A Kink in the Tail

Chapter 45 - 2 days, 6 weeks, 3 months

Two days later, late in the evening, Lewis's mobile pinged. He recognised the number immediately and was pleasantly surprised. He was still at work, it had been a busy couple of days and he'd caught up with most of the work that had piled up while he was away.  He was happy to take a break.  At their end, the Fischer situation had gone silent since their return and he wondered if this call meant something had happened.   He closed the file in front of him and set it aside.   Lewis settled back in his seat and swiveled around to look out the window before he tapped the phone.

"Hello, Cyrus. I didn't think we'd hear from you so soon. How are you going?"

"Hello, Mr. Lewis I hope you're well." By the end of the sentence, Lewis realised Cyrus had gone back to formalities and was in business mode.  Now that they weren't confined to an apartment and sitting around chatting over take away he was back to being Mr. Lewis. "Shaun and I are fine. How are you?  How are Adam and Constantine settling in?

"As well as expected." Lewis replied noncommittally. Cyrus's ears interpreted that as not well.  "Adam's getting the best medical care for his legs.  You'd be surprised how much he's improved."  His reply dodged the question.  He straightened his tie to help him collect his thoughts.  It was a tell that he couldn't shake.

"Hmmm...but is he OK?" Lewis knew what he meant but it wasn't his place to guess what was going on in Adam's head, so he stayed silent.  He heard a frustrated sigh on the other end of the phone.  "It can't be easy adjusting to having a new mate and pack at once."

Lewis chuckled and then went on to apologise.  "I'm sorry Cyrus, I'm not making light of the situation. It's that I find it bizarre hearing a human say something like that.  You say it so casually like you're one of us."

"Yes, I guess." Cyrus had to agree. that it was odd. It was true he'd absorbed the fact Lycans and werewolves existed with too much trouble.  Maybe it was because he wasn't fond of human beings in the first place, most of them were disappointingly predictable and unimaginative.   For him finding out that he lived among werewolves or Lycans wasn't a huge leap to make.   "I had a pretty unique and intensive lesson in all things Lycan."  

Cyrus tried another subject.  "How about Constantine?"  His mind drifted to the surly were who had more heart than most humans he knew.

"Hmm...things will improve for both of them.  They just need time."  Lewis was trying to be as diplomatic as possible.  It wasn't as if he could say that both were miserable.   Adam had support from Paul but Constantine was feeling the gulf between weres and Lycans. Prejudice doesn't exist only in the human world.

The silence stretched. "How about you and Shaun?" 

"That's why I'm calling.  We're leaving the apartment tomorrow morning."

Lewis felt a pang of concern. He stood up and stared blankly at the view.  In his mind, he was seeing a different one, a view over a beach on the other side of the country. "The Ascension starts in two days so I assume they are on their way back.  They would have had no choice but to return empty-handed. Have you heard from Theodore again?"

"Well, that's the other thing I wanted to tell you."  Cyrus was trying to choose his words carefully.  On the other end of the phone, Lewis sensed that this was the real reason Cyrus had called, the rest had just been polite small talk to get to this point.   "Thanos is dead, as well as his team." He took a deep breath. "That includes Theodore."

It took a moment for the news to sink in, Lewis straightened his tie again.

"I can't be 100 percent certain but my gut tells me that it's Theodore's doing.  This is what he meant when he said he would...end it."   Lewis could hear Cyrus clearing his throat and waited for him to continue.  knowing Cyrus he had practiced what he was going to say.