Howl

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Lukas turned off his iPod as the plane got ready to land at Denver International Airport. It took about two and a half hours to fly to Denver from Fresno, and Lukas had slept for most of that time. Getting five hours of sleep after a long day of driving was not sufficient. He couldn't wait until he could finally catch up on his sleep.

As promised, Robert Bailey drove Lukas out to the airport, with Peter accompanying them. He seemed hung over, but he wanted to see his friend off. Melanie originally planned on going as well, but she had definitely drank too much and was still sleeping when they left. The conversation had been rather pleasant, except when Robert started asking for details about his work. Lukas tried to skim over most of it, but Robert was rather interested.

Once the plane landed, Lukas headed to the bathroom. His contacts were bothering him, as they tended to do anytime he napped with them on. There was no one around, and he took them out, revealing golden yellow eyes underneath. The unusual eye color was common among wolves, but not seen in the human population, and to keep themselves hidden, they covered their eyes. Because he didn't want to wear the contacts for the rest of the day, his only other option was sunglasses.

He picked up his rental car and then started the drive out to Arvada. As soon as he left the airport, he saw a large blue horse statue with glowing red eyes. He'd heard about the demonic horse, affectionately called Bluecifer by his supporters, and Lukas honestly thought it was pretty funny. Sure, it was ugly and demonic looking, but he'd seen far worse things passed off as art.

Once he arrived at the pack's main house, he was ready to sleep, but there was something else more important he had to do first. A pack member opened the door for him and let him in once he identified himself. Lukas requested a computer, and once he was online, he got on his Facebook and let Emma know he had returned. Then, he found the nearest couch and fell asleep.

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"Guess he feels right at home again," Jason whispered.

"Damn freeloader," Talon grumbled.

"He does work for us," Sophia reminded her brother. "And you know, it kinda seems right having him pass out on the couch again."

Sophia, Jason, and Talon and been out and when they returned home, they were quickly informed of the strange wolf sleeping on their couch. They quickly went to see to make sure there wasn't any kind of problem for the pack, but when they saw it was only Lukas, they relaxed. Or at least Jason and Sophia did. Talon seemed more upset by Lukas' presence than he would have had it been a complete stranger.

"Wonder what he's doing here," Sophia wondered out loud.

"We can find out," Talon said as he stepped forward. He hadn't even taken a second step before he was restrained by Sophia.

"Don't," she said. "Let him sleep."

"I'm awake," Lukas grumbled, turning over as he did so. "But I'd rather not be."

Growling, Talon lunged towards him and pulled him off the couch. "This is our house! You're not part of this pack anymore and we all outrank you. Show some fucking respect!"

"Fuck off, Talon." Lukas slowly pulled himself up. "I'm here at the request of your alpha. I'll show respect to whoever I feel like and it's not going to be you."

Talon started growling again, and Lukas responded with a fist. Before a real fight could break out, Sophia grabbed her brother and pulled him away. "I've had enough of this," she said angrily. "I don't want to see or hear about you getting into it with Lukas. He's our guest, and he used to be your damn friend. I don't know what your problem with him is, and I really don't give a damn. Learn to live with him or get out, damn it."