Wolf’s Bane

And just when H put down his phone so he could help out Virgil with cutting the meat for the meal he was planning, he suddenly got another call. Instinctively, he looked at his phone’s flashing screen and decided to take it.

“Give me a few more minutes, bro. I just need to get this report…”

“No problem, Hero. You can just tell me how to cut these carrots.”

“Just peel them. Use that vegetable peeler, and I’ll do the slicing later…” The Ogre instructed as he answered the call. “Hello…”

“Hey, just needed you to know that your favorite snitch has a lead on his target, and he’s following it up as we speak.”

“Alright, what do you know about it?”

“Well, he made me gather information about a certain ‘special ride’ and I gave him my findings. But unknown to him I added a few itineraries that would kinda keep him travelling for a few extra days and that’s the good news.”

“And what’s the bad news?”

At this point, Virgil finished peeling the carrots and held them up in silence, a questioning expression on his face. Hero waved his hand towards the sink as his way of telling his impromptu assistant cook to wash the peeled vegetables. The Alpha was quick to understand and follow the unspoken instruction as the Ogre returned his attention to his caller’s reply.

“The Detective got lightning approval for his vacation leave. I was expecting that he would have taken a week at least to get the go. It’s obvious that he’s got a sponsor, and the name of the governor keeps getting whispered down the grapevine as The Detective’s possible backer.”

“Hmmmm… that is bad news, but now we have confirmation that he’s being ‘rented’ by the ‘good governor’ to find his precious Right Hand. Good job, agent.”

“Hehe, and he is still unaware of what I’m doing. So, what’s next?”

“Virgil and I will discuss this latest update, but most likely, you may have to track him.”

“Oh, that’s easy. I was the one who gave him the locations that he needed to visit. Besides, he keeps chatting with me and calling me, too. I can easily follow him, Left Hand, no problem.”

“I suggest you tell your mate what’s happening as well. It would be easier to deal with unwanted visitors if she’s prepared for their arrival way before they come over to Mendez.”

Right at that moment, Virgil raised an oversized onion and an equally large head of garlic and Hero pointed at the onion, and then at one of the sharp knives that was on the counter. Meanwhile, their spy continued his report…

“Alright, at least with my wife I can just use the mindlink. You really should do that too; bro. Makes it easier for all of us.”

“You’re not the only one suggesting that, but I already explained to your Alpha that I would rather not have any strong or solid connections with the pack as of now. It would be safer for all of us if I stay a rogue.”

“Alright, suit yourself. Will wait for your update on what I’m supposed to do next, Ogre. For the pack that moves as one, and may the goddess bless us all.”

“Yes, for the pack that moves as one and thank you for the updates. Until next time…”

Hero ended the call and Virgil was now holding up an impressively long eggplant and a super thick cucumber for his best friend to look at.

“Bro, the veggies you grow here are so BIG! So which ones are you going to use, H… I mean, for the dish you’re making…”

“Damn Virgil, the things you say… I can’t imagine using any of those for anything other than cooking… ”

+++

Meanwhile, back at the Oro Villa…ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“That was very nice of you to come back home with me, Eron. I mean, you could just go home after you’re done with your meeting with Jack and just let me go home by myself.”

“No, I was really planning to go back home anyway so I can finish fixing my stuff in my room and even take a look at Scorpia. I don’t have any plans of staying at the lumberyard today longer than I have to. And yeah, best that I escort you home while I’m at it. I wouldn’t want you to be going back to Oro without me if I’m planning to get back to the house anyway.”

Eron and Diwana were now in the former bed and breakfast’s massive basement garage, looking through the available tools and machines that were stored there. It was actually more extensive than the house itself since it was made to be wider and longer than the actual house’s structure, and it’s meant to be its foundation.

The Charmer looked at the widow who was looking through large metal cases located in one corner of the basement’s stonewall. He couldn’t help but slightly smile at how cute she looked, as she was now wearing a large leather apron – which obviously belonged to her late husband – along with thin rubber gloves and a wide kerchief tying her head back like a headband.

He was impressed by the fact that whatever she wore, she still was so beautiful in his eyes.

“I’m sorry for not remembering all the things that my husband had left here, Eron,” he heard her say as she continued getting dust all over her while she dug into the gigantic toolbox. “I hardly ever visited this area when I got pregnant. Mason was always too overprotective of me since he wanted so much to have a child so I hardly knew what he added here during the last years of his life.”

“Understandable, Diwana. I’d do the same thing if I was in his position…”

“What did you just say?”

The Charmer paused momentarily as he was midway pulling off the huge canvas coverings of several large and medium-sized types of machinery. He was quickly reviewing what he just said and realized that what he said sounded awkward.

“What? Oh… I mean, if I also had a pregnant wife, I wouldn’t let her visit me here in the middle of my work since these things are all pretty heavy duty and…”  Right then and there, he saw something that he could shift his topic to, just to reduce the feeling of uneasiness at his landlady’s direct and unreadable look. “Whoa, this is a laser-cutting machine! We could really use this to cut practically anything… including metal!”

“What did you say again, Eron?”

“Huh? Wait, what do you mean?”

“You called me by my first name… without the Miss…”

The former city boy had now fully frozen in place, and to his horror, he could feel his cheeks growing warm. How he wished that his tan would be able to hide the crimson tinge he knew was now coloring his whole face.

His thoughts: Damn it… I must have gotten used to calling her by her first name during that talk I had with Max in Jack’s office…Ugh, uber fail points for you, Eron. That talk shouldn’t have happened but what was I supposed to do? Tell Jack to suck it and walk out the door? That would have made me as bad as Max was and I’m not going down to his level.

Especially after that talk that they had before the wolf got back home…

Awww, hell no…