Page 28 of A Little Red
Albert let out a dry chuckle. “I’m sure that made her quite popular.”
“I get the feeling that Scarlet has always marched to the beat of her own drum,” said Liam, drily.
“Well, that gives me hope,” said Albert, looking thoughtful. “They all seem to rush about so much and be stuck to their devices. I feel like we’ve let the humans slide away from us. It’s so hard to bridge the gap anymore. That’s why I think it’s good that you’re here in the city, doing what you’re doing.”
Liam looked at Albert in surprise. Very few wolves understood what they thought of as Liam’s bizarre lifestyle choice and to have an elder like Albert approve was shocking.
“If we can find more humans like yours, I think we could build something. We need to be participating more. We all share this world, but we’ve let the humans fuck it up because we wanted to avoid warlocks and we didn’t want to get involved.Not involved.” He made derisive noise. “We’re all connected. We can’tnotbe involved. Did you see that news story about the protest over the trees? I forget where that was. Somewhere around here. But the town and the protestors came together. They experienced a watershed moment. Those trees made everyone realize that everyone is heretogether. We need more moments like that.”
“The protestors got the shit kicked out of them first,” said Liam, thinking of the boot print on Scarlet’s back.
“Worth it,” said Albert dismissively. “And good for them for standing up, well, sitting down, I guess. But you get the point.”
Paxton looked from Liam to Albert in confusion. “I didn’t see that story.”
“It didn’t get a lot of press,” said Albert. “No one likes it when the rural folk and the peaceniks get along. Division sells more ad space. But my point is: why aren’t wolves standing beside them?”
“Too much exposure,” said Paxton automatically.
Albert’s lip curled. “I know I’m old, and old people always remember everything as being better when they were young, but I swear when I was younger wolves had more balls. Now everyone’s alldon’t shift anywhere, social media will get you. Fuck that shit.”
Liam laughed, but Paxton looked shocked.
“One time,” said Albert, pointing his fork at Liam, “I woke up in the middle of Hyde Park with half a peacock in my mouth that I stole out of a local menagerie and had to sprint across London naked to get back to my hotel. Had to put my fur on halfway back so that I wouldn’t scare the shit out of a pack of school girls.”
Liam threw his head back in laughter.
“And you think seeing a grown man turn into a wolf was better than seeing a man naked?” asked Paxton, chuckling unwillingly.
“Those were children! And children are blood thirsty wretches who can get their heads around a few monsters under the bed, but I don’t think they need to see my bits first thing Sunday on the way to church. Not to mention the nun they were with.”
“That probably would have been educational for her,” said Paxton.
“Never make assumptions about nuns, son,” said Albert. “Anyway, my point is that I think we need to be building more bridges. In the old times, humans and shifters could mate and we could make werewolves—but that magic is gone.”
“I thought that was a myth,” said Paxton skeptically.
“Nope,” said Albert. “Definitely not. Only no one seems to be doing anything about it. And I don’t know what’s changed, but I don’t like it.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to begin investigating that,” said Liam, frowning.
“Neither would I,” said Albert. “But it’s my theory that the warlocks and their ilk have managed to separate and segregate us all through some sort of magic. Maybe if we had more cooperation and learned more about the human science and all that DNA stuff we could figure it out.”
“I don’t know,” said Paxton, doubtfully. “Their science seems to be why the planet is such a mess in the first place.”
“Is that what you think, Liam?” asked Albert skewering him with a piercing stare.
“A lot of the original damage was from ignorance,” said Liam slowly. “And greed. But now, some of them seem to be trying to fix it. The problem is that global transformation is only going to happen if we can shift the burden of change from individuals to corporations and governments.” Liam knew he was parroting Scarlet’s most recent rant, but it was actually nice to have a pre-formed speech to fall back on. “The best thing individuals can do is pressure governments to change laws.”
“But that’s up to the humans,” said Paxton, quoting their mother in his turn. “They broke things. It’s up to them to fix it.”
“Do you leave children to clean up broken glass?” asked Albert. “If they were capable of it, they would have done it. And if they fail then it’s our hunting grounds that disappear. It’s our water that will be poisoned and dry up. I rather think we’re past the point of leaving it to them to clean up their mess.”
“What do you want to do?” asked Liam.
“Organize,” said Albert. “Our packs have money and resources. I’m forming a super pack.” He looked so pleased with himself and his pun that Liam couldn’t help but smile.
“Mom’s not going to go for that,” said Paxton. “Packs are independent. Always have been.”
