Wolf

Bright, blinding light awoke Keegan, his body aching and stiff. His arms felt constricted and he couldn’t move the blankets were so tight around him. His eyes finally adjusted to the light and he could see a shadow above him that slowly materialized into Micah. He had a bucket resting in the crook of one arm, using his other hand to dip a cloth into it. His forehead was creased in concern as he tried to wring out the cloth.

“Keegan! Keegan you’re awake,” Micah said, gasping, when he looked down at his brother once again. He nearly dropped the bucket in his haste before he leaned forward, eyes searching the boy’s frantically.

“What are you doing?” Keegan asked, confuse.

“You… You’re a human,” he said, letting out a relieved sigh and smiling. “We found you and Wolf and I…” At the mention of his demon, Keegan flinched, eyes flickering shut briefly.

“Wolf… He didn’t…” Micah cocked his head to the side for a moment before offering up a gentle, soothing smile.

“It’s ok Keegan, it’ll be alright. Here, sit up so you can get something to drink, yeah?” Micah urged and Keegan frowned wanting to protest but the burning in his throat made it hard to speak. When he did make it to a sitting position Micah carefully tipped the wooden cup back against his lips, Keegan swallowing the water greedily before letting his eyes drift over the room. He had to ask about Wolf- he knew he did- but he didn’t want the answer that was inevitably going to come to him.
“Keegan!” Mary’s relieved voice exclaimed and he dared a glance towards where it came from, confused as to why she was even there. She was bent low over a cot that was about to her waist, a white sheet pulled mostly up and an arm hanging over the side. Keegan could see a winding brand around the wrist, identical to the one that was etched into his own skin. He frowned, confused, as Mary gave him a brief smile before turning back to the cot, rag in hand.

“W-Who is that?” Keegan dared to ask, eyes searching Micah’s face for some sign of hope. It was Wolf, it had to be, but he didn’t have that brand before, and they wouldn’t have left his body in the same room with Keegan. Even if Micah and Mary thought Keegan would do better without him, they wouldn’t hurt him like this.

“Wolf,” Micah said quietly. “Lie down Kee,” he ordered when Keegan tried to go to the demon. He wanted to ignore the command, tried to, but as soon as he stood the world spun around him, legs giving out.

“Hey Keegan,” Micah said when Keegan forced his eyes open. The light wasn’t blinding anymore, though it was still uncomfortably bright at first. It must have been late afternoon, based on the shadows in the bedroom. “How do you feel?”

“A lot better, this time,” he admitted. He hadn’t noticed it when he’d woken up before, but now that the sickness was gone, he realized he had been nauseous, and mostly dazed. Micah made small talk, Keegan guessed so that he could gauge his recovery, before finally helping Keegan to his feet. It took him a few shaky steps to be confident in his stride and, though his legs felt exhausted by the movement, they were obedient enough to get him to the kitchen. His eyes flickered to the other cot, empty now, and he cringed, afraid of what he would be told.

Mary was in there, cooking something, and Keegan saw a man sitting at the table, sipping what looked like a steaming cup of tea. He was lean muscle under his tunic, arms exposed and surprisingly tanned. It took Keegan a moment to recognize the face as Wolf’s, with it seeming so much softer, eyes gentle and golden brown. Keegan’s eyes flickered down to the man’s wrist and he saw the same winding design that he had thought he had imagined to be there.

“Wolf?” Keegan called quietly from the doorway, looking at him, so sure he had died.

“Keegan,” the demon said immediately, smiling wide, and Keegan noticed his teeth didn’t seem so sharp and predatory anymore. It took Wolf only seconds to be on his feet and to Keegan, wrapping him tight in his arms. “I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I don’t even know how you did it,” he said, voice mystified as he pulled away just enough to run his hands through Keegan’s hair, ruffling it.

“I didn’t do anything. I mean, you d-died. I saw you.”

“In a way,” he agreed, nodding, “but you knew my name. I don’t even know how you did it, but you knew, and it brought me back.”

“What? Saying you’re name kept you from dying?”

“Saying my name, the one from my human life, it made me human again,” Wolf explained, eyes still wide and so, so happy.

“Human,” Keegan whispered, half afraid to say it any louder, the small shifts he had noticed seeming to make so much more sense now. A distant part of him said that Mary was still in the room but he didn’t care as he pressed his lips to Wolf’s. He wasn’t sure he had ever seen the man so happy before.

“You’re amazing, love, completely,” Wolf said, keeping Keegan locked in his arms.

“Wolf,” Micah said, making him release Keegan and face the younger boy’s brother. “Do you think you could give Keegan and I a moment?”

“Of course,” he agreed, seeming completely relaxed. He squeezed Keegan’s hand before walking out of the kitchen, Mary following behind him. They were speaking to each other quietly, both laughing softly with each other, and Keegan couldn’t help his smile. He had never seen Wolf so open, or so friendly.

“You nearly died, saving him,” Micah began, sitting at the kitchen table. Keegan followed suit, unsure of how to respond. “I was horrified when I found you. Wolf was half-dead, nearly dragging you back towards the house. He collapsed as soon as I took you from him. I could hardly feel a pulse from either of you.’

“You two seem to be more agreeable now, at least,” Keegan commented, wondering if that had to do with Wolf being human now.

“He could have had a better chance of survival if he’d just left you. He chose to drag you along, using the rest of his strength to get you as close to here as he could. How can I hate someone who risked everything for my brother?” Micah explained with a resigned shrug. Keegan knew his eyes widened, when he realized that Micah didn’t know Wolf wasn’t a demon anymore. Keegan couldn’t be all that surprised, when all the changes were just so minimal, but it was still a shock.

“Then we have your approval?” Keegan asked, unable to hide his hope. He really did want Micah to allow their relationship, instead of always fighting about it.

“You have my blessing,” he said with a smile, “whether he is a demon or not. Even Mary said she approved of him.”

“What if he were human?” Keegan ventured, curious as to Micah’s reaction. Wolf never would have brought it up to Micah; he wouldn’t have known how to even start such a conversation, no matter how much he wanted to tell them all.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll be safe with him regardless, and that’s enough for me.”

“Well, just so you know, he is. I don’t know how exactly, but he’s human again,” Keegan told his brother, grinning. Micah returned the smile, looking relieved, before dismissing Keegan.

“Wolf,” Keegan called, when he got outside. The man was sitting on a stump, leaning against the house, bathed in sunlight.

“My love,” he replied, opening his eyes and smiling. “I haven’t actually felt heat like this in so long. I can never repay you.”

“You don’t have to.” Keegan walked over, next to Wolf. He could feel his legs getting shaky and couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been unconscious.

“Sit,” Wolf said immediately, standing. He placed one hand on Keegan’s shoulder and the other on his forearm, lowering him onto the stump. “You’re still not fully healed. I don’t know that you will be, for a while yet.”

“Wolf, what happened in the woods?”

“Call me Cináed, please. It’s been too long since I’ve heard that. When I became a demon… I had no memory of my name, or anything really.” Keegan nodded in agreement, moving over on the stump so that they could both fit. “I was hearing that voice, the one who you saw. It was powerful, and I knew it would come for you if I didn’t go. You found me somehow though. You were never supposed to come near that place, that day. I’m sorry Keegan.”

“Don’t be,” he interrupted. “I’d have lost you, and now you’re human again. I was meant to find you.”

“Perhaps,” Cinead said after a moment, smiling at Keegan. “I don’t know how you changed me back, or how either of us survived. It just… happened.”

“I guess I’m just that good,” Keegan teased, unable to hold back his grin.

“Good at getting into every bad situation you can,” he retorted, pulling Keegan in close. He ran his fingers along a few areas on Keegan’s face that made him wince, and he assumed it could only be bruising. Looking down at his arms, he could see they were discolored and scratched too, leaving hardly any clear skin. “You really are my little disaster, aren’t you.” With a grin, Keegan grabbed his demon’s, no, his lover’s shirt, and pulled him in for a kiss.