The Black Wolves of Boston (eARC)

by Wen Spencer

  Seth pressed hands to his face as relief made tears burn in his eyes. "Thank you, Sire."

  "Protect him from all things, even himself. If you truly think its best that he stay with the Grigori's pet monster, then take whatever steps are needed to make it a proper place for him."

  "What?" Seth was sure he misheard the king.

  "Your brother may stay in Boston. He should have a proper wardrobe, cash in hand, whatever they use as bank notes now, and a vehicle. See that he's educated in a manner befitting a prince."

  "I---I---I will. Thank you, Sire." Surprise and dismay kept Seth rooted in place as the Wolf King walked out of the small examination room.

  He'd won? Joshua could stay in Boston? Seth cocked his head, replaying the conversation. Yes, somehow he'd managed to convince the king to do what he asked. Three years and he'd never been able to sway the man. It made Seth uneasy to have finally succeeded. What was he missing?

  Albany had warned him that the king acted on what he saw written on the wall too big for any normal person to see. Had the king kept Boston off-limits because he knew that the Wickers that had killed Anastasia would strike again? Did the Wakefields create the breach that killed Seth's family three years ago? Now that the coven was dead, did Alexander believe that Boston was safe enough for wolves?

  Or was it something else? The king operated solely for the whole, not the individual. His brother had an unprecedented alliance with Decker and a Virtue. Was the king setting Joshua up?

  Albany had said that time gave a person the ability to see such things. Time was something that Seth had very little of, both in the way of experience, and wiggle room. He had to act now. He had to trust his instincts that Joshua needed to be kept as far as possible from Isaiah for all the reasons he gave the king. Until he could see the writing on the wall, he'll take his cues from the one person that could.

  The king.

  "See that he's educated in a manner befitting a prince."

  Seth knew that being a prince meant more than just getting a high school diploma. It was being taught how to see the world as a political arena. It was not something learned out of a book but from someone who been trained to think and act like a prince. If the king wanted his brother to learn, then there was only one person able to teach him. Seth.

  He stood up. He'd been equating being the prince simply to being in Boston. It was so much more than just that. He hadn't been staying in contact with his neighbors. He hadn't been making decisions on rebuilding his family's home. He hadn't been seeking out alliances with people like Elise and Wise Woman Sioux Zee and her granddaughter Winnie. He hadn't even contacted his wife in California to make plans about their future together.

  He had much to do. It was time for him to do it.

  61: Decker

  "The Four in Hand is the simplest tie knot." Decker paused to remember the process. The fact that Joshua was wearing the tie changed the motions his hands needed to make. He hadn't worn a necktie for decades. They had, however, been a standard for men's fashion for over a century. His ability to tie one had become ingrained. "Wider end over the narrower one, under, around, under again, down through."

  Joshua blushed while the wolf wagged his currently nonexistent tail. It was the cutest little hip wiggle that betrayed the wolf's delight in the process.

  Decker understood for the first time the phrase "beam with happiness." He felt as if the joy had to be turning into pure light and pouring out of him. His puppy was going to the werewolves' private school in Cambridge. His puppy was staying in Boston. Most importantly, his puppy was happy.

  And confused.

  "Under, around, what?" Joshua peered down at the knot that Decker just tied. "Do I really need to wear one of these?"

  "Yes, the school has a strict uniform policy set by your father, Gerald Tatterskein." Decker had used it as an excuse to drag Joshua to upscale clothing stores. (The month of cleaning and painting had left the boy looking like a ragamuffin.) Elise had attended Blackridge as a child. She knew what they needed to buy and where to find it. She volunteered to help and seemed to enjoy the trip nearly as much as Decker. Joshua liked the amazing collection of stores called "Cambridge Side Galleria" but hated the clothes. He seemed to think shirts should come without buttons and regarded neckties as some kind of cruel trick on men. Decker had to agree that most of the ties were truly ugly. What had happened to human's color sense?

  "Gerald was very old-fashioned for his time," Decker said. "Tradition was important to him. I believe it was because he lost his father so young. Your grandfather wouldn't have been heir if not for the fact that all the other possible heirs had been killed by a feral. It burned him out. He died before he was fifty."

  "Oh, that's sad. Wait? What about Seth?" The tail wag stopped cold. "Is he going to be okay? He's not in trouble because I was kidnapped as a baby? That was the whole point of the Wicker's plan. I would have been heir instead of him."

  "Seth is fine." Decker patted his puppy on the head. "I've lived long enough to be able to tell. Your brother is much stronger wolf than your grandfather had been. Being prince is not burning Seth out, which means he'll probably live to a very old age."

  "Oh good." The tail wag started again. Joshua undid the knot. "So, wide end twelve inches lower than the narrow end. Cross over. Under?" His hands faltered and stopped.

  "Around." Decker took hold of the tie just below Joshua's hands to illustrate. His grin widened as Joshua's blush deepened in shade. The activity was requiring them to be oddly intimate. Decker was having a devil of a time controlling his tongue. He mustn't tease his puppy. The fight with the Wickers had been a horrific experience for Joshua. The boy had been captured, witnessed multiple blood sacrifices, watched helplessly as his family was nearly killed, forced to attack his friend, and had been shot six times. The feeding had been least disturbing thing to happen to Joshua but Decker had promised Joshua that he'd never feed on him again. Technically, Joshua had force fed him, but who initiated it didn't count, not with the wolf added into the equation. Joshua needed time and distance from the fight. Decker wanted to make sure that he got it.

  Joshua worried at the tight knot around his neck. The wolf growled softly in annoyance. "I wish I didn't have to wear this. It makes me self-conscious. Maybe it will be better when I see everyone else wearing the uniform but right now I feel like I'm doing cosplay. Badly."

  "You look fine," Decker said. Cosplay? What was cosplay?

  "These things always look so cool in anime," Joshua said mysteriously. "Am I too short for this outfit? I can't tell. The only mirror is in the bathroom and I'd have to stand on the toilet to actually see what I'm wearing."

  They'd shortened and hemmed the pants but altering the jacket was beyond them. There hadn't been time to have the store tailor fit it. Joshua had the shoulders and chest of a man who did heavy work, but the waist and arms of a boy still growing. While the jacket fit his shoulders, its sleeves were too long and the waist hit too low.

  "It's fine," Decker lied. "It's only for a few days. The other jacket will be ready for pickup next week. I'm sorry about the lack of mirrors. Since I don't have a reflection, I never thought to buy one."

  Joshua continued to look stressed. Decker debated for a minute before cautiously wrapping arms about the boy. Yes, it embarrassed Joshua to be close, but it soothed the wolf. Joshua was stiff and still for a moment before relaxing against him. Good, it had been the right thing to do.

  "It sucks that I'm not going to be able to stay up all night with you after I start classes," Joshua said into Decker's chest.

  "We'll have five or six hours a day." In the winter. Once spring started in earnest, they'd have far less, but no need to mention that now. Decker suspected that wasn't the real problem since Joshua rarely lasted beyond three in the morning.

  "Do you think it's really safe for me to go to school?" Joshua whispered.

  Ah, the true source of Joshua's unease.

  "What the Thanes found at the Frog Pond
after our fight suggests we did manage to eliminate the Wakefield Coven completely."

  "I mean---am I safe for other people to be around? I'm a bully magnet but now I have this whole other self with a short temper and sharp teeth."

  "Which you can take out and show any bully."

  "What?" Joshua cried in surprise.

  "I'm sure that if anyone tries to bully you, all you need to do is to show them that you're a giant-sized wolf and they won't ever bother you again."

  "I think you're missing the point."

  "Hiding what you are is a slow painful death. It locks you in darkness with the one bully you can't silence---your own self-hate." Decker knew from experience. He didn't want Joshua to drink that poison. "There will always be people that hate. They will latch onto any flimsy excuse they can to justify their rage. If you let them cut yourself off by hiding away, they've won. The trick is to surround yourself with people who will love you for yourself."

  "How do you find them?"

  "By looking for them." Decker had gone out looking in the night for something to save his life. If it wasn't for his magical talent, he would have overlooked the scruffy puppy he'd found lost in the park. "You won't be able to know them on sight. Learn the temper of their heart. You'll find the ones that beat in time with yours."

  Joshua leaned back to give him a suspicious look. "You're not just saying that---are you?"

  Must not tease the puppy even though he makes it all so easy. "No. Leave yourself open to friendship and you'll find one."

  62: Joshua

  Nowhere in the official documents for Blackridge High School was the name Tatterskein mentioned. Its mascot, however, was a black wolf wearing a gold crown. The building reflected that it been founded in the early 1800s with massive amounts of money poured into it; everything was made out of polished stone, carved wood and leaded glass. The students wore a school uniform that was white dress shirt, slacks, jacket and sweater vest. The later obviously because the heating system was still based in an earlier century.

  It'd taken Cabot and Seth three days to assemble the paperwork and enroll Joshua under the name of Tatterskein. He had no idea how they'd gotten his transcript from his old school without his parent's knowledge, but there it was, sealed and stamped. The principal was a stuttering mess at their sudden arrival. Cabot and Seth wore expensive tailored suits. Joshua felt underdressed despite his new school uniform.

  Seth did silent commanding presence while Cabot laid down the law. Joshua pulled at the tie that Decker had patiently taught him how to tie.

  "He'll be living in Cambridge with a friend of the family," Cabot stated in a low, firm voice. "We are not providing their name or address; you have no need to know. If there is an emergency, you will contact me or anyone on the list I provided."

  "W-w-who is he? He didn't attend Blackridge with the other Tatterskein child. Wait. He was born in March? He's Anastasia's baby boy? Ilya? You found him? Where? How?"

  "That is not your concern," Cabot said. "Let me remind you that my uncle's estate is still the sole owner of the school. If you don't cooperate fully, as trustee, I'll have you removed and find someone else that understands who is in charge here."

  "No!" the principal cried. "It's wonderful news; we were all heartbroken over Anastasia's death. It's---it's---it's just we're twelve weeks into the term."

  "That was unavoidable," Cabot said. "We have selected classes for him; we expect him to start on Monday. That will give you a work day to educate our teachers as to what their employment contract clearly spells out in terms of handling students who are Tatterskeins."

  The man looked like a fish yanked out of the water, mouth opening and closing. He turned an alarming color just as if he wasn't getting oxygen. Joshua was fighting his own internal battle to stay human; otherwise he'd feel guilty for the trouble he was putting the man through.

  "Do you understand?" Cabot asked calmly but forcefully. Getting no response, he sighed slightly. "Nodding will be sufficient."

  The principal nodded vigorously.

  "I can show Joshua around while you finish here." Seth stood up.

  Cabot nodded without moving his focus off of the principal.

  Out in the hall, Seth loosened his own tie.

  "I spent too much time in that office, being raked over the coals by my father. Our father. He was very hands-on about running the school."

  "You went to school here?" Joshua blushed because he sounded like an idiot. Obviously Seth attended Blackridge. His---Their family owned it. It put new meaning to "private" school.

  "Kindergarten through eighth grade." Seth stopped and pointed at a locker. "This one was mine." He started to twist the dial. "I'm going to a private school in Manhattan but I really need to watch my step to keep from being kicked out. They're really annoyed with me right now for taking nearly a month off." He clicked open the lock and started to rifle through the belongings inside.

  "I don't think you're allowed to do that." Joshua glanced around. Everyone was in classes; the hallways were empty.

  "We own the school; we can do anything we want. It's part of the rules. Besides..." Seth pulled out a plastic baggie with some weed inside. "Drugs aren't allowed on school property."

  Seth led the way into the bathroom where he flushed the contents of the baggie. "Jack gave you a phone and a wallet."

  "I already have a wallet." Joshua had just pocketed the wallet when Cabot had given it to him. "My folks gave me a leatherworking kit for Christmas last year."

  He wasn't sure why his parents had given him the kit. Making his own wallet was fun but he'd asked for an iPad. Seth and Cabot had also given him a laptop.

  "You can toss the wallet if you want." Seth threw away the empty baggie. "Just switch the stuff that's in it over to your old one."

  Joshua hadn't looked inside when Cabot handed it to him. He took out his new wallet. A Massachusetts learner's permit was tucked into the ID window. It identified him as Joshua Ilya Tatterskein living at an address that wasn't Decker's house. It even had a photo of him. How did they manage that?

  "The address is where we've lived since 1660," Seth said. "There's nothing there now but we will be rebuilding the estate once Jack and I move back to Boston. Half the teachers here know that the lot is empty, so we couldn't use that address for the school. Don't tell anyone where you really live."

  Joshua Tatterskein. That was going to take some getting used to. His old name had been smeared all over the news, first as the sole survivor of the massacre at the barn, then for disappearing from his parents' house. His adoptive parents. He never loved his last name; he'd spent most of his life wanting to change it. He hated, though, having to cut the last connection he had with his family.

  Joshua distracted himself with the rest of the wallet. There were three credit cards and a debit card all with his new name on them. The debit card came with a pin number written out on a sticky note. Cabot must have started the paperwork for them shortly after Halloween. The bill compartment contained a fistful of hundred dollar bills.

  "Holy shit," Joshua breathed. "There's four thousand dollars here!"

  "We take care of our own," Seth said.

  "Four thousand dollars? Why?"

  "Because you might have an emergency where you need lots of money fast. Buy whatever you need. Anything. We'll give you more if you run out. Seriously. Just call me or Cabot if you need anything."

  "Oh, I'll need to add you to this phone." Joshua took it out. The contact list had a dozen names, mostly unfamiliar. "What the hell? Who are all these people?"

  "Those are Thanes that we trust. Bishop is the king's lawyer. If you're arrested, you call him first and then us. And the one that says Albany? That's the landline for the Court of Albany. If you have a problem and for some reason, any reason, you can't get ahold of anyone else, call them. Tell them you're my brother and you need help."

  Joshua scrolled up and down the list. The overkill made him uneasy. "Is this school really safe? I mean---the
re's like twenty numbers here. Back home I only needed three people's numbers: my mom and dad's and the next-door neighbor's. You really expect me to get into that much trouble?"

  "This is our school but we do share it with other---special---families."

  "What do you mean? Not short bus special, right?"

  "No. Like witches."

  "Wickers?" Joshua shouted.

  Seth hushed him. "No, not Wickers. Witches. And don't go calling them Wickers, or they'll have the right to be pissed off. There may be Grigori here."

  "Like Elise?"

  "Sort of. She's a Virtue, which puts her in a different power level. They might not be related to her so don't consider them allies. There will also be kids like Winnie. Their families are under our protection; they attend Blackridge via scholarships."

  "Is this place like Hogwarts? Is there going to be some weird dark arts teacher I need to avoid?"

  "No and no. This is completely normal high school with an extremely high acceptance rate to Ivy League colleges."

  "Are there normal kids that go to this school?"

  "That depends on your definition of normal. Either they're going to be filthy rich---which isn't normal---or they're special."

  "How am I going to tell the difference?" Because he wanted to know which ones were witches.

  "Well, Grigori are easy. They're all drop-dead beautiful and use Grigori as their last names and look like they want to kick everyone's ass. Witches and the other special kids? They'll be the ones running from you."

  "Because I'm a werewolf?" He whispered despite the fact they were alone in the hallway.

  "Yes."

  "How will they know?"

  "You're a Tatterskein." Seth walked to a display case full of trophies and photographs. "Here." He tapped a picture of a boy that looked a lot like Seth. "That's our father. He was the school's chess champion. He took second at the Nationals and went on to be a grandmaster. This is your mother. She went to school here too. She won the Nationals for chess. They were extremely competitive, even after they fell in love."