Chapter 10: Part 1

Despite having her world turned upside down, dinner arrived and it was delicious. The conversation flowed, though Amy never dreamed they could discuss this subject matter with no one ending up in a loony bin. She was a journalist, and her investigative mind set in. They answered every question she asked without hesitation and that surprised her more than anything.

"Does it hurt to change from wolf to human or back again? Are you allergic to silver? Do others exist?" The questions went on and on, at least about the wolves, vampires were another story. When Amy finished asking everything she could think of, she asked the one question in the back of her mind that would not leave.

Looking at Marcus she said, "Do you drink blood?"

He looked at her and simply said, "Yes."

"Do you kill people when you do it?"

Alba laughed this time and answered. "We take care of Marcus' needs. That is what the wolves do. We have cared for him for many years and will continue as long as he is alive."

Alba glanced towards the vampire and continued. "Marcus is the King of the wolves. He is our King. We will protect him with our lives. Before vampires befriended beastkind, we struggled to survive. Vampires saved us."

Amy absorbed everything as best she could. Her mind spun. "So, there are other vampires and "beastkind," as you call them?"

Marcus spoke up. "Until we can be sure of your plans, I don't feel we should talk about anyone but us. I'm not trying to hide things, but I will protect my kind at all costs."

"Then why have you told me?" she asked, her curiosity going through the roof.

His eyes pierced her. "I had two choices the night I saw you in that alley. I could have killed you, as I did your attacker."

Amy gasped.

"Or I could do what I did. Thinking you were a teenager, addicted to drugs, prostituting your body and on the road to certain death. I tried to help you but it backfired on me." Marcus glanced at Alba and Ivan. "It backfired on us. It was my fault and I broke the one rule we adhere to strongly. We let very few humans know who and what we are. If they find out, we don't let them live."

"You killed the man in the alley? What did you do with his body?"

Alba tried to stop the answer Marcus was about to give, but Ivan spoke up. "We ate him."

Amy peered down at her half-eaten plate of food and then glanced back up. She stared directly at Marcus. "Are you going to kill me?"

"If we wanted you dead, you would already be dead and the evidence long gone. I told you earlier, Alba saved your life. We have very few babies at this house, and we tend to indulge the mothers whenever they are expecting. I was not willing to fight Alba in her condition, in order to kill you. It sounds cold, but we protect our secret and sometimes it's a harsh reality. I misspoke. It is always a harsh reality."

"So, if you are not going to kill me, how will you make sure I don't talk?"

"Without killing you, we can't. But we are hoping, at least Alba and I are, that you will spend some time with us and learn what we are. I think we can convince you to keep our secret. Though not many, there are humans that know about us, and they help from time to time. We are not killing machines, but we have offered our services to keep this country safe. We do have friends and they also want our secrets kept."

Alba spoke up, "I need to change." She glanced at Amy. "I would like to continue staying with you in your room, if it won't bother you. I can understand everything you say while in wolf form."

"I am honored to have you room with me. I will feel safer if you're around. I believe if I have the story right, you are the only one that did not think I would be better off dead."

"I promise no harm will come to you while you are with us." This was said while casting evil glares at Marcus and Ivan. "I really do need to change. I'll see you back in the bedroom."

"Could you change here for me, if it isn't asking too much? I wasn't sure what I saw when you did it the first time. If you don't want to its okay, but I would really like to see it again."

Alba stood up and dropped the dressing robe. She stood on two feet and then four. It was almost as if her body blurred for a split second and then Al was there. Amy stood and went over to her. She placed her hand on Alba's head. Alba rubbed herself against Amy's side.

"She gets like this whenever she's having a baby. I don't know if you heard, Ivan, but two pups are coming."

"Two! That explains why she is even more unstable than usual when she's carrying."

"Will they be born as baby wolves?" Amy asked.

"It's up to Alba. If she is in human form the last months, they are born as human. In wolf form, the gestation is shorter and they are wolves. Many of our females choose this over human birth. The pups will start changing within a few weeks. It is quite miraculous even for us."

"May I go up to my room now? I'm exhausted and I need time to process what I've been told. I may still wake up tomorrow and find this is the most fantastic dream I ever had."

"I'll walk you to your room. Alba, can you give me twenty minutes to speak alone with our guest?"

Alba growled softly at Marcus. "You have my promise. She will be protected in my company. Come along, Amy, I won't keep you any longer than necessary."

Marcus gently took her arm and led her from the room.