Ralsay walked from the domed building towards the surrounding woods. The gathering had been a waste of his time. Behind him, the two fae followed, and as he reached the tree line he turned to the little blue creatures, and said, “You are not following me.”

Hiro and Taro both came to a stop, and Hiro asked, “Are you going to transform into a werewolf.”

Ralsay let out a sigh. “No.”

“Then won’t the walk home be long? Would it not be faster if you transformed?” Taro asked.

“I said, no,” Ralsay snapped. He turned away before he lost his temper and stormed off through the trees.

“It is because of your accident,” Taro asked as he and Hiro scurried to keep pace.

Ralsay turned to glare at them both, then turned back and picked up speed.

“Leave it, please.”

“You’re not as hairy as the other werewolves. We like that,” Hiro told him.

Ralsay decided it was best to ignore the fae and hope they grew bored and left. However, they continued to murmur behind him, with no intentions of leaving. As he moved deeper into the woods, Ralsay continued to follow his path home until he couldn’t stand the thought of the fae being near him any longer. He turned on them, frightening them, and the brothers grabbed each other.

“Look, this entire situation is wrong? I mean, I would have been fine with this,” Ralsay waved his hand between them and continued, “If it was the shape-shifter, or even the dragon. But fae! Look at you both. You’re tiny, and this would not work. So, please, leave me alone.”

Ralsay turned again and continued on through the forest, aware the fae were no longer following. He let out a sigh of relief before guilt crept into his thoughts. He’d never been angry with anyone for how he was; not because of the scars he bore, nor the fact he was gay. Yet the entire experience back at the gathering had left Ralsay with the realisation he would always be alone. He came to a stop and looked over his shoulder to confirm the fae were gone. Then he sighed, dropping his head and turning back, certain the fae would still be where he’d left them.

As he drew closer, he could hear other voices. These voices were taunting and harassing, and as the words grew more distinct, the angrier Ralsay became. He stepped out from behind a tree and saw several other fae throwing sticks at the brothers and calling them names. Ralsay didn’t care who they were; it sickened him others would behave in such a manner towards their own kind.

Ralsay lunged towards the fae and let out a tremendous roar. The fae taunting the brothers scattered in fright, falling over tree limbs, some slamming into tree trunks in their attempt to escape. The brothers, upon seeing Ralsay, flew over to him and wrapped themselves once again around his legs. When the area was clear, Ralsay grasped both brothers by their shirts, coaxing them with kind words.

“It’s all right now. They’ve gone and you’re safe.”

Both brothers looked up at Ralsay, their big black eyes glistening as large tears fell down their faces. Ralsay gave in and picked both up, one in each arm. “Come on. Can’t leave you here on your own.”

The brothers cuddled into Ralsay’s arms as he turned and made his way towards his home.

“Thank you, Ral,” Hiro said, and Taro nodded.

“Is it always like that?” He asked the fae.

Hiro let out a sigh. “Yes. When we were young, they use to tease us because we were born at the same time. They would say we were only half a fae. That our souls are split. Then when we realised, we preferred men over women, the teasing became worse.”

Ralsay frowned. “Isn’t there someone who can put a stop to it?”

Both fae shook their heads.

The walk back took the remainder of the day, and as the sunset Ralsay made his way into the cave he called home. He lowered the fae to the ground at the entrance, and they followed him in.

“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” Hiro said.

“It’s nice, and warm too. I wasn’t expecting that,” Taro replied.

Ralsay smiled as he led them farther into his home, entering a large furnished room.

“Wow,” both brothers said at once as they surveyed the chamber. At one side of the large circular room stood a table and chairs beside a brick stove. Across from the kitchen area, and lining almost the entire wall, were a multitude of furs. The twins ran to the furs and jumped onto them, rolling around and enjoying the soft texture.

“So nice,” Taro cooed.

“So soft,” Hiro replied.

Ralsay laughed and moved towards to the stove, lighting the fire within. He removed the kettle hanging from a hook next to his many pots, filled it with water from the small barrel nearby, and placed it over the flame. When he turned, both fae were standing side by side in the middle of the room, watching him.

“Tell us about yourself, Ral.” Taro asked.

Ralsay raised his eyebrows. Ral? Really? Was he going to live with this shortened form of his name from the fae?

Ralsay indicated to the fae to sit at the table. He took his place at the head and the brothers settled beside him. With Hiro on his left and Taro on his right, Ralsay sensed telling the fae was right. Perhaps it was time to talk about what had happened to him.

“I was in an unfortunate incident when I was a pup. My carer wasn’t watching me and I wandered off, walking into the middle of a fight between vampires and werewolves. They don’t know who was responsible but I was severely burnt. The elves did all they could to repair my fur, but this was the best they managed.” Ralsay held out his arms, showing the fae his hairless arms.

“Is it like that all over?” Hiro asked.

“Yes,” Ralsay said, dropping his arms.

“How is it when you transform?” Taro asked.

“No better. I rarely transform these days. When I did so in the past, there was an uncomfortable tension from the other werewolves, and the awkwardness they tried to hide when I was with them. There is much guilt about my condition. As first son of the Beta, it is better I live apart from the pack.”

“That is so sad,” Hiro said.

“So lonely,” Taro added.

Ralsay gave a half-hearted smile, and hearing the water bubbling, got up to remove the kettle from the stove. He brought it over to the table and placed it on the coaster, asking, “Do either of you want tea?”

Both fae nodded, and Ralsay moved to the small alcove in the wall behind the stove and removed three cups and the tea leaves. When he turned, he was surprised to see the fae had transformed. Now at the table were two fully grown fae. Gone was the blue tinge in their skin, and the differences between the fae and the elves were hard to place.

Ralsay set the cups on the table and dropped the tea leaves into the kettle. He sat and twirled the pot, stirring the leaves, before setting it back on the coaster to brew.

“Ral, will you let us stay with you?” Hiro asked.

Ralsay looked at the brothers and shook his head. “This will not work. I mean, I’m happy to be friends but...”

He trailed off as Taro reached out and rubbed his hand up and down Ralsay’s arm. “But in this form it is not so bad, is it?”

The touch was foreign to Ralsay, and he found it hard to muster resistance to fight the fae’s caresses.

“But it’s not your true form,” Ralsay replied, hoping to deter Taro from anything further.

Then Hiro caressed his other arm. “But this is not your true form either.”

Ralsay looked from one to the other and swallowed hard. Lost for words as the brothers moved their hands farther up his arms until both slid from their chairs to kneel either side of him.

They roamed their hands over his chest, and before he could stop them the buttons on his shirt were undone, his partially hairy chest now exposed. The sight of his body left Ralsay dejected, and he tried to rise to deter the brothers. Then Taro ran an arm over his shaft, and pleasure shot through Ralsay’s body, leaving him in ecstasy.

Ralsay fell back against the chair as the brothers continued to caress every part of him, leaving trails of kisses in their wake. He did not know who opened his pants, nor did he notice until he felt a hand wrap around his length. He opened his eyes in surprise, never realising until then he’d closed them, and looked down to see Hiro’s slender fingers gripping his erection. The sight spurred Ralsay to thrust into Hiro’s hand, and then Taro joined in. With his hand atop his brother’s Taro moved lower to rub the tender skin beneath. Hiro continued to stroke his erection harder and firmer.

Ralsay could watch no longer for fear he would explode too soon, and squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his head back, he continued to thrust into Hiro’s hand. When he felt Taro stroke and rub over the head of his erection, Ralsay cried out as he came.

Slumped exhausted, both brothers rose and kissed Ralsay on the cheek. Hiro asked, “Is it so terrible that we stay here?”

“No one has to know. This can be between us. Please, let us stay.” Taro murmured in his other ear, his warm breath exciting Ralsay.

Without opening his eyes, and through stilted breath, Ralsay replied, “Only if you have no other place to go.”

The brothers wrapped their arms around Ralsay and squeezed him tight as they continued to rain kisses over him.

“I need to clean myself up. Why doesn’t one of you pour the tea, and the other can look in the alcove for the sweet cakes?”

As Hiro and Taro left his side, Ralsay sat up and removed his shirt. He cleaned the mess off his chest and straightened his pants. He took the soiled shirt to the corner of the room and searched for a fresh one.

“Don’t bother with a shirt, Ral, we like you as you are,” Hiro told him.

Ralsay turned to Hiro and Taro and seeing the lust within their eyes a shiver shuttered through his body to his groin and he groaned. He returned to the table shirtless. Somehow he didn’t think he would get any sleep that night, but smiling to himself, he decided he wasn’t disappointed.

Hiro and Taro sat at the table once the sweet cakes and tea were set. They looked at each other, smiling. They had found a place where they could be safe and a lover who would love them for who they were, not what they were. They were both happy and Hiro’s smile became lustful as he looked over the half-naked werewolf. Taro too looked forward to the pleasures they would share with Ralsay