Then he gave me a peculiar look, “Are you wearing a new perfume or something?”

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 1)

I arrived at the bonfire in Ben’s back yard just before seven o’clock and found a large crowd of young people, between the ages of 12 to 22 already here.

Ben was two years older than me and was a mechanic along with Declan and Uncle Finn.  The garage they worked at was beside the general store/gas station. The boys called themselves ‘grease monkeys’ and played loud rock music all day as they worked on a car or motor bike or boat engine.  Declan may have been an arrogant asshole, but Ben was pretty cool. He was human, funny and charismatic.  He’s been holding bonfire parties in his parent’s large back yard since he was 14 years old.

“Hey Ben.” I greeted him first, since this was his party.

“Hey B!” He smiled exuberantly, as he shook my hand. “Welcome! Grab yourself a soda. My Mom and Dad are over there, doling them out.”

“Thanks.” I walked away to let him continue his conversation before I interrupted.  Ben was talking to Feather, one of the tribe’s prettiest girls.

“Hi B.”

“How’s it goin’, B?”

“Good to see you, B.”

I smiled as I said the expected pleasantries back to the familiar faces that I grew up with as I walked to the drinks table.   I saw Derik was talking to Pan, a boy who was a year older than us.  He noticed my arrival and waved me over.  I waved back and mouthed ‘in a minute’.  He understood and turned back to continue his conversation.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Shallow Water.” I greeted, approaching Ben’s parents.

“Hi Bianca.” She smiled warmly.  “How are you? How is your mother?”

“Good thanks.”

“Say hi to her for me, won’t you.” Mrs. Shallow Water said.  “Now what soda would you like?”

I looked at the bottles of root beer, creaming soda, lemonade and cola.

“I’ll go the cola please.” I pointed.

“Wise choice.” Mr. Shallow Water smiled and then he jokingly went on. “It’s a good year and was picked during a good harvest. It has a sweet flavor with a fizzy bouquet. Perhaps madame would like to sniff the beverage before consuming it?”

“Oh Cliff!” She laughed at her husband.  “Take no heed of him Bianca.  Here, enjoy your drink.” She passed me my plastic cup with the soda inside.

“Thank you.” I giggled at the both of them and then I turned around and I was about to head towards Derik, when I almost ran into Daniel.

“Bianca!” his eyes widened.

“Oh, Daniel! Sorry!” I laughed. “I didn’t mean to walk into you.”

“No harm done, you can walk into me any day.” He joked.

OK… I thought that was a bit of an odd thing to say.

“So, what are you drinking?” Daniel asked, looking at my cup.

“Um, cola.”

“Good choice, I think I might have the same.” He looked at Mr. Shallow Water who nodded and poured him a cup.  He passed it to Daniel who immediately took a large mouthful, before he asked, “what have you been up to, B? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Oh um, I’m studying a lot.” I shrugged.

“That’s right.” Daniel nodded.  “History, right?”

“Yeah.”

“When was the last time you went swimming in the river?” He next asked.

“Wow, what a good question… um, since ages?” I pondered.

“I’m going tomorrow with the usual gang.” He nodded towards his small group of friends standing off to the side, who like Daniel, were two years older than me. “You should come along.”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, before it gets cold.” He recommended.

“Um, I’ll see.” I smiled uneasily.

Daniel has never asked me anywhere before, he’s always just been a friendly acquaintance and nothing more.

“OK then.” He half turned away.  “Well, I’ve gotta go back and join my friends.  Feel free to come and say hi to them. You’ll see that we’re actually not that scary.”

“OK.” I laughed lightly.

“See you around, Bianca.” He squeezed my arm and gave a meaningful look, the same kind of look I had seen my Dad give my Mum only half an hour ago…

I stood still to watch him walk off, but as soon as he rejoined his friends he looked back my way.   That IS weird!   Why is Daniel, this older boy who I hardly talk to, who I thought has never noticed me before, paying attention to me now? 

Just then Justin and Leaf walked past to the drinks table.

“Hey B.” Justin greeted.

“How’s it goin’, B?” Leaf asked politely.

“Oh um, what?” I snapped out of it.  “Oh, I’m fine thanks. How are you two goin’?”

“Not bad.” Justin shrugged.

“I can’t complain – no one listens.” Leaf said the old joke.  Then he paused to look on closely. “Are you wearing mascara?”

“No.” I gave him a funny look and so did Jack.

“Oh, sorry!  It’s just that your eyes looked different for a second then.” Leaf blushed and looked down.

“Were you going to try to get some beauty tips or something there Leaf?” Justin laughed and nudged his friend.

“Aw, shut up!” Leaf nudged him back.

“So B, what have you been up to lately? We don’t see you around as much anymore.” Justin asked.

“Studying.” I answered.

“What are you studying?” Leaf asked.

“History.”

“What kind of history?” He asked again.

“All kinds of History. I’m reading about Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece and Rome.” I told him.

“Rome? Oh yeah, like gladiators and stuff.” He nodded.

“Yeah, something like that.” I sipped my drink.

“Do you have a favourite part in History that you like?” He inquired.

“Um no, not really.” I shrugged.  “I like all of it.”

“And how did you get interested in that sort of stuff?” Leaf looked on with wide eyes, almost as if he were drinking in the sight of my face.

I looked from him to Justin, wondering what was going on here?  He appeared just as surprised at his friend’s sudden interest in me as I was.   Justin and Leaf were cool guys, who were two years younger than I was.  Leaf was like a little cousin since he was Uncle Ian’s son.  His father was my father’s best friend and another Lokoti Werewolf.  But like Daniel, they were just casual acquaintances.  Until tonight, I had hardly said ‘boo’ to them except for polite acknowledgements at social gatherings such as this.

“How did I get interested in History? Um, I don’t know… I’ve always enjoyed hearing the stories about our tribe.  I also liked finding out about my Mum’s family line from England and Australia.” I looked downwards as I felt antsy to get away.

“So what are you doing tomorrow, B?” Leaf asked.  “Justin and I and a couple of the guys were going to have a game of soccer…”

…but before he could finish, he was interrupted.

“Alright small fry.” Declan suddenly appeared beside me.  “The lady’s taken. Skedaddle!”

Justin and Leaf’s eyes widened by the sudden appearance of the tribe’s most dangerous Werewolf, even if he was in human form.  They quickly turned around and left to talk to someone else.

“Declan!” I whacked him on the arm as I felt my cheeks burn.

“What?” He gave a funny look.

“What did you do that for?!”

“Oh, you mean you like having all the guys at this party fall over themselves for you?” He looked on unimpressed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I felt my cheeks turn from red to crimson.

“No?” He arched his eyebrows.  “Either you’re the most popular girl here that everyone’s inviting to swimming in rivers or to soccer games…but I’m thinking that these guys aren’t exactly inviting you to these events for the sport, or that kind of sport anyway.”

Declan was looking about with his eyes narrowing and I looked around to see what he was looking at.  Beside Leaf and Daniel’s eyes looking my way, I actually noticed two other boys doing the same.

“Your popularity has certainly gone up around here.” He said stroppily.  Then he gave me a peculiar look, “are you wearing a new perfume or something?”

“What?” I took a step away from him.  “No!”

“Hey, don’t flatter yourself princess.” He sneered at my reaction.  “I’m here looking out for my brother’s interests.”

“Excuse me?”

“Derik is just a human so he can’t smell the elevated testosterone around you.” He sneered as he looked about again.

“Don’t be disgusting, Declan.”

“Go and stand with my brother and stop flirting with the other boys, would you?”

“Drop dead Declan.” I said icily before I walked away.

Instead of walking to Derik, I went over to Rachel and Mandy, two girls my age whom I used to hang out with in school and I still got together with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the Werewolves, it was easy with their infrared sight, to spot the Circulator or the psychic

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 1)

To say that my family was ‘unique’ would have been an understatement.  With Mum and Gran being Circulators; their bio-electromagnetic frequencies are in temporal flux so they hardly aged.  Both my Mum and my Gran had the appearance of human women in their twenties.  But their husbands, Dad and Grandfather didn’t mind this one bit.  Since Dad, Grandfather and Uncle Julian were Lokoti Werewolves, they could live until they’re 200 years old.   My 56 year old Grandfather looked like a man in his early forties as my 39 year old Dad had the appearance of a man in his mid twenties.  As was the custom of our tribe except with my family, the Lokoti Werewolves outlived their human wives. 

Whereas we lived on the hill, the Sabre’s (pronounced Sar-bra, if you ever want to see Declan’s Werewolf eyes glow then mispronounce his surname) lived in the central community of our tribal lands where the sports field, general store/ gas station, garage, meeting hall and small library/ school were.  The Lokoti community centre was like a village primarily made up of residential homes on small streets, with simplistic gardens and greenhouses for families to grow their own fruit and vegetables.  All of the buildings here were made from wood which came courtesy of the surrounding forest.

The Lokoti Tribal Lands were safely tucked away in a small corner of the vast Lokoti National Park in the Alaska Range. We were situated 4.5 hours north of Anchorage and 1.5 hours south of Fairbanks.  The small township of Alma is 7 km’s away where before the War, the Lokoti kids went to school and families shopped in the supermarket there.  However since the War, Alma like many towns or cities of this planet, either turned into a ghost town or a crime hotspot thanks to looting.

Aunt Susan and Gran helped run our make-shift school which primarily went from when you were 7 – 15 years old.  But there were some kids like Derik and I, who continued our schooling by concentrating on different areas.  Derik loved studying science and I just loved studying history, so our parents continued to tell us what additional books we could read.  They even set us ‘assignments’ which we occasionally had to write up to show if we understood or not, the books which had been recommended. 

“He doesn’t just look like his Great Great Grand Uncle, Mike Sabre but he has disposition too… maybe Derik will become a Medicine Man?  Mike Sabre was a doctor.”  Gran shrugged to Aunt Susan.  She and Grandfather were especially close to Aunt Susan and her sons, as they helped the widow raise her young. 

Aunt Susan was equally proud of her two boys, although they were as different from each other as chalk and cheese.  Derik had brown hair, brown eyes and was academic, sensitive and easy to talk to.  He had been my playmate ever since we were babies as our birthdays were only two weeks apart.

However Derik’s older brother Declan, was another story.  He stopped going to school when he was 13 years old to become an apprentice mechanic instead.  Declan is soon to turn 21 and he’s the rudest, most arrogant boy in the tribe… with dark blonde hair, bright blue eyes and a constant scowl.  He bosses Derik around a lot, seeing himself as head of the family.  The only people I’ve ever seen him be nice to, are adults such as his parent, my parents and to my grandparents.   When Declan changed, the Lokoti Werewolf pack took him under their wing.  By taking him hunting every full moon in the National Park, they taught the young European Werewolf to replace his craving for human flesh to animal instead.

When Lokoti Werewolves change they still look humanoid; as their muscles bulk up, their eyes change colour and glow, the nails on their hands and feet turn long and hard, like claws. Their teeth become elongated and sharp as they have lightening fast reflexes and supernatural strength.  But when Declan changes, he completely morphs from man to beast.  He looks like a huge, hulking, hairless wolf with his height and weight doubling; which means he’s bigger and stronger than the Lokoti Werewolf.  His bright green eyes would glow in the dark and from the few times I’d seen them in Werewolf form, they still unnerved me. 

The fifteen Lokoti Werewolves are highly esteemed members of the Lokoti tribe. Three of our nine Tribal Elders are Werewolves.  The Lokoti Werewolves were seen as our guardians.   World War Three occurred three years before I was born and from then, the Lokoti Werewolves have patrolled our tribal lands, keeping us safe from looters during the outside world’s sickness and lawlessness.  They even fought foreign Werewolves who still feasted on human flesh, like the European Werewolf who killed Anthony Sabre and turned Declan.

Our tribe has become accustomed to the mish-mash of different breeds of Werewolves, or Circulators and other humans with special gifts.  To the humans, it became easy to spot a Werewolf in the crowd due to their towering height and strong build.  To the Werewolves, it was easy with their infrared sight, to spot the Circulator or the psychic, because of the auras they produced. 

And me…? I’m nobody special, not really. I’m the daughter, granddaughter and niece of Lokoti Werewolves but that’s it.  Oh yeah, I’m supposed to be a Circulator but I can’t circulate. I’m the last Circulator in all of human history, so my family says.  My appearance is nothing out of the ordinary either.  I’m 160 cm’s tall with typical straight, black Lokoti hair but I have my mother’s and my grandmother’s blue eyes.  My skin wasn’t bronzed like the Lokoti natural skin colour either and neither is Mum’s.  I think my mother and I get our colouring from my grandmother who is English. 

Gran has bright blue eyes, pale skin and wavy, chestnut brown hair.  Grandfather and Dad are either half or three-quarter Lokoti with the typical straight black hair.  But Grandfather’s grandmother was Caucasian so he has her blue eyes.  Nana, who is my Dad’s Mum, is Chinese-American so Dad has her pale skin and dark, sharp eyes.   With my blue eyes, they were darker than my family’s for some reason.  Maybe because my father’s Lokoti-Asian dark brown were mixed in?

“B!” I heard Mum call out.

“Yeah?”

“Dinner’s ready!”

I opened my bedroom door and skipped downstairs to take my place at the table.  I found Dad was home from his meeting with the Tribal Elders and the pack and  he helped Mum serve dinner.  They shared the jobs around the house like cooking and cleaning in equal measure, which included raising their beloved only child. 

“How are you B?” He smiled.

“Good thanks Dad. What’s for dinner?” I watched my parents serve up in the kitchen.

“Roast Duck and vegetables.” He answered. “We’ve got plenty of food here, it looks like we have enough leftovers for the next two nights.”

“I was expecting Derik would be staying for dinner.” Mum said.

“That boy’s got the appetite of a Werewolf alright, although he’s human.” He let out a laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wouldn’t it be nice if our daughter could wear the same clothes that we or our family, used to?”

  (Small Fry Chapter 8)

          Then he said quietly, "So you’re up here, reading in the cold and dust, to get away from the husband who is acting anything but helpful?”

          “Uh huh.”

          Next, I heard him take a couple of steps away, but still I wouldn't look up.  I thought he was about to climb back down the ladder, but he didn’t.  Instead, his footsteps crossed over to the boxes in the corner, as he proceeded to unstack them.  Eventually, I glanced upwards to see him open one and pull out a couple of baby jumpsuits and even an old toy.

          “You remember this, B?”  He held up the worn and faded, stuffed dog. 

          I sat up straighter in surprise, “Didn’t that used to be Derik’s?”

          “Yup.” 

          He tossed the toy over which I put the diary down to catch.

          “Hey, this is Frisbee!”  My voice rose in excitement, as I examined it.  “This ‘Pound Puppy’ was Derik’s favourite toy.  Whenever he slept over or I had sleepovers at your place; I remember he'd curl up with it.”

          “Ready for another old friend?”  Declan called.

          Then he tossed over an old, stuffed rabbit.  I put Frisbee in my lap along with the diary, to catch it next.  This time it was a ‘Bugs Bunny’ doll, with long, floppy, grey ears.  It still had the pull ring in its side, which I couldn’t help but to give it a gentle tug.

          “Hee hee, you’re a cute bunny!”  Bugs Bunny’s voice, chuckled.

          “It still works!”  I laughed aloud.

          “Do you remember his name?”  He smiled on.

          I pulled a face for asking such a stupid question.  “Bugs Bunny, but wasn’t he your toy?”

          “Uh huh," he gave a nod, "my Dad bought him when Mom became pregnant with me.  She told him that she was expecting and Dad was so ecstatic, he came home from work the next day with Bugs.  It was one of the few toys they brought when we came to Alaska to live, after the War.”

          Next, I watched Declan round up his and Derik’s old baby clothes from the box he'd opened.  Then he walked over to the other boxes I was sitting near, to open them.  He found more baby clothes to add to our collection.

          “I’m going to give these a wash and see how they turn out."  He advised.  Then he added on, "Wouldn’t it be nice if our daughter could wear the same clothes that we or our family, used to?”

          Then he loaded his large arms with the tiny clothing and made a move towards the ladder.

          He started to disappear down the attic hatch as he carried out his plan.  But before he completely vanished, he left his parting words, "If you take that diary down to read by the fire, you might find a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows waiting for you.  Hell, you may even find a plate of celery sticks and cream cheese, too.”

          I laughed aloud at his mood swing.  But I was also touched that this was his way of apologizing.  I wondered if my words about Flint Riverclaw kicked him into gear?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t hate the baby…” he said unhappily, “…I just hate what it’s done to us.”

  (Small Fry Chapter 8)

          It was hours later when my husband found me, still sitting on the trunk with the diary in my hands.  I was so caught up, I didn’t hear him come home.  But here he was, in human form once more and wearing a change of clothes.

          Declan climbed up the attic ladder as he tracked me down by my scent.  He frowned as soon as he spotted me, reading under the single light globe hanging from the rafters.  I noticed with his height and broad-shoulders, he took up more room than I did.

          “What are you doing?”  He sounded surprised.

          “What does it look like?”  I replied curtly.  “I’m reading.”

          “Why are you sitting up in the attic, reading?"  He gave a peculiar look.  "Why aren’t you downstairs, reading by the fire?” 

          I said coolly, “I’m reading my great, great grandmother’s diary.”

          “Really?”  His eyebrows arose.

          “I told you I found them the other day, when I carried the box of Grandpa’s things up here.  I found them in this trunk.”  I patted my seat. 

          He came closer to see, "Oh yeah?”

          “I found them with some old photo albums.  Grandfather must have given them to Mum, when he and Gran evolved.”  I continued.  “It probably came with the stuff we packed up, after Mum and Dad left for the continuum.  I forgot how much stuff we have up here.”

          “Who knows what's hidden away.”  He remarked, as he looked about the dust and cobwebs.  “I keep meaning to do a spring clean, but I keep forgetting.”

          I pointed out, “I think in those boxes over there, are mine as well as my parents' old baby clothes and toys.”

          “Yeah, I think my Mom also kept some baby stuff left over from Derik’s and my childhood.  They’re in those boxes in the corner.”  He nodded in another direction.  Then he frowned when he saw me squint, whilst trying to read in the poor light.   “Again I ask, why are you sitting up here, reading that?  Why don’t you bring it downstairs to read?”

          “I like it up here.”

          “It’s frickin’ freezing up here and you hate the cold.”

          “It’s quiet and it’s peaceful and I’m among family,” I said flatly.

          “In other words you’re avoiding me," his hands moved to his hips.

          I didn't look up, “You can storm around and growl and hate this baby as much as you like.  Up here, the baby and I have peace and quiet, as we spend time with other women who’ve been in my condition.”

          “I don’t hate the baby…” he said unhappily, “…I just hate what it’s done to us.”

          “Can you please stop calling her ‘it’?”   I said unhappily.        

          “I thought Elisha’s diary was on her laptop," he changed the subject.

          “Elisha’s diary IS on her laptop," I retorted, "but I’m reading the diary of Jessica Tandy, the mate of Flint Riverclaw.”

          “Flint Riverclaw?”  He recognized the name.  “Isn’t he your great, great grandfather?  Wasn’t he your Grandfather’s grandfather?”

          “Yup, Jessica had a one night stand with Flint then three days later, he tracked her down to say she was pregnant and she was his mate.”

          “You’re kidding?”  He chuckled in amusement.  “What year did this happen?”

          I answered whilst looking down, “In 1999 and Jessica Riverclaw was a diabetic, too.  Pregnancy was a risky thing for her back then, but Flint Riverclaw helped her through it.  She had to give up her job and move to Alaska, which was then seen as the middle of nowhere.  However, Flint helped her to adjust as they established a new life together.”

          Declan turned quiet for a moment or two as my words sunk in. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But one fateful night spent with a stranger in a hotel room changed her life irrevocably.

  (Small Fry Chapter 8)

          Sitting here in the attic, I could feel the cold seep through the cracks.  I sensed it was getting late without looking at the time.  I wasn’t wearing a watch and I couldn’t see any clocks however, I felt the darkness approach by the chilled air dropping further below freezing.

          I staved off the cold by keeping the top of my woollen jumper over my nose, as well as the sleeves over my hands.  But I couldn’t stop reading Jessica Riverclaw’s words, I found her story engrossing.  The similarities yet differences in our lives, were fascinating. 

          I must admit, sometimes my head can get lodged up my arse, with my supernatural differences as the Last Circulator and first female Lokoti Werewolf.  So it was nice seeing outside the square I live in, by reading about somebody else's problems.

          Jessica had been an everyday human, with her own career, friends and a life, before she met Flint Riverclaw.  But one fateful night spent with a stranger in a hotel room, changed her life irrevocably.  Sure, she kicked up a fuss at first, then the 1990’s career woman simply did what had to be done.  So did Flint Riverclaw. 

          I could guess what the pack thought at the time, by bringing in an outsider.  But Flint’s best friend John Wisetail and his family, simply made the best of the situation.  They welcomed Jessica with open arms, which helped smooth over the rough edges of her transition.

          When Flint learned that his diabetic wife couldn’t have more children, did he curse the heavens above?  Nope!  Instead, he counted his blessings that his wife and baby were alive.  I could tell he would have cherished both for the time they were with him.  What made the story of my ancestors a sad one, was that Flint ended up outliving them both.

          I remember the stories told by my grandfather Emanuel Riverclaw, whom had been Flint's grandson.  Towards the end, Jessica widowed Flint, dying from a diabetes related illness when she was 59 years old.  Before she died, she'd been made a grandmother by her son David mating with Clara Winter.  Flint would have been 105 years old at the time of his mate’s death, although he would have had the appearance of a man in his fifties.  True to Lokoti Werewolf behaviour, he didn't take a second mate after the death of his first.  

          Sadder still, David Riverclaw died at the age of 32, when he saved his son from getting hit by a logging truck.  So Clara moved in with Flint, to have his help with raising her son who went through the change after his father's death.  At the age of 18, Grandfather married my Gran and Flint stayed on, to help raise my mother and uncle, as she prepared the tribe for the oncoming war.  It was thanks to Gran's foresight as a Circulator, which ensured the tribe became self-sufficient whilst the outside world was in chaos.  It was shortly after World War Three, Flint Riverclaw was murdered by looters in 2063, which he and the pack fought to keep off tribal lands.  

          I was holding history in my hands... the actual lives of people who were served with bad luck however, they lived in love.  Did they mope and sulk?  Well, maybe for a little while, but they climbed back onto the metaphorical bike and pedalled on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For over two centuries, my body, heart and mind had been his and nothing but his.

  (Small Fry Chapter 4)

I watched his departure and felt guilty that after 273 years of marriage, the pregnancy made him question whether or not, I still loved him. 

We seemed to be at an impasse... Declan wanted things to remain the same whereas I welcomed the changes.

I believed him when he spoke of his bloodlust-fuelled jealousy at the baby encroaching on what he saw as ‘his territory’. 

For over two centuries, my body, heart and mind had been his and nothing but his.  Whenever he felt this was drifting, he would act like the anchor to pull me back in, by yelling or acting out for more attention.  If something else threatened our marriage, like the attacks by European Vampires, Voodoo Witch Doctors, or even other European Werewolves, trying to take what was his?  He would indulge his bloodlust, by removing the threat in a bloody rampage.  

However, with this baby issue, I sensed his bloodlust wanted to attack the threat to his territory, but he couldn’t because it would injure me.  Then with his role of Second, he was caught in the middle of my family.   He was honour-bound to follow our First, which forced him to obey not only the pack, but also the tribe.

Disheartened, I left the cold air outside for the warmer atmosphere of inside. 

In the fire place, the last couple of logs were slowly burning away with the tiny flames licking at the charred wood. 

Wearily, I sat against the metal safety gauze which felt nice and warm.  My mate always kept a fire going in winter even if we had central heating.  He knew I liked to sit close to it, if I wasn’t sitting close to him instead. 

I’m 297 years old and right now, I truly felt my age.  Less than two months ago I nearly lost my husband to old age.  Now he claims pregnancy instead of death, is tearing us apart.  As a Lokoti Werewolf, my biological bond to my European Werewolf mate, wanted to let out a mournful howl at the distance growing between us. 

Oh Mum, oh Dad, oh Gran and oh Grandfather… how I miss you all.  I could really use your words of wisdom, right now.  If it wasn’t for this pregnancy, we could be with you, inside the space time continuum.  Instead, I sat alone in my quiet house, as I glanced around the living room, with its bits and pieces of family memorabilia. 

Next, my eyes wandered over to my small wooden staircase.  Those stairs led to the upper part of the house.  In the upstairs hallway, is the attic hatch.  In the attic, sat boxes and the trunk full of family history, including the diaries.

Hmm… I may not have my mother or grandmother here, but I had the words of my great, great grandmother. 

I stood up and left the warm spot by the fireplace and headed upstairs.  In the small hallway, I pulled the chord to open the attic hatch, with the ladder unfolding before me.  I climbed up into the cold, dusty, small space and pulled the other chord, for the attic light.

Then I headed over to the red trunk, opened it, pulled out one of the diaries and sat back down, on top. 

To encourage the central heating to follow me up, I left the hatch open.  But it was so cold up here, I had to pull the sleeves of my jumper down over my hands to keep warm.  Then like a native of Alaska, I pulled up the top of my jumper over the bottom half of my face, to keep my nose warm. 

Like this, I opened the diary and looked upon the pages which had turned yellow with time.  The handwriting which was written in blue biro now looked a little green.   There were spots of mould on the edges, as well as one or two water marks, but it was still readable. 

The first thing I saw, was the name at the beginning of the diary; Jessica Tandy.  She had been the mate of Flint Riverclaw, the Lokoti Werewolf in the family where my glowing turquoise eyes came from.  They were the couple in that framed photo I saw.

When I turned to the next page, I saw an old and faded photo was stuck down with sticky tape.  It was a picture of a slim, blonde woman, posing next to an overweight one with short, dark hair.  They looked like they were standing in a city somewhere, which could have been Seattle by the skyline.  Written below was, JESS & CHRIS 1999 AND FRIENDS TO THE END. 

I noticed by flicking through the pages, there were several more photos throughout the book. 

The last photo on the last page had the friends posing with a ten year old boy, standing between them.  The three were standing on a large, wooden veranda outside of a familiar looking, log cabin.  Then I realized why it rang a bell, it was my grandparents old house!  It looked so different, being one story instead of two.  Now, it was the house that the widowed Forrest and Caesar Riverclaw, lived in. 

Upon closer inspection, the ten year old boy in the photo looked half Lokoti by his long, straight, black hair, but he had his mother’s blue eyes.  I read the scribble at the bottom of this picture; CHRIS, JESS & DAVID, 2010.  It would have been Flint Riverclaw who took this photo of his son, wife and her friend. 

I went back to the beginning of the diary, to read the first entry which was dated the year 1999... the end of the 20^th Century.   But looking at their fashion, it wasn’t really that different to the 24^th Century.  Many Lokoti including my mate and I, still liked to wear flannel, denim or suede, because they were hardy and warm.  I had to smile to myself at how the Lokoti lived, like we existed in our own little world, whilst following the old ways.

I gave a quick stretch, before snuggling deeper into my white, woollen jumper and then I began to read…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched him expand into his huge, hulking, hairless European Werewolf body.

  (Small Fry Chapter 4)

I watched him expand into his huge, hulking, hairless European Werewolf body.  His hands and feet grew into claws, which left heavy imprints in the snow, as his skin hardened into hide over ripples of supernatural muscle.  His bones creaked and cracked, as his bipedal human body adjusted to a four-legged form, with his skull growing a short, stubby snout over razor-sharp jaws.  His eyes were glowing green with his circular pupils turning into narrow slits.

He fell forwards from standing in an upright position on his hind legs, to all-fours.  But before he could run away, I instantaneously phased to stand directly in his path.   I appeared in a bright flash right in front of him.

“Declan!” I cupped his beastly head in the both of my hands.  My dark blue eyes desperately tried to hold his glowing green ones.  “Declan please, let’s just talk about this.”

He snapped his dangerous jaws to try to make me move aside, but I refused to budge. 

NOT NOW! - he thought my way.

“I’m not going to pack my bags and leave.  You just scare me sometimes, especially when I see your behaviour is the same as your kind.  But ultimately I trust you, I do.”

LIKEWISE, B - He emitted a dissatisfied growl, as he replied –YOUR ONE-TRACK MIND DOESN’T JUST SCARE ME, IT PISSES ME OFF!

“Then let’s talk about this -” I tried again. 

But he rose up onto his hind legs so he could tower over his wife.  Like this, he was almost twice my height and three times as wide.  However, I stood my ground, as I looked upon his monstrous appearance.

ADMIT IT, IF YOU EVER HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ME AND THE BABY – he thought bitterly –  I WOULDN’T GET A SECOND GLANCE!

“No…” my eyes watered from my emotional pain as well as the icy air, “…Declan, you’re my mate always and forever.”

THAT’S SUPPOSEDLY WHY YOU CHANGED ME INTO A CIRCULATOR, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY SIGN OF THIS! – he let out a vicious snarl.

“Then lets go inside and talk about this properly.”  I pleaded, as I started to shiver.  “C’mon Declan, please?”

This gave him pause when he saw me rub my arms to stave off hypothermia.

He picked me up in his two front claws, to lift me into a tight embrace.  I appreciated being squeezed against his hot, hard body, whilst I struggled to wrap my arms about his huge, hulking shoulders.  His hot, wet tongue even licked my stinging cheeks.  But just as I was starting to warm up, he lowered me to my feet again.

GO INSIDE AND SIT BY THE FIRE – he left as his parting thought.

Suddenly, in the speed of light, he bolted off on all-fours out of the snowy yard.  I barely managed to catch a bush quake, from where he brushed past.  The snow sprinkled off the leaves to join the rest on the ground beside.

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“You saw what other male European Werewolves were like and you immediately cowered from me.”

  (Small Fry Chapter 4)

It wasn’t long afterwards I instantaneously phased the three of us back to tribal lands.  Ki picked up his medicine bundle he had left in our lounge area, as Declan crossed his arms and glared at him.  I wasn’t sure why at first, but I soon found out. 

“I suppose you’re going to give Caesar the news of what you saw in the Viewing Room today?”  My husband asked knowingly.

Ki paused on his way out the front door, to look his way.  “Yes, I’ll be stopping by Caesar’s house on my way home.”

“Isn’t that just peachy,” he grumbled.

“What’s wrong?”  I queried, looking from my husband to our Medicine Man.  “Why do you have to tell Caesar what you saw?”

Ki looked from me, to my husband then back my way.  “He’s not only our First, but he’s your family, Aunt B.  After our check-ups, I give him updates of both the mother and baby’s progress.”

“What?” I looked taken aback.  “Doesn’t privacy or confidentiality mean anything around here?!”

“YOU’RE pissed off?”  Declan arched his eyebrows.  “I’m the one who’s about to be branded a baby killer!”

This made me feel bad as I sensed my mate was starting to feel like he was being punished for a crime he hadn’t committed.  It seemed like we were taking one step forwards then two steps back, with this pregnancy.  Having so many people involved let alone the parents-to-be, only made things worse.

“Ki,” I walked up to him, so I could look him right in the eye as I said this. “I DON’T have any bad feelings about this pregnancy.  Also, I don’t have any warning feelings that I’m in danger from Declan, either.  So can you please stop running to Caesar and blabbing about us?!”

I could see my words affected him as he momentarily looked on, guiltily.

“I’m sorry Aunt B, but I’ve been given a direct order from my First to tell him everything that occurs with this pregnancy.”  He said softly, before he passed my mate a knowing look.  “Uncle Declan appreciates this, especially since he’s Second.  When our First gives an order, we follow it.”

The two exchanged a long look, before my mate said, “Let Ki go.”

Then our Medicine Man along with his medicine bundle departed via the front door.  I watched him go before I looked defeated, towards my mate.

“How come every time I speak up in your defence, you side with the pack over your wife?”  I asked, hurt.

“Then how come you side with the baby over your husband?”  He returned.  “You saw what other male European Werewolves were like and you immediately cowered from me.  B, you looked at me today like I was a monster, when all I’ve done was try to keep you safe.”

I marched over to where he was standing so our eyes could clash, as well as our words. 

“Declan, I got scared because I saw you do exactly what those other male European Werewolves did; you tried to eliminate your young!”

“No B, I tried to protect my mate.”  He said firmly.  “If I was acting like the males of my species, I would have knocked you up and disappeared.  Then I’d come back after the baby was born and I wouldn't care if you lived or died, when I came to eliminate my young!”

We stood there in a tense manner, with the both of us so angry, neither of us could back down.  Or so I thought, until after a moment he abruptly turned around.  He walked towards the backdoor whilst undressing.

“What are you doing?” I watched warily.

“I’m going hunting,” he spoke as he stripped.  “I’m so angry right now, I have to tear into something!” 

“Hunting?”  I echoed.

“While I’m gone, I’m sure you’re going to pack your bags and run away as usual.  Right now, I’m so sick of this pregnancy that I wouldn't care if I returned to an empty house!”

“Declan -” I started after him, but he flung open the door and stepped naked, out into the snow.

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