There's Good Running & There's Bad Running Who: Nesryn and Brian What: Full Moon; Food Run; Bonding When: Morning; Present Where: Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Ratings: Low
Sloan Canyon, north of Searchlight, was a 48,000-acre conservation area that formed the southern mountainous skyline of Las Vegas and Henderson. The canyon, and the wilderness acreage within it, had been set aside to preserve a petroglyph site with over 300 rock panels carved by native cultures, plus volcanic rock scrambles and dry waterfalls. While a favorite of daytime hikers and bikers, the canyon was closed to campers and hunters, which made it an ideal place for a pair of wolves to roam free under the full moon, apex predators in a landscape with little other to fear except the Mojave green rattlesnake.
Wolves could hear and smell the signs of daylight before the sun shimmered above the horizon. The male wolf, its fur a mixture of gray and honey-brown, put its nose to the wind. It picked a winding route downhill through clusters of cactus, brittlebush, and creosote, slowly retracing steps to a dacite rock outcropping, where clothes had been deposited before the run. The wolf stopped on a ledge that overlooked the valley.
Paws would slip into the earth. Nostrils were filled with the aroma of rich dirt, sand, and the wind. Sharp eyes saw much - every granule overturned, the contours of paw prints left behind in their prowl. All of the flora and fauna was perfectly situated to accommodate their needs.
Shaking its brown fur, the female wolf would follow along after the larger male. Ears would twist as it listened, moving after a familiar scent caught in the breeze.
Over a puddle of tee shirt the wolf would step. Finally it settled and turned those sharp amber eyes on the larger of them for direction.
The wolf’s tail wagged. The male lifted its nose and scented the air, mouth opening in a wide, satisfied yawn, and snapping shut. It nuzzled the female’s head, licked at her ear, and wandered off to a second pile of clothes that had been draped over a boulder by human hands. It was there that the wolf sat on its back haunches, yapped once, and began to shift. Bones and sinew popped and realigned. Mass shifted into a human form of head, torso, arms and legs. Fur and claws seemed to retract into skin, leaving a man crouching on fours in its place. The transformation was easier under the sway of a full moon: no pain, just a seamless relinquishment of one body to the other.
Brian stood up in the pre-dawn light, long and lean, his hair a shock of dark brown on his forehead, and what looked to be a week’s growth of beard on his jaw. He looked past the rock in the general direction of where Nesryn’s wolf had been.
As soon as the male had wandered into the brush nearby, the female began to change. The shift came and it was easy, painless. Restructuring of bones, tissues. She took her human form and once grounded began pulling close the clothing discarded.
Her skin was covered quickly, reapplying the layers and then she would stand up. Stretch.
Running was always her favorite thing, wolf or woman, but just standing there felt good too.
“Did I lose you?” She called softly, waiting with amused patience. Her feet would carry her into a better view and she stopped to wait again, not wanting to encroach on his privacy.
“Uh, no?” he said, framing the words with his index fingers. “I’m just behind this rock. Wondering where my pants went.”
Brian had gathered up his t-shirt and boxer briefs and stood barefoot on the uneven terrain, half-dressed, a puzzled look on his face. At least the underwear were on board; less chance of walking out of the canyon looking like Winnie the Pooh. He knelt on the ground and noticed a swatch of denim in a crevice between two boulders. “Wait…” Making a less than enthusiastic face, he made a grab for them and hoped a snake hadn’t taken up residence in a pant leg.
The werewolf stood up and gave them a shake. “I bet this sort of thing never happens to you.”
That was the holdup. Nesryn covered a giggle with her hand, waiting to see what would develop. “Maybe a bear ran off with them.” Clearly that didn’t happen but poking a bit of fun was harmless.
“It’s happened to me,” she replied, making a face. “And once a bear actually did run off with my jeans. I forgot I had something in a pocket.” That had been embarrassing. “But at least you found them. Let’s hope you don’t have surprise visitors.”
Slowly she approached Brian, curious to see if anything had helped itself to a jeans leg, or a back pocket.
“My luck, there’s probably a scorpion in the crotch. Which is definitely not a metaphor for my last girlfriend, I don’t care what anyone says.” Brian gave her a crooked smile as he sheathed first one leg, then the other, into his jeans and pulled them up. He took a seat on the rock to pull on his socks and hiking boots. “What was in your pocket, anyway? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
For reasons, he looked at her current pants pockets, checking them for lumps.
“Half of a meal bar, actually,” she replied. A laugh had come in reply to his joke, and she moved to sit down next to him on the rock while he finished pulling on boots. “I figured I would want it afterward, I always get hungry, but I guess the bear needed it more.”
Eventually she had gotten the jeans back but only after the bear finished the food and wandered off.
Nesryn leaned over a bit, pressing her arm against his.
Brian finished lacing his shoes and let his arms come to rest in his lap. A pleasant kind of exhaustion had come over him, not tired exactly, but the way a body felt after a workout and the endorphins set in. It put his mind at ease. He looked at her, the outside of his knee nudging hers with familiarity. A funny thing occurred to him. “I remember more of it when you’re here,” he said. “Does it help, being out here? With what‘s been going on lately?”
His words settled down on her and she sat up a little more. “It’s more freeing,” she confessed, chewing at her bottom lip a bit. “Like I’m not scared when I’m out here with you. I don’t remember what happened, not any of it, but from what I’ve heard it was literally terrible.” Not just a play on words considering the name of the diner.
“But when I’m running I feel like I’m flying. And flying with you makes it better.”
Brian put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I like it, too.” She was small and it felt good to bring her in close; there was some kind of energy she had about her, an openness he liked, like she put up absolutely no pretenses, just the genuine article all the time. Nobody was like that. Even he had a hard time carving out the right thing to say from the awkward running dialogue in his head. “You’re the nicest wolf I ever met, that’s for sure. I doubt that rabbit back there agrees,” he thumbed back where they’d come from, looking over his shoulder as though the spirit of the animal might be lingering. Brian wore a comically sympathetic look. “That lil guy didn’t know what hit him.”
It was instantaneous, the way she leaned into that arm. Her head went to rest upon his shoulder and she smiled a bit, turning her gaze up to peer at him. She was grateful for his warmth and strength. Who knew that such an odd event would bring them closer together - his blood never really left the dark seats of her car and so he went everywhere with her regardless of actual presence.
And then she laughed softly, making a face similar to a wince, “I came in like a wrecking ball,” she offered, singing the few words in a Miley Cyrus-esque tone.
“Could’ve been worse, I could’ve been outsmarted by a roadrunner.” Her own arm would lift and wind around Brian as if to pull him closer. “Meep meep.”
Brian closed his eyes and put his nose in her hair like he’d done to her fur. Certain rituals seemed to pass from animal to human form without him thinking about it. He would blink and find himself with both feet in those physical behaviors and wonder how he got there without doing mental aerobics over it first, the way he would with an ordinary woman. Luckily with Nes, it was affectionate and not nipping at one another’s heels. He marveled over the way he could smell her shampoo, how it came right back after a shift. “So, you didn’t fall for that tunnel I spray painted on the rocks?” he asked in her ear. “Damn.”
His warmth overtook her. Nesryn inhaled slowly, deeply, and radiated in the presence. She had been around wolves all her life, but Brian was so different. They didn’t have to exchange words - she was content simply settled in silence as long as he was there with that strong arm around her the world could crumble.
Her head would turn at the whisper, the end of her nose nearly grazing his cheek. She smiled, “Would you have let me fall?”
“What do you think?” Brian put a palm on her cheek, the pad of his thumb moving across the constellation of freckles, which he liked because they made her look like a cartoon character. Her features were an unexpected and disarming mashup of adorable and hot; it was hard to figure out what to do around her, whether you were supposed to cuddle and protect her, or make a move on her. Both. “Nah, I was just testing your reflexes. I’d pull you out of the way at the last minute. Look like a hero.”
Her face probably answered before the reply would touch her lips, giving away what was on her mind. “Aren’t you just the sweetest?” She trusted Brian probably more than anyone. He knew what it was like, knew how to respond, he was strong. His fingers on her skin sent shivers down her frame but she didn’t pull away. “Always saving the girl. You’ll have to let me save you once in a while so it’s fair. Twenty twenty and all.”
“Didn’t you?” Brian fit his thumb into the cleft of her chin.
“There’s a saying. The women in my family say it, I dunno where it comes from. They say my dad might think he’s the head of the family, but my mom’s the neck that turns it.” The memory made his eyes light up, one Brian thought of as true and relevant. “He’s never made anything good out of life that she didn’t have her hands in. Every couple of months they have these legendary, over the top arguments, they’re throwing pillows and yelling out the window at each other, he’s crashing on the back porch in a sleeping bag, but everyone knows they're nuts about each other. She’s always right. He just likes to pretend first.”
“I like your family,” she laughed, leaning into his touch. He was right. She had saved him using whatever humanity and kindness she could extend to a bleeding stranger on a whim. If she had the chance to change what happened she knew she couldn’t. Otherwise neither of them never would’ve made it here to this.
Her fingers danced gently in odd shapes across his back, absently. He was so magnetic - she felt drawn and helpless, but also needed and valued in a way she never felt in Portland.
Brian found himself staring at her mouth. He didn’t want to read too much into a situation that was complicated because they were both wolves and the moon was at its peak, but damn, she was pretty. She tucked into his side as though they were designed for it, and she gave him that feeling like when it was cold outside and the sun shone on the back of his neck. He didn’t know enough about her yet, there was so much to ask. They needed to go somewhere and sit across a table from each other, order breakfast, talk—
“I can’t stand it anymore.” He leaned down and kissed her.
She would’ve been lying if she said she hadn’t been hoping he would do what he did - the moment she brought him back to the apartment that feeling came over her and she found it odd. But the connection was there. Nesryn leaned into the kiss, returning it as her eyes fell closed. The fingers of her free hand lifted and pushed into his dark hair, tousling it.
There was still so much more to know and discover but at least one barrier was out of the way.
After the first contact, he waited a second to gauge things, make sure Nesryn was good with it, and figured the fingers in his hair were a solid sign. The second kiss was deeper; he wasn’t testing the waters so much as diving into them. His hand went to the arc of her neck just beneath her ear while they explored the shape of each other’s mouths, how they fit together. Everything kissing her for the first time was supposed to be, he felt like he got struck by twice, because he was experiencing her as a man and as a wolf. Something in his chest seemed to twist and unlock for the first time.
“Wow.” Brian caught his breath against the side of her face.
Soft noises would rise from the depths of their connection, nearly primal and hungry for his attention. Her heart raced nearly as quickly as the rabbit she’d chased down earlier. Nesryn leaned into his touch, that strong grip, and tried to ration how she lived without it before. Was that living?
As it stopped, she took a breath and her eyes fluttered open. A soft laugh. “Wow is right.” He’d taken the word off of her lips. If she didn’t contain herself she would be there all day wrapped up in that feeling. Her stomach growled a bit.
He laughed. “I know. I’m starving.” Brian kissed the tip of her nose, then the center of her forehead, and watched the sky turn pink over top of her head as the sun rose on the desert. It wouldn’t take long for the temperature to climb and they’d need water, not to mention food, after such a long run. He brushed some of her hair back. “Wanna get out of here? Drive into town for some food?”
That laugh was like music. But she was laughing, too. Of course she needed a refuel, they’d been out running most of the night. “Yeah, let’s go.” She didn’t want to, but they both needed to. And they’d be back before dark tonight.
Nesryn leaned in to catch his mouth again, chaste and quick, before letting herself pull away and get up. “Come on, race you to the car. Last one buys breakfast.”
Brian took off with, “Go!” before the word ‘breakfast’ was out of Nesryn’s mouth. His shoes kicked up a spray of dirt and rock in his wake. He was more of a long-distance type of guy, and he wouldn’t put it past her to be sneaky-fast, definitely more capable of squeezing through the gaps between rocks. By the time the parking lot of the conservation area was in sight, he was sweating bullets.
“No!” He jumped and slid across someone else’s car hood with a squeak to get to the driver’s side door of the SUV first.
“Cheater!” She laughed, racing after him. Nesryn sprinted, quick on her feet. Leaping over small rocks, cruising through the underbrush. After a bit of running she saw the car and found herself more energized.
“You’re going to lose!” A giggle and she darted faster toward their car. “No!” A jump, pushing from the ground with sneakered feet, and she landed a hair short of the vehicle.
Breathing out, she smiled. “Cheater. I’ll buy breakfast, get in.” She crawled into her side and buckled up, looking over at him with a grin. God, he was beautiful.
Brian draped his hands on the steering wheel and panted for second, head dropping back to the headrest. “Oh my god. I think I’m out of shape.” He turned on the ignition to get the air conditioner running and reached between the seats to grab a t-shirt off the floorboard. It made a good mop for his face. Balling it up and tossing it, he plugged his phone into the charger and put the car in reverse to take them out of there. “There’s a place right up the road here,” he said, checking before he pulled onto the highway. “I know you can’t wait to eat more diner food, but this place has brunch. Brunch, Nes!” He reached over and gripped her knee with excitement. “Mm!”
“Less pizza, more running?” Like that was going to happen. “And diner food is always my favorite.” It’s what she had for a few meals a week, considering Ronnie insisted that she eat. Poor Ronnie.
“Oh! Brunch, yes!” Very sophisticated. “You know how to treat a lady, Brian Campo.” Her hand found his and she laughed, “Mimosas, here we come!”
’Less pizza?’ How’d she know? Brian didn’t say anything, but he darted a look from Nesryn to his stomach when she said it and sat up straighter in his seat. Maybe it was a good thing he got dressed behind that rock. For some reason, the next thing he thought of was his kid sister’s voice when he got a tattoo on his side; she had waited until she saw Brian with a mouthful of potato chips to inform him that the quarter-notes were going to turn into whole-notes.
Instead he said, “Mimosas and shrimp and grits. That’s right, I’m doin’ it. I’m ordering shrimp in the desert. There will be regrets.”
It didn’t take long to come upon a one-story structure at an intersection between two major highways, which caught a lot of travelers on their way to and from Las Vegas. They bounced into the lot and parked without any trouble. Even though it was open twenty-four hours, this was early by most people’s brunch standards. With the exception of a trucker, the other diners looked more like people still up from the night before. “You want to sit in a booth or at the counter?” he asked.
She would lean over and turn the knob on the radio; it was a song by The Neighborhood. Sitting back in her seat she hummed, turning to look at Brian. He made her feel complete. Whole. Her hand held his until he pulled it away.
“Oh, feeling lucky, are you?” Nesryn nodded. Any type of meat sounded good. She preferred red but she would eat fish if she had to. “Very fancy.”
When the car was parked and off, she climbed out and rushed to meet him and went inside. “Oh! Booth. Please.”
Brian waited for the hostess to approach them, asked for a table, and followed the uniformed staff member to a vinyl booth by the windows. It was old school, dark red. In a nod to nostalgia, a pair of curtains framed the glass. The blinds had been pulled high to let in the morning light. He scooted across the bench seat that gave him a view of the door, set the tri-fold of drink specials on the center of the table, and flipped the menu to the brunch side.
“This is the part where I ask you important life questions, like which is the better creation, pancakes or waffles,” he said as he read.
She took a glance around, finding that this place was perfect for the thing they were after. The aroma of fresh coffee was familiar, it tickled her senses and she found herself craving a cup. Nesryn settled in the other side of the booth and plucked up her own menu.
“Ouch, hard questions so early,” she replied, looking at the menu. “Waffles. Easy one.” She was interested in the protein - eggs, meat. But a waffle or two sounded just as good. And coffee.
Brian leaned back against the seat and rested his elbow on it, hand messing with his hair. “Was it the crunchy texture or the syrup cups that led you to the dark side?” He gave her a raised eyebrow, one that abated only briefly when a server arrived to take their order. He was ready with a request for a bowl of shrimp ‘n grits, a side of scrambled eggs with cheese, toast, water, and a cup of coffee.
“The syrup cups. They store it for me so I can reapply when I run out,” she nodded. The crunch was good, too, plus the plethora of topping options available for waffles. It was too messy to make at home and since she lived alone she rarely made anything nutritious for breakfast for herself.
As the waitress approached, Nesryn ordered after Brian. Waffles, coffee, water, eggs (scrambled), and bacon. With satisfaction the menu was tucked away.
Nesryn went a quick text to Derek, her new friend, just to let him know she was okay and not murdered, before her phone went away again.
He watched her with the phone, waited for her to finish before saying anything else, because if Nes was anything like him, multitasking would mean she’d end up typing what she said, or saying what she typed, and come out with a franken-sentence. Based on what he‘d seen so far, Nes seemed to value being connected to people; it made her feel safe. This led him to something he’d been meaning to ask anyway. “Can I ask you a question?” Brian picked up a pack of sweet ‘n low and fiddled with it. “What was it like, when you left your pack?”
She nodded. Questions were common, and she expected a lot of them. Nesryn had a few of her own. And when it came she knew it was important. “My parents were upset,” she explained. Family had always been the keystone to their heritage. “Dad especially. It wasn’t because he didn't think I could take care of myself, it’s because I turned my back on them.”
This was a story she’d told Derek a bit of already, but for Brian it would have different context.
“They were trying to pressure me into marrying another person in our pack for strength. I didn’t want to.”
“Jesus.” Brian rubbed a hand across his face, rested his chin on his palm. That was distressing. As bad as he thought his pack was for biting people into this life, it was a hell of a lot better than selling off your daughter to a suitable mate. “I heard that’s something born weres did, but I thought it was bullshit.” He realized he had a lot to learn about the Rowan pack, fast. “Do they think you’re going to change your mind?”
Just thinking about it made her stomach churn. She hadn’t wanted to leave but if she stayed then she knew she would’ve been giving up her freedom. “It’s uh, pretty common actually.” It was how they facilitated growth in the area packs and avoided conflicts. Entwining the wolf bloodlines meant more of them in high places and the ability to sway the political arena in their favor.
A shrug. “I don’t know. My mom seems to think this is a phase, that I’ll come home. I think Dad is convinced of that too. But I’m not. I’m staying here, with you and everyone else. I’m happy here. And they made me choose myself or them.” That was selfish, she knew it, but she also had to look out for herself. Nobody else would do that for her.
Brian chewed his cheek as she talked. He hurt for her. He’d lost family, too, but it was his choice to walk after he was bitten, to keep his human family safe, not the other way around. He couldn’t believe that a pack who valued family so much would rather lose their daughter than let Nesryn make up her own mind. “Kinda sounds like a power move,” he muttered. He wondered how long they’d be willing to let Nesryn, an asset, ride out this whole freedom thing before they made a move to bring her back in. He wondered what they’d think of her sitting in this diner with him, a wolf from another pack, a wolf sporting a bite-shaped scar. He’d been a guy from the wrong side of the tracks before, but not this literally.
“We got this, okay?” Brian tossed the pink sweetener packet and reached across the table to give her hand a squeeze. “Packs are kinda fucked up, aren’t they?”
She didn’t know if her parents would stoop that low, but then as she processed the comment she realized that maybe that was the secret. Grooming, preparing their daughter to be prime to marry off to another young wolf in a prominent family. Was that the expectation for any children she would ever bear? To use Brian’s words - it was fucked up.
His hand on hers gave strength. Her fingers wound between his. “We’ve got this.” Her words were more confident, smile grew. “It’s my choice and they can deal with it.”
Whatever her parents would think of Brian didn’t concern her, not anymore. Without the blinders on freedom looked pretty good.
“Yeah they can.” A person circled around the counter and started toward them. “Anything else I should know?” Brian gratefully accepted his drinks when they arrived, gulped down half a glass of water, and immediately dumped sugar in the coffee. “I mean, there’s a lot I want to know, but anything I need to know. Or that you want to know about me?” He stirred a spoon into the cup and picked it up by the brim to take a sip.
With a thanks to the waitress, Nesryn began to drink the water nearly as fervently as Brian. Her coffee also received a heaping pile of sugar and cream, turning the dark liquid into a caramel color. “His name is Tanner,” she explained when the waitress walked off. “I don’t know if he’d ever come here - he might.” It wasn’t exactly a warning but then again she thought she knew the pack and it had surprised her.
That was really the need to know stuff. Otherwise she was a fairly open book.
“You said you had a sister, right?” She sipped from her own coffee, watching Brian over the rim.
Tanner. Brian made a mental note. Kind of sounded like an asshole, the type of privileged guy who’d think he was entitled to a woman who didn’t want him.
“Ah, yeah,” he double-checked to make sure he hadn’t spilled any coffee on his shirt, “Angela. My parents had her when I was ten. I always think of her as a kid because that’s how she was when I left home. Then I realize she’s twenty-three, and I remember what I was like when I was twenty-three, and it blows my mind.”
He picked up the wrapped set of silverware and fiddled with it. “She’s a handful. When she was little, she was always trailing after me, but then she hit puberty and all the sudden the only thing she cared about was finding ways to embarrass me in public. She actually heckled me during a performance.”
The food arrived and he arranged the plates and bowls in front of him.
“Really?” Her own utensils would be taken up and unwrapped carefully. “I always wanted siblings,” she mused, laughing. “I had cousins, friends, but never a brother or a sister.” It was probably a good thing she was the only one considering her predicament, but then not all kids acted or thought the same.
“I want to see you play.” It was something she’d thought about since he mentioned it to her. “Maybe Derek can come!”
She sat back as the food was brought and placed. Once the waitress was gone, Nesryn gave Brian a hopeful look, “You play at Lucky’s right?”
“Yeah, a couple times a month,” he nodded, picking up a utensil to load a piece of food. “If Derek comes, I owe that guy a beer. He actually pulled me out of the path of an oncoming body. Kind-of surprising coming from a v—““
Brian caught himself, the fork of breakfast food wobbling in the air. He quirked an eyebrow, not sure how much to say, especially in the middle of a roadside diner. “—acuum salesman?”
A grin. She was glad it wasn’t outright refused that she could bring her friend. Slowly she was beginning to amass a small group of people she could trust - ones that felt like a new family. “He did?” She didn’t know that. “He told me a little about what happened, but not everything.” Her voice was kept low.
She took a few bites of food. “Vacuum salesman, yes.”
After getting confirmation that he had smelled Nesryn on Derek’s clothes, Brian had come to a conclusion: Nesryn was her own person. Brian was new in her life. He wasn’t going to throw his weight around about whether it was weird to be friends with a guy who ate people recreationally. So while it might not be exactly five-by-five, there was no reason to be a dick about it, until she showed up with a bite mark. Then, fanged friend or not, he and Derek were going to have a problem.
“Well,” he said, lifting an arm to the distance, “If you can look past the line cook with third-degree burns from an en flambe vampire, and the headless horse-rancher, it was… kinda funny in an absurd way? A squid-man unloaded in my face. I might be pregnant.” Brian filled two wedges of toast with food and held it up. “Why is food so much better when you make a sandwich out of it?” He took a big bite.
She nearly snorted scrambled eggs when he mentioned being pregnant via octopus. “Like the Alien face hugger kind?” The chest explosion scenes were gruesome but she could never seem to break away from the screen when those parts came on. “It sounds interesting. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Her voice had gotten quieter and she took a bite of her food.
“Anything is better as a sandwich,” she offered, shrugging. Another sip from her coffee and she savored the sweet warmth.
Brian balled up a napkin in his fist. “Nuh-uh. Don’t apologize. I’m sure my own chestburster will make great songwriting material.” He smiled and they kept eating while they talked about his band, her penchant for bursting into song and dance, and whatever else came to mind.
The sun climbed the sky, bringing tourists and truckers into the diner for food and top-offs of coffee before hitting the long road out of Clark County. When they finally finished eating, it was a struggle to walk to the car, but it was a good kind of full. Brian could picture the rest of the day stretching out ahead of him, the shower and giant nap he was going to need to sleep off that long run.
For the first time in a long while, things looked optimistic.