CHAPTER THREE **Mouse Trap**

Jabari got up early Wednesday to jog by the new girl's house again this was the fifth day he had ran passed there, but he didn't see her just her mother, Alice. Yet, on that Wednesday morning there was a Werewolf boy standing outside with Briggy. What?

Aaron D'Arco was standing there and that pissed Jabari off. The short boy with horn rimed glasses was Penny's nephew on the first husband side. He was around his Jabari's age and owned the Starbuck's at the mall. Aaron had heard about Briggy like the rest of the wolf boys in St. Matthew and here his was there to shoot his shot.

Jabari did not like seeing him; red flag. He jogged over, stepping right between them and kissed the side of Briggy's forehead while looking at Aaron. Briggy was his and everyone need to know, starting with this one.

"Why you over here cousin?" Jabari asked Aaron.

"Hey youngster, I didn't know he's your cousin?" Briggy looked up at Jabari, glad he had come back around. She wiped sweat from his face and Aaron knew Jabari would get her.

"Told you I got a big family. Come on go jogging with me girl, I came to get you." he wanted to get her alone.

Briggy smiled and touched Jabari's chest, it was scentual, "Let me go change. It was nice talking to you, cousin Aaron." she bounced into the house as both boys watched.

"Why you here?" Jabari asked the funny look thick boy with short blond dreads. His tone was poignant, demanding of answers.

"She smells good to me too cuz. Sweet, like Apple Jakes." Aaron let Jabari know Briggy was fair game until a male marked her. "We can all smell right little cousin."

Jabari walked up the driveway, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know what it mean dawg, but I'll think about it while I'm jogging with her. Tell me how she smells after that bro."

Kyle ran through his grandmother's Penny's house. That boy was fast and going to the Olympic in the triple jump next year as he jumped over a few of his little cousins on his way in. Penny's clan had bore more world-class athletes in every sports. More than any other clan in the world and Kyle was her tenth the Olympian.

His mother, Bernice, dropped him but she refused to come inside because the murderer, Samuel Franklin was there. Bernice only dealt with Samuel on holiday because he was the man who requested the kill order on her father. And for that Kyle didn't have a father nor grandfather, Samuel felt some respondsibility for that. Therefore, Samuel took extra time with him, but Bernice gave no fucks. She hated the mean old wolf. Bernice wanted revenge and soon she would be powerful enough to do something about it, his day was coming.

Samuel was an old school Werewolf, the rugged and rough type that loved all things outdoors. Samuel made you feel like a warlord when you hung out with him, like you were the controller of spears and weapons: defenders of packs. He liked to pass on his knowledge of things to the coming of age wolf boys and took them camping every Memorial Day.

"Sam! Sam! I got a new bow!" Kyle yelled as he ran all the way to the back garage, where the massive warrior was standing there loading his pack. "Look at it! 5G's!" Kyle had a large bolt action bow on his shoulder.

"My sister let you buy that?" Tyron, another one of Penny's sons asked his nephew. He had a twin named Tyrell and they were the pretty boys of the family. Tyron talked but Tyrell did not, much.

"Let me? Man, I can buy what I won't." Kyle said with full arrogance.

Tyron patted him on the back. "Boy you just transformed last year. We know she bought it she told us.".

Samuel threw his large army bag over his shoulder and walked out the back of the garage and the boys followed. They were going to meet with Samuel's old comrads to tell them what Ragnod 2 said about the dead bear.

"Where's Jabari? Where's Vandy?" Samuel asked

"Momma got Jabari leaving for strength camp in the morning." Tyron told him. "Vandy in there sleep."

"He coming ain't he?" Samuel and went back in the house and came back with Vandy, who was half sleep and rubbing his face. "Get in the truck, we leaving." Vandy looked around his lazy sleepy haze to see them gearing up for the woods and got excited and jumped in the truck.

Mitch closed the truck door, "Who's meeting us up there Pops?" He was like all the other giddy about hanging out with Samuel.

"One eyed Taddy, old Gunner, his uncle, my Polish friend and Chuang."

"I like Gunner." Vandy got excited because his grandfather's friends were old and from different continents and their stories always changed his outlook on life.

Samuel's old friends were battle tested and the wars they'd survived fascinated the younger wolves because they fought on social media. The times of Werewolf's fighting demons and Vampires were over. There was no more supernatural beings left to fight, but the old warlords had their stories.

Mitch's phone rang and he smiled inside. It was his Penny and that woman still had a special hold on him mind, body and soul. Mitch Franklin was a sucker for love like his youngest son Jabari.

"Hey babygirl." Mitch smiled when he talked to his wife.

"Where's my sons and grandson?" She walked up the basement stairs holding a basket full of socks. "Vandy was up in his bed sleep, Jabari's where's he at? He has camp tomorrow." Swoosh, the side door opened and Jabari and Briggy burst in Penny spun around to see Jabari with his newest pet. "Never mind, I've found Jabari. Hey Mitch, you better not bring Kyle and Vand back with holes in them."

"You want some water?" Jabari asked Briggy.

"Hi Mrs. Penny." Briggy said to Penny's fleeing body as she waved in the air and walked out the kitchen. "Do you have coconut water?"

"Naw girl we got ice and water." Jabari fixed them both large glasses of water. "It's quiet in here, ma'. Why is it so quiet?"

Penny came back in the room looking frustrated as she guarded her words. "It's quiet because they all left with that grandfather of yours. He came down and they all went running into the woods with him. So, I'm dropping you off tomorrow; and hello Miss Briggy, did he make you go jogging with him?" Penny slapped Jabari's arm. "Don't work out with this one, he'll kill you."

"I'm used to it." Briggy was a gym rat. Do you need my helping doing anything?" Briggy looked around the neat kitchen but everything was in place.

"No honey all my mess makers just ran off to the woods."

Jabari pulled out a large half eaten pot roast from the referagtor. "Ma, can I eat all of this?"

Briggy blinked wildly at how much meat was left in the pan. "All? You can eat all of that with your skinny self?"

"Go on Jabari who else is going to eat it? But you cut some for Briggy too." Penny takes plates out the cabinet and hands them to Briggy. "Don't get to close while his eating, he'll chew your fingers off."

Jabari grunts like a gorilla responding to her. "Silver Back!"

Penny playfully howled and walked out the kitchen just to spy on them from the other room. She liked how Jabari smiled whenever Briggy touched his arm or leaned on him. She knew Jabari really liked this pretty pet. The young wolf pulled her into his arm moving her hair out of her face with his pinky finger. Mitch did that to her. Penny wonder if her youngest pup would be loving man like his father. She felt it was important that Jabari learned to be comfortable around females who were not in his family. She hoped Briggy would be a good learning experience before his marriage.

He needed to see how the females mind worked and given that Nicol was older and more mature than what he was used too, he could grow up some being around her. Yet, when Jabari kissed Briggy his hormones exploded out every cell in his body. She could smell them in the living room. It should have raised an alarm, but it did not.

Briggy stayed over for a few hours watching him eat and play video games. After she left Jabari moseyed to his mother's room and laid across her bed. He was a momma's boy and always laid in his mother's. All of Penny's sons were momma boys.

"What's wrong Jay?"

"Aaron was over her house this morning, Ma. I ain't like that at all."

"Baby you just met her, too. You gotta expect other howling ass boys are going to notice her."

Jerry's tone reeked of self-doubt. "But, look Ma I'm about to be gone for like a week and they will be going over there and stuff." Jabari had worry in every word. "What happens when I get back and one of them other boys got her? You know them human nigga's be looking for a wife too."

"That female knows Jabari, you hear me! She wasn't over here all day with you if she was thinking about another boy. You got that. You're my son boy, don't you worry 'bout nothing." Jabari looked at his mother with his large eyes begging for answers. "No pet can resist you. You're irresistible, my irresistible puppy." Penny kissed Jabari all over her face.

"Naw, god ma' stop!"