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A Werewolf (werwulf, "man-wolf") is a folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (often a bite or scratch from another werewolf).

Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in witches (chapter 9), in the course of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. The persecution of werewolves and the associated folklore is an integral part of the "witch-hunt" phenomenon, albeit a marginal one, accusations of werewolfery being involved in only a small fraction of witchcraft trials.

After the end of the witch-trials, the werewolf became of interest in folklore studies and in the emerging Gothic Horror genre; as a genre has pre-modern precedents in medieval romances. The trappings of horror literature in the 20th century became part of the horror and fantasy genre of modern pop culture.  

There were a couple loud thumps that had me looking up from what I was reading and set my gaze on the other side of the bookstore where the shelf stands were aligned. I blinked a few times before turning to look next to me at the empty chair beside me. 

Frowning, I faced the shelves again and scolded, "Maddox!" 

A small "Eep!" followed after and I narrowed my eyes slightly just as the small face of my younger cousin poked out from behind one of the shelves. His gray eyes were wide and blinked a few times. 

"What are you doing?" 

I reminded him that he was supposed to be sitting beside me and coloring, not wandering around the store. Little Maddox blinked a few times more before pouting as he stepped out from his hiding spot. His shoulders raised up as he coyly apologized. 

I sighed, closing my eyes. I didn't blame the kid for getting so bored easily. 

With the situation that was going on with these strangers coming after Eli, the others wanted to discuss with him about the danger coming. They understood that Eli was still a kid but that he was able to understand things a little more than expected. So everyone from the night before decided that it was best to have Eli's favorite breakfast before explaining to him about the seclusion he'd be taking on. 

Which is where me babysitting Maddox comes in. 

I often think that my dad has it out for me or something. Only because of the way he scared the shit out of me this morning. Per usual. 

If you remember correctly that I had Easton sleeping next to me last night then it shouldn't be a surprise that he was up earlier than me as always. And he was prying me awake as he'd done the last time, however... he, uh, definitely woke me up rather unexpectedly. 

Thinking about it now made my face feel hot. 

I was pulled out of my slumber with sleepy moans and subconsciously my body kept fidgeting. The muscles in my stomach were contracting tightly and when I felt myself coming out of my slumber with my eyes still closed, understanding struck me as to why my body was reacting as it was. 

Clenching my jaw, I couldn't help the groan that came out as I turned my face into my pillow and clenching tightly to the covers underneath me. Swallowing hard, I tilted my head back and groaned out, "Ease..." which only made the Werewolf continue having his hand down the front of my pants. 

His mouth was already working down from my shoulder to the back of my neck just as he was scooting close enough that his hips were pressed up against me. 

"Good morning, Red," he spoke so low that the huskiness in his voice was a lot more profound. 

But I could still hear a grin from that Moody Asshat.

Sucking a breath between my clenched teeth, I could only nod in response before trying to reach for his hand to stop him. But I mean, how could I when Easton chuckled against my ear that he could see that I was giving in, and sooner than later he'd be able to have me as he wanted. 

"Enjoy it, Red." 

Boy, was I...

Rolling onto my back with Easton now hovering over me, the Were's blue eyes disappeared behind that gold coating. He bent down, taking my mouth for his, and my hands shot up to brace onto the sides of his neck. Between our kisses, I was half grunting and groaning from Easton's hand still down my pants. 

I remembered how my cousin used to tell me that she couldn't help herself when Dennison would work at getting her hot and bothered, and her behavior would change to something close to animalistic before losing herself in her husband. It all made much better sense now that I had my own Werewolf working to get me completely hot and bothered. 

So you'd understand what I am saying when that "animalistic" side of me came out a bit. 

I panted, "Ease..." Kiss. "Shirt..." Kiss. "Off..." Kiss. "Now." which only made me feel him grin a chuckled, "No problem, Red." 

Swallowing to try and ease my erratic breathing, I watched Easton straighten to reach behind him and pull off his shirt and toss it aside. He didn't say a word as he bent to lift mine a little and pressed these biting kisses that worked upward. Again his hand had to reach and hold me down from arching at the sensation. 

"Shit... Just touch me already, Easton," I groaned out. 

Easton rose, kissing my neck and then looked down at me with a grin. 

"Someone's a little impatient when they're horny." 

Shooting him a look, I grumbled, "Fuck you, you Moody Asshat," which only made him laugh and nod that he'd actually love that. He kissed me, pulling back a centimeter to whisper, "Red, I'm gonna make you beg for more... even when you can't take it anymore." 

My eyes widened a second before grumbling that he was stupid which only made him laugh and get back to pulling off my shirt. He tossed it away from our sight then removed the remainder of what I was wearing as well as his. I swallowed again, taking in Easton's bare skin. At the very beginning, this would have weirded me out but now... now my confusion had slowly started to fade with the way my own body was reacting to seeing the Werewolf. 

Thea wasn't fucking kidding about needing 'skin-on-skin' to simmer the fire building up inside me. 

Easton took no time climbing over me again, locking our mouths together in a hungry desperation that made my own hands clamp to the sides of him. My hands were pulling him closer until I took in a breath from the way it felt to have Easton's skin against mine. The blond grunted from how hard I had tugged his hips towards mine and had him growling low when I squeezed my eyes shut, panting out for him to move. To do anything really. 

A small cry escaped when Easton thrusted his hips more against mine and I nodded, panting out for him to keep going as I could feel my fingers digging into the sides of his ribcage. The sensation was building, it was clawing at my lower abdomen and I grit my teeth to try and keep from making too much noise. Holy Hell, but this felt too good. 

Easton bent to take my mouth in his again, his fingers gliding down my side until his hand slid under my body to pull me closer. Our locked mouths caught the groans from the motion and yet that clawing feeling inside wasn't close to satisfied. Mentally I knew why. I knew what I'd have to do for it to be free. 

"Kale? Are you up, Son?" 

I pulled back, both Easton and I blinking from how startled we were, then I groaned out, "Fuck!" and sneered at my bedroom door, "Dammit, Dad! What!? What could you possibly need right now!?" 

For a second, silence greeted me. I frowned at the door but then heard, "Oh... Sorry, Son. Let's try this again..."

There was sudden loud pounding on my door that made me jump a little, followed by my dad shouting as loud as he possibly could, I'm sure, "Son! It's your dad! I'm knocking to see if you are awake yet! I am also knocking as a precaution to me in case the Quinn boy is in there with you!" 

My eyes widened and I felt my heart stop. 

"But it's okay if he is! I'll just come back later! You know... When you two are done!" 

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough as it was, about ten seconds later from my dad walking off, I heard footsteps again but only to find out that it was my dad still. 

"Oh! By the way! When you're finished in there, we need for you to watch Maddox for a while!" 

Then he lowers his voice but still loud enough for me to hear, "C'mon, Maddie. Cousin Kale will be out shortly." 

I groaned, leaning my head back with my eyes shut. "Dammit." 

When I opened my eyes, Easton was staring down at me. I scrunched my nose, shrugging, "Sorry..." 

He pursed his mouth to the side, shrugging a shoulder that he feels like he should get used to shit like this. I rolled my eyes that he had to remember my dad wasn't a "normal" parent. That he was still working on how to be "cool with me" but not "cool with me". Easton's confusion only made me shake my head that it was complicated. 

"No shit, Red." Easton rolled off, lying on his back before letting out a long breath. "Fuck. I need a cold shower..."

I raised a brow, glancing at him before the Werewolf looked at me and scoffed through a laugh, "My house is interruption-free, Red. Remember that." 

"Unless your favorite flavor sniffs me out in there," I pointed out, knowing what was coming. 

Easton growled out for me to stop calling Leo that. He narrowed his eyes, asking if I was still going to hold that over him. Rolling my eyes, I sat up and sighed, "I have to get up." but Easton didn't let me even inch over to stand since he wrapped an arm around my waist. His grit teeth against my ear made me stiffen, just as he growled, "He's not the one I want." 

Frowning, I swallowed then shrugged before shoving off his arm as I muttered that I needed to get up. 

"Apparently I'm on babysitting duty again," I grumbled, reaching over to grab my towel and made my way to the bathroom. 

"Red." 

I stopped, sighing, then looked over my shoulder at Easton already walking towards me. He stood directly in front of me, eyes gold. 

"You're not like him. You're not like any of them." Easton sighed, his eyes turning back to blue. 

"You're different, remember?" he whispered, and I have no idea why that made me feel doubtful. 

Shrugging a shoulder, I nodded which made him grin before bending to kiss me. It was irritating how good he kissed, and how much I liked it. Even when I wanted to be mad at him. Raising a hand, I placed it against his chest and pushed him back a little. I reminded him that my entire family was in the house and for him to cool his animalistic need. 

Easton raised a brow, smirking, "You started it." 

Did I?

I frowned, thinking on this before snapping back that he was the one with his hand down my pants. 

"And yet..." Easton countered, "You were the one who wanted me to fuck you right away." 

It was shit like that that irritated me. And I think he knew that. Or if he didn't, he should. 

"Whatever. I'll just see you later, okay?" 

Easton nodded, grinning at me that it was cute when I was annoyed. He kissed me once more before letting me know that he was hanging out with Valentine today, so he'd stop by later to see if I wasn't busy. 

I stood at the bathroom door as Easton finished dressing and headed towards my window. As he was climbing out, the blond Werewolf looked back at me and pointed at the window frame. 

"Don't lock this, alright?" 

Not knowing what else to say, I shrugged a shoulder and nodded, "Okay." before watching him disappear. 

So here I was watching Maddox after given specific instructions to not let him out of my sight. I figured that I'd take him to the bookstore with me since I wanted to take a read of that book I'd purchased. 

Maddox was overjoyed when he found out that he'd be hanging out with me all day. He bounced up and down, clapping excitedly and squealed to Dennison, "Daddy! I gets to stay with Cousin Kale!" while the father lowered a brow at his son. 

That is until Dennison looked up at me and warned, "Keep a good eye on him, Kale. I don't need for you to be exchanging saliva with one of my best friends when you are supposed to be watching my son." 

Frowning, I snapped, "Bite me, Dennison!" to which he sniffed, "You wish. I'll leave that to Easton, thank you very much." 

"Thea!" I had shouted and only made Dennison laugh while Maddox asked, "It's not nice to bite people, Daddy... So why is Cousin Kale asking you to?"

Long story short, I was told that I needed to take Maddox out for a while so that the others could sit down with Eli to let him know what was going on. Apparently, they didn't want Maddox to get frightened if Eli started panicking or other negative reaction he could have. 

Honestly, I wasn't sure what good that would do when I brought Maddox back to his scared brother. Maddox wasn't stupid. He was anything but. And again... with the bond that my Aunt Emeel mentioned the boys shared, Maddox was going to pick up on something wrong. 

Little Maddox's gray eyes got a little bigger as he pouted, "Cousin Kale... Why do I have to color here in this store?"

I glanced to the side, pursing my mouth in the same direction. Trying to come up with a valid excuse that the six-year-old would buy wasn't exactly as easier as I thought since I couldn't tell him why he had to stay away from the house for a while. 

Instead, I tapped a finger at the book in front of me and explained that I had some studying to do so it was important that I read it here. 

"But why are you studying?" 

Maddox's nose scrunched, brows furrowed. 

"You don't go to school."

Point taken.

I nodded slowly, frowning, "True... But... I like to read. I like to read a lot so that I can know things without having to go to school."

His eyes went wide again, gasping, "You can do that!?"

Now it was my turn to scrunch my nose at the way the kid's eyes brightened at this piece of information. Crap. I hope he doesn't start thinking of not attending school. Thea'll kick my ass!

"Uh... No." I said rather quickly. 

He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head a little as he studied me while I replied, "I'm over eighteen, Maddox. I finished my schooling a long time ago. But there are always new things to learn so sometimes reading helps with that unless I take classes at a school for adults called 'College'." 

The kid's face scrunched, his mouth pursing to the side in disapproval to what he was hearing. He kept glancing to the side at nothing in particular then looked back at me to raise his brows high. 

I stopped talking to stare back at the six-year-old who raised his shoulders with quick shrug.

Maddox asked, "What...?"

I couldn't help breathe out a laugh as I shook my head and sighed, "Sorry, Maddox." for my crappy explanation as to why I was reading so much. Sighing again, I bribed the kid that if he'd let me read a little longer then I would buy him a piece of licorice from the store down the street. 

Lifting his chin as he looked upward at the ceiling to think of my offer, I frowned, shaking my head slowly at the way he was humming to himself in thought. 

"A whole bucket!" Maddox cried with his hands outspread in front of him to indicate the size of the invisible bucket he wanted. 

My eyes widened, scoffing, "No way!" 

Maddox pouted, "Why nooooot!?"

"Because, Maddox," I sniffed, raising a brow and pointing out, "Do you know what your Mommy will do to Cousin Kale if I send you back home all hopped up on sugar!?" 

The six-year-old gave me a long squinted stare with his head tilted before shrugging with his hands up, "Make you take a nap?"

"...What...?"

Maddox shrugged again (something I noticed was part of the way he spoke all the time) that his mommy would make him take naps so that he could come down from the sugar rush. I grinned, chuckling that my little cousin was cute to think that his mommy would be so nice to me. 

"No, little guy. Your mommy won't be so nice to me. She'll probably smack me." 

"But..." His nose scrunched. "But hitting is bad, Cousin Kale." 

"It is..."

"Maybe I can tell mommy to put you on time out instead! I got put on time out one time and I felt really sad... So I made sure to be a good boy."

I raised a brow, deadpanning, "And eating a whole bucket of licorice is being good?"

Maddox giggled behind his hands, shaking his head when he pulled his hands down. He cried through another laugh, "No! Cousin Kale, I wanna share with Eli!" 

"Oh..."

Staring off to the side, I weighed in my mind that technically Maddox wouldn't be eating the whole thing by himself... So it was like, what, half a sugar rush? That wouldn't be so bad, right?

"Alright," I sighed, folding my arms in front of me. "I'll buy you a whole bucket's worth of licorice, Maddox. But---" I pointed at him when he beamed and bounced on his little feet. "But you have to sit next to me the rest of the time I finish reading."

"Okay!" he nodded, running towards the table I sat at. 

I narrowed my eyes, watching him scurrying around the table, "But you can't get up anymore..."

"Okay!" he agreed again, grunting as he was tugging out his chair further. I had to help him get on when he was struggling to balance himself. He sat on his haunches, looking up at me with a toothy grin before shaking the green crayon at me. Maddox wiggled his brows then started focusing on the coloring page of Superman he started earlier. 

Watching him for a minute to see that Maddox was in full concentration, I turned back to the book in front of me. 

 Werewolves are creatures are believe to hoard in the middle of dense forests found in North America. Their  attachment to the moon is what draws them out during the night to feast on the flesh of pure humans. It is an understanding of these creatures seeking to regain some aspect of humanity----

My nose scrunched as I sat back, staring at the parchment colored pages with line after line of what this person believed Werewolves to be. These descriptions seemed so odd, so cringy. It occured to me, of course, that with my knowledge of what werewolves were and where they lived, and how they interacted among humans as humans themselves... of course I'd think all of the text that I read was stupid. 

I sighed, looking upward for a moment before sitting forward again to look over the rest of the text that went on about what the description of a werewolf was. Turning the page, I studied the sketched out drawings of what this author thought Werewolves looked like. 

The creature looked odd. It's body looked so skinny and frail, that its large, long nail claws and razor-sharpened teeth on the small headed figure looked anything but threatening. The eyes on the drawing were rounded so much they looked cartoonish. Overall, it looked like an over-sized lemur with rabies. 

Clearly this author had never actually seen a werewolf in their life. But it kept bothering me that, even without having actually seen one before, this author still mentioned that the Weres existed. 

How was that possible? 

I flipped through the pages of the Werewolf section again, scanning through pieces of the text going deeper about the Supernatural species. 

Looking at the pages referenced to Werewolves, I knew that a lot of these 'facts' were not as accurate as the author thought. Again, they have facts wrong. But it made me wonder that just because these inaccurate findings were the same for the other creatures listed in this book, it didn't mean that they didn't exist either. 

I flipped back to the front of the book, my eyes skimming down the long table of contents of every single creature written about. My hand shut the book, staring down at the cover until letting my gaze settle on the author's name. 

E.G. Hollow.

Frowning, I stared long and hard at that name. Why did that name seem so familiar? 

It was frustrating that I couldn't place it. That I couldn't pin point where I'd seen that name before. I kept reeling through my mind of trying to place the name somehow but I just kept drawing blanks. 

Grumbling under my breath, I curled my fists on top of the book with a hard thump. I glanced to the side to see that the six-year-old beside me wasn't startled from the noise. My little cousin was still coloring away, leaning back a little to admire his work as he hummed to himself. Then he went back to coloring again. 

I looked back to the book. Tilting my head, I frowned when I noticed how my left fist covered the initials in the author's name, leaving only the surname: Hollow.

After staring for another ten seconds, my eyes widened, picking up the book and flipping it over to see if I could read anything about the author themself. Swallowing, I scanned the backing but only found the description of what the book was about. 

Opening the back cover, I looked at the back flap of the book to see that there was a picture of a man with a serious look on his face;  his salt-and-peppered dark hair parted off to the side as he posed in a dark brown suit and tie. He stared straight out at me. 

But that wasn't what made my chest tighten. It wasn't what made my head begin to throb or my breathing become erratic. It was who the full-colored photo of the author staring back at me with that familiar stern look and those blue-purple eyes that had practically made me stumble back out of my chair. 

I swallowed, staring wide eyed down at the book I dropped back onto the table. 

From the side I heard my cousin pipe, "Cousin Kale? Are you okay?" 

But I barely heard him. His voice was so far out, I was still staring at the hard gaze of the author. 

"Holy shit..." I muttered, not believing what I was seeing.

It was Maddox, Sr.