Chapter 10: Biology and Rules

I woke up once in the night, shaking and sweating. I didn't remember the dream, but the panic and fear stayed with me. The urge to go climb into Evan's bed was strong. But doing that would be inviting something I wasn't sure I was ready for. Instead, I turned on the lamp and read for an hour or two. Eventually I calmed down, turned out the light, and went back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, it was light out. First item on my new shopping list: curtains. Other items soon followed. Computer, cell phone, car -- why did everything I need start with c? Amused with my silly list, I decided to go have some coffee. I could hear something clanking softly in the basement and realized it must be someone working out. Evan, maybe? Or had the pack showed up again?

There was a fresh pot of coffee already brewed, so I helped myself. I looked around for the phone, but as I picked it up, I realized I didn't know Noelle's number. I'd have to ask Evan for it so I could call her. I hoped an offer of shopping and lunch would help make up for the ass I made of myself the day before. In the meantime, I decided to putter in the kitchen. My sweet tooth was aching and I wanted chocolate chip cookies in a major way. Hopefully, Evan had everything I needed to make them.

I had the first dozen cooling on the counter top when Evan came up from the gym. He was sweaty and his skin gleamed with it. I never thought the smell of sweaty male would turn me on, but coming off Evan it made me want to do very naughty things to him. I put a second tray of cookies in the oven to distract myself as Evan poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed several cookies.

"Isn't that going to negate the whole point of working out?"

"Nope, the whole point of working out is to keep the wolf from getting too restless. Magic, metabolism, and the fact that we really aren't human anymore means it's almost impossible for a werewolf to be overweight. Great cookies, by the way."

"Thanks. What do you mean we really aren't human anymore?"

Evan was well into his third cookie and he stopped chewing for a moment before he answered. "Well, you don't look the way you used to, right? You went from looking like a woman in her forties to a young woman in her twenties overnight. You'll look like you're in your twenties for the rest of your life, which could be several hundred or thousand years. We don't age. We don't get sick. We heal incredibly fast. The scars on your neck are almost invisible now and the stitches have only been out a couple of days. We hear better, see better, and are physically stronger than a normal human. We look human, but really we aren't."

But that didn't make sense. Hadn't Marsh said something about Tasha's husband being killed in a car accident? "If we live hundreds of years and heal incredibly quickly, then how did Tasha's husband die?"

He put down the cookie he'd been nibbling on and sighed, "Just because we don't age, doesn't mean we are invulnerable to death. Vigo, Tasha's husband, lost control of his car in a bad rain storm. He went over a guard rail and down the side of a steep hill. The impact broke his neck and the car caught fire. He could have lived through the fire, but a broken neck is just as fatal to us as it is to a human."

"What about silver bullets? Are they fatal to werewolves or is that just folklore?"

"No, it's true enough. It's not something to worry about though. Do you know how hard it is to actually make silver bullets? Silver birdshot is much easier and a lot more dangerous. Mostly, it's not an issue because the general public doesn't believe in werewolves. Silver bullets aren't in high demand. You might want to keep that in mind though when you're buying jewelry. Make sure you buy gold and not silver."

"Why silver though? What's so special about it?"

Evan shrugged, "No one really knows. There's a lot of good old-fashioned magic involved in being a werewolf. There isn't always a logical, scientific reason for how things work in our world. For instance, how come you'll never have to shave your legs again? It makes no sense. It's just the way wolves are."

He had me there. It didn't make any sense at all. "Any other special wolf things I need to know about?"

"On the full moon you'll change whether you want to or not. We all gather here and change before the moon rises, then spend most of the night out in the woods. Once you join the pack officially, you'll have a connection to all of them. You'll know when one of them is hurt, in distress, or when they're really excited or happy about something."

"Wait, we have to change during the full moon, but how can I change during the day? The moon wasn't out the other day, but I had no problem snarling at Agent Stanton."

Evan grinned, "The moon doesn't have to be out for you to change. It's still there in the sky, you just can't see it during the day."

That made sense, sort of. "Anything else?"

"Yes. One more thing. We can't have children. Werewolves are sterile."

That was surprising. "Why?"

Evan sighed and answered, "I have a theory with nothing to support it, but it makes the most sense to me. We don't age. We're sort of frozen in time, biologically speaking. The wolf is very much a part of our DNA. It's why you changed so dramatically. Your wolf is silver white, that's why your hair is white. Wolves and humans are not biologically compatible as far as procreation. I think all of that combines and makes pregnancy impossible."

The idea of not having a child used to upset me. As I'd gotten older, I'd accepted the fact that I'd never have a baby. Maybe if I'd been a younger woman when Evan turned me, I'd be upset. But I'd already made my peace with being childless so this part of being a wolf didn't upset me too much.

There was something else he mentioned the day we went shopping that I had forgotten to ask about. "You told me there were rules I had to follow. What are they?"

"There aren't many and it's mostly basic common sense. Don't expose yourself or anyone else as a werewolf. The deal we made with the government is they let us live and don't put us in cages as long as the public doesn't know about us. The other rule is never, ever attack a human, especially in your wolf form. Even if it's self-defense. You'll have to answer to the Council if you do and the punishment can be severe."

That didn't seem too hard. I couldn't imagine telling anyone I was werewolf. A couple of weeks ago, I'd have assumed anyone telling me that would shortly be staying in a rubber room. It was all too weird to be real. I finished making the cookies while Evan had another cup of coffee.

"Hey Evan, What's Noelle's phone number? I thought I would call her and ask if she'd like to go shopping. I was a jerk yesterday and I'd like to apologize."

He fished around in the pocket of his shorts, pulled his cell phone out, and dialed it before handing it over. Noelle sounded surprised to hear my voice instead of Evan's but seemed happy and a little relieved when I asked her for a girl's day out. Evan chimed in that he'd drop me off at her place in an hour before I ended the call.

I cleaned up my cookie-making mess and was about to head to my room for a shower. When I turned around, I smacked into Evan. He'd come around the counter to put his mug in the sink. After setting his mug down, he pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around my waist. His mouth was warm as he nuzzled my neck. He nibbled gently as his lips trailed up my neck, over my jaw and to my ear. My breath hitched and I could feel my heart start to pound in my chest. A small moan escaped me as he nibbled gently on my earlobe.

"Thanks for breakfast, Kimber." His voice was just a little raspy as he whispered in my ear. "Those cookies taste almost as good as you do."

He released me and headed upstairs. I heard his shower turn on before I had enough strength in my legs to move. That man didn't even have to kiss me to turn my knees to rubber. Maybe next time I had a nightmare, I'd go crawl into his bed after all.

Exactly an hour later, Evan dropped me off at Nicole's house. She lived in a pretty little Victorian cottage painted robin's egg blue. When she opened the door, Noelle hugged me and refused to let me apologize.

"I know how you feel. I've been in your shoes. Don't ever apologize to me for being homesick, frustrated, and restless."

"How about for being rude?"

She laughed and dragged me inside, waving to Evan as he pulled away. "Okay, you can apologize for that by paying for lunch. Let me go get my bag and I'll be ready to go."

Her living room was medium sized, with all the small touches that clearly marked the house as Victorian. But that's where it ended. Noelle had decorated it in a style that clearly reflected her Egyptian heritage. There was a one-armed chaise covered in rich, blue velvet. A low, elaborately carved table held a beautiful enameled tea set on a dark wooden tray. On the other side of the table, there were huge dark purple floor cushions with gold embroidery. It was extremely elegant and very feminine. It suited Noelle perfectly.

She breezed back into the room with her purse in her hand, wearing a fabulous cashmere scarf over her sweater and gold chandelier earrings hanging from her ears. I tipped my head and raised an eyebrow at her. Noelle grinned.

"I took a page out of your book. You're right. Earrings are too pretty to give up."

I couldn't help but laugh as she pulled me out onto the porch and locked her door. "So what exactly are we looking for today?"

"Curtains to start. My room is entirely too bright in the mornings."

"I know just the place."

Noelle knew just the place for everything. I found some lovely heavy drapes and elegant wrought iron rods. They would block the light in my room, but still look great pulled back during the day. Noelle insisted I would need new sheets and a duvet cover to coordinate with my drapes. She had excellent taste and seemed to pick things that really suited my taste and style. When I asked her how she knew so much about fashion and style, her answer made a lot of sense.

Noelle was an interior decorator. She and Evan worked together quite a bit, though their businesses were separate entities. He designed and built houses, Noelle helped the new owners decorate them. Several members of the pack worked either directly for Evan or in construction firms he used on a regular basis. Marsh was actually his partner and worked as an AutoCAD engineer, drafting Evan's designs into computer blueprints.

We stopped at a small cafe Noelle recommended for lunch. The place was mostly deserted, so we could talk freely as long as we kept our voices low. While we ate, she filled me in on recent pack history and answered a lot of questions for me about long-term life as a wolf.