After his shower and encounter with Andrzej, Alex decided that the only thing he wanted to do at the moment was to relax. After a nearly 13 hour long flight from Los Angeles to Kalamata, the young man was exhausted. He opened his bag and pulled out his phone charger, plugging it into the wall before plugging in his phone and setting an alarm for 5:30.
“30 minutes should be more than enough time for me to get ready,” Alex said to himself as he set his phone on the nightstand. As Alex got into the bed, he felt his eyelids grow heavy almost instantaneously. This was one of the most comfortable beds he’d ever felt! Not even bothering to get under the covers, Alex plopped his head down on a pillow, and in an instant, he was out like a light.
- - - - -
Orion wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist, the fur gently tickling his bare skin. The two lowered their heads and touched their foreheads together.
Neither one of them said a word to the other. Their actions said all that they needed to.
One of Orion’s paw-like hands began sliding downwards and came to rest on Alex’s ass. The wolf gave it a firm squeeze, causing Alex to let out a soft moan of pleasure. One of his fingers found its way toward Alex’s virgin hole, gently poking and prodding at the entrance until…
- - - - -
Alex’s alarm woke him up with a jolt. He found himself looking around the room, searching for Orion, only to stop himself after a minute.
“Just a dream…” he said quietly to himself. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that none of that had actually happened. He reached over to the nightstand and picked up his phone, checking the time. 5:45 PM. He must have slept in a little. 15 minutes was still enough time to get himself ready.
Jumping out of bed, Alex made his way over to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. The clean pair of clothes he had put on after getting out of the shower should be fine to wear. Compared to Orion, he would be overdressed. Running a hand through his hair, the young man quickly styled it before leaving the bathroom. Now all he had to do was wait.
Almost immediately as the clock struck 6 PM, there was a knock at Alex’s door. Surely that wasn’t…
Alex opened the door and found Orion standing on the other side. The wolf smiled when he saw Alex open the door.
“Καλό απόγευμα, Alex,” he said. “I see that you’re ready to go.”
“Uh…yeah, I’m ready,” Alex said as he stepped outside and locked the door to his villa behind him.
“Is something the matter?” the wolf asked.
“Huh? Oh, nothings wrong. I just…when you said ‘I’ll be here at 6 PM sharp,’ I wasn’t expecting you to be here literally at 6 PM sharp.”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting κουτάβι. Now come, you must be starving after your long flight! I know just the place.”
- - - - -
Orion held the door open for Alex, which the young man thanked him for doing.
The interior of the building was simple, yet distinguished at the same time. Instead of having simple whitewashed walls like the outside, the inside had various murals painted on the wall, each one depicting what appeared to be scenes from Greek mythology. A few tables were occupied by both humans and anthros, but the restaurant wasn’t very busy all things considered.
“This is Mythos, one of my personal favorite places to eat after a long day of patrolling the grounds,” Orion explained. “The dinner rush doesn’t usually start until 7 PM, so we’re lucky.” Orion guided Alex over to a table by a window looking out on the main plaza and pulled out a chair for him.
“Oh…thank you…” Alex said, blushing a little. He’d never had anyone do something so polite for him.
“Παρακαλώ” Orion said, taking the seat across from him. It wasn’t long before an anthropomorphic cat walked up to the table with a smile on their face.
“If it isn’t my favorite customer!” the cat said, confirming their gender as male. “How was the patrol today παλίος φίλος?”
“Same as always Cyrus: boring and mostly uneventful,” Orion responded, reaching over and rustling the fur on the cat’s head. “Something good did come out of it though. I’d like you to meet Alex.”
Cyrus looked over at Alex, and his face lit up. “γεια σας Alex!” the cat said. “It’s wonderful to meet you! My name is Cyrus. I’m an old friend of Orion’s.”
“It’s nice to meet you Cyrus,” Alex responded, a bit amused by the feline’s cheerful demeanor. “Is this your restaurant?”
“Oh heavens no! This is my parent’s restaurant! I just help out around here. Anyways, what can I get for the two of you?”
“You know what I want Cy,” Orion said. “And get the same for Alex here. My treat.”
“Wait, what are you ordering for us?” Alex asked curiously. Orion just winked at him.
“Alrighty, I’ll get your food right out to you!” Cyrus said before walking back to the kitchen with a spring in his step. Orion watched as the feline went into the back before turning his attention back to Alex.
“So, you said earlier today you wanted to learn more about werewolf culture, didn’t you?” Orion asked. “What did you want to know more about?”
Alex thought to himself quietly for a second. “Okay, I have a question about becoming a werewolf. Are scratches and bites the only way to transfer lycanthropy?”
“Oh, scratches and bites don’t spread lycanthropy,” Orion said. “That’s just an old wive’s tale.”
Alex gave the wolf a confused look. “But you said earlier that when King Lycaon was turned into a wolf, he spread the curse by biting and scratching other people.”
“Oh! You’re referring to that! Let me rephrase then: scratches and bites don’t spread lycanthropy anymore.”
“Anymore?” Alex repeated. “What does that mean?”
“Well, ancient werewolves could spread lycanthropy through scratching and biting,” Orion explained. “Their transformations were brought about by intense emotions, namely anger. They couldn’t control when and how they transformed, nor how lycanthropy was spread.”
“So then, how did scratches and bites become ineffective?”
“New werewolves who inherited lycanthropy from their parents were born, and they could transform at will. Eventually, the ancient werewolves died out, and the new werewolves evolved without the ability to spread lycanthropy through scratches and bites.”
“So, all the ancient werewolves are gone? There aren’t any werewolves around today who could spread lycanthropy through scratching or biting someone?”
“No, there’s no werewolves around today who can do that,” Orion said. “If there were, we’d have a real crisis on our paws.”
Alex nodded in understanding. “So then, how does one become a werewolf nowadays?”
“The transformation ritual,” Orion answered. “An old ritual that transforms the target and binds their soul to the pack. It’s a very important and intimate part of our culture.”
“Intimate?”
“The transformation ritual involves sex between the recipient and a member of the pack they are joining. I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that, as I haven’t witnessed nor taken part in a transformation ritual.”
“So, it’s only during these rituals in which someone can become a werewolf?”
“Yes.”
“So, theoretically, a human and a werewolf could have sex without engaging in the ritual and the human wouldn’t be transformed?”
“Yes…why do you ask?”
Before Alex could answer, the kitchen doors swung open and Cyrus walked out with two plates.
“Heeeeeeeeere you are!” the cat said. “Two lamb gyros!” The feline placed both plates down on the table. “Enjoy gentlemen!”
“Thanks Cy,” Orion said. “How much do I owe ya?”
The cat shook his head. “It’s on me tonight. It’s the most I can do for the ευτυχισμένο ζευγάρι!”
“Shut up!” Orion said, playfully punching the cat’s arm.
“Nope! Always gonna tease ya!” With that, the feline went back into the kitchen, leaving Alex and Orion alone again.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you were ordering us gyros?” Alex asked.
“Because I wanted to surprise you ανδρείκελο,” the wolf responded. “Now stop talking and eat up!”
Alex picked up his gyro and took a bite, only for his eyes to widen. “Holy shit! This is delicious!”
Orion grinned and took a massive bite of his gyro, crewing and swallowing pretty quickly. Neither of them said a word, as they were too focused on their food. When they finished eating, Orion leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach.
“Delicious, eh κουτάβι?” the wolf asked.
Alex nodded. “It was better than any gyro I’ve ever had! I guess nothing beats authentic Greek cooking.”
The werewolf laughed. “You can say that again! Now come on, the night’s still young!”