"This is why I called you to help me with today." Wes pointed at the big vast open field next to the chicken pen.
I stood there dumbfounded and scratched my head, "You need help mowing your yard?"
"No! You idiot! We are building a rabbit cage!"
"That makes more sense now that you say it, but where are the materials?"
"Juan should be here any minute with it."
I was filled with excitement, "Is he really going to be here?!"
Wes with a grin on his face nodded.
Man! I have not seen him in three years!
Juan is about the same age as Wes with the difference of Juan being about three inches taller and they are practically brothers; they are not blood-related, just best friends. It surprises me because the last that I heard of him; he was in Mexico and had decided to settle down.
The guy is also a witch, but he does not use his abilities to help people in need as Wes does, he uses his powers to defend himself and stay out of people's way. He will use spells to help Wes if he needs to or if Wes asks for his aid.
Juan has always been a fun and jolly guy; he says he is that way because he is fat. I do not think he is fat; he just has a beer belly because the guy likes to drink a lot. He has jet-black hair that is combed back that reflects every single type of light that lands on it. He also has these dark black eyes that when he stares at you, make you feel as if he is staring into the depths of your very own soul.
Wes and I were in the backyard when I heard truck tires coming up his gravel driveway. He had reggaetón playing on the radio and the bass from his truck shook the area where he was parked at.
We walked to the front yard in hopes that we would catch him before he rang the doorbell. When we reached the front porch, Juan was barely getting out of his truck. Cowboy's dark blue boots, navy blue jeans, button-up shirt, and black hair blinded me with the reflection of the sun.
That is him all right.
I was the first to walk up towards him to greet him when we both met eyes and I felt as if something came inside of me and was moving around through my mind. I had to stop walking because I started to feel dizzy.
"Wes?! Are you serious?! He has been cursed?"
I saw Wes nodding his head from the corner of my eye.
"How long has he been like this?" asked Juan.
"Just a couple of weeks." Wes placed his hand on my shoulder, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." I looked at Juan, "It's nice to see you too."
Juan had one hand on his hip and the other shaking it in my direction, "No, no, no! This isn't a game, Paul!" He turns to look at Wes, "You do know how much crap you're going to be in if word gets out that you are harboring a werewolf?! Here I thought that they had all gone extinct, but no, I had to be proven wrong."
"I know, but I couldn't just hand over my godson to the council."
"They will come after you too! The council will have you killed as well!"
Wes shook his head, "You should know better than anyone on this planet that he is family to the both of us! I know that they can come after me as well, but they won't if they don't find out. I am keeping him here at my place to keep an eye on him. Plus, he doesn't go anywhere and spends most of his time here; he doesn't have friends and is basically a loser."
"I'm standing right next to you and can hear you."
Makes me think about what Wes says about me when I am not around.
Juan placed both of his hands on his head and ran them through his hair, "Look, I'm not going to say anything. I am just letting you know that it's your ass if someone finds out."
"I know that you're not. You are one of the few people that I can trust. Let us forget this whole thing right now and get the material off the truck."
That was the first time I had ever seen Juan so serious.
The entire time that he was here, Juan did not speak to me or crack the usual jokes that he does. You can feel the tension in the air, and it made me uncomfortable. It was not my fault that this happened to me. I did not ask for this, it just happened out of nowhere. I feel bad because Juan has been gone for three years and when he finally gets here, the very first thing he does is get into it with Wes. They are best friends; I do not like to see them argue over something that is out of my control.
We finished offloading and moving the material to the side of the house while no one said one word until Wes finally broke the silence, "Let us go inside. I will prepare us a meal."
"What are we having?" I asked out of curiosity, which in all honesty, it did not matter what it was. If Wes made it, then I know it was going to be great."
"Mole sauce with pork."
My mouth started to water when he said that, and I saw Juan grinning while rubbing the palms of his hands together.
That is when it hit me, I never knew Wes knew Mexican cuisine. I follow Wes and asked him, "Where did you get the recipe from?"
"Back in my younger days, I spent some time in Mexico. I went with my cousin who was alive at the time to meet his fiancé's parents. Her folks never liked my cousin, especially her dad. He thought that he was completely useless and said that he did not consider her soon-to-be husband a man. That day when I went and met her parents, her dad was in the backyard. They had a little meat market going on. My cousin's fiancé led me back there and introduced me to him. He stopped cutting up the piece of meat and asked me one question, 'Do you know how to cut up different pieces of meat?' I told him to hand me the knife and I would show him. By the end of the day, her dad and I bonded and said at the dinner table, 'Wes is a real man. You should have gotten with him instead.' From then on out, I stayed in Mexico and visited different places of the country and her family taught me their family recipes."
I was amazed by his story, "How come you never told me that story before?"
"You never asked."
I stopped in my tracks, I never asked?!
"How can I ask if I never knew?!"
Wes just shrugged his shoulders and continued walking.
We went inside and Juan waited in the living room not wanting to interact with us. As for me, I went into the kitchen with Wes to help him make lunch.
Wes handed me an old-school black mortar made of stone, "Here, I'll have you grind up Chile into powder. I'll let you do that since it takes more time, and you are still learning about different powders."
I cannot complain, I am getting fed.
Lunch was done and served. We all sat at the table again in silence. I finished my food and left the dining area so I can leave both of them to talk. I decided to wait outside on the front porch, and I could hear Wes and Juan talking, laughing it up, and having an enjoyable time.
The problem was me.
I do not know how long I have been waiting outside but I could tell it was late because of how quiet everything was.
"How long are you going to stay out here?"
I turned to see Juan coming outside, "I thought that you didn't want to talk to me."
"It's not that I don't want to talk to you, it's the fact that you got cursed and now both you and Wes are in deep shit if anyone were to find out."
Juan sat beside me on the steps, "What is so bad about the council? What is the problem about me now being a Lycan?"
"The Council works in the shadows and can order an assassination on someone, and their word is absolute. I do not know the history of why they are after shapeshifters, especially werewolves, but I am willing to bet it is because werewolves hunt and kill humans. They also say that werewolves can't control themselves, so they are a threat to everything."
"But I haven't killed anyone."
"Yet, but the time will come, and you better hope that it's not someone that you care about."
My eyes grew wide when he said that.
"I just hope Wes knows what he is doing and the mess that the both of you got into. Be cautious and prepare to defend yourselves at a moment's notice. I will always have Wes back, but the council will come down on us with everything they have."
I am glad Juan decided not to abandon us.