“You know Andee?” Miranda asked her sister.
“Of course,” the younger redhead replied. “Welcome back. I’ve missed you.”
“Really?” Andee asked.
The girl nodded.
“Yeah, I want to talk to you about becoming an FBI agent, like you.”
“Really?”
The girl nodded.
“Okay, we’ll find the time to talk about that. I have to take care of some other stuff first though, okay?”
The girl nodded again, her smile covering her face, “Of course.”
“Do you know where your uncle is?”
“Yeah,” the girl giggled and turned.
She pointed to a pile of some six boys piled on top of each other.
“He’s under there. He challenged the boys to tackle him.”
As if waiting for his cue, Alwyn rose up from underneath the boys. He roared as a dragon might, and the children squealed and ran for protection. A couple of the younger ones ran for their mothers, but the older boys regrouped and threw themselves at his legs and around his waist.
Andee watched Alwyn stand to his full height, his salt and pepper hair messed, his smile showing the boy still inside him. He roared and the bellow evolved into a laugh. He wore a pair of white trousers, now grass-stained, and a blue pin-striped long-sleeved shirt. Much of the tail of the shirt was loose, and used by some of the boys trying to control him.
He roared again, the kids squealed again, and he reached and grabbed one of the slower boys. He lifted the boy overhead and then dropped him into his arms at his chest. Holding the boy there with one arm, he began to tickle the laughing boy, who screamed for help from his comrades.
Three mounted the rescue and soon several hung onto the man’s legs. Roaring as if he was a man possessed, Alwyn slowly, careful not to land on any of them, controlled his tumble to the ground. His attackers, elated, swarmed him. Another five or six kids joined the assault to hold him on the ground.
Andee watched the tumbling, laughing, roaring mix of bodies, but she focused on the only adult. An adult, who at that moment looked and acted more like an overgrown child.
“Is that just not the sexiest thing?”
Andee turned to Miranda and nodded.
“My uncle is a hunk no matter what, but get him playing with children, and he just melts your panties off. Don’t you think?”
Andee smiled her agreement, nodded, and whispered, “Oh yeah.”
Then, horrified at her admission, Andee turned and stared at the redhead, “No. No, that isn’t what I meant to say.” She wiped her hands in the air as if she could erase her words.
Miranda tilted her head back and laughed.
“Come,” Lady Lloyd clapped her hands, calling the wrestling to a halt.
“Come, children, you too Alwyn, wash your hands and let’s have lunch.”
After only a brief moment, hunger won out, and the herd of children rushed to the house.
Alwyn stood, ran his hands through his hair, and noticed Andee. He kept his face bland as she smiled and walked in his direction.
“Who are you? The monster from the deep?” she asked as they neared.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m a werewolf.”
“But don’t they only come out at night,” she countered.
“Not when invited to children’s parties.”
“Children’s parties?”
He pointed to a boy who looked to be eight or nine years old, and said, “Yeah, that’s Toby. His mother is a sister of mine, and this is his birthday party.”
Andee frowned.
“If someone had told me, I would have brought a present.”
“Not to worry, he has more presents than he knows what to do with. Besides, when you left, I had a strong impression you wanted little or nothing to do with this family.”
“Really? And I hoped I’d left you with the impression of how hurt I was.”
A small girl wearing a summer dress and tights ran to her uncle and grabbed his leg. She tugged in an effort to get him to follow her.
“Come on, Uncle Alwyn, Auntie Gennie says you gotta come eat.”
Alwyn bent and picked up the girl. She squealed in protest. He held her to his chest and made eating sounds as he kissed her face.
“All little munchkins have to fear me,” he declared, “I am a werewolf and I eat little girls for lunch.”
The little girl giggled and squealed in protest.
“Alwyn,” his mother called, “put her down so she can wash for lunch, and you do the same. You’re filthy. You’ve ruined your trousers.”
He smiled at Andee and whispered, “You wouldn’t know it, but I’m forty years old.”
Andee laughed, and he loved the sound of it.
“You might be forty, but you’re still a mother’s boy.”
He raised a hand, “Guilty as charged.”
“I’m told you are the expert on the history and practices of the werewolf.”
The two men sat in the library of the estate house and had closed the door to protect themselves from the playing of the children. Lunch was over, and the party had disintegrated into a general melee only children can accomplish.
Miranda had begged and pleaded with Andee to do “a sister” thing and go shopping with her. With great reluctance, the agent agreed, but only after Alwyn promised to share with her any new ground covered or information shared in her absence.
Lloyd studied the detective for several seconds. He suddenly felt tired of it all.
In time, he canted his head and responded.
“Why don’t we cut through the chase, and you ask me what you want to know? Frankly, I’m tired of having to defend my thoughts and my family’s beliefs. You are the third law enforcement official who has questioned me. How can I help you?”
“Miranda, I don’t feel right about this. I came up here to introduce a new partner to Alwyn and try to find out who is attacking and killing people. To find who attacked you.”
“Andee, dear sister, this is much more important. Alwyn will figure it out, don’t worry, it’s his job.”
“It’s not his job. It’s my job. I’m the FBI.”
“Yeah, I know, and I think you’re great at it, but Alwyn is the Unum. This is his job. Besides, we have something more important to do.”
Andee snorted at her companion, “I hate to tell you this, but shopping for your new dress is not more important.”
“Oh, I know that, silly, and we’re not shopping for my new dress. We’re shopping for yours.”
Andee stopped walking, turned and faced her antagonist.
“Miranda, I don’t need a new dress. I didn’t come here to visit or to socialize. I came to check up on you and to introduce Canton to your uncle.”
“What are you going to wear to dinner this evening?”
“I wasn’t planning on eating dinner. I’ll have something in the hotel, if we stay the night. Canton might decide he has all he needs by the time we get back.”
“I’m sure Detective Canton is a good man and a good investigator, but I don’t give a care if he stays for dinner or not. Of course, I will invite him, I am polite, but if he stays or not is not my worry. You, on the other hand, are staying and that is settled.”
“Miranda, why are you doing this? Can’t you just leave things alone? His mother will never approve of me. I don’t know why, and there is nothing I can do about it. The old bag doesn’t like me, and Alwyn will never go against her wishes.”
Miranda bit her lips and studied her friend.
“I lose, Miranda,” Andee concluded. “I’m the odd woman out. Let it go.”
Miranda shook her head.
“No, I won’t let it go. I know my uncle is crazy about you. And I know you’re crazy about him. I’m not going to stand by and let the two of you miss this opportunity because you are so hardheaded.”
“I’m not hardheaded,” Andee shot back, “I’m outmatched. We always play these games on the Lloyd estate,
and I’m always the visiting team. I can’t outmatch her.”
The redhead smiled and put her arm through the agent’s and said, “That’s cause you’re playing the wrong game.”
Miranda led the agent, and Andee followed her into s small but upscale restaurant in the mall. She smiled at the hostess, shook her head when asked if they needed a table, and escorted Andee to the bar. She motioned for her friend to sit.
The server arrived and with a smile asked for the order. Without discussing it with Andee, the redhead ordered the agent a glass of white wine.
“You’ll like this,” she promised Andee, “its perfect for an afternoon spent complaining about older women.”
She smiled back at the server, “And for me, a glass of water. I’m going to be a mother.”
Andee smiled. She couldn’t help it, and didn’t want to help it, she liked this woman, this redhead, this Vox Secundo. When the drinks were served, Andee sipped, then rewarded Miranda with a slight smile and a nod. She agreed with the choice.
“You and I need to talk.”
Andee smiled, “I suddenly feel like Alwyn. He complained once to me that all we want to do is talk.”
Miranda waved off the comment and continued, “Do you have any idea why Gennadiya finds you unacceptable for Alwyn?”
Andee thought for a moment, and then said, “She thinks I’m the wrong woman for her son.”
Miranda shook her head a slow, and silent, No. Then she said, “You might want to take a swallow or two. It’s not sugar, but it helps want I’m telling you go down.”
Andee drained her glass and before Miranda could, ordered another. The barman was quick to serve.
Andee sipped and as she lowered her glass, Miranda said, “You think Gennadiya disapproves of you since you’re the wrong woman. That isn’t true. She disapproves of you because you are not wolf.”
Andee took another swallow.
“I honestly don’t see what that has to do with all this. Mixed marriages are common.”
“It’s not about the marriage. It’s about property and inheritance,” Miranda said.
Andee shook her head and frowned, “I’m sorry, you fed me too much wine. I’m confused.”
Miranda, slowed her rate of speech and used her hands to punctuate her words.
“Alwyn is the only son. He has four older sisters, all who have married and mated. You’ve met all but one, I think, at the family gatherings.”
Andee nodded, “All of them seem very nice.”
“They are. Anyway, as the only son...”
“The estate goes to him, but only if he’s married. I get it.” Andee completed the sentence.
“No,” Miranda shook her head. “Not in the way you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alwyn won’t inherit the estate. Title will pass from my aunt, through Alwyn, to his wife. Property, in wolf families, transfer primarily through the alpha females. It’s a way to keep all the families more or less equal in wealth. We don’t want only a few families to build dynasties and then rule over the others. Secondarily, the practice tries to make sure the children always have homes. The males can’t wake up some morning and kick the females out, a practice that happened in the past. Remember, everything we try to do is in an effort to help the species, not just a few individuals.”
“Wait a minute,” Andee said, as she closed her eyes and gently pressed her fingers to her temples. While she was wide awake, the alcohol in her bloodstream still affected her, and she wanted to make sure she understood her friend.
“You’re saying that when Alwyn marries, his wife becomes the new owner of the Lloyd estate?”
Miranda nodded her head.
“Yes, when Gennadiya passes. As long as he marries a wolf. Humans can’t be alphas, male or female.”
“And the estate will still be named Lloyd.”
Miranda smiled. “Now, you’re catching on. Gennadiya, in an effort to honor her dead husband, doesn’t want the name to change for at least another generation.”
“And if Alwyn doesn’t marry or marries a human?”
“The estate goes to the oldest daughter, Stephanie, who is married to a wolf named MacDonald.”
Andee giggled and said, “And the Lloyd estate becomes the MacDonald farm.”
“Stop it,” Miranda said, though not without a smile. “It’s not funny. Feuds between wolf families have started over less.”
“Doesn’t the other siblings get angry of jealous? They get nothing?”
Again, Miranda couldn’t stop her smile.
“I guess it depends on how you look at it. Remember, we’re as much wolf as human, or at least many of us are, some are less. Anyway, in the wild, only the alpha male and female get to mate and have offspring. Many of us think we’re getting a good deal, since we get to have families and mates of our own choosing.”
“Oh, please.”
“You have been to the estate?”
“So?”
“Have you ever been there when only Alwyn and Gennadiya is there?”
“No.”
“That’s right. There’s always family around. It’s the family estate. In a lot of ways, the ‘owner,’ in this case, Gennadiya, is only the chief caretaker. I plan on raising my son on the estate, just as I was raised. It’s a pack mentality, Andee. You gotta get used to that.”
Andee thought for several seconds and then sighed. She looked at her friend.
“I don’t think things will work out between Alwyn and me. His mother will never let them. She wants him to marry a full woof, and I’m not even a part one.”
Miranda shook her head, “How many glasses did you have in there?”
“I don’t know. More than I should have, I’m sure.”
“I agree, you’ve had way too many. We’re wolves, not woofs. And Gennadiya is no different from the rest of us, she doesn’t always get everything she wants. You’d be good for Alwyn, and we can stay sisters. We’ll raise our pups together.”
“Pups? You call your children pups?”
“Joke, Andee, I made a joke. Werewolf humor.”
“Oh,” the agent said, and then followed with, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Can you guys really change shapes? I mean, no fooling now, sister to sister, can you really turn into a wolf?”
Miranda studied her friend and nodded.
“Yes, many of us can change into a wolf.”
Andee scowled, as if she was trying to visualize the process.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
Miranda studied her, “Doesn’t everything that’s worth doing hurt? At least while you’re learning to do it?”
Before Andee could continue, Miranda smiled, “Look, we’ve got a dinner tonight. I think we need to get serious about buying you some proper clothes. We’re going to glam you up with skirts and dresses that make my uncle drool over your legs. We’ll bag him.”
Andee looked at Miranda, “We’ll bag him? Really? More werewolf humor?”
Miranda smiled, “No, girl determination.”
Miranda stood, and took a moment to scan the immediate area. Andee realized she was acting as a sentry, protecting her. Andee slowly put her hand on the woman’s arm, “Can I ask you one thing more?”
“Okay, alright,” Miranda nodded and sat down.
“This baby?”
“My son. What about him?”
“You’re really going to keep him? I mean, won’t he remind you of the rape?”
Miranda lowered her hand and rested it on her stomach. She smiled at her friend.
“This child, this son, had nothing to do with how he was conceived. I’d be wrong to punish him for what happened to me. I seriously, don’t think I’d be able to forgive myself, if I acted that short-sighted, and besides hurting the baby, and me, I’d be committing a crime against my species. This baby is a full wolf. Every day, we are fewer and fewer.”
“If he was not full wolf? If you had been ra
ped by a full human? Would you feel the same?”
Miranda leveled her eyes and she looked hard at Andee.
“I would not have been raped by a human. Had one tried, I would have ripped his throat out.”
Andee nodded, “And the father? This wolf? Will he have a part in the raising of your son?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Miranda replied. “He won’t be around.”
Andee snorted, “And how can you be so sure?”
“Alwyn will kill him,” she said flatly.
“What?”
“Alwyn will kill him before the baby is born. He’ll never know him and never see the baby. There is a price to be paid for what happened to me, but it won’t be paid by the baby.”
The men had talked for just over four hours when they heard a knock on the library door and without waiting for an answer, Gennadiya pushed it open. Even from across the room, Alwyn saw his mother was upset.
“Excuse me,” she said, and Alwyn detected a tremor in her voice, “I need to speak to my son. Alwyn, please, I must see you.”
Alwyn rose, worry marks on his forehead. He looked at his mother, then turned to look at Canton.
“Excuse me, detective, is there anything I can have brought to you while I speak with my mother?”
“No, I don’t think so. Take your time.”
He also recognized a woman who was frightened.
Alwyn nodded a silent thank you, and stepped into the hallway, where his mother stood, cellphone in hand.
“It’s Miranda.”
“What’s wrong?”
She paused only a moment. She knew a moment was all he’d give her.
“He’s taken Andee.”
“Who has?”
“I don’t know. Miranda is on the phone.”
She extended her arm. Alwyn, his eyes never leaving Gennadiya’s, took the device. He turned his back and as he lifted the phone to his ear, stepped away from his mother.
“Lloyd,” he said.
“Alwyn, Alwyn, is that you?”
“Miranda?”
“Alwyn, he took her.”
“Who took her?”
“The wolf. The wolf who raped me took her.”
“Where are you?”
“At the Cornerstone Mall. We were shopping. I went into a dressing room and when I came out, she was gone. Oh, Alwyn, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I never thought he’d come here.”
Shadow of the Moon: A Fantasy of Love, Murder and Werewolves Page 27