Damian's Wolf - 34. Broken Howl

The car rumbled through the afternoon, weaving through the hills. Jordan found the purr of the vehicle easy to rest to. His potion sat beside him, a can of WolfX beside him. Contradictory liquids; one would put his wolf to bed for the night, the other would give him the energy of a wolf. But he needed both to get his family home and safe.

What made sleep nearly impossible was Lysander. The elf was not okay, and they all knew it. He wouldn’t do anything crazy, like driving the car through one of the guardrails that protected them from hundred foot drops, but Jordan still felt anxiety bubbling inside him.

Worse, he knew Lysander could smell his anxiety, yet there was no way for him to stop the emotion.

“You know, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when everyone around you thinks you’re going to drive off the mountainside,” the elf spoke up suddenly. “How can I be sad when everyone thinks they’re about to die? I just feel guilty for putting you three through this.”

Damian glanced back at Jordan, the neko’s eyes wide with shock. Jordan sighed quietly and tapped his nose.

“I’m sorry Sander. I really am. But we’re worried about you.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Look, I’m glad that you two care about me enough to be worried. I know this isn’t just for yourselves. But it’s hard to process things when all I can think about is not killing us all.”

“Do you want me to drive then? I could get us through the night still. And you can rest, and deal with all of this,” Jordan offered.

“It’s not safe for you to drive all night without sleep,” Lysander protested.

“I’m not going to get any sleep anyway,” Jordan pointed out. “Just pull over at the next rest stop. Dylan needs to eat anyway, and we can switch seats.”

“There’s a CatCafe ten miles away. We’ll stop there,” Lysander sighed as they passed a sign. “I’m sure you two are hungry.”

“If we eat, you eat too. Some fries, a salad, I don’t care. But you need to eat something.”

“I’m not going to starve myself Jordan-”

“Sander, after Sara, you locked yourself in your room and refused to do anything. I’m not letting you do that again,” Jordan said.

Lysander tightened his grip on the steering wheel, staring through the windshield.

“It worked. I got everything out of me.”

“It didn’t work. Just mentioning her caused you pain, and I’m sorry. But I needed to get my point across. You tried to handle sorrow in your own way. Let Damian and I help you this time.”

“Lynestra bless it! Of course it caused me pain! She was my closest friend and now she’s gone! That is a fucking stupid measure of sorrow!” Lysander snapped.

“Guys, can… can we do this when we’re not in a moving car?” Damian whimpered.

Dylan’s wail suddenly pierced the argument, Jordan quick to offer the neko a finger to play with.

“We’re almost there,” he told Dylan, letting the neko latch on to his finger.

“Look. We’ve only known each other for a month. We’ve been officially mated for less than that. And yet we’ve been through more together than most couples go through in a lifetime,” Lysander continued. “I’m happy to listen to your advice, but I know what works for me. I’ve dealt with more death than I care to recall, and I can deal with this too, in my own way.”

“Fine. If you need your mates at all while dealing with this on your own, just ask,” Jordan scowled.

Lunch was eaten late, the trio sitting in an uncomfortable silence as their food vanished quickly. Damian held a bottle for Dylan. It didn’t take the baby long to guzzle the formula down, and Jordan frowned at the sight.

“Someone was hungry,” Damian chuckled nervously.

“Are we feeding him enough?” Jordan asked.

“Every three hours, right?” the neko said.

“Two to three hours,” Lysander denied. “Maybe we should add a few more feedings.”

“Hold on, I’ll ask Arisa,” Jordan frowned, pulling out his phone.

Lysander chewed on his lip as Jordan typed, and the human paused, staring at his mate.

“Do you have something to say?”

“No. Nope. Not at all,” Damian interrupted the elf. “Look, we’re all stressed out right now. It’s been a hard day. It’s been a hard month for us all. Why don’t we just… let each other be for now, and then when we get home, we can figure out where we stand. Deal?”

Lysander’s face softened, and the elf leaned back in his chair.

“You’re right,” he sighed. “I’m too stressed out right now. I’m going to take a nap in the car. Can you wake me up at seven please Damian? I don’t want to shift in the car.”

“Of course I can,” the neko promised.

“Wait, you’re not going out there right now, are you?” Jordan demanded as the elf began cleaning up his area.

“No. But I’m done eating,” Lysander said, pushing his half eaten food away.

“I’ll finish it,” Damian said, grabbing the plate.

Jordan frowned as the neko gulped down the rest of Lysander’s food, his own plate licked spotless.

“You know, you're not homeless any more. You don’t have to eat every meal like it’s your last,” the man said quietly.

“I know,” Damian shrugged, before shoving another spoonful of potato soup into his mouth.

He swallowed tightly, before motioning toward a sign in the window.

“Anyway, did you see that they’re selling the CatCafes? New ownership or whatever. They’re looking for neko employees. Maybe I should check out the cafe near the bookstore.”

Jordan frowned, glancing at the sign.

“Why would you do that? You already have a job at the bookstore. You don’t need two,” he said.

Damian’s ears flicked and he glanced between Lysander and Jordan.

“Well… I mean, I always heard that… you’re not supposed to work with your mate, right?”

“Now who would make that rule?” Jordan scoffed.

“It’s more of an unspoken suggestion,” Lysander said. “Look at us. Two werewolves crammed together for no more than two days and we’re at each other’s throats. It’s not a bad suggestion, and I doubt Damian means it as an insult. Besides, right after his change, he’s going to need his space to deal with things.”

“It feels wrong to me,” Jordan grimaced, staring at the sign. “Why are they singling out nekos for employment?”

“Because the area has a bias toward elven workers,” Lysander shrugged. “It’s always been that way. I like to see the change.”

“Do you think they’re just gathering nekos all in one place-”

“No Aerael. I do not. The CatCafes have traditionally been neko establishments, since the mid 1200s. I cannot see anything nefarious going on with that,” Lysander said quietly. “Don’t let what is happening to wolves colour your thoughts. Not everyone is out to destroy people. Some of us just want to help.”

“I think they’re changing the name of the franchise too,” Damian added hurriedly. “CeCe’s. Apparently CatCafe is too rude.”

“To who? The elves?” Jordan snorted.

“No, believe it or not, a lot of nekos are not happy about being referred to as cats,” Lysander pointed out.

“I honestly don’t care. What does it matter what you call me? If you’re going to put a bullet in my head, a name’s not going to change that,” Damian shrugged.

Silence descended around the table. Lysander and Jordan stared at their mate, Damian quickly scooping more soup into his mouth as his ears dropped.

“That’s never going to happen,” Jordan said quietly. “I will never let you be in a position where that could happen.”

“You can’t protect everyone-” Damian started.

“I will protect you,” Jordan denied. “Both of you.”

“Well, this was certainly an entertaining lunch,” Lysander sighed. “Are you ready Damian?”

The neko scraped at the last of his food before nodding.

“Yeah… let’s get home. The sooner we get home, the sooner you two can change me, right?”

“Not at all. You still have to wait the two days,” Lysander said with a painful smirk.

Jordan pulled over at a rest stop as the sun sank behind the mountains at their backs.

“Okay, everyone out of the car,” he yawned, shutting the engine off. “Damian, wake Lysander, will you?”

“Already awake,” the elf said, staring out the window.

“Okay, well you should shift now. It will make things easier. Go ahead and get a quick run in. I’m going to drink my potion now while Damian feeds Dylan, and then we can pile back into the car for another ten hour drive.”

The trio stepped out of the car, Damian stopping Lysander before he could head to the restroom.

“What are you doing Kalael?” Lysander asked quietly.

Arms wrapped around the elf, Damian staring at Jordan over Lysander’s shoulder. The human was quick to join them, sandwiching Lysander between himself and Damian.

“We love you Sander. And we’re here for you.”

“I know,” the elf murmured.

He gently pressed his lips into Damian’s, stroking the neko’s hair. Pulling away, Lysander set his forehead against his mate’s, meeting his eyes.

“Thank you Kalael. And you too Jordan. I’m sorry I’ve been difficult today.”

“You have a good reason,” Jordan shrugged as the elf wriggled out of their embrace.

Lysander made his way to the restroom and Jordan pulled out a bottle of warm water. He passed it to Damian before opening his own bottle of juice.

A white wolf emerged from the restroom a minute later, clothes in his mouth. He carried them to the car, and dropped them by the trunk. Turning, the wolf stepped toward an empty area of the rest stop, staring at the mountains to the west. Lifting his head, Lysander let out a low howl, the single note carrying through the area mournfully.

Jordan set his bottle to the side, joining his mate. He put an arm around Lysander, hugging him tightly. His own head thrown back, Jordan let out his own howl, human voice lacking the meaning of the wolf’s, but that didn’t matter. Their pack was hurting, and he was going to show his support regardless.

Even Damian was letting out a howl, low as he tried to support his mates while avoiding disturbing his feeding son.

A rock suddenly slammed into Lysander’s shoulder, his howl breaking off in a yelp.

“Shut up!” an elf yelled at the two.

A snarl broke out of Jordan, the human starting toward the elf. A short yip stole his attention, Lysander staring at his mate. Jordan let out a sigh, but followed the wolf back to the car. Lysander limped slightly as he pulled himself back into the car, and Jordan ran a hand over his shoulder, finding nothing more than a bruise. It would heal by the time the sun rose again.

“Fucking asshole,” he scowled at the other elf.

“Ignore him,” Damian said quietly. “Are you okay Sander?”

The white wolf whimpered quietly, his pain breaking through. Damian lifted Dylan back into the car, the neko making sure their son was safe before sliding into the other side of the seat.

“Come here Sander. I got you,” he said, opening his arms for the wolf.

Lysander crawled into the neko’s lap, curling up as best as he could in the cramped space.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get us to the pack house by morning,” Jordan said. “Damian, you’re on feeding and poop duty tonight.”

“Duh,” Damian chuckled as the car rolled into motion.