Piety’s eyebrow crept up and she saw the F150 super cab truck in her driveway. What was it with these wolves and big ass trucks?  she thought . 

Piety said in tired voice“I think I will drive my Kia.” She looked around, the stain where Glenda’s blood had been was gone and all the garden tools had been hung up or put away. She felt a moment of guilt that Jack must have went to work tired.

“Oh, c’mon it will be fun, we can get coffee, I can make sure nothing kills you. Good times.” Melody chided in a happy tone.

“Did I point out I never asked for you or Jack?” Piety Replied.

“You’re welcome.”Melody quipped she made a get in motion with her hand.

“You are annoying as hell.” Piety snapped wondering if she could survive jumping from a moving truck and hauled herself up into the testosterone wagon.

“It’s a side benefit to being the leader of the packs wife. I can be a complete asshole and as long as I can back it up. So, darling it’s all good.”

Piety replied in a voice that as flat and disinterested as she could make it. “Is everything about whose ass you can whup in a wolf pack?”

“Yes, and the dust settles quickly.”

“lovely”

“Starbucks or Duncan Doughnuts?” Melody said in an obvious topic change.

“Dunkan doughnuts , please” Piety replied and found herself annoyed she was starting to like Melody just a little.

Jack was in his cruiser and considering the mess that Piety was in. He understood why his pack leader supported her and was anticipating her answering her true calling. No one wanted Mrs. Cho to ascend to the position of arbitrator. Cho had made it quite clear she had no love for the “lesser” creatures of the agreement. Werewolves being very lesser in her opinion. Jack thought about old lady Cho with her cold judgmental eyes, and how she would tell a wolf to eat somewhere else and not in her restaurant. 

Jack prayed that Peabody would recover soon and get Piety the basics of witchcraft. The sheer fact that Glenda was taken down so swiftly by ghost that she should have banished with ease, was showed that she was trying to do a job she was ill equipped to deal with. Everyone knew that it was a matter of time before someone challenged her right to lead the coven and serve as arbitrator. 

Jack’s wolf was less than happy with the immobility they had been doing with guard duty. Well maybe guard duty was too harsh. Piety might be slightly whiny about having him around, but then again if he was suddenly presented with a protector, he too would have chafed at that. Jack yawned, could he stay alert with no sleep for 24 hours. Was he at his best? Hell no.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was time for his  break. He would go up to the Mirabito station off the 81 north, Parish exit. The wolf wanted a steak from the Gristmill Diner, but he knew how slow the place was and his lunch break was only an hour. The gas station had a Subway sandwich shop and a Duncan Doughnut in it. He told his wolf that tonight he would make steaks for dinner. The wolf in him sent feelings of warm anticipation. That was the trick in being a werewolf, form a partnership where both sides get what they want. The wolf grumbled at the thought of both sides getting what they wanted, the wolf felt he never got enough free time to run and hunt. Jack gave his other half a promise of freedom later as he pulled into the Mirabito.

Jack waved at the cashier as he entered and the older woman said, “Officer Riley, I haven’t seen you in a bit.” She leaned on the back counter as she stocked the cigarette packs above the register.

“I know Kate, I had the day off.” He replied wondering what he wanted to order.

He stood in line for a sandwich and he heard a voice next him and he startled. Few people could sneak up on a werewolf. “I see your pack has automatically aligned with someone who has no interest in her heritage.” came a heavily accented voice next to him. 

Jack looked around and saw everyone standing still in the store. No one was moving. It was as if everyone had been switched off “Neat trick, Mrs. Cho” he said looking over at her to his left.

“As if I need your compliments wolf, I just need to know why the pack is allied with Piety Jones.” The woman leaned on her cane and gave an air of superiority.

“I think you have me confused with our pack leader David Woolworth. Do you need his phone number?”

The witch dismissed the question by not answering it “I think Glenda’s time is waning. I wonder why you, who is in the top tier of the pack, is tasked protecting a woman who has little value to you.”

“I think everyone has value, even ancient shit stirring witches.” He replied tersely and his wolf wanted to growl at he and make her go away.

“You are an impertinent wolf; I think you have little like for being a babysitter.” Her gaze was lethally cool, and he saw sweat on her brow. She was wasting a lot of power on this little display. He glanced out into the parking area and he caught a glimpse of one of the Cho clan. He had to give the old woman credit; she ruled her family with an iron will. They must be helping her maintain the magic.

“It’s a free world think what you like. I follow orders from my pack leader I suggest you take this up with him.” Jack gave her a look that veritably screamed “go away”.

There was sweat on her forehead now ran down the sides of her temples and the strain of holding this second in time was showing she would need to end the time enchantment. He smirked maybe she had expected him to run to the pack and gush at her prowess as a witch and how they should all swing their allegiance to her. Except Mrs. Cho had never done a damn thing in her long life that had not benefited herself or her family. She couldn't give a shit less about the pack.

Jack watched the older woman release the spell and the Mirabito station came back to life. The smells of coffee, doughnuts, vegetables and sandwich meat came flooding back as time resumed, along with the noise of Kate restocking the cigarettes and other customers opening and closing the soda cooler. Cho leaned heavily on her cane and said “Tell your pack leader that he needs to look to the future and not the past. I would hate to see their alliance with a proper arbitrator to be severed. Perhaps you should remind David of all of this.”

Jack was irritated at her casual use of his alpha’s first name. The pack wolves among themselves used given names but to the outsiders David would be have been referred to as Pack leader Woolworth. It was the privilege of an alpha to bestow the casual use to his name. Jack finished with, “I am not sure how your people do things, but I find it pretty low that your politicking for a job whose occupant isn’t dead or has stated she is giving it up. Go away Mrs. Cho I’m sure you own a cell phone. I got shit to do, so why not phone in your thinly veiled threats to Pack leader Woolworth directly.” For a few seconds he let the wolf show in his eyes and his power surged as an alpha , he was in control but Charity had told him that witches read aura’s whether they wanted to or not , He let her see the wolf’s irritation and his wolf enjoyed how she  worked to hide her flinch.

The look of annoyance was brief and wordlessly Cho walked away, she was angry that Jack had caught her second of fear. The grip on her cane betraying her irritation at being dismissed. The young lady at the subway sandwich counter said cheerfully, “ Hey Officer Riley you want the usual Meatball sub and soup or something else?”

Melody was disgustingly cheerful and learned fast. Piety hadn’t expected her to be of any help but after watching Piety for a minute she started pulling PO’s out of boxes and ticking off the contents of the boxes. She used a highlighter just like Piety to underscore the PO number and circle the total contents of the box. Piety started her day wanting to hate this woman for intruding into her life. Yet, Melody was chatty and made conversation, something that Piety normally would find tedious, bust somehow Melody could listen in a way that made Piety wanted to reply or hear more. 

Melody made Piety laugh with stories of strange realtor requests like a retired Presbyterian pastor and his wife who wanted a house with a finished basement and a rec room. Well a few years later the pastor died of a heart attack while driving and his wife was badly injured and unfortunately died. The grown children decided to sell the house and since Melody had sold it to the couple, they called her to list it. Melody, with a huge smile, explained that when she and her husband came to take photos,  an estate auction company was there to take inventory too. The woman who owned the company led Melody and her husband to the basement rec room. Melody could see that things had changed. There was a walled off section and a new door. None of the keys supplied by the children opened the door.

“ What was behind the door?” Piety asked pulling out packs of Tarot Cards from her box.

“Who said we looked?” Melody said smirking in a way that let Piety know that they had totally looked.

“Melody you better spill.”

“Well I sort of popped the door open with a quick twist of the doorknob and low and behold it was a sex dungeon!  The two of them had it all, paddles, whips, handcuffs and masks it was deluxe.”

“So, what did you do?”

“We decided what two adults married for 40 years did in their spare time was none of our concern we packed it up got rid of it and said nothing. However, if we get a potential client who asks for a finished basement rec room, we write on the intake form with the code "P.S.”

“Presbyterian special” Piety offered digging through the packing peanuts looking for a missing Animal Oracle deck.

“Yep”

Time passed and at noon Melody  said, “Hang up the out the lunch sign we deserve Mexican food from the BIB.”