motorcycle?”
“That's right. It was my father's and he's not around anymore so don't bump it or anything.”
Hunter nodded and then went outside to shoot some hoops. “You know, he's going to touch it just because you told him not to, right?”
“Eh, he can't do any harm,” Sal said going to the fridge to pull out some vegetables. I didn't bother telling him that Hunter probably wouldn't touch them, no matter how he cooked them. Rule number one about kids: they don't like vegetables, not even if you deep fry them and slather them in cheese.
“So,” I said after clearing my throat. “Elias.”
“I'm sure you heard about his troubles. Being homeless, on benzos and such. Everyone knew that. Most people didn't bother to get to know the man behind the trouble. He was a good guy, really. He just...” Sal sighed as he finished chopping the vegetables and dumped them into a stock pot. “Pack dynamics are hard. I don't know what you know about us, but we've all got a place. There's protocols. Rules. For someone like Elias, social stuff like that is hard in a human setting. Oh, he got what it meant to be the wolf, the predator. What he didn't get was why a strong wolf sometimes bows to a weaker one or the benefits of taking on a submissive posture sometimes. He was a beta wolf trying to be an alpha and it didn't work out for him. Alone, in a situation where he was clearly the lesser wolf, he relaxed a little but when he was with others in the pack that were close to him in terms of strength or speed, the predator came out. I was just dominant enough that Elias and I got along. He'd stay here sometimes when him and Valentino had it out.”
Sal pulled a large hunk of red meat out of the oven and started seasoning it before chopping it into bits and tossing it in with the vegetables.
“More importantly,” Sal continued, “Elias had trouble shifting. That made things even worse on him.”
“Trouble shifting? Like what kind of trouble?”
Sal nodded. “I take it you’ve never seen it before.”
I shook my head.
Sal turned and put his back to the stove for a moment, leaning on it. “We believe in two distinct but connected beings, housed in the same shell.”
“You believe?” I raised an eyebrow. I hadn’t realized this was going to turn into a theological discussion.
“Sure,” he said shrugging. “Different packs have different ideologies, handle things different ways. Most are more or less the same but there’s some argument over whether or not the wolf is responsible for the man or vice versa. Our position is somewhere in between. One influences the other but, when one side is out of balance, like when someone embraces the wolf more than the man, it leads to problems in both lives.”
“And Elias was out of balance?”
“The shift is voluntary to a degree. We don’t need full moons, though some believe there’s a biological cycle that’s roughly equivalent to lunar cycles, telling you when the best days for shifting are. I call bullshit on that one. I never noticed one better day over another personally. But you’ve got to do it every once in a while. It’s…How do I explain it? It’s an itch you got to scratch, some more often than others. If you don’t listen to what your body’s trying to tell you, if you don’t shift enough, you get physical symptoms. Migraines. Muscle spasms. Vomiting. Hallucinations. You can’t not shift, as hard as some of them try. That’s what the barbs are for. Suppresses the urge, deadens that half. It’s like a self-lobotomy. That’s why, even though BSI limits how and when we can shift, they can’t outright forbid it. It would eventually kill us.”
“Wow,” I said. I’d always assumed…I don’t know what I assumed. I guess I really didn’t think about it. Sal turned back to the stove. I cleared my throat. “So, you knew him pretty well. Any idea who might have wanted him dead?”
Sal shook his head. “He had enemies but he was more of an
“That's right. It was my father's and he's not around anymore so don't bump it or anything.”
Hunter nodded and then went outside to shoot some hoops. “You know, he's going to touch it just because you told him not to, right?”
“Eh, he can't do any harm,” Sal said going to the fridge to pull out some vegetables. I didn't bother telling him that Hunter probably wouldn't touch them, no matter how he cooked them. Rule number one about kids: they don't like vegetables, not even if you deep fry them and slather them in cheese.
“So,” I said after clearing my throat. “Elias.”
“I'm sure you heard about his troubles. Being homeless, on benzos and such. Everyone knew that. Most people didn't bother to get to know the man behind the trouble. He was a good guy, really. He just...” Sal sighed as he finished chopping the vegetables and dumped them into a stock pot. “Pack dynamics are hard. I don't know what you know about us, but we've all got a place. There's protocols. Rules. For someone like Elias, social stuff like that is hard in a human setting. Oh, he got what it meant to be the wolf, the predator. What he didn't get was why a strong wolf sometimes bows to a weaker one or the benefits of taking on a submissive posture sometimes. He was a beta wolf trying to be an alpha and it didn't work out for him. Alone, in a situation where he was clearly the lesser wolf, he relaxed a little but when he was with others in the pack that were close to him in terms of strength or speed, the predator came out. I was just dominant enough that Elias and I got along. He'd stay here sometimes when him and Valentino had it out.”
Sal pulled a large hunk of red meat out of the oven and started seasoning it before chopping it into bits and tossing it in with the vegetables.
“More importantly,” Sal continued, “Elias had trouble shifting. That made things even worse on him.”
“Trouble shifting? Like what kind of trouble?”
Sal nodded. “I take it you’ve never seen it before.”
I shook my head.
Sal turned and put his back to the stove for a moment, leaning on it. “We believe in two distinct but connected beings, housed in the same shell.”
“You believe?” I raised an eyebrow. I hadn’t realized this was going to turn into a theological discussion.
“Sure,” he said shrugging. “Different packs have different ideologies, handle things different ways. Most are more or less the same but there’s some argument over whether or not the wolf is responsible for the man or vice versa. Our position is somewhere in between. One influences the other but, when one side is out of balance, like when someone embraces the wolf more than the man, it leads to problems in both lives.”
“And Elias was out of balance?”
“The shift is voluntary to a degree. We don’t need full moons, though some believe there’s a biological cycle that’s roughly equivalent to lunar cycles, telling you when the best days for shifting are. I call bullshit on that one. I never noticed one better day over another personally. But you’ve got to do it every once in a while. It’s…How do I explain it? It’s an itch you got to scratch, some more often than others. If you don’t listen to what your body’s trying to tell you, if you don’t shift enough, you get physical symptoms. Migraines. Muscle spasms. Vomiting. Hallucinations. You can’t not shift, as hard as some of them try. That’s what the barbs are for. Suppresses the urge, deadens that half. It’s like a self-lobotomy. That’s why, even though BSI limits how and when we can shift, they can’t outright forbid it. It would eventually kill us.”
“Wow,” I said. I’d always assumed…I don’t know what I assumed. I guess I really didn’t think about it. Sal turned back to the stove. I cleared my throat. “So, you knew him pretty well. Any idea who might have wanted him dead?”
Sal shook his head. “He had enemies but he was more of an
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