Reservoir of Power Ch. 05

No one really knew what had happened on the inside the jet or why it was preparing for an emergency landing, although one of the Fox people was currently reporting that he'd heard that the pilot was screaming hysterically about monsters. The only things that everyone agreed upon was that Mr. Billington and his wife had been on their way to personally meet with the President of the United States, and that at least one serviceman had been killed while attempting to defend the businessman from the rebel attack.

Seeing as everyone within the diner was now glued to the television sets until such time as there would be a resolution to this crisis, Lochlainn grabbed a stray order pad and jotted down his order for two dinner specials, with extra everything. He then walked behind the counter and attached the order to the cook's order-wheel. Lucy, the waitress who was almost always on duty, merely smiled thankfully at him, so Lochlainn opened the door to the pie case and helped himself to a couple of his favourite huckleberry turnovers before he headed back to his table.

Lucy hissed at him, "You forgot her coffee," before she turned her full attention back to whatever was happening on CNN.

Lena had never been to Skye's Diner before, but it was quickly apparent how informally this place was operated, so she decided to give Lochlainn a hand. She helped herself to an entire pot of coffee from the warmer before heading back to their table. "Friendly place," she whispered to Lucky.

"It looks like we'll have to start with dessert, but never fear, these things are great," he whispered while pointing to the turnovers.

Lena dug into one of the pastries and instantly moaned in delight. Lochlainn's face broke into a smile at her sound, as he began to wonder how else it would be possible to make this girl moan. He had a few ideas.

Lena saw the smile and she decided to show her appreciation for the food. She locked eyes with him and began to slowly, languorously lick the sticky fruit filling from her fingertips. Not willing to be left out, Lucky placed his fingers on Lena's lips and allowed her to lick his fingers as well.

No one in the diner was aware of sexually charged dining that was happening on the other side of the room; everyone was just too involved in watching the unfolding drama from the Sacramento airport. The young couple had barely managed to finish their dessert when the private jet was sighted by the eagerly waiting television crews.

The pilot brought his jet in hot, as if he couldn't wait to get his craft back to the ground, but the network cameras were in perfect position to catch the landing. With their cameras focused on the side of the craft, everyone was provided with a perfect view of the plane as it touched down on the ground. As the cameras were locked in on the jet as it came screaming onto the tarmac, its passenger door exploded outward, snapping free from its hinges and caroming down the runway before skidding to a stop just behind the jet.

Then the cameras zoomed into an even tighter shot, clearly trying to catch whatever was inside of the jet's main compartment, hopefully to discover whatever had knocked the door from its hinges, and that's when the screaming started...

"It's a werewolf!" shrieked one of the women in the diner.

"No it isn't," another man screamed back, "werewolves don't exist! It's just someone in a costume!"

The argument was extremely heated, but it didn't have the opportunity to last long, for as soon as the damaged jet skidded to a stop, the 'werewolf' jumped out of the open door and on to the runway. The cameras were in prime location so see him shift back into his naked, human form.

They also captured the fact that he was joined almost immediately by his mate, a blood spattered werebitch who also immediately shifted into her human form in clear view of the network cameras. She clutched her mate into a loving embrace and the two began to kiss, clearly relishing the fact that they were still alive. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was real, and for once, no one thought to pretend to be upset that there were nude people on the nation's television sets.

The kiss, while tender, was not allowed to last, as a blood-covered man appeared in the doorway of the jet. Armed with a small automatic weapon, he seemed to be screaming in shock, his eyes darting back in forth violently. Screaming incoherently, he emptied the weapon into the embracing lovers.

Struck by dozens of bullets; both of the victims crumpled slowly to the tarmac. Their blood was pouring out of their wounds as they died on live network television. Their assailant then lost consciousness and toppled out of the jet, only to land next to his victims. ...and that's when the real screaming started.

It wasn't just the people in the diner any longer; most of the people on Earth then proceeded to lose their collective minds. There was a cacophony of screaming for several minutes before everyone became deadly quiet again as they began to listen to the network analysis of what they had just seen with their own eyes.

Through it all, Lochlainn retained his composure, because after all, the existence of werewolves was not really news to him. He'd never actually met the other races of were, but his father had spoken of them from time to time. He'd also told Lucky that the wolves were the most widespread of the shifter races as their needs were more easily met than the others. He'd said that they were spread over a very wide range, unlike the bears... which were mostly confined to the cooler climates.

Risking a quick glance around the room, Lochlainn could see that he was the only one in the diner who was not reacting in some sort of shock to what they were seeing. This didn't surprise him too much as those who knew of his kind were very few and very far in-between, although he had to admit, this was obviously not going to be true any longer.

He saw Lena's expression was the only one that appeared to be different from the others; he believed that her expression could only be described as 'thoughtful', as though the existence of shifters might only be somewhat surprising to her, but still something less than the complete shock it was to everyone else. Lochlainn resolved to have a lengthy conversation with her once they were alone again.

Neither of them said a word throughout the remainder of their dinner, the video from Sacramento having easily pushed aside any conversation that the two of them had been intent on having. Instead, the couple did what every other diner did that night; they silently watched to news and wondered how the existence of werewolves might change their lives.

Finally, they had both finished their dinner, as well as several more turnovers, and Lochlainn whispered, "I had thought that we could talk here, but with this...umm... news going on, I think that we'd better go somewhere else to have this conversation."

"The news..." Lena said, as though completely dumbstruck. "She said to watch the news today! I had completely forgotten about that! She knew... somehow she knew that this was going to happen."

"Who knew that this was going to happen?" Lochlainn asked, trying to keep the sinking feeling from showing upon his face.

"Honey Bea, the Siskiyou coach; she kept telling me that I needed to watch the news today. She swore that it would help to explain what was going on. How could she have known that this would happen?"

Lochlainn sucked in his next breath with an audible hiss before he whispered, "She told me the same thing, but I never thought that she was serious. I just thought it was more 'bar-talk'; most of the time, bartenders hear so much crap."

"But Lochlainn, how could she have known? According to the news, this Billington guy wasn't even kidnapped until this morning. Unless she is a psychic or some kind of Illuminati agent, there is no way that she could have predicted this. She is just a roller derby coach."

"Maybe she meant a different news item."

"No, she kept saying that it was going to be the biggest story of the day...the biggest of the year even. This must be the story that she was talking about, but how do werewolves have any affect on you and me?"

"So there's a 'you and me' to discuss," Lucky asked with a hopeful grin.

"...But that's what I told you last..." Lena started, before turning quite pale and slapping her hand over her mouth.

"Oh God, I just remembered..." she said, as she began to hyperventilate. "I got really drunk and then I told you last night, didn't I?"

Lucky tried to hide the grin on his face when he said, "No, that's okay; it doesn't count. Whatever you say when you are hammered doesn't count; that's a bar room rule. You can trust me; I'm a professional. Drunken thinking does not count as clear thinking! So, no worries! I'll go and pay the bill so we can go someplace quieter to talk."

Lena assented to this and Lochlainn continued speaking as he climbed to his feet, "I have some secrets to share with you, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure how I was going to explain any of this to you, but with all that has happened in the last few hours, I think it might be important for you to hear my secrets before you tell me any of yours."

Lena rose with Lochlainn and the two were soon standing before the old-style mechanical cash register where Lochlainn had gone to pay the tab for their dinner. He received his change and tried to press it into the waitress's hand for a tip, only to be rebuffed. Indeed, Lucy then reached into the front pocket of her own apron and retrieved a five dollar bill which she thrust into Lena's hand.

Grinning at the startled girl, she said, "Hell, you two did all the work tonight. It's only fair that I tip you for doing all of my work for me. Y`all can tip me next time!" She then shooed the young lovers out of her diner, both of them with large, but confused smiles plastered across their faces.

This good mood wasn't to persist though, as both of them were quite nervous about their impending conversation. Indeed, it had gone completely silent within the van before they were even half way back to Lochlainn's place. Clearly, both of them were locked into the maelstrom of the 'what-ifs' and "ohmygods" that might lie before them.

Choosing to break the silence, Lochlainn said, "I'd put on some music, but I don't think there is anything in the stack that isn't meant to wake the dead."

"It's okay," she replied, "Honestly, I'm just pretty nervous."

"Oh Goddess... Me too," Lucky said quickly as he reached out for Lena's hand. "I've never told anyone what I'm about to tell you, and I guess I'm afraid that you will freak out when I tell you."

A stunned look washed over Lena's face as she squeaked out, "You're not a werewolf are you?"

Lochlainn tore his eyes from the road and looked into Lena's before he answered, "No, but that would make it so much easier. Just two more minutes and I can tell you the whole thing. We are almost home now."

"It's your home, Lochlainn; I still live with Ylva."

Lochlainn set his eyes back to the road and he squeezed Lena's hand, "For now, my love; but I am going to tempt you into sharing mine. I'm not just passing through any longer. For you, I'll stay. If you leave here, I will follow you. I've never been so sure of anything in my entire life!"

His eyes back on the road, Lucky missed seeing Lena's face break into a radiant smile. If he'd seen her face, he would have started to relax, but as it was, he was still wracked with anxiety and was struggling with a growing need to shift.

He'd always known that reopening his were side would be difficult; bears were not like wolves, constantly switching back and forth between forms was foreign to them. Bears chose their world and then stuck to that choice. Bears had to bury half of their identity in order to remain sane. Lucky hadn't lied to Lena; wolves had an easier time of it. They had the emotional support of their pack, as well as defined territories where they were free to be themselves.

Once they arrived back at his home, Lochlainn took a deep breath and shut off the motor. "Well, I guess that I can't put this off any longer. Let's go inside and get comfortable so that I can share my private shame with you. If you decide to leave afterwards, I will understand. I'll be crushed, but I will understand."

She followed him into his house, saying reassuringly, "I will listen to every word that you have to say, so don't be afraid of your past. People do change, you know!"

"Yeah, some of us can change at will," he mumbled to himself before saying, "So go ahead and have a seat on the couch. I'll get us something to drink while I prepare for this." He then took a deep breath and headed into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Lena sat nervously on his couch. She wasn't stupid, and by this time, she was pretty sure that Lochlainn knew her secret already. Not that it was much of a secret; everyone in town knew that she was in love with him. But then again, that begged the question, why was he so nervous then? Why would he be so worried about her reaction when it was pretty clear that she adored him? ...and what had he meant by, 'being a werewolf would be easier'?

She didn't have enough time to finish working herself up to full frazzle however, as he returned fairly quickly. It hadn't taken him much longer than it should have taken for him to grab a couple of cold beers.

Lena had kicked off her shoes as she tried desperately not to think that the worst was preparing to happen to her yet again. She was positive that up to this point in her life, her reality had merely been a series of mildly satisfying moments surrounded by an eternity of complete disaster.

Still, she had no idea why Lochlainn seemed to be so sure that his story would frighten her enough that she would run away from him, but she was still trying to maintain a positive attitude. After all, whatever that he'd been hiding... wasn't he was now preparing to tell her the truth? Surely this would be better than one of Ylva's God-awful Lifetime movies about miscommunication and heartbreak. Complete honesty would be better. I mean; wouldn't it?

"Yes, this will be better. Total honesty, get it all out in the open now. Don't get stuck in one of those sick relationships where both partners are constantly hiding how they feel in order to keep the peace."

She was going to do this, but she realized that she was quietly terrified. Lochlainn was the first man with whom she had ever envisioned a real future. ...and his obvious fear of what was to come wasn't helping to put her mind at rest.

...and then he was standing next to her. He was holding a small ice chest filled with a few of those Canadian beers that he loved so much, but the first thing that she really noticed about him was that he'd changed his clothing, which she found odd as he'd only been in the kitchen for a moment. Surely he didn't keep spare clothing in the kitchen?

Seeing her look of surprise, Lochlainn quickly said, "Yes, I put these clothes in there on purpose. Let me explain; here... have a beer while I tell you the whole story."

So Lena took a longer look, and she saw that he was now wearing a pair of gym shorts that had 'Lucky' and '4XL' written on the leg, as well as one of his University of Montana tee-shirts and a pair of flip flops. Seeing his relaxed smile, she said, "Heck, I only took off my shoes."

Lochlainn chuckled and said, "Well, if I don't scare you away, I'd be more than happy to help you remove the rest of your clothing again."

"Uh-huh," she said with a grin, "Now, tell me your big dark secret. What are you so ashamed of that it requires beer and a costume change?"

Lochlainn sat down, hoping that it would somehow make him look less threatening. He started slowly, "Earlier you asked me if I was a werewolf, and I told you that being a werewolf would have been so much easier."

Lena nodded in confusion, unsure of where Lucky was going with this.

He sighed, and then he said, "That bear that chased you in the woods... well, that was me. I heard you scream and all I could think of was that you were in trouble. Ylva had phoned for me to come and find you after you had gotten mad at her, so I was already worried about you, and then you screamed you see. ...and it had been such a long time since I had shifted that...

"Wait," Lena said, holding her hand in the stop position,

Lucky realized that he'd been babbling and wisely decided to listen to her.

"You are telling me that you can turn into a bear?"

"Yes Lena, I'm a werebear."

"...and you have stripped down to your gym clothes so you can show me that all of this is true?"

"If you'll let me," he replied hesitantly. "It's the only way that you'll ever really believe me. Before tonight, I just wasn't sure how to tell you the truth, or even if I should tell you at all, but since the shifter secret is out now, we are not hidden anymore."

Lena didn't really need for Lochlainn to shift, she already believed his story. She also knew that she certainly wouldn't have believed him if she had not seen tonight's events for herself, but no one could deny that werewolves existed any longer, and she supposed that Lochlainn being a werebear certainly would explain a lot about what had been happening to them.

Yes, he was sitting right here, freely admitting what he was, and since she figured that there was no way that something like this could be faked, what she said was, "Okay, but before you change, will you still have all of your faculties after you shift? Will you know who I am, and you will still be yourself?"

"Mostly," he said quietly. I will still be in charge, and my memories will still be intact...mostly, but I will have a few limitations. I'll be a lot more instinctive and quicker to anger, quicker to protect. Obviously, I will be much, much stronger, and my senses will be greatly magnified, but I'll still be me."

"I will lose some of my ability to think things through though. Math and science won't make any sense to me any longer, but I will gain an innate sense of how things are... I know that doesn't make any sense to you; it's hard to explain while in human form. An unworried bear is a happy bear, my dad used to say."

"That story that you told me about your father... Does that mean that he's living as a bear now, and that's why you have not seen him?"

"Yes Lena."

"...and your mother?"

"She was born a bear; I don't think that she's ever lived as a human. Not even when the time of change came upon her; most bears never do."

"Are you saying that all bears have this ability to change?" Lena asked with a gasp.

"Yes. Well, yes and no. I mean...every bear has the ability to change somewhere inside of his or her bloodlines, but only a small fraction of us possess enough of the human spark in order to make the leap, and most of those who do are like my father. They don't last long in the human world before they yearn to fall back into the bear world."

"Go ahead," she said after a deep breath, "Show me."

Lochlainn nodded and then stood without saying a word. He kicked off his shoes and peeled off his shirt before finally sliding his shorts down and off of his legs. Lena found herself smiling, for despite the current tension between the two of them, one of her teammates' questions had just been answered, his carpet did indeed, match his drapes.

He saw her silly grin and this lightened his mood. She seemed to enjoy what she was seeing and this resolved one of his other unspoken worries as well. So, the only thing left hidden from her was his inner being. "Are you ready," he asked her, nervously.

"You'll be able to change back when I tell you to?" she pressed, her nervousness also returning.