74)

It felt weird.

Really weird. My balance was all different, and my leg and arms were all rearranged. I looked back and saw the tail. Giving it a wag, I could feel all it's weight right on top of my butt.

I had fallen forward as I changed. To rest my… front paws on the back of the chair. So I could still see all around the room without the furniture blocking my view while on all fours. I thought wolves would have limited color vision, but everything looked the same, it might be a werewolf thing.

Charles had turned back around and just stood there for a moment. Before finally asking. “Are you still you Uncle John?”

I started to answer, then realized that I would at best make a sort of growling throat clearing sound. Instead, I just nodded at him, then turned to look my brother in the eye.

Drew blinked. “Well… hell. Wolves are pretty damn big.” Holding out his arm, he gave me a nod. “Let’s get this over with before the shock catches up with me and I realized how much this is going to hurt.”

I dropped down to all fours, and nearly fell over. Then I sort of awkwardly walked with stiff limbs around the chair and over to my brother. Both men watched me in with a mixture of concern and amusement at my lack of grace.

My brother gave me an encouraging nod. “It’s okay little brother, it’s always awkward for your first time.” I barred my teeth at him as he chuckled at his own joke. Then I just closed in on him with my mouth open.

He flinched a the last second and started to pull away, so instead of biting down on the meaty part of his lower arm, I sort of caught him on the edge. Some of my teeth met each other on the edge of his skin.

It was also a pretty hard bite. I didn’t want to give him a nibble and then have to do it again because it didn’t work on the firm time. Especially if he ended up being one of those people who just didn’t change.

I admit that I also felt he deserved at the very least one good chomp. We were brothers.

He clutched at his arm as I let him go. “Ow! John! You just had to break the skin, not try to walk away with a chunk.”

I turned and headed back toward my clothes. Trying to spit out the taste of bath soap and blood. At least I now know I didn’t become bloodthirsty as a werewolf. Blah, So salty.

Or maybe it was bad tasting because it was tainted meat. When had he gotten his last cancer screening?

Turning back was no more difficult than going from human to wolf. I just felt a bit hungry, but not strangely so. More like how I felt all the time last week. Or like I typically felt every six hours or so now.

Charles had him cleaned up and was taping on the gauze by the time I was belting up my pants. “If it worked, the puncture should heal up in an hour or so.”

My brother began wadding up the gauze wrapper and tucking them in his work shirt’s pocket. “And if it doesn’t? Then what?”

I thought that one over as Drew rolled his sleeve back down and Charles packed up the med kit. “Then we try again on the day of the full moon in case that helps and ask around to find out if anything else does. Hell, I still don’t know how the little girl makes her clothes vanish when she changes. I got too wrapped up in finding out about other stuff and forgot to ask.”

I shook my head as I sat down and pulled on my socks. “I just don’t see you not being affected, not with me being as strong as people keep telling me I am. Not with you being my full brother.”

After finishing with my shoes, I stood up. “For now though, we monitor the bite. And I go wash out my mouth. You taste nasty.”

Drew looked offended as I walked out of the room to his son’s laughter.

Charles helped with the decorations and then got sent off to keep the kids entertained. He did well enough on a grill, but the boy was useless in a kitchen. Even with tonight just being prep work. And sure enough, we had a growing list of things I would need to either pick up in the early morning or risk taking a drive after dark to the vampire superstore.

Well, I guess I would have to face them again. Can’t have the neighbors think you’re afraid of them. Plus, I did have some questions about their kind.

I should probably make a list this time.

Neal came by with his delivery of baked goods and a fresh turkey, this time in a car driven by his father, who stayed outside since as Neal explained. “Mom won’t let him get out of the car since once he starts talking to people he’ll be at it all afternoon.

Sara raced down with her sister right behind her long enough to awkwardly say hi and offered to walk him out to this car so she could talk to him for a few minutes out on the patio. Long enough for the boy's father to start calling him. “Talk to the pretty girls later Neal, we’re on the clock.”

Still, five points for not rushing off.

Shoot, I could have given him the list for another delivery.

A second or two later a call came through. Not a text, which could have come from anyone, but a call.

“Hi dad, we’re about twenty minutes out. Just coming into town.”

I let out a breath. “Glad to hear it, son, I’ll let the kids know so it’s not just you and me facing off when you get here.”

He let out a little laugh while another voice, a woman’s asked him if he was okay. A little late to start that conversation, Yuki.

“Yeah, probably for the best, dad. Let’s spread out the awkwardness in small doses. See you soon.”

Drew began setting things aside and cleaning up a bit. “So? Your kid a beer or coffee kind of guy?”

I stared at him for a moment. “I don’t know. I don’t know a god damned thing about him. I’m supposed to help him face down a woman that hates me enough to have wanted me dead, sight unseen, and a guy that must not think anything of me. And I won’t even have a second to get to know him before all that, because I got to get everything ready.”

My brother looked back at me and nodded. “Right, caffeine for you would be a bad idea then. I’m getting the rum, it always made mom pretty mellow.”

I ended up downing a juice glass full of rum and then yelled for the kids to come down as a thirty something looking man pulled up to the gate in a rental car and glanced at the camera while an Asian woman about the same age practically danced in excitement in the passenger seat.

I opened the gate with my phone and noticed him giving the light blue helium balloon tied to the gate a curious look.

Sara rushed through the kitchen, barely slowing down to open the door to the patio. Her sister ran to catch up to her but slowed as she passed through the kitchen as she saw the decorations. She gave me a grin before she rushed out the door toward the approaching headlights.

Charles carried a drowsy Aran through the kitchen. As the boy caught sight of my brother, he locked his eyes on him, with his head turning slowly to maintain his stare as my nephew carried him to the door.

I could hear all three children's loud shouts and a car door slamming outside as I took a deep breath and went out to wait on the patio.

At least I would have the high ground