Page 58 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

Grimm Cove,South Carolina, four years later…

Jonathan still wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up patrolling Grimm Cove University’s campus. Dwayne’s son, Kellan, had asked to meet with him on campus, and that had been that.

Grimm Cove University was on the tail end of wrapping up its spring semester. From Jonathan’s understanding, a good number of students had already left for summer break after they finished their exams, which explained why the campus seemed empty despite the few stragglers walking around.

It wasn’t as if Jonathan made a habit of visiting the grounds, but he’d been there enough to know it normally had more foot traffic this time of evening.

The sun had set, and the temperature was still high. He wore a T-shirt with a character from a popular video game on it and a pair of jeans. He wasn’t one for shorts or hot weather.

He wasn’t even supposed to be in Grimm Cove this month, but Bram had called him back, asking him to hold down the fort while he went to Europe to meet with other heads of slayer lines for a last-minute summit. It was the fourth one since everything had gone to hell in a handbasket with the Murray line.

Evidently, the rest of the lines thought it best to start trying to open dialogue between them in hopes of heading off any future fiascos. Jonathan had attended the first three summits but refused to go to another. They always digressed into various forms of finger-pointing and nonstop arguments. He didn’t have the time or patience for any of it.

Plus, his wolf was always on edge at the events, disliking being surrounded by so many people who dedicated their lives to hunting and killing supernaturals. It was one thing to be around Van Helsings all the time; it was an entirely different matter to put himself in the lion’s den on a yearly basis with people he didn’t know that well. People who didn’t all agree with standing side by side with supernaturals to fight the good fight.

This year, Bram had elected to take Elis Van Helsing with him since the young slayer had recently graduated from university and was showing a good deal of promise when it came to taking the initiative within the organization. There was a point in time when Elis’s father had been a key figure within the organization too, so it made sense that his son would follow in his footsteps.

Bram had been at Jonathan to recruit Kellan, Dwayne’s son, in hopes he would officially join the organization rather than merely be a Harker pack member. Jonathan saw a lot of himself in Kellan and wanted to keep him as far from violence and the darker side of being supernatural as he could. And he didn’t want the young man to have to take the life of a fellow supernatural, as would be called for if he were to join the Van Helsing group. It weighed on a man’s soul.

Jonathan could attest to that.

Bram had been at Jonathan to start training an assistant, someone who could step in for him whenever and wherever they were needed.

Kellan had just wrapped up his undergraduate schooling and was all set to attend Grimm Cove College (which was in the middle of transitioning to a university) in the fall to work on his master’s degree. All of Dwayne’s worrying had been for nothing. Kellan seemed to be doing well in the small town and clearly liked the school enough to want to do his graduate degree there as well.

He and Kellan were supposed to be meeting for beer and pizza tonight since Jonathan was on campus. It would be good to spend some time with him and get an update on how things were progressing in his life. An update that didn’t come by way of his mother or father. Marjorie and Dwayne each had very different views on where Kellan’s life should go.

Marjorie wanted him to stay away from hunting demons and violence. Dwayne wanted Kellan to follow in his footsteps within the Van Helsing organization. Jonathan was neutral. He wanted whatever was best for Kellan.

Jonathan made a move to check the time by reaching into his pocket for his pocket watch. It was a habit that didn’t seem to want to die. He’d lost it in Detroit four years ago when he’d gone to the aid of the young women outside the airport.

He lifted his arm and checked the watch he wore there. Kellan was running behind. Not a total shock.

Just then, he smelled the young wolf-shifter before he saw him walking quickly from a side path that wrapped around one of the buildings.

Kellan jogged up alongside Jonathan. “Sorry. Got held up turning in my final project for one of my classes, and then there was a line at the bookstore to sell my books back.”

“Understandable,” said Jonathan.

Kellan glanced at Jonathan’s wrist. “Does your watch have the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland on the face?”

“It does,” replied Jonathan, grinning as he and the young shifter began to walk.

“The one you had on yesterday had a wolf head on it,” remarked Kellan, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, a backpack slung over one shoulder. “How many watches do you have?”

“A lot.”

“Whatever happened to that pocket watch you used to carry around with you?” asked Kellan. “You always had it on you when I was a kid, or am I remembering it wrong?”

“You’re remembering right.” Jonathan tensed. “I lost it.”

“That sucks. I know you liked it,” added Kellan.

Jonathan managed a nod. “I did.”

“You’re very different from Bram,” Kellan said as they continued to walk. “I know you two are the same age and older than dirt, but he’s kind of…um…”

“Uptight?” asked Jonathan, holding back a smile as he wondered briefly what had prompted the young shifter to bring up Bram. The two were finally on good terms once more. Whatever Kellan’s reasons were, he was right. Bram wouldn’t be caught dead (okay, deader than normal) in a gaming T-shirt. Come to think of it, Jonathan couldn’t recall having ever seen Bram in a T-shirt. The vampire had a thing for tailored, high-end clothing and expensive Italian leather shoes.

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