The Shadowhelm Wolves (The Moonlight Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter Six: Past Presence

And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning in the words that it was forming,
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls,"
And whispered in the sounds of silence...
~ The Sound of Silence, Disturbed

Angelique stood in shock and awe at what she was seeing. "I cannot believe that Wulfric would keep such a huge secret from us!"

"Neither can I," Rex said as he looked at the picture. Wulfric's visage was clearly visible, beyond a shadow of a doubt. "That is definitely Wulfric, no doubt about it. The facial structure and overall attitude in the photo - or even how he's carrying himself - matches to a tee."

Brynn's face screwed up in thought. "You're right, Rex, it is, and it does." This was strange. Why would Wulfric be in a photo from 167 years ago? "Perhaps this is something we need to ask Wulfric himself." A determined look painted her features as she made the decision to confront their gracious host.

Rex looked at Angelique. "Would you like to come with us? You seem to know more about him than we likely ever will."

Angelique nodded. "I can join you briefly, but I really should get back to Elias at some point." She put a bookmark in between the pages they were looking at and tucked it under her arm. "Let's take this with us; it will make it easier to interrogate him. "

Brynn nodded. "Of course. Let's go," she said as she walked towards the doors once more. She couldn't wait to confront Wulfric about this. There was absolutely no way he could have lived for that long without arousing suspicion, unless...

"This might seem crazy, but... what if Wulfric had an ancestor that he just happens to look like?" Brynn queried.

Rex nodded. "I'll admit, this does seem weird. We should definitely ask him about this. Unless I'm very mistaken, there's no damn way that a person could live for that long and still look the same for the most part."

Brynn bobbed her head. "I have to admit, if he is hiding something, he's doing pretty well."

With their evidence in hand, the trio turned on their heels to confront Wulfric, Brynn leading with determination in her eyes and stride.

As they reached the door, it opened and a familiar face stepped though.

"Wulfric, how interesting that you would be here after dipping out at the morgue. You were acting strangely, if I'm being honest," Brynn stated as she crossed her arms.

Rex smirked as he crossed his arms in frustration as well. "In my years as Brynn's partner, there's been no one actin' more fishy than you did. No one just runs out after finding out that a wolfman potentially caused the wounds we saw on Elias. If there's something you ain't tellin' us, I'd spit it out right now. Keeping secrets will only arouse more suspicion."

"Doctor, are you sure about that?" Wulfric sighed, raising a brow. "This wolfman theory that you've cooked up is quite far-fetched if you ask me." He shrugged.

Angelique stepped forward and held up the book they'd been looking at. "Then what is this?" she asked as she opened it, revealing the picture of Wulfric. "Why would you hide the fact that you've looked the same way since the 1800s?"

"Well? What's the answer?" Brynn asked, her gaze metaphorically burning into Wulfric as if she had heat-vision.

Just as quickly as he had been shocked, Wulfric took on a shrewd demeanor. "You really want to know? Fine, but I want it to be known that I don't know who or what mangled Elias in that way." He sat down after striding to one of the tables.