Brian Walker was half-way done with his sandwich when the house phone rang again.
Thankfully this time, it was the were-mer council rep Andrew Curtis.
"Did you miss the school bus? I'd thought you'd be here long before now," he said, after saying hello.
"For some reason we had a substitute driver, and she was a normal, so I didn't know whether or not I could ask her to drop me off at the Elders' building," explained Brian.
"Oh," said Curtis. "It probably would have been safe, but in a situation like that it's always better to err on the side of caution. In any event, I'll swing by in a few minutes to pick you up."
"Okay, and on the way there, I need to talk to you. Some strange man called claiming to be my father."
"Really?" replied Curtis, genuinely surprised.
"Yes, and this one knew about me winning a stuffed giraffe at the carnival. That was the last outing the three of us had together before he upped and left us," said Brian.
"Interesting. Me and you will definitely talk about that soon," promised Curtis, before hanging up.
Brian made sure the house was clean, and most especially that his second/secret cellphone was off and hidden again back in his room.
He saw the text message from Betty saying she had to cancel their rendezvous that weekend, but truthfully Brian had mixed emotions about that.
On one paw, the were-otter was looking forward to having a great time with the older werecat sexually, especially if he earned more money to secretly help his mother out in the process. Brian had already decided that the next pile of bills that came, he would secretly hide one from his mother and privately pay it himself with what was left from the $200 he made fucking Betty last time.
On the other hand, he wasn't sure now if becoming even an amateur gigolo was a good idea after that weird dream he had this morning*.
But that was something he would stop and think about when he had more time and privacy to do so, for there was now a car honking in his driveway.
Brian looked out the living room window and saw Andrew Curtis behind the wheel.
With that, he locked up the house as he got in for the ride to the Elders' Council building.
Peter Talbot sat silently in his bedroom and fumed.
He could hear the water in the hall bathroom running, indicating that his sister Jean was taking a quick shower before heading out to dinner with her date Nate Anderson.
A werewolf! Of all beings! he silently complained to himself.
In truth, he was secretly happy that Jean had found someone.
Actually, he was jealous.
Given the hierarchy of werelion society, barring something totally unforeseen and catastrophic happening to the Talbot family, the most Jean could hope for would be to one day replace their father as the werelion representative on the Elders' Council, while Peter would become the next 'Lion King' once Leon Talbot either retired or passed away.
Peter could exercise the right of succession and ask to become the werelion rep as well, but thought one were shouldn't have so much authority/power. Besides, if he didn't become the king (a title he personally hated because of the royal ancestral trappings the title brought with it) one of his many uncles/his father's brothers would fight for the right to reign.
A 'lion king' in Moon Lake was about as powerful as the Royal family in England. People still listened to and respected them, but they didn't have the true authority. It was Parliament in England, and the town government/Elders' Council in Moon Lake.
But even that wasn't what was really bothering him.
How can Jean have found someone and I haven't? Peter demanded to know, but the question remained unanswered.
Sure, he had werelionesses and other females of various species (even a few normals!) fawning over him, but that wasn't what Pete wanted.
True, he wasn't a virgin and could rut with the best of them. Fact, not brag, as far as he was concerned.
Yet what Peter Talbot REALLY wanted was the one thing that seemed to always escape his grasp in either form.
LOVE.
Someone to be with who truly wanted to be with him.
Not the potential 'lion king', or even the current king's prince.
Just a lady who loved Peter Talbot for being Peter Talbot.
But where is she? Does such a woman even exist? he demanded to know, but the world had no response.
Then he heard the front door bell ring.
"Jean. Your date's here," announced Leon Talbot.
"Okay. I'll be down in a couple of minutes," Jean shouted back, before Peter heard her bedroom door shut.
Definitely jealousy...
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*In the recent Moon Lake of Earth 2 episode: "Self(?) Analysis"—tmw.