The Cynic and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (ebook voice reader TXT) 📕

A movie with amazing iconic imagery and an interesting visual play of drab colors alongside the color red, Red Riding Hood can be enjoyed by both men and women, though the film is more geared toward the female paranormal romance audience. It has some thrilling dark bits. But the action in the film is minimal and focuses more on the relationships of the characters, including issues such as: jealousy, infidelity, rage, superstition, arranged marriages, class divisions, and filial obligations.

But what about the werewolves? How real were the depictions?

Let's lay out the facts.

Fact one—the werewolf in the movie does take full human form and full animal form. So this is accurate.

Fact two—this werewolf is rather large for a real wolf. And though there are giant wolves out there, they are not quite as large as the wolf in the movie.

Fact three—this werewolf is deathly affected by silver. And though werewolves in real life are affected by silver, and the silver can burn the werewolf, one simple stab with silver is not enough to kill a werewolf. The silver must remain in the werewolf and poison his blood.

Fact Four—the werewolf in the movie can pass its genes on, but it needs to bite its offspring during a blood moon to pass on the ability to transform. In real life…

Audry stopped there and stared at those words. In real life. Either this guy was a major internet troll, or he seriously had psychological issues. Werewolves were fictional. Jacob Black was fictional. Lawrence Talbott was fictional. Scott Howard was fictional. Lucian Graymark was fictional. Remus Lupin was fictional. Viviane Gandillon was fictional. Grubs Grady was fictional. Quentin Collins was fictional. Tom McNair was fictional. Werewolves, even in folklore, were creations of someone's overactive imagination to explain mass murders and psychopathic behavior.

However, she read on a little farther.

In real life werewolves don't pass on the condition with a bite. You are either born a werewolf (with either werewolf mother or father) or you are not. A werewolf bite is toxic, however, and causes a condition known as partial lycanthropic toxemia, which is a recurring condition of extreme hair growth, pain in the jaws and teeth, and a desire for fresh meat on the three nights of the full moon.

Feeling sick, Audry got off that page and went directly to Amazon to purchase a novel.

After reading the first couple chapters of Beautiful Creatures, Audry decided to go down to find dinner. Her stomach had been rumbling and would not leave her alone.

But the moment she got down to the kitchen, the aroma of roasting meat filled her nostrils. Honestly, Audry wished she was repulsed by the smell, but she wasn't. Blaming the sweet aroma on the sauces they had marinated the meat in, she quickly marched herself through the kitchen into the outer lodge so she could go to the dining area for some real food.

The buffet line was set up, and people were already helping themselves. Audry noticed it wasn't the usual collection of dishes, but an assemble-your-own wrap night. Audry had given the suggestion for assemble-your-own meals months ago, and apparently Mrs. Gruber had finally adopted it into her menu. With pleasure that she had made a little difference in the world, Audry went to the line and quickly put together a vegan wrap for herself. She notice the various options available included a Mexican-style wrap (comprising of black beans, rice, and meat along with veggies and cheese), a lettuce wrap for those going gluten free, lots of cheese for if someone just wanted a quesadilla, and three choices of meat—including chicken, pulled pork and roasted beef. She hurried past those last trays. At the end of the line were three choices of soup: veggie, tomato, and chicken noodle.

While ladling some veggie soup into a cup, several loud people came in through the main lodge doors in winter gear calling out, "Deacon! Rick Deacon are you here?"

Audry looked.

She could not see them all as they were on the lower level and the railing got in the way. She walked over, setting her soup down on a table, and peered into the room to see who had come. The crowd contained about seven people, college-aged boys and girls, each one jubilantly cheerful as they searched around the open area.    

Rick stepped out from the reading nook. He blinked at the crowd of newcomers, trying to focus his eyes for a second before shocked surprise formed on his face. The same book was still in his hands. He was further along, clearly having actually read it. And Audry could now see the title. It wasn't fiction. It was some kind of locally made historical book. Also, apparently he had not gotten dinner yet, which was surprising. There was plenty of pulled pork and chicken wings out there for the meat eater after all.

"You're early," Rick said, a little taken aback when he saw these new arrivals.

Seeing him, the loud, jubilant leader of the gang of college kids raised his arms, grinning wide like Dennis Quaid. "You're here! Great!"

The rest of the group cheered. They charged upon Rick and surrounded him like a fan club.

"But why are you early?" Rick asked, visibly distraught, though it was not clear why. Certainly he should be happy to see his friends, right?

A robust blonde gal stepped up and threw her arm around him with a flirtatious Drew Barrymore smile and said, "We all decided to come early to get in some night skiing. Why don't you come with us?" She tugged on him to lead him out side.

Moaning, Rick rubbed the nose ridge between is eyes, resisting. "I can't…. I have to study for this upcoming business event my father wants me to attend on behalf of the company. That's why I told you to come two days from now."

His friends looked disappointed but not surprised.

"You study too much," the loud one said, slapping Rick on the back. It jostled him. Despite them being the same height, this guy was built like a football player and Rick was more like a supermodel. "Take a break."

Rick shook his head, then for the slightest second he looked back at Audry as if he had just sensed she was there. Shaking his head more in exasperation, he said, "No! I came to study in peace. And for the record, I don't think it is a good idea to go night skiing right now." And as he said it, he shot another look towards Audry, his eyes expressing it was not wise to wander at night either.

"But it will be bright out. The moon is full," his friend retorted, clearly not one to take no for an answer on most days.

Rick gave him a solid stare as he replied, "An even better reason not to go."

That made no sense of course and they protested it. During the full moon was the perfect time. Lots of light, especially reflecting on the snow. It was almost like day except in the shadows.

Audry also noticed some eyes from that group had turned towards her. She immediately ducked back into the dining area going back to her food. Eavesdropping was a bad habit which she did not want to get into. Besides, she really didn't want to get involved with Rick Deacon or his friends. Though Brown University was a good school, it was not NYU.

While she munched on her wrap and sipped her soup, Rick's noisy friends continued to talk loudly, begging Rick to join them outside that night. Didn't he like the outdoors? they asked. He needed to be more spontaneous, they said. He needed to prove to them he knew how to have fun, they protested. Or was he staying indoors to stay close to a certain girl? they implied.

Irritated, Rick refuted all their protests, especially the last one. He remained adamant that it was not possible for him to join them that night or even the next. He was extremely busy, he said.

Audry wondered about that. The book in his hand, once she had finally been able to read the cover, wasn't anything having to do with business at all. It was more about the history of the area, including archaeological discoveries of ancient Native American effigy mounds. Unless the business meeting had to do with preserving antiquities on animal reserves, Rick Deacon was lying to them. She wondered why.

But she didn’t linger to find out. As soon as she finished eating her fill of dinner, Audry returned to the kitchen to help the staff before going out for her nightly collection. And while scrubbing pots, she noticed Rick pass through the room, looking harried.

She heard Mrs. Gruber murmur, "I wonder what that is all about." And Mrs. Gruber followed after him, going up the back passage. The woman didn't come down again for several minutes, and when she did, she was grumbling. "…rather inconsiderate of them, using him like that."

A couple staff members shared looks. On their faces was yearning to have a rich friend to use exactly like that.

Audry blinked, pausing in her scrubbing. She couldn’t say that it had never occurred to her that rich folk also got put upon, but in her mind they always seemed like the ones with the power, the ones who dominated decisions. They could always say no. Yet as she thought about that the notion that sometimes rich kids who wanted to be accepted within a group were frequently bullied, especially when parents were absent. Bullied and used. It was the 'I kicked the king' scenario—a story Audry had once heard about a British prince who had been bullied while at school because his classmates wanted to brag when they were adults that they once had kicked the king. But more likely, in this situation, Rick was just the boy who wanted to be accepted as an equal, and his classmates took advantage of that—even in college. He had to buy his friends as most people were blinded by his wealth.

What a shallow way to live, she thought. And yet, it could not be entirely his fault that he was not able to make real friends. A person was born into their circumstances. And the fact that Rick didn’t really talk down to his classmates was a sign he was trying to build genuine relationships with people. The way he talked to her was proof of that. Normal teasing. He never exactly snubbed her. And the more she thought about it, the more Audry wondered if Rick had made any true friends doing this. Of course, he had also followed the general scenario of rich punk kid at one point. He was, after all, a famed hellion in his hometown—according to Mrs. Gruber. Maybe all his naughty behavior had been his way of rebelling.

After finishing her part of the dishes, Audry went upstairs to her room to prepare for her nightly journey out. Full moon or not, it would be a cold one.

Chapter Five

The moon was beautifully round when she went outside. Stars were already poking out. For a moment Audry wished she had been a professional photographer so she would capture the scenes around her exactly