The Full Moon Speakeasy

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Eyes of a Wolf

Luci didn’t move, she didn’t even feel as though she could breathe. She must have been dreaming, surely she had to have been dreaming. But, it was all so obvious. The art in his apartment, the cryptic answers about ‘his kind’, and his nickname in the organization literally being Wolf in Italian. It almost felt silly she hadn’t put it together, but who would have thought that werewolves were actually real? 

The wolf sat down, much like a dog. Only this creature was tall, even at a sitting height. Noah only watched her. He seemed calm, but Luci had an instinct to act small and still in the presence of such a large, predatory animal. However, the more time passed and nothing happened, Luci started to wonder if he was waiting for her to do something. With shaky breathing, she managed to get to her feet. Noah still only watched, looking calm and curious if anything. She approached with great caution. Sure enough, the creature was shoulder height to her, though sitting. Lucille held a hand out and watched his wolf face. His green eyes are just as striking as ever. It’s so peculiar to see them larger and so clear, but they are just as enchanting. 

Her hand rested on his snout and Noah dipped his head, pushing her hand to pet upward at the top of his head. The fur was coarse and thick, while remaining a sort of soft texture. He was impossibly warm, even with just a small touch like that. Luci allowed her fingers to scratch at the fur, and he leaned into her touch. 

“This is bizarre,” she whispered. 

After another bit of petting and observing his form, Noah moved back away from her. Then, there was another twisting and mangling of flesh and fur. In the matter of just a few seconds, Noah was standing before her, once again a man. He was stark naked and out of purely not knowing what else to do, Luci turned around and hurried to her portion of the room and found her robe. Hurrying back over to him, she extended it to him. He draped it over his body and loosely tied it around his waist. “Sorry to spring it on you like that,” he said. “I didn’t think there was a better way to explain it. Like I said, I don’t think you would have believed me.”

“That’s for sure,” she muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I…” 

Nothing else came out, her voice dying in her throat. She had no words for what had just happened and what that meant. Noah cleared his throat and then gestured to the small couch. “Might we sit?” She nodded and together, they moved to the couch. Noah sighed and rubbed his hands together. “I suppose to take the burden off you needing to come up with questions, I’ll give you a rundown. After, if you have any, I’ll be happy to answer them. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, relieved that he would take charge. Her mind was somehow both empty and running a thousand miles a minute at the same time. 

Noah placed his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “The gang is a wolf pack. If they are identified as my employees, counsel, whatever—  they are a werewolf. That isn’t to say our territory is all wolves, but all wolves are in that territory. And as you’ve noticed, I’m the only Irish in a sea of Italians. There used to be rival gangs, and the Italians sort of got rid of any competition. I was just a boy when they came after the Irish, and I was spared by the Italians and was raised with them. When I came of age, there’s an initiation of sorts you must go through. A tournament of sorts, to prove your rank.”

A dry laugh that was more a breath escaped him. “I came out on top, much to everyone’s surprise. That’s how I became Lupo. It’s a very respected title which meant I became in charge of everything. The gang had been into the criminal life for a while. It’s sort of natural, isn’t it… To find ways to survive when you don’t quite belong to the society at large. When you’re superhumanly strong and have abilities like ours, criminality sort of went hand and hand with our stealth. And with Prohibition… It launched us into true riches. My first decision as Lupo, was to open a speakeasy.”

There were so many questions to ask, but there were ones still at the forefront of her mind that she needed to get answered before she could really sort through her thoughts appropriately. “What about Imelda Bianchi? What does she have to do with any of that?” 

Noah nodded in a strange rhythm, as though he were going through repetitive thoughts in his head. “So, the big dilemma of our time beyond rival gangs, is… is breeding. When werewolves are purebred, as in born of two wolves, they are the strongest and largest wolves. They can also have special… senses that are highly garnered and useful. And you are born of one wolf and a human, you’re called a Coyote. They are respected and honestly the majority of the gang at this point. However, they aren’t quite as large or strong, and they never have additional abilities. And then when a Coyote breeds with a human, the child cannot shift. If something isn’t done to fix it, they believe by the turn of the millenia, werewolves will be almost nonexistent—  if those of us who are purebreds don’t mate with one another and essentially live long and multiply to give Wolves and Coyotes more chances to keep the bloodline alive.”

Her nose scrunched at the news. “It seems a bit… gross. To treat you all like you’re only meant for breeding purposes. Is Imelda meant to just be your baby factory or something?”

“In a sense,” he mused. “Imelda is the daughter of the previous alpha. She is what our counsel of elders considers to be my best mate to produce the strongest children. And, they are arranging a marriage for us to basically create a monarchy within the pack. For me to lead, but for us and our children to act as role models for the masses. To be beautiful, powerful and make others feel like they can too so long as they stop breeding with humans.” 

“So… where does that leave me?” she asked. She was surprised she could even vocal a thought, her mind reeling over everything he was telling her. “Why did you bother getting involved with me?”

His lips pursed together and he finally met her gaze. Reaching over, he gently took hold of her hand. “Because you’re my soulmate.”