Warmth of the Sun

Part 6

Warning: mentions of blood, past thoughts of suicide,  Suggestive themes near the end

Anton was in the car driving in silence the whole ride there, keeping his eyes on the ever-winding roads. He did listen to the radio at first as a sort of white noise to have in the background but no good songs were playing and he had forgotten his favorite CDs that he kept near the TV so he just turned to radio off altogether. Now he was left driving in silence, the sound of his car engine filling in said silence along with other cars driving by as he passed, rhythmically tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel as he let out a sigh, feeling like this was the longest car ride of his life even if it's just been 15 minutes.

He wanted nothing more to be back at his house snuggled up near Viago wanting to be there to enjoy boys' day with him and the pack. Anton also wanted to be there in case Clifton tried to pull another stunt like what he did in the kitchen, still needing to have a serious talk with him about it. But Declan needed his help and as the Alpha of the group he had to be there for his pack members. Even if they weren't werewolves, he would have come to help him regardless he wasn't just their alpha, he was also their friend. Besides, the others were probably entertaining Viago, probably playing more video and board games to pass the time until he got back. Plus Stu was there, so if Clifton were to try anything, Stu would be able to protect the Viago if it came down to it.

But Anton didn't think it would come down to that. Not really anyway. Clifton looked like he was beginning to understand that Viago wasn't trying or going to cause him or his pack harm. To Anton, he now looked guilty for hurting the vampire's feelings.

Anton began to frown at the thought, noticing that Clifton was still standoffish after he apologized to Viago, still sitting at the far end of the room, almost like he thought his presence there was unwelcome but that wasn't the case. The alpha wanted nothing more than for Clifton to join in on the fun, the man being one of his closest friends. Before the wolf pack, Clifton was there when they both were young, and were close friends even both being together when they were afflicted.

He could still remember it so vividly, recollecting that they were celebrating Anton's promotion at his work as a park ranger. The two of them sneak into the park at night to drink a few beers, sitting and talking at a clearing spot they found a long time ago. That was their hangout most of the time when they just needed a place to escape for a bit. They were there for hours laughing and getting drunk as the night passed, the full moon climbing higher and higher in the sky above them. But after a while Anton began to sober up, deciding that it was time to pack it up for the night since he had plans with his wife tomorrow afternoon. So they cleaned up their mess of snack plastic wraps and beer bottles/cans and headed back down the trail which led to the parking lot where his car was parked, being the one to drive since he was the least drunk. However, that night was the last time that he ever felt normal when he hit what he thought was a bear at the time that must have escaped captivity since there were known wild bears in New Zealand, causing them both to crash.

They were both unharmed, but that was about to change as they got out of the now totaled car to investigate as soon as they stepped foot out of the car, Clifton was grabbed by what Anton thought was the bear and was dragged into the woods by it's mouth watching as Clifton tried to pry it's jaws off his shoulder screaming in pain. This prompted him to quickly grab the pepper spray he had in his back seat for dangerous situations before running after it, wanting to save his friend before he was hurt even more or worse. But once he caught up to it, he was horrified to find that it wasn't a bear. It was in fact, a werewolf that was taking a bite out of Clifton's right shoulder. It would have gone for his neck if Anton hadn't provoked it, getting its attention off of his friend and causing it to turn its anger toward him, letting go of Clifton and running at him at full speed. Once it was coming toward him Anton tried to use the spray on it but it knocked into him, the can falling from his hands a few inches away once he hit the grass and dirt. He remembered it looming over him before clawing at his chest and sides while he desperately reached for the spray, letting out a scream of agony as it bit into the left side of Anton's abdomen sinking its teeth further and further in. Luckily, while it was distracted Anton grabbed the spray and used it on the creature's eyes causing it to let go of him with a howl before running blindly into the woods.