Sheep and Wolf Ch. 05

*Cops on their tail, dinner at Suzy's, and someone's caught in the local pound van.

*Literotica rules apply

*

Gary's transformation took place while he was fully conscious of it and he sat on the couch, looking at Larry. 'And this is happening to me for a while now.' he said. 'It's a wonder I haven't been caught by now since I'm usually not in control during the first part of the night.' Larry tilted his head. 'I don't know. And I'll probably never know why it happens.' Gary sighed. 'Come, let's go find Chelsea.' he said and Larry wagged his tail. 'At least I can keep my voice under control now.'

Gary peeked outside his door to make sure no one was there, then went out with Larry on his leash. The collie moved toward Suzy's door and sniffed it. 'No, we're not meeting Suzy.' Gary whispered. 'She's either studying hard or asleep so we can't bother her. Come, we're going to the park.'

At the park all was quiet and the two took a stroll through it while looking out for Chelsea. Gary let Larry walk free since he wasn't worried about him running away. He just knew the dog would stay at his side for the rest of his life.

'Now where could she be?' Gary said, looking around at the playground area. Larry walked up to him and sat down. 'I hope nothing happened to her.' Gary said to Larry. Larry barked once and let his tongue hang out. 'Yeah, she's probably fine and just lATE!'

Gary jumped aside and rubbed his behind while Chelsea grinned at him, then looked at Larry. 'Traitor.'

Chelsea ruffled Larry's sides and rolled over wrestling with him, growling playfully. Gary chuckled and shook his head. 'Movie writers would lock you away if they saw you since it would ruin the public image of werewolves.' Chelsea stuck out her tongue to him, making him half bleat and laugh. 'Who ever heard of a werewolf being cute?'

She looked at Larry for a second, then they both pounced Gary and wrestled him to the ground.

Gary bleated and laughed, trying to wrestle free of the two fierce predators. 'Down guys! I give up!' he said. 'Help!' Chelsea gave him a wide grin when they got startled by a gunshot.

'Get away you mongrels!' shouted a police officer, running in their direction.

'Oh shit!' said Gary. 'The cops!'

The three scrambled to their hands and feet and ran away on all fours instinctively.

The officer slowed down and looked around at the spot where he had seen those wild dogs attack a sheep, wondering where the man who called out for help went.

Gary looked back after they'd dived into an alley and reached the end. 'Hold up.' he said, slowing down. 'Looks like they didn't follow us.' Chelsea and Larry checked the corner for any sign of the cops or other people. She gave a thumbs up and Gary let out a sigh while breathing hard. 'That scared me.' he said. 'And now that they've seen us, they might search for us.' He looked around the corner, then back at Chelsea. 'Have you regained any of your human memories? Like if you live close to here?' Chelsea shook her head. He nodded and looked around. 'Then we have to be careful on our way to my place. I think we can avoid the streets until we get there, but we have to go around the park.'

Gary led them through the small backstreets, hoping he was right about staying out of sight when he hadn't been in these streets before. At every corner they looked and listened and moved quickly, hugging the walls and sticking to the shadows on the way to the next corner.

'We're almost home.' Gary said, checking the next corner. Just as they took the first step the patrol car turned the corner at the end of the side street and drove towards them. 'Back.' he whispered and hid with Chelsea in a corner between a garage and wooden fence while Larry ducked behind a trash can. He peeked around the corner until he saw the front of the car coming by and pressed himself against the fence.

When he heard the engine sound fade away he let out his breath. 'Good.' he whispered, peeking at the street. 'They'll probably go the other way than we're going now.' He looked back at Chelsea who looked nervous, then realised he held her tight in his embrace. 'Sorry.' he whispered and quickly let go of her. 'It was in the spur of the moment.' She nodded quickly, looking away. 'Let's go.' he said and checked around the corner one more time before leading Chelsea and Larry through the last two streets to his apartment.

'Made it.' Gary said when he held open the door for Chelsea and Larry of the apartment building. They moved silently upstairs and hurried inside, crashing down on his couch, relieved to have reached safety.

'We have to be careful from now on.' Gary said. 'More than we should have been. If they catch us we're screwed. Big time. I don't think they'd ever let us go once they find out what we are.'

Chelsea nodded, then moved fast against him when a flash of light came through the window. Gary heard a car drive by and sighed. 'It's okay.' he whispered. 'Just a car passing by.' She looked at Gary and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her blue eyes so close to his.

He had to admit she was a very pretty creature. He was glad to have met her even if it was dangerous at first. She leaned closer to him, opening her mouth slightly and closing her eyes. The urge to kiss her welled up, but he pulled back before it got too strong. 'Sorry,' he whispered. 'but there's someone I guess I'm in love with.' Chelsea pulled back and nodded, looking away. 'If that wasn't the case I probably wouldn't have been able to resist you.' he said. 'Even if you tried to take a bite out of me first.'

Chelsea chuckled and poked Gary. He poked her back and soon they were play fighting until tiredness got the best of them. Gary smiled as Chelsea had crawled against him and fell asleep. He thought about carefully pulling away but he didn't want to actually let her go. He gestured at Larry and the blanket next to the couch and the collie fetched it for him. 'Thanks, buddy' he whispered and draped the blanket over Chelsea. 'Good night and sweet dreams you two.'

***

Gary woke up to find Chelsea gone as usual. Instead it was Larry who pressed down on his chest. 'And a good morning to you.' he said. 'Mind if I get a chance to breath?'

Larry jumped down onto the floor with an 'Oompf!' from Gary as the collie pushed off on his stomach, then watched him innocently.

'Thanks.' groaned Gary and got up from the couch.

Suzy and Gary stepped out into the hallway at the same time and chuckled. 'Morning.' Gary said while Larry went to her.

'Morning, you two.' she said and ruffled Larry's head and back. He bumped her leg and wagged his tail hard. 'You look energetic. Had fun last night?'

Gary closed his door. 'No.' he said. 'Well, we did, but nothing special.'

'And the park?' she asked, poking Larry's nose.

'Park?' asked Gary, looking at his keys. 'What do you mean?'

Suzy looked Larry in the eyes, then frowned a little. 'Never mind, must have been thinking of something else.' she said and smiled. 'You're going to take Larry to the office from now on?'

'Oh, yes.' Gary said and attached the leash to Larry's collar. 'The others like him and yesterday when we went for a walk during lunch, Tom joined us saying it's a good excuse to stretch his legs. He's not the type to do any sort of exercise by himself. Dolores said she'd have someone add an extension to the office phone so calls are forwarded to her when she joins us for the walk.'

Suzy nodded. 'It's good for your health if you keep that up.'

'Yeah,' said Gary as they stepped outside in a light drizzle. 'Let's see what they do when it rains. Then we'll talk endurance.'

Suzy chuckled and hesitated for a moment before she looked at the street. 'You know, you treated me to dinner twice,' she said and smiled softly. 'how about I treat you to dinner tonight?'

Gary wagged his sheep tail although he didn't have it yet. 'Okay!' he said, then cleared his throat. 'I mean, I, we'd like that.' He looked down at Larry. 'Don't we, buddy?'

Larry looked up and barked in agreement.

Suzy chuckled. 'I don't know if it'll be any good, but I'll try to avoid microwave meals.'

Gary groaned. 'I'll be reminded of that for a long time, won't I?'

'Yes, yes you will.' Suzy said with a devious smile.

'Even if I do make you a real home made dinner next time?'

'Maybe.' Suzy said and looked up. 'You'll just have to find out.' She started on her way to work. 'So tonight?'

'Great.' Gary said and smiled. 'See you tonight then.'

Suzy waved him goodbye and Gary smiled wide at Larry. 'Buddy, today's a good day.' Larry barked and they went to the office.

***

'Hi guys.' Suzy said as she let Gary and Larry into her apartment.

'Smells great.' Gary said, sniffing the air.

'Thanks.' Suzy said and showed him his place at the table and the blanket for Larry next to it. 'I made grilled fish and chicken, so I hope you like at least one of those. And for Larry I've got some leftover goodies from the butcher.'

'I like both, so no problem there.' Gary said, his stomach getting ready to get to work from the smell alone. Larry gave her a happy bark.

Gary and Larry didn't hide their pleasure of eating Suzy's dinner and she was happy to see them satisfied. Despite her reluctance Gary insisted he helped her do the dishes. 'I've got Larry to do that job now, so I don't mind helping out.' he said and made her laugh.

They were just enjoying one more glass of wine on the couch when Gary noticed the familiar itch on his back. He shifted his position a little to scratch his back against the seat while trying to find an excuse to go home without seeming rude.

'Is Larry settled in completely now?' Suzy asked.

'Yes, he found his sleeping spot, all the food and toys are there. I'd think he'd let me know if he needed anything more.'

Larry barked in definite agreement and made them both laugh, then Suzy jerked with a quick little yelp.

'What is it?' asked Gary.

Suzy twisted her behind on the sofa. 'Nothing.' she said quickly. 'Just a muscle cramp.' She rubbed one side of her hip. 'Been standing all day at work today doing inventory.' She stretched her legs and Larry came up to her, giving her a bark and jumped up on her lap. 'Ah, Larry!'

'Larry!' said Gary and bumped his glass. 'Crap!'

Suzy looked at Gary to see a big wet stain on his lap.

'Spilled the wine.' he said. 'Honestly. I'm really housebroken.'

She chuckled and rolled Larry from her lap. 'I'll go get something to wipe it.' she said and went into the kitchen.

'Thanks.' said Gary as she handed him a dish rag and he started wiping his pants. 'This is what I call alcohol abuse.'

She chuckled more. 'At least it's white so it won't stain like red does.'

He nodded and stood up. 'Yeah, I'd have an even bigger problem explaining a red stain in my crotch.' he said. 'On the other hand I could just leave others who see it confused as hell by calling it "that time again".'

Suzy sniggered. 'You can borrow a pad from me?'

'Let's leave that for when someone actually sees me.' Gary said and emptied his glass. 'I'd better go home now and change. Wanted to make some quick changes to a project this evening anyway. Presentation tomorrow.'

Suzy nodded. 'I'll do a bit more studying too.' she said as they both stood up.

Gary held out the rag. 'Thanks for dinner. It was really good.' he said, smiling as he admired her blue eyes.

She leaned her hand on the rag. 'It was fun to cook for someone else again.' she said, her eyes locked on his. 'And to return the favour for your kindness.'

'It was all my pleasure.' he said, leaning unconsciously closer. 'Really..'

Suzy's eyelids started to close slowly, then opened wide as she let out another little yelp. She grinned embarrassed as she rubbed her hip again. 'Damned cramp.'

'Maybe you should take an early rest with a good book instead of studying?' said Gary with a little grin. 'Even better after a good shower.'

She nodded and they walked to the front door. The air from the hallway was barely warmer than inside the apartment but Gary felt it amplified on his warm face when he opened the door. He turned back and didn't know what to say when he looked at her again. The itching on his back got worse but he ignored it as best as he could. 'I,' he said and cleared his throat. 'thanks again.'

Suzy smiled back. 'Do this again?'

He nodded quickly. 'Yes!' he said and tried not to squirm from the itching. 'I mean I'd love to.'

'Good.' she said and smiled.

They stared again for a moment, then his itch became too much. 'All right, see you in the morning again?' he asked, trying to act relaxed.

'As usual.' she said.

'All right then.' he said and moved slowly backward, his legs a little tense. 'See you in the morning then.'

'Until tomorrow.' she said and moved a little back, enough to stand partially behind her door as she leaned against it.

Gary unlocked his door and moved inside, still backwards. 'Tomorrow.' he said. With some hesitation he waved at her. 'Good night, Suzy.'

'Good night, Gary.' she said and they closed their doors.

Gary grinded his back with all his might against the wall, groaning at finally feeling some relief. 'Ohhh, this feels good..' he sighed.

He stopped grinding and looked left and right. 'Hang on.' he said, thinking he'd forgot something. He remembered and opened his front door.

Suzy opened her door and said 'Larry!' at the same time as Gary.

Larry stood at her side and barked once in protest.

***

Three pairs of eyes watched the police cruiser and the local animal pound van standing at the park.

'Crap.' said Gary.

Chelsea nodded.

Larry gave a small whine.

They moved back from the corner of the alley.

'I'm glad you weren't at the park already.' said Gary, looking at Chelsea who had come down through the same alley just a little later than the boys. She nodded. 'So now where to go to?' he asked. 'I'm sure you don't want to get back inside right away. Even I feel like I need to be around some green for a while first.'

Chelsea shook her head and Larry just looked like he didn't.

'Right.' he said and pondered about other places, then smiled. 'There's a small park a little way back. Not much, but it does provide a bit of green to the neighbourhood. Let's go.'

A little later they crossed a street to hide in a green spot occupying the area of a couple of houses.

'There used to be a long legal battle about who owned this ground.' said Gary and sat back on one of the wooden benches in the park. It was mostly grass and bushes with a few trees, but it provided comfort all year round. 'Eventually the people cleaned up the wild growth and turned it into a park and the town claimed it for public space, setting aside a normal sum of money for what the ground's worth, and for who eventually is going to win the battle.'

Chelsea sat next to him and nodded. Larry just went around exploring the area, sniffing and wagging his tail.

'This is nice.' Gary said, enjoying the quiet.

Chelsea nodded looking around and sniffing the air.

A light cracking sound made their ears flip to the side. Chelsea made a low growling sound and Gary got a bad feeling in his gut. Moving silently they peered through the bushes to see a man in dark clothing fiddling with a screwdriver at a window at the back of a house.

'I know who lives there.' whispered Gary. 'And it certainly isn't him. Misses Verduyn happens to be on a vacation at family now. I know someone who checks the place daily.' He looked at Chelsea. 'Are you up for correcting his behaviour?' Chelsea looked at him and bared her fangs in a devious grin.

Richie grumbled as he tried to get the metal strip to hook behind the window latch. As soon as he got wind of the old lady at this place having left for a few weeks he got to work. With any luck she'd have a nice TV or some jewellery he could sell online. If he could get this stubborn lock to open. Did she never open her windows and now the latch was rusted stuck?

A bleat from the side made his heart fall to the ground.

'Goddammit.' he whispered in anger at the sheep standing at the corner of the house. His hand shook so much he almost dropped his screwdriver. 'You scared the shit out of me.' he hissed. 'Get out of here.'

He went back to fiddling with the strip. 'Who the fuck keeps a sheep around here?' he muttered, then heard another bleat, this time next to him.

He turned to look at the sheep standing next to him. 'What the fuck did I say? Get out of he-'

A wolf's head appeared between the sheep's front legs and snarled at him.

Richie's heart shot out of his throat and it fled at the sight of the wolf's fangs and killing intent in its eyes.

Richie himself followed two seconds later.

He was too scared to scream as he scrambled up the wooden fence, then fell on his face, ran off through the bushes and into the street.

"Ohshitohshitohshitohshit!" droned through his mind as he heard something come after him.

He ducked into an alley and kept running, too afraid to look back and stumble. At the end he turned right and screeched to a halt the second he saw the sheep blocking his way.

It huffed loud once, then ran toward him with a battle bleat. Richie didn't like the looks of its horns and ran for his life into the other direction.

He reached the street and turned right, thinking he might go for his friend's place. The street ahead was clear and he didn't hear the sheep getting closer behind him.

He thought he could get away until he was halfway down the street and the wolf jumped in front of him, growling and shaking its head in rage.

Panic grabbed him again and he ran off into the alley to his left, almost crashing into several garbage cans.

"What's with these bastards!?" he thought, feeling his lungs burn and cursing his smoking habit.

The next street came closer but now he heard the wolf getting closer too. He thought about going up the fire escape from the apartment building to his left, then saw the sheep appear on the first floor. 'Are you fucking kidding me!?' he wheezed.

The sound of growling came closer again. He could feel the wolf's breath and its teeth in his neck and lost control of his bladder.

He rushed into the park side street, thinking he'd be found in little bits in the morning when he saw the police cruiser and better yet, the open back and cage in the dog catcher's van.

The police officer and the catcher were discussing the latest college football game over coffee when they heard a whining noise getting louder. The next moment a guy with a face so white he seemed to glow in the dark jumped into the back of the van and shut the cage door with a loud clang.

Two heads looked around the back into the cage at the wheezing and trembling figure crawled all the way into the back of the cage and pointing behind them.

'..Beasts..' Richie wheezed. '..Terrifying.., beasts.., chasing..'

The two men looked back at a black and white collie who came closer with a cheerful trot, dropped Richie's tools on the ground, barked a couple of times, then returned to where he came from. They looked back at Richie. 'Stefano, mind dropping this guy off at the station?' asked the officer.

Gary and Chelsea watched from a distance and chuckled. Gary held up his hand. 'Give me paw!' he said and Chelsea clapped her hand against his. 'Yeaa!' she said.

Gary stared at her. 'Chelsea?'

She blinked at him.

'You said something.'

She opened her mouth, then closed it, putting her hand against her throat. 'Yea..' she said again, then grinned at Gary. 'Yea..'

'That's so cool!' he said. 'Maybe you'll get to say more and remember who you are in a while.'

She laughed and hugged him so tight he thought his horns would pop off.

Chelsea was still saying 'Yea, yea.' when she and Gary and Larry arrived home. The bald neighbour opened his door again.