stopped him. Raylan slows to a halt just before he rounds the bend and when he does he turns around and grins at Darin again, all sharp-looking teeth and dimples.
“Oh, and Darin? You might want to rethink your wardrobe a bit. Red’s never a good color to wear when you’re running through the woods at night.”
He’s gone after that, disappearing around the bend with a flash of tanned skin and strong legs. Darin just stares at the place where Raylan used to be and wonders for a moment to himself how this could possibly be his life.
Chapter Two
His encounter with the mysterious and sexy Raylan throws Darin off to the extent that he skips his run the next evening and then the evening after that as well. By day three he’s so agitated that he has to force himself to stay away from as many sharp objects and stupid people as he can. Since he’s a nurse and there’s actually activity in the local hospital’s emergency room, it’s a solution that doesn’t exactly work for more than five maybe ten minutes at a time.
He gets home that evening and doesn’t even hesitate. He tears through his house like a hurricane, throws his scrubs in the direction of the laundry basket, tugs on the first pair of shorts he can find and some sneakers before stopping to grab his hoodie. He’s halfway to the trail before he realizes that he’s forgotten to zip the thing up, but the cool breeze that’s flowing across his bare chest is surprisingly nice so he says fuck it and keeps going.
He’s rounding the bend that’ll bring him back to the place where he’d met Raylan those few days ago when he hears the sound of something crashing through the underbrush. He skids to a halt, shoulders tense and eyes alert, but his mouth drops open in shock and his heart stutters in fear when something giant and black comes crashing out of the trees. At first, Darin thinks it’s a bear, and he takes a moment to panic and try desperately to remember everything he’s ever read about handling this sort of situation, but then it turns and looks directly at him, and he realizes he’s mistaken. It’s not a bear, and once he gets a real look at it he’s confused as to how he could have possibly thought it was a bear for even a split second.
It’s a wolf, granted an unnaturally large one that stands almost equal to him in height so maybe he can understand his own initial confusion, but no matter how unreal it seems it’s still a wolf. Its coat is coal black, the fur thick and wild looking, and its eyes are bright amber. It takes a step in his direction, ears perked forward in interest, and it almost seems to grin at him, massive lips peeling back to reveal large, intimidating teeth that have Darin freezing in fear again. It woofs softly at him and takes another step forward, slow and measured like it’s testing him, which is ridiculous because it’s a wolf, but Darin doesn’t move. He’s not even the least bit ashamed to admit that it has more to do with bone-chilling terror than nerves of steel; hell, he probably couldn’t move even if he actually had to.
It’s directly on top of him then, so close he can feel its breath on his face, the warm wisps of air it releases moving over his skin. He stares it in the eyes and his fear melts into a strange sort of calm, an almost unbelievable certainty that he’s safe, that for some reason this monster-sized animal isn’t going to hurt him. His shoulders relax and he breathes out a sigh as he slowly, still cautious even though he’s strangely unafraid now, raises a hand up towards the wolf’s large nose. The wolf stands still, and Darin lets out a low breathless laugh when his hand lands on the animal’s damp nose. Bright amber eyes stare at him patiently, and he can’t resist the urge to run his fingers upwards across the creature’s muzzle until he can scratch lightly behind one large ear.
The wolf yips at him, startling him enough to flail
“Oh, and Darin? You might want to rethink your wardrobe a bit. Red’s never a good color to wear when you’re running through the woods at night.”
He’s gone after that, disappearing around the bend with a flash of tanned skin and strong legs. Darin just stares at the place where Raylan used to be and wonders for a moment to himself how this could possibly be his life.
Chapter Two
His encounter with the mysterious and sexy Raylan throws Darin off to the extent that he skips his run the next evening and then the evening after that as well. By day three he’s so agitated that he has to force himself to stay away from as many sharp objects and stupid people as he can. Since he’s a nurse and there’s actually activity in the local hospital’s emergency room, it’s a solution that doesn’t exactly work for more than five maybe ten minutes at a time.
He gets home that evening and doesn’t even hesitate. He tears through his house like a hurricane, throws his scrubs in the direction of the laundry basket, tugs on the first pair of shorts he can find and some sneakers before stopping to grab his hoodie. He’s halfway to the trail before he realizes that he’s forgotten to zip the thing up, but the cool breeze that’s flowing across his bare chest is surprisingly nice so he says fuck it and keeps going.
He’s rounding the bend that’ll bring him back to the place where he’d met Raylan those few days ago when he hears the sound of something crashing through the underbrush. He skids to a halt, shoulders tense and eyes alert, but his mouth drops open in shock and his heart stutters in fear when something giant and black comes crashing out of the trees. At first, Darin thinks it’s a bear, and he takes a moment to panic and try desperately to remember everything he’s ever read about handling this sort of situation, but then it turns and looks directly at him, and he realizes he’s mistaken. It’s not a bear, and once he gets a real look at it he’s confused as to how he could have possibly thought it was a bear for even a split second.
It’s a wolf, granted an unnaturally large one that stands almost equal to him in height so maybe he can understand his own initial confusion, but no matter how unreal it seems it’s still a wolf. Its coat is coal black, the fur thick and wild looking, and its eyes are bright amber. It takes a step in his direction, ears perked forward in interest, and it almost seems to grin at him, massive lips peeling back to reveal large, intimidating teeth that have Darin freezing in fear again. It woofs softly at him and takes another step forward, slow and measured like it’s testing him, which is ridiculous because it’s a wolf, but Darin doesn’t move. He’s not even the least bit ashamed to admit that it has more to do with bone-chilling terror than nerves of steel; hell, he probably couldn’t move even if he actually had to.
It’s directly on top of him then, so close he can feel its breath on his face, the warm wisps of air it releases moving over his skin. He stares it in the eyes and his fear melts into a strange sort of calm, an almost unbelievable certainty that he’s safe, that for some reason this monster-sized animal isn’t going to hurt him. His shoulders relax and he breathes out a sigh as he slowly, still cautious even though he’s strangely unafraid now, raises a hand up towards the wolf’s large nose. The wolf stands still, and Darin lets out a low breathless laugh when his hand lands on the animal’s damp nose. Bright amber eyes stare at him patiently, and he can’t resist the urge to run his fingers upwards across the creature’s muzzle until he can scratch lightly behind one large ear.
The wolf yips at him, startling him enough to flail
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