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                Edward

finally relented and placed his ring upon Alexei's finger. As it was, he had

grown another few inches overnight. His face was still rather boyish looking,

but his body was stretching and filling out. When he awoke later in the day,

his ravenous appetitive was back.  Marcus

rather threw up his hands. "You know what we have in the freezer here!"

                "It's

fine for the moment. If we can be cured, so can you. I think this might be the

best way of divesting yourself of meat that could get you thrown in jail."

                His

logic was unquestionable. Packages were removed and set to thawing over the heat

of the wood burner, and then allowed to cook until it was at least mostly done.

Alexei didn't care. He shoveled it in as fast as they could hand him a plate.

                Edward

forced them to stop feeding him at one point. "Alexei, let your body deal with

what you have in you at the moment. Then you can resume."

                The boy

looked about twenty years old now, or maybe a little older. His face had expanded

and matured until he looked very much the image of his father. His body was

changing so quickly.  He was gaunt despite

his growth, and he needed all of the food to supplement the accelerated growth.

Edward knew that there was more than one way of overloading a body, hence the

caution on slowing down his intake. It was met with a protest.

                "But my

stomach is still empty!"

                The

voiceuttering this was no longer a boy's, but that of a young man. It broke and

crackled at times as the words found his vocal chords no longer able to hit the

high notes, and the baritone quality was creeping in to replace his former,

higher-pitched qualities.

                "Your

body is digesting the food as fast as it can, but if you go headlong into this,

it could end up bad for you."

                Verona

cut him off. "He needs to eat. Will you look at how his body is growing? He

desperately needs to maintain his metabolism to the level it's currently at!"

                He

patiently heard her out. "My dear, I am well aware of that. But unless you want

him to tip the balance and end up old and gray by the end of the week, you will

listen to me."

                "But

father," interjected Maggie, "you know how bad the hunger can be, don't you?"

                "His

present discomfort will pass. What he becomes when he is finished with this

will be permanent, to a degree. From this point onward he'll age normally, as

far as anything the Kind does can be considered normal."

                Tensions

began to rise until Alexei held up his hand. "I think he is correct. I am not

dying, though if this is what it is like, I will postpone that day for as long

as is possible. If he believes that I should moderate, I will. I have endured

much in my life, and a little thing like hunger, not matter how terrible and

persistent, can be ignored."

                That

settled the matter, though not everyone agrreed. Verona turned her back on

Edward and refused to talk to him for the remainder of the day. Maggie noticed

immediately and was offended by her actions. She was going to confront her and

tell her off when Edward pulled her aside.

                "Let it

go. It's not like you've never been angry over something. She can be mad at me

if she wants to be."

                "But

it's not like you're doing this on purpose!"

                "But I

am! He needs to regulate his intake for now. His body is a bit like a balloon.

It'll take a lot of stretching but give it too much pressure and it'll burst."

                "Ugh!

That's gross!"

                He

sighed and ruffled her hair. "I didn't mean that he would burst. I just mean

that there is such a thing as overloading a body. As it is, I think he might

very well be getting to the stage where he flips over to bearing a werewolf.

When that happens, who knows how he'll react?"

                "Yeah,

don't I know it! We had better be prepared to hold him down if it comes to

that."

"You may be right little one, you

may be right. But there are many ways of soothing the savage beast."

"You're talking in riddles again,

aren't you?"

"No, I spoke plainly."

"Then I'm getting more ignorant as

you grow smarter."

"Sorry. I'm just saying that

violence doesn't always need to be met with more violence."

She looked him in the eye.

"Whatever. I really hate you being a know-it-all. "

His laughed was heartfelt. "You and

me both. But it is sort of nice when you can some good with it."

Marcus interrupted them. "I hate to

cut it, but can I have a word with you, alone?"

Maggie giggled. "Sure! Edward,

leave!"

"That's not what he meant and you

know it Mags. We'll finish up our conversation later."

She sulked out of the room like a

chastised puppy. He knew it was all an act.

"What can I do for your Marcus?"

"I don't mean to denigrate all that

you have done these past few months, but do you think it wise to attempt to

rebuild the community here?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I

think it will work out just fine. What better way to keep tabs on everyone, and

to lend support should an emergency arise? Have as many of us as possible in

one spot. True, it might make us easier to track down, but as far as I can

tell, there can't be too many left out there looking for us."

"I'm just not sure of this. It

didn't work the first time around."

"When at first you don't succeed,

try, try again!"

Marcus gave up. "If you say so. I

don't much trust the world anymore son. It's a pretty evil place."

"Nah! Not evil, just human. If you

want to rise above all that, then you need to pull in the Kind from all

quarters. Make this something special, sort of utopia, only not something quite

that corny sounding. I think that if everyone can have a chance to be

themselves, let their hair down, if you will, then maybe we can foster more

understanding within our own ranks."

"That's a tall order son."

"Not as tall as you think."

The old man gave in. "If you say so

then I will trust you. You have shown yourself to be quite the remarkable

person, especially for being what you are in so short of a span of time. But

please don't bring down anything on our heads we are ill prepared for. It just

wouldn't be right."

Edward started laughing. "Marcus,

trust me, with the secrets that we as a species have been forced to keep,

you'll be ill prepared for everything that comes this way. But that doesn't

mean that you'll dislike it."

The man shook his head. "I don't

like the sounds of that young man."

"Oh relax. I'm talking about the

fact that there are more of us that you can imagine. I'm not saying that there

are thousands, but the strain carries on in quite a few folks. For the moment,

why don't you continue to get to know Maria? When Alexei is feeling better, he

can join in your conversations."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Me? I haven't quite figured it all

out yet. I need Maria and her brother when I go to Pittsburgh."

"Pittsburgh? Why in the hell would

you go there?"

"I'm going for Maggie. There's

someone there she needs to meet."

"Another of the Kind?"

"Yes. It will traumatic for both of

them I think, but it must be done. So who knows, you may have more guests

lining up to live out here. There just might be a boom town here in no time!"

Billy overheard. "Boomtown?"

Marcus shushed him. "This was a

private conversation!"

Edward shrugged. "One way or

another, we're all family. We share a common gene, and I'm guessing if you go

back far enough, you'll find it started with just one person. My thought was

that we need to try and gather the people with the gene here, just like what

was originally planned."

"Cool. I could use some company out

here, though it's alright for the moment. I haven't been able to talk with my

lovely cousin in years, and now I got this Russian dame to talk to too."

Remembering something, he pulled off a ring. "Here, this is Maggie's. She's

been kind enough to let me borrow it so that we can understand one another."

"Keep it for now. She won't need

it. Maria is wearing hers and Alexei is making good use out of mine for the

moment. They might as well go to where they do the most good."

Billy slapped him on the back. It

was a blow that could bruise a bear. "Thanks Ed! It isn't often I can hear

tales different from the ones I grew up with. Does this broad really have a ton

of daughters and granddaughters back in Russia?"

Edward's face fought to contain his

amusement. "Yes."

"That's it? Just a simple yes?"

"What more do you want?"

"Details!"

"Then ask her directly. I was a bit

out of it for a lot of that stuff. But let's just say that there very well

could be a boost in child prodigies in the next twenty years or so."

Billy let out a war whoop. "Hot

damn Eddy, you're a regular werewolf wrecking machine!"

"You have no idea..." He wasn't about

to tell him about the bear. People were still thinking fairly highly of him. No

use in disabusing their naiveté.

Billy sobered up for a moment. "She

seems like a nice lady, this tsarina. Sort of like me in a way, a little rough

around the edges, but not bad if you can get past that the first encounter."

"She is very nice. And besides

that, she's very smart and an excellent tracker from all of the years of living

in the wilderness. And yes, she has quite the extended family out there where

she was hiding."

"Any chance of bringing them over

here?" His eyes were sparkling.

"I don't know. There's a chance

that Maria may not stay here. She has lived in the wilds most of her life, so

changing suddenly may not work for her."

"Oh? That's too bad. Oh well, easy

come, easy go."

"It's not a sure thing Billy. She

just got reunited with her brother, and there is someone else she would like to

meet. So she'll not be leaving soon, if she leaves at all."

"You know Eddy; a guy could get to

liking you way too much!"

"Very funny! Go and pour your

attentions onto someone else big guy!"

"If only!" he sighed as he left the

room.

Marcus had to smile a little. "He's

a good boy. I do feel bad for him that he's been so willing to sacrifice for us

without ever having time for a female. Is there a chance that someone from among

this Russian's children might make a suitable mate for him?"

"There are many possibilities my

friend. I would think that somewhere in all this mess he just might find

someone he could live with."

"That would be good for him. He

sees you with both his cousin and your girl, and he feels cheated."

"He's a good man. Maggie worries

about him too. She said that he is lonely. No man like him should feel that

way. But the fact is I'm not a matchmaker. He will have to find love on his

own. He might even have to go to Russia for it, who knows? But I think he has a

chance at it, don't you?"

"Billy is a very good man. He likes

looking tough, but he has a teddy bear's heart inside."

A little voice was heard from the

door. "He ate a teddy bear's heart?" Maggie's grin was enormous.

"Shut up Mags. We were just discussing

Billy, someone I believe you have some pity for?"

"Yes, I do. It's nice to see him so

engaged right now. Maria is telling him stories, and he's all ears."

"What stories?"

"How should I know? I don't have my

ring on, remember?"

"Sorry. I can still translate

without mine."

Marcus caught that. "How?"

Edward backpedalled when he

realized he slipped up. "Well, I guess it's just from everything that has

happened to me. My brain got scrambled and when it got restored, it came with a

few new apps."

"Apps?"

"Abilities."

"Is that so? Is this something you

want to tell us about?"

"Not really. I don't wish to be

secretive, but it's not something I wish to speak of right now."

"As you wish. I want you to know

that we are going far in trusting you young man.  You come from a very strong bloodline, and

your family has done remarkable things. Just remember though that being

remarkable comes as either being good or bad. Be careful how you wield any

power that has been granted you. "

                Maggie

coughed into her hand. "I don't think you need to worry about him. He's more

than capable of controlling himself. I think he got that stuff out of his

system in Russia."

                Marcus

was going to ask more questions, thought about it, and then decided that he

really didn't want to know. He made a tight bow and left.

                "Maggie,

you need to keep your mouth shut a little more often, especially right now.

There is a lot hanging in the balance."

                "I

don't get it. Are you embarrassed by the things you did?"

"Maybe. You see, for the moment,

there is a lot riding on what I do. Now, I could do nothing, and you and I

could leave and never ever be found again and probably be happy. But where

would that leave everyone else?"

"In a lurch I guess."

"Right. So bear with me."

She giggled. "Bear? Like that poor

bruin back in  Russia? I might be able to

take you on!"

"No, not like that stupid bear! Now

shut up for a little bit, will you?"

"Fine. I'm just trying to lighten

the mood. You've gotten rather serious as of late."

"And for good reason. Once Alexei

has recovered from his most recent growth spurt, I think we should look up your

grandmother."

"Really?" The excitement in her

voice made it quaver.

"Really. But it won't be all fun

and games Mags. This is going to get serious, and you absolutely must do

everything I tell you to do or else."

"But it's my grandma! What harm can

there be in finding her?"

"That's what you're going to find

out. So promise me, if you love me; that you'll do everything I say, without

question."

"I don't like this secretive stuff.

What aren't you telling me?"

"A lot. If I told you know, it

would ruin a lot of things that might work out otherwise."

She was feeling suddenly nervous.

It wasn't a feeling she enjoyed. "I don't get it. I'm not getting any vibes at

all about this."

"It's a tenuous thing, as strong as

a steel cable, and yet as intangible as a wisp of smoke. Even I'm not sure of

the outcome of our visit."

"But grandma..."

"Left you to the winds, so to

speak. Have you never wondered why?'

"Well...yes."

"Did she love you?"

"I think so."

"Then it had to be a very pressing

matter to have pulled her away from you."

"I guess so. But what?"

He smiled thinly.

 "That is what we are going to find out. So you

have to trust me and I mean implicitly. Anything less might ruin the whole

thing. Obeying me just might make this trip worthwhile."

"Oh, fine! But you had better make

this worth my while right now!"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, there are a whole lot of

woods around here. Can you think of a better place for two wolves to have a

little fun?"

He sucked in a breath. "Sounds like

a plan to me. Give me a few minutes to explain our absence. Maybe, just maybe,

we can have a little time alone without interruptions."