Weirdly, that caused the wolves to howl at him angrily. "Noah, what are we-" but he could not finish his sentence, as he discerned some odd and unfamiliar movements between his arms.
Bones moving like a liquid under skin.
Breaking and mending sounds.
Tearing.
Growling.
Then suddenly, he found himself holding a wolf, growling at the other two.
Mateo was terrified, shocked, and amazed. It was that same wolf. The wolf that he remembered; a wolf with shiny black fur as dark as night, and golden eyes, with a gaze that pierced through one's soul. So it was real, he had seen this wolf on the night he was saved by Noah. And then he realized; it had been Noah all along. How was that even possible?
Noah or better to say, the black wolf stepped towards the wolves and stood in front of his boyfriend, showing his white fangs to them, scaring them away.
There was a good minute or two of angry growling and seething, but Noah won that round apparently. When the pair finally left, the golden-eyed wolf turned to his shocked and confused companion then motioned for him to follow.
The walk back home was silent.
The only sound in the area was the continuous cries of wolves, and snow crunching under their footsteps.
Reaching the apartment, the redhead opened the door and let the wolf get in before him before he shut the door behind himself. Mateo sat on the couch, covering his eyes with one hand, still wondering about what just happened to them when a wet tongue started licking the hand on the armrest.
Looking down at the wolf, Mateo smiled at it and started scratching behind his ears, "Why didn't you tell me this sooner, Noah?" he whispered.
Not that he blamed the man. Or the wolf.
Mateo wouldn't have believed him even if he tried.
A man who can turn into a wolf?
A werewolf?
A real, actual, living, werewolf?
The dejected wolf settled between the redhead's legs as he slowly turned human. Again there was the sound of bones crushing, breaking, moving. It did make Mateo cringe because that oughta be painful, right?
Seconds later, Noah was kneeling between his legs, naked. With tears in his eyes, the older man started, "Because I … I thought you… you would just leave me alone," he confessed, a tear rolling down his cheek.
"Why would I want to leave you?" urged the redhead, surprised; "I love you."
Cupping Mateo's jaw in his hands and looking into his eyes with his gla.s.sy ones, Noah shook his head, "There are a lot of things you don't know, Mat. Things I didn't want to tell you. I didn't dare to repeat," he confessed, looking away.
Perking one eyebrow, Mateo watched in confusion. "What other things?" he asked.
The older male hesitated for a moment before beginning to explain, "I'm not the only one who can shift into a wolf here. To tell the truth, everyone here does that, " he paused to observe the reaction, but when he saw none, he continued. "This is not the human's world Mateo, this is our world. The Amarog's world."
Grabbing Noah's wrists, Mateo was confused, and he had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. "Wait, what?" he asked. "The Amarog's world? Your world? So where is my world? How did I end up here? Why are you telling me all this now?"
Now Noah was anxious. "There is an entrance. A door between all the worlds… you came through that door, or… better to say you were shoved out of that door to our world." He explained with a quivering voice, not able to look into his boyfriend's eyes anymore. He felt guilty for hiding all this for so long, but what really worried him was the fact that someone in Mateo's world really wanted him out. Someone who knew about the doors had kicked Mateo out.
"And… my… my memories?" the redhead asked, not wanting to believe anything. He didn't know how to believe any of this.
Swallowing, the older man murmured, "When you travel between the worlds… you… you forget all your memories from the previous world. It all vanishes the minute you step into the new world."
A very long and uncomfortable silence hovered over them, Mateo letting the new information sink in. "So… I might have a family back in my world? A good life, friends, and a job?" the redhead stated, holding his head with his hands. "And you didn't tell me anything… you hid things from me, Noah. You lied to me!" he practically shouted the last part.
It stung. Noah felt those words, those accusations, like a slap across his face.
"But you might not!" the older male shouted back. "You might be a loner and actually have no job. How else can you explain the mess you were in when you first came here?"
"What?" the redhead shouted as he stood up, causing the older man to fall back on his rear. Modesty and nudity be d.a.m.ned. "Now you're trying to make excuses? I don't know why I was like that, beaten up and half dead. I have no idea. But I don't care, I don't belong here and I have to go back to my own world," he turned on his heels to go to the room and get ready to leave. "And you're taking me back," he yelled.
"No!" Noah shouted in denial, tears flooding out of his eyes. An expression of pain on his face as if he was genuinely frightened of something. "No, you promised you wouldn't leave me ever. You said you loved me, Mateo. You can't do this to me."
Mateo turned around to face the stunningly beautiful and naked man that he had fallen in love with. "Are you f.u.c.king kidding me right now?" He growled. "I can't do this to you? Are you really playing the victim here, Noah? How do you even dare?"
