CHAPTER SIX **Stickball**

Penny stood at the stove, in her large kitchen, cooking with her niece Trisha. Trisha was her 'helpful' niece, always coming over to help Penny cook and such. She was a regular looking wolf girl; not pretty, not sexy, just regular. Penny did not know that Trisha came over to help so much, because she had a crush on: Kyle and Jabari. She fantasized about being with them, sex with them and that was forbidden.

Penny and Trisha cooked to a food program, that was playing on a tablet, on the counter. Trisha smiled giddy when she saw Jabari walking in the doorway. He questioned their array of food. He asked why they were cooking so much food, in the middle of the afternoon.

"This is for you and Vandy while I'm gone." His mother told him.

Jabari pointed at the plate next to Trisha. "None of that look like it tastes good. You messed that up, somewhere."

"Boy, I can burn!" Trisha told him. "I am top chef."

Jabari points and laughs, "You are Hell's Kitchen, you seen that show? Their food looks like that."

Trisha comes up with a big spoon and puts it to his lips. "Taste this. When you get back? I ain't

seen you."

Jabari steps back from the red sauce on the big spoon. "I'm not eating that, you might be trying to poison me."

"Fool, I can cook. Just, try it cuz." Jabari touched it with the tip of his tongue. Trisha thought it was sexual. "How is it?" Jabari shook his head to her food.

Bernice walked in, out of breath, delivering bad news. Bernice was one of strongest she-wolf in the eastern she was not pretty like her mother. No, she looked like a moose in red lipstick.

"Ma, you know old girl Jill, over there from Graham County? Mrs. Harrison daughter. That clan that call themselves Hill Billy's? Ram got her pregnant."

Everything stopped in the kitchen, even the air. "He did what?"

"You lying!" Trisha got very interested, Jabari giggled and sat down.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harris are here, in the living room waiting for you. They would like to have a talk."

Penny put down the knife, took off her apron and walked to her front room. "Well let's get this over with."

"Go follow her Jabari, you need to see this," Bernice said, because he needed to see politics at work. "Trisha you stay here," she did not.

"Is Ram in trouble?" Jabari asked but Bernice ignored her brother.

Penny went into the living room; shook Mr. Harris hand, hugged Mrs. Ami Harris and invited them to sit down. She offered them tea and coffee, Mr. Harris declined, but his pail wife accepted.

Mrs. Ami Harris was as old as dirt. Her family was as old as dirt, and they took care of the oldest tree in the state. It was duty. The Harris' had driven in from Graham County an hour away. They lived like a pair of elderly Caucasian human, out in Old Wolf country, far away from others.

"Mrs. Penny Franklin of Mu I've come to tell you we have a problem." Ami Harris geustured with her winkled hands. "I'm told this Ramon Mu, that nephew of yours is married."

"Yup, I'm afraid that joker is." Penny looked over to Mr. Harris who looked angry. His green eyes looked like were glowing. "What do you say big Harris? Things like this didn't happen when we was coming up. Huh? Not like this."

"Penny I'm tired." Mr. Harris did not like war. "These youngsters don't care about our rules no more. And your nephew, he's a damn Mu."

The Mu's Werewolf's the oldest living bloodline on Earth. They are: beyond the beyond, the before the before, omni omega who's blood mixed with the earth. It was one of them who broke the rules: Ramon Mu, they call him Ram.

"Make him take them both." Bernice said loudly. "He knows what he did! She knows what she did. Now make'm deal with it. How many kids does him and his wife got?"

"None." Penny knew why Bernice was suggestion this. "Take Jill? Two wives?"

"She's right", Mrs. Harris agreed. "All she-wolf, they know… They are stuck together."

"And the dowry?" Mr. Harris asked about the money.

"The what?" Jabari looked around confused, he didn't know about old school things like dowry. Penny snapped her fingers, telling him to shut up.

"You know, the second wife has the brides price." Mr. Harris informed them.

"Plus, us Harris we are the oldest functioning clans in North Carolina." Ami Harris had a bit of pride in her voice.

"And weakest," Bernice added. The Harris clan never won a battle, ever.

"Not so weak. Seems like that Canadian girl you brought here. What, two years and she still can't make no pups. But, my Sissy, she messed with Ram too, now here we are." Ami Harris had eight pups and 14 grandkids, proving her kids were capable. "You know Penny, we all noticed that you go out of your way to get your sires from other areas. Only three of yours went on to marry any locals. You, Bernice and one twin."

"And two of us ended up widows. For the good it's done." Bernice brought up bad history.

Penny liked the solution. "I'll call my brother and I will have him bring Ram on over. The terms will be met. I'm making dinner, so you may as well settle for a bit."

Trisha snuck up behind Jabari and whispered in his ear, she giggle like a three year old. "What the fuck. I didn't know they could do that shit."

Jabari laughed along with his pretty cousin wondering how Ram would take this news. Tonight's dinner was going to be lit.

Ramon "Ram" Mu; was a sexy dark man, he looked like the 80's rapper Kurtis Blow known, for wearing black leather pants. Ram still wore leather pants. He came to the dinner with his father Man-Man (the Prince-to-never-rule) and his mother Betsy, drunk.

Betsy was always gone off that brown. She came in the door asking questions. "You cook that pot roast that I like Noir?" When Betsy was drunk, she called Penny by her first name, Noir. She walked in the living room and saw the Harris's. "Well, hey y'all. Why is everybody invited over here tonight?"

"Your son!" Penny walked into the dining room.

"What? My what?" Betsy walked over to the bar and fixed a drink. "What that boy do?"

They all sat at the large diner table and Ram stood up and touched his heart. "I'm sorry Mr. Harris, Mrs. Harris. I was wrong for sniffing around your daughter Jill. I know, we know we was wrong. I cheated on my wife…"

"Now, you shall have two." Penny told him.

"What?" Ramon jolted out of his chair. "Two wives? It's illegal." He looked to his father Man-Man (the Prince to never rule) for help, his father looked blank.

Penny snapped his fingers at him. "You knocked Jill up and you're going to marry her."

"Those laws only apply to humans, boy." Mr. Harris told him. "We got different sets of law, and you know it."

Ramon looked at his father, unclear of these laws. Ram was an entitled adult. He was used to getting away everything. Ram thought he could throw money at situations and it was over. Nope! Penny told him about his new future.

"That's how it goes, Ramon Grandson of Mu." Penny told him. "Jill Harris is going to be your wife: or you can go to Cuba or take it to the council and let them deal with it."

"The council? You spoke to the council?" Ramon looked scared.

"If your father refuses, this then I will." Penny told him.

"I don't object." Man-Man told her and began to eat.

"And you will buy her a house. You will pay the Harris a brides price."

Ramon shook his head in disbelief, "But wait a minute…"

"Waiting is over. You got her pregnant!" Mr. Harris pointed out.

"My wife is going to kill me." Ram sat back down.

"Well at least you got a kid coming, finally." Man-Man told him. "Now you got two wives. Can we eat?"

Mrs. Harris smiled at Ram. "Let me know which month you want to watch the tree," she smiled showing her brown teeth. "I'll buy you a chair."

It official that Jill Harris was to be inaugurated into the Mu family. Penny sat back with her disappointment growing, she knew the council would hear of this by morning. The killing in Viking country and this Ram and the Harris' drama was messing up her summer.