to a werewolf?" Roxie asked her. "I know we've dumped a lot on you the last couple of days. It can be a bit overwhelming."
Billie turned to look at the other two women. "You could say that." Her voice held a trace of humor. "I never expected to be a grandmother at twenty-five."
"I guess not. Though I must say you handled finding out about Royce being a werewolf remarkably well. I wish I could say all I did was get a little light-headed when Beowulf finally told me."
"You didn't take the news well?"
Roxie laughed. "Hardly. I had Beowulf go wolf to prove to me he actually was telling the truth when he finally told me he was a werewolf. At the time, I hadn't known I had inherited Alicia's magic. Having no idea what I was doing, I accidentally used it on Beowulf."
"What did you do to him?"
"I made it so he was stuck in his wolf form for twenty-four hours, which wasn't a pleasant experience for him. Luckily for Beowulf, Royce realized what I had done and reassured him that it was only temporary. I guess Alicia had done the same thing to him at one time."
"What about you, Taryn?" Billie asked the other woman. "Did you take the news well?"
"Not really, I'm afraid. I called Wade a freak of nature and locked myself in my bedroom."
"I can see what you mean about my taking the news rather well." Billie took another sip of wine. "I guess I should direct this next question to Taryn since you, Roxie, didn't have a choice in the matter. When you found out about the spell, did you hesitate or were you able to quickly decide that you wanted to try it?"
Taryn shook her head. "I didn't even need to think about it. As soon as Wade told me about it, I wanted Roxie to try it on me."
"I see. I guess I'm different in that respect. I still haven't made up my mind. I know there's a huge advantage to trying it. I wouldn't have to worry about growing old and dying while Royce stays young, but there is one thing that is holding me back - my family. I have no idea how they'll react."
"That is something you have to consider," Taryn said. "See for me, I didn't have to take that into consideration. My mother died when I was three and my uncle who raised me, died a year before I met Wade. And there is also the fact that my father was a werewolf, who doesn't look any older than I do I might add. It was a no brainer. I wanted to be just like Wade and my father."
"You know Royce would never force you to try the spell if it really wasn't what you wanted, Billie," Roxie quickly added.
"I know he wouldn't. But I can't help feeling that if I don't try it, I would be cheating him out of something. That I would be holding back something he really wants. I know my being mortal has him worried I won't be able to protect myself if anything should happen, which is completely understandable considering what happened to Alicia."
Roxie nodded her head in agreement then said, "Now I'm not trying to sway whatever decision you make, but I can see where Royce is coming from, Billie. To be quite frank, a mortal is no match for a werewolf. Compared to other mortal women, you are strong. As a werewolf, you would be twice as strong. And there are some pretty big advantages besides being stronger. Your hearing will be a lot better, same with your eye sight and your sense of smell. And being able to go wolf, able to run free, is like nothing you've ever experienced before."
Billie smiled at Roxie. "I guess being able to shift into a half human, half wolf form would definitely have its advantages for you as well. Royce mentioned something about you ruling over the packs as well."
Roxie was quick to agree. "Being able to take on that form does give me the upper hand, but there are times when ruling over the packs isn't much fun. For instance, now I have Gren to contend with once again. I wish he could have just stayed in his hole and left everyone alone, but I guess that was asking too much."
"What are you going to do?"
Roxie shrugged her shoulders. "There's not much I can do at the moment. He really hasn't