Chapter 4 - The Witch on Main Street

Julian was uneasy for the rest of the night.

The image of the monster in the tree stuck with him, a memory of the fanged creature with its' eerie lanky limbs. Upon reaching the minivan, Nora opened the back door on the driver's side, and Julian stood blocking her from view with his body as she reached into the backseat and pulled out a long sleeve blue shirt, pulling it down over her bare breasts before grabbing a pair of black cotton shorts and wiggling them up her legs to cover her naughty bits. With that sorted out, she grabbed Julian's winter coat off of the seat where she'd left it and pulled it on.

"You're not too cold, are you?" Nora fretted, turning to look at Julian, who was just wearing a zip-up hoodie now, but he waved her off.

"I'll be fine, I'm not the one who just had to walk naked through snow." Julian said. "You want me to drive back? You are barefoot, after all."

"Oh, yes please." Nora smiled. She fished the car keys out of one of the pockets of Julian's jacket and handed them over before hurrying around to the passenger side. Julian climbed into the driver's side, inserting the key as Nora's minivan thrummed to life. Nora instantly grabbed for the heating controls, cranking up the heat as she shivered fiercely.

"You alright?" Julian laughed, looking over at her as full-body shivers tore through her.

"My toes and legs are so cold." Nora confessed, wiggling them to demonstrate. "Well, I'm cold all over, but especially the legs and toes."

"Yeah, be glad you're not human, or you'd have frostbite to be worrying about." Julian mentioned, and Nora nodded gravely.

"What did it look like?" Nora asked. "The creature you saw."

"It looked... strange. It had longer limbs than it should, lanky arms and legs. Big bloodshot eyes, bald, freaky-looking." Julian relayed. "I only got a quick look, it bounded away through the trees as soon as it realized I had seen it."

Nora's hands were gathered in her lap, and she was quiet for a moment as she digested that information. She was quiet for a long moment, before she looked at Julian. "Thank you. Without you, I'd never have-"

"You need to stop thanking me, Nora." Julian shook his head. "I'm serious. There's not much I wouldn't do for people I care about, and that includes you. You don't need to thank me, you couldn't have stopped me from helping if you'd wanted to."

The look Nora gave him was grateful and adoring, and she reached over to thread her fingers through his as they sat there. Julian squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"I don't know how you're a lone wolf, Julian." Nora shook her head. "Someone like you belongs in a pack. You care too much about people."

Julian hesitated. "Things went bad with my last pack, and I just... I didn't want to start all over. It was easier to go it alone."

"Trust me, I understand that." Nora sighed. "My pack were wanderers, I never spent more than a few months anywhere until I turned thirteen. That's when my parents left the pack and came here to settle down in Crescent Hill. It didn't last too long for them though."

Julian nodded, knowing all too well what she was talking about. Her parents had been killed by hunters when she was just eighteen. Not werewolf hunters, just the normal kind of hunters who had rifles and shot when they saw a pair of wolves come out of the trees towards them. It was something Nora had told Julian back in Los Angeles, and it was a sobering reminder of why werewolves tried to avoid turning around humans.

"Tell me you have someone though." Nora sighed. "Someone in Los Angeles who cares about you."

"I do." Julian said, thinking of Ellen, his best friend. His partner Abigail too, though she knew nothing of what he was.

Julian squeezed Nora's hand one last time, and then he turned the headlights back on. They needed to get out of here before anyone noticed them. The drive back to Nora's was quiet, introspective. However, it was to Julian's great displeasure that he saw three men in the driveway beside Nora's, drinking beers while laughing.

"Ugh." Nora said, voicing what Julian was thinking. "Tyler's bad enough on his own, but when his buddies are around, he's even more of a jackass."

"Let's just get inside." Julian sighed. He turned Nora's van off, and the pair of werewolves climbed out of the car.

"Nora!" Tyler crowed drunkenly. "Come party with us girl, ditch the city boy."

Nora ignored him, walking for the front door as quickly as she could. In part because of Tyler, sure, but Julian would guess it was mostly the cold.

"Look at her, she's barely dressed." one of Tyler's friends, a bulky brown-haired guy in a fuzzy winter coat, chuckled. "Looks like she's been getting fucked by the city boy. Too late, Ty."

Tyler looked to Nora, squinting like he was trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Anger started spreading across his face, and Julian groaned.

"Just get inside." Julian shook his head, gesturing to Nora. He went to follow her, but then Tyler threw his beer bottle at Julian. He threw it hard, if a little bit off, and it was effortless for Julian to duck out of the way. Unfortunately for Tyler, the beer bottle instead hit the Cutlass, and Julian's exasperation turned to anger as he looked towards the drunken assholes who'd been causing problems for Nora.

"Julian!" Nora protested, but Julian didn't listen to her as he walked towards Tyler. Tyler and his two friends started laughing, but they stopped laughing quickly when Julian seized Tyler by his collar, lifted him up, and slammed him down hard on the hood of his truck. It was a feat that didn't immediately blow his cover as a supernatural creature, but it was enough to look pretty damn impressive.

"Don't touch my car." Julian spat at a wide-eyed, astonished Tyler. One of Tyler's friends took a swing at Julian, which Julian stepped smoothly out of the way of, sending the man sprawling to the snow as he failed to keep his balance. Julian looked to the last of the three, the one who had made a comment about Nora being barely dressed.

"You gonna try too? Or are we just going to call it here?" Julian asked grimly. The man held up his hands, beer bottle still held in his right hand, and Julian nodded.

"Smart choice." Julian told him, before stepping over the drunken moron sprawled in the snow and walking back to Nora.

"You're an idiot." she told him, hands on her hips, but she looked amused despite herself.

"He threw a beer bottle at my car." Julian protested.

"You've always been crazy about that car." Nora noticed as she opened her front door.

"It was my dad's." Julian admitted as he followed Nora into the deliciously warm house. She exhaled in adorable relief as she entered the place, rubbing her hands together as she looked to Julian for him to continue talking.

"After he died, he passed the car on to me, and the second I turned sixteen, I couldn't wait to drive it. I was terrified I was going to wreck it, but I was so excited to drive it." Julian explained. "And I've been taking care of it ever since."

"It's a nice car." Nora agreed as she slid her arms free of Julian's winter coat, hanging it up on the coat rack. "I'm pretty sure Tyler's just going to be more pissed at you now though."

"Well, if he touches my car again, I'll go biblical on his ass." Julian said with a scowl in the general direction of Tyler's house, making Nora laugh.

"Come on, I'll make some tea. I'm still a little too wired to sleep." Nora said, padding into the kitchen. "Want any?"

"Sure." Julian shrugged, taking off his snow-covered boots before walking into the living room.

"Any preference?" Nora asked. "I've got herbal tea, peppermint, green tea-"

"I'll just have whatever you're having." Julian said as he dropped onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Peppermint it is." Nora called back.

It didn't take long for Nora to come out of the kitchen holding two mugs. She sat down on the couch right next to Julian, leaning into him as she handed him a mug. Julian took a sip, a warm, minty taste filling his mouth.

"What time does the witch's apothecary open tomorrow?" Julian asked, his free arm curling around Nora.

"Seven, I think." Nora mumbled, taking a long sip of tea. "I'm going to have to go into work tomorrow too, talk to Earl. He's been really generous about giving me time off during all of this craziness, and I'll need to go ask for an extra few days."

"If you need to get back to work, I can keep up the investigation." Julian offered. "I can easily talk to a witch alone, it wouldn't be the first time."

Nora hesitated, looking down at her mug, and the steam wafting off of it. "Are you sure?" she asked of him, looking up at his eyes. "I didn't ask you here just to pawn the work off on you."

"Hey, you have a life you need to keep up." Julian shrugged. "You have a kid to provide for, after all."

Nora swallowed. "I do. You're right, I absolutely do. I won't be long, I just work until 3, and then I'm free to help investigate."

"That works." Julian nodded. "What time does the diner open?"

"Six, so I'll be there bright and early." Nora muttered.

"So then at seven, I'll go talk to the witch, then I'll swing by for breakfast and let you know what the witch said." Julian nodded.

"That sounds good." Nora smiled softly. "I'll have to keep Rose away from you though, she was looking at you like water in the desert."

"Was she?" Julian asked, surprised.

"Some detective you are." Nora snorted. "She definitely noticed how you told off the pervs."

"What? How did she see that? How did you see that?" Julian asked incredulously. "You were facing the other way."

"I didn't see it. Rose told me." Nora admitted. "Those guys come ogle Rose all the time though. Ever since they turned 18, they think they've got a shot with her."

"Staring at her from across the diner like a stalker. Real winning strategy there." Julian snorted.

Nora laughed, shrugging. "Not all guys have the animal magnetism you do." she teased.

"Was that a werewolf joke?" Julian asked skeptically.

Nora rolled her eyes and took another drink of her tea. "I like that plan though. And I especially like not having to wait to find out what the witch said. Maybe you'll have something else to look into after speaking with her."

"What's the witch like? Do you know?" Julian asked.

"I don't go over there often. Last time I went was when Andy had a really bad fever, she gave me a little remedy." Nora explained. "She's a pretty kindly old woman, I'd say."

"Well, hopefully she's willing to help then." Julian said, drinking from his mug. Peppermint tea wasn't really his thing, but it was a warm drink and Julian wasn't going to pass that up. It was cold as shit up here in Oregon. They stayed up just a little longer, chatting and drinking tea, before there was an unanimous decision to get some sleep. Julian brought the mugs into the kitchen, setting them in the sink and quickly rinsing them out before he came back to the living room to find Nora waiting for him, looking hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Julian asked.

"Nothing." Nora shook her head, emphatically enough to make her large breasts bounce beneath that thin long-sleeve shirt she wore. "It's just... can I sleep in your bed again tonight?"

"If you want." Julian nodded. "I sure won't complain."

Nora smiled slightly, and she nodded. "Alright then. I'll go get ready for bed."

"Same." Julian yawned. "I'm beat."

Julian followed Nora up the stairs, trying not to ogle the eye-catching curves of her hips, or the perky ass she had. He turned into the guest room and she went into her bedroom. Alone for just a few moments, Julian didn't waste much time in getting out of his clothes and putting on his pajamas. He went into the bathroom out in the hall to brush his teeth and use the bathroom one last time before bed, and emerged to find Nora already sitting on his bed.

The brown-haired werewolf had changed into the pajamas she seemed to favor, a faded shirt and a pair of panties, though Julian couldn't help but notice they were lacy and a bit nicer than the plain cotton ones that she'd worn last night. He also recalled that she hadn't had on underwear due to her wolf form shredding all of her clothes, which could only mean she put those on especially for him. Julian made no comment on that however, he just set his phone on the charger and climbed into bed beside Nora.

Nora, remaining sitting up, looked down at him. She had taken her glasses off, they sat on the nightstand beside her.

"You know, it just occurred to me... how does a werewolf need glasses?" Julian asked with a smile, making Nora huff.

"I had the same question. It's just my human form that needs them, but for some reason, my eyes suck." Nora scowled. "I can use my werewolf powers to fix it, but then I have to walk around with my eyes glowing all the time, and I can't be doing that, so I got the glasses."

"Well, I think they're cute." Julian smiled up at her, making Nora roll her eyes.

"Now I know you're lying." Nora grumbled as she laid down beside Julian. She laid her head on his shoulder, settling her body between his side and his arm, which he adjusted to wrap around her as they laid together.

"I'm not." Julian told her, glancing down at her. She looked back at him, then reached out to flip the switch on the lamp, sending the room into darkness. Julian felt Nora's hand on his chest, and her fingers played idly with the fabric of his shirt.

"The monster... do you think it was following us?" Nora asked quietly. "Why else would it be near the Millers' place, if it already took Jenny?"

"That's an interesting question." Julian mused. "Are we the hunters or the hunted?"

Nora shuddered, and she smacked his chest lightly. "Don't phrase it like that."

"Well, if I was a supernatural monster preying on a town full of ignorant humans... I'd be pretty interested in the pair of werewolves who were trying to stop me." Julian admitted. "But that's assuming this thing does think. It looked animalistic, it might not have that level of thought. You and I both know there's plenty of supernatural creatures who aren't on the same level of intelligence that humans are."

"Maybe this thing doesn't think." Nora agreed. "It'd be pretty dumb to go after the one kid in this town with a werewolf mother."

"It's just asking to be torn apart at that point." Julian nodded, and Nora made a noise of agreement.

It was quiet for a moment, and if her fingers weren't still playing with the soft, faded fabric of his shirt, Julian would have thought Nora went to sleep. It was several minutes before she spoke again, and when she did speak, it was barely a murmur.

"I'm sorry you're not Andy's father." Nora breathed, a near silent confession.

Julian froze. "I..."

"I know that's a lot." Nora carried on at the same volume. "You don't have to say anything. It's just... you being here reminded me about how many good times we had in LA. And it has me thinking about how things might have been different, I guess. If I hadn't been so desperate to return to this place, the only home I ever really knew. I wouldn't have met Kyle, I wouldn't have gone through all of that, I wouldn't have... lost Andy."

Julian lifted his free hand to rest it on top of Nora's. "You wouldn't have had Andy either." Julian pointed out.

"No." Nora agreed. "But maybe we would have been something."

"I was far too self-centered for you back then." Julian said lightly, making Nora scoff.

"I don't think so, Mr. Using-My-Werewolf-Powers-For-Good." Nora said wryly. "You've always been the most selfless person I know, Julian. I don't know why I left LA, why I left you. I had nothing for me up here, but... I don't know, I was drawn back here. Just couldn't escape."

"That's life sometimes. I had the same thing with LA. I had the entire world at my fingertips after leaving my pack, but all I did was move into the big city right beside where I had come from." Julian sighed. "Maybe that's destiny, I dunno."

"That's a nice way to think about it." Nora said softly. "Destiny."

Her hand on his chest slid out from under his, moving upwards to cup his face as Nora's head lifted off his shoulder. He knew what was coming, but he was still surprised when her lips met his. Her kiss was soft and almost shy, but Julian kissed back firmly. Nora's lips tasted strongly of peppermint, but it was Nora. Julian's dislike of peppermint never even crossed his mind. Julian's hand snaked down to cup one of her hips, and Nora kissed him harder for it.

"I want more. Just... not tonight." Nora panted in his ear after pulling her lips free of his. Her voice so close to his ear sent shivers down his spine, and he was more acutely aware than ever of all the places her warm body was in contact with his, both of them covered by the blanket.

"I'm perfectly happy to wait." Julian murmured, wrapping the woman in his arms. Nora had already gotten his cock throbbing, but he knew what kind of state of mind she was in these days, with her son gone. He couldn't blame her for not being in the mood, not one bit.

"You sure?" Nora laughed breathlessly. "I'm feeling something poking my stomach."

"I'm sure." Julian promised. "That's just... a side effect of you."

"How flattering." Nora murmured, and her lips found his again in the dark.

———

The next morning, yet again, he woke up to an empty bed. The bed smelled strongly of Nora, and for a werewolf, scent meant quite a lot. Julian would be quite happy to lay there in the warm bed, kept comfortable and cozy by the sweet, familiar scent of the lovely werewolf, but unfortunately, he had things to do. Getting out of bed was the hardest part of his morning, but once managed to complete that arduous task, he got up, showered, all the usual morning routine stuff. He dressed in jeans, a thick dark green hoodie, and his favorite brown leather jacket before heading downstairs to put on his boots and head out to the Cutlass. Nora had left him a key sitting on the toe of his left boot, which he took and used to lock the door behind him as he emerged out into the cold wintry Oregon small town.

Tyler's pickup truck was gone from the driveway, and after a quick inspection, Julian confirmed those idiots had left the Cutlass alone last night. He climbed behind the familiar wheel, turning the car on and rubbing his hands together as he waited for the heat to kick in. Glancing back out the rearview window, Julian backed out of Nora's driveway, then began the drive over to Main Street.

It was a quick and easy drive, and Julian found the apothecary without much trouble. It was nestled in beside the thrift store that Julian had spotted his first time driving down Main Street on his way to Nora's house. The apothecary, despite the name, seemed pretty ordinary from the outside. Julian pulled into one of the diagonal parking spots that lined this side of Main Street, and he climbed out of the Cutlass, glancing up and down the street. It seemed like an ordinary morning in town. Hopefully, that meant there hadn't been another kidnapping. He would have thought there'd be a bit more chaos on the street if another kid had vanished.

The apothecary was a little shop wedged in between the thrift shop and the antique book store, a small circular sign hanging above the doorway proclaiming it the FEEL GOOD APOTHECARY, which he was pretty sure was meant to be a song reference, though it could very easily not be. He pushed the simple glass door open and walked into the shop, entering into a small, rustic looking place. It had warm yellow lighting, big shelves on the left and right walls full of all variety of glass containers. Some were little vials, others big glass jars, all of them with big circular labels detailing what the contents of the jars were. Smaller glass display cabinets containing more modern forms of medicine such as little boxes of Tylenol were spaced throughout the middle of the shop, though there was a clear walkway back to the counter, which was a heavy dark wood desk with a smiling elderly woman behind it.

She was maybe in her seventies, though looks could be deceiving with witches, with curly gray hair, big thick spectacles, and a thick winter jacket despite her being inside.

"Welcome!" the woman exclaimed cheerfully. "I don't recognize you, are you new in town?"

Julian approached the desk, shaking his head. "No, I'm just visiting a friend, actually."

"Oh, interesting. Crescent Hill doesn't get many travelers, as you might imagine." the witch laughed. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm friends with Nora Thomas, you see." Julian said, and he let his eyes glow just a little bit. The witch made a noise of understanding, and she nodded.

"It's just terrible what happened to Nora's pup. The Millers' girl too, just tragic." the witch shook her head. "I've got a touch of magic to me, my boy, but I do not think I will be of much help tracking them down."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not here for that." Julian said, and he drew from his pocket the little plastic bag that he'd put the monster's coarse black hairs into. "I'm trying to see if you can figure out what kind of creature these belong to."

"Interesting..." the witch murmured. "Let me see those."

Julian handed over the bag, and the witch took it, peering at it intently. She snapped her fingers, and green energy coalesced around her hand, a sort of pulsating light that she waved over the hairs.

"Did you see this beast?" the witch inquired, lifting her head, and Julian nodded.

"It's an ugly one, too. Long arms and legs, longer than they should be. Big bloodshot eyes, fangs... it's mostly hairless, a freaky little bald thing except for the backs of the arms." Julian relayed. "I'm not sure what it is."

"Hmm. This will take some time." the witch admitted. "I'll have to do some spells and some research, neither of which are immediate. If you return at sundown, I think I will have the information you seek."

"Sundown? Alright, that works. Thank you very much for your help, I can pay you if necessary-"

The witch held up her hand. "No need. All I ask is that you find those poor children."

"I'll do my best." Julian affirmed, and the witch nodded with a small smile. Julian left her to her work, and he turned to walk out of the shop, heading back out onto Main Street. Earl's Diner was just a little ways down the street, so he didn't even move the Cutlass, he just left it there as he started walking down the sidewalk. The cold wind whipped at his face and his hair, but at least it wasn't actively snowing. He walked past a couple other small shops, and passed a few people also walking. Julian nodded at them as he passed, and a couple returned it, but most of them just kept walking briskly past.

Julian's ears and nose were very cold by time he walked through the doors of Earl's Diner, but the warmth of the diner and the inviting smell of breakfast being cooked gave him some much-needed relief. Rose caught his eye, and she gave him a warm smile, gesturing to the open spot right in front of her at the bar.

"Good morning." Rose told him as he sat down. "Anything I can get you?"

"Yeah, I'll just do a coffee for right now." Julian nodded.

"Coming right up." the busty blonde waitress told him cheerfully. Rose walked over to grab the coffee pot, and Julian cast his gaze around the diner. It wasn't too busy at the moment, but he did see Nora over in the corner, taking an elderly couple's order. He wasn't sure if she'd seen him come in or not, but she was doing her best customer service smile as she listened to the couple. She looked pretty good in the teal waitress outfit, too, Julian had to admit. As for others in the shop, there was a man in his fifties or so reading a newspaper at one table, there were two pretty dark-skinned women sitting at the next table over, a pair of sisters most likely, and then there was a family of four sitting in one of the booths, both parents and then two children, a boy and a girl.

It was definitely a school day, but Julian wondered if they'd been hesitant to let their children out of their sight. Or maybe this was just a pre-school breakfast, he wasn't sure exactly what time school started here in Crescent Hill. He wouldn't know that in LA either, though, to be fair. Downside of a werewolf pack homeschool education.

Rose set a mug down in front of Julian, and she lifted the coffee pot and poured him a cup. "Here you go. You ready to order yet, or you need a few minutes?"

"Yeah, just a few more minutes, please." Julian nodded.

"No worries." Rose smiled, walking over to the pair of pretty sisters to see if they needed a refill on anything. Julian looked over the menu, reading through the breakfast options, until familiar footsteps came up behind him, and he turned to see Nora walking up to him on the other side of the counter.

"Hey, you." Nora smiled. "Anything interesting at the apothecary?"

"Not yet. She said she'd have an answer at sundown." Julian explained, and Nora nodded, though she looked disappointed at that news.

"Well, better than a no, I guess." Nora sighed. "So what now?"

"Good question." Julian admitted. "I'm actually wondering whether or not there's going to be another disappearance today."

"God, I hope not." Nora shuddered. "That'd be horrible."

"Agreed." Julian nodded. "And there was a day in between Andy and Jenny being taken, so maybe nothing's going to happen today."

"Wouldn't that be nice." Nora scowled.

Rose came back over, looking between Julian and Nora. "Everything alright, guys?"

"Yeah, yeah." Nora nodded. "I'm all good."

"OK." Rose nodded, looking curious. "Julian, you know what you want yet?"

"Yeah, I'll do some waffles and bacon, please." Julian nodded.

"Can do." the blonde waitress nodded. Rose walked off to put the order in, and Nora looked back to Julian.

"So, no plan for the day then?" Nora inquired.

"I did plan on going over a map, actually. Seeing if there was anything I could figure out based on your house, the Millers', and Ruth Martin's." Julian explained. "But that won't take all day, and I don't really know what the rest of my day will be."

"Maybe you're about to find out." Nora nodded past him, and Julian turned to see Sergeant Carol Murphy stepping into the diner.

"LA." the sergeant said, nodding at him. "We have a couple of questions, if you wouldn't mind taking a ride."

Julian glanced past her to see Officer Sullivan standing outside the diner by a police car. "What's this about?"

"Are you going to make this difficult?" Murphy raised an eyebrow, making Julian scowl.

"Am I ever going to get to eat breakfast here?" Julian complained, standing up.