Tanner's Journey

After finding a stick that was the right size, he realized that he had no way to sharpen it. He tried using his claws, both as a wolf and a hybrid, but all it did was hurt his hands. Even his sharp teeth weren't meant to cut wood.

Getting more and more angry, Tanner looked for a rock he could use. It took him almost an hour to find one that was the right shape to even make a dent in the wood. The sun was already high in the sky, past its peak at noon, when he was able to chip away enough to make a pointed spear.

Even using a spear to fish was a pain in the ass. The refraction of the light made him miss every single time at first, but Tanner was eventually able to pick it up and catch four decently sized trout before the sun went down. Not feeling very proud or accomplished, he returned to the camp. He admittedly also missed his mate and wanted to see him again.

Tanner was in a bad mood when he got back.

"Here's your motherfucking fish." He threw the spear with the impaled trout on the ground.

The jadian picked up the bounty and examined it.

"This is it? I could have caught twice as much before lunch."

"How about you shut the fuck up and be grateful I caught you anything!" Tanner snapped.

Ken rolled his eyes again. Tanner wished he could rip those eyes out of that head.

While the cub cleaned and cooked the fish, Tanner looked around the camp. There was a decently sized pile of firewood, enough to last them a few days. The bed had fresh grass padding it and the deerskin from the previous night had been softened and was in the process of drying. There were extra flints, fruits, edible plants, nuts, even herbs sorted into piles. Ken had had a much more productive day than Tanner. That was infuriating. It wasn't fair!

The boy cooked up some fish and plants to make an admittedly pretty tasty meal for the two of them. He was able to clear his mind a bit while he was eating. This was just a learning curve, that's all. Once Tanner got the lay of the land, he could better provide for them both and get the respect he deserved as the alpha male.

Tanner watched his mate move around the campsite, cleaning things up and making sure everything was in order. The kid had a pretty good body. He was slender but strong, male, but leaning androgynous. It was cute the way he brushed his blond hair out of his eyes. It was sexy the way his body moved with such ease.

The wolf's lust for his mate started awakening. Back in the Romulus pack, he had all the sex he wanted. He was good in bed and had mastered the pull-out method; he never had to worry about knocking up somebody he didn't want to. When a girl in the pack wanted sex, his door was always open.

But this was a little different. Ken was a boy; he couldn't get pregnant. He was also his mate, so by all means he should be there to sate Tanner's needs whenever they flared up. The wolf hadn't had sex since he was exiled six months prior and had to get by with nothing but his own hand.

That was going to change.

"Get over here," he called.

The cub walked over.

"What do you want?"

Tanner began taking off his clothes.

"You. I need to fuck and I need it now."

Ken's jaw dropped as the lycan continued stripping.

"Are you kidding me?"

Tanner was now naked, his cock unfurling to its eight inch length.

"What is that supposed to mean? Mates have sex. You're my mate and I've had a long day."

To his surprise, the cub started laughing, though not in a happy way.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that? You've been so rude to me, bossed me around, brought me a pathetic amount of fish, wedged yourself into my camp without so much as a thank you, and now this?"

The wolf balled his hands up into fists. He was not in the mood for this shit. Tanner started cranking up his dominant aura, the skill that had brought so many lycans to their knees. He puffed out his chest and stared daggers at the insolent little brat.

"You need to learn some respect, runt. I'm the alpha male. I get what I want. When I want to fuck, you'll give yourself to me gladly. You'll be happy no matter what I bring home. You're mine, so fucking act like it!"

Ken's arms and legs morphed into that of a tiger. He widened his stance, like he was ready for a fight.

"This is a two-way street, Tanner. How entitled do you have to be to think I'll be subservient just because you want me to? I don't know what kind of werewolf hocus pocus you're trying to pull on me, but it's not working. You've given me no love, no affection, not a single kiss, you barely even say my name, and now you think I'll just give myself to you? FORGET IT!!"

Tanner morphed into his hybrid form.

"I won't hesitate, boy. If you think I'll treat you delicately because you're my mate you're sorely mistaken."

Ken grinned, his mouth now full of razor sharp teeth.

"Bring it on, you son of a bitch."

Both men bared their fangs and lunged at each other.

*****

Ken would like to say that he won the fight, but it was more accurate to say it ended with a draw.

Both of them were holding back, their imprinting making them not want to seriously hurt each other, but that ultimately just made it worse. They punched and kicked without claws, each slowly wearing the other down over the course of an hour. By the end of it they were bruised, sore, and completely exhausted.

Ken looked at his mate, both now on their knees.

"Tanner, this is going nowhere. Do you even want to fuck anymore? I just want to sleep."

The wolf glared at him.

"This wouldn't have happened if you just obeyed me."

"Well, I'm not in the mood to obey somebody who has given me absolutely nothing, even if he is my mate."

"I'm doing my best, okay?"

Ken had to laugh at that.

"Is this seriously what you consider doing your best? You're hopeless."

Tanner got down to try to rekindle the fire that had gone out during their fight.

"You don't know me, kid."

Ken took a deep breath and sat down next to him.

"You're right. I don't know you. But I want to change that."

Tanner didn't look up from the ashes.

"Well, what is it about me that you want to know?"

The tiger shrugged.

"I don't know. Where are you from?"

The alpha blew on an ember before responding.

"I was born in the wilderness of Montana to two alpha wolves. The only problem is that they didn't want me. They dumped me on a nearby pack and ran for the hills. I don't even know their names."

Ken winced. "That sounds rough. I can't imagine growing up without parents."

"I've always just sort of taken care of myself. I was strong enough that I didn't need anyone else."

"Even as a kid?"

Tanner glared at him.

"Obviously I needed help at the very beginning, but by the time I was fifteen I was ready to go out on my own. I wanted to start my own pack, or become the leader of another one."

Ken got up to grab more kindling.

"How did that turn out?"

"It was about a year later that I found the Romulus pack. I became invaluable to them due to my strength and vitality."

The tiger smirked. "And humility, clearly."

"You know, I never really saw the point in that. I'm strong. I'm powerful. Why should I pretend otherwise?"

"That's not really what it means to be humble. It isn't pretending that you're weak, it's not putting yourself above others because you're strong."

"That's human talk. I've always lived by survival of the fittest, and I'll do whatever it takes to survive."

"But you're half human. Why would you want to suppress that part of yourself?"

"Because the human part of lycanthropy has only ever fucked me over."

That statement was enough to give Ken pause.

"I'm sure that's not true, Tanner. Wolves can't form friendships the way humans can."

The alpha laughed harshly.

"I'm not exactly drowning in friends."

"Well...think about your parents. It was the human part of them that made them want to give you a home. If they were just wolves they would have abandoned you."

"And where has that led me, huh? I've been exiled from my pack, humiliated, made no better than a stray dog. I have nothing."

The young man pursed his lips and sat down.

"That's not true. You have me."

Tanner glanced over.

"Do I? Because you've refused to do the one thing mates do."

Ken almost rolled his eyes, but stopped himself.

"You're being narrow-minded. Mates can do more than just fuck."

With a good blaze going, Tanner turned to give Ken his full attention.

"Yeah, and what would those things be?"

Ken took a deep breath in and out. This was really happening.

He crawled a little closer.

"Well...I'm sure mates kiss."

After a split second decision, the tiger decided to make the first move. He leaned in and their lips met.

Ken could have sworn he had gotten too close to the flames and caught on fire. His whole body turned hot, but it felt good. He wanted more.

Tanner grabbed Ken's cheeks and began using his tongue. It suddenly hit the tiger that the lycan had been naked in his human form ever since they stopped fighting. He ran his hands all over his mate's body, feeling the hard muscles.

The wolf growled in Ken's mouth.

"What else do you think mates do, cub?"

The jadian couldn't hold in a sigh.

"Mates should like being naked together. Not to fuck, just to look and touch."

"This seems a little uneven, then."

Ken nodded in agreement and stripped as fast as he could. He could see a hunger form in Tanner's gaze.

"I still don't want to fuck yet, Tanner."

"You're such a goddamn tease."

"Come on, don't be like that. I'm sure we can satisfy each other in different ways."

Tanner smiled a bit.

"Oh yeah? Prove it, cub."

Now both nude, the two of them began making out in earnest. Hands went everywhere and kisses wandered soon after. Tanner was biting, sucking on Ken's neck and it was almost too much to handle. The tiger began thrusting his hips.

"Fuck yeah," he breathed. He could feel his dick touching his mate's.

"Have you done this before, kid?" the wolf asked.

"Nope. You're my first. And only, it looks like."

Tanner grinned. "I kind of like the idea of having you all to myself."

The two of them moved faster, now in tune with each other. The grinded for a few minutes before they came at the same time. Ken let out a cry while Tanner roared.

The jadian collapsed on his mate, sweating and panting. Tanner wrapped his arms around him and it felt so perfect. He spoke again a few minutes later.

"See, Tanner? We don't need to fuck to have a good time."

The lycan chuckled. "That was okay, but it's only staving off the inevitable. This right here?" He grabbed Ken's ass and squeezed. "This is mine."

The tiger bit his mate's lip.

"I already told you that you need to earn it."

The wolf tightened his embrace even more.

"I'm fine with chasing down my prey. I'm taking you, Ken. One way or another."

Ken smiled.

"You really need to do that more often."

"Do what?"

"Say my name. I really like how it sounds when you do it."

Tanner yawned. "Well, two can play at that game. You have to earn it."

Ken yawned back. "Right now I'm too tired."

The wolf rolled his eyes and threw his mate off.

The two of them readied themselves for bed, washing themselves off in the river and getting under the covers.

Tanner pulled Ken close and kissed his nape.

"Goodnight, cub."

The tiger turned around and gave his mate's lips a kiss before replying.

"Goodnight, Tanner."

Ken was starting to work out why Tanner was so guarded. Maybe he was selfish and a bit of a bully, but it looked like more than anything else he just needed love. Ken had to be there for his mate, give the wolf the unconditional love he had never gotten before. It wouldn't be easy, they definitely were going to argue and fight more, but Ken was willing to put forward the effort.

That's what mates do, after all.

*****

The next day Ken informed Tanner that they would be hunting together.

"I hunt alone," the alpha said flatly.

"You need to drop this 'lone wolf' thing, Tanner. You have a mate now. We need to learn how to work together."

"Whatever. But we're not catching more fish."

Ken laughed.

The two of them settled on hunting for wild pigs, which were rare but not unheard of in their part of New Mexico, according to the jadian.

Tanner was happy to be getting back to more familiar territory. Fishing wasn't something he was used to, but hunting pigs was right up his alley.

The lycan was able to find a trail and lead them to their target in his wolf form. He was also able to form a plan about how the two of them were going to work together to take down the beast: Ken was going to scare the pig and corral it to where Tanner was hiding, and the wolf would deliver the final blow.

"You sure it won't sense another predator and avoid you?"

"You underestimate me, kid. I could conceal my presence better than any other lycan in my old pack. I can disappear when I need to."

As Tanner expected, the plan went off without a hitch. The boar fled right to where they wanted it to and Tanner was able to take it down cleanly with one pounce.

"Holy shit," the tiger marveled. "I thought you had hid in the wrong place. I couldn't smell you at all!"

Tanner puffed out his chest.

"I already told you, cub. Leave it to me."

He got to his feet.

"Alright, go to the river and clean the carcass. I'll make sure nothing else tries to take our kill."

Ken nodded and went off.

The wolf grinned. His plan was going smoothly. He had hunted his first target and was on his way to claiming another.

Tanner took a deep breath and cranked his dominant aura to its maximum. Any animal without a death wish would run for the hills when they sensed him now. He remembered how Ken said he wasn't affected by the aura at all, couldn't even tell what Tanner was trying to do. He could definitely use that to his advantage.

He didn't know how sensitive the jadian's smell or hearing were, but just to be safe he stripped nude and began concealing much further away than when he normally would.

The alpha stepped quickly, but lightly, only making noise that blended in with the natural sounds all around him. He sneaked forward until he spotted his prey: the tiger cub.

Ken was cleaning the body of the boar in the river as the lycan approached. He looked so vulnerable.

As carefully as he could, the wolf approached. God, that kid was so fucking sexy. Tanner wanted to eat him right up!

He was fantasizing about all the things he wanted to do to his mate and wasn't paying attention. Then he stepped on a twig.

Ken's body seemed to perk up. Tanner cursed his stupidity, but by some stroke of luck, his mate looked in a completely different direction.

"Tanner? Is that you?"

The wolf smirked. There was no way he was going to get a better opportunity than this. He crouched down, transforming into a hybrid. Lining up his shot just right, he jumped at his mate.

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!!"

Ken sort of yelped as he turned, raising his arms to defend himself. Of course, the lycan didn't actually attack, he just pinned his mate to the ground. Tanner transformed back to his human form and smiled.

"You need to shape up, cub. If you're ever gonna keep up with me you need to learn to sense danger."

The boy struggled, but didn't even use his tiger strength, so he clearly didn't want to get away. Not really.

"Okay you foul beast, you caught me. Now what are you gonna do with me?"

Tanner got down low and looked his mate dead in the eye.

"I don't really know yet. There's just so many possibilities."

Without really thinking about it he kissed the tip of Ken's nose.

"I wonder how many bites it would take to mark you forever as mine," he mused. He could hear Ken sigh a little.

"Then again, I haven't gotten a blowjob in ages, and your mouth looks just right for the job." He pulled back his foreskin and got a drop of precome on his finger. When he put his finger close to the cub's mouth, the boy stuck his tongue out to try and get a taste, but Tanner jerked his finger away in time.

"But I could always just take what's mine and fuck you senseless," he growled.

The jadian shook his head desperately.

"No, I'm not ready yet! Please!"

The wolf grinned smugly.

"Yeah, you're right. If you're gonna hold out on me, I might as well punish you. I'm going to make you beg for it."

He nibbled on Ken's ear.

"A green little virgin like you won't last very long. Soon enough you're going to want me to fuck you more than you want to breathe. But I'll only give you what you need if I feel like it."

The tiger moaned like a bitch in heat.

"Still, I'm hungry. I'm gonna need a snack before we bring that pig home."

Roughly he flipped his mate over and yanked down his pants, revealing his smooth little ass.

"Yes, this looks delicious."

He dove right in, tonguing and nibbling the hole of his cub. Ken was whimpering, whining, but Tanner knew he was loving it.

The wolf hadn't had much experience with giving oral sex before. Why bother? It just delayed what he was actually after. But now he was fine with waiting a bit. He had a whole life with Ken ahead of him, no need to rush.

The alpha adjusted them to a 69 position and the boy understood immediately. He dove right in, sucking Tanner's cock like it was something he'd been doing his whole life.

"That's a good cub. Obey your alpha."

Ken pulled off for a moment to speak.

"Please, put your finger in!"

The wolf obliged. Soon they were able to form the unspoken agreement that it was a race. Whoever made the other come first won.

Tanner was victorious, but just barely. He stuck the tip of Ken's cock in his mouth and drained him dry as he shot down the cub's throat. They both collapsed to the ground, sated and happy.

The lycan reached over and grabbed Ken's head, pulling him in for a kiss. They made out, each feeling the other's body.

"You're pretty good at this, Ken. I'm glad that you belong to me."

The tiger smiled at hearing his name. There was a minute's silence before he bolted upright.

"Oh my God, the boar!"

Tanner had forgotten as well. Thankfully it was resting on the riverbank instead of getting carried downstream.

After washing off in the water the two went back to camp. Tanner thought about what had happened. He really had gotten Ken helpless. If he wanted to, he could have fucked him. But for some reason he resisted. He kind of liked being playful with his mate. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced before.

Maybe being tied down with a mate wouldn't be so bad after all. Smiling in spite of himself, he continued walking to his new home.

*****

Ken had been living with Tanner for about a week, and while things were going pretty well, there was still something missing.

Tanner wasn't mean or rude to him anymore, and had grown to see him as more of an equal. The lycan was stronger than him, but he had skills and knowledge that Tanner didn't. They made a good team together.

Their sex life was also great. They'd kiss, grind, give each other handjobs, 69, basically everything short of penetrative sex. He could tell that Tanner really wanted it, but he also respected Ken's wishes. He wanted to wait until the right time to give Tanner his virginity.

He really had grown to love his mate. Yeah, the lycan was rough around the edges, but Ken was starting to feel like he had gotten to know the real Tanner, the Tanner he didn't see at first. He was prideful, but also very hard on himself, always striving to improve and become stronger. What Ken had first seen as a cold, impersonal attitude was really just a deep pragmatism, the ability to see the bigger picture. He even got more patient with Ken. The jadian was never good with communication, he'd say things in the heat of the moment he'd regret later and be sarcastic when he should probably be serious, but Tanner stopped taking those things at face value because he knew who Ken really was.