Chapter Eight

After directing Snow to settle in front of the fireplace at the far end of the great room and making sure that everyone was seated in a comfortable position in preparation for the talk, Noah was the first to break into conversation.

Focusing his attention on Kenzie he said, “I’m aware that you and my brother go back some years.”  When she nodded, he continued, “He thinks very highly of you which is why we’re trusting you with something that’s been held secret.”

“Not just from you, Kenz.  From everyone,” Oscar quickly interjected.

“I see,” Kenzie said in a slow and thoughtful manner.  “Is this a secret that I want to know or should even know?”

“I’m not sure you’ll want to know it, but you definitely need to know it,” Oscar replied.

Kenzie looked at me and said, “What about Lisa?  I’m assuming she needs to hear this secret too?”

Noah slowly nodded as he said in a low tone, “She’s left us no options.”

“What?” I gasped.  “How? By peeing in the woods?”

“Exactly,” Noah replied.

Kenzie massaged her temples with her fingertips as she mumbled, “I’m so confused.”

“Let my brother speak and soon it will all be clear,” Oscar said with compassion.

She gave me a pleading look before turning to Noah and saying, “Go ahead.”

Filling his lungs with air as if to fortify himself for what he was about to say, Noah slowly released it along with the following words, “There are things that are spoken in fairy tales that are, in truth, something very real.  Since Lisa is psychic, I’m guessing that she’ll be easier to convince about this fact than you, Kenzie.”

“Don’t be so quick to judge,” Kenzie blurted out.  “I believe in things that go bump in the night.”

“Like ghosts, right?” Oscar enthusiastically asked.

“Sure,” Kenzie said with a nod. “Ghosts are real.”

“What about vampires and werewolves?” Noah asked.

Kenzie looked at me.  I simply raised a brow and, in mocking silence, mouthed the words vampires and werewolves.

“Either one,” Oscar said with encouragement.

“Well,” Kenzie mused.  “I believe that there is a basis for these fairy tales even though they may not be exactly as they are described in the stories.”

Noah turned to me and asked, “And you?  What about you?  Do you believe in vampires and werewolves?”

“Nope,” I said with a flat tone.

“Seriously?” Oscar exclaimed. “But you’re psychic.”

“One has nothing to do with the other,” I calmly protested.

Noah gave a sarcastic chuckle.  “So, the vet believes in werewolves and the psychic doesn’t.  Now, that’s a twist I wasn’t prepared for.”

I leaned forward and looked directly at him as I said, “I believe in things that I see, hear, or touch.  I’ve seen and spoken to ghosts.  I’ve never seen or heard a vampire or a werewolf.”

“Yes, you have,” Oscar insisted.  “At least a werewolf, you have.”

Kenzie looked aghast as she said, “What are you talking about, Oscar?  Are you trying to tell us that Snow is a werewolf?”

Noah cleared his throat loud enough to grab the room’s attention. “What he’s trying to tell you is that he and I come from a lineage of unique humans who turn canine upon the full moon.”

“Canine?” Kenzie repeated with confusion.

“Like a werewolf?” I said with disbelief.

“Not like a werewolf,” Noah replied, “but a werewolf.”

I hopped to my feet and snarled, “Stop this right now.  I don’t know what you’re up to, but this isn’t funny.”

Feeling the tension in the air, Snow stood up and snarled in my direction.

“Sit down, please,” Noah said in a calm voice before turning to Snow and firmly saying, “Down boy.”

I turned to Kenzie and said, “I think I should just go home.”

“You can’t,” Noah and Oscar simultaneously bellowed.

“What?” Kenzie asked while I blurted out, “Why not?”

Noah took another deep breath before pouring out the words, “Because you’re one of us.  Not full blooded and born like us, but you carry the gene that will allow them to turn you into one of us.”

“What nonsense…” I began.

“It’s not nonsense,” Oscar insisted.  “It’s true and, now that you’ve made it known that you’re here by leaving your scent in the woods, there are those who will want to add you to their pack.  We’re a dwindling breed.  Adding a fertile female to the pack is a desirable thing.”

“I’m going home,” I said as I stood up once more.

“They’ll follow you there,” Noah warned.  “If they get into town, there’s no telling what havoc will occur or how many lives will be lost as they search for you.  It’s best that you stay here and let us protect you.”

“We’re going to cover the ground where you left your scent with our own and hope that it’s enough to keep them away,” Oscar said.  “We’ll know soon enough.  The full moon is upon us.”

Kenzie was the one to stand up and pace this time.  “Let me get this straight,” she mused aloud. “What you’re telling me is that my best buddy from college is a werewolf and that my bestie girlfriend is not just a psychic, but a werewolf as well?”

“Not a werewolf, exactly,” Noah informed her.  “She just carries the genes that will allow her to be turned into a werewolf.  You see, not everyone who is attacked by a werewolf becomes one. You have to have the right genetics.  Those who don’t simply die.”

“Always?” Kenzie asked with concern.

“Not always,” Oscar said.  “Sometimes they recover.  That’s why the world knows about werewolves.”

“Because the people who recover tell about the attack,” I thoughtfully said.

“And the world doesn’t believe them,” Kenzie added.

Standing up and clapping his hands with approval, Oscar said, “Exactly.”

“Wow,” Kenzie mumbled as she slumped against the sofa’s back cushion.

“I know it’s a shocker, Kenz,” Oscar apologetically said. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this way.  I was going to eventually share our secret with you because I… uh… well, I was hoping to take our relationship further, but this isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“Further?” Kenzie wistfully said in a daze-like manner.

“Are you okay, Kenzie?” Noah asked with concern.

She nodded while never taking her eyes off Oscar.  She was not only processing the fact that he was a werewolf, but that he’d finally decided to take their relationship to another level.  The issue at hand was whether or not she wanted to do the same, now that she knew that he was a werewolf.

“So, I’m stuck here while I wait to see if they’ll come for me,” I moaned while ignoring the dynamics between Oscar and my friend.  “This is a nightmare.”

“I’m leaving Snow with you,” Noah offered.

“Why?” I asked as I looked at the scary beast and shuttered. “You said we have time before the full moon.”

“There might be a straggler about,” he replied.  “If so, it’s too late to cover your scent and he just might try to capture you prior to the full moon to assure you don’t get taken by another pack.”

Noah’s stern look suddenly turned to concern and compassion as he watched a lone tear slide down my cheek.

“I’m so sorry,” he said with what sounded like  genuine remorse.

“Yes,” Oscar added.  “I never would have had you come if I’d known what you were.  I just thought you were a psychic who wrote books.”

“That’s what I am,” I pouted.  “It’s all I want to be.  In fact, I don’t even want to be a psychic.  I just want to write books and enjoy life.”

“Then, we’ll do our best to make sure things stay that way,” Noah said with conviction.  “Oscar and Kenzie will focus on finding and tagging the lone wolves with record speed and I’ll try to stop by while they’re gone to check on you. Snow will be your constant companion.”

I looked at Snow and shuddered.

“Give him a chance,” Kenzie softly said. “I’ll bet that, once you move past the fact that he’s a wolf that lives in the wild, he’s really sweet.”

“Sure,” I grumbled while remembering how Snow had behave like a domestic dog with both Oscar and Noah. Sinking against the back of the sofa, I asked,  “Can he tell if a man is a werewolf or just a human?”

“Yes, he can,” Noah said with confidence.  “You couldn’t have a better guardian.  I guarantee it.”