TKG08 WE WILL BUILD Rel 01 (19 page)

Cheryl Lynn laughed, “You want to be a walking, talking example of testosterone?”

Pete turned his head partway to the left and speared her with his eyes, “Are you dissing your cousin?”

She exhaled and put her fork down, “No, no I’m not.
 
I’m just not happy with him right now.”

“Oh? Why is that?”
 
Pete slid his chair back, “Sorry, one sec.
 
Would you like a refill?”
 
She shook her head and Pete took half a minute to refill his drink and returned to the table.
 
“Sorry again, so you were going to tell me why you are not happy with ‘Little John’?”

“He is treating me with kid gloves!”
 

“Really?
 
Because, from my perspective I can tell you that being treated the ‘opposite’ of kid gloves is no fun.”

“Why?
 
Did he do something to you?
 
Well, other than almost break your jaw?”
 
She asked.

Pete thought about it for a moment, “Can we say I came to him a spoiled little rich kid who felt superior to humans in every way and leave it at that?”

“He helped you out of the spoiled part?”

“He literally beat the spoiled part out,” Pete said.
 
“It wasn’t that I didn’t need it, I did.
 
The more responsibility I earned, piece by piece, the more responsibility I wanted.
 
All the way to being the alpha of the Wechselbalg Guardians.”
 
Pete noticed Cheryl Lynn open then close her mouth, “What is it?”

“Well, is it rude of me to ask you to describe what you look like when you change?”

Pete laughed, loud and long, “I’m sorry!”
 
He calmed down some, “You are so damned polite I’m not sure how to act.
 
Most people, if they are aware of Werewolves at all, are practically begging to see a change.
 
You’re asking me if it is rude to ask me to describe how I look?”

Cheryl Lynn sat up straight and her tone became sharper, “I don’t think it is incorrect of me to be polite here!”

Pete waved his hands, “No, no!
 
I’m good.”
 
He wiped at a tear threatening to come loose.
 
“It’s just our group is so full of testosterone that to have someone demure come on board is …”
 
He stopped for a second to think about it, “Well, it’s kinda nice.”

“Thank you … I think.”
 
She said after a moment.

“Tell you what.” He started.

“Yes?”

“Would it be impolite of me to ask you if you would like to ‘see’ a Werewolf change?” He asked her.

Cheryl Lynn thought about it, “I suppose it isn’t impolite of you to ask, but I’m not sure that I want to see it.”

“Why is that?”

“Well,” she continued, “I’m trying to understand what everything here is working towards.
 
For instance, why are you here?”

That question took Pete back, “What do you mean?”

“Well, do you have to stay here now? I mean, sure if you’re the leader maybe but did you ever have a chance to go home?”
 
She pressed.

This time, it was Pete who stayed silent for a minute, “You know, I’ve not truly been home since that day on the tarmac.”
 
He spoke quickly before she got out her next question, “I’ve seen my dad!”
 
She shut her mouth, “It’s just I haven’t tried to ‘go home’.
 
This,” he pointed around him, “is my home.
 
The people here and at the base are my family.
 
This family has formed under one person to accomplish one goal.”

“Save the world, right?”

Pete ‘hmmmd’ for second, “Not exactly.
 
It’s more like provide the world the opportunity to be whatever it wants to be.
 
Whether that works out for the better or not.
 
Bethany Anne just wants to make sure they have the choice in the future.”

“That seems odd.
 
What kind of answer is that?”
 
She was confused.

“Well,” He said, idly rotating his drink glass, “a Bethany Anne answer.
 
However, what it means is she has no intent to force the world to be anything it wasn’t going to be.”

“Like she could?”

“Come again?” Pete asked.

“I mean, like she could force the world to be something…”
 
She stopped as she saw Pete’s expression, “Can she?”

“Probably.
 
She could destroy the world right now.”

“What, how?”

Pete shrugged, “Drop a massive rock on it.”

“Another dinosaur extinction event?”

“Yes.”
 
He responded, “With us as the dinosaurs of course.”

“Who’s to stop her?”
 
Cheryl Lynn mused out loud.

“Her.”
 
Pete said simply.

“She’s the only one?”
 
Cheryl Lynn asked.

“Well, honestly no.
 
There is no one that could really physically stop her if she set her mind to it, but her heart is way too big to allow herself to do something like that.”
 
Pete said.

“You love her, don’t you?” Cheryl Lynn questioned.

Pete smiled, “If you mean like an older sister?
 
Then yes.
 
If you mean something else?
 
Then I tend to fall into John’s camp.”

She smiled, “Oh, I just have to hear what my cousin thinks.”
 

“Promise me you won’t tell him I told you this?” He retorted, one eye raised.

Cheryl Lynn’s lips pressed closed and then her shoulders slumped, “Fine, yes!”
 

Pete answered, “He would die for her, he just didn’t want to die in bed because of her.”

Cheryl Lynn’s face scrunched up in confusion, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have you seen her vamp out yet?”
 
She shook her head, “Oh.
 
Well, that explains it.
 
Tell you what, come with me and I’ll give you a Wechselbalg demonstration.
 
Then, you can figure out what kind of person could make someone like me bend a knee to her.”

The two bussed their dishes and Pete took Cheryl Lynn to the workout area on the boat.
 

Cheryl Lynn looked around the room at the floor mat and the obvious signs of wear and tear before turning back to find Pete almost naked, “Excuse me!”
 
She quickly turned her head.

She could hear him quickly say, “I’m sorry!
 
I forgot you don’t know much.
 
I’m not getting any more undressed than this and I promise you that you will be safe.
 
However, I’ll need you to step farther away so that you don’t hurt yourself when I change and you will need to look at me to get an understanding of the change.”

Cheryl Lynn walked fifteen feet away and sat on a weight bench and turned to look at him.
 
Like that was hard work for her eyes.
 
He had rips on his rips.
 
“Ok, but you better realize I’m old enough to be your mother!”

Pete laughed, “Hardly!
 
But that isn’t the point.
 
Are you ready?”
 
She nodded and Pete thought back to a time that made him angry, a time when he thought he had lost Ecaterina and the room became brighter and he was taller again.
 
The scents were clear - sweat, dirt, fear… He turned to view the small woman on the bench, her eyes wide open.

“This issss myyy fooorrrmmm.”
 
He said.

She nodded her head and tried to get her voice to work. “John punched you and you could turn into this?
 
Was he fucking nuts?” her two hands quickly covered her mouth as she mumbled between her lips, “I’m sorry!”

“Hehh
 
heehh heehh.
 
Nooo, III cooullldddnnnnnntt chaahhnnngge aaatt thaaat ttiimmme.”
 

“I bet he wouldn’t punch you now!”
 
She wasn’t willing to move.
 
She had heard you never ran away from a predator as it just caused them to want to chase you.
 

“Oooonnnnee mmmmooooommmeennnnt.”
 
He growled.
 
A few seconds later Pete was standing in front of her again.
 
He moved his head back and forth and coughed, “Sorry!
 
Not easy to carry on a conversation in that form and without something violent to do, it’s hard to stay focused.”
 
He walked to his clothes and started putting on his pants.
 
“However, there is no way on God’s green earth I would purposely punch John Grimes and offer to fight him.”

“Is that because of what he did for you?”

Pete put on his shirt, “Well, certainly that but I’m talking hypothetically.
 
John would kick my ass and then use my hairy hide as a mop to clean up my own blood off the floor.”
 
Pete smiled as he put on his socks and shoes.

“But, you look so powerful.” She argued.

“Oh, I am.” He agreed.

“Then…”
 
Cheryl Lynn stopped.
 
“He’s been changed too, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, yes he has.”
 
Pete replied.

She got up from the bench and walked over to the mat and sat down.
 
Then, she laid back and talked up into the air. “So, John can take you out and Bethany Anne could take John out?”

“She could, yes.”

“But she wouldn’t?”
 
She looked over to Pete to gauge his reaction.

“No.
 
She loves him too much.”

“This is one convoluted family.”

“Don’t you mean dysfunctional?”
 
Pete asked.
 
He walked over to join her on the mat.

She sat back up, “No, convoluted.
 
You aren’t dysfunctional, in fact I’d say you are so functional it is damned near unbelievable.
 
But the ‘why’ it works is convoluted.
 
It all revolves around Bethany Anne and this need to not protect the earth, while protecting the earth.”
 
She looked over to Pete, “What if the earth doesn’t want you to protect it, or God forbid attacks you?”

Pete snorted, “Well, if they refuse protection I imagine she will just attack the aliens and leave it at that.
 
But, if they attack her people?”
 
Pete shook his head, “Then they will learn deep in their souls the meaning of regret.”

“She’s only pro-earth if earth doesn’t attack her?”

He shrugged, “I doubt she would do much if they just attacked her.
 
She would get away somehow.
 
But if someone hurts her people?”

“You mean John and Eric and Darryl and…”
 
She faltered.

“Scott?”

“Right! His name was right on the tip of my tongue.”
 

“Ok, I’ll believe that. No, I mean ‘any’ of her own.
 
All of us, any of us.
 
If something is wrong for one of us, it’s personal for her.”

“Like me.”
 
She said softly.

“Do what?” He asked.

“Sorry, I just realized that because of John, I became one of her own.”

“Yes, that’s probably true.
 
You are family that John cares about, therefore Bethany Anne cares about you.”

She looked up to Pete, “What if John didn’t care about me?”

“Well, I imagine he wouldn’t have mentioned you to Bethany Anne and you would still be in whatever situation you were in.”
 
He said matter-of-factly.

“What kind of love does she have that she is willing to stop trying to save the world to go to Dallas, Texas and help a mother of two kids with a personal problem?”

Pete answered solemnly, “The kind that can take a punk-ass spoiled rich brat and help make a man out of him.”

Cheryl Lynn continued, “And a Romanian bar maid into something amazing, and a washed-up rocket scientist working to help change the future…”
 
She paused for a moment and turned to look over at Pete, “And the type of person who would see something special in a mother from Dallas Texas and tell her she is going to be her personal assistant.”

“Oh that’s great!”
 
Pete said.

She scrunched her face together, “Why is that so great?”

“Cause, that means I’ve got an inside contact.”
 
Pete grinned, “Don’t forget how nice and friendly we are right now.”

She laughed, “Stop it!
 
I’m … well, I’m old enough.
 
It doesn’t matter that you have abs women would want to practice braille on, you’re still too young for me.”

“Damn,” he muttered, “that’s a good one.
 
Abs women want to practice braille on.”
 
He thought about that for a second, “I’m going to have to put that on my dating account.”

“You have a dating account?”
 

He smiled, “No!
 
God, I can only imagine what would happen if the teams found me with a dating account. Oh, the shit they would pull.”
 
This time, Pete put a hand over his mouth, “Oops!
 
Sorry.”

She giggled, “It’s ok.
 
I try to watch my language around Tina and Todd, not other adults.”

Pete dropped his hand.

“It’s all real, isn’t it?” She asked. Pete stayed silent, it didn’t sound like she was asking him a question.
 
“We really are in a battle. Bethany Anne really is what she seems like and I really do need to worry about if there will be a future for Tina and Todd.”
 
She turned to look at Pete, “Don’t I?”
 
Pete nodded his head.
 
She asked, “And you would really die for her?”