Black Fox: The Awakening - 5. Chapter 5 - One of Us

The next morning, I got up early. Chris and I were hitting the gym at eight which to me was an ungodly hour. At least the morning air felt cool and refreshing before giving way to the afternoon heat.

Thank God the gym complex was air-conditioned and it was even cooler indoors. I was a bit nervous at first, but after Chris showed me around some of the basic equipment and I made sure no one else was paying me any attention, I started feeling pretty good about this whole working-out business. Because of my age, I wasn’t advised to do the heaviest lifting but it didn’t matter. Weeks without swimming left me with underwhelming stamina and fifteen minutes in, I was sweating and panting.

I kept glancing at Chris, too. He was wearing a white tank top and his arms were enormous as he was flexing them repeatedly. His muscles were shining and I was sure he didn't lie about all the girls he was getting… I had a different, smaller body type and I liked it. I didn't want to become a hulk. Most of all, I liked being smaller than Owen. It was turning me on immensely that he was taller and broader. Actually, I hoped our body ratio would stay like this forever. But I didn't want to become fat when my metabolism slows down.

"How do you feel?" Chris asked me as we were leaving for the changing rooms.

"Actually, pretty great," I smiled at him, feeling exhausted.

"Then wait until after the sauna. You will feel very great," he smiled back and tapped me on my shoulder.

I opened my mouth wide. "The sauna?"

"That's right. Follow me."

"But I've never been to…"

"I know, that's why you have me."

It didn't look like I had any say about it so we grabbed towels and I followed Chris to the opposite wing of the building that hosted several other facilities like massage therapist, wellness and so on. Chris paid for both of us and we entered the sauna building with changing rooms similar to the swimming pool I used to attend. We started changing and Chris surprised me when he stepped out of his boxer shorts. I caught a glimpse of his well-defined buttcheeks before he wrapped himself in the towel. I followed suit and went after him to the sauna area. It was a nice place with a bar and a few different sauna rooms. Chris went straight to the showers that were located next to the sauna entrance. He unfolded the towel, hung it on a hook and turned on the shower. I took a deep breath and did the same, quite uncomfortable with my nudity.

Okay, no surprises there. Chris was much bigger than me down there. Damn, I think he was even bigger than Owen, judging by his soft size. Chris was also unshaved. I didn't want to stare so I turned away and focused on controlling my dick which started quickly growing. Luckily, my brother didn't seem to be paying me any attention at all. We finished showering, grabbed the towels and went straight to the sauna room.

There were already a few people inside - three adults and two teens, all male. They were sitting with their towels wrapped around their waists. The only one naked was a toned, dark-haired teen who looked maybe a year older than me. His haircut was pretty wild and there was a trail of hair going from his chest down to his pubes and further down to probably the thickest dick I've ever seen in my life. Not the longest, but surely the thickest. The boy looked insanely sexy. My dick was betraying me so I quickly looked away. His blond friend was pretty handsome, too.

Chris and I took our places on an unoccupied bench and my brother surprised me again by unwrapping his towel and just sitting on it like on a mat.

"It feels better with your junk in the open, trust me," he said, nodding at my groin.

"I believe you but I'm getting a little… crowded down there," I whispered so that others couldn't hear me.

"Oh, I get you. Don't worry, it happened to me too my first time."

Breathing the hot air felt weird but relaxing. I soon started sweating and wondering how long a session like this lasts. I asked Chris.

"It's your first time, let's make it two fifteen-minute sessions and call it a day."

I nodded and sat back, trying to relax. I wasn't sure and couldn’t check, but my cock was probably 90% hard by now. I was discretely stretching the towel to make it firm enough to contain my throbbing boyhood. For once I was happy with my dick size.

Chris's dick on the other side was quite a sight. It looked very manly in comparison to mine. Dad's genes were strong in him, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, the two teens left and I learned that the hairy boy also had thick hair on his butt. I felt my dick release a squirt of precum.

The rest of our time there was me trying and failing to control my erection. In the shower, I turned to the wall and looked down at it. It was as hard as it could get. Something about this place was really triggering me. I was glad to get dressed, although now my shaft was painfully pressing against my briefs.

"Damn it was hot in there," I exhaled when we were in the car.

"I saw you looking at that black-haired dude. I reckon he was hot, huh."

"Shut up! I meant the temperature."

"How about we grab some ice cream on our way home?"

"Good idea. But then I'd like you to drop me somewhere else," I said.

"Yes sir, lead the way," he chuckled.

Without a word, I dialled a number and listened to the tone.

"Hey, babe."

"Hey, Owen. Can I come over real quick? It's urgent."

***

The next day, we went to the gym again. My muscles were sore as hell but Chris insisted that’s exactly why I shouldn’t let them get stiff.

I was much less efficient this time. After half an hour I told Chris I'm done and that I'll wait for him outside. I decided to skip the sauna and went straight to the showers.

Most people were showering naked so I decided to follow suit. I felt a little more confident but also tired and sexually drained after visiting Owen yesterday so my cock was rather dormant. I took off my clothes before turning on the shower and I regretted it almost right away.

"Gay boy two!" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see none other than Ryan standing there. He was grinning from ear to ear, showcasing his even, white teeth that contrasted with his dark skin. He was wearing blue speedos - that were impressively packed - and nothing else. I was tempted to cover my privates but he'd already seen me and I didn't want him to think I’m afraid of him - even if I was.

"Could you please keep it down?" I asked after shaking his hand. I saw a few heads turn toward us but quickly lost interest.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said as he turned on the shower next to me. "I always thought it's cool to be gay. Anyway, I haven't seen you here before."

"Yeah, it's my second time at the gym today."

"Ah, cool. I just finished my basketball practice." He looked me up from head to toe and I felt a little self-conscious. "You have a nice body. You sure it's your second time?"

"Yeah, but I used to swim a lot since I was six or seven."

"Cool, it shows," he smiled. "Nice dick, too."

That was too much. I blushed and covered it with my hand.

Ryan didn't seem to notice and instead, he took off his speedos, revealing his long, dark-brown cock. Ryan was my age but he was clearly taller and longer in every way.

"You like what you see?" Ryan said with a grin and I realised I was staring.

"Sorry, I was just…" I stuttered.

"Chill. I'm checking out other guys all the time. And I'm straight," he said, pointing his thumb at his chest with pride.

I relaxed a bit and took my hands away to finish showering.

"Okay," I said, "I thought you were making fun of me."

"I would never!" Ryan protested. "Yours is really cute. Maybe not as big as mine or your boyfriend's but still cute."

I looked down at my penis. I had to agree, it was kind of cute. Also, to my surprise, it was behaving for a change and despite all the attention it was getting, it remained nice and soft. Ryan's was cute and long. He was right. He was roughly just as big as… wait a minute.

"When exactly did you see Owen naked?" I asked directly.

Ryan turned to me and I saw a range of emotions passing through his face.

"Uhm, I didn't," he stuttered and I immediately knew he was lying. "I saw him in his undies once and assumed…"

"Okay, I'll ask him myself," I said. I turned off the water, picked up my stuff and left for the changing room. Two minutes later I was outside, waiting for the bus.

Then I hesitated. Ryan might call Owen to produce a convincing excuse together. I took the phone out of my pocket and called Owen.

"Hey babe," I heard his voice.

"Hi, Owen. I have a question. What happened between you and Ryan?"

There were a few seconds of silence before he responded.

"You know what happened, I told you all there was."

"Please don't lie, Owen. Ryan just spilt the beans," I bluffed. "I want to hear it from you." My voice was shaking and I was petrified by what I might learn.

I only heard his breathing for a moment and I imagined him deciding whether to sink deeper with this lie or just tell the truth. I was mortified by what the truth could be but it was either truth or death.

"Alex… babe… I'm sorry. I should've told you. We fooled around once or twice… but it was all before you and I were together."

"Tell me what you did exactly."

"I will, babe, I swear. Can you come over?"

"I'm on my way," I said and hung up. I was boiling.

***

"... and that was after he hit me with that basketball. He sucked me in the shower and I sucked him off in my room. And that was the last time we did anything or even saw each other naked."

I was sitting next to Owen on his bed and my face was red. I can’t describe how jealous I felt. Thankfully, nobody else was home.

"You told me I was your first," I whispered but my voice still broke.

"Alex babe," he grabbed my hand but I made no effort to hold him back. "You were my first. I never made love to anyone before you, I swear. This was just fooling around, nothing else. Ryan's straight, anyway."

Silence.

"Babe?" He squeezed my hand softly.

"Judging by how much you two did, I’m not really buying the straight boy story." I couldn’t help but recall Dad’s remarks about Ryan being close to Owen.

"I know Alex, but it doesn't matter, I swear. He's just a friend and we'll never do anything as long as I'm with you."

Silence.

After a minute, I released my hand from his clutch and gestured towards him.

"Give me your phone," I said.

Owen hesitated for a minute but gave me his phone.

"Unlock it, sheesh!" I was still annoyed and I couldn't hide it.

He hesitated once more but unlocked the phone and gave it back to me.

I wiped my eyes and entered his messages. The last time he talked to Ryan was a few days ago, just before the party. I skimmed through the messages but they were all about nothing specific. Then I checked his call history. There were a few calls between him and Ryan but there were few and far apart.

At least it seemed he was telling the truth this time.

I gave him his phone back and there were a few seconds of silence.

“Sorry,” I said.

“I have nothing else to hide, Alex, I swear,” Owen said, slowly. “I didn’t tell you this because I didn’t want to make you feel jealous and it was in the past anyway.”

"Who else did you fool around with?" I asked.

"What?"

"Owen, tell me. I won't be mad. But I need to know. I need to know everything and then we never have to talk about it again."

"That was the only time, Alex, I didn't…"

"... and if I ever find out that you lied to me again, that will be the last you hear from me," I said. My voice was calm but I was on the verge of a breakdown.

There were a few more moments of silence.

"Once…" Owen cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, "I watched Wayne masturbate."

I jerked my head to look at him. "Wayne? Your brother Wayne?!"

"Shh, not so loud. Yes. I did. That was all we did."

"Why?"

"I don't know. We were just talking about stuff… I have no idea how it happened, to be honest. It happened once and never happened again."

"But… he's your brother!" I exclaimed. It felt so weird. I was more surprised than jealous this time.

"So what? We don't keep many secrets between us."

I had nothing constructive to say so we stayed silent for a couple more minutes. The jealousy was painful but I knew I couldn't be mad at him for too long. After a moment, Owen sat a bit closer to me and embraced me with his arm. I placed my head on his shoulder and we chilled for a while.

Then, I gave him a little peck on the cheek and reached down to massage the bulge between his legs. He purred and buried his nose in my hair. I played with the bulge for a bit and then fished out his already hard dick from his shorts.

"Alex babe, you don't have to…" Owen started but I was already on my knees, giving his hard shaft long, sensual licks.

"Oh yes, babe. That feels so great," Owen whispered, unable to resist any longer. His long cock was shining with a mixture of saliva and precum.

I licked him like that for over a minute. Then, without warning, I stood up, adjusted my own erection, picked up my backpack and walked to the door.

"Babe, what…" Owen complained.

I opened the door to his room and stopped in my tracks to look at him. He looked adorable with a throbbing boner sticking out of his pants and a shocked and disappointed expression on his face.

"That's for lying to me," I said and closed the door behind me.

***

I know this little comeback was pathetic but I needed it. I'd never felt jealous in my life and I had no idea how to deal with it. The thought of Owen sharing any kind of pleasure and orgasms with other people was almost unbearable. In my mind, I had already forgiven him, but my heart was boiling with rage. So yes, this little revenge helped even though it wasn't the most mature thing to do.

I left Owen's house and was about to head home when I caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of my eye. A small, dark figure flashed out of my view and disappeared behind the house. It was probably nothing much but something about it felt unsettling. I considered ignoring it. After all, it was probably just a cat.

But then I stopped in my tracks. I’ll investigate, just in case.

I quietly entered the backyard and looked around. For some reason, I expected it to be messy after the storm, but everything was in order. The garden chairs and table, the hammock. Anyway, whatever it was that I saw was already gone. To be fair, I almost wanted to spot it. I guess there was a part of me that liked danger.

I turned around to leave the backyard, and just like in bad movies, there it was. I was right. It was a cat. But it wasn't like any cat I’d ever seen before. It was much bigger and slimmer than your typical household cat. The worst part - its fur was pitch-black and its eyes were red as two perfect rubies. I've seen similar eyes only once before. Last time, the creature had been bigger but the fear overwhelmed me anyway. Instinctively, I backed away a few steps.

"Owen!" I shouted once I had composed myself. In the distance, I heard faint music that sounded like something he would listen to. Great, just fucking great.

The pair of red eyes were staring at me intently and the cat crouched threateningly. It was blocking my way out. Should I fight, flee or freeze? I couldn't decide. Maybe the creature wasn't huge but still looked dangerous.

Then it tensed and sprang right at me. I tried to dodge but it was too fast. It jumped at me and scratched my arm which I raised at the last moment to protect my face. Sharp pain exploded from my unclothed forearm. I stumbled and fell. In the moment of clarity, I reached under my t-shirt, fished out the tiny silver whistle and blew it at the top of my lungs.

Nothing happened. Nothing. If anything, the whistle seemed to be sucking the sounds from the surroundings. I blew it again and again but it made no sound at all. The fucking piece of rubbish was broken! By now, the panic overwhelmed me. I wanted to get up and run but before I could regain my balance, the cat was rushing at me again. This time, I managed to grab it by its neck when it jumped at me. It was wiggling its paws and as I struggled to keep them away from my face, it bit my hand. I screamed in pain and punched it with my other hand as hard as I could. It bounced away and I grabbed my bleeding hand. My head was spinning from the adrenaline and my breath was short. I prayed that someone had heard the noise.

“Help!” I shouted.

This time, I got up before the cat attacked me. I spotted a garden rake resting against the woodshed wall. I managed to grab it and swing it just in time. I missed but the attacking red-eyed creature had to dodge and wasn’t able to hurt me. With my shaking hands, I held the rake before me like a spear, doing my best to repel the predator. It didn’t seem intimidated at all. Its body tensed and it started wiggling its tail, preparing for an attack.

But it never came. A shadow moved in the corner of my eye and a black shape jumped at the cat from the shed and tackled it. It was a red-eyed black fox!

Mortified, I watched them wrestle. The cat let out dreadful screeches that electrified the hair on my skin. It only lasted a few seconds. The creatures exchanged a few scratches and bites. Then, spotting a weakness, the fox sank its teeth deep into the cat's neck and jerked away, biting off a large chunk of the animal's flesh and muscle. A huge, dark-red hole appeared in the flawless amethyst fur and the creature collapsed.

I had just started regaining my senses when my eyes almost popped out of their orbits. The cat's motionless body started changing. The fur started getting thinner, the limbs were growing longer. In less than a minute, a naked human body was lying before us. Cold and dead.

I recognised this face. I saw it in the police mugshots in the article about the escaped driver. I felt dizzy and puked. My head started spinning and I felt I was fading out. With my remaining consciousness, I spotted three more foxes approaching from all directions. Then, everything went dark.

***

In my dreams, I was running. I ran through the streets, parks and alleys. I ran along the canal and between the buildings.

Somehow, I was invisible. I saw everything, even if the colours were distorted, but no one could see me.

A black fox was always by my side, running at full speed.

Somehow, I was able to keep up with him.

Yes, it was him. Thanks to the dangling thingy between his rear legs, I knew it must be Ryan. We ran and ran.

Somehow, I felt no pain or fatigue. It felt like I could run forever.

So I ran. The world felt weird and saturated. The pull of gravity seemed barely able to hold me to the ground. Wherever I looked, seemed focused and clear. Everything outside my point of focus was blurred, hazy, and dream-like. The sounds were sharp. The scents were overwhelming.

Suddenly, the fox climbed one of the houses with a few swift leaps. I thought I was going to lose him this time but to my surprise, my body knew what to do and soon, we were running along the rooftops, without a direction, without a purpose.

Somehow, there was nothing more to life but to run. Always run.

***

I woke up, feverish and in a cold sweat. My eyes opened but I couldn't move my limbs. I knew it was dark but I could see clearly. I was in my room, lying in my bed under a blanket but on top of my sheets. Who brought me here? Was I wounded? What's happened to me? What was this strange dream?

Slowly, I started feeling blood pumping in my veins, bringing the heat back to my arms and legs. At first, I managed to twitch my toes, then fingers and finally, I started regaining control over the other parts of my body.

"Don't move too much; you have to rest," I heard a voice just out of my field of view.

The voice sounded familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Who are you?” I asked.

“It’s me, Ryan.”

"What are you doing here?" I whispered. My voice was hoarse and my jaw felt like I haven't used it for days.

"I came here with you. You needed someone to take care of you after your little accident and I volunteered."

"That guy… you killed him… did it really happen?"

"Yes, it did happen, he’s dead. But it wasn’t me who killed him. Don't worry about it. What's important, he won't hurt you anymore."

"Was… was that..."

"Yes. The guy who hit Owen. And no, I had no idea who he was until today."

"Fuck…" my mind was running and I had to stop myself from hyperventilating. "Can you sit here with me? I can’t see you." I asked.

"Oh, yes, sure," Ryan stepped forth from behind me and sat on my bed. To my surprise, he was naked. I was too tired to argue with him about it.

"Am I hurt?" I asked, not daring to check myself. I wasn’t in any pain. Actually, I hardly felt anything at all, so I just as well could've been dying.

"Yes, but it's nothing bad. You will be fine in no time," Ryan said.

I took a few deep breaths, carefully watching Ryan's naked body. Looking at him gave me comfort and for some reason, I was happy he was here. Not in a sexual way. I just knew that if someone can help me make sense out of all that happened, it was him. For a while, I even forgot that I didn't exactly like him.

"I dreamed… I dreamed that I was running. We were running together for a long time. Are hallucinations like this… normal?"

"Okay, Alex… we had to get to that part eventually so we might as well start now. See, that was not a dream. We ran for more than two hours before you dropped from exhaustion."

"Very funny. I'm serious Ryan. We weren't jogging. We were dashing through the city and on top of rooftops."

"Oh yeah, it wasn't easy to keep up with you at times. Alex, please try not to freak out but you're one of us now."

It took a while for Ryan's words to sink in. I don't know why, but the first thing I thought was that I was a black boy now. The absurdity of this concept was almost amusing and I started chuckling. Ryan gave me a worried look and when I realised what was the true meaning of his words, I opened my eyes wide.

"Stop joking like that," I warned him.

"I'm not joking, Alex," he said. "You will be fine, I will take care of you but it's true."

"Stop lying…" I barely whispered, feeling all dizzy and nauseous again.

Ryan didn't reply this time. Instead, he grabbed the blanket I was covered by and removed it with a swift move. Astutely, he gagged my mouth with his palm a second before I screamed into his hand. Light, thin fur covered every inch of my body. It wasn't regular, thick fur, but rather scarce little hairs. Soft like a mane of needles. Even my dick - that for some reason looked bigger than usual - was covered in them from the root to the tip. As I looked at it, I saw that before my eyes the hairs were gradually getting softer and thinner, slowly retracting back inside my skin. I squirmed and cried and before I noticed I was hyperventilating, I faded out again.

I didn’t know how much time passed before Ryan woke me up, shaking my shoulders.

"Wake up, Alex. I gotta go. Someone's walking around your house. I can't be here when they come in."

I looked at him in shock, then down at my body. Ryan didn't bother to cover me again. My skin was smooth, without a single hair except for my regular little patch of pubic hair. I felt relief and looked back at the black boy.

"Oh my god, Ryan, I had a crazy dream… I had… I had fur all over my body and… and…"

Ryan swung his palm and - not so gently - slapped me in the face.

"It wasn't a dream you goddamn moron, it all happened. It's all for real. Your hair retracted, that's all. You will learn to transform quicker - like me - but there's no time, I gotta bail. I will explain everything later. My sisters took care of your stuff - clothes and phone and backpack and whatever else you had. And the body, too, in case you ask. Come to our house tomorrow and we'll talk."

"Ryan!" I cried and grabbed his hand. The thought of him leaving me alone terrified me.

"I'm sorry Alex, I can't be here. Oh, and an important thing. Don't talk about it to anyone, even Owen. We'll talk later and we'll figure out what to do."

"Please stay, I'm scared!" I cried.

I saw genuine compassion on his face that didn't match it at all. The way he was using my first name for a change ensured me that it was real.

"I can't. I don’t have any clothes, see? Try to get some sleep. And one more thing. I know it may seem hard but try to act normal. Spend as much time as you can inside, but don't cancel any plans. Talk to your family. Come by tomorrow morning and we'll talk." He pulled his hand from my grip and approached my desk. “I’m writing down my address. I’ll leave the note on your desk.”

"But Ryan, what if I change again? How do I control it? What do I do?"

Just then we heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Fuck," Ryan said and jumped towards the window. "Good night, Alex," he added, climbed through the window frame and to my surprise, pulled himself up and disappeared.

Five seconds later, I heard knocking on my door.

“Alex?” I heard Mum’s voice.

“Co… coming!”

***

Talking to Mum felt like taking a school test high on LSD. At least this is how I imagine it would feel. Ryan said I should act normal but it was impossible. Nothing was normal anymore. I was still sore from… whatever happened to me and I couldn't stop replaying those scenes in my mind over and over. The fight with the cat, watching it die and transform into a human, running around the city with Ryan in the shape of… what exactly? I forgot to ask him!

"Alex sweetie, are you with me?"

"Uh, yes Mum. I was home all along, I just felt tired after the workout," I mumbled.

"Uh, okay, I see. Tell Chris he should go easy on you next time, okay? You’re still very young."

"Okay Mum, I'm not forcing myself. I'll get used to it," I heard myself say. There might be more getting used to for me than she can imagine. The gym, Dad, Owen… did any of it matter anymore?

"Did you see Owen today?"

"Yeah, but just briefly," I said, remembering our little fight from this morning. I looked at the clock. It was half-past ten in the evening. This morning felt like another life - someone else’s life. Maybe it was.

"I thought you'd be sleeping with him tonight. You guys alright?" She asked, giving me a penetrating look. I wish she wasn't so perceptive. It was nothing huge, but like all mothers, she seemed to know everything.

"Yes, we're alright. I might go to spend the night tomorrow."

"Good. Get some more sleep, though, because you look pale."

"I know, Mum, I will."

"Uhm, and Alex?”

“Yes?”

She ran her thumb and index finger just above her upper lip.

“I think it’s about time you start shaving.”

I gasped and opened my eyes as if I’d seen a ghost. Mum laughed.

“It’s nothing bad, Alex. Puberty happens to everyone.”

"Uhm, yeah, sure," I blushed. I knew the hair she saw didn’t have anything to do with puberty because it wasn’t there this morning.

Loud gurgling in my guts reminded me that I hadn’t eaten all day, so I made myself a heap of toast and ran upstairs to my room to consume it. I was staring blankly at the wall while eating. Eating felt good, at least. It was something familiar and calming.