Charming: Part I - 7. Chapter Seven

Lucky was sitting on the couch and watching another news channel that was talking about golems that were shaped into small clay tablets that functioned as smartphones that could easily controlled only by one user, preventing thefts of these types of phones. Also, genies could install themselves into smartphones as well, living their lives as personal assistants. Both were reported to help with the cutting of fossil fuels and allowing these magical creatures of Jewish and Arabic origins to have purpose in normal human society. Lucky smiled at this, knowing that at least some good things were happening after magic was revealed to exist in this world.

Lucky then heard footsteps and he looked from the television to see Cecil again who was dressed in casual attire with his hair that was whiter than snow combed neatly on his head. “Um, hey, Cecil.”

“Hello, Lucky. Good to know you’re still here. Do you know where Zev is?” Cecil asked as he crossed the room and sat down in the same armchair.

“Oh, right now he’s driving Violet back to her home. He should be back in a few,” Lucky answered.

“Oh, okay.” Cecil stretched his legs and placed his feet on the edge of the coffee table. “So…did you two make up?”

“We did,” Lucky said, smiling.

“Good.” Leaning back against his seat, Cecil then said, “Just treat my friend right, okay? He has been through a lot and he deserves someone who cares about him. All he has done for most of his life was look out for others. Whether those others were good or bad is debatable, but I know his grandmother and Velvet were good people.”

“Oh…can you tell me about them if you don’t mind?”

“Sure, but you didn’t hear it from me,” Cecil said with a smirk. “Zev wasn’t always a person who enforced the law, let alone follow it. When he was a teen, he was in a gang like many other wolves, an unfortunate reality that plagued their people for centuries. Anyways, one day he was told by his pack leader to rob an abandoned house. Zev didn’t want to, but he couldn’t disobey his leader. Live for the pack, die for the pack they always say.

“So, the next day Zev broke into the house and started looking for anything valuable. And that was when an elderly woman appeared. Zev panicked and he pointed his gun at her, and it only got worse when Velvet, the woman’s grandkid, came to visit only a minute later. Zev then held them hostage in the bedroom where they sat on the bed while he looked for any jewelry or money. Then he grabbed the girl’s purse which didn’t have anything either. Just cookies. And what came next was unexpected to say the least.”

Lucky leaned forward with his arms on his lap, anticipating what would come next when he heard someone clear their throat. Lucky turned to see Zev who looked angry.

***

“Cecil! What are you doing?” Zev asked with his hands in fists.

“Oh, there you are, Zev,” Cecil said cheerfully. “I was just telling Lucky about—”

“Yeah, I know what you were telling Lucky. My question is why?” Zev asked, throwing his keys onto the end table and roughly removing his jacket.

“Just wanted him to know more about your story. That’s all,” Cecil said innocently.

“And you decided to him tell that one?” Zev said before scoffing.

“Well, I think it’s a good story, about how you went from robbing an elderly woman’s home to becoming a person who enforces the law. That’s very—”

“Cecil, just stop,” Zev insisted as he kicked off his shoes and dropped onto the couch next to Lucky. “It’s been a long day and there’s already a lot of things that still need to be done. Talking about my past will not be one of them.”

“Okay, okay. Whatever you say,” Cecil said, lifting his hands up in surrender.

Absolutely exhausted, Zev sat on the couch in a slouching position and was covering his eyes with a hand. He did not want his eyes to give away the emotions he was experiencing right now just from the memory of that day that changed him to be who he was today.

“You’re a wolf, aren’t you?”

Zev looked at the elderly woman who was sitting on the side of the bed with a girl in a red hooded jacket clutching her hands. They were both being held hostage by Zev as he tried to find anything of value that he could steal, like jewelry, so he could bring something back to his pack leader. But everything was going wrong.

Zev’s pack leader had ordered him to break into a house and find anything that was worth stealing since the place was supposedly abandoned. He did not want to do it, but no one disobeyed the pack leader and Zev told himself that he should be fortunate to be in the most powerful gang in the city, if not in the entire East Coast.

Zev knew that his pack leader was likely tricking him by saying that the house was abandoned and was withholding some information, so that he would be less hesitant to break into it. That was wolf nature, tricking people into getting what they want ever since the time of those infamous fairy tales. But the truth was that he wanted to prove himself to the pack, especially to the pack leader who he was having feelings for, maybe intimate feelings for, and this was a major step forward from the mundane work he usually did for the pack that involved little risk, but also little reward and respect as well.

The pack leader was no Prince Charming, but Zev wanted to prove himself regardless to the pack leader and if nothing else, show everyone else in the pack that he was indeed a wolf and not a wimp. And the smile the pack leader had given him when he accepted the challenge was breath-taking.

So, Zev walked all the way to the neighborhood where the house was located since he did not want to drive his car, which people could identify. As he walked in the neighborhood’s street, he passed a young girl walking in the same direction. She was carrying a purse that could have contained everything that he needed to please his pack leader. But he decided not to. Even though he was a gang member, he still had lines that he would not cross, and that included not stealing from children.

Zev walked faster, leaving the girl behind and he eventually reached the house that looked abandoned as described from the overgrown grass on the front lawn to the chipping white paint on the house’s siding.

Zev walked into the house, the front door unlocked, and looked around the living room that had a sparse amount of furniture and a television that looked like it still displayed shows in black and white. He did not see anything of value immediately, but he decided to start opening drawers with the hope that there was some hidden treasure.

“Velvet? Is that you?”

Pausing after hearing that voice, Zev remained silent as he heard footsteps coming closer to where he was. He slowly pulled out his gun from the waistband of his pants and when he saw someone entering the living room, he pointed his gun at the stranger. He was surprised to see an elderly woman who looked at him with confusion.

And things only got worse when the front door opened and the same girl he had just encountered entered with a smile on her face, the most probable reason why the front door was unlocked. However, when she saw Zev with his gun drawn, she screamed and Zev had to shout at her to close her mouth as he ordered the two people to the bedroom, wishing it had not come to this.

Now here Zev was, holding a child and elder hostage as he pulled all the drawers out of their hinges to find anything, anything worth any value but failed. He kept telling himself in his head that he was being forced rob from a child to due to the circumstances, but that was failing as well as he panicked. He even took the girl’s purse, hoping to at least find a phone, but the only thing that was inside was cookies which he tossed to the floor in frustration. Then when the woman asked him that question, he was amazed how gently she asked him that without sounding panicked, unlike the girl who was shaking uncontrollably.

Taken aback when the woman asked him whether he was a wolf, which meant she saw him for what he really was, Zev dropped the drawer he was looking through onto the floor said, “Why would you assume that?”

“I can tell, and you’re not the only wolf who comes into this neighborhood,” the woman stated gently. “Dealing drugs, selling your bodies…robbing homes. I know wolves only do it because they feel that is the only option for them ever since the time of the Big Bad Wolf in those fairy tales tarnished their image forever. But you…you don’t have to be like the others. You can still walk away from this.”

“Granny!” the girl objected.

“It’s okay, Velvet. He’s just scared.” Looking at Zev, the woman then said, “You don’t really want to hurt us, do you?”

Zev’s jaw clenched as he thought about the real reason why he was here right now. He was just following his pack leader’s orders, saying it was for the betterment of the pack, a pack of wolves who were all struggling to just survive. However, after not finding anything of value except for the cookies in the girl’s purse, he could assume that this pair was also struggling to get by, if not more.

Then memories of his grandmother appeared in his mind, a person he had tried hard to forget for more than a decade. She took care of him after his parents were both killed in a war between packs. She raised him to the best of her ability despite suffering from lung cancer from decades of smoking even though wolves had powerful lungs that could blow houses away.

The day when Zev stood by his grandmother’s hospital bed, clutching her hand as she took her final breath still stabbed at him every time he thought about it. And the worst part was how he promised her that he would not end up in the same situation as his parents, in a pack that would eventually be his death sentence. He remembered her smile before the monitors went flat and he stood there crying his lungs out until nurses escorted him out of the room.

She was his only remaining family and Zev remembered the day after when he stood by the shore of the city that he was born in, holding the cremations of his grandmother since he could not give her a proper funeral. The wind was strong, blowing to the endless expanse of the sea and he released her ashes into the air. She was carried by the wind that once again filled her body as he made his final farewell to her.

The elderly woman almost looked like Zev’s grandmother who he loved so much and he betrayed her as well by eventually joining a pack since he thought he had no other options. But looking into those woman’s eyes, he thought he was looking into his grandmother’s eyes as well and her words had so much more impact than the eyes of social workers and foster parents, all the people who told him that the life he was leading was a terrible one.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Zev apologized as looked down at the floor where the cookies were scattered.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” the woman said. “If you ever want to come back to my home, you’ll be very welcomed. I won’t have anything to steal, but I always have something to eat if you’re hungry. All you have to do is ask.”

“Seriously?” Zev asked.

The woman gave a warm smile. “Any time.”

With his shaking hand still holding the gun, Zev gave one last look at the elderly woman and the girl, mouthing another apology to the red hooded girl. He then slowly backed away before turning around and running out of the bedroom and out of the house. And as he ran out of the neighborhood, he knew he was just a small, scared wimp.

Who knew that Zev would eventually take the elderly woman’s offer to visit her house again where she would change his life forever. He would eventually quit the pack despite his pack leader’s objections, become a police officer, specifically in the K9 unit, and use his abilities as a wolf to help society rather than hurt it, proving wolves could be good people as well. Through his transformation, he always had the woman who he would consider his other grandmother and even Velvet who treated him like a big brother despite their bumpy start.

The moral of the story: even the Big Bad Wolf can have a happy ending.

However, happy endings did not actually exist, life always continued and life for Zev was more complicated than ever.

Returning to reality, Zev dropped his hands onto his lap and looked at Lucky who had a look of understanding on his face.

“I’m sorry that I’m not in the best mood,” Zev apologized.

“It’s okay. I understand,” Lucky said with a reassuring smile. “You have a lot on your plate right now, considering you just rescued both me and Violet from real-life vampires from doing Godmother knows what to us.”

“Yeah…and considering that the vampires have never outright attacked humans in public before, they must’ve wanted you very badly.”

“I wonder if it’s on the news,” Cecil suddenly said as he grabbed the remote from the armrest of his chair and switched the channel on the television.

“Weird? The local news is saying it was a mass shooting that happened at the restaurant,” Lucky said.

“It’s not actually weird at all. Vampires are secretly gaining more political power by obtaining important positions in the government, and it won’t be farfetched to believe that they now have the power to influence the major news media outlets to not cover what actually happened back at that restaurant,” Zev inquired. “And no doubt they also have people at the scene covering up all the evidence that vampires were the ones involved.”

“So…what does that mean for us?” Lucky asked.

“It means that I need to do more investigating into what these vampires want, and if that means going undercover in my wolf form then so be it.”

“What can I do?” Lucky asked, scooting closer to Zev.

“Right now, you need to stay someplace safe. These vampires are obviously after you and you getting captured by them is the last thing that I want to happen,” Zev insisted as he began scrolling through a list of contacts on his phone.

“Well, my home has a lot security there, so I think I’ll be safe there…but I can’t just let you put yourself in danger just for me. Is there any way I can help with your investigation?”

“I appreciate the offer, but worrying about you getting hurt again will only hinder my investigation. I’d rather you stay at your home where you’ll be safe.”

“So, I should just lie back while you do all of the hard work?” Lucky shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be the damsel in distress who waits until her rescuer arrives to save the day. I want to help, Zev.”

Zev huffed and tossed his phone onto the coffee table. “I don’t want you to be the damsel in distress. I just work better alone. I never worked well with members of my former pack back before I was a police officer and even now I prefer to patrol the streets without a partner.”

“So, you’re basically a lone wolf is what you’re saying?” Lucky said.

“You can say that. It’s nothing against you, and quite honestly it would be nice to have someone with your swordsmanship as added protection just in case something goes wrong. However, that won’t be needed if I work alone and have my full concentration on my safety alone. Do you understand?”

Lucky grimaced, but nodded. “Yeah, I understand…but at least let me contact Cindi and Cheri since they’ve helped me before in getting leads and can help with your investigation as well.”

“Who are those two again?” Zev asked.

“Well…Cindi owns a private investigative agency and was the one who helped me break out of the police station by disguising herself as another police officer,” Lucky said nervously. “She can definitely use her skills of disguise to find something useful for you.”

“I see…well, if what you say is true then I can forget about her impersonating a police officer and aiding the escape of a certain someone from police custody. And whose Cheri?”

“She’s the person who owns the business you found me in and threatened to shut down.”

Zev furrowed his eyebrows. “How are a bunch of hookers going to help my investigation?”

“They’re not hookers,” Lucky said, looking offended. “They’re more like courtesans who use their powers of seduction in the bedroom to gather incriminating information from certain clients which Cheri can later use against them if they decide to screw over more innocent people in the future. I’m sure she has something that you can use.”

“And what’s the cost of using their services?”

“None at all. They’re my sisters-in-law, but they’re more like real sisters to me and they’ll do anything to help you if that means that I’m being protected,” Lucky explained. “I’ll text them now and maybe you can have a meeting with them after they both found something to aid your investigation.”

“Perfect. Any leads will help greatly.”

Zev watched as Lucky pulled out his phone and began tapping his thumbs rapidly on the screen. He knew Lucky for only a short time and there was so much that he did know about him, but Zev knew that he was wrong to think that he was just some spoiled, selfish prince. Lucky was willing to avenge his brother’s death by going into a flooded stadium to talk to a sea witch and save me from being hit by a speeding vehicle, both very reckless actions that almost got him killed. However, those were very courageous acts regardless and the regret of imprinting himself onto the prince was almost nonexistent, but only time would tell if anything came out of this situation.

Turning his head, Zev saw that Cecil was shivering slightly despite wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants and decided to take the throw blanket from the couch, placing it on his roommate.

“There you go, roomie,” Zev said and patted Cecil’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Zev. I can’t really warm myself up when the cold is coming from within your body,” Cecil said as he pulled the blanket to his neck.

“I can always turn the heater on if you want.”

“Nah, I don’t want you sweating just to make me comfortable. I’ll be fine,” Cecil said, trying to smile as his teeth chattered slightly.

Zev just patted Cecil on the knee, knowing he could not anything else for his friend who not was blinded by the mirror shards in his eyes, but also cold within. Though he could be annoying sometimes, he still had a warm heart regardless of his ailment and aside from his grandmother and Velvet he was far kinder than most people Zev, so helping his roommate whenever he needed assistance was the least he could do.

Hearing his phone buzzing on the coffee table, Zev grabbed it and saw that the person calling was Velvet.

“Hey, Velvet. What’s up?” Zev asked with a cheerful voice.

“Hey, Zev. Um…I need to ask you a favor,” Velvet said, sounding nervous.

“What’s wrong, Velvet? Is everything all right?” Zev asked with concern for his little sister’s safety back at her college.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…I’m at the police station right now and I need someone to get me out.”

“What? What are you doing there?” Zev asked with a raised voice.

“It’s long a story, Zev. I just need someone to get me out…and since you’re a police officer who works here, you can just get me out without having to pay any bail. It’s how things work here, right?”

“Where did you hear that nonsense? Uh, forget it! I’m coming right now. Once I get you out, you better tell me everything that happened that caused you to end up where you are now. You got that?”

“Yes, I do. Thank you, Zev. And I’m really sorry,” Velvet said softly before hanging up.

Sighing heavily, Zev walked to the front door where he grabbed his jacket and keys before turning to Lucky. “Do you want to come with me? I have to pick up Velvet from the police station and after that I can drop you off at your place.”

“Yeah, that’ll work,” Lucky said, standing up from the couch.

“Are you going to okay here by yourself?” Zev asked Cecil.

“I’ll be fine. Go ahead and attend to your sister,” Cecil said, waving his hand goodbye.

Walking into the hallway, Lucky asked, “What happened to your sister? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine…but if she did anything that’ll windup in her record, I don’t think she’ll be enjoying her college days for any longer. That better not be the case, for my grandmother’s sake.”