by Joe Fowler
Sarah started pulling her dress up slowly. I pulled up the partial change I would need to cause the conversion within her. I was nice enough to wait until she was ready before I actually changed for the bite. No need to scare her more. She cried out but not too badly. Crystal was clearly more afraid, but she soldiered through it. She cried out a little louder but overall they handled it well.
“See y’all were so worried. That didn’t hurt me one bit.” Keith was laughing. Sarah slapped him across the arm.
“You two should wrap your legs in paper towels or something to keep from getting blood on your dresses. Come over here and I will help.” Alicia took control of the girls. Keith and I went into the living room.
“You sure you don’t want to go to Seth’s with us?” I asked Keith.
“It isn’t necessary. I like Seth, he is one of the bastions of goodness that this world depends on. The thing is, he needs his life to get back to normal as much is possible. That will be hard enough with losing Carl, and knowing that he is about to lose Alicia as well. The main reason you won’t see any wolves as old as Seth, is because it is so hard to deal with change. He has done so well by building a routine and sticking to it as closely as possible. By doing this, he doesn’t dwell on the past so much. He is always focused on the now and what has to be done now. There may come the day when you will face these same problems.” Keith always did explain things pretty well.
“Just thinking about living for four hundred years is mind blowing. I guess you are quite a bit older, but I would think it is different for you.” I was scared to even think about how old Gabriel was.
“My age would be hard to explain.” Keith/Gabriel laughed. “You are right though. Time has a different meaning for those like me. Have you thought of where y’all will go when you leave Mobile?”
“A lot depends on where the other packs are. Seth was going to give me some suggestions before we left. I would like to stay in the south, but whatever seems best for the girls will be the deciding factor. We need a decent college for Sarah. Alicia will need to be able to find work as a nurse, which shouldn’t be too hard. Crystal could go either way between college and work. Of course I will need some kind of job. I wonder how many openings there are for a psychic werewolf.” I was joking, but I really had been wondering what kind of work I might be able to go into.
“I have faith in you. You will find something and be good at it.” Keith said this just as the girls all came in and joined us. Both Sarah and Crystal winced a little when they walked and sat. I decided to tease them a little more.
“It’s too bad y’all were so scared, it made you taste like you were chicken.” Keith laughed at my joke.
“That’s not funny.” Sarah was smiling as she said it, though.
“Don’t worry, it will be healed by tomorrow night. You won’t even be able to tell where you were bitten.” I remembered my bite from Seth took just over twenty-four hours to heal. I guessed theirs would be the same.
“When does the extra stuff start happening? Like the hearing and smell.” Crystal seemed curious.
“For me it was three days. I was bitten on a Tuesday, and Friday morning when I woke up, I could hear and smell everything so much better. Of course, it may be a little different for you, or even each one of you. You two will have about three weeks to get used to some of it before the full moon.” I was wishing I had had three weeks instead of one.
“Josh is right. We have been telling you that this is different for everybody. One of you may start earlier, but it doesn’t mean anything either way. Your body has to prepare itself for the change, but no two people react the same way. You won’t get your strength until after the first turn. Then you can expect to be about three to four times stronger than you are now. Some, like Josh, are a great deal stronger than that. I was a lot faster than the other wolves, except for Seth, but I never have gotten much stronger than I was before.” Alicia was doing a good job of explaining things.
As I listened to Alicia answer question after question, I was reminded of the day at the cookout when I had been the one asking these same questions. I believed I had done the right thing by biting the girls. They needed a family since their old ones had been lost. This would give them the structure and support they would need. For the first time, I was starting to feel the responsibility that came with being an alpha.
My mind started going over the plans for the next few weeks. Finishing school would be easy enough. I would need to put this house up for sale and get everything ready to be moved. We would need to find a house that had a large wooded area around it. I wasn’t sure how much that would cost, but with the four hundred thousand in the bank plus the money from selling this house, we should be able to find something decent. We had three cars with Alicia’s Camry, Mom’s Audi, and my Challenger that were all paid for. I hated to think about it, but if we hit a rough spot, Mom probably had close to one hundred thousand dollars in jewelry laying around, maybe more. She had loved to shop and with all the money the cult provided, she had bought expensively.
The biggest problem would be settling on where we were going to live. The girls and I had always been here in Mobile. Moving too far north seemed to be a bad idea. We would want a big city to be close, but we would have to have the large wooded area as well. Sarah would need college choices. Real estate prices could play a huge part as well. Needless to say, these were not the kind of problems I was used to dealing with.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Alicia was asking as she placed her hand on my arm to get my attention.
“I was trying to think about what we have to do over the next few weeks. Where will we live? What should we be looking for when we decide where we are going to live? Those kinds of things.” I smiled down at her.
“Wait until you talk to Seth. He will help narrow down the search and he knows better than anyone what to look for.” Alicia looked at the clock before continuing. “We need to be heading over there soon anyway. Let me go call Anna, I will see when would be a good time.” With that, she got up and went to get her phone.
“You’re starting to get worried aren’t you? You will be responsible for them now and you are scared you are going to let them down.” Keith was doing his Mr. Statestheobvious routine again.
“I’ve never had to be responsible for anyone, not even myself. I always had you for that.” I laughed and Keith was laughing with me.
“You will do fine. Besides, you have Seth and your mother’s ghost to help answer your questions.” Keith teased.
“Will we be able to see her? I mean, after we change will we be able to see ghosts?” Sarah’s eyes were huge, like it was a truly scary thought.
“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. Alicia couldn’t see her today. Remember, I am half demon, which is probably the only reason I can see her.” I didn’t want to say she absolutely wouldn’t see her, though. You never know.
“Is there any way we can convince you to come with us Keith?” Sarah asked.
“Sorry, sweetie. Part of me wishes I could. Some of us have to walk a different path.” The sadness in Keith/Gabriel’s voice was real. I could tell. “It is really hard to leave good friends, but sometimes we need that or we can’t grow into what we need to be.”
“Then we all need to spend as much time together as possible between now and then. I hate the way things are ending. I lost my family, my home, and now I’m going to lose you.” Sarah was starting to cry.
“This isn’t the ending. This is just a new chapter for you. You found a love with Crystal that is deeper than most ever get to have. You have Josh and Alicia, who would kill or die for you. Your very long life is ahead of you, and if you try to keep looking back, all you’ll get is a sore neck.” Keith had a way of explaining things.
“They just got home from the funeral. We should go on over there.” Alicia was nearly in tears.
“I guess we will see you guys later. Keith, the keys to the Audi are on the kitchen table if you
need them. You guys call me if you need us.” I said that on the way out of the room. Part of me didn’t want to leave when the girls were upset, but knowing Keith/Gabriel was there put my mind at ease.
“What’s wrong? What made you start crying?” I waited until we were in the car to ask Alicia what had upset her.
“Anna was just so sad. Carl had been there for so long. It sounded like the funeral had been really hard on some of them.” Alicia was gathering herself. “I might be spending most of my time with Anna. We have been each other’s anchor when things got bad. She sounded like she needed me.”
“That’s fine. It’s good that you’ve had each other to turn to.” I didn’t know what else to say to that.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. I was a little worried some wouldn’t want me to be there, considering Carl had died trying to help save me. I wanted to be there, though. I hadn’t known him long, but I had liked him from the start. The yard was full of cars when we pulled up. The entire pack was here today.
We were greeted with hugs and handshakes from everyone. It was good to see I had worried for nothing. Everyone was telling stories about Carl, some funny, some not. Alicia had gone to Anna as fast as she could without being rude to everyone else. There was a ton of food in the kitchen that was mostly going uneaten. The pack were gathered in groups talking. Many had gone to the backyard to sit on the grass and enjoy the sunshine. I headed that way.
“Heads up Josh!” Thomas said as he threw me a beer.
“Thanks, Thomas.” I said as I opened the beer.
“Hey, he isn’t even old enough to drink. Why are you giving him beer?” Cynthia teased. “Contributing to the delinquency of a puppy. You could be arrested.” Everyone cracked up over that one.
“Who would handle that? The police or PETA?” I asked. That got another round of laughter.
“The police, they have canine units.” Jimmy added on.
“Anyone who saw him tearing through those vampires knows, that is one badass puppy!” I didn’t see who said that. A lot of them raised their beer in a salute of agreement. Seth was one of them.
I sat as they traded stories from the raid on the house from Saturday. There was a lot of laughter and camaraderie. Some were bragging about Carl, some about me and Seth, and others who weren’t there were asking for more details. These stories led to other stories from years gone by of the pack fighting large groups of vampires, or other werewolves. I listened, drank, and cheered as was appropriate.
Here and there some would get up and go eat. Some would come out and replace those who were eating. The stories continued, one story leading the way to the next. When the sun started setting, it took me by surprise. I hadn’t realized we had been sitting there for so long. Alicia came out asking if I had eaten yet. I hadn’t so she drug me inside to eat. Anna seemed to be in better shape now, so Alicia had done well. After eating we went back outside to find that most had gone for a run. Alicia and Anna joined them. Seth motioned me over to where he was, it looked like he needed to talk to me.
“Days like today are the best and worst part of pack life. I had my pack here telling stories and laughing. We drank beer and ate some good food. Now all but a few are out on a run having a good time. That’s usually as good as you can hope for.” Seth shook his head and continued. “I had to bury one of my own this morning. That is the worst feeling there is. You will see that as alpha you will care for your pack like they were your own children. Carl was the oldest of the group that came here with me. Over the last four hundred years, I have buried more loved ones than you can imagine. It never gets easier. In some ways it only gets harder.”
“I am starting to feel some of the weight already. I bit Sarah and Crystal today. I’ve been worrying about where we will live and how well I will be able to take care of them. My mom left me some money and the house, so I can get us started somewhere.”
“Are you sure biting them was the best thing to do?” Seth asked.
“Crystal lost her mother Saturday night, and Sarah’s family disowned her for being gay. They had no place to go, no money, and no family to help them. I gave them the choice, making sure they knew that I would help them even if they chose not to join the pack. They already felt like family, biting them just made it more official.” I explained. “I figure they can live with me and Alicia while I put Sarah through college. Crystal has said she would rather just get a job and not try to go to college, but I’m still hoping she will get to one day. Using the money Mom left me added to what I can get from selling my house, I should be able to get us started. With Alicia, Crystal and me working, we should be okay. It’s just scary to think about.”
“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into it. I can show you where there are existing packs. I made a list yesterday of current locations. There are a lot of good places for you to choose from. If Sarah will be going to college you will need to be near a large city, which will narrow it down some. We will look at that some other day, though.” Seth sat back and smiled. “Your first pack is nerve-racking. You are lucky to have Alicia with you. There’s a reason they make wolves wait to become alpha. You have to learn how to deal with things before you can be expected to lead others. Alicia has had the necessary traits for an alpha as far as the leadership and knowledge, though she would never have gotten the chance. I have heard of wolves that were three hundred years old and never became capable of being an alpha. You did it in less than a week.”
“I’m not exactly jumping for joy over it though. I wouldn’t have minded some time just being in a pack. There is so much that I don’t know.” I hesitated. “I just hope I can do right by them.”
“That is the most important thing you could have said. You can’t simply say that you will put your pack’s welfare above all else. If that were the case, Carl would still be here. You still have responsibilities outside of the pack too. Killing vampires is number one on that list. In wolf form, vampires are easy, but we aren’t always in a place where we can change. For you and me, that isn’t a problem. For Alicia and the girls, they would need to change or they might not survive.”
“How do I keep them safe without locking them in a closet then?” I said it as a joke but he knew I was serious.
“Alicia knows all the drills. Staying in public places once the sun goes down for starters. Vampires need to keep our existence a secret even more than we do. We may need to meet some of these days before you leave. There are so many things I would like to teach you to make sure you are prepared.”
“I would like that. The more I know, the better I can take care of them. I really appreciate all the help Seth. You already saved my butt Saturday night.” I told him. “That was a hell of a fight.”
“He was tough, I’ll give him that. I haven’t had to fight that hard in a long time. It is kind of a good thing, though. It reminds me that I’m not completely immortal.” Seth chuckled. “It just seems like I am sometimes. It’s strange how you feel really old and decrepit sometimes even when you have our abilities. When I woke up Sunday, I was sore as I could be. I haven’t had to push myself like that lately.”
“All those gunshot wounds might have helped with the soreness too.” I laughed remembering the three I took in the chest.
“You’re right on that point.” Seth looked at me seriously. “Has Keith told you what he is yet?”
“Yes. I had a difficult time swallowing that one. An archangel. It’s not every day you meet someone like Gabriel, then to find out I had been friends with him for thirteen years. That will blow your mind.” I shook my head and Seth was laughing.
“The pack kept asking me why I was taking orders from a human boy.” Seth’s laughing got harder. “I would have liked to see their faces if they could have known the truth.”
“Keith said you and I would be the only ones to remember he was more than just a human. I am going to miss him. You didn’t get to know him in better times. He is actually pretty goofy most of the time.”
; “Has he gone? Seth asked.
“No. He is going to wait until after graduation. It will give the real Keith Goodman a chance to get used to being in charge of his body again before he heads to Alabama. That was kind of funny too. Gabriel had to play football within the limits of Keith’s body. He said he really wanted to win all of the games but he had to keep up the human act.” I said.
“So when I’m watching Alabama play and I see Keith, it will just be Keith. It won’t be Gabriel anymore.” Seth looked disappointed.
“Yep. Just human Keith.” I confirmed.
“Damn, we could have won a couple more championships with Gabriel. Although it may be considered cheating to have an archangel as your quarterback.”
“Then all the other colleges would want one. Would they have to recruit by prayer?” I added.
Seth and I continued talking. We were relaxed and comfortable with no threats looming for once. It was really good to see this side of him. Alicia and Anna came back from their run and joined us. We stayed until it got late and Alicia reminded me of finals tomorrow. I hated to leave.
“What did you and Seth talk about?” Alicia asked on the way home.
“A little bit of everything. I will be going back to talk to him about potential places for us to live. He said he made a list of places that might be good.” I looked over at Alicia. “Anna seemed to be much better. It looks like you helped her a lot.”
“She was a mess when we got there, but she just needed to talk things out with someone.” Alicia sounded good, like maybe she had needed someone to talk to as well.
We didn’t talk much the rest of the way. We were just wanting to savor the better moments of the day. The house was dark when we got home. The girls had already gone to bed. Since the Audi was here, I guessed that Sara had taken Keith home and had come back. Alicia and I tried to be quiet when we made our way upstairs to bed.
