Wolves Ch. 06

"Cecil perhaps we should explain how things are here." Kevin said.

"Marshall is not a servant but an active participant in our household...."

"What do you mean active participant??" Cecil asked.

"Cecil..." Dee said softly.

"No, I want to hear this. Explain." he said to Kevin.

Oh shit. I thought as Kevin looked at Cecil with obvious dislike. The kid gloves were off and Cecil was in for a surprise.

"Don't tell me that a man as intelligent as you are needs to be told what an active participant is." Kevin said the irritation in his voice evident.

Cecil's eyes flashed at Kev's tone.

Just then Tyler came into the living room followed by Marshall.

"There you are!" Cecil said to Tyler, "Are you keeping him from his work? Is that why the eggs are so hard?" he asked.

Excuse my French but what the fuck? Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something Marshall beat me to it. He sat down the plate of freshly cooked eggs, moved Tyler so that he was standing behind him and then glared at Cecil.

Oh shit, I just saw his wolf in his eyes.

"Look Cecil or whatever the hell your name is, I want you to leave little man alone. He isn't bothering me or keeping me from anything. If I hear you talk to him like that again, I'm going to kick your puny ass all the way back to California. You got that?"

Did I say oh shit? Let's amend that to oh fuck.

The entire table was silent as Cecil blinked several times in disbelief that a 'servant' would talk to him that way. The boys stared at Marshall in shock at the way he had just spoken to their father.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" Cecil said standing up.

"Cecil, sit down now." I said as I watched Marshall's wolf pacing in his eyes. For whatever reason, Marshall had become Tyler's protector, something that he desperately needed. His brothers protected him at school but who looked after him at home? Dee and I needed to have a heart to heart and soon because of Tyler was being hurt in anyway, then there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that he was leaving with them.

When I told Cecil to sit down, Dee gasped. Apparently Cecil didn't like being told what to do and here he was being told not only by a white man who also happened to be wealthy if I didn't mention it before but by me the heathen who was married to the enemy.

"Oh I see." he sneered. "You got yourself a rich white man and now you think that you can talk to me any way you want."

"Cecil..."

I didn't get to finish my sentence, Matt spoke.

"Hey guys, there's a new video game downstairs, why don't you take Tyler and go play then you can teach me later." he said but his eyes were on Cecil.

"Come on little man." Cecil Jr. said to Tyler. Marshall's nick name for him had caught on.

When the boys were gone, Matt in a very don't give me shit tone of voice told Cecil to sit down. Cecil was now beyond pissed, I could see the vein at his temples pulsing and his jaw was clenched. He didn't know it but he really was taking his life into his hands.

"Let's get a few things straight shall we?" Matt asked in a very reasonable tone but he was pissed. "The first thing is this, you will never speak to Allie again as you just did. As a matter of fact, you won't speak to anyone in this house in that tone and that includes your family. The second thing is this; apparently we need to explain to you what an active participant is. Marshall is not our servant but our friend and godfather to our children and that makes him family. He is here because he chooses to be, he cooks these meals for us because he chooses to, and he is taking care of the little one because he chooses to. In other words, he doesn't have to be here at all and he certainly doesn't have to take your shit. Are there any questions?"

Once Again Cecil looked like a fish gasping for air, he was speechless. I looked over at Dee who was speechless as well. What I found interesting was that she didn't jump to his defense like I would have if someone were talking to one of my guys the way that Matt talked to Cecil. That he deserved it doesn't matter, it would have been the supporting your spouse thing and unless I'm wrong, I think that Dee was enjoying herself.

Cecil didn't say anything but stomped away from the table without eating breakfast. I expected Dee to follow him but she didn't. What was going on with them?

"Dee, I apologize if..."

"Don't apologize; it's about time someone spoke up to him." Dee said interrupting Matt. "And thank you." she added before finally leaving the table.

"Sweetheart, we need to talk." Tony said.

Oh oh, now what?

"Cecil talked to me yesterday while we toured the property and well... he made a business proposition."

Oh God, here we go I thought.

"How much did he ask for?" I asked.

"Initially nothing but he was fishing. He wanted to know what kind of businesses we had and then about the land and its worth you know things like that."

"Tony, how much did he ask you for?" I repeated.

"Half a mil." Tony replied.

"What? Please tell me that you said no." I said.

Tony laughed, "Of course I said no. I don't know him and I sure as hell don't like him. I just wanted to warn the rest of you that he will be approaching you."

"What does he want the money for?" Matt asked.

"I'm not really sure and to be honest I don't really care, there's something slimy about him but anyway, I have another question. Why does he hate the little guy so much?"

Tony was the second of my guys to ask the same question and it's a question that I planned on finding the answer to and soon. Later I would talk to each of my nephews alone and then I would talk to Dee to see if she confirmed or denied anything that they said.

After breakfast, Marshall packed a huge picnic lunch for us to take to the camp site. Matt didn't want me to go but I wasn't going to spend the day in the house alone and besides fresh air is good for you right? All of us went with the exception of.... You got it Cecil. In retrospect, that should have seemed suspicious given what I know about Cecil but we all thought that he was still having a temper tantrum and to be honest, he wouldn't be missed.

We spent the day at the campsite with the boys hiking and playing Frisbee with the guys, even Tyler played and under Marshall's patient teaching became quite good at it. Although I had planned to talk to the boys first, this was a perfect opportunity to talk to Dee alone.

"Dee, how are things?"

"What do you mean?" she asked but I knew that she understood what I was asking.

"Things are good but you know how it is, sometimes things get a little stressful." she replied.

I didn't know and I wasn't going to pretend that I did. I understand the stress part, at least what I considered to be stress but I think that we were talking about two completely different things.

"Is Cecil's job situation alright?" I asked.

"It's fine, why are you asking?"

"Just checking, he seems more uptight than usual." I replied.

"Yeah well you know how Cecil can get if things don't go as planned and the way that Matt put him in his place isn't going to help. I'm not saying that he didn't deserve it but..."

"But what? Dee does he hurt you?" I asked.

Dee stared at me shocked that I would even ask the question but I persisted.

"Dee, does he hurt you?" I demanded.

"No." she replied.

I didn't believe her but I let it pass.

"Does he hurt Tyler?"

A brief hesitation told me what I needed to know. The question was why him and not the others. I didn't get the chance to ask because the guys were coming back looking for food and something to drink but believe you me; I'm going to get to the bottom of this.

Tyler left Marshall's side long enough to run over to me and give me a hug.

"Did you see me Aunt Allie?" he asked excitedly.

"I sure did." I replied hugging him back happy that he was happy.

He hugged Dee and ran off. That, I thought is how he should be all of the time, a happy playful child not afraid to laugh.

We got back home late afternoon around five but Cecil was no where to be found. We could tell that he had been into things that were none of his business including my office as well as the offices of the guys. He wouldn't have found anything since everything is encrypted and is password protected but it's the fact that he did it.

He couldn't have gone too far, the van was still in the driveway. Matt thought that maybe he was in the part of the house that was under construction and went there to look. Cecil was getting on my last nerve and this was only day two. Matt came back without Cecil, this so was not good because it meant one thing. Cecil had gone into the woods.

***

Cecil

I've never liked Allie and the feeling is mutual. The dislike began from the first time that we met and it was instantaneous. It took me awhile to understand the dislike because I presented myself well, you know what I mean, in other words I minded my P's and Q's as my mother used to say but still she didn't like me nor I her. Throughout the years that dislike turned into hatred at least on my end, as far as she was concerned I was just someone to be tolerated because I married her cousin.

I guess you're wondering why I wanted to come here if I felt that way about her. Believe me I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be and not only that, if I didn't need her I wouldn't allow Dee to even talk with her on the phone. Now, I'm sure that she mentioned that I'm a racist but I'm not really, I just believe that there should be no mixing of the races except on business matters. And what do we find out? That her damned husband is a white man with a whole lot of money and she's pregnant to boot, another half-breed to take up space. The part about him being white bothers me but I do love the fact that he has a lot of money as does his brothers, the kid bothers me. Why? Because it's just not right.

I tried to hit one of them up yesterday which in retrospect was way too soon but I'm running out of time and options. The original plan was to ask her for it or I was going to have Dee do it as Allie would just as soon see me drown than throw me a life vest.

Speaking of her husband's brothers, there's something off there. I see the way that they all look at her and it isn't the way that a man should be looking at another man's wife. Anyway, while they were gone I decided to do some investigating. The way I see it is this, if you don't want people looking at your things then you lock the door right? Anyway, I soon found out why they didn't lock the doors to their offices, their computer systems were far more advanced than mine and I wasn't that good at hacking. What was I looking for? I wanted to see if I could find out their net worth. I knew that Allie was far from being a pauper, her net worth was somewhere around six hundred K with about two-hundred K in the bank.

After a while I gave up trying to hack into their systems and went to the library, maybe I could Google them and find out information that way. Damn! Allie had hit the Jackpot! Why didn't I know who these guys were? They owned computer software that countries bought which explained why their systems were so advanced. That meant that these guys were worth millions if not billions. Allie was set for life and it wasn't fair, her money was handed to her while I still had to work to make ends meet. Yes I give the illusion that we have money but that's all it was an illusion. Don't get me wrong, I make good money but just not enough of it. The half- mil would pay everything off and things would be fine again. I wasn't going to ask Allie for money that she didn't have just for a part of what she did.

After I read several articles on the Christianson brothers, I decided to take a walk into the woods. I don't give a rat's ass about the warning that Matt gave to the boys. I am a grown man and will do as I please and besides, I grew up in an area similar to this. I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and a couple of granola bars and set out.

I started walking not really paying attention to where I was going my mind on Allie and her husband's money. I know that they own well over five hundred acres so there was no danger that I would be trespassing. I don't know how long I walked before I realized that I had gone deeper into the woods than I had planned on. I stopped and turned back intending to go back in the same direction that I had come but it looked different somehow and I began to second guess myself.

***

The stupid idiot! He had gone into the woods just to pout. The problem was that we didn't know how long he had been gone. Matt and the others started making phone calls to gather the pack, they were going to go look for him, when they found him, I was going to kill him. Not only was he an inconsiderate jerk who was hurting Tyler, he was interfering with my nap time and seriously upsetting my happy home.

"Sweetheart you stay here with Dee and the boys in case he comes back. One of us will check back every so often to see if he's back."

"Wouldn't calling be faster?" Dee asked.

Matt ignored her, took my hand and led me to his office where the others were waiting with grim expressions on their faces.

"Allie, we'll try to find him but you know..."

"I know, something else may have already and he might be dead." I said softly.

Matt nodded and pulled me into his arms for a kiss. One by one my guys kissed and hugged me before kissing my stomach and murmuring something to the babies.

Dee, me and the boys watched as the guys took off at a run toward the woods. Of the three boys only Tyler didn't seem to be worried, none of the others seemed to notice because they were concentrating on themselves. I went over to Tyler, sat beside him and took his hand in mine.

"Tyler, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes Aunt Allie." He replied and you know what? I believed that he was. I also believed that he didn't want Cecil to be found.

*** Cecil

I started walking and then remembered seeing somewhere that if you got lost in the woods that the best thing to do was to stay put. It was almost dark and surely they were back at the house by now and noticed that I was missing, I can't believe that I'm going to say this but I would give anything for one of the brothers to show up right now. I've always hated camping and this was even worse than that.

I found a spot in the open and sat down to wait jumping up again when I heard branches snapping behind me. I turned to look but I didn't see anything, just an animal, a squirrel or something. I went to sit down and then I heard it again from behind me and from around me. Something was out there and I was scared, when I heard the first howl I pissed my pants but that was the least of my worries.

I could hear the sounds of something approaching and braced myself for who knows what. I heard what sounded like snarls and then several whines of pain. What in the hell was happening out there? Several minutes later, I heard my name and sincerely thanked god that I had been found.

Matt Christianson stepped into the clearing a few minutes later, looked at me, turned and walked away without saying a word. He was furious and to be frank with you, I didn't care.

***

Paul came back and told us that Cecil had been found and was alright. I looked over at Tyler and saw the sag of his shoulders and made a decision that I was positive Matt and the others would agree with, Tyler wasn't going back to California. I didn't know how I was going to get Dee to agree but I was sure that Cecil wouldn't object which reminds me; I still plan to find out why Cecil treats Tyler as he does.

The guys walked in with Cecil about an hour later, he looked none the worse for wear and didn't even have the sense to even act contrite. It didn't seem to bother him that people were out looking for his stupid ass when they could let his ass get eaten by whatever was out there.

I looked over at Matt and saw the set of his shoulders, oh boy; Cecil was in for it now.

"Thanks for finding me; I guess I'll turn in now." He said as he headed for the stairs.

"Sit your ass down." Matt demanded in full alpha mode.

Cecil's eyes widened and he was going to object but then he saw Matt's eyes. He shrugged as if he wasn't bothered but I knew that he was. I fought the urge to get some newspapers before he sat down but I didn't want to miss anything.

"Boys, could you leave us alone for awhile?" Matt asked. "Your father and I need to have a little talk."

David took Tyler's hand and led him away with Cecil Jr. following close behind. When they were gone, the "talk" began.

"Just what in the fuck did you think you were doing?" Matt asked. "I specifically warned against going into the woods alone and what do you do? You go into the woods alone. It's not safe and there are wild animals out there that would have had your skinny ass for a snack..."

"Just you wait a goddamned minute!" Cecil said.

Did he really just take the name of the lord in vain? Cecil who is so proud of the fact that he's a deacon at their church? Well I'll be damned.

"I don't know who in the fuck you think you are but you don't talk to me like I'm a child. I'm a fucking grown man..."

He used the 'F" word? Cecil? Well what do you know? I wonder what else he's hiding.

"Who couldn't find his way out of the damned woods and who pissed his pants while he waited." Matt said interrupting him. "A lot of people were out looking for your sorry ass and you didn't even have the manners to say thank-you. You say that you're a grown man? Well from where I sit you're acting like nothing more than a spoiled child who can't stay out of other peoples business. Yes I know that you tried to hack into our company computer, it logged every attempt that you made. Now, here's the scoop, the only reason that you're still here is because of Dee and the boys but you do one more thing to upset this visit I will kick your ass. Are we clear on that?"

Cecil was speechless, he was used to being the one to call the shots but he didn't go down easy. He was determined that no white man was going to tell him what to do. I mean really? The man snooped through our personal spaces, had people out in the woods looking for him and he still didn't know when to shut up.

Cecil stood up to face Matt, a brave but stupid move on his part, maybe not brave but just stupid and got into his face. Another stupid thing to do but did it he did, Matt looked down at him and stared until Cecil finally wising up got smart and backed away.

I looked over at Dee who as of yet hadn't said a word, like me she was enjoying the show. I really doubted that theirs was a happy marriage, something else I planned to find out. This time when Cecil tried to leave, Matt didn't stop him. We all sat looking at each other not sure of what to say, it was Dee that broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about the way the Cecil's been acting and I want to thank all of you for allowing us to stay in your home and for looking for him and bringing him back." She said this in one breath and then rushed down to the basement to check on the boys. Twelve more days to go.

****

Cecil

Fuck. I've done nothing but fuck up since we got here. Each fuck up takes me further and further away from what I want and need money. Even that brat Tyler figures into this, I would have to ease up on him; after all he is my son isn't he? I have to tell you that it was all that I could do not to punch that pompous bastard Matt Christianson in the face for the way that he talked to me in front of my wife. Speaking of Dee, she has yet to come to my defense in anything that's happened and she coddles that whiny assed sissy Tyler.

I bet you're wondering why I hate Tyler, alright I'll tell you. You know that Michael Jackson son 'Billy Jean'? The line about the kid not being his son? There you have it. Tyler isn't my son. Every time I look at him I think about Dee's betrayal to me, it doesn't matter that we were separated at the time, we were still legally married. What made it worse was that she tried to pass him off as mine. At least the man was black, I've seen how she drools over those white men on television but he is not my son and he will not be treated as such. But I think for the duration of this visit, I'll have to pretend that I at least like the brat.