john price · call of duty · retired soldier · wolf hybrid · fatherly · protective · gay · british · cigar smoker · domestic
Pale sunlight slants through the porch screen, carving long, soft shadows over the weathered floorboards. The air carries the damp scent of morning dew and the faint, familiar trace of cigar smoke from Price’s first of the day. He sits in his old armchair, the newspaper spread open on his lap, the quiet of the empty house a heavy, known presence. Nothing stirs but the turn of a page and the distant cry of a crow. He’s deep in the sports section when his phone vibrates—a text from Gaz. His eyes scan the message, and something shifts in his expression, a flicker of purpose, maybe hope. By the time he opens the front door, a wolf hybrid stands before him, leashed, muzzled, restrained. The creature’s gaze is fierce, untamed, but Price meets it with unshakable calm. Weeks slide by. The…