The Protectors

“Yeah. There’s one thing that I thought was too personal to bring up in front of the whole pack.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are any of you married? Or do you have boyfriends or girlfriends?”

“We try to avoid serious, long-term relationships.”

“How come?”

“What if there’s a baby? Would it be an ordinary human being or a werewolf? And if it’s a werewolf, would it be like us or the evil ones?”

“What about a vasectomy or tubal ligation?”

“We’ve tried. It doesn’t work. We regenerate. In a month, we’re back to what we were. That’s why we’re supposed to keep involvements short and sweet. It’s not carved in stone. But it’s an unwritten rule.”

Troy sighed and looked away. “But I’ve broken it.”

“No kidding. When?”

“Julia and I. About three years ago. But I broke it off. We were taking too big a chance. She was hurt badly. She actually left the pack for a several months to pull herself together.”

“What about with ordinary humans?”

“Same thing.”

Troy nibbled his lower lip and looked as if he’s making a confession. “But I did that, too. About a year ago.”

Troy looked embarrassed. “It’s one of my failings, Kev. A character flaw. “

“No one gets everything right.

“Nah. I’m the pack leader and should set an example. Looking back, though, it seems as if it were inevitable.”

“Just happened, huh?”

“Yeah. Something clicked. It was like I had no control over it.”

“How long did it last?”

“I ended it after about nine months. It broke our hearts, but we had to live with it.”