Lunar Cycles

Chapter 6

When Grenier eventually caught up with Zo, he had passed by a rather green puddle of vomit. He found his pack mate sitting on a rock overlooking a pond. His back was bent over, and his tired facade gave him a similarity to the tree Varek currently leant against. The Cajun could not help but sympathize with him.
“I don’t supposed you would lie to me,” Zo said, not brothering to turn and look behind him.
“Neither would Varek,” Grenier replied, walking closer. “You’re the oldest of us, and Varek trusts you over anyone else. Why would he lie?”
Zo turned to face his friend when he saw him appear in his peripheral vision. His expression was uncomprehending, lost in thought. He cleared his throat, trying to let the concept sink in.
“Here’s me thinking somehow skinwalkers get cancer.”
Brow wrinkled in puzzlement, Grenier asked, “Would that be preferable?”
“Oddly enough, it’s sounding more dignified than what I’ve got.”
“Well it is when you’ve got that sort of attitude,” walking to the other side of the long haired man, Grenier took a seat next to him on the boulder. “You could look at it as a great privilege.”
Zo scoffed. “Because I’m the world’s first pregnant man?”
“Because you’ve become a part of skinwalker legend.”
The elder werewolf cast a skeptical eye in his companion’s direction. “Forgive me, but I don’t follow.”
Grenier only smiled his wolfish smile. “Grandmamma knew almost every legend in the history of skinwalkers. She told us plenty of them, and enough times that I remember each one. And one of them mentioned the strange things that can happen on the night of a blue moon. You and Varek had one of your nights on a blue moon weeks ago.”
Zo kept staring at the man, unsure of what to think or say, but hanging onto every word.
“I realized what might happen when you started showing signs. I remembered what the two of you did.”
“So… what you’re saying is on a blue moon, a male skinwalker can get knocked up?” Zo inquired, face screwed in utter bewilderment.
“Not so much any male,” Grenier responded with a casual wave of dismissal. “Not even a male that was in your… situation.” Mentioning Zo as the receiving half of the couple was awkward to mention outright. Grenier swallowed and continued.
“According to the legend, an alpha wolf is affected by the second full moon of the month. If he takes advantage of that on the very night it happens, he and his mate will conceive. My brothers and sisters all got a pretty big laugh when Grandmamma mentioned it didn’t matter if the mate was male or female.”
When he finished, Grenier watched as Zo looked away, gazing over the pond. A dragonfly zipped over the surface of the water, hunting for prey, but watchful of any large hopefuls swimming below it. Zo hung his head between his legs again, feeling queasy.
“Sick again?” his friend asked.
“Dunno…” Zo glanced at his stomach. He still had not fastened his jeans before he had fallen asleep. Giving a joyless chuckle, he now knew grimly why his pants were feeling snug. Soon they would not be fitting whatsoever. An image formed in his mind of himself with a large round belly carrying an unborn child within, and soon he was feeling sick once more.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he lifted his head and addressed Grenier.
“So Varek is the father…”
“Yup,” the scarred werewolf answered. “Looks like you two are gonna be parents.”
“I don’t want to be a parent,” Zo argued, hand over his frustrated expression. “Even if I was the father, I don’t want any damn kids. Can you imagine us living our lives the way we do with a baby along for the ride? Or maybe meeting with a rival pack… or escaping the cops… a kid’s a liability, and a risk I don’t want to take. I already look out for my pack, and none of us need to be worrying about the life of a child.”
Grenier listened intently, any traces of his amused smirk totally gone.
“I’m sure Varek will understand that, but… by chance… what if he wants the pup?”
“He knows the same as I do. He doesn’t want to have to worry anymore than he does… but… I don’t know… As much as we hate to admit it… we both care about family… our family.”
Several minutes of silence passed as they watched the sparse activity of the pond. The dragonfly was gone by now, replaced by the journey of a turtle, his wake gentle and rippling.
“So what are you going to do?” Grenier asked, no judgment to be found in his voice.
“I have to think about it.”
“Good,” a brown hand came to rest on Zo’s shoulder. “At least do that much. Like I said before, you’re still mates, as much as you hate to admit it. Be patient with him… and be honest. After all you’ve been through, he deserves that.”
Zo gave a nearly imperceptible nod, well aware of how to approach the matter at hand. He was not only confronting a mate, but a great friend and leader as well. In truth, he was terrified of what was happening, but for all he knew, so was Varek.