Jackson noticed the tremor in Connor's hands, so poured him a scotch. He handed it to him. "Now you will understand why we drink so much." Connor gave him a sheepish half-smile, then took the glass, shattering it in his hand. Jackson smirked, "Oops, It seems your strength kicked in." He and Sarah laughed.
Connor stared at two deep gashes in his palm. "I'm glad you find the fact that I'm going to need stitches amusing... Holy Shit!" His wounds began to close up before his eyes.
Sarah hugged him. "I'm sorry, sweetie. We're not laughing at you. We were remembering when Jackson first discovered his strength. He pulled a chair out and sent it flying across the room through a wall. Are you all right?"
The newborn continued to gawk at his hand, which had almost fully healed. He glanced up at Sarah. "I guess this is going to take some getting used to."
"Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up. At least it was scotch and not blood."
***
Elisabeth and Jackson were sweeping up the glass when she asked, "Will it take long for him to curb his strength?"
"No, he'll just have to keep his temper in check for a while until he is used to it. That's right, you were born strong, weren't you?"
"No, my strength grew as I aged."
"How does that work? You're not aging now."
"Yes I am. So are you, just very slowly."
"What?" Jackson sat down, dumbstruck.
Elisabeth blew out a patronizing breath. "Werewolves age very quickly until puberty, then the process slows exponentially. By the time we physically reach twenty-five to thirty years old, we age at about the same rate as vampires."
"So, you mean in a million years we'll have gray hair and wrinkles?"
"Yes, if we live that long."
"Then why is it so rare to see an old vampire?"
"Because they usually tire of living long before they show age and find someone to stake them."
"Huh. You are a wealth of information, Miss Sidwell."
She held his face in her hands. "And you Mr. Parrish, have been living with your head in the sand for a hundred-fifty years."
They both looked up at the same time, hearing a loud racket coming from Sarah's room. Elisabeth rushed to the stairs. "Oh, no!"
Jackson grabbed her. "I don't think you want to go up there. Sounds like Skippy's trying out his new vamp skills."
She narrowed her brow, confused. "What?" Then her eyes widened as she blushed. "Oh my."
"Why are you blushing?" He pulled her close and grinned wickedly. "Unless you want to go up and see if we can drown them out."