by Kody Boye
“Howlers don’t need riches,” a man said.
“Yeah, but when was the last time any of you had a full meal?”
No one replied.
“I figured as much,” I replied. I looked from Poem, to Baptiste, then to Aerick and the group before returning my attention to the distant side of the room. “I’m not saying that we have to do this anytime soon. All I’m saying is that we need to come to a decision. Together.”
I could’ve shit bricks and none of them would’ve reacted with the complete awe they did.
“My name’s Jason,” I said as I turned and began to make my way toward Pierre’s old quarters. “If you need me, I’ll be where Pierre used to sleep.”
4
I lay in bed wondering if I’d made the right decision.
It didn’t take much to realize how incredibly one-sided my idea could turn out to be, let alone comprehend whether or not it would actually work. To have the Kaldr and the Howlers under the same roof seemed downright impossible, let alone plausible. Yet there I’d been—standing in front of my pack, proclaiming that it would work: that, somehow, all of our problems would be solved once we joined with the Winters Kaldr clan.
Of course, just because I’d made that decision didn’t mean it would be accepted. Headstrong as Elliot was, he would likely balk at the idea of joining ranks and send us back the way we’d come. But then, what would that mean? Would we stay here, near the Guadalupe Mountains? Or would we go back to the place they’d once came—to that small, desolate little plot of land where that hidden bunker lay beneath the ground?
I sighed.
It was almost impossible to think, let alone do so rationally. I was so tired—weary from the trip and the resulting fight that’d ensued. All I could think about was—
A knock came at the door, pulling me from thought.
I had just sat up when the door opened to reveal Baptiste. Apparently, the Howlers weren’t much for privacy.
“Sir,” the man said.
“Jason,” I replied, grimacing as the flood of exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me. “Call me Jason.”
“Jason,” Baptiste repeated, then closed the door behind him before turning to look back at me. “I came to see how you were.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“And to ask how you plan on approaching the Kaldr about our potential move.”
I was so taken aback that I imagined I must have grimaced, as Baptiste—behind the black sunglasses he was fond of wearing—frowned almost instantly. “You don’t,” he started.
“Know if that’s exactly going to work,” I replied.
“Why propose is then?”
“Because I know the Winters family,” I said, sighing, then pushing myself to my feet. I waited for Baptiste to say anything further before I approached—knowing, on principal alone, that I was in dangerous territory. “Look. I didn’t exactly leave the ranch on the best of terms.”
“Yes.”
“And I still haven’t talked with Guy because I don’t have access to a phone.”
“You’d talk to the younger Winters?” Baptiste frowned. “Why?”
Though I was hesitant to explain the finer details that had been revealed to me by the Kelda—let alone to a Howler who could just as easily usurp me and take control of the clan as Pierre’s once-right-hand-man—I knew that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with these people by lying. For that reason, I took a deep breath, then detailed what the Kelda had told me—breaking not only a sacred rule by revealing the information she had divulged, but by revealing that Elliot Winters was seen as the lesser of the two, thus marking Guy as the current generation’s true leader.
When I finished, Baptiste’s face had transformed from a shade of doubt to a fixture of interest. No longer were his lips pulled into a taut frown. Rather, he appeared—regardless of the fact that I could not see his eyes—hopeful about what I’d just said. “So,” he began, “you think there’s a chance.”
“I know there’s a chance,” I said. “The only thing is, I need to talk to Guy.”
“And we have no access to telecommunications out here.”
“Which means I would have to leave,” I added.
“And go to the ranch.”
Baptiste wasn’t stupid. I imagined the whole supernatural underbelly already knew of the fatal mistake that had been made when Kaldr victims started turning up in easy-to-be-found places. Given my proximity to the Kaldr prince—and the fact that I’d been one of the few human victims whose case had not been granted intervention by the Agency—it was only natural that my presence would be regarded by both natural and paranormal outlets. Leaving alone would be suicide. Leaving alone to go into a nearby town just to use a phone booth would be even worse. And if for some reason I got caught in the middle of some supernatural crossfire—
In the moments following my string of thoughts, Baptiste’s mouth had narrowed to its original, almost-sour expression. “You’ll need someone to go with you,” the man said, matter-of-factly, as if the topic wasn’t up for discussion. “And it can’t be me.”
“What about Poem?” I asked.
“Too noticeable. Pretty girl like that? She’d draw more attention to you than you would.”
“Which means—”
“I would have you take Aerick.”
“Aerick?” I frowned. “Why?”
I wasn’t sure what more I could add. Was it because Aerick was not well-known? Because he was new? Because he was, in all terms and purposes, anonymous?
“You need to decide when you’re leaving,” Baptiste said, turning and making his way toward the door. “I’ll discuss the situation with Aerick and let him know that you’ll be asking him to go with you in the coming days. Don’t expect him to wait for you though.”
“Don’t worry,” I laughed as Baptiste opened, then closed the door behind him. “I won’t.”
5
It was no more than an hour later that a knock came at the door, once more rousing me from my attempts at sleep.
The door burst open before I could even rise. “You’re having me go with you?” Aerick asked, eyes wild and mouth ablaze with fury. “Are you fucking out of your mind?”
“Close the door,” I said.
Aerick paused, likely waiting for me to say something further. When I refused to relent to his demands under the present circumstance, he kicked the door shut behind him and smirked as I tossed the covers off my half-naked frame. “You know,” he said, watching as I rose from bed and reached for the shirt on the nearby chair. “You’re kinda hot when you’re all stoic and pissed.”
“Thanks for the compliment,” I said, turning once I’d pulled the T-shirt down my frame. I waited for him to comment on the fact that I was only wearing boxers, knowing that as hot as he was he had a devilishly-obnoxious side, but when he didn’t, I chuckled and crossed my arms over my chest. “No comment?”
“On what? The fact that you’re one pantsing away from being completely naked?” He snorted. “No. No comment there.” He perched himself on the end of my bed. “So. Shoot.”
“I want to go back to the ranch and talk to Guy.”
“So you can get some of that hot Kaldr cock?”
“How did you—”
“I figured you had a thing with someone back at the ranch. Now that you’ve mentioned the prince, it doesn’t take much to put two-and-two together.” Aerick frowned. “He’s the one who turned you, wasn’t he? After you got bitten down in the bunker?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He was.”
“And you were with him when all the shit was going down in Austin?” I nodded. “Damn,” he said. “That’s a lot to go through in such a short amount of time.”
“Wait,” I said. “How do you know what was going on in Austin?”
“Pierre had mentioned that there was some Kaldr shenanigans happening in the city,” Aerick replied. “I gotta hand it to ya—you’ve held up pretty well considering.”
“I’m not
holding up as well as you think.”
“No?” he asked.
I grimaced, mentally chastising myself for revealing a weakness at such an inopportune time. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get out of it without some sort of repercussion, I nodded and sat down on the bed. Aerick—whom I expected would scoot over if only because it was his personality—remained still. “You want me to spill?” I asked.
“You’ve popped the bottle,” he replied. “Might as well pour it all out.”
“I’ve been starting to rethink everything that I’ve gone through the past few weeks,” I said, wanting to look him in the eyes to prove my strength but knowing I couldn’t do so without revealing my weakness. “And… well… I’m beginning to wonder if I was strung along.”
“Were you glamoured?” he asked.
“Once,” I said. “And only because I was in pain and needed to sleep.”
“You’re sure it was only once?”
“The Kelda said it was,” I replied, not bothering to mention the one time Guy had glamoured me to make his duplicitous escape.
“How long ago was that?”
“A while.”
“So you wouldn’t know if you’d been glamoured since then?”
“Guy once told me that he didn’t glamour me because he wanted to do things ‘the right way,’” I said.
“The ‘right way,’” Aerick smirked, using air-quotes to enunciate his point. “You mean by killing someone, dragging you out to that ranch, then getting you involved in supernatural politics? Sounds like he did a great job to me.”
“He panicked,” I said. “It wasn’t his fault.”
“Look, Jason—I don’t know everything that’s gone on between the two of you, but I can tell you this: whatever happened to that guy who broke into that apartment? Guy could’ve prevented it. He could’ve just as easily glamoured the person into leaving than killing him.”
“He had a gun.”
“You think a gun would’ve stopped a Kaldr?”
“We’re not invincible.”
“Yeah, but it’s the point that matters here.”
I frowned, unsure how to proceed.
This time, Aerick did scoot closer, effectively removing the distance between us. He must’ve sensed my inherent unease, because when he snaked an arm around my upper back, I allowed him to do so without question. “I can’t say I know how you feel,” he said. “But I get how you might. I was pulled into all this the same way.”
“You were?”
He nodded. “I was out hiking one day,” he said. “Out near the Friesenhan Caves in San Antonio—you know, where all those fossils were? Anyhow, I was out hiking there one day when I heard something scuffling in the bushes. At first I thought it was a coyote—because I’d seen them out on the trail before and even in the city—so I didn’t think anything of it. I stood my ground, waited for whatever it was to appear, and when I didn’t, I yelled. That’s when it attacked me.”
“The wolf?”
“The wolf,” Aerick agreed. “It was a freak accident. Accidental transformation. Caused by rage that should’ve been kept in check. Pierre was tracking Alexander down when he attacked me, so he was able to subdue the bastard and get me to safety. Unfortunately, it was too late. I was already infected. There wasn’t anything they could do.”
“So instead of killing you…”
“They took me. Made me one of their own. Executed Alexander for attacking an innocent civilian in the middle of the day. I mean, they could’ve killed me too, but Pierre had mercy. Also…” Aerick smirked. “I’m the only silver wolf in the pack. That’s the one good thing Alex gave me. Bastard.”
“So you’re as pretty as a wolf as you are a man?” I blushed immediately after saying it.
“Something like that,” Aerick said, smacking my shoulder before rising and making his way toward the door. He reached out and took the doorknob, but stopped when he’d only turned it halfway. “You know,” he said. “We don’t have to leave anytime soon. I know you’re probably still… adjusting… to whatever happened between the two of you. We have stores to last us for a few weeks. Why don’t you just stay here—chill? Maybe get to know everyone before you move any further?”
“Yeah,” I said.
As if knowing I couldn’t realistically answer such a question, Aerick left without another word.
I sighed, stripped my shirt off, then crawled back into bed.
I had just turned the bedside lamp off when a thought struck me:
How long could I wait?
6
I decided to take Aericks advice that night, and with a bit of skepticism and wariness, wandered into the purposed common room just as dinner was being served. The rich scents of brown rice, beans and cheese lifted into the air and filled the space with a joviality that I'd not experienced once since arriving. Men laughed, women talked. Baptiste—in a baker's apron—delivered food in several tinfoil platters, while Poem and several other women helped to distribute the substantial portions of Tex-Mex. It appeared, in retrospect, that I'd completely misjudged these people. They seemed just like any other men or women one would encounter in the real world.
My realization—as prompted as it happened to be—was cut short when someone turned.
Soon, all eyes were on me and silence filled the room.
I offered a meek, "Hello," but received no response.
I should've known this would happen. It'd been less than six hours since I'd killed Pierre. What did I expect? For them to come crawling forward on their hands and knees?
Knowing that my timid nature would receive little, if any, response, I stepped forward and settled down beside the Central American man on the bench—sure, without a doubt in my mind, that I would get lip the moment I did so.
“This ok?” I asked.
He didn’t respond. He simply took a bite out of a bean-and-cheese taco and made sure to display his elongated canine teeth while doing so.
I looked up as a plate was set before me, then raised my eyes to find that I’d been served by none other than Poem. “Thanks,” I said, offering the most convincing smile I could despite my nerves. “I don’t need this, though. I’ve already fed.”
“You don’t need to eat?” she frowned. I shook my head. “And you’re sure you don’t want this?” I nodded. She, in turn, passed the plate on to the person across from me, who merely offered me an incredulous, unsure look before he began to dig in to his food.
“Thank you anyway, Poem,” I said.
“It’s no trouble,” she replied. “The boss comes first. Right?”
I didn’t respond—not out of lack of respect, but out of concern that I might say something wrong.
Dinner proceeded in the usual method—with Baptiste delivering, and Poem distributing, the food amongst the Howler clan. With twenty people to serve, it was a lengthy process, but it was eventually finished and the pack settled down to eat their evening meal. Being the only Kaldr, I felt ill at ease around them, but remained in good spirits as I listened to the banter, the laughs and the casual discussion taking place around us.
Aerick—who was seated opposite me several spaces down—caught my eye and offered a slight smile, which was easy enough to return considering how friendly he was.
It was obvious—from the brief interactions between us—that he had the hots for me, at least in part. The way his eyes shifted to mine, his arm settled across my back, to the way he’d made me touch him and then proceeded to masturbate in my presence. Maybe it was the result of the magic that was used when feeding upon a person of warm flesh, or maybe he was actually interested in me. Either way, I couldn’t concentrate on it—because every time I did, I kept thinking of only one thing: Guy.
Was there still an ‘us,’ I wondered, after everything that had occurred—after our flight, his capture, then his subsequent rescue and the events that had transpired thereafter? I could not doubt that he cared for me—could not, in a hundred, million years, deny the fact th
at he had been there for me every single step of the way—but I also couldn’t get past our last fleeting conversation. He’d been so confrontational, so aggressive, so ready to arm himself with the chains of war and enslave me to his whims and needs. Yet I’d refused him—boldly and outright. So what did that mean, if it meant anything? Where we still together? Broken up? Or were we just taking a break?
And how, I wondered, would he feel about me feeding off someone who had not been designated as warm flesh? Did that count as cheating?
I tried to push the thoughts from my mind, but found that I couldn’t—because every time I glanced over and saw Aerick’s beautiful green eyes, the memories of our brief time together kept coming back.
His sweat.
His taste.
His heat.
His flesh.
This time, a swell of passion enveloped me, painfully stiffening my cock against my jeans. I couldn’t deny that I’d wanted him—that, above all else, I’d’ have loved nothing more than for him to go down and take me into his mouth—but there I’d been, the knight in shining armor, bearing upon my arm the shield of virtue and all that it entailed. Still, the thought was more than present—and evening as Aerick and I’s gazes caught I wished nothing more than for him to follow me back to my quarters and ravage my body.
How long had I been without Guy’s passions? Days? More than two weeks?
Damn my Kaldr blood, and damn the insatiable need that came with it.
Clearing my throat, I waited until everyone’s eyes were set upon me before I straightened my posture in my seat and said, “Can I have everyone’s attention?”
The jokes, the laughter, the casual conversation—all stopped instantly.
“Thank you,” I said, clearing my throat gazing first up, then down the row of tables. “I wanted to continue the discussion we were having earlier—and how many of you were willing to at least entertain the notion of moving in with the Kaldr.”
A chorus of voices rose within the room, to the point where it was almost impossible to hear my own thoughts. I clapped my hands once, then twice to calm the raging streams of consciousness before continuing. “Let me address any questions you might have.”
