Sororate Chapter 7 *Updated*

Although the ‘his & hers’ flower buds remained on either side of the bed, the Werewolf couple didn’t.

We seemed to alternate, either I moved over him, on his side of the mattress; or he rolled me over to take the dominant position on mine instead. We didn’t lie the right way up either; at one stage we were lying sideways on the bed before twisting around, until our heads hung over the end. But it didn’t stop there, especially when we landed on the discarded quilt on the floor. Then we remained on it, to ensure against carpet burn.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I panted out, whilst pushing his sweaty body off mine. “Shouldn’t we be doing this on the bed?”

“Say what?” He gave a funny look, before flicking his wet hair off his face.

“The flower buds…” I nodded in their direction, “…don’t we have to have some proximity to them?”

“Screw the flowers!” He snarled out as he tried to continue satisfying himself.

“Exactly!” I slapped him on the ass. “We’re screwing because of the flowers.”

In a single move, Declan heaved us both back onto the damp mattress which reminded us why we had migrated to the floor.

When he caught my face screw up in distaste, he pointed out; “we’ve had over ten rounds in the last hour and a half, what do you expect?”

“Fine, but I want to be on top.” I tried to roll him over.

However, he stopped us halfway, so we were lying on our sides instead.

“Wait, I have another idea.” He emitted a cheeky chuckle.

The pillows found themselves tossed to the floor, alongside of the quilt. I found my back against the headboard whilst he was holding my right leg up. We were still lying on our sides facing the other, whilst trying not to knock into the bedside tables.

Just then, I watched my mate pause in the middle of our love making. He momentarily looked towards the flower buds, before his eyes returned to mine. Then a silly smile broke out on his sweaty face.

“You know what? If this did work…” he referred to the fertility test, “…I’d want to have girls. I want all girls, who’d be pretty just like their mother is.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I want to be the King of the Castle, in a houseful of women.”

“Why?” I looked on in amusement.

“Then I wouldn’t just be the luckiest bastard in the tribe, for having the prettiest wife; everyone would be jealous because I’d have a whole clan of beautiful Werewolves, who all the boys would be asking my permission to date.”

I laughed back, “but I know how overprotective you get when your female relations start dating. You’d frighten away all the boys, with your growls and glares.”

“And it’ll only get worse with a daughter.” He smiled smugly. “I know all too well how the one-track mind works, of a man.”

I tittered as he moved in closer to chew on my ear.

Then he paused to frown, “plus if we had a daughter, I wouldn’t have to be worried about what my son is out there, doing. I’m not looking forward to producing a male that’s like me. He’d have the same bloodlust let alone carnal lust, who could hurt people or even harm a human woman, if he was with her.”

“But if we had a son, he’d be half Lokoti Werewolf too.” I pointed out.

“Yeah, I know.” He didn’t look convinced. “We could be creating a whole new breed of Werewolf, half Lokoti and half European and possibly with the speed of a Circulator. I’m NOT looking forward to training something like that, self-control or trying to catch the little breed, if it should make a run at a human.”

“But I’m supposed to be the last Circulator.” I returned.

Declan said seriously, “what if you’re only the last, because so far you can’t reproduce? What if Nairn’s ‘hocus pocus’ works and then more Circulators as well as Werewolves, are created?”

“But think of my Gran for a second,” I began, “she had two kids, the son was a Werewolf like his father and her daughter was a Circulator like her mother. We could have a son that’s a Werewolf and then a daughter who’s a Circulator.”

“Or we could have a child that’s like you and is both.” He debated. “I remember like it was only yesterday, what it was like when you first turned. I remember the panic in the pack, when they couldn’t catch you.”

I still felt guilty over what I had nearly done…hunt human.

“But you caught me. You were the one who stopped me. Together we’ll do the same for our children, as we teach them control.” I continued.

“And the one day our child escapes?” He arched his eyebrows warily. “What if our child looses control of the bloodlust and we loose our control over the child? We could be reproducing murderers; man-eaters.”

Declan’s somber words was quickly dissipating ‘the mood’. I rolled onto my back, away from him to stare disheartened at the ceiling. He saw his argument was hurting his wife, and he looked on with a pained expression.

“B, can’t you see that one of the reasons why I love you; is that I can enjoy the act of procreation with you without having to worry about any actual procreating goin’ on?”

I asked quietly, “you really don’t want to have kids, do you?”

He sighed tiredly, “if we have kids then we’ll always have to watch over their bloodlust to ensure that they never lose control. When our kids have kids of their own, we’ll have to watch out for them too. Then those kids will have more kids, and so on. You’d end up turning me into a Circulator, but we’d never make it to the space time continuum, because we’d be here the whole time, watching out for the homicidal tendencies in the new breed we’d created.”

“So when you said you wanted to have daughters -” I began but I was interrupted.

“I’d prefer a daughter instead of a son, as a girl wouldn’t be as strong as a boy which would make teaching her self-control, easier. Besides, I’d be proud to have a daughter who looked just like her mother. But she could have her father’s appetite, which I’d also be wary of.” Then he growled out, “not only would I be beating back human males from dating her, I’d have to fight off male Werewolves who’d want to use her to breed. Or I could be fighting off Vampires, who’d want to feed on her.”

I moaned at Declan’s pessimistic view and I tried to sit up, away from him. However he didn’t like this and he pulled me back down into his arms. He tried to kiss me on the lips, but I turned my head away so his mouth landed on my jaw instead.

“I’m a selfish bastard, I admit it.” He pressed his body up against mine. “I love your smell and how you make me feel between the sheets, but I don’t want to be responsible for what comes afterwards. I don’t want to be responsible for creating another monster.”

Annoyed, I tried to struggle out of his stronger grip when he rolled on top instead, so his gaze could hold my own.

“Look,” he said apologetically, “when we get home from this trip, we’ll make formal inquiries into adoption.”

“What?” I gave a start in surprise. “But you just said -”

“I don’t want to pass on my European Werewolf genes but I don’t want you to miss out either. I hear your biological clock, ticking. You want kids and I want you to have kids.” He said firmly. “We’ll adopt.”

However unbeknownst to my husband when he was working at the Garage, occasionally I perused adoption websites. I saw the Government guidelines at how they went over a perspective parent’s family background, finances, employment history and ran police checks. Not to mention how long the waiting list was to adopt…years long in fact.

Advances in medicine had helped many couples to conceive the scientific way. Plus, there weren’t many unplanned pregnancies thanks to the preventative injections both human males and females could take. This meant the rate of unwanted children, had dropped dramatically. With the boom in the world wide economy, there weren’t any ‘third world’ countries left, like there used to be before and shortly after, World War Three. Rich people couldn’t just go and ‘buy’ a needy child anymore.

I growled in frustration, as I rubbed my face from the stress he had inadvertently caused.

“What?” He saw what I was doing. “What’s wrong, B?”

“Do you know how hard it is to adopt?” I snapped, which surprised him. “The waiting list is years long, no matter if we go through the Government or a private adoption agency. The background checks they run are extensive and could be risky. We would have the Government poking their noses about our tribal lands. They’d become curious about the Werewolves’ date of births. We’d be asked to be medically examined or forced to consent to blood tests!”

He looked on in surprise, “you’ve been seriously considering this, haven’t you?”

I tried to shrug it off, “maybe every six months or so, I’ve happened to look it up on the internet while I’m working on my papers and lectures.”

We laid there quietly for a couple of minutes, until my mate turned my face his way once more.

He said gravely, “if we did have kids the natural or the supernatural way; let’s just have the one and we’ll ask Nairn how we can ensure it’s a girl.”

“No Declan,” I said hurt, “you don’t want to and I’m not going to force you into parenthood. I would never ever want a child to feel unwanted.”

“B,” he spoke firmly, “I want to father a daughter with you.”

“But what if it’s a boy?”

“Then we have a boy and I’m gonna watch him like a hawk.” He said simply. “But I know from overhearing Meadow talk about it one day; that couples can ultimately choose what sex their baby will be. It’s something to do with gene therapy, which was meant to safe guard against birth defects or abnormalities. The same way medicine can now prevent Cystic Fibrosis or Down Syndrome, parents can also pick if they want a girl or boy.”

His words further surprised me, as he watched my eyes grow wide and an almost hopeful expression, form.

“I want to father a daughter with you.” He repeated softly, whilst holding my gaze. “I want to take care of a mini-B, who’s as pretty and smart as you.” He breathed out, before ducking his head to kiss me softly over and over again. “I want to teach her how to hunt responsibly. I want to cook for the both of you.”

I felt him move back into position between my thighs to recommence the baby-making festivities; however I tried to object as I still doubted his intentions.

“Declan -”

But the European Werewolf used his customary method of shutting up his mate, by smothering his mouth over hers.

“Now let’s give these frickin’ flowers something to bloom about...!” He mumbled out.

I giggled as I wrapped my arms about his wide shoulders. Our hunger for each other quickly returned, as did our prior pleasure. We even got a little carried away when we nearly knocked his flower off the bedside table!

*****

The next morning when we awoke, I opened my weary eyes to see the time on the digital alarm clock. It was 9.16 AM, we were going to be late for morning tea. I think Nairn was expecting us at ten o’clock.

“Declan…” I moaned groggily, “…wake up.”

I heard some kind of grunt, as my husband shifted his hold on his wife. He was stretched out on top of my back, whilst I had slept on my stomach. His body heat staved off the chill since we fell asleep without the bedcovers, but he was so heavy I could barely move.

“Declan,” I spoke louder, “wake up.”

“Not yet B…” he mumbled back, “…just a couple more minutes.”

“Declan!” I elbowed him in the ribs. “Get up!”

That got a reaction out of him for sure…

“Oow! Frickin’ hell, woman! We’re on holiday, we’re supposed to sleep in!”

In annoyance, he rolled off my back and onto his which gave me my chance to use the bathroom first. However when he heard the shower turn on, he eventually came in to share. I washed my hair this morning, which I don’t usually do but I wanted to wash away all the sex before venturing into society.

With his shorter hair, he spent much less time under the water than I did. He got out of the shower before me and was already dressed, when I came out of the bathroom. I saw he had also stripped the bed and left the sheets and the quilt by the door, to hint to housekeeping that we needed new ones.

Once I was dressed, I sat down on the bare mattress to pull on my socks and shoes when my gaze fell upon the flower bud on my bedside table.

It looked exactly the same as it did yesterday. Curiously, I turned to look at his and saw it had opened up and was in full bloom. I emitted a sad sigh but I was hardly surprised by the results.

Declan was holding our coats, my handbag and his wallet and keys as he stood near the door, waiting to go. But when he saw what made me pause, he didn’t rush me this time. Considerately, he came over to sit beside to offer any comfort he could.

“Maybe they’re not meant to bloom and maybe I’m the defective one.” He tried to be kind.

“Nope,” I kept my tone neutral, “you’re the stud in the paddock and I’m the cow that doesn’t produce any calves or milk.”

He snickered at my analogy, “yeah but you know I’m gonna charge at any other bulls that come near you.”

I laughed out loud at my European Werewolf mate’s typical territorial behavior.

“Don’t ever change, Dec.” I planted a quick kiss on his lips.

“Likewise, B.” He stood up and when I did too, he handed me my coat and bag. “Hey, what am I saying? You’re in temporal flux, so you’re hardly gonna change. You see? This is a good thing.”

Lastly, he opened the hotel room door for us to depart, as I grabbed the flower buds and then we left.

*****

At 10.20 am, our hostess opened the door to her guests and her infertility patients walked into her run-down house.

“Sorry we’re late -” I began.

“We were up late doing ‘homework’.” My mate gave her a wink.

Nairn giggled at the innuendo, “then I hope like good students, you brought it in to be marked?”

We were standing in the foyer by the sunken staircase, when I held up the two small plant clippings. I handed them over which she eagerly took, before leading us into the living room for tea. However we noticed her strides slow until she completely stopped, as she was examining the flowers.

“Extraordinary…” she breathed out.

Next, she curtailed off to stand by a window for better light to examine them. But what worried me, was although she was suitably impressed at the rate Declan’s flower bloomed; she looked confounded by mine. She even held it up in the sunlight, whilst turning it about in her hand.

“Ooh yum, sandwiches and slice.” My mate noticed what was on the coffee table.

Then he helped himself to walking over to the couch by the fireplace, flopping down and then picking at the plates of food on offer.

However my attention was taken away, when Nairn carefully placed the flower buds on her desk and then walked over to one of her bookshelves. I watched her pull out one of the biggest, heaviest and yet oldest looking books in her collection; before struggling to carry it over to her work area. She dropped it loudly onto the surface beside the buds and then opened it to flick through as she searched for something.

The book was so old, the paper was stained yellow with time. Also, not all of the different fonts were in the English alphabet. A couple of times, she even had to blow dust off the pages.

“What is that?” I wondered as I walked up for a closer look.

“It’s very old,” she said vaguely, “it’s been in my family for nearly a thousand years. Each generation adds to it, as we use it to draw knowledge and remember things past.”

“Yeah, but what is it?” I asked interestedly.

“It’s a spell book.” The European Werewolf spoke up from the couch, once he had finished his mouthful.

I turned to give him a peculiar look, “how the hell would you know what it is? You can’t even see it!”

“No, but I can smell it.” He said unhappily, before picking up some more food to jam inside his mouth.

But before I could argue with him, Nairn spoke; “he’s right.”

“Huh? This is an actual spell book?” I looked her way in surprise, before I looked back at my mate. “How would you know this?”

“There’s silver, wolfsbane and garlic in the binding.” He returned as he poured himself some tea. “You want a cup, B?”

“Say what?” I turned back Nairn’s way, a little suspicious. “Why would those be inside the cover of the book?”

“To stop the wrong kind of people from getting their hands on it.” She spoke crisply. “My kind have had to endure Witch Hunts, attacks by the odd European Vampire who’d hunt us by our aura and even once during the 1100’s, we were expected to rid the town of a European Werewolf! So this book serves somewhat as an instruction manual with a built-in security system.”

“Oh, I get it.” I picked it up to her surprise, for a closer look. “Silver and wolfsbane ward off Werewolves and the garlic keeps away the Vampires.”

“B…” her mouth fell open in horror, “…you need to put the book down and step away from the desk.”

“Why?” I gave her a puzzled look, whilst Declan watched from his seat.

“The leather covering doesn’t just have silver amulets sewn into the cover, but there would be silver dusted over the pages.” She nervously licked her lips. “There are also sprigs of wolfsbane let alone garlic, in the binding.”

“Oh you mean this thing?” I held up a dry leaf I found between the pages.

“B!” Her eyes bulged. “Put it down immediately and run into the bathroom and wash your hands!”

I stood there giggling on the Witch who was having a panic attack, whereas the European Werewolf thought he should cut her some slack.

“Relax Nairn,” he said calmly, “B being a Circulator as well as a Werewolf, isn’t as allergic to those things as other Werewolves are. I mean, garlic doesn’t do jack to us, except to add to an Italian recipe; but the rest has little effect on her.”

“Really…?” She tried to slow her breathing whilst resting her hand over her heart. “Truly, you’re alright then?”

“Fine and dandy.” I smiled, before putting the book back down to show her my uninjured hands.

“Well that’s just grand, isn’t it?” She laughed out her relief. “Actually this little show, would also explain a lot about the state of your flower.”

“It would?” I wondered and now it was my turn to be surprised.

“Please sit down and I’ll go over the results with you.” She waved her hand towards one of the two chairs in front of the desk. “Declan, if you would care to join us?”

However now it was my mate that faltered; “um, I don’t think so.”

“Of course! How foolish of me, please accept my apologies.” She blushed before picking up the heavy book once more, to return it to the shelf. “Is that better?”

“Nope.” He flinched at the sight of her desk. “I think I’ll stay right here.”

Now what was wrong? I leaned over to examine the surface and I even gave it a careful sniff. But as soon as I did so, I let out a gigantic sneeze!

“Aw yuck! There’s silver dust that’s fallen out of the book and onto the desk.” I complained, before I sneezed again and again.

Declan straightened in concern, “go and blow your nose and wash your face and hands.”

I could feel the silver dust aggravate my sinuses but I managed back a nod in agreement. “I think I might…AAAaaaCHOOOooo!”

Nairn stood back helplessly, as she watched me rush from the room in a sneezing frenzy. “It’s like she’s got hayfever.”

“She’s lucky.” The European Werewolf said warily. “If it had been me who took a whiff of that silver dust; I’d have blood pouring out of my eyes, nose, ears and mouth as my sinuses were burned out.”

*****

Our hostess felt so bad about nearly harming her guests let alone patients, she cleaned the entire desk with furniture polish. Then she threw out the sponge with the silver dust on it, before washing her hands at least five times. Hell, she even tossed her hand towel she dried her hands with, into the washing machine.

Thirty minutes later, she rejoined us in the living room and rather safe than sorry; she dealt with her clients on the couches instead of her work area.

“Right.” She organized her notes and the flower buds, on the coffee table. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

I curled up on the couch beside my mate, with the fertility specialist sitting across. Declan looked my way, before I caught him snicker.

“What?” I gave him a peculiar look.

“Your nose is so red right now, you look like ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’.” He guffawed.

“Would you like me to grab the book again and drop it into your lap this time?” I threatened.

“Now for those results,” Nairn hastily moved on, “first I’d like to say ‘congratulations’ to Declan. I’ve never seen a flower bloom as much as yours did, but I’ve also never had a European Werewolf for a patient before.”

“Woo hoo!” He let out a cheer as his arms shot up in the air. “Did you hear that, B? Last night you probably could have left your pants on, and I’d still get the job done.”

I rolled my eyes as I looked away from him and back towards the Healer.

“But as much as Declan’s supernatural sex-drive is er, impressive…? I must say that B’s results are the most amazing that I have ever encountered.” She shook her head in bewilderment. “That’s why I had to look it up in that old book which ended up causing so much bother. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

This made my husband put a protective arm about his wife’s shoulders as he demanded, “why? What’s wrong with her?”

“Um, nothing’s wrong…” she fumbled out, “…but I think I understand now, what she was trying to explain about her reproductive systems being in temporal flux.”

“The flower’s drooping just like my uterus is.” I said sulkily.

“But it’s not.” She held up my flower with the red string, in the air. “It’s not drooping, in fact it’s far from it. It’s glowing, just like you are.”

I sat there looking on like she had gone mad, but it made my mate curious enough to move forwards for a closer look.

“Hey yeah,” he wore a goofy smile, “its aura isn’t as bright as B’s, but it is glowing a little.”

“No it’s not.” I glared at the unopened flower bud. “It’s stupid and defective, just like me.”

Nairn appeared confused by my cranky mood and watched as I crossed my arms, defensively.

“She can’t see auras.” Declan nodded his head in my direction. “She can see through time, but she must be the only Werewolf who can’t see heat signatures or auras.”

Our Seer’s face softened as she looked my way, “don’t worry B, I can’t see heat signatures either.”

“Yes, but you’re not a Werewolf so nobody expects it of you.” I stood up to pace unhappily. “I’m not as strong as a male Lokoti Werewolf, so I’m not allowed to patrol. I can’t see heat signatures like the other Werewolves can. I’m not supernaturally virile like the other Werewolves are.”

“I beg to disagree.” She sat back in her seat. “Everyone is different B and yet everybody contributes in their own way. Answer me this, who’s faster; you or Declan?”

“She is.” My mate butted in.

“Who’s not as allergic to silver, like the other Werewolves are?” She continued.

“She is.” He went along with her.

“Can other Werewolves travel through time, like you?” She brought up.

“Nope.” He proudly shook his head. “The Lokoti call Circulators, ‘The Light People’.”

“That’s understandable, especially with an aura that bright.” Nairn agreed.

“OK guys,” I rubbed my reddening face, “thanks for the ‘pat on the back’, but let’s get serious now. Nairn, can you help me get pregnant?”

Pause… I looked on the psychic expectantly whom met my gaze with her steady one.

“No.” She said softly.

“But yesterday you said that B was ovulating and everything was completely normal, especially with her getting her period every month.” He said accusatorily.

“I know what I said, Declan.” She said, before holding up my flower bud again. “But don’t you two see? This is what’s truly marvelous about all of this! B, your flower isn’t drooping just like your uterus isn’t either. If there was something wrong with you, the flower would have withered. But just look at it; it’s full of life and vitality like it’s still connected to the plant. It’s even glowing a little!”

The European Werewolf leaned in again for another close look, before he acquiesced; “actually that is pretty cool.”

She stood up and walked over to where I was almost wearing a hole in her carpet, with my pacing.

“B, you’re full of life but you’re frozen in time. In fact, you’re apart from time. Your Lokoti Werewolf body is ready to reproduce, but the part of you which is also a Circulator, is not letting you. But I may have an explanation for that, too.”

Then she turned around to go back to her notes. We watched her sift through the pages as she searched for something. I looked puzzled towards my mate, who simply shrugged back. She found what she was looking for, roughly around the same time as I sat down beside my husband again.

“Don’t get angry…” she looked nervously on the pair of predators sitting opposite, “…but after you left yesterday, I made a few phone calls.”

Declan’s eyes narrowed, “what kind of phone calls?”

“Well, you could say that I’m part of a psychic network. However people don’t call us and pay by credit card to hear their futures. Instead, myself and other Seers and Healers, discuss case files. But of course, we never mention any names and it’s all completely confidential.”

However, I could tell my mate was so angered by this, his eyes began to glow green.

“Wait,” I put my hand over his as I was worried about him jumping up and mauling her, “let’s just hear her out.”

Nairn blanched upon the sight of his supernatural eyes, especially when his round pupils turned into narrow slits.

“I haven’t betrayed the two of you in any way,” she held up her hands in protest, “nobody knows it was the two of you that I was talking about.”

“Just tell us what you learned from the phone calls, Witch.” He emitted a dangerously low growl.

“Alright then,” she spoke quickly, “I chatted to some friends in Ireland, France, Budapest, China and the States. Actually, it was more like a conference call but it was useful because, we realized that besides me meeting ‘Subject A’ yesterday; no-one else has seen a female Werewolf of any breed, in years.”

This made me snort in disbelief, “well they are around, but there’s just not that many of them.”

“Exactly!” She pointed at me enthusiastically. “There’s not many of them left and the ones that are around, it’s like they’re in hiding.”

“For their protection,” my mate sat up straighter, “the Lokoti tribe guards the secret of the existence of a female Lokoti Werewolf. Just as the Hsu Clan keep their females away from the Hsin Clan, who kidnap them to force them to breed.”

“Precisely!” Nairn pointed at him next. “So what if this is simply fate’s way, of protecting B from being used as a baby-making machine; in a time when female Werewolves are becoming an endangered species?”

The room turned silent for a moment or two, as Declan and I exchanged glances and the psychic watched for our reaction.

“It makes sense.” I shrugged to my mate. “Didn’t you say something similar when we were in China?”

In defeat, his glowing green eyes dulled to their human blue colour and he let out a weary sigh. “Yeah I did and yeah, the Witch is right.”

Then I leaned against him for support and warmth and in return, he put his arm about to hold me closely.

Next, Nairn picked up all of her hand-written notes and walked them over to the fireplace. Then she tossed them into the fire, before raising her eyebrows at my overprotective mate. I think she was showing us once and for all that she wasn’t a threat.

“Yeah, alright.” He gave in. “Thank you for your help and thank you for calling my wife, ‘Subject A’.”

“You’re welcome.” She spoke primly, as she sat down on the couch once more.

I stared at the notepaper which was meeting its demise in the fire. It looked like the flames were literally devouring it. The sight made me shiver, when I thought about how they used to burn people accused of witchcraft.

Then I started to talk, whilst staring like I was in a daze; “you’ve got some good points, Nairn. A person could think it’s the hand of fate. However I think it’s just because my body is in temporal flux. It’s not frozen in time otherwise you’d be right, I wouldn’t menstruate or ovulate. But it’s more like a time loop, as my hormones follow the monthly pattern. My eggs operate in a separate time differential and I guess it’s just going to stay like that, until the day we evolve.”

Now the Seer looked on the Circulator impressed, “can you ‘see’ all of this, B?”

“Yes and no,” I answered vaguely, was still staring into the fireplace, “some of it was told and some of it wasn’t.”

My mate planted a tender kiss on my forehead, “but we’re happy, aren’t we B? We’ve got another hundred years or so, of enjoying each other’s company before we’re reunited with everyone again.”

“Evolve?” The psychic looked on curiously. “Do you mean passing on?”

“Long story.” He warned.

“Is it the place of light that the two of you will be going to, in the end?” She queried what she had ‘seen’.

I had to snicker at my mate’s shocked expression, from the Seer’s accuracy.

Just then the conversation was interrupted, by the sound of Declan’s mobile phone ringing. The Death In Vegas song ‘Iesha,’ started to play and my mate and I exchanged funny looks. Then he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his communications device.

Who would be ringing whilst we were away on holidays? Was it a tribal emergency? Or was it somebody from the Garage, calling to ask their boss an important question? I listened to him take the call.

“Brandon?” He greeted. “What’s up?”

Nairn and I remained silent as we both eavesdropped on the conversation.

An incredulous expression overtook Declan’s face, as he listened to our 24 year old Great x4 Grand Nephew.

“Dude, you do know that I’m in Scotland on holidays right now, don’t you?” Pause… “OK OK OK, calm down.” He sighed as he reluctantly decided to help the younger male. “Right, so you’re in the Supermarket looking at the things? Now grab anything that says ‘maxi’ on it, it’s usually a safe bet. Uh huh. No, don’t get that. Why? Because some chicks get toxic shock syndrome or whatever it’s called, from using those. What? I don’t know! Look, all I know is B tried those things once and she started to shiver and shake like she had a fever and never used them again.”

Nairn and I shared a look of amusement, at a male’s perspective of the ‘female curse’. Then she smirked, “don’t worry B, I can’t use tampons either.”

He continued quietly, “right, so grab the pads and then get some Ibruprofen. No, don’t get Aspirin or Paracetomol. Aspirin doesn’t do jack for this sort of thing. Now, before you use the self check-out, go to the breakfast foods aisle and get a jar of Nutella. Yeah, the choc-hazelnut spread. Huh? Trust me, aside from these two things, this is going to be your life saver. Well, let me put it this way; you can tame hormonal female Werewolves with this stuff.”

The two women in the room erupted into giggles, which made the man turn away, embarrassed.

Declan spoke with a red face; “look, I gotta go because I’m in the middle of something. Yeah, I have my own female-related problems. Right. Bye.”

He ended the call and when he moved back around in his seat, he saw our tittering.

“Sorry, it was a newlywed crisis.” He said uncomfortably as he returned the phone to his pocket. “Before we went on holiday, we went to our Great x4 Grand Nephew’s Housewarming. Brandon was panicking because he was sent on his first mission to the Supermarket for supplies for his wife, but he didn’t know what to get.”

The psychic smiled in understanding, “and because you two have been married for the longest, you’re the so-called expert the younger men turn to?”

Declan rolled his eyes, “I should call myself ‘Dr. D’ and start charging. Sometimes it’s like they come to me to fix their cars and their frickin’ relationships! ‘My wife isn’t speaking to me after I bought her the latest exercise program’. That’s because she thinks you just called her fat, you idiot. ‘Declan help me, my wife is sulking for buying her a new microwave or food processor for her birthday’. That’s because she thinks you’re trying to make her do all the cooking, you moron! What, it would kill you to buy her something that’s just for her and not for you both?”

Nairn and I cracked up laughing! We laughed so hard, we were almost rolling around on the couches with tears coming out of our eyes. The European Werewolf’s blunt mode of speech, only added to the absurdity of what he was asked.

He scoffed; “one day, this forty year old man was bitching and moaning that his wife of twenty years, was making him sleep on the couch. I was just trying to change his tires when he wouldn’t shut up. It turned out he bought her Ice Fishing equipment for Christmas, when she doesn’t like fishing and going out onto frozen lakes, scares her. Conveniently, he did like Ice Fishing and offered to use it instead then he wondered why she got so angry?!”

“I take it these are human men, asking you for advice?” She wiped her eyes.

“You’re hardly ever gonna see a male Werewolf, do something so stupid. Not the monogamous breeds, anyway. Since we mate for life and we need a healthy sexual relationship to help deal with the bloodlust; we’re not about to screw up our only avenue of getting laid.” He gave a weary shake of his head.

Our new friend looked impressed by this, “maybe I should start dating a Werewolf?”

“Just be careful of what breed, you do.” I cautioned. “Not all of them are compassionate towards females, or any human at all.”

“Yeah, it’d be a shame to find your partial remains when we’ve only just met you.” He gave her a small smile, to show we liked her.

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