Werewolf's Humanity

Misbegotten, Part 2

Inbreed or not, a newcomer was still a newcomer, and as soon as word got out, other members of the pack started filtering into the House. Idle chatter drifted through the room, though everyone knew it was just a distraction until some real news came out. Sammy hunched over the kitchen counter, stirring his coffee more than necessary and half-listening to Odysseus, his uncle, and Roy as they sat in the living room discussing how to dispose of the bodies from Marley's gang and how to discourage further intrusions. It seemed unlikely Marley would attack the pack to avenge his men; he had been skirting the rules as it was, but a move like that would definitely bring the Order down on him. Still, even a remote possibility worried Sammy, who had a knack for assuming the worst case scenario was the most likely.

Hatchet, however, just sat on the porch, brushing his German shepherd to calm them both. The dog had gone into a panicked craze at the appearance of the inbreed and tried to get at him. Hatchet had been forced to hold on to her while they carried the creature into the house. She was still sporadically whining and glancing at the front door of the house, reflecting her master's aggravation.

Sammy finally got up when he detected the crunch of a car easing across the dirt road and settling into a parking spot. Donnie had finally moved in to the House a little over a month ago when he realized he was spending more nights over here than at his apartment anyway. Sammy had been elated, though his enthusiasm had been hampered somewhat when Donnie started taking on more night shifts at work.

He walked in, still dressed in his deputy's uniform, and gave Roy a cheerful "Yo, boss." Roy returned the yo.

He then made a beeline for the kitchen and hopped up on the counter beside Sammy, grabbing himself an apple. Donnie might still have been new to werewolfing, but he was sensitive enough to pack vibes by now to recognize something was going on. He beamed Sammy a questioning glance.

Sammy sipped his coffee, then made a face when he realized he had let it get lukewarm.

Odysseus spoke up in Sammy's stead. "We picked up a half-dead inbreed at our borders. Night Sky is seeing what she can do for him in the guest room."

"A half-dead wha?"

More than one person cleared their throat awkwardly. Odysseus only took a deep breath through his nostrils. "That I'll let Phoenix explain."

Sammy stifled a "why me?" expression because he knew why it was him. It was his responsibility to sponsor Donnie and teach him about werewolf ways... and, also, their dirty secrets.

The rest of the pack returned to their chatter. After loosening his tie, Donnie climbed onto the stool next to Sammy and did his best to mimic his conspiratorial hunch. Not easy to do, given his stature.

"So, uh... is that what it sounds like?"

Sammy squirmed. His face flushed. "Well, you know how, somehow, we're genetic combinations of wolves and humans, right? The perfect balance of beast and man." At least, that's how Odysseus had described it once, and everything sounded more dignified coming from him. Somehow, speaking with an air of respectability helped to soften the shock of the truth.

"Beatin' around the bush, huh?" Donnie said, sounding less than impressed.

"Well, anyway," Sammy went on, "If a werewolf mates with a regular human, the werewolf genome just gets passed on normally. Even a bitten male werewolf, the sperm he'll produce after being changed will be werewolf sperm. A bitten woman, though, will still have human kids because her eggs were all made before she was changed."

He realized he was stalling with a tangent. Clearing his throat, he went on, "But if a werewolf... uh..."

"I'm not gonna like where this is going, am I?"

Sammy shook his head. "If, say, two werewolves are brother and s-sister..."