Chapter 13: Champoeg

Sasha stood in the living room with Lilian, Haley, and her sister, Zoe. She did not like the awkward silence with them staring at her. So, she thought about something to talk about while Toby was raiding the kitchen. “So, um…since y’all have such acute senses…how do y’all deal with being in such close spaces? Is there any privacy?” she asked.

Lilian stared at her blankly before she smiled. “Yea, there isn’t really a private conversation in this Den. You’d have to turn up music to encrypt anything you want to have private” she said.

Zoe grinned. “Oh, and be sure to clear out the air after you do anything intimate…and I already told you about gargling” she added.

Suddenly there was a loud clattering as the pans started crashing into the floor, and Lilian jumped. “Shit…” Toby muttered. He picked up the pans.

She immediately looked towards the kitchen and growled lowly. “Excuse me for a sec” she spoke softly before she into the kitchen. She saw the mess and no longer felt sorry for him and his injuries. “What in the hell are you doing!?” she yelled.

Sasha and Zoe both giggled to themselves, and Haley smirked preferring to take this over mourning any day.

“Uh…making Lunch…” He said.

She looked at the heavy-duty pot with several Macaroni and Cheese boxes of the noodles, the packages of cheese, and un-boiled water all in the pot. “That's not how you make Mac’n Cheese!” she yelled.

The laughter in the other room grew even harder and out of control at this point. “Not the way I make it” He muttered.

“Get outta here?” She yelled yanking him out of the kitchen.

He scampered off, and he sniffed his arm pit and twitched. “I’m going to the Waterfall and clean off…I smell like sanitizer” He said as he walked past the girls.

Sasha cocked her head. “Waterfall?” She asked.

Zoe laughed. “He means shower…Toby forgets most of the time to drop the werewolf vernacular when he’s talking to a human or not. I think he’s taken a few too many shots to the head or something”

Sasha nodded then smiled happily. “So, I take it werewolves don’t talk like that around humans normally right?” She grinned widely realizing that this might be something great. “What if he just sees me as another wolf?” she suggested.

Zoe shrugged. “Meh, you’re his girlfriend” although, she smirked evilly. “…But I could teach you a few more things about being a wolf” she said.

Sasha’s face lit up “Okay!” she shouted with excitement.

Zoe cleared her throat. “Well, there’s several things we do differently than humans. First off, you remember when I told you we don’t do much PDA, we like to take our wolf man out back out into the middle of the forest and devour his face if you know what I mean” she said, which Sasha blushed madly and nodded.

“Second, we’re very open to mating outdoors. He likes it better that way…and don’t freak out if he turns in the middle. It’s better that way. Actually, encourage him to…you’ll like it” she continued on before she nudged her. “Be adventurous don’t be afraid to rough him up and be unconventional to spice things up” she whispered into her ear.

Haley snickered to herself. “That might get her pregnant”

Sasha gulped and nodded. “So…can he smell whenever I am on my…you know?” she asked shyly.

Zoe nodded. “Oh yea! He’ll know what your body is doing even to the most embarrassing detail, when you’re ovulating, when you’re on your period, when you’ve missed it, when you’re pregnant, when you’re on the pill” she said. She cleared her throat. “Toby will vomit and act weird just to let you know” she said.

Sasha frowned. “Is that sort of thing normal?” she asked.

Zoe shrugged. “Mom says it is” she said.

•••

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Toby examined his body to see no scar on him what so ever. His wolf like hairs sprouted from the freshly repaired skin. He soon turned the water on, and he stepped into the shower and stared off into space thinking about the things that were happening. He just started his senior year of high school; Ian is back; he has a girlfriend; he was almost killed again…all in the same month.

“What am I going to do?” He muttered to himself. He put his face in the water, and he felt it hit his face and trickle down his body. “Damn…What am I supposed to do?” He muttered.

He thought about Sasha’s safety when he introduces her to the clan. He growled as he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and opened it upside-down and some of the contents squirted into the bathtub. “Damn it!” he muttered. He lathered the shampoo and turned to rise when he slipped. There was a loud crash as he slipped back. His butt hit the bottom of the tub, and his head and back slammed into the wall. He yelped and rubbed the back of his head, but he got back up little disoriented but unhurt.

He heard a knock on the door. “You okay in there, Toby!?” Sasha called from the other side.

He snapped out of his daze. “Yea I’m fine…I think…” He muttered as he skidded around on the slick surface, while he carefully rinsed off his head. The back of his head grew a throbbing bump from his little trip, and he looked back at the wall seeing a respectable sized dent.

“He’s too sturdy to hurt himself that way” Zoe told Sasha.

“Did he fall in the shower again?” Phoebe asked.

Tommy snickered to this. “Having problems holding the soap again?”

“Shut up!” Toby grumbled.

Sasha cleared her throat. “Um…so…what do y’all look like during the winter? You said, you have winter coats, don’t you?” she asked.

Zoe nodded. “Ho yea! We look like fat big balls of fuzz” she joked.

Toby shut the water off and shook off the excess water off his body like a dog before he stepped out of the shower. He looked at the mirror, but he looked away seeing someone seeing he resembled his father.

He quickly grabbed a towel off the rack and dried off before he walked out of the bathroom. Zoe and Sasha looked at him curiously, and he stopped looking very confused. “What?” he muttered.

“So, are you starting to grow your winter coat?” Sasha asked.

He looked at her oddly. “Uh why?” he asked.

She blushed. “Oh…I just wanted to know when you start to grow it and shed it” she said before she looked towards Zoe. “Is there much of a shedding problem?” she asked.

He stared at them mortified and walked into his room. Zoe snickered at him before she nodded to her question. “Yea, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Just sit him down and run a hair pick and vacuum over him. Wolves his size will take like two hours to do” she said.

“Oh, I don’t mind. It’ll give me something to do, teehee. I can actually spend a lot of time bonding with him” Sasha said lovingly.

Lilian walked up to them smiling. “If you like that then you might like shampooing his fur” she added.

Toby stepped out of his room wearing out a pair a black short and a blue t-shirt that said, “I’m the big bad wolf” in yellow lettering and there was an air brush picture of a snarling wolf’s head. Sasha looked at his shirt raising an eye brow. “I can’t believe you are wearing that! Are you insane? Don’t you want people to not know what you are?” She asked.

He cocked his head cutely before he grinned. “But I always wear this…I’m proud of what I am” he said slapping himself on the chest.

Zoe cleared her throat. “You know…around here people would think the wolf is his spirit animal. Not that he is a werewolf. I do it all the time” she corrected her.

Sasha paused a moment before she laughed. “Wow…why didn’t I notice that before? It’s so obvious now!” she said.

He laughed. “Reverse Psychology my friend…You would think a smart werewolf like me would be afraid of clueing people in on my secret? But you know…I just do it to mess with people’s heads also…everything I do is subliminal and for the ones that catch on, everyone else with think they are crazy. Sure, got you doing some crazy things in the school didn’t I?” He said.

Sasha smirked. “So that explains using that strange dialect of yours, huh?” She teased.

He scowled and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh…yea let’s go with that…” He said nervously before his stomach growled again.

His mother sighed heavily and clapped her hands together. “Okay, lunch is on the table” she told them. She cleared her throat loudly as he was about to jump off the banister again. He stopped and looked back at his mother shaking her head with a very intimidating scowl. He gulped and quietly walked down the stairs slowly. “That’s much better!” she said with approval.

She looked towards Sasha and grinned. “You have to speak to a wolf man with authority! Get him to fear your wrath” she shouted with confidence.

•••

Three weeks have passed; the Toby and Zoe’s popularity began to catch fire throughout the town. Zoe played the last three games by herself and their team still dominated the field. Toby on the other hand struggled to pretend to be hurt, which much to his and Sasha’s annoyance, the girls were swarming all over Toby to help him and trying to get him to notice them.

The students were intrigued by Toby’s miraculous recovery from the assassination attempt. Rumors were spread that Jesuit fans were so upset that they tried to kill him. The atmosphere was abuzz when the school paper announced that Toby would be returning in the homecoming game.

During the spirit week assembly, they ran a well-produced hype movie some students from the film club and booster collaborated on. It started with the school logo with a mighty wolf howl. They picked clips from the past year with fumbles, sacks, and dropped passes. All while playing audio of talk shows discussing how lousy their record was and the dysfunction.

It cut to the audio of the talk shows announcement of a new coach and new players, and the absurd numbers during tryouts. Then they played clips of Toby’s fake punt for a touchdown, Successful 2-pt conv, 2 successful onside-kicks, Zoe running touchdown, Toby Receiving Touchdown, and the successful fake PAT kick for a 2-pt conv from the Sheldon game.

They played the reaction from the radio announcer giving a play-by-play, “The most improbable comeback. When the starters struggled to find the endzone the whole night. A back-up and a walk-on go and score 22 points in the last minute of the game! Are you kidding me!?”

Then they ran audio clips with Zoe and the coach mic’ed-up during the win streak. Audio clips from the sport broadcasts reacting to her success as they played drone video of her during the Aloha game. They then cut to a panning shot of the back of Toby in the tunnel looking out watching. They played audio clips from news coverage of the “shooting” with Toby. There was another cut looking into the tunnel showing him standing at the edge of the shadows zooming in on two yellow eyes stared out ominously. He pounded his fist into the wall with a growling sound effect.

The text “Next week” appeared with thunder clapping then a low rumble. “West Linn vs.” Then they played audio clips of a wolf snarling and growling to a black screen before all the clips from Toby’s brutal hits from with the bone crushing audio from the Jesuit game. The students were in an uproar and cheered once it said, “The Big Bad Wolf”

Toby was ushered onto the gym floor to a standing ovation. The cheerleaders were eyeing him like candy, and Olivia was a little subdued. She forced a smile as deep down she felt guilty with what happened. Sasha watched on happily and stuck to being around her club. Only a few of them knew about Toby and Zoe, but like the rest of the students, they knew she was dating him.

Kari leaned in and tapped her shoulder. “So, since wolf boy is better. Are we going to Champoeg?”

Sasha nodded and bit her lip. “Yea, well…I’ll have to see if Jean is training him tonight”

Zoe glance back at her and nodded. “He should be. Though, I think they have had plenty enough time for training. I can’t have him getting too far ahead of me”

“Jealous much? You gotta be the center of attention, don’t you?” Clare teased.

“I just don’t think it’s fair that he gets all this special treatment after transforming into Lycaon…It’s such a waste. He’s not a fighter” Zoe grumbled.

“Like you have room to talk. You’re the Alpha’s daughter. You have privilege. Doesn’t that seem a bit hypocritical to say that you don’t get special treatment?” Clare retorted.

“Pft, I ain’t an only child. You try standing out in a house of 15 kids. I have to compete for my Dad’s attention. If Toby didn’t go Lycaon, they wouldn’t be forcing all this special training on him, Nuff Said”

Sasha rolled her eyes at her and huffed. “I think it’s more than just him going Lycaon. I’ve heard about what his Grandmother did to him when he was young. You know he saw his father murdered and his home burned to the ground. I think they are afraid of Toby could become if he doesn’t get help”

“You kind of have it good, Zoe. What else could you want?” Clare added.

“Come on, I was only joking. I don’t really care what they do with him. What, do you think that I’m really that insecure?” Zoe backtracked.

The rest of the girls stared at her skeptically before Sasha muttered. “Of course not. I don’t think you’re that jealous” she said as the assembly ended.

“Your damn right!” Zoe said proudly. She thought about it a while longer before she followed after Sasha. “Hey! What do you mean by that?”

“Come on Zoe, it’s the way you said all that. I can see why you’re upset, but I think you forget about all the things that have happened to him”

“I don’t forget! I just rather not think about it. I don’t have to hold back the anger that it brings if I do it that way”

“Yea, well it’s stuck on repeat for him, and you wonder why he turned full on wolf!” Sasha remarked.

Zoe had an epiphany and clapped her hands together. “Hey, I think I got it!” she shouted before Sasha gave her a strange look. “I think I’ve figured out how to turn into Lycaon now”

Sasha opened her locker and sighed heavily. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea?”

Toby was prowled the halls looking for his prey completely ignoring all the eyes on him. Sasha was at her locker quickly rushing to organize her area unsuspecting the big bad wolf lurking about.

She slammed the door shut and jumped at the sight of a wolf peering at her with his hungry eyes and an insidious smirk on his lips. “Toby!” she shrieked grabbing onto her chest. He had been gaining some muscle mass as of late, as he had been put through a strength training regimen.

He approached her and set his hands on her shoulders. “You want to go to homecoming with me?” he asked with his alluring smooth deep voice.

Sasha face went completely red as she watched all eyes on them. Her heart began to race and she gulped. “Yes!” she shouted before she smiled at him. “You scared me there” she told him before she shoved her palm into his chest. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she shouted playfully.

She brushed a strand of hair from her face and looked into his eyes deeply. “So, are we going to go to Champoeg tonight?” she asked.

He smirked. “You think your parents would let us go on a school night?” he asked.

She laughed at him. “Of course, they will…If I tell them it’s for a history assignment. Besides, they really like you” she said before she slung her backpack over her shoulder. She batted her eyes at him as she grabbed his hand and dragged him down the halls to the back of the school.

She backed him into a wall before she pressed her body up against his and reached up to caress his face wanting to have some intimacy with him. He leaned in giving her the opportunity to plant a gentle kiss on his jawline. “I can’t wait to tell them” she said as he growled into her ear seductively. They looked over at a group of freshmen gawking at the spectacle, which Sasha blushed before Toby wrapped an arm around her and shot them an extremely hostile glare.

The freshmen scurried off before he reached up to run his fingers through her hair. She clutched onto his chest firmly and murred happily before Zoe walked up behind them smirking.

“I hate to interrupt you love birds, but did I just happen to hear that you two were going ghost hunting alone?” she asked before she gave a mischievous grin. “Sounds like the perfect setting to get up close” she said before she snickered to herself.

She put her hands behind her back and approached them smirking. “It’s a big place…maybe I can lead the crew around?” she said before she looked over at Clare who was just arriving.

He looked up at them and sighed. “Well, if that’s the case. Maybe bringing the rest of them along along would help” he said.

Kari approached them with Percy, a scrawny nerd, who was staring at Toby in shock. “Wait, Is he going?!” he shouted. Sasha and Clare gave him the most intimidating glances making it seem that he was in the wrong.

Kari nodded. “Hai” she said before she pointed nudged him. “Karera wa ?kami desu” she told him. Toby was mortified with her telling him about his secret or secrets.

The nerd looked confused himself. “Wait, like literally wolves?” he asked.

Kari’s head sank and sighed. “Just forget it, you’ll find out soon enough” she said.

Sasha sighed heavily. “I was thinking about getting there around seven. We can all meet at my place at 6:30” she said before she looked towards Toby and smiled at him. He looked at her slightly irritated at being disturbed, but she slapped him over the chest. “Come on and mush!” she teased him. The group stared as them as she dragged him away.

•••

They rushed back to her home where her dog was barking and pawing at the fence. Sasha unlocked the door to her home lead him inside. She looked back and smiled at him as he tossed his backpack aside and sat down on the couch after setting his longboard against the arm rest. She laid her backpack next to his before she slyly sat on his lap sideways and wrapped an arm around his massive torso.

He smirked as she began to trace the muscles in his chest, and her eyes wondered about his body. He gulped as he ran his fingers up her side, and she watched him carefully. She bit her lip as his hand touched the side of her buxom before she took his hand moving it over. She laughed at his expression as she coaxed him to knead them.

He gulped as he massaged her chest, which she looked up into his eyes deeply. “Do you like them?” she asked. He nodded slowly before she snickered and pulled him in to plant a kiss on his cheek. He instinctively grabbed the back of her head and moved in to press his lips against hers with a deep dominant growl. Her eyes widened with pleasant surprise before she stroked the side of his face giving into his smooch.

When their lips parted, she blushed at him. He transformed slightly as his arousal made him lose focus with the outside world, and he began tugging at her lip with his fang. He murred periodically, and her nipples poked through the padding in her bra as her hand began to wonder lower. Their make out session was rudely disrupted as Todd barged inside.

His face contorted horrified at the sight of a werewolf with his paw in her shirt coping a feel and her hand in the werewolf’s pants. Toby quickly reverted into his human form. Sasha gulped pulling her hand from her boyfriend’s crotch before her mother walked in with groceries.

She looked at son confused before she looked towards her daughter in Toby’s lap tangled up with him. She shook her head at them with a smile, but she said nothing as she set the bag of groceries on the table. Todd looked between Toby and his sister in a daze questioning his sanity, which his sister quickly brought up the perfect distraction.

“Toby asked me out to Homecoming!” She blurted out.

Her mother beamed with pride. “Oh, my baby girl is finally going to go to Homecoming!” she squealed. She came up to her and giggled gleefully. “We’re going to have to find you a dress!” she shouted.

Sasha smiled. “Let’s go tomorrow. Our club is going to Champoeg tonight” she said.

Her mother looked at Toby intensely, and he looked back at her. “Be back before ten” she told them firmly. She paused for a moment before she went into the kitchen to stow away the groceries. “I’ll be looking for a dress online” she said.

Toby got up and stretched. “You know, we should at least start working on Bio” he said as he walked near Todd.

Sasha smiled and nodded as she led him upstairs. “Maybe you can help me with bringing a dish for Oktoberfest this week” she said.

Todd’s head swiveled mechanically resembling an impact sprinkler as he watched Toby closely. Her mother poked her head out. “Oh and Leave your door open!” she reminded them before she looked towards Todd. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

He frowned and scuttled up to her. “I think Toby’s a monster” he said lowly.

She laughed at him. “Why don’t you go walk Makita?” she asked.

He scowled at her. “No one believes me!” he muttered to himself as he stomped off to the back door. His mother laughed and shook her head before she walked up to check on Toby and Sasha. She poked her head in as they were talking about the food chain and food web.

“No, no…It’s difficult for a species to go beyond Quaternary Consumers. It’s not enough energy and they’d go extinct. Look, each step you go down the chain, there’s only ten percent left from the previous one. Primary ten, Secondary one, Tertiary a tenth, and Quaternary a hundredth. Quinary and Senary shouldn’t exist” Toby told Sasha.

Her mother smiled. “Wow, Toby’s really smart” she said.

Toby and Sasha both looked up from their laptops, which Sasha smiled. “Yea, you know he’s taking integral calculus?” she asked.

Her mother’s eyes widened before she grinned. “Well…I’ll let you two study” she said before she walked away beaming with pride.

•••

Later in the evening, Lilian came over and spoke to Sasha’s mother, and they both giggled uncontrollably as his mother was given the news about him asking Sasha out to the dance. Toby sighed heavily as he exited out of his laptop, and Sasha looked over at him happily. “You’re really quick with homework” she said before she leaned into him. “You’re a really good kisser” she said as she looked up at him with a satisfied but lustful smile.

He looked at her and chuckled. “But that was just one kiss” he said.

She laughed at him. “It was almost like a hundred Toby…or did your wolf take control of you all those other times” she said before she reached up to touch his neck. “I like it. Everything felt so…natural and passionate” she said.

He blushed and looked away. “I felt the same way” he said.

She grinned. “I can’t wait for even more of those kind of kisses” she told him before she pulled him in for another smooch. When she pulled away, she let out a contented sigh. “You barely transformed those last couple of times” she commented.

He nodded. “Yea…I think it’s because I’m not holding back my instincts as much” he said.

She snickered to herself. “I trust your instincts…I know you won’t hurt me” she said before she pushed into him playfully. “I feel safe with you” she told him with longing eyes as she stroked his chest.

He averted her gaze and blushed. “Well, I’m a big bad wolf. I’ll maul anyone’s face if they hurt you” he said before he looked back at her with a cheeky grin.

“Rawr” she said playfully.

•••

Meanwhile Bernie and his partner Larson were under an overpass that stood over railroad tracks and an expressway. State troopers had the blockaded the overpass and the expressway, while a curtain was held up to block the gruesome sight from passengers in the WES commuter rail trains. A train had stopped on the tracks having run over a person whose severed parts still lay on the tracks.

The state troopers and deputies were busy taking pictures of the scene, while Bernie focused on interviewing the engineer and conductor of the train. They were dazed and confused, and Bernie looked towards the other bodies in front of a wide pedestal that held up the intersection above. On the pedestal were smears of the victims’ blood that read, “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?”

He scribbled in his notepad his observations as the interview went on. “We called it in earlier this morning. Everyone thought it was a scaled-up Halloween prank and just left it. This was the same spot those kids hung a dummy off the bridge last year” the engineer said before he gulped. “We didn’t know that it was real until one of them got up and fell onto the tracks!” he said quickly.

Bernie stared at him. “How long was this out here?” he asked.

“It was here before our first run. We got there around 5:45 in the morning…but it wasn’t there last night” the conductor said.

“When was that?” Bernie asked.

“I would say about 7:45” the conductor answered.

Bernie growled. “Stay here!” he told them before he walked up to a Lieutenant who was talking to his colleagues. “This reek of the Big bad killers’ calling card, Lieutenant” he said.

The Lieutenant looked at him sternly. “Killers?” he questioned.

Bernie looked towards the scene. “Look, there’s no drag marks…no gunshot wounds. These bodies are too close for one person to hack them down…” he said before he looked towards the body on the tracks. “Or only witness is now hamburger meat” he said before he looked up at the writing on the wall.

“We can’t just call these animal attacks anymore! Animals don’t carve symbols into their prey’s foreheads; they don’t finger paint messages in their prey’s blood…and they absolutely don’t waste their prey’s meat!” He told him.

Larson came over and interrupted them. “Uh, Bernie…Feds on your 6”

Bernie immediately looked behind at a black van with tinted window pulling up with US government plates. A scared-up sunglasses man dressed in a black suit and tie. “God damn it!” he muttered.

The sunglasses man walked up to Bernie and held out his hand with a smug grin. “Sheriff Cooper…how have you been?” he asked.

The Lieutenant looked between them. “You two know each other?” he asked.

The sunglasses man nodded. “Of course, I do we met in Timber with those Lobbyist suicides” he said as more suited men and women boarded the train. “I know all the key players in my jurisdiction” he said before he motioned for Bernie to follow him.

Bernie entered the government van much to the Lieutenant’s annoyance. Inside the van were various weapons and surveillance technology. There was a loud gunshot as one of the men shot down a drone. The sunglasses man removed his glasses and looked Bernie squarely in the eye. “How is that kid Alpha of yours doing?” he asked.

Bernie raised an eyebrow. “He’s alive…” he said lowly.

The man frowned. “The boy said Ian had help did he not?” he said.

“He did…although…they were thralls. Teenagers and a priest from what Toby encountered. Shot Ian in the face myself, and I doubt he’s been doing these attacks” Bernie reported.

“Toby has recovered…and he was there during the last murder” The man suggested.

Bernie glared at him. “We’re done here!” he said getting up. He got out of the van and Larson waited outside for him.

“So, being a bunch of assholes again?”

“They are trying to pin this on Toby”

“Do they have evidence?”

“No, they don’t. They just want an excuse to kill him”

A plain white work van with a bilingual Government of Canada signature and Canada wordmark on the sides of the doors. “The hell are Canucks doing here?” Larson muttered.

Bernie approached them and they rolled down the window. “Hi there, are you Bernard Cooper?”

Bernie took a sniff, and the man adjusted his glasses revealing his yellow eyes. He relaxed his guard somewhat and answered, “I am…Who are you?”

The man flashed a badge with a Supernatural Affairs Ministry seal. “I am Don DeLoup…I have been assigned a case concerning former employees of HBC and their families…I think you know what I’m referring to” He asked.

Larson came over and butted in. “What do they want?”

“It’s complicated”

“This werewolf business is complicated. What is this some sort of secret Canadian agency that deals in werewolves?” Larson sneered.

“Oh, not just the werewolves…we dip our toes in just about everything the occult has to offer” Don said before he came around back and opened the back of the van.

Bernie had Larson jump in with him. Don cringed with a human being in with them. “Don’t mind him, he has been initiated” Bernie vouched for him.

“Alright…but just…keep this to yourself for now. This is very sensitive stuff” he said before he pulled out a folder that said, “top secret”

“We have been tracking Ian’s movements since his retreat, but he’s been making our jobs a living hell in the 80’s and 90’s. From Kelowna to Yellowknife to Moose Jaw to Thunder Bay…You may have heard about the Elkhorn sightings?” he said as he opened the folder. “You remember Amarok don’t you?” he said.

Bernie sighed opening the folder and read its contents. “Amarok huh? I haven’t heard that name in a long time” he said.

Don frowned. “We have been tracking her movements as well. We have reason to believe that there is an internal struggle between her faction and his” he said.

“Why are you worried about Toby?” Bernie asked as he skimmed through the paper.

Don raised an eyebrow. “Out of all of Steeles children, would you agree that Toby has inherited most of his most dangerous traits?” he said before he paused as Bernie raised an eyebrow.

“…He’s inherited Steele’s best traits” Bernie stated.

“I hear he’s found himself quite a lady. I hear her father is an amateur hunter” he said.

Bernie raised an eyebrow. “Just a regular amateur hunter or a special amateur hunter?” he asked.

Don snickered. “I would say a special amateur hunter, but as a hobby not as a lifelong obsession” he said before he grinned. “He’s still a Marine though” he said.

Don’s colleague opened the door, and he cleared his throat. “SAD has confiscated the evidence” he said as the lieutenant argued with the agents.

“Just why the hell are you guys undermining our investigation!?” the lieutenant shouted as an agent blocked him from running towards the Black van.

Don smirked and patted Bernie’s shoulder. “You know, I look forward to working with you” he told him.

“So what have you gathered from the other murders?” Larson asked.

“Other than the fact that werewolves are doing the killings, very little” Don said before he shown the pictures of the dead bodies and an epiphany struck.

“Are these pictures in chronological order?” he asked. Don looked at the pictures, before he rearranged them by the dates. “Look…each week spells a new word” he said before he pulled out his phone to look up Norse rune.

Don watched him take out a sharpie and write corresponding letters on the backs of the pictures below the dates, “H-U-M-A-N-S?P-R-E-P-A-R-E?F-O-R?R-A-G-N” the pictures spelled out.

“Humans prepare for Ragn? It looks like whatever word is debuting this week has yet to be finished” Larson muttered.

“Ragnarok…” Bernie muttered.

Larson looked at him oddly. “Ragnarok?” he probed.

“It’s the battle to end all battles. It’s the death of Odin. The big bad wolf is a Ragnarok reference, not a Three Little Pigs reference” Bernie said before he gulped. “Something bigger is planned” he said.

Don frowned. “I’m going to have to look into this, but if Ragnarok is this week’s word. We’re going to have four more killings” he said.

“What are we going to do?” Larson asked.

“There’s a pattern. All of these people who have been murdered have a few things in common. They are rich…they are vocal on social media. We are going to have to look through the social media pages of the deceased and follow their network” He explained.

“We can provide assistance. What do you need? Likes? Favorites? Followers? Who they follow?” Don asked.

“I would like as much information as possible even down to their metadada if we have to. I want to catch whoever is doing this” Bernie demanded.

•••

Later that evening at Toby’s house, Sasha decided to make Toby a big dish of lasagna. She watched the Six pounds of Lasagna, meant for a dinner party, being wolfed down in a matter of minutes. She stared at him affectionately while eagerly waiting for him to tell her how it was. “Wow, Toby, Where are you putting all that food Toby?” she asked.

Toby looked at her and cocked his head cutely. “In my mouth…” he said before stuffing another chunk into his face.

“I don’t think that hole in your gut has healed yet. There’s bits of food on the floor” She teased him noticing that chunk of Lasagna crust on the floor. He scowled at her not wanting to have been reminded of that ordeal. She giggled at rubbed the area where his hole once was admiring his physiology. “I’m glad you’re feeling better” she said before she leaned in for a kiss.

He stared at her conflicted, but he eventually planted a smooch on her lips. The mood was spoiled when a bit of cheese touched the top of her lip. She snickered to herself not sure why she would expect something else when kissing a werewolf during binge time.

That meal would be formidable for any competitive eater, but oddly Toby was very content and not bloated. She smirked and put her hands behind her back while leaning in trying to be as adorable as possible. “Soooo? How is it?” she asked.

He paused and looked up at her with terror in his eyes. “Uh…It was delicious?” he said.

She pretended to be upset with him. “You didn’t even taste it did you? Do you know how much time and effort I put into your dinner!? At least tell me you like it you insensitive jerk!”

He stared at her horrified and leaned away from. His mother laughed at his reaction. “She’s not going to attack you” she said. She looked towards Sasha amused. “One she wolf made him cookies and she took offense when he said they tasted good” she said.

Sasha stared at her. “What the freak?” she muttered before she laughed. “Why would they take offense to a compliment?” she asked.

His mother shrugged. “Well…I can only guess that the poor girl put her heart and soul into those cookies and good just wasn’t good enough” she said.

He let out a heavy sigh. “That was not too long ago” he said.

“Where was Zoe to protect you?” Sasha asked. He glared at her with her jab.

His mother laughed. “It was her cousin” she said.

“Oh, Jeez! Well I won’t bite his head off if he thinks my cookies are good” She told him before the oven started beeping. “I made you peanut butter monster cookie with a peanut butter cup on top!” she announced to him. She got up and hummed to herself pulling the cookie out. Toby had some unwholesome thoughts watching her bent over with her rear stuck out as she kept herself from falling forward.

He snuck his way over, and she kept her eye on him. He touched her hips looking down as she sat the tray on the counter to cool. She glanced back over at him and smirked. “Yes, Big guy? Do you want dessert now?”

He nodded before she giggled to herself. “You’re going to have to wait, hun. They need to cool down” she told him. He growled lowly before she winked at him pressing her rear into him. “If you finish your meal, and I’ll give you your favorite dessert”

He quietly walked back over and she snickered watching him finish off the lasagna. She grinned with satisfaction as he licked his lips like any canine would after a large glorious fill. He looked up at her and cocked his head cutely. “So, are you going to eat?” he asked.

She laughed. “I did, didn’t you notice the corner taken off before you started?” she asked.

He blushed and his mother snickered to herself from the living room. Sasha shook her head with an amused grin. “I swear…the things that get passed you and the things that don’t, surprises me” she said.

His mother laughed. “He would have noticed a chunk taken out of the middle” she said with a big grin.

He looked between them and scowled. “Are you poking me?” he asked.

“But you’re so much fun to poke, Toby” His mother said with a mischievous grin.

There was a knock at the door before Zoe walked into the house with the club members. His mother looked at them and smiled warmly. “So, these are your friends?” she asked.

Toby looked over from the table, and Sasha grabbed his shirt by the collar. “Come on!” she commanded him.

“But my dessert?!” He protested.

“I am your dessert! Now let’s go!” Sasha blurted out yanking him out from his seat.

She smiled at him with excitement. “We’ll take my car! Can one of you fill us in on the background of this Ghost town?” she asked.

Zoe raised her hand. “Ooh! Ooh! I can!” she shouted.

Toby sighed. “Good…then I’ll sit up front then” he said rather grumpily as they left his home.

They left neighborhood in two cars; Clare had a group of 4 packed in her green Outback, and Sasha had 5 packed in Blazer. Percy connected with Zoe through skype, and Toby gave Sasha directions.

While they were on the freeway Zoe began her spooky tale in the back of the pitch-black abyss of Sasha’s blazer. “200 years ago, before Oregon became even part of this country. There were three groups of people here…The Americans, the British, and the Natives. The Americans and British were busy trying to rush people over to these lands to establish their sovereignty, and we tried to push them both out.

So, where we are going is where the Americans first establish a governing body, but not everything was so peachy. These people were assholes, selfish, and self-entitled. The missionaries continued their cultural genocide of the Natives, and the settlers had gone on whipping out the wolf population. This town has been attacked many times…” she said.

“By the werewolves?” Terra asked.

The newbies looked at her shocked, but Zoe grinned evilly. “Yes…in case you weren’t aware. The Fur trade companies heavily relied on werewolf to do most of the grunt work. They were also used to push back the Americans from settling, but that escalated into an all-out war. So like a lot of people were killed, and a lot of natives became werewolves to give themselves a better chance at winning the war” she said.

“So…those things in that video…those were really werewolves?” a newbie asked.

Zoe nodded. “Yea, they were” she said.

The newbies looked outside the window at the forest and farmlands and shivered. “This looks like the perfect environment for werewolves to live. Lots of trees to hide, and lots of farm animals to consume” one said.

“And people...” the other interrupted with a big smirk.

Zoe laughed. “You better watch out then. There are still werewolves about” she said.

“You don’t need to worry, Percy…the virgin always survives” Clare teased. She cleared her throat. “And the Jocks are the first to die” she said. Kari coughed out loudly.

“I’m pretty sure that you’re all safe then, huh, Clare?” Zoe said.

Clare went quiet before Percy laughed. They pulled into the state park and parked in a spot where a tall old man with long white hair stood nearby. Toby and Zoe hopped out of the Blazer and spoke to the man as everyone else inside watched curiously.

“You say that Sasha’s a medium?” the man asked with a French accent. They both nodded before the man rubbed the side of his face. “I’m curious to hear who was a part of the murders myself” he said.

Sasha got out as well as the others. Zoe motioned towards the man with a big grin. “This is Jean…he’ll be our translator for this evening” she said.

Sasha stared at the man and pulled Toby down. “You’re staying with me, understood?” she whispered into his ear. He gave her a quick nod, and she smiled. “Good” she muttered before she cleared her throat.

Jean looked at the two of them and nodded. “Sasha you can go with Toby. The rest of you either follow me or Zoe” he said before he headed off into the forest.

Everyone stared at Zoe with confusion, but Zoe decided to walk off in the other direction, which they all followed her. Once Jean got far enough from the other group, he turned towards Sasha who had found nestled under Toby’s armpit. He chuckled to himself seeing such a sight. “It’s always refreshing to see a human take a liking towards our kind” he said lowly.

Sasha looked up and sighed happily tracing circles into her lover’s chest. “Yea…I’m surprised more wouldn’t want to pair up with werewolves” she said.

Jean sighed heavily. “Well, when things were much colder, humans would always prefer the company of warmer people, if you know what I mean” he said before he looked towards the Willamette River. “There was a sense that humans always preferred werewolves or something that was not of their kinds, so the leaders did everything in their power to deceive and frighten their followers of us. I’m grateful that your generation has returned to a state of reason. It has been some truly dark days not long ago” he said.

She smiled and looked up at Toby. “I was taught to judge a person by their merit and not what demographics. I’m really happy with him” she said as she reached up to touch his face. His heart quickened as she groped his chest and scratched at him. “You know, I was thinking maybe Toby could go about in his werewolf form during Clare’s Halloween party is that okay?” she said.

Jean frowned. “That’s a very risky move…” he said sternly before he face palmed and shook his head. “He and Zoe have already done that…I remember the tongue lashing he got from the Alpha” he said.

He chuckled to himself. “But, if Randal has been able to do it on a webshow, Bernie doesn’t have a leg to stand on” he said.

She smiled enthusiastically. “Thanks” she said as she brushed as strand of hair from her face as he led them onto a field where there were old posts with street names placed in an orderly grid layout. She looked around and gasped. “You weren’t kidding when you say this town got wiped off the map” she said as she looked around. “It’s going to be hard to see the ghosts here…” she said before she trailed off looking towards the river.

She wondered off with Toby and Jean not too far behind. She watched figures with torn up pioneer clothing bearing shovels pacing the river. One looked towards them and quickly rushed over. “M. McLoughlin! Je croyais que vous étiez mort!? (Mr. McLoughlin! I thought you were dead!?)” the man said.

Sasha looked over at Jean and gulped. “This ghost has torn up clothes and is speaking French…You can talk to him, but I’ll tell you what he says back” she said before she frowned before she relayed the man’s words.

Jean cleared his throat. “Je suis bien vivant. Qu'est-ce qui c'est passé ici? Pourquoi vos vêtements sont déchirés comme ça? (I’m very much alive. What happened here? Why are your clothes torn up like that?)” he asked.

The man touched his torn up side. “C'était un loup-garou, Monsieur! Ils nous ont attaqué pendant qu'on remplissait les sacs de sable! (It was a werewolf, sir! They attacked us while we were filling up sandbags!)” He said.

Sasha repeated what he said before Jean grimaced. “Ils étaient combien? (How many were there?)” He asked.

The man frowned. “Sept... Ils étaient sept en tout. On a découvert que les Newall sont aussi des loup-garous, et ils ont aidé tout le monde à sortir de la ville (Seven…there were seven in all. We discovered that the Newall family were also werewolves, and they helped everyone else get out of town)” he said.

Sasha gulped as she tried to repeat everything that the man said before Jean sighed. “Je sais que se sont tous des loup-garous. Ils sont un groupe au grand cœur (I know they are all werewolves. They are a good-hearted bunch)” he said before he looked towards Toby and Sasha. “Ian attacked the men from behind while they were trying to save the town from the flood. Things are beginning to make sense, and I can rest easy tonight” he said before he looked towards the trees. “I often worried that I made the wrong decision to let the Newall boys go. Turns out they really were the heroes” he said.

Sasha smiled. “I was wondering why there weren’t so many ghosts in the town” she said before the group caught up to them.

“So what did we miss?” Zoe blurted out.

Jean looked back at her happily. “The Newalls were innocent after all” he said.

The others looked at him confused. “What is he talking about?” Clare asked.

Zoe sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? The Newalls were werewolves” she said before there was a loud howl not too far away.

The newbies were startled and huddled together. “There’s a werewolf! Over there!” one shouted pointing towards the parking lot.

Sasha pressed herself up against Toby, and Zoe growled lowly. “That bitch is back!” she muttered under her breath.

Jean lead down the trail not paying any mind to the concerns out of the loop on Toby and Zoe’s condition. Once they got halfway, Olivia came out in her anthro form, but she remained in the darkness. “Da fuck do you want?” Zoe spoke up harshly.

“Shut it!” Olivia growled before she looked towards Toby. “I’m sorry I created all this mess. I didn’t think I would get caught up in this mess. All I wanted was to be back with you” she told him before she glared at Sasha. “They’ll kill you…you know that? You think that necklace will save you when the war comes?”

“Wait what?”

“What the hell? Toby dated a werewolf?”

Casey and his brother came out from the trees, and then a couple of other teenagers came out, which they all were in anthro form. Sasha grew more nervous counting out 10 altogether noticing that they are surrounded. The newbies panicked and held onto each other crying in fear of their lives.

“Shit! What are we going to do?”

“Will you shut up” Zoe yelled back at them.

Jean took a few steps out and stood over Olivia. “Now I’m going to ask you this. Do you want to be solution or add more to this problem? Think carefully, I have two purebloods, and two of us can transform to Lycaon form. If you truly don’t want to be in this, then don’t give me the choice to give the order to put you all down”

One of the teenwolves lashed out against Toby, only for him to be subdued by him. The club stood by in amazement as Toby overpowered him and rammed him up against the huge maple tree. The teen gasped for breath feeling his windpipe being crushed. Olivia panicked and rushed over. “Toby don’t kill him! He doesn’t know!”

Toby did not let go, and he snarled at her. She took a few steps back, and Jean cleared his throat. “Toby! Release him! I think they got the point!” he commanded him.

The teen’s limp unconscious body slid down the tree once he was freed from Toby’s deadly grasp. Toby stood over him and looked back at the others menacingly, while Sasha bit her lip and could tell that he was having another episode. She feared that he would transform at any moment, and she went to him cautiously. Without saying a word, she hugged him and prayed that it would break him out of this.

“Tell me…who is giving you your orders? Is it the priest?” Jean asked.

“The priest is just some middle man. I don’t know who he answers too” Olivia answered back. “I thought it was Ian, but he got his face blown. Someone else is pulling the strings. All these kids where turned the same way I have. Promised that they would stand out or get superpowers. I brought them here to prove that they aren’t gods”

“Hmm, why did you threaten Sasha?”

“Because it’s the truth” Olivia said before she took off. The rest of the teens took off leaving the other behind.

“I would suggest you all return home. I will stay here with the boy” Jean told them. Sasha had the feeling that he was going to scold the boy and tell him how lucky he was, but he dragged Toby towards the car where she made out with him still thrilled with him protecting her.

Most of the group rushed into the cars while Zoe, Clare, and Kari lagged behind. Once they got inside a newbie clutched onto Zoe’s arm tightly. “Toby’s a werewolf too!?” she shouted.

Percy grinned. “Well, aren’t you all the clever ones?” he asked as he approached them he quickly patted Zoe on the shoulder. “You know, Zoe is one also” he said.

“No freaking way! You’re messing with us!” they shouted.

Clare stared at the forest in disbelief, but Kari smiled happily. “They are ones you want on your side” she said.

Sasha grinned. “Come on! Let’s get going” she said before cupped his groin kissing him on the lips. “It’s getting cold out” she said as she encouraged him to wrap an arm around her as they got up front.

They went back to Sasha’s home before they all parted ways. Her mother was on her computer looking at gorgeous dresses, while her father watched bull riding. Her brother was nowhere to be seen, but her dog gnawed at Toby’s hand like usual, and he rough housed with the pooch before he left Sasha with a good night smooch. “Come visit me later for dessert” she whispered into his ear.