Dangerous Obsession

Night of the Wolves

   "You can't go Tuesday night, Dale" Michele informed him. Her tone didn't leave much room for argument.

"Mitch I'll be back by daylight and I took Wednesday off. Whatever we need to do can wait until then" Dale insisted. He wasn't about to miss this opportunity, even if it meant upsetting his wife.

"No. It can't wait. Jacob's first game of the season is Tuesday night" 

Dale groaned inwardly. How could he have forgotten about basketball season? Michelle was right, he couldn't miss the game. He'd never missed a sporting event yet, and he wasn't about to start now. There had to be some way to make the game and get to the woods. 

"What time does the game start?" He asked, strumming his fingertips on the steering wheel of Michelle's Camry. 

"6:00"

Six. He could work with that, he thought to himself, mentally planning his course of action. The game would take about an hour, then another 30 minutes before Jacob was done cooling down and changing. It was an hour drive to the National Forrest, then another couple of hours of hiking to get to the spot where he planned to start looking (and listening) for the wolves. That would put him there around 10:30 - 11:00. It was a little later than he would have liked but he could make it work. He hoped. He turned into the parking lot at the school and pulled up next to the entrance of the gym. They were a little early picking up the boys from practice ,so he got a decent parking spot. After he had the car in park he glanced over at Michelle. She was clearly still worried that he was going to skip out on Jacob's game. 

"Hey, I'll be there. I just forgot about it." He assured her, gently squeezing her warm hand. She looked up at him with relief in her deep blue eyes and smiled.

"Good. It means a lot to him you know"

"Speak of the Devil" Dale said with a chuckle, pointing at the glass doors of the gym. Their two sons spilled out, along with several other boys, roughhousing and laughing and teasing one another. 

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad" Evan greeted them. He slung his bag in the backseat and slid in behind it. Jacob followed close behind. 

"Hey Bud" Dale answered while Michelle just smiled at him in response.

"Buckle Boys" She ordered

"Yes Ma'am" they both answered rolling their eyes at Dale in the review mirror.

"So where we eating? I'm starved" Jacob asked.

"You look pretty healthy to me" His Mother smirked at him, earning her a classic 'dirty look'. 

"Hmmm, I don't know what sounds good?" Dale asked, waiting for the verdict before heading out.

"I was thinking the Chinese Buffett" Michelle suggested. Evan and Dale heartily agreed but Jacob moaned in protest.

"But you never get full at the Chinese Buffett even if you eat one hundred plates full" was his argument. Evan and Michelle began their enthusiastic counter-arguments and the tiny car sounded like it was full of angry geese. Dale shook his head and held up his hands for silence.

"Okay, okay, OKAY!" he said loudly. After gaining his family's attention he made his proposition.

"How about this... We eat at the Chinese Buffet, then on the way home I'll swing by and grab you boys some taco's from Miguelle's to cap it off"

If the yells of delight from the backseat were any indication, the boys thought that was an excellent plan. 

"Sounds perfect, Babe" Michelle added her consent, reaching over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Awww gross! Get a room!" Jacob whined

"I'm scarred for life" screeched Evan, shielding his eyes from the horrors of his parent's PDA.

"You better be glad Dad is busy driving, or I might do something that would really scar you for life" Michelle warned, a devilish grin on her face. She was rewarded with laughter and a wink from Dale and even more groaning from the boys. Exactly the reaction she had been hoping for.

Dale pulled out onto the highway and thought to himself how lucky he was to have his family. Even with all their arguing, and chaos, and loudness. He thought they were the perfect family and he wouldn't change one single thing.

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   He was doing his best to keep his mind on the game. He really was. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't resist glancing at his watch often, and he was starting to bounce his leg nervously. He could tell Michelle had picked up on his nervous energy so he made an even bigger effort to control himself. Of all the nights to go into overtime though?  

    There was less than a minute left on the clock now, Jacob's team had the ball. The score was 42 to 43 with the opposing team in the lead. One of his team members passed Jacob the ball. He was set up for a great three pointer and he took the shot. The ball sailed through the air and hit the basket, circling it for what seemed like hours before falling out. He missed. The other side of the gym exploded with cheers. Dale and Michele joined in the groans of disappointment from the home team.

"Well, you win some you loose some I suppose." Michelle said dejectedly. She was the classic Basketball Mom, at every game, yelling at the couch, loudly questioning the referee's vision. 

"Too bad Jake missed that last one" Evan said, "That would have been an epic shot!"

"I think he just let the clock get to him. He could have nailed it any other time" was Dale's observation.

"Of course he could have! He was the best player on that court tonight!" Michelle's lifted her chin proudly, launching into a monologue detailing all the unfair calls by the refs, and the mistakes the coaches made. Dale shook his head and let her talk. Nobody could say that she wasn't proud of her children. Soon Jacob appeared with his gym bag slung over his shoulder, looking like he had just lost his best hunting dog.

Dale reached over to tousle his hair.

"That was a great game, Man" He said with a soft smile. Jacob just nodded and kept walking towards the exit. Dale quickly said his goodbyes to his family and headed to his truck. He felt bad for abandoning them after Jacob lost his very first game of the season, but if he were honest, His heart had been deep in the woods the entire game. he had a feeling that this was going to be a night he would remember for the rest of his life. If only he knew....

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            It was almost midnight. Xavier didn't need a watch to tell him so. He was a child of the moon, and he knew her timing well. He sat on his haunches on a slightly elevated knoll deep in the forest. His pack around him forming a circle with him as the center. In front of  him lay the body of his oldest friend, and the beta of his pack. The second the moon filled her midnight position he raised his nose to her and let out a loud, mournful howl. He did this three times, before the members of his pack did the same. Their howls mixing together and floating into the night like song. A very sad song. A slow cold rain had been falling for hours. It seemed like the sky was also mourning the loss of Ezra. After the wolves had committed Ezra's spirit back to the Moon, they continued with the rest of the ceremony.

    Xavier watched as each pack member approached the body. There were no special rituals to be performed. Every wolf just did what they felt was necessary to pay their respects. Much like a human visitation. Some of them tenderly licked his brown cheek, some took a deep sniff oh his scent for the last time, but most just took one last look. The last wolf took his place back in the circle. It was Xavier's turn to say goodbye. How do you say goodbye to your best friend of 50 years?  Xavier didn't know. Nothing seemed adequate,  so he stood and let out another howl. Once again his pack answered it with howls of their own. The final goodbye.

   Most of the pack turned and left one by one, disappearing into the rainy night. A few men stayed behind to help Xavier bury the body. With the rest of the pack gone, Xavier started digging, the wet earth spraying behind him in a fountain. The rest of the wolves joined him. Sometime during the digging he thought he heard a fast clicking sound. He stopped suddenly listening. The others sensed his alarm, stopping their labor as well. He lifted his nose and sniffed. He didn't pick up on any unfamiliar scents, still he scanned the dark woods several times before resuming his task. It didn't take long before the four wolves had completed the grave for their friend.  They quickly shifted back into their human form. They could have rolled Ezra's body into his resting place in their wolf form, but that seemed highly disrespectful. So they had agreed to shift so they could carry him instead. Xavier was in his human form and striding toward Ezra when a commotion and a grunt to his left stopped him in his tracks. Immediately his eyes zeroed in on a human man trying to scurry away from the wolves, tripping over roots and rocks as he went. He didn't stand a chance against Xavier's wolf. In one leap, Xavier had shifted and was on top of the man. Xavier caught the look of pure terror on his eyes right before clamping his powerful Jaws on the poor man's neck.