She sat down next to Costin who had taken a spot, directed by Titus, on the floor by the coffee table. Several books lay on the table, opened to display various pictures. Sally moved closer to get a better look. The books were old. Some of the pictures were paintings, and others were drawn with pencils or charcoal. But they all had one thing in common: they were all pictures of wolves in various forms from full-on wolf, to half-wolf and half-man, to man with only parts of the wolf showing, like in the glowing eyes or the clawed fingers.
“Um, Gavril?” Sally said slowly, unsure of how to ask in a polite way, “‘What the hell, dude?” when there was a four-year-old present.
“He’s teaching me all about werewolves,” Titus said. “I knew there was something different about everyone, especially Alpha Decebel because he talks so much about growling and biting. But Uncle Gavril taught me more.” He pointed to several different pictures in rapid succession. “These are all from different packs and the packs are all over the world, but they all want the same thing.”
“And what’s that?” Costin asked Titus, sounding as unsure as Sally felt.
“To protect humans and those weaker than them from bad people.” Titus’s voice sounded a tad exasperated, as though Costin’s question was ridiculous.
“Are we talking, like, comic-book werewolves? Superheroes in a make-believe world?” Sally asked as she glanced at Gavril, whose face was unhelpfully blank. She turned back to Titus and had to cough to keep from laughing at the expression on his face.
“Make-believe?” Their four-year-old son frowned, his shoulders pulled back and his back ramrod straight. “This is not pretend, Mommy. This is serious business. Uncle Gavril says I have a lot to learn before I become a werewolf like him.”
Sally started slapping Costin on the back as he seemed to be choking on absolutely nothing as she stared at their son who was flipping through the pages of one of the large books.
“Here,” Titus said, pointing to a picture of a humongous wolf with glowing blue eyes. “That’s Papa Vasile. I can’t read the words, but I remember what Uncle Gavril told me about this picture. This was during the werewolf wars when Papa Vasile fought against other wolves. Uncle Gavril said he was in that war too.”
Titus continued to flip through pages and point out different pictures, explaining to Sally and Costin what Uncle Gavril, as he continued to call the man, had told him. Sally sat and stared with her mouth hanging open for any passing fly to pop on in. She was waiting for the minute when someone would jump out and say “Gotcha!”
Sally’s phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see she had a text from Jen.
Jen:We’re meeting in Vasile’s office to discuss the Zara situation.
Sally:Costin and I can be filled in later. We’ve got some stuff to discuss with Titus. Gavril took it upon himself to introduce our son to the whole werewolf thing.
Jen:What?! Well, at least you don’t have to dance around it. Besides, he knew about vampires. What’s one more monster?
Sally:I guess. Take cliff notes for us. We can meet up after dinner.
Jen:Will do.
Sally looked up to see Costin watching her, questions filling his eyes along with the worry she also felt. “They’re meeting in Vasile’s office. I told them we would just get the synopsis after dinner.”
Costin nodded. “Good idea.” He looked back at Titus and took a deep breath. “So, buddy, how does the whole werewolf thing make you feel?”
“Uncle Gavril said werewolves are the good guys. I like being a good guy,” Titus said, a proud smile spread across his face. “The good guys beat the bad guys, which are the vampires. And the vampires need to be beaten.”
Sally’s heart broke a little as she saw the haunted look that filled her son’s eyes at the mention of the vampires. She hoped they would be able to erase some of those horrors from his memory, though she imagined some of what he experienced was probably blocked by his own mind as a defense mechanism.
“Uncle Gavril said you aren’t a werewolf, mommy,” Titus said. “But he said youarevery special.”
Sally smiled. “Some people around here do think I’m special.” She cast a glance at Costin. “I’m called a gypsy healer.”
“Explain, please,” their son said as he sat in Costin’s lap and gave her his full attention.
Sally got comfortable and sat cross-legged with her back leaning against the couch. Then she began to tell Titus what she knew about being a gypsy healer.
Chapter Three
“I never thought anything could scare me as much as the vampires. It turns out, I was wrong. I’m more afraid of being in my own skin.” ~Zara
Wadim kepta hand on Zara’s furry back as they entered Vasile’s office. After Wadim convinced her to return to the mansion, the pair had gone back down to the archives to see if he could find anything in the pack records about uncontrollable phasing by a dormant. So far, he’d turned up nothing. He’d been hoping he would have some information to give Vasile, or even one of the healers, that might help them understand Zara’s condition. As Alpha, Vasile held strong magic and the gypsy healers were powerful, as well, though their magic was different from that of the wolves.
Wadim glanced around the room and nodded to those present. Jen was sitting in Decebel’s lap while Thia was on the floor on a blanket playing with her toes as if they were the best toy she’d ever seen. Fane sat on the long couch holding a sleeping Slate, while Jacque sat beside him. Rachel was present, as well, sitting on the love seat with her mate, Gavril, beside her. Vasile was in his usual spot, sitting on the edge of his desk. Alina had pulled Vasile’s chair from behind his desk and rolled it up beside him before taking a seat in it. Wadim noticed Sally and Costin, who were always a part of serious meetings, were absent. He imagined they were spending time with Titus after having been away from the boy for so long.
“Come in, Wadim,” Vasile said and then motioned to the room. “Find a seat or stand, whatever suits you.”
Wadim took a seat in the wingback chair that rested in between the couch and love seat. Zara sat on her haunches next to his legs, leaning her large body against him.
