The Porch Wolf Ch. 01-10

"They're beautiful, thank you," she said.

I stepped in enough they could close the door, then knelt down by the young girl with the matching brown hair. "You must be Vicki," I said. My wolf sat up, taking a deeper scent. Something was going on; she smelled like a werewolf. An ALPHA wolf. I took one more sniff and verified it was her, not a smell stuck to her clothes.

"You're da car guy?"

I smiled. "It's Mommy's car now. You're cuter than your pictures," I said.

"I'm almost FIVE," she said as she bounced.

"I know! Can you put these under the tree for me?" I took the envelopes out of my coat pocket; she squealed as she carried them over to the four-foot artificial tree in the corner of the living room. I shook my head as I stood up. The LAST thing I expected to find was a werewolf in Liv's home. Did she know? Was she part of the Welch Pack now? And if so, why was Liv allowed to have anything to do with me? I put the thoughts aside as Liv came back from the table.

"You didn't have to do anything," Liv said as she took my coat. "You've done so much already."

"It's you who is doing something for me," I said. "Without you, I'd be heating up fried chicken and potatoes in the microwave while watching a Die Hard marathon."

She laughed as I took off my boots. "You might regret that decision after being with three women all afternoon. Come meet my mom." She took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen, where a woman with brown and grey hair to her shoulders was mashing potatoes. "Mom, this is my friend Leo Volkov. Leo, my mother, Natalie Andersen."

She turned to me, the potato masher still in her hand and now pointing at me. "I don't know what game you're playing, Mr. Volkov, but my Liv is not a person you can buy with expensive gifts, use up and leave behind," she said. "Hurt her, and I'll use this on your nuts."

"MOM! God, Mom, he's almost YOUR age. Ew. Maybe I should be warning HIM about retired cougars prowling around looking for a rich boy-toy to take them to the casino!"

I looked between the two as they glared at each other before I busted out laughing. I held out my left hand for Natalie to see. It still had my wedding band on it. "I think I'm in that comfort zone where I'm too old for Liv and too set in my ways for Natalie." I twisted the ring. "I was married for twenty-five years before I lost my wife to cancer. I'm not over her, and I'm not looking for anyone. Catherine's car was sitting in my garage; we couldn't have children, and it's too small for me. I decided my favorite waitress could use a car that wouldn't die on her by the side of the road. I didn't ask for or expect anything in return."

It was like a balloon deflating, as the tension in the room started melting away. "Liv has been my waitress every Tuesday night for over three years. No matter how bad I felt, she would greet me with a smile and make my day brighter for an hour or two. She's a good kid, and it was worth it just to see her face."

Natalie put the masher back in the pot, then pulled me down and kissed my cheek. "She told me the same story. It was a very nice thing to do for her. Merry Christmas, Leo."

"Merry Christmas to you, Natalie. It smells wonderful," I said. "I'd offer to help, but my culinary skills involve boiling water and running a microwave."

Natalie laughed as she put butter and cream cheese into the potatoes. "Go sit with Vicki, we'll be ready to eat in fifteen minutes."

I exited the kitchen quickly, leaving the two women to talk about me, and found Vicki sitting on the couch with a stuffed shark. "I got dis for Christmas," she said as she held it out to me.

"Very nice," I said. "What kind of shark is that?"

"Gweat white. My favorite." I sat next to her as she played, trying to figure it all out. Our kind was physically identical to humans; the witchcraft that cursed us and blended our souls with those of wolves wouldn't show up in DNA. It was a blood curse, passed on from either or both parents. Having a child with a human was discouraged unless you were going to mate and change the parent too. The bite and change is a painful experience, one that is fatal more often than not. No one knew why some humans survived, and others didn't. There was only one way to find out.

It was better to stick with our own kind.

Leaving a child with humans was unthinkable. Our kind could shift shortly after birth, with the child following the form of its mother. As they grew, their wolves became more independent, allowing them to change at will by the time they were four or so. To prevent a child from shifting at school or in public, they needed to be part of a Pack; the Alpha would command their wolf to only shift when he or their parents get permission. It was the only way to keep us all safe.

Vicki crawled onto my lap as she told me what she knew about Great White Sharks, which was a lot. I listened as my wolf sought out hers. She was there, alone and buried, but wanting to get out. I could sense her coming forward and needed to stop it and fast. Looking into her eyes, I let my Alpha wolf come forward. She stared into my eyes for ten seconds, her wolf showing herself in her eyes, finally looking away as she submitted. "Not alone now. MY PUP, MY PACK," my wolf told me to my shock. I felt our wolves link, making her eyes go wide.

He claimed her as his own, right before Liv told us to go wash up for dinner. "Come on," Vicki said as she jumped off. She brought me to the bathroom, where she stood on a step stool to wash her hands. My wolf was communicating directly with hers, placing the order on her to never shift unless I told her it was all right. I washed my hands after she left, wondering how I could even broach the subject of her father. Somewhere an Alpha left a child behind with a human, and that child had the Alpha mantle and all it entails.

They sat me at the head of the table, with Liv to my left, Vicki to my right. Natalie carried in the turkey, setting it next to me. "Can you carve this while I bring the rest of the food in," she asked.

"Knives I'm good with," I said. It only took a few minutes to cut enough turkey off the twelve-pound bird for us and place it on a plate before returning the rest of the bird to the kitchen. The food was passed around, and my plate soon filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and gravy.

"Let us pray," Natalie said as she held out her hands to the girls. I took Liv's and Vicki's hands in mine as we bowed our heads. "Father, we thank you for this food and the blessings of this year as we celebrate the birth of your son. We also thank you for bringing a new friend to our table today, in Jesus' name, Amen."

The meal was full of interrogation masked by smiles and polite conversation, but it went both ways. I told them about my Catherine and her battle with leukemia, and how lost I had been since then. I found out Natalie was a retired Hastings district schoolteacher, and that Olivia had done a year at Marquette University in Madison before coming to live here and have Vicki. There was more to the story than they told, but I didn't pry; I could read between the lines. Marquette was a Catholic university, and it wasn't cheap. Her parents must have sent her away when she turned up pregnant and unmarried.

Liv was enrolled part-time in community college while Vicki was in school, and worked five nights a week at Wiederholt's. "That's a lot to do, are you getting any assistance?"

"Not much," she said with a look towards her Mom. "I get some aid from the state to help with Vicki, but I don't qualify for financial aid." Ah. The only way she wouldn't qualify is because her parents make too much money; since she never brought her parents up, they probably weren't talking or helping. I couldn't understand why the father wasn't in the picture. A werewolf male would NEVER leave a pup on its own, so he must not know about her. It was all giving me a headache.

I finished my plate and half of another, enjoying the food and the company. Dessert was Natalie's homemade apple pie and French Vanilla ice cream. "That was fantastic," I said as I finished.

Liv stood to start clearing the table. "Can you watch Vicki for a few minutes while we clean up?"

"Of course. Come on, shark bait," I said as I helped the little girl up. We sat in the living room until they finished, talking about her school and her plans for Christmas vacation. She didn't have many, but she wanted to go sledding and build a snowman.

I wanted so much more for her. Now that my wolf had claimed her, I needed to be in her life, and that meant I had to get closer to both Vicki and Natalie. I didn't like her being so exposed; it was a miracle no other werewolf hadn't found her. She would have been taken or killed immediately, and Liv had no idea of the danger she was in.

"MOMMA PRESENTS," Vicki yelled as the two came into the room. She jumped up and went to the tree, bringing back the envelopes that I'd given her earlier. "Can we open them?"

"Of course," Liv said. Vicki handed them out.

"You should open them at the same time," I said.

"On the count of three," Liv said. "One, two, THREE!"

"SEA LIFE," Vicki yelled as the membership card fell out. "Momma, SHARKS!"

"Leo," Liv said as she saw what was in hers.

"I thought Shark Bait here would like a membership; you three can go as many times as you want for a year. The overnight I figured she could invite some friends on, maybe for a birthday party? It sounded so cool I had to get it for her."

"Sweeping under da sharks? YAAAH," she squealed as she jumped on the couch and hugged me.

"You bring your blanket and pillow and sleep in the tube with the sharks swimming over your head," I said.

"Will you sweep with us too?"

"If you want me there, I'll be there," I said. The food and the lack of sleep caught up with Vicki a half-hour later, which is how I ended up asleep on their couch with a five-year-old sleeping on my chest.

It had been years since my wolf was so content.

Ch. 5

"I can't believe she's taken to him that fast," a voice said as I started coming out of my slumber. "Vicki's usually so nervous around new people. Are you sure they've never met before today?"

"No, Grandma, they haven't. I've told him a little about my girl, but I've never brought her to work on Tuesdays when he comes in." That was Liv, the first voice was Natalie. "It's been more than two hours. I should get her up, or she won't sleep tonight."

"You should take a picture, they look so peaceful that way." I sensed Natalie leaning over, rubbing Vicki's back. "If you didn't know better, you'd think they were related. Something just doesn't add up, Olivia. He's not after your money, so he has to be trying to get into your pants. Why else would he do all this for you?"

"Grandma! He's never once behaved in that manner towards me. He's a gentleman, a regular customer who lost his wife and is lonely. I don't know why he decided to do all this for me, but he's never once shown interest in dating me or any of the other girls at work. Even the divorcees gave up on him years ago, and they'll go after anything with a pulse! He's not the kind of man who uses women."

"And I won't," I said as I opened my eyes. Their eyes got wide as I looked over towards them. "You should be proud of the woman your granddaughter has become. No matter how bad a day I was having, I could count on her to smile and make me feel better. She works her butt off, she's raised a beautiful daughter and is the kind of daughter I wish Catherine and I had been able to have. If you want to know what I think of her, that's it. She's the daughter I wish I had."

I looked at Liv, who had tears running down her cheeks. She flushed red, then ran out of the room; I heard the bedroom door closing. Looking back at Natalie, she was shocked as well. She sat down on the chair, staring at me. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's not what you said about how you felt that caused her to run off. It's more that you said it instead of the two who should be telling her that themselves. I'll go talk to her, why don't you wake Vicki up and keep her busy until we come out." She got up and headed down the hall, knocking on the door.

I twisted my body, sitting up while keeping an arm around Vicki. She stirred, opening her eyes. "Tired, Leo," she said as one fist rubbed an eye.

"Well, if we sleep any longer, I'll miss the rest of Christmas," I said. "What do you do after presents and dinner?"

"Watch shows and drink cocoa," she said. "Go see sharks now?" I had to laugh as she gave me her best 'please' face.

"They aren't open today, Vicki, it's Christmas."

"Sharks ALL alone?"

I laughed. "The sharks have each other to play with, and I'm sure they left someone to babysit. You'll have to ask Mom when you can go."

"No school. Sharks!"

"Maybe on vacation," I said. "Do you want to see what it's like?" She nodded. I pulled out my phone and brought up some Youtube videos of the aquarium. We were watching sharks swimming around when the ladies came back out. "I had to tell her the aquarium was closed, so we're watching videos of it," I said.

Liv leaned over the end of the couch, watching for a few seconds with her daughter before she kissed her head. Her eyes were still puffy and red, but she'd washed the tear tracks off. "Who wants cocoa," she asked.

"ME! Marshmallow, please," Vicki said.

"Vicki said your cocoa is the best, so I have to try it too," I said. It was as good as advertised, made with heated milk and cocoa powder, with a bit of peppermint extract. The rest of the evening flew by; we watched animated Christmas programs, drank cocoa, played Uno, and snacked on leftovers until it was time for Vicki to go to bed.

"Goodnight unky Leo," she said as she climbed in my lap to hug me around the neck. She'd picked up on something Natalie had said, that I was like an uncle because I was Liv's friend.

"Goodnight, Vicki." Natalie took her back to her small bedroom, leaving me with Olivia. "You have questions," I said.

"Many. Grandma has a lot more than me," she said with a laugh.

"I'll save the interrogation for later, then. In the meantime, I have a few questions for you. What can you tell me about Vicki's father?"

"He's not in the picture," she responded defensively. "I don't see how it matters."

"It's important. I'll explain why later, but if you can humor me and tell me what you know."

She looked down the hall to verify the door was closed, then nodded. "I was a good Catholic girl; my parents were strict about boys, not letting me date in high school. They sent me to Marquette, thinking a Jesuit university would keep me on the straight and narrow, but they had NO idea how wild those dorms were. I lost my virginity the first night there and had a lot of sex the rest of my freshman year. My roommate lived up by the Wisconsin Dells, and she invited me to stay with her over the Fourth of July back in 2014. My parents agreed, and I drove down to her house. We didn't tell anyone her parents were in California at the time."

"The father?"

"We were partying with a group of her friends at the river, and one of them knew a guy with a houseboat. He said we could watch the fireworks from the Wisconsin River and hang out. John seemed cool. He was older, in his late thirties, but he was a good-looking guy. We met up with him after dinner, and he took us out on his houseboat. We went upriver and beached it on a sandbar for the night. The place was wild; kids drinking and partying, swimming, water skiing, and having sex in the water. My roommate and her boyfriend were busy, and I was the only one who wasn't paired up with someone else. As night fell, I went back to the boat and hung out with John. He made some margaritas, pulled me into his chair to watch the fireworks, and started running his hands over my body. Pretty soon, my bikini was untied, and his hands were running free. I wasn't fighting it; like I said, he was good looking, and I was having fun. After the fireworks ended, he took me to his bedroom. We had sex a few times, quite good sex actually."

"You didn't use protection?"

"I was on the pill, but I'd forgotten to bring it, and I missed a few days. I didn't think it would matter, but six weeks later, I found out that it did. I was crushed; the fall semester was starting soon, and my parents weren't going to take this well. I called my roommate in a panic, and she was able to get me John's phone number."

"How did he take it when you called and told him?"

She looked down at her hands. "John's WIFE answered the phone. I couldn't tell her; my life was ruined, and I couldn't ruin his marriage too. I pretended I was selling magazines, and she hung up on me." She wiped away a tear. "I called back the next day and told him. After challenging whether the baby was his, he told me that having the baby was out of the question. I was to get an abortion immediately, and he would send me money for it. I refused both offers."

"I can't imagine how you felt," I said.

"My parents found out, and that's when everything else fell apart. I'd rebelled against them and everything they taught me. They couldn't accept the harlot their daughter had turned into, not in their home or their lives. They kicked me out, withdrew me from school, and sent me here to live with Grandma so the scandal of my pregnancy wouldn't reach them."

"You haven't reconciled?"

"The last time I talked to them was after Vicki was born. My mother called me her biggest disappointment and told me neither I nor my bastard daughter, would be allowed in their home."

With this, she broke down, and I reached a hand across to her. "You're strong, Liv. You're raising a special girl, a blessing."

"I know."

"Have you made contact with the father since then?"

"No. I did look John up on the Internet once; his wedding photos were in the paper. Would you believe he'd been married for a MONTH, yet he was sleeping with a drunk college student on the river? No, I listed the father as unknown, and moved on with my life."

"What was his name?" I couldn't wait to look this bastard up myself; who would impregnate a human with their pup, and abandon her. Who would give up on an ALPHA pup at that?

"John Peterson. He lives up in northern Wisconsin, a place called Marengo Lakes."

The name hit me like a punch to the gut.

John Peterson was the name my younger brother took when he left to marry the heir of the Marengo Lakes Pack. He mated their only daughter, Brenda, in 2014.

This was bad.

I didn't get to ask more, as Natalie came back out. She sat at the table with us, an expectant look on her face. "You want to know what is going on between your Vicki, Liv, and I," I said.

"I don't want my family being hurt," she replied. "She's not a toy for a horny old man."

I pushed down the anger at her implication. "Before I answer your questions, I'd like to ask a few more questions about Vicki." I had many questions for her AND my brother. "Has she ever told you that she hears a voice in her head?"

The two looked at each other, then Liv nodded. "I asked my pediatrician about it, and he didn't think it was a problem. Children have vivid imaginations, and it's not like the voice is telling her to harm herself. It's like an imaginary friend. She spends a lot of time alone; she doesn't always play well with others her age."

"These play problems; are they because she is aggressive? Maybe acts out physically?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I know because she and I share a common heritage; it's why I feel a pull to protect her, and why she feels so comfortable with me so quickly."

"Heritage?"

"It's not something I can comfortably discuss until I know more details. I need to make some calls and do some research, and I'll need a day or two to do this. Vicki mentioned she wanted to go sledding; would you consider visiting my home? There are some good hills there, and if you'd allow her to go on a snowmobile, we could give her a little adventure on her school break."