Fate brings them together in the end…
Ansgar wakes to find himself outside—somewhere he’s never been before. He’s scared out of his wits and wonders whether The Scientist is conducting another experiment. Is Ansgar naked, leaning against a large building so The Scientist can monitor his reactions? Ansgar doesn’t know, but what he does know is that the black wolf staring at him from the darkness isn’t something he expected to see.
The black wolf is Ben, and he didn’t expect to see a naked bloke on a cold night, sitting on his bare arse beside the old abandoned bread factory a mile or so away from town. Ben had only come out for a run, yet there he was, facing a man who clearly didn’t belong in these parts.
After taking Ansgar to his home, Ben discovers more about the big man—where he’s been, what he’s endured, and a few other things to boot. Things no one should have to go through. Ben’s determined to help heal Ansgar, to teach him the ways of not only the shifter world but the human one, too. Except there’s a human they need to be wary of, a man who calls himself The Scientist, and protecting Ansgar from him is Ben’s main priority.
The past holds a slew of secrets, ones that come tumbling out of hiding at an alarming rate. Ben and Ansgar need to face each one head on—although at times they’re overwhelming and relentless in their attack. The two men dream of living a life without fear in it one day, but unfortunately, dealing with the horrors from Ansgar’s old life have to come first.
General Release Date: 6th June 2017
The hard surface behind Ansgar’s back was damp. Naked, his skin wet, he frowned with his eyes closed, unable to process where he was. Scents weren’t helping, either. There was nothing familiar about what he was smelling.
He’d been asleep, he knew that much—his eyes were gummed together, as though he’d had more than the required eight hours. The last memory he had was of going to bed. Had The Scientist moved him somewhere else while he’d slept?
Dare I open my eyes to find out?
He kept them shut, listening for clues. Usually, when he’d been taken from his room for yet another experiment, he’d hear bleeps from the machines and the low murmur of The Scientist talking to himself about whatever process he would put Ansgar through.
He heard nothing of the sort—just a deep, eerie silence, quickly shattered by the howl of the wind as an abrupt gust smacked into him.
Wind? Does The Scientist have a fan on?
Ansgar’s hair rippled and his face tightened, as though the air was soaking up sweat he couldn’t remember having. Then came a rustle—not what he’d imagine breeze sifting through fallen leaves would sound like, but more akin to someone coming toward him, their feet crunching on gravel.
Something didn’t smell right now.
Something other was close by.
He winced, regretting it instantly. The Scientist might see his expression and take it as him being scared. He was, but he didn’t want him to know that.
A part of Ansgar sensed danger—maybe?—although having lived in only one building all his life, he didn’t really have a true hold on that kind of emotion. Didn’t really know how it was supposed to make him feel. But if his stomach rolling over and his heartbeat getting faster was any indication—yes, there was danger.
Open your damn eyes and see what is going on.
Another rustle, and that was all it took for Ansgar to look for whoever was there.
No one was in front of him at all.
But what he did see was darkness, and an expanse of grass, beyond it a low hedge then a large field, its surface full of dips and swells highlighted by the moon. It stretched off into the distance. He’d never been outside before, so he was unnerved by the experience. He’d longed to be outside, but to actually be there? Now? No, he’d never truly believed it would happen. Was this the field he usually looked at through the window? He wasn’t sure.
Something wasn’t right about it.
Where the fuck was he?
The night sky held the promise of rain—more of a downpour, if he were honest. The clouds hovering at the moon’s chin were gray, fat and puffy with retained moisture. If he didn’t find shelter soon, he’d get drenched. What he thought might be fear niggled in his belly—why was he even outside? What had The Scientist decided to do to him this time?
A snuffling noise to his left had him whipping his head in that direction. Some kind of animal stood there, all black fluff and glowing yellow eyes—he couldn’t make it out properly in the darkness. Ansgar scrabbled to his feet despite a voice in his head warning him to stay still. He backed away, one hand on the hard surface he’d been leaning against—bricks, knobbly and rough. In his peripheral he saw he was next to a large building, its height taller than he could estimate. If he could get to a door, or maybe a window, and bang on it, The Scientist might let him in.
Then he thought back to all the experiments he’d been subjected to in the past. And with that animal, that dog-thing standing right there, he guessed if The Scientist had put him here, he was monitoring Ansgar’s reaction. To see if he shifted into his wolf out of fear—or as a means to protect himself.
The beast cocked its head, lifting its snout to smell the air—or to smell Ansgar, he wasn’t sure. Then, quickly, the animal changed.
Into a man.
A naked man.
Ansgar gasped, unsure what the hell to do, so he kept walking backward, intent on escape. He’d never been this close to another person like himself before, one who had the ability to change. Well, he’d been close, but a wall of glass had always separated him from the other shifters. He’d watched The Scientist do things to them—things that had been done to him.
He wondered if Mother Love knew where he was. Whether she was missing him. Whether she knew about this new type of experiment and disapproved. She usually did, but voicing that disapproval got her nowhere. The Scientist had his own rules that he followed regardless of what the old woman said.
The man coughed, drawing Ansgar’s full attention. He was tall, broad, although he had a narrow waist. His chest was bare of hairs, but his cock… Now that was surrounded by a scrunch of black curls. His face wasn’t showing any expression except what Ansgar had learned was curiosity, and his brown eyebrows almost disappeared beneath the hair hanging over his forehead.
The man held out a hand. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”
Ansgar understood English, thank God, and he could speak it, too, but why wasn’t this man using Austrian? What was The Scientist up to now?
“Who are you?” Ansgar asked. “Where am I?”
“You don’t know where you are? Out in the middle of nowhere, mate, and my name’s Ben. What the fuck are you doing here? You’ll catch your death, what with having no clothes on.”
Says the man who is also outside with nothing on.
Ansgar glanced down at himself. Covered his cock with his hands. “In the middle of nowhere? Where, exactly, is that?”
“Not from around here, are you? Here is England.” Ben picked up speed a bit, closing the gap between them. “Look, stop walking away, will you? I need to know what you’re doing here. And you sound foreign. What’s that all about? And I know you’re a shifter. I can smell you, so there’s no use denying it.”
“I…I do not know why I am here. I went to sleep—in Austria, at home in my room, and before that I had been in the lab—and now I am here. In England?” Ansgar shivered, unable to take it all in. The overwhelming need to run swamped him, but where would he run to? The building had to be home, so he shouldn’t stray from the comfort of its walls.
This man saying he was in England was a lie.
“Austria? The lab? Some kind of scientist, are you?” Ben widened his eyes. “What kind of shifter?”
Ansgar almost shrugged. He didn’t fancy telling this man what he was—Mother Love had warned him to keep that information to himself—yet at the same time Ben looked kind, so maybe it was best to be truthful. “I am not a scientist—scientists are bastards. My name is Ansgar. And I am a…a wolf.”
“Oh…” Ben’s eyes got wider. “I heard Austrian shifters are a strong bunch, stronger than our lot. So…I mean, are you sure you’re from Austria or are you just messing me about?”
“I am sure—of course I am sure. That is not something I am likely to forget, is it? I have never been anywhere else except for home.” Ansgar stopped backing off, his confusion permeated by a touch of anger. He flattened his back to the wall and kept Ben in his sights. “Will you help me?” I am scared—please help me.
“Yeah, yeah, I will, but I’ll need to give my friend a quick bell first.”
A bell?
Shaking his head so he didn’t think about what that could mean, Ansgar watched as Ben first ran away then stopped and bent down to pick something up off the ground. Clothes. He dressed then came toward Ansgar again, a phone pressed to the side of his face. Ansgar had seen a phone like that on the TV.
“Bit of a problem in the running fields,” Ben said. Pause. “An Austrian shifter, so he says… Yeah, seems so. Pleasant enough chap.” Another pause. “All right. See you in a bit.” Ben smiled at Ansgar while moving his finger over the phone screen. “Help is coming. My friend Terry will be here with his mate, Piers, in about five minutes. They’re shifters, too. We’ll look after you, take you somewhere so you feel safe until we can get you back to Austria, okay?” He smiled. “And find you some clothes. You’ll have to borrow some of Piers’—you’re as big a bugger as he is. Come on.” He jerked his head in the direction of the field.
Should I go with him?
“Wait,” Ansgar said. “What is in this building here?” For all he knew, it could be home—he’d never seen what the outside of it was like, nor anything at the back of the place as those windows had shutters on them. The Scientist could be tricking him, setting him up by making him meet this man.
“Nothing’s in it now,” Ben said. “Totally empty. Used to be a bread factory. No help in there—you’re better off coming with me. Seriously, if you don’t, you might not see anyone else around here for days. You’re just lucky I was out having a run tonight.”
Ben set off, jogging toward some lights in the distance. A city or town, Ansgar guessed. The darkness soon swallowed Ben up, a cloud obscuring the moon so its glow didn’t settle on the departing man. Without further questioning whether it was a good idea, Ansgar followed. There were other shifters here, so Ben had said—his friends. And Ansgar would be taken to safety. He wasn’t stupid enough to go with someone if he thought they meant him harm. Besides, the man racing off ahead of him seemed familiar, even though he’d never met him before in his life.
I do not know who he is or why I am here, but there has to be a reason. If it is an experiment, I need to go by the rules. I was asked to go with him, so I will go. It is all I know.
To do as I am told.
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