Friends to Lovers: Chapter 1 - Carl

My opponent launched himself at me, only showing his movement a split second before moving.  The minute squinting of his eyes, the slight tightening of his lips and I knew he was going to move to the right.  I use that knowledge to jump out of his way.  My hands glide across his muscled, sweat-slicked forearm, continuing his forward motion and pushing him past me.  Once he’s passed, I kick out at his knee to force him down.

He easily dodges my kick, twisting his hand and grabbing the wrist of the hand that pushed him aside.  Using his momentum and brute strength, he forces my arm behind my back and pushes me up against the wall of the open arena we’re in.  

He presses his entire body into mine and I can’t help the physical reaction my body has to him.  My breathing hitches even more and my face flushes, both in response to something that has nothing to do with our fight.  My pants are suddenly snugger and I was very aware of every part of his body that touched mine.  Both of us are shirtless, only wearing rather snug workout shorts.  His sweat-covered skin glides against mine and his breath fans across my ear.  Goddess, the feelings that this man causes inside of me.

“Give up?” Richard whispers in my ear and I have to bite my lip to hold back a moan.  I can’t help but feel his breathing against my back.  Did it increase at my nearness as well?  Is he breathing heavier, too?  Or is that just hope on my part?

My voice comes out breathy, “You wish.”  My other hand, which he hadn’t secured, pulls forward before pulling back and elbowing him in the solar plexus.  His breath, which had been fanning my ear, comes out in a whoosh.  Stepping in on foot, I break his grip on my wrist, whirling around and preparing to punch him in the face.

Richard ducks down, my punch sailing over his head and barrels into me, lifting his body over his shoulder and throwing me behind him.

I land in the dirt, dazed and unable to move from the sudden force of the air that has left my lungs and the impact of my body on the ground.  Immediately, Richard is on top of me.  Both of his hands are holding me down at the wrist as he straddles me, his body wrapped around mine and most of his weight on my hips so that I can’t buck or kick him off.  Though it is a solid fighting technique, it is also extremely sexual.

What I wouldn’t give to have him in this position while the two of us are naked.  To have him ride my cock.  To feel his strong thighs on either side of my waist pumping in onto my body.  To pull him down for the kiss that I have so desperately wanted to give him for years.

I try to shake those thoughts out of my head.  To push them down like I’ve always done.  To remember my duty to my family and my pack.  I have to produce an heir.  I can’t give in to what I want.  I can’t give in to the lust that I feel for Richard.  I can’t.

But my body has other ideas.  It has reacted to this fantasy nearly come to life and My cock has started to stiffen beneath Richard’s body.  He shifts above me, seemingly to get a better hold on me.  That doesn’t really help the situation in my pants though.

And Richard finally feels it.    He feels my fully erect cock on his ass.

At first, a look of pure surprise coats his face, but it is followed very quickly by a darkening of his eyes and the smirk that I’ve seen him give to girls that he’s sure he’ll be seeing naked by the end of the night.  His eyes move back and forth between mine and my lips and I see him starting to lean in.

My mind is screaming at me to get him off of me.  But then I start to feel his excitement against my lower stomach.  He leaned further into my body, grinding his hips into me ever so slightly.

Fuck!  My eyes roll back into my head and I moan a bit.

“Shit, Carl.  You can’t do shit like that and not expect me to do something about it,” Richard says.

He leans into me, his eyes focused on my lips.  Shit, this was really happening.

And just as I felt Richard’s lips brush mine, the sounds of our other two best friends busting out of the locker room into the arena rang out in the air.  Thank the Goddess that Alistar has the loudest mouth of our entire pack and that Jared’s  gait is more about making the earth submit to his 5 foot nothing self than actually walking.

Richard springs off of me, both of us standing and walking to the bench with our towels on it, attempting to hide the erections that were straining both of our pants before our friends saw us.

Fucking hell!  I don’t know if Alistar and Jared have the best time…or the worst.

“Hey guys!” Jared calls out as he spots us.  Richard is almost completely on the other side of the arena at the water cooler, while I’m heading towards where Jared and Alistar are at the entrance to the locker rooms.

“Jeez, guys.  Where the hell have you been?  Richard and I already sparred.  I kicked his ass!” I call over my shoulder, a fake smile spreading over my face along with a forced laugh.

“You fucking wish, dumbass.  I wiped the floor with you.  Had you on your back and everything!” Richard calls back, but he still hasn’t turned around.  Instead he takes a long drink of water before pouring the rest of his bottle over his head.

I know that the action is meant to cool him off, but it does the exact opposite to me.  All I can think about is running my tongue over his skin as I collect the sweat and water off of him.  It doesn’t help that I’ve been having dreams about him over the past several weeks, the one last night featuring that exact scenario.  I thought that since my 21st birthday is tomorrow that I would be dreaming about my mate.  Instead, I’m dreaming about the temptation that has been in my life since we were born.

It’s not that homosexuality is a bad thing or anything like that in werewolf society.  No, low ranking wolves that don’t pass down titles and names can be gay and mate each other as much as they want.  They problem comes in when there are gay high ranking wolves.

Our bloodlines are important.  They hold ancient power that flows from generation to generation.  Only someone who has alpha blood in their veins is able to run a pack.  They have the strength and wisdom to care for several hundred wolves.  Only a beta can advise and guide the alpha.  We tend to be better at understanding and memorizing the traditions and rules of the pack and our ability to present both sides of an argument and guide our alpha is second to none in the back.  A delta is the fastest and best warrior in the entire pack, which is good, since they are the trainers.  And the gamma is the fiercest and most intimidating wolf, as they mete out the punishments and enforce the alpha’s will.

These are positions that aren’t just given to someone on a whim.  They are in our blood and run in our families.  Therefore, we have to provide offspring.  Blood offspring.  And that is something that a homosexual couple cannot do.

So, no matter how much I’ve always wanted Richard or how much he seems to want me, we can’t.  We have to put the good of the pack ahead of our wants.  No matter how much it tears us apart inside.

Luckily, tomorrow is both Richard and my 21st birthday.  A wolf’s 21st birthday is one of the biggest days in their lives.  Though our 16th, when we get our wolf is a close second.  

On a wolf’s 21st birthday, they receive their Goddess gift, which is a special personality trait that the Goddess instills in us that will help us throughout our lives.  It will enrich the pack and help us to prosper.  But, the second thing that happens on a wolf’s 21st birthday is that they start to be able to find their mate.  As long as both mates have had their 21st birthday, the will find each other, though it could take up to a year.

And the final thing that happens on our 21st birthday for high ranking wolves is that we take over our positions in the pack.  Tomorrow, whether I find my mate or not, I will be taking over the position of Beta and Richard will become the pack Gamma.  Jared became our Alpha at the beginning of the year with Alistar following him to become our Delta a month later.  Both had found their mates on their birthdays.  Richard and I are the last of our leadership to take up their mantles.

So tonight, the four of us had planned on camping out in the woods.  There’s a cliff that stands high above a waterfall leading into a lake.  While a lot of wolves like to hang out at the lake, our special spot has always been at the top of the cliff.  That’s where the four of us are heading tonight.

That’s why we were meeting in the arena.  We were going to spar a few rounds and then head out to the cliff together.

“You guys ready?  Got your camping gear and everything?” I ask Jared and Alistar.  

They share a look and I know something’s up.

Jared looks almost ashamed as he looks at Richard and I.  “That’s why the two of us were late.  We found out that the McCready’s are at it again.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Richard groans out, letting out the exasperation that all of us feel.

The McCready’s are a gang of four brothers who lost their parents during a rogue attack about five years back.  The pack tried to take care of them, but the oldest brother, Edward, elected to take his brothers and go after the rogues.  Unfortunately, none of them was able to fend for themselves and they have been running back into our territory, stealing from families and from the food supply in the kitchen.

Jared’s dad had let it go on because he felt like the boys would come back to the fold.  Unfortunately, petty theft has turned into worse things.  They even hurt someone the last time that they came to the pack.

“We know where they are.  We’re going to lead a team and round them up tonight and put them in the cells.  We can’t let them do this anymore,” Alistar says.

“Fucking hell.  Well, there goes our plans.  When are we heading out?” I ask, turning to grab my shirt off of the bench.

“No guys.  Your dads and us have this handled.  We all agreed that you should have one last night without this responsibility.  Alistar and I won’t be able to go camping tonight, but the two of you are going out,” Jared says.  “And that’s an order.”

I know that he means it in a good way.  He wants us to have a good time.  But after what just happened in the arena before they arrived, I can’t think of a worse thing than for Richard and I to be in the woods alone tonight.