. Just steps from being both figuratively and literally out of the woods, I come to a stop. The adrenaline seems to be wearing off and I lean against a tree trying to catch my breath.

"Talia......" I pant, gulping in as much air as I possibly can. "A...are you alright?"

There is no way I'm ready for what she does as a reply.

The petite wolf girl purposefully strides up to me before she roughly shoves me and harshly smacks me on the shoulder once, twice, three times. I've seen what she dished out against the ogre and although she looks upset, she's still holding back considerably.

"YOU IDIOT!!" she snarls reproachfully. "The whole point.......the whole point of me leaving was so that something like this wouldn't happen to you, Joseph!"

She's pissed.

This is not the joyous reunion that I had envisioned.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be out here alone right now?" Talia continued. She's gripping the lapels of my shirt and looking up at me sternly, even though she only comes up to my chest. The angry, petite wolf girl has some authority to her voice.

"But....Talia- I needed to see you again....."

She let out a frustrated groan. The wolf-girl knew what I was going to say, but cut me off.

"Joseph...stop. Right now, I'm as much a danger to you as Skankenstein is....maybe more, because you will let your guard down around me."

"What are you talking about?"

She backs a few paces away from me while looking away.

"I'm going into......" she begins to trail off. "I'm entering my......".

We’re interrupted by a loud crashing of something large making its way through the underbrush behind us. Neither one of us seems really shocked that it’s the ogre in pursuit of us. However, the ogre looks a little surprised that she’s caught up with us relatively quickly.

Taking advantage of her initial confusion, Talia and I scatter. Neither one of us gets particularly far, but we each have some distance between our attacker and she now has to choose targets.

The ogress decides Talia is closer and thus will be the first one to feel her wrath for interrupting her idea of fun.

However, The wolf-girl stands her ground, letting out a prolonged and incredibly fearsome, guttural and bestial growl. It’s nothing like when she was having that nightmare before- this sounds almost loud enough to be coming from multiple wolves growling in unison. Only it’s just the petite wolf-girl. This causes the not-so-jolly green giant to falter, but only for a moment.

With a pretty surprising speed, the gargantuan green fist closes in on Talia. But the ogress is getting angry and telegraphing her moves, allowing the quick werewolf to dodge her attacks fairly easily.

Her fist instead goes crashing through a fairly young aspen tree, splintering it. It would be a pretty impressive show of strength if the top performer didn’t seem dead set on raping and crippling me in no particular order.

Glaring at me through dirt-streaked eyes, the ogress effortlessly rips a limb off the newly felled aspen tree and heaves it at me. I’m able to dodge it fairly easily, but in the process my foot becomes caught on a root sticking out of the ground. But instead of hitting the ground, I’m aware of a pair of arms holding onto me- gently, but still firm enough to keep me from falling.

It’s Talia.

She doesn’t seem as upset as she did a few moments ago. I put my arms around her as I attempt to straighten myself up a little.

“Hey you….” she says matter-of-factly, that smartass little grin on her lips again.

“Hi….” I stammer a little. “So- what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

“Oh….you know- just hanging out.”

“Let him go!” the ogress orders from over by the fallen tree

Talia ignores her for a moment, her attention focused solely on me.

“Hey...Joseph?” she asks quietly.

"Talia?"

"You took care of me, Joseph. So just hold still and let me take care of you now...." she whispers so very tenderly. Before I can object or even utter a syllable, her lips find mine. So soft, enticing and warm....

It's only been a few days since she kissed me in front of several thousand souls on the ballpark's Kiss-cam, but after reading the note and getting accosted by the ogre, it feels like it's been years since I saw her. I passionately return her kiss as I feel her tongue tentatively exploring my mouth.

"I insist." she follows up with a coy wink after she breaks the kiss all too quickly.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's unclaimed merchandise." the ogre said. If anything she looked somewhat flustered at the diminutive werewolf who had the gall to not only interrupt her fun, but her ‘prey’ was having more fun with the lupine interloper than with her. "You snooze, you lose...."

"Well then....since you put it that way." Talia said, turning to the ogre and cracking her knuckles.

"Lights out, Skankenstein."

My first instinct was to run as fast as I could back to the truck to retrieve a baseball bat. Do something- anything- to join the fray on Talia's behalf. Attempting to stand on my own was still pretty tentative.

I suddenly realize something. Not even a month ago, she was almost too scared to reply to some routine questions from that salamander policewoman. Now Talia is going toe to toe with a belligerent Orge nearly twice her size.

And winning.

She doesn't stand a chance taking her head-on, but Talia's attacking her much larger opponent with a series of quick strikes and then backing off a short distance before the ogre can effectively counterattack, gradually wearing her down. The strategy of hers isn't without risks, but Talia is pulling it off beautifully so far.

And as a bonus, she was trying to act as though we hadn't met before so the ogre would think that she was audacious enough to snatch her 'prey'- namely me- away from her. It was something I really had to admire as I watched her clamp down her razor sharp teeth on the ogress’ forearm.

Dear God, I wanted her. With every graceful leap through the night sky and every swipe of her claws against my assailant's flesh, I burned for the petite wolf girl.

A gargantuan green fist closes in on Talia- before I can even shout out a warning to her, the wolf-girl's jaw lets go of the ogre's arm and she springs backwards, the giantess' fist connecting with nothing more than the air where Talia was an instant before.

Although her breathing is becoming labored, the ogre doesn't seem to be letting up against Talia.

Sensing this, the werewolf eyed her ogre adversary with her trademark smirk. Her tail was wagging. The cunning little she-wolf had something up her sleeve.

"Not bad, little bow-wow....but how much longer can you hold out?"

"I won't have to last much longer...." Talia taunted.

"What are you talking about?" the ogre was trying to maintain a confident facade, but her voice wavered. She was having a hard time accepting that she was being outmaneuvered by the bantam wolf-girl. Even more awkward for her, she seemed to sense that her ‘prey’ found the werewolf much more desirable than herself.

Talia said nothing, but her fangs were exposed as her lips were pulled back in a feral grin. After a few moments of tense silence, the night sky was pierced with a blood chilling howl as the petite wolf girl began baying at the moon.

For a moment, nothing happened as Talia stopped howling. Then, after a few seconds, scattered howling began rippling through the distance as others began baying and howling where Talia had left off.

A look of concern was on the ogre's face.

Talia turned to me.

"There's seven more of us. Hope you took your vitamins today, big boy." she said with a mischievous wink.

A number of things dawned on me simultaneously. For starters, I'm pretty sure my neighbor’s elderly beagle- Sir Buttons- was among the chorus of baying off in the distance. I got roped into dogsitting for him once when I was still together with Adriana and he had a very distinctive and hoarse bark. That meant that what the ogre thought was a rapidly approaching wolfpack was nothing more than suburban dogs set off by Talia's baying at the moon.

Also, the little wink Talia threw my way was her unwritten way of telling me to play along, but the ogre could have just as easily seen that as the diminutive werewolf toying with her prey.

After ‘stealing’ that prey from the ogre.

Jesus tattooed Christ on a paddleboat. This ogre certainly could've snapped Talia like a twig ten times already, but Talia was outsmarting her every step of the way.

"Oh- and I should probably warn you, Skankenstein. The rest of my pack is very territorial, and you seem to be having a hard enough time with little ol’ me.."

As I was struggling to get back onto my feet, the ogre spoke up.

"Fine, then. You win this round, little bow-wow." she spat at Talia.

"This round? You’re joking." Talia scoffed as the ogre struggled to catch her breath. "There's no rematch. I get to have my fun tonight and you don’t, you hear me!? Now run along before I’m the least of your problems….."

It’s a bluff, but given the ferocity with which Talia fought her off, she’s not willing to call the werewolf’s bluff.

The dispirited ogress sullenly trudged away from the two of us in defeat.

There’s a tense, lingering silence between the two of us as we listen for any possible sign of the ogres’ return.

After what seems like forever, I finally speak up.

“Is she gone?”

Talia ignores my question. She turns around to glare reproachfully at me, but I can see tears beginning to stream out of her eyes.

The wolf-girl approaches me, but instead of shoving of hitting me right away, she wearily slumps against my chest.

"Why did you do it!? Why did you follow me??" her voice cracks as a balled-up fist begins pounding on my shoulder.

I have no reply for her.

"Why, Joseph? Why? I want to know.....damn it...." her voice is much quieter now and her blows soften.

Instead of backing away from the agitated wolf-girl or pushing her away, I slipped my arms around her shoulders.

"Do you know....?" her voice is partially muffled as she buried her face in my chest. I can hear an audible sniffle. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to write that note? How hard it was for me to leave....?"

I gently run my hand up and down her back.

"And like a dumbass, you go out and do the one thing I asked you not to do! On tonight of all nights!"

"Oh Jeez.....I made you cry, Talia.....I'm sorry...."

"I'm not crying,  stupid....." she trails off as tears continue streaming down her cheeks.

"Talia..." I said softly. "I....I just wasn't ready to say goodbye."

"I tried so hard to tell myself that I was doing the right thing, Joseph. That I would've only ended up hurting you again if I stayed."

I should be so happy to see her, but my heart begins ripping in two upon seeing Talia this conflicted and upset.

"Talia....please....won’t you come back?" I plead.

"But why? You don't even find me attractive..."

"You're wrong."

"Don't give me that...." she huffed.

"Come on Talia- that one night I came home and it looked like you didn't have anything on under your apron.....God- I almost lost it right then and there."

"Y-you’re just saying that. If you liked it so much, how come I didn't smell any of your released spirit energy the whole time I was staying there?"

I had to let what she was asking sink in for a bit. She's really asking why I didn't masturbate while she was staying there?

"Talia.....I uh......I didn't want to tell you this, but I kinda took care of that in the shower...." I confess.

“What!?”

To be honest, I was kind of surprised that she was surprised.

"Yeah- until I saw you in those short shorts and bikini top, I wasn't really in the habit of taking 30 minute showers."

"Y-you're lying...."

"No." I shake my head. "Honest to God, Talia....when you first showed up, I couldn't wait to get rid of you. You were just....this angry, filthy, scrawny mess with a chip on your shoulder. But.....it was like with each passing day you kept doing these little things that made me reconsider and appreciate having you around more and more."

Talia was looking at me expectantly.

".....and after while, I found myself wondering what kind of surprise you had in store for me when I came home. You'd just look so happy and carefree....it was almost infectious. And lately I'd be wondering more and more what it might be like if....if you and I were lovers...."

"Wh-why didn't you say anything then?" she asks incredulously.

"I mean...Technically I'm your employer....I didn't want you thinking I was taking advantage of

you. Also....." I sigh. "I really wasn't sure you felt the same way about me."

I could feel the petite werewolf trembling as I held her. She was still crying.

“C’mon Talia…” I encouraged her as we walked over to the gazebo with my arm over her shoulder. We sat down on the steps next to one another.

"I.....I couldn't do it, Joseph. I...I couldn't leave. Even though I thought it was for the best, this was as far as I could get. Everything I saw reminded me of you. Damn it.....I'm a coward and you're a fool. You shouldn't have come after me...." she said tearfully. "You never should have come after me..."

"Shhh....it's going to be okay, Talia."

I had no such guarantee, but I thought the captivating wolf-girl needed to hear some encouraging words.

"No it isn't....I don't think I understood how badly Adriana hurt you until now. A...and what if I gave in to my instincts or bit you again or did something even worse, Joseph? I...I don't want to hurt you again, so..."

"And you thought running away was the answer?" my voice is quiet but reproachful. "C'mon, Talia- that note you left behind hurt me much worse than any old chomp on the arm."

"I didn't know what else to do, Joseph!" she bawls. "I...I don't know how much longer I can keep these urges in check..."

"You won't have to, Talia." I softly clasp her right paw-hand.

"You don't understand! This isn't something I can just turn on and off like a like switch- I have needs Joseph....."

"I do understand, Talia." I cup her chin so I can look into those captivating blue green eyes of hers once again. "I understand and I want you to come home with me. There will always be a place for you there....if you want."

"Why did you come after me?" she sniffled, seemingly a bit more composed.

She had her answer, but I think she wanted to hear me say it again.

"I was getting so goddamned sick and tired of being alone, Talia." A small part of me can't believe how earnest and natural that was.

"Joseph....what are you saying?"

"Now who's being dense?" I tease her. "C’mon...If you run away, who's going to help wash and shampoo your tail in the shower? Who's going to be the one that rubs flaxseed oil to your chest? Who's going to put aloe all over that nice, tight little body of yours the next time you spend all day out in the sun?"

"Y-you would do that for me, Joseph?"

"Talia- How could I live with myself knowing that someone who's been so good to me is out there alone and on the streets? Plus- I never got a chance to thank you for finding that ring."

"Hey Joseph?"

"Yeah?"

"C-can I keep the ring?" she asks.

"No!" I snap defensively. Truth be told, I was already thinking of pawning it so I could get Talia something nice. There was also the fact that it was made for human hands and there's really no way it could fit on her paw-digits.

"Talia- after what you've done for me, you deserve better than somebody else's hand-me-downs." I tell her.

"Joseph..." she says so earnestly as I'm drowning in those captivating blue-green eyes of hers. "C....can I tell you something?"

“Of course.”

My heart leaps for joy and butterflies are fluttering in my stomach. She......she's going to confess her love to me here under the full moon. How much more perfect can this get? That has to be it- it can't be anything else.

"You smell like garbage.....and baseball is so boring."

Ouch. What the hell, wolfgirl that I've fallen madly in love with?

She continues.

"I see how devoted you are to this slow, boring game and I keep wondering...." Talia hesitates.

"The game can't love you back, but....what about someone who was as passionate for you as you are for baseball? Someone closer than you realized."

I’m not really willing to let this whole ‘baseball is boring’ thing slide.

“But Talia- if you say baseball is so boring, then how come it seemed like you were having such a good time when we went out?”

“Because I was with you, Joseph.” she said with a hint of exasperation. She sounds a little impatient that she has to spell it out for me, although her tail is wagging slightly. “I was with someone who treated me nice and went out of his way to share his passions with me….”

“Did you have fun?” I ask.

She nods.

"Joseph....?" she grabs my hand. Her grip is firm, but she's not being forceful.

"I.....I'm starting my heat cycle....it can't be helped. I want to know....will you be.....?" she's blushing furiously and looking away from me now.

"Will I be what?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Will you be......my first?" she finally asks.

"Talia- I would be honored."

"Hnng....Joseph- I.....I've never done anything like this before....but...." she attempts to continue before my fingertips find the marking shorn into her legs. "It feels so RIGHT.....I just want to......NNNNGGHHHH"

Jackpot.

A wicked grin is on my face as I continue to lazily trace my finger around the diamond pattern shorn into her right arm. I can feel Talia shudder and her tail twitch.

"Oh Eros! I....I just feel....so....so warm all over." she whimpers.

"Do you like that?" I whisper in her ear.

Her grip on me tightens.

"Don't stop....." she commands.

Who am I to deny her?

Holy shit- that annoying, mincing Alp from the salon was actually right. Suddenly the amount of money I forked over at Kejouro Kuts seems like a bargain.

I’m on my haunches while I have one hand placed on the back of Talia’s thigh while the other is lazily tracing over the intricate diamond and arrowhead-shaped markings on her left calf.

"Joseph......Joseph....." She murmurs softly after a few minutes.

I don’t listen to her right away. In fact, I don’t pay her any heed until I hear her say “Stand Up.” quietly but firmly.

Knowing she has something in mind, I do as she says.

I'm caught off guard by what she does next as she leans in. She stands up on her tippy toes and gives the base of my neck where it meets the shoulder a little peck. But then I feel her fangs. Shuddering and letting out a surprised little groan, I try to pull my head away from her, but her grip on me tightens. Once I no longer feel her fangs, I calm down and stop struggling.

Exhaling softly, Talia repeats the process as she plants another small kiss on my neck. Again, I can feel her fangs against my skin- a playful, teasing nip before she lets up. As she moves further up my neck like that, I become motionless- almost obediently waiting for her to continue.

Without a word, Talia obliges as I start turning into putty in the arms of the petite wolf girl. She lets out a small, satisfied grunt as I pull her petite frame tighter against my body.

Neither one of us seem to really care that we’ve both stumbled and landed in a heap in each others arms on the floor of the gazebo.

"Do you like that?" she whispers cloyingly.

Yes! my mind screams. A thousand times yes!! Wait.....a million times yes!! For the love of God, DO NOT STOP what you're doing''."

However, what emerges from my mouth is a timid "Y-yeah- a little...."

"I'm marking you as mine....Joseph. I want you to be my first....." She pauses, only to let out an excited whine that trails off into a sensual moan as she resumes grinding herself against me. "haahhh.....I want you to be my only...."

"Talia?" I ask almost meekly.

"Yes?"

"I think you missed a spot..." I tease.

She gives me a cute little scowl before leaning in and giving me another little kiss/bite combo- clamping down her fangs just a tiny bit harder than before.

"I....I just want the whole world to know that you're mine, Joseph..." she whispers.

“Hey- are you going to be okay?”

The beautiful werewolf abruptly takes a few steps back- she looks absolutely radiant in the bright moonlight. At first I think the wolf-girl is having second thoughts and is getting ready to bolt. However, before I can ask her what she's doing, her skirt suddenly drops to the ground before she quickly begins removing her tank top, then thrusting out her modest chest while her claws get to work unhooking the clasps on her bra.

Her right arm was folded across her chest as she seemed to pause. All that was left was her panties. She's not even 5'4" but from this angle she seems to be towering over me. As I'm looking up at her, I can only hope that my eyes are gazing upon her with the same love and warmth that's in hers.

Talia uncovers her small, perky breasts only to have her thumbs fidget indecisively with the waistband of her panties. However, after a moment or two of absently tugging at the waistband along each hip, she reaches behind her. I'm pretty sure I hear tearing- at first I think she's so eager to get started that she's ripping off her panties. But then she's almost cautiously stepping out of them. I realize that her panties most likely have a little Velcro strap above her tail that she's undoing.

The way she was standing before me with one hand covering her breast and the other placed in front of her womanhood while bathed in the argent rays of the moon light reminded me of an old painting I had seen once.

Her beauty is even further accentuated by the way she's timidly looking away from me.

"My wolfen Venus..." I murmur in admiration.

Her ears perk up and now she's looking right at me as I realize that I had said that out loud. I still can't remember the name of the painting, but it depicted Venus standing in a seashell in a similar pose as Talia is right now.

"Do you like what you see?" she asks, her voice an intriguing mix of coy and eager as she sashays towards me while no longer bothering to cover herself up.

"Very much."

Time seems to stand still as she draws closer. I notice that her beautiful, lustrous copper frosted tail is swishing back and forth. I can clearly see a little rivulet of moisture running down her inner thigh. Up close, I see there’s no visible bruises, cuts or blemishes from her scrape with the ogress- either her opponent didn’t really land a blow or she has an insane healing factor.

Instead of jumping on top of me, she slowly lowers herself down on the gazebo's floor next to me into a reclining position.

"I've wanted this for awhile now...." she confesses quietly. "Even when I wasn't in heat".

I'm reclining on my side looking into her eyes now. Beauty and the beast before me all in one lovely and diminutive package.

"You make me so happy." I say as I reach out and run my fingers through her hair and brush against her ears. "Don't run off on me like that again, OK?"

Talia gives me a quick peck on the lips before starting another, more passionate kiss. The next thing I know, our arms are wrapped around each other and she's on top of me.

"Joseph....I decided....." she pants in a low whisper as she breaks the kiss. That smart-ass little smirk that I found so endearing and so infuriating at the same time is on her lips once again. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

Even if she's trying to assert her dominance, I don't care. I don't want to think about how close I came to never seeing Talia again- all that matters is she's here with me now.

Her beautiful, not-quite-human face complete with lupine ears are illuminated by the pale, platinum light of the moon as she's gazing down at me. This is so much more than I could have ever dreamed of when I was pleasuring myself in the shower when I was playing back a mental loop of her taut, svelte body shimmying and holding a sign for the car wash.

"Ah....Joseph...." she pants excitedly as she's kissing my bare chest. She's not really doing that kiss/nip thing with my neck that drove me wild earlier. Her tail is wagging and she's smiling as she gently drags her claws across my chest.

“You naughty boy…” she scolds me in a hoarse, low whisper. “You owe me- Wasting all that spirit energy whenever you were taking a shower.”

Talia is panting now, her modest bust rising and falling.

“Time to collect…” she says with a predatory grin on her lips.

No argument here.

As my hands finds her way to her small, perky breasts, Talia lets out a salacious moan. Apparently what her bust lacked in size was more than offset by her sensitivity. The wolf girl says nothing immediately but leans forward and presses her chest more firmly against my hands to accommodate their tentative exploration.

Oh yes- with breasts this sensitive, I can envision many many flaxseed oil rubs for Talia in the future. I give the wolf girl's right nipple a playful pinch as she lets out a startled and sensual groan. Talia ‘retaliates’ by scooching backwards a little bit, but her eyes never leave me.

Instead, her fingers and claws deftly go to work unfastening my belt and unzipping my jeans. It occurs to me that while Talia has put her body on full display for my benefit, I have yet to remove a stitch of clothing.

However, the pretty little werewolf is more than ready to remedy that herself. Before I know it, my fully erect manhood has been liberated from my pants. I shudder a little as Talia gently traces one of her claws around my glans. She’s being very gentle even as she’s eyeing my tool with a predatory hunger.

I think I’m going to lose it when the amorous wolf-girl leans in and playfully blows on the tip before using an inhumanly long tongue to lick the glans, following her claws’ lead for a bit. She stops about halfway before pulling back slightly, giving the tip a little kiss and another playful little blow.

"Talia?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to start out nice and slow, OK? You let me know if I'm hurting you at all..."

She nods quietly.

Seeing how she so expertly punished an ogre nearly twice her size, I'm wondering exactly how gentle I should be with her. Or if I should even bother.

But this is her first time- she only gets one of those. Damn right I'm going to be gentle with her.

While I prop myself up slightly with my left elbow, my right hand starts exploring between her legs. My finger starts exploring along the wolf girl's slick, warm folds and starts tentatively probing her depths. This little expedition by my index finger is met with a slight whimper from Talia as the wolf-girl shudders in anticipation.

However, It's so tight and inviting- I'm not sure if I can hold myself back much longer.

As I grab her hips, I can feel the warmth from her slick womanhood against my member as she cautiously raises her hips and lowers herself onto it.

There is a little bit of resistance as my length start plunging in deeper and deeper. Talia tenses up for a moment, her walls constricting around me before she relaxes a little and starts to hesitantly move her hips back and forth.

Talia lets out a little whimper and winces as I feel something resisting my manhood for a moment before plunging further inside her walls. Before I can fully cut through the growing warm haze in my head and ask if she’s alright, Talia quickens the tempo as she suddenly hilts my entire length.

She feels amazing. Her walls are gripping me in much the same way as when she teasingly gripped it using her fist earlier.

In all my excitement and arousal, I realize that I had forgotten to do one very important thing.

Breathe.

Fresh air tinged with a hint of Talia’s sex hits my lungs as I gasp for breath. The beastly little minx says nothing but groans softly and grips me even tighter.

Talia stops for a moment. I’m not sure of the reason until she raises her hips a little with just the tip still inside of her. For a moment I can feel something trickling down my length- I’m dimly aware that it’s most likely blood from her hymen before the wolf-girl more forcefully slams herself down on me.

My thoughts melt away amid a surge of white-hot pleasure as the wolf-girl gains confidence and increases the tempo, the walls of her womanhood now milking and squeezing me in a far more rhythmic fashion.

She seems to be getting the hang of this.

Shards of coherent thoughts are now starting to swim around in my head, rising to the surface like bubbles in a lake. One of the first things I realize is that Talia and I are now holding hands as though we began playing patty-cake and are suddenly locked in a stalemate.

Shit- I’m doing it again.

“Don’t forget to breathe…..and for fuck’s sake- don’t make Talia do all the work for her first time!” a little voice inside admonishes me.

“Talia…” I gasp absently as I start to buck, her tight walls sending ripples of pleasure down my shaft that resonate throughout the rest of my body and give me goosebumps.

This feels so good, to give in to pleasure and to partake of something that both the wolf-girl and I had wanted for awhile now.

Why did I deny myself for so long?

Why did I deny her?

She’s looking down at me, her eyes glazed over with lust and yearning. Every part of me feels as though it’s on fire with an otherworldly white heat as both of my hands break free of her claws. Using a strength that I thought had abandoned me when Talia hilted herself upon me, I reach out and pull the wolf-girl into a tight embrace as I continue bucking and thrusting further into her. She looks startled at first. I quickly lose sight of her face as my nose is burying itself in her hair and ears while I’m inhaling a scent somewhat reminiscent of cinnamon and apples.

After her initial shock, Talia begins to let out a series of short, lewd moans in time with her rocking her hips. It seems as though she approves of my newfound assertiveness as she in turn wraps her arms around me.

“Now I understand why it’s called ‘in heat’....” I muse as the bantam wolf girl is pressing her lithe, gyrating body up against me. Her tawny frame is radiating this otherworldly heat as she’s entwined with me on this mild summer’s night.

I am harder than granite as I continue to enthusiastically thrust deeper and deeper inside Talia. Once upon a time, I promised the wolf-girl that I’d be gentle for her first time. Now it seems as though neither one of us paid that any heed.

The wolf-girl grips me tighter as her bucking is bringing me closer to climax. So many sensations are coursing through my body, I simply wish to whisper in Talia’s ears how much I love her. Instead of a declaration of love amidst the throes of passion, what emerges from me are a series of incoherent grunts and whispers that tickle the beautiful wolf girl’s pointy ear.

Her pointy, oh-so-sensitive ear.

I’m distracted for a moment as it feels as though Talia’s walls gripping my member with her fist again, quickly clenching and unclenching. She lets out a bark and then a subdued little wail as she starts to go limp.

Seemingly an instant later, I’m shooting cords of sticky, white-hot seed into Talia. All the worry and despair from earlier tonight and the past few weeks simply vanishes with each spurt. Her claws dig into me a little as I taper off and inhale, getting a lungful of that fragrance similar to apple-cinnamon. I want to savor this moment a little longer as grip the wolf-girl a little tighter.

Trying to catch my breath, it finally occurs to me that Talia and I have come pretty close to achieving simultaneous orgasm.

Not bad for a first timer.

There’s a moist, distinct schlick! That I’m aware of as the werewolf unsheathes my shaft from inside her depths and slowly climbs off of me.

As I’m gasping for air, I reflexively put my arms around the wolf girl and pull her close.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” I whisper into her flicking ears after what seems like ages. “Cooks like a Kikimora, fights like a Hellhound, burning up like a hinezumi and disappears and reappears like a Cheshire…..what can’t you do?”

The wolf gently breaks free from me as she sits up. I’m not sure what she’s up to at first.

"I....I....." she begins to say, turning to face me before her ears suddenly flatten against her head and she tilts her head up towards the moon. Talia abruptly lets out a sharp, ear-piercing trio of staccato "Yip"s before she launches into a full blown howl.

"AWOOOOOOOOOOOO-oooooooooooo" she trails off before her ears perk up again and she's looking back adoringly at me.

"I want everyone to know...." Talis says timidly.

"To know what?" I ask as I gently caress her cheek. Even in the moonlight I can see that she's blushing.

"To....know that I love you."

I look up at her with my hand still softly cupping her cheek- scars and all. Perhaps the only reason I was so reluctant to tell Talia how I felt was because I was worried she wouldn't reciprocate.

"And you know I love you too, right?" I ask her, looking into her eyes. There's butterflies in my stomach, but I feel so at ease just looking at the petite wolf girl with the full moon framing her head like a halo. I want nothing more than to have this moment to last forever. "I love you so much it almost hurts...."

I can't even say that I felt unburdened after saying that to her- loving her like I do should never be looked at as a 'burden'. Wondering whether or not she loved me was a different story, but now the petite wolf-girl just told me in her own words.

Now I know- and that weight and uncertainty is gone.

And even if she hadn't come right out and told me, fighting off a giant Ogre almost twice her size to protect me was a pretty good indication of her affections towards me.

Actually- after giving it some thought, I realize that keeping her animalistic instincts in check and not attacking me despite ample opportunity to do so was an even clearer sign of the wolf-girl's feelings towards me.

She doesn't say anything, but her tail is wagging and she nods. In the silvery moonlight, I can see a single tear streaming down her cheek. But she's smiling.

"Ah, well...y'know." I say as I make an exaggerated show of checking my ears. "I think there are some penguins in the South Pole that didn't hear you."

"I can do it again if you'd like...." she teases.

"You don't have to....but I can think of a couple of other things I'd like you to do again."

“Mmm…..again and again and again?” she lustfully inquires.

I nod.

A thought suddenly occurs to me.

"Hey, that one you did earlier with tall green and stupid? Were you telling everyone that you loved me then, too?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes, shaking her head.

"No, Joseph. I was actually debating the merits of a congressional balanced budget amendment with all the dogs nearby...."

I laugh. Tonight's ordeal has not diminished the petite wolf-girl's quick wit in the least, nor my appreciation of it.

"That's it- no more C-SPAN for you, fucking smartass wolf." I say as I caress her ear.

"It's kind of hard to put in English...." she begins to explain as she tried to maintain a serious expression. It's not lost on me that she's resumed squirming a little as her ears are receiving attention from me. "But it's basically a roll call or announcement for any wolf or canine within earshot."

I chuckled. "I kinda figured as much- pretty sure I heard our neighbors old beagle."

"It was a little risky, but I figured if I put it in Skankenstein's head that she could be expecting company soon, she'd get her nasty green ass out of here."

"So cunning...."

"You really think so?"

"Mmm.....oh yes- such a cunning stunt." I coo as I gently nibble her ear.

“It served another purpose, too…..” she says bashfully. “It was an announcement of sorts.”

“Oh really? What were you sort-of announcing?”

“That…...I had found my mate.”

To hear her tell me that filled my heart with an indescribable warmth and joy.

“Damn it- I can’t begin to tell you how much I love you right now…” I gave the wolf-girl a gentle squeeze before I resumed playfully nibbling on the tip of her ear.

"Ah! Joseph.....that's really really really.....sensitive...." she squeals as she squirms in my arms. However, I do not relent as I move my lips along her pointed lupine ears.

"You really shouldn't have told me that." I growl as I start to give her ears the same treatment she had given my neck a little while ago.

"No fair.....no fair....." she pouts softly as she presses her writhing body even tighter up against mine.

This gives me an opportunity to run the fingers on my right hand across the rune patterns shorn into her legs. Talia reacts with a canine whimper that starts to trail off into a lewd moan.

"No fair...." she continues to lament as she's panting and looking me straight in the eye. "Why did I have to fall for such a perverted meanie?"

"Why did I have to fall for such a smartass little wolf?" I ask between nibbles.

She stops squirming and pushes herself off of me. But instead of getting up, she's now on all fours with her tail and shapely ass sticking out into the air.

"Joseph...I'm ready for more..." she coos seductively.

I was a little worn out, but seemed to have gotten my second wind during our pillow talk. Either that or the mere sight of Talia presenting her backside to me is enough to make me forget about any fatigue I might've felt.

“C’mon my Mustang….giddyup.” she taunts.

Wait- Mustang? That’s the name of my high school team. Which I didn’t even discuss with her. So how did……

“Hang on…..how did you know about my high school team?” I ask her. “I don’t remember telling you anything about it.”

“I…..may have….snuck into your room and got myself off to some of those team pictures of you in your yearbook while you were out.”

“You WHAT!?” I was more surprised than angry to be honest.

“I couldn’t help it- I wanted to see how you looked in your baseball uniform.” she confesses. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier? I was soaking wet the moment I turned the page, slugger.”

“You went through my room?”

Honestly, the time to lecture Talia on respecting my privacy probably wasn’t when I had a raging, throbbing erection that was begging to get reacquainted with her dripping snatch. The frustrating part was that she knew that, too, and was taunting me.

“Was I not supposed to do that?” she asks slyly. “Mmm….does this mean I’m in trouble, my wild Mustang?”

I have nothing to say. After a few speechless moments the werewolf continues to prod me by sticking her ass a little further up in the air.

Damn it, does she ever know the right buttons to push.

“I guess I need to be disciplined properly, hmmm?” she moans breathlessly.

Her tail is moving back and forth like a metronome with her pert and inviting derriere swaying gently as though it was keeping time with some unheard tune.

Time to give Talia some more of that spirit energy that she says I owe her.

But not before I have a little more fun, that's for damn sure.

After all, who am I to deny her?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As it turns out, there was someone waiting for us by the truck once we were through.

It was not the ogre, although the party in question wasn't that much smaller.

Parked behind the truck was a police car with the engine idling and the headlights still on. More to the point, the police car was blocking my truck between the driveway's gate and the street.

The driver's side door opens up and a somewhat familiar figure steps out. The statuesque redhead Salamander.

"How are you two doing tonight?" she asks

"I'd say we're doing just fine, officer." I say as Talia and I look at each other knowingly.

"Is everything okay? We got a report of a disabled vehicle out here...."

I'm vaguely wondering if I should tell the police officer about the ornery ogre that was chasing and attacking us when the wolf-girl speaks up.

"Oh- that's just us." Talia speaks up. "We thought we might've left some baseball equipment behind and went out to check, but the gate was locked so we parked here while we went in to look for it."

The salamander policewoman looks at the two of us.

"So you just walked in?"

"Yeah...."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" the mamono cop asks us.

Judging from her tone of voice, she wasn't buying Talia's story of looking for missing baseball equipment.

“Oh yes.” Talia says confidently, her tail swishing back and forth.

Seeing as how the vehicle was actually not abandoned, I figured the policewoman would be on her way. However, before I can even take two steps towards my truck, she speaks out.

"Sir- you do realize that your tags expired nearly two months ago?" the salamander nods towards my rear bumper and the liscense plate, which does in fact clearly show that my truck's registration expired no less than 60 days ago.

I'm debating what kind of excuse I should try and offer up to the policewoman without sounding too lame or whiny in front of Talia when she continues.

"But.....I keep hearing that they have some sort of fierce backlog at the DMV right now. I'm sure you renewed it awhile ago and you're just waiting for the new tags to arrive in the mail- right?" she asked casually. That wasn't really a question so much as her guiding me to an answer she'd consider mutually satisfactory between the two of us.

"Yeah- y'know. Not much I can do about that once I send off the check." I say sheepishly.

"Understood. Well- you two have a good evening. Oh.....and Wolfy?" she calls out to Talia with a little smirk on her lips.

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations on finding what you were looking for."

Both of Talia’s paws fly to her mouth as her face turns a shade of crimson. Her ears twitch as she musters up a slightly muffled “Thank you.” before getting into the truck. I couldn’t help but notice that she was moving a little gingerly as she sat down.

“Have a good evening officer.” I nod as I walk around to the driver’s side of the truck and she heads back to the patrol car.

As I get in the truck, I can see a crimson-faced Talia fidgeting in the passenger seat.

“Heh….you’re kind of a mess.” I chuckle. As it to prove my point, her tail is spilling over onto the drivers’ side of the truck. I immediately start picking out little twigs, leaves and blades of grass from the fuzzy and intrusive empennage. Not too surprisingly, it’s less than immaculate after her scrape with the ogre and our fun little romp beneath the gazebo.

Talia’s immediate response is to quietly pout while I look behind me to make sure the police car is gone once I throw the truck into reverse.

I glance over at her before backing out.

“C’mon- let’s go home and get you cleaned up in the shower….” I say.

Talia says nothing as she continues to glower.

“......together.”

The wolf-girl’s dour expression doesn’t change, but her copper-frosted tail starts to wag in my lap.

There isn’t much else I can do but chuckle as I throw the truck into gear and start heading home with Talia at my side.