“I know. I trust you.”

Kiana’s smile let John relax a little as he sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed, wearing only a blanket over his lap.

“Honestly, I’m not worried you’ll expose us. You don’t have anything to gain from it and you don’t seem like a liar to me.” Moving smoothly across the room, her fluidity and grace reminded John of her wolf form as she picked up the discarded clothes. “I’m more worried about you exposing yourself. A new lycan doesn’t exactly have a strong relationship with their inner wolf. Control can be fought over,” she gazed at him, a grave look in her sapphire eyes, “and lost.”

Gulping slightly, he nodded. “That’s part of why I need that training…” he half mumbled to himself, trying to hide the panic of possibly losing control and attacking someone at school or even his mom.

Kiana offered him a slip of paper. “Here. The information I promised you.” He glanced at the name as she continued absentmindedly, “Though, now that we know you’re lycan blooded, I might be able to convince Dakota to vouch for you and train you ourselves…”

Despaxas - Follow the hedgehogs

’What the hell is that supposed to mean? Follow the hedgehogs? I’ve never even seen a hedgehog...’

His mind whirled and he nodded slowly, tucking the paper into the pocket of his borrowed jeans. More than a little confused by the directions and overwhelmed by the events of the day, he just stared at the pile of clothes, not realizing Kiana was still talking until she said his name again.

“...ohn? John?”

He jumped, looking up at her, “Sorry. A little…”

“Overwhelmed?” She smiled and he nodded, both of them flinching a little when the front door of the cabin slammed shut. “It’s okay. The bathroom is the first door on the left, why don’t you go shower and clean up? I’ll talk to Dakota and see if we can figure something out.”

Standing carefully with the blanket wrapped around his waist like a beach towel, the gamer offered Kiana an unsure smile. “Thank you. For everything.”

She didn’t say anything, just smiled back and walked out the door, distracting her frightening mate and giving John the chance to slip into the steamy bathroom where Tala was toweling off.

The young woman looked up at him with a bright smile, “Hey there, stud. Looks like Mom managed not to scare you too bad. You alright?”

“Honestly, I don’t know…” He felt shaken to the core, barely able to focus on her as she slipped back into the dress from before, leaving her underwear behind. “Just a lot to take in, I think.”

With a tentative hug, Tala kissed the nerd’s cheek. “I know. I’m here to help you now,” looking into his eyes with a smile as she repeated his promise to her, “and I’m not going anywhere…”

John blushed, pulling her into a loving embrace, “Thank you,” kissing her before letting her go. “I think your dad’s here and he didn’t sound too happy. I’ll be out in a minute.” She rolled her eyes, letting him relax and smile.

“He’s always grumpy after talking to the pack leaders,” Tala sighs. “Don’t take too long. Towels are under the sink.” She kissed his cheek quickly before leaving him alone in the warm room, her hair wrapped up in a turban-like mass.

John dropped the now-dirty blanket in the hamper, gently picking up the silken g-string Tala left behind. Feeling its faint warmth in his hand, memories of their time together flashed through his mind and he stowed the soiled garment in his inventory as a memento. ‘Who would have thought I’d be here now. Powers, sex with a gorgeous girl, fighting…’ The last thought made him pause and look at himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His hair was tousled and had leaves in it, there was dirt on his arm, streaks of sweat had cleaned the forest grime from his face, and he noticed a bruise and what looked like a healed scratch where Tala had bitten him.

Spotting those marks reminded him of the wound in his back, and he turned to examine it, barely noticing a pink mark where the puncture had been. With a shudder, he reached back to trace it, feeling the same coldness as Tala’s scar. Looking down at his hand as he stepped into the stone shower, John let the gravity of his near **** experience hit him fully, turning on the water to an extra high heat to fight off the shaking that started wracking his body.

‘I could have died today. I should have died today…’ His breath came in gasps as he leaned against the shower wall, letting the water drive the chill out of his soul. When the shuddering finally slowed, the gamer decided to look at his character sheet and the popup windows he had missed before while washing himself.

Warning - Low Health (Bleeding)

‘Mmm.. I wonder if that’s the beeping I heard,’ he mused as he continued clicking through screens.

Achievement Unlocked - You know you don’t respawn, right?
Drop below 10% health within the first 24 hours of having your powers
Seriously, kid, how many times are you going to try to turn into fertilizer before learning how to survive?
+1 Wisdom
Bottle o’ Fairy

He sighed, the sarcasm of his narrator’s comments and rewards only adding to the dull headache that was developing behind his eyes.

Achievement Unlocked - One in the mouth is better than two in the hand
Receive your first blowjob! Nice one, skippy. She’s cute too.
+1 Libido
$69,00

Achievement Unlocked - Innocence no more
You finally lost your virginity! Not only that, but you lost it deflowering another. I’d be proud if I wasn’t so surprised.
+1 Endurance
+$100,00, to take that girl on a date!

Achievement Unlocked - Mixing DNA
Have unprotected sex with a non-human girl, you sly dog.
+1 Wisdom, as you obviously need it
+1 box of Janus Condoms

“Wait,” speaking aloud in his surprise, John moved to his inventory screen to Observe the new items. “What?”

Lycanthropy Mod Pack Installed
Skill addition - Gamer’s Curse
Libido has changed to Instinct
HP/MP regen per hour adjustment - lycan blood

Confused, John clicked back to his character sheet, examining and focusing on his newly adjusted skills

Gamer’s Curse - You've become afflicted with lycanthropy! The curse allows you to shift between new, inhuman forms, including a hybrid wolf-man and a feral wolf, provided you and your new inner beast can agree.

Instinct - You are no longer guided simply by your sex drive, but by deeper, more animalistic desire. As you increase your Instinct, you will gain improved reflexes and awareness, but at the risk of losing yourself to your inner wolf.

He gulped when he saw the new stat under his cash reserves.

Inner Balance: Control over your body is now split between your human mind and the spirit of your inner wolf. To maintain focus, you must balance your Instinct with Wisdom.

The water had gone cold while he was reading, and he rinsed off the remnants of soap before shutting it off. Without the white noise of the running shower, John could hear the unmistakable rumbling of Dakota’s voice in the other room. He dried off as quickly as he could, slipped back into his borrowed clothes, and stepped out of the steamy sanctuary.

“...on’t trust the boy, Kiana. He’s not one of us. We tested his blood when he healed so rapidly.”

“But he is. He partialed, Dad,” Tala’s voice carried down the hall, bringing a smile to John’s face and letting him relax a little.

“He also knew our names without us telling him. Who knows what kind of information he’s gathering, or why?” Gruff, Dakota sounded angry, and John gulped before clearing his throat and the living room went silent.

Reminded of school, he gave a resigned sigh before walking out to join them. However, unlike school, the majority of faces were still smiling when he entered the room. His lover was lounging on the couch while her parents sat in a firm leather armchair and a wooden rocker that matched John’s idea of their personalities. Tala hopped up from her seat to grab his arm and drag him to sit with her on the couch. The position placed the teens between her parents, but her presence kept him from panicking.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Dakota cleared his throat to speak.