Love or Leave (#1 of the Grey pack)

the first werewolf

Jessica’s P.O.V.

I groaned, running a hand through my hair, as I stared down at my notepad that was resting in my other hand. All the lines that I had written had been crossed out as well. Sonja’s idea at the diner had been great this morning, but finding my way to the retirement home and talking to the nurses had taken me forever to get their approval to start talking to the people who were living here. And once I finally had gotten the green light from them, to talk to the people living there, it turned out that Sonja’s idea hadn’t been the best and brightest one of the century. I had already talked to a few of the people who lived here, but other than knowing that Miss Simons at 34th Street, had 26 cats and that the mailman had a hidden relationship with Nurse Andrews, I had zero subjects to use for my article, to attract potential tourists to this little town in the middle of nowhere.

What was I even thinking, coming here?

I should have chosen another story to write…

Anything other than this!

“Finding everything OK?” Someone asked me, and I looked up at a nurse, who had just been coming out of a room, holding onto what looked to be an empty bowl and a spoon. I picked up my nose and shook my head in all honesty.

“Honestly, not exactly.” I sighed, showing her my notepad which had nothing more but scribbles on it.

“What are you looking for, if I may ask?” The nurse asked me kindly, to which I pressed my lips together.

“Honestly, a bit of the town’s history. Some stories that would pull in tourists, something to grab their attention, and would make me able to come up with ideas to make the town thrive. I thought talking to the people who had lived here the longest, would bring on some ideas.” I told her, seeing how she hummed, and nodded her head in understanding.

“Well, Mister Pleasant is a really good talker.” The nurse told me, to which I frowned. The nurse pointed at the closed door behind her that she had just closed behind her.

“He is one of our oldest inhabitants. He has been here for as long as I have been working here. He is still pretty sane, so you know his stories will be accurate. And he loves some good company to talk to as well.” The nurse told me, and I sighed. I had been wasting hours already. A couple of more minutes wouldn’t kill me, I guess?

“Would you mind if I talked to him?” I asked the nurse, who smiled at me as she shook her head.

“Go in, I just brought him his extra portion of pudding. That man surely loves his pudding.” She giggled, and I nodded, as I softly knocked on the door and opened it up. Inside, an older man was sitting in a chair. He still had a full head of hair but it had turned completely white from old age. He was wearing a hearing aid and, by the way his legs were looking too skinny, I could see that he wasn’t the type of man that still walked around a lot these days. He probably sat in that chair all day long, just to walk to his bed, and from his bed back to that chair. As soon as he saw me, however, his lips curled up into a big, broad grin, his hands holding on to a cup of… vanilla pudding.

“You caught me red-handed!” He laughed, to which I smiled and shook my head.

“I promise, I won’t tell a soul. Your secret is safe with me.” I told him, seeing how he nodded appreciatively and started to eat again as if nothing had happened just now.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of having a gorgeous woman entering inside my home?” He asked me, to which I smiled, pulling some loose strands of hair behind my ear.

“I am a journalist, actually. I am writing a story about this town. The nurses told me you would be able to tell me some about the town’s history?” I asked him, seeing how the man nodded. Placing an extra spoon of pudding into his mouth as he hummed.

“I know every little dark secret about this little place, alright.” He told me, spiking my interest.

“ Would you mind sharing those dark secrets with me?” I asked him, sounding flirty as I played my journalist card right. I knew men and I knew how to make them talk. No matter how you turned it, all men craved female attention to some degree. All I needed to do was smile and look excited at their words. This time was no exception either.

“Sure thing sugar, sit down.” The man told me, and I frowned, as he called me by that nickname. The same nickname that only one other man had ever used on me before in my life… my dark and handsome cowboy, the one who I had trouble with getting out of my head ever since last night.

Damnit

Why can’t I get that guy out of my head?

I looked around the room, trying to find something to break the ice between us. In order to talk to this older man, I needed to get him relaxed. I needed him to like me, to trust me. I smiled, looking at all the pictures that were framed against his wall.

“You sure have a big, beautiful family.” I smiled, looking at the photos. And just as I imagined, the older man’s face lit up.

“Three children, twelve grandchildren, I’m still waiting for those great-grandchildren to finally come along.” He told me, to which I turned to look at the photos. It was funny to see how most people in the photos had dark hair and dark eyes. It seemed to be a family trait of theirs.

“Your grandchildren look a bit young to start having kids of their own.” I smiled, looking at what seemed to be a full family picture. The kids all seemed to be in their teen years.

“Oh, no dear, that picture is just old. They are all grown up now. My youngest granddaughter, Amber, just got engaged or what do you call it these days, to this handsome fella, Tyler. So I hope those great-grandkids are not too far along now.” He told me, to which I smiled.

“So, I imagine that soon, you will be rocking the dance floor at their wedding party?” I asked him, to which he laughed loudly.

“I believe I will.” He sighed, his smile never fading. And I knew right then that the ice between us was broken, his walls were down, and I was ready to start shooting my questions at him.

“Have you lived here all your life, sir?” I asked him, to which he frowned.

“Rick. My name is Rick. I am no sir, sugar.” He told me in a soft way, his eyes warming up.

“Rick.” I nodded, waving at a chair standing next to him.

“Do you mind if I sit here, Rick?” I asked him, to which he shook his head.

“Of course not, please, sit. My grandson came to visit me earlier today, I still needed to put that chair back.” He told me, to which I smiled, knowing that this man probably wouldn’t be able to lift it on his own and was just waiting for one of the nurses to do it for him.

“Thank you.” I nodded at him, as I took the seat. My pen in hand as I was ready to listen to him.

“To answer your question, yes. I have always lived here.” He nodded, his head bobbing.

“I am a war child. My mother became pregnant at the end of World War two.” He stated, pointing at a small picture that was hanging against the wall. I looked over, seeing an old black and white photo of a couple, probably his parents.

“My father had been a soldier fighting in the war. When the war was done, he wanted a simple life. He came back for my mother and they came to live inside the Grey ranch. My father found great joy in working with horses. He always said it made him feel relaxed. The war had always been so noisy and loud, while the horses were always silent to work with. I guess they call it PTSD nowadays. But well, they got themselves some kids, including myself. And like most people who had lived through the war, they found a peaceful place to live in and never left again.” He told me, to which I nodded.

“The Grey Ranch. I heard about that place before. I didn’t know it had been around for so long.” I stated, to which Rich nodded.

“It has. Jackson Grey, the original owner, started the ranch up small, back in the day. I think there were about 12 of them when they started. But over time, the people who worked there found wives, got kids, and over the years, the ranch grew along with it as well.” He stated as I scribbled down the original owner’s name on my notebook.

“So, what’s the dark secret about this town, Rick?” I asked the older man, giving him a playful smile that he immediately answered with his own grin.

“Miss… what may I call you?” He asked me, to which I shook my head.

“Not miss, just Jessica. All of my friends call me Jessica.” I told him, already starting to like this old man very much.

“Jessica.” He nodded as if he was trying out the way my name sounded on his lips.

“Jessica, how long have you been in this town?” He asked me, to which I shrugged.

“This is my second day. But I grew up here as a kid, left for college and my job kept me away. I recently came back to write this story. I have a wedding to attend next weekend, and after that, I believe I will be on my way again.” I told him truthfully. To which he hummed.

“Ever noticed how the guys look around these parts of town, Jessica?” he asked me, to which I frowned.

“Have you not come across a handsome man around here?” He asked me, and I swallowed as I felt my cheeks flush. Had this old man just read my mind? What the hell was up with that? And the way he smiled in response, told me that he had gotten his answer out of me.

“I believe you already have.” He nodded, a smile spreading over his cheeks.

“Well, the dark secret is that, as tales will tell, the men inside this town have been cursed in a way.” He nodded, making me frown.

A curse?

Witchcraft?

This could be good!

Really good!

“Tell me everything!” I gasped, leaning forward to hear every single word. Rick just smiled and nodded.

"Some people who used to live here years and years ago were not religious in the Catholic sense, so instead of worshipping God, they believed in the Moon Goddess,” Rick told me, as I leaned forward and started to scribble on my notepad.

“There is one story, that a long time ago, the Moon Goddess herself, descended from the heavens, landing on the top of this very mountain,” Rick spoke, looking out of his window, giving views of the magnificent mountains that were the focal point of this town. And I frowned, this story, even though I had grown up here as a kid, was completely new to me. And it fascinated me right away.

“The story goes, that once the Moon Goddess set foot on the top of the mountain, she came into contact with a very handsome man, a human. Not just any man, but a man that she fell in love with. Not just any love, but an all-consuming love,” Rick told me, a sad smile on his face.

“Like most tales, the love match didn’t work out quite well for both parties. Because the man had played the Moon Goddess for a fool. Secretly, he was already married, he already had a wife and children, but he never told the Moon Goddess about it. So, one day, as the Moon Goddess wanted to see the love of her life again, she found him outside his house, his child on his lap and his wife walking out of the house. Of course, the Moon Goddess wasn’t so pleased by that reveal and betrayal.” Rick smiled, and I felt how my own eyes grew wide.

“So, the Moon Goddess cursed the man,” Rick told me,

“Turning him into a wolf, claiming that now, he could be the beast that he was deep down in his heart. He was forced to become a human in the sunlight, and a wolf once the moon was high in the sky, forcing him to leave his family and children forever, because he could not control his wolf’s nature, he was too violent, too animalistic to stay with his family.” Rick told me, surprising me.

“So, the Moon Goddess made the first werewolf, right in this very town?” I asked Rick, who nodded at me.

“Yes.” He answered me, and I pressed my lips together in awe.

“Is that why there are still so many wolves living around the mountain area today?” I asked Rick. Growing up, we had learned to understand to never go up the mountains alone, but always in a group, there were a lot of wolves roaming around those parts of the woods. I just always believed that it was the way nature had worked out, not because of some sappy love story and a curse.

“The story goes, that after the Moon Goddess cursed the man she loved, that his descendants all carried his wolf gene. They were just as handsome as him, but all had the curse of being a human by day and a wolf by night. But apart from their cruel father, they were able to fall in love only once in their lives. And where their father had broken the Moon Goddess' heart, his descendants would do it right. They would fall in love and stay in love with their partner, for life. As wolves do, find a mate and stay with their mate for the rest of their lives.” Rick told me, sending me a wink.

“So, the handsome men living inside this city, are all, in some way or another, related to the first werewolf?” And I laughed, thinking Rick was hysterical. I should have come to this man's room immediately instead of listening to Miss Gibbons blabbering on about cats.

“So, this town is inhabited by a bunch of werewolves?” I nodded, playing along with his silly little game.

“It’s just a story, Jessica. Your momma never told you, stories are usually nothing more than that?” Rick winked back at me again, and I nodded, smiling politely back at him.

“I do love a good tragedy,” I stated, clicking on my pen before I placed it down on the notepad, as ideas started to pop around in my head for the story I needed to write. This man had just given me exactly what I needed, and I couldn't wait to start writing, once I got back home.

“Don’t we all love a good story?” Rick nodded. And I smiled up at the elderly man, who somehow had found a way into my heart.