"Dad's gone," my cousin's voice was barely above a whisper. "You must come home for the Evaluations," she uttered and the phone line went dead.
*****
After Keri's Uncle - the Alpha of the Silver Bullets pack - loses his battle with cancer, the young...
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"What the Hell, I could use one too."
I got up and followed Keri out of her office.
"Beer okay?" She asked, her footsteps almost silent over the wooden floor as she made her way towards the kitchen.
I took a moment to go over my reply.
My first instinct had been to ask for something stronger, something that would chase away the almost constant chill I was subjected to, but then I thought that perhaps I was already pushing my luck by drinking with her in the afternoon, and that it was probably for the best not to test her by asking for a large whiskey.
"Sure," I said, just as Keri stopped and gracefully indicated with a wave of her arm that I should wait for her in the living room. I made myself comfortable on a sofa, briefly musing how much bigger this room felt when it wasn't full of Council members. It was a tidy and clean place, but not to the point of being sterile; just a cozy, well-organized home. And a home it definitely was, with pictures of family and friends in every room, with comfortable furniture, with pleasing remnants of the scent of something she'd prepared in her kitchen... Something with meat and... Rice?
Maybe.
Keri entered the room, carrying two opened beer bottles, the condensation sliding against the cool glass. She sat one in front of me, then claimed the other sofa.
"Cheers," I said lifting my bottle in the air and tilting it towards her. She was too far away for the bottles to clink, but she mimicked the gesture with a nod.
We both took a gulp and sighed simultaneously. The corners of my mouth twitched; so did hers... And then we fell into an awkward silence.
A minute or two later, she cleared her throat as if about to speak, but no words came out of her mouth so I gave it a try instead:
"Jasper giving you any more trouble after you put him in his place?"
Keri's eyebrows shot up in a surprise. I'd made it my business to stay out of pack business unless it concerned the murder case - something I didn't want to bring up right now.
"Not really," she replied after a few seconds had passed. She took a sip from her beverage and went on: "A few glares, but that's about it, and it's nothing new. He's even allowed his son Horace to celebrate his birthday at our pub."
"At the pub?" I repeated. "Why there? He's turning, what? Fifteen? Sixteen?"
"Sixteen." She nodded, cradling the beer in her lap. "That's a big deal for us."
I opened mouth to ask why, then I recalled a conversation I'd had with Kelly, one of the many times she'd tried to familiarize me with their culture.
"The Age of Recognition," I said aloud, once again taking my host by surprise.
"Exactly. Kelly?" She correctly guessed and I nodded.
"Kelly."
She took another sip. So did I. She did it again... Before things got awkward once more, I asked:
