Ronan the Werewolf: Part Two (rough draft)

I finished painting Marshall’s room, which would now belong to the young werewolf who came into Hearthway Hollow. Beau and I agreed to take him in and we had taken classes in order to foster him for the time being. So we decided to redo Marshall’s room for him to stay in, while we put Marshall’s bed in our room.

The young werewolf had been in Dr. Wahl’s care for a few weeks now. He had been very malnourished and dehydrated when he first arrived, and he barely spoke at all. After some time had passed and he started to get better physically, he opened up. The first time he spoke I was in the hospital room with him. I had bought him some clothes, some comfortable pajamas, and he looked at me with the most striking green eyes I had ever seen. His hair was black, cut short because of how matted and dirty it was.

“Wuh-will tha-that big one come buh-back?” He asked in the smallest, quietest voice I’d ever heard.

I didn’t want to react too strongly and risk scaring him. He was skittish of loud noises, especially raised voices. “Which big one?”

“Th-th-the one you came with.” He spoke with a stutter, which Dr. Wahl assured us was normal, and with time and his regular therapy he would be able to grow out of it. 

I sat down beside the bed,watching his fingers trace along the lines of the quilt he kept with him at all times. “Does he scare you?”

He doesn’t answer.

I’m not sure exactly what to say, I only know from the classes we’ve been taking I have to reassure him. “It’s okay to be scared, but he’s a good person. He will not harm you, and if he does, he will have to deal with me. Alright?”

He looks timidly to the door. “Buh-but he’s suh-so big.”

“I can handle that.” I give him a smile and he returns it shyly.

We decide to name him Ronan after my father. We’ve asked him if he has a name, but he either never had one or doesn’t recall it. He takes to the name, he seems to like being called something. 

He does fine around women, but it’s men he seems to have an issue with. He reacted terrified around them, sometimes even got angry if one lingered outside his door too long. Dr. Wahl figured that the authority figure of his pack, or even father, had been the cause of this. He seemed fine around other children, although he was standoffish, he seemed to enjoy having kids his age or younger around.

Beau and I knew this would be a long road ahead of us if we continued to care for Ronan, or even adopted him. We would have to have patience with him, especially Beau who had been working hard at earning Ronan’s trust. 

Once we were able to take him home, he sat in the back seat with Marshall. Marshall was in his carseat, playing with his favorite toy dinosaurs. Ronan sat quietly, head down and eyes darting towards the window every time a car passed. I don’t think he’s ever ridden in a car before.

“Here.” Marshall handed over one of his toys to Ronan.

Ronan ignored it.

“Peease?” Marshall burbled, waving the toy at Ronan.

I turn around in my seat. “Marshall, be nice. If he doesn’t want to play, don’t keep thrusting the toy at him.”

Ronan looked up at Marshall who broke into a huge, chubby cheeked grin. He offered the dinosaur again and Ronan took it. He looked it over, curiously studying it then looking back up at me. 

I nodded to him. “It’s ok, it’s a toy. You can play with it.”

He looks at the toy again, seeing he can move the little arms of the t-rex up and down. He then pushes a button on the chest which makes it roar and his eyes go huge. He pushes the button again and he starts to chuckle. He wiggles the arms some more before looking up at me with a smile. 

“Marshall has lots of toys he can share with you, but Beau and I bought you some of your own for your room.”

He looks at me confused. “Wuh-why?”

“Because we want to take care of you,” Beau says quietly and softly. “We want you to feel at home and be able to have your own space.”

Ronan’s smile fades away. He looks back at the toy then hands it back to Marshall. He takes his quilt and pulls it back into his lap.

“Is something wrong, Ronan?”

“Wuh-what if th-they come buh-back?” He looks at me with those massive green eyes. 

I shake my head. “Who?”

Ronan goes quiet again. Once we get back to the farm, Ronan looks around. He holds on to the quilt, especially when Remi comes around the house. He ducks behind me, pressing his forehead to my back.

“I’ll put him away.” Beau walks over and gently guides Remi away, taking him towards the field with the other goats. 

“Mean,” Ronan huffs.

“He can be your friend though,” I say gently. “He’s very nice once you get to know him. But it’s okay. Let’s go inside and I’ll show you to your room.”

I take him upstairs, showing him the room we painted pale yellow for him. We’ve gotten him all new clothes, bed, and toys. He walks inside, carefully examining the space before sitting down on the bed. 

I set Marshall down and he goes into the closet with a giggle. “I’ll help you keep it clean for a while, but once you know what to do on your own, it’ll be your responsibility. Sound good?”

Ronan looks up at me and nods. 

I sit down beside him on the bed. “Today we’re going to have a nice relaxing day here at the house. We can do whatever you’d like. I plan on making a nice big lunch later, and then Beau is going to make us dinner tonight.”

“Do we hu-hunt?”

I shake my head. “No. We have everything here already. You don’t need to hunt anymore. We’re going to make sure you get three meals a day. Go to school. Stay healthy. Beau and I are going to take care of you.”

Ronan holds onto his blanket with both arms. “Wh-what if I muh-make you muh-mad?”

“Ronan,” I say his name gently, “we will still care for you and love you even if you make us mad. Mad is temporary, it won’t last forever. Love lasts forever.”

We take care to get Ronan accustomed to the house. More than that, we try to get him to understand it is okay for him to ask for help from us, especially Beau. He is terrified of the prospect of asking for help, fearing it will cause some terrible reaction from us. We take time to reassure him we want to help him, and we want him to be able to come to us for anything.

He and Marshall get along well, which is a huge relief for me. Marshall loves to play with Ronan, or at least, teach him how to play. He’s shown him hide and seek, and has taught him how to dance. There have been a few mornings where I have woken up to find Ronan sleeping in Marshall’s little bed. He curls up at the foot with his quilt and Marshall, as the eternal cuddler, has moved down to snuggle up beside him. 

I’ve been getting good reports from Dr. Wahl about his therapy sessions. He’s also taking special classes in order to learn how to read so that way, when the new school year starts, we can enter him.

Slowly, I’ve started introducing him to some of the other children his age in town. I’ve been taking him to the park where, so far, he’s just sat beside me and watched. Eve, Adam’s eldest, has been a dream come true. Since she is just like her father, she wants to be friends with everyone, and take care of them too. So upon seeing Ronan, her natural instincts kicked in.

“Would you like to play on the swings? I can push you?” She has that same curly blonde hair like her father. It’s a cloud-like mop placed at the top of her head, looking too big and lopsided, but suiting her overall dress and missing tooth smile.

Ronan looks down and then up at me.

I pat the top of his head. “You can play with Eve if you’d like, I’ll be right here watching you.”

Ronan cautiously gets off the bench and Eve takes hold of his hand. “You have pretty eyes,” she says cheerfully. “Has anyone told you that?”

Ronan shakes his head rapidly. 

“My Daddy says you should always compliment someone about something you like about ‘em, as it makes both of you feel better!” She grins, showing off more of that missing tooth. “So now you know.” She tugs his hand, leading him to the swings where she goes to push him.

Marshall is playing with Canvas and his two girls, so I go to the snack bar to get some drinks and a treat for the kids. As I’m walking up to the building, I see a man standing across the street where the road goes into the woods. He seems to be coming from the trees and is standing there breathing in the air. The hair on the back of my neck prickles up for some reason. I’m unsure why, but I have a bad feeling about this man. I turn back into the park to go get Adam, but when I look back, the man is gone.

“What’d he look like?” Adam asks quietly.

“Pretty tall,” I murmur. “Sort of muscular build, dark hair, scruffy.”

Adam’s eyes dart around. “Like half the men in this town?”

I give him a shove. “I’m serious. I’ve never seen him before and I can’t explain it, but I got a strange feeling from seeing him.”

“I’ll give Mrs. Locklear a call,” he says. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye out for new strangers.”

Not long after that I take Ronan and Marshall home. In the car I can see Marshall nodding off and Ronan is yawning.

“Did you have fun with Eve today?” I ask him.

Ronan nods sleepily. “She’s nice.”

“That’s good, I’m glad you’re getting a friend.” As I’m turning down the road onto the farm, someone steps out of the woods and onto the path. I hit the brakes and Marshall wakes up crying. Ronan looks up in alarm and starts to panic. He scrambles in his seat, making small distressed sounds as he reaches over to try and make Marshall be quiet. 

The man looks up and it's the same one I saw  at the park. I quickly switch gears to reverse and hit the gas. The man jumps onto the car and Ronan screams in terror. I hit the breaks again, making the man slam onto the windshield. I surge forward with the car so he slips back, breaking hard so he falls off. I then punch reverse again quickly as I escape the narrow driveway. I hit the gas and don’t look back as I make our escape.

I go to Mrs. Lockear’s home where she immediately calls Adam and Billy. Beau arrives at the house soon after. I’ve been trying to calm down Ronan the entire time. He’s kept his quilt around him while tucking himself behind my back on the sofa. A search has begun around the farm, but so far nothing has been found.

“Was it his father?” Beau asks quietly. “Someone from his pack?”

I shake my head. “The way he reacted-” My throat grows thick as I remember his panicked cries. “ He was so scared Beau,” I whimper. “He was so scared.”

“It’s ok,” Beau whispers quietly. We’ll find them and make sure they never hurt him again.” He hugs me tight. “We’re going to keep Ronan safe.”

Later that evening, there is a howl that splits the night open. Ronan is suddenly in bed with me, holding me tight and shaking like a leaf. Beau goes outside with Mrs. Locklear where they find that man waiting.

He grins when he sees Beau and there is a recognition between them. Beau instantly goes stiff all over and his hands begin to tremble. Mrs. Locklear steps in front of him, glaring down the man standing at her doorstep. 

“Who the fuck are you?” She asks snidely.

The man chuckles and licks the corners of his mouth. “Family, apparently.”

Beau reaches out, taking hold of Mrs. Locklear’s arm. She doesn’t look away from the man before her. 

Mrs. Locklear stares him down, keeping her footing firm and stance open. She then chuckles to herself. “You’re family to no one here, go back from where you came and never come back here unless you really hate having your testicals.” 

“You want a piece of me, granny dangerous?” The man mocks. “Go ahead. But if you keep blocking me from what’s mine, I’ll come up there and snap that birdy little neck of yours.”

“Try it, see what happens?” She sneers. “Now tell me in as plain of english as you can, what the fuck are you here for?”

The man glances to Beau with a wicked grin. “I did come here to get my welp back, but apparently a family reunion is in order.”

Beau’s fingers dig into Mrs. Locklear’s arm.

“I thought you were dead,” the man laughs. “Or at least hoped it.” He starts to laugh. “I forgot this is where we dumped you, wasn’t it? Oh come on now, don’t tell me you hold a grudge for that? We’re brothers after all, it’s what we do.”

“I don’t care what you think,” Mrs. Locklear then barks. “You have no family here. No reason to be in my yard, let alone this town. You best leave now before the rest of the elders arrive.”

He crosses his arms and shakes his head. “This town is full of lap dogs and spoiled brats. It’s the whole reason we left him here. He belonged with a bunch of pomeranian freaks like you. You know this town is a laughingstock right? Our kind would rather eat their own foot than have to turn into such sniveling inbreds like you.”

“A lot of big words for tiny piece of shit,” Mrs. Locklear sneers. “Seriously, son, get out of here. You have no idea what you’re in for.”

“I came here for what is mine.” He points up to the house. “My own pup is in there and if you just hand him back, I’ll be along my merry way.”

Beau now realized the stakes were even higher than before. Ronan was Beau’s nephew, but not only that, the two of them shared the same abuser. Beau’s brother had been the one to nearly kill him and leave him to die in Hearthway Hollow. 

“You can’t have him.” Beau was breathless from fear. “Why come back now? He’s been here for months!”

“I was teaching him a lesson,” his brother says with a shurg.

“A lesson?” Beau nearly screams. “He’s a child! Your child!”

“And you’ve seen him!” He snarls. “He’s pathetic, even worse than you were.”

Beau steps in front of Mrs. Locklear and this time she takes a hold of him. “Steady yourself, Beau. Think clearly. Just wait and we’ll be able to take care of him with the others.”

“He’s scared!” Beau keeps his voice quiet, knowing that it would scare Ronan even further. “He’s scared of you.”

“Well at least he’s getting one thing right,” he brother laughs.

Mrs. Locklear is struggling to keep Beau restrained.

In the bedroom I’m holding Ronan and rubbing his back. His crying and shivering, very nearly vibrating off the bed. 

“You’re not going anywhere, you’re staying right here. We’re not letting you go.” I quietly try to reassure him, but I don’t know what’s reaching him or not.

Marshall starts to howl and Ronan turns around quickly. He sees Marshall at the foot of the bed, shifted in his pajamas yet again. I start to question the sanity of this two year old. His tiny howls then mix with the howls coming from the forest. One by one, the others start coming towards the house. First Billy and Delaynie arrive, followed by Charlie and Harun. Adam soon comes up the driveway, standing directly behind Beau’s brother.

“You’ve trespassed here,” Adam growls. “And I am sure you’ve been warned more than once at this point. It is time for you to leave this place.”

Beau’s brother’s grin grows as he turns to look back at everyone. “I’ve eaten cats bigger than you,” he chides. “None of you scare me, no matter how much you posture and preen yourselves around this excuse of yours.” He stretches out his arms. “I’ve come for what’s mine. You cannot keep me from him.”

“He’s ours now,” Beau speaks low. “He’s my son from now on.”

“Now that’s the joke,” his brother cackles. “One pathetic wimp raising another pathetic wimp. I sent that runt out to become stronger, to learn to defend himself. He doesn’t need to be coddled or pampered because he’s going to be strong, one way or another.” He points to the house again. “This pretty little life you have for yourself, what with your human mate and half-breed child-” he scowls. “I would rather my pup die than grow up in it.”

Mrs. Locklear can no longer hold onto Beau and he lashes out. He tackles his brother to the ground as both begin to shift. They bite and claw at one another and I quickly cover Ronan’s ears to hide the sounds of the fight from him. Marshall comes up and hugs Ronan, howling again into the night.