Little Wolf

Ch 30 A Glimpse to the Future

I stirred from my spot stretched out in the back of Mahina's car. Derrick was driving my bike back.

"Hey, how you doing up there?"

"Good."

Uh-oh. I had the impression Mahina wasn't thrilled with me right now. I climbed over the seat, stretching before buckling myself in.

"I really appreciate you putting up with me this weekend."

"It's ok."

"Nice of you to say so, even if it really isn't ok. I mean you come out here because you're worried about me, then I foist you off on my cousin and you get cornered by my grandfather.

"Anna said he was kinda brusk with you," I said sympathetically. "You should see him with my dad. Sometimes I think Grandfather doesn't realize it's different with me, even though it's the same," I finished thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm, it's the part of my family history no one really talks about, and to be honest, part of it is a conversation that normally would wait for that moment in a relationship where someone asks the other how they feel about having kids."

I grinned at her, slightly embarrassed.

"You wanna have kids?" I asked half teasing and half serious. My arm was draped over the back of the seat and I bumped her shoulder teasingly.

She threw me this look like she couldn't believe I just asked that.

"Maybe we'll save that part for later. Personally I will be thrilled when we hit that later," I said as I ran my fingers down her arm a bit. It was like lighting a match. My desire for her suddenly sparked. I could see the tension in her increase. I just smiled adoringly at her, batting my eyes teasingly until she shook her head and smiled back.

"So tell me about this family history," she demanded.

"It can be complicated to explain."

"Why don't you try to explain anyway?"

I put the plan Mom had once discussed with me into action. She knew how hard it would be for someone to accept the truth of our existence, so she had researched to help me when it came time to explain away any of my behavior to a future girlfriend.

"Well, where Grandfather is concerned, Dad isn't of the people. Not a major obstacle but strike one where my grandfather was concerned. Second, Dad isn't very personable, if you know what I mean. He was raised in the Black Forest, and never spent much time with other people growing up. He's really observant and blunt. He can get a little intense sometimes and that tends to put people off."

"Now I'm a lot different than Dad on those two points. Because of my mom I am part of the tribe, and I'm a lot more playful than Dad is."

I wiggled my eyebrows up and down and grinned, while moving my fingers as if tickling her. Mahina rolled her eyes at me.

"I think your dad is nice. It's obvious how much he loved your mother."

"You've already forgotten that little snap he did when I mentioned story time?" I laughed at her expression. "Yeah, that one!"

"I still think he's nice. Where does the part about wanting kids come in?" She asked, blushing slightly.

"Part of it is hyperosmia. That's an extremely acute sense of smell that both my dad and I have. It's like being a bloodhound. Seriously, I can tell what someone ate by how their breath smells. They haven't decided for sure if it's passed on genetically, but Dad's father and grandfather both had it. Imagine dad growing up in the forest, then going to a village and talking about smelling a deer, or where different animals had marked territory. Guess what they called him in the villages."