Blood Moon; Blood Lust
by Nicholas Hall
Epilogue
"Her eyes the glowworm lend thee,
The shooting stars attend thee;
and the elves also,
Whose little eyes glow
Like the sparks of fire, befriend thee.
(Robert Herrick)
Two years later
It was the time of the day Ted enjoyed the most; early in the morning, early summer, sitting at the kitchen table with Bev, his wife, now pregnant with their second child. Her four sons, Anthony, Kevin, Carl, and Todd, children from a previous marriage, ended by the death of her spouse, were sound asleep in their upstairs bedrooms. Gregory, one year old, tummy full, was napping in the crib in their bedroom. Life was good, Ted thought, ever since he married Bev and after the battle at Remote Lake and Eric and Evan's house.
God, Ted thought, reminiscing, the look on Steele's face was priceless, his anger roaring, just before he was shot and killed. "Served the fucker right!" he muttered softly inaudible as Bev, who'd risen to pour herself another cup of coffee, failed to hear. The boys and her knew nothing of the events taking place two years previously or who all of the players were and probably never would.
Bev and her sons knew Ted had a strong relationship and ties to Campbell and Associates, Becca and Franklin Campbell at Remote Lake, Jessie Sutton and his husband(s), and Eric and Evan. As far as the boys were concerned, it mattered little since they just seemed to accept it as part of the normal life they led in the North. Bev thought the ties were from Ted's previous employment with the DNR and his research. Although, she highly suspected it had more to do with something secret he'd been or currently involved in and asked no questions concerning it. She thought the less she knew, the better it'd be.
When Jennifer and Alicia appeared on the scene and moved in to the Lodge, Eric introduced Alicia as Jacques girlfriend from his days in Louisiana and Jennifer as her cousin (both true). He explained they'd been dear friends and neighbors to the Landry's and were recently orphaned by severe storms roaring in off of the Gulf of Mexico (only partially true).
Explaining Troy was a bit more difficult. Ted decided, since Troy, accompanied by Andy, Bruce, and Mark, left for Maine shortly after the battle, explained he also was a beneficiary of Steele's will and inherited money and property. Ted met him when he flew out east, before Bev and he were married, to claim his portion and sign the necessary paperwork and really liked the young man.
"Come to find out," he explained shortly after they married, "Troy is related to Stephen Granger who's married to David Flynn. They both live at Remote Lake and he's promised to visit someday soon."
Bev puzzled at the time why Steele would leave such a fortune to the young man.
"I can understand why he left you so well off after all you'd visited with him and you were interested in the same research."
"Well, they were neighbors of a sort and I think he appreciated the intelligence of the young man and everything he had to offer," Ted conjected to her.
In order to continue the charade and add some credence to the situation, Eric arranged for Andy, Bruce, and Mark to fly back, san's Troy, to visit Alicia. It was assumed they flew in from New Orleans about the same time Troy flew in for a visit to Remote Lake to visit Stephen. It was there, according to Chase and others, he met Andy and his brothers and invited them to fly back to Maine with him, hence the development of the relationship between Troy and Andy.
Jennifer Fournier, now married to Patrick Hayes, had a little boy just months older than Gregory. They were living with Eric and Evan, along with Jacques Landry. Jessie thought, since Eric and Evan were advancing in age, it'd be best if there was someone living with them. It suited the old gentlemen just fine. Besides, they had a young one to fuss over and spoil.
Henri and Lindsey, along with their little guy, lived at Remote Lake as well, as did Chase and David.
"Good thing the Lodge has plenty of room," Ted thought. Becca and Franklin had two little ones as well and another on the way. Bev also had no idea, all of their friends except for Eric and Evan, were werewolves and probably never would so skilled they were about disguising themselves – hiding right out in the open! Ted was trusted by the Lycan community locally and nationally as a result of his participation in the revealing of the traitor who betrayed the True Prince and the execution of Steele and his henchmen.
"It's all so complicated," Bev said at the time. Ted could only think she didn't know the half of it!
"I have a doctor's appointment this morning," Bev reminded Ted as she sat back down at the table, interrupting his reverie.
"Did you want me to go with you?"
"Not necessary," responded Bev with a grin. "Anthony volunteered. It was either that or stay home and babysit Gregory. He thought it might mean changing a dirty diaper if he stayed so he volunteered. He doesn't have to work at 'The Birch' tonight so it'll work out fine. The other three have two yards to do today, so I guess you'll have Gregory duty."
Anthony, the oldest, worked summers and during the school year weekends, as a table waiter at 'The Birch.' This would be his last summer before leaving to attend the University. Kevin, Carl, and Todd would spend another summer taking care of their lawn care business. Kevin also worked part-time at 'The Birch' as a table busser. He was old enough to drive his pickup truck to work and pull the trailer laden with mowers, rakes, and other paraphernalia needed for their small business.
Not that they had to work; Troy and he had taken care of that just before he killed Steele. After the hullabaloo was over, Ted and Troy approached Franklin and explained what they'd done concerning Steele's offshore accounts. Two of the accounts were allocated, one to Ted and one to Troy, one to Chase Landry and his brothers, one to Gaige, and one to the Council. What Troy and Ted didn't tell them, another one was secretly allocated to them to share.
The Grand Council was so pleased and appreciative of Ted and Troy in ferreting out the traitor feeding information to Steele and their role in his death, they arranged for their lawyers to prepare a will and other documents, signed by Steele, making it all happen. Forget the fact there was no will or anything else at the time of Steele's death and the signature was a perfect forgery. The Grand Council made everything appear legitimate and able to stand close scrutiny.
Taking care of Gregory was no problem for Ted. Gregory was a joy to be around as far as Ted was concerned.
Mid-morning Ted heard Gregory begin to fuss, waking from his nap. From his sounds, he was displeased with a dirty diaper encasing his lower abdomen. Ted walked into the bedroom and was met with the overwhelming, sour smell.
"Need a diaper change, don't you, my beautiful boy?" mused Ted. "I don't know how someone so sweet can produce such a foul, smelly mess in his diaper."
Picking the wiggling baby boy up and carrying him to the changing table in the bathroom, Ted soon had Gregory cleaned up and a fresh diaper on him. Happy to be free of the offending garment, Gregory lay on his back kicking his feet and waving his arms, making happy cooing and gurgling sounds.
"Adorable, isn't he?" remarked Prewitt fluttering off Ted's right shoulder. Dusty, not far away peered over Prewitt's shoulder, resting between Prewitt's wings.
"Yes, he is, Prewitt," Ted answered.
Prewitt and Dusty moved in with them shortly after Prewitt petitioned his Queen to transfer Dusty and him from guarding and protecting Gaige to doing duty for Ted. Prewitt missed being around Ted, enjoying him, and wanting to please him as did Dusty. After the battle, Prewitt felt his loyalty shifting, growing lonesome for Ted's company and made the request. The wise and understanding Fairy Queen understood his plight and granted the request. Prewitt was more than pleased, he was ecstatic!
Ted was just as pleased. He loved having the little guy and his boyfriend around. Bev and the boys were totally unaware of their presence or the relationship Ted and the boy fairies had and never would if Ted, Dusty, and Prewitt had their way about it. Ted feared if she did, he'd either be divorced or committed to the state mental health institution. There was no way Prewitt would reveal himself to Bev and the boys or to anyone else, unless he chose to and could trust them.
Prewitt wiggled Dusty free from riding on his back, flapped his wings a couple of times until he was floating above Gregory.
"You, Mon Precieux," he said softly, lovingly, with a chuckle, "are such a cutie, but when you poop your diaper you stink!"
Gregory, eyes sparkling, grinning, and making excited happy sounds, kicked his legs and waved his arms around in glee, focusing his attention on the boy fairy.
"He can hear and see you!" Ted exclaimed, amazed at what was happening before his eyes.
"Of course he can," Prewitt announced as if Ted should already know that. "He knows we watch over him all the time."
"He's so fortunate to have you and Dusty for his friends and guardians," Ted remarked thoughtfully.
"Ted," Dusty said, "Gregory is special."
"I know!"
"No Ted, I don't think you understand! Gregory is and will grow into a really, really special person!"
The End
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental or used in a fictional content.
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