FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

                Maggie

had to stay there while I ran across the city to pick up some new clothes for

her. I had to agree with Reynaud that she was awfully impetuous, but after

having been only part way through a full transformation, I guess I understood.

She was like me. I was older, and I knew better, but all this was so novel that

I felt giddy and out of control. And I was torn between the feelings. As a

responsible adult, I fought for control. As a wild beast, I fought to be free.                I told

the taxi driver to wait, and the hundred dollar bill ensured that he would. I

ran up to the suite, pulled out some underwear, shorts, and a nice top for her,

and a pair of sandals. I always knew kids outgrew their clothes, but this was

ridiculous. Sorry. I know that was bad, but I was trying to find some humor to

lift me up. It's not easy having someone tell you nonchalantly that they may be

forced to kill you.                 I knew

he had recanted that statement, but I was still uneasy. Maggie's idea was still

feasible, and it would make killing me, should someone jump to that conclusion,

all the more difficult. I just hadn't had a chance to run it past Verona. She

was the wild card in this. I had no idea if she would go with it or not. There were

probably a hundred reasons why she wouldn't.                When I

got back, Reynaud and his wife Alupenia were still talking with Maggie. Verona let

me in and I tossed my bundle in the girl's direction. "Try not to get too excited

again!"                She

grinned and ran to the bathroom to change.                "So

Edward, she has been telling us all about you." My heart sank.                "And?"                "And it

seems you care for her a great deal. She told us how you first got acquainted. You

must have had great courage to follow her and to try and rescue her from that

factory. You are a brave and kind person!"                I wish

I knew what all she had said. I was going to assume she might have decided that

telling them everything was a bad idea. I had no clue what these conservative people

would think of her calling me father all the while I was porking the living

daylights out of her. It was an adoption of convenience, but I was still looked

upon as her father, and she my daughter. So discretion was best.                "She is

unusual, but the more in-depth I get to know her, the more I appreciate her

finer qualities."                Verona

just glared at me, but her parents missed my insinuations.                "Most

normal humans would have gone mad or else tried to kill her. There is a grave

mistrust of our kind, and rightly so. Still, in the long run, humankind has far

surpassed us. The bloodline is dwindling and given a few more centuries, we may

be gone for good."                I wasn't

certain what I was supposed to say to that. "Can I ask a few questions?"                "Certainly

young man," Verona's mother exclaimed.  "Knowledge

is power, and you'll need as much of it as you can get."                "Well,

I don't want to pry, but I found Maggie and Maggie found Verona. But how many

of you are there out there? I would think that the random killings, errr,

feedings would make your presence much more public. After all, it was Verona's

attack on that fellow in Central Park that brought us here."                Verona

let out an indignant yell. "I didn't murder him! I was curious who did, and the

same for that other fellow Maggie admitted to killing."                The

room went silent for several reasons. Reynaud spoke first. "Killings?"                I had

to explain how we had managed to come to New York in the first place. How I had

determined that the best way of finding a werewolf was to track its kills. He

listened and nodded slowly.                 "Yes,

that is the problem. Nowadays, it is so easy to get caught. Of course, it's

difficult to pin it down, because we are as different as a feral as we are as a

human. It's hard to blame a murder on a living man when witnesses and evidence

point to a beast. Still, care should be taken to cover one's tracks."                He turned

to his daughter. "Are you not using the potion?"                She

turned green. "Not always. I don't like having to hide what I am. That's why I

like being with Edward, because he knows and he doesn't care. Sometimes it's

nice to go out and feed without fear of reprisal. But the death they speak of

is not from me."                I was

getting the hang of this. "So what you're saying is that there is another

werewolf out there that you don't know about?"                Reynaud

shook his head slowly. "This is not good. Suddenly, we have werewolves coming

out of the woodwork."                "Woodwork?"

Maggie was back, all dressed and looking prim.                "You,

me, and I guess there's a third one no one knows about."                "But I didn't

smell anyone else at the park."                "Neither

did I." said Verona, "but it rained right after the one you thought I committed,

and the scent fades fast. You probably followed my scent as I was trying to

track down the other. Here all along I thought that you had committed both

killings."                "No, we

were still home. So I guess we have more to deal with than we thought. Is there

some way of tracking the murders here in the city?"                Verona

shrugged. "I suppose so, but it's big and a smart werewolf will hide it's kill

until it decomposes enough to be unidentifiable."                "Or

stuff it in the freezer!" piped in Maggie. Verona glared at her. Apparently her

parents would not have approved.                 Reynaud

ran with that, not seeming to get the connection to his daughter. "Yes, that's

true young lady. A freezer would keep the meat fresh for a later date." He

smiled. "I know from experience, so I guess she came by it honestly." He looked

at his daughter.  "I will not shame you

for what you have no choice in being, and I will laud your discretion. As long

as you follow the rules I set down so long ago, than all will be fine."                Verona

was visibly shaken. She must have a lot of respect for her parents. I know I

did for mine, but I couldn't help feeling cheated for having never known my

ancestry. There were a lot of mysteries to be solved, and I had no idea where

to start. Maggie yanked on my sleeve. I looked down. She was smiling, holding

something in her hand.                "Now?"                "No!"                It was

too late. The damage was done. "What's going on?" asked Verona's mother.                 I

cringed. This was part of Maggie's plan, and I had figured that there would be

a far better time than this to try carrying it out.  But now the element of surprise was gone.

Maggie, in true childlike fashion, blurted it out. I let her, because I wanted

to crawl back inside my own skin. I suddenly felt foolish.                "I had

an idea. Father said it wasn't a good idea, but that it had merit. I think that

what we need right now is a common denominator. I say that a piece of metal

should not drive us apart, but bind us together."                Alupenia

smiled. "Well said young lady, but I'm afraid we don't know what you mean. You

already know that removing the silver coin might prove dangerous, even deadly.

So it is in a way binding us together. We have no intention of leaving your

father in a lurch."                Maggie

put her hands on her hips. "No? A little while ago you were threatening to kill

him. He has done nothing wrong to any of you. Didn't you said that you would do

anything to protect your family?"                "Yes dear

and we would."                "That's

what I thought. So my plan was this."                She

held out a simple gold ring.                "Father

can marry Verona and be part of your family, and then so will I, and then you

can never touch him.  We'll all be one big

family of werewolves! "                Reynaud

actually smiled. "That would be a pack dear."                I

looked at Verona and she at me. I didn't love her, leastwise not yet, because I

had those feelings for Maggie. But she wasn't stupid, and I could see her

thinking it over. There was silence for a while as neither one of us wanted to

speak.                 Maggie

finally had enough. She kicked Verona in the shins. "Well?"                "Well what?"

she said, hopping on one leg.                "Will

you marry him?"                "But he

hasn't asked me yet."                "True.

Father?" She was glaring at me and smiling at the same time. What was I going

to do?                "Uhhh,

Verona, will you marry me?"