January 9, 2004
"So this is what a folks arena looks like," said Coralis, standing in front of a downtown building. "It's like an indoor stadium, right?"
Stephanie laughed.
"You've never been to a concert before?"
"It's not like I ever had the time to do anything that normal people do. There have been a few concerts that your brother wanted to take me to, but I always was in the middle of some mess somewhere, so he'd go with Mark instead."
"What about when you were a teenager?" said Stephanie as they got in line. "I know you went to a boarding school, but you didn't stay there for the summer."
"I was either in group homes or staying at Erik's and Henry's house. Victoria wanted to go to one once when we were 13, but I couldn't get permission from the head administrator."
Stephanie looked at her friend. She forgot a moment that Coralis didn't have a normal childhood. The heavy rock band The Moonlight Hammer was in town. Frank was covering the event and had been able to get parterre tickets for Coralis and Stephanie.
"And let me guess. When you were with Erik and Henry, all you did was play sports, just like Sebastian."
"Exactly that, yes. Speaking of Sebastian," said Coralis as she pulled her ticket out to have it scanned by the security, "I'm not gonna lie, it's weird to hear him being referred to as Sebastian L. McNally, even if it's just when among humans. It's going to take some time to get used to it."
"Wait when it's your turn, in 11 weeks?"
Frank was backstage with Liam, his werewolf bodyguard and tech guy. The band members were werewolves, but Frank didn't know that. He suspected that they might be supernatural when he saw Liam looking like he was sniffing the air when entering the backstage room, but he wasn't sure and he couldn't directly ask, in case they weren't. He trusted that if they were a threat to him, Liam would act on it.
While interviewing Berny, the lead guitarist, he noticed the drummer's eye went white and his face lit up. He jumped on his feet, and Jimmy eyes, the lead vocal, also went white.
"She's here. Blue is here," said Dhowy, the drummer.
"That's what the guard at the gates said, but he couldn't sense anything, it might not be her. I think she lives in London," said Jimmy.
Recognizing the eye movement, Frank looked at Liam, wondering if the band were werewolves talking about his Blue. Liam was staring at them.
"Nah, I think Blue is here. Think about where we are, of course, he wouldn't smell anything from her and she probably doesn't live in London anymore," said Dhowy.
Berny's attention went back and forth between Frank, who had paused with his questions, and his bandmates.
"If it's Blue, can they get her backstage?" said Romeo, their keyboard guy.
"I don't know, he said she was with a female," said Jimmy.
Frank quickly realized that they were talking about his Blue and his sister and that if they were werewolves, they probably weren't her enemy. He had to find out if he had to warn her or not.
"Blue, as in Blue Thunder?"
The band members looked at him.
"Depends. Why are you asking?" said Molx, their second guitarist, smelling the air toward Liam. "Although, if you hang around pack wolves, you probably aren't hunting her."
"I can ask you the same thing. I may or may not know her personally."
The band members looked at each other.
"Let's put it this way. If you do know her and can get her backstage to meet us, you will be our most favourite journalist forever. We have no ill intents against her," said Dhowy.
"If I was to call her, how should I introduce you?" said Frank, thinking if they were enemies to her, she'd take it as a warning. "How do I know you're not intending to kill her?"
"I like you already. Back in Dallas, she beat my drummer back to a straight line during a bar fight. We owe her," said Jimmy.
Frank chuckled as he pulled his phone to call her, but got no answer. One of the band security guys had his eyes on her.
"Khym said she's in line for food but is talking to the female with her," said Berny.
Frank tried to call his sister, thinking Coralis probably didn't hear her phone.
"He's now saying that the female with her is digging for something in her purse, for her phone, and is stepping out of the line. Blue is watching her," continued Berny.
"Hey bro, we're here. We're in line to grab pizza. What's up? Everything's fine?" said Stephanie, looking at Coralis.
"Yes. The Moonlight Hammer knows Blue and would like you two to meet them backstage, interested?"
"Frank says the band knows you, asked if we wanna come backstage," said Stephanie to Coralis.
"Know me from where?"
Frank heard her from the background.
"She punched their drummer in a bar fight in Dallas," said Frank to his sister on the other end of the phone line.
"Really?" said Stephanie, and relayed her the information.
"Beloved Goddess, it's really her and this guy knows her," said Dhowy.
"Uh, yeah I know who they are, you sure they ain't my enemy? I got him pretty good I think," said Coralis to Stephanie.
"Khym said that based on her reaction to what the female told her, it was definitely her. He'll take them to us," said Berny while Frank slid his phone back into his pocket.
"So, you do know her, but what's your relation to her? How do you know her?" said Jimmy.
Frank glanced at Liam, who nodded at him.
"I think they're fine. Pack wolves aren't her enemy," said Liam.
"She's my fiancée."
Dhowy got up and went to Frank. He bumped his fist and held his shoulder.
"You're now officially my favourite journalist."
"There was a point in time where Dhowy was hanging around with the wrong crowd. Our alpha nearly kicked him out of the pack. Along with a bunch of rogue wolves, he kept instigating trouble with other packs and almost led us into a war. Found out afterward that the leader of the local rogue wolves was cozying up with witches to summon a demon."
"I remember her having to go to Dallas to investigate reports of wolf conflicts and demon summoning, that was last April I think," said Frank.
"Yes, it was. One night, we were at the bar. Dhowy was about to leave to meet up with the damn rogues. We tried to convince him to stay with us, to stop hanging out with the rogues, but he wouldn't listen to us. He was doped out of his mind," said Jimmy as Coralis and Stephanie walked in.
"They promised me power and notoriety, that I would get all I ever wanted, but I didn't know they wanted to summon a demon," said Dhowy.
"That night, Blue showed up at the bar with a wolf and another mage. The wolf with them locked up the bar. Apparently, Dhowy wasn't the only pack member working with the rogue wolves and witches. He wanted to leave the bar and was getting agitated. Blue beat him to an inch of his life so he couldn't go anywhere. The three of them quickly uncovered the trouble wolves in the place and when their leader appeared from the kitchen, she killed him before leaving to take down the witches," said Jimmy.
"He didn't hang around any more rogue wolves after that night and even stopped sniffing any drugs he could put his paw on," said Romeo.
"Why am I not surprised to hear a bar fight story involving you," said Stephanie.
Frank sat on a stool and watched The Moonlight Hammer band members reunite with Coralis.
"Our journalist friend here claimed you to be his fiancée when we asked what was his relation to you, is that the truth?" said Dhowy.
"Yes," said Coralis, looking at Frank.
"Listen, if it wasn't for you, we would have lost Dhowy and we wouldn't be The Moonlight Hammer. We don't do wedding gigs, but we'd be honoured to perform at yours, free of charge, if you want us to," said Jimmy.