“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on,” Kirk shouted. Everyone turned to face him as if they just remembered he was in the room.
“We’re very sorry young man. It’s rude of us to speak in our mother tongue when we have foreign guests. Please excuse us,” Noni said. Jared grunted something unintelligible and stalked out of the room.
“Come with me Kirk, I will explain things on the way. I need to get Dale home.”
“That cocksucking motherfucker, I’ll kill him. I need a knife. Give me a weapon. Why didn’t you assholes speak English, where does he live? I’ll sneak in, and BAM!” Kirk slammed his fist into his palm.
Kirk’s pressure of speech seeped into Dale’s subconscious pulling him back into consciousness. Someone was stroking his hair and they were moving. He groaned and opened his eyes.
“What happened?” his voice sounded far away.
“You fainted,” Juke said.
Dale removed his head from Kirk’s lap, pushed himself upright, and looked out the window. They were on their way back to Juke’s house. So it wasn’t a dream. Arif would come for him. Just as Jazz predicted.
“You passed out right in the middle of everything,” Kirk said, his fingers on Dale’s chin, turning his face so he could look at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Nauseous, I could do with a drink of water.”
“We’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah, Juke’s brought me up to speed. I can’t believe it. I wish I’d known sooner. He wouldn’t have walked out of there so easy.”
Ignoring Kirk as he rumbled on about how many ways he’d have killed Arif if only he’d known who he was, Dale asked Juke, “What happens now?”
Kirk piped in. “For starters I’m taking those jeans, compensation for my jacket and other stuff. I can take them in at the waist. I’ll have the jacket too. You can keep the shirt.”
Dale scrunched his face and stared wide-eyed at Kirk. “Dude? Really?” Dale blinked. “Really?”
“What? You won’t be able to fit into them soon anyway!” Kirk scoffed and shuffled in his seat, then folded his arms. “Congratulations by the way,” he uttered through pursed lips.
Juke laughed. “That’s one way to put things into perspective,” he said, bringing the car to a halt in the drive.
Juke’s laugh was infectious like a sweet caress to Dale’s ears, making him smile despite how he felt. He should laugh more often. Nevertheless now was not the time for laughing. They had a real problem on their hands...he had a real problem on his hands. Juke and Kirk didn’t seem in the least bit worried, but he was, and with good reason. He was the one that would be carted off by that Arif dude.
He wanted to get his passport and go home.
On top of everything else, he was pregnant.
Maybe going home wasn’t such a hot idea. How would he explain a pregnancy? They’d got it wrong, he was a man for heaven’s sakes.
Lost in his own head Dale must have been functioning on autopilot. He was sitting on a large sofa in the den, and Juke was pushing a glass of water in his hand.
“Here, drink this.”
He took the glass offered, and gulped the content in one, the water cold and soothing, massaging the fire in his throat on the way down. He stuck the glass out. “More,” was all he said, forgetting his manners. Without a word Juke took the glass, and left the room.
“So, your mom has the werewolf gene. Can’t say I’m surprised. She’s always been a bit of a bitch.”
“Seriously man, that’s my mom.”
“That doesn’t make no mind. You know it’s true.”
“Even so, she’s still my mom. So stop.”
“Makes sense why your dad is so scared of her. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, three bags full ma’am.”
“I mean it Kirk, quit it.”
Kirk flopped on to the sofa beside him. “You gonna ask her about it? She must know, surely?”
“I don’t know yet. With the list of things I have to think about that’s somewhere near the bottom.” Dale rubbed at his temple.
“I guess you being pregnant is the cover feature and takes center spread.”
“Something like that. This Arif guy is also on top.”
Juke came in and handed Dale the second glass. “Leave Arif to me. I don’t want you getting upset.”
“It’s too late. I’m already upset.”
“On the upside Arif is hot. That can’t be denied...”
Dale glanced at Juke and saw his jaw tighten. The look he shot Kirk was murderous. “I’ll call Paul and see when he and Leah can come pick you up.”
“Oh, I thought I’d stay over, make sure Dale’s okay.”
“There’s no need, he has me. I will look after him.” Juke’s tone told Kirk his word was final. He left the room still under a dark cloud.
When Juke reappeared his mood seemed to have lifted.
“They will be here soon. Paul said he’s bringing dinner.”
“You guys really do have dinner early. It’s a quarter after three.”
“Dale hasn’t eaten. So we’ll feed—then I will see you gone. I need to speak with Dale.”
Leah and Paul arrived a short time later. Jazz had tagged along. While Jazz and Leah busied themselves in the kitchen, Paul told Dale and Juke that Jared had called an emergency council meeting, which would be held that night. Also Juke’s grandmother had arranged for Dale to meet with one of their healers, in the morning. She was an elder and probably the only one in the village that could shed some light on Dale’s phenomena.
After Paul’s quick report, the topic was never mentioned again. Dale was sure Juke had warned everyone off, from speaking about the things which troubled him most.
As the others prepared to leave Kirk asked. “Is it okay to call a female wolf a bitch?” His eyes landed on Dale.
Juke answered. “Yes, that’s what they are.”
“I thought so.” He smirked and winked at Dale, who sighed, while everyone else looked on in puzzlement. “Okay then, see you tomorrow and bring the jeans.”
Juke saw them to the door. When he returned he asked. “What’s that about?”
“Kirk, needing to prove a point.” Juke furrowed his brow. “He called my mom a bitch. I wasn’t happy. That’s the reason for his question.”
“Ah.” Juke laughed. “You were offended. It wouldn’t be perceived as an insult here.” He looked at his watch. “Come, I want to show you something.” He grabbed a bottle of sparkling grape juice and a jacket for Dale. “Put this on.”
“Are we going out?”
“Only out back. I want to share with you one of the beauties of this country.”
Juke led him through the den to a veranda at the back of the house, made of murky green marble, which led out onto a path. To the left of him there was a hot tub, and to the right a large swimming pool with a built-in Jacuzzi. But that’s not what caught his eye. Juke’s house was built on a cliff. He could see for miles over its edge. He hadn’t noticed it from the front of the house.
Near the edge of the cliff and bolted to the ground, were wood treated loveseats and a small table. In the horizon he saw tiny flashes of green light. Juke laced their fingers, and brought Dale to one of the benches. “Sit, the show’s about to begin.” Dale did as he was told. “Keep looking out there.” Juke pointed to the specks of green light.
As if a rocket shot through the sky with a giant paint brush attached to its tail-end, the sky was lit up.
The green light flecked in Juke’s eyes, making them look like colored marbles. Dale wondered if his eyes looked the same. He was in awe of the magnificent sight. The green, yellow and white lights danced above their heads. He felt as if he could reach out and touch them.
“They’re called northern lights. Otherwise known as 'Aurora Borealis,’ it’s a phenomenon that can be seen across the land—caused by the collisions between the sun's electrically charged particles, molecules and atoms in the Earth's atmosphere. A bit like me and you.” Juke placed his hand on Dale’s stomach. “I was wrong when I said you couldn’t give me children. I don’t know how or why, but the gods are smiling down on us.”
“You’re forgetting about Arif.”
“I’ve forgotten nothing...you belong to me, and I will never let you go.”
“He’s coming to take me away tomorrow.”
Juke poured Dale a glass of sparkling grape juice. “Don’t worry so much. Drink this, and enjoy the view. We have tonight. Tomorrow is a new day, we will deal with what it brings then.” Juke sunk into the seat bringing Dale with him.
Dale leaned his head on Juke’s shoulder. Tomorrow maybe a new day for Juke, but it spelled the beginning of the end for him.