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The track was little more than two wheel ruts in the gravel, with definitely only room for one vehicle at a time, and it meandered in and out of the trees, heading east, then west, then north for a time, before turning east again. After about ten minutes, they arrived at a boom gate across the track, with a wide turning circle in front of it, and a small, square, wooden structure with a sign reading, “Canterbury Gardens Store.”
As Iain stopped the truck, a man with thick, curly, black hair stepped out of the little building, and smiled and waved at them. The boom gate rose and Iain drove through, then stopped again as soon as he was on the other side of the gate.
“Hi, I’m Dwyer. It’s good to meet y’all.”
“Thanks so much for letting us use your land. I couldn’t think of a safer place for us to be when we commit,” said Iain, smiling.
Dwyer grinned. “Yeah, Nelson and I bonded on Halloween, too, but this year we’ll stay close by the house. This is your special night, after all.”
“Thanks once again. Meet Kade, and Mermae.”
Dwyer reached through the window and shook everyone’s hand, then gave Iain a hand-drawn map. “Mile and a half ahead the track branches. Go right. It gets pretty overgrown after a while, but we like it that way. After you ford the little creek, the track branches again a couple times. Go right then left, and then it’s only a mile or so until you’ll see the cabin. The fence-line is a good three miles south of you, so running in any other direction is your best bet.”
He thumped the side of the truck with his spare hand then added, “Nelson and I will expect you for lunch tomorrow at the house, at one p.m. It’s marked on your map. The cabin you’re staying in has bottled water, coffee, and enough snacks for you to last until lunchtime.” Once again Dwyer thumped the truck door, then waved, and stepped back.
“Thank you,” called Mermae, at the same time as Iain said, “I can’t thank you both enough.”
Iain had to concentrate on his driving. He was traveling at walking speed, but even so, keeping his wheels in the ruts was a challenge in places. “When he said this track was overgrown, he wasn’t joking.”
“Yeah, but when he said it’s safer that way he was right, too,” replied Kade.
“That electric fence would keep out anyone who wasn’t mighty determined to get in, though,” said Mermae.
“Yep. And I reckon they’d be very careful about checking the delivery trucks that come in and out. I bet there’s closed circuit TV or something to make sure a couple people don’t jump out the back of a van and get lost among the trees,” added Iain.
“I’d never really thought about it before, but it’s tricky to maintain your wolf secret even way out here, isn’t it? You have to meet with people to earn a living, and to socialize at least a bit, yet the danger of someone wanting to kill you because you’re different never ends, does it?”
Kade reached over and gave Mermae a hug. “That’s why we were so very pleased when you joined us. Now there are three of us to be together, instead of just two.”
“It’ll be good to talk to Nelson and Dwyer tomorrow too. We can ask them about how they found their land and what sort of things they looked for. Get our frameworks in place for our own search,” added Iain.
The creek was little more than a trickle over pebbles, but they weren’t at all sure they’d made the turns correctly until the cabin came into sight around yet another bend. The door wasn’t locked, but it had a bolt to be slid across, before the handle could be turned.
“I wonder why. Do you suppose animals can turn handles?” asked Mermae.
“I’ve heard of cats and monkeys opening doors, but I wouldn’t expect to find either of those animals here. But I guess it means likely others can learn to do it too.” Kade shrugged and grabbed their luggage from the back of the truck.
“Hey, this is nice.” Mermae was the first inside the large room, which had a huge bed on one wall, an open fireplace with the fire already laid, and a basket full of wood ready on the hearth. There were also a table and four chairs, a counter with a microwave oven, coffee pot, and a refrigerator on the short wall.
A tiny bathroom was off to the side of the room, and there were a couple of deep shelves with a mixture of canned and packet foods, books, and board games on them.
“Everything you could possibly need for a short vacation,” said Kade appreciatively.
“Do you really think we need more than the bed?” joked Iain.
“So, when does the program start?” asked Mermae.
Suddenly Iain’s cock stiffened, his chest began to pound and he realized this was it. At long, long last he was about to become part of a family. They would commit to each other this night. And yeah, maybe he’d even howl at the moon with happiness as Kade so often joked about with him.
Clearing his throat, Iain said, “The outdoor final fuck has to be under the moon, so likely nine o’clock tonight. Counting back an hour or ninety minutes to run and fly, so perhaps five-ish?”
“It’s three now. Let’s go for a walk around here and get to know the area,” suggested Kade.
****
At five that evening they all turned to each other and then looked at the bed. That was one of the things Mermae loved about these men. They all seemed to think in the same ways, be on the same wavelength. Ten minutes ago they’d been happily brainstorming about crops or plants they could grow that were more than usually profitable in small amounts. Yet now, all she could think about was the commitment ceremony. “Time to get undressed,” she said, her voice suddenly husky.
“One at a time. Kade first,” said Iain.
