Artifice - Man x Man - Book Six

Chapter 47

The wolf's ears flatten, emoting as best as a creature can. 

"Johnathan is fine; I think we're past formalities. I'm a damn dog, in case ya haven't realized. So any info ya want to give on this whole predicament would be much appreciated." 

 Verando doesn't extend the same courtesy, looking reluctant to even talk to this man who we hadn't seen but a day ago as a man. 

"So, did you do this? To us?" He seems to have an easy time articulating; where Alpha struggles to speak at times, this wolf looks quite capable. Their shape is different from what I'm used to. They're leaner, slender with long legs and thinner bodies though some are thicker than the others. 

Their coats aren't nearly as plush. Up close, their structures and even the ear shape were built for the hotter climate. 

Verando dawns on his political face, his Alpha persona. "No, not necessarily. I'm not going to pretend to have the answers, but from what I gather, I'd say you all had the dormant gene in your bodies from generations back. Something must have triggered it; if it was my singing then that would be pretty interesting. Lycans are musically inclined; we do sing together to bond and for fun, so it is a possibility. "

"Interestin'?." Johnathan allows, almost in disbelief. "You think it's interesting? Interesting that we are animals? That I'm stuck this way? How did you change back?"

I can see it almost makes his skin crawl to say it. 

"How do I-" He exhales, getting a hold of himself. I'm impressed, he's not in hysterics. He's upset, but he's keeping it together, and he leads these people. He's a natural leader, even in the office where he was in the midst of a change, he managed decently. We could use more people like him, people with political backing. 

I walk up to stand beside Verando and then come to terms with the fact that he's still stark naked. I quickly jogged over to where we had placed their clothes, passing the pack felt like stepping back into history. 

"How do I become human again?"

As my eyes scan over them, the scenery could quickly become my homeland and this could be the start of a rebuild. But, not here; it wasn't safe here. But how could we leave? After promising Legardo and taking on the responsibilities I'd adopted as protector of this region? 

It was time to step up. As I gather the clothes, I hear the drone of conversation in the distance, and my eyes wander to the twinkling lights overhead. Clutching the clothes closer to my chest, I suddenly get an odd feeling and quicken my pace as I return. Catching the tail end of Verando's explanation, I realize he's trying to figure out who was attacking them. 

Handing him the items, I touch his arm to gather his attention. "We are in the open. This is not a safe place to talk." I remind him. 

While I had so easily adapted to the technology, he seemed to struggle to remember every piece of this town was a pair of eyes for anyone who wished to peer into our lives. 

"Best not to linger."

"So you're going to hide us?" Johnathan demands. "If you can't talk about this now then we're still important to you. Lycans are illegal in the city, we can't just wander around until you feel it necessary to pump us for information." 

Verando considers this, handing Marisol her clothes which she hurriedly puts on; I find it odd for the ordinarily outgoing woman to quickly scurry into her clothes. She narrows her eyes at him as he watches her, turning her back to him and he rolls his eyes. 

"Come now, Kitten. You know that's not what I'm looking at."

"You want my assets and the answer is 'No'. That man has his own home he can return to. These other people could easily stay with him if he so chose it. Senator Campbell is very wealthy, I don't give handouts to the wealthy and neither should you, at least you didn't until you became one." She snaps, jerking on her shorts matter-of-factly.