Werehuman

Finally Ice Cream

Brian and Ralph returned nearly an hour later, just as Mel was about to let us eat without them. I paused with the bowl of tomatoes when I heard the truck pull up.

"Come help with the door!" Ralph called.

Susie Lynn sighed and put the plate of burgers back on the counter. I nodded to Aidan and we headed out, followed by Katie and Mel. Casey and Keith hadn't shown up again, and I wasn't sure we needed eight people to carry one door anyway.

"Mel, will you get the driver and some flathead bits? We should be able to get this on pretty quickly; I bought new hinges. Conor, put this in the freezer, would you?"

Ralph gave me a wide grin and I peeked inside the bag to see that they had bought several tubs of ice cream. The whole pack would be ecstatic.

Brian hopped up into the bed to unstrap the door, handing it down to Aidan and Katie as I headed back inside. With so many hands, the whole project took just a couple minutes. Aidan and Katie could hold the door firmly in place while Brian and I screwed in the new hinges to the door and then to the doorframe.

"What's for lunch?" Brian asked hopefully.

"Burgers," Susie Lynn told him. "You're Brian?"

"Yup. We met last night, though I doubt you remember," he answered. "Where's Keith?"

Aidan shrugged. Brian took a hard look at the table of burgers and fixings and then sighed.

"We should at least get Daria," he said finally and left the room, presumably to do just that. Aidan grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Ralph asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Aidan tried, but Mel raised her hand, cutting him off.

"Do all werewolves lie as badly as Conor? What is actually wrong?"

Aidan looked uncomfortable, and while I wished Mel hadn't put him on the spot, they had a right to be concerned.

"I had hoped my brother would come to some sort of conclusion by now," he admitted. "Whether that he would refuse your offer or agree or compromise, the fact that it's taken him this long is worrying to us. He's our pack leader; we're not going to go against his wishes. We can't."

He gripped the back of a chair and rolled his shoulders. "And it is a little weird. You just met us. You don't know us; don't know if we're dangerous; don't know if we're trustworthy; why would you want us in your home?"

"I trust Conor," Ralph said. "I trust our daughter. But we're not sending our family off because they're wolves part of the time. That's inane. They're still more human than most of Mel's family."

"Hey," she laughed. "When Brian gets back we'll sit and eat; otherwise Susie Lynn will eat everything without us."

Susie had reached across the table to steal a slice of cheese, and the attention of the rest of us didn't stop her from taking one and eating it anyway. I tried to remember what my first couple of days were like being human, but I had been injured and unused to fingers. Eating had been difficult, but I could vaguely remember being hungry all the time.

Brian emerged with not only Daria, but with Casey and Keith as well. The swelling in Daria's face had gone down and seemed like she was better: more awake and coherent. Brian himself looked worried.

"Let's sit down," Ralph suggested, not making note on Keith's appearance.

Everyone was tense as we ate burgers and cautiously made small talk. The last meal hadn't ended amicably. Even Katie, who didn't have any stake in our pack's matters, fidgeted beside me. Mel seemed to ignore all the worried glances shot around the table, focusing on the task of feeding the group of hungry werewolves. Brian burped and grimaced an apology.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't think my stomach knows how to behave itself around vegetables."

"Are all werewolves carnivores?" Susie Lynn asked. "Katie didn't eat vegetables before either."

"I'm getting better," Katie protested, holding up her burger with lettuce and tomato.

"Well, we lived in the woods," Brian explained to Susie Lynn. "And lettuce doesn't grow on trees."

"Rabbits don't grow on trees either," Susie Lynn shot back.

He laughed. "I guess they don't, do they? Touché."

"Daria, would you like an ice pack?" Mel asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't offer before; I didn't remember that we had some."

Daria nodded, though barely. I moved to get one from the freezer so Mel didn't have to move, wrapping it in a towel like Mel had showed me before handing it to Daria. She held it to her face, wincing as she did so.

"So Keith," Mel continued in her calm voice, not paying any mind to the rest of us at the table. "Have you though any more about my proposal?"

"I have," he replied.

They eyed each other. Keith clearly thought that Mel should be the first to break eye contact, but she held his gaze coolly. Ralph gave me a smile, as if trying to reassure me that he and Mel would handle it. Susie Lynn and Brian were making faces in the leftover ketchup on their plates, seemingly oblivious save the occasional nervous looks they gave to the rest of us.

"And?" Mel prompted.

Keith sighed through his nose. "I don't know why you're pushing this," he said. "We saved your daughter; the threat is gone, what more could you want from us?"

"The threat is still sitting in our home," Mel replied. "Werewolves who can't control themselves are a threat to even themselves."

Keith stood up suddenly, knocking his chair over.

"We are not like them," he growled.

"Really?" Ralph asked mildly. He didn't look up from passing his daughter a napkin. "Sit down, Keith."

The tone was polite, but it hadn't been a request. Would a pack alpha obey a human? Katie grabbed my hand under the table, and I squeezed it. Keith didn't move, but instead narrowed his eyes at Ralph, as if considering how best to attack.

Casey tugged Keith's wrist and shook her head.

"No," he said, pulling away. "It's like you've forgotten what we're capable off. We're monsters; we cannot be controlled by a hard day's work and a good night's sleep."

"I won't speak for you, but Conor is not a monster," Mel told him. "And he's more wolf than you or Susie Lynn will ever be. He had to learn how to eat with a fork and speak English and how to wash laundry, and he hasn't hurt anyone in the two years that he's lived here. Sit down, Keith and stop giving me reasons to carry a handgun in my own house."

"There's one last burger if you want it," Susie Lynn offered, holding out the platter.

Keith glared at the platter, but fixed his chair and sat down. Ralph and Mel smiled briefly. Susie shrugged, taking the last patty herself. Aidan passed her a bun and the plate of veggies.

"Take your pack home tonight," Ralph said. "And, if you want, come back Monday morning. Conor and I will be fixing fence all morning and then going into town to buy some more chickens. Daria is welcome to stay if she needs the rest."

Keith gave a nod, his jaw clenched. Casey had one hand on his arm, as if that was the only thing holding him down. I wasn't certain that it wasn't.

Mel stood up suddenly, beckoning to me. "Will you get the bowls? If we don't break into this ice cream now, we'll be eating it until July."