That's true. And now that I am where I'm at right now, I will respond to threats with a plan. I'm tired of profanity-block! happening to me and me reacting to it. I want to manage stuff that happens. I want to be in control and not have things escalate. That's why I'm taking judo, that's why I do all those stupid AFTD drills that Smith assigns me. I don't want to be a victim. And I sure-as-hell don't want my girlfriend to be.-CH

You're right. I know.-JLeC

Is it your aunt? CH

pause in pulse communication.

I effing knew it.

sighs yeah.-JLeC

Don't let her tear us up, Jade. She wouldn't know normal and right if it hit her between the eyes. I mean, what is she basing her vast stores of knowledge on anyway? Her upbringing? disgusted -CH

Caleb! I know she's a pain, but she took me in and saved me from my dad. Saved me. I owe her.-JLeC

You owe her respect but she doesn't get to lay out how ya feel.-CH

I know, but I am having to lie. Well, not lie exactly but I'm not telling her all the truth. Like last night. Could've never told her about that.-JLeC

She had me there.

Okay frustrated this is too involved to pulse. Let's talk more at Gramps. We can find a second even with everyone there.-CH

K, I do love you, Caleb. I understand that this stuff isn't your fault, or mine.-JLeC

I love you too. Hang in there, K? CH

smiles K.-JLeC

Pulse set to hibernate.

I sat on my bed for awhile. Even my gnawing hunger wasn't enough to make me move. I didn't like the shit that Andrea was feeding Jade.

I didn't like that she was listening a little.

****

I turned to Jade, candy up to my armpits in the back of her car.

"Here," she called, flinging another bag at me. I deftly caught it and stacked it with the rest.

"Really?" Jonesy asked. "Are we feeding the starving Cambodians here?"

I surreptitiously looked for Mom. I didn't see her.

"Can ya not say that stuff within hearing range of my mom, ya putz?"

Jonesy gyrated his hips, doing a dance step. "I looooovve.... my political correctness!"

Sophie huffed. "You are so not PC, Jonesy."

Archer nodded. "I concur."

"Quiet, fag-tag," Jonesy said neutrally (actually, he was barely containing his mirth) as Mia made a gasping noise and Jonesy winked at Lewis.

Archer grinned. "It's no problem." He shrugged and continued, "It doesn't bother me that you're going to miss Halloween, Mark."

Jonesy's brows shot to his hairline. "How so, Archer?"

"Have fun with your car locks."

"Oh-man! Come on! Give me a break..." Jonesy wailed.

Tiff snapped a bubble. "I like the car seat for your sister parked in the back, Jones. Sexy."

Jonesy's eyes narrowed on Tiff and John and Alex laughed.

"Okay, I will discontinue my ridiculing your sexual orientation," Jonesy said, clearly lying.

"For how long?" Alex asked cautiously.

"Ah...." Jonesy slapped his leg with his open palm.

Jade and I smiled. It was his way. Someone new came into the group and he'd razz them to death until they were well indoctrinated in Jonesyness.

He had his work cut out for him with Lewis Archer. He looked like a model, dressed like one (what guy really gave a rat's ass about wardrobe, really?), spoke well and was smart as hell. He had been foiling Jonesy at every opportunity and interestingly enough, was not freaked about all the gay slurs.

Lewis threw up his hands in a nonthreatening way and said, "I am not offended any more about you being black than you are about me being gay."

Jonesy gave him a puzzled smile then he figured it out a slow grin came over his face. "You're okay, Archer."

"Yeah, I know."

"What's all this talk about gays and blacks," Mom asked, charging toward Jade's pickup.

Hell.

Jonesy saved it, "We were just discussing how nice it is that the prejudices of the past have been put aside." He said it all with a straight face but Mom's eyes narrowed to slits. She didn't buy it.

John and Alex gave Jonesy the Admiration Look because he had pulled out all the verbal stops.

"Ah-huh. Tell me something that I'll believe, Jonesy," Mom said.

"I'm hungry?" he said.

She nodded. "That I believe. Here," she handed off two cases of pop to him. Make yourself useful instead of standing around trashing your latest victim."

"What?" Jonesy spluttered, turning with the pop for me to put in Jade's truck.

Onyx came sprinting outside and with a running leap, landed on the middle of the front seat. He'd sure gotten over his hatred of cars. I remembered when he'd growl every time I'd try to get him to go into one.

The Dog watched the Boy's companions fill the foul-smelling box with holes that were sometimes open with the fragrant Treats. The Dog loathed the thing that moved. It made him have a feeling of unease. Perhaps his Boy would open the hole and he could put his nose to the wind. That was what the Dog liked about the evil box that moved. He would close his eyes and the wind would flow over his nose, catching very interesting smells. He especially wished to go this time. He could smell the excitement of his pack, his Boy's companions and felt their intent to travel to the old Alpha's cave.

He loved the old Alpha. He was very much like his Boy. He ran from the pack cave and leaped into the awful box which moved. He opened his mouth to cool himself and the wonderful Treat smell permeated his senses, dulling the underlying odor.

The foul-smelling box odor.

Jade laughed. "Look at him! He's already in there."

"Yeah, I don't know why but he seems to know when we're going to Gramps'."

"Honey, you give him too much credit. He's just a dog, he can't know that you're going to Pops. After all, you go with Jade all the time. To school, judo, wherever..." Mom trailed off.

I didn't agree. He was a smart dog.

He was a good dog.

He knew.

I looked at him and he met my stare, his tail wagging, the exaggerated swing hitting the crystal that hung low from the rear view mirror, a thousand rainbow shards leaping sporadically across the interior.

Jonesy was working over the locks on his parents' Uncool Car and finally, Archer took pity on him.

But only after letting him struggle with it for about ten minutes.

Archer palmed the pulse lock and all four snapped open.

"Finally!" Jonesy yelled. He narrowed his eyes on Archer, then swung his face to the group.

"Who wants to ride with me?" he asked proudly. He was so thrilled to have his license, even if he did have to drive a car with a baby seat in it.

The group was quiet.

"We're gonna go with Bry," Tiff said by way of answering.

"But... it'll be crammed back there! It always is," he said, looking at each of us.

We weren't getting caught dead in that thing. I smiled.

"Tell you what," Mom said, "Helen and Bill are coming later with Micah and they can drive their own... " she looked hesitatingly at the car.

"Babymobile," Tiff said, blowing a massive bubble.

Mom jumped after she snapped it.

"I'm outside Ali, the silence was kinda deafening for me," Tiff said, getting a load of Mom's distaste for The Gum.

"I don't know, I thought it was peaceful," Mia said and Tiff threw her a look while Mom beamed at Mia.

Brother.

Time To Go.

"K, let's go," I said as I saw Buddy pull up in his car.

I looked at Sophie. "What?" she asked innocently.

I could see Jonesy pull it together with an effort.

Buddy's car was kind of cool. It was something that Gramps might take a second look at. It was a vintage Corvette. Buddy was one of those guys that dug working on engines. Looks like he'd done a bit of work on this one. It flowed low to the ground in a cherry red that sparkled in the sunlight, looking edible. John and Alex dropped their loyalty to Jonesy like a hot rock and walked over to the car oohing and aahing.

Jonesy wanted to deck them all, his hands in tight fists by his side.

Sophie didn't look at Jonesy but walked over to Buddy, giving him a squeeze on his muscular forearm and a soft kiss on his cheek. He looked down at her and drew her in against him, deepening the kiss briefly then releasing her.

Mom's eyes met mine and she cocked a brow. I shook my head a little.

Not now, my look said.

Jonesy was struggling to unclench his hands and not pound Buddy, I could see it riding him monkey-style on his back. Yeah that.

I went over there and clapped a hand on his shoulder. He whirled on me, ready for whatever and I said with ventriloquist lips, "Cool it. Don't let him see you pissed."

Jonesy pulled it together as Buddy did a casual stroll over to Jade's aunt's truck. He rapped his knuckles on the hood. "Whose beater is this?"

Maybe I'd been premature in telling Jonesy not to get pissed off.

Jade looked at him and answered for me. "It's my aunt's. And, it's what she can afford, Buddy."

Sophie looked at Buddy, who shrugged. "Didn't mean anything by it."

He turned to Jonesy. "What about you, Jones? You got wheels?"

John paled. It was a little like being in the bull ring with a raging bull.

Horns caressing the earth.

Mom saw it all 'cuz, that was about the only thing good about being old. Sometimes you caught a whiff of the flavor of the atmosphere.

This one screamed volatile.

"Oh, he did his parents a favor and brought their car here. He's going to catch a ride with Bry."

Buddy eyed Jonesy, then looked over at the Parental Wheels. "Good thing you didn't have to be seen too long in that thing. Talk about a de-maning."

"Actually, I think the term you're struggling with in your mental muddle is emasculate," Archer expounded and Jonesy gave him a look of profound gratefulness.

I guess he'd passed Jonesy-muster.

Forever.

Archer smiled. I guess he didn't mind sticking it to one of the guys that held him while his buddies beat him. I don't know if I could've managed that.

He was a classier dude than me.

Buddy was smarter than Carson and Brett. He looked over at my mom, realizing there was an adult present.

He blew out a huge breath and said, "Thanks for your thoughts, Archer."

There was a tense moment, my mind and the others flipping through the beating of Lewis, his association with Carson and them.

He was coming up short in my tally.

He looked at Sophie and made up his mind. "Don't we have a party to go to?"

Mom let out the breath she'd been holding and Sophie looked relieved.

Jonesy looked disgruntled.

I was pretty sure the other guys' faces looked like mine.

Wary.

We separated, taking Jade's, Mia's and Bry's cars to Gramps.

Jonesy watched Sophie gracefully fold herself into the 'vette, only the clenching flutter pulsing in his jaw letting me know how he hated it, how he wanted to fix it.

But it was mainly his mess. He'd made it, now he was gonna have to deal.

I didn't like that because if he'd just caved with Sophie originally we wouldn't have to put up with a Carson Associate. Made the group weak.

I gave a last wave to Mom as we drove off to Gramps.

A final ooh-rah to the year, to my childhood.

May the night be filled with treats.

As it turned out, there was nothing but tricks.

Figures.

CHAPTER 10

Gramps had three ginormous bowls out for the candy. They looked like huge, galvanized tubs. He and Jade worked together, Onyx completely getting in the way of Gramps' effectiveness.

"Okay, okay... ya affection monger. Quit that now," Gramps said, scratching behind Onyx's ear for the millionth time.

Just one more of the wonderful scratches... the Dog thought, pushing his nose against the old Alpha's calloused hand. The Dog could smell that the Alpha was very hard, predatory on the outside, but was soft and tender in his deep core. The Dog knew how Alpha he would need to be to camouflage this weakness, it was an enormous talent for an Alpha to possess. The Dog thought him an excellent Alpha. Superior to all.

Best of all, the old Alpha was not nose blind. He knew who the Feral were.

All of them. The Dog knew the old Alpha recognized the Feral that roamed within the pack right now. He would know how to expunge this threat.

*

Mac

Mac gave Black Dog another pat and wondered how he'd be able to get everything he needed to get done with that dog's nose in all of it.

He loved Caleb's dog. Always had. There was something special about the mutt. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he'd bet his bottom dollar on it.