by Brent Miller
The wolf barely seemed able to stand on its own, but it inched its way backward as Cailean approached. For a reason beyond his grasp, Cailean felt afraid. The cub couldn’t be more than a few days old, and it didn’t seem to be the target of his fear, but they were alone and he was terrified. Regardless, Cailean cautiously inched his way toward the pup, holding his hand in front of him. When he was close enough to pet it, he dropped to his knees and held his hand in front of the dog.
It approached him slowly, and his heart pounded within his chest. Steadying his breathing, Cailean tried to keep himself calm as it sniffed the back of his hand. Slowly, the fear drained from him and was replaced by a sense of comfort. Finally, it began licking the back of his hand. Smiling, Cailean brought his hand up and gently pet the dog’s head. Cuddling against the palm of his hand and using him for warmth, the cub fell asleep.
Chapter 2
Eleven Years Ago
Aldric
“What if we just stay here?” Aldric suggested, cradling Cailean and rocking him gently as he slept. Baffled by how tiny his son was, Aldric just stared at the baby. Of course, he knew in theory how small infants were, but it was something different entirely to hold one. The fragile being in his arms depended upon him and Linda for everything.
“This town has some bad memories for you, doesn’t it?” She replied, concerned.
“They’re just that – memories. Anyway, it was centuries ago. I think it’s time to settle down and make some new ones.”
“What about the last job?”
“We’ll be fine,” Aldric laughed softly, trying carefully not to wake the baby. For the first time in the conversation he was able to pull his eyes from Cailean and look up at his wife, only to find her staring at their son as well.
“I won’t pretend it wouldn’t be nice to have you around,” she admitted.
“You know my tendency to overprepare. Let’s just live here. We’ll keep to ourselves. As much as we can, and no one will question us. For as long as possible, we can let Cailean live in one place.”
“I like that,” Linda agreed as she looked up and caught Aldric’s eyes.
“I thought you might,” he smiled as he handed her their son. Without another word, Aldric held up a finger to tell her to wait and wandered toward the basement. In one sweeping motion, he grabbed a stack of documents and turned back toward the door, bounding up the stairs.
“I already got started on our new identities, just in case,” he informed her when he reached the top of the stairs. Aldric held the papers out toward her before realizing that she was still holding the baby.
“Trade,” she laughed, handing him Cailean as she took the papers. All the motion jostled Cailean awake, and he started crying angrily.
“Just like his dad, he hates to be woken up,” Linda teased.
“That happens to be a rather common dislike,” Aldric defended. He wasn’t sure when she’d fabricated that idea or why it was something about which he should be teased. To Aldric, it seemed obvious that he wouldn’t like being awakened unnecessarily. As a child, Aldric’s family had forced him to train his reflexes, and he had learned to wake up in a hurry to be ready for anything. He found that to be a hard habit to break, especially when he knew the dangers which surrounded their world, so Aldric was still a very light sleeper. Any time Linda would try to wake him, he’d jump up in a panic, and then be annoyed if there was no real reason, because it was impossible for him to get back to sleep after the adrenaline kicked in. Recently, though, Aldric had been having trouble sleeping at all. He couldn’t distract his mind from the omnipresent danger of the hunters long enough to sleep.
“I know,” she sighed, disheartened that her joke hadn’t been received well.
“He’s got plenty in common with me,” Aldric tried to change the subject. His perpetual state of being tired since Cailean’s birth brought along a level of irritability. Though he knew that Linda meant no harm with her joke, he was annoyed that she found it so humorous that he appreciated the little sleep he could get. Still, rather than making a scene about it, Aldric was happy to just move on to a different point of conversation.
“I’m pretty sure he has my eyes.”
“I wonder whose eyes he’ll have when he becomes a wolf,” Linda pondered.
“That’s not entirely how that works,” Aldric laughed. The color of a wolf’s eyes didn’t particularly have anything to do with genetics. It was more associated with the development of the individual.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Aldric replied. The two still talked over Cailean’s crying as Aldric rocked his son, trying to ease him back to sleep.
“For now, you check out those papers while I try to comfort this little guy,” he offered. Aldric rocked Cailean back and forth as he looked down at his child.
“It’s okay, buddy,” he whispered. Soothing Cailean, Aldric continued to whisper and gently bounce him. Finally, Cailean’s cries subsided and he drifted back to sleep in Aldric’s arms.
“He’s got your voice,” Aldric joked, trying to return her attempt at humor.
“Original,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at him. With a laugh, she looked down at the birth certificate in her hand. “I guess I can’t argue with you though.”
Aldric cradled Cailean, giving his wife a moment to look over all of the paperwork. He was confident that he would have the funds to procure everything they might need. Looking at his son’s face, he knew the hundreds of years of hard work had been worth it. If not for the playful jokes with his wife, or for the ability to spend time as he pleased, then for Cailean.
“These look perfect,” Linda praised with a smile. Though there was no sadness in her tone, she did sniffle slightly as she looked away from the paper she held.
“It will be the last alias in a long time,” Aldric began, anticipating her question. “So I thought it was okay.”
“Okay? I think it’s great. We can finally use our real first names.”
“It’s our real last name, too. From this point on, we are legally the Phoenixes.”
Present
Twenty-Nine Days until the Full Moon
Cailean
Jumping out of bed, Cailean raced toward his calendar. In his haste, he barely even took the time to register the fact that he hadn’t fallen asleep there. Instead, he turned his full attention to the countdown written in the boxes in front of him.
About a month ago, he had written the number of days remaining until school in each box. Since then, he had been crossing off the days as he woke up each morning. Only two weeks until he started sixth grade. Of course, Cailean wasn’t particularly excited for school, but at least he was finally starting middle school. No one would be able to pretend he was just a kid anymore. Middle school was always the time which Cailean had assumed he would begin to transform – growing more like his father.
Eagerly, Cailean ran to the kitchen, bounding down the hallway. Beaming as he opened the kitchen door, he found his parents sitting somberly at the table. With the tension in the air his mood changed drastically.
“What’s up?” Cailean questioned, gazing toward his mother.
“Nothing,” she shrugged with a smile. “Did you sleep alright?”
“Yeah,” he replied. After a moment of contemplation he added, “thanks for bringing me to my room.”
“That’s what moms are for,” she smiled, squatting down to his level and kissing his forehead.
“Only two more weeks,” Cailean cheered after his mom stood and walked toward the cabinets.
“For what?” Aldric asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Really?” Cailean asked, taken aback. Cailean knew his father was being facetious, but he still hesitated for a moment. Daily for the past month he had been reminding them that he was almost ready to start middle school.
“Of course I remember,” Aldric laughed. “How could I forget?”
“Yeah!”
“Cailean,�
� Aldric added slowly, as though carefully selecting his words. When he didn’t follow the name with anything, Cailean began to feel concern. He’d never seen his father at a loss for words.
“What?” Cailean finally offered.
“After breakfast, meet me in the basement,” he ordered.
“Oh, okay,” Cailean shrugged, wondering why his father had struggled so much with that statement. They trained in the basement nearly every day, so it wasn’t an irregular command. Without another word, Aldric vanished through the kitchen door.
“Is he alright?” Cailean asked his mom.
“He’s just not ready for you to grow up,” she teased, punching Cailean’s arm. Cailean wondered if his mom was scared to hurt him, because she never put any force into her punches.
“I am,” Cailean countered.
“I know,” she laughed sadly. Clearly she was unwilling to accept that he was growing up as well. Cailean couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for everyone around him to process the fact that he wasn’t a child anymore. Growing up was normal; it didn’t have to make everyone so uncomfortable.
“I’m going to make cereal,” he muttered awkwardly after a moment of silence, motioning toward the cabinet behind his mother.
“Oh! Don’t worry about it, I’ll make it,” she responded, apparently snapped out of her trance by his words. Turning around, she opened the cabinet and retrieved the box of cereal.
“Mom, I can make my own breakfast.”
“I know you can. But it won’t be long before you don’t need me at all. Let me do what I can, huh?”
“Okay,” Cailean muttered quietly before walking back to the table. Unable to grasp why his parents were acting so strangely, he just accepted that it was most likely just a result of their only child aging. Maybe they needed to have another kid. Cailean liked the idea of having a younger brother – even if he was quite a bit younger – and that would cure their early-onset empty nest syndrome. Cailean had suggested it before, but for some reason, his father seemed to be vehemently opposed to the idea. Deciding it was best not to bring it up again, he just remained silent as his mother added milk to a bowl on the counter.
He thanked her as she placed the bowl in front of him. Nodding with a smile, she sat across from him at the table and just stared at him. Ten seconds passed while Cailean waited for her to either say something or at least stop staring at him.
“Alright then,” Cailean mumbled, turning his attention to his breakfast. Over his life, he had learned not to eat too quickly, especially when he trained in the morning with his father. Even with his metabolism, food took some time to digest, and fighting directly after inhaling any form of a meal was not in his best interest. Regardless, with his mother staring at him, the awkwardness drove him to eat far more quickly than he knew he should have.
“Alright, I’ve got to run,” Cailean broke the silence as he pushed his chair backward and stood, retrieving the bowl.
“Don’t worry about it,” his mother motioned toward the dish in Cailean’s hands.
“Okay, you’re being really weird Mom,” Cailean accused, refusing to hand over the dirty bowl. “You’re the one who always taught me to clean up after myself.”
“I’m sorry,” she groaned, resting her head in her hands.
“What’s going on? Is this about me going to middle school? Do you think I’m just going to stop loving you guys or something?”
“No,” she laughed quietly.
“Then why are you both being so weird this morning?”
“Sometimes, you know that things have to change, but you just keep waiting, you know? I wish I could just keep you like this forever,” she told him, gazing at him.
“You’ve taught me well, Mom,” Cailean consoled as he rinsed the bowl. Walking back to her, he wrapped her in a hug. “I’m going to grow up, but I’m always going to be your son.”
“Yeah,” she smiled through tears.
“I’ll stop talking about middle school if it makes you feel better,” he offered.
“No,” she shook her head. “It’s not about middle school.”
“Then what’s up?”
“You should probably get to the basement. Your dad is waiting for you.”
“Okay,” Cailean hesitantly agreed. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine,” she replied with a kiss on his forehead. Leaving the kitchen, Cailean sighed deeply. His mother wasn’t usually so emotional. Of course there were times that she’d respond to things, but to start crying for no apparent reason was unlike her. The entire situation made Cailean uncomfortable – and although he wouldn’t admit it to her, he was excited to get away from it. Training with his father and learning to fight was by far the preferable option.
Cautiously, Cailean descended the stairs. The first lesson in self-defense that he’d learned was to never let his guard down. As his father always said – a fight begins before it begins, and it isn’t over until it’s over. It had taken Cailean a long time to understand that statement, but he believed that he finally understood what his father meant. An opponent could jump out at any moment – so even if the defender wasn’t aware that a fight had begun, the attacker was waiting. The second half was far easier for him to wrap his young mind around. If he thought a fight was over, but the enemy got back up, he would be caught off guard. With that teaching running through his mind, Cailean was careful not to allow his father to catch him off guard as he reached the landing. To his surprise, though, he found Aldric leaning against the wall in the opposite corner.
“Good job using your training,” Aldric complimented.
“Thanks,” Cailean replied without attempting to mask his confusion.
“Don’t worry, we can still spar,” his father told him. Cailean never made it a secret that he enjoyed fighting, even though he had still yet to get a single hit in against his father.
“Is this a trick?” Cailean asked, watching the older lycanthrope with suspicion.
“No,” Aldric assured him. “No, I just have to talk to you about something first.”
“Okay.”
“You’re getting older. I think you’re ready to hear this,” Aldric started, turning a chair and offering Cailean to sit. Confused but excited to learn whatever it was his father had to say, Cailean sat silently and listened.
“What we are, Cailean, it scares people. You’ve always known that you’re different, and I’ve done my best to explain that to you. You’re not like the other kids, Cailean.”
“No, I’m better,” Cailean interjected confidently.
“No. You aren’t.”
“I’m faster. I’m stronger, I can hear and see better. I never get sick and my wounds heal instantly. I’m smarter than them too.” The last part had nothing to do with being a werewolf, but Cailean’s parents had taught him very well. Since he started school, they had supplemented his education. Cailean couldn’t remember the last time he actually learned anything in school, but his parents told him that he had to continue going in order to keep appearances up.
“None of that makes you better,” Aldric scolded. It had been a long time since Cailean had seen his father so angry, and he was taken aback. “It makes you different. Someone with strength should always use it to protect those without it, do you hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I wish I could teach you to do that, but it’s an idealistic thought. Unfortunately, there are too many things preventing that.”
“Like what?”
“Well, like I said,” Cailean’s father sighed, closing his eyes. Clearly, he was still working out the best way to organize his thoughts. “Some people are afraid of what we are, and fear, Cailean, is powerful. It can drive people to do monstrous things. There is an organization of these people called the Hunters.
“Hunters have made it their sole purpose to eradicate anything supernatural from this world. You see, we are stronger than humans. We could use that for good, but there are other wolves who w
ould use that power to their advantage. Some of them hurt people with no discretion. Hunters, however, believe that we are all monsters and that we kill and hurt humans indiscriminately.”
“Like when we’re wolves?”
“Always. We can’t control it when we’re wolves, that’s true. But that’s why I take precautions. You always make sure you change on a full stomach, and you only change far from any humans. Still, sometimes people get hurt and because of that, hunters see us all as monsters.”
“You said all supernatural creatures. Are we not alone?”
“This world is full of things you can’t imagine, son.”
“Like what?”
“Would you mind if we table that?”
“I guess.”
“I’m sorry, but in case it isn’t clear, this is difficult to me. I’ve never had to introduce someone to this before, and it makes it harder because you’re my son.”
Cailean had never seen his father struggle so much with anything, and he was unsettled. Something about the hunters clearly scared him, and to Cailean, that meant that he should take it seriously. If Aldric Phoenix saw something as a threat, Cailean refused to disregard it. Despite his curiosity, he agreed to be silent and allow his father to explain the situation.
“Each hunter has their own motivation – whether it’s personal loss, religious zealotry, or just a desire to destroy what they don’t understand. Whatever their motives, they are all dangerous. If they find out what you are, they will hurt you. Indiscriminately, they will kill you and everyone you love. They train their children basically from birth to notice any signs paranomality.
“Eyes will be on you as you move into this new school. Other kids will see you, teachers, parents. You’re already strong, but it only grows after your first change. It will be evident, Cailean, just from looking at you.
“I will always be here to help you, but we need a plan. You won’t be able to hide forever. So this is my advice to you: the best way to fit in is to stand out.”