Dustin walked from his apartment without the aid of Kelvin. He was almost back to his usual self and found he could breathe now, without wheezing. Kelvin walked with him as he approached his first real test. Four flights of stairs.

“You sure about this, old man?” Kelvin asked as he held his arms either side of Dustin. He grinned as Dustin frowned back at him.

“Less of the old man, I could kick your ass, you know.” He chuckled.

“Yeah! You and whose army?” Kelvin smiled.

Dustin held the stone handrail as he took his first step. His knuckles whitened as much as his clenched lips. “The hardest part’s gonna be coming back up, and I don’t think you can lift me like Declan did when he used his inner wolf,” Dustin explained.

“What is it with you two, anyway, you seem like family.” Kelvin walked a step or two below Dustin. Kelvin felt Dustin's hand grip firmly on his shoulder.

“Get me downstairs and outside in the sun in one piece, and then I’ll tell you.” He'd cleared the first two floors and stopped to regain his breath. Dustin had recovered quite a bit, but he wasn’t sure if he could take part in the war that was going to happen soon.

He started again and cleared the last two flights of stairs. Kelvin held the large glass doors open, and Dustin stepped out into the afternoon sunshine.

“Damn this feels good,” he said. He sat on the stone bench that Kelvin and Maria had occupied the day before.

Kelvin sat next to him and turned. “Spill the beans, you were gonna fill me in about you and Declan,” he said. “I guess it’s gonna be an interesting story.”

“Tell me about Declan and you first, I wanna hear this before I bore you to death.” He gave a kind smile, thankful he had the young man to help him.

Kelvin curled over his bottom lip. “There isn’t much to say. I was halfway to robbing Declan's backpack when he dragged me out of his car window. He gave me a fifty and told me to come here,” Kelvin said. “I thought it was safe and I'd heard the rumors.”

Dustin looked at Kelvin with eyes that could’ve burned through solid steel. “What rumors?” he asked. Dustin breathed in deep lungfuls of fresh air. It made a change from the stale air he'd breathed in while he recuperated in Declan's old bedroom.

“Well, when Declan caught me, he was coming back from Miami. I had friends there, so that’s where I was headed. I’m not sure how they started, maybe Declan had shown himself, and they'd spread from there,” Kelvin said.

“Nah, that couldn’t be. He wasn’t Alpha again until he was back up this way. He told me he'd gone to see a witch in the glades —and he had a confrontation on his way out,” Dustin explained.

“Maybe that was it. There are stories of a witch, but unless you’ve been granted passage to her, you’ll never find her. It’s a magical place.”

Dustin’s eyes squinted as he peered toward the afternoon sun. He saw birds frolicking on the tree branches on the other side of the apartments, in the large parking lot. His vision had improved as had his sense of smell.

Dustin reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty. “You wanna get us both a hotdog?” he asked Kelvin.

“There's no place to get a dog around here,” he replied, just as the food truck started to turn the corner. “Well I’ll be damned, you smelled that son-of-a-bitch, didn’t ya?”

Dustin nodded and smiled. “Now, hurry up, I could eat a horse.”

Kelvin stood. “When you're fit to go hunting, you can do exactly that,” he replied, and he flung himself from the top of the steps to the sidewalk.

Damn kids showing off their powers in daylight…

Kelvin made his way back up the steps. It was quick, and he managed well, not to drop the food. He handed the dog to Dustin, and sat down before taking a huge bite. Ketchup and mustard oozed down his chin.

“As I was saying,” he said, through a mouthful of food. “These rumors were about a super alpha, if anything like that could exist. Well, I had a feeling when I met Declan —that he was human, but I sensed he was something a bit different, if you can understand that.”

“He’s very different, alright. He is one in a million. An extraordinary guy, and not only because I know him,” Dustin remarked. “Our story started when he was a kid, a small kid.”

“How did you get involved?” Kelvin asked.

“Declan's dad was a real scumbag. I didn’t know him until that night. He'd given Declan’s mother a real going over in a drunken rage,” Dustin explained. “She should have passed that night, and would’ve done so, if that little kid hadn’t taken it on himself to walk about two miles up a pitch-black track to the main road.”

“What happened next?” Kelvin asked, more curiously.

“From the look of Declan when I came around that corner, he’d been standing in the freezing cold for well over an hour. His lips were blue, and he was jumping up and down to keep warm. He couldn’t speak at that time because of the cold, and all he could do was point. I headed down that track into the darkness. My truck slipped and slid all the way down. I reckon Declan had to crawl on his hands and knees for half of it,” Dustin said, as he paused for another bite of his hotdog. “Anyway, by the time we reached the house, that was (and is still) buried deep in the forest, Declan's mom was in a very bad way. And to cut a long story short, I got her to the hospital, and she recovered.”

“And his dad?” Kelvin asked. “I know you didn’t leave it at that, you did him in, didn’t you?”

“It looked like an accident. A drunken bum who fell in the snow and banged his head,” Dustin explained. “Now, I suppose you wanna hear how and why I turned Declan?”

“Hell yeah! This has gotta be good. You saved his mom's life, and then you turned him, how cool is that!”

“You're wrong there, Kelvin, it wasn’t me who saved his mom's life. That was all Declan. And when you hear rumors of a super alpha, you’ll know it’s true —and why he is the chosen one.”

“You still haven’t said why you turned him.”

“That was a simple decision. I wanted him to have the strength to fulfill his destiny. Every person deserves that in life, wolf or man.”

“Have you made all this up, old man?” Kelvin said. “You’ve been pulling my chain.”

“Kelvin, it’s the real, honest truth. Every single word of it. You might hear a different story, but mine’s the real one. Don’t forget, there were only two people there, Declan and me.”

“Hey! Dustin, there’s one other thing, you seem to have missed out. Why did you hang around after?”

“Kelvin, have you ever been in love?”

“I’ve had a few women. I told them I loved them when I had too,” he said with a huge grin on his face. “Seriously though, no I haven't, but that Maria is a real humdinger. I could tell her I love her and actually mean it.”

“You wanna watch yourself, she has someone watching over her shoulder. He’s a real, nasty motherfucker.”

“Who’s that? I haven’t seen her talking to anyone apart from Declan and…” he started to say, “YOU.”

“You got it in one kiddo, she’s almost as special to me as Declan is. Not quite, but very close. If you wanna make a move you're gonna have to go through me,” Dustin said, now smiling. “I’m not saying I’d let you, and I’m not saying I'd stop you. That decision is up to Maria. She might think you're a little on the young side.”

“Hey! I’m almost twenty-one. That’s plenty-old-enough to shake, rattle and roll,” Kelvin said. “So, back to the story. Why did you hang around?”

“That’s what I was trying to explain. I fell for Declan's mother. She was a fine woman, yet I never acted on it. I became their guardian angel, come father figure. It was a place where I was happy, and both of them were content,” Dustin said, as he heard a screech of brakes from the street.

He looked up and saw that a bus had stopped. He heard the doors close, and then the bus pulled away. And there, like magic, stood the beautiful Maria. She had a brown paper bag tucked under her arm. She walked across the street and climbed the steps.

“What a day, my feet are killing me,” she said as she sat on the bench.

“If you play your cards right, Maria, Kelvin here will give you a massage.”

Maria smirked and looked at Kelvin. “Yeah, right!”

* * *

Noelle walked to the rear of the house and tried the kitchen door. It opened as she twisted the handle. Declan stood and looked at the garden that was laid out before him.

“Are you gonna come in, or stand there like a lemon?” she asked Declan.

He tore his gaze from the pool and stepped into the large kitchen diner. He ran his fingers over the Italian marble countertops. He turned on the German-made faucets and ran his fingers over the British-built cabinets. It was a culmination of European excess and must have cost Noelle's parents a small fortune to have it made and shipped all that distance. He had been numb to it all before. The problems and the whirlwind of emotions he’d experienced had given him tunnel vision, just months ago. But now, more than ever, he noticed every little detail. It was a state of being that he thoroughly enjoyed.

“Is it normally this quiet?” Declan asked.

“At this time of day, mom will be having a nap and dad will be in his study,” Noelle replied, walking down the oak-lined corridor.

Declan walked on the hall rugs to keep the sound of his boots quiet. Noelle held the curved, brass, door handle to a room at the end of the hallway. Her head turned as she urged him on with her other hand. Declan caught up. Noelle turned the handle and opened the door wide. A large plume of cigar smoke made its way up to the ceiling, and then wafted around the study with the help of the ceiling fan that spun. It made a faint hum that reminded Noelle of home.

“Hey Dad!” Noelle said as she approached the large, red, leather, easy chair. Declan heard a cough and a splutter, and then an arm stretched out and placed the cigar into a large, silver-colored ashtray.

“This is a surprise,” Declan heard the voice say.

Perhaps they haven’t forgotten her after all?

“It is a surprise,” Noelle said. She held her arms out for a hug, “It’s me, Noelle; your only daughter,” she said.

“Now, this is an even bigger surprise,” Noelle's dad said, moving up from the other side of the chair. “First you break into the house, and then you claim to be my daughter!”

Hang on, maybe they don’t recognize her…

“Come on Dad, I know it’s been months. Edmund dumped me in Arapaho forest,” she said.

“Ah! Edmund. What a fine upstanding man he was. Oh! I seem to have forgotten the last time I saw him.”

“I can tell you the exact day. It was the day he turned you back into a human, after being a werewolf,” Noelle explained. “He gave you the elixir, and you and Mom came home without so much as a goodbye.”

“I would have said goodbye to that Edmund, but elixir and werewolves? Do you have a mental problem, child?” her father asked, obviously perplexed by the situation he found himself in.

“Your name is Garret, and Abigail is upstairs sleeping,” Noelle said, plainly.

“Well, you have been sneaking upstairs, that is awfully rude of you.”

“Jesus Christ Dad, it’s me, Noelle, and I haven’t been sneaking anywhere. I know Mom goes for a nap after lunch,” she snapped. “Go on Declan, tell him.”

Noelle's dad coughed, and Declan saw a hand rest on the rear of the chair. A mound of white-gray hair lifted up from the chair. Noelle's dad looked at Declan. He paused. “Now, you seem familiar. Where from, I’m not sure yet, I do remember seeing you though.” He looked Declan up and down.

“Maybe Abigail will remember. I’ll go and fetch her,” her dad said.

“No Dad, it’s okay. Mom will be down in ten minutes.”

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Dad?’” Garrett asked.

Noelle sighed. “I’m your daughter. We used to hunt werewolves together.”

Her dad didn’t understand what Noelle had said, she'd lost him when she mentioned werewolves. “Werewolves, what the hell are you talking about, girl? They don’t exist. We better wait until Abigail comes down, she’ll clear all this stupid mess up,” he said.

Declan heard a noise from the hallway. He stepped back as the door opened. Abigail stood and looked at Garrett and Noelle. She pulled her housecoat tight around her waist.

“What’s going on in here? You're making a right racket. I could hear the voices upstairs,” she said. “Who are you, and what are you doing in our house?”

Garrett looked at Abigail. He said, “This little upstart says she’s our daughter. How absurd!”

Abigail stepped further into the room and turned to close the door behind herself. “Jesus Declan, you scared the living daylight out of me,” she said.

“Mom, you recognize Declan?” Noelle asked.

“Of course, he’s that no good layabout from those apartments. Never did like him,” she said. “Come to think of it, what the hell are you doing here with this… girl?”

“That girl happens to be your daughter. Your memory was wiped by Edmund,” Declan explained.

“What a nice guy —that Edmund was, he was so polite, but I think it was his uncle, or something. He was very strange, to say the least. All I remember are those piercing blue eyes,” Abigail said, as her body shuddered remembering him. “Horrible, that’s what he was, just horrible.”

Noelle walked over toward her mom and Declan. Her mom looked at her with blank eyes and no ounce of recognition. She did recognize Declan though, so Edmund hadn’t done his job one hundred percent. Noelle got closer and raised her hand. She smashed it down the side of her mom’s face, causing a red mark to appear on it.

Her mom lifted her hand away and rubbed her cheek. “That wasn’t very nice at all. Shall I make a nice pot of tea, or do you want coffee?” she asked. She walked back to the hallway, and made her way into the kitchen. Even Garrett looked unnerved about what Noelle had just done.

Noelle looked at Declan. “Edmund has well and truly screwed these two. He’s made them into zombies. You see, I know this because my mom wasn’t bothered when I slapped her,” she said. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, it’s a long shot. Remember I said I was with Judy in Miami, and she heard you in the psychic conversation she had with Maria?” Declan looked at Noelle's dad who reached for his cigar and sat back in his seat.

“Yeah, carry on.”

“Well, this is the long shot. I got the feeling Judy was related to the witch. If you can contact Judy, I'm sure she might be able to help,” Declan said. Noelle stood with a completely blank expression. “I did say it was a long shot.”

“Jesus Declan, you think I can speak to someone on a psychic level? You're as crazy as my parents,” she added. “I’ll give it a shot though, but I'll have to do it in an area that’s quiet.”

Declan glanced out of the window. He raised his hand and pointed. “Choose your spot, you’ve got how many acres to choose from?”

“Now you're being condescending,” she replied. “Come on, let’s go outside and see if we can find a big, magical stone!”

Declan pushed open the doors to the study and watched as huge clouds of cigar smoked flooded into the patio area. He glanced across the garden for an area where Noelle could try and contact Judy.

“Is there anything you did special last time?” he asked, sarcastically.

“Declan, I’ve got a great idea, and it could make things so much easier,” Noelle replied. “Why don’t you call her, you do have her number on your phone, don’t you?”

“Noelle, how nosey you are, but that’s what makes you so special,” Declan said.

“Hey! I wasn't nosey, I was only observant.” Noelle’s face screwed itself up, and Declan admired the tiny freckles that moved as she did it.

“Noelle, you mean you were observant in the same way that you were only tying your laces outside the office, just the other day?” He pulled his phone out from his pocket.

“Yes, damn you!”

Declan scrolled through the contacts. His finger paused at J. He hit the call button and waited for the soft voice on the other end of the line. “Hey there!”

“Old friends remind me that loyalty really does exist.”