“Well, grab a pair out of the dresser,” said Meg.
“But these were my favorite pair,” Luc moaned as he wadded up the flannel sheep print sleep pants.
Meg started to laugh. “Is that because you could dream of eating sheep at night?” she teased.
“Oh you brat!” Luc said tossing the shredded pants at her. He pulled another set with moose on them out of the drawer and slipped them on.
“By the way, who bought you the sleep pants?” Meg asked noticing a theme.
“Umm… Ginny. She has this weird sense of humor,” said Luc. He was blushing again as he pulled a teeshirt over his head.
“I rather like her sense of humor,” said Meg as they walked to the kitchen.
Peter handed Luc a cup of coffee and made room for him at the table. Kevin was cooking bacon and eggs on the stove. The smells were beginning to permeate the kitchen.
“Meg, where is the garlic powder?” Kevin asked.
“Um… I think it is to the right of the stove in that little cupboard,” she said. “I still have trouble remembering where everything is.”
Kevin smiled as he found the garlic in a glass container. No wonder he hadn’t been able to smell it. He added some to the eggs along with pepper and a bit of salt. “Meg, if you’d get some plates out, I have breakfast ready,” he said.
Meg smiled as she moved to get the plates. She loved the fact that the male shifters she knew all cooked. She understood that it was more of a defense against starvation than domesticity, but it was still cool. She handed the plates to Kevin who quickly piled eggs, bacon and toast out of the oven onto the plates. Everyone sat down at the table and dug in.
“Are there seconds?” asked Luc.
“No, but give me a minute and I’ll make more eggs,” said Kevin. “Oh, and you’ll need to go shopping. Between last night and this morning, we stripped the fridge.”
“Not surprised. I remember food being brought in, but there were a lot of people here last night,” said Luc.
“Yes, there were, which brings me to a lot of questions,” said Meg.
“Good luck,” said Peter looking at Luc. From the look on his face, he figured that this was going to be an unpleasant discussion.
Kevin was cooking eggs and didn’t say a word. Luc got up and poured coffee for everyone before sitting back down to address Meg’s questions.
“So, where do you want me to begin?” Luc asked.
“Let’s go with the easy one. Duke. Where is he? And what was that bit about a place up in the mountains for him?” she asked.
“First off, we have our own rules. Family rules, pack rules,” Luc started.
“I figured that out when Bitty’s thing went wrong and when I took you to a shifter hospital and not the local ER. Quit stalling,” said Meg. She wasn’t pissed or angry, but she didn’t need the obvious pointed out either.
“When one of us screws up badly, there are usually two options. First off, you get yourself killed or are killed in a fight. Second one, is you get sent to the equivalent of jail. Duke got sent to jail. No parole, no shortening of sentence, no death sentence either. Jeff runs the facility up in the mountains,” said Luc.
“Okay, so how is it that no one notices a prison for werewolves up in the mountains?” Meg asked.
“Well, you wouldn’t, because it is right in the middle of a wolf sanctuary,” said Peter.
“What?” asked Meg.
“You know the wolf sanctuary up next to the national forest?” asked Kevin who loaded Luc’s plate up with scrambled eggs and toast.
“Yes, I’ve been up there a few times with friends,” said Meg. Then it dawned on her. “They aren’t all shifters are they?” she asked.
“No, in fact, most of the ones the public interact with are real wolves or wolf hybrids. However, did you notice how there were fenced off areas farther back?” asked Luc.
“I sorta remember thinking that there was a lot of pens and fenced off areas that we couldn’t get to…” her voice trailed off as she thought about the layout of the wolf sanctuary. “Oh! I get it. Most of the shifters live in fenced off areas away from the public.”
“Exactly,” said Luc. “Most are so far gone that they never shift to human form. The ones that do have a cabin with basic necessities. However, they are behind fences and the biggest deterrent isn’t the other shifters at the sanctuary, but the ranchers around the area.”
“Okay, why? What am I missing?” asked Meg.
“Simple. Most of the ranchers would shoot a wolf on sight and the nearest bit of civilization is over an hours drive away. So, if they did escape, they’d need to either steal a car and clothes, or go out on four legs. If they were seen crossing a ranch, they’d be shot,” explained Peter.
“Oh geeze,” said Meg. “So that’s where Duke is?”
“Yes, Jeff left with him yesterday and he will be in the innermost areas for a long time. Jeff has been known to tranquilize some of them until they adjust. Others seem to come to an understanding that they screwed up and others, well…” said Luc as he made a hand gesture of shooting something off in the distance.
“You know, in some ways, that seems really barbaric. Then again, at least they are outside instead of in a 6 x 6 foot cage,” said Meg. “Are there many of them up there at the moment?”
“No, only one or two besides Duke. A few try to starve themselves, but that really never works. For the most part, we shifters are rather law abiding,” said Kevin.
“Oh?” said Meg rather sarcastically. “You mean to tell me that you guys are saints?”
“No, but our penalties for screwing up when caught are a bit more severe,” said Luc. “No one wants to go to a human jail, so people tend to be a bit more honest. Those that screw up face family or pack judgment. Rape and murder have one penalty. Death. What we are on the whole is fast justice. Often brutal, but no one languishes in jail for years on end.”