We Become the Night

You’re Dragon Me Down

“Cal? Breathe,” Garrett commands, but I’m in too much of a shock to respond. “Lex, I think he broke,” Garrett says to Alexis. Alexis comes to look me directly in the eye.

“I think you might be right.”

“Caleb, are you alright?” I hear Tyson ask. Without warning I feel a smack across my cheek, much like the one I delivered to Patrick just half an hour ago.

“What the fuck?!” I shout.

“Dude, we had to get you out of it somehow.” Alexis backs away, arms raised, obviously not looking for a fight. The palm of his right hand is red, just like my cheek. Guess I know who hit me.

“Cal, are you okay?” Garrett has me by the shoulders and his face is directly in front of mine. I shake my head, more to clear it rather than an answer.

“Yeah. Yeah.” I start to get up but realize that Garrett is still holding onto my shoulders. I gently push him aside and rise to stand in front of Tyson.

“Dude, you’re like twenty. How the hell are you my great-whatever-grandfather?”

“I look twenty, yes. In actuality, I am around two-hundred and fifty years old. By now, you know how shifters don’t age like humans do.”

“Yes, I know that. I mean, how could you be related to me. First off, we don’t look anything alike. Second, why only show yourself to me now? Why not earlier in my life?”

“If you had met me before knowing all about shifters, changelings and other paranormals, would you have believed me when I told you who I am?”

“I’m not sure I believe it now.” I say, sitting back down. All the energy seems to have completely drained from me.

“My grandfather was Haku. He was...”

“The last changeling king’s son.” I interrupt him, remembering the story the old ones told.

“Yes, that’s right. You are descended from my son and his son and his son and his son, down to your mother.”

“So, wait. That means that I’m a dragon shifter. How come no one in my family shifted before?”

“Unfortunately, the knowledge of shifting has become lost over the years in our family. My great grandson turned from his gift and refused to shift. Without shifting, the gene to live a long life isn’t unlocked. Since he never shared the ability with his children, the knowledge to shift was never passed on.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. He looks so sad that my hand reaches out to him automatically to comfort. He shakes his head, as if to clear it.

“But I’ve watched over our family for generations. You, Cal, you have the ability hidden within you to be a dragon shifter.”

“Okay, this is a lot to take in. But, I mean, I’ve accepted that I’m a werewolf, ah changeling, so why not a dragon too.”

“Cal, let me ask you, have you ever noticed that the first-born children in your family have been unusually strong and athletic?”

“Come to think of it, yeah. My brother was bigger and stronger than me. My mom was the oldest. Her younger brother passed away when I was a baby, but I’ve seen pictures of him and he kinda looked like I did before I changed. Scrawny, glasses, the cliché nerd type. My grandfather was the oldest of his siblings and they too were weaker looking than him. I never really thought of it before, but yeah, you’re right.”

“Mmhmm.” He doesn’t say anything, just a noncommittal noise.

“But, if you’ve been watching us our whole lives, you know what happened to my brother.”

“Sadly, I don’t. Whoever removed him from the hospital did so without anyone, even myself, noticing. I can’t be in two places at once.”

“Do you... Do you think...” I break off asking Tyson if my brother is alive, terrified of the answer. Instead, I ask him about our family.

“What about your father and grandfather? Wouldn’t they still be alive today?”

“Normally, yes. My son as well. However, there was a hunter about a hundred years ago that hunted dragon shifters to near extinction. I escaped only because I was a coward.” He closes his eye again and turns his head away, ashamed.

“What do you mean, a coward?”

“I ran with my son, his wife and their child, rather than defending my home. My grandson saw what happened to our people and later told his son about it. That’s why he turned from shifting and chose to live a mortal safe life rather than an extended life that could be dangerous.

“It took many years for me to change back to my human form. It wasn’t until Alexis here made me my pendant that I was able to hold my human form for longer than a few hours.” He nods his head to Alexis as a silent thanks. “If it wasn’t for him, I’d still be hiding in caves hoping for a stray sheep to come too close.”

“Huh,” I mutter. I don’t really know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything.

“Anyway, want to learn to shift?”

“I can do that? I can shift and change?”

“Yes. You’ll be able to shift to dragon form and during the full moon, you’ll change to wolf. You won’t be able to shift during your change though. Please don’t attempt it. I’ve heard horrible stories of half shifters/half changelings becoming permanently mangled from attempting to shift out of their wolf during the full moon.”

“Promise. Do I need an amulet or something, like what you have?”

“Hmmm... Yeah, come to think of it, you may need one. I guess we should wait.”

“Cal, I can make one similar to Tyson’s. Can you give me a few days?” Alexis interjects.

“That’s probably for the better, huh, hun?” Garrett asks me. I look at him confused. “After all, we don’t want something happening during your change. Better to wait till after the moon.”

“That’s a good point.” I say to Garrett. I turn back to Tyson. “Wanna hang around here for a few days?”

“I’d like that. I’d love a chance to get to know you, Grandson.” Tyson smiles at me, I smile back.

“Tyson, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Cal for a bit in private,” Garrett says.

“Of course not. I’ll be outside. Take your time.” He turns to me. “Cal, it’s wonderful to have finally met you officially.” He holds out his hand. I look at his hand and, instead I grab around the middle and pull him into a hug. He resists only slightly and then his arms come around me in a return hug.

“It’s nice to know that I have family with me again. Thank you for keeping watch over us. Even through the embarrassing times.” I laugh. Tyson laughs with me.

“I will see you guys later.” Tyson lets go and turns to leave. Alexis gets up wordlessly and follows, letting Garrett and me have some time to ourselves.

Garrett turns to me once the room is empty and just holds me for a few moments.

“You doing okay?” He asks, still holding me. I nod, keeping my mouth shut. I know that if I open it now, I may just start bawling from the overload I’ve experienced this morning. He leans his head back and looks into my eyes.

“Why don’t we gather up Max and the others and head home? We can have much more privacy there.” His eyes smile and he winks knowingly. His expression makes me smile. I start to feel my body react to him, so I pull away before anything happens.

Within a short time, Max, Kali, and Balan are in Alexis’ car with Tyson riding with Garrett and I in Garrett’s car. We had asked around before leaving, and no one has seen Patrick since the morning. I am slightly worried, but I don’t know if the worry is for Patrick himself or a worry about exposure.

The short ride to Garrett’s house is quiet. Tyson keeps looking out the window in amazement at the passing scenery. I keep wondering what he’s so enthralled with. I don’t want to interrupt his fascination.

We reach Garrett’s place after only a few minutes. Alexis parks behind Garrett’s SUV, and everyone piles out. Wordlessly, everyone gets bags, suitcases, and backpacks and heads into the house.

“Come on, Bay, I’ll show you where you can sleep,” Garrett tells him, hefting Balan’s suitcase and walking to the back of the house. Just off the kitchen, Garrett shows him a small bedroom. I follow so I can see what it looks like. I’ve seen it here, but I never went in. The walls are a muted, pastel blue. The carpet is a darker blue-green. The resulting effect makes the bed look like a ship in the ocean. Balan must have noticed this comparison too, because he happily jumped onto the bed and put his hands up to eye, cupped to look like a spyglass.

“Ahoy, Matey!” Balan says with an impressive pirate accent. Kali smiles at him.

“I think he’ll be just fine here.” Kali tells Garrett. “Thank you for taking us in like this.”

“Think nothing of it. Your room is down the hall from ours. There’s one next to that where Max can stay. Tyson, there isn’t another bedroom, but we can bring some furniture up to the attic. It’s large and should be comfortable enough for you to shift to your dragon.”

“If I can shift, I have no need for furniture. I will sleep as a dragon. Thank you, Garrett. You are good for Caleb. I am happy he has finally found you.” With that, he turned and left, presumably to go find the attic.

“Kali, Max, why don’t you guys come see your rooms, then you can get settled.”

“Bay, we’ll be right back. You can play here and then I’ll be down to unpack your things,” Kali tells him. Balan just nods at her, distracted by his own world he’s created.

Max and Kali grab their suitcases and bags and follow me and Garrett up the stairs. Garrett leads Kali to the room at the far end of the hall and shows Max the one next to it. Once, they’re in their own rooms, Garrett and I go to his room.

“I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you,” he says, locking the door behind him. He pulls me close to him, chest to chest, and just looks into my eyes. Normally, I hate looking people in the eyes. With Garrett, I refuse to break the connection. He runs his hands up and down my back. With the third or fourth pass, he curls his fingertips under the hem of my shirt and pulls it up and over my head. He tosses my shirt aside, but before he could reach for me again, I grab his shirt and lift it over his head.

Before his shirt lands on the floor, he has me by the waist and his lips are at my throat. He lands kiss after kiss around the tender parts of my neck. I feel his fangs scrape my jugular and shudder with the contact. My body involuntarily reacts to his touch, tightening in very noticeable places. I feel his body reacting the same way, pressing against my midsection.

My attention is brought back to his mouth on my neck as I feel a slight pressure and then a pinching sensation. Warmth runs slowly down my throat to my chest before Garrett’s tongue follows the line and cleans it up. I moan low in my throat. Garrett smiles against my jaw before claiming my mouth with his.

He lifts his head to look at me again. I don’t let him get too far, though, and I grab his neck and back towards the bed. I misjudge the distance and, as my heel hits the bedframe, we tumble onto the mattress.

We lay in the bed together, the blankets barely covering our nudity. I look at the clock he has on his bedside table. The red numbers tell me that it’s very close to moon rise. I sigh contentedly as I play with the light hairs on Garrett’s bare chest.

“We should get up. The moon is going to rise soon.” Garrett doesn’t make a move, contrary to his words. He reaches over to me and runs his fingers through my hair. His hand cups my cheek. I turn my face and kiss his palm.

“I don’t want to get up. I want to stay like this forever.”

“Me too.” He chuckles quietly. “Unfortunately, time won’t freeze us like this, and you will change soon.”

“I want to hate the changeling, but it brought me you, so I have a hard time hating the changes.”

“It’s only three nights a month. The rest of the time, I get you all to myself.” He smiles as he leans in for a kiss.

“I can feel the changes start. Probably shouldn’t even bother getting dressed. You might want to, though.” I sigh and climb out of bed, completely naked. I hear Garrett low wolf whistle as he checks out my backside. I turn to him and stick my tongue out at him, childishly. He doesn’t take it childishly and lifts his eyebrows in invitation. I snort at him, making him laugh. He jumps up and grabs me around the waist from behind. He leans his head down and kisses my neck from behind. Then he turns me around and gives my one long kiss on my lips before letting go and pulling on his underwear.

By the time he’s fully dressed, the changes have started. As before, the changes start differently. This time the first thing to change is the fur. My mostly human body is covered, head to toe, in thick, dark fur. The muscles and bones in my legs twist and change in a way that should be painful. Moments before I fall forward, I lower myself slowly to the floor. My legs shift, the knees changing direction. My tail grows out of my spine and finally my muzzle and ears grow larger.

I stand up, fully wolf now, and shake my fur out. I can feel Balan and Kali in the house and the other wolves down the road at the townhouse. The flavor that I’ve come to recognize as Patrick’s isn’t there, though. I search, as much as I’m able to, and find his faint and far away. Something to puzzle over later.

I look up at Garrett and give him a wolfy grin, sticking my tongue out of my mouth.

“Hey, Cal. You good?” He lays his hand on my head, stroking my ears. I woof at him softly.

“What do you want to do? Just chill and watch TV?” He smiles. The idea seems ridiculous, a giant wolf sitting on the couch with Netflix and chilling. For some reason, the idea does seem to appeal to me. I nod my head in answer.

Garrett unlocks the bedroom door.

“Just in case,” he tells me. Then he situates himself on the bed, resting against the headboard while sitting up. He pats the bed next to him while grabbing the remote. I eye the bed, tilting my head.

“Come on. We can watch here.” He gestures to the TV sitting on the dresser against the wall. I eye the bed again. I’m just not sure it’ll hold my weight.

I gingerly press a paw on the mattress. The bed sags slightly but doesn’t move much. I lift my other paw, putting all the weight on the one that’s on the mattress. The bedframe groans under my weight. I put my other paw on the bed, slowly climbing up. It groans again, this time creaking as well. The bedframe sags suddenly. I yelp and jump back off the bed. I look at Garrett.

“Yeah, maybe not. Wanna go to the living room?” I nod at him and turn to the door. I paw at the door, my nails scraping the wood.

“Hey. Hey. Knock that off. You’ll put gouges in the wood.” I look at him, pointedly and scrape my nails slowly, purposefully down the door again.

“Jerk.” He playfully shoves me aside with his hand. I shove back at him with my shoulder. Then, just to show that I’m no pushover, I nip at his butt as he exits the room.

“Hey! What the hell!?” He’s laughing so I think I’m forgiven.

The rest of the night is spent quietly, thankfully, binge watching shows on Netflix.