Chapter 1: Things they don't teach you in college

"This is it! Finally everything is going to change!" A young woman muttered to herself as she sat in a leather chair. She stared at a computer screen, which said 100% of program requirements met. She was shocked in fact that she did not realize her advisor were calling her name out to gain her attention.

"Lilian? Lilian!?" As soon as the young woman snapped out of her daze, her advisor smiled at her. "Congratulations! All you need to do now is send your graduation request and RSVP for the ceremony" he said as he held out his hand. "It was a privilege having you, Ms. Wolfe. I hope you'll return for your Doctorate" he said.

Lilian nodded sheepishly as she reached for his hand to shake it. "Thank you sir!" she said before she stood back up. "I'm going to try to get some of my loans paid off until then" she said.

Her advisor nodded. "You'll have no problem in doing that! You're a top notch student!" he complimented before he grinned. "I'll see you eventually" he said as he waved her off.

Lilian smirked. "I hope so too" she said while she waved at him. "See ya later!" she said before she left the office. She was immediately attacked with a big hug from a giggly six and a half foot tall athletic woman with copper skin. "Argh! You're crushing me, Haley!" she shouted at her with a slight giggle.

"I told you! I knew your internship credits would go through! Look at you! All worried for nothing!" she shouted before she smirked. "Anyway, since your parents are still up in Tacoma, why do you come to my dad's for our picnic? There's a few cute singles there" she said giving her a wink and a nudge.

Lilian looked at her oddly and shook her head. "Aren't they your family members?" she asked.

Haley snickered. "Only a couple dozen, but it still don't mean I'm not trying to get you a date" she said plainly.

Lilian scowled at her but closed her eyes realizing that she was not going to have anyone else to celebrate this occasion with. "Alright, but only because your parents are so nice" she said.

Later that day, Lilian fit herself into a red form fitting one piece dress that accentuated her pear shape. Once she got to the park were the picnic was held, her eyes widened. A quarter of the people were huge hairy men although Haley's family members were easy to pick out due to their excessive height and extremely bulky muscles. Haley was talking to a shorter gentleman, but he was still an impressive build nonetheless. She looked up at her and waved her over happily.

Lilian stood frozen in place as a lot of the eyes focused onto her, which she felt incredibly intimidated. Bernie, Haley's father, approached her, and she quickly looked at him and shrieked forgetting just how tall the man was. He was the biggest man there in build and in height at an incredible seven foot two inches tall with very sturdy three hundred pounds of pure muscle.

Bernie looked at her oddly before he saw how spooked Lilian was. "Hey, you're among friends right now. We aren't going to eat ya" he said, which some of the family members snickered and grinned flashing some unusually sharp canines, which were a prominent trait for Haley's family. He shot them a terrifying glare, and they quickly looked away pretending to go about their picnicking routine.

Haley came up and laughed nervously. "You alright? I've never seen you like this before" she said.

Lilian gulped. "No, no...I just had no idea just how huge your family was...in every possible meaning" she said.

Haley blushed, but Bernie laughed wholesomely. "Oh well you know how sexual selection goes, right? Bigger stronger males are more successful in breeding, and my family line has no problem in multiplying" he said.

Haley let out a low groan, but knew that he were right about that part. "Dad...you didn't go three minutes after having your first beer without mentioning the word sex" she said.

Bernie let out a low cough. "This is different" he said into the cough.

Haley looked at him oddly before she saw his very stern look. She gulped and nodded. "Sure...whatever you say" she recovered.

Lilian giggled at them before she looked over at Bernie cheerfully. "You're family look like a bunch of beasts no one wants to ever mess with" she said.

Bernie puffed his chest out with pride and flashed a terrifying grin. "Why thank you! We work hard to keep up ourselves looking as monstrous as possible" he said before he glanced over towards his wife, Yvonne, who rolled her eyes at him with a mischievous smirk.

Haley let out an embarrassed groan before her mother slinked over gracefully with a whimsical smile. "So how have you two figured out where you're going to work?" she asked. Her skin pigment was slightly darker than her daughter's, but her skin were just as smooth.

Lilian's face lit up. "We've got out foot in the door at the lodge to be triage nurses, but they might give us a lot more to do now that we've graduated" she said.

Haley smiled. "It's going to be a crazy winter this year I heard" she mentioned.

Lilian grinned. "Well it's going to be more action then! I'm ready for the challenge!" she shouted.

Bernie grinned widely. "That's the spirit! I know you two can handle anything that life throws at you!" his voice boomed.

Lilian smiled and Yvonne winked at her. "Go have fun you two" she said before she turned towards her husband. "So, you think that it would be safe for Lilian to be staying with Haley?" she asked.

Bernie looked at her oddly. "Why? Weren't they together in the dorms?" he asked.

Yvonne shook her head. "They weren't in the same dorm room, she's going to notice things..." she muttered before she looked over at Lilian looking over at them while she was talking to Haley.

Bernie shrugged. "Nah, it'll all be fine" he said before he took a big swig of his beer. "Besides, she'll start noticing other things before she notices things with Haley" he mentioned.

Yvonne sighed heavily. "Yea, but still...what if they get snowed in? I just don't feel comfortable with them being so close" she said.

Bernie touched her shoulder. "Hun, they been friends for over six years. Besides, not like she'll believe whatever she sees" he said with a low chuckle.

The picnic went on without a hitch, and later, the graduation went on with great success. Haley and Lilian both graduated with the distinction of Summa cum laude, which is only given to students with a GPA of 3.75 or above. They quickly move out of their dorms at the university and into an apartment complex far in the mountains. The village they moved to were very isolated on the south slope of a glaciated active volcano, which this was a mecca for winter sports as well as major tourist trap.

As they arrived on their first day, there were a freak snow storm that caught a group of climbers off guard, and the county organized a rescue operation. They hauled in a large mobile medical bus in, which Lilian and Haley was given the responsibility to see any patients who did not have too serious of injuries. Just as Lilian tied her hair into a bun the ace rescue team came in, one particular man caught her eye. It was not his similar height and build to Bernie, but he wore khaki cargo shorts, a black t-shirt, and sunglasses.

Without thinking, she barged out of the bus and marched over to give the man a scolding, which Haley were busy treating a patient with a sprained ankle, but she looked out in horror as Lilian cut the man off. He stared at her confused as he tried to side step her, and she continued to obstruct him.

"Are you an idiot!? Where's your jacket!? Where's your gloves!? Where's your pants!?" she raised her voice.

The man stared at her. "It's July..." he said in a thick German accent.

Lilian gritted her teeth. "It's 20 degrees outside!" she shouted. The man snickered to himself before her eye twitched. "In Fahrenheit!" she finished.

The man rubbed the back of his head before Lilian grabbed his arm. Her eyes widened in horror releasing his arm as if she just touched a hot stove. She looked up at him with concern, and she grabbed onto his arm again. "You have a fever! I can't have you going up there on that mountain like this!" she said tugging against him.

He did not budge, and Haley rushed over to cool off the situation. "Whoa! Hold on here!" she shrieked.

Lilian looked at her annoyed. "This moron is going to go up with a fever...look at how he's dressed" she said.

"I told you! It's July!" the man said.

Haley separated her from the man, and she looked genuinely nervous for Lilian's safety. "Sorry Steele...She's new here" she said.

Lilian shot her an angry look. "You're new here too!" she retorted.

The man laughed and waved at them. "You got a funny friend there Haley!" he said.

Lilian's head jerked towards him then back at Haley. "Wait...do you two know each other?" she asked still very annoyed.

Haley froze then nodded quickly while Lilian watched Steele rushed back to rejoin the rescue team with an impressive burst of speed. "Steele here is very...different" she said.

"Is this a European thing?" Lilian asked.

Haley shook her head. "Believe me, you it's more than just a European thing. He's the best of the best" she muttered before she walked back into the bus.

Lilian followed her in and plopped down onto the seat. "So did you date him?" she asked.

Haley looked at her disgusted and shook her head. "With Steele? Heck no, the dude is my Dad's drinking buddy...Jez, He's like old enough to be my dad!" she said defensively.

Lilian raised an eyebrow. "He don't look that old to me...come to think of it, your dad don't look that old either" she said before she raised her hand to her face inquisitively.

Haley laughed nervously as her patient wallowed in agony to her gripping onto his leg too tightly. "Good genes I guess...they are really healthy men" she said.

Lilian sighed. "Well, I didn't think men could get bigger than your dad. Jesus, Steele looks like he's made of three men" she said as she looked outside.

Haley looked at her oddly. "Wait...Are you just now realizing how big he is?" she asked.

Lilian looked back at her and smiled awkwardly. "Yea, well I was kinda pissed" she said with a light laugh afterwards.

Haley shook her head at her. "What am I going to do with you, you goober" she said before she gave Lilian a good tap on the arm with her fist. Her patient groaned in relief as the pressure on his leg was relieved.

"Jez, Lady! You look like you were about to turn into shehulk for a moment" he said.

Lilian grinned. "You know...if you were green, I'd say you are a shehulk" she teased.

Haley rolled her eyes again. "Hardy har har!" she laughed sarcastically although her grinned countered her sarcasm.

Later during the day, the Steele came back after successfully rescuing the climbers without incident, but Lilian observed that the rescue team were paling around and giving him a rough time. Haley was too focused on treating a gash in a climber's leg to notice this, nor did she seem to care; however, she finally looked up and grinned. "I'm in the mood for steak...you?" she asked.

Lilian looked over at her curiously and smirked. "Are you a steak and potatoes kind of woman?" she teased.

Haley grinned as she cut the thread off the last stitch. "Well you saw my family...you can draw your conclusion from there" she said before she slid her chair back. "Someone said there's an amazing restaurant down the road...I'm so hungry I can't make it myself" she said.

Lilian nodded. "Yea, I'm not in a mood to cook either" she added.

"Sweet, let's go!" Haley said before she helped the patient off to another nurse.

They walked up to Haley's truck, where she scrapped off the ice from the windshield and other windows. Lilian knocked against the ice that built up around the door knob. Haley went around and gave a swift thwack that jarred free and shattered the ice from the door. She looked up at Haley confused with the amount of strength she possessed being flaunted casually, but she did not think anything of it.

They drove down the road to a local mom and pop restaurant, which there were a massive group of men celebrating. They got pretty rowdy, and as Lilian and Haley got farther inside, they saw Steele at the bar in the middle of the celebration eating a steak the size of her leg with the other men chanting behind him. Lilian rolled her eyes finding it to be sophomoric, but they got settled in finally and placed their orders.

While they waited, one of the waitresses are getting hassled by a trucker, one of the men came in and told him off, but the trucker were not taking it. Haley finished her soda and got up walking over to the Trucker. "Listen bud! You better cool your tits before you get yourself into a whole heap of trouble!" she shouted.

The trucker rolled his eyes at her. "Now you listen here! This is a free country, and I can say anything I damn well please!" he shouted back.

Steele came up and cleared his throat, which Haley flinched knowing that voice anywhere. "What seems to be the problem here? This guy not taking no for an answer?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Haley smacked herself in the forehead. "Steele, please...I got this handled. He's just a stupid hick" she said calmly.

The trucker growled and jabbed his finger into her chest. "Listen here carpet muncher! You...argh!" he shouted before Haley grabbed his arm and twisted it to the point where the man had to submit to prevent his arm from snapping like as toothpick.

"Don't you ever fucking touch me again! Don't you be picking a fight with me or I'll bust your ass so hard you'll be asking for an early hip replacement!" Haley raised her voice as she bared her teeth.

"Easy does it!" Steele said as he placed a firm hand on Haley's shoulder. "Just feel sorry for his lack of education!" he said bluntly.

The trucker jumped towards Steele, but Haley still had his arm and spun him around and slammed his chest into the table. "Give it up! You fight him; you're ending up in the morgue! You understand me, or do you need me to speak in your native redneck tongue!?" Haley shouted.

"Eat me you psycho bi!" he shouted before she grabbed his head and rammed it into his plate of untouched mashed potatoes and gravy.

"I don't think you get it! You must have like the tiniest dick to be this much of a prick!" she shouted.

The Trucker groaned as a Sheriff approached the table, and he smirked at Haley subduing the trucker. "Alright now, go back to all of your tables. I think he'll shut his mouth if he knows what's good for him" he said.

They all dispersed from the Trucker, and Haley plopped back down next to Lilian whose eyes were as wide as her dinner plate. "How did you? When did you learn to do that?" she asked.

Haley laughed. "My dad's a cop remember? I learned it from him...and the trash talking" she said before she went to eating her food.

Lilian looked at her food and sighed. "I'm going to need to get in shape" she muttered before she looked back over at Steele curiously. "So, that Steele guy...is he as scary as you made him out to be?" she asked.

Haley looked at her amused sensing her best friend's interest. "Oh ya! Even more so than my dad" she replied.

Lilian nodded as she looked at him closely studying him as if he were her notes before the big test. "He's seems kind of nice" she said.

Haley rolled her eyes as she could not dissuade her best friend from crushing on their much older coworker. She was only going to have to listen to her comment on how nice he looks or how nice he acts, and she could only hope that it would cease eventually.

Later that week, Lilian decided to spend her weekend by going on a vigorous jog near a lake. Her headphones blaring her favorite tune on her MP3 player. What she did not know was that a thunderstorm loomed nearby and a couple of rumbles of thunder that echoed off the mountains. Just as she rounded the bend, there were a flash and a loud bang. She saw a tree explode, and all she remembered were a sharp pain to her head as a heavy hunk of bark shrapnel crashed into the back of her head.

She fell to the ground, and when she woke up, she found her arm were pinned underneath a tree. What were worse was it began to rain. "Help! Somebody!" she pleaded. She spent what felt like hours screaming in the downpour for someone's assistance. The tree was so large it looked like it would have to be cut up to set her free.

Finally someone came to her aide, which it was a soaking wet Steele. He looked at her sternly as lightning flashed overhead as steam rose off his burning hot body. "Can you feel your arm?" he asked.

Lilian shivered violently, but managed to nodded her head yes. He looked at the tree carefully, and he rubbed his hands together. "Right, let's get you free...When I lift this, roll yourself away, okay?" he said.

Lilian looked at him confused as he crouched down next to her. "What are you? Oh my!" she shouted, while she watched his veins bulge then his muscles, and it looked like his muscles were growing bigger. His arms sprouted fur and teeth grew into fangs. She stared at him being actually able to lift the two foot diameter tree rather effortlessly, and he looked down at her with his glowing yellow eyes. She froze not sure if this were a hallucination or this guy had turned into some kind of beast man.

"You're free!" He said in a deep fearsome tone.

His voice snapped her out of her trance, and she looked down at her arm, which she slid it out. Steele dropped the tree back with a great thud, and his arms returned to normal however his shirt were stretched out with couple of tears at the seams up at the sleeves and shoulders. He panted heavily and brushed a bead of sweat from his brow. "Whew! That was heavier than I thought" he said.

Lilian looked up at him shivering violently. "I...I think I'm hypothermic right now...I don't think I have the strength to walk back right now" she said.

He looked at her sternly, and he scooped her up off her feet. "Don't worry, my lair isn't too far away. I'll fix you up something hot" he said as he carried her off.

Her eyes slowly closed as his body heat seeped into her core. "Thank you..." she said weakly before she rested her head on his broad shoulders. "...so warm" she muttered as she drifted into a light sleep.

She woke up in very large living room wrapped up in a towel in front of a big tall fire place with a roaring inferno. Steele came in with a huge load of split logs for the fire and tossed them aside with the greatest of ease. "You're very cold...do you think you'll need some blankets?" he asked.

She smiled. "Nah, I think you'd be enough for..." she said before she trailed off blushing madly.

He stared at her with his arms crossed over his rippling chest causing her to look away. He raised an eyebrow before he walked over to the kettle on the stove where he poured her a cup of hot chocolate. She sensed his gaze were broken, which she looked around seeing no indication of anyone living with him. "So...do you live here all by yourself?" she asked.

The inside was so massive and open that it appeared to be a mansion and not just a cabin. The ceilings were vaulted and extended up to the third floor, which its large size made everything feel so empty. He smirked as he walked up to her placing the cup onto the coffee table. "Well...no humans live with me. I do have a pack of wolves living underneath my deck" he said.

She looked at him strangely before she giggled. "Wolves? There are no wolves living in Oregon...you're silly" she said.

He scratched at the back of his head snickering. "You are going to be in for a shock. You really are very close to a wolf right now" he said.

She looked around the living room and saw only him. "What are you saying you're a wolf then?" she asked.

He gave her a very sly grin as he sat next to her. "I'm not that kind of wolf" he said before a female wolf casually walked through the kitchen and into the living room where she stopped short of the door looking at him patiently. He chuckled at left the couch to let the wild animal outside much to Lilian's disbelief. He looked back at her and smiled warmly. "I raised them after their pack leaders were slain by a rancher in Pocatello. I'm not domesticated myself, so they aren't good for pets" he said.

She snickered to herself. "Come on, sure you live out in the wilderness and you don't adhere to what everyone else is doing, but I still don't think you're that feral" she said.

He looked into her eyes deeply, and she got lost in them. His feral aura penetrated her, and she had a sensation that she were in the presence of something inhuman, but her rational side saw nothing but a human form in front of her, and he were behaving nothing like she would consider as wild animal. He gave a soft sigh through his nose, and he closed his eyes. "Wolves are very cunning creatures. They can adapt to almost everything. Just because one changes their behavior to fit a norm does not take away the beast inside" he said before he looked into the fire.

"The fact is that there's a beast inside me...I'm not afraid of it, but other people just would not be able to deal with it. Your friend Haley has a similar affliction as I do...only she's better at hiding it" he said.

She stared at him in disbelief, and she shook her head at him. "We all have beasts inside of us..." she said before she trailed off as she got lost in his eyes again. "...but you can't be afraid of it" she finished.

He smiled at her showing those very sharp elongated canines as Haley's family had. "That is true philosophically, but I can tell that you are intimidated. Deep down you can sense it" he said.

She reached for the cup and blew off the steam. "Steele...I'm not intimidated by you. You did just save my life after all. My adrenaline is still pumping sure, but I've been around man like you before" she said before she took a sip doing her best to not show him that he were right about her being the contrary.

She looked up and frowned as she could tell he were not falling for her façade, but he were more amused than hostile. He leaned back into the couch and smirked. "Yea, well...I'm a different wolf than Bernie is...I don't drink too much alcohol" he mentioned.

She laughed as she sat her cup down. "Well...That's true" she said. She noticed that she had gravitated towards him, and she had huddled up into his warmth again. She pulled back and grumbled upset with herself that she had lost control over herself. "Stop doing that!" she muttered to herself.

He looked over at her and cocked his head cutely. "Stop doing what?" he asked.

She flinched and looked over at him. "Uh, nothing...just talking to myself" she muttered.

He chuckled to himself knowing her attraction towards him, so he faced her looking into her eyes deeply. "You know if you're interested, I'd like to take you out to dinner sometime" he mentioned.

She stared at him and her heart was beating faster than a hummingbird. She tried to speak but no words could come out. Deep in the back of her mind she knew this guy were just as old as her best friend's father, but he looked so young that he looked to be just a couple years older. "Steele...how old are you?" she asked.

He froze and laughed nervously. "Um...It's 2005 right? Um...83?" he said before he laughed at her reaction. "I'm almost 38" he said.

She looked at him skeptically. "You know you look more 28" she said before she thought back on Haley's father looking 30 while Haley was 24. "You know what...just forget it. Sure, I think dinner sounds great" she said.

He smirked at her as she tried to process what just happened. "So next Friday at the tavern?" he asked.

"Yea...They do have great food there! It's a date then!" she said as she began to think back onto the scuffle with the trucker. "You really could have hurt that trucker guy a while ago, couldn't you?" she asked.

He looked at her amused and a canine poked out from his lip. "I learn to pull my punches, but as you saw with that tree...I'm quite strong" he stated.

She snickered. "Yea, you're definitely something else. I thought you were hulking out" she said as she leaned into him once more.

He let out a low chuckle. "Oh, well...I kind of did" he said.

She looked up at him and blushed. "So are you German? You kind of sound like Schwarzenegger only a lot deeper" she asked curiously.

He chuckled wholesomely. "Actually, Schwarzenegger is Austrian, and I'm from Switzerland, but I grew up in Germany during my childhood. I spend a good time in Canada though. I like the mountains. I'm built for it" he said.

She giggled. "I'd say, jez...you're build like a tank, stud!" she said slapping at his chest.

"I know, and I eat a lot. Got to be able to sustain my physique, or I won't be as good saving people" he said before he looked towards the door, which Haley barged and saw her best friend on the couch cozied up to her father's best friend. Her face from greatly concerned to greatly horrified.

He smirked at Haley and warped an arm around Lilian. "Hey, Haley" he said.

Haley stared at them. "What the hell is going here!?" she shrieked.

He rubbed the back of his head and snickered. "Well, I saved her life, and I believe we are cuddle..." he said before Haley growled.

"I know what's going on Steele! That was just an expression!" she shouted before she looked towards Lilian shocked. "You can't just let the adrenaline affect you! What if he takes advantage over you!?" she scolded her before she looked back over at him. "No offense...I know you're a good guy and all, but..." she said.

He waved his finger between him and Lilian. "This right here didn't just happen when she woke up. We are having a very intellectual conversation before I asked her out for dinner. She's still cold, so naturally she's going to cling onto something warm. There's no funny business going on" he said calmly.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry...it's just...you're my dad's friend, and she's my bestie" she said.

He shrugged. "Your best friend is an adult...you're just going to have to accept that I like her. This isn't in your control" he said, which Lilian's heart jumped as he spoke those simple words.

She looked at him and bit into her cheek and stared at the fire. "Fine..." she muttered before she looked back at Lilian. "I got you some clothes in the car" she said lowly.

Lilian quickly got up and dropped the towel to the floor, which to Haley's relief, she were still clothed. "Thanks Haley" Lilian said weakly. She walked out of the cabin, which she found that they were on top of a ridge that overlooked the tall volcanoes in the mountain chain. She stared at the massive cabin, which it made no sense that one man lived in it.

She looked back to the mountain and spaced out. "He likes me?" she muttered before she walked over to Haley's car when she got distracted at the glimpse of wolves devouring a fresh deer kill. Upon farther inspection, there were many skeletons lying around the property. "He's going to need to really clean up this place" she muttered.

She turned back, which Haley pulled out a sack of clothes from her car. She gazed at her with a troubled look as she handed her the sack. "I suppose you aren't going to need a ride back home then are you?" she asked.

Lilian shrugged. "Not really...are you okay? Is there something about this guy you don't like?" she asked.

Haley looked at her shocked. "No, just..." she said before she paused struggling with herself. "It's complicated, err...You just wouldn't understand. You'll figure it out eventually, but you just won't believe me if I told you" she said.

Lilian huffed. "And what makes you say that!?" she said.

Haley clenched her fist and closed her eyes. "BECAUSE HE'S A!" she shouted before opened her eyes she saw him take a step out the door. She faltered and lowered her voice. "He's a wolf" she said meekly.

Lilian stared at her and then at Steele. "You know what...you're right! I don't believe you!" she said as she took her clothes from her.

Haley looked at the ground defeated before Steele approached her as Lilian stormed off inside the cabin. "So how long have you known each other again?" he asked.

Haley looked up at him then back at the ground submissively. "Nearly seven years..." she said lowly.

He gave her a firm look, but he closed her eyes understanding her fear, so he touched her shoulder to reassure her. "It's okay to tell her...It's not proper for me to tell her outright. I haven't known her long enough to establish the much trust, but you have. If you are comfortable enough to tell her" he said.

She looked up at him worried. "I thought you would be angry for me telling her...you saw how closed off she is" she said.

He chuckled to himself. "You could always show her" he said.

She rubbed her shoulder and looked away. "No...I don't want to scare her, either" she said nervously.

He squeezed her shoulder as he heard Lilian come back out of the cabin. "I know it's hard to come out, but I think she's got a good head on her shoulders" he said.

Lilian looked up at them confused. "What do you mean by coming out?" she asked. She again misinterpreted the conversation piecing together things as subtle hints about her best friend, which she blushed. "Oh! I'm sorry...uh...I think we should still be friends Haley. You are very brave" she said flattered.

Steele looked at her oddly, but Haley closed her eyes and grabbed her temple. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell you" she said lowly.

"What's going on?" he muttered cocking his head completely lost.

Haley walked to her car. "Nothing...Just...keep her happy" she said before she got back into her car. She stared into her steering wheel disappointed with herself, but she left giving them one last look before leaving the property.

Lilian watched her feeling bad, which she looked back at Steele worried. "Steele...Is it bad for me to be attracted to you and not Haley?" she asked innocently.

He looked back at her and finally caught on to what just happened. "No...you can choose whomever you want to love. Haley will be fine...she's just stressing out" he said before he headed back into the cabin. "She's a real good friend to have. Just remember that" he said as he passed her.

She looked back at him and pondered to herself, but she was happy that Steele was accepting of her best friend coming out of the closet. "You're a very good man" she said.

As the week went on, everything went on as usual, only that Haley was very quiet and lost in her thoughts. Lilian felt pain seeing her best friend moping every time she saw her, but she felt like she were in a position to second guess her decision to go out with Steele.

When she arrived at his place, she walked up rubbing her shoulder with a defeated posture. Steele answered the door and looked into her eyes deeply as if he were gazing into her soul. "Haley still not feeling too good with us going out?" he asked.

Lilian's head sank down and tried to hide her uncertainty. "I think it would be best if we did not go out today" she said before she clenched her fist. "I mean you're an awesome guy, but...maybe it was better for..." she said.

He continued to look at her carefully reading her body language, and her heart sank even more when he knew that she did not believe what she were saying. "But what do_you_ want?" he asked as he leaned into the threshold with his arms crossed.

She looked up at him and began to tear up. "Steele...Please...I don't want to lose my friend" she said.

He took in a deep breath and sighed. "Alright...if you think that's what's best" he said looking at her skeptically.

She looked up at him with her tears falling away, and she was feeling even more terrible by the second. She ran over to the car and sped off, which he crossed his arms over his chest watching her very carefully. The wolves looked at him annoyed, and he growled at them. "What!? I had to let her go!" he shouted at them. He grumbled to himself as he walked back inside to think, while the wolves looked at each other not pleased with their friend's courtship behavior.

Once Lilian got to her apartment, she opened the door quickly. Haley was in the living room eating raw meat straight out of the package, but something was different. Haley was covered in fur, her eyes were yellow, her nose was disfigured and her teeth were fangs.

They stared at each other for several seconds before Haley set the package aside quickly and jumped out of sight. "Lilian! What are you doing!? I thought you were on a date with Steele!" she shouted in a morphed voice.

Lilian approached the kitchen in curiosity. "I decided to call it off..." she said before Haley growled.

"What!? But Why!?" she shouted viciously.

Lilian peered around the corner and stared at her. "I thought it would make things less awkward between us" she said before she looked at the package. "Are you eating this raw? Why are you wearing a costume?" she asked.

Haley glared at her. "Get back over there and date him. I'm not having a good week right now! Just give me some space! This is already getting more awkward than it should!" she shouted frantically.

Lilian nodded and backed away. "Oh....okay..." she said timidly before she left the kitchen. "That's a real good costume you have" she said before she left.

Haley let out a heavy sigh as she looked at the package of meat. "Tch! It's not a costume you dork!" she muttered before she resumed eating her snack before she paused for a moment. "Wait a sec...why can't I find a date?" she asked before she looked down at her claws. "I'm just as attractive as Lilian is!" she muttered.

She looked over at the phone and rushed over to it before she started dialing a number on the wall. Someone answered which she wrapped the chord around her finger and gulped. "Hey Tyler...wanna hang out for a bit?" she asked.

"Uh, okay?" said another monstrous male voice.

She smirked and cleared her throat. "I got lots of snacks, and I'm alone tonight" she said seductively.

He laughed. "Say no more! I'm coming over!" he said before he hung up.

She giggled before she sat back down at the table. "Wolfmen...such simple creatures, yet so eager to please" she muttered to herself.

Once Lilian got back to Steele cabin, he stepped out quickly and got into her car. She looked at him oddly, which he looked to be very uncomfortable. "Let's go eat! I can't wait no longer" he said quickly.

She looked stared at him in disbelief. "How did you know that I was coming back? You mean you really waited for me to come back?" she asked.

He looked back at her and nodded. "Yes, Yes! Now hurry...my belly feels like napalm!" he shouted as he clutched onto his stomach.

She nodded and sped back off as her date was sweating a lot and his stomach was making loud bubbly and growling sounds. She looked back over at him feeling responsible for making him wait. "I'm sorry Steele...Really I am! I didn't know you were going to wait for me!" she said before she reached over to touch his hairy hand.

He laughed nervously. "Yea, pretty stupid of me, but I can just eat a bigger meal than usual" he said.

She giggled at him. "You could order that 72 ounce steak like last time" she suggested.

"That is the usual for me" he added. She looked over at him alarmed, but he smiled at her with his teeth looking longer and sharper. "It's better you drive anyway. I will get food drunk" he said.

She smiled while she rubbed his back. "I let's just get you something to eat big guy!" she said as she pulled up to the restaurant.

She got out and quickly helped Steele out from the car, which she huddled up close to him guiding him to the front door. The waitress looked at the giant man hunched over in pain, which she gasped. "Oh no! Did he get hurt?" she asked.

Lilian looked up nervously. "I made him wait" she said honestly.

The waitress let out a loud guffaw before she ushered them to a booth. "I already know what he wants..." she said as she handed Lilian a menu. "Can I get you a beverage?" she asked.

Lilian rubbed Steele's shoulder. "Just a lemon iced tea" she said.

Steele's ears were becoming pointed, and his breathing was labored. She watched on helplessly as he was doubled over in pain. She reached up to stroke a cute side burn that formed along his jawline. "Wow...I'm digging this wolfman look you got going" she said.

He turned his head at her and his yellow eye peered over at her, but he chuckled turning his head back into his arms. "Well at least you like it" he said lowly.

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Just hang in there guy" she said before she turned to the menu.

Soon they got their meals, and Steele tore away at the meat. Lilian's eating slowed to a crawl as he had the 72 ounce steak down in five minutes, and he ordered a second one. The waitress were even more alarmed as their fabled challenge for visitors were about to be done twice over in one sitting. A group of people watched on as he seemed to be less uncomfortable. "Man...that should settle me down" he said before he looked at her oddly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked him over and smiled thinking to herself. "It's nothing...you do know that your nearly eating ten pounds of meat...are you going to touch your greens?" she asked.

He smirked. "Are you lecturing me on my eating habits?" he asked feigning his annoyance.

She grinned and propped up her head off the table with her arm. "What if I am? What are you going to do about it big guy?" she asked in a sultry voice before she batted her eyes at him.

He looked at her and gave a low alluring growl. "I might eat you next" he said in a seductive tone.

She shivered with delight and felt herself pool up in her hip region. "You're a real wild animal" she teased him before she rubbed his foot with her own.

He looked into her eyes and chuckled. "So how are you liking Government Camp so far?" he asked before he started to consume the trimmings.

She giggled as he returned the favor by reaching under the table to touch the top of her thigh. She looked down and smiled. "I'm warming up to it" she said as she placed her hand on top of his. "You know...Haley told me she wanted some space tonight. You wouldn't mind if I crash in your place for the night, would you?" she asked.

He chuckled to himself. "Sure...but...are you worried about wolves wondering around my home?" he asked.

She smirked at him. "I was hoping to be a little closer to you, so that won't be a problem" she said as she looked into his eyes deeply.

He looked surprised for a moment, but they both knew where this was going. "Well, If you don't mind the fur, then you can certainly stay" he said before he gave a cheeky grin.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, just how much fur can you possibly have?" she asked.

He smiled at her and leaned in. "Hopefully not too much, but you know I'll keep you plenty warm that you'll not want to leave" he said before he gave off a deep low seductive growl into her ear. She shivered and squirmed around in her seat trying her best to hide her arousal, but her top could not hide it at all.

The rest of the date continued on with flirtatious play and sexual innuendo, but Lilian had enjoyed herself, which all his attention were on her more than the food surprisingly. Although he were hinting at wanting dessert later, but she knew what he meant when they left for his home. She followed him across his property clutching onto him as she could feel the eyes of wild animals watching her.

"Could you have installed some lights? How are you able to see out here?" she asked.

He chuckled to himself. "I have wolf's eyes..." he said as if he was joking, but once they got inside of his cabin, she relaxed.

"No wolves now...you got that Mr. Wolfman?" she asked before she jumped to feeling his torso against her back, but she eased off into him as he rested his hands on the sides of her waist. She leaned into his back and took his hands lowering them to her hips. "I thought you were sleepy?" she asked.

He snickered to himself. "Well that just means we should get to bed sooner, shouldn't it?" he teased.

She looked up at him and turned to face him. "You know...this is technically our first date..." she said nervously. She reached up to pet his chest, which she began to fight herself. "What am I doing?" she muttered.

He looked at her oddly. "Enjoying yourself?" he answered with confusion.

She laughed nervously as she brought her hand to her head sliding it across her hair. "I know but...is it right?" she asked.

He touched her shoulder. "If it feels right to you, then why question it?" he asked.

She looked at the floor and bit her lip. "Jesus Steele...you make it sound too simple. I've had so many relationships go bad after sex, and..." she said before he interrupt.

"A lot of men put up an act for the sake of sex. I would trust by now you can tell when a man is being real with you" he said before he touched her shoulder giving it a firm squeeze. "Even though I like sex, it doesn't mean you're obligated to do so. I'm perfectly fine with a cuddle or whatever you feel comfortable in doing" he said.

She looked up at him, and he hand pulled against her own hair. "You use condoms don't you?" she asked, which he nodded slowly. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Alright...We'll see what happens" she said.

He scratched at his chest and brushed passed her. "It's a curious thing sexuality is..." he said as he wondered into the kitchen. He shuffled around for dishes and silverware in the dark, which she wondered inside.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she turned on the light. He stopped looking back at her with two bowls, two spoons, and a scooper in one hand, and a tub of Neapolitan ice cream in the other while he had whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate syrup pressed against his chest. "Are you still hungry after all that food!?" she shouted in disbelief.

He smiled at her as he walked over to the dining room table to setting everything down. "Well not really, but I'm not full either" he said as he opened the tub and took big scoops before dumping them into the bowls. "I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie and relax" he said.

She watched him squirt the chocolate syrup all over, and she stared at him. "Do you normally eat this much? You ate nearly twenty pounds of food" she asked as he started pouring the whipped cream into the bowl.

He looked at her and grinned. "I've been overworking myself, and I need Ice cream!" he raised his voice before he plopped a cherry on top of the whipped cream in both bowls before he handed her a bowl. "Here you go" he said sweetly.

She blushed and accepted the ice cream, and she was more interested in how exotic he was getting by the minute, but she was finding it endearing. "Well...you do keep in very good shape. I just don't think I could cook for that kind of appetite" she said.

He snickered to himself. "I can cook" he said before she looked at him shocked, which he ushered her over to the couch. "Yea, I'm not talking tv dinners either...I mean from scratch. I don't eat that processed crap" he said.

She looked at the ice cream skeptically. "But...this is processed" she said.

He looked into his bowl and sighed. "I can't make this from scratch...it just tastes so damn good!" he said as his guilty pleasure was exposed.

She laughed at him and dipped her spoon into the sugary treat. "Yea, well...I love Ice cream too" she said before he turned on the tv. She glanced over at his movie rack and noticed something odd for a man his age. "What! No! You have Spirited Away!?" she shouted.

He looked at her oddly. "Yea? You want to watch it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Hell ya! I didn't take you for an Anime fan!" she said.

He laughed nervously. "Yea, well...I love good movies. I do like Miyazaki's films" he said before he sat his bowl onto the coffee table and reached for the DVD.

She smiled attentively. "I think you have good tastes" she said as she began to consume her ice cream.

Later in the night, she decided to follow him to his room, where she spent a while romancing with him before they finally settled down for bed. The cabin creaked and groaned throughout the night, and the sounds of wildlife resonated through the room. She looked towards her lover and saw he were not concerned in the slightest. He only looked at her deeply still caught in the afterglow of their prior activities, or he was very relaxed. "Steele...do you get lonely out here?" she asked.

He smiled and planted a kiss upon her lips. "I'm not lonely right now" he said as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her up tight against his body.

She reached up to run her fingers through his tufts of chest hair still under the effects of her own afterglow. "I like your fur" she complimented him before she closed her eyes reaching down to feel up the muscles in his abdomen. "So...do you want to go out again next week?" she asked as her feet rubbed up against his arm legs.

He chuckled to himself. "Of course, my lady" he said before he smirked for a second. He cleared his throat and gave out a deep but beautiful howl, which this worked up the other wolves to begin howling along. She looked up at him and smiled before she nuzzled into his left pectoral muscle listening to the chorus of howling.

"You have a nice howl, Mr. Wolfman" she said as she clutched onto the other side of his chest and hooked her leg around one of his. "This is nice..." she said lowly before she closed her eyes drifting off to sleep.

During the night, the cabin continued to groan and creak, and there were occasional growls and snarls; however, it was not the wolves outside making these ferocious noises, but it was Steele. Lilian was in a deep sleep, but deep in her dreams she was being chased by a monster. She woke up in the early morning sweating heavily, which she looked back at the growling man nomming into her hair.

She tried to reach over to pull her hair out, but she discovered it impossible with his bear hug arms. She squirmed around, and he released her only for her to spin around just as he leaned in to clamp down on her throat. She froze with fear as he had his jaws firmly clamped around her windpipe. He gave a dominant growl before he started licking her.

She stared at him confused not sure whether to take this behavior as threatening or appealing. "Steele! Are you awake!?" she asked in a soft soothing voice as she reached up to touch his shoulder. He let out a low groan before he opened his eyes half way. He was so groggy that he could not open his eyes all the way, which she moved around. "I got to use the bathroom" she said as she used her only free hand in a futile attempt to loosen his firm tight secure embrace around her. "Hey! I gotta pee!" she shouted as she squirmed around more.

He finally became fully awake and released her and stared at her. "Sorry" he said before he blushed. She got out of bed looking at him amused.

"Damn, you're a heavy sleeper" she said as she wondered into his master bathroom. Inside she looked around, and there were long wolf hairs scattered all over, which she sighed heavily. "You really need to clean up in here...it looks like a pack of wolves have been living in here!" she shouted.

He chuckled to himself. "I try...to be fair a wolf has been living in here" he said.

She snickered to herself. "Is that why you were trying to eat me in your sleep?" she asked.

He paused for a moment. "Eating? You know from the culture where I'm from that is considered to romantic" he answered back with his deep booming voice.

"It's weird!" she shouted back before she looked down at the floor with a slight affectionate smile. "I'm not used to my hair being pulled like that..." she said before she laughed. "I liked it though" she admitted thinking he would not hear her. She finally finished what she was doing and left the bathroom giving him a smile. "I had a very strange dream while you were doing that. I was being chased on that trail from something, then I got attacked by a werewolf...though for some reason he weren't trying to kill me...I felt like I knew him" she said.

He propped his head up and looked at her with a sly grin. "Oh? And what happened when you got attacked?" he asked.

She looked up at him and scowled at him. "He was doing the same damn thing you were doing!" she said before she gazed at him with wonder. "So...are you one?" she asked curiously.

He snickered at her. "I'm going to be truthful with you, okay? I am just as much a werewolf as Haley is" he said.

She frowned. "You didn't answer my question though" she said.

He patted a spot next to him. "I kind of did...besides, would I being a werewolf make any difference between us?" he asked.

She stopped with great thought, and her body trembled. Every part of her being told her to run away from him, while His cryptic intellectual language made her brain hurt, but her brain still made the choice to defiantly go towards him bedding up to him. "I'd have to know a little more about werewolves before I could answer that" she said honestly.

He watched her settle back into him in her original spot, which he embraced her, and her body continued to tremble, which he leaned in to her ear. "You know more about werewolves than you realize" he said before he tugged her ear gently with his teeth. She looked up at him terrified and aroused, and he flipped her on top of him resting his hands on her hips looking at her confident and comfortable. "I'm going to ask you again...would you it a difference between us if I were a werewolf?" he asked.

She reached down for his chest and placed her hand over his strong beating heart. "I think I could work with it. I don't think you're an actual werewolf though...that's just..." she said before she stopped as he brought her down for a smooch. "...amazing..." she finished.

In the afternoon, Lilian came back to her apartment, which Haley was playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with Tyler, a member of the search and rescue team, before she paused it and looked over at her. She could smell Steele's potent wolf musk enlaced on her best friend's body. She looked at her amused and snickered. "So, I take it, your date were a success?" she asked.

Lilian had a shy embarrassed smile as she was very lovey dovey to that man. "Yea..." she muttered lost in though.

Haley laughed. "Well, looks like someone is in love" she remarked.

Lilian let out a heavy euphoric sigh. "Oh, he's so amazing! So intense! So manly!' she muttered.

Haley shook her head at her. "At least you had a good time with him" she said before she scratched her head. "So, I take it that you'll be going on future dates with him?" she asked. Lilian nodded before Haley turned back to her game and unpaused it. "Man, He's got you all twitterpated" she said.

Lilian smiled. "You have no idea how amazing he is" she said as she left for her room.

"Just be safe around him! The more you see him the bigger the danger!" Haley teased.

Lilian rolled her eyes. "Tch! He's very careful! He wouldn't hurt me any!" she shouted before she slammed her door.

Haley and her friend looked at each other and smirked. "Pfffahahahaha! She has no idea!" they laughed before they got back into their video game.