Lunar Cycle: Waxing and Waning

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh! The characters Luna, Justin, and Alyssa are mine.

Chapter One- The Invite

It was another ordinary day at Kaiba Corp and particularly for the company’s CEO. His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard and his blue eyes darted across the screen as he scanned the data on it. But while his fingers and eyes were working, his mind wasn’t really taking in the information his eyes saw. His thoughts were straying to a dueling rival. The surprising thing was he wasn’t thinking about Yugi Muto; his thoughts were on Joey Wheeler.

Kaiba could clearly see Joey’s face in his mind’s eye: The styled blonde hair, the brown eyes that were always burning with anger whenever they were focused on him, and the angry expression that Joey seemed to reserve just for him. His fingers ceased their automatic action and he leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. Why couldn’t he get Joey Wheeler out of his mind? The blonde seemed to always be in his thoughts lately. Was he interested in Joey? Was he gay? If he had to guess, he was leaning toward a yes. He couldn’t stop thinking about the boy and his heart tended to beat faster whenever he thought about him.

I always thought Wheeler was a third-rate duelist and an amateur as well. Yet, there’s something about him that I find…attractive. It’s possible that I’ve fallen for that mutt. I need to get him alone so that I can tell him. Hmm, I can’t wait to see what his reaction will be. Smiling, he brought up a new blank document on his computer and started typing up an invitation for Joey. Once he was satisfied with the words, he set his printer up to print the document out in the form of a card, and printed it out. Now, he just had to slip this into Joey’s locker and wait for him to come so that he could confess.

&&&&

Joey strolled down the corridor to his locker Monday morning, reminiscing about the weekend and his plans for that afternoon. His sister, Serenity, had come to visit him and his friends that past weekend. She and her mother stayed at a hotel, which was wise considering his dad was drunk out of his mind at home. He looked forward to her next visit, though he had no idea when that would be. As for plans for the afternoon, he really didn’t have any unless you count homework and putting up with his dad.

He spun the combination lock and opened his locker to get his books when he spotted a folded piece of white paper lying on the floor of his locker. He picked it up and turned it over to see a printed picture of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the front. Curious, he flicked it open to see an invitation to a meeting at the Kaiba Land Duel Building, the place where Yugi dueled Rebecca. The invitation wasn’t signed, but a picture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was there on the side of the card opposite the words.

I think I know who made this invitation: Kaiba. Who else would put pictures of Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes on the paper like this? The Red-Eyes obviously refers to me and the Blue-Eyes refers to Kaiba. The only question is, why does Kaiba want to meet with me? I think he just wants to insult me privately, not that insulting me in public would be any different. Well, I’m gonna knock him out cold before he can say a single insultin’ thing about me.

&&&&

Kaiba stood calmly on the Rooftop Dueling platform, waiting for Joey to show up. It was likely that Joey wouldn’t show, that he had thrown the card away. But he hoped that the lack of signature would peak the blonde’s curiosity and prompt him to come. The idea of printing pictures of their respective dragons was a stroke of inspiration that, in hindsight, made him realize that they probably told Joey who sent the invitation.

The sound of the elevator chime made the brunette look up to see the doors opening and revealing Joey standing there with an expression that meant serious business. Kaiba suspected that Joey had come not to talk, but rather to punch Kaiba’s lights out. He kept a small pleasant smile on his face as his crush strode toward him. “Ah, Wheeler. I hoped you would come.”

“Oh, I bet you did,” the blonde shot back. He clenched his fist and threw it forward to hit its target. His fist flew through the air toward Kaiba’s face but before it could connect, it was stopped by Kaiba’s own hand.

Kaiba smirked at Joey’s predictable action. “You know I’ve always respected you, Wheeler.”

“Sure ya did,” Joey replied sarcastically.

“I mean it. Despite my remarks about your dueling skills and personality, I’ve always respected you and was impressed with your determination.”

Joey gaped at Kaiba, his fist falling limply to his side, now that Kaiba had released it. He never imagined that Kaiba could be so nice to him. What’s gotten into him? he wondered.

“Are you a frog now, Joey?”

Joey briefly closed his mouth before saying, “You called me Joey just now.”

“That is your name, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah, but ya always called me Wheeler. Why are ya bein’ nice to me?”

Suddenly, Kaiba’s mouth felt dry. He licked his lips before saying, “I believe I’ve fallen in love with you, Joey.”

“Say what!?” Joey exclaimed loudly.

“You heard me. Your determination is impressive to the point that I admire it and by extension, I love you.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Yes, crazy about you.”

“This is too weird. I’m outta here.” Joey sprinted away from Kaiba, got into the elevator, left the building, and headed home, leaving Kaiba feeling hurt, but plotting his next move.

“You’ll fall for me, Joey. I promise you that.”

Chapter Two- Am I Attracted?

Joey slammed to the door to his house closed before bolting to his room and closing the door behind him, grateful that his dad wasn’t home at the moment. He was probably out at some bar. Joey flopped down on his bed, his breath heaving in his chest and closed his eyes.

Kaiba’s gone mad. Why would he say such things? He hates me and I hate him. Or does he hate me? He ruffled my feathers that day he said I wouldn’t last long in a duel against him. I have to admit that the first time I dueled him, he was right. But, I did pretty well against him at Battle City.

Still, Kaiba declaring that he loves me was pretty scary. There’s no way I would feel the same way. I’m not gay. I would rather fall for a girl, like Mai for example. That settles it: I’m not gay and even if I was, Kaiba’s not my type.

&&&&

Joey stayed home the rest of the day and the next morning he was sitting at his desk laughing and talking with his friends, all thoughts of Kaiba pushed to the back of his mind. That ended when Kaiba strode into the classroom and sat down at his desk. Some students glanced at the CEO in surprise, for Kaiba rarely showed up in class. He far preferred to be hard at work with his company. Joey gave Kaiba a nasty glare before resuming his talk with his friends.

Kaiba smirked when Joey returned to his conversation. Clearly, his declaration was still on the blonde’s mind- or at least it was since he entered the room. Hmm. Joey may not realize it yet, but I do believe he’s attracted to me. Of course, that could be wishful thinking on my part since I’m attracted to him. If I continue coming to class, perhaps Joey’s resistance will melt and he’ll end up falling for me.

Joey made a valiant attempt to ignore Kaiba throughout the school day, but every now and then, he would sneak a side long glance at the brunette. He had to admit, he did look handsome. He shook his head slightly. What am I thinking!? I’m not gay! Kaiba’s words from yesterday though. I can’t get them out of my head! He glanced at Kaiba again. You know, his eyes are nice. That shade of blue really suits him…No! Don’t think like that! You are not gay, Joey Wheeler! Think of someone else, although I can’t seem to think of someone else. What is wrong with me?

“Joey? Earth to Joey.”

Joey blinked and focused on Tea sitting across from him at the restaurant that the gang was hanging out at. “Huh? What?” he said.

“You okay?” Tea asked, her blue eyes full of concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered, but his mind was thinking, Wow, I never really thought or realized it, but Tea has the same eye color as Kaiba. Argh! There I go, again! I can’t stop thinking about him! Why, why, why!?

Tea looked at Joey, her concern growing. Why was Joey acting so distracted? What was he thinking about that he would stare off into space? I think I should talk to him and found out why.

“Joey, can we talk?” Tea asked as Yugi and Tristan got up from the table and headed for the door.

“Uh, sure. I guess.” Joey sat back down and Tea followed suite after telling the other two to go ahead and that they’ll see them at school tomorrow.

“Joey, why are you so distracted today? Your mind seems like a million miles away.”

“I, uh, had someone on my mind and I couldn’t stop thinking about them.”

“Oh. Are you in love with this person?”

“Yes, no, I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t stop thinking about this person. I guess I’m scared about how I feel, even though I haven’t worked out how I feel about them.”

“Well, once you worked out your feelings, I suggest going to that person and tell them how you feel about them.”

Joey stood up. “I guess I could do that. Thanks, Tea.”

“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow, Joey.”

Joey lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling while his thoughts focused on his feelings about Kaiba. It had been three days since his talk with Tea, but he hadn’t given serious thought to how he felt about Kaiba, even though he saw the CEO at school every day. He had finally resolved to take a hard look at himself to determine what was what.

Could I be gay? That’s kind of scary for me to think about, but I have to know. For some reason, I feel attracted to Kaiba. I know he didn’t put some kind of magic spell on me ‘cause Kaiba doesn’t believe in magic. Is it his natural charm? Could be. He could be charming, not that I’ve ever seen it. I do love his looks and he can be nice toward me, I’ve seen proof of that. Is it love if you can’t stop thinking of someone? If so, then I am in love with Kaiba. I need to tell him, but when and how?

&&&&

Joey stared up at the Kaiba mansion two days later, his mouth feeling as dry as cotton. He would never have considered Kaiba his type or that he would fall for a boy, but he was and he was a bit nervous about confessing. He wasn’t afraid of rejection since Kaiba had confessed first, but confessing his love was still a nerve-wracking experience.

He rang the doorbell and a servant answered. He asked the servant the way to Kaiba’s home office and he was led right to the door. Once the servant had left, Joey took a deep breath to calm his nerves and gather up his courage. He knocked on the door.

“Come,” came Kaiba’s voice from within.

Joey pushed the door open with a shoulder which resulted in him leaning against it as it opened. His head was down and his eyes were closed. Slowly he raised his head and opened his eyes to focus on the man behind the desk.

“Yo,” he greeted.

“Joey,” Kaiba replied with a nod of his head.

“I’ll get right to the point,” Joey said. He stepped inside, went right up to the desk, and looked Kaiba in the eye. “I love you, Seto Kaiba.”

Kaiba smirked. “It took you long enough to realize your feelings for me.”

“The idea of being gay scared me. That’s why I didn’t come earlier. I had to explore the idea and my feelings which is something that’s hard for me to do. That tough guy attitude I put on in front of you is just an act. I really did hate your guts when we first met. I lost a lot of that hate at Duelist Kingdom when I saw how much you cared for your brother. It reminded me of how much I care for Serenity.”

“And your attitude during Battle City? What about that?”

“That’s easy. You just irritated me. I was focusing my anger on Marik. He was the bad guy and that made me realize that you’re no bad guy, just a stubborn one.”

“Well, since you’re being honest, let me do the same. I didn’t like you either when we first met. I felt amused anytime I insulted you and particularly the first time. Your reactions on Duelist Kingdom whenever I called you a dog were as amusing as ever. I was impressed that you had gotten ten star chips and when I learned of why you fought so hard to get there, it made me realize that we both cared for our siblings. I realized you were no dog when we saw each other in Battle City. I still liked to insult you and I needed a new one and that is why I called you a monkey.”

Man, Kaiba needs a hobby. I’m not a dog or a monkey. I kinda like it when he calls me by name, though.

“By the way, would ya like me to call you Kaiba or Seto?”

“If we’re going to be lovers, it would be best to use first names, wouldn’t it?”

“You have a point. All right, first names it is.”

Chapter Three- The Gift

Kaiba and Joey continued to secretly see each other over the following week. They would act cold to one another in public, but they would discreetly slip notes inside each other’s lockers; Kaiba’s would be invitations mostly and Joey’s notes stated he accepted the invitation. Their meetings were riding in Kaiba’s limo, seeking out secluded and private areas for them to meet. Thus far, all they had found was a very private and secluded section of the park as well as private parts of Kaiba Corp buildings and the Kaiba mansion.

Their time together didn’t last long and didn’t really amount to much more than the two of them basking in one other’s company. When the time to part came, Joey always left after telling Kaiba he loved him while Kaiba would just nod. It was after one such parting that Kaiba thought, I really need to tell Joey that I love him the way he does with me. But I just can’t bring myself to tell him. Perhaps, a gift would do the trick. Joey doesn’t need to give me one; his words are more than enough.

&&&&

Kaiba walked down the sidewalk, aware of the stares he was getting from the passersby. Clearly, they were curious as to why Seto Kaiba would be walking among them. He ignored their stares, his thoughts focused on a gift for Joey. His first consideration was some form of jewelry, so he had stopped at a jewelry store. When the clerk asked if he was looking for anything, he answered, “I’m looking for a present for a special someone.” He didn’t specify since technically it no one else’s business but his own.

The clerk showed him a fine selection of rings and necklaces, but all seemed either too ornate to be Joey’s type or simply wrong. He thanked the clerk and said he would consider the pieces that had been presented to him before making a decision. The clerk seemed disappointed but politely thanked him for coming by. That brought Seto to wander down the sidewalk wondering what else to get Joey.

Perhaps, I should go to the game shop. I might find a rare card that suits Joey or I could have a deck box designed for him. It would be a better option than just having his deck in his pants pocket.

“Ah, young sir. Might I interest you in my fine wares?” A voice suddenly spoke up and from its tone, it was directed at Kaiba. He looked to his left to see a man standing behind a folding table. A plain black cloth covered the table and on the cloth was an odd collection of objects. He stepped closer for a better look not sure why he was doing so. His eyes roamed over the objects, none of them looking especially impressive. Then, a pendent in the far corner caught his eye. Its design was both elegant and simple. That looks perfect, he thought as he reached out and held up the pendent.

“An excellent choice sir,” the vendor said. “That piece has been in my family for generations. Will you purchase it?”

Kaiba eyed the man suspiciously. “If it’s been in your family for generations, why would you be selling something like this?”

“It, believe it or not, holds no interest to my family anymore. We need money more than valuable heirlooms.”

“I see.” His tone may have sounded cold, but Kaiba felt for this man. He could help the man, but in such a way that it would come across as Kaiba being his usual selfish self. He took in the man and his makeshift booth. It seemed obvious that this man would be moving on at some point.

“I would like to think about the purchase. Will you be here tomorrow?” he asked.

“Oh no, sir. Today is my last day here. I will be moving on tonight.”

“In that case,” Kaiba pulled out his wallet and deposited a large sum of money on the table. “I’ll take the pendent. Will this be enough?”

The man’s eyes widened at the amount. “More than enough. Thank you for your kind generosity.”

“Heh, don’t mention it.” Kaiba put the pendent in his pocket and walked away, pleased that he finally had a present for his boyfriend. Now, all I have to do is put it in a box and find a way to get Joey alone so I can give it to him. Hmm, perhaps a picnic in that secluded park spot will get him to come.

&&&&

Joey hummed to himself as he strolled into school. It was Friday and that meant two whole days to spend with his boyfriend. He spun the lock on his locker and wondered if Seto would let him spend the weekend at his place. He inwardly hoped so because being at home with his drunken father was not his idea of fun; it was probably why he spend so much time at Yugi’s. He popped the locker door opened and spied a folded up paper on the bottom. He opened it and recognized Seto’s handwriting.

“Please come to our private spot in the park for a picnic after school today. Love, Seto,” he read. A grin spread on his face. A picnic definitely sounded good to him. It would be the perfect opportunity to ask to sleep over for the weekend. He ripped off the bottom part of the invitation and wrote that he accepted and looked forward to it. He folded the note and slipped into Kaiba’s locker as he passed it on the way to class.

Kaiba opened his locker about ten minutes later and spied the note. He opened it and saw that Joey accepted. Not that I expected him to turn it down. I’ll have Roland bring the basket with him when he picks me up today and I’ll have him leave once he brings me to the park. This picnic is for just Joey and me. He smiled as he closed his locker and proceeded to class, knowing that it would be a long day since he wanted to get right to his date.

&&&&

The limo smoothly pulled up to the park entrance and Kaiba emerged with a basket hanging on one arm. “Roland, go on back home. I’ll walk home later.”

“Yes, Mr. Kaiba,” Roland answered before Kaiba closed the door. The limo pulled away as Kaiba made his way to the secluded section. It was empty when he arrived which meant Joey hadn’t arrived yet. Kaiba quickly spread out the blanket and the food before putting the box containing the pendent into his trench coat pocket and standing near the spread, waiting for Joey.

It turned out he didn’t have long to wait. He heard the bushes rustle before Joey crawled out of them and stood up, flashing a grin at him. “Hi, Seto. Hope I’m not too late.”

“Not to worry; I’ve haven’t been here long.”

“Long enough to put the food out. Man, I’m starved.” Joey plopped on the blanket and Seto followed suite.

“Before we start, I want to say something.”

“Yeah, Seto?”

“I have a present for you. Consider it a symbol of my feelings for you.” Kaiba pulled out the box and lifted off the lid. Inside was a blood red stone set in a gold oval setting that was attached to a leather strap.

Joey gaped at the necklace before saying, “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Seto.” He picked the necklace up out of the box and placed around his neck. Joey admired the necklace for a moment before looking up to thank Seto again, but before he could do so, Kaiba leaned down and captured Joey’s lips in a loving kiss; their first kiss. Joey’s eyes widened at the open display of affection, thankful they were in a secluded section of the park.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. After the picnic, the two continued to sit on the blanket and discuss their lives in deeper detail. Joey found Kaiba’s life before and after the orphanage hard to listen to, considering that Kaiba had been forced to study with no rest. He did admire Seto’s cunning to take Kaiba Corp from his stepfather even though he had to act cruel to Mokuba in order to do so. He knew Seto would never be cruel to his brother, so it had to be an act.

Kaiba, in turn, found it hard to listen to Joey’s childhood. His parents were always fighting with each other and his mother and he never saw eye-to-eye. However, Joey obviously loved his sister, Serenity and both were heartbroken when they were separated. Joey related his junior high days when he was in a gang and they would spend their days beating up other gangs or individuals.

“I’d probably still be a street punk if I hadn’t made friends with Yugi. He turned my life around the day he stood up for Tristan and me,” Joey finished.

“And if it hadn’t been for Yugi, you and I would never had met much less fall in love,” Kaiba added.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Joey laughed for a moment, before looking around. “Wow, look at that! We talked the whole afternoon away.”

Kaiba looked around and saw that it was true. The sky was ablaze with a fiery sunset. The two boys gathered up the blanket and placed it inside the basket that now held empty dishes before winding their way through the trees that separated their spot from the rest of the park. By this point, the sun had disappeared and Kaiba dug into a pocket for a flashlight. He heard Joey gasp behind him and a thud that sounded like knees hitting the ground. Alarmed at these sounds, he brought out the mini flashlight, switched it on, and whirled around.

Joey was on the ground, arms around his stomach, and his head bent down. As the CEO stared at his boyfriend, he spied two pointed golden ears protruding from Joey’s hair! He took a step back as a muzzle grew from Joey’s jaws and nose. The blonde looked up at Kaiba with pleading eyes as fur started to grow on his face. He bent his head down again and he planted his hands on the ground, which were forming into paws. His shoes tore apart to reveal that his feet had become paws too. His clothes ripped apart as a tail, fur, and larger muscles pushed their way out. Joey howled as the change completed itself.

“Joey?” Kaiba gasped as he stared at the large golden wolf before him. The wolf turned his head in response to the sound. His now golden-brown eyes locked onto Kaiba’s blue ones and Kaiba could see human intelligence shining in them. Joey was still there. No primal wolf instincts have seized control of him. The pendent he had given him earlier that day hung around the wolf’s neck.

Kaiba crouched down in front of Joey. “Joey, let me remove my gift. I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but I think this pendent is what changed you into a wolf. So, I’m taking it off.” Joey remained still as Kaiba reached over and slipped the pendent over his head.

They waited several minutes but nothing happened. Kaiba sighed thoughtfully as he put the necklace in his trench coat pocket. “I’m not sure what to do now. Perhaps, the pendent made you a werewolf and a tame one at that? Come on, Joey. I’m taking you home with me. Maybe sunrise will change you back.”

Chapter Four- Heightened Abilities

Sunlight fell upon Kaiba’s face, waking the brunette from his sleep. As he blinked against the bright sunlight, he looked over at the sleeping form next to him. When they had arrived at the mansion last night, Kaiba insisted that Joey sleep in the bed next to him. Joey may have been wolf in body, but he was still human and Kaiba was not about to let his boyfriend sleep on the floor.

Kaiba squinted at the form next to him until his eyes finally focused on a human Joey fast asleep beside him. The blonde had his mouth open and his limbs seemed to be sprawled all over the mattress from what he could see since Joey was under the covers from chin to toes. So, he did change back. But, did I just condemn him to being a wolf every night or only during the full moon, last night being the exception? There had been no full moon last night, yet Joey had changed just the same. Kaiba didn’t know what to do. The person who sold him the necklace was in town for only one day and didn’t leave any clue about where he was going next. He supposed that he could get on the Internet and research the necklace in hopes of learning something about it.

Joey’s face twitched slightly and his eyelids fluttered open. He blinked against the sun and instinctively threw up a hand to block it. His eyes widened when he saw his hand. He slowly sat up; keeping the covers pulled up, and grinned at Kaiba. “Well, the sunrise worked.”

“Joey, we don’t know what will happen tonight. I promise, though, I will find out about this necklace so that we know what we’re dealing with here.”

“Ya mean, if there’s a cure or not?”

“Yes, but also how often the change occurs. I want to know if it’s every night or during the full moon only. If it’s the latter, then last night was only because you wore it outside the full moon.”

“That seems a little bit of a stretch. I guess this necklace changed your perspective about magic, huh?”

Kaiba was quiet for a moment. “I suppose so,” he said slowly. “But, it doesn’t mean that I believe in those Egyptian fairytales Yugi keeps talking about.”

“Of course not,” Joey agreed. Personally, Joey thought Kaiba did believe, he just had a hard time wrapping his brain around the idea that he had a past self that lived 5,000 years ago.

&&&&

Kaiba scanned the screen in front of him, Joey currently out of the house. Kaiba had loaned Joey some clothes so that the blonde could go to his apartment and get his own clothes before returning to the mansion. Kaiba wanted him to spend the night just in case Joey changed again. Kaiba was having trouble finding information about the pendent. He had scanned an image of it into his computer and had the Internet run a scan on it. Thus far, the results that came back were useless.

Kaiba suddenly sat forward in his chair. An image of his picture appeared on the screen followed by a link. His heart pounding, he clicked on the link and the page started to download. Kaiba leaned closer to the screen and started to read. The necklace was one of the many magical ways to become a werewolf. It only needed to be worn once in order for the magic to invade the body and it could affect more than one person. Once infected, the human would continue to transform every night and, particularly, on the full moon for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t all bad: Except for the full moon, the transformation was voluntary. It meant that one could change at will. The full moon invoked the change whether the person wanted to change or not. There was a bit of bad news. A newly changed wolf would continue to change every night for a week.

Kaiba leaned back in his seat. So, Joey’s going to keep changing for another six days before he can control the change when it’s not a full moon night. What have I done? I only meant to give him a gift to show my feelings, not curse him.

&&&&

“Ya mean, I’m a werewolf forever?” Joey said faintly.

Kaiba nodded. “I’m afraid so. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t know. I mean, except for avid werewolf fans, who would know? You did say that I can control it except for the full moon nights, right?” Joey asked as he removed his clothes. He felt a little awkward about being naked in front of his boyfriend, but he didn’t want to destroy the clothes when he changed.

“After tonight and the next five nights, yes it can be controlled.”

“Then, it’s not that bad. I’m in control of my body after I change. I don’t suddenly attack people.”

“No, you certainly don’t.” Kaiba drew the curtains in the room, cutting off the outside view. Then, he started to remove his clothes and lay them neatly on his bedroom desk.

“Uh, what are you doin’, Seto?”

“I’m going to join you tonight.” Kaiba reached inside his trench coat and held up the pendent.

“You wanna become a werewolf, too? Seriously?”

“Yes. I brought this curse down on you, so it’s only fair that I bear it as well.”

“Seto, I told you that no one could have known it was a magical item. You’re forgiven. You don’t need to keep punishing yourself.”

“Okay. How about this then? I want to join you. I think it would be fun for the two of us to be wolves together.”

Joey smiled slightly. “It does sound like fun.”

Kaiba smiled back. “I knew you see it my way.” He then hung the necklace around his neck with this pronouncement, just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Kaiba gasped as he fell to his knees while Joey remained on his feet which had changed into back paws. The brunette placed his hands on the floor and watched as they transformed into paws and grew a layer of brown fur that continued to spread up his arms. He felt his nose and jaws push out into a muzzle and felt a tail grow out behind him. Despite the burning pain of his change, he continued to watch Joey. After his back paws appeared, golden fur spread up from his paws and a tail pushed out behind him. His body grew slightly larger as the fur grew upward. It reached his arms and hands, changing them into paws. The fur spread to his face, the muzzle forming and the ears traveling to the top. Joey dropped to all fours and howled in the soundproof room. His boyfriend’s howl was infectious and Kaiba howled in response, realizing that this meant that he had finished changing, too. He was now a werewolf, too.

Joey opened his eyes to look over at Seto. He had to admit, Seto looked good as a wolf. The body was still thin like his human one and the eyes were still blue which stood out against his brown fur. Joey felt very attracted to his boyfriend as well as a sexual urge. He padded over to the brown wolf and rubbed cheeks with him before licking it. He walked a few steps along Seto’s side before draping his front half across the other’s back and playfully nipping one ear.

Kaiba felt confused at Joey’s actions. He sensed that neither of them could talk human speech and could only communicate in actions and wolf speech. Obviously, wolf speech communication would take time to learn, so Joey was using body language to express his thoughts. As Joey rubbed cheeks and licked it, Kaiba understood what Joey was saying: It was an expression of love and gratitude that Kaiba chose to become a wolf too. When Joey draped himself over Kaiba’s back and nipped an ear, the CEO was momentarily confused until his wolf instincts told him that Joey wanted to get sexual.

Am I that attractive to him? Hmm, you know, I’m starting to feel the same way. Let’s do it.

&&&&

Kaiba and Joey awoke the next morning to find themselves naked and on the floor after falling asleep from their sexual encounter. Joey felt great after a wild night like that and the morning was looking up when Seto joined him in the shower. The two of them rubbed down each other’s bodies and scrubbed the hair before stepping out, drying off, and getting dressed for the day. Seto called the office to say that he was going to work from home for the next week and that everyone was told to go home for the day, since it was Sunday. He added that he expected everyone to be in on time the next day even though he wouldn’t be there. Once he had hung up, he led Joey to the kitchen for a cozy breakfast for two.

“Joey,” Kaiba said as they sat down with their food. “I think it would be better if you stayed here until you stop changing every night.”

“Maybe I could stay one night longer than that?” Joey asked. “I mean you’ll be a wolf one night more than me.”

Kaiba smiled. “I think I would like that. Okay, you’ll stay until I stop changing every night. I should point out that by that point, we’ll have two weeks before the full moon comes.”

“Two weeks, huh? Sounds fine to me.”

Kaiba and Joey spent the entire day together with Mokuba who didn’t know that they were a couple. He was told that Joey was a good friend now and he was happy that his big brother was letting other people get close to him since he tended to be cold and distant to everyone save for Mokuba. Kaiba refused Joey’s sexual advances that night, seeing as the next day was a school day. He indicated this by placing a paw on his calendar and then extending a claw to tap on the date. Joey’s ears flattened before nodding and curling up on the bed and falling asleep.

Joey awoke the next day to find the bed empty and a note saying that Seto was in his home office, that breakfast was ready downstairs, and that he would be driven to and from school for the coming week. He smiled as he got dressed; he had gotten his wish to spend all weekend at Seto’s and he would be spending all week here as well. He grabbed his schoolbag and left the room to get a bite to eat.

&&&&

“Morning, everyone,” Joey said as he approached his friends who were grouped around Yugi’s desk, as usual.

“Morning, Joey,” Yugi said.

“Hey, Joey,” Tristan said, lightly punching Joey on the arm. “Where were you this weekend? I called your place and the old man said he hadn’t seen you. At least that’s what it sounded like.”

Joey returned the punch, trying to come up with a believable story when Tristan exclaimed, “Ow! Joey, watch the punch, man! What have you been doing, weight-lifting?”

Joey thought fast. “Uh, yeah. I was…at the gym all weekend lifting weights. I’ve been doing that every weekend for a while now and it’s finally paying off.” He felt a bead of sweat slid down his neck as he took his seat. Oh man, that was close. I think my wolf side’s startin’ to show. I wasn’t intending to hit that hard, it was supposed to be my usual strength, but now that I’m a werewolf apparently I’m stronger now. I wonder what other abilities will surface. I sure hope they are not as noticeable as my strength.

Joey watched himself throughout the day, being careful not to apply too much muscle into what he was doing so as to not draw attention to himself. He knew that he was going to have to watch himself until he had gotten his strength under control. He would never have guessed that his wolf side would have affected his human side, but that was clearly the case, at least as far as strength went. When the bell rang at the end of the day, Joey felt relieved. He got through the day, but still had four more days to go through. Now, he had to get in the limo and back to the mansion without his friends noticing.

Joey stepped outside in the mass of students filing out and took a few steps before stopping, eyes screwed up as unbearable noises reached his ears. He never noticed how loud his classmates were nor the sounds of the city. He focused on tuning them out and suddenly the volume diminished. He opened his eyes and for a moment, everything seemed brighter and clearer than before. He quickly walked around to the back of the school where the limo was waiting and climbed in. He leaned back and closed his eyes, realizing he had just experienced more enhanced senses and wanted to tell Seto about them as soon as he got in.

Chapter Five- The Abusive Father

Once the limo had stopped at the front door, Joey rushed out and opened the door before sprinting up to Seto’s home office. He carefully knocked on the door and received an “Enter” from within. He opened the door and Seto looked up before smiling at him. “Have a good day at school?” he asked.

“I guess so. Seto, some of my senses are enhanced. I mean, this morning I meant to punch Tristan’s arm in my usual way, except I end up hitting a little harder and then after school, everyone sounded louder than normal and my eyesight was brighter and clearer.”

“Of course they’re enhanced; you’re a wolf. I’ve been experiencing similar sensations,” Kaiba replied. “When my phone rang, it sounded so loud and so did the voice on the other end. I held the receiver away from my ear and I could still hear the other person clearly.”

Joey let out a slow breath. “I guess we better practice at toning down the enhanced senses.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to work for a couple more hours and then have an early dinner before dark. I’ll have one of the servants come get you when dinner’s ready.”

“Sure. I think I’ll go back to your room and maybe do some homework.”

&&&&

The afternoon passed in a blur and soon both teens were standing naked in Kaiba’s room, watching the carpet that was lit with the blazing sunset. The light faded completely and both felt the tingling that accompanied their changes. Once both had howled to the unseen night, Joey shook himself out and sat down. **Man, that feels better,** he commented.

Seto stared at Joey in amazement and Joey’s mouth parted in shock. **Did I just talk?** he asked.

Seto decided to take a stab at replying. **It would appear…you did.**

**Whoa! Now you’re talking, too!**

**Something tells me, we were always able to talk. We either didn’t know it or it becomes available after changing for the third night in a row.**

**Third night? Are you saying I’ve could have started talking last night?**

**Well, seeing as this is my third night and your fourth, I guess I am.**

Joey was silent for a moment. **Okay, so are we talking English or another language entirely?**

**I think we’re talking wolf language, but to our ears it’s English.**

Joey yawned and Seto followed suite. **I’m going to bed now. I got school tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep,** Joey murmured.

**What beauty sleep?** Seto teased as both leaped into bed.

**What’s that supposed to mean?** Joey demanded.

**It means, you don’t need beauty sleep. You’re already beautiful.** Seto licked Joey’s cheek lovingly.

**Thanks, Seto. Good night.**

**Good night, Joey.**

&&&&

Joey spent the rest of the week watching his senses and learning to tone them down or off. He also gave excuses to his friends about why he wasn’t hanging out with them after school. He promised that he would spend more time with them starting the following week. His friends accepted the excuses, but Joey suspected that they were wondering the real reason Joey was avoiding them.

Kaiba’s last night as a wolf soon arrived and Joey was a little sad. True, it was Friday night and the weekend had come, but Joey wasn’t ready to leave the posh conditions he had enjoyed the whole week. He was tempted to ask to stay a little longer, but knew that sooner or later, his dad would go looking for him and the longer he stayed away, the angrier and more abusive his father would be when he eventually came home.

Joey returned home Saturday morning and thankfully, his dad didn’t question him about his whereabouts of the past week. He knew that if he hadn’t gone to school, his dad probably would have been alerted and might have gone looking for him, which frankly scared Joey. His dad spent most of his days being drunk and not caring about anything except his next drink. His temper was often explosive in his drunk state and he often turned to abusing his son in order to calm down. Joey didn’t tell Seto about any of this because he didn’t want to come across as helpless nor as someone who was looking for sympathy. He had his pride, after all.

The next two weeks that followed were exactly like they were before Joey and Kaiba became wolves. They secretly met a couple times each week and Joey hung out with his friends before going home. On the morning of the first full moon, Joey found a note in his locker that he knew was from his boyfriend. It said that Kaiba wanted Joey to meet him in their park spot where they would change and enjoy a night outside for a change. Joey grinned at the idea: Running around outside as a wolf with his boyfriend beside him sounded wonderful. He quickly scribbled a response and stuck it in Kaiba’s locker.

&&&&

Joey raced to his room, grabbed an overnight bag and started packing. Since it was the first full moon, Seto had insisted that Joey spend those nights with him. That suited him just fine; he’d rather be at the Kaiba mansion than his own home. He zipped the bag closed before slinging it and his schoolbag over his shoulder and sprinting down the stairs. He was about to open the door when a strong hand clamped onto his shoulder and yanked him into the living room. The force of the yank was enough to make Joey drop his bags at the door as he wheeled around to look at his father’s face.

“And where do you think you’re goin’?” Mr. Wheeler growled at Joey, now grabbing his arm. “You’re stayin’ put and persuading those debt collectors to get off our backs.”

Joey, now stronger due to his wolf side, yanked his arm out of his father’s grip. “I don’t have to tell ya anything. I got things to do tonight, but I’ll be back in the morning.” Obviously this was a lie, but he wasn’t going to tell his dad the truth.

Mr. Wheeler grabbed Joey again and threw him across the room. The teen crashed against the wall, but maintained his footing. His father planted a hand on either side of Joey, practically pinning the blonde to the wall.

“Whatcha goin’ do now?” he leered.

Joey was about to reply when he felt a tingling go through him, followed by an itching in his feet. Panic went through the teen. The moon had risen and he was changing! He closed his eyes as he felt fur sprout, his feet and hands becoming paws, a tail sprouting, and his muzzle and pointed ears appearing while his clothes tore apart. He heard his dad backing up and spit out, “What the hell!?”

Joey opened his eyes to see a hand slap him across the muzzle. The suddenness of the attack knocked Joey off his paws. A foot slammed into his side before he could react from the first attack. He looked up at his dad with confused eyes and whined sadly.

“Shut up, ya freak. You’re no son of mine anymore and since that’s the case, I’m gonna kill you now.”

Oh, hell. I was afraid he was gonna react like this. Goodbye Seto. I love you. Joey squeezed his eyes shut to prepare himself for the beating that would eventually kill him. He couldn’t help whining, knowing full well that it annoyed his father or rather ex-father since he had just been disowned. The sound of crashing wood, claws clicking on wood, and a familiar scent prompted the gold wolf to open his eyes to see Seto standing in front of him.

&&&&

Seto paced back and forth in the secluded spot, glancing between the sky and the concealed entrance as he did so. Where was Joey? He wrote a response saying he would meet him at least half an hour before sunset and now it was about five minutes to sundown. Something’s wrong, I can just feel it. I know where Joey lives, but I’ve already stripped and there’s no time to get dressed to look for him. I can only change and search for him by scent. Seto looked again at the sky and saw that the sun was gone, yet the moon had not risen just yet. He growled softly. He didn’t want to wait for the moon to change, he wanted to change now!

Suddenly, he gasped and dropped to his hands and knees. He looked at his hands and saw that they had become paws and brown fur was growing on them and spreading upward. He looked up at the sky and still saw no moon. Was his concern and love for Joey so strong that it was invoking his change early? Seto wasn’t sure; there was so much about being a werewolf that they didn’t know, yet love was a powerful and mysterious force that no one could study. Yes, love could be why he was changing without the moon or maybe it was the pendent’s magic that allowed him to change whenever he wanted. Yes, that made more sense. He felt the fur spread as his head and legs changed and a tail grew out. He howled quickly before leaping over the bushes and heading for Joey’s place.

Joey’s scent grew strong as he approached the building. Joey was still home. By this point, the moon had risen, but Seto wasn’t concerned about that. It was Joey’s welfare he was concerned about. He knew the door was locked, but he wasn’t deterred. Instead, he coiled back and launched himself at the door, shoulder first. The force of the collision broke the door in half as Seto sailed through it. He took a moment to take in the scene before him before he interposed himself between wolf and man.

Seto stood in front of his mate who lay hunched and whining. He growled at the drunken man he knew to be Joey’s father. The man glared at the brown wolf. “So, you the one who made my son a monster?” he slurred.

Seto, naturally, couldn’t answer the man, but his hackles did go up at the word “monster.” Joey and I are werewolves, not monsters. I had no idea that Joey lived with a drunken father. He probably would have been better off with his mother and sister. Since that’s not an option, he’ll move in with me.

“I’ll teach you to mess with my son,” the man declared, pulling out a shotgun.

**Seto, get out of here! He’s serious!** Joey exclaimed.

**No! I’m not leaving you here!**

Mr. Wheeler fired a shot, but in his drunken state, his aim missed Kaiba by a foot. He re-aimed the gun and fired again, this time hitting the wood just inches in front of his forepaws. This near miss sent Kaiba into action. He launched himself into the air and plowed into the human. Kaiba was tempted to tear the man’s throat out for hurting his mate, but he restrained himself. He was bound to feel guilty about killing the man in the morning and Joey would be heartbroken if his father died, despite how he was treated by the man.

Kaiba leaped off Mr. Wheeler who was unconscious: When Kaiba tackled him; Mr. Wheeler’s head hit the floor rather hard. **Joey, let’s go. You’re going to live with me from now on.**

**Ya mean it? Really?**

Kaiba laughed, or rather barked. **I mean it. You are my mate after all. I will not allow this man to hurt you anymore.**

&&&&

**Seto, you won’t have to worry about Mr. Wheeler hurting me anymore. At least I hope you won’t have to worry.**

Kaiba craned his neck to look at Joey who had his head lying across Kaiba’s side. **And why is that?**

**He disowned me.**

**What?**

**Yeah. After he called me a freak, he said I was no son of his anymore.**

**I’m still worried. If he decides to kill you, he will track you down.**

**Well, since he’s not my dad anymore, I can fight back to defend myself.**

**Let’s not talk about it anymore.**

**In that case, I feel like making love again. You game?**

**Definitely.**

Chapter Six- Family

Kaiba awoke the next morning to find he was naked in the bed and the covers up over his head. He pushed them off and strode into his private bathroom to shower and dress. Joey and I had a very good time last night. Perhaps we’ll do it again tonight. After all, the full moon still has tonight and tomorrow before waning again.

Kaiba emerged from the bathroom to see a covered up form still in bed. He smirked. Joey was a heavy sleeper and was definitely not an early bird. He sat down on the empty side of the bed before reaching over and shaking the sleeping form. “Rise and shine sleepyhead.”

He heard a yawn and a sleepy voice murmur, “Just five more minutes, mom.”

“You’re not getting five more minutes and I’m not your mom.”

“Huh? Oh…good morning, Seto.”

“You better get up and get dressed for school. I’ll have my butler drive you to school and back here afterwards.”

“You are so lucky to miss school because of business.”

“Perhaps. But then, I can’t spend the whole day with you.”

Joey chuckled. “Yeah, that’s a shame.” The sheets rustled as Joey surfaced.

Kaiba blinked several times in surprise as he stared at the gold wolf sitting beside him. He looked at the curtained window to see sunlight streaming in between the gap in the curtains before looking back at the wolf. Did our sex last night affect Joey somehow?

Joey looked down at himself and let out a surprised yelp. “What the hell?”

&&&&

“Seto, what’s going on?” Joey whimpered, several minutes later. “It’s daylight, but I’m still a wolf.”

“Hang on, Joey. I’m looking.” Kaiba scanned the various werewolf links that his search presented to him until he found one on sexual practices. He clicked on it and quickly read through the contents. He let out a silent whistle after he finished and leaned back in his seat.

“What? What?” Joey asked anxiously.

Kaiba licked his lips. “Well, according to this page, the reason you’re still a wolf is because…you’re pregnant.”

“Say WHAT!?”

“Yes. You can use human speech during the day only. It also says that you can’t change until after birth, but you’ll change back every night for a month so that the pups can get their milk.”

“But, why am I the one who got pregnant? Why not you?”

“You initiated the sex so you got pregnant.”

“Okay. So, when will I give birth and how come the pups will only get the milk at night?”

“Delivery should come in six to eight weeks. Baby formula will sustain the pups because they’ll be human during the day.”

“They will?” Joey’s eyes grew wide and round.

“Of course, they will. You’re a werewolf, Joey. Therefore, so will the pups.”

“Hold on. Delivery in six to eight weeks? Oh, man. I’m stuck as a wolf for two months. This sucks.”

Kaiba smiled in sympathy. “I’m sorry Joey. I didn’t think pregnancy would occur between two males.”

“Well, I didn’t either. There’s nothing we can do now, but let the pregnancy proceed.”

“If it will make you feel better about this, I can change at night.”

“You would be willing to be a wolf every night during the pregnancy? Really?”

“Really. I love you after all and I want to do what I can to support you during your time of need.”

“I would feel better if you did change every night, but you don’t have to. I know that you have a company to run and surely that has some nighttime meetings.”

“You have a point. All right. Whenever there aren’t nighttime dealings, I’ll change.”

“Deal.” Joey paused before saying, “Seto?”

“Yes, Joey?”

“Uh, how am I supposed to give birth?”

Kaiba clenched a fist. “Oh, right! I forgot to tell you. When you’re about one to two weeks away from delivering, you’ll become a female wolf.”

“WHAT!? I’ll become a girl!?”

“Yeah. After birth, you’ll be a human boy during the day and a female wolf at night for a month so that the pups can get their milk.”

“Great. I’ll be a girl at night for a month.”

&&&&

Kaiba decided to work from his home office that day so that he could answer any questions that Joey might ask. It turned out that Joey was more tired than he realized. It was possible that all the excitement of learning about the pregnancy caught up with him and he was soon curled up beside the desk and fast asleep. Kaiba didn’t have the heart to wake the wolf and tell him to sleep in their bed, so he left Joey there while he focused on his work. He stopped work around four-thirty and called the cook to have dinner brought to his chambers. He then knelt beside his mate and gently shook him. “Joey, time to get up.”

The gold wolf mumbled something before he opened his eyes and blinked up at him. He got up and stretched his limbs, his mouth opening in a yawn. “Man that was a good sleep. Is it almost dinnertime? I’m hungry.”

Kaiba laughed. That sounded like typical Joey. “I’m having dinner sent up to my room. Since you’ll be a wolf day and night for about two months, I better start dining in my room and especially on full moon nights.”

“Oh, yeah. There’s still two full moon nights left.”

Kaiba carefully led Joey through the mansion just as he had done that morning. He opened his bedroom and Joey had just slipped in when the brunette heard a voice say, “Seto, aren’t you coming down for dinner?” He turned to see Mokuba standing there with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I decided to eat in my room tonight,” he answered.

“Why? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine.”

“So, why eat up here?”

Kaiba thought fast and came to the conclusion that he would have to tell Mokuba the truth. “I’ll tell you a bit later. Please go down and eat for now. Come up to my room before dark and I’ll explain everything.”

“Okay, big brother.” Mokuba bounded downstairs and Kaiba entered his room to find Joey standing there open-mouthed at him.

“Seto! What are you thinking?”

“If I’m going to keep having dinner sent up every night with no explanation, Mokuba will get suspicious. Plus, he’s going to be an uncle and deserves to know.”

“Oh. Yeah, you got a point.”

Mokuba knocked on the door an hour later and he heard Kaiba say, “Come in.” The young boy opened the door to see his brother seated in a computer chair with a gold dog lying next to him…or was that a wolf? It certainly looked big enough to be a wolf. Kaiba gestured to a chair sitting in front of his chair. Mokuba sat down and waited for Kaiba to explain.

Kaiba inhaled and slowly exhaled before saying, “I should tell you that everything I’m about to say is going to sound strange and unbelievable, but it’s the truth.”

“I know you would never lie to me, Seto.”

“Okay. I fell in love about a month ago and it was with Joey Wheeler. I was looking for a gift to give him to show my love and bought this pendent.” Kaiba reached into a drawer and held up the pendent that caused all this trouble. “I gave it to Joey the day after I bought it at a private picnic. The sun was setting as we left the park and the next thing I know, Joey had turned into a wolf.”

Mokuba’s eyes widened and darted to the wolf at Kaiba’s side. “Joey?” he asked softly.

Joey nodded. “Yeah, it’s me, Mokuba.”

Mokuba gasped. “You can still talk!”

“Yeah, but not at night.”

“Anyway,” Kaiba interjected. “I found out the pendent turns a person into a werewolf. A new werewolf changes every night for a week before controlling the changes except for the full moon. I decided to wear the pendent that very night so we could be together as wolves.”

“So, you’re a wolf too, Seto?”

“That’s right and for some strange reason, two males could produce offspring with the result being that Joey is now pregnant.”

“P-p-pregnant?”

“Yes. He has to stay a wolf until after birth. Then he’ll be human during the day and a wolf at night for a month.

“I felt it necessary to tell you Mokuba because you’re going to be an uncle and I didn’t want you walking in on us during a full moon and seeing me change without understanding why this was happening.”

“Are you dangerous when you change?”

“No. I just can’t talk at night, or at least, not in words you would understand.

“The sun’s almost down, so I need you to leave. I’ll see you in the morning, Mokuba.”

“Okay. Good night, Seto. Good night, Joey.” Mokuba left the room, closing the door behind him and Seto locked the door before getting undressed.

“Wow. Mokuba took it well. I didn’t think he’d believe it.”

“Like he said: I wouldn’t lie to him. He will help to see that you don’t starve when I do go in to the office.”

“Which you’ll do after tomorrow night.”

Kaiba nodded before he felt a tingling go through his body. He dropped to his hands and knees, noticing that his fur coat had already appeared. He felt his tail swishing against his legs as his knees reversed direction and he was soon standing on four paws. He felt his muzzle push out and his ears grow pointy and move up his head. He howled as the change completed itself and Joey howled in response before padding over and rubbing cheeks with the brown wolf. Kaiba closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation. These simple touches aroused him in a way that he wouldn’t have felt in human form. I never realized how emotional I get when I’m a wolf. I like these feelings. He licked Joey on the ear before giving it a light nip.

Joey yipped slightly. **Hey! What was that for?**

**What? I can’t give you a love nip every now and then?**

**Love nip? Seto, you feelin’ okay?**

**I’m fine. I just feel like showing my emotions more when I’m a wolf. I kind of like expressing them.**

**Oh, I get what you’re sayin’. Maybe that’s why it didn’t take much to get you to be sexual with me.**

**I think that’s exactly it. Now, let’s get some sleep.**

Chapter Seven- The Pregnancy

Joey awoke on the morning after the third full moon to find himself alone and sunlight streaming through the curtains. He looked to see a breakfast tray sitting on the desk with the chair pulled up so he could sit and eat at the desk. He jumped out of bed and onto the chair to check out the tray. He saw a bowl of water next to a platter heaped with smoked sausage links. Joey licked his chops before consuming the sausages and lapping up some water. I wonder why Seto had only sausages prepared. Is it because I’m a wolf and wolves love meat? Ah, who cares? That meat hit the spot.

With breakfast taken care of, Joey wondered around the room looking for something to do. His tail swished as he paced back and forth, his head swiveling around the room. There was nothing for him to do, at least nothing that he could see! He curled up on the bed and decided that he could just take a nap. His eyes roamed the room and settled on the closed curtains, the sun shining behind them. The sounds of the city outside reached his ears and his thoughts strayed to his friends.

They’re probably wondering if I’m sick or something. That’s most likely what I’ll tell them when I go back to school. I think I’ll ask Seto to look up some kind of sickness that could keep a person in bed for two months. His eyes slid closed and a soft sigh escaped as he drifted off the sleep.

The sound of the door opening reached his ears and he opened his eyes blearily to see Mokuba easing into the room with a tray in his hands and shutting the door with his foot. “Hi, Joey,” the boy said. “Lunchtime.”

“What time is it, exactly?” Joey asked as he got up and stretched before jumping down.

“About one in the afternoon.”

Joey narrowed his eyes at Mokuba. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I choose whether to be home-schooled or attend the public school whenever I want. I figured since you’re a wolf for two months, I’m going to be home-schooled and one o’clock is usually lunchtime. I go back to my lessons in about thirty minutes and I thought you could use some company.”

“Could I ever! I’ve got nothing to do but sleep, though that’s probably good for the pups.” Joey sat beside the chair as Mokuba took his food off the tray before setting it in front the gold wolf. There was silence for several minutes before the young boy spoke.

“Uh, Joey, I was wondering. What’s it like being a wolf?”

Joey swallowed a bite of hamburger before saying, “Good question. I kind of like it. I mean, there’s the enhanced senses and being stronger than usual as well as having a tail and moving gracefully. Of course, choosing when to change is cool, the involuntary change on the full moon is not so cool. I can’t say I like being a pregnant wolf.” He looked up at Mokuba. “You’re not thinking of changing into a wolf too, are ya? ‘Cause I don’t think your brother would like that.”

Mokuba laughed. “No way! I’m just wondering and I thought you could tell me what it’s like.”

“Well, did I answer your question?”

“Oh, yeah. You told me plenty. You said it’s cool, but there are some bad things about it. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be a wolf.”

“Good.” Joey returned to his food and silence dominated the room again. He soon found himself alone again, but Mokuba had turned on the TV before he left and had fished out the remote so Joey could change the channel using his claws. He sighed happily as he now had something to occupy him. However, he knew he was going to need more than a TV to entertain him while he waited for the pups to be born.

Seto approached his bedroom in the late afternoon and heard the sounds of the TV from behind the door. He opened the door to see Joey asleep on the bed, the remote next to him and the TV playing a movie. He smirked at this scene before switching the set off which roused Joey from his slumber. He focused on Seto and his tail swished happily at the sight of his mate. “Welcome home, Seto.”

“Thanks, Joey. Have you been watching TV all this time?” He scratched the wolf’s ears.

“Only since after lunch. Mokuba had lunch in here with me, figured I could use some company.”

“Ah. Perhaps I should hook up a laptop to relieve some boredom. Would you like that?”

“Sounds good. I want to find a disease to explain my absence from school.”

“There’s no need. I called them this morning to say that you have mono, which lasts two to three months.”

“Really? Wow, thanks!”

Seto shrugged. “No problem. I needed to give them a real illness instead of being vague, otherwise they would have been suspicious.”

&&&&

Seto did hook up a laptop for Joey to use two days later. The gold wolf loved playing the games installed on it once he figured out how to use the mouse with his paws and claws. He would also explore the Internet, sticking to news site as well as gaming and video sites. He even started a word document in the form of a journal. He asked Seto one afternoon about protecting his journal so that no one else could read it and soon Joey’s journal was password-protected. Of course, Joey didn’t spend all his time on the computer. He watched some TV, but spent most of his time sleeping as his pregnancy progressed. His appetite also increased as did his desire for meat.

Seto kept his word of changing to a wolf at night and found Joey to be overly affectionate at bedtime. The brown wolf found himself being snuggled by his mate; at first this annoyed him and would try to edge away from Joey, but when Joey whined sadly it almost broke his heart at its sound. He consented to Joey’s desires and soon found that he rather enjoyed the two of them curled up against each other. It was this position that Seto found himself in when he awoke on Joey’s fifth week of pregnancy.

He opened his eyes to see Joey’s furry side in front of him and the feel of fur under his chin. That’s right. I had put my head on Joey’s side close to his stomach just to feel the pups’ movements. I guess it was so soothing that I fell asleep, not that Joey minded. Seto sat up, stretched, and shifted to human before getting up to get dressed and head downstairs to get some breakfast and bring Joey’s up before leaving for work.

&&&&

Yugi looked up at the huge mansion and licked his dry lips. Joey had been absent for a little over a month and he and the others were growing concerned. It wasn’t like Joey to miss school for so long; a few days sure, but not a few weeks. They called his home, but he wasn’t there and oddly enough Mr. Wheeler’s reply had been that no one named Joey lived there. Yugi therefore decided to ask Kaiba if he had seen Joey lately since he could think of no one else to ask. He rang the bell and when the butler answered, he asked to see Kaiba. He was led to Kaiba’s bedroom door and left there by himself. He took a deep breath and slowly released before knocking.

He opened the door and walked in a couple of feet before a low sound caused him to freeze in surprise. There was a large dog in the room and it, no, she was pregnant and none too pleased to see him. Yugi backed away from the growling, pregnant dog. It was clear to him that she viewed him as an enemy and was warning him off in order to protect herself and her unborn pups. He had been directed to Kaiba’s bedroom and had opened the door to find this large, golden dog lying on the bed before said dog leaped off the bed and started growling at him.

“Yugi, what are you doing here?” came Kaiba’s voice from the hall before Yugi felt himself being dragged from the room and the door being pulled closed. The short duelist turned around to see Kaiba looking sternly at him.

“I-I was wondering if you had seen Joey. He hasn’t been to class in weeks.”

Kaiba scowled and answered sarcastically, “No, I have not. If I do, I’m sure you’ll be the first one I tell.”

Yugi decided to ignore the sarcasm and smiled. “Thanks, Kaiba,” he said before turning and leaving the mansion.

Once Kaiba was certain that Yugi had left, he opened the door and walked in to see Joey back on the bed, his forepaws over his eyes. He removed them to see Kaiba enter and he sighed in relief. “Oh, man, I can’t believe I acted like that and in front of Yugi, to boot. These instincts are strong.”

Kaiba sat down next to the wolf and stroked his head. “I know, Joey. You’re doing fine, though. You’ve only got three weeks left.”

“Three weeks. That’s good because these pups are constantly moving and it’s kind of driving me crazy. I can hardly wait to be human again, although I am comfortable being a wolf after all these weeks.”

“You do remember that you’ll turn into a female wolf every night for a month after birth, right? And that you’ll soon be female in a week or so?”

“Of course, I do. But, it’ll be worth it to be human during the day.”

Chapter Eight- The Pups

A week passed since his encounter with Yugi and Joey had half-hoped that his pal would come back so he could explain everything- once Yugi woke up after passing out from hearing a talking wolf, that is. But, he didn’t return and Joey considered calling Yugi and explaining everything over the phone. He was reasonably certain he could work a phone with paws and claws.

The doorknob to the bedroom opened and Kaiba walked inside. Joey got up from the floor and padded over to his mate before licking the man’s hand. Kaiba smiled as he stroked Joey’s head. “Hello to you, too,” he said. “How does a big steak for dinner sound to you?”

“Sounds great. I’m-,” Joey trailed off as he noticed that his voice was higher than normal. Human and wolf stared at each other with wide eyes before Kaiba gave a small smirk.

“Well, we’re closer to being parents. The gender switch just occurred.”

“Oh, is that what you’re gonna call it?” Joey asked. A shudder went through her body. “Man, I sound weird.”

“You sound like a girl, but you’re still Joey. Besides, gender switch is an appropriate phrase to use and it’ll be more appropriate once you’ve delivered and start changing forms for a month.”

Joey was silent for the rest of the night and for the next two days, mostly due to the fact that she didn’t want to hear the sound of her new voice. Seto could hardly fail to notice his mate’s recent behavior and decided to talk to her about it after dinner that second day.

**Joey, you are going to have to talk at some point. You can’t spend the next several weeks, refusing to speak when in wolf form. I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through and I’m not even going to try. What I do know is that when I think of you, I find it hard to remember that you’re a girl right now.**

Joey was silent as she lay curled up in bed next to her mate. Finally, she lifted her head to look at him. **You have a point, Seto. I should get used to how my voice sounds because it’ll be a long time before I’m male day and night.**

Seto gave a wolf’s grin. **I knew you would eventually see it my way. By the way, you sound beautiful. It complements your looks nicely.**

**Are you sayin’ you like my female body more than my male one?**

Seto seemed taken aback. **No. I hardly noticed any change in body, only the voice. I don’t care if you’re male or female, I love you for being yourself.**

Joey yawned as she got comfortable on the bed. **Night, Seto.** She sighed softly as she drifted off to sleep.

**Night, Joey.** Seto lay awake, his mind whirling with recent events. He could hardly believe that almost two months had passed since they found out that they were to be parents and three months since falling in love and becoming wolves. Life had sure taken some surprising turns and Seto didn’t regret a single decision since realizing that he loved Joey.

Speaking of Joey, those pups will be here any time now. The information I found said six to eight weeks. This is week six and Joey’s already become female. I wonder how many pups we’ll have, not that I don’t have enough money to support however many we have. Seto sighed as his eyes slid close and before sleep stole over him, he thought, Whatever happens, I’ll take it as it comes.

&&&&

Joey howled as another stab from the labor pains hit her. It had been a week since the gender switch and now she was giving birth. Oh, man. This sucks. I can’t believe that giving birth has to involve so much pain. I swear I am never initiating sex with Seto again. He can be the one to start it and he can go through what I’ve went and am going through right now.

Seto nuzzled Joey’s cheek with his muzzle. He felt the timing couldn’t be better. It was nighttime as well as Friday which meant he could spend the weekend with his new family. **Deep breaths, Joey. You need to push when you feel the stabs.**

**And how do you know that?** Joey growled.

**I read about it from books and the Internet.**

Joey was about to respond to that when another stab hit her. She pushed and howled her pain before panting from the push. There was a timid knock at the door before it opened slightly and Mokuba poked his head in. “Seto, what’s going on?”

Seto gestured at Joey and then at her back end. He hated being reduced to gestures when something this important was going on, but Mokuba wouldn’t understand wolf speech so this was the best he could do.

Mokuba looked at him blankly. “Seto, I don’t understand. Is something wrong with Joey?”

Seto nodded as Joey pushed and howled again. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked to see a tiny head starting to emerge! He looked at his brother and gestured for him to come closer. The young boy complied and when he saw the head, his eyes widened and a gasp came out.

“The pups are coming out. Don’t worry, you two. I’ll get some towels and warm water.” Mokuba was about to leave when Seto grabbed his sleeve in his mouth. Mokuba looked back to see Seto release the sleeve, shake his head, and point his head at Joey.

The first pup had fully emerged and Joey was attending to it already. She had brought the pup around and placed it between her forepaws before licking it clean. Once clean, she put it near her stomach before pushing and howling again. Seto walked over to his mate and nuzzled her again before admiring their firstborn, who was covered in golden fur. He checked under the tail and saw it was a girl.

He looked up to see Mokuba leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He probably feels sad that he’s not needed for the birthing process. I’ll be sure to talk to him tomorrow. He turned his attention back to Joey and saw a small gold and brown ball in her mouth! The second pup had arrived. Joey attended to it just as she did with the first one. She proceeded to push and howl while Seto checked to find the second one was a boy. He saw something brown move and looked to see another pup sliding out of the birth canal. He quickly picked it up and put it in front of Joey who took her time cleaning it before putting it down to drink. Seto checked it and saw it was another girl.

**That’s it. I’m done,** Joey said in a tired voice.

Seto licked her cheek. **You did well, my love. We have two girls and one boy.**

**Which is which?**

**The gold one and the brown one are the girls and the other is the boy.**

Joey sighed. **Oh, man. I’m exhausted.**

**Get some sleep, Joey. We’ll name them tomorrow. Perhaps, Mokuba would like to help.**

**Why not? The uncle deserves to be some part of this.** Joey closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Nine- The New Family

“Mokuba, I know you wanted to part of the delivery, but Joey’s instincts told her what she needed to do,” Seto said the next morning.

“I understand, Seto, but still I want to be a part of the pups’ lives.”

“And you will. You should know you have two nieces and a nephew and we want your help in naming them.”

“Really?” The joy was evident in his voice.

Seto laughed. “Really. Why don’t we go up and start thinking up names?”

The brothers went up to Seto and Joey’s room to see Joey in a rocking chair with a baby in his arms who was drinking from a bottle. Mokuba gasped. “Joey, you’re human again and a guy again.”

Joey laughed at his reaction. “I’m only human and a guy during the day. I’ll be a female wolf again tonight.”

“How come?”

“Well, that’s just how it’s going to be for the next month. Human boy during the day, female wolf at night. The pups need mother’s milk for at least a month.”

Mokuba stepped up beside the chair to see a baby with a thin layer of blonde hair just like Joey. Joey smiled at him. “You wanna hold her?”

Mokuba automatically folded his arms as Joey lowered the bundle into him. “So, this is one of my nieces, huh?”

“That’s right. Oh, Seto, I hope you two don’t mind but I already decided to name the boy Justin.”

“I don’t mind,” Seto said. “How about I name one of the girls and Mokuba names the other?”

“Perfect. What do you think, Mokuba?”

“Sounds fair. In fact, I think I have a name for this one.” Mokuba nodded at the blonde. “I say we call her Luna.”

“Luna,” Joey repeated. “It seems to suit her, especially with her hair.”

Seto stepped over to the bassinet where the other two were sleeping. One was a brunette like himself while the other had blondish-brown hair. He gazed at them both for a while before saying, “I think the other girl’s name will be Alyssa.”

“Alyssa?” Joey asked. “That didn’t take you long to come up with a name like that, did it?”

“I had been toying with that name for a couple of weeks, actually. I was hoping for at least one girl.”

&&&&

Joey spent most of his time with the children with Seto and Mokuba taking turns watching them so that Joey could get some sleep as well as some time to himself. Seto was the typical father to his children and Mokuba was every inch the uncle who would spoil his nieces and nephew. Joey would sometimes watch Mokuba’s antics with his children with an amused smile. He was glad that they could include the kid in the raising of the children and he clearly loved being able to do so. He even assisted in putting the pups beside Joey in the evening so that they could drink. Seto was the one to put the pups to bed and one night, he leaned over the bassinets as they slept. He was human now since the pregnancy was over and he didn’t have to be a wolf every night. Justin was apparently in the midst of a dream as one hind leg and one forepaw had twitched ever so slightly and he growled slightly.

**Seto?**

“Yes, Joey?” Seto responded, surprised that he could understand Joey in his human form and chalked it up to them being mates.

**Just out of curiosity, when’s the full moon?**

“Miss having me as a wolf every night?”

**Well, yes, but I’m actually anxious to go back to school, too.**

“The full moon’s about ten days away. I recommend staying home for another three days, that way you can go back on a Monday.”

Joey yawned. **Deal. Three more days.**

Seto smiled. “I imagine being in the house for two months is no fun.””

**No kidding. I was goin’ nuts in here.**

&&&&

Joey strolled down the school hallway three days later. It felt great to be out of the house even though he had to go to school. He looked forward to seeing his friends again. He haven’t seen any of them for weeks, what with his pregnancy and the two weeks he had spent caring for the pups. Two more weeks being a female wolf at night and then I’ll be male day and night and won’t have to be a wolf except for the full moon.

Joey pushed open his classroom door and headed for his friends. “Hey, everyone. I’m back.”

“Joey!” his friends exclaimed.

Tristan soon had Joey in a friendly headlock. “Where have you been, pal?”

“I’ve been sick, guys. I had mono, but I’m recovered.”

“Mono? Oh, Joey, that’s awful,” Tea commented.

“You’re tellin’ me. I was thrilled when I was told I could come back. Bein’ housebound for two months is no fun.”

“Since you’ve been out, how about we go out for a bit after school?” Yugi suggested.

“Sure, but not too long. You know, I’m going to have a lot of homework to make up.”

“Yeah, we understand…I think.” Truthfully, Yugi didn’t understand at all; since when did Joey care about homework? And if Joey was sick, why wasn’t he at home? Mr. Wheeler continued to say that no one named Joey lived with him. There were parts of Joey’s story that didn’t fit and the blonde either didn’t realize that or he was hiding something. Hopefully, Joey will tell us what’s going on.

Joey returned to the house shortly before dinner after thoroughly enjoying the time with his friends. He sat down at the dining table and waited for the Kaiba brothers to come in. His wait wasn’t long; they both came in and sat down which was the cue for the servants to bring out the food. Seto sipped his water before saying, “So Joey, how was the first day back?”

“It was all right. I can’t say I liked being back to the lessons, but it was great seein’ the gang again. We spent time after school hangin’ out and I got home not too long ago.”

“No suspicions about where you live?”

“Nope. I tell you I’m glad the school had a way for sick students to make up the work they miss while they’re out. It kept my grades from fallin’.”

“And my personal doctor sending a note to the school office about you having mono insured you didn’t get into trouble for having too many absences.”

“Don’t I know it. I really appreciated that, Seto.”

“It was no problem.”

&&&&

Joey kept spending time after school with his friends over the next week, each time leaving with enough time to get back home, get some dinner, and then change to feed the pups. He knew that his friends were getting curious about his tight schedule, but he assured him that he had to follow this timeline by saying he had medication he had to keep taking for the mono. He said that even though he had recovered, the doctor insisted that Joey keep taking the medicine until the entire prescription was gone. He said he only had three more days left to it. Joey knew he would have to think of a new excuse after the full moon because those nights would eat up his three day medication story.

“Joey?” Tea asked on the day of the first full moon. “Do you think we could see where you’re living now? We called your dad and he denies you living there.”

“You did? Well, I guess we could hang out there, just not too long.” Silently, he added, Yeah, it won’t be long. They’ll probably faint when I lead them to the mansion’s front gate.

Hours later, Tristan, Yugi, and Tea stared up at the Kaiba mansion with their mouths hanging open. They closed them as Joey opened the gate and lead them inside the mansion. The trio seemed to be in shock as Joey led them around, showing them the points of interest. They proceeded upstairs where Joey continued the tour that ended at the master bedroom. They went inside and Joey put his bag beside the desk before leaning over and turning off the hidden baby monitor. Seto had the other monitor hidden in his home office so he could attend to the babies should they cry out. Joey’s ears strained to hear if any of the children were awake and all he heard was silence: They were still asleep. He turned around to see his friends standing there with questioningly looks on their faces.

Oh, boy. Here comes the interrogation.

&&&&

Seto was typing furiously at his keyboard. This document needed to be finished today and he was in a hurry to finish so that he would have time to strip before the full moon. There was silence from the baby monitor that indicated that the babies were still sleeping. That meant they would be good and hungry once they had changed. He and Joey weren’t sure if the pups would change every night or if they were only changing every night for a month like Joey was. He heard a soft click and looked down to see that the light on the monitor was off. The set he bought had it that if one was turned off the other one would go off too and vice versa. He looked at his computer clock and saw that it was close to sunset, so that meant Joey was home and had turned off the monitor. He quickly put the finishing touches on the document before saving it and closing it before turning the monitor off, getting up, stretching, and leaving his home office.

Seto heard voices coming from his and Joey’s bedroom as he approached it and headed over to the door. He stood outside it and realized that the voices were of Joey’s friends! How did they find out he was living here? Did they follow him? No, if they did, Joey would have smelled them and heard their footsteps.

“Joey, have you been here the last couple of months?” came Tristan’s voice.

“I sure have. My dad was poundin’ on me and Kaiba invited me to move in with him and Mokuba.”

“He did? I thought the two of you hated each other.”

“Not anymore. Now, I’ll answer the rest of your questions at school tomorrow, so I have to ask you to leave.” Seto noticed that there was a touch of nervousness in Joey’s voice and he had good reason to be nervous: It was almost sunset and he and Joey would both change since it was a full moon that night.

“Why tomorrow? Why not now?” came Tea’s voice.

“I can’t answer any more questions now. Tomorrow, I promise.”

“Not good enough, Joey,” replied Tristan.

Seto pushed open the door and fixed the group with a cold stare. “I believe Joey asked you to leave. Now, either you leave voluntarily or I will have security escort you out. Your choice.”

“Is he really here because you felt sorry for him or is he a prisoner?” Tristan challenged.

“He’s here because he lives here. That is all you need to know.” Seto quickly glanced over Tristan’s shoulder to see Joey quietly drifting behind a curtain to where the babies were sleeping in their bassinets. His sharp ears detected a slight whimpering sound from behind the curtain.

“Kaiba,” Yugi said. “You claimed you hadn’t seen Joey when I came by a few weeks ago.”

“Yes.”

“You lied. He was here the whole time.”

“True, but he was not up to having visitors at the time.”

“Seto!” Joey exclaimed, capturing everyone’s attention. The blonde’s eyes were wide and darted to the window. Kaiba also glanced over and saw that the sun was just a silver on the horizon. The two of them and their three children were going to change soon!

“Joey, did you just call Kaiba Seto?” Tristan said.

“Yeah, I did,” Joey said quickly. “and I’ll tell you why tomorrow. So, please go.”

“All right,” Tristan said. “We’ll go.” He led the group out the door and closed it behind them, but not all the way. He held up a hand to stop the other two from walking away and put a finger to his lips before tilting his head to the door. They quietly stood there and listened carefully.

“Man that was close,” Joey said.

“Do you intend to tell them about us?”

“I’ll have to now since I let your name slip.”

“Of course. Just try to vague if they ask certain questions.”

Joey laughed. “Yeah, I doubt they would believe me if I said we were werewolves.”

Tristan’s eyes widened as did Tea’s and Yugi’s. Joey was a werewolf and so was Kaiba? Was that why the two of them were trying to get them to leave? Because they were about to change? The trio remained where they were for a few more minutes until they heard a duo of howls sound from the room; then they sprinted out of the mansion determined to confront Joey at school the next day.

&&&&

Joey shook herself out after howling to the night and padded over to their pups who were eagerly awaiting their mother’s arrival. Joey laid down and her pups crawled over and started suckling, once Seto had set them down. She sighed contently; for some reason feeding the pups like this felt right and always left her feeling content.

Seto stood over her and watched their pups. He still couldn’t get over the fact that these were his children and that he had Joey to thank for this. Of course, if he hadn’t confessed his feelings to Joey, all of this wouldn’t have happened.

**Seto, what are you thinking?** Joey asked.

**Well, for one thing, I still can’t get used to how high pitch your voice sounds.**

**Well, I am a girl right now.**

**True. I was also thinking about the pups. If it wasn’t for my confession and your sexual desires, they wouldn’t be here.**

Joey yawned and laid her head down. **I tell you feeding the pups leaves me feeling drained, no pun intended.**

Seto chuckled. **Go ahead, Joey. Get some sleep. I’ll take care of the pups once they finished drinking.**

Joey sighed softly as she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Ten- The Truth

Joey stifled a yawn as he walked into school the next day. He had a good night’s sleep thanks to Seto watching over the pups. He was sure they fed again during the night, but he had been so tired that he hadn’t even awakened when the nipples were being tugged on. He had awakened this morning to a beeping alarm clock and his human body. Seto was stretched out naked on their bed and the babies were asleep in their bassinets. He quietly got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast before heading off to school.

He slid open the classroom door to see some of his fellow classmates already there as were his friends all grouped around Yugi’s desk. He strolled over to them and flashed his trademark grin at them. “Morning, guys,” he said. His grin slipped off his face at the sight of his friends looking at him solemnly. “Uh, something wrong guys?”

Yugi licked his lips and was about to speak when the bell rang. Everyone hurried to their seats as the teacher walked in. Joey sat down, casting concerned looks at Yugi as he did so. Something was on everyone’s minds and he was pretty sure it was his behavior yesterday as well as his being friendly with Seto. I’ll tell them everything except being a werewolf as well as having children. They don’t need to know about that and they wouldn’t believe me in any event.

&&&&

Joey soon found himself surrounded by his friends at quiet section of the park after school was over. When Joey had approached his friends during lunchtime, they had insisted that they talk after school and somewhere private. This concerned him a little, wondering why they wanted to talk in private. He dwelled on their request the rest of the school day and his concern grew. He hoped they didn’t try to detain him from getting away before sunset. He hadn’t changed outside of his new home before and he didn’t intend to start now.

“So, guys, why the secrecy?” he asked as they sat on the grass.

“No reason,” Tristan said casually. “Now, why were you calling Kaiba Seto?”

“We’re friends.”

Tristan shook his head. “I don’t buy that, Joey. Come on, we’re friends, Joey. You can tell us.”

Joey licked his lips. “Uh, okay. Well, a few months ago, Seto confessed that he was...in love with me and I fell in love with him.”

Tea’s eyes widened. “That’s around the time you and I had our talk, isn’t it?”

Joey nodded. “Yeah, that’s right and since we love each other, we call each other by first names.”

“And Kaiba really took you in when your dad was abusing you?”

“Yeah.”

“What about the last two months?” Yugi asked. “You weren’t really sick were you?”

Joey shifted slightly. “I told you. I had mono the last two months. I’m recovered for the most part. I’m not contagious anymore, but I was feeling slightly sick last night and I didn’t want you to see that.” Joey inwardly winced; that sounded weak and lame to him but it was the best he could come up with.

“No,” Tristan said. “That’s not why you wanted us to leave. You wanted us to go because you didn’t want us to see you turn into a wolf.”

Joey’s breath caught in his throat; however he didn’t allow shock to register on his face. Does he know? Were they listening at the door? If so, why didn’t I smell them? Was my relief so great that it dulled my senses?

“Joey, we heard you and Kaiba talking and you said that you and Kaiba were werewolves. Plus, we heard both of you howl before we ran out of the mansion.”

Well, that confirms it. My relief kept me from smelling them.

“All right, you got me. Seto and I are werewolves. It happened shortly after I confessed my feelings. Seto bought this pendent. It was a red stone in a gold setting that hung from a leather strap. It turns out that the pendent turned whoever wore it into a werewolf. I put it on, not knowing this and I ended up turning into a wolf every night for a week. After that, I could change whenever I wanted, except for the full moon; I have no choice but to change.

“Seto learned of the pendent’s abilities the following day after I wore it and thought it would be fun to be wolves together, so he put the pendent on that night. We got sexual and I ended up pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” his friends chorused.

“Yeah. I was the one who wanted to have sex, so I was the one who got pregnant. I had to stay a wolf for two months before I could deliver and two weeks ago, I became a girl wolf in order to give birth. I have to change into a girl wolf every night for a month in order for my pups to get their milk. I have two weeks left until I can stay human at night, except for the full moon.”

“Are the…pups werewolves, too?” Tea asked.

Joey nodded. “Yup. Human during the day, wolf at night. We’re not sure if the change is voluntary or not yet.”

“How many are there?” Yugi asked.

“Three. Two girls, one boy.”

“Can we see them?”

“I think so. Does this mean, you’re all right with me and Seto being wolves?”

“I admit,” Tristan said slowly. “that you being a wolf is a little hard to be okay with, but I sure we’ll all get used to it eventually.”

&&&&

Seto heard the front door open and saved his computer work before leaving his home office. He felt lucky that his company wasn’t suspicious of his working from home at about the same time every month. It’s likely they didn’t question it seeing he was the CEO as well as his icy demeanor. He was happy that Joey was home now; perhaps the two of them can snuggle together in bed tonight after the pups had fed. He didn’t want to sleep alone in bed like he did last night. An arrangement like that is okay when it’s just Joey changing, but not when both of them change. Seto would feel a sense of loneliness lying in bed by himself.

He walked down the hall to their bedroom, the light shining from within. He froze outside the door when he heard the voices of Joey’s friends and the softness of their tones indicated that they were looking at his children! Joey told them!? Why would he do that?

He pushed open the door and sure enough, the group was standing around the bassinets. The three humans looked a bit embarrassed to be caught, but Joey was utterly at ease. He strode across the room with a smile, “Hi, Seto.”

“You told them, Joey? About everything?” Kaiba asked almost coldly.

“I had no choice. Apparently, they were listening at the door and heard everything we said as well as us howling.”

“They were spying.” His glare fixed on the trio still in the room.

“Yeah, they were. I’m glad they did. I explained everything and they find it hard to accept but they’ll eventually get used to it.”

“Well, they better accept real fast because the sun’s going down.” Kaiba strode to the windows that displayed a fiery sunset before pulling the curtains closed.

Joey was about to undress when he paused. “Uh, Tea? You may want to step out. Seto and I have to strip when we change.”

Tea went red at this pronouncement. “Oh, uh, okay.”

“Don’t worry, Tea,” Tristan said. “We’ll give you the all clear.”

Tea slipped out the door before Joey and Kaiba started to undress. Joey felt a little awkward about standing naked in front of his friends and had elected to stand with his back to them; it was better this way seeing as he would be a girl wolf and he didn’t feel like showing off the nipples when they appeared.

“Is it safe for us to be here?” Yugi asked. “I mean, you’re not dangerous, right?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t attack Seto when I changed the first time. After that, well, we haven’t changed in front of anyone except each other. Oh, I did change in front of my dad once, but I wasn’t dangerous.” Joey then arched his back and Tristan and Yugi stared at the gold fur that was growing out of the back and spreading up and down the body. Their eyes darted to Kaiba whose hands and feet had become paws and he was standing on all four of them.

Yugi couldn’t help looking back and forth between the two of them. Both of them are changing and it’s not the same way. While Joey’s got fur and now wolf ears, Kaiba’s got paws and a muzzle.

Joey felt his knees change direction and he swiftly got down onto his hands and feet that were in the middle of becoming paws. He glanced over at Kaiba and saw his mate’s fur starting to grow in. The changes were never the same twice in a row, but this was the second time that his fur grew in first. His face itched as his muzzle pushed out and he felt his tail grow out behind him. He howled as his voice went high-pitched and the gender switch occurred. Kaiba’s howl was a second behind hers and their change was complete.

“All right, Tea, you can come in now,” Tristan said.

“I kind of could tell when I heard the howls,” Tea replied as she walked in. She looked at the wolves and smiled. “You two look amazing. Really.”

Neither wolf answered, although Joey ducked her head while Kaiba nodded at her comment. Joey laid down on her side while Kaiba gently lifted each pup out of his or her bassinet and placed him or her next to Joey. The pups crawled over and were soon feeding. The three humans slowly approached and knelt down to admire the pups.

“They’re look just like their parents,” Tea whispered.

Joey knew what Tea meant. One had gold fur, one had brown fur, and the third had fur that was a combination of gold and brown. Their eyes were either blue or brown.

Yugi leaned forward and as he reached out to touch the gold pup, several things happened in quick succession. Joey’s head whipped around and her teeth latched onto Yugi’s hand and bit down. Yugi screamed in pain, Joey released her grip, and Tristan and Tea exclaimed, “Yugi!” The tri-colored boy gripped his hand as he stood up and backed away from the group.

Tristan glared at Joey whose ears were slicked back and her tail was between her legs as whimpers escaped her mouth. His anger at his best friend faded slightly; he was still mad that Joey attacked Yugi, but Joey clearly regretted her actions. Tea knelt back down and looked into Joey’s eyes. “You thought Yugi was going to hurt the pup, is that it?” Joey nodded before burying her eyes under a paw and a whine escaped.

Kaiba, meanwhile, quickly padded over to Yugi. Joey had bitten him during the full moon. That meant that Yugi was about to change and he had to impress this upon the short duelist. He grabbed the edge of the boy’s jacket and tugged it in a manner that suggested he take it off. Yugi stared at Kaiba who tugged the jacket again and pointed a forepaw at the curtained window. Yugi’s eyes widened as he understood what Kaiba was trying to tell him and he quickly starting pulling off his clothes. His friends saw this and Tea averted her eyes while Tristan blocked her from sight. “Yugi, what are you doing?” he asked.

Yugi’s voice shook slightly as he said, “Joey bit me, Tristan. I’m going to be a werewolf, too.” As soon as he was naked, he gasped and fell to his knees. He placed his hands on the floor and watched as the fingers shrank and his nails lengthened into claws. He soon had forepaws and he could feel his feet conforming into paws as well. He felt his hair actually fall flat against his neck and could only guess that it was becoming fur, judging from the black magenta tipped fur that was sprouting on his hands. His yellow bangs were hanging on either side of his eyes and he could see them turning black with magenta tips, just like the fur he was growing.

He watched as his nose and mouth merged and grew out into a muzzle and he felt his teeth grow sharp. He felt his ears move up and grow pointed and he could feel a tail grow out behind him. He closed his eyes as his head tilted back and a howl sounded in the room. He opened his eyes to see Joey lift her head to look at him. **Yugi, I’m so sorry** Joey said, the voice higher but still recognizable.

Yugi nodded, not sure how to use wolf speak. He walked over to the others, marveling inwardly of how his instincts helped him walk on four legs. However, once he had reached the group, he stood there and felt kind of awkward; a sign of this was his shifting on his paws. Kaiba noticed this and decided that the other two needed to leave. He gently nudged their legs with his head and pointed at the door.

The pair didn’t need any more hints. Bidding everyone good night, they left the room closing the door behind them. Kaiba turned back to Yugi. **Yugi, it’s not hard to speak wolf speech. It took Joey and me a few nights to figure it out, but only because we had no one to tell us it was easy.**

**I guess I should have asked permission to touch the pups, huh?** Yugi asked.

**Most likely.**

**Man,** Joey said. **I can’t say how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt anyone.**

**I know, Joey,** Yugi assured her. **Everything will work out.**

**For now,** Kaiba said as he put the pups to bed. **We should all get some sleep. The two of you have school in the morning.**

**Seto’s got a point.** Joey jumped onto the bed and Kaiba followed suite. Yugi looked over at his discarded clothes and especially at the Millennium Puzzle lying on top of them. He padded over to them and pawed them into a neat pile before lying down and looping the chain of the puzzle over his head. He didn’t feel comfortable joining Joey and Kaiba in bed and besides he sensed that the Pharaoh wanted to talk to him. He closed his eyes to give the impression he was sleeping, but instead he entered his Soul Room. He looked at himself and saw that his soul self was human. Well, that would make talking easier. He stepped out of his room, crossed the hall, and opened the Pharaoh’s door.

He was standing there with his arms folded, a mixture of anger and concern in his eyes. Joey did a foolish thing. He, er, She could have killed you.

She was just protecting her pups. It was an instinctive reaction and she forgot she could turn someone with a bite. I’ve already forgiven her for her action.

All right. I forgive her, too. Now, about you. What’s Grandpa going to say when he finds out you’re a werewolf?

I don’t know, but I’m sure he’ll love me just the same as before. I’ll probably have to call him in the morning and tell him I’m spending the night at Kaiba’s. I’ll tell him when I come home the following day.

Speaking of the morning, you need your sleep.

You’re right. Good night, Pharaoh.

Good night, Yugi.

&&&&

Joey stifled a yawn as he and Yugi walked to school the next day. Yugi hardly paid attention to Joey or his surroundings; he was thinking about the phone conversation he made this morning. As he had told the Pharaoh, he called Grandpa to tell him his plans for the night. He didn’t tell him about being a wolf; that he would say in person. Grandpa sounded dubious about his grandson spending the night in the home of his dueling rival but okayed it nonetheless.

Joey and Kaiba are going to teach me about being a wolf tonight and, for some reason, I feel excited about it. But, why?

Suddenly, Yugi stopped in his tracks, his hands clamped over his ears. Joey stopped a few paces ahead of him before going back. He put a hand on Yugi’s shoulder which got the shorter boy to look at him. “Yug, you okay?” he asked softly.

Yugi winced slightly as he uncovered his ears. In an equally soft voice, he replied, “So loud. Everything is so loud.”

Joey immediately knew what was going on. Yugi’s enhanced senses were surfacing and the new wolf didn’t know how to turn them off or tone them down. He squeezed Yugi’s shoulder slightly. “I know, Yug, I know. I can help you control your senses. The hearing, for example, you have to consciously turn the sensitivity off or down.”

Yugi frowned thoughtfully, his eyes still screwed up from the noise. Slowly, his face cleared and a small smile came to his lips. “That’s better,” he said with a sigh.

They continued into the school and entered their classroom where Tristan and Tea were waiting by Yugi’s desk. Tristan was still looking at Joey in an accusatory manner as Yugi took his seat. Joey stared back at Tristan before saying in soft, yet irritated voice, “Stop looking at me like that, Tristan. I already feel bad enough about what happened, but Yugi’s forgiven me and he told me that the Pharaoh’s forgiven me as well.”

“It’s true,” Yugi added. “Everything’s going to work out.”

Tristan didn’t seem inclined to listen. Instead, he grabbed Joey’s jacket and seemed ready to punch the blonde’s lights out. Yugi was out of his seat and grabbed Tristan’s elbow in what would seem like a hopeless attempt to stop the violence. Instead, he succeeded; no matter how hard Tristan tried to punch Joey, he couldn’t break Yugi’s grip on his elbow. He unclenched his fist and released Joey and Yugi, in turn, released his grip.

Yugi stared at his hands in wide-eyed astonishment. He was suddenly a lot stronger than before and he naturally attributed it to his being a wolf. I’ve only been a werewolf for one night and I already have sensitive hearing and increased strength. Huh. Maybe being a wolf isn’t such a bad thing. I mean, except for the full moon, I don’t have to change if I don’t want to.

Joey took his seat as the bell rang and the teacher entered the room. While the teacher took roll call and began the first lesson of the day, Joey kept glancing over at Tristan. I know that Yugi’s forgiven me and Seto’s said that motherly instincts are hard to resist, but I doubt I’ll ever forgive myself for what I’ve done. I mean, I turned Yugi into a werewolf; someone who seems too sweet and innocent to be a wolf. I don’t blame Tristan for wanting to hit me. I could have broken his grip to avoid a hit and yet I didn’t because I believe I deserve it.

I do need to stop dwelling on the past and think ahead to tonight. It’s the third full moon and Seto and I need to coach Yugi and perhaps help him figure out how to tell Gramps about this. I just hope he doesn’t get mad at me, too.

Hours later, Yugi and Joey along with their friends were sitting at a park table, their homework spread over it. There was silence as pencils and pens moved across paper and book pages rustled as they were turned. Yugi sensed there was tension in the air and he attributed it to tonight’s event. He lifted his eyes slightly and saw Tea occasionally glancing at him and Tristan still giving Joey a severe look that was being ignored by the blonde, but it was clear to Yugi that Joey was aware of it. He lowered his eyes to his paper again and thought, Yup, there’s definitely tension in the air and I can’t take it anymore.

He closed his book with a snap that caught everyone’s attention. Tea asked, “Everything all right, Yugi?”

“No, everything’s not all right. There’s a lot of tension here and I can’t take it anymore. We all know what’s happening tonight, so we better get used to it. I’m going to be fine, Tea so you don’t need to worry. And Tristan, stop giving Joey those looks. He’s very sorry this happened, but there’s nothing that can be done about it excepting accepting it.” Yugi kept his voice even, but there was a tone of scolding nonetheless.

Tea gave a sheepish smile. “You’re right, Yugi. I don’t have to worry.”

Tristan sighed. “I know there’s nothing that can be done, but I can’t help blaming Joey.”

“I hear ya, Tristan. I still feel guilty about it, even though Seto told me that motherly instincts are hard to resist. I’m tryin’ to push past the guilt and focus on coachin’ Yug tonight.”

“Well, how about we all get something to eat before we all go home?” Yugi suggested. Everyone agreed and by the time they were sitting down to eat, the tension had melted and everyone was laughing and talking like old times.

&&&&

Kaiba looked at both boys, who seemed to be picking at their food. He wasn’t sure why that would be, but he suspected that they probably had a bite to eat on the way home. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “I’m guessing you both had a bite before coming home, but I suggest you eat your dinner. Joey, you need to eat so that the pups can get their milk tonight and Yugi, transforming burns a lot of calories, so it’s best that you eat too.”

“You’re right, Seto,” Joey sighed. “I guess we’re all a bit nervous about tonight.” Yugi nodded in agreement before turning his attention to consuming his dinner. Kaiba was most likely correct in needing enough food before changing.

As he chewed, he sensed the pharaoh wanting to talk, so his mind traveled to his Soul Room while his body continued to eat. He opened his door, went across the short distance to the Pharaoh’s room, and opened the door to find the pharaoh sitting on a flight of stairs. Yugi went over to him and sat down. What’s up, pharaoh?

I sensed a feeling of excitement in you earlier about tonight. Are you looking forward to changing tonight?

I guess I am a bit. I’m also nervous. I mean, aside from Joey and Kaiba teaching me, I have to think about how to tell Grandpa.

I can help you with that. It’s possible that Grandpa may ask why you were spending the night at Kaiba’s. If he does ask, that is when you tell him.

If he doesn’t, I need to come up with a way mention it. I can’t just blurt it out.

That’s true. Perhaps you could start by saying you have something important to tell him. If he doesn’t believe you after you tell him, you could transform to prove it.

Yeah, that could work, especially since I can change whenever I want and that would convince him.

Good. I sense Joey and Kaiba getting up from the table, you should do the same.

Okay. Bye, pharaoh and thanks. Yugi left the room and returned to the real world, leaving the pharaoh to sit there and think.

He was concerned about his friend. He knew Yugi would be fine during the transformation and that Kaiba and Joey would give him any information he needed and wanted, but he still worried. A faint sense of thrill welled up inside him under the concern and he attributed to Yugi’s feelings. Everything’s going to be all right, he told himself.

Chapter Eleven- Epilogue

Yugi removed and folded his clothes while Kaiba and Joey did the same, yet kept his back to them. He felt self-conscious about being naked in front his best friend and his dueling rival. He also wondered about the transformation. Would it hurt like last time? If his experience was anything to go on, then yes. However, Kaiba and Joey both changed and it didn’t seem to hurt. He looked at his hands and envisioned them as paws and a shiver of excitement went through him.

“You okay, Yug?” Joey called.

“I’m fine, just nervous and excited.”

“Yeah, you’ll be fine, nothing to be nervous about.”

“I guess I’m just wondering if it’ll hurt as bad as last time.”

“It won’t hurt anymore,” Kaiba spoke up. “The pain last night was your body adjusting to the changes inside and out.”

Yugi nodded, his eyes on the carpet near the window which showed the ruby red glow of the sunset despite the closed curtains. He watched as the glow intensified for a second and then gradually faded to darkness. At that moment, he felt his body tingling and glanced down to see his nails become sharp claws. He could feel his teeth turn sharp and his ears becoming pointed and fur-covered before traveling upward. His nose and jaws pushed out into a muzzle as fur grew all over him. His feet and hands became paws which forced him to all fours while his hair became fur and a tail pushed out behind him. He let out a howl as the change completed itself and his call was answered by Joey and Kaiba. He turned to see Joey lay down as Kaiba gently lifted each pup down so that they could feed. Once they were all down, Kaiba turned to Yugi.

**I honestly don’t know how much we can teach you,** Kaiba said. **We don’t need to hunt or run through a forest, for starters. The only things I can think of are being careful that you don’t turn someone, try to resist any wolf instincts during the day, and I would advise about resisting any mating instincts, otherwise you’ll end up like Joey.**

**You mean female and pregnant.**

**Exactly.**

**Hey, I didn’t hear you complaining about any of that, Seto,** Joey spoke up.

**Of course not, Joey. I don’t regret anything we’ve done one bit. I just can’t imagine Yugi going through the same thing.**

**I don’t think we’ll have to. I’ve see how Tea and Yugi look at each other.**

Yugi felt his cheeks grow hot. **Is-is it that obvious?**

**It is to me. I’ve seen how you go all stiff and freeze up when Tea hugs you.**

Kaiba cleared his throat. **Now, about your grandpa.**

**Actually, the pharaoh and I already talked about it and we came up with a couple of approaches.**

**Like what?** Joey asked as Kaiba rolled his eyes at Yugi’s words.

**Well, one approach is I tell him why I spent the night here because he’s likely to ask.**

**And if he doesn’t?**

**Then I say I have something to tell him. If he doesn’t believe me after I tell him, I can transform to prove it.**

**What-what if he throws you out?**

Yugi was silent for a moment. **I’d like to think that he won’t, that he’ll love me the same as before.**

**If he does throw you out,** Kaiba said. **Then you’re welcome to move in with us.**

Yugi nodded his thanks and prayed that Grandpa would accept him being a werewolf.

&&&&

“Grandpa, I’m home!” Yugi called the next day as he closed the door and set down his school bag.

Grandpa came out of the kitchen and gave Yugi a hug. “Welcome back. Did you have fun at Kaiba’s?”

“Well, kind of. We mostly talked before going to sleep.”

“Really? I thought for sure he would challenge you to a duel.”

“He had other matters on his mind.”

Yugi, Pharaoh said. You’re not supposed to be vague about last night.

You’re right.

“Yugi,” Grandpa said. “Why were you at Kaiba’s last night? You’ve never spent the night there before.”

“It’s difficult to explain, but the point is that I’m…I’m…” Yugi’s mouth suddenly felt dry. He thought it would be easy to say it, but faced with the moment, his words stuck in his throat. He felt his heart being gripped by fear. What if Grandpa did throw him out? He dropped his gaze to the floor and was shocked to see his vision starting to swim with unshed tears.

Grandpa was concerned by Yugi’s actions. He tilted his grandson’s head up and felt his heart break at the tears shining in his eyes. “Yugi, what’s wrong? Did Kaiba hurt you?” A head shake. “Then, what? You can tell me, I’ll still love you. You know that.”

Yugi took a deep, shaky breath and blinked the tears away before saying, “Grandpa, I’m a werewolf now.”

Grandpa released Yugi and took a step back. “What?”

“I’m a werewolf,” Yugi repeated, finding it easier to say now that the moment of confession had passed. “Joey became a werewolf almost two months ago as did Kaiba. A couple of weeks ago, Joey and Kaiba had three pups and when I reached out to touch one a couple of nights ago, Joey bit me because of an instinct to protect the pups.”

“So, this is Joey’s fault,” Grandpa said, sounding angry.

“Grandpa, please. Joey already feels bad about what he did, but I’ve already forgiven him. He reacted out of instinct and sometimes it’s hard to fight instinct. It’s not bad being a werewolf. I’m not dangerous or anything.”

Grandpa looked at Yugi, his anger fading away. He pulled Yugi into another hug. “All right. If you’ve forgiven Joey, I do too. You’re still you; you just turn into a wolf around the full moon.”

“Actually, I can change whenever I want. I have to change on the full moon, I have no control over that.”

“You can change anytime you want? Well, that’s different from the werewolf myths one usually hears.”

&&&&

Yugi laid on his bed as he stared up at the ceiling. It was too early to go to bed and he was feeling restless, but not sure what to do with the extra energy. His eyes drifted to the window to show a clear moonless sky. It looked like a nice night and perhaps a walk would get rid of the energy. He got up and quietly crept downstairs and out the door. He took a deep breath and let the scents wash over him; some were pleasant while others weren’t and Yugi focused on filtering out the scents. He started walking while focusing on his senses every now and then. His footsteps soon guided him to the park and as he walked, he soon heard the Pharaoh’s voice in his mind.

Yugi, don’t you think we’ve walked enough? We should be heading home.

I don’t know. I still feel so restless and besides tomorrow’s Sunday. Grandpa will let us sleep in.

In that case, I have a request.

What is it?

Do you think I could have a turn at being a wolf?

You?

Yes. I might even get rid of the excess energy.

Okay. Just let me find a place to undress.

Yugi soon found a deserted area where he removed his clothes and neatly put them under a bush. He now wore only the Millennium Puzzle and he focused on switching places with the Pharaoh, which was done quickly and quietly. Pharaoh opened his eyes and quickly looked around before closing his eyes again and focused on transforming.

A tingling sensation ran through him and he opened his eyes to see his body completely covered in fur. Yugi never wore the puzzle during his changes, so the Pharaoh never saw Yugi’s wolf form. He admired the unusual magenta-tipped black fur when he felt his knees change direction and he dropped onto the four paws that had replaced his hands and feet. Odd. This doesn’t hurt at all.

I know. It didn’t hurt last night, either. It’s like Kaiba said. The first night it hurt because my body was adjusting to the change.

Ah. Pharaoh was soon aware that he didn’t feel any other changes happening and came to the conclusion that the transformation was complete. He took a few steps forward before breaking into a run. He savored every movement as he ran. He couldn’t believe how fast he was moving; the way the wind moved through his fur, the feel of concrete and grass beneath his paws, and the smells he was picking up. He felt truly alive and he couldn’t resist letting out a short howl to express these feelings.

Another short, high-pitched howl reached his ears before a gold wolf came bounding up the path and came to a stop. **Hey, Yug,** said Joey.

**Actually, I’m not Yugi.**

**Oh, hey Pharaoh. Heh, I should’ve known. You’re actually a bit longer and bigger than Yugi. But, what are the two of you doin’ out here?**

**Yugi was feeling restless and I wanted to experience being a wolf. Why are you out here? I thought feeding the pups would be exhausting.**

**It wasn’t as draining as it usually is and Seto suggested I go out for some fresh air.**

**How about we get that fresh air together?**

**If you’re talking a race, I’m in.**

**That’s exactly what I mean.**

Joey drew up next to Pharaoh. **Okay. One, two, three…GO!**

The two wolves took off at dead runs and ran a full circuit before collapsing next to the bush where Yugi stashed his clothes. They both lay there panting before Joey recovered enough breath to say, **I…win.**

**Of course…you did. You’ve…been a wolf…for months.**

**I’m also bigger and lighter since I’m female at the moment.**

**I should change back and let Yugi have control so he can get dressed and head home.**

**Sure. Go ahead.**

Pharaoh shifted to human before handing control back to Yugi. Yugi pulled on his clothes and then stroked Joey’s head. “Joey, I know I won’t be able to understand you right now, but I think I’ll get to like being a wolf, especially if we can get together and play like this.”

Joey put a paw on Yugi’s forearm and nodded her understanding. Yugi scratched behind her ears before saying, “Good night, Joey.” He turned and walked out of the park and towards home now feeling ready to get some sleep.

**Good night, Yugi. We’ll definitely play again at some point. Maybe even with Seto and the pups once they’re old enough.** Joey turned around and ran for home, eager to spend time with her children and mate. A mate to whom she was glad had confessed his feelings those few months ago.