A Meeting In Central Park
#8 of The Moonrise Chronicles
Come
morning I was spared the indignity of telling her no by the early news report.
Apparently the body of an unidentified man was found in the park as the sun
rose over the city. His throat was ripped out, and he was in such a sad state
that the press immediately associated his death with the one that brought us
here. Both murdered
men had criminal records, both were known to frequent the park, and both had
died a horrible death. The only clues, if you could call them that were the
wolf-like footprints found around or near the victims. There was mention a
small pair of human footprints as well on this morning's newscast, of bare
feet, and that got supposition going as to what that meant. Some claimed a dog
had saved a child's life, while others talked of lurking beasts and ghostly
manifestations in the park. Overall,
it was entertaining, and not the least for Maggie. "Can you imagine me needing
help?" She cried, snorting in derision at the television. "That man was crude
and slow. I almost think any woman he nabbed deserved what she got. He had no
fight in him at all. A mere simpering coward!" All the
while she was talking she was watching the live footage carefully. All at once
she stiffened up. "What
is it?" "I
don't know for certain, but there looks to be someone in the crowd wearing the
wrong expression." "Meaning?" "Meaning
I think they're wondering who did this crime when they themselves committed the
others." "Shall
we head down?" She was
already heading to her room. Yes, she had her own room... We just always slept in
mine. She got into a pair of jeans, a
cute top, and brushed out her hair until it was perfect. She looked so achingly
normal when she made an effort that I nearly cried. I got
dressed in something equally as casual and headed out the door to the elevator.
Once we were outside, we crossed the street and headed into the park. We hailed
a horse and hansom and rode to our destination. The driver of the horse drawn
buggy warned us away from the scene. "It's not a thing a little girl should
witness!" he said disapprovingly. She
smiled and shrugged. "I
watch a lot of television. It couldn't
be any worse than what they show on there." The
body was gone, but the area was still roped off. Maggie sniffed the air and
worked her way upwind where the scent was stronger. She finally stopped and her
eyes narrowed. "There!" I had
no idea what I was looking for. Yet, as the seconds passed and I assessed everyone
still gawking, I got the sense of who she was referring to. Sadly, my eyes fell
to her ass; a fine, compact piece of rear end that must have been poured into
her jeans. Yep. It was another female. I couldn't see her face, and I figured
that we weren't going to be confronting her right here in the open. So I let
Maggie do her thing. She
made an effort to gather herself up and marched forward. She bumped into the
lady and pushed past her to look. The lady seemed shocked by her action and
spoke to her. Maggie was apparently putting on quite the show. After a while,
they left hand in hand, coming up to face me. The lady was lovely, and not what
I would expect a human female werewolf to look like. I don't know what I expected, but a runway model was
not it. She
looked at me and made a face of disgust. "You allow your daughter to roam
around this park looking at things like murder scenes?" I was
taken aback. "Hey! The kid likes what she likes! Leave off." Maggie
giggled. "Father, meet Verona." I held
out my hand gingerly. "Glad to me you?" If was sort of a question. "I am
glad to meet you, if not the other way around. I was only teasing about the
park and your daughter. If she is like me when I was that age, I'm sure she can
take care of herself." I blew
out a breath. "I see. So you're it." "Maybe.
What is "it" supposed to be?" "Uh,
the one who committed the other murder?" She put
on a look of genuine shock. "Murder? That's such a crude term. If we are to
discuss this at length, can we go somewhere private? I don't want to have
anyone overhearing us. Even In New York City, not everything is at is seems." I took
that as a little inside joke. We went
back to the hotel, and since I had an unexpected guest, I figured we might have
trouble. Maggie had Verona's hand in
hers. "Look," she said to any and everyone. "My mommy came to visit with us!"
Everyone looked at me and then to her. I felt the same way. After
that, she became a regular fixture in our rooms. I even got her her own
electronic key. There was nothing like money to keep people in line. I don't
know if they believed the ruse or not, but it hardly mattered as long as they
acted like they did. Verona
stepped off the elevator and looked up and down the halls. "Nice!" When I
opened the door, she was speechless. She walked around and touched everything
to see if it was real. She finally turned to me. "How
can you afford this? You must have a great job! I have a nice big apartment,
but nothing like this!" I
looked sheepish. "This is all thanks to Maggie." "Ah
yes, Maggie. I got distracted. Show me." She had
directed that last bit to her. I wasn't privy to their conversation in the
park, so I had no idea what they were doing. Maggie smiled and with prolonged
care, sprouted hair, allowed her ears to grow, her face to lengthen, but overall
kept her human figure. She was still dressed and wise enough not to tear her
new cloths. "So
it's true. I doubted it was a lie, but you find so few of our kind anymore." "Maybe
so, but now it's your turn. Prove who you are!" Verona
smiled. Her canine teeth elongated until they stuck out past her lips. That was
good enough for me. But she kept going, tearing out her jeans and top until she
was a hulking beast. She was easily twice the size of Maggie, probably more.
She let out a snarl before changing back to herself. It was
then that she noted that her clothing was in tatters. "Dammit, those jeans cost
me three hundred dollars!" I did
give a shit about the jeans. I was staring at her more than ample body. Maggie
saw my gaze and took her hand and slapped her own jaw upward. I closed mine,
unaware that it had fallen open. Maggie was young, as you well know. Verona was
an adult, maybe, from the looks of it, twenty five or twenty six years old. And
she had female parts of all the right proportions. I would
have been more of a gentleman, but it seemed obvious that she was pleased with
her nudity. She gingerly stepped out of the tatters and tossed them in a pile.
"I ruin more clothes that way." She
looked at me and smiled. "Your turn." Maggie
pulled on her hand. "Father can't change." "Why, what'
s wrong with him?" "I
think he's just a human." She
walked around me, sniffing just like Maggie was prone to do. When she was done,
she looked me in the face. "What kind of man are you? You're not normal." "What
do you mean I'm not normal?!!" "I don't
know. But you're not. You adopted a child you knew was unusual and you brought
her to New York City for no good reason. You accept that fact that she feeds on
humans and you..." She stepped
back and glared first at me, and then at Maggie. "...two have been having sexual
relations?" I could
hear the growl in her voice. Maggie came over and hugged me. "Yes we have. He's
terrific in bed, and he has all kinds of kinks, just like me. We get along
together just fine." Verona
growled. "And whose idea was that?" "Mine!"
she cried. "So don't go getting all up in his face about it. The first few
times he was scared to death." She
looked at me. "Is this true?" "Oh
hell yes. You try living with a werewolf under your roof and see how you fare.
No offense intended." I added hastily. She
relaxed. "Most unusual. A human must never know of our existence, yet here you
are. There is something about you, and I cannot put my finger on it. Would you
mind if I ask you a few questions?" "Like
what?" "Where
did you grow up?" "Uh, a
little town in Wisconsin "Father's
last name?" "Uh,
same as mine. Peterson." "Mother's
maiden name" "Rougarou" She
started. "Are you being serious?" I was a
little angry at being threatened and called a liar and a child molester all
within minutes. "Yes I'm sure! I know my family history. My mother was born in
the states to French immigrants. They came over here to escape religious
persecution." Verona
laughed. "Yes, something like that." She turned to Maggie. "Well dear, you did well. We'll have to have a
group discussion about all of our families. It'll be nice to have a frank
discussion with my own kind." I
protested, but not loudly. My eyes were still stuck on her body. There wasn't a
curve that wasn't perfect, and neither stretch mark nor blemish. "You two can talk. I brought her here just
for this reason. I'm not really part of this." Her
hand cupped my chin. "Never be so sure of yourself Mr. Peterson. Your daughter
is wiser than she looks, and wiser still than she could possibly know. Instinct
is a powerful thing, and when it kicks in, there is nothing you can do to fight
it. She chose you for a reason, even if she doesn't understand it." Then
she pulled away and looked down at herself. "Oh goodness. Look at me. What ever
am I going to do? I can;t leave here like this. I'll need some clothing." Maggie
grinned. "You can borrow some of mine." "Thank
you sweetheart, but I don't think I'll fit. When you finish growing, maybe we
can swap." I
offered something from my wardrobe, but she politely took only a button-down
shirt. I think it did more to accentuate her figure than simple nakedness did. I did get her measurements, and asked the
concierge to find several pairs of jeans in the same size and brand, plus some
panties, bras and a few tops. Verona was a fine five foot eight inches tall,
and her figure was a perfect hourglass. A bra size of a thirty six, with a "C"
cup rounded it out. She was every much the woman that Maggie was not. But she
might grow into it. Once
the new clothing was sent out for, I was left with a major distraction. A
mostly naked, runway-model-looking female. She had good color to her skin, but
no tan lines, meaning either she was ethnic or she sunbathed in the nude. I
wouldn't put anything past her. "So Mr.
Peterson; I can't leave until I have my new clothing, and I think that may take
a while. Those jeans were hard to find. I hate it so when I am careless." She
didn't sound sincere. "It's alright. I've got plenty of cash thanks to Maggie." "Yes,
speaking of Maggie. How good is she in bed? I never considered having sex when
I was that age. Of course, my parents were pretty strict. They always felt I
should wait until I was old enough to make up my mind. You know, come to think
of it, I was pretty horny when I was her age. It made concentrating on homework
pretty tough. And it didn't help that I was an early bloomer." I could
just picture her shorter and smaller and just as beautiful. "In case you're
wondering, I didn't take her virginity or anything. In fact, I don't know when
or how she lost it. We never talk about that stuff much." Maggie
started to say something, but Verona help up her hand. "It can wait child. I
have a lot of time on my hands and a lot of needs almost on par with yours. Do
you think I can borrow your father for a few hours?" "Sure!
Just don't tire him out too much. My itches keep coming back and he wears down
pretty damn fast anymore. " Verona
was looking at me, but speaking to Maggie. "We'll have a talk about that dear.
I have a few toys that might work great for you." Then she directed her attention to me.
"Humans are such a weak species. It's a wonder our kind dwindled while your
kind proliferated. But you have distinct possibilities Mr. Peterson. If one of
my kind finds you acceptable, then I must bow to her judgment. So don't
disappoint me. I don't like to be let down, if you know what I mean." I got
the idea. It was going to be a fun-filled and fear-filled few hours.