41)

That got their attention.

Sara was concerned. “Wait, how many werewolves? Are you in trouble? Are we in danger?”

Ami had other concerns. “Really? Does she turned into a wolf puppy?”

So did I. “Ah? Where’s your brother?”

They didn’t seem all that concerned about him. Sara waved in the general direction of the rest of the house. “I left him playing. Why are their werewolves coming here?”

I guess the boy is safe enough. Safe enough I can’t use looking for him as a excuse to drag this out just to torment the other two.

“I need some, or more like a lot of answers to what all is involved in being a werewolf, and also what all is involved in it getting passed on. So the sheriff, her grandson, and the deputy that lives next door as well as her daughter are coming over.”

Ami grinned and glanced at her older sister. “Ohhhh… naked guy is coming to dinner.”

Sara blushed as she glared at her sister, then her head snapped over to my look of curiosity and she went pale. With an angry, desperate look on her face and a hissed “Shut up...” she grabbed Ami’s hand and dragged her off.

Charles gave me a raised eyebrow. “Naked guy.”

I shook my head. “The girl in the bear trap, Malinda, had a night gown that vanished when she turned into a wolf, and so did my sweat pants the first time I changed. More importantly, they came back when I turned human again. So I’m not sure what was going on with that, but the kid and the deputy both showed up as wolves, still not sure why, but no clothes on when they turned human again.”

“Since the kid, Darius, is supposed to be gay I don’t see any reason for them both to be naked that late at night. Even if they both just happened to sleep in the nude the deputy was supposed to be working a midnight shift that night and should have been up for an hour by then.”

“Plus someone brought a bathrobe for her, so they knew she would need something to wear.”

I finally shrugged. “So I got no clue why me and the girl kept our clothes and the two of them didn’t, but I guess the girls must have seen him on the security cameras.”

“Little perverts.”

That was for the girls who I could hear coming back to the kitchen and their little brother in tow. Or at least I could hear that it was Ami and the boy. Sara didn’t really make much noise herself, I could just kinda know where she was.

And Ami, and Charles. And the intruders, the kids from next door, all the people who showed up to help.

Everyone but Aran. If I couldn't see him, hear him… or smell him. I had no clue where he was.

Going to have to figure that out at some point

And since I was thinking about it. He generally smells like he needs a bath, and a bit like bacon. Which may be my fault considering how much of it I've been letting him eat.

Sara looked a little shocked as she stopped in the hall, then started to look a bit angry, but where she stood I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or a smirking Ami.

Could be both. “Girls, Aran’s going to need another bath and a clean set of cloths. We don’t want to wave him around in front of a pack of werewolves while he smells like bacon.”

Aran gave himself a sniff test while Ami seem concerned about if I was joking or now. Sara hesitated then got a look of realization before she shouted “Not it!” Then crossed her arms at a surprised Ami.

“Good. You can help me set up a dining fly.”

Of course it was like herding cats, but I managed to shoo the younger two in the direction of the elevator then waved at Sara to follow me outside while Charles was intent on ever so slowly filling the sink with water so he could claim to be busy if I tried to draft him into holding up a pole.

For a teenager. Sara seemed more curious than whiny about helping. Maybe because this was her first time, rather then being stuck holding up a pole for the hundredth some time at her age while a father and two older brothers did the rest.

Now a days I wouldn’t mind so much. I would love to put up a tarp with my dad and my brothers again, in fact I would put real money, even all my money to do so.

So after pounding in one stake, actually having her watch with interest as I tied the knot, while reciting the rabbit coming out of the hole bit for her benefit. I walked over to her and took the pole while handing her the hammer.

She looked a little distrustful, but seemed to enjoy pounding in the stake especially since I let her do it without comment, just giving her an approving nod and hooking the next rope to the nail on top of the pole before handing her the other end.

She didn’t get the knot the first try, and winced at me as she looked up, but I just gave her a smile and nodded at her to try again.

This time she got it and pulled the line taut. With two anchor points and leaning away from the them the pole would stay up on it own and we could come back to straighten it up after we go the other corners.

“Good job. Now if you screw anything up on the rest I can and will make fun of you.”

She looked up, surprised for second to see me grinning at her, then stuck her tongue out before she scampered off to start setting up the next pole.

We got the four corners and the middle two up before she started asking questions. “Are we going to be in any danger.”

I shrugged after a moment to think that over. “I doubt they're suddenly going to start biting people at dinner. Even the little girl was terrified and in pain when she bit me, and even then it was only probably because she though I might have been the one to set the trap.”

“Still, you’re going to have to play with the younger kids and keep on eye on her just to be sure. And since I warned them Ami might launch someone into the lake, I'm sure they’ll make sure the girl is on her best behavior.’

She looked up from pounding in the last stake and blinked up at me as she thought that over. “Are you sure they know what you meant? I mean, I didn’t know that werewolves are real. Are they going to know people with witch magic are real?”

Huh… I mean, they would have to know. Right? I’m asked them over because they're the experts on all things supernatural. Right?