Chapter 72: 10

Aster walked into the party with Tyler at her side. There were tables and chairs set up out in the backyard, and all her friends were there. Katelyn and Darrel’s new son was a half breed, and there were lots of members of the pact that didn’t agree with breeding with humans. While the pack stood as one unit against the outside world within, there was a rift between those who had taken human lovers and those that supported them. Then there were those who believed doing so was a clear and present threat to their entire existence. But since both her father and Darrel had half-bred spawn, those who objected would not stand against them. Being an Alpha had its perks.

Aster could see that Tyler was nervous, and he probably wished he still had his gun for security, but he openly held her hand as she led him over to the table where Aurora, Mackenzie, and Katelyn sat with their boys. Aster said hello to each of them and then introduced Tyler. Aster was explaining to Tyler how her baby brother Preston and Katelyn’s new son Byron were the first and only half breeds in existence.

“I bet that sits well with the rest of the pack.” Tyler snickered. Everyone stared at him. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.” He apologized.

“You’re not wrong,” Aurora told him. “There is a large majority of the pack that is not in love with the idea of breeding with humans.”

“Is your son also…?” Tyler asked, wanting to know if Aurora’s boy Dayton were also a half-breed.

“A half-breed? No, my son is a pureblood.”

Tyler looked at the three women. “So your husband is in prison?” He asked Mackenzie. She nodded yes. “And yours is the cowboy working the grill of there?” He clarified with Katelyn. “And your husband is…?” He asked Aurora.

“Me,” Stanton growled, sneaking up on Tyler.

Tyler turned to look at the man who spoke, and he quickly backed away in fear. “Holy shit!” Everyone laughed at Tyler’s initial reaction to seeing Stanton for the first time. Stanton was a big and horrific-

looking man who had been maimed in a fight a little over a year ago, which only made him all the more terrifying.

“Tyler, meet Stanton.” Aster introduced him.

“Hi.” Stanton smiled, and Tyler took another step-in retreat making everyone laugh once more.

“Play nice, Big Daddy. You are scaring him.” Aurora scolded with an amused smile.

“Anything you say, Hummingbird.” Stanton offered Tyler his hand in friendship. “Don’t worry, Small-Fry.

I don’t bite unless my Hummingbird tells me to.”

Tyler took a step forward and shook Stanton’s massing mitt. “Sorry, my reaction was….”

“Accurate.” Stanton snickered.

“I was going to say offensive, but I won’t argue with you,” Tyler said, shaking his hand. Tyler looked Stanton over and then Aurora. He then looked Stanton over again as if perplexed by what Aurora saw in her husband. “You two are married?” Stanton nodded. Tyler looked at Aurora again and then smiled at Stanton and put up his fist. “Way to go.”

Stanton snickered and bumped his fist against Tyler’s. “I like him.” Stanton grinned. “The man’s got guts.”

“A man needs guts when he’s surrounded by wolves,” Darrel said as he brought a platter of freshly cooked BBQ ribs to the table. Placing the platter down, he offered Tyler his hand. Tyler took his hand and shook it. “I’m Darrel, don’t let this handsome face fool you.” His eyes began to glow. “I’m more dangerous than he is.” He nodded to Stanton. His eyes returned to normal. “Pull up a seat and grab yourself some grub.”

As they took their seats, Aster went down the line introducing their other friends.

“So Tyler, we hear you survived heat?” their buddy Lewis teased.

“Yeah,” Tyler laughed, “That was eh… interesting. There were nights I thought she would….”

“Fuck you to death?” Darrel snickered.

“Yeah, but what a way to go.” Stanton grinned.

“I’m impressed,” Lewis said. “Lycan boys can barely make it through. I didn’t think a human would have the stamina or capability to keep up.”

“For a human, he held his own just fine.” Aster leaned in and kissed Tyler in front of everyone.

“So Tyler, what do you do for a living?” Mackenzie asked.

“I’m in the middle of considering a change of vocation.” He said.

“Why?” Stanton asked.

“Well, I suppose the simple answer is I don’t think I can do the job anymore.”

“What did you do?” Aurora asked.

“I’m a cop.” He confessed. “Homicide detective, to be specific.” Everyone tensed, and a hush fell over the table. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to investigate anyone.”

“You have to understand,” Darrel began, “cops are not exactly pack friendly.”

“I get it. I do. I’m a cop. That fact alone makes everybody nervous, guilty and innocent. I’m not here to make trouble. I know your pack has done some things, and some people have gone missing, but I also understand sometimes you got to do questionable things to survive. I believe in justice. Sometimes the law and justice aren’t always on the same side, which is one of the reasons I might be looking for a career change.”

“What do you want to do?” Katelyn asked.

“I honestly don’t have a clue.”

Katelyn nudged Darrel. “You could use a hand, couldn’t you? You just landed that huge contract. You said you would have to hire hands anyway. Why not him?”

Darrel eyed Tyler. “What do you know about carpentry?”

Tyler thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. “Measure twice. Cut once.”

Darrel nodded. “Alright. Look, if you want, I can use a hand on a job I just got. If you prove yourself useful, maybe I could sponsor you on an apprenticeship. I know it’s not law enforcement, but it pays well.”

Aster watched the consideration on Tyler’s face. She knew it was hard on him to let go of his calling.

“Might I have a few days to think about it?”

Darrel nodded, “Sure.”

They went about dinner as everyone got to know Tyler, welcoming him into the fold. As the sun went down, Darrel built up a bonfire, and they sat around the fire drinking beer and roasting marshmallows.

They started talking about the upcoming full moon and the party they usually threw. Because of her isolation, Aster had not attended the last one, but she was looking forward to the one coming up in a few days.

“What’s a full moon party?” Tyler asked.

“When the moon is full, it gets hard to control the beast,” Darrel explained. So we embrace it. During a full moon, the pack gets together. There is music, drinks, and food. Then as the night grows late, we make the change and hunt as a pack. Good times had by all.”

Tyler looked at Aster, “change like when you sleepwalk?”

“Not quite.” She answered.

“You have been with this guy for two months, and he hasn’t seen you change?” Stanton asked, a little surprised.

“He’s seen me teeter.” She confessed.

Darrel smiled. “Teetering is one thing, but you need to see the change.” He told Tyler.

“What is teetering?” Tyler asked.

“It’s that stage between human and wolf,” Aurora told him.

Tyler looked at Aster. “There is more?”

“Come on, Aster,” Darrel nagged, “show him the change.” Suddenly all the lycanthropes at the table were nagging her to change like transforming were some kind of party trick.

Tyler looked at Aster with curiosity. “Yeah, Aster, show me the change.” Giving in, Aster stood up from her seat and began to undress. “What are you doing!” Tyler snapped as she stripped.

“Showing you what you asked for.”

“Why are you getting naked?”

“I just told you. If I change dressed, it will ruin my clothes.”

“You are going to get naked in front of all these people?”

“They have all seen me naked a thousand times.” She said, removing her bra and panties and placing them with her clothes on her chair.

“Don’t worry, Romeo,” Darrell said as he sipped his beer, “Nudity doesn’t mean the same thing to us as is it does to humans.”

Aster stepped back away from the fire. Her eyes lit up, and Aster snarled as her fangs descended and her claws came out.

“I’ve seen this,” Tyler said.

“Keep watching,” Darrell said.

Aster began to jerk as her bones cracked and broke as they reconfigured. Tyler looked concerned.

Aster dropped to all fours as her face began to elongate into a snout. Her hands and feet were becoming mighty paws. A thick white fur began to cover her body, and her spine lengthened into a tail.

In minutes the change was over, and Aster sat laid down in front of Tyler in her animal form. The only thing that had not changed was the loving eyes looking back at him.

There was a look of amazement on his face. It was as if he could not believe what he had just seen. He was speechless. “Ain’t that something?” Stanton grinned.

Tyler slowly slipped off his chair and knelt beside her. He reached out a trembling hand and touched her like he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “Wow. I can’t believe this is really you.” She didn’t reply, only cocked her head to the side. He looked up at her friends. “Can she not speak like this?”

“This isn’t a good enough trip?” Aurora snickered.

Tyler jumped back when Aster’s eyes lit up again, and she changed back to her human form. “Presto!”

Darrel laughed. “Just like that… girl again.” Aster walked over to her chair and picked up her clothes, and started to dress.

“That’s a hell of a party trick,” Tyler said, still shocked. The look in his eyes made Aster nervous. He looked like he didn’t what to think or how to feel about what he now knew she was. He was looking at her differently now, and she didn’t like the change. Tyler was quiet for the rest of the night.

He didn’t speak a word to her on the drive back to her place. He just stared out the window, lost in thought. The silence was agonizing. When they reached her place, Tyler sat down on the bed, staring at the floor. Aster couldn’t take it anymore. “Did I freak you out?” She found the nerve to ask outright.

He looked up at her. “At the bonfire when I showed you what I was, did I freak you out?” She feared his answer. Aster had come to care for Tyler, and she was terrified this night might have turned him away from her.

“Freaked?” He took a deep breath. “No.”

“Then what is wrong? Why won’t you talk?”

“I’m absorbing.” He said, standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders. “I can’t believe what I saw.”

“Strange, right?”

“With you in my life, strange seems to be the new normal.” His eyes met her, and Tyler smiled. “I was bored with normal anyway.”

Aster smiled. “So you still want to be with me?”

“Well, of course. There ain’t nothing you can do at this point that would send me running. If I were going to run, believe me, it would have been the night you put me in the hospital. That shit was way scarier than what I saw tonight.”

“You are an amazing man.” She smiled at him.

“Yes… yes, I am.” He grinned.

“And so modest.” She laughed.

His smile became genuine as he gazed down at her. “And very lucky.” He whispered softly.