It was Gina's father, who'd died in Afghanistan. His body was never recovered and that probably left a big hole in Mrs. Allen's life. I knew she wasn't married—Gina never referred to a step-dad.
Somebody was taking her daughter out, now, and in Mrs. Allen's mind, threatening to interrupt her close-knit bond with Gina.
"I like Gina," I blurted. "A lot. There's no way I'll interfere with your relationship. I promise."
"Mom, stop with the inquisition," Gina walked into the living room shoving long, dark hair over her shoulder and giving me a lovely smile. "It's just dinner and a movie. I'll be home by eleven, I promise."
"I wish you had another option than going back to Valley High," Mrs. Allen grumbled. "But we don't have the money for private school. I—just don't want you anywhere near those monsters and let's face it, they seem to be stalking Valley High students."
"My parents are arranging to have me home-schooled—at least for a while," I said. "For pretty much the same reason."
"Who's teaching?" Mrs. Allen brightened up immediately.
"My Uncle Joey is teaching science and math—he has a master's from MIT, with honors. Whenever I need help in Calculus, he's the one who explains things for me. My Uncle Bearcat is teaching English, history and everything else. Mom says that when they get done with Mack and me, we'll get into any college we want afterward."
"Is that true?" Mrs. Allen's eyes lit up. "And the Walters boy will be studying with you?"
"Mom doesn't lie," I shrugged. "And she considers Mack to be an extra kid, since he's at the house so much. So, yeah."
"Will you have your mother call me?" she pleaded. "At least she can give me advice, if your uncles don't want to include Gina in their classes. MIT? Really?"
"Oh, yeah," I nodded. "Uncle Joey's kind of a genius at that stuff. If you have any question about computers, he's the one to ask."
"Mom can barely use the Internet," Gina whispered with a smile.
"I heard that," Mrs. Allen said, but she laughed, letting us know it was all right. "Where are you going to eat?" She added.
"I thought maybe Mr. Wong's," I said. "Do you like Chinese?" I turned to Gina.
"I love Mr. Wong's. They have the best wonton soup," she beamed at me.
"I like that, too," I agreed. "And the shrimp fried rice."
"Have a good time, and be back by eleven," Mrs. Allen waved us toward the door. Somehow, I'd passed her test, when I didn't think there'd be one to pass to begin with.
* * *
I got Gina home by eleven, with three minutes to spare. I almost didn't kiss her good night because of a sudden onset of awkwardness.
Thank goodness she met me halfway. I drove home after that, with the hardest erection I'd ever experienced. Joey met me at the door leading from the garage into the house.
"Here," he slapped a bottle of lotion in my hand. "I hear cold showers are supposed to work, too."
"What?" I'm glad I couldn't see my stunned expression, because it surely looked as uncomfortable as it felt.
"It was either me or your dad," Joey shrugged.
All right, meeting Dad at the door would have caused me even more embarrassment. "Good call," I mumbled and stalked past Joey toward my bedroom.
* * *
"We've already cleared it with the school," Mom said while Mack and I had bacon and eggs for breakfast Monday morning. "They've canceled classes for this week anyway, because of the attacks and deaths last Friday night, but Pheligar made all the necessary changes for you and Mack. I understand we're not the only ones pulling students out of Valley High—the Catholic school in Clovis has been bombarded with requests."
"Gina's mother wants you to call her," I said, attempting to shove aside the fear that threatened to envelope me. I was terrified Mom would say no. After all, we would be hunting spawn between classes and homework. Plus, Gina was human; Mack and I weren't.
"I've already talked to Marie Allen," Mom smiled. "I told her it wouldn't be a problem for Gina to study with you and Mack. Joey and Bearcat convinced me it wouldn't be a bad thing to add another student or two. They've cleared out the two bedrooms behind the garage to make two classrooms, complete with computers at each desk and everything else you may need to do your lessons."
"This, and this," Joey walked in and placed a new tablet in front of each of us. "I have another two for Gina and her friend, Sarah. These have all your textbooks on them, plus access to reference materials and anything else you might need."
"Sarah's coming, too?"
"They'll be here in an hour. Class starts at eight-thirty. Finish your breakfast and clean up," Joey commanded. "You belong to Bearcat and me until three."
"Does Gina have a ride?" I asked.
"Sarah is picking her up. They'll ride together on most days," Mom said. "Eat. You don't get to shirk, just because you're studying at home."
"You're not getting an apple," I teased, pointing a finger at Joey.
"If I depended on you for food, I'd starve," he teased right back.
"I can actually hunt for food," Mack pointed out, grinning.
"I really prefer cow to venison," Joey said.
"Please stop talking," Mom said, slipping off her barstool. She looked green.
"Uh-oh," Joey said. "Come on," he took Mom's hand and they both disappeared. I figured she'd be losing her breakfast in short order. Mack blinked at me. I just shook my head.
* * *
"I have already stretched my authority to the limit," Thorsten complained.
"And things are going in the proper direction," his creator offered a cunning smile. "With this forced pregnancy you have manufactured, you have effectively removed the First from combat, making her an easy target. Now, we can take her grown child, too. Then, when we destroy the unborn child with her mother, it will destroy the Former Falchani's will to live and The Saa Thalarr will fall with those two. This has become too easy."
"I can only take this so far," Thorsten whined. "If Belen discovers what I've done, I can't guarantee I'll keep my job."
"Then we'll make sure Belen is occupied elsewhere, shall we?"
"I have to leave that to you," Thorsten countered. "If you expect me to do your will in this, Belen must continue to trust me."
"I will arrange it," came the reply.
* * *
Justin's Journal
Joey was an unrelenting taskmaster in the classroom, and he wouldn't let me stare at Gina for more than five seconds before sending mindspeech. I decided right then that mindspeech could become more of a curse than a blessing.
The good thing, I suppose, was that classes with Joey and Bearcat were much more advanced than anything we'd ever gotten at Valley High, and it honestly kept us better engaged. Who knew?
Even Mack enjoyed it, and he'd never particularly liked school before. The assignments, too, weren't dull and dreary retreads on what students had done for the past decade or two. These made you think, asking for research and input. Bearcat asked us plenty of questions, especially on how mass unemployment in Germany, the great depression and ensuing economic failure in Europe were contributing factors in World War II.
Mom was right—this was college level stuff and would help prepare us to score higher on admission tests.
I walked Gina to Sarah's car after classes were over, while she actually gushed about how our classes would help her, especially the math and science classes. She liked Joey so much more than Mr. Draper, because he explained everything in a better, more energetic way.
"I can't wait to tell Mom what a good idea this was," she said, giving me a peck on the cheek. I watched as she and Sarah drove away, wondering whether my future days would all include cold showers.
* * *
At breakfast Tuesday morning, I learned that our underground bunker in the backyard was now occupied by vampires, while the third floor was inhabited, not just by Uncle Dragon and Uncle Karzac, but also by Daniel Carey, Second from the Corpus Christi Pack.
"They were all up
late, packing, traveling and then holding a meeting," Mom explained while we ate. "The vampires won't be up before nightfall anyway, and Daniel may sleep almost that long. I think you and Mack should take it easy after school today, and nap if you can, since we don't know how late you may be getting back tonight."
"What about Teddy—Beth's boyfriend?" Mack asked.
"He'll arrive before nightfall. We've invited him to dinner," Mom said.
"I thought I'd get to meet him when Beth brought him to the house. This is certainly different," Mack grumped.
I could tell right then that Theodore Williams had his work cut out for him—he'd have to be extra special before Mack would ever approve him as husband material for his sister.
"Honey, keep your mind open," Mom hugged Mack. "Give everybody the benefit of the doubt until you meet them and know for sure what they're made of."
"I'll try."
"Good."
Again, I wondered about Mack's mother, and why she'd never bothered to contact him when he was in the hospital. If she'd called, he would have mentioned it. Mom was standing in—and standing up—for Mack. He was right to call her Mom.
He went to visit his mom for a week every summer, but he seldom talked about it when he got back. I worried that it was stressful and awkward for him, after a year of not seeing and seldom hearing from her.
I'd never asked Beth about it, so I didn't know how she felt about the whole thing, either.
"Don't worry about it, honey," Mom gave me a hug next, as if she'd read my mind. "Finish your breakfast and get ready for school."
* * *
After school, I saw Gina and Sarah off again, then went to the kitchen looking for a snack. Grampa Franklin sat at the island, as if he were waiting for me. Mack was already into a glass of juice with peanut butter and crackers.
"Grampa Frank!" I was at his side in three seconds and getting a hug. I didn't want to say it, but he looked so much frailer than when I'd seen him last. "You taking it easy?" I asked, grinning at him when I pulled away.
"Always," he nodded. "I hear you have a girlfriend."
"Yeah," I hung my head to hide the embarrassment.
"That's nothing to be ashamed of," he chuckled. "First one, is it?"
"First serious one." I sat beside Grampa Frank and made myself comfortable. "I think I drooled on some girl in kindergarten, but that's it until now."
"Just don't forget to show her how important she is to you," he said. "Because you never realize how significant that will be in the long run. Now, I hear you and Mr. Mack over there are going to hunt spawn."
"That's the plan," Mack nodded.
"Be careful. While you've dealt with younger spawn up to now, watch out for the older ones."
"Older ones?" Mack stopped eating for a moment.
"They're bigger, faster and more deadly," Uncle Merrill walked in and nodded to Mack and me. "Are you hungry, Franklin?" he asked, placing a hand on Franklin's shoulder.
That was different. Before, it was always Grampa Frank asking that question, and fixing something if anybody wanted to eat.
"I'm fine, stop fussing," Franklin said. That's when I knew that his health really was more fragile than when I'd seen him last. I could have Looked to check, but was too afraid to do it.
"Are you prepared for tonight?" Merrill turned the conversation in my direction. "It would be wise to rest an hour or two before night falls. We have plans to be in Dallas, tonight."
"Okay. Ready to go to your room, peanut butter and cracker boy?" I turned to Mack.
"Sure." He slid off his stool, stuffed his plate in the dishwasher and followed me down the hall toward the stairs.
* * *
Adam's Journal
"He doesn't want help, and if he goes, he wants to make sure nobody takes heroic measures. His partner died years ago, and he wants to follow him," Merrill sighed. Franklin had gone to the bedroom we'd prepared for him on the second floor, so I'd joined Merrill in the kitchen. Franklin was the topic of conversation.
"This is going to be hard on everybody," I said. "What did the doctors say?"
"That his heart is giving out on him," Merrill replied simply. "My child doesn't want interference—he wants to enjoy the time he has left and especially doesn't want to linger."
I knew—because I'd Looked—that Franklin had steadfastly refused Merrill's offer to make him vampire through the years. I understood that decision, up to a point. I'd been turned early in my life and had never faced the pains and diseases that came with old age.
Merrill had a front-row seat to it, however, as he watched a child he'd adopted at eight grow old and wither before his eyes.
"I don't know what I'll do without him," Merrill muttered. "We've been together so long. At times, I think of ignoring his wishes and making the turn anyway. That will destroy his trust, however, and that would be more painful to me than his death."
"Things have a way of working out," Kiarra walked into the room looking slightly ruffled. She'd been taking a nap in our bedroom and hadn't bothered to look in a mirror before shuffling into the kitchen.
"Hello, my darling," Merrill's face lit in a smile.
"Merrill, how are you?" She leaned in to peck him on the cheek.
"I am more than fine. Franklin's health is failing."
"I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed. "We love Franklin, too."
"How soon?" I asked.
"Unknown. I just don't want him to suffer. We watched his partner, Greg, die of pancreatic cancer, and that was painful enough. To know it's Franklin suffering? I'm not sure I can bear it."
* * *
Justin's Journal
I think Mack wanted to growl at Theodore Williams, who asked everybody to call him Teddy when he was introduced. Something was going on, there, that I didn't know. For the first time, I used my ability to Look for something personal, and what I found was unsettling.
At the core of it was perhaps the reason Mack's mother remained distant. Werewolf marriages were arranged more often than not, and the rules were that the mother had to birth two children before she could leave the werewolf she'd married.
Mack knew his mother's marriage to his father had been arranged by her father, because Martin Walters, Mack's dad, was a strong and important Packmaster. She'd had little choice in the matter.
She hadn't been mistreated, but the arranged marriage had never been what she'd wanted so when Mack turned eight, she'd left him and his sister, moved away and married someone she chose to love.
He was human.
I understood how awkward that might be for Mack, both in the past and in the future, because now he knew he was werewolf, whereas his two half-human brothers would be considered human.
Human-werewolf children were never werewolf. That's the way it worked. I was almost sorry I'd gone Looking for the facts of the matter, but understood better what Mack's grievance with Teddy Williams might be.
Beth's marriage was being arranged by Mack's dad and Thomas Williams, the Sacramento Packmaster and Teddy's twin brother.
Packmasters and Seconds were the top choices in marriage material for any female werewolf, for obvious reasons. I found myself hoping—like Mack—that Beth could have love in her relationship. That her children wouldn't be left behind if she went in search of happiness. That's how things worked in the werewolf community—the children were left with their fathers, who raised them.
All of that information came to me in a matter of seconds. It offered a new perspective on Mack's world, and his struggle to understand his recently altered place in it.
The tension between Mack and Teddy eased considerably when Beth arrived unannounced, went straight to Teddy and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her close, kissed the top of her head and asked her how her classes went.
I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw Mack visibly relax. I understood, too, that Teddy was in his fifties, while Beth was twenty. He still looked young, and I suppose that i
f your lifespan might cover two hundred years or more, fifty was still quite young.
"I wish I could go with you," Beth told Teddy later, as the sun was setting over Fresno.
"Baby, it would scare the hell out of me if you were fighting those things," Teddy took her face in his hands. "I know you can do it, I just can't guarantee my reaction if one of them tries to hurt you."
He walked her to her car so she could drive home. Mack and I exchanged glances, but the arrival of Daniel Carey and the vampires distracted us quickly.
"Son, this is Russell Farleigh," Dad introduced a tall, dark-haired vampire first. He smiled and offered his hand. I took it. "Russell and I, well, we're considered vampire siblings," Dad said, shocking me.
"That means the same vampire turned both of us," Russell grinned. "The filthy, conniving bastard."
"Uh, what?" I jerked my head from Russell to Dad and then back again.
"Xavier wasn't the easiest vampire to get along with," Dad growled.
"He was a prick," Russell confirmed. "And he's dead," he shrugged. "We don't care," he added, with a laugh.
Not until then had I considered the fact that as Dad was a vampire, it stood to reason that someone had made him that way. I shivered.
Xavier and another vampire tried to kill your mother and me, Dad sent mindspeech. That explained a lot.
"This is Will," Russell introduced another vampire, who grinned and saluted me. I could tell that Will would be fun, even though he was vampire.
"This is Radomir," Dad introduced him next. He was the one I'd pick as a vampire, because he seemed older and much more reserved than Russell or Will.
Daniel Carey came next. "This is Daniel, the Second for the Corpus Christi Pack and an old friend," Dad said. Daniel gripped my hand firmly and offered a nod. He was tall, straight, dark-haired and had a military bearing about him. Dad said he was Navy, but I didn't ask if he were still an active service member.
"And this is Kyle," Merrill introduced the last vampire. "He is one of my vampire children," Merrill said, causing my eyes to widen in surprise. Kyle was shorter than the others, thin and tough as a whip, with dark hair and eyes. He looked like a lightweight boxer, in my opinion.
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