Page 13 of Widow

A grin spread across his face, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.

“It’s a Pop-Tart. Would you like one?”

“I’ve never had one before. Picard would like some too.”

I walked back into the kitchen and put three Pop-Tarts in the toaster. I couldn't believe I was about to feed a stranger who had a pet monkey. A stranger who I was pretty sure had otherness of his own.

“Are those three just for Picard?” The smell of lemons overwhelmed me.

I practically jumped out of my skin and turned around. I brought my hands to my chest as if that would stop the thundering of my heart. How had he moved off the couch and into the kitchen so quickly? I hadn’t even heard him come up behind me.

“I figured you would eat two, and he would eat one.” I raised my eyebrows and then sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like lemons?”

“Did you just smell me?” Another grin spread across his face. Now that he was closer, I could see two dimples form in his cheeks. His eyes sparkled and watched as I took another Pop-Tart out and put it in the toaster.

Hopefully, four was enough for both of them because that was all I had left. A Costco run was in order.

“Touché.” I vaguely remembered a bag of lemons from the night before. “What did you do with that bag of lemons?”

“Is it revolting for you? That was the goal. In case your spiders came back out. Spiders hate citrus.” He pulled out his cell phone. "At least that's what Google says."

I snorted and pulled a coffee cup out for him. Then after another thought, I pulled a second cup out for Picard.

“How do you take your coffee?” I filled one of the cups.

“Picard likes his black. I don’t like coffee. Do you have any milk? Warm milk is preferable. Especially if it just came from the cow. Goats' milk is good too.”

I laughed and filled up the second cup with coffee. He surely had to be kidding. He seemed to say outlandish things.

“Let me just go to my barn and milk my cow.” I handed him the cup of coffee, and he looked at it and frowned. I guess he wasn’t kidding.

We sat at the kitchen island and ate breakfast in silence. He seemed to be enjoying his Pop-Tarts. So did Picard. I finally broke the silence.

“So, you said something about centuries. Exactly how old are you? What are you?” I watched as Picard ate like a cartoon character eats the corn off the cob. He shoved it into his mouth so quick I wasn’t sure where it all went.

“I don’t want to freak you out. Luci- Lou said that humans tend to freak out over things they can’t understand. As for what I am… I’m a man.”

“I have spiders living inside of me. I doubt I’m going to freak out over how old you are. Are all of you really old?”

“Kai is the youngest of us three. He’s still pretty old though compared to how he looks. At one point in time, he used to be a human.” He finished the last bite of his food and then raised the paper towel to his mouth and licked off the crumbs.

“Used to be? What is he now? Don’t tell me you guys are vampires or some shit.” I finished off the rest of my coffee and considered getting another cup. I looked at the time on the microwave and decided against it. I would get one when I was at the hospital.

Which I needed to be at in an hour.

He grunted and shook his head. “Don’t ever confuse my kind for those bloodsuckers. I’m a wolf shifter. Over twenty centuries old.”

My eyes widened and jaw dropped. “So, you turn into a wolf? Like during a full moon?” I couldn't even process the fact that he said twenty centuries. Was that supposed to confuse me? I could do the math. He was over two thousand years old.

He certainly didn't act like he was that old. He definitely didn't look like it. If he was telling the truth, then he had some very, very good genes.

He sighed and rubbed the side of his face. He looked over at me and seemed to consider his words. “I turn into a wolf when I want to. The moon has nothing to do with it, although when it’s a full moon, it’s easier to shift at will. That doesn’t scare you, does it?”

I shook my head and slowly got to my feet. I grabbed my empty coffee cup and the two empty cups that Picard had finished. No wonder he was bouncing all around the counter; he was high off all the caffeine.

“I’m not really surprised by much now. Maybe your age. Does that mean I’m going to live longer?” I put the dishes into the sink. “I don’t think I want to live longer.”

“You're new territory. Even Lou hasn’t heard of a demon possessing a human before. But if anyone can get the demon out, it’s him.”

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