Glenda brought Piety’s car over after the store closed. Piety was not sure what to expect. Dinner was delicious and Jack and Glenda made polite conversation to the point of Piety laying down her fork and asking, “ So, what aren’t we talking about?”

Glenda smiled and said nothing while Jack folded his napkin and replied, “There is that murder that happened down the road a little ways from you. We need to figure this out.”

Glenda took up the narrative, “I was thinking after dinner, in a few hours we go down to the scene of the attack. Close to midnight would be best.”

“Why?”

“ Midnight is a between time. The spirits are more active then.” Glenda said patiently. 

“No, why me? You said “we." Piety motioned  to herself, Jack and Glenda.

“ I think that your talent runs in the same vein as Charities did. She had an affinity for the dead. It's time you learned to manage it.”

“Hold up what?” Piety said with a slight note of panic. Magic, she was in noway magical.

“Necromancy was in her wheelhouse, but she was best at summoning the dead as in a spirit form. However, I am sure should have made a zombie or two” Glenda said eating the last of her rice.

Piety stared at Glenda and said in a sarcastic tone, “Oh, it’s just a little thing like necromancy. What the fuck here people. I am not going to summoning the dead? If someone is dead chances are, they don’t want to be bothered. Correct?”

“ If they have unfinished business they will want to be bothered. Finishing it is how they move on. It’s a part of being a necromancer”

“That’s nice , NO!” Piety snapped.

Jack smiled watching these two go back and forth. He had a bad feeling that like it or not Piety would find herself at midnight in the location of the second murder. He had another bite of chicken and made mental note to cut back on the lime a little bit.

“ You are just like your aunt, I swear you two have a gene for obstinacy.”

Jack had to ask, “ Glenda , just out of curiosity since you’re sort of running things can’t you just summon a spirit?’

“Why yes, Rin Tin Tin, I can.” Glenda slapped her napkin down, “However I just did that a couple of days ago and I am not like Charity, I am not a necromancer. If I do higher levels of magic and it knocks me down.” 

She took a drink of her wine, “ It’s bad enough I got that Bitch Cho, breathing down my neck to take over. Piety I will need your help to figure this out. If a ghost came to you unbidden once we can teach you to summon one. These murders are the opening Cho wants to use this as leverage to take over the coven.”

Jack gave Glenda a sad look, “Does anyone like that woman?”

Piety was still not all excited about this talk summoning the dead She was glad to have a subject change “Are you talking about Mrs. Cho who owns the Korean Barbeque and Chinese buffet ? She is always smiling and so sweet to me. She gives me extra Egg rolls.”

Glenda snorted, “Start practicing magic and she will show her true bitch face. But yes , that is the same Cho. ”

“I’m not sure I want to know.” Piety replied wishing that Glenda would just leave off with all this supernatural crap.

Jack stood after finishing his dinner and seeing the other plates empty, he started to collect them to start the after dinner clean up. Piety put her hand on his “You made dinner sit down.”

He smiled, “Ok you can have clean up.” Picking up on the lost thread of the conversation Jack said, “As a wolf ,I think we have a better system. You challenge, fight or acquiesces. Problem solved. You don’t have deal with excessive politics.”

Glenda gave him a knowing nod, “Well at least we aren’t as bad as the vampires.”

“God, you’re right about that. Well, wait there is the Fey they wrote the book on politics.” He replied

“Don’t remind me I have all I can do to deal with them once a year.” Glenda said pouring more wine. Piety frowned more wine meant she was not going home anytime soon. 

“There are Vampires?” Piety asked while loading the dishwasher. She cursed herself for her curiosity. 

“Yes dear, blood sucking pain in the ass bipedal leeches.” Glenda said making a face, “ I am going to make tea anyone else want one? I'm a bit tipsy I should leave off with the wine for now.”

“That’s mean, there are a few decent vampires.” Jack replied blandly, “ Oh, and I will have tea as long as it isn't green tea.”

“Three out of a million I guess.” Glenda replied moving about the kitchen to get the kettle and some water.

Piety interrupted “I am just going to put this out there. One: till three days ago I didn’t believe in any of this crap. Two: how the hell do vampires exist and no one knows. Pale skin, no sunlight, drinks blood it seems to me we would notice that.”

“One: not my problem, you were raised wrong, you should have been raised to know the other-world and all of us who live in it. Two: Vampires know how to pass for human and how to hide. If they didn’t, we would have exterminated them years ago.” Snapped Glenda who plugged in the coffee maker. 

Jack looked uncomfortable after Glenda had spoken sharply at Piety. He was unsure what to say, if anything after all this was a family dynamic and sometimes barging in just made things worse.

Piety decided that since the conversation was not going to be anything she wanted to know about, she left the kitchen and making a hand motion at Finnegan. The dog got up his cinnamon tail slowly swaying back and forth to follow her out. Piety decided to just walk away from Glenda and her need to push this mantle of witchyness onto her. After counting heads to see that they were all in Piety proceeded to lock up her coop door.

 Piety stewed on Glenda being short with her. She loved Peabody but this absurdity that she was going follow her down this road to all things witchy was just not going to happen. Jack was a curiosity and if she hadn’t seen him as a wolf she would never believe in the notion of a werewolf.

The hens clucked softly in their coop and Mister Coq au Vin, the rooster gave a halfhearted crow to let her know he ready for bed.

“It could be worse you could wake up with bunny fur stuck in your teeth.” Piety jumped at the sudden sound of Jack’s voice.  She was checking the egg boxes.

Piety held the two brown eggs and was gad she hadn’t dropped them when she startled and said, “I certainly hope not.” and with a half-smile she asked, “You’re not really going to hang around watching me all night and day?”

“Of course not, when I am at work the alpha female or pack mother will watch over you.”

“Did you ever think I don’t want any of you watching me” Piety replied as if she was going to start walking back to the house. He reached out and gently took her arm to stop her. Finnegan came from the garage area and growled, Jack looked at the dog ,and made a deep growling rumble in his own chest. The dog back up one step and Jack continued ignoring the shocked look on Piety’s face, focusing his gaze down the road. The hairs on his neck rose. something was not right.

“Yes, and I would love to not be where I am not wanted, however if there is a chance you will become the sheriff or arbitrator, just like your aunt, we wolves have sworn to uphold and protect that giver of law and justice.” he said distantly.

“Go home then, I am not going to do it.” She said still not shaking off his hand from her arm she noticed that it was very warm as it touched her. She felt a tingling sensation where he had touched her. For a moment, she thought she could feel fur and the feeling of being enveloped with a thought or rather an image of Jack that was superimposed with the grey wolf. In the briefest of instants, she wanted to allow him to scoop her up and shield her from this new scary world. Then she recoiled, where did that come from? She was no damsel in distress looking for a white knight, she pushed back mentally and physically backed up two steps.

Jack said in voice sad and hard, “You are something Piety. Do you not see that one murder happening close to you is strange, now a second even closer? You can’t just hope this goes away. No matter what you want, you reek of magic and a very old bloodline of witches. You are like a babe in the woods right now. As long as Charity lived none would harm you, BUT Peabody is old and to be honest she is not good at holding all of this together. Glenda is a taught witch and not as powerful as one born to it. The legacy will be passed on to you.”

Before Piety could give an angry answer, she saw Jacks face change and saw that he had a look of puzzlement and then an edge like he had switched gears to something else. Something requiring all his senses. His nose flared and his head swiveled toward the driveway. Then she felt a tingling and all the fine hairs on her neck and arms rose.

Jack felt his wolf stir as it would when he was angry, or agitated , “he had opened his mouth to argue with Piety more, but he saw her staring to the end of the driveway. In the twilight, they could see the shambling gate of the person walking. Jacks eyes went wolf amber as he looked and in two steps, he put himself between Piety and whatever was walking. The soft sound of “Plock” as piety dropped one of the eggs and it broke, golden egg yolk running on the asphalt of the driveway. Finnegan ignored what he would on most days race to gobble up and emitted a low growl and fell in alongside Jack protecting Piety.

Jack said softly, “I hear you little brother. Piety, get in the house.”