The Legend of the Werewolf Read Free Page A

was why she went back.
    The hovering man in black didn’t move
on, take a seat and order a drink as patrons were prone to do. He
stared at the man as though he’d just found his worst enemy. The
man who borrowed money without paying it back, slept with his wife
and burned down his house all in one night.
    The lone wolf was in danger. He had to be.
Anne’s hunch proved correct when the warlock sent an explosive ball
of fire at his back before she could shout a warning.
    The man in the cowboy hat must have
Jedi reflexes to have been able to get out of the way of something
like that so fast.
    Or just the luckiest son of a bitch on
the planet.
    He wasn't wearing his hat now. Anne held
it in front of her like a shield while Gordon grilled her. The
source of his anger lying on the old, brown couch on the other side
of the cabin under a faded knit blanket, unconscious and unaware of
the argument.
    Westley stepped forward. "Dad, it's not
her fault. If I wanted, I could've ordered her not to go
back."
    "Then you damn well should have."
Gordon hissed, turning his attention back to her.
    "This is beyond disappointing. That you
could find it in you to interfere with something like this over a
fairy tale. You don't even know what he was being attacked for. For
all you know, he's dangerous." He slammed the stone with the
crescent moon engraving onto the rickety coffee table.
    Anne cringed and stared at the rock,
searching for any cracks. There were none she could see.
    The stone stopped glowing but that didn't
make it any less valuable. Listening to him talk down to her and
then slamming the stone like a worthless children’s toy, sent her
anger off like a screaming tea kettle.
    "Does this mean the wedding's
off?"
    Gordon’s face puffed out and turned
red. His eyes glared and became insane. Anne refused to be stared
down.
    Still, it was an odd sight. Like an
older version of Westley glaring daggers at her. It didn't look
right.
    He pointed a large finger in her face.
"Don't tempt me."
    She opened her mouth to argue that it
was exactly what she wanted to do, but the sight of her grandpa out
of the corner of her eye stopped her.
    He wasn't sending her any signals to
stop, just standing there waiting for her to make her
decision.
    If she called off the union with
Westley she would have to leave the pack. She would have to leave
her best friend and her grandfather.
    Anne said nothing. She lowered her head
to hide the anger burning on her face as Gordon snatched his
leather jacket from one of the chairs and stormed out of the
cabin.
    "He's your responsibility now! Figure
out what to do with him!" He yelled, slamming the screen door
behind him.
    Anne's shoulders slumped. She brought
her hand up and bit her knuckle while battling back the sudden
swell in her throat. Westley put his arm around her shoulders but
she shrugged him off and stepped away.
    The last thing she needed was to look like
she and him actually had something together. Thank God Chris
dropped them off and left. Otherwise, who knew how much trouble
they'd really be in?
    "I'm sorry, Annie." Westley moved toward
the screen door. She didn’t mind so much when he used that name on
her. "I'll talk to him."
    When he left, Anne felt remarkably
better.
    Her grandpa put his arms around her in a
comforting hug. She didn't shrug him off like she'd done with
Westley.
    Instead, s he turned into him and hugged
back. He wore his thick brown housecoat and well-worn slippers. His
usual wear, day or night, and she sank into the familiar comfort he
offered. She breathed in his grandpa scent and felt like a little
girl again, safe and free from troubles.
    He rested his chin on the top of her
head and she sighed. "I couldn't leave him to get killed," she
said, gazing at the spot where the product of the drama
slept.
    Bill rubbed soothing circles into her
back. "I understand. But did you have to bring him here?" Bill
picked up the stone, twisted it in his hand and examined the
crescent moon for