There, a glimpse of grey.

Between the trunks at the edge of the clearing. A hint of fur. Tala. It just had to be her. John’s mind wouldn’t accept any other possibility, and he gave April an apologetic nuzzle before bounding towards the trees.

He took up the chase with a rush of adrenaline he hadn’t felt since they met. His paws felt like they barely touched the ground; her footprints were easy to follow in the fresh snow. So focused on his target, John barely noticed his surroundings until he crashed through a blackberry bush, a few thorns sticking into his fur, to find himself in the same clearing yet again.

Tala was standing at the base of the white-flowered tree, human and beautiful as ever. Her bare feet, long tanned legs, bubble butt, and feminine hips were the sight of perfection. The gamer glanced at her hip where there was the faintest mark left of the angry scar. The pale line wrapped around her slight form and John’s claws scratched at the ground, twitching with a sudden desire to trace it.

He shook the thorns from his fur and took a bold step forward, the sole of his his foot snapping a twig that must have been caught in the mats on his chest. The slight pain of the stick biting into his leathery skin wasn’t enough to drag his attention away from his mate, but the sound pulled Tala’s focus from the tree before her. The air stood still. Her hand brushed the long hair from her face, and their gazes met.

A jolt rocked John’s body and his eyes flashed open with a start. He stared at the textured ceiling as he adjusted to the dim light of his bedroom. ’Just a dream?’ His brow furrowed as he tried to come back to reality. The image of Tala standing naked under the tree was seared into his brain, making his rock-hard cock throb under the sheets. A faint beeping sound caught the gamer’s attention, and he groped at the sheets in search of his phone.

He growled in frustration as he threw the blankets off to search for the offending device properly. It wasn’t tucked under his pillow, and there was nothing hard in the tangle of sheets by his feet. He stood, hurling his comforter across the room, only to still come up empty by the time the sound stopped. “Where the hell did I put it?” John grumbled to himself while shaking out the blankets, waiting for the inevitable brick of tech to smash into his foot. A knock at his door pulled him away from his hunt just long enough to take the few steps to open his door, tossing a discarded pillow back at his bed.

Brenda’s voice was bright with morning cheer as her soothing scent drifted into the room. “Good morning, honey. Did you sleep-”

“Sorry, Mom,” he interrupted her as the annoying beeping started again, the sound almost painfully loud this time, “I’m trying to find my phone to shut off my alarm.”

“Oh, well, uhm…” John turned to his mom to see that she had an odd look on her face and was pointedly not looking at him as she reached into the pocket of her robe. “It was in the hall by my door. You must have dropped it on your way up to your room.” As she spoke, she produced the mobile device and set it on his desk rather than handing it to him.

He snatched it up, cutting off the noise mid-beep before it could snooze itself again. “Thanks. I don’t even remember coming upstairs.” The lycan offered his mother a sheepish grin in apology.

Brenda ran her hand through her damp hair, the lavender scent intensifying as John realized the notes of honey were oddly absent. His eyes flicked down to catch the front of her robe opening slightly from the movement, the terrycloth unable to fully contain her curvaceous form.

“Well, the shower’s open.” She smiled back at him, still not meeting his eyes. “I’m going to get dressed and make you something mild for breakfast.”

“Uh, thanks. I’ll be down in a minute…” John half mumbled as Brenda turned and left the room. She didn’t even give him a chance to finish before she was gone. “Huh.” He leaned out the door to watch her ass sway back to her room and disappear behind a closed door. “I wonder what’s gotten into her.”

He shut his door with a sigh and started piling the remaining blankets and pillows back onto his bed. Something crumpled in the pile of fabric caught his eye, and he picked up his crusty pair of boxers. Holding them in his hand, John slowly looked down at himself, a hot blush taking over his face when he saw his half-hard cock bouncing freely in the open. He had just had a conversation with his mother. Butt naked.

He threw the shorts on, as if covering up could somehow save him from the embarrassment he felt, and flopped back onto his disheveled bed. “Well, that happened…” he groaned and rubbed his face with his hands, trying to convince himself to stand, when his stomach growled, breaking into his reverie. “Shower. Right.”

In true teenager fashion, John grabbed his phone on his way to the hall. Disappointment struck when he checked it, only to see that Tala hadn’t been able to call him yet. ’Well,’ he smiled to himself, ’I have been thinking about going back to the woods. There are more questions I want to ask now. And…’ he added, avoiding looking at himself in the bathroom mirror as he shut the door, ’maybe Tala would be willing to teach me a few things herself.’

Now that the door was shut, the scent of soap was overpowering in the small room, but under the harsh chemical perfume was the smell of Brenda. Pure. The subtle hint of honey was mixed with the lavender he’d come to know, but there was something deeper. An undeniable musk that his body was starting to recognize before his mind could, flaring his cock back to life before he could process it.

He threw his shorts into the hamper along the wall and turned on the shower, now all too eager to pump his cock under the hot water. It smelled like he was showering in pool water, but John didn’t care. The scent of Mrs. Newman in the room brought flash images to his mind that he tried not to pay too much attention to. The gamer didn’t need to picture his mother naked and touching herself, and he refused to acknowledge the responding pulse of his, now rock-hard, erection. He instead just closed his eyes and focused on the memory of Tala as he stroked himself: the feeling of her heated skin against his, the image of her standing under that tree, the sound of her scream when she came.

He didn’t last long. He couldn’t, not after spending an entire day pent up. This orgasm wasn’t nearly as satisfying as being locked inside of her molten cunt, but his hand wrapped around the base of his cock as he came. The last image passing through his mind was Tala’s silver wolf panting, pinned under him as they were locked together.

John’s cum washed down the drain as he finished his shower. He checked himself over as he lathered up. ’I could swear I wasn’t this fit before…’ His entire body felt firmer, though individual muscles were still undefined. With a quick rinse, he stepped out into the steamy room to look at himself in the mirror. Broader shoulders, definitely leaner. “Mmm, much better…” he mumbled to no one, “interesting what only a few points will do.” He leaned in to examine his teeth, making sure they weren’t sharper like the Onidas’, wondering what changes other than the knot on his dick would manifest.

Broken from his reverie by another painful grumble from his empty stomach, the nerd wrapped himself in a towel as he scurried to his room for clothes. At least today they would be his own clothes, rather than the ill-fitting loaners from the pack or the uniform for school. Holey jeans and a t-shirt adorned with a game controller were the perfect combination to make him feel more like himself again, even though they felt a bit tighter across the chest than before.

John negligently tossed his phone into his inventory and ran down the stairs, trying to hide how his nose wrinkled at the unappetizing smell of milk and oats.

“Hey!” Brenda seemed more relaxed as she called out to him, smelling of honey again with slightly sparkling skin. “There you are, I was getting worried you’d drowned in there.”

The gamer flushed, consciously reminded of the fact that she’d seen his hard cock this morning, and stammered a lame, “Yeah.”

His mom’s smile softened as she dished up a bowl of oats, putting a bottle of apple preserves next to it and removing her apron to show her scrubs. “You need to eat something. Are you feeling any better today? I don’t have to go to work…” As she said it, John knew she was lying. Brenda loved her job and her patients counted on her.

“I’m a lot better, actually,” John said with a half-hearted smile. Brenda looked doubtful, and he amended, “My headache is gone, at least.” This was the perfect opportunity to make sure he had a chance to do the things he’d settled on accomplishing today. “You should go to work. I’m probably just going to watch some TV and sleep some more.” He took a bite of his food, mumbling with a full mouth of the grey mush, “I’d be boring company.”

She smiled, looking him over. “Okay, if you insist. I’ll call a few times to check on you between appointments-”

John scrambled, cutting her off. “I’ll probably be asleep all day, so I might not answer…”

“Mhmm…” Brenda hummed thoughtfully. “Alright, I’ll let you get some rest, but first, let’s make sure you can handle some solid food.” Her eyes lit up teasingly, knowing full well how much he hated tasteless foods.