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©® KAYCEE** Pseudonym 2012

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3

"Yeah," as I looked up from kneeling beside Gran, "I'll be there in a moment Kyle. I just need to adjust Gran's ankle," I lied.

"M'kay, everything is set and ready," he said turning around and heading back towards the kitchen. I sighed thanking the Seven Muses that Gran had thought well enough to put a muffling spell in place when I went into the living room. Mortals were the one's affected by it so I knew that Kyle hadn't heard a word we'd said.

Gran looked down at me as I adjusted her ankle on the small pillow propping it up, "Jesse," she spoke firmly making me look up at her.

"Two things," she started. I nodded focusing on her intently after catching the look in her eye.

"You're going to need to go out into the forest and see if you can find any lycans that have changed recently. They are going to need help. If they don't get calmed down by spells or an 'Alpha' then they risk losing their humanity and will have to be put down. You can't do this alone though. I've contacted Blake Marmount and he's in agreement with me that he should accompany you."

I gave Gran a rather 'pointed' look with regards to having a chaperone.

"I don't want to hear about it. Either you go with Blake or you don't go at all. I could keep you here if I wanted to but you need the training. It would be foolish of me not to send you," giving me a 'don't question me' look.

"Normally, I could go by myself or take and train you further but with this ankle I don't risk it. The only 'Healer' is out of town until next week. As much as it bothers me, I have to rely on you. Your Mother can't be bothered in coming down here," she sighed, "And you're way too young to take on a feral by yourself. So, I've contacted Blake. With Blake being an 'Alpha', he'll be able to assist in calming any ferals down until you're able to subdue them and then push the calming spell on them. If necessary, you can use the set of aconite darts I have prepared to force them to shift back to human. It's a low enough dosage to subdue them without harming them. Blake can fire them off with the tranq gun."

I could only nod as she continued while l adjusted her bandage, "Jesse," taking a breath, "You are a strong warlock almost comparable to your Grandfather when he was more than a few years older than you are now. You have all my best spells and incantations at your disposal, but, you are also inexperienced in tracking down and subduing a feral. You've never had to do it before. I was going to have you come with me out looking for them but this ankle sprain is going to keep me shut down for a week or more. That's why I want Blake with you."

It got quiet for a moment before she continued as I finished tightening her wrap, "I also want you to use the silver tipped staff of mine." That statement made me look up.

"Don't," she paused, "I know how you feel about the life force around us and taking a life. I don't like it either but I'm not going to have my only Grandson lost to a feral. Your Mother and I wouldn't have the will to continue if you were lost to us. We lost your Grandfather; we don't need to lose you. You're smart enough and powerful enough to handle most lycans with Blake's help. However, if you run into that feral that's been the cause of all this then I want you to have some extra protection. Blake wouldn't hesitate using it and I don't want you to be either."

A lump caught in my throat thinking about my Grandfather but I accepted her requirement without comment.

"I have my suspicions..." as she trailed off in thought.

Catching herself from going further with this train of thought, his Grandmother continued, "The last thing," she paused with that sly grin of hers, "You don't give Kyle enough credit and you don't give yourself a chance."

"Gran," I only got out before she held her hand up.

"Life is complicated Jesse. I'm old enough to know just how complicated it is and all the ups and downs that come with living. I've still got another couple hundred or so years left on this plane. I just want you to know it can be something worth fighting for," as she got a small tear in her eye.

I moved to her side and leaned in to kiss her cheek, "I love you Gran."

"You too sweety. Now let me finish up my show and supper," waiving her hand to remove the muffling spell and nodding to the remote to increase the volume on the TV.

I got up and moved to the kitchen to find something I hadn't expected. The table had been fully set with a couple of wine glasses and all the food had been placed on it. The plates were just ready to be dished. There weren't any candles or such but just dignified.

I stopped dead in my tracks, "Who are you?" I asked looking at Kyle sitting, elbows on the table and hands clasped.

"What?" he asked with an honest lack of understanding.

"This," I paused waiving my hand across the table.

"So? You asked me to set the table didn't you?" catching on to what I meant, "Or were you expecting me to pull out the paper plates and such?"

"Honestly yes," I laughed as I went to wash my hands in the sink.

"Glad I surprised you," he laughed before pouring us both a glass of white. "You want a couple of thighs right?" reaching for the chicken.

"Yeah," I said before running over to the fridge. Looking from over the top of the door, "Hey, you want blue cheese dressing or balsamic?"

"You have to ask," licking some gravy that had spilled off his finger.

Grabbing the bottle of blue cheese dressing, I moved to sit down. Kyle had not only put me a couple pieces of chicken but actually fixed me a plate as well. We both tore into the plates before Kyle spoke up about what he had been down to the beach for earlier.

"I was talking to the diehards down the beach about something they saw on the cliffs the other day," he spoke while licking his fingers off from the chicken juices.

"What's that?" I asked getting a forkful of mashed potatoes.

"The guys saw this huge dog out on the bluff last week around sunset," wiping his fingers and reaching for his fork, "They said it was a dark shaggy brown. Seemed to be watching them everywhere they went."

I froze in mid bite. "Really?" I spoke after a moment.

"Yeah," as he continued to fork in the food, "they wondered if he wandered away from some campsite and was hungry. They left some extra food out for him but it wasn't touched the following day."

"It's kind of late in the season for someone to be camping out this way isn't it? Even Lucia isn't that busy this time of year with people trying to get into the lodge," trying to keep calm.

It was getting to be the middle of October and the winter storms would be heading in soon. Fog, rain, frost, snow could all be possibilities out here. It was mostly people who'd lived here for years and made money catering to tourists during summer months.

Kyle shrugged, "Hard to say. They said he was big though. Even coyotes aren't as big as they described him."

I stared down into my plate thinking and wondering if this was the feral that was causing all the trouble looking for more victims or maybe just someone who was turned, either way; it didn't bode well for them to be this close to the house. Sure there were counter spells all over the property to prevent anyone not granted access from coming within 5 metres of the entire perimeter but still.

A moment later something hit me. It was that feeling again; like Kyle was watching me but when I looked up he was shoveling food back into his mouth. "Did he always eat this much?" I thought to myself.

"Well," I said catching his attention from tearing into a drumstick, "not much we can do about it."

We finished up dinner and our wine and sat talking for a bit about nothing much other than how long I might be down for and what he was doing tomorrow. He had to take a delivery of wood down to Gorda, south of us, to the resort. I told him that I had some errands tomorrow that I needed to run for Gran.

Truth was that Blake and I were going out into the woods to look for ferals.

Kyle stayed and helped me with the dishes after Gran said her goodnight to both of us. Standing beside him as I washed and he dried the dishes made me wish this would never end. The smell of pine, earth and masculinity washed off of him and into my nostrils. I had to catch myself to keep from swooning and more than once had to crush my crotch against the sink to stop myself from getting more aroused.

During the final dishes, just after I'd caught myself starting to chub up that Kyle took a deep breath. Looking up I noticed his nostrils flaring just a bit, "You ok?"

He started coughing. "Yeah. Me? Yeah, I'm fine," as he coughed a little more. "I took a sip of my drink and it went down the wrong pipe," putting the towel down and looking over at the clock.

"Hey," he said rushing towards the backdoor, "I've got to get going. Early start; you know?"

"Yeah," I stammered.

"I'll call you tomorrow. Later Jess," running out the backdoor and into the night.

Closing and locking the doors, I started moving back towards the sink to finish up when I noticed that his glass was on still on the dining table. The lights from his older Ford Tahoe broke though the kitchen window as he pulled out the driveway.

"That's odd," I mumbled to myself before returning to the task at hand.