Chapter 1

(Mid August 1989)

He’d been riding aimlessly for hours across land parched for a taste of water when his bike had sputtered and died. With a muffled oath he dismounted his bike and stood staring into the distance. The heat pulled at his skin as the barely there wind teased him with promises of cool relief. He peered off into the distance, the heat waves undulating in the air around him. There wasn’t a building in sight, no stores or homes or even broken down abandoned barns. “Well fuck, now what?” he thought to himself as he stared down at his now gasless transportation. “Well when you fuck it up you really fuck it up, I should have never left the guys back in the last town,” he thought to himself as he pulled an ever present bandana from his back pocket and slowly mopped up the sweat that had gathered under his unruly mop of hair. Shaking the bandana slightly, the heat drying it quickly he slipped it over his head and tied his hair back. Hopefully the bandana would catch a small bit of the sweat that was already beginning to bead upon his forehead. With a hoarse groan he reached forward, kicked the brake off and started pushing his bike forward.

Two hours later, sweat soaking through his leather jacket, he stopped and looked around. It amazed him that even here in the good old US of A there were still areas that were seemingly totally uninhabited. He was exhausted, and not in the way he would be had he sang onstage for three hours, this exhaustion went straight to the middle of his bones, unlike the adrenaline charged crash a show gave him. Once again he cursed himself for the urge to strike out on his own for a bit. Sure he had gave the guys a date to meet him and a town to meet him in, but it looked like he might not ever make it there. As he stared off into the distance he couldn’t decide if the sun’s apparent descent was a good thing or a bad thing; good because the damned heat would finally break and bad because, well night in an arid desert like area might not be as comfortable as motel room would be. With a final glance around he saw a small dirt road about 100 yards up that lead off towards an outbreak of rocks. He knew that would be a piss poor bedroom, but beggars certainly couldn’t be choosers, and at least the rocks might shelter him from the cold that would greet him in the desert at night.

~~~~

Ahh there it was, an odd scent on the wind, musky, sweaty and something that evaded her. It was at odds with the arid scents of sand and wind and had her curious as to what was invading what she considered to be her territory. She raced the wind towards the scent, her golden gaze taking in the serenity of the starlit night. The scent pulled at her in a way nothing else ever had, it called to her in a way nothing ever had, and it was so close, right in front of her floating away from a circle of light near her favorite rabbit haunt. She crouched low and veritably crawled until she was right outside the circle of light; the scent overwhelming her as she finally recognized what it all added up too. It was a man, one unlike anything she had seen before because somewhere deep beneath the scent of sweat, musk and spice was the scent of her kind, and that made her sit up and pay closer attention to the man in front of her.

If she could grin she would have as she took in his body. He was there in skin, yet the unmistakable signs of fur were there, on muscular arms and that chest of his, even his face was scruffy. She longed to stick her nose into his hair that even in the shadows seemed to be so very long and curly. She tilted her head as his slender fingers strummed over the object in his hands lovingly, which caused what she recognized as music to issue out into the night. It had been a long while since she’d heard music but the haunting melody had her aching to be closer to the one making it right up until he growled. Her head nudged forward as he stood and moved to the metal monster next to him and she watched as his hand disappeared into its pouch and came back empty.

“Fuck, no food or water.” He sighed as he stared off into the dark desert night. “I really have it in for myself don’t I? Try to destroy myself with eighteen months of tour, nearly ruin my throat and of course in my quest to be alone I forget food and water.” He shook his head and wandered back to the rock and slid back down to sit and stare at the flames. “Gonna be a long night Jonny boy, just get adjusted to the fact.” Wrapping his arms around his legs he laid his head on his knees and just stared into the fire with a lost sad look on his otherwise handsome face.

She got to her feet slowly, this one was hungry and maybe she could do something about that, but how. She had never before risked exposure, but something about him had her blood racing in her veins and had her heart beating to a strange odd rhythm. She’d try to help him even if she could. She knew it was a risk, sometimes those like her were not too accepting of strangers, but she couldn’t let him go hungry, not if she could help it. Standing, she began to edge her way to the circle of light moving slowly, she wanted to help him, not give him a fright. Her concentration was so intense upon moving slowly and gently she never noticed when his head turned and his breathing began to hitch.

“Holy fuck was that a wolf creeping up on him?” His thoughts raced as he blinked a few times to clear his sight. “Wolves aren’t supposed to be around this area were they? Thought this place was all about coyotes and cougars, not that I want to see one of those either.” He watched as the wolf crept closer, its eyes were glowing an odd gold-like color in the firelight. Oddly he felt no sense of threat in the animal so watched as it moved closer offering up a slight prayer that it was only curious and not hungry. “Jon Bon Jovi’s bones found in the desert, details at 11,” the thought quirked his lip upwards slightly as he kept his eyes on the wolf.

He almost jerked when he felt the press of cold nose on his chest then took a deep breath and looked down into the softest golden eyes he had ever encountered. “Well darned if you don’t seem to be a friendly one.” His voice was soft and still carried the traces of hoarseness caused by months of abuse during the tour. “Whatcha finding so interesting there wolfie?” He choked out a laugh as the animal’s nose poked him again, this time at the nape of his neck, maybe he was on the menu after all.

She sat back, her tail thumping the ground in a ridiculous type of abandon. Yes he had the scent of one like her, but he seemed totally unaware of it. Well this was going to be harder, she couldn’t just howl and him answer; he obviously wouldn’t get it. She stood and reached over and took his hand into her jaws very gently and began to pull at him. Maybe she could just lead him; that would work, if he would just stand up. With a huff she stepped back and looked at the man resolutely sitting at the rock. Her head tilted and she woofed softly then reached for his hand again and began to pull as she tried to move backwards.

His brow arched as the wolf took his hand in mouth. He began to wonder if that’s where the pain would start; the wolf had decided on fingers for breakfast but his eyes widened as he realized all it was doing was trying to pull him to his feet. As he went to stand he risked a glance at the wolf and noted, strangely enough, that it was a female wolf. “Well Jonny,” he thought as he began to stand, “you’ve always had a talent with the ladies, but damned if this one don’t take the cake.” He stood up and studied the wolf silently for a moment before speaking aloud. “Ok you wanted me up, so now what oh furry one?”

He watched as she released his hand and walked off a pace or two then turned to look back at him. He could almost see the question in the wolf’s eyes, “well idiot are you gonna follow or what?” He laughed softly at the look and slowly kicked sand into his small fire. Reaching over he put his hands onto the handlebars of his bike and began to push. Maybe the sun had fried his brains, or the lack of water had melted his control, but what the hell, it was the mid of night in the desert, he had no where to go and there was a guide of sorts wanting to lead him somewhere. With a shrug of his shoulders he pushed forward and began to follow the wolf.

When the small building appeared Jon could have wept in relief. It wasn’t much to look at in the dark, but it was a building that would shelter him from the cold of the night and possibly the heat of the next day. With a final shove he kicked the kickstand back down and left the bike to walk up onto what served as a tiny porch, all with the wolf by his side. Opening the door he stepped inside the dark room and waited until his eyes adjusted to the dark. Reaching over to the wall he felt for and found a light switch and went to flip it up praying that it would work. Miraculously the light switched on bathing the room in a dim light. He grinned like a fool when he heard the generator suddenly kick on and realized that not only had his little guardian led him to safety, but to a nice little home away from home, complete with small refrigerator and bed. Reaching down he ruffled the wolf’s head in thanks as his eyes surveyed his simple little domain.

Stepping further into the room he cracked the door of the fridge, nearly crying in relief when he found bottled water along with the makings of sandwiches. “I don’t know who owns this place wolfie, but I sure hope they don’t mind feeding a starving man.”

The wolf huffed softly at him as her golden eyes took in the way he nearly inhaled the water then the food in its turn. She had done well, she had gotten the man to follow, he was safe and he wasn’t at the mercy of the desert night any longer. She watched as he finished the food and then walked outside to grab his belongings from his bike. As he stepped back inside room she huffed again softly, recognizing the dominant feature in him that took over what he considered to now be his, at least his for now.

His belly full and his voice feeling better after the water, he wandered around the room taking in its oddly clean yet homey atmosphere. There was even a small fireplace, but there didn’t seem to be any wood. He shivered a bit as the coolness of the night began to remind him of its presence. “Well wolfie there’s no wood, so no warming fire, but there’s a bed, and it’s got a few covers, so I think I’m going to just warm up and take a nap.”

He grinned over at the wolf, “I know you don’t understand me, but thank you for the help.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and toed his boots off and before he had the chance to pull covers back he found himself sharing the bed with one very warm and very furry wolf body. He shook his head; well the fur had to be warmer than just covers right? Laying down he took a deep breath and slowly fell asleep.

~~~~

He turned over, his hand reaching out to pull the warm body closer to him, His hand splayed out over the belly as he nuzzled into the warmth, her spicy scent filling his nose. She shifted back against him, wriggling closer to his warmth. His body responded to the curves shifting against him in the ages old way a man responds to a woman. His eyes flew open as that thought penetrated his sleepy mind; for god sakes he was laying next to a wolf, why was his body doing that? It was then the soft golden hair tickled his nose and he realized much to his amazement, that in the place where the wolf had been now lay a very blonde very naked woman.

“Holy fucking hell, where did she come from,” he thought as his hand mindlessly kept stroking the skin over her belly. He heard her sigh softly and his hand stilled as she turned over to snuggle up against him. He groaned softly as he felt pert breasts rub against his chest. His brain nearly shut down on him as her hand slid over and draped itself over his waist. “Mother of God, where did she come from? Where’s the wolf? What the hell am I gonna do now?” He swallowed hard as her hand slid down from his waist to his ass and swallowed harder when his shaft decided to spring to attention. “Not now, ‘Lil Jonny, Dammit” he thought as he studied the unknown body lying next to him.

He looked into her face and noted how ethereal she looked. When her eyes fluttered open he was amazed to see golden eyes peering up at him. Those eyes were the same color as the wolves, but that wasn’t possible was it?

~~~~~

He awoke with a shudder and sat up to run shaky hands through his hair. Sweat coated his body making it nearly shine in the moonlit room. With an oath he slid his legs from the bed and stood to walk to the window. Why was he having that dream again? It never failed; every time his life grew too stressed or too pushed his brain would pull that damned dream up. August 1989 had not been a good time for him and he had gone in search of himself only to end up lost in the desert. Even to this day he couldn’t decide if all he dreamed and remembered was real or just a figment of his imagination, he just knew that every time he started to get the urge to run far from the stresses of his life that dream would return. He hadn’t dreamed it much in the last two or three years, mostly due to the fact the band had taken it easy, but with These Days getting ready to come out the dream had returned full force. With a shake of his head he stared out at the New York skyline and let his memory fill with thoughts of a golden eyed wonder.