People Like Us Part III [MxFxM]

10

Nathan was doing the same thing in Mandan that he'd done in Tillamook, spending all his time at the hospital while Varian waited for him to come back. The tables were a little different this time though, because then Varian hadn't been watching the kids as much as his dad and Lako were, but was now their sole babysitter, minus Adrian, who didn't really count.

To pass the time when he wasn't cooking, entertaining his children, or avoiding the urge to shut Adrian and himself in a room and get rid of the sexual frustration from not being able to have his mate, Varian had taken to tracking the wolves.

The pair he'd spotted before often appeared from the treeline at the far side of the backyard or the left side of the house where they'd run a new track. Whatever wind scraped it away during the day didn't matter at night when they were most active and running their path back afresh. He had yet to catch them that close to the house, but kept his shotgun loaded and ready within arms' reach at all times. It didn't leave his hands whenever he went outside to bring in more wood, and while he knew he was shutting his children in, he didn't want more than there already were in the hospital. One was more than enough.

Adrian had taken to following him around the house, which irked Varian more, because it just reminded him that he had help within reach and was ignoring it in the favor of hoping Nathan would come back from the hospital and want to do more than just eat and sleep. That had yet to be proven true, so Varian suffered in silence, using any means to distract himself from the urge of sex and avoiding all mirrors because he knew very well the red had to be coming back through his eyes more clearly.

He was doing his latest attempt at avoiding primal needs by once again resorting to wolf scouting by seating himself in the living room. He stared out one of the windows on either side of the fireplace to see the backyard where the red and gray wolves were sniffing out from the treeline. He'd only seen these two in particular so far, no sign of any others, which was odd, since wolves didn't typically band up in pairs.

Through his observations, he'd noted that both were male, and the red one seemed to defer to the gray one. They hadn't appeared close enough for him to really get a good look at them, which Varian was just fine with, the one encounter outside plenty for him. He was a little suspicious though, because while the gray one was doing the normal territorial thing, the red one was often spotted laying in the snow and resting his head on his paws while gazing in the direction of the house. He'd stay there for hours sometimes, those eyes that constantly reflected the dark blue of the snow from the shaded treeline flicking back and forth between the porch and the yard.

Varian didn't get it at first, why it was doing that. Like it was waiting for something to happen, or someone to come out. He knew wolves were curious creatures, but he also knew how dangerous they were, and he refused to go out and find out, remembering vividly the ones that had appeared in the woods when he'd sought time and space away from his anger at Nathan, and how they'd chased him back into the house so many years ago. Back when he suffered from the alcohol's desires, similar to how he was starting to feel again, and the moment that thought crossed his mind, he shook his head and tore his gaze away from the red wolf outside only to notice Adrian coming over.

Exhaling heavily, Varian shifted his shotgun over, wanting to push it in the direction of Adrian in the hopes he'd stay away but decided last minute that it might not be very nice. He had to be bored out of his mind, especially with Charlie and the babies staying 24/7 in the hospital with River. It was the only reason he let him sit down next to him on the couch, and the only reason he let himself listen to whatever it was he wanted to say, though he did return to the red wolf for his own sake.

"So, what are we looking at?"

"The red wolf's acting weird." Varian volunteered, hoping all Adrian wanted to bring up was Varian's new hobby of wolf watching.