The Partner

Chapter 11

Antonio Cruso wants nothing more than a simple day at the beach with the guys. On a beautiful day like today, he wants to lounge on the sand or play in the water like his friends are doing now. But no. Instead he's being summoned before his father and the other elders. For three months he's been praying for this day, hoping to find out what happened all that time ago to the human girls and living in fear that one day the Shield Guild would figure out he lied and come after him. But now that he's finally being called upon, he's scared to death to learn the truth. What if it's bad? What if it's something so horrible he can't look at his father the same way again?

With a heavy heart, Antonio trudges up the beach towards one of the elder's houses. When he knocks, the elder's wife welcomes him inside and leads Antonio to the living room where his father and others sit in a circle. He wishes he could sit down and fit in, but he knows he can't. It would be disrespect of the highest transgression. So he waits at the opening of the circle, waiting to be addressed. After a few moments, one elder clears his throat. "Tony, it brings us great honor to call upon you today. On this night, we inform you of a great gift to be bestowed upon you."

Some of the tension leaves his chest. "A gift? What kind of gift?"

Another elder beams up at him. "One a puca like yourself can only dream of. A few months back, we decided to call on our cousins, the werewolves." No. Dear god no. Antonio will die happy if he never has to meet one of the scariest eructa of all time, and these guys called on one? What does this have to do with him?

"And after sending one alpha a few human sacrifices, he has agreed to bite you, Tony." The elder next to him admits, giddy with excitement.

He lets the news sink in. Great. He doesn't want to meet a werewolf, let alone allow one to bite him. Fuck, this is bad. His father meets his gaze and looks disappointed in him. "You understand what that means, Tony? The alpha has agreed to make you a sicaliv. Isn't that great?" He's urging him to go along with it, but he can't.

Antonio straightens up and says as respectfully as possible "Thank you, all of you for the gift but I cannot accept this."

One elder smiles. "Of course you can! We did this for you, Tony!"

He shakes his head. "I know, but I can't do that. I don't believe in kidnapping innocent people, let alone using them for human sacrifices. I couldn't possibly go along with this, condoning your acts. I know you guys are my elders and I love you, but I do not agree with what you've done."

One of the men turns angry and stands, giving him a death glare. "How can you say that? We are your family, Tony! And we are going to make you a sicaliv!"

"I don't want to be a sicaliv! I love being a puca. All I want is to be a wolf, not a were."

Mr. Cruso stands, forcing the other elder to take their seats. Everyone looks to his father, waiting silently for his words of wisdom. "Tony," ever since Antonio turned thirteen and shifted for the first time, he has only used his true shifter name, "I am giving you a great gift, the gift of power. This is something you need and something you will accept graciously."

"Dad, I can't. I don't want more power. I'm already dealing with being a tribe leader as it is." He tells him honestly, hating to admit the difficulty he's facing. He knows he isn't doing well; the others don't respect him like a true tribe leader, and the younger boys coming of age will never listen to him. He knows he needs to find his strength soon, but the fact that his father has lost so much faith in him he'd beg a werewolf to bite him hurts. It hurts almost as much as knowing he'd get innocent humans killed over something so stupid.

His father's eyes harden and reveal his inner fury. "You aren't dealing with it, that's the point. You need more power or this tribe will eventually fall apart and you know it, Tony."