More Than Just a Fairy Tale Ch. 24

"Yes," said Luc wondering just how long it was going to take her to get to the point. Until she did, he didn't dare jump in if he could skirt the issue. Plus, the babies were getting restless and he didn't want to be in mid discussion when they woke up.

"Then my daughter gets married. You do call it married don't you? Because you never did invite me to a wedding, but you live together and work together. And there's your company too. Is it just coincidence that it's called Alpha Wolf? There was all that stuff in the press a while back about some poor old man dying and all the press and the companies and supposedly they were all werewolves and while that was just so weird, I didn't really think to call and ask, because of course you just don't call up your daughter and ask if her husband is a werewolf just because there were really convincing articles in the newspaper now do you?" Anna asked.

"Yes, maybe, no and no," Luc said trying to answer all of her questions.

"Well, I try not to stick my nose in my children's lives. At the same time, I had to come see the grandbabies. These are Meggie's first babies and I just had to come see them. That of course got me thinking about all the books I read and those stories in the papers and I was ready to think it was all just the crazy thinking of an old woman. Then you see someone like Andrew," Anna said.

"What about Andrew?" asked Luc. He was beginning to get an ice cream headache and had this terrible urge to shift, split all his clothes and scare the hell out of his mother in law just to shut her up. Instead, he smiled and waited.

"Well, he doesn't move like anyone I've ever seen before. His aura... It is so different. I wasn't sure if it was just because he was some sort of holy man or priest or what. So I started looking at all of you. Patrick moves the same way. So does that Ysabel. Then I began wondering if Meggie and I were the only humans in the room, because if you're some sort of thing, then the babies would be too," said Anna.

"Okay, so what exactly do you want to know?" asked Luc.

"Are you human?" Anna asked.

"I consider myself human," said Luc knowing he was skirting the issue.

"Let me try this again. Are you a werewolf or a vampire?" Anna asked.

"I'm not a vampire," said Luc. Part of him was enjoying teasing Anna after the overdrawn and verbose ramblings.

"Luc! Quit teasing!" hissed Meg.

"Alright. Anna. I will answer your questions. Sit down and be quiet," said Luc.

Meg adjusted herself to nurse the babies both of which had managed to stay asleep during her mother's ramblings.

Anna sat.

"Yes, there really are werewolves and vampires. I'm a werewolf. You were right in that you and Meg were the only regular humans in the room. It's genetic and doesn't always breed true. However, it is likely that the babies will be shifters. Now, besides Andrew, what tripped your curiosity?" Luc asked.

"There wasn't a drop of chocolate in the room. No candy, not cakes, no cookies, nothing. It's just un-American not to have chocolate at a celebration. Then those three darling children came in and gave 'Unky Wolfy' peanut butter cookies. That's when I really started to wonder," Anna said.

Meg was trying very hard not to laugh while she nursed.

"Any questions?" asked Luc.

"No, not at the moment. I also realized that it wouldn't matter if you were or not, because even if I went screaming from the room, no one would believe me," said Anna.

"That's true. It's what saves them especially when Sara or Ivan make a comment at school. No one believes them," said Meg.

"Anna, you are very calm. Surprisingly calm. Any particular reason?" asked Luc.

"Well, I was panicked. Then I thought about the fact that my Meggie is a very good judge of character. If she loved you enough to live with you and have your babies, you couldn't be all that scary or nasty. So, I relaxed. It was just the curiosity of sitting there and wanting to ask questions that was driving me crazy," said Anna.

Luc smiled, walked over to Anna and gave her a big hug. She hugged him back.

*

"Well, that went better than I expected," said Meg.

"Oh yeah. I kept waiting for her to scream, but she was right. If you loved me, then she really had no reason to worry," said Luc.

"And she will probably wig out the first time she sees you all shifted," said Meg.

"Maybe. We'll see how she reacts tomorrow morning, because we are sleeping with me curled up around you and the babies tonight. I've been holding off shifting for way too long," said Luc as he started to shift.

"Too long?" Meg teased as she moved to the center of the bed with the babies.

"Yesh!" Luc said through a jaw half shifted.

Meg smiled and watched Luc shift to wolf.

Wolf jumped up on the bed and wrapped himself around Soft One and the pups. He snuffed each pup and locked their scent into his head. Now he could never lose them as long as he could scent them. He licked Soft One on the face and watched her giggle. Soft One curled up around the pups and then he curled up around her.

"Safe. Pups here, Soft One here, Safe in my den," he thought. Wolf sighed and went to sleep.

*

Sam was nervous. She'd been gone for over a month and was bringing Lewis home with her. Angie and George were meeting them at the airport and from there they were all going to Luc's to see the babies. The plane rolled to a halt and the stewardesses were helping everyone to deplane.

"Come on Sam. It will be just fine," said Lewis.

"I hope so," said Sam. "It's just..."

"I know luv. I get to meet cousins that I never knew existed," he said. He handed her her carry-on and then grabbed his own. They headed out of the plane.

Twenty minutes later, they'd passed through customs and were headed to the Baggage Claim area. Lewis saw a mountain of a man standing off to one side. He stopped and nudged Sam.

"Is that George?" he asked pointing to the man.

"Yes and that's Angie next to him," she said.

Lewis looked over at the petite woman. "And their mated?" he asked.

"Yes. Apparently they are a good fit if you know what I mean," Sam said with a smile. She and Angie had chatted one afternoon and the giggling hadn't stopped for hours.

Lewis just shook his head as they walked towards the couple. He still wasn't use to Sam's openness. It made him smile and blush at the same time.

"SAM!" the couple shouted when they spotted her. Within seconds, Sam was engulfed in two sets of arms.

Lewis stood there waiting for Sam to reappear. She did for about five seconds and then it was his turn.

"Hello Lewis," said George as he extended a hand.

"Nice to meet you," said Lewis and took the hand. George's hand engulfed his and then George pulled him into a bear hug. Lewis gave as good as he could, but he was no match for George.

"George, if you break him," Sam started to say.

George let go of Lewis and laughed. "I won't break him," he said to Sam. "Nice to meet you Lewis."

"Good to meet you at last. I've heard a lot of stories from Sam," said Lewis.

"And before you two start talking, I'm Angie. The mate of this over sized mountain of flesh," said Angie.

Lewis turned to see a smile on the face of the smaller woman. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "So very glad to meet the mate of such a cousin. I hope he is deserving of you. If not, I would gladly make amends," said Lewis with a wry smile on his face.

"Oh my. One with manners. How did you get so lucky Sam?" Angie teased.

"I'll blame it on Buster," said Sam. That made everyone laugh.

Suitcases claimed, they headed for the car. George had borrowed a car from Patrick. There was no way he'd pick up two people in the truck. There were days he swore he barely fit.

"Patrick trusted you with his Subaru?" Sam asked as they arrived at the car.

"Yes, and I've promised to be good and not bring it back too dented or broken," said George with a sigh.

"He nearly violated all the agreements when a truck changed lanes in front of us on the way here," said Angie.

"I didn't hit anything, so just relax," said George as he put the last of the luggage into the back. "Let's get to Luc's before dinner is ready. Sandy promised to barbecue."

*

They talked in general all the way from the airport. George and Angie were anxious to hear Sam and Lewis' stories, but they didn't want them to have to repeat things either. George swore he could smell the barbecue a mile out from Luc's house. A few minutes later they pulled in front of the house. It took George a minute to find a place to park as the street was full on both sides. The smell of barbecued meat wafted across the yard.

"I swear that I've been smelling this for the last ten minutes," said Lewis.

George smiled and nodded. "Sandy is a master with his sauces. You'll meet him in a few minutes," George said.

"Are all these cars family?" Lewis asked looking at over fifteen cars parked in front of the house or in the driveway.

"Yes. Just immediate family. If we had the whole pack here, we'd need the local community center and then some," said George. "I promised Sam that we'd be a more intimate group tonight."

"You do realize that this is probably more family than I've met in the last forty or fifty years," said Lewis.

"How on earth did you manage that?" asked George as they walked across the street.

"My mum ran away with me. Didn't let me know what I was until I suddenly shifted as a teen. Rather a shock it was," said Lewis.

"Geeze!" said Angie.

"Once you're over the shock, you can tell us all about it," said George as they walked in the door.

Inside there must have been twenty or more people. Sam was engulfed by another couple and Lewis stood there stunned. He could feel that most of the people in the room were shifters. Probably more than he'd ever seen in one room. A tall dark haired man with an air of authority walked up to him and held out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Luc," he said.

"Lewis. Lewis Davy. Nice to meet you," Lewis said. "So this is the Alpha Sam spoke of," he thought.

"Lewis, Welcome to my home. This is my mate Meg," Luc said as he started to take Lewis around the room to meet people.

"Hello Lewis. I bet this is all very confusing to you," said Meg. She had Linsey in her arms while Elliot slept next to her. At two weeks old, the babies had gotten into a routine that let Meg nurse just one at a time.

"Yes Meg, it certainly is confusing. Congratulations on your fine babies," Lewis said.

"Thank you. You'll get use to us. I know it took me a while and I'm not a shifter," Meg said. "You can imagine our surprise to hear about you."

"Indeed. I was rather shocked myself," said Lewis.

"They didn't even tell me until a day after the babies were born. Luc totally forgot for some strange reason," said Meg with a smile.

Lewis nodded. Then the couple that had greeted Sam walked over.

"Lewis, this is my erstwhile cousin Ginny and her mate Patrick," said Luc.

"Hi Lewis," said Ginny as they hugged.

"Hello Lewis, it is amazing how much you look like Buster," said Patrick.

"That's what Sam said. Said it had been driving her crazy trying to figure out where she knew me from," said Lewis. Sam walked up to him gave him a hug and then went to go see the babies.

"We'll talk later. I have Buster's diaries and all sorts of stuff you might want to see," said Ginny.

Luc then walked him around and introduced him to everyone in the room, along with familial information and what each one did for work. They were just heading outside to meet Sandy when he walked into the kitchen to announce that the meat was ready.

"Hey Luc, is this Lewis?" asked Sandy.

"Yes. Lewis, this is Sandy my brother," said Luc.

"Always good to meet family," said Sandy extending a sauce sticky hand.

"Yes, Nice to meet you," said Lewis. "Or should that be nice to meat you?" he laughed as he pulled a sticky hand away from Sandy.

"On this occasion, both," said Sandy with a grin. "Shall we eat?"

The table groaned with food. Platters were filled with ribs, burgers, pork chops and sausages. Bowls of salad and breads were scattered along the table. Drinks were passed up and down as well as food. Desserts were piled on a separate table, and not a drop of chocolate to be found much to Anna's amusement. The day after their discussion, Meg had told her mom about her secret chocolate stash when life just demanded chocolate. Conversations were all over the place as Lewis got to know the double handful of cousins.

"So, how is it that you didn't grow up knowing that you were a shifter?" asked Sandy

"My mum. Apparently Da didn't have the talk with her. So, the moment she found out, she ran. Had me about six months later. Since she didn't know it was genetic, she figured that I was safe. Right up until the point I got upset one afternoon and shifted," said Lewis.

"I can't imagine growing up and not knowing," said Ysabel. "You're Canadian, but where did you grow up?"

"Vancouver. I have to admit that there were lots of odd things that really made sense after that first shift," said Lewis.

"Like what?" asked Ginny.

"Like why I was stronger than most of my friends, or why chocolate made me so sick or better yet, why I couldn't do a vegetarian diet," said Lewis.

"Oh shit! Your mom was a vegetarian?" asked Cal as he speared another sausage.

"Yes. The only time she ate meat was when she was pregnant with me. The minute she had me, she lost all cravings for meat," Lewis said.

"You must have been one sickly kid," said Peter.

Lewis nodded. "Dietitians, hospitals, blood work and protein shakes. Of course the first one she got me was chocolate," he said.

Luc about choked. "Oh god. That stuff is bad enough going down. I don't even want to think of the results," he said.

"It was nasty. However, I started cheating. I was starving and by that point I was old enough to understand that something was wrong. I walked past a sandwich shop one afternoon and bought a hamburger. First one I'd ever had. I think I ate six before I left," said Lewis. "Felt better than I ever had and from then on I stopped by at least once a day."

"Why didn't you tell your mom you wanted to eat meat?" asked Anna.

"Well, first off she wouldn't have bought any. By then she had remarried and her new husband agreed with her and I would have been worse off for it if I had made a fuss. So, I walked instead of taking the bus and used the money for burgers," said Lewis.

"So what happened the first time you shifted?" asked George.

"My mum and I had a fight. I'd found some papers about my real father and asked about him. She didn't want to talk and when I pressed, we argued. Then I got angry in a way only teens can and the next thing I knew, my clothes were too tight, my face hurt, the room was too loud and too bright. Apparently, I screamed and then dropped to the ground," said Lewis.

"Then what?" asked Meg.

"Well, I sort of knew that something had happened. It was like watching things in a dream. I tried to get away, but my step-dad locked me in the shed," said Lewis.

"Good grief!" said Patrick and Ginny almost at the same time.

"Well, think about it. One minute you're arguing with a teen and the next minute he starts getting bigger and finally shifts into a huge wolf. My stepdad had grabbed his belt and wrapped it around me and put me in the shed. They were scared to death," said Lewis.

"So what happened after that?" asked Luc.

"Well, they called someone and the next day, the door opened and this old man stood there. He called me by name and told me to come out. Once I was out of the shed and had a drink of water, he told me to shift back. Think about being a two legged beast and not a four legged beast. Five minutes later, I sat shivering on the grass and he threw a towel over me," said Lewis. "And that is how I first met Buster."

"Oh my god," said Sam. "Did he take you home?"

"No, but we went on a long trip that summer and I learned to deal with my dual nature. Buster had been called because he was the closest family member that would come near my mum. My Dad had died in an accident and my grandfather Henry was nowhere to be found. The rest of the family told Buster that if I died, it wasn't any great loss," said Lewis.

"That was rotten of them," said Kevin.

"Agreed, but think how things were back then. My mom was raising a stink and they didn't even know I existed," said Lewis.

"Okay, I can see that. We've had a few like that in the family. Troubled teens dumped on us. That's why the prenuptial agreement got written. It doesn't stop it, but it certainly helps," said Kevin.

"So how did that long trip go?" asked Patrick.

"I met my half brother Mark and his mom Jane. Both shifters. I met a few other family members and Buster and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. He'd been living pretty wild in some old cabin and when summer was over, he dropped me back at my mum's house," said Lewis.

"Did you see much of him or the others over the years?" asked Angie.

"Buster came by at least once a year and Mark came to visit once. That didn't work out too well as my mum overreacted. Otherwise, I didn't see any other shifters," said Lewis.

"How lonely," said Andrew. He'd been watching Lewis and his interactions with the rest of the family. "So, how do you feel about finding that you have more cousins than you can shake a dog bone at all in one spot?"

"It's a bit mind boggling. My lumber company has fewer people in it," Lewis said with a smile. "I like it though."

"How do you manage?" asked Lisa. It was the first time she'd spoken all evening.

"We work hard. I'm the only shifter, but the men are strong and determined," said Lewis. "We get the work done and take turns going on vacation. It's also remote enough that if I need to shift, I can and no one knows."

Lisa nodded. She and Peter lived on the edge of town so that when things got too much for her she could shift and run.

"Sam told us about how you two met. I'm surprised that you recognized Buster's scent after all these years," said Luc.

"To be honest, I have a blanket of Buster's back at my apartment. When he disappeared a while back, I went to his cabin. The blanket was one of the few things that was salvageable. The wildlife had gotten into the cabin. So, I took it home. He's the only real family I had in so many ways and that blanket was a way of keeping a piece of him. Especially after my mum sent me packing when I turned legal age," said Lewis.

"Well, I can't wait to go through all the stuff that we have of his," said Ginny. "There are so many people I don't recognize. Do you speak Metis?" she asked.

"A little. Buster didn't speak anything else when we were in the woods. I grew up speaking English, and had to learn it quickly," said Lewis.

Ginny nodded.

*

Hours later, the last of the people headed home. Ginny and Patrick gave Lewis a hug as they left. Angie and George were off to a hotel with Sam and Lewis. Luc waved from the front door and then turned to check on Meg and the babies.

"Sleepy?" he asked.

"Yes. This was a very long day," said Meg. She had just finished nursing Elliot and put him in with Linsey to sleep.

"I agree. What do you think of Lewis?" he asked.

"I think he is going to have a very difficult time going back to Canada," she said. "He relaxed and was enjoying all the family dynamics."

"Yes, he was," said Luc.

"Plus, he's in love with Sam," said Meg with a smile.

"Are you sure?" asked Luc.

"Yes! When we were cleaning up, Ginny, Marie, Angie and Ysabel were chatting and wondering about the two of them when Lisa walked up. She said we were missing all the pheromones Lewis was pouring out," said Meg.

"Is that why Ginny came out and bumped into Lewis?" asked Luc.

"Yes," she said.