Not wanting to leave Anna with several werewolves unsupervised for
too long — seriously, why did I think this was a good idea? — I
quickly pulled on a new t-shirt and near ran back into the
apartment’s main room. Everyone I’d invited already gathered
around, Tara in Andrew’s lap on the couch, Sigyn and Gevaudan on
the seats beside them, with Anna sat on the floor next to Basil.
Sigyn the only one who didn’t look even a little uncomfortable
while she shuffled an Uno deck and almost sounded bored while she
asked, “can you tell me if you’re about to fight again so I can
leave the room first?”
I stopped a little too long, my smile forced as I started trying to
tell her, “we didn’t fight, we just-”
“Mary,” Andrew interrupted with a low sigh, “there’s a popped
air mattress in the trash, Gevaudan was cleaning blood off the floor
when we came in, and there’s a werewolf hunter with a few new
looking bruises on her.”
Basil was the only one who looked surprised by the statement werewolf
hunter, and Anna didn’t even
flinch to tell him, “I keep with the treaty, only the Purists and
ones The Lady clears for the rest of us.”
“You tried killing me,” I couldn’t help myself.
The woman shrugged, her smile not breaking as she admitted, “got
carried away, how was I supposed to react? You’re someone I used to
know who showed up pretending I didn’t know you while covered in
Purists markings.”
I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to believe that one or not, though
didn’t feel like arguing too much while I told her, “I wasn’t
in them long.”
Percy at least to my defense, in the middle of grating a block of
cheese while he told Anna, “she’s not a Purist anymore, Anna, can
we get over this?”
Anna shrugged, her answer obvious even as she refused to specify it
while she took up her cards and asked me, “you joining?”
Not really feeling like arguing I walked over and took a spot on the
floor beside her, Sigyn dealing me my own hand while everyone stared
me down. Only Basil seeming to want to speak up first as he asked,
“did um… your face.”
“Unrelated to her,” I groaned out, another wave of pain flowing
through me as I settled down, “no one else wondered about that?”
Sigyn laughed at that, shaking her head as she told me, “honestly
less jarring than the eye was.”
“You getting injured isn’t exactly surprising at this point,”
Tara agreed, and Andrew added on, “more surprised I didn’t get
told about it earlier at this point.”
“She didn’t even tell us about the face, we just had to see
that,” Percy added on, a few bowls set out as he called out, “who
wants chili and cornbread, I’ll bring you some!”
Everyone raised their hands, and Anna was staring me down with
something that might have been actual concern as the door to
Gevaudan’s room opened. A small figure rushing out to Percy’s
side, the man laughing even as Marty asked, “can I help?”
Percy let out a low whistle, thinking on it a moment before ruffling
the boy’s hair and telling him, “I’ll toss some cornbread on
some plates, how about you start passing it out and then I’ll serve
the chili? Ever had cornbread?” and Marty shook his head, getting a
low groan from Percy who called out, “Gevaudan, ma’am, I’m
sending you home with a carton of corn meal and my family recipe!
This is an unacceptable diet for a southerner’s child.”
The woman laughed into her hands, Tara and Andrew looking ready to
agree and Sigyn uncontrollably laughing into the back of the couch.
Basil at least looking a little confused, and Anna back to annoyed
even as my son’s presence seemed to click for everyone
simultaneously.
Andrew the first to speak, laughing as he looked back and asked,
“shit, that’s Martin?”
Tara quickly getting to her feet, looking back at the boy and almost
sounding surprised herself as she admitted, “bigger than I was
expecting. He’s, what?”
“Four,” I answered, laughing a little at the answer myself as the
fact felt like it continually sat in. Four years old, and this was
still the second time I’d been around him for some long period of
time in his life. Several months to start, and then just…
Abandoned.
No, not abandoned, as much as the word wanted to feel right for the
moment, but not forgotten either. The thought sour on my tongue even
as I resisted the urge to say it outright while Percy prepared a few
plates and passed them to Marty.
The boy running forward with one in each hand, stopping dead in his
tracks as he saw us and that familiar look of fear returning to him.
Unmoved, staring us down for several seconds until Gevaudan looked
ready to say something and Tara dropped down to one knee and smiled,
“you must be Marty. I’m Tara, I’m a friend of your mom’s.”
He still looked scared, face unsure and stepping back a little as
Tara took the first paper plates from him and passed them along,
though didn’t run. Only after both his hands were free and Gevaudan
gave him an encouraging nod he stood tall and held a small hand out
to announce, “I’m Marty. Uncle Percy says I’m the best soot
chef he knows.”
I raised a brow at Percy for the uncle part, and he looked too
proud of himself for that one even as he corrected the boy, “sous
chef, it’s… I think it’s French, means soup chef because second
in commands are in charge of soup in kitchens.”
Gevaudan the first to speak up as she corrected him, “that’s not
what that means in French at all,” with Basil adding on, “I think
sous chefs usually just prepare ingredients,” and Sigyn finishing
the critique, “I need to show you Ratatouille.”
Percy not having the humble air required to look embarrassed by the
correction as he brought over another pair of plates. Marty too
focused on the rest of us as he once again repeated, “I’m Marty.”
Taking the initiative as best I could, I started the slow process of
trying to introduce him to everyone. Pointed along as I tried
explaining, “this is Tara, and her boyfriend Andrew. Basil and I
hang out sometimes, I trained him to um… exercise, physical
trainer. Sigyn, she’s one my best friends. You um… you know
Gevaudan and this is Anna, she’s-”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“She’s the scary lady you were wrestling,” Marty confirmed, and
I cringed at the description even as Percy broke down cackling in the
kitchen despite everyone knowing the context. Marty walking over to
sit on the floor by my side as he asked, “can I play?”
“Deal you in next game,” Sigyn agreed tossing down a card, Marty
looking a little disappointed even as she told him, “we’re
probably wrapping this up and eating first anyway, won’t be too
long.”
Feeling a little bad myself, I scooted closer to the boy and gave him
my cards, trying to avoid scaring him too much as I asked him, “how
about you finish my hand, I’ll go help Percy out.”
My body half off the ground before a small hand grabbed my right one,
a small jolt of pain shooting through me in the grip even as he told
me, “no! We play together.”
Not wanting to argue with that, I took the cards back up, holding
them where we could both see. A quick explanation of the rules,
double checking he was grabbing the right color of card on our turn,
and we settled into playing. The game not lasting much longer, though
finished up around the time Percy had finished setting out the food.
Sigyn tossing the cards aside for us while I tucked a napkin in
Marty’s shirt and everyone else went about eating.
Anna, of course, not letting the matter settle too long as she asked,
“so, Marty know the family secret?”
Every werewolf in the room choking on their chili a moment, Marty
looking at me confused even as I asked her, “would he know yours
this young?”
The hunter at least having a decent retort to that as she shrugged
and admitted, “no one randomly takes up surprise careers, do they?”
A low silence following as everyone ate. An unsaid tension remaining
in the air until Basil admitted, “my step dad did.” Everyone
turning to the man as he looked around confused before explaining,
“just, woke up one morning, told me why am I an attorney? I want
to be an oil man, and left halfway through dinner. Like a
month later sent a letter telling us he moved to the gulf and was
working on an oil rig.”
No one seeming to know how to take that information, Anna awkwardly
reaching a hand out to pat her shoulder as she muttered, “regret I
asked.”
I sighed, not really sure what else I was supposed to do even as I
leaned in and whispered to her, “I’ll talk about this with you
later, but not in front of him.”
She raised a brow at that, a low hum escaping her throat before she
finally asked, “so, what do you like to do for fun? New to this
sort of crowd, is it all moon lit runs and BBQ?”
Tara glanced between me and Percy, leaning back in Andrew’s lap as
she complained, “lovely friend.”
Basil continuing to make it awkward as he admitted, “I make really
good brisket. You like brisket?”
“I love brisket,” Percy agreed with a sudden excitement, clapping
his hands and pointing at Basil, “sir, get my number from Mary. I
have a family secret rub I can share, cookout this spring?”
“Fuck yeah, man,” Basil agreed, only looking down as he noticed
Anna looking between them confused.
Sigyn looking down, smiling softly as she admitted, “it’s good
rub, had the pulled pork. Usually not big on that, but it’s really
good.”
“The white sauce is a fucking deal breaker for me, just use BBQ
sauce,” Anna complained, looking to me for my own addition.
I wasn’t quite sure if I was glad things were moving away from the
tension of me being a werewolf or I was embarrassed as I raised my
hands and admitted, “I haven’t gotten to try his BBQ yet, my dad
did all the cookouts I could make since I came back.”
Anna looked at me like I’d grown a third head, blinking as she
pointed between me and Percy and nearly yelled, “Okay! So you two
actually have never fucked?!”
“Why did you assume that?” I rubbed my eyes, glancing at
an equally confused Percy, “Just because I’m pansexual and a
woman doesn’t mean I’ve slept with him, we’re just friends.”
“No I kinda just assumed it before the woman thing too.”
Percy and I both asking, “why?” while Tara admitted,
“didn’t want to say anything, but I figured it’d happened.”
Marty breaking the moment by asking, “aunty, what does that mean?”
Gevaudan coming to my rescue by immediately rising to her feet,
taking up Marty’s food as she told him, “grown up talk, how about
we go eat in my room for a bit until they finish the boring
stuff” with a glare back at us.
The awkward moment remaining even as I begged her, “how did you get
that idea in your head?”
The woman just shrugging as she admitted, “I just kinda assumed,
you were gay, or… well I assumed you just liked guys in High
School.”
“I have a girlfriend!” I snapped, getting a weird look from
everyone present before I pretended to correct myself, “had, I…
sorry, a lot happen.”
Anna raised a brow at that, looking ready to ask me more on that
train of thought before there was a knock at the door. Gevaudan,
coming back out of the bedroom, the only one other than me who heard
it and walking to the door while I ran through my guest list in my
head. I was sure everyone had shown up, Samuel had work, my grandma
probably wasn’t swinging by randomly and didn’t know my room
number.
Fear shooting through me in the half moment before a scream rang out
through the room, and I was halfway running to the door before I came
to a slow crawl. Gevaudan not falling dead, not looking terrified,
but jumping in a hug with a woman I didn’t recognize. The two of
them embraced tight, a flash of red going through the air while I
stood there unsure of what was actually happening.
A scent coming in under the overwhelming presence of Gevaudan’s
sweet perfume, blood but also a natural scent I thought felt familiar
but off. A forest that smelled like no forest I smelled before but
knew, the scent pouring around in my head until they stepped away and
the woman looked at me with a raised brow.
A part of me thinking I knew that, thinking that it reminded me of
silver and-
“You were at the store yesterday,” I realized, only a moment
later realizing the outfit she was wearing. A bright red skirt to her
ankles, clothes that looked like an attempt at fashion like Calliope
had taught me, with a long red skirt and cloak and a black bodice
over a white poets shirt. The girl looking young, or… well, maybe a
teenager? Or… maybe older? I couldn’t really figure out as I
asked her, “do I um… know you?”
“Friend of Misha’s,” the girl admitted with a small smile, a
perfect throat exposed as a growl rose in my throat. She’d be so
weak, so easy to kill, so- “don’t look at me.”
I tore my eyes away, trying to focus on what remained of the
cornbread on the table as I muttered, “sorry, don’t know what
that was. I just-”
“Misha warned me, former Purist, don’t look at me too hard, takes
a bit to get used to that effect,” the girl brushed me off, and I
got the feeling she was trying to remain in my peripheral vision as
little as possible as she asked, “you having a Christmas party? I
heard you were here, pup, got you a present on the way here, I’ll
run it up after we’re done.”
And Gevaudan laughed at that, the feeling of her hand patting at my
back as she announced, “she’s always been like this, you know?
She used to bring me back to school shopping for clothes, liked to
say at least one of us should like what we’re wearing. Mary,
this is Aunty Red, I ever told you about her?”
“I don’t think so,” I tried to not sound like I was complaining
as I felt the wolf still wanting to come back out, “I think
um… Misha mentioned you in his journals. Red Riding Hood? Kinda
thought it was just a joke.”
“Just Red’s fine,” the urban legend admitted, and yeah that was
explaining the effect she had on me. Urban Legends were made to act
out stories and roles. Some could suppress that fact or find other
ways to make it work until they had it under control, but others…
Yeah, girl known for “got hunted down by the big bad wolf” and
not much else having this effect made sense.
Didn’t make it much better as I did laugh a second and asked, “you
didn’t happen to date a Vergil or… well, maybe Dan, did you? You
being a mercenary would probably explain some things.”
Red didn’t answer at first, and I was about to ask if I struck a
nerve when she finally answered, sounding like she was deep in
thought as she confessed, “fucked a couple Dan’s, but nothing
that would leave an impression I’m pretty sure.”
Worth the ask, and I had to return to business as I realized, “you’re
the one who called me didn’t you?”
“Put that together pretty fast.”
“You wanna come in and talk?”
“There’s a lot of werewolves in there,” Red pointed out with a
quick look over my shoulder, “follow me, I have an idea on how to
handle this.”