Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:05:44 +1200
From: Stacey C <theevilmagpie@hotmail.com>
Subject: Opposites Attract - Chapter 6

Sincere apologies to all of you reading this story. This story is a slow
process but I'm slowly moving forward with it so bare with me please!
Remember I enjoy feedback - good, bad, even suggestions.  I have to thank my
new buddy Kenny for some of the ideas in this chapter!

Note -- Just wanted to take this moment to add something important. My
character's names reflect who their wolf is more then who the person
actually is, it's a `wolf custom that they find their `wolf's name and then
take it for their own. The idea is as they age the human part of their soul
achieves more and more harmony with the wolf part of their soul and will
eventually mirror their wolf. Like Koen's name means Honest and his wolf's
defining character trait is honesty.  Honest is the true source of _who_ his
wolf is and who what he is slowly becoming.

CHAPTER SIX


KOEN

Koen was dreaming.  Only it didn`t feel like a normal dream, Koen felt it
was a summoning dream.  Koen found himself out in the old familiar vale in
'wolf form.   It had been the meeting place of his pack for generations and
Koen found himself waiting for something as he sat on his haunches
patiently, relaxed but alert.  The darkness of the night was all around him,
broken up by the cold glow of the stars and the subtle blue-white light of
the heavy waxing moon hanging high in the sky above him, showing only a
quarter was left before it was showing all of it`s pale face. The tall oak
and birch trees that stood at the edges of the grove spread out as far as
his wolf eyes could see and a thick mist, nearly a fog drifted lazily around
the area with no breeze to push it.  A huge, ancient apple tree sat at the
centre of the clearing with huge, flat granite stones scattered about it at
random. It looked to Koen the same as it always had, but there was no smell
and it was eerily silent of the normal noise made by such a vale , nor was
there a breath of wind or the natural breathing rhythm of a forest at night.
  But Koen wasn't disturbed by this, he just waited patiently, still as the
clearing around him.  The reason he was here would be answered in due time
he told himself as he waited.

Time passed and yet it didn't for Koen, he had no idea how long he waited
there but where there was no noise suddenly there came a howl.  Low, solemn,
not commanding but it was demanding an answer all the same. Koen's sensitive
ears swiveled as he listened to the howl as it seemed to carry on
tirelessly, effortlessly, as if the wolf howling had all the time in the
world to howl like that. The tone of the howl had him cocking his head
curiously. The tone and the voice were familiar to him, young, female.
Raising his muzzle he answered her with his own voice in a similar low,
solemn fashion, but his had a chiding, less serious edge to it.  It conveyed
that she didn't have to be that formal with him, or that demanding. He'd
done what she wished and he was here wasn't he?

The howl stopped and knowing she wasn't far way stayed where he was
indulgently, still in no real hurry to be anywhere else.  Before long he
heard a soft yipping sound coming out of the misty trees ahead of the
slender red wolf that loped out of the trees. Her teeth were showing in a
wolfish grin as she loped towards him, pale green eyes a mirror to his own
reflected amusement and annoyance.  Stopping in front of him she nuzzled him
affectionately in greeting, rubbing her chest and side against him vibrating
with that growling purr. Koen nipped her shoulder affectionately, making
sure to drape a heavy leg over her shoulder to hold her still so he could
wash her ears and muzzle with his tongue to be irritating. She sneezed
rubbing a paw over her muzzle and ears as she moved back from him, glaring
her opinion of a gesture she hated.  Koen laughed silently at her, cocking
his head to the side he asked her in wolf language what she wanted. With a
very human roll of those pale green eyes the slender red wolf reared up on
her rear legs and slipped into her human skin. Unconcerned with her nudity
she sat cross legged on the grass, a pointed expression on her face as she
waited for Koen to slip back to human. With a huff Koen did and mirrored her
position on the grass.

"Well out with it Kaula, you don't usually go to this much trouble unless
its important." Koen prompted his twin sister. The slender young `wolf
across from him looked almost identical to him, lean, as tall as he was, but
her dark red hair was cut short enough that the silky looking stuff brushed
her jaw.  Her features were more feminine then his but they were the same,
mirror images of each other.

Kaula gave him a penetrating look her lips twitching into a smile. "Can't a
little sister just want to say hello to her older brother?"

Koen returned her look without the smile. "You know this isn't a good idea."

Kaula snorted. "Oh cut that crap. They're human they can't track us into our
dreams and I doubt if the `wolves they enlisted will be looking for us this
way."

Koen arched an eyebrow. "That's not the point and you know it.  Leaving
meant no contact between us, but you guys still managed to follow and find
me."

Kaula frowned a touch of anger glittering in her pale eyes. "We miss you,
you know. I miss you"

Koen softened a little. "You think I don't go a day without missing any of
you?"

Kaula scowled. "Well if you miss us that much why are you still not with us?
Come back, we need you. You shouldn't have left us in the first place. But
you had to go and play the hero." She responded heatedly. "You had no right
to just do that. We had a right to fight with you, be by your side. But no,
oh no, you have to be the way you are, all pig headed and bad assed."

Koen felt his own temper straining it's leash. "Hey! Listen to me! I left
for a very good reason. They weren't _just_ human you know. It was my fault
they found out about our serum. They weren't giving up and they killed Dad
thinking he was me and came very close to catching Rey and Raine.  They
severely injured Brant and Mum. I had no choice! I mean fuck me, they got
Rain! He was just a baby!"

"Oh fuck you Koen! That's bullshit. Dad knew what he was getting into and
the risk he was taking, so did Rey and Mum. Raine I grant you shouldn't have
happened. But that didn't give you the right to just abandon your pack.
Without Dad to lead us we need you. You know it's your damned responsibility
to lead our goddamned family." Kaula snarled back.

Koen snarled right back at her. Gritting his teeth he forced calm on
himself, he wasn't going back into this argument, he just wasn't. "I'm not
going to sit here and trade insults with you Kaula, I'm just not." Koen told
her firmly, glaring at her, making sure his eyes met and locked with hers,
forcing his will on her.

Kaula growled and glared right back, he eyes as feral as Koen was feeling.
The staring contest and clashing of their wills went on for a few more
minutes before Kaula had to give into Koen's stronger will and dropped her
eyes.  This was about the fourth time that Kaula had summoned him into a
dream so she could talk to him, or more importantly talk him into coming
back.

Koen could hear Kaula grinding her own teeth together as she breathed
slowly, her chest rising and falling raggedly as she struggled to control
her strong emotions.  Finally he heard a grunt and she raised her eyes to
meet his own.

"Your right, I didn't actually come here to argue with you again tonight. I
came for a reason."

Koen looked at her waiting for her to get to the point.

"I had one of my dreams. But I'm not sure if it's precognitive, present
tense or if it's a combination of both. It included you and held dodgy
omens." Kaula finally said a worried expression crossing her face as she
rubbed at her temples, looking tired.

Koen felt his own expression getting worried but he was curious about what
she dreamed. Kaula had been born with some unusual gifts, Kaula's wolf
wasn't called prophetess for nothing, she got everything from waking flashes
to dreams both precognitive, past and present.  Koen and the rest of their
pack had come to rely on her instincts, her inner knowledge, trusting her
visions.

"Tell me." Koen instructed her.

"I see you, a red wolf running through city streets. Your tired, injured,
hunted again. There's something pursuing you, I can see the dark shadow
behind you, it has an air of menace following it but it feels familiar to
me. Then nothing, till I get a second image.  There's another's perspective,
it's like I'm looking through his eyes, but he too is running, always
running, as he too searches for something, desperately. Finally I get a
third image of nothing but darkness, shadows and an awful scream. That
scream is like nothing I've ever heard in my life and I'll hear it`s echo
till the day I die. It haunts me Koen, that scream sounds like a soul being
ripped out and the start of hell for whoever that noise came from.  Then as
the darkness fades I hear sounds of terrible destruction, terrible anguish
and rage fairly radiates from the darkness.  Then nothing." Kaula explained
quietly, face pale, haunted, anguished as she is talking, her hands
clutching the grass next to her thighs as if the ground were a lifeline.

Koen feels himself moving automatically, seeking to comfort her he wrapped
his arms around her shaking, naked shoulders and hugged her. Allowing the
soft growling purr to escape him as he rubbed her shoulders and upper arms
trying to get some feeling back into her, to get her mind to come back to
where they were. He knew from experience that she wouldn't be sleeping
properly, the dreams or images always lingered long after the event, she
often got stuck in them when replaying the memory.   Koen felt Kaula lean
against him taking comfort from the smell and nearness of her brother and
pack mate. Even though this was technically a dream, it all felt very real
to both of them.

"I have a bad feeling in my guts that it's you my instincts are warning me
about. Be careful Koen." She whispered into his ear as she stayed where she
was for a few moments soaking up the comfort. Koen too felt himself soaking
up the same comfort of having his sister so closer for a change.

Reluctantly pulling away from her he eased away gently. "I think we both
need to be getting back. I'll take what you said seriously and hope you are
wrong that I'm not in danger." Koen reassured her as he got up and
stretched. Slipping his skin he felt the familiar feel of his wolf form and
trotted over to nudge Kaula's hip affectionately.  He was just beginning to
melt away as wolves do into the trees when he heard Kaula call his name.
Stopping he turned his head to look over his shoulder curiously. His
sister's expression was fierce and determined looking.

"Just so you know, you might not want us too. But we haven't stopped looking
for you and we'll keep looking. We will find you and when we do Rey wants to
smack you one." She promised him as she slipped her own skin, going wolf, as
she herself melted into the trees leaving Koen standing there.


Koen woke up from his dream feeling exhausted. Summoning dreams for `wolves
weren't exactly a restful experience as it actually took energy. Dreaming
was the way `wolves sent or received messages from themselves, from others,
or from Gaia herself for those lucky few fortunate enough to hear from the
Great Lady herself.  Dreaming was even the access point for how a `wolf died
naturally, the spirit disappearing out of his or her earth bound shape to
join Gaia and their ancestors. He found himself in his own bed, the bedding
barely disturbed from when he'd gone to bed some hours before and hours had
gone past since he'd been called in his sleep by his sister. The pale blue
digits of the alarm clock on his bedside table told him that it was 4am and
that the warm weight curled up in bed next to him smelled like Rudi.

Yawning sleepily Koen felt his `wolf stir inside him, awake because he was
and curious about what he'd dreamed. Sharing his experiences in the dream
with his `wolf Koen lay there conferring, trying to puzzle out what Kaula's
dream could have meant. Koen knew and trusted his sister too much to just
ignore her warning and his `wolf was in agreement. A `wolf never discarded
information, all information was important so they would mull this over
between themselves and be more alert. Reminding his `wolf that it was still
too early to be up yet Koen yawned a second time, rolling over in the bed to
a more comfortable position on his stomach.  Inside him Koen felt his `wolf
stretch out and almost roll over himself as they both dozed, falling back
towards the comforting arms of sleep. In the moment or two before he
succumbed Koen found himself missing Raul next to him.


RAUL


Raul woke up on the couch to the smell of coffee and subtle noise of Koen
padding around in the kitchen. Sniffing appreciatively he shifted around in
his make-shift bed, moving around so he could sit up, wrestling for a moment
or two with the sheet that had got tangled around him during the night.
Yawning he stretched lazily, feeling his `wolf stretch with him ignoring his
morning wood as he went to the bathroom to piss. Done with that pressing
matter, he padded into the kitchen in just his boxers.  Raul smiled sleepily
at Koen as he gratefully accepted the cup of coffee the `wolf was holding
out to him.

"Cream and sugar are where they always are." Koen grunted as he trudged out
of the kitchen with his own black coffee and the morning newspaper that
somebody had already brought.

Raul had learned that Koen was a far from charming person before he had his
morning coffee and stayed quiet as he fixed his own coffee the way he liked
it, heavy on the sugar and milk, wimp coffee Koen and a lot of Raul's
friends called it.   Following Koen out of the kitchen he leaned against the
open French doors as he watched Koen sitting in the deck chair out on the
balcony.  As with any other time he was close to Koen Raul felt his `wolf
stirring to the red wolf's presence, his cock too was starting to harden too
as he watched the way the morning sunlight fell on Koen, highlighting the
deep red in his loose, sleep tousled dark hair, the reddish shade of his
sensual mouth, the pale skin on his naked upper body.  So far in the two
days since they had played on the carpet there hadn't been a repeat of the
experience much to Raul's disappointment. He knew part of it was because
Koen seemed to be acting as if it hadn't happened which frustrated but
didn`t surprise him.  Raul admitted that he'd have been more shocked if Koen
had acted differently. But he knew it wasn't helping that Rudi was around
constantly.  He knew that Rudi hadn't been there the night it had happened,
nor had she come back at all during the morning when the pair of them had
woken up still sprawled out on the floor together. They'd both showered so
she couldn't have smelled the night's mischief on either of them. But she
seemed to sense perhaps unconsciously that something was happening or
threatening her secure position, that something being Raul.  She rarely left
Koen alone with Raul and when he was there she was never far away from Koen
either as if she felt Raul would jump him in front of her. To Koen's
irritation he felt that Koen noticed what was going on but didn't try to
stop it or even acknowledge it even as he flirted or teased him all the
time.

"You having something to say or do you just get your rocks off by staring at
me?" Raul realized that Koen had spoken a few seconds after the words had
been hanging in the air between them.

"Huh?" Raul asked uncertainly focusing on Koen's curious face and the amused
smirk starting to grow on those subtly curving sensual red lips.

"You seemed to be trying to examine my brain. Your staring practically fried
a hole in the side of my head." Koen teased him.

Raul felt himself blush as he realized he had been staring for several
minutes without saying anything.  Raul realized he'd been silent too long
when Koen's arching dark red eyebrows drew together in a frown, his eyes
still more amused then annoyed.

"Do I have snot on my face or something?" Koen was asking in a more serious
tone, reaching up to brush at his face.

Raul shook his head in the awkward silence. "Nope, not that I could see." He
replied with a flippant smile, deciding that he'd just have to go with it.

Koen grinned the start of the frown disappearing. "Well good, I'd hate to
have heard that I had snot on my face and nobody'd said anything."

Raul grinned back using his eyes to subtly appreciate and admire. "As I said
your face looks the way it always does to me."

Koen smirked sipping at his coffee.

Raul wondered where Rudi was but then realized he really didn't give a fuck,
Koen was responding to him  and they were without Rudi.

Moving forward Raul wondered how far this could go as he moved to sit in the
second deck chair that was on the balcony and stretched his legs out. He
nearly crowed to himself and had to fight his own smirk as he noticed Koen's
eyes lock onto and linger on the tight, sturdy muscles in his long legs.
Raul stretched his arms over his head and arched his back allowing the smirk
this time when he felt Koen's eyes running up his body as his felt his
muscles flex and shift.

"Tease." Raul heard Koen growl softly and felt his own cock twitch as he
noticed the bulge in the pair of old gray track pants Koen was wearing. It
was a pair of familiar pair of pants that Koen liked to wear around the
house. He was wearing nothing else though which Raul never minded, although
the sight of all that bare upper body had him hard all the time.

Raul`s grin was taunting. "Care to do something about it if it bothers you
so much."

Koen grinned cheekily at him but didn't move from where he was sitting,
merely leaning back in his chair and stretching.  His movements stretched
his long, muscled legs in the grey pants and the muscles in his upper body.
Raul found that his eyes were locked on the tight muscles shifting in Koen's
six pack abs and had to tear his eyes away before he was tempted to start
drooling only to see Koen's smirk. Deciding once again to go along with it
Raul allowed his eyes to drift down Koen's half naked body lazily,
lingeringly, allowing a subtle smile to pull at his own lips.  He felt his
smile become a smirk when he heard Koen's soft moan feeling the first stroke
of victory in two days, feeling proud of the sexual tension he'd managed to
build between them. He wants you Raul's wolf told him with a pleased growl,
go and get him.  Raul shook his head deciding that if Koen could deny and
tease him as he had over the past few days then he could play as well.
Raul's wolf huffed at this, not understanding why his human half was
presented with an opportunity and wasn't taking it. They waited for such
signs all the time and his `wolf was confused because they usually used them
to their advantage.  Not this time, we can be patient and play his game. If
he wants to do it this way, then fine, but I refuse to be the only one
suffering, Raul told himself firmly. Squaring his shoulders he ignored the
hungry look in Koen's eyes that was making his cock thrum with want for him.
Raul merely arched an eyebrow of his own at Koen and sipped his own coffee
and he relaxed in his chair ignoring the clear invitation.

"By the way I forgot to tell you that I saw an unfamiliar `wolf come into
the pub last night.  He had short dark brown hair and pale green eyes like
you. Only he was more muscular and bulkier then you are, but of a similar
height.  He even looked a bit like you come to think of it. He was alone and
was asking questions about your band, but particularly you for some reason.
A mighty curious `wolf if you ask me, I'd have called him a fan but he
wasn't any groupie I've seen before." Raul found himself saying distracting
himself from giving into those hungry eyes.

Raul say Koen's eyes narrow and gleam with an unreadable emotion as the
hunger disappeared from his expression. Seeing that he had Koen's attention
Raul was curious about his reaction, feeling that a nerve had been hit here.
  Raul had a feeling something was going on, the mysterious Brant from a few
days ago and now this brown haired `wolf.  He had a feeling they were
connected somehow but each time he brought it up Koen evaded answering his
questions.

"He didn't give me a name, didn't say if he was coming back either and he
left after a second Jack D and coke. " Raul went on, prodding for a spark
that might answer some of his questions.

Raul like any other `wolf liked a curiosity, the expression curiosity killed
the cat could also apply to curious `wolves but he had to know. The
mysteries surrounding Koen just seemed to keep growing the longer he spent
around him.

Koen's reaction to this added bit of information was a closed expression,
even his expressive green eyes were cold, empty of expression.

"I take it you know this person?" Raul prodded unable to stop himself as he
ignored the clear warning in Koen's expression.

Still no reaction from Koen, not even in his body language. Most `wolves
gave away every emotion or thought they had in their body language but not
Koen.  Koen was too good at controlling himself for that and it was pissing
Raul off.

"Just as you knew the person who called for you. Don't play cold bastard
with me again Koen, I'm not stupid, I can see what's right in front of me
just like anybody else." Raul dared to push.

The air between them visibly chilled even further but Raul met Koen's eyes
and held his grip on those green orbs. Tension was beginning to edge into
the relaxed line of Koen's shoulders but nothing else showed but Raul felt
like crowing, this was more progress then he'd made in weeks.

"Koen!" Raul barked, deliberately sharper then he needed to.

"He shouldn't have come here." Koen gritted out, but his expression and body
language still revealed nothing.  "Where'd they get this number?" Raul heard
Koen mutter in such a soft, irritated tone of voice that he barely caught
the words at all.

"Who shouldn't have come here?" Raul prompted. "Who shouldn`t have got this
number? Come on Koen he looked like you, you must know him, he could have
been your brother."

"Half." Koen grunted.

"Half what?" Raul asked feeling frustrated and knowing that his tone sounded
harsh with it, getting blood out of a stone was easier then this.  But Raul
wasn't one to give up, not when he was getting ahead and he felt he was
cracking something here. He and his `wolf were now both dying to know more
about the `wolf they regarded as their mate.

"Brother. Half brother." Koen ground out after a long, tense silence. He
said it so quietly and so reluctantly that Raul almost didn't hear him
again.

"Your half brother? Which one? The `wolf in the pub, or the one on the
phone?" Raul pushed again.

"The one in the pub." Koen answered with an irritated growl. "The one on the
phone was my adopted cousin."

"They are your family right? Your pack." Raul went on feeling that if he'd
got this much out of him that he had to push for more while he had this
small door open. He didn't know when he'd get another chance at another
window into Koen.

Koen nodded but didn't add anything else.

"This is good progress here Koen. I now know more about you then I've
learned in several weeks. I now have knowledge of an adopted cousin called
Brant and now that you have a half brother running around somewhere. Nice to
know you have similarities to the rest of us." Raul goaded him, smirking at
him, going with being deliberately annoying this time as he changed to
another angle.

The beginning of a smile was causing Koen's lips to twitch slightly as one
corner of those red lips inched up. "What similarities?" Koen asked, some of
the tension leaving him as his own wolf like curiosity showed itself.

"Oooh there goes another similarity to the rest of us! Koen has a curious
streak!" Raul needled him.

This time the lip actually quirked up to a little half smile that nearly had
Raul pouncing on him then and there but he held himself back with an iron
grip. He had another purpose today he told his throbbing cock and equally
insatiable wolf.

"Any other family members I need to be aware of? Does the half brother have
a name?" Raul carried on eagerly, perhaps too eagerly because the half smile
disappeared and the wary reserve returned to Koen's face.

"Yes. Rey." Koen answered in a clipped tone of voice, the coldness had
returned it seemed, making Raul want to punch him or rip his own hair out in
frustration, they were back to where they started.

"You going to tell me more then just yes there buddy?" Raul urged before he
clammed up completely.

"Kaula is my twin sister. Rain is my baby brother by several years. Rey or
Reynard is the same age as me but is a few months older then I am.  Farrell,
Dior and Alair are my younger cousins, triplets. Gisele is my father's
sister and then there's Diallo and Lecia my parents." Koen answered sounding
reluctant, the words coming slowly as if pulled out of him against his will
but Raul could see the pride, love and wistfulness in his eyes for a moment
or two as he named them.

"So where are they?" Raul asked quietly, not wanting him to stop now but he
already noticed that Koen's expression was controlled again, his expressive
eyes cool as if that emotion hadn't been there a moment or two before.

"Not here." Koen replied curtly, shifting restlessly he got up and walked
away from Raul without saying anything else.

He left Raul feeling bewildered, even more frustrated and curious then ever.
  Koen had a family somewhere and now Raul knew there names at least. He
also knew that it seemed that Koen's family was getting closer to Koen and
that Koen didn't want them to be.  The situation just got more interesting
as the days passed and Raul was determined to learn what was going on. What
he'd heard today was at least a start  and there was a crack in the hard
visage that was Koen.  Raul  wasn't stupid, he knew there was more to Koen
then what he chose to show the world, but he needed to know more.  Koen was
his mate and if something was going on to endanger or trouble his mate then
he needed to know to help protect him or fight beside him. He promised
himself if it took till the day he chose to leave this world for the next
that he'd find out more.  Raul had the feeling that Koen's story would be a
difficult, if not tragic one, and had the instinctive feeling that Koen had
left his family not the other day around.  As Raul sat there, left alone
with his thoughts and now cold coffee he drifted back towards the 'wolf from
the night before.  Rey as Koen had called him could give him the key to more
of what was going on here. But he had to be careful, he had the feeling that
Koen wouldn't appreciate him sticking his curious nose into his business. He
knew that this Rey had seemed a prickly and suspicious person, even rude in
his coldness, but then that made sense Raul thought in amusement. He was
Koen's half brother and Raul now realized why the 'wolf had felt more
familiar to him then just in looks. His plan now in place Raul settled back
to enjoy the morning sun, listening to the sounds of Koen moving around in
the apartment behind him.