Chapter 7: Girls Love the Fur

As they drove through the hills, Toby sat up knowing that the road they were on was poorly lit. He had already shifted into his anthro form, which to his surprise, Sasha reached out to touch his furry arm. He gulped as she reached up to turn his face towards her, and she smiled at him warmly. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.

He stared at her with his yellow soul piercing eyes as she reach up to touch his cold wet blackened morphed nose. "I'm fine. There wasn't anything wrong before" he said.

"Your nose feels like my dog's nose" she muttered before she ran her fingers over his jawline and back to his ears. "You're much more wolf than before..." she said while she tried to scoot up closer to him. "Are you really that excited about me?" she asked. He was a deer staring into the headlights as his heart began to race. He tugged at the collar of his shirt as it began to dig into his skin. She smiled with delight as she started to help him remove his shirt. "Are you still transforming?" she asked.

Kolbe looked back at her and shook his head. "You're a strange one" he commented watching her remove Toby's shirt. "I don't think it's such a good idea to be stirring him up like this in a car. Maybe you can do this in a less enclosed space?" he suggested.

She blushed. "I wasn't trying to stir him up...I just never expected him to react to me like this" she said.

Lilian snickered. "Lots of testosterone and a very attractive female will always get this sort of a reaction out of a teen wolf" she said plainly.

She bit her lip and looked back towards Toby as she had already taken his shirt off. "Oh...I guess I'm making the situation worse, huh?" she said.

Toby let out a big heavy sigh. "You saved my shirt" he said softly.

"It can't be helped...Toby's just going to have to resist a bit longer. No matter how much discomfort it gives him" Kolbe said.

She frowned. "So is this normal then?" she asked.

Kolbe laughed. "Toby's still growing believe it or not. I didn't stop growing until I was twenty" he said before he shook his head. "Toby's dad was 7'4" and he weighed over 400 pounds" he said.

Her eyes became big as saucers as she nearly swallowed her tongue. "Are you freakin' serous!?" she shrieked. She stared into the seat in disbelief. "He's going to be a giant!" she muttered.

Kolbe nodded with a smirk. "Well, it's the gift from Angrboða" he responded.

She looked up at him confused. "What do you mean?" she muttered.

"Angrboða, she was a race of giants called jötunn, who mated with Loki many times. She had three kids, which one was an immense wolf named, Fenrir. Fenrir is the progenitor of werewolves. The shapeshifting and bestowal powers came from Loki, and our size and strength come from Angrboða" Toby answered.

She gulped. "So...um...I can see why your mom chose to become a werewolf. Wow...he must have constantly ate" she muttered.

Lilian laughed. "Almost, but he always brought home a lot of food. He was an excellent provider, and we never went hungry" she said.

"Jez, how big was Toby when he was born?" she asked.

Lilian looked up in the mirror. "He was 14 pound 3 ounces, and 25 and half inches long" she said.

"Holy cow! He was a huge baby!" Sasha shouted.

Lilian grinned proudly. "I delivered him at home without any trouble, and he was a very adorable widdle pup too" she said.

Sasha stared at her. "Were you in werewolf form?" she asked.

Lilian shook her head. "Nope...I was only having one not a litter" she said before she rubbed the back of her neck. "Luckily, baby sizes decrease with increasing litter size" she said.

Sasha looked at the floor. "Wow...just wow" she muttered.

Toby gulped. "Are you alright? You look like your mind just got blown again" he said.

She looked up at him and snickered. "Shut up, you!" she said playfully. They came back onto more well-lit roads, and she grabbed onto her shoulder pulling him down under her arm. "You big bad wolf you!" she said as she started to scratch at his belly.

"What are you doing!? Stop!" He shouted. He lost all control of his leg as she scratched him even faster.

She giggled at the sight of the huge terrifying apex predator feared by man for centuries being reduced to a docile family friendly pet. "I can't help myself" she said.

Finally, Lilian pulled up to the driveway, and Sasha ceased playing with Toby's fur. He sighed, and his ears flattened against his head in sadness. He really was enjoying the affection Sasha gave him. His transformation had already progressed to wolf ears sprouting out the top of his head and a tail sprouted out his backside.

When he got up to get out of the car, he saw her staring at him in shock. "What?" He asked as his voice was getting much deeper.

She gulped and gawked at his already muscular physique becoming more bulked up. The fur was not thick enough to hide the definitions, contours, and crevice, and his blackened disfigured nose and lower jaw had jutted out slightly. "Toby you are...bigger...and more cute, and...wait, what's going on with your voice it's gone down a few octaves?" she asked.

Lilian smirked. "His vocal chords are growing" she said as she opened the door. She walked up to the door into the as the car beeped and flashed its headlights, and she looked back smiling at Sasha's positive reception to her son's transformation into therian form. After she unlocked the door to the house, everyone followed her inside. Sasha could see that Toby was growing more massive and more fur. She blushed hearing his pants pop, and she tried her best not to look down. His pants were still around his waist, but the button and zipper became undone.

As he walked passed Sasha, he swatted his tail playfully into her rump before he looked back giving her a flirtatious wink. She smiled receptive of his advances, and she followed him into the living room. He plopped onto the recliner and removed his shoes as they were killing him.

She blushed watching one of the shoes fly off, and she giggled at how inflated his feet and toes were. "Here, let me help you" she said before she grabbed at his socks. She tugged on it and, he tugged against her. She flew back holding onto the sock, and she stared his swollen furry feet, and the black callus like padding growing on the bottom of the ball of his feet and toes.

She reached up to touch his hind paws, and she smiled. "They feel like dog paws" she said. She looked at his claws, and his toes lengthening past his big toe, which the big toes were in the process of becoming dew claws. She looked up to see the palm of his hands growing the same black padding although his hands were not morphing in structure as his feet were.

He blushed as he could no longer stop himself from transforming, but he was very relieved to see Sasha's curious reaction. His transformation finished, which he had grown a wolf muzzle, and his feet elongated and widened into digitigrade position. The recliner groaned under his weight, but it held up firmly.

Sasha sat on the couch and stared at him still registering at the fact that her boyfriend was a massive werewolf, but not only that, he was so calm and tame. "Hey, Toby?" she asked. He looked over at her while perking his ears up towards her.

She blushed and fidgeted with her fingers timidly. "Does it hurt when you...you know, transform this far?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I got used to it" he said as he reclined back into the chair while He stretched and yawned. "It's not a big deal...It's nothing worse than a tugging on a loose tooth" he said.

Kolbe sat into a chair near Toby, and he resumed his interview. "Toby, tell me...are you going steady with this human?" He asked into the recorder before he pointed the mic towards Toby.

He sighed and chuckled. "What do you think?" he said before looking her. She was blushed brightly and bit her lip.

Kolbe grinned widely. "So why did you pick her for a mate?" he asked.

He paused for a moment and looked at his lady with longing. "Well...look at how she's comfortable she is around us? I'm in my therian form and she's giving me a foot massage. She just very calm and relaxing...and to be honest, She pretty good in the looks department" He said. His ears flattened against his head feeling guilty that she had to listen to him. He looked up and saw that she was smiling with her cheeks blushing so red. "I feel she gets me, and I get her. I don't feel out of place with her, you know?" he said.

"Alright, what happened last Sunday night with Ian?" Kolbe asked.

"Well, Peter didn't mobilize the Gammas at all even when the Elders advised him to do so. Since the lesser of two evils was to fight Ian, I don't regret deciding to fight him off. Peter can just kiss my ass if he thinks he can blame me for his incompetence. I don't care that it's Labor Day weekend, and I put every ounce of strength into that fight" Toby said.

"So, how were you able to hold Ian off so effectively?" Kolbe asked.

Toby stared off into space. "Bernie, Tai, and Ulf backed me up. I don't know how I was able to hold him off for as long as I did. I just did it" He said.

Kolbe frowned. "No, normal werewolf pup let alone a Rookie Gamma can go against that Berserker like you did. You should be blessed to have such a good pedigree" He said before he focused his attention onto Sasha. "So, how are you taking the fact that your mate is a werewolf?" He asked grinning.

"Um, well at first...I thought werewolves were nothing but vicious and mindless killers as I have seen in movies. Though my friends have taught me to be brave and open minded. Now that I've been around Toby's and Zoe's families, I see the nuances. There are good werewolves, and there are criminal werewolves. Just like regular humans" she said before she looked between them worried. "So, what's the deal with this Ian guy anyway? I mean surely he didn't wake up one day and decide he was going to live a life of evil" Sasha asked.

Kolbe sighed. "Well, Ian has a very radical political view. He believes that humans are food and we are to control the human population. He's a relic of bad times sad to say. Toby's Father banished him long ago for the terrible things done in the Shanghai Tunnels. He also has a history of slaughtering whole wagon trains and villages. Like what happen in Champoeg and Linn City" He said.

"Where's Champoeg? What exactly happen there?" She asked.

Kolbe sighed. "Champoeg is between Wilsonville and Newberg. Anyway, once upon a time it was the first Provisional Capital of Oregon Country. After the Hudson's Bay Company stirred up everyone to detour Americans from settling, Ian became the leader of the Tuality Clan. He was one of the more prolific killers of Americans especially Christian missionaries. We have strong Pagan rituals and celebrations after all, so there was a blood feud with the missionaries and the werewolves from the start.

Once Jean McLoughlin became the chief factor of HBC's Columbia District, he tried to discourage the fighting. When the townsfolk held meetings called wolf meetings, and they held them to commission hunters to systematically kill us off like the Werewolf Witch Trials in Europe. Jean tried to convince the townsfolk it was a very bad idea since most HBC employees were werewolves, so he knew how many there were.

Making things worse, the HBC pulled back all operation from the 49th and southward, but he got most of the people to agree to make Oregon Country to be an independent nation before George Abernethy of the Methodist Mission used the fear of werewolves and not having the US military to sway them. Not only hunters were involved now but the US army. Many werewolves and natives were killed even Jean's son was killed by a hunter.

Well, on a stormy night, Ian and a group of werewolves crossed the river and killed everyone they got their paws on. This was a part of a bigger campaign that involved attacking all the towns simultaneously. It would have been worse had the river not overflowed its banks. The town was washed away and was never rebuilt" he said.

Sasha stroked her chin. "I think I should start some investigations there" she mumbled to herself before she looked over at Toby's larger than life form. She crawled onto the very sturdy arm of the recliner and wrapped her arms around him, which his heart pounded strong and proud for her as she listened to it.

She looked up at him and blushed as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her up onto him. He formed a canine like grin as she settled into him. "Comfy?" he asked.

She nodded happily indeed very comfortable as his warmth and aura soaked into body. "So, how did Toby's father overthrow Ian?" she asked as she traced patterns into Toby's arm arbitrarily.

Kolbe nodded. "Long story short, Steele got surrounding clans unified and with the help of the Supernatural Administration supplying them advance weapons at the time, it was pretty easy, but it was kind of confusing what happened afterwards. I was only a pup at the time, but from what I understood, they realized that having one werewolf tend to the massive territory was not enough" he said before Sasha interrupted.

"...so why didn't you just split up? Or did you?" She asked.

Kolbe nodded. "You would expect us to do that, but the only way for us to get rid of Ian was through collaboration with the over clans. We combined to assure that we have enough strength and resources should Ian try to return. We evolved the Beta rank as being like a local Alpha who serves their community. The Alpha can appoint any werewolf to be their second in command. This makes them a traditional Beta. There are other places around this region where the werewolves did the same thing..." he said before he stretched. "Yup, we are just one big close knit happy family" he said before he looked back at Toby.

Kolbe smirked. "You and Zoe sure added a lot of laughs to the clan in the stands. You really like mowing down people and dragging their corpses behind don't ya?" He asked.

Toby looked at him annoyed. "Hardly... I just improvised the whole game, but at least, I scored a lot of money" He said.

"How much?" Kolbe asked.

Toby grinned. "295 dollars" He said before He sighed heavily before he looked back down at Sasha who was sleeping soundly and nuzzling into his furry chest. He slung his arm over her and she clutched onto his fur tightly.

While they bonded, Lilian watched the two amused. "He's got his father's charms; I bet being cuddled up to him is so dreamy for her. I remember how right everything felt when I was with his father was" She said thoughtfully.

Kolbe snickered. "Some girls love the fur" he remarked.

Toby was feeling sense of well-being, and now he was beginning to see that he was the embodiment of his father, and this brought him some sense of closure knowing this. His mother got up and approached him with her arms crossed. "Trust me, you are built for cuddling, and I know that being as big and strong as you are, and your kind heart makes her feel very safe with you. You are great husband material, Toby" Lilian said while winking at him before she wondered off into the kitchen.

Toby's ears flattened against his head in embarrassment, and Kolbe laughed. "So, are you planning on siring her?" He asked.

Lilian growled. "Kolbe, they just met!" she scolded him.

Toby looked down at Sasha and whimpered. "Well, if she wants to, I'm happy with her the way she is. I had a feeling she was meant for me werewolf or not" He said.

"Toby, never distrust your instincts. A werewolf is nothing without them. It will be your guide to many things, but if they were telling you to pick a human, then you should go for it" Kolbe said giving him a thumbs-up.

Toby's stomach let out a ferocious growl, which Sasha squirmed around and poke her head out of his embrace, and she looked up at him mortified. "I'm sorry, I kind of dozed off there" She said getting off of Toby.

"Don't...Why, Toby was liking it" Kolbe teased.

"So, can we expect Pups from you two anytime soon?" Kolbe teased.

Sasha gasped. "Pups!?" she muttered before she went deathly silent, and her heart pounded hard and fast.

Lilian growled. "Kolbe, don't make me have to hurt ya!" she shouted.

Sasha looked at Toby and ran her hand over her tummy imagining a little werewolf puppy in it. "I do want to have babies, but much later on" she said.

Kolbe shook his head. "I was asking his mother" he corrected.

Toby quickly sat up and stared at him. "What are you talking about?" he asked before he looked towards the kitchen. "Mom?" he raised his voice.

Lilian poked her head around and looked at Kolbe very annoyed. "I'm going to kill you!" she snarled at him.

Kolbe laughed. "It's nothing you don't know about Toby" he said.

Toby shivered. "Wait...They're trying for a pup?" he muttered.

Lilian started rubbing her head vigorously. "Kolbe, I don't need any stress right now!" she shouted before she looked at Toby awkwardly. "I'm two months into my pregnancy" she said shyly.

Toby stared at her, and Sasha smiled. "Congratulations! Who's the daddy?" she asked.

Toby growled. "It's Tai's isn't it?" he asked.

Lilian nodded. "Yea..." she said as she placed a hand over her belly. "I've been wanting another pup for over ten years now" she said.

He looked at her with mixed emotions before Sasha nudged him. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. "Yea, I'm just trying to make sense of this" he said lowly.

She sat on the arm of the recliner again. "So how many forms do you have?" She asked as she placed her hand on his bulky shoulder to hold herself up. She looked into his eyes intensely with a warm inviting smile.

He cleared his throat and wagged his tail. "Well, I could show you, but just don't freak out. I do get even bigger than this" He said.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh yes please...show me. I think you'll look very cute" She said excited.

He stared at her in disbelief. "You know how weird that sounds coming from a human?" he asked as he got out of the chair.

Lilian looked at him annoyed. "I do not think it would be a good idea to transform into your lycaon form. You still haven't been able to control it full, just yet! Besides that, you don't have the energy to transform anyway" she said sternly.

His stomach growled loudly, and Sasha blushed hugging him tightly not threatened by the sounds of hunger emanating from his belly. "It's okay, you don't have to. I like this form already" She asked burying her face into his thick, soft, silky fur. She looked up at him curiously. "What form is this called again?" She asked.

"Well this form is called therian, and there's one more beyond this one...that's just when it gets scary. I can't talk in that form, and I'm more moody and unpredictable" he said.

"You're always moody and unpredictable" Kolbe chimed in. Lilian snickered as went back into the kitchen to cook.

Sasha gulped and nodded slowly. "You defiantly don't need to show me that one then, especially when you're hungry" She said nervously. She continued to hug him rubbing her nose deeper into his fur. "Your coat is so soft, so silky, so thick and so warm" She said happily.

Kolbe stroked his chin as he scanned through his tablet. "Has the Dr. Lovejoy even looked at you yet?" He asked.

"Toby doesn't get his checkup 3 days before he graduates. I could get him looked at sooner if Toby's growth rate changes drastically. I have a feeling that he's going to be bigger than Steele was. He's growing faster than Bernie did" She said.

Kolbe shivered at that information. "I see this tank squishing Ian into the ground" He said. He looked at Sasha amused. "Looks like some of the single females are going to envy you. This big stud is going to be in high demand pretty soon once this paper comes out" He said.

She grinned. "I would be scared, but Zoe's got my back. She took care of the queen bee with no problem" she said.

Lilian laughed. "Zoe's an awesome friend to have, but I guess you already knew that when you befriended her" she said before she sighed. "Not a lot of people talk to her because of her appearance" she said which Sasha rubbed her shoulder feeling guilty of having such apprehension to contact her.

"Yeah, I never have seen a girl quite like her. Makita made sure I'd talk to her though. Man, I thought Zoe would flip a gourd when Makita broke free and nearly knocked her off her longboard" she said smiling awkwardly.

"Dinner's almost ready" Lilian announced.

Sasha smiled and blushed humbly as the large brawny werewolf pulled her into his furry embrace claiming her as his own. She reached up and around to touch the mane on his neck and attempt to scratch behind his ear. Success! He turned his head into her hand and murred softly. She remembered one of her questions from earlier and cleared her throat. "I've heard a couple of you mention the term Wolf out? Is that some sort of uncontrolled transformation?" she asked. Toby looked down at her and licked her cheek affectionately.

Kolbe nodded. "Well, wolfing out is just a more broad term where a werewolf loses themselves to their primal instincts. In severe cases whey will actually transform inadvertently or slipping. It may not be a complete transformation to a stable form. It can be in between grades" He said.

"So what about on full moons?" She asked.

He cocked his head. "What about them?" He asked.

"Do you wolf out full moons?" She asked.

He scratched his head. "We can...it's not too uncommon to wolf out on full moons either. Full moons do not directly force a transformation. It sets a moon and atmosphere that just makes all the wolves very hyper and stir-crazy" He said.

She leaned in with interest. "Why are they hyper and stir-crazy?" She asked.

He paused for a moment. "Well, one theory is that werewolves get their energy from many sources: food, light, aura, etc. The full moon fills our energy reservoir, which combined with other sources of energy; it's greater than the sinks of energy. It gives us a surplus of energy, which that just makes us more overexcited and susceptible to wolfing out. An energy sink is basically your consumption and that's determined by stress, healing, transformations, and the energy needed to have your body function to keep you alive. The moon gives of a specific wavelength of radiation that resonates with us. As fine-tuned as werewolves are, we'll get stir-crazy being cooped up inside. We evolved to utilize the moonlight for hunting when we don't hunt" He said.

She gulped. "Uh...okay...but what happens when you run out of energy?" She asked.

Toby sighed. "Then we die. It's one of the ways we can die. If our energy depletes our body shuts down. It takes a lot more to function as a werewolf than a human just for transforming. We eat more food for a reason. We have to reach homeostasis too" He said.

Kolbe cleared his throat. "Interesting side note: Growth spurts for pups usually happen during the summer. There's going to be an experiment done, where a couple of werewolves will be staying in New Zealand for the Southern hemisphere summer. I'm curious just how big Toby could actually get if he went. Would you like to go, Sasha?" he asked.

Toby scowled at him before Sasha grinned. "I heard that New Zealand is a very beautiful place" she said before she shook off the thought. "Um, Toby? Would you like to go with me to Champoeg tomorrow night?" she asked.

He cocked his head cutely. "At night? What for?" he asked.

She grinned. "I wanted to go ghost hunting tomorrow" she said.

"Um, sure...okay" he muttered.

"Ghost hunting?" Kolbe asked.

"Yea, it's what me and a bunch of friends did back east. Everyone called us Mystery Incorporated" she said.

Lilian and Kolbe both snickered. "So you were missing a Scooby and got Toby instead?" he asked.

Sasha shook her head. "Naw, we needed a Shaggy" she corrected him.

Lilian let out a loud laugh. "Just to let you know, Toby isn't a vegetarian" she said.

Sasha snickered. "Yea, but he is a werewolf" she said before she giggled even more. "I was Velma, Rea was Daphne, Timothy was Fred, Makita was Scooby, and Terra was Sally" she said.

"Sally?" Toby interrupted.

Sasha nodded. "Yea, she was Thorn in Hex Girls. Except Terra is full Wiccan" she said proudly.

Kolbe stared at her. "So, you're starting up a West coast branch? There's plenty of good stuff here" he said.

She grinned. "I know...I'm going to make more flyers to see if anyone else is interested" she said.

He stared at her. "So does your old team know about Toby?" he asked.

She nodded. "Terra knew straight away from his aura, but they all do now" she said.

"Do you have like a tryout or give them a trial before one joins?" he asked.

She laughed. "Oh, of course...you have no idea how many so called brave people show up and turn away when things start getting good. We usually just ask what insights they can bring to the group, and then we take them to the most active places to see if they crack. I'd doubt Toby would run away from a ghost" she said.

"What do you do in your hunting?" he asked.

"Well, we do a lot of tests. We have to determine if the haunting is a residual or intelligent. We've came across a couple of poltergeists but mostly we come across residual. Though the one night we first got Terra, was the night we found a portal haunting. That was super scary" she said before she looked up seeing a tall outline of a person sitting in Toby's chair. "Um...anyway..." she muttered before there was a knock on the door.

Toby reverted down to his anthro form suddenly, and he ran and tripped over his spent shorts. Sasha giggled and blushed seeing his bare butt before he quickly grabbed his shorts hiding his crotch with it as he ran up the stairs.

Kolbe walked up to the door, which he stared at Nathan as he opened the door. "I'm guessing you're Sasha's father?" he asked.

Nathan looked at him confused. "I am, and you are?" he asked.

"I am Kolbe. I'm a friend of the family" he said as Lilian grabbed the door opening it wider. Sasha poked her head over Lilian's shoulder.

Nathan stared between them. "Where's Toby?" he asked.

"Bathroom!" Sasha shouted out abruptly.

Toby soon walked down the stairs fully clothed as Nathan peered in. "Can I have a word with him for a minute?" he asked.

Lilian sensed benevolence in his voice, and she sighed. "Alright" she said before she looked towards her son. "Go talk to him" she said firmly.

Sasha gulped. "Uh-oh" she muttered as Toby walked down the stairs timidly.

•••

As he got outside, Nathan beckoned him. They walked into Nathan's garage, which they had to duck under a boat filled with fishing gear. Hunting gear was tucked in one corner next to a big freezer. On top of a toolbox was an old boxy Sony CRT TV was turned on ESPN. "In case if you're tuning in, the feature High School game has been ended early due to mercy rule. The game will air later at 10 pm Pacific time" the anchor said into the camera before he turned to his panel. "What do you think of this game? Has Jesuit slipped this much? Or has Tualatin got that much better?" he asked.

"Well, the big question coming into this game was "who is Tobias Wolfgang?" I'll tell you what, this kid is really special. Jesuit just didn't have an answer to this kid. Since when do you see Quarterbacks play defense and make 3 pick-sixes in a single game? He's got speed; He's got power; He's got vision; He's got instincts; He's got Athleticism; Man, Christmas has certainly came early for Bruce Barnum! This kid can play any position and make your team better!" the former coach said.

"All I want to know is who allowed those monsters onto the 6A division? Those two should be in the NFL. Forget college! You're going to see the same result. Those two are going to break the game, and it's going to be unfortunate if those two play on the same team!" the analyst said.

"I enjoyed watching how Toby and Zoe fed off each other..." the anchor said before Nathan turned the TV off.

Nathan sat down at his workbench and took a sip from his beer before he looked at him intensely. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but hear me out" he asked before he looked towards a picture of a young Sasha smiling standing next to a Yellow Fin Tuna that was as big as she was. "I dealt with boys before, and I thought you were going to be no different..." he said before he looked back at him. "I've always protected my little girl from everything..." he said before he took another swig of his beer.

His wife opened the door and stared at the two. She looked at the beer on the workbench, and she looked up at Toby. "Oh...sorry" she muttered before she closed the door slowly. "Get back!" she shouted at Todd.

Nathan sighed heavily. "I've been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and I fought alongside really incredible men! I know a good man when I see one!" he said firmly. Toby stared at him as he finished his beer. "I know you can protect my daughter" he said. He tossed the can into a paper bag filled with other cans of beer and soda. "Just treat her right! Alright!?" he asked before he slapped him over the shoulder.

Toby nodded slowly. "Yea, but uh..." he said before he reached for the door and flung it open.

Sandy and Todd were on the other side listening in, and they were caught off guard when they were exposed. Nathan looked over and shook his head. "I can't have a private man-to-man conversation?" he asked.

She grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself" she said before she went back to cooking.

Sasha wondered into the house, and she stared at them. "Mom, what's going on?" she asked.

Her mother smiled. "Why don't we think about it over dinner" she said joyfully before she looked towards Toby. "Why don't you stay too?" she asked.

Toby gulped before his stomach growled. "Uh, sure" he said before Sandy giggled and set a large heavy baking dish of scalloped potatoes. Sasha knew that her mother spent a lot of time making this and something very special was going on.

As they all sat down at the table, her mother looked up at him happily. "So are you religious?" she asked.

He looked at them and shook his head. "No" he said.

Her mother frowned with disappointment. "Well, you aren't against us praying are you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not against it" he said.

Her father sighed heavily after they prayed. "I have a couple of friends who are agnostic" he said trying to pretend that it did not bother him before he began to scoop the food onto everyone's plate.

"I saw you kiss Toby!" Todd blurted out.

Sasha's face went bright red, and Toby stared at them beginning to understand what was going on. Her father cleared his throat. "Sasha...I believe you're old enough now to be having a boyfriend" he said. Sasha's heart began to race, and she tried to force out a word only to let out a faint squeak.

Toby cleared his throat. "Um...you guys aren't mad?" he asked.

Her father's head sank low. "N-n-no...I knew this was coming" he said as they all began to eat.

"Mom, Dad...I'm going to be taking Toby out Ghost hunting tomorrow night" Sasha said.

Her mother stared at her. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"It's a place called Champoeg. It's a ghost town not too far from Wilsonville. It got whipped off the map in an epic flood" Sasha said.

Toby cleared his throat. "You're going to need to know French" he said.

Sasha frowned. "Why?" she asked.

"Because Champoeg had French Canadians as well as Americans" He said before he paused for a moment. "If we're lucky, I know an elder that speaks fluent French and Chinookian" he said.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Jean" He said simply. He leaned over, and he whispered, "He's almost 250 years old" he whispered.

Her eyes widened piecing together Kolbe's history summary and one of the elder's name being the same one mentioned prior. "No kidding? Is he like the oldest?" she asked him lowly. He nodded slowly, and her mouth hung open. "Wow...just wow" she muttered.

Her parents looked at each other before her mother smiled. "Sure, just stay safe" she said happily.

Toby looked down at his empty plate, and once he reached for the ladle, his hand collided with Sasha's. He blushed pulling his hand back as she scooped him more food. Her mother looked at the mound of potatoes on his plate. "Um, Sasha...do you think that's a bit much?" she asked.

Toby began to dig in, and Sasha gulped. "Um...he's a big eater" she said timidly.

Her father nodded. "Well, after what he did tonight, I wouldn't blame him" he said with a smirk.

Todd grinned. "Are you going to be asking her out to the dance?" he teased before his mother nudged him roughly. He looked up as she shook her head at him.

Toby looked up at him annoyed. "Why are you so invested in what I do?" he asked. He looked over at Sasha carefully as she looked down at her lap gloomy. "Homecoming is next month away" he said before he nudged her. "You alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "Yea, I just never got asked to homecoming" she said.

He sighed heavily. "I never went..." he said before he thought for a moment.

"I know you'd take me, big bad" she said before she smiled at him cheerfully. She hoped that he would ask her when the time came.

He looked up at her mother who gawked at him as he ate. "Wow, she wasn't kidding. You sure can put away a whole horse couldn't you?" she asked.

He smirked and nodded before Sasha squeaked. He looked at her and smiled. "Well I can" he said.

"Yes...I know you can" she said lowly.

Her parents laughed, but Todd stared at him in shock. "Wait, you can?" he asked. The laughter grew even louder before a smirk crept upon Sasha's lips.

"Yes! He's a giant monster underneath!" she said as she patted his back playfully. He gave her a deep ferocious growl before he gave Todd a very intimidating leer while smirking evilly. Todd's eyes widened with terror before he grabbed his empty plate and quickly ran away. She snickered and nudged his foot with hers underneath the table.

Her mother smiled. "Alright, it's getting late" she said.

Sasha frowned. "Aw" She whined. Toby nodded and helped carry his and her dishes to the sink before she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rubbed her cheek into his arm. "G'night, Big bad" she said happily. He blushed not expecting her to display this much affection in front of her parents, but once he turned towards them, her mother smiled while her father pretended not to see.

"I'll let you know what I can do with Jean" he said before he touched her shoulder firmly. "G'night, little red" he said with an alluring tone.

She walked him out of the house before pulled him down for a peck on the cheek. "Goodbye" she said softly as she caressed the side of his temple affectionately.

He gulped as he parted ways with her going against his instincts. "I'll see you tomorrow" he shouted back. He looked back at her hearing her let out a heavy saddened sigh, which she wanted to be with him as well.

Once he got inside his mother smiled. "Okay Toby...get something to eat before you go to bed. I don't want you getting midnight snacks. You've been very good with that lately" she said before she looked over at Kolbe, and sighed. "Please keep her out of the paper for now. I don't want the females to try to intimidate her and manipulate her. It would just make Sasha feel horrible. It would be nice that you say he's in a relationship, nothing about her identity...cause to tell you the truth, I'm worried about how nasty these teen shewolves will get once they get wind of this" she said.

"Agreed! Although...They will see Sasha with him eventually, and there's nothing I can do to stop that train wreck" he said. Toby stared at his food before Kolbe looked towards him. "Your Eighteenth birthday is in a couple of months. What are your plans?" He asked.

Toby sighed. "Going to sleep...I've got a lot to do tomorrow" He said.

Kolbe growled. "Not right now, you turd! You aren't going to sleep yet!" he said. Toby nodded off before he sunk his head down pretending to fall asleep. "Toby?" he yelled.

Toby lifted his head up with a sarcastic snore. "Huh, wha?" he muttered.

Kolbe glared at him. "Quit screwing around!" he shouted.

Toby glared at him. "I do nothing...You think I like celebrating my birthday!?" he snapped.

Kolbe sighed sensing his mood shift and forgot that this was the same day his father died. "Oh for the love of" he muttered as he slammed his hand over his face and dragged it down pulling his eyelids down with it. "It's a rite of passage Toby!" he shouted. He growled loudly. "Listen here pup? Get out of this mopey mood...It really pisses me off to see Steele's only offspring acting like such a whelp!' I know it hurts! It hurts all of us!! But you can't always focus on everything that went wrong in your life!" He yelled.

He looked towards Lilian and sighed. "I didn't mean to snap at him...I hope he'll understand Lilian. What he did with Ian several nights ago was a feat only Steele was capable in doing alone. I only wish that someone can make him believe he is everything that we all know what he'll become...he's not a defenseless puppy anymore. Puppies can't take on Ian or live to tell the tale" he ranted. He saw her face remained very tense, and he gulped. "Look, I know the hell those hunter put you two through" he said before he was interrupted.

"Don't worry about it" she told him while she rubbed her son's back before she nudged him. "Just finish your dinner and get to bed" she said in a calm motherly voice.

•••

Meanwhile Sasha was in her room lying on her bed with her dog smiling gleefully. Her dog lay on her belly while looking up at her moping. She laughed patting her sad pup's head as she pulled out her phone. "Guess what?" she typed.

"What?" Terra replied.

"I think I have a boyfriend now :D" Sasha said.

"You couldn't resist the big bad wolf could you? ^^;" Terra asked.

Sasha giggled. "I hope Dad doesn't find out. He's really warmed up to Toby after the game though" she added.

"I thought he would. Oh! How did it go?" Terra asked.

Sasha grinned. "The refs ended it at halftime. You know what I told you about subtlety not being his specialty?" she responded.

"I'll have to ask Rea to show the game to me :evillaugh:" Terra replied.

Sasha squealed. "And guess what!?" she quickly added.

"What?" Terra asked.

"I got to see his really big werewolf form today. He's friggen huge!" Sasha responded quickly.

"What!? :omg: You serious?" Terra asked.

"Yup! And his fur is super soft and warm. I got to sleep on him for a little bit :blushes:" Sasha bragged.

"I hate you :x" Terra typed.

Sasha looked over at the big plushie of a wolf on her book case, and she brought it into bed with her. "I'm goin' to bed, night" she typed before she slid under the covers and turned off her lamp. She plopped her head on the pillow and pulled the plushie up close smiling. She looked up at her dog entering her room to check on her. She wagged her tail and found a corner to sleep in. Sasha finally closed her eyes, and she quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

•••

It was early morning when Toby got up to go to the bathroom; on his way through the blackened hallway, he heard a loud howl off in the distance. He ran to open his bedroom window before he jumped out onto the roof of the first floor dining room extension then hopped off onto the hard ground fifteen feet below.

He ran through the yard and jumped an eight foot wooden fence. He hurried down the railroad tracks. He transformed into his anthro form gaining more speed, and he sniffed the air to find the werewolf's location. The wolf was down wind making it more difficult to locate the friend or foe.

There was another howl, and his ears perked realizing the wolf was in the park near the construction site along the river. Toby had to maneuver a tricky route from where he was. He immediately changed directions shooting out a shower of gravely track ballast. He headed up an embankment through a forest that leads to a rock quarry. He followed the rim before he plunged back into another section of the forest. He cut between industrial properties then across farmlands. He jumped a major across the wide 5 lane highway in a single bound startling some drivers causing them to slam on their breaks and rear-end each other.

He ran through a wildlife corridor into a marshland, which he flanked the marshland instead of through the middle. The edge of the marshland had firmed and dried up from a dry summer, and to his left were Industrial buildings until he dashed through another street then it were low and middle income apartments that overlooked the marshland. On the other side were some commercial retail stores. He ran under a pedestrian bridge starling two college students making out under the bridge. He stopped nearby and howled and there was an immediate response from the wolf. The girl screamed clutching onto her lover in fear before the teen wolf ran off.

He emerged out onto the same railroad tracks and jumped both the tracks and the adjacent road in the same leap. He landed in a park, but he could not find the wolf. Toby heard it was nearby, and he ran across the construction lot, passed the senior center, through a playground before he ran under a railroad trestle that bisected the park.

Toby soon found the wolf in their anthro form in another section of riparian forest. The wolf was a new face but she appeared to be an older female. He approached with caution and sniffed the shewolf. "You're new...who are you?" He asked laughing.

The wolf jumped back behind the brush mortified. "Toby!? What are you doing here? Wait, you are a Werewolf too?" She asked.

He flinched. "Mrs. Hanna...You're a werewolf?" he asked.

She poked her head out from the brush and nodded with a whimper. "I need help. I got this from my husband, and he was bitten not too long ago...I just needed to find someone who can help me" she asked before she collapsed to the ground. "I don't know how much more I can endure all this! I have so many disturbing urges!" she said.

He cocked his head. "So is this why you've been gone the past week?" He asked. She lowered her head and whimpered.

She sighed. "I didn't want to risk turning into a werewolf in the middle of class. I have been turning at the slightest bit of stress. I can't control myself, Toby" she said.

He cleared his throat. "I can probably find you someone to help rehabilitate you. Heh...I'm kind of the Alpha-elect. Though I technically become the Alpha after Elder's approve of it" He said.

She stared at him in disbelief. "You are rather young to be an Alpha...Don't you think?" she asked.

He nodded. "That's why the elders deemed me unable to serve" he said before he cleared his throat. "So uh, what sort of disturbing urges have you been experiencing?" he asked.

She looked way and whimpered. "Well, I...want to eat live animals and attack people even when they look me in the eyes for too long" she said before she blushed. "And other stuff" she said.

He sighed heavily. "Well, this is normal, but I take it that you've not indulged in those other urges then?" he asked.

She cringed and rubbed her arm. "Oh no, these thoughts are forbidden! And I'd think I'd get arrested for the other ones" she said.

"Well, I would try to do things that won't negatively impact people, but don't torture yourself for any slip ups. Anyway once you get the hang of it, you'll find out that being a werewolf isn't much of an inconvenience. This clan encompasses the entire Portland Metro Area, and our nearest rehab specialist is in Canby. I'll give you his Phone number, so you can talk with him. He can't possibly get here today just by howl alone" He said.

She cocked her head cutely. "So, were you born a werewolf?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yup" he said proudly.

She gasped. "So, that means that my future children will be werewolves when they are born!?" she yelled.

He covered her muzzle and nodded slowly. "It's a lot easier to control your wolf when you were born with it, now please stop freaking out! You're not helping us doing that!" he said firmly.

Her eyes widened and nodded before she whimpered. "But what will I tell my little boy?" she asked.

He paused for a moment remembering that she had a child already. "I...I don't know...but I'm sure he'll understand what you're going through" he said lowly.

She sighed heavily. "I'm worried that one of us might hurt him if we get angry with him" she said before he touched her shoulder.

"You aren't going to hurt him. You're just going to have to accept being a werewolf. That'll make it easier on you to at least adjust. My mom was turned into a werewolf, and she never put my life at risk. You'll fair just as well" he said as he looked off into the distance sensing something that was off.

She wagged her tail happily. "Do you have that number anyway?" she asked.

He looked back at her, and he grabbed her arm. "Come to my Den, and I'll call him for you" he said.

She looked at him confused sensing his change in mood. "W-what's going on?" she asked resisting some.

He glared at her. "Let's go!" he raised his voice as he drug her off. He growled lowly as the smell grew stronger. "Blood! I smell lots of blood! Can't you smell it?" he said grimly.