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Hey guys. Sorry this took so long to get out - other projects, less free time, and a touch of writer's block all conspired to make these next few parts difficult to write. The next part is all written and ready to go, fortunately, so you won't have to wait five months for the story again. As always, let me know how I'm doing with a comment below. Enjoy!

Part 17 - October 1992

Once the school year had gotten into full swing, Tommy began to realize just how much tougher classes were going to be. As a student, Tommy had always gotten decent grades, but now there was a part of him that kept looking out the window and wanting to just run outside. Sitting in one place for 45 minutes at a time was not something that the wolf side of Tommy was accustomed to. Having his pack mates in the same classes helped a bit - Justin had enough influence as Junior Alpha to keep everyone in line and out of trouble - but when the final bell rang each afternoon, it was tough for Tommy not to sprint out of the classroom and run straight home.

Ryan wasn't helping matters at all. In the three weeks that had passed since the gathering, Tommy had tried to get Ryan alone and talk to him about his father being a Paladin. But like the other boys, Ryan was also too busy with schoolwork - even more of it, given Ryan's status as a gifted student - to meet up together and discuss things. They resolved to have a day alone with each other before the next full moon, when Tommy would finally have an opportunity to talk to Ryan about his father. But that was a day away, and Tommy was now wrapped up in a group project that took up a lot of his time. Fortunately, Justin was his partner for the assignment, a decision mutually made as the Junior Alpha wanted to stay close to their newest pack member for a while longer.

"So, the majority opinion was written by Justice Henry Billings Brown, with six other judges joining him," Justin reported as the two boys sat in Tommy's bedroom. "One judge ruled against it, and one more judge sat out of the case because his daughter had just died."

Tommy was sitting on the bed, snipping out the pictures of the Supreme Court Justices that had ruled on the case they were presenting to the class, preparing them to be glued onto the large posterboard they had bought. "Wow. Seven judges thought it was OK to have separate things for black people and white people?"

"Separate but equal," Justin corrected. "That's how they ruled it. They figured it was OK to separate the races as long as they got the same stuff. But apparently, they'd give white people all the new stuff, and then when it got all banged up and crappy-looking, they'd give it to the blacks and call it equal."

"Wow. That sucks," Tommy pondered, fastening the picture of the Chief Justice onto the board with a glue stick, giving the picture a hard look as he did it. "I guess they didn't realize how bad it was down there."

"Maybe, but even the judge who didn't like the ruling was kind of a racist too. I mean, back then people were much harder on anyone who didn't look like them. They'd grab a black guy, call him guilty of rape or something without a trial, and murder him on the spot. It was pretty brutal back then."

"Did we have any of that stuff happen to us?" Tommy asked.

"Not really, thank God. By the 1700s, we'd blended in well enough with humans that people pretty much forgot about us. I guess it helped that most werewolves come from Europe - places like Germany, France, and England. We didn't have to worry about our skin color. We probably would've been wiped out if that was an issue."

Tommy chuckled. "If only the Paladins hadn't followed us over here."

"Yeah, really. That reminds me, have you talked to Ryan yet?"

"Uh... well..."

"Seriously?" Justin said, incredulously. "You still haven't talked to him? The full moon is tomorrow night, Tommy. What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for the two of us to actually have a chance to talk," Tommy replied. "I'm doing so much homework now that I don't have any spare time."

"Well, what about now?"

"Justin, we've got this project to do-"

"And we're almost done with it, and it's not due until next Friday. Call him up, tell him to come over, and we'll both talk to him about it."

"But... I thought you wanted me to do this by myself."

"I did, but if you're going to keep hiding behind school work as an excuse not to do this, then I'm gonna have to jump in."

"Can we do this after the full moon?"

"Tommy," Justin said sternly. "Call Ryan, and tell him to get over here. I don't care if the kid has the plague - he's got to know about this. The longer we wait, the more his dad has a chance to turn him against us."

Tommy sighed. "Fine." He reluctantly walked to the kitchen to get the phone, and started dialing. After two rings, a man's voice came from the other end.

"Hello?"

Hearing Linus' voice on the phone almost made Tommy choke on his own tongue. "Uh... hi... is Ryan home?"

"And who may I ask is calling?"

"It's me, Mr. Colton. Tommy, from across the street."

"Oh, hello there Tommy!" Mr. Colton's voice became much friendlier. "I'll get him right now."

If nothing else, Tommy was relieved that it didn't sound like Linus knew anything yet. A few moments later, Ryan could be heard over the phone. "Hi Tommy!"

"Hey, Ryan. Would you mind coming over for a little bit? I need to talk to you about something."

"I don't think I can go right now," Ryan replied. "I've still got homework to do, and then it'll probably be time for dinner. Can we do this tomorrow?"

Tommy looked over at Justin, who had a very impatient look on his face. "Look, it's really important. It won't take more than 10 minutes. I swear."

"Let me ask my dad." Ryan set the phone down and left the room for a few moments. When he returned, the response was brief. "Dad said it was OK, but I gotta be back by five o'clock."

A few minutes later, Ryan was knocking on the front door. Tommy brought him in and ushered the young boy into the bedroom, where Justin was waiting.

"So what's all this about?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan... you trust me, right?" Tommy said.

"Sure."

"And you trust Justin here too, right?"

Ryan shrugged. "I guess so."

"So you promise not to tell anyone about this?"

"Is this about you being a-"

"Yes, yes it is." Justin interrupted. "Look, Ryan, We need to ask you something, and it's really important that you don't tell anyone about this. Not even your family. You understand?"

"Ask me what?" Ryan said, not sounding entirely sure he understood where things were going.

"Ryan," Justin started, "do you know what a Paladin is?"

Ryan's face crinkled in thought. "I don't think so. I've never even heard that word before."

"Come on Ryan, stop playing dumb," Tommy said. "Do you know what it is?"

"Playing dumb?" Ryan asked in protest. "Who said I was playing dumb?"

"You told me you were pretending to be weird so you could get away with playing around with other boys. Didn't you?"

Tommy could see the expression on Ryan's face change dramatically. Where he was once a little confused, now he was visibly upset. "Yeah, and you were supposed to keep that a secret. Why're you letting him know about it?"

"Ryan, I figured it out weeks ago," Justin retorted. "You know, we can smell it when two boys are playing around with each other."

"Hey, fuck you!" Ryan shouted back. "You think you're so great 'cause you're a werewolf and I'm not?"

"Don't you talk like that to me!" Justin snarled. "You're lucky we're letting you and Tommy stay friends!"

"So I don't deserve to be friends with Tommy now? What, am I not one of the 'chosen' or something?"

"Don't be so childish," Justin sneered. "I don't care if you're human or not. What I do care about is whether your dad comes after us for being what we are."

Ryan's expression dropped in shock. "What's that supposed to mean??"

"Ryan, your dad is a Paladin," Tommy explained. "He belongs to a secret society who are trained to hunt down supernatural creatures, including werewolves. The pack's been on high alert since they found out you guys moved into the neighborhood."

"You're telling me... my dad kills werewolves?"

Tommy nodded. "I'm sorry, Ryan. That's the reason why the other guys haven't been very friendly to you."

"Do you think I believe any of this?" Ryan asked cynically. "My dad's a doctor. A really good one, too. He'd never hurt anyone."

"It doesn't matter what his job is," Justin retorted. "That's the point of it being a secret. He could be killing us behind your back and you'd never even know."

"Well then, how could it be such a 'secret' society if you're so sure he's one of them?" Ryan argued back.

"That's none of your business."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Tommy, you don't honestly think my dad would hurt anyone, do you?"

Tommy could only look plaintively at his younger friend.

"Wait... you believe him?"

"When I was younger," Tommy explained, "I was told my parents died in a car accident. But if I'm a werewolf, they'd have to be werewolves too. And if they were werewolves, then they wouldn't have been hurt by a car accident. A Paladin killed them, Ryan."

Ryan put two and two together. "So now you're saying that my dad killed your parents?"

"I didn't say that!" Tommy snapped back. "They don't know who did it. It could be anyone, really. We just know that your father is one of them."

"So my dad could have killed your parents, is what you're saying."

Tommy, caught flat-footed, knew the answer he was about to give was the wrong one, but it had to be said. "Maybe."

"Well, that's great. Thanks a lot, guys," Ryan said sarcastically. "You know, I thought you guys were my friends. But I guess since I'm not 'special' like you are, that I don't deserve to be friends with you." Ryan glared at Justin. "Is that right?" he asked, his voice starting to quiver. "You get to have him all to yourself, but a plain old human like me needs to be kept away, so you tell him his dad's a murderer?"

Tommy sighed in exasperation. "Ryan, it's not like that at all. We're trying to keep you safe just as much as we're trying to protect the pack. If your dad finds out you know about us, who knows what he'll do."

"You honestly believe my dad's a killer?" Ryan gasped. "Why? Because he told you?" Ryan pointed his finger accusingly at Justin.

"Justin's dad is the leader of the pack," Tommy explained. "He said he knows the identity of the Paladins that live in the area. That's why everyone was so cold to you in the beginning."

Justin chimed in. "Look, Ryan. We're not trying to keep Tommy away from you or anything like that. We just need to be sure your dad doesn't find out about us. Because if he does, then we're all in danger."

"What'll you do if he does find out?" Ryan snapped.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked back.

"You know what I mean. My dad finds out that you guys are werewolves. Hell, maybe I'll tell him. Are you going to go after him, then?"

"Ryan, we're trying to keep that from happening."

"But if he finds out, what are you going to do?"

Justin stared Ryan right in the eyes. "If your father finds out about us, and he comes after us... we'll be forced to defend ourselves."

Ryan stared straight back. "In other words, you'll kill my dad."

"If you help us out and let us know if he's on to us, that won't be necessary."

Tommy watched as Ryan's head began to shake. Subtly at first, growing increasingly violent by the moment, as if a demonic thought had captured his mind and he was trying to shake it out. His eyes clenched shut, clearly trying to keep back the tears that were welling up.

"Ryan..." Tommy said softly, taking his friend by the hand. "I'm sor-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Ryan screamed.

Tommy recoiled. "Ryan, we didn't mean to-"

"No! Get away from me! Both of you!" Ryan scrambled back onto his feet. "You guys really are just a bunch of monsters! I won't let you hurt my dad!" He took a moment to gather his thoughts, and suddenly the young boy's expression turned cold. "You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe my dad is a Paladin. Maybe he does hunt after werewolves. And maybe it's a good thing he does. Maybe monsters like you deserve to be killed!"

"Ryan!" Justin gasped. "Don't talk like that!"

"What're you gonna do about it, huh? You gonna send your 'pack' out after me? You gonna maul me to death? Go ahead, I fuckin' dare you. 'Cause if my dad isn't a Paladin, then you've just killed an innocent child; and if he is, you'll all be dead before you ever get anywhere close to me."

"Ryan, stop." Tommy said, trying to calm the situation down. "Nobody's threatening anybody, OK? We don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Well it's too late for that," Ryan replied, turning his back on the other boys and making his way out of the bedroom.

"Ryan, come back. Please," Tommy said as Ryan walked down the hallway. Moments later, the front door opened and shut, and Tommy watched helplessly through the window as Ryan went back across the street to his house. Even through the glass, the sounds of Ryan choking back tears was plainly audible in Tommy's sensitive ears.

A few moments of silence passed between Tommy and Justin. Justin was the one to finally speak. "This is bad. This is real bad."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Tommy asked.

"It looks like he's going to tell his dad about us. I mean, he has to - when his dad sees him crying, he's going to ask why. And if Ryan tells him everything, then the secret's out and all of us are exposed."

Tommy found himself grasping at straws. "Well... what if you guys are wrong? Maybe his dad isn't a Paladin. Maybe it's someone else."

"Even if he isn't," Justin sighed, "we still have another human who knows the secret now. And whether he's a Paladin or not, it's going to be hard trying to convince him that we aren't going to come after him or his family, especially with how Ryan thinks about us now."

"I'm sorry..." Tommy said. "I should've told him sooner."

"No, this is my fault," Justin replied. "It's really the fault of the whole pack. We shouldn't have been so hostile towards Ryan until we knew for sure that he was in on his dad's identity. We were so aggressive about keeping him away from us that we pretty much drove him right into his father's arms."

"So what do we do now? The full moon's tomorrow."

"All we can do is keep things quiet as much as we can. Ryan only knows about the five of us right now, so if we stay together we should be able to stay on guard for now. But we can't hide forever."

"We're not going to have to kill his dad, are we?"

"Not if he doesn't act first. The last thing we want to do is just assassinate him the way they do it to us. That'll only prove to the Paladins that we need to be exterminated. But if he comes after us, we have a right to defend ourselves. Maybe there's a truce we can work out with him so that neither side tries to attack the other. We've never had to deal with a Paladin in the area before, so I really don't know what else we can do."

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway caused both boys to look back out the window. Tommy's father was pulling up and into the garage.

"What do we tell my dad?" Tommy asked.

"Let me talk to him. This is mostly my doing anyway. Look - whatever happens, the pack is going to keep you safe, OK? Don't worry about tomorrow night. You'll be fine. I promise."

Tommy shook his head timidly. "I dunno, Justin. I'm scared."

"Hey, there's 80 of us and one of him. There's no way he's gonna hurt any of us." Justin put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, passing whatever confidence he could muster through the contact.

Tommy looked into Justin's eyes. "You think so?"

"I know so," Justin replied with a confident smile.

Moments later, the bedroom door opened, and Tommy's dad poked his head inside. "Hey, guys. How was school today?"

Neither boy was really looking forward to answering that question.