Contents

Description

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

1 Varulf

2 Little Sister

3 Where Your Rump Rests

4 Showing Off

5 Moving In

6 Where the Heart Is

7 The Night Watch

8 Sniffing Around

9 The Walls Have Eyes

10 Distractions

11 Ancient Ways

12 Plesant Dreams

13 Running Free

14 First Blood

15 Raelya

16 Hit the Road

17 Consequences

18 Truth & Reconciliation

19 History Lessons

20 Sunrise

21 Parlor Tricks

22 Changes

23 Territorial Disputes

24 Tresspasser

25 Drums of War

26 Awaited in Valhalla

27 Flight of the Valkyries

28 Fools Rush In

29 Little Love

30 Hero's Luck

31 Making Peace

32 Wake Up Call

More Dakota

Before You Go

More DarksbaneBooks

Acknowledgements

Pronunciation Guide

About the Author

Hunted

Part of the Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd

by Shei Darksbane & Annathesa Nikola Darksbane

Dakota Shepherd is such a newb: newly Awakened, rookie werewolf, supernatural investigator in training. Her command of the wolf inside is shaky at best, and her grasp of the unstable magic she wields is worse. She sure has a lot to learn about her new life in the supernatural world.

So why would anyone want to stalk her?

A trespasser in pack territory. Blood on the mountain. An urban legend, spoken only in whispers.

Can Dakota rise to the challenge of a deadly foe?

There’s no shame in being new: everyone starts out that way. But in a world of powerful supernatural threats, being a newb could get a girl killed. And if Dakota isn’t up to the job of protecting herself, how can she hope to protect her loved ones from the ancient supernatural killer that hunts them?

Hunted

A Dakota Shepherd Novel

Part of the Auralight Codex

By Shei Darksbane

&Annathesa Nikola Darksbane

Copyright © 2015 by Shei Darksbane.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America.

First Printing, August 14, 2015

Darksbane Books
707 E Mobile ST
Florence, AL 35630

DarksbaneBooks.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people and events are coincidence.

For the dreamers, and the Awakened.

For the Wise Man who loved me.

And for the kind Souls who believed in me.

1

Varulf

My soul was on fire. My world, a hazy red, stained by fury, girded in rage.

Every inch of me burned from deep inside my chest, to my bones, to my muscles, to my horrifically stretching skin. My body was coming apart, and I was breaking; I knew it.

“Keep going, Dakota! Feel the rage. Let it carry you through the pain.” The voice of Ralof, my Alpha, carried me onward as the wolf in me rushed up to obey his commands, his encouragement.

I roared in agony and triumph as my bones snapped and popped, creaking their way into place as my small frame realigned into the hulking creature that was my rage incarnate. I had unleashed the fury I carried inside, the wrath that was the wolf, and my body had warped into the legendary creature so iconic that the world had known its name for centuries, for millennia.

Varulf, Garwalf, Lykánthropos, Loup-Garou.

Werewolf.

I unfurled my war form to its full six-foot-six height, and looked Ralof in the eyes. My vision was narrowed; I couldn’t focus on anything but that which was right before me. But Ralof was not my prey, nor my enemy. He was Alpha. I was his to command, and I would do as he desired, because the Alpha was stronger than me, more dominant, and I believed in him to my core.

Ralof nodded once in approval, a human gesture tainted by wolfish body language that appealed to my dual nature in this form. “Good. Well done, Dakota. Now shift back.”

It was hard to focus on words; I wanted action. I wanted to run, to hunt, to tear into my prey, to battle a mighty foe. But Ralof was my Alpha. And he said to shift. It was hard. I didn’t feel a need to shift back to my scrawny human form, but my Alpha’s eyes met mine and I knew I must obey.

I curled in on myself as I tried to shift back into my human self, reversing the steps I’d taken to achieve this form in the first place. I shut the rage out, focused on the person I was: an average, skinny girl with short, choppy brown hair, and light golden-brown eyes. A scrawny, ordinary woman no one in their right mind would ever have imagined was a werewolf.

And as I focused, Ralof spoke, murmuring soothing, gentle words. He caressed my back, running his hand gently along my fur, his touch calming me as much as his words. The beast inside me relinquished its hold on me easily enough, slipping back and away as my human mind re-emerged. And as the varulf receded, the pain returned in full force.

But I did as my Alpha commanded. I shifted back to my human form with a strangled cry of pain that left me gasping on the ground in front of him. The agony of the shift was even worse coming out than it was going in. At least, it felt that way. When I was shifting into the war form, the rage had shielded me from focusing on the pain. “Oooowww. Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster, that hurts.”

Ralof tilted his head, a confused expression crossing his face. “Holy… what?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. Anyway, so… How was that?”

Ralof crossed his arms. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Especially for your first time.”

“Thank you for being gentle with me.” I straightened and rolled my shoulder once before reaching for my shirt. Standing around butt-naked in the back yard of a busy house with floor-to-ceiling windows on the wall I was facing didn’t quite feel comfy yet, even if everyone inside was a werewolf and absolutely used to seeing naked shifters running around, even if those werewolves were my own pack. I was new at this. Give me a break.

Ralof held up a hand to halt me. “Do not get dressed again just yet. I want you to try it again. I pulled you back very quickly the first time, as soon as you had finished shifting. This time, I want to walk you through the basics of movement in the war form before you come back out.”

I groaned. “You couldn’t have done that while I was still in it the first time?”

Ralof grinned at me. “You must get used to the pain, Dakota. Mastering your various forms is very important. Knowing how to use your shifting to your advantage in a fight is imperative. It will certainly save your life one day.”

“Okay, okay…” I straightened and faced Ralof, drawing myself up to my whole five-foot-five height and clapped my hands together. “Let’s do this then.”

Ralof nodded approvingly. “Good. The first time, you were able to shift into the varulf fairly easily, I think, because of the anger you felt while relating your story to me.” He was referring to the story of my past, of how my mother had driven me to my first shapeshifting as a teenager by showering me in her bigotry. My Southern-Baptist mother had never accepted the fact that I was a lesbian, and when she’d caught me kissing a girl, she’d unleashed the full fury of her Bible-thumping religion upon me and the fury of my wolf had risen to the challenge.

My Nan, as it turned out, was a fairly powerful Mentalist, a magic-user who could alter things with her mind, including other people’s minds, including other people’s memories. Nan had blocked out my memories of being a werewolf and all the events surrounding it, and locked away my ability to shift. She’d done it to keep me safe, to give me a happier life, and it’d worked well enough until a chance encounter with a rogue wizard had caused me to Awaken. Then I’d run off to SII, the Supernatural Investigation Institute, for help and they’d shipped me off to Calgary to visit an even more powerful Mentalist than Nan who had helped me recover the memories I’d lost.

I had been telling Ralof the details of my so-recently recovered memories of those events when I’d felt myself starting to shift involuntarily. Ralof had recognized what was happening, and since we were safely tucked away in the back yard of the pack house which rested on a few acres of the Great Smoky Mountains, decided that it was as good a time as any to start teaching me to shift into the werewolf’s most powerful form: the varulf, or as we called it in English, the war form.

But technically, it had happened by accident. So I had no idea how to do it again.

“Now remember, the varulf is not the wolf, nor is it the woman you are. It is a joining of the two, and one crucial third element.” Ralof held my gaze as he explained.

“Ooh! A secret ingredient?” I grinned.

Ralof shook his head at me, amused. “More or less.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Rage.” Ralof lifted his hand and I watched it carefully, thinking he was going to show me the trick to taking on the new form. I was completely surprised when he slapped me across the face.

“Wha—” I was shocked. It hadn’t been all that hard; he had only made the skin sting. But I hadn’t expected him to hit me. “What was that?”

Ralof slapped me again. “Think about something that makes you angry.” The wolf surged in me, snarling. I felt my nose crinkle as her anger rolled out of me readily. The Templar. I had already explored the anger I felt toward my mother and the events of my past. But the most recent cause for rage had been the stranger in black who had tried to kill me and my packmate on our way to Calgary.

I clenched my fists. “Good.” Ralof slapped his hand across my arm, a little harder than before. “As the anger rises, feel the connection with the wolf.” They hurt Raelya. I growled, an angry human sound that reverberated in my chest in an impossible manner. Ralof slapped my other arm. “Let her come to the surface. Focus on the anger you share with her. Then, merge yourself, the wolf, and the anger together.” I thought of Raelya’s wrists, burned and bleeding from the silver handcuffs the Templar had locked onto her. Incensed, I pulled the wolf close to me, and my body started to change.

First, I felt my muscles swelling outward, my joints started popping, and the pain hit me like a truck. As soon as my body started tearing itself apart, the agony of the change fueled the rage that Ralof and my thoughts had started. I grew mindlessly irate. My bones crackled as the transformation continued, mangling my torso as my body stretched, making more of me than had been there before. I screamed at the agonizing pain, my voice a mix of human and wolf that made a terrible, fearsome sound. My vision clouded and for a moment, I couldn’t see anything before me; all I could see was the Templar’s snarling face in my mind and the burns on Raelya’s wrists. I roared in fury the like of which I’d never felt before in my life, and I wanted to fight.

I wanted to hunt, to find the Templar I’d left alive in the airport, to run him down and sink my teeth and my claws into his flesh. I wanted to tear him limb from limb, to rend his flesh from his bones and scatter his remains. I surged forward, aching to seek him out—

Ralof slammed into me, catching my arms in his mighty, dark-furred arms. At first I was irritated. He was my pack, and yet he was standing in my way. I rolled my weight against him, trying to get him to let me go, but he held me tightly. I growled at him indignantly and tried to jerk my arms free, but Ralof pulled me sharply forward and caught my eyes. I snarled, flexing my body toward him when the strength of my Alpha’s will impacted me, catching my frenzied mind, and commanding me to be still.

I could barely breathe, so great was the ache for the hunt. I struggled to obey my Alpha’s demanding presence as the rage in me threatened to tear me asunder. But Ralof’s lambent golden eyes were unyielding as the mountain on which we stood. The wolf in me recognized his dominance, recognized him as my pack, and as my leader, my Alpha.

The rage quieted suddenly, like a bonfire drenched to a smolder. I bowed my head to him, rumbling quietly in my throat as I lowered my eyes submissively. Ralof pulled my arms down, leaned forward, and held me as he placed his teeth against my throat, holding me for a moment as I relinquished control and acknowledged his dominance over me. A moment later, he took a step back and released me. “Good.” His voice came out in a half-growl, but he sounded calmer than I’d expected.

I glanced down at my hands and saw that they were thick, strong and furry, with long, sharp claws extending from my fingers. I glanced toward the house and caught my reflection in the bay windows. I was the same tawny and charcoal colors as I had been as the wolf—

I couldn’t focus! This form was a roiling fury, aching for violence; everything else felt distant and unimportant. I leaned back and howled, feeling the anger and the powerful need for violence surging in me again.

Ralof shifted back into his human form, his body cracking and shrinking into the more compact, but still large shape of the furless version of his body. He grunted and breathed out a pained sigh, but shook his head once and was done with it. “Good, Dakota. No doubt you are feeling an urge to run off into the woods and hunt, but I command you to resist that urge.”

I growled deeply. Damn straight I wanted to run off and hunt! I couldn’t focus on his words. I wanted a deer in my jaws. I wanted a challenger to fight. Anything but standing still and listening to words right now.

Ralof held my gaze with his vice-like will. “I want you to run once around the yard and come back to me. You are not to go into the trees, and you will come back to stand before me when you are finished. Go!”

I was off like a light. Freedom to run was better than standing there listening to words. No matter how much I wanted to hunt down a deer or battle an enemy right now, I could not dart off into the forest to seek them out. The Alpha said not to. So I tore across the yard, racing along the treeline like the wind, like an angry, furry wind.

I sunk my claws into the earth before me as I climbed back up the sloping yard to where Ralof stood waiting, naked from his shift, eyes piercing into my soul, where the wolf and the woman were united. I rushed up to where he stood and threw my head back to howl. Ralof waited patiently until I met his eyes again, then caught me up in the iron hold of his will once more. “Change back. Now.”

I wanted to obey him, but it was hard. The rage was trying to rise in me again.

“Dakota!”

I met his eyes. My Alpha commanded me to change.

So I changed.

My body came back to itself in a cadence of cracking bones, accompanied by the cacophony of my screams, which ended at last in a shuddering cry that almost turned into a sob.

Ralof embraced me suddenly, keeping me on my feet as I nearly fell. “Holy crap, that hurts.” Tears stung my eyes as I tried my best to stay strong. Ralof held me carefully until I found my feet and nodded to him. “That was… intense.” I choked up at him, wiping at my eyes.

Ralof nodded gently, not letting go of my arms until I had been steady for a few seconds. “Very intense. It always is. But you did well.”

I glanced at the clothes on the bench next to me and decided that I deserved to be comfortable after all of that. Ralof nodded to me and we both started redressing ourselves. “I did? I almost didn’t come back when you asked me to.”

Ralof laughed heartily. “You think that was bad? I suppose you do not know any better. You did very well actually.”

I smiled weakly. “Well at least there’s that.” We finished dressing then settled down on the benches, facing one another.

“So,” he began after a moment, “You can shift into the wolf, and you can shift into the war form. I suppose that means the trip was a success.”

I nodded. “Yep.” I rolled my shoulders again, relieving the tension that had risen in them from shifting. The pain had faded quickly, probably because werewolves regenerated quickly, and any damage the shifting had done to my muscles and bones was mending already. My stomach rumbled loudly.

Ralof must have heard it, not that he’d have needed werewolf-enhanced hearing for that. He smiled. “Dinner will likely be ready soon. You should go inside and see. We can change our forms at will, but there is a cost in energy. Our bodies must recover from the violence of the shift, and food is the fuel for our regeneration.”

I smiled. “I know. I read about it in my SII training materials. It’s part of why we eat so much.”

Ralof barked out a laugh. “That and because Elisa is such a good cook.”

I grinned. “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

Ralof stood and clapped me on the shoulder. I grinned up at my Alpha, a tall and broad-shouldered man with strawberry blond hair that fell past his shoulders, and a matching beard that he regularly kept braided and sometimes beaded after the fashion of his Viking ancestors. “Go on and eat. I need to go talk to the others.” He meant the two wolves who were staying at the pack house this weekend, visiting since they lived further out and weren’t always around for our more regular events.

“Are you going to go running?” I peered up at Ralof eagerly. I had regained the ability to shift my form only a few days ago, and my wolf was restless, eager to go running with her pack.

“Most likely, yes.” Ralof eyed me. “But as I said to you before, I want you to wait until next weekend to go running with us.”

I sighed loudly, dropping my head. My wolf ached to go running now. It felt a little childish, but my wolf didn’t seem to care about embarrassing me. Ralof seemed to understand though; he smiled at me gently and patted my shoulder. “You have waited a long time to run with your pack; I think you can wait a few days more. Your first time should be a grand experience, running with the whole pack at Midsummer’s full moon.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I smiled up at Ralof, letting out a deep breath and calming the wolf as best I could. “It’s just so hard to wait.”

Ralof patted me on the back again. “It will be worth it. Now go. Eat.”

“Okay, dad.” I teased. Ralof shook his head, laughing as we parted ways. He went to find the other two wolves who had moved to the bench swing at the side of the house while we’d been busy with my shifting practice. I opened the glass door leading into the living room of the pack house and inhaled the delicious aroma of roasted chickens and fresh-baked dinner rolls. I didn’t need to go ask Elisa if dinner was ready anymore. All I had to do was follow my nose.

2

Little Sister

I meandered through the living room, sidling past Kenneth who was heading back to the couch and the paused movie he’d been watching with Steph. He handed her a drink as he sat down close to her, and unpaused the movie which appeared to be one of those sappy young adult romance titles with vampires and werewolves. Steph smiled at me over her shoulder. “I know. It’s ironic. Werewolves watching werewolf movies.”

I shook my head. “Humorous, but not ironic. Irony is when something is deliberately contrary to what you’d expect.”

Steph tilted her head. “Huh?”

I waved off the comment and gestured to the screen. Steph smiled at me and went back to watching, leaning her head on Kenneth’s shoulder. He took the opportunity to put his arm around her like a boss. I hurried on to the kitchen where I wouldn’t get in the way of young love.

“Dakota!” Elisa snapped the instant I appeared in the doorway. “Come. Taste sauce. Tell me what you think.”

Andrei was situated to one side of the stove and Elisa to the other. Elisa was a tall, sturdy woman with golden hair in a wrapped braid, sun-kissed fair skin, and a myriad of scars. Her eyes were deep and blue, but only one of them tracked; the other was made of glass and the scar across it promised a tale.

Andrei, the pack’s second, looked no older than mid-twenties, though I knew he’d won his wicked, body-encompassing tattoos in some kind of involuntary Nazi occult experiment during World War II. His shaggy black hair and wide bottle green eyes said “college student” and maybe “stoner”, definitely not “war hero”. But I knew his casual, happy-go-lucky exterior hid the same monstrous rage-beast as I hid behind mine. Elisa looked the part of a werewolf woman; terse and sturdy and battle-scarred, a glorious warrior in human form, but Andrei, well, didn’t. Looks could be deceiving. Just as sure as Elisa, just as sure as sweet, lavender-haired Steph, Andrei was a monster, just like me.

But Andrei didn’t look all that intimidating at the moment, standing there in the kitchen, wearing a frilly-edged apron over his board shorts and tank top that showed off his tats. I got one look at him and started giggling. Andrei gave me a flat expression as Elisa waved me over. I scurried over to obey; no one was brave enough to ignore the wishes of the Alpha’s mate.

“Here.” Elisa held out a spoon coated in a thick brown sauce. I leaned in and tasted it, glancing down to avoid the two more dominant wolves’ heavy gazes as I considered the flavor.

“Not bad. It’s a little… sweet?”

Andrei groaned loudly. “Aww! Dakota! Why?” Elisa was laughing. Andrei snatched the spoon from Elisa with a glare.

“What’d I do?” I glanced between them. Elisa shook her head as she wandered toward the pantry, laughing all the way.

Andrei gave the sauce a mournful expression and sighed. “I made gravy to go with the potatoes. Elisa said it was closer to caramel than gravy.”

I tapped a finger to my lip. “Actually now that you mention it…” Andrei glared at me. I grinned cheesily. “What?”

“Seriously, you couldn’t back me on this? Not cool, little sister.” Andrei moved the pot to a back burner and tossed a lid on it.

“Well I wouldn’t want that on my potatoes, bro. Besides, I didn’t know what was going on.” I was trying not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. I giggled a little and Andrei shot me another playful glare.

Elisa came back over from the pantry with a canister of flour. “Was a fair judgment. If she had known, would have been less fair.” She dropped the canister onto the counter. “Is no worry. I will make new gravy, and your gravy can be for dessert.”

Andrei shot Elisa a scornful expression. “Well, I never!” He swiftly untied the apron and slapped it down on the counter as I laughed and Elisa shook her head as she dug out a fresh pot to start a new gravy in. Andrei stuck his nose in the air and stomped out of the kitchen.

I glanced up at Elisa with a grin. “Ralof sent me for food.”

“Shifting went well?” Elisa peered at me curiously. I nodded. “Good.” She eyed me consideringly then nodded at a covered dish nearby. “Go on, pick out some chicken.”

I grinned. “Thank you!” I grabbed a plate from the cabinet and slipped over to the dish. Inside, several roasted chickens had been dismantled into individual pieces on the bone. I grabbed a few pieces and replaced the lid carefully so it wouldn’t get cold. I bit into a leg and groaned as the juicy meat met my tongue. “This is so good.”

Elisa huffed, amused. “Is only chicken, Dakota. Very simple to make.”

I smiled at her. “Hey, you’ve stopped calling me ‘New Wolf’. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Elisa blinked and glanced up at me then huffed again and shook her head. “You have been here long enough for me to remember your name, and you are staying around for a while.”

I grinned at her. “You don’t have to excuse it, you know.”

Elisa shook her head and shooed me away. “Go on, out of the kitchen. If I let you stand here and eat, there will be none left for dinner.”

I laughed at her excuse as I slipped over to the doorway. “All right, Mama Wolf, I’m going.” I grinned at her as I backed out of the kitchen and into the living room. Andrei was just coming down the stairs. “Hey, Andrei. Wanna hang out for a bit?”

Andrei frowned apologetically. “No can do, kiddo. I’m going out with Ralof to take the other wolves running.”

“Oh.” I puffed. “Okay.”

“Hey, I’d love to hang some other time though. You sticking around for the weekend?”

I shook my head. “Probably not. I have to head home before too long and actually go to work again and stuff.”

Andrei grinned at that. “I hear ya. But hey, some time soon, right?”

I nodded. “I’ll hold ya to it.”

Andrei slapped me on the back and smiled broadly. “All right. I’ll see ya later then.” He turned and jogged across the living room and out into the back yard where Ralof and the other wolves were already shifting. I watched Andrei step out to join them, stripping out of his shirt as he crossed the lawn to where three other wolves, one of them my Alpha, waited for the pack’s second to join them. I watched Andrei shift into his wolf, and then before I had a chance to get a good look at him, they were gone, disappearing into the forest, lightning fast.

I sighed and considered as I finished my chicken. My wolf was antsy and restless. Okay, really, she was dying to go running and I knew nothing was going to salve that until we could go out with the pack.

I slipped back into the kitchen to dispose of my plate, but Elisa took it from my hands and shooed me off again. I stepped back into the living room and glanced around. I didn’t want to bother the kids in the living room, and everyone else seemed busy. I glanced up at the windows; it was just after dark. I wandered out to the front porch and pulled out my phone. Maybe tonight was a better night to go hang out with my girlfriend than my pack.

The phone rang a few times before Amorie picked up. “Good evening, my little wolf.” Amorie’s velvety voice was soothing and enticing, as always.

“Hey Am. What’s up?” I wandered off of the porch to pace about the yard.

“The moon, and the stars, I would imagine.” There was a playful smile in her voice that I found myself sharing. “What is up for you?”

“Nothing much. I was wondering if we could get together somehow, or at least just talk for a while?” I slowly meandered around to the side of the house where a bench swing hung from the supports of the upper balcony.

“I would love to, my little wolf.”

I grinned as I flopped down into the bench, letting my weight set the swing to moving. “Awesome.”

“But unfortunately, I can not. Not tonight. I am… excessively busy right now.”

I frowned, my spirits sinking. “Aww. Really?”

“I am so very sorry, ma chérie. I wish it were not so, but I am afraid I have gotten a little backed up. When you stayed with me last, I let a few things slip that I thought would be all right, but… It has turned out that my judgment was in error.”

I frowned more. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it will be fine, little wolf. Just there is much right now that needs my attention, and I would not wish to give my Mistress the impression that I am lax in my service to her.”

I sighed. “All right. I don’t want you to get in trouble with your Mistress.”

“It is for the best, little wolf. We would not wish her to come to believe that you are not good for me.”

“Yeah, that sounds bad.”

Amorie was dead silent for a moment, as only vampires can be. It was only for an instant, but I noticed all the same. “Yes, ma chérie. It would be. I am sorry, but I hope you will understand.”

I did my best to put a smile into my voice. “Of course. It’s no problem, Am. I’ve got some other stuff to take care of anyway.”

“Are you sure it is all right?” I could hear the apology in her voice, but also the need to know it was actually okay.

“I’m sure. Just give me a call later if you get caught up, all right?”

“Of course, ma chérie. If I have time.”

We said goodbye and I put my phone away. I leaned back on the bench, dropping my arms over the back of it and sighed. I spent a moment staring up at the wood planks overhead as I rocked slowly back and forth, telling myself that I had no right to feel so left out. My pack was all around me; I just couldn’t go out running. My girlfriend cared for me very deeply, but she was a very important person and it couldn’t be helped that she had work to do. Raelya and I had just gotten back from a trip to Canada that she’d come along on just to make sure I was safe.

It was childish to feel left out or lonely, but I was feeling it all the same. Maybe it was more that I didn’t feel up to being alone with my so freshly regained memories. Or maybe I was still uncomfortable being alone with the newness of the wolf I had reconnected with, the wolf that had been left alone for so long. I closed my eyes as I rocked in the Tennessee summer night, breathing the fresh mountain air, and listening to the forest all around me that I could hear so much clearer now with my wolf no longer locked away.

I startled when Raelya thumped down next to me. “Ack!” I scrambled upright.

Raelya giggled. “Hello to you too.”

“You startled me.” I pouted at her.

“I gathered.” Raelya grinned, then her expression sobered. “What are you doing out here all alone, Dakota?”

I shrugged. “Just relaxing I guess. Just got off the phone with Amorie.”

“Oh.” Raelya dropped her head for a few seconds, then looked back up at me and smiled. “Going out tonight?”

I shook my head. “Nah. She’s busy. I was thinking of heading back to the apartment and packing up.”

“So you have decided to move in?” Raelya brightened up at that.

I nodded. “I have. But I have to tough it out for one more week.”

Raelya tilted her head. “Oh?”

“Two weeks notice. I figure if I can stick it out in the apartment for at least half of that, my final paycheck will at least cover the cab fare for the second half of it after I’ve moved out.”

Raelya frowned and swatted me on the nose softly.

I blinked. “What?”

“You will do no such thing. You will not take a cab to work when I am perfectly capable of driving you.”

“But it’s like an hour to Knoxville, one way, with the option of driving it twice a night or hanging around for eight hours.”

Raelya glared at me. “I said I will drive you, and that is that. It is only for two weeks, so not another word. I have decided.”

I blinked. “You know, I believed you were related to Elisa as it was. You have nothing to prove.”

Raelya laughed and shook her head. “Just tell me which nights you will need a ride and let me help you, okay?”

I smiled. “Okay. But wait, two weeks? I won’t need you to drive me for the first week if I stay in Knoxville until next weekend.”

Raelya shook her head firmly. “You are not staying in that apartment alone when you could be here with your pack. I do not mind driving you. I know you have not enjoyed being alone, so there is no reason for you to wait a week. Besides, next weekend is the Fourth of July and it is a big event. The whole pack will be here, and it will be your first run. It is better to handle your move before then.”

“I was going to try to have it done by Friday anyway.”

Raelya smiled at me gently. “But I know you really want to be here now.”

I sighed. “All right, yes. I would hate being alone in my apartment all week. You win.”

“Shall we go then?”

I smiled. “Yes, I suppose we shall.”

Raelya took my hand gently in hers and squeezed it. I squeezed back. She got up from the swing and pulled me with her and we headed off to get our shoes and let Elisa know we were going. I waved goodbye to the pack house for the night and Raelya and I climbed into the sturdy old pickup that she and Elisa shared. We turned the radio on, rolled the windows down, and headed off to Knoxville.

3

Where Your Rump Rests

I watched the familiar trees roll by as Raelya drove us down the mountain roads toward Gatlinburg. After a moment of quiet, she glanced over at me, then asked, “What is wrong, Dakota?”

I shrugged. “Nothing really.” I glanced up at Raelya and she raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed. “The wolf is restless. She wants to run, to hunt.”

“Ah. And Ralof said to wait.” Raelya gave me a knowing smile.

I nodded. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t whine so much but I’m still getting used to the wolf and this is all new to me.”

“I would not call it whining anyway. You are more, how do they say? Moping.”

I pouted. “I’m not moping.”

Raelya grinned. “Now you are pouting.”

I pouted more exaggeratedly. “I’m not pouting.”

Raelya laughed, and the sound infected me. I smiled, then I laughed, then I sighed a happy sigh. “I’ll get over it. So I can’t believe I never asked you before, but I’m curious. What do you do exactly?”

Raelya tilted her head slightly. “Do? What do you mean?”

“When you’re not flying to Canada with me or helping Elisa cook, what do you do? You don’t seem to have a job or anything, so what do you do?”

“Ahh. I read, listen to music, go for walks, run in the forest, hunt rabbits.” She flashed me a toothy grin and I chuckled. “Sometimes, Elisa and I will sew or knit, and we have our little garden that we tend together.”

“That’s all?”

“I am not sure why you say that. What is wrong with it?”

I shrugged. “Just sounds like you don’t have a lot to do.”

“Were you not listening? There are many things, and of course I have not listed every little thing.”

I grinned. “Okay, then what else do you do?”

Raelya laughed. “Every little thing?”

“You going anywhere?” I gestured around the truck.

“Fine. I like watching the little movies online.”

“What like Youtube?” I tried not to sound too incredulous.

“Yes, or wherever I can find them.”

“Okay then what kinds of things do you watch?”

Raelya glanced at me with a considering smile. “About piloting and driving, the technology behind them, and the history of such things.”

“Oh, that’s right.” I knew Raelya was interested in planes and stuff. She’d told me so before when we’d traveled to Calgary and she’d wanted to visit the aeronautical museum. “I didn’t know you were so into those things. I thought it was more nostalgic for you.”

Raelya shook her head. “No, I do love the history and seeing the old planes from the wars, but it is more than that. Flying was so much fun, and I miss it.”

“Wait, you can fly?” I blinked.

Raelya smirked at me. “Yes, of course. I am old enough for my werewolf-wings to have grown in.”

I barked out an awkwardly loud laugh. “Oh, right.”

Raelya laughed. “I used to fly planes. This is so surprising?”

“Well, yeah? I guess. I mean, I don’t know anyone else who can fly a plane. It’s not a skill just everyone has.”

“But it is so surprising to you that I have it?”

I shook my head. “Neh. I guess not. It’s more that, well, I had no clue you did stuff like that.”

“I used to fly, and I loved it. I enjoy driving very much, though it is not the same. It is as close as I come these days.”

“Ahh, so the truth is revealed. That’s why you’re offering to drive me to work.” I grinned broadly.

Raelya smiled at me. “Perhaps a little.”

“Well,” I scooted over to the middle seat and leaned against her side. “Then I don’t feel as bad for letting you.” I gave her shoulder a little squeeze. Raelya laid her head against mine briefly, bumping it softly, hair-to-hair.

“Do not feel bad at all. I rarely have so much call for it. I am glad that I will be driving you for a while.” Raelya gave me a considering look. “In fact, I would be happy to teach you.”

I smiled, leaning back in the seat. “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? Then I wouldn’t need you to drive me anymore.”

Raelya nodded gravely. “Yes, there is that. But it would be good for you to know how. And you could always be sweet and let me drive you when we are together, yes?”

I laughed softly. “Yes. And that’d be great.”

Raelya smiled. “Some time soon then, eh?”

I nodded. “That sounds good.”

Raelya and I chatted about driving, cars, flying, planes, and her interest in older aeronautical mechanics for the remainder of the drive to my Knoxville apartment. Raelya pulled us into the apartment’s small parking lot and turned off the truck. As she started to get out, I put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Hey, wait.”

Raelya glanced up at me, tilting her head curiously, and I realized I recognized the motion as a simple askance. Without the mental blocks keeping my wolf away, I was beginning to find I understood wolfish body language fairly naturally.

“I forgot I need boxes and stuff. Would you go pick some up from Walmart before we get started?” I pulled out my wallet and started counting out bills.

Raelya tilted her head. “Of course, but you do not want to come with me?”

I smiled at her. “I have a couple things I’d rather clean up alone before someone helps me pack up if that’s okay. Won’t take long, but you can grab the boxes and maybe get us a pizza if that sounds good?”

Raelya smiled. “Ah, of course. What kind of pizza do you like?”

I shrugged. “Not picky. I bet I’ll eat anything you’d eat anyway.”

Raelya grinned. “Is that a challenge?”

I laughed. “Do your worst, pizza-wolf.”

Raelya laughed and I offered her the bills. Raelya shook her head. “This is too much.”

I shrugged. “I’d rather be sure you have enough.”

“I do have money of my own, you know.”

“Sure, but you’re doing this for me, so I wanna cover it.”

Raelya took the bills and gripped my hand as she did. “Stop worrying about it all so much, Dakota. We are pack now. We are family. You do not have to cover every little thing, or treat every favor as if you are a burden.”

“I know, but I’m not used to it yet.” I admitted, squeezing her hand around the bills.

Raelya smiled, lifting her other hand to brush my hair back from my eyes. “I know. So I am going to help you get used to it.” She pulled the bills from my hand and laid them on the seat next to me.

I frowned. “But—”

“Shh! No buts. You would do the same for me. And one day you will. We are pack, Dakota. We do not worry about paying each other back. We just all do our best to help all of us. Now go inside and hide your naughty toys before I get back.”

I sputtered. “I— Wha— That’s not what I meant!”

Raelya laughed and nodded slowly. “Of course it is not.”

I glared at her playfully and put the bills back in my wallet. “Seriously, I was talking about other things.”

“Of course you were.” Raelya grinned at me then made a shooing gesture. “Do not worry, Dakota. If I were you, I would want a chance to hide my naughty toys too.”

I laughed at that as I slid out of the truck and closed the door. Raelya cranked the truck, and pulled it smoothly out of the parking space. I went on inside to hide my naughty toys.

Though that wasn’t the only reason I’d wanted to buy a moment’s solitude before the packing started.

I opened my door and stepped into the tiny loft apartment, closed the door behind me, and took a look around. So this is it.

I stood for a moment in silence and the emptiness of the place fell onto my shoulders like a heavy coat. This place had been my home for years. It had felt warm once, cozy at least, and if nothing else, it had been safe; it had been mine.

But that warmth was gone, the coziness was gone. Even the safety felt tenuous. If anything, it felt a little scary to be so far from my pack, and the thought of living alone wasn’t a thought I could cope with anymore. Even the shadow figures I’d learned to live with were gone now, lost with the blocks in my memory. They’d been a bit creepy, but even they had been a kind of company to me before. Now the apartment felt truly lonely.

But, this little apartment had been good to me. It wasn’t its fault I was moving on. So I walked around the room, trailed my fingers across the counter and the cabinets, brushed my fingers against the curtains, and said my silent goodbyes.

I smiled at the little table where my laptop had stood with the purple camo-print bean bag before it, and I ran my hand across the unmade bed where I’d slept through many a day.

I pushed the curtains aside and stared out the window, taking in my view of Knoxville. Not an awesome view, but it was my view.

As I turned away from the window, I drew in a deep breath and tried to parse the scent of the place. Every place has a scent. Even humans know this; people talk about how each house has its own smell. For werewolves, this is even truer still. I savored the little nuances of my apartment’s smell, knowing I’d remember them long after I moved.

I wanted to do this. I wanted to move out. I wanted to go live with the pack. But it was hard at the same time. It was hard to leave it all behind.

I sat down on the bean bag and leaned back, tucked my arms under my head and sighed. I laughed at the picture of Ceiling Cat I’d long ago taped to the ceiling, then glanced around at all the posters and printed-out pictures on the walls sporting images of Sherlock, Castle, Dr. Horrible, and Firefly. I smiled at the little bulletin board where I’d posted pictures of some of my heroes: Nan, Ellen Degeneres, Laverne Cox, Felicia Day, Korra. This was my geeky little haven. This was my life.

And I was ready to leave it behind.

Raelya’s footsteps and the smell of pizza announced her return before my packmate had even knocked. I had no idea how long it had been. I’d been lost in thought, eyes drifting about the room. I rolled to my feet and let out a deep breath. “Come in!” I raised my voice enough for her to hear, remembering that I wouldn’t need to shout for Raelya to hear me. But the door didn’t open; I realized Raelya likely had her hands full and rushed over to open it for her.

Raelya gave me a dry expression as I let her in. I took the pizza she was balancing on one hand and let her wrangle the stack of flat boxes she held firmly by the plastic straps around them. “Thanks! This smells great.” I took it over to my little table with only two chairs.

Raelya huffed once as she set the boxes against the wall. “Do not let Elisa hear you say that.”

We grinned at each other as she came over for pizza. We both grabbed a slice of the meat-lover’s pizza she’d chosen and chewed into it. “Mmm… It’ll be our secret.” I moaned around the slice. “Though you know, this is pretty tame. I was expecting you to try to scare me. Like with anchovies or something.”

Raelya crinkled her nose. “Ick. No, I would not ruin a perfectly good pizza just to scare you.” We both giggled a little. “So are you all ready to start packing?”

I blinked. “Uh…” I glanced around the apartment. I’d totally forgotten to actually hide the naughty toys. “Yeah. Mostly.” I swallowed and tried to look casual. “Though I decided I don’t want to pack it up entirely. Just mostly. Then if I need anything while I’m in town I can still drop by. At least until after next weekend when I’ll have time to finish moving everything and set up my new room.”

Raelya nodded. “That is reasonable.”

We ate a couple slices each, then went to work. I set Raelya to the task of opening up the boxes and folding the bottoms together as I glanced around, deciding where to start.

“You know, I have no idea what to do with the kitchen stuff. I won’t really need it now. I mean, it’s mostly cheap plastic crap anyway, and none of it’s sacred to me. I guess, I’ll just toss it.”

“Then you can leave it for now in case you stop in for food in the week.”

I nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”

We broke down the logistics together and decided to pack up all the non-essentials, leave the kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, and my bedding, and to focus instead on my personal belongings and most of my clothes for the moment.

We worked through the night, packing away my life in little marked boxes. Midnight came and went, and Amorie hadn’t called, so I assumed she was still rather busy. We were mostly finished by three in the morning. Raelya sat down and puffed. “I believe we are finished. You do not have so much.”

I nodded. “Yeah, this looks good.”

“So are you ready to load the truck and go home?”

I shook my head. “I still need to go talk to Joe. I gotta put in my notice and stuff.” I smiled at her. “So I guess we can pack up the truck and you can drive me over to work if that’s okay.”

Raelya nodded. “That will be fine. Then we will go home.”

I nodded. “Yep. Then we will go home.”

Raelya picked up a box and started down the stairs and as she did, I gave the apartment one more long look around. I stood there for a few seconds alone and said goodbye to the place that had been my home. But more than that, I said goodbye to the girl who had lived there.

4

Showing Off

Raelya drove me to the museum and parked around back. She decided to wait for me in the truck. She kicked her feet up into the seat comfortably, assuring me she’d be fine with a paperback and the radio. I hopped out and made my way to the back entrance. Joe would get an alert when I entered my access code, thus saving me the effort of hunting him down, as he’d likely come find me.

I started down the hall and headed for the locker room. Joe met me at the door with a raised eyebrow. “Heya Shepherd. The hell’re you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too, boss.” I smirked just to annoy him as I squeezed past him and headed over to the fridge. As I passed him, I noticed his scent, and it struck me how familiar his scent was. I knew it. Just like I knew his face.

“So where the hell have you been?” Joe leaned against the doorway and watched me open a bottle of water.

“Canada, mostly.” I took a drink and grabbed a chair from the break table and flipped it around, sitting down backwards in it and leaning on the back.

“Canada? So sick leave was just a cover, I take it?” Joe shoved off from the wall and came over to claim one of the other chairs.

“Nah, it was legit. I had to go to a specialist up there to, uh… to solve an old problem that’d started to really ail me again lately.”

Joe tilted his head. “You seemed healthy enough to me, Shepherd.”

I shrugged. “You can’t always see another person’s pain, Joe. I finally found someone who could help me with my head. The blackouts I used to have? I’m better now. So yeah, it was a big deal for me.”

Joe raised his eyebrows. “Woah. What, d’you go in for head surgery or something?” He looked a bit skeptical. “Pretty sure it takes a little longer to recover from stuff like that, Shep.”

I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I guess it was more… like therapy in a sense. In the end, I figured out what the problem was myself and confronted the issues that were at the root of it all. But I had help getting there.”

Joe scoffed mildly. “And you had to go all the way to Canada for that? Just to talk to someone about your problems?”

I gave Joe my serious frown. “Mental health is a serious concern, Joe. People don’t take it seriously because they don’t understand it, but make no mistake, man. Depression kills. Anxiety is as serious a health concern as obesity, and does just as much to destroy a person’s quality of life. And getting help for these issues is every bit as important as getting a cast on a broken leg. Refusing to do so is just as crippling too.”

Joe leaned back, edging slightly away from me in a way I might not have noticed if the wolf hadn’t felt so damned satisfied at his reaction. Damnit. I hadn’t meant to stare him down like that. I was still new at this, and it was easy for me to forget that Unawakened people reacted to things like the wolf’s dominance just as surely as anyone else. They just didn’t tend to realize it.

But on the positive side of things, it also had the effect of getting people to really listen to me. Joe blinked and pursed his lips thoughtfully, then nodded slowly. “Right, yeah I see your point. I guess I never much thought of it like that. My sister’s got anxiety, you know? She’s pretty quiet when we all get together with friends, and I guess I always thought she was just… being grumpy or shy or… I dunno. I just never really thought it was like… like what you just said. Real.”

I smiled, trying to warm the seriousness back out of the air. “Hey, don’t hold it against yourself too hard, man. It’s hard to understand what you can’t even see. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. I just try to keep that in mind.”

Joe smiled at that. “I’m glad you’re back, Shepherd. It’s been boring around here for the past week.”

I grinned. “Aww, I missed you too Joe. But, uh, about that…”

Joe tilted his head and I sighed.

“I’m putting in my notice.”

Joe frowned and jolted upright. “What?”

I shrugged. “Sorry to spring it on you, but…”

Joe gave me a skeptical look. “You’re kidding.” He obviously thought I was.

I shook my head, “No, I…” I felt a little guilty. He’d just been talking about how much he’d missed me and Joe had always been a good boss, even a friend in a sense, and well, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t miss the big lug. But I couldn’t hold onto the guilty feelings for long. A smile crept onto my face as I allowed myself to adopt the smug satisfaction with which I’d been planning my big reveal. I straightened up and cracked my lips, showing teeth. “I got a new job.”

Joe eyed me uncertainly. “Oh yeah? What kinda job?”

I brushed my nails on my shirt, hamming it up. “Oh, no big deal. Just a full-time gig with a certain three-letter organization.”

Joe snorted. “FBI? Yeah, right. You told me yourself they wouldn’t take you ‘cause of your dyslexia.”

I grinned mysteriously. “Who said FBI?”

Joe pursed his lips again and eyed me. “Okay, what then?”

I leaned in, eying him seriously. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Joe barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Out with it already.”

I chuckled as I straightened up from the chair. “It’s a government organization, Trauma Management Agency. I got hired on as a field agent, and I’ve already started training.”

“TMA? You mean them guys that show up for localized disasters and help people sort it out?” That was the cover SII used for explaining what we did to the Unawakened. I raised my chin and beamed at him. Joe’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Wait, you’re actually serious.”

I nodded. “Yeah, all kidding aside, it’s a great job, and I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

Joe pressed his lips, nodding for a second, then forced a smile. “Yeah? Well, I’m real happy for you, kid. Just, gonna miss you around here, you know?”

I smiled and held out my hand. “It’s all right, boss. I’ll drop by and say hi once in a while. Maybe we can meet up for lunch sometimes still. I’ll be working out of Knoxville so it’s not like I won’t see you around.”

Joe came to his feet and gripped my hand. “Yeah, you’d better.”

“Come on, tough guy. Quit acting like you don’t want a hug.” I held out my free arm and Joe nearly choked me, suddenly picking me up in a squeeze.

“You little shit. I didn’t think you’d be going anywhere for a long time.”

I shoved at the big guy’s chest and he let me go. I made a show of coughing and we both laughed it off. It was my way of letting him off easy on the feels. Guys and their egos, after all. “Yeah, well, I’ll miss you too, boss.”

Joe shook his head. “I’ll go get the paperwork.” He hurried off to the office, and I stayed behind, giving him a chance to wipe his eyes without knowing I’d noticed them.

I checked my phone while I waited, but there were no new texts from Amorie. I hadn’t expected it; she’d sounded really busy earlier and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Still, I took the opportunity to send her a little love. Even if she didn’t have time to respond tonight, I could remind her that I cared for her.

Joe leaned into the room a moment later. “Hey, Dakota, a blond girl was knocking at the back door when I went by. Says she’s here with you?”

“Yeah, that’s Raelya.” I hurried past him and rushed down the hall, quickly out-pacing him, and for once, not out of spite.

I popped the back door open and Raelya smiled at me, relieving the rise of anxiety I’d felt as my mind had quickly conjured a list of possible reasons why Raelya might have come knocking so soon. “May I use the restroom?”

I puffed out a breath and smiled, waving her in. “Yeah, just over there.” I gestured her toward the employee restroom next to the locker room and followed Joe back to the break table, noting the papers in his hand.

Joe plopped the stapled packet of papers onto the table and clicked a pen, dropping it on top of them as we both resumed our seating. “So I guess you’re gonna make me do this, eh?”

I shrugged. “I’m still dyslexic, Joe. Trip to Canada didn’t cure that.”

Joe shook his head. “Of course not.” He started scribbling in the details he knew, like my name and I helped him answer the other questions such as my reason for leaving.

“Got new job as secret agent for the government.” I cheesed.

Joe shook his head and mocked, “Too smart-assed for my own good,” as he wrote “new job” on the page.

Raelya wandered in a moment later and came to stand near me quietly. I smiled up at her. “Hey. Won’t be much longer.”

Raelya touched my shoulder gently. “It is no worry.”

I smiled at her appreciatively. When I looked back at Joe, he was giving me a smirk that told me what he was thinking before he decided to voice his thoughts. “So’s this your girlfriend?”

Raelya smiled faintly and looked away. I coughed mildly. “Uh, no. Sorry, Joe, this is my—” My what? I could hardly say “packmate”. Raelya was too much to me to just be a friend, but what choice did I have? “—friend. I mean… Raelya. This is—”

Raelya reached for Joe’s hand and smiled at him. “I am Raelya Gunnarsdottir. I am Dakota’s new roommate.”

Joe smiled and shook her head. “Oh, well hello Raelya.” He said her name all wrong like “ral-yeh” and I didn’t feel so bad at myself for how much I generally butchered my pack’s names anymore. He also said it a little flirty-like, and my wolf roiled to the surface. I felt my shoulders edge ever so slightly toward him before I caught myself. Raelya’s hand on my shoulder tensed; she could sense my wolf’s unease and knew enough to figure how I’d react, no doubt.

But Raelya could take care of herself. She gave a pretty smile as she shook his hand then drew herself up and brushed her fingers along her braid. “And you must be Joe Davis, Dakota’s boss? She speaks highly of you.”

Joe grinned. “That would be me. And I’ll bet she does.” He narrowed his eyes at me playfully.

I shook my head and tapped the papers. “Focus, cowboy. She bats for my team.”

Joe sighed and went back to writing. Raelya tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh? Do I?”

I blinked and glanced up at her. “Uh, yeah? I mean—”

Raelya smirked at me wickedly. “I do not believe I have ever said that I am not interested in men, have I?”

Joe raised an eyebrow, then shot me a digging, triumphant grin. My stomach lurched with embarrassment. “Uh, well I guess… not precisely. But I figured—” I met her eyes. What was I going to say? I didn’t want to bring up the fact that she’d kissed me, or the uncomfortable longing I’d felt in return for her that had caused me a deal of grief in regards to my girlfriend. I still wasn’t quite sure how to define my relationship with Raelya and I didn’t want to strain it at this point. For once, I was at a total loss for words.

Raelya started laughing, then squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Dakota, I am just playing with you. You should see your face.” Her body language told me a different tale. I’m sorry, said the tilt of her head. Don’t be upset, said the set of her shoulders. I love you, said the brush of her hip against my side.

I laughed it off with her and Joe chuckled then sighed again, shaking his head. “Just my luck, eh?”

I recovered quickly from the deeper emotions, returning to the guise of happy-go-lucky joviality that I commonly wore at work. “You’re too handsome for her anyway, hot stuff.”

Joe snorted. “Shaddup, Shepherd.” He glanced at Raelya again with a good-humored smile. “Besides, I’m old enough to be your father.”

Raelya shared a devious smirk with me when Joe wasn’t looking. Her lips quirked up cutely with private amusement. “Oh, I would not go that far. I am older than I look.”

We all chatted a little more as we finished up the paper work. Casual conversation about our trip to Canada filled the silence that might have been awkward for me if I’d let that nagging embarrassment hang on, but I did my best to banish it with smiles and jokes as usual. Joe finished my resignation form and I signed it, then checked over the schedule for the next two weeks that he’d done me the favor of bringing along from the office.

“I haven’t done up the schedule for next week, so really, if you wanted to just do the one, I can get Dean and Phillips to take on the extra shifts and be done with it. What’s better for you?”

I smiled at Joe’s willingness to help me out. “Thanks, man. I appreciate that. I can work it if you need me, but if it’s no different, I wouldn’t mind going ahead and checking out by this Thursday either.”

Joe nodded. “Yeah, I figured you might say that. It’s no trouble, Shepherd. I’m gonna have to fill the schedule for a while anyway until we find someone to replace you, and with half the administration on vacation for the Fourth, that’s not gonna happen for a while anyway.”

I grimaced. “Ech, bad timing?”

Joe shrugged. “Nah. You get out of here, kid. Get out and move on to better things.” Joe huffed and quirked a thoughtful smile. “I’m proud of you for chasing that old dream.”

I smiled back, touched. “Thanks, Joe.”

“Now get out of here. You’ve got bigger things to do than patrolling around this place, running off the bums and tackling crazy cultists.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I guess I do.” I glanced at Raelya and her knowing smirk told me she was thinking what I was thinking. If only he knew.

5

Moving In

Amorie texted me “I love you” just before sunrise. It was short, sweet, simple and thoughtful of her to take the time to contact me when she was likely hurrying to beat the sunrise after such a long, busy night. I let myself smile at the sentiment even as I felt a pang in my stomach over the distance between us. I wanted her to be here. Instead, she was very far away, and it felt like our time together was always incredibly brief.

I wanted to see her more often, to spend time with her, and to get to know her better. If we were lovers, if we were in love, we should be together more than we had been so far. At the same time, I knew she was incredibly busy right now, and some of that busyness was due to the three days we’d spent together when I’d dropped in on her in Nashville. It’s not like she’d had time to plan a reprieve from her duties. Making up for the things she’d missed was costing her every spare minute we might otherwise have had now.

Still I wanted it to be better than that. I wanted us to be a constant, not an occasion. And it really bothered me that we weren’t. I knew that was selfish, even childish in some ways, but I couldn’t really control how I felt. At least I could control what I did with those feelings, however. I texted her back. “Love you too. Rest well.” I wondered if she’d even see it or if she was already settled in. To my delight, she texted back. “And you, little wolf.” There. I felt we were connected again. Funny how much difference the few characters on my screen could mean to me.

Maybe it was the just that we had been so busy and absent for the last few days, since my trip to Canada and through the weekend. Maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad in a few days more when she was less busy and we were both more capable of communicating, even if just by text or phone.

Raelya smiled at me sidewardly as we coasted through Gatlinburg. “From Amorie?” She asked, glancing toward my phone briefly.

“Yeah.” I smiled. “Just saying goodnight. Or good morning. You know.” I tucked my phone away and started adjusting the radio. There was usually nothing but talk shows on this early, but Raelya had a couple of CDs tucked into a little case in the visor, so I put one on at random. It turned out to be a lovely Celtic-rock album.

Raelya started humming along with the singer as the song began, and I just leaned back in the seat and rested for the remainder of the ride. We chatted a little about the music and such, but I was feeling thoughtful, and eager to be home. Now that there was a place that truly felt like home again, anyway.

We arrived at the pack house and it was nearly six in the morning. Raelya and I went ahead and unloaded my things, carrying everything upstairs into the new room I’d be calling my own. It was right next to hers. We weren’t the only ones awake, which was good because I’d have felt bad if I were interrupting everyone’s sleep by bringing my stuff inside, but I noticed that Elisa and Elliot were up and busy with something in the living room and Ralof had apparently already set out for work as his truck was absent. This was my new home, and this was my new family. It was still going to take some getting used to.

Raelya and I finished settling my boxes into my new bedroom and I flopped onto the nicely-made bed that had been a guest-room bed until now. I’d been assured that moving my old bed wasn’t necessary if I wasn’t attached to it as it was easier to leave the current bed in place than it would be to move it into storage. I planned on being here a while, so I might replace it eventually, but for now, bed sweet bed it was. Still, it wasn’t mine. It didn’t smell of me. It smelled of other wolves, fresh air and the very faintly-scented detergent that Elisa used on the household linens since stronger smelling stuff would have irritated the noses of werewolves.

Raelya settled down onto the end of the bed next to my legs and smiled at me. “Tired?”

“A bit. You?”

“Yes. It is getting late for me. What do you want to do?”

I sighed and sat up. “Rest. The trip messed up my schedule, but normally I’m asleep at this hour.”

Raelya laid her head very gently on my shoulder. “You could stay in my room if you would prefer. We can turn on a movie and if you can not sleep, you can at least rest for a while.”

I grinned. “Slumber party part two? I’d like that. It’ll be easier to get used to sleeping here if I have something familiar to cling to.” I laid an arm around Raelya’s waist and squeezed her indicatively.

Raelya smiled. “Good. Come then.” She got up and I followed her out of my new room into hers after grabbing a change of clothes. I wanted to wear something comfortable and well-worn, so I pulled out my favorite oversized Sherlock tee, the one that said “I am Sherlocked” and some boxers for the night.

Raelya’s room was the same warm and inviting place it had always been. It was a cozy room with pretty floral curtains and a hand-made quilt on the bed. Her walls bore many items that I knew had stories behind them, like an old airplane propeller with “Spitfire” blazoned across it in burning, faded letters, a pair of old aviation goggles, and a grappling hook thingy that might actually have been an anchor; I had no idea. But I made a note that it’d be a good idea to ask her about them at some point.

I glanced around and noted two other doors in the room. “One of you is a bathroom.”

Raelya smirked and pointed. I took her directions and closed the door behind myself to change in privacy. I decided on a quick shower since it had been a long day and I’d been pretty active. I didn’t think I’d broken a sweat despite carrying boxes down flights of stairs and all the work of packing before that. Being a werewolf had its perks and one of them was better endurance than average humans.

I thought about that in the shower. I’d always felt I was weirdly lucky with fitness. I was a little quicker than I had a right to be and my stamina was better than precisely made sense considering that I was a bit of a couch potato, but now that my wolf was active, I was definitely noticing that I’d become even more capable in those ways; maybe I felt a little stronger to boot. Nothing spectacular, but I had noticed it wasn’t as difficult to carry those boxes as I’d have expected.

A quick shower later, I stuck my head out and asked Raelya if I could borrow her hairbrush.

“Of course,” she said. “Forgot yours?”

I shrugged. “Actually couldn’t find it. I would have sworn I tossed it in the same bag as my shampoo and stuff, but apparently I’d have been wrong.”

Raelya smirked at me. “What is mine is yours.”

“Thanks.” I grinned and ducked my head back into the bathroom to finish up.

I emerged a few minutes later in my night clothes with freshly towel-dried hair and a big smile. “It feels good to be home.”

Raelya had donned a soft-looking, sleeveless night gown of pale blue satin and was settled comfortably onto her bed with a book in hand. I darted to the bed and vaulted over her, landing on the bed beside her. Raelya laughed at my antics. “I am glad that you are happy, Dakota.” She leaned her head down and nuzzled at my forehead. I nuzzled back at her, responding to the wolf inside.

“So whatcha reading?” I leaned against her shoulder and peered at her book.

Raelya twisted the paperback around to show me the cover. “It is a fantasy story. It is beautifully written, and very exciting.”

I read the title carefully and nodded. “I prefer movies.”

Raelya smiled. “I know you do not read for fun very much.” She tilted her head slightly. “It is because you are dyslexic, yes?”

I nodded. “It makes reading slow and difficult. Too hard to have fun. Well, I guess I could if I really wanted, but it’s usually more of a headache than it’s worth for me. I’ll just wait till the movie comes out.”

Raelya smirked at me cleverly. “And what if it is never made into a movie?”

I scoffed playfully. “Can’t be that good if they never make a movie out of it, can it?”

Raelya thumped her book on my head softly. “There are a great many wonderful books that have never become a movie.”

I shook my head. “Craziness. Movies are like reading a book in a tenth of the time. Plus special effects and eye-candy.”

Raelya shook her head as she marked her page and set the book aside. “Many of the movies that are made from books do no justice to the words they are based upon.”

“Yeah, that’s what people say, but can you really say that Harry Potter was more fun to read than watch? Half of the fun was seeing the magic stuff come to life like that.”

Raelya smirked at me. “Perhaps the effect is less if you have seen real magic before.”

I blinked. “Oh. Wow. I uh… Yeah. I didn’t think of it that way.” Raelya laughed.

We turned on a movie on Netflix and chatted and I managed to fall asleep after an hour or so of snuggling up to my packmate in a bed that smelt less foreign than my new one next door.

6

Where the Heart Is

I slept fitfully, dozing in and out for hours. Years of working a night-shift job meant I was normally sleepy in the daytime and wide awake at night. But the recent trip to Canada had required me to swap for a few days, and I hadn’t really settled back into my normal rhythm just yet. I imagined that the notorious “jet lag” might have had something to do with it also. I’d never flown before, so I wasn’t really familiar with the feeling, but it sounded right, if media was to be trusted on the subject.

Sleeping next to Raelya certainly made it all easier though. My wolf was content and practically purring from the comfort of resting with another wolf. Even as annoying as it was to wake up repeatedly from a general lack of restfulness, at least I could snuggle back in next to Raelya and she would doubtlessly tuck an arm around me, or sleepily brush her fingers through my hair a few times, and that was all I needed to drift off again.

We woke after noon and drifted down stairs in our PJ’s seeking breakfast. Elisa was out working in the garden, so Raelya offered to teach me how to make pancakes. I could manage a box of Bisquick, but Raelya scoffed at using a mix for something as “simple” as pancakes, then proceeded to do kitchen magic that defied explanation and somehow turned a handful of white powders and milk into the yummiest, fluffiest pancakes I’d ever had. Elisa believed that everyone should be able to basically take care of themselves, which to her, meant knowing how to cook, sew, grow and hunt food, and a few other things. Maybe there was something to that. The most I knew how to do in a kitchen was microwave leftovers and ramen. I could probably manage a frozen pizza and a grilled cheese. More than that was asking for trouble.

But Raelya made it look so easy, I wanted to learn more. She took a handful of frozen berries and a couple of tablespoons of sugar and turned it into a berry sauce in less time than it took me to separate a pack of bacon strips. I layered the God of Meats onto a griddle next to the pancakes and in a few minutes, we settled down at the bar with a delicious breakfast and Elisa’s in-house juice mix. I took a bite of the fluffy, buttery, sweet berry-sauce topped pancakes and groaned in delight. Raelya smiled at me quietly as she did the same.

After breakfast, I wandered out into the back yard for a moment just to take in the fresh mountain air. I smiled as my eyes drifted around the sloping back yard and the treeline beyond it. I could barely believe this was my home now. This beautiful, wonderful place was where I lived, and in those mountains just beyond the yard behind my home was my pack’s territory too. There we could run and hunt. There we could be ourselves. I was new to this, but I wasn’t so new I couldn’t recognize how wonderfully lucky I was.

I wandered around the side of the house and found Raelya helping Elisa in the garden. She had apparently gone upstairs and changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a loose brown tank top at some point after breakfast, and her hair was freshly braided. I came over to see what they were up to and Elisa began conscripting me into cutting peppers from the little plants that lined the newest pair of garden boxes. She’d had Ralof build them earlier this year just opposite the original set that ran the length of the house, forming a little path around to the back yard.

I politely declined Elisa’s offered pair of snippers and promised to return and claim them after changing into daytime clothes as I’d been wandering around in my night shirt and boxers still. Elisa nodded once, glancing me over and smirking as she went back to work, claiming that she could never be sure with the way we younger ones tended to dress. I didn’t bother pointing out to her that my Sherlock shirt could double as a tent in a pinch.

I went upstairs and changed, then came back down to help with the peppers, and spent the next hour digging around in the garden, pulling up weeds and snipping bits of food from the little plants Elisa had lovingly tended. I marveled at how much I was enjoying myself by the time the work was done; I never did stuff like this. Who’d have known it could be so much fun? Or maybe it was just satisfying to spend time with Elisa and Raelya, working quietly together, talking and laughing, being useful to my family. Being accepted by them. Belonging.

Raelya drove me to work that evening. She smelled of fresh herbs and tomato vines. It struck me how much more actively I was using my sense of smell now that my wolf and I were reunited. It’d only been a few days since I’d reclaimed the wolf and rejoined her fully, so it was surprising to me that these changes had come so quickly. I don’t know why I’d expected it to take longer, but I had.

Suddenly my senses were all sharper, body language made a lot more sense, and I was noticing the difference in my physical prowess as well. I felt like Peter Parker, waking up and not needing glasses, flexing in the mirror and feeling all buff; I felt like a superhero suddenly coming into her powers.

I guessed that most werewolves didn’t really feel this way because they came into all of it more gradually, but Nan’s blocks had robbed me of any natural progression that a werewolf might normally have. I guessed I could forgive her for that; feeling like a superhero was pretty cool too, after all.

Raelya dropped me off at the museum with a promise to pick me up around sunrise. I thanked her again for the ride and hurried inside.

7

The Night Watch

Joe was on shift with me that night. I clocked in and got to work, doing my perimeter checks and initialing the security log to give the all-clear when I was finished. Joe came out to chat with me at the side door for a bit here and there, and otherwise I had enough on my mind to keep me occupied; the pack, my girlfriend, leaving my old life behind.

I checked my phone periodically, hoping for a text from Amorie, but she had only sent one, a response to the message I’d sent her just after sundown saying “Good morning.” Her text said simply, “So busy today, unlikely I will have time to talk, but I love you, my little wolf.”

I tried to put the idea of seeing her out of my head after that. I knew it would be a few days at least before she had time, and well, I had a job to do too. And a new one to get ready for, for that matter. I pulled my e-reader out between perimeter walks and read a few lines in my SII training materials, then spent the next walk-around thinking about what I’d just read and trying to commit it all to memory. It was a lot easier for me to memorize facts than it was to keep reading the handbook as a reference.

I was walking the outer perimeter of the parking lot when a mild breeze carried a foreign scent to my nose, startling me out of my thoughts. I glanced around covertly, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I didn’t trust that to mean that nothing was there, however; my nose was certain that something was.

I decided to meander closer to the building. If something was out here, it was best to have my routes of escape planned out before they became a necessity. I scanned the edges of the parking lot, the front approach to the museum, and the level field across from the front drive, but I couldn’t see anything out of place amid the lush flora of the museum’s gorgeously manicured perimeter.

I was still smelling something, though. I edged around toward the front approach where I could at least put a pair of solid red-brick walls to my back if I couldn’t make my way back inside quickly enough to evade whatever might be out there.

A bush rustled to my left and I couldn’t stop myself from whipping my head around to see what had caused the disturbance in the otherwise peaceful plant-life. I stared for a few beats at the bush. The leaves were still trembling from where something had brushed it. I trailed my eyes upward along the leafy-green branches and took note of the height of my stalker. Whatever was after me, it was moving low to the ground. The branches above my waistline were relatively still, save for the faint reverberation of motion from below.

I inhaled deeply, and noticed the same scent flowing out from the bush, but fading as its owner moved away-toward the parking lot, I realized. There was a great deal of greenery to the left of the museum’s entrance, so it seemed likely that if my small stalker wanted to avoid detection, they might make for that bushy green path ahead. My nose told me they were on ahead of me now, however, so I had to choose my next move quickly if I didn’t want to lose them. I made up my mind and jogged after the scent, toward the front approach.

As I came flush with the front of the building, something darted out from the bushes to my left, making for the bushes to my right, just as I’d predicted. I was ready for this. I lifted my flashlight, catching the intruder square in the eyes since I knew to aim low. The flashlight’s beam felt like a tiny sun erupting into the quiet dim, and I had to blink once against the brightness, but the intruder was taken off guard by the sudden blinding light and stumbled just long enough for me to get a look at a fuzzy black face haloed closely by a dim purplish aura. The aura was too colorful to belong to the Unawakened, not that an Unawakened human would come in the form of a furry quadruped, but that only meant that the stalker had been suppressing their aura purposefully.

The intruder shook its head, blinking against the light, then sprinted for the greenery. I charged forward enough to keep it in my sights until it disappeared into the trees. “Yeah, you’d better run!” I shouted lamely. My heart was pounding. What had I just seen? It looked like a werewolf, or a wolf I supposed. But why would a werewolf be stalking me?

My nose told me it was no werewolf that I knew, however. And my instincts assured me it wasn’t pack. It had looked a bit larger than any normal wolf I had seen, but then, maybe werewolves could be larger like that? I had seen Ralof’s wolf shape, and a few others, and they did seem to run the gambit from my relatively small Mexican-wolf shape to Ralof’s wolf that I might have mistaken for a small bear in bad lighting.

“All clear?” I jumped as Joe’s voice on my radio startled me right out of my skin. A flashlight’s beam raked across the ground near my feet, catching my attention. I glanced up at the glass front doors to see Joe peering out at me, flashlight in hand. I snatched the walkie-talkie from my belt.

“Yeah, just thought I saw something. Turned out to be a dog.” I hooked the radio back on my belt as Joe lowered his flashlight and moved away from the front door with a quick ten-four.

I took a few deep breaths and calmed my heart rate, then edged closer to the bushes and trees wrapping the side of the building. My nose could still detect the particular scent of the wolf on the ground in front of me, a strange, woody scent mingled with utterly foreign information my nose had no idea how to make sense of.

I pulled my phone out and tapped Raelya’s icon. She answered after a couple of rings. “Hey.”

“Hey. Where are you?” I asked quietly, knowing she’d still hear me with her werewolf ears.

“Home. Are you off early? Do you need me to—”

“No. Is Ralof there?” I lifted my flashlight again and raked the treeline with its beam to see if anything was still out there watching. If I’d blinded it before, maybe I could startle it into moving again.

“Yes. What is wrong?”

“I just saw something at work. I think it was a werewolf, but I don’t think it was pack. It seemed to be stalking me.”

I heard Raelya moving on the other side of the line, pushing a door open, starting down the stairs at a quick pace. “Hold on, I will get him.”

The phone passed into the living room where the television was on, and the sound got closer, so I could picture Raelya approaching the couch. I heard her tell Ralof that I’d seen something at work. His rumbling bass came through the phone just after. “Dakota? Are you safe?”

“I think so. Whatever it was, I ran it off with a flashlight and a strongly-worded scolding.”

Ralof barked out a sound that seemed somewhere between humor and pride. “Good. What was it?”

“I have no idea. That’s why I’m calling you. I would have thought it was a werewolf, but it doesn’t smell right. Something is just off about it. Not pack, my wolf is certain.” I had no idea how my wolf was so certain about that fact; I didn’t think I’d met any werewolves who weren’t pack to know the difference. But somehow, I was sure about it anyway. “Beyond that, I have no idea.”

“But it looked like a wolf, I take it?” I heard him getting up from the couch and moving away from it, toward the back door, I thought.

“Dark, fuzzy, relatively wolf-shaped, yes, but it had an aura.”

“That certainly sounds like a werewolf. If your wolf is certain that this wolf was not pack, then we may have a stray. It could be that it is not stalking you, but trying to approach you for help.” I heard the glass back door open, then close again.

“What do we do about it? It seems to have gone now, but I still have its scent.”

“I will send Andrei out there to pick you up and check on it.” Ralof replied.

I heard Andrei respond, “You will?” I snorted, amused.

Ralof directed his voice toward Andrei. “Dakota saw a wolf at work, possibly a stray. Drive out and see what you can smell.”

Andrei must have been sitting near the firepit; gravel crunched as he stood. “You got it, boss.” Gravel crunched a few more times as he went to the back door.

Ralof turned his voice back to me. “Do you feel you are in any danger?”

“No, not particularly. But I can go inside until Andrei gets here if you want.”

Ralof hmph’d. “Do that. Do not take any chances. It is likely just a stray wolf who needs our help, but there is no reason for unnecessary risks.” Ralof sighed faintly. “I will be happy when you are finished with this week and can move on to your new career.”

“Why? It’s not like I’m going to be working with pack and you can have another werewolf there to look after me all the time.”

I heard Ralof sit down on the bench Andrei had vacated. “No, but you will be working with SII and at least I will know that you will have someone capable working alongside you at any given time.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Don’t worry about me, boss. I can take care of myself.”

Ralof laughed gently. “That you can, Dakota. But it never hurts to have backup. In the supernatural world, few can truly stand alone.”

8

Sniffing Around

I spotted Andrei pulling into the parking lot, and I trotted over to the curb to greet him as he got out of his truck. He wore a pair of board shorts and a muscle shirt, which didn’t surprise me in the least; I’d seldom seen him in anything else. Andrei obviously preferred comfort to fashion, not that he looked bad. For a guy, he was pretty cute even; shaggy black hair that he’d recently tipped in crimson, a strong body covered in black and red ink that I knew covered most of his torso and arms, and a sort of jovial kindness that lived in his eyes. I felt that was the most attractive part, but I was biased.

Andrei raised his hand in greeting as he strolled over from where he’d parked his truck. I waved back and smiled at Andrei’s lopsided grin. I couldn’t help it. Andrei was awesome, infectiously happy-go-lucky, and funny. He felt like the older brother I’d never had.

To add to that feeling, he’d taken to calling me “little sister”.

“There you are, little sister!” Andrei spread his arms as he hopped up onto the curb and since I put up no resistance, he all but picked me up in a hug.

“Hey Andrei. How’s your day been?” I squeezed him back until he set me back on my feet.

“Pretty good. Not as exciting as yours I hear.” He grinned.

I glanced toward the trees and bushes across the way. “Yeah, about that. I should show you where to sniff before it gets any colder.”

Andrei dropped an arm around my shoulder. “No worries, kiddo. My nose has a little more practice than yours. It’d take it more than a few hours to fade enough to hide from my super-sniffer.”

I chuckled at that. “Right. This way then, Super-wolf.”

Andrei followed me over to the spot where the scent was strongest: the place where the wolf had paused under the glaring scrutiny of my flashlight. Andrei dipped his head toward the ground, nostrils flaring. “Oh yeah, I smell something.” He sniffed a couple of times then padded forward, head still ducked low, following the path the wolf had taken. “Went this way, right?”

“Yeah, you’ve got the right one.” I knew because he was right on the trail I’d sniffed out after the wolf had vanished.

“Well that does smell like wolf, kinda, I guess. But it’s not a werewolf.”

I blinked. “What? But—”

Andrei shrugged at me. “Trust the nose, little sister. Take another sniff. Does it really smell like werewolf to you?”

I thought I’d sniffed at this scent fairly thoroughly, but if Andrei felt there was something to be learned from sniffing again, I was going to trust him. I knew he was at least four times older than the twenty-something he looked and acted, after all. I leaned down a bit and inhaled again.

The scent was still there, still solid, even if slightly fainter than it had been the last time I’d checked. It was hard to miss it though because Andrei was right. It wasn’t quite like any werewolf I’d smelled before. Earlier, I’d figured that was because I honestly hadn’t been around enough werewolves in the few days since my wolf had been freed from Nan’s spell to really know what a werewolf smelled like in the broader scope. I mean, I knew the scents of the packmates I’d met, but I figured I’d need more experience to be able to tell the difference between “werewolf” and “particular werewolves I knew” with any consistency.

But with Andrei’s confidence on the matter, I was able to solidify the difference in my mind. This smelled of wolf, kinda, like he said. But only kinda. It smelled like wolf in that it smelled of fur and flesh, trees and dirt and adrenaline. But I wasn’t getting that particular “other” component that made werewolf different from wolf alone.

At the same time, this was no mere wolf-scent either. I hadn’t been around any of our less-shifty cousins to know for sure, but I had seen an aura around the creature that had been stalking me and normal animals didn’t have auras. I didn’t think. I glanced up at Andrei. “You’re right. It’s not werewolf. But it was wolf-shaped.” I tilted my head a little. “Animals can’t be Awakened can they, Andrei?”

Andrei shrugged. “Why not? Haven’t you seen stranger things in the world already?”

I blinked. That wasn’t the answer I’d been expecting. “Okay, yes… I think I might have been stranger things in the world already.”

Andrei grinned a wolfy grin. “So why not? I’ve heard of it before, though never seen it myself. Some of the Indians in the pack have talked about things like that before, especially the ones that live out toward the Res.”

He meant the Cherokee Indian Reservation that was literally just over the mountain from the pack house in Cherokee, North Carolina. I’d had a friend in school who’d grown up on the Res, so I was vaguely familiar.

Andrei gestured down at the trail ahead of him. “I don’t think that’s what this is, though. Wish I’d seen it. My nose is saying wolf and something else, but hell if I can place it exactly.” He paced along the trail to where it met the trees then knelt down to examine the ground. I padded over and knelt down near him. “How good of a look did you get? Did it have any odd features? Anything at all?”

I closed my eyes and brought up the memory of the creature I’d seen before me. One advantage of being Dyslexic is that we’re very visual people; reading sucks, but visualizing and visual memory are right in our wheelhouse. “Black, like… really black. No obvious markings that I noticed. Its fur was thick, thicker than most wolves, especially up around the shoulders.”

“What about the muscle structure?”

“Hmm. Lithe, slender flanks, and it did that curvy-uppy thing—”

Andrei snorted. “Curvy-uppy thing?”

“Like greyhounds?” I gestured in the air to mimic the shape of the wolf-thing’s body. “But not as slender as that. Just, kinda shaped that way. Kinda. Though its frame was fairly sturdy-looking overall. Its forelegs were a little thicker than I think is strictly normal for a wolf too.” I opened my eyes, tilting my head curiously at him.

“Hmm.” Andrei glanced over at me. “Could be a Warg I guess.”

“A Warg? Like in The Lord of the Rings?”

Andrei grinned his lop-sided grin again. “Tolkien took many ideas from reality.”

I blinked. “I thought he took it from mythology?”

Andrei pressed his lips into a thin smile, his eyes touching at the edges of sadness, if just barely. “Well, that’s what people believe these days, isn’t it?”

I sighed. “Hence all the Unawakened.”

“Yep.” Andrei clapped me on the shoulder. “But whatever this was, it wasn’t a werewolf.” He straightened back to his feet and I followed. “So, it could have been a Warg, or maybe something else. Either way, it’s gone now.”

“So what do we do?” We paced back over to the front approach to the museum.

“Nothing really. I’ll give Ralof a call and let him know, but most likely, it’s gone now. It probably just got curious about you.” Andrei pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Maybe its regular stomping grounds are somewhere nearby, or maybe it’s passed through a few times before. Either way, it might just be curious to see you suddenly showing your true colors, so to speak.”

“So you don’t think it’ll come back?”

Andrei shrugged as he tapped Ralof’s icon on his phone. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t smell aggression, hate, or even fear. If it was out to get you, I would expect at least one of those.”

I nodded more to myself than to Andrei as he got an answer on the line, Ralof’s bass rumbling out a querying noise. “Heya, boss. Not sure what it was, but it’s not a werewolf. Warg maybe.”

“What do you think?” Ralof’s voice carried through the phone’s speakers.

“Passing through maybe? I didn’t smell anything that worries me.”

“Is she safe?”

Andrei smiled at me as he responded. “I think so. I’ll nap in the truck and stick around until her shift is over, just in case.” He reached out and ruffled my hair. It’d have been annoying if I didn’t love him so much. I straightened my hair back to its usual state of ordered chaos as I glared at him playfully, failing to suppress a smile the whole time.

“Sounds good. You will bring her home then?”

“Sure.”

“I will let Raelya know.”

“Right.” Andrei hung up, slipping the phone away. “There we go. So, you want some pizza?”

I blinked. “Are you coming onto me?”

Andrei laughed. We quickly discussed toppings as I walked him back to his truck. He would acquire guard-wolf fuel, then return directly, and he’d be here for the rest of the night to make sure nothing more interesting happened. I agreed to go inside until he returned.

9

The Walls Have Eyes

The rest of my shift was uneventful, save all the fun I had teasing Joe with the pizza Andrei had brought me. Though, I soon gave in and offered a slice; teasing him was fun, but I wasn’t going to be here much longer, and my opportunities to be nice to my favorite co-worker were slowly dwindling.

Joe walked the last perimeter check with me for the night just around dawn, then told me to go on and clock out saying he’d take care of the rest so I wouldn’t have to keep my friend waiting any longer. Earlier, when he’d asked about my friend sleeping in his truck, I’d said my normal ride wasn’t able to make it tonight so Andrei was there in her place.

Joe had seemed to accept that almost too easily. I thought about that for a bit and realized I was likely to have an easier time bluffing my way through little things like that with Unawakened people now with my wolf unlocked; they seemed to buckle to the pressure a dominant wolf put on them fairly easily. I hadn’t even been trying to use my wolf against Joe and it had obviously affected him anyway.

Being Awakened, I already had a handful of advantages on the Unawakened. As I understood, the Awakened generally had stronger willpower to begin with, and that tended to cause Unawakened people to either defer to them or avoid them. Being that we were already friends, Joe had seemed to defer to me more since my Awakening. He’d never really done that before, so it still weirded me out a little.

But as a werewolf, my dominance tended to overwrite the will of Unawakened people in many cases as well. I had come to understand that this was partly because I was quite dominant; Raelya had explained that wolves like Steph who were not so dominant didn’t notice this effect so much, though they still could, in certain circumstances, push the wolf’s presence into their persona and use that to manipulate the Unawakened as well.

Given my natural charisma, I wasn’t too surprised that Joe had taken to following my lead with the addition of my supernatural influences. He probably wrote it off to just being nice to me since I was leaving soon. My elementary SII training had taught me that the Unawakened were experts at justifying supernatural stuff away to themselves.

I climbed into the truck, nudging Andrei awake and sat quietly for a few minutes while he stretched. “Good morning, little sister.” He smiled lazily at me as he started the truck.

“Good morning, big brother?” I cheesed.

Andrei snorted. “Okay, maybe I didn’t think this through.”

“So, what do you think the odds are that the wolf-thingy was a one-time thing?”

Andrei shrugged. “Hard to say for sure, kiddo. I’ll chat at Ralof about it and see what he thinks, but I bet he’ll want Raelya to sit with you for the next few days, if not the rest of the week.”

I grimaced. “I hate to ask her to do that.”

Andrei smiled at me kindly. “You know she won’t mind. We’re pack. Sometimes we run and play and cuddle on the couch, sometimes we pull guard duty for each other.”

“I guess, as a pack of werewolves, if standing guard were the worst we had to do for each other, we’d be pretty lucky.”

Andrei nodded. “Right on, kid. So don’t feel bad. If Ralof thinks it’s a good idea, trust him. Old man’s got good instincts.”

I couldn’t argue with that. My wolf trusted Ralof explicitly, and really, I did too. Some part of me simply knew to trust him.

“So, you moved into the pack house, eh?” Andrei and I chatted about my move, my job change, SII, and the supernatural on the way home. He drove a bit faster than I was strictly comfortable with once we hit the highway, but I wrote that off more to my being less used to riding around in cars than to his driving particularly. Andrei seemed to know what he was doing.

Andrei dropped me off at the pack house with a wave and a smile. It still surprised me to some degree that Andrei had his own place. It just felt so much like he belonged at the pack house that I always expected him to live there. But he pulled right back out of the gravel parking lot and disappeared down the curving road, heading for his house some ten or fifteen minutes away.

I went in, showered, and plopped down on my still-foreign bed. I wished I could sleep with Raelya again instead, but I had no idea if she was awake or asleep. I didn’t want to risk disturbing her, so I peeled back the covers and settled into the strange bed. It was for the best. If I never slept in it in the first place, I’d never get used to it. It was better than if I’d still been sleeping in the apartment, anyway. At least this place felt like home.

I slept through most of the day, waking only a couple of hours before I needed to head out for work again. I attributed the oversleeping to all the rapid schedule swapping I’d been doing over the past few days.

I woke to a knocking at my door. I sat up, blearily blinking away sleepiness and started to get up when I caught Raelya’s scent, and with it, the glorious smell of bacon. “Come in!”

Raelya stepped into the room, smiling over the tray she held. “I thought you might like something to eat before you go to work.” She bobbed the tray indicatively as she brought it over.

Two bacon sandwiches and a soda. I leaned over and hugged her. “Thank you.”

Raelya set the tray on my lap and hugged me back. “It is nothing, Dakota.”

“It’s something to me.” I smiled up at her appreciatively. “I don’t think anyone’s brought me breakfast in bed since I was five.”

Raelya snorted. “It is more like a late lunch in bed.”

I grinned. “Close enough.” I ate quickly then hurried to get ready for work so I wouldn’t be late. Raelya drove me to work, and then, as Andrei predicted, remained to keep an eye on me. I apologized for the inconvenience but she assured me she’d be fine. She had books to read, and the museum’s surroundings were lovely. She spread a blanket on the ground in the little copse of trees near the front of the building and settled in to read. I’d have to come up with an explanation for her presence to tell my co-worker, but she’d be happier than sitting in the truck all night, so I was determined to make it work.

Dean was on with me tonight, so that explanation had to be a little stronger than if I’d been dealing with Joe. Dean had never liked me as much, not that I cared. He was a misogynistic asshole at the best of times, and a bigoted idiot otherwise. Pretty typical of the local wildlife to be honest: straight, white jerk of the gun-totin’ variety who preferred women who stayed in the home making babies and sandwiches to career women who out-performed him on the shooting range on a regular basis.

There was no playful banter or friendly greeting as I punched in for the night. Just a terse shuffling around of paperwork as he handed me the interior assignment. I would have preferred to take the perimeter tonight since Raelya was outside and it would have been easier to keep an eye on her in return that way, but there was no point arguing with Dean about it. I knew he preferred to pull perimeter because it afforded him more opportunities to play around on his phone and smoke than working inside where there were more cameras.

Oh well. Nothing I could do about that without getting into it with him, so I accepted my assignment with a nod without looking up. “Right. So anyway, my friend, Raelya is outside on the lawn.”

Dean furrowed his brow. “And?”

I shrugged. “Thought you should know. She’s going to be here all night.”

“Why exactly?”

Dean annoyed the hell out of me. I didn’t feel like playing power games with him tonight, so I decided to use my advantages, well, to my advantage. I drew on the wolf, pulled her close the surface, and turned my gaze on him with a gushing of willpower. “Look, Raelya is my best friend, she’s incredibly sweet for driving me all the way to and from the mountains until my notice is up, and it isn’t hurting anyone for her to be there. So if Raelya wants to sit on the lawn and read instead of waiting in the truck tonight, we’re going to let Raelya sit on the lawn and read. All right?”

Dean wasn’t a pushover; he was pig-headed and prideful as the day was long. But the Unawakened are excellent at justifying things away to themselves, and the wolf’s dominance is hard for them to deny. So he rolled his eyes, scoffed and shrugged. “Whatever, Shepherd. But if something happens and she gets hurt and sues the museum, it’s on your ass, not mine.”

“On your head.”

Dean blinked. “What?”

“The phrase is ‘it’s on your head’. The other one you’re looking for is ‘it’s your ass’. Maybe pick one or the other next time.” I didn’t vocalize the rest of what I was thinking. Telling him that combining the phrases made him sound like a jackass wouldn’t win me any favors.

Dean made a disgusted noise and just barely shoulder-checked me on his way out of the break room. The wolf surged in response and I had to battle her down. Leaping onto one of my co-workers in a fit of rage wouldn’t win me any brownie points with SII and I wasn’t about to screw up my dream job over one annoying co-worker I wouldn’t have to worry about in just a few days’ time.

The first few hours of my shift were fairly uneventful. I did the standard walk-arounds and checked the cameras regularly, particularly focusing on the one that stared right at Raelya’s camping spot. She was there to look after me, but the wolf and I agreed that we were there to look after her too. Maybe that was just part of being pack. Maybe it was something more. Raelya was several times my age and I knew for a fact she could take care of herself with two hands literally tied behind her back, but some part of me felt like it just had to protect her.

When my break time rolled around, I took my lunch out to the lawn and flopped down on the blanket next to Raelya. Soft cloth over plush grass made it a more comfortable seat than I’d anticipated. Raelya smiled over at me, pleasant as always, marking her book and setting it aside. “Lunch time?”

I nodded. “Yeah, you hungry?” I popped open my Iron man lunchbox and retrieved one of the sandwiches I’d brought along from home and offered it to her.

Raelya smiled and accepted the sandwich. “Thank you. I brought some snacks, but did not think to bring lunch. Silly me.”

I grinned. “I’m pretty sure you made these sandwiches earlier, so fair enough.”

Raelya laughed softly. “Ah, you are the sandwich thief then, yes?”

I shrugged. “Elisa said, ‘help yourself,’ so I did. This morning was pretty rushed anyway.”

“I was not complaining.” Raelya leaned over and bumped my head softly with hers. “How is your shift going?” She took a bite of her sandwich and made a quiet, pleased noise.

I shrugged. “Same old boring stuff. I can’t wait to get this over with and get into SII stuff instead.” I tucked into my sandwich and echoed Raelya’s sentiment. Bacon was a glorious invention.

“At least it is only a few days more.”

I nodded. “You can say that again.”

We chatted over our sandwiches until my lunch break was over. Dean sauntered past two or three times on his slow walk of the perimeter and he just had to shine his flashlight across us each time. The jerk. I glared at his back as he turned the corner on his third pass. Raelya nuzzled my shoulder gently and my wolf settled down. “You will feel better after the run this weekend.”

I perked up at that. “I really can’t wait.”

Raelya smiled. “I know it is difficult for you to wait, but when it is time and we are running with the whole pack, you will be glad you waited.”

I smiled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

I finished my sandwich and hopped to my feet, dusting off my uniform to rid it of any stray crumbs. “Well, I’d better get back to it.”

Raelya smiled at me warmly. “I will see you again in a few hours, yes?”

I nodded. “Yep.” I frowned suddenly. “Are you sure you’re okay out here?”

Raelya made a shooing gesture. “I like reading outside, Dakota. Stop being so silly about it and get back to work.” She glanced around the little copse of trees and the bushes overflowing with flowers. “It is actually very nice here.”

Raelya’s happy smile put me at ease. “All right. But if you need me, just—”

Raelya tossed a book at me. “Dakota! I am a grown woman. I will be all right.”

I caught the book with a laugh and tossed it back to her. “So am I, but you guys worry about me!”

Raelya grinned. “And we will as long as you are a… What is it you say on the video games? New-bee?”

I cackled. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

Raelya shooed me again and I turned to walk away. “You are still a pup, even if you are more capable than most.”

I flashed her a grin over my shoulder as I trotted back inside. I was marveling at the fact that she and I could continue our conversation across a far greater distance than any humans could have managed due to our enhanced hearing as I stepped back into the building and that’s when it hit me.

Raelya wasn’t the only one watching me.

I glanced over my shoulder expecting to see Dean standing there glaring from the opposite corner, but he wasn’t there. I glanced around, but nothing stood out in the darkness of the parking lot, even with the street lights illuminating most of the area surrounding the museum and the security lights near the building flooding my initial surroundings with even more light.

But the feeling was distinct and almost palpable. In fact, it was so palpable that I wasn’t even sure it was possible for such a feeling to come from simply being watched. Then I realized what the feeling reminded me of: focused will and intent. I wasn’t just being watched; I was being watched with some kind of magic.

I didn’t know much about magic. SII had given me access to a tutor who had taught me all the basics so I could learn to control my green burny hands to avoid accidentally setting my surroundings and loved ones on fire, but Nita had only really covered the barest ideas of what magic could do other than help me control the Hellfire that blossomed from my palms, sometimes surging forth with even the slightest prompting. We hadn’t covered if you could watch people with it, so my instinct was unfounded, but it felt right. So I hurried back out to where I could lay eyes on Raelya again.

Raelya glanced up as I peered over at her. “Is everything—” she straightened and stilled. Her posture and expression shifted ever so slightly and my wolf understood her query. What is wrong? her body asked.

I glanced around then trotted over to her. “Someone is watching me. I think… with magic.”

Raelya glanced around covertly. “Are you sure it is magic? There is no one here?”

I frowned. “Do you sense anything?”

Raelya shook her head so faintly I almost missed it. “I do not. Perhaps I should take a walk around to be sure.”

“No, don’t head off alone.”

Raelya raised an eyebrow. “I am here to protect you tonight, Dakota.”

I peered down at her. “People can watch other people with magic right?”

Raelya frowned. “I am not sure. I do not know much about how magic works, but I think that is possible.”

I reached for my phone and paged through my contacts, searching for Nita’s number.

“Shepherd!” Dean startled me as he flashed his light over at us again. This time Raelya bristled a bit as well. “Break’s over. Get back inside.”

I turned to glare at him, but ended up shielding my eyes from the flashlight. “Go inside, Dean. I’m taking perimeter for now.”

Dean lowered his light slowly. “What? Hell no, I’m not going inside so you can stand around with your thumb up your ass hanging out with your girlfriend.”

I felt the growl rumbling in my chest before I could find it in me to hold it back and my body was moving toward him without waiting around for my permission when suddenly, Raelya was in front of me, having moved faster than I was capable of tracking, focused as I had been on my asinine co-worker.

“Do as she said, Dean. Now.” Raelya’s eyes were gleaming with amber in the darkness.

Dean stiffened like prey before a predator, which was exactly what he was, though his sleeping mind did not know it. It took him a few beats to bring words forth again. “You got some kind of emergency?” He had already taken a few steps toward the museum entrance.

Raelya nodded barely. “Yes. Now go!” Raelya’s normally smooth, melodic voice carried across the grounds with a hint of a growl. Dean turned and hurried inside looking angry and spooked at the same time. I’d never seen him looking so vulnerable and unnerved and it excited the wolf to see him running. I had to restrain the urge to chase after him and scare him further.

I turned to Raelya instead with a wolfish grin. “Nice.”

Raelya shrugged, smiling at me. “You will learn to work with your wolf as such in time, new-bee.”

I laughed as I lifted my phone. “I’m going to call Nita and see if she knows anything about this.”

Raelya frowned. “Do you still feel it?”

I glanced around. “I…” I had thought it was still there until I started looking for it again. Now I couldn’t tell. “I’m not sure. It’s not as strong as it was before. But I can’t tell if it’s gone or not.”

“Call her then. Find out what you can. I will keep my eyes open.”

I did as she said, tapping through my contacts until Nita’s grumpy, acerbic glare greeted me from the proper icon. The phone rang a few times before she answered which was sensible since it was right smack in the middle of the night. “Who the hell is this?”

“Nita? It’s Dakota. I need your help.”

“Are you in danger?” Nita’s sleepy voice sobered slightly.

“I’m not sure. I think someone is watching me somehow with magic. Is that possible?”

“Of course it’s possible. It’s called scrying. Is that all you called me for?”

“Kinda. I think someone is watching me, but there’s no one here according to Raelya.”

“Who?” I heard movement on her end of the phone and imagined that she was getting out of bed.

“My packmate. I’d trust her nose to notice if—” I cut off as the feeling suddenly subsided. “Huh.”

“What is it?”

“It stopped. I was feeling this sensation like I was being watched and it just suddenly vanished.”

Nita made rustling noises like she might have been changing clothes. “Yeah, that sounds like scrying. Unfortunately, without being there, it’s almost impossible for me to trace it, and you don’t know how.”

“So what can I do? Are we in danger?”

“How the hell would I know that? Do you think you’re in danger? Use your common sense, Dakota. Why would someone be watching you if they were your friend?”

“You’re right. Then the better question is what can I do about it?”

I heard a door open on the line. “Stay where you are. It’s the Natural History museum right? I’ll be there in about twenty minutes and we’ll see if I can pick anything up.”

I blinked. Nita lived in Nashville, two solid hours away, just like Amorie. “What? How will you get here in—”

“I’m in Knoxville. Just stay where you are and don’t do anything stupid. If anything else happens, call me back.” And with that, Nita hung up.

I turned to Raelya. “You heard that?”

Raelya nodded. “It sounds like we have some trouble on our hands.”

I frowned. “Yeah, well, at this point, I don’t think that wolf-thing was a random passerby. The real question is… why would someone be watching me and who the hell would care what I’m doing overnight at my place of work?”

Raelya returned my frown. “Perhaps it is the vampire from before?”

My eyes lit up. “Wait, can vampires turn into wolves like in the movies?”

Raelya’s eyes widened in sudden realization. “That is it, Dakota! Of course!”

I grinned, relieved to have discovered a solution that made sense. “Really?”

“No.” Raelya smirked at me flatly. “That is a myth. But I got you.”

I groaned. At least she had a good sense of humor, even if her timing could have used some work.

10

Distractions

Raelya and I were watching the security feed when Nita pulled an old white muscle car into the parking lot twenty minutes later. Dean had opted to go back on perimeter duty since I was staying inside for now, though I figured in reality, he just wanted to get away from Raelya and me. Or at least Raelya. Her stand-off with him earlier had seemed to unnerve the guy, which I guess was only reasonable. Somewhere inside, what remained of his human instincts was still aware that she was a predator, even if being Unawakened did strangle that instinct down to a bare minimum.

Raelya and I hurried out to meet Nita who stepped onto the curb just as we were exiting the building. She was dressed in light-weight capri jeans, and a loose black shirt with the shoulders cut out, which was kinda adorable on her. Even if it did look like she’d gotten dressed in a hurry, which she probably had since I’d called her in the middle of the night. Her long, dark brown hair was slung over her shoulder in a messy, low-side-pony and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. With her lovely Native American skin tone, Nita was the kind of woman who could definitely get by without any makeup, but she normally wore at least a little. I felt bad for having bothered her so late.

“Hey, if it isn’t my favorite—”

“So where were you when you felt it?” Nita cut me off with a tired, flat expression.

“—Nita.” I grinned. “Right over here.”

I walked her over to the front entrance and gestured broadly. “I was just stepping in and it suddenly occurred to me. But I’m not sure I noticed it right away. I came from over there.” I gestured at where Raelya had been camping out on the lawn.

Nita glanced around the entry way then out toward the lawn. “Well, it would be easier for me to set up outside, but… You’re not on duty alone, I take it?”

I smirked. “Figured that out by yourself, eh?”

Nita rolled her eyes, a smile fighting for real estate with her glare. “That’s what they pay me for. Investigator and all that.”

I crinkled my nose. “Yeah, tonight’s co-worker isn’t the easiest to talk my way around, unfortunately.”

Nita crossed her arms. “Well, if you’re going to work with SII, talking Unawakened people into letting you snoop around Supernatural crime scenes kinda comes with the territory. So let’s just call it a training exercise.”

I groaned. “Seriously?” Nita eyed me darkly. “Okay, fine. I’ll figure something out. How long do you need?”

Nita seemed to consider for a moment then shrugged. “Once I’m set up, maybe an hour? I’ll try to do it in half that, but no promises.”

I grimaced. “Okay, I’ll do my best. Do you need help setting up?”

Raelya cut in. “I will help her. You go and figure out some way to get your belligerent co-worker back inside for an hour.”

I pouted exaggeratedly, poking my lips out. “I have no idea what I’m going to say to him.” An idea hit me and I glanced up at Nita, hope sparkling in my eyes. “Wait, can’t you just like—” I wiggled my fingers mystically. “You know… make him go to sleep in a chair or something?”

Nita shook her head. “Well, I can’t, unfortunately. Spirits, I wish. It’d make my job a lot easier. But Mentalism isn’t really my forte.”

I sighed. “Right. I’ll figure something out.”

I slipped off and started around the building, opposite of the direction I’d last seen Dean orbiting in. I ran into him about halfway to the back and was greeted with a flashlight to the eyes. “Ow.”

Dean sighed. “Shepherd, why are you out here, again?”

“Hey, Dean. Look. We need to talk.” I had no idea what I was going to say.

Dean eyed me uncertainly. “What?”

I sighed. “I know you and I have never really gotten along that well. You don’t like me, and I’ve never really understood you and all that, but… I’m leaving soon. And I don’t really want to leave any bad blood behind. I thought maybe—”

Dean scoffed mildly. “Seriously?”

I blinked. “Huh? Why wouldn’t I be—”

Dean rolled his eyes. “You want to know what I think? What I really think?”

I doubted I did, but for the sake of distraction, I nodded.

Dean stepped in just half an inch closer than I’d have liked, about four inches closer than my wolf liked and I had to suppress a rumble in my chest.

“I don’t like you. I don’t like anything about you. How you’re always joking and smiling and acting like nothing’s serious. You don’t belong in a job like this. I can’t stand people like you who seem to make it and move on when real people, better people get passed over and ignored.” Dean made a disgusted noise. “How’d you land that fancy government gig anyway? I’d think you banged somebody if you wasn’t a dyke.” An ugly smirk rode across his face. “Or was the boss lady a dyke too?”

Well. This wasn’t how I’d expected things to go. My teeth were clenched so hard I was vaguely concerned about the integrity of their enamel. My hands were balled into fists and I was shaking slightly with the effort of restraining my rage. I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I see.” I wanted to say something cutting, find a way to get him back.

But the rational part of me knew it didn’t matter; he was just a bigot. He wasn’t going to like me, and I didn’t really need him to. All I needed was to keep him busy for an hour. “I can see there’s no point in trying to reconcile any past grievances between us. But you know, at least in a few more days, we won’t have to worry about seeing each other again. So why don’t we just put our personal feelings aside until then?”

Dean rolled his eyes and started to push past me. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Wait!” I shouted a little too loudly. I’d bought Nita all of three minutes so far. This was going swimmingly.

Dean wheeled around to face me, agitation all over his features. “What, Shepherd?”

“Why don’t you go back inside and I’ll—”

Dean groaned annoyedly. “Whatever. All right? If it’ll shut you up, then fine. Stay out here with your girlfriend and I’ll go inside. But I’m reporting you for bringing her here and I hope you get canned for it.”

He started to walk on and I scurried over in front of him. “Come on, Dean, don’t be like that.” Dean tried to walk around me and I stepped in front of him. “There’s no need to report me. She’s not even my girlfriend anyway. Just my roommate.” He tried to step past me again and I stepped in his way again.

Dean threw up his hands and turned, heading for the back door instead. “Just do your fuckin’ job, Shepherd. Go patrol the front for a few so I can hit the head.”

Mission accomplished: I’d successfully annoyed him into changing course. My cheeks were a bit warm from embarrassment at the level of childishness I’d had to play up to achieve that. But it was worth it. He was going inside. And to the bathroom.

And that’s when it hit me: an idea. A wicked, delicious idea that would get Dean out of my way for the hour I needed, keeping him inside, and even away from the security feeds that might otherwise give Nita away.

I turned and sprinted to the front, dashed inside and wove my way back to the breakroom and hurried into the employee bathroom where I knew Dean was headed. I was grateful for my natural quickness, werewolf-enhanced balance and low-light vision as those things allowed me to beat Dean to the bathroom with time to accomplish my task and dart back out to the main lobby before my human co-worker had made it to the break room. I heard him step into the bathroom and lock the door, and my plan was set.

I sauntered back out to the front approach, tossing the roll of ill-gotten toilet paper in my hand.

11

Ancient Ways

Raelya and Nita had carted some supplies over to the lawn from Nita’s car. I spotted a leather hip-pouch that looked more handmade than store-bought and a bundle of three-foot staves wrapped in something that looked-and smelled-like deerskin to my untrained senses. I stepped over next to Raelya who was hovering nearby, ready to help if Nita needed her. “So where are we?”

Nita seemed to be considering the supplies. “Determining the correct Way for the ritual.” She picked up the leather hip-pouch and tied it around herself.

“Okay. Anything I can do to help?” I eyed the presumably magic-related items curiously.

“You can be quiet. And make sure no one disturbs me while I work.” Nita untied a small leather cord and rolled the deerskin out, revealing the staves which were varied and beautiful to the soul, even as they were strange to the eye. One was intricately carved, embedded with turquoise, onyx, and lapis lazuli. Another was adorned with eagle feathers, topped with a skull. I thought maybe it was a rabbit’s skull, but I wasn’t sure. The third was wrapped in cord and strung with animal claws dangling loosely from the crooked top, with more claws and teeth bound tight to its side sporadically down the length like thorns. I ogled the gorgeous native craftsmanship while nodding to Nita’s request.

I watched as Nita took the three staves, paced over to the broadest part of the path leading to the front of the museum and started walking a circle. She walked it once, twice, then once again, then planted one of the staves into the ground with a swift, hard strike, plunging the narrow tip into the concrete as if it were no more than soft dirt. As she did, her aura flared, pulsing brightly around her, a collection of deep, rich purples, blues, and greens, burning at the core with a white-blue fire. I winced at the crack the staff started in the pavement, as well as the sharp crack of sound that accompanied the plunge. “Woah. That’s not going to be easy to explain—”

Raelya laid a hand over my mouth, hugging me to her side. “Shh.” She leaned her forehead against my temple, the touch calming my wolf which had startled at the sudden movement. “I do not know very much about magic, but even I know that you should not disturb her; it could ruin her magic, or possibly even harm her.”

I nodded to let Raelya know I understood. She lowered her hand from my mouth, and leaned against my side.

Nita continued around the circle, paused partway around, and planted the second staff, sinking it into the concrete as fluidly and easily as the first. It punched into the pavement like a stick sliding into mud, the air around it wavering as if I were seeing it through water. I blinked at the oddity of the concrete pooling around it like a less-than-solid substance, but said nothing.

Nita moved to a third point on the circle, equidistant from the other two, and slammed the final staff to the ground. To my surprise, this one did not break the surface of the concrete. It tapped the concrete lightly, then danced back into the air and hung in place, standing on end without support as Nita released it.

Nita turned in place as, beginning a low chant of beautiful, ancient words I knew only in spirit. The light of the moon seemed to gather in the shimmery stone that crested the first staff as she chanted. Then as she raised her arms, spinning in place, her voice growing bolder and louder, the captured starlight bounded outward, dancing from staff to staff, forming a triangle around her as her voice grew impassioned, evocative. The light split as it reached the bejeweled staff again, dancing around the other two and drawing the outer circle in borrowed starlight.

Nita moved smoothly, fluidly to the ground, kneeling on the concrete as she pulled a small pouch and a short stick with a bulbous end slowly from her bag; I figured it was some kind of bone-rattle from the sound it made as she moved it. She upended the small bag onto the concrete, spilling white sand which rolled out from where it landed, but stopped abruptly at the bounds of the circle.

“Shepherd.” My radio croaked suddenly. I startled slightly, having been rather transfixed by the blatant display of magic-real magic-right in front of my eyes. I fumbled for my radio, taking a couple of quick steps back, hoping that the sound wouldn’t disturb Nita’s magic. “Shepherd. Hey. You there?” I turned the volume on my radio down low enough that I could just barely hear my co-worker’s voice coming through.

Nita slid into a cross-legged position and went on chanting, rolling the rattle between her hands as she turned her face to the sky. Her eyes rolled back until I could see only white and her aura flared stronger, glowing brilliantly around her, seeming to light her from within with that icy-firelight dancing at the center. It was beautiful, like seeing her spirit laid bare, dancing with the ancient magic of a world that still lived despite all humanity had put it through.

Raelya stepped quietly away from the circle to stand near me again. Leaning close, she whispered, “Your friend is quite powerful. I do not know much about magic, but I have seen powerful magicians before, and I know enough about auras to know that she is fairly strong as magicians go.”

I grinned at that. I had no idea how powerful Nita was on a scale from one to ten, but I was impressed with the light show nonetheless. I wondered idly if there was a ranking system for magicians like how martial artists had belts to signify certain masteries, and Star Trek officers had pips and red shirts to decide who was important and who was going to die in the next episode. I made a mental note to ask Nita later.

“Shepherd. Pick up. Shepherd? Damn it.” I ignored the furtive pleas from my trapped co-worker, savoring the increasing sense of panic in his voice. Then he hit the alert button which sent a squealing tone through the radio. I acted quickly and shut the device off entirely. As amusing as his begging was, I couldn’t let my entertainment derail Nita’s concentration.

Nita’s voice seemed to reach me clearly despite the distance I’d put between us, and I realized it was strangely echo-y, almost ethereal at this point, accented by the rattle which lent a sacred quality. The wind picked up suddenly, playing its cool fingers over my face and sweat-drenched brow, a welcome addition to the Tennessee summer night. The air around me felt suddenly present and attentive, as if the night itself had awoken and decided to start listening.

Nita transferred the rattle to one hand, keeping its steady rhythm going as she let her other hand drop to the sand before her, sweeping her fingers through it, back and forth as if painting. I watched, entranced, as Nita’s fingers formed the sand into an arcane symbol with twists and turns. As the “painting” took shape, it began to remind me of the Nazca lines in Peru, or the geoglyphs in Arizona.

Nita’s voice began to raise in pitch, her chanting growing fervent and urgent in tone and tempo. Then it started to fade, echoing on the wind, curling through the trees, dancing around the building like the wind had stolen her song and spirited it away.

Nita blinked her eyes a few times as they returned to normal, her focus rolling forward and fixing on me— No, just past me. I jerked my head to the side, hesitated, then peeked behind me, but there was nothing there. Nita seemed to whisper to something just beyond my shoulder, still speaking in that language I did not know. Finally, she made a respectful-looking gesture, bowing deeply at the waist.

I padded closer, eager to hear what Nita might have to say after all of that, and it was only then that I was able to see that the lines in the sand made the shape of an eagle, and they were lit from beneath with a series of bright lines of energy. It looked like what I imagined leylines should be, or like stars connected into a constellation.

Nita slowly raised from her bow, eyes focusing on the sand before her. She reached steadily down to the glowing eagle and wiped it away, erasing the icon like waving away a dream. The sand scattered beneath her fingers, seeming to disintegrate into the wind as the starlight of her circle faded. Nita rose as the energy of the spell receded, and with her shoulders drawn back and her face to the sky, she stepped out of the circle, and with that, the ritual was over.

Nita looked up at me as she cleared the circle and I couldn’t wait any longer to ask. “So? How’d it go?”

Nita sighed. “Not as well as I’d have liked. I couldn’t trace whoever was scrying on you. If I’d been here when it was happening, maybe. But trying to trace it back after the fact is pretty hard, and unfortunately, whoever it was, they didn’t leave enough of a trail for me to follow.”

I frowned. “Poop. That sucks. So I guess I dragged you out of bed for nothing?”

Nita shook her head. “Not exactly. I wasn’t able to find out who was watching you, but I was able to confirm that someone definitely was scrying on you earlier. More than that, I followed the energy patterns back enough to find a source.”

“Which in English means…”

Nita rolled her eyes. “It means they have some kind of a connection to you. A link. From the sense I got of it, something pretty strong like a personal item. Maybe a hair, or some blood, even a nail clipping.”

I blinked. “Hair?” I exchanged a look with Raelya who seemed to be on top of the same thought already.

“Your hairbrush.” Raelya frowned at me worriedly.

I nodded, grimacing. Nita tilted her head, giving me a pointedly curious look. “I just moved into the pack house and I seem to have misplaced my hairbrush somewhere in the process.”

Nita nodded. “That would do it.”

I chewed at my lip a little as I considered my next question. “Does that mean they can use magic to like… hurt me or something? Like in the movies?”

Nita shook her head. “No, it’s not that simple. Having a link helps, but it’s pretty hard to hurt people from afar. It’s kinda like… what’s easier? Looking at someone or stabbing them?”

“How much do I like them?” Nita swatted my shoulder. I grinned. She rolled her eyes and continued.

“Magic is the same. It’s easier to do less invasive things with it, especially to other people, and especially at a distance. The further removed one is from the target, the harder an effect is to achieve. So it’s easier to do something to yourself than to someone else. Easier to do something to a willing person than unwilling. Easier to affect someone closer than someone further away. Get it?”

I nodded. “So some magic-user having my hairbrush doesn’t necessarily mean they can say, make my heart burst out of my chest or anything like that?”

Nita shook her head. “Probably not.”

I blinked. “Wait. Probably?”

Nita shrugged. “It’s possible. But unlikely.”

I frowned. “Like, how possible?”

Nita turned and started gathering up her supplies, nonchalantly shrugging off the question as if it wasn’t any big deal. “Possible, just not that likely. But I did find the source of their connection to you, like I said, and I was able to break the connection.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Oh. Good. Then I’m safe?”

Nita nodded. “Mostly. Unless they’re much more powerful than I am, in which case, they can likely circumvent what I’ve done to protect you. But more likely, this will shut them down without some further connection.” She paused in her cleanup to cast a stern expression my way. “So be more careful with your belongings. Hair is pretty transient; we lose some every day, and it’s only really a part of us for a short time after it’s left our heads. But there are more permanent things that you do not want an unfriendly magician getting a hold of.”

Raelya stepped over to the lawn and picked up the deerskin, bringing it over for Nita as she plucked the first staff from the ground. Raelya spread the skin across her arms and held them out to receive the staves as Nita pulled them one by one from their places and laid them gently to rest upon it. The standing stave was simply lifted. The one that had sunk into the ground pulled from the concrete with a sharp tug that made the tone in Nita’s arms and shoulders stand out. The ground reasserted itself as a flat, solid surface after a moment of slugging back together as if it had been mud, or perhaps more accurately, as if the concrete had been wet again. The last stave was removed with a similar show of effort, but the crack in the pavement remained after it was gone.

Nita noticed me eying the crack as she deposited the last staff and rolled her eyes as she wrapped the skin around her equipment. “Do you really think I’d leave without fixing it?”

I shrugged. “I could see you saying there were more important things. Besides, I had no idea if you could fix it.”

Nita rolled her eyes again as she finished tying the cord around the deerskin and stepped away. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment, then lifted her hand toward the crack, her lips moving silently, and the ground snapped back together. Nita bowed respectfully to the empty air, then turned and retrieved the rattle and the small, now-empty bag. She replaced those in her hip pouch, untied it from her waist and started for her car. Raelya followed her with the bundle of staves, so I followed along too. “So that’s it then?”

Nita nodded. “Yeah. That’s all I can do for now. But with any luck, that should stop whoever it is from watching you any further tonight. Be more careful with things that connect a mage to you in the future, and maybe we won’t have to repeat this little adventure at three in the morning.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry again about that. But thank you for coming to check on me.”

Nita smiled at me tiredly. “That’s what we do. SII, you know? Soon, people will be bugging you at all hours for help with supernatural and magical problems and you’ll be morally compelled to venture out and help them regardless of the hour or your state of dress.”

I laughed softly. “Well, I’m still grateful. I’m also grateful to have witnessed your magic at work. Your ritual was incredible. I mean, it was beautiful and I’m honored to have seen it.”

Nita gave me a strange look, seeming at first almost hesitant or confused, but the expression resolved itself into a thoughtful, appreciative smile. “Thanks… I’m glad you could appreciate it.”

Raelya deposited the bundle of staves in Nita’s trunk and Nita laid her ritual implements alongside it, then closed the trunk and turned back to me. “Well, I’m going to go get some sleep. I’ve gotta be at the Knoxville office at nine in the morning.”

I blinked. “Wait, the Knoxville office? What’re you doing there?”

Nita smirked at me. “Talking to my new boss. Didn’t I tell you? I’m transferring out here to be your trainer, Shepherd.”

I blinked again, then grinned broadly. “Really?”

Nita barked out a sharp laugh, then shook her head. “Don’t get too excited. You’re probably going to hate me by the time it’s over.”

I squee’d a little, hopped in place, then launched myself at Nita, capturing her in a hug. “No way! I’m going to love it!”

Nita seemed startled, then laughed, then shook her head as she returned my hug. “Guess we’ll see.” She withdrew and started for the driver’s side of her car. “Anyway, try to stay out of trouble. I’ll see you soon.”

“Thanks again, Nita. Have a good night.”

Raelya waved at Nita with a smile. “Thank you so much.”

Nita shook her head as she got into the car. Raelya and I retreated to the curb as she started the car and the powerful engine rumbled to life. Our wolf ears didn’t enjoy the decibels the old muscle car produced as Nita pulled it out of the parking lot and onto the deserted midnight roadway.

Once she was gone, I turned to Raelya with a smile. “Well, now that that’s settled, I’d better go check on Dean.”

Raelya gave me a wary look. “Do I want to ask how you kept him busy all this time?”

I grinned at her wickedly as I turned the little knob on my radio till it clicked back on. It took a minute for Dean’s voice to come through again. “Shepherd? Anyone?” He sounded so resigned I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

I lifted the radio and clicked the button. “Dean? What’s up?”

Relief flooded through my radio from Dean’s voice. “Shepherd. Thank god. Can you get some toilet paper from the store room and toss it in here?”

Raelya’s face started twisting into a puckered smirk, like she was trying really hard not to laugh.

I grinned at her toothily as I replied. “What? Where are you?”

Raelya eyed me, shaking her head slowly as Dean responded. “I’m in the employee bathroom.”

“Have you been in there this whole time? Like… since we talked earlier and you said you had to hit the head?”

Dean sounded exasperated. “Yeah… There wasn’t any paper in here and I didn’t realize it till I’d already uh— ‘Till I’d already gotten started.”

“Man,” I watched Raelya’s willpower slowly dissolving as she struggled not to laugh. “Sounds like you got yourself into a shitty situation.”

I had to release the button as Raelya lost it.

12

Plesant Dreams

Work was uneventful for the rest of the week. No more stalkers. No more scrying. No more Native American magic. I finished out my last few days as a security guard at the Knoxville Museum of Natural History and prepared to move on to bigger and better things. Joe wasn’t on shift for my final night, but he came in anyway to have lunch with me and see me off. I made a point to get his personal number so we could stay in touch.

Raelya drove me home from work on Friday morning and I suddenly realized that I had no reason to return to Knoxville for the next several days. Until I received training assignments from SII, I had no reason to leave my new home in the mountains. Not that I would want to leave it this weekend; it was the Fourth of July and most of the pack would be coming in for the holiday celebration, which as I understood, consisted of a massive cookout and a hunt.

I was looking forward to both, but my wolf was far more interested in running with the pack than eating. Since I’d returned from my trip to Canada with the ability to shift restored to me, my wolf had been so eager to get out and go running with other wolves. I couldn’t blame her. She’d been a part of me for over ten years, locked away and forgotten for at least eight of those. If our positions were reversed, I doubt I’d have been very patient either.

Not that the wolf was really all that separate from me. I’d just taken to personifying that part of me separately because it was a lot easier to understand the werewolf duality in that manner. Ultimately, I was the one who wanted to go running. I was the one who needed my pack. And I was the one who had suffered for so long without them. Pulling into the driveway that morning felt like finally coming home after being lost at sea for a decade. I was finally with my pack, and I didn’t have to leave them for days at least.

Ralof was standing in the yard as we pulled in. He was wearing a short-sleeved red plaid shirt over a white undershirt with khaki slacks, which was way too casual for his work as an attorney, so I figured that meant he was staying home today. He waved us over as we hopped out. “Dakota, you are not settled into your room yet, correct?”

I blinked. “Not really. My stuff’s piled in there, but I haven’t really unpacked. Why? Do you need me to take a different one?”

Ralof shook his head. “Oh, no, not long-term. I just wondered if…” He hesitated and that was strange because Ralof was always so confident. I tilted my head curiously and it seemed to prompt him to continue. “I was just wondering if we could borrow your room for the weekend. I got a call this morning from a group of ours who live further out and they were wanting to stay for the whole weekend. I’m worried that this will push us over the limit of available beds. Of course, many will sleep in wolf form in the living room, but not everyone is comfortable spending the night in the same room. You and Raelya have shared a room before, so I thought you might be comfortable doing so again just for a couple of nights?”

Raelya stepped up next to me, smiling. “I would not mind at all.”

I smiled at her. “Slumber party part three?”

Raelya laughed. “Of course.”

I shrugged at Ralof. “Yeah, boss. No problem. I’ll just shift a few things around and take some clothes into Raelya’s room before people get here.”

Ralof looked relieved. “Thank you, Dakota. I appreciate your willingness to help out with this.”

“Hey, it’s your house, boss.”

Ralof shook his head firmly. “No, this is your home now too. If you were not comfortable with sharing your personal space, then no one would make you. I only asked at all because I knew you were not really settled in yet.”

“It’s no problem, seriously. But thanks for that. It’s good to feel so welcomed.”

Ralof smiled at me and squeezed my shoulder firmly. “Of course. Now go on. I’m sure you have things to do.”

I yawned. “Just a few.” Raelya smiled at me and we started for the door. I paused halfway there and glanced back at Ralof. He was still standing in the yard, just staring at the treeline to the side of the house. I glanced at Raelya briefly, then padded back over to Ralof. “Hey boss… What are you doing out here anyway?”

Ralof glanced down at me, amused. “A few things. I was waiting for Andrei and Steph to get back from the store, for one. Elisa sent them for extra food and drinks and such. I was also enjoying the morning air, and thinking about a few things.”

I smiled. “Ah. Okay. You just seemed… I dunno, really thoughtful I guess.”

Ralof nodded. “I am a bit, at that, I suppose.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Ralof smiled at me patiently. “It is nothing worrying, Dakota. It is just that this weekend evokes many powerful emotions for me. It is a time of year when I celebrate many things that I hold dear.” He raised his hand to touch the little hammer pendant at his throat, the symbol of Thor, Norse god of thunder among other things, the only jewelry Ralof always wore other than his wedding ring. I’d thought about asking him about it several times, but it’d always seemed too personal; now seemed like a good time.

“So, is it something to do with why you wear the hammer?”

Ralof’s smile broadened. “Yes. It is a sign of my faith.”

“Do you mind if I ask about that?”

Ralof shook his head. “I do not mind.”

“So what is it? Your faith, I mean.”

Ralof gestured to the hammer necklace again. “I believe in the ideals of my ancestors. The gods of my father’s fathers. I remember their ways, steady my path by their virtues, and I hold their high holidays in celebration.”

“That sounds awesome. The way you talk about it, it seems so… I dunno. Real. Most religious people I’ve met were pretty full of it.” I shuffled my feet a bit, fidgeting. The topic reminded me of some of the uncomfortable memories I’d recovered about my mother and her rather bigoted views.

Ralof laughed softly, his chest rumbling deeply. “Well, it is very real to me, at least.”

“So is there going to be some kind of holiday thing for that? A ritual of some sort?”

Ralof shook his head. “I do not impose my beliefs upon the pack.”

I frowned thoughtfully. “Are you the only one who practices it?”

Ralof shook his head again. “No, but there are few of us who do. I do not speak of it to those who do not ask to be told of it. It is not my way and I have no desire to convert others away from faiths they believe in, or even away from the right to live without a faith, if they choose.”

I smiled at that. “That’s really cool. But you’d tell someone if they were interested?”

Ralof nodded, eying me consideringly. “I would, and I have done so before. Why? You have never struck me as the type.”

“I’m not sure it’s something I’d be interested in for me. Probably not. But would it be okay if I were just curious about it? I mean, I’d love to know more about what you believe some time.”

Ralof nodded, smiling. “Ah. Yes, of course. I’d be happy to tell you about it, Dakota. Perhaps we will chat about it some time after the weekend is over, when the house will be less busy.”

I smiled. “Sure. But… if you are going to do some kind of celebration, can I come watch?”

Ralof nodded again. “If you want to, then of course. I will let you know when I am going to do it. It will be a small thing, and brief. But you may watch if you like.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.” I smiled at him earnestly.

Ralof dropped an arm around my shoulders briefly and squeezed me to his side. We smiled at each other before he shoved me gently toward the house. “Now go. You look hungry, and tired.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you in about eight hours.” I trotted back over to the door where Raelya had decided to wait for me. I smiled at her as I came over. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “It is all right. I did not know you were interested in the old ways.”

We started inside. “I didn’t know anything about it before I asked just now. Do you do it too?”

Raelya nodded. “I and Elisa as well. Though Ralof and Elisa are, as people say, more devout than myself.”

We kicked our shoes off and settled them neatly out of the way. “I think that’s awesome. I’d kinda wanted to ask Ralof about the hammer before, but never knew if it was okay to ask.”

Raelya took my hand as we headed up the stairs. “Elisa wears one too. It is usually under her shirt though, because she wears it on a long chain.” As we stepped into my room, she tilted her head. “I have assumed you did not believe in any religion. Is that right?”

I went over to the duffel bag where most of my pajamas were living currently and started ruffling through it for something to wear tonight. “Yeah, mostly. I was raised by Southern Baptists. I never really got into it, though; it never made sense to me. Then by the time I was old enough to understand any of it, I’d figured out I liked girls. That kinda put a damper on my interest in the faith for obvious reasons.”

Raelya nodded, leaning against the doorway. “So you are an atheist?”

I nodded. “Pretty much. I don’t believe any of it was meant to be taken literally. The Bible, I mean. I think it’s got some decent lessons about how to be a decent human being, but I don’t think there’s really some all-powerful, loving, forgiving deity responsible for all creation that we owe our allegiance to or else he’ll send us to be tortured for eternity in a pit of lava. That just doesn’t add up.”

Raelya smiled, amused. “I did not think so either. It is funny how people view the Christian god in America. It is not how he is viewed in all the world, you know. It has certainly not always been so.”

I found the shirt I was looking for, pulled it out, and zipped up the bag. “Yeah, but people have pretty well ruined it here, for me at least. But that’s okay. I don’t need a religion to know how to be a good person.”

Raelya nodded. “I was just curious.”

I smiled at her as I tossed the bag onto the bed. “Of course, I also respect the all-mighty Flying Spaghetti Monster.”

Raelya blinked. “The Flying… Spaghetti Monster?”

I grinned and started explaining the concept of His Noodly Goodness as I moved my boxes out of the way to make my room a more pleasant guest room for whichever of my packmates Ralof chose to assign to it for the weekend. Raelya helped me carry my stuff around as I told her all about the history and origins of my favorite modern religion. Raelya shook her head, choking out breathless laughter as we shifted boxes around the room.

By the time we had finished with the boxes and FSM 101, I was pretty tired. Raelya and I shuffled over to her room, taking clothes and personal belongings I’d need for the weekend which had been conveniently still mostly packed. I took a shower, Raelya brought up some sandwiches, we nibbled them down, and then we curled up in her bed.

As I lay there, warm and comfy, cuddled up with my packmate and best friend, I found myself so excited that it was hard to sleep. I had a new home with a new family, a new job-the kind I’d always wanted, a new pack to get to know, and tonight, a brand new experience to look forward to. I was going hunting with the pack. I was going to get to let my wolf-self out and we were going to run with the pack in the forest, over the mountains and into the valleys. We were going to be free, and we were going to belong.

For once in my life, nothing was going to stand in the way of that. I was going to be a part of something, part of a family that really wanted me, part of something greater than myself.

I was smiling as I drifted off to sleep.

13

Running Free

When I woke up on Friday afternoon, the house was already busier and nosier than usual. Raelya and I got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs to find the kitchen already hot from a morning of baking, and preparations for the evening meal were well underway.

I quickly learned that werewolves ate a lot, that hungry werewolves were cranky werewolves, and that no one wanted a cranky werewolf.

Elisa had conscripted all of the pack house’s resident werewolves plus Andrei to prepare for the incoming pack. We had food cooking on every heating device in the kitchen. We had meat on the grill. Ralof had ribs smoking in the back yard. Elisa had a small army of slow-cookers lining the counters.

We all pitched in, prepped, cooked, and generally just did whatever Elisa ordered us to do until we’d managed a meal of feast-like proportions onto the dining room table. The table was not set for eating; Elisa had us arrange the dishes buffet-style instead. We piled a stack of plates on one end of the table and made sure every dish had a big serving spoon or tongs. When we finished, Ralof and Elisa excused themselves upstairs so they could clean up before the rest of the pack arrived. Andrei snatched a roll as soon as Elisa left the room and grinned at me. “Dinner Roll Liberation Front forever!” he whispered conspiratorially before darting out with it.

Raelya smiled at me and dragged me back into the kitchen. “We will make some juice and tea, all right?”

I grinned at her. “All right.” We spent another half hour working on drinks, and when we were finished, there were several gallons of tea and juice prepared. We set them out on the counters in coolers with spouts and stacked plastic cups nearby.

When we finished with the drinks, I ran upstairs with Raelya to change out of our flour-dusted, sweaty clothes and into something more comfortable, or at least cleaner. Raelya changed into a sky-blue sun dress and re-braided her hair. Ralof’s boisterous greetings let me know that some packmates had arrived in the time it took me to brush out my hair and throw on a pair of jeans and a tank top. This one was blue with red and white writing that read “On a scale from one to America, how free are you tonight?” Hey, I had to be festive, right?

I stepped out of the bathroom after changing and spread my arms wide. “What do you think?”

Raelya laughed and shook her head. “You are silly, but I think it is cute.” She smiled up at me. “I can not wait for tonight.”

I grinned. “Oh yeah? What’s tonight?”

Raelya grinned back. “You have forgotten already?”

I grinned even broader. “Forgotten what?”

Raelya punched my arm gently, laughing. “Stop that! I know you remember.”

I rubbed my arm playfully. “How could I forget? It’ll be my first time running with the pack. I can’t wait.”

Raelya nodded. “You will love it. I can not wait to see you love it.”

“Well, it’s almost dark now. I guess I only have to wait till after dinner, yeah?”

“Most likely. Everyone will eat a little, but then they will want to go running. No one wants to fill up before a hunt.”

I blinked. “So all that food we made was just to take the edge off?” Raelya nodded. “How many werewolves are we talking about here?”

It turned out, there were a lot of werewolves in the pack house that night. At least thirty, maybe more. Aside from the house being scarily full of strangers, all of whom I knew to be werewolves, the effect of so many Awakened beings in a small space was somewhat overwhelming. An aura flared around every last werewolf, and the result was a dizzying array of colors and patterns so rich and diverse that it was impossible to keep paying attention to them all. Trying to pick them apart was pretty difficult with so many people standing so close, and I quickly gave up trying.

I stayed close to Raelya as we navigated the busy house which was brimming with excited men and women, all engaged in rowdy conversations as they ate and drank and generally had a great time. Even with half the house guests outside at the unlit fire pit, the large living room was still crowded. Raelya and I grabbed some food and found a corner to plunk down in. Wolves I didn’t know were everywhere and even though I knew we were all pack, it made me a little nervous to have my back to them.

Raelya pointed out a few wolves as they passed and quietly told me about them. They didn’t all look like people you would think of as werewolves. They weren’t all muscular and rustic like people you’d see on a fitness magazine or romance novels. There were some who definitely fit that description, like Ralof and Andrei, but plenty were average-sized and if they were athletic at all, the clothes they wore were perfectly capable of hiding it. I spotted a pretty young woman with long brown hair and a swimsuit-model body chatting with a moderately doughy looking guy in board shorts and a T-shirt. One woman who stood talking with Elisa could have been a high school teacher, and a couple of younger guys stood talking in a circle who might have come fresh from a frat party. All my illusions about what a werewolf looked like on the outside went straight out the window.

My lack of social experience kept me firmly planted in the corner, though I really wanted to be outside. The hunt was soon and I felt it in my blood, the urge to go running with my pack for the first time. I glanced at Raelya excitedly. “So what’ll it be like?”

“We will all go outside and shift, then go run in the woods. You will know what to do, mostly. Your wolf knows how to run with a pack even if you do not.”

I shivered with anticipation. “Yeah. I know she does. I can feel it.”

Raelya smiled at me warmly. “Soon, Dakota. Very soon.”

“I knoooow. But—”

I cut off sharply as someone kicked my foot in passing. I glanced up at a tall man who looked to be in his mid-thirties with short brown hair, a scruffy stubble, and a mean expression. I blinked as I realized his outfit could have walked itself straight out of a John Wayne movie: a faded red button-down shirt with a plain brown vest over faded jeans that looked more actually worn-in than “fashionably distressed”. He had an expensive-looking pair of cowboy boots, and the oldest Stetson I’d ever seen, and that’s saying a lot given that we were in Tennessee. He glanced at me briefly then seemed to write me off immediately, but he tipped his hat just a touch and said, “Scuse me.” before heading outside with a beer in one hand and a plate of food in the other.

I shrugged it off and glanced back at Raelya but she was eying the cowboy as he stepped out and I didn’t like the expression on her face. “So… not a friend?”

Raelya glanced at me as if surprised I’d noticed. She shook her head and picked at her food pointedly. “No, it is not that. Just… It is not important.”

I frowned. “It is to me.”

Raelya smiled up at me warmly. “You are so sweet, Dakota.”

I grinned. “Aww shucks.”

She shook her head. “He is Jack Lindon. Ralof’s third. And his situational awareness is not so clumsy.”

I blinked. “What?”

“He knows how to pick up his feet.”

“Oh.” I nodded, then what she meant actually dawned on me. “Ohhh. You mean he kicked me on purpose.” Raelya nodded and I frowned. “Okay, why?”

“He has… some misguided ideas about… our relationship.”

“You mean he thinks… you and me?”

Raelya smiled. “Well, possibly, yes. That would be a reason to dislike you I suppose. But I meant about he and me.”

I frowned. “Oh. So you mean he likes you and you don’t like him back?”

Raelya shrugged lightly. “I suppose.” She frowned and stared at her plate then looked up at me again. “It’s more, well… We tried once, but I called it off. And he hasn’t really… I don’t think he has accepted it completely.”

My frown deepened. “Oh. I see.” I glanced out the glass doors at the man in question who sat on one of the benches near the blazing fire, eating and chatting with a couple of other men who sat with him. “So kicking my foot huh? Seems rather petty.”

Raelya nodded. “It is. But more likely he wanted you to meet his eyes so you would determine dominance with him.”

“Why would he want that?”

“Because he would expect to win. He is high in the pack. You are new. You are not likely to bend his wolf to you. Bending your wolf to him would give him advantage over you if…” She seemed to search for a word.

“If he thinks I’m competition for you.” I supplied.

Raelya nodded.

I frowned very deeply and the wolf started stirring inside. Now eager for more action than just a hunt, it felt as though she paced impatiently within me. “I don’t like that sort of thing.”

“Oh?” Raelya eyed me concernedly. I imagine she could see how angry I was. Or maybe she could feel it. Being pack had some interesting effects on one’s ability to notice another’s emotions, and Raelya was closest to me in the pack so far.

“When a man feels he is entitled to control a woman’s choices.”

Raelya shook her head. “It is not like that.”

I glanced up at her. “Isn’t it?” My voice was a little sharper than I’d meant it to be and Raelya put a hand on my arm, attempting to soothe the wolf and maybe me as well. “I mean, if he thinks you like me, if he thinks we have a relationship, he should respect your choices. Picking a fight with your girlfriend, were that the case, would be him trying to control you, whether by trying to scare off the competition, or by making you afraid for the person you cared about. Either way, it’s abusive and I. Don’t. Like. It!”

Raelya frowned then glanced back down at her plate. She seemed to consider for a moment, then leaned on my shoulder suddenly and nuzzled my arm softly. “I think I see what you mean.” She spoke very quietly. I lifted my arm and put it around her. She laughed softly. “I do like you, Dakota.”

I chewed at my lip a little. “I…” I sighed. “I like you too, Raelya. You know I do.” I hugged her softly.

“I am not trying to take you away from your Amorie. I know you care for her. I just… I want you to know that I care for you. And even if it can not be more than friendship… I want us to be close.”

I stroked her shoulder gently. Despite being older than me, stronger, and doubtlessly smarter, she felt so small and vulnerable against me and I wanted to protect her no matter what. Logically, I knew she was more capable of protecting me than I her, but the wolf agreed with me on the feeling. The wolf gave a little push inside me and I bumped my head against her head a little more sharply than I’d strictly intended. Mine, the wolf seemed to say to me.

And Raelya seemed to hear it. She looked up at me, smiling, and dipped her head before looking up at me again. I had no idea what it meant, but the wolf in me seemed to understand her. She liked me. She felt safe with me. We felt right together.

Damnit. I really liked Raelya and being close to her was easy. She was pack, my own kind, and I had just moved into her house and even frequently shared a bed with her, even if it was strictly platonic. Meanwhile, Amorie lived hours away from me, had been incredibly busy lately to the point that we’d barely had time for a few stray texts, and everyone around me seemed to think she was a mistake, maybe even a deadly mistake.

What’s more, it wasn’t just a question of what I wanted. My wolf had shown some very definite interest in Raelya that had been more than a little difficult to ignore. And my wolf didn’t seem to care that I had a girlfriend; she wanted what she wanted. Human rules of relationship etiquette didn’t seem to concern her overly much. Which made things even harder. I really cared about Amorie; I loved her. But I really cared about Raelya too, and my wolf was not leaving me much room to doubt what she wanted. I frowned and leaned back into the corner with a sigh.

Raelya nuzzled my shoulder, leaning back with me. “What is wrong, Dakota?”

My heart hurt. I didn’t know what to say. “It’s nothing.” I lied.

Raelya didn’t buy it. “It is something.” She glanced up at my face then frowned softly. “Oh. I am sorry.” She straightened up against the wall.

My heart hurt even more. “Relationships are hard.” I commented quietly, more to myself than to anyone. But Raelya heard me, of course.

“I know. I am sorry.” She stood up. “Want some more to drink?” She reached for my cup which I gave her to allow us a moment of separation.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared at it a long moment before texting Amorie. “Hey, bout to go on my first hunt.” I added an excited smiley face and sent it.

Amorie texted me back immediately. “Oh how exciting, my little wolf. Have fun and be safe.”

“I will. I miss you. When can I see you again?”

Amorie responded quickly again. “When do you have time for me? I will make time for you.”

“Really? Can you come see me here?” I hadn’t been expecting an opportunity to arise so suddenly.

“I can. Perhaps Sunday?”

“That sounds great. I can’t wait to see you.” I thought about Amorie’s pretty blue eyes, the cool touch of her lips on mine.

“It can not come soon enough. Do not be afraid to call me between now and then either.”

“I will call you after the hunt. Or tomorrow night. Not sure how long we’ll be out.” I didn’t want to leave her hanging if we came in after dawn. I had no idea how long a run would last, after all.

“Very well. I will look forward to it, my love.”

I sent her a kissy emoticon and put the phone away as Raelya sat back down next to me with our drinks. I took mine and smiled my thanks. My heart felt heavy with emotions and I wasn’t up for a lot of conversation so I mostly stuffed my face with food and drink and eagerly gazed out at the woods beyond the circle of werewolves still dining by the fire. I tried my best to ignore Jack the Cowboy and the anger he brought to my already volatile mix of emotions.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to hold off much longer. Ralof walked through the living room and the crowd parted before him as he made for the back yard. Everyone started taking their plates to the kitchen. I stood, eager to shift my mind away from my relationship woes and toward the night’s run instead.

Raelya offered to take my dishes and disappeared into the kitchen so I stepped outside. Ralof stood alone past the circle of the fire, gazing into the woods. I wasn’t sure if I should approach him since no one else had, but I did anyway. I walked up to his side and stood near him quietly, gazing into the woods as well. He looked down at me and smiled. “Excited?”

I grinned at him. “Oh yeah.”

“Good. Remember to enjoy it.”

Raelya stepped out of the house and came over to join us. She smiled at Ralof then at me. “Ready, Dakota?” I nodded. “Good. You can stay near me. I will guide you.”

“That’d be awesome. Maybe that way I won’t make a fool of myself.”

Ralof laughed. “You will be fine.”

I smiled as the knot in my stomach started untying itself. The warmth of my pack surrounding me was far stronger than the anxiety in my chest. And on top of that, I wouldn’t have to concern myself with my human-side feelings for a while; I had bigger fish to fry. Or maybe bigger rabbits to chase. “So what will we be hunting this evening?”

Ralof glanced up at the sky and stretched. “Rabbits mostly, maybe deer. Depends on what we come across.”

I nodded. “And we eat them?”

“You can, or you can not if you prefer. Most will gladly take your share if you refuse it.”

I grinned. “I guess we’ll see.”

Ralof grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. “Just go with what feels right, eh?”

I nodded. “All right.”

With that he took a few steps forward and stripped off his shirt, threw his head back and howled with his human throat. The sound was imperfect, but close enough, and it was certainly big and loud. I felt the wolf in me stirring to join him so I stripped off my shirt without thinking. Raelya was doing the same, though I barely noticed. I couldn’t wait to take my four-legged form and go running with my Alpha.

The wolves inside soon became the wolves outside. All thirty or so pack members joined us outside and soon the ground was littered with clothing. Ralof shifted first, breaking an unseen tension as he took on the form of the beast inside and we all followed suit.

The pain of the shift racked me and I felt the rage of the wolf join the agony of my human flesh as I found the creature I was inside and let her body become mine instead.

I came out of my shift howling and noticed quickly that I was one of many who did so. Raelya did not cry out so, nor did Andrei who had bounded up next to Ralof as soon as he had finished shifting. Elisa trotted out from the house in her wolf form and bumped into Andrei pointedly as she passed him to stand by Ralof’s side.

I admired their forms in the moonlight. Andrei was a large, dark-furred timber wolf with an incredibly intricate pattern of bright red snaking its way through his fur in the shape of his human-form tattoos. To my surprise, the red lines glowed faintly in the dark and seemed to smolder among his dark fur.

Elisa was large, fluffy, and white with a thick, but patchy coat that lacked fur in many places where her body beneath bore scars. A strip of furless skin crossed her sightless eye in a long diamond shape.

But most impressive among them was Ralof; his wolf was the biggest I’d ever seen. His fur was silvery with dark patches on his back, and his coat was long, longer than any other I saw. I wondered what kind of wolf he was as I glanced around at the pack surrounding me. I recognized timber wolves and grey wolves, and there were plenty of breeds I didn’t know the name of but knew I had seen before, like whatever kind Elisa was. But Ralof was one of a kind and I had never seen his like.

I glanced to my side as Raelya bumped up against me. She was lovely: a wolf of the same breed as Elisa’s I thought, but her coat was a light greyish-tan with pretty white socks and a white mask. I bumped my head against her head in response and she nuzzled at me playfully.

As soon as we’d all shifted, Ralof threw back his head and howled again, this time fully amplified by the wolf-throat that was made for making such sounds, and just like that, we were off. The pack surged forward in a flurry of furry legs and fluffy tails. We followed the Alpha to the treeline, rushing for the freedom of the run, bidden by the electric drive in our souls to hunt together in the night.

14

First Blood

Raelya ran beside me and I felt myself grinning, or what passed for grinning as a wolf. My ears stood up and my mouth relaxed open as I flung myself into the trees and barreled down the hillside surrounded on all sides by my pack—

Something big and heavy rammed into me and I tumbled several feet down the sloped forest floor before catching my footing and jerking my head up to face a big, dusty-tan wolf with a dark mask and very large teeth as he turned to snarl at me. Disoriented, I bristled and snarled back. The other wolf took a step toward me and snapped at me, growling loudly. Raelya bristled beside me and growled in return, stepping slightly between me and the other wolf.

For an instant, I thought he was going to attack me, but he turned suddenly as Ralof appeared behind him and growled louder than any of the rest of us had managed. The other wolf glanced at Ralof then briefly back at me as he turned and trotted off with the Alpha. I hadn’t seen Jack shift forms, but I recognized the big wolf all the same.

At first, I was angry and confused, and not sure I could let it all go so easily, but Raelya nudged me to catch up with the pack, and we chased after them. As soon as we were moving again, my anger toward Jack was drowned in the feeling of pack, and lost to me entirely. I tossed my head and ran faster, exhilarated by the freedom of the run. I had no idea what I was doing, but the wolf knew exactly what to do, so I carefully let go of the wheel, so to speak, and let her have her way. I relaxed my human mind back as the wolf took the lead and rushed willingly to the surface.

The pack poured over the hills and down into the valleys, bounding through the trees and all over the mountainside. The Great Smoky Mountains were our playground, and the creatures that lived within them, our prey. The first rabbit that streaked past the pack was like a jolt of lightning to my chest. I charged after it as many wolves all around me gave chase, but it was caught before I could even close half the distance. The rabbit squealed as the werewolf broke its back with a swift snap of her powerful jaws, and the hunt was over just as quickly as it’d started.

But the pack was still running. I veered off from the small group of wolves who paused to snack on the rabbit and chased after the rest of the pack which had already sighted another target. A doe bolted from her hiding place as the pack drew near, and eager hunters swarmed after her, the front runners herding her to the side, forcing her toward the rest of us.

I snapped at her leg as she passed, burning with desire to taste her blood. Raelya leapt over me and scored her flesh with her teeth. The doe stumbled, and kept running, but the stumble had been enough for a few wolves to get in front of her. A smaller, black wolf leapt at her throat and clamped strong jaws down around her neck as the pack leapt for her all around. I sank my teeth into her flank as she kicked and bucked, ultimately going down under the pack’s waiting, hungry mouths.

And then we feasted on her flesh.

I had no hesitation, no fear and no remorse. I ripped a mouthful of meat from her flank before another gray wolf shoved me aside and I snapped my head around to growl at him. The other wolf met my eyes for an instant before ducking his head and stepping back. I chewed at my prize as did the others all around me. I didn’t growl at the gray wolf again as he edged in for a bite. Already content with my share of the kill, I wasn’t concerned with him anymore, and this time, he was careful not to shove me.

I flicked my tongue out against my bloody muzzle, savoring the sweet flavor of the fresh, hot, prey and I was filled with excitement and the thrill of our victory. I threw my head back and howled and my voice was joined by the voices of my pack all around me, singing our joy to the night sky.

My stomach satisfied, I gladly joined with the rest of the pack who had circled back to us, running down another deer. This one was a stag and I saw Ralof and Elisa harrying it from both sides. Andrei ran behind it, nipping at its heels as it struggled to bound away to no avail. This time, it was Ralof who took the kill, snapping into the buck’s throat with his mighty jaws. He was so tall, he didn’t even have to leap for it. As he clenched with the stag, Elisa leapt for its flank and Andrei caught one of its legs, worrying at it as it went down.

Ralof tore a chunk of meat from the deer’s throat and the others followed suit, claiming choice pieces of the kill before allowing the others closer for a taste. No one challenged Ralof or Elisa or even Andrei for their bite. The Alpha, his mate, and his second commanded their respect.

When the pack had feasted on deer, and a few rabbits, we lost interest in what was left of the kills, and took off for more running. We fell down the mountain side like water over a fall, streaked through the valleys between the hills, and wove our way through the trees. We ran along the cool riverbeds, and splashed through the streams. The night was ours and I was breathless with exhilaration.

Suddenly, the pack pulled up short as Ralof stopped running, and the rest of us circled around him to avoid running into each other. The feeling of excitement and freedom died down as a pulse of worry went through the pack. Something was wrong. I wanted to get closer to find out what was happening, but other wolves kept getting in my way. I paced one way then the other, but Raelya nudged me and we circled around the other side. By the time we came clear of the crowd to sight Ralof, it was too late. He howled his command, and the pack turned back up the hill, ordered by the Alpha; it was time to go home.

Worry and dread were my guide through the dark woods as we returned to the pack house. Lead by the anxiety of my pack, I kept pace with Raelya in the dark mountain forest as we climbed back up the way we had come until the house was in sight.

We spilled into the back yard of the pack house, and my anxiety rose only higher as I saw Ralof step aside with Elisa, Andrei, Jack, and a couple of others I didn’t know. None of them took time to dress before clustering in a circle, obviously discussing something important, which made my concerns feel even more founded. Everyone else started shifting back to their human forms and getting dressed, but whatever they were talking about obviously couldn’t wait for that.

As the pack took to two legs again, everyone started picking over the scattered piles for their own clothes. I found mine next to Raelya’s and we both started dressing quietly. I might have been embarrassed if I hadn’t been so worried about what had happened to cause Ralof such concern.

I pulled on my panties and jeans, then gave up on finding my bra in the dark and settled for my tank top alone. Raelya got dressed quickly then stepped aside and started gathering Ralof’s and Elisa’s clothes. I glanced around and spotted Andrei’s khaki cargo shorts and Harley Davidson tank top, so I decided to scoop them up and follow Raelya to the circle of naked pack leaders as well.

Raelya handed clothes to the Alpha and his mate wordlessly and I offered Andrei his things. They all took them without pausing their conversation to pay us any mind, and all three of them started dressing as they continued to speak. Raelya stood nearby silently, so I didn’t immediately move away when we’d finished handing off the clothes. I was burning with curiosity and a deep need to help if the pack was in danger. I heard Ralof mention that the prints were too large for a bear, then Andrei shook his head and proclaimed them the wrong shape.

“Could be something from Fae.” Elisa glanced up at Ralof thoughtfully.

“Could be. Or it could be an unusually large bear.” Ralof reiterated.

Andrei shook his head. “I’m telling you, boss, it wasn’t shaped right. I know you’ve got experience on me, but—”

Jack cut across Andrei almost idly, “Could be an Ursa.” He crossed his arms and glanced back toward the woods. I did my best not to pay any attention to Jack, not just because he was buck naked, but he’d said something interesting, so I couldn’t help glancing up. I felt he didn’t miss the motion as he twitched slightly and wrinkled his nose.

“They are extinct.” Ralof insisted levelly. “Even in Arcadia. The last was killed more than two centuries ago.”

Curiosity was eating me alive. “What’s an Ursa? Is the pack in trouble?”

Everyone stopped and looked at me and Andrei opened his mouth as if to answer me but Jack cut him off sharply, glaring at me pointedly. “Move along, new wolf. This don’t concern you.”

I blinked in surprise then bristled with anger and started to open my mouth but Ralof nodded. “He is right, Dakota.” His voice was gentle, but firm. “Go back to the house and help Raelya do a head count. Make sure everyone is back.”

I wanted to protest, but the Alpha’s word was like stone to me. I nodded and accepted the salve he had offered by giving me something important to do. Not like I didn’t realize what that was, but it helped a little regardless. I turned and walked away with Raelya without another word and as we neared the open glass door, she caught my hand and squeezed it. “It is all right, Dakota.”

I nodded stiffly. “I know. Just…”

Raelya pulled me aside and gripped my shoulders. “Dakota, Ralof knows what he is doing, as do Elisa and Andrei, and even Jack.”

I sighed. “I know. But… My instincts are driving me crazy right now. Something’s wrong and I know it. And I can’t stand not being a part of… whatever it is they’re doing to protect the pack from it.”

Raelya smiled gently. “You are more dominant a wolf than anyone expected, you know?” She shook her head as if amused. “I understand that the urge to protect your pack is strong. It fills a dominant wolf with need and it is difficult not to act on it. But let me ask you this: do you trust Ralof?”

I pouted at her. “That’s not fair. Of course I do.”

“Then, trust Ralof.” She tapped my nose gently. I snapped my teeth at her finger playfully and she grinned at me. “Ralof knows what he is doing, and believe me, Dakota, if he needs you, he will call for you.”

I stuck my lip out even further. “I guess too, it’s kinda frustrating being treated like a child who needs to be quiet while the adults are talking.”

Raelya smirked at me. “Or was it because Jack was the one who told you to go?”

I rolled my eyes. “Ralof told me to go too.”

Raelya nodded. “And he knows what he is doing.”

I sighed. “All right, all right.”

Raelya smiled at me gently. “Do not hold it against him, Dakota. I know it is hard to stand back and let the older wolves take charge when you want to help, but you must understand that to Ralof, you are very young.”

I threw my hands up. “But I’m not very young! I’m twenty-eight! Not some kid who isn’t—”

Raelya slid her hands down my arms to capture my hands. “Dakota.” I cut off and looked up at her. “To Ralof, you are very, very young. To Ralof, I am very young.”

I considered that for a second then sighed, letting the tension slide out of me. “I guess if you’re older than my Nan and that’s still too young…”

Raelya smacked my shoulder playfully. “Hey!”

I grinned at her. “What? Isn’t it true?”

Raelya pouted at me. “Even if it is, do you have to point it out?”

I laughed and squeezed her hands tightly. “Maybe it’s just easier if I think of you that way…” I blinked at myself and my traitorous mouth. “I mean… uh…”

Raelya smiled amusedly and fluttered her lashes at me prettily. “Oh? Are you saying it is hard to resist me otherwise?”

I chewed at my lip a little. “So, we were supposed to be counting heads, right? How many wolves were supposed to be here again?”

I turned from Raelya desperately and started counting heads, but the pack was not standing in line to be counted and I lost count immediately. “Why would Ralof ask a dyslexic werewolf to count the pack?” Honestly, dyslexia had little to do with it, but it made for a good, light-hearted excuse.

Raelya laughed. “I will count. You go get us a plate, and we can go watch a movie afterward, all right?”

“All right.” I gratefully accepted the opportunity for a moment to clear my head, and so went back into the house and braved the crowd of werewolves between the door and the kitchen. Everyone was talking excitedly about the hunt, and no one else really seemed upset about the fact that Ralof had brought us back suddenly. I soothed myself with the thought that maybe that meant this wasn’t all that unusual. Maybe I was over-reacting and it only seemed like a big deal to me because I was so new.

I gathered some food for Raelya and myself, snagged a couple of sodas from the fridge, scurried up the stairs and retreated into the sanctity of her room.

15

Raelya

Raelya walked into her room a while later and paused to take in the scene before her. I’d tied a string from her closet rod to a hanger on the bathroom door and draped a blanket across it, turning her bed into a blanket fort. I had a movie set up and ready to be unpaused and our food sat neatly on her nightstand which I’d moved to serve as our table at the foot of her bed. I grinned from within the fort, already dressed for bed in boxer shorts and a sleep shirt with a Halo UNSC logo on the front.

Raelya grinned as she closed the door. “What is this?”

I shrugged. “Slumber party part three, remember?”

Raelya laughed as she stepped aside to her dresser and dug about for night clothes. “Oh, of course. I did promise you a movie.”

I nodded. “And I’ve already picked one out.”

Raelya tilted her head curiously. “You have?”

“Mmhmm. Since you love driving so much, I thought you’d like the recent remake of Mad Max.”

Raelya found what she was looking for and closed the drawer. “Which has something to do with driving, I take it?”

I nodded. “Driving, surviving, and bad ass women.”

“Oh, well that does sound nice.” She slipped into the bathroom to change, coming back a moment later in a long, soft-looking tee shirt with Native American styled artwork featuring a pack of wolves on the front. She slipped into the blanket fort with me and I started the show.

We watched and chatted, ate our food and laughed. Raelya enjoyed the war-driving and strong female characters in Fury Road just as I imagined she would. I enjoyed the warmth of sharing one of my favorite geeky fandoms with one of my favorite people. I also enjoyed the closeness of my packmate laying beside me.

As the movie ended, I rolled to the side, stretching and asked her, “So did you like it?” I was trying to hold back the feels and avoid overly geeking out on her, but I could see she’d enjoyed it, so that was good enough.

“Yes, it was very good. I loved Furiosa, and the ending.” Raelya smiled at me. I grinned broadly, then yawned. “You look sleepy.”

I nodded. “Long day.”

“It has been, yes.” Raelya glanced up at the rigged up blanket. “So, how do we get this down for bed?”

I grinned and reached to the side to the string that dangled down next to my head. “Like this!” I jerked on the string and the blanket came down on top of us with a loud plastic clattering as the hanger smacked against the door and then fell off. We both laughed as we worked our heads out from under the blanket, then Raelya sat up and grabbed the pillows from the head of the bed and smacked me with one as she handed it to me. I laughed and tucked it under my head.

After a moment, Raelya glanced over at me. “Do you want to sleep like this, or… perhaps as our wolves?”

“That could be nice. I mean, haven’t slept as a wolf yet. Could see what wolf-sleeping’s all about.” Considering my earlier feelings I thought maybe sleeping in my wolf form would be the safer option anyway.

Raelya smirked at me then pulled her night shirt over her head. I blinked and glanced away. Raelya laughed softly, “You know, you will have to get used to it, Dakota. As werewolves, we are naked often.”

I nodded. “I don’t think it’s so hard with… most people.”

Raelya shifted into her wolf form without reply, then nudged me with her furry face.

“All right, I’m coming.” I awkwardly struggled the boxer shorts off then pulled my shirt over my head and shifted, whimpering at the pain. As the wolf form took over, my eyesight sharpened and focused in the dimmer light. Between the muted television and the open windows, the room was as bright as I needed to see Raelya’s room as plain as day. I marveled at the strength of my vision and wondered why I hadn’t really paid attention to it earlier. I figured I’d been too busy with running, hunting, and trying not to kill Jack to really focus on the details, and really, that made sense. It hadn’t been easy to think about silly human things when the wolf wanted to run and be free. Silly human things like why I didn’t need a flashlight in the wooded mountains at night, or like how frightening an angry werewolf snarling at me should have been, or why I shouldn’t cuddle up with my packmate who has obvious interest in me when I have a girlfriend out there somewhere.

I laid down next to Raelya and she snuggled up against my side and everything felt perfect. I laid my head on top of her head and she nipped at me playfully. I nipped back and met her eyes, and for the first time, I felt her wolf pushing and fighting against me. Her will hit mine and we struggled for a long moment, growling slightly before I pounced, placing my body above hers and snapping my jaws at her throat. Raelya wiggled to the side and pushed me over. I tried to get back on top but she pushed me down again. I tried to worm my face into her shoulder but she twisted away and put her paw down on my shoulder and shoved me down again. I started to push for her again, but she yawned and laid down suddenly.

I was confused at first, then I understood: she wasn’t going to fight me. While it wasn’t a victory, my wolf was satisfied enough for the moment. I laid down half across her and she let me. I didn’t try to put my teeth on her throat though I still wanted to. She wasn’t submitting to me; our position with each other was yet undecided. But she was warm and I was tired, and I felt she wanted to lay down and sleep just as much as I did. So I laid there, half on top of her, and went to sleep.

I dreamed of running.

Running in the woods with the pack, echoes of paws hitting soil and panting and howls up ahead. I chased down a rabbit and its blood filled my mouth like a sweet, hot drink. The moon overhead was full, brighter and rounder than it had been the night before by half. I saw Raelya ahead of me and I ran to chase after her, but I heard a startled, quiet voice behind me that spoke my name. “Dakota?”

I whipped my head around and Amorie reached out to me. Her eyes were sad and pleading. I took a step toward her as my heart panged with guilt, but I heard paws on the ground behind me and looked back up to see Raelya still standing there, now joined by Jack who towered over her like a nightmare, far larger and scarier than he’d been in real life. I lowered my head to snarl at him, but Amorie called out again and I tried to reach out to her, my human hand extending in her direction.

I startled as I looked down and saw that I was not one body, but two, a girl and a wolf, both standing in the same place, like two ghosts merging into each other. The wolf surged toward Raelya as Jack nudged her aside, putting himself between her and me. The human tried to step toward Amorie, but could not dislodge herself from the wolf. I looked up into her eyes as they flooded with tears.

I woke with a gasp and the room was still dark. I shivered at the images that still lingered in my head as I hopped off the bed and landed on four feet. I shifted back to my human self, and since Raelya hadn’t stirred, didn’t bother searching for my clothes which were all under the blankets anyway. Instead, I found my phone which I’d left charging on Raelya’s desk and took it to the bathroom. I stared at it a while and thought about texting Amorie, but I wanted to do better than that, so I firmly squashed down my anxiety and called her.

“Bonsoir my little wolf. How was your run?” I took a deep breath and let it out lengthily. Amorie cut across my reply, “What is wrong?”

“Nothing.” I lied. “I just… had a really bad dream.”

I heard Amorie let out a breath. “Aww. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Just… wanted to hear your voice.”

“Well I am here, ma chérie. Tell me about your run.”

I pulled a towel down off the rack and wrapped it around myself for warmth and sat down in the corner. “It was awesome. Ralof lead us out and when we started running all together as a pack it was like nothing I’d ever felt.”

“Ooh, sounds exciting.”

“It was. So very exciting. I don’t even know how to describe it, Am. It was the best feeling.”

“Hopefully not the only best feeling, ma chérie.” Amorie’s voice came out in a low purr that sent a tingle up my spine.

“Oh… no, I didn’t mean that…”

Amorie took a deep breath and let it out slowly, purposefully drawing the air across the phone so I would hear her. “I can not wait to see you again, Dakota. I can not wait to see your little wolf form, and to touch you again, to kiss you.”

My chest rose and fell more heavily as my body reacted to Amorie’s sensual tone. “I can’t wait for that either, Am. I think you’re going to like my wolf. Everyone keeps telling me I’m a cute wolf.”

“Mm, I am looking forward to it indeed.” She shivered out a breath.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Thinking of you, of course, my little wolf. Thinking of your touch.”

I felt my face growing red as I realized what she was suggesting. “Ooh…” I couldn’t repress a smile. “So it’s like that, huh?”

I could practically hear the smile on her voice. “It can be, if you would like it, mon amour.” A mischievous smile at that.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. “I’m not opposed.”

“In that case…” she purred, “close your eyes and see me. I am laying on my bed. I am wearing a short satin negligee and my hair is down.”

I pictured her lying there on her large, canopied bed in seductive attire as she described the details of her outfit. I could see it all so clearly; strong visualization skills were one of the positive aspects of dyslexia. I pictured my hand reaching out to touch her. I could practically feel the cool softness of her flesh, and my body grew warm at the imagined touch.

“Now, I am kissing your neck.” She whispered breathily, making the sounds I would expect to hear if she were doing just that. My legs felt shaky at the tension she was building even from two hundred miles away. I slid my hand down my thigh as I imagined she would do as she described her hand touching my—

“What?” Amorie spoke very sharply, sounding supremely annoyed. I heard her exchange a few terse words with someone on the other end, and then she sighed loudly. “Dakota… I am so sorry, I have to go, now.”

I did my best to sound cheerful. “No problem. I’ll call you tomorrow okay? Gonna try to get some sleep.”

“Thank you for understanding, ma chérie.” She sounded truly regretful as she hung up.

I stared at the phone for a moment after the call ended then sighed loudly. “Whoever you are that just interrupted her… I hate you so much right now.”

I briefly considered trying to finish what Amorie had started, but decided that without her voice to guide me it just felt awkward and unsexy, especially when I realized I was sitting in a bath towel in the bathroom of a friend who was currently sleeping in the next room and who was also obviously attracted to me.

Wolf form is definitely safer, I decided as I put the towel away and stepped over to the door which I cleverly remembered to open before shifting, straining to be quiet as I did so. I went back to bed and tried to forget the heat in my lack-of-pants and the ache in my belly at missing the woman I loved.

I woke hours later to that warm sensation resurfacing as Raelya nuzzled my face. I was nuzzling her back and our bodies, still fur-covered, were very close and she was still beneath me. She wiggled a little under my weight, but I knew she was not actually trying to dislodge me, as proven by the fact I was not laying on the floor.

I wasn’t thinking, not with my human brain. The wolf was in charge, and the wolf wanted Raelya very much. The wolf did not care about silly things like monogamy and vampiric girlfriends two hundred miles away. The wolf wanted this wolf who was with her, right here, and right now. And right then, the wolf was in charge.

Raelya licked my face and I licked at hers in return, then nuzzled her face with mine. She whined, a high-pitched sound full of wanting. My wolf wanted her and she wanted me too.

I nuzzled my face into her neck and pressed my teeth against her throat. Raelya struggled at that and snapped at me. I snapped back, then shifted my weight to lock her shoulders down. We wrestled for a long moment, struggling back and forth until I managed to get my weight on her just so and locked my teeth around her throat. For a few seconds, she struggled still, and then finally she relaxed and laid down beneath me. My wolf was dominant over her wolf, and she had finally accepted it.

My wolf was pleased with this, pleased with claiming Raelya as her own, but she wanted to claim even more from her. I felt my body pressing tightly against Raelya’s furry back and suddenly, my human mind woke up. I snapped into the realization of what I was doing and recoiled. My human form tore free from the wolf as violently as I’d ever felt and I yelled in agony as I stumbled off of the bed and tumbled, naked, onto the floor.

Raelya whipped her head up, concerned, and then started shifting as well. She sat up, naked on her bed, and reached down to me. “Dakota, are you all right?”

I peered up at her pathetically, tears in my eyes. “I… I’m sorry, Raelya. I don’t know what I was thinking… This isn’t…”

Raelya blinked, and the realization of what I meant hit her eyes, then she smiled at me softly. “Oh…”

I hadn’t wanted to cheat on Amorie, but my wolf had seemed to have other plans. I felt terrible. Guilt sank my heart to the bottom of the guilty-bastard sea. As I met Raelya’s eyes, I felt even worse. I hadn’t meant or wanted to hurt Raelya either. But it seemed I had managed to do both.

I picked myself up to sit against the bed and hugged my knees, dropping my face onto them. “I’m sorry…”

Raelya laid down on the bed and dropped her arms around me gently. “It is all right, Dakota. I understand.”

I shook my head. “How can you be so understanding? I’m such a dick…”

Raelya nuzzled my head. “You are not a dick. You are very sweet, and I love you.” She bumped her head against my head. “It is not your fault I am attracted to you. Nor is it fair of me to encourage you so when I know that you are with someone else.”

I found myself nuzzling her back and firmly stopped the motion. I wasn’t doing it on purpose again. Was instinct really that strong? I sighed. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Raelya. I really do.”

“Perhaps that is more the problem.” Raelya smiled at me softly.

I sighed shakily. “Yeah. I guess it is.”

“I am not upset at you, Dakota.”

I glanced up at her, blinking at the tears in my eyes. “You’re not?”

Raelya shook her head. “No. Perhaps, a little sad. Because I am very fond of you, and… Well, I would have liked it if I had perhaps been the one to find you first.”

I lowered my head again, feeling miserable. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Stop that. You are not at fault. And you are not cheating. Nothing happened. You were just… close.” She thumped my head softly.

I sighed. “Does it make a difference if it actually happened? The problem is how much I wanted it to.”

Raelya sighed. “That… I suppose I can not help you with. But hopefully your Amorie will understand. The wolf and the person, they do not always want the same things. Especially for the young, it can be difficult to reconcile both sides and their desires.”

“She shouldn’t have to understand. I shouldn’t have so much trouble being faithful to her.” I did my best not to sound snappy, but I was angry at myself, so it was hard to hold the aggression in. Fortunately, the more experienced werewolf seemed to understand the difficulty I was having, or at least, she didn’t react to it.

Raelya seemed like she didn’t agree, but she said nothing and just hugged me. After a long moment, I let out a shaky breath. “I’m going to get a shower and get dressed.”

“All right.” Raelya let me go as I stood and headed for her bathroom. I showered quickly in cold water. When I came back from the shower, she was gone, and I figured it was just as well. I felt like an ass, and I was embarrassed at the thought of even looking her in the eyes. I thought of how Amorie would be coming to see me tomorrow if all went well, and my heart panged sharply. I wanted to call her right now and tell her what happened so I could get what I deserved and get it over with. But the bright sunlight pouring in said that was not possible right now, so I threw on some clothes and settled for being mad at myself instead.

I walked out of Raelya’s room and decided to go down for breakfast. The house was still relatively busy as many wolves had opted to stay the weekend, and I passed a couple of people in the hall. I started down the stairs and a wolf of the four-legged variety bounded past my legs on the way to the second floor. I leaned against the wall as I hurried downward, trying to stay out of the way. I thought for an instant that I’d screwed up and gotten in someone’s way when a hand slapped into the wall in front of me, leaving someone’s arm blocking my progress downward. As it turns out, I was mistaken.

I glanced up at the face attached to the arm blocking my path and came face to face with Jack. He leaned closer, forcing me back against the wall. “Howdy. Dakota, ain’t it?”

“Yeah…” I didn’t like his proximity, and I didn’t buy the friendliness of his tone.

“You an’ me, we oughta talk.” He informed me eloquently. “Listen. Raelya’s real important to me, an’ I’m gonna ask you nicely to back off of ‘er.”

I blinked at the request. Apparently Jack had taken us to be together. Or maybe he hadn’t been sure the night before but realized it now that I’d walked out of her room. Then I realized I could still smell her on me, so I knew he could too. I was already feeling grumpy from my own failings this morning, and I was in no mood to deal with misogyny and chauvinism. “Raelya’s a big girl. I think she can decide for herself who she wants to be with.”

Jack nodded as if giving me a point, but went on, “That she can, but I’m askin’ you all the same. I hear you got yourself some vampire anyway. So back off and we can all be friends.”

I suddenly barked out a short, humorless laugh. “Are you threatening me?”

“I’m just sayin’ it’d be better for everyone if you didn’t—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, cowboy. For one,” I gestured to myself exaggeratedly, “this is a bully-free zone. You say you’re asking me nicely, but what you’re really doing is threatening. For two, Raelya is a grown woman and she can decide for herself what she wants.” My voice grew louder and faster as my anger stoked my audacity. “And for three, it’s no wonder she’s not interested in men if the best example she’s had is a misogynistic jerk who’s so under-confident in his ability to win a girl with his own charms he feels he needs to scare off the competition to stand a chance!”

Jack snarled in my face and slammed me into the wall. I bounced back ready for a fight but instead of hitting me again, he met my eyes and his will slammed into me instead.

I fucking fought it.

Not because it was smart. Not because I really believed I should be more dominant or higher in the pack than Ralof’s third. But because this man was a dinosaur who still saw women as property, as something he had a right to barter for behind her back instead of dealing with her directly. And neither Dakota the woman nor Dakota the wolf was willing to bend knee to such a man.

So I fought Jack’s will with my own. My wolf surged to the surface and I felt his do the same. We slammed into each other physically and he wrestled me back against the wall, pressing me hard into the solid wood. I growled in anger and frustration at his greater physical strength, but I was not going to let him beat me, no matter how many years he had on me, no matter how much stronger he might be.

“All right.” His voice was low and full of anger. “Let’s do this.”

I wasn’t nearly as strong as Jack was, but I was wily and I knew how to break a hold from my security training. I slipped out of his clench and ducked low, then pushed up against his chest with all my strength, forcing him to stumble back a step or lose his balance. Since we had started the fight on the second to last stair, Jack had poor footing and ended up stumbling back further than I’d expected him to. He caught his balance with one foot on the ground floor and one foot on the bottom step. I felt my fingers curl as if grasping for the Hellfire that wanted to leap to my palm and—

I panicked as I realized my palm felt too hot and I clenched my fist to stop the flow of energy that had almost risen from it. As I did, I put a hand up to Jack. “Wait. I can’t fight you—”

Jack roared at me and slammed me back into the wall. “Fuckin’ coward! You ain’t gettin’ out of this that easy!” His arm started rippling as his form began to shift, and I noticed he wasn’t getting any smaller. Fur ripped its way out of his forearms and started sprouting all over his face.

I panicked again. He was going into his freaking war form. Shit.

But I couldn’t try to fight him, or I risked hurting others who didn’t deserve it. Shit. Shit. Shit.

So I did the only thing I could think of; I shifted into my wolf form as quickly as I could, and darted between his legs.

16

Hit the Road

My heart was pounding as I wove my way through the crowded living room and out the blessedly open back door. I out-paced the sound of Jack’s enraged growling and streaked into the back yard, leaving the angry werewolf behind. My mind raced for an escape. I knew it wouldn’t take long for Jack to finish shifting, and as soon as he did he would be right on my—

A huge, dusty-tan werewolf erupted from the back door, snarling and snapping for my tail. He tore rents in the grassy lawn as he chased after me, murder in his eyes, and swiped his huge, razor-sharp claws across my flank. I yelped in pain and pushed myself as hard as I could. I whipped around the corner and ran as fast as I could, which fortunately, was faster than the war-form wolf was capable of. I made it to the front of the house before he could make it to the back corner, and my eyes landed on the open window of Andrei’s red pickup truck. I bolted for the truck and dove through the window, thinking myself clever for going somewhere too small for the big bad wolf to follow.

Jack came tearing around the corner before I could even catch my breath and I found out just how wrong I was. The werewolf slammed into the truck at full speed, denting the door in and swiping his claws at my side through the open window. Holy shit! I tried to climb out the other side of the truck, but the driver side window was up and my wolf-paws were useless against the door handle. So I shifted back to my human form and reached for the door, but just as I did, Jack got a good grip on the passenger-side door. Metal screamed in agony as the furious werewolf started ripping the door off.

I pulled the visor down in front of me and blessed Andrei for leaving a spare key in the truck. I snagged the key and popped it into the ignition as the truck rocked to the side as Jack pulled at the door again, trying to rip it free. I turned the key and threw the truck into reverse, going off of nothing but my observational skills and movies and television since I had never driven a car in my life, and slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. Just as I did, the door wailed one last dreadful time as Jack managed to tear it free. The tires kicked up gravel in his face as the truck took me safely out of his reach, only barely in time to save my naked, squishy, human ass from his deadly claws.

I turned in the seat to look behind me and struggled to back the truck away from the werewolf at top speed without running into anything. Since there were still plenty of house guests hanging around, there were more cars in the driveway than usual, and since the driveway was lined on both sides with trees, this was harder than it sounded. I steadied my breathing as best I could, pushing down the panic in my chest, and hoping I could gain enough ground to turn the damn truck around and drive away without the werewolf catching up to me.

Of course, then I’d probably get arrested for driving a truck without a door down the highway naked, but I had bigger things on my mind at the time.

Like a blood-frenzied werewolf running way too damn fast for me to out-pace in reverse.

Jack closed half the distance between us before I was halfway down the long drive, then he dug his feet in and leapt for the truck, landing on the hood with a crunch. I screamed, “Shit!” and slammed on the brake as hard as I could. The momentum threw Jack over the truck and off into the trees to my left. I fumbled with the gear-shifter-thingy, trying desperately to put the truck into forward-gear as Jack picked himself up and leaped right at me—

A big, dark wolf with glowing red patterns all over barreled into Jack’s side, hitting him so hard, they both flew out of my peripheral vision. I whipped my head around to see, and Andrei was standing off with Jack, war-form against wolf-form, and staring him down. Jack still looked incensed, but he wasn’t advancing. Andrei growled at him loudly and Jack snarled back. Andrei took a step forward and the motion looked like a warning. The red patterns on his skin started to glow hotly, and Jack took another step back. The tension hanging between them was so tangible I was surprised I couldn’t see it.

From the strain in his shoulders, I thought Jack was getting ready to lash out at Andrei, but instead, he growled in frustration and started to shift. In a few seconds, he was human again, and as soon as he was, Andrei shifted back too. Two naked grown men stood facing each other for a long moment before Andrei finally spoke.

“Go back to the house, Jack.” There was no asking to his tone.

Jack growled lowly. “You wouldn’ be standin’ in my way if you didn’t have those tattoos.”

Andrei shrugged. “Yeah, well I do. So maybe you should fuck off.”

Jack glared at Andrei for a second, then spat to the side. “Better watch her, Hoss. Damn pup ain’t gotta lick of sense.” He strode away toward the house and Andrei watched him, turning to face him as he walked past, and staring him down until he was most of the way back.

I opened the door beside me and started to step out, but a searing pain shot up my side as my foot hit the ground. Andrei was at my side in an instant, steadying me. “Woah, take it slowly.”

I looked down and saw that my hip was torn and bloody. My thigh was coated in red from hip to calf and there were three long gashes that went straight into the muscle. “Andrei…” My thigh looked ruined and it terrified me. I’d never seen myself hurt this badly before and it was freaking me out, and when I’m freaked out, the snark level rises exponentially.

Andrei pulled me against him to support me better, helping me take my weight off my leg. “Dakota?”

I grimaced at him directly. “I think I chipped the paint-job…”

Andrei blinked and stared at me for a few seconds then broke into a belly-laugh. “I’m more worried about you right now, kiddo.” He picked me up in his arms like a child with no visible effort. “Trucks can be fixed. Fortunately for you, so can werewolves.”

I did my best to grin through the pain. The adrenaline was wearing off and I was feeling light headed. “Gonna take me to the shop?” I laughed helplessly. “Is there a werewolf body shop around here?”

Andrei carried me back toward the house. “Okay! You’ve lost a lot of blood, I see.”

I laughed a bit more then winced again. “Ow.” I sucked air through my teeth and pressed my face against Andrei’s chest.

“It’ll be okay. I’ve seen worse.” Andrei carried me into the house and straight up the stairs to Raelya’s room. No one batted a lash at the butt-naked guy carrying a butt-naked woman into the house, though I spotted Steph and a few others peering worriedly at my bloody side from the top of the stairs. “Bring her some water.” Andrei said to no one in particular as he shoved Raelya’s door open and took me inside.

17

Consequences

I thought Andrei was going to lay me on the bed and get a first aid kit or something to bandage me up. Instead he walked past the bed into Raelya’s bathroom and set me down in the shower. “Wash the blood off and get dressed. I’ll get you some food. You’re gonna be hungry.” He turned the water on and the cold spray hit me like a slap to the face. I squeaked indignantly and jumped away from the water before realizing my thigh didn’t hurt anymore. I looked down in shock only to find that the massive, bloody wound was mostly gone. I watched in awe for a few seconds as the long slashes knitted themselves back together right before my eyes.

Andrei laughed. “Werewolves regenerate, remember? I told you you’d be fine.”

He turned to step out and I stuck my tongue out at his back. “Well, you didn’t have to freeze me to death to finish the job!”

Andrei shook his head, amused, and closed the door behind himself. I adjusted the water to a decent temperature and started washing off. I ran my hand along my newly healed thigh again and again. I grinned to myself like an idiot as I stood there under the spray, fondling my not-clawed-up thigh. “Now I’m even better at whatever Wolverine does,” I said quietly to myself.

I showered and dried off, then stepped into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around my body. Raelya was waiting for me, her face full of anxiety and her eyes brimming with tears. “Dakota!” She launched herself at me and hugged me tightly. “What happened?”

I hugged her reassuringly. “Jack decided to threaten me over you and I might or might not have called him a misogynistic jerk and insulted his manhood.”

Raelya pulled back from me and gave me a look. “Are you crazy?”

“Maybe.” I pulled her against me again. “But I’m not going to let that asshole push you around, and if he wants to treat women like property, he’s going to have to go through me first.”

Raelya hugged me again then shook her head. “From the look of you when Andrei carried you in, I was worried he had gone through you.”

“Neh, just a little of me.” I pulled back from her and turned to find my bag. “Let me get dressed, okay?”

Raelya nodded and turned away. “Andrei went to get you some food. I brought a bottle of water for you.”

“Awesome. I’m starving.” I pulled on some khaki shorts and a plain black tank top. I turned around just in time to see the door open again as Ralof, not Andrei, brought a tray of food into the room. The expression on his face was hard to read, but the wolf in me sank down, embarrassed.

Ralof put the tray on the end table I’d left at the foot of Raelya’s bed and turned to face me. “You should eat. Your body needs fuel after regenerating.” He glanced at Raelya wordlessly and she nodded her head to him and stepped out, leaving me alone with the Alpha. I skirted to the side and sat down on the end of the bed near the food.

Ralof crossed his arms and peered down at me. “So, Andrei told me what happened, but he did not know how it started, so I want to hear it from you.”

I hunched sheepishly. “Jack and I had a disagreement and it went downhill from there?”

Ralof nodded. “Mmhmm. I gathered that much.”

I sighed. “I was heading down for breakfast when he got all in my face and told me to back off of Raelya. I was not in the best of moods, and I might have been a bit snippier in reply than was strictly necessary.”

Ralof frowned as I spoke. “Go on.”

“Then he delivered a thinly veiled threat and my mouth slung some insults of its own accord, completely without my consent?” I grinned sheepishly.

Ralof raised an eyebrow at me. “Dakota…”

I sighed. “I know. I know it wasn’t smart, but he was trying to bully me into backing off of Raelya so he could have her. He was basically saying he doesn’t respect her choices and that he has more of a right to decide who she is with than she does. I don’t stand for shit like that, Ralof. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t in me to bow down to him.” My voice had become angry again as I spoke, and I found myself clenching my fists. I suddenly realized how easily my temper had flared; I didn’t think I’d always been so touchy.

Ralof hmph’d thoughtfully. “Well, I can respect that, and I respect that you stood up for both yourself, and for Raelya.” He let an approving smile touch his eyes before narrowing them down to a serious expression again. “But how did it go from harsh words to claws and blood?”

I rubbed at my hip idly. “Yeah well, about that… I came to my senses about the time Jack slammed me into the wall in a rage and my hand started getting hot.” I fixed Ralof with a pointed stare. His eyes widened minutely and I nodded. “The Hellfire seemed to want to come out in response to his attack, and I realized how dangerous that was to everyone around me, so I tried to tell him we couldn’t fight.”

Ralof sighed and nodded. “And he took that for you trying to talk your way out of it…”

I nodded. “And he called me a coward and started shifting and it all just kinda went downhill from there.”

Ralof groaned irritatedly and paced over to the window. I told him the rest of the story as he stared out into the sunny back yard and I could practically see a headache growing on his face. As I came to the end of my account he glanced over at me. “All right. I will go and talk to Jack.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Ralof. I didn’t mean to bring trouble to the pack. And I’ll pay for Andrei’s truck.”

Ralof softened his expression. “It happens, Dakota. We do our best to keep from in-fighting too much, but we are werewolves. Tempers flare, we fight, and property gets damaged.” He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. “But it is good of you to offer to make it right. I approve.”

I relaxed at his touch and smiled up at him hopefully. “So you’re not going to kick me out of the pack or anything?”

Ralof laughed. “No, Dakota, you don’t get kicked out of the pack for getting into a fight.” He arched an eyebrow at me seriously. “But you can get yourself hurt if you’re not careful, and if Jack truly lost control, the price could have been far more permanent.”

I scowled toward the door. “So what is a misogynistic jerk like him doing here anyway?” I sounded more bitter than I’d intended.

“Dakota, it is a very large pack. You are going to have to understand that everyone will find someone they do not like. It is not my place to tell you another’s story. But I will say this: every wolf here is here for a reason. If Jack was a bad guy, he would not be here.” He fixed me with a serious expression that I met only briefly before nodding and tilting my head slightly to one side, showing my neck, without thinking about it.

“I’m sorry, Ralof. I’m not trying to question your judgment. I trust you.” He smiled at me. “I just… I guess it’s like you say. I found someone I don’t like and he just… really rubs me wrong.”

“Well, as fights go, you know how to pick them, eh? He is only third in all the pack. Which means he is third strongest among us all. You do realize that, do you not?”

I smiled sheepishly. “I guess that’s why he kept trying to get me to bow to his dominance, eh?”

Ralof blinked at me, then groaned with a pained expression. “You’ve been fighting his dominance as well?”

I shrank down a little. “Uh… Yes?”

Ralof pressed his lips firmly and shook his head. “That is part of the problem then. If you are pushing against him in the hierarchy, it is no wonder you came to blows.” He fixed me with a level stare. “You would do much better to accept that he is dominant to you and let that bit of tension slide away.”

I chewed at my lip for a moment as I considered that, then I shook my head, slowly at first, and then very firmly. “I can’t do that, Ralof. I just can’t. I can’t give in to him.”

“Why not?”

“Because of how he spoke about Raelya. I can not bend knee to a man who believes he has the right to control a woman without respect to her own choices. I can not. And I will not. I’m sorry. That is just something I can’t do.”

Ralof sighed. “Then it is not something I can ask you to do.” He was quiet for a moment then he squeezed my shoulder again. “It will most certainly be harder on you this way, and there is nothing I can do to solve that.”

I nodded. “I know. But it’s okay. It’s not your problem. It’s mine, and I can own that.”

Ralof snorted lightly and smiled. “You have a good heart, Dakota.” He considered for a beat then added with a grin, “Maybe not the smartest wolf in the pack… But you are one of the good ones.”

I smiled at him warmly, pride rising in my chest. “Thanks for accepting me as I am, good heart and dumb head and all.”

Ralof gave me a pointed look. “That is part of my job as Alpha. To accept my wolves and care for them, regardless of their flaws.”

I sighed exaggeratedly. “All right, I get it. Ugh.”

Ralof laughed and clapped me on the back before heading for the door. “I need to go talk to Jack.” He glanced back at me seriously. “You may have provoked him in some ways, but he still should have kept his control better than that with a younger wolf. He is well old enough to be more responsible than that, and he will hear it from me.” He put his hand on the door then paused and turned back. “As for Raelya, you do know they have a history, yes?”

I scowled at the floor. “Yes, but Raelya said she ended that a long time ago and has tried repeatedly to make it clear to him that it was over. Apparently, he doesn’t respect her enough to accept her decision on the matter.”

Ralof made a low rumbling sound and nodded. “I will talk to him about Raelya as well.” He sounded very serious and just a little scary when he said that, which made me smile. He opened the door and stepped out, leaving me alone in Raelya’s room. I pulled my legs up onto the bed and tucked into the food Ralof had brought. I was pretty much ravenous by now and I still felt a little light-headed, so I imagined my body really needed the fuel for regeneration.

I was halfway through the meal when Raelya tapped on the door and stuck her head in. “Dakota? Can I come in?”

I laughed through a mouthful of food. “It’s your room, silly. Of course.”

Raelya stepped in and closed the door. “Well, yes, but if you still need to be alone, I can come back later.”

I smiled at her. “You’re too good to me, you know?”

Raelya smiled back at me as she crossed the room to settle in beside me. She leaned her head carefully on my shoulder. “There is no such thing.”

I found myself rubbing my head against hers without even thinking about it. “Is that so? Where’s my hot tub and massage then?”

Raelya laughed softly, climbing onto the bed behind me. I glanced back at her curiously as she laid her hands on my shoulders. “I do not have a hot tub, but…” She started rubbing and squeezing my shoulders and I groaned in instant ecstasy.

“Oh wow, I didn’t expect you to actually…”

Raelya grinned at me and continued her massage, working at my neck and shoulders gently. “You had a rough morning. If I can do anything to make you feel better, it is the least I can do.” She bumped her head lightly against the back of mine. “Especially after the way you stood up for me.”

I glanced back at her. “I thought you thought I was crazy for that.”

Raelya poked my nose lightly. “You are. You most certainly are. But it is incredibly sweet of you all the same.” She massaged my neck quietly for a moment before continuing very lowly, “You stood up to him because you felt he was not respecting me. It is more than I even did for myself.” She laid her head against the back of mine gently and nuzzled my hair very softly. “You are very brave, Dakota.”

“Or very stupid, I know, I know.”

Raelya laughed and shook her head. “I do not buy that you are stupid.”

“Darn it. I guess that means you won’t let me get away with pissing off the centuries-old werewolves anymore, will you?”

Raelya laced her arms around me and hugged me. “It would be wiser of you to avoid that.”

I sighed exaggeratedly. “Okay, I guess I can do that. For you. Because you asked nicely.”

Raelya squeezed me and I hugged her arms to my chest. “How sweet of you.”

I suddenly tensed. “Raelya…”

“Yes?” Her voice was low and cautious.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“About what, Dakota?”

I sighed. “About us.”

Raelya hesitated briefly then asked very quietly, “There is an ‘us’?”

I dropped my head. “I don’t know. I mean… of course there is an ‘us’. We’re something, aren’t we? We’re friends. We’re pack. We’re… obviously something more than that.” I gripped her hand and turned to face her. “I like you far too much to deny that.”

Raelya nodded slowly then glanced aside. “But you are in love with Amorie. So we are not… together.”

My heart hurt again. “Yes.” I admitted painedly. “But I do care about you and there is obviously something very strong between us.”

Raelya nodded again. “It is the bond you formed with me.”

“The bond?”

“When you claimed me this morning.”

I furrowed my brow. “Okay you’re gonna have to explain this.”

“When we struggled for dominance… It was not just your wolf being more dominant than mine that decided it. You know? You are very dominant, but I am not so submissive that I thought you would overtake me so quickly.”

“I’m still not clear on how all the dominance stuff works anyway.”

Raelya nodded. “But you know it determines pack hierarchy and that dominant wolves protect everyone less dominant than them.”

I nodded. “Mmhmm.”

“But it can do more than that. When we test ourselves against one another for dominance, there are connections that we form. Many wolves you test yourself against will simply submit to you because they are more submissive by far and they have no desire to dominate you. Others will fight you and some of those will have hard feelings for a while if you should win.”

“I get that. I’d have had a fit if Jack had dominated me.”

“Despite all of his flaws… That is possibly part of why he didn’t.”

I frowned. “I fought him.”

“I know, but he is very high in the pack. It is unlikely that you are more dominant than he is, Dakota.” I grumbled and Raelya poked me. “He is, as you say, centuries old. Do not be upset by this. It is only truth. And you should not be mad that he did something right. If bending your will to him would have caused unrest in the pack, it would be good of him to let you have time to accept him. That is one thing he did right in all of this.”

I grumbled further. I didn’t want to accept that Jack had virtues. He was a misogynistic bastard and I wanted to hate him right now, not hear what he’d done right. “So what does this have to do with a bond and me claiming you?”

“There are other kinds of bonds that can form between packmates. Particularly… A dominant wolf can claim a less dominant wolf as their own. Somewhat like… a miniature pack within the pack.”

I blinked. “So like… a faction?”

Raelya crinkled her nose. “We try to avoid looking at it that way. It is not about division. It is more about… closeness, friendship, families even. The wolves who bond in this way are very close and they usually work very well together.”

“Okay. So you’re saying I did this to you?”

“Yes. You claimed me, and a bond was formed. It was… fairly obvious that this would happen given how close we have been.”

I smiled mildly. “So other wolves… can they tell this?”

“Not so simply. It is not something you can see or smell. But others can tell it from your behavior with one another.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay. So I claimed you and we’re like a mini-pack within the pack. I can accept that. But I don’t know what to do about—”

“Dakota,” Raelya cut me off gently. “There is nothing you need to do. I accept that you are already taken. I… I can not say that I would not have liked it if I had found you first.” She blinked her eyes softly, fluttering her eyelashes almost shyly. “I care about you very much. But as long as I can be your friend, and as long as we can still be close with one another… I can accept that it is not so.”

I sighed and slumped against her. “Thank you for understanding, Raelya.”

“Of course.” She hugged me softly. “I want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy too.”

“I am. I am very happy to have you as a friend.”

I smiled up at her. “I’m happy to have you as a friend too.”

18

Truth & Reconciliation

I spent the day hunkered down in Raelya’s room, watching TV and eating. She stayed with me, occasionally venturing out to refill our plates from the leftovers down stairs. She seemed to enjoy letting me show her my favorites, so I had decided to introduce her to Sherlock. She enjoyed the witty, clever humor, just as I thought she would. As for me, I never got tired of Benedict Cumberbacht and Martin Freeman. At one point, I wondered idly how long it would take for me to show all of my favorite shows to Raelya in their entirety. The thought made me smile because however long it was, well, we had enough time.

I was resting next to Raelya on her bed a little after sunset when my phone rang, playing the catchy pop song I’d chosen for Amorie’s ringtone. I stared at my phone for a few seconds, gathering the courage to answer it. I took a deep breath and tapped the screen to connect the call. “Hey, Amorie.” Raelya kindly paused the show and slid off the bed, stepping out into the hall.

“Can you meet me at the Brasserie?” Amorie purred into the phone.

Northshore Brasserie? That’s in Knoxville…”

“Well, so am I.” I could hear the grin in her voice, and it only made me feel worse about myself. Great. As far as I was concerned, I owed Amorie a hell of an apology for how inappropriately close I had gotten with Raelya this morning, wolf-feelings or no wolf-feelings. And what had Amorie done? Amorie had gone out of her way to surprise me by making the time to come see me a night earlier than we’d planned.

“Wow. That’s great.” I did my best to put my heart into it. I didn’t want her to think I didn’t appreciate her.

“Oh. It is inconvenient for you, isn’t it?” Her tone was hesitant and edged in potential disappointment.

I pushed my feelings aside as hard as I could and beamed at the phone with full force. “Not at all! It’s just that… I don’t have any nice clothes with me. And I hate to think you came out to see me already and I’m an hour away.”

“I should have called earlier and let you know I was on the way, but… I just wanted so badly to surprise you.”

“I’m definitely surprised, and…” I sighed and let a warm, honest smile creep onto my face and into my voice. “I can’t wait to get there so I can see you. I’ll call a cab and I’ll have to go by my place to change—”

Amorie groaned impatiently. “I do not wish us to have to wait so long.”

I grinned despite myself. “Then why don’t you meet me at my apartment instead. We can order in, and I won’t have to spend half an hour trying to look presentable enough for fine dining.”

“You are comfortable inviting me to your home now, little wolf?” Her voice was soft and hopeful.

“What? Of course I am.” I hopped up and started stuffing my stray clothes back into my bag.

“Well, as I recall, you did not want me to know where you lived at first. I have tried to be respectful of your feelings, ma chérie.”

“Very sweet of you, but we’re a bit past that now. I trust you.” My stomach sank. Now if only you could trust me.

“I am so very glad to hear that.”

I swallowed the sick feeling and zipped up my bag. “I’ll text you the address okay?”

“Wonderful. I will see you soon.”

I stared at the phone for a long moment after the call ended. I felt like a total ass. I should have told Amorie I wasn’t worth her time. I should have told her that I was only showing up so I could tell her the truth and that when I did, she wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.

I called a cab, shouldered my bag, then stepped out of Raelya’s room. I found Raelya and Elisa in the living room, and said my goodbyes. Raelya frowned and asked if I needed a ride. I told her I’d already called a cab, and thanked her for the offer. Raelya nodded, putting on a smile. “All right. Have a good weekend then.”

I smiled back. “Thanks Raelya.” I thought for a second then added, “And hey, I’ll call you if I need a ride home, okay?”

Raelya smiled at that then shooed me off.

On the way, I thought about what I was going to say, how I would approach telling Amorie what a terrible person I was, and how much it was going to hurt when she left me.

The hour-long drive dredged by miserably. I was restless with anxiety, despising the wait more and more the longer it lasted.

When I finally stepped out of the cab, I spotted an expensive-looking black sedan parked near my place. Then I wished I could go back to the miserably slow car ride. But I couldn’t, so it was time to get this over with.

Amorie stepped out of the sedan with a large, white paper sack dangling from her arm, and the smell of steak and garlic hit my nose from ten feet away. My stomach twisted even further. She’d brought me dinner.

Amorie was always beautiful. I’d never seen her dressed in anything less than extraordinarily fine clothing, and her hair was always perfect. Tonight was no exception. She wore a fitted black dress that hugged her curves from her breasts to her hips and ended at her knees. Her silky black hair was pinned up in the back, and her delicate curls cascaded about her shoulders as usual. She strode over to me gracefully and slid an arm around me, pulling me close. “There you are little wolf.” She leaned in and kissed me softly which I returned helplessly, almost desperately. I didn’t want to lose her; being with her felt so right. Why couldn’t I remember this feeling when Raelya was around?

I pulled back reflexively and took a step toward my building. “Come on. Let’s go in.” I grabbed her hand and headed for the door.

Amorie furrowed her brow but followed me into the building and up to my door. I fished out my keys and let us in. As I stepped into the little loft that had been my home for the past several years, I couldn’t repress a shiver. The apartment felt even more dead than it had when I’d packed. Abandoned. Cold. Empty.

I frowned and glanced around, but nothing seemed out of place. Amorie closed the door behind us and crossed to my little table to unburden her arm. “Is something wrong?”

I nodded. “Yeah, just…” I took a few steps into the center of the room and glanced around me. “This place feels so empty.”

Amorie tilted her head. “Oh?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I think it’s just because I haven’t been here in so long.”

Amorie nodded. “Ah. A house is not a home, as they say.”

I tilted my head. “Does it really work that way?”

“It well can, even for the Unawakened. We tend to put ourselves into the place we call our home. If we stop, it can be noticeable.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” I shivered again then did my best to swallow my nerves. “So, Amorie…”

“Yes, little wolf?” Amorie reached into the bag she’d brought and pulled out a couple of foil-wrapped plates-not take-out trays, actual plates-and set them on the table before pulling out an expensive-looking wine bottle.

I stepped over to her and took her hands, pulling her away from her preparations. “We have to talk.”

Amorie frowned sadly. “Something is wrong.”

I sighed and dropped my eyes. “Yeah. Something happened.”

Amorie squeezed my hands. “Dakota, whatever it is, we can work through it.”

I forced myself to meet her eyes. “I cheated on you.”

Amorie closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again steadily. She looked hurt, but I could tell she had already sensed it. Amorie was too good at reading people. She’d just been trying to get me to come out with it. “Tell me what happened.”

I pulled my hands free from hers and paced across the room. “I was rooming with Raelya.”

Amorie sighed softly. “Of course.”

I winced. I really didn’t want Amorie to hate Raelya. I didn’t want the two people I cared for the most to be at odds. “And it was fine until after we went out for the run, then when we came back in, we decided to sleep in wolf-form. We were just cuddling. It’s… wolf stuff—”

“Dakota, I understand that werewolves are very… tactile creatures. You are not the only werewolf I have ever known.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not all it was. We slept like that for a while and it was fine, then I had that nightmare…”

“And you called me…”

“And we, uh…” I blushed.

“And…” Amorie sighed. “And I left you wanting, and you were there with her.”

I dropped my head, feeling utterly wretched. “It’s not like I just went after her instead. I went back to bed and just went to sleep. It was the next morning. I woke up and realized that I was way too close to her and I was really turned on, and… I stopped before anything really happened, but that’s no excuse. I wanted it and I came really close to acting on it.”

Amorie tilted her head. “So, you stopped before you could act on your desires, and… you still feel you have cheated?”

“It’s not the same as sleeping around on you, but hell, if I’d seen you like that with someone else, I’d have lost it. So yeah. Close enough.”

I looked up and Amorie was suddenly in front of me. I hadn’t heard her cross the room. She put a finger under my chin and forced me to meet her eyes. “Dakota, you are very sweet.” My eyes grew wide with surprise as she kissed me softly. She pulled back and slid her arms around my waist and pulled me against her. “I appreciate that you wish to be faithful to me in spirit as well as in body, but…” She thumped my head sharply.

“Ow!” I rubbed my head which stung slightly from her miniature assault.

“If we want this to work, we must maintain reasonable expectations of ourselves and of each other. And Dakota, my love, the standards you are chasing are simply not reasonable.”

I frowned. “Sure they are. Plenty of people are monogamous and faithful.”

Amorie arched her brow at me. “Even if such things truly were common, our situation is not the same.”

I slumped against Amorie and let her hold me up. “If it’s what I feel I should do, does the situation really matter?”

Amorie squeezed me gently. “It does, little wolf.” She pushed me to straighten again and looked me in the eyes. “Listen to me. You are a werewolf.”

“I noticed.”

Amorie smirked. “You are a very new werewolf. You have many feelings to come to terms with, and your situation is quite unusual.”

“How so?”

Amorie blinked at me pointedly. “Dakota, your memories were altered and you forgot what you were. You spent a decade separated from your wolf. You did not have all those years that most werewolves would have to get used to their wolves, to come to terms with the difference between the wolf and the human.”

“How does that matter? It’s still my responsibility to control my behavior.”

Amorie shook her head, sending the little curls that hung down by her face to dancing. “Dakota, no. You are not being fair to yourself. You are asking yourself to instantly control something that every single werewolf must take time to learn to cope with. That is more than anyone could reasonably ask you to do, and it is far more than I am willing to ask of you.”

I blinked at tears in my eyes. “I don’t deserve you, you know?”

Amorie leaned very close until our lips were almost touching. “Fortunately for us, that is not for you to decide.” She kissed me gently and I wrapped my arms around her tightly and kissed her back, slowly and passionately, as the tears in my eyes found their way down my face. I pulled back from the kiss slowly then laid my head down on her shoulder and held her close.

“So you aren’t hurt?” I whispered, barely hopeful.

Amorie petted my back soothingly. “I am not saying that it does not hurt a little to hear of how close you and your packmate have become. And I can not pretend that I am not a little bit jealous of her. But I do not feel that you cheated on me.”

I squeezed her so tightly that I expected her to protest, but being undead meant breathing was less urgent for my girlfriend than for most people. “I’m still sorry, Amorie. I’m so sorry that I hurt you even a little. I never wanted to do that.”

“If it makes you feel better, I forgive you.”

It did, at least a little. I kissed her shoulder. “Then, we’re okay?”

Amorie laughed softly. “I certainly hope so.” I leaned back and met her eyes and did my best to smile. Amorie did a better job at it than I did. “Come, let us put this behind us and have dinner before it is cold.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re eating too?”

Amorie swayed her hip to the side and gave me an utterly delicious expression.

“Oh. Right. Heh.” I shivered mildly as I followed her back over to the table. We put my two little chairs side by side and settled down close together. Amorie opened the wine for me and poured me a glass which she’d apparently also brought from the restaurant. The wine was incredible, sweet and heady, and the first glass did wonders for my knotted stomach and helped to ease the tension from my neck. I uncovered the plates to find steak and garlic mashed potatoes. Amorie knew what I liked and she’d brought me plenty to eat. Donating blood made me hungry, so it was for the best.

The food was delicious, but I worked on finishing it quickly so I could spend the time we had together focused on the wonderful woman who had chosen to love me despite my numerous flaws. As I ate, I just stared at her face, smiled at her pretty blue eyes, and wondered how anyone could ever have doubted that she truly cared about me. Even when I’d struggled repeatedly with temptations and even when I felt I’d been less than a perfect girlfriend, she still cared about me, and she still did her best to make me happy.

They were all wrong about her, I decided. She really did love me. And I told my wolf she would just have to accept that Raelya was our friend, nothing more.

When I’d finished one plate of food and two glasses of wine, Amorie leaned close and brushed her lips against my neck. I didn’t ask her to wait any longer. I tilted my head to the side and exposed my neck, wordlessly inviting my lover to her own delightful feast. Amorie kissed my neck again and then stood and pulled me away from the table, smiling seductively, and lead me to my tiny, disheveled bed. It was nothing like the huge, incredible softness that was Amorie’s bed, but it served its purpose all the same.

Amorie satisfied her hunger, then together, we satisfied the desire her feeding had awakened in both of us. Then we satisfied it again. Then once more for good measure.

19

History Lessons

I pulled my camo-print comforter over the two of us and snuggled into Amorie’s cool side, relaxing happily against her for a long moment and just enjoying the fact that we were together: that she didn’t see my struggles with Raelya as a betrayal, and that she still wanted me with her despite wolf-stuff being hard.

I reflected on the fact that wolf stuff really was harder than I’d expected. Laying here with Amorie, nothing was so complicated. My wolf was quiet, subdued, and generally agreeable with what I wanted. When I was around the pack, no such thing was a certainty, and that complicated everything. Still, as I glanced up at the little apartment surrounding me, there was no question that I needed my pack around me. It had only taken a few days at the pack house for my home to cease to feel like a home to me. Being with pack was just that powerful.

Amorie squeezed me gently and broke the languid silence. “Well, that was satisfying.”

I let out a dazy, happy sound. “Now I’m qualified to sing with Akon.”

Amorie tilted her head. I grinned and reached for my phone, but it was all the way over there on the nightstand and I didn’t want to pull away from Amorie’s side. Amorie flicked her wrist and my phone appeared in her hand. I blinked. “Remind me to ask you about that later.” Amorie grinned. I pulled up YouTube and showed her The Lonely Island’s “I Just Had Sex”.

Amorie snickered at the silly song with me as we snuggled happily. “Sometimes I wish I were more current with popular media so I would understand more of your references.”

I shrugged. “I’m used to people not getting half of what I say. I’m just glad you don’t mind.”

Amorie laughed and shook her head. “I like you just the way you are, little wolf.”

I blinked suddenly. “Speaking of which, I haven’t shown you my little wolf yet.”

Amorie grinned. “Yes, I have been eager to see how cute you are. Well, go on. Show me.”

I grinned. “I have heard I’m a cute wolf.” I didn’t need to undress since we’d already taken care of that part earlier, so I just started shifting. I did my best not to cry out with the pain; we were in an apartment building after all, and I didn’t want anyone calling the police over a “noisy dog” or anything. I also didn’t want to look wimpy in front of my girlfriend.

I managed to come out of the shift with little more than a high-pitched whine and a good shaking-off. I looked up at Amorie with my wolf-eyes and smiled. Then I remembered that wolf-smiles probably weren’t that cute, actually, and closed my jaw again.

Amorie smiled at me, eyes sparkling in the dim light as she reached out to run her cool fingers along my fluffy coat. “Oh, they were right, ma chérie. You are adorable!” She looked me over, dancing her fingers along my fur, petting the top of my head and the sides of my face, and then poking the little dots under my eyes softly. “You have such pretty markings.”

“Grrrngrrlgrr,” I responded ineffectually.

Amorie giggled, then got up onto her knees to wrap her arms around me gently. She pulled me against her and squeezed me softly. “I am so happy for you, Dakota. I can not imagine what it must be like, being finally whole again after so long.”

“Rnnggrrrnngrraa,” I quipped.

Amorie’s chest shook with laughter as she held me. She shook her head as she leaned back to smile at my face again. “I do not suppose we can carry on much of a conversation this way.”

I tilted my head to make the “confused dog” expression, then darted my face forward and licked her squarely across the cheek. Amorie blinked in surprise then laughed and shoved me gently. “Dakota! Ugh.” She wiped at her face, smirking at me despite herself.

I shifted back, falling into her lap with a low cry and gasping for a moment before I managed. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

Amorie petted my hair gently as I recovered from the shift. “You silly wolf,” she said fondly.

I relaxed under her touch, absorbing the comfort of her fingers running through my hair for a moment. Amorie just petted me quietly for several minutes before she finally broke the happy silence. “Now what would you like us to do?”

I stretched and sighed happily. “Talk.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Mm. Lots of things. You. Us. Other people.”

“Where should we start?”

I considered for a moment. There were many things I wanted to know. “Tell me more about what you do. What is so important about your work that it has such a nasty habit of interrupting us at the most inopportune moments?”

Amorie groaned mildly. “I am still very sorry about that. The last time was rather bad, no? Even partially to blame with the… difficulty you had with Raelya afterward.”

“I take responsibility for my actions.” I insisted.

“I know. But I did not make that any easier on you, did I?”

I shrugged. I didn’t believe in giving myself an easy out on this one. I was just glad it was behind us and Amorie hadn’t been too hurt by the whole thing.

Amorie kissed the top of my head. “I do many things. Generally, I run several businesses, and keep the local vampires in line. I manage and expand my mistress’s interests in the local area, handle situations that arise and maintain her presence in the region she has entrusted to my care.”

“So this mysterious mistress of yours. She got a name?”

Amorie hesitated slightly. I might not have caught it if I hadn’t been lying with my head on her chest, but I heard the catch in her otherwise purposeful breath as she paused her breathing to consider her words. “Yes, of course.” She said at last. “Her name is Dreena Black. She is a member of the vampire counsel, and she is very powerful.”

I glanced up at her. “I get it. Not someone I want to mess with.”

Amorie laughed softly. “Ma chérie, if I believed you that crazy, I do not think it would work between us.”

“That bad, eh?”

Amorie stared up at my ceiling fan consideringly. “She is beautiful and terrible, as the old songs say.”

“What’s she look like?”

Amorie glanced down at me and quirked her mouth to the side as if considering, then pulled her cellphone out of nowhere and brought up a picture of her mistress. Dreena Black was a taller, lusciously curved yet slender woman with cherry-red hair and lips red as the rose, as Disney would have said. I might have made the Snow White reference out loud if her hair had been black as ebony. Her perfect porcelain skin could certainly have been called “white as snow” to carry the reference further. Unlike the dated Disney princess, however, she wore a sultry, seductive smile on the most beautiful face I’d ever laid eyes on, and her figure was pure sex. She wore a fine, shimmery red dress that matched her hair and lips, and as I looked closer, I noticed, it matched her bloody-red eyes as well.

I whistled. “Wow.” Amorie gazed at the image for a beat after I glanced up at her face. “Hey, you okay?”

She put the phone aside and smiled at me. “I am. It has been a long while since I saw her last, and I miss her.”

“I thought you said she wasn’t competition?” I teased.

Amorie smiled at me playfully. “Certainly no more so than your Raelya is to me.” I winced at that and Amorie sighed. “I am sorry Dakota. I did not mean it like that. I am just saying that… We are very close. I love her, immensely. She is… perhaps in a way, like family to me. Vampires are not werewolves. We do not form the same kinds of bonds that you form. But we can become very… attached to those we care for.”

“Like with Mira?” I prompted.

Amorie nodded. “Just as Dreena was the one to turn me, I was the one who turned Miralina. She is mine as I am Dreena’s. And we have always been very close.”

“You speak of Dreena as if she were a long-lost lover.” I chewed at my lip a little. “Were you together like that?”

“We were…” Amorie admitted cautiously. “Once. But that was a long time ago. And we will not likely ever be so again.”

“How do you know?”

Amorie smiled at me amusedly. “You have no need to worry about that, Dakota. You are simply going to have to trust me on this.”

“All right.” I rolled to the side and curled my leg across her, turning to face her more. “So you and Mira then? You said before you were never like us, but…”

“We were closer when she was younger.” Amorie seemed to consider her words for a moment. “We were never a couple as you and I are a couple. But it is certainly not uncommon for vampires to be very close with those they turn.”

“So you were lovers, but not in a relationship?” I asked with a tone of confusion.

“We slept together. We were often together as we went about our nights, and we were very close. I love her very dearly. But we did not have a relationship as lovers, not as you and I do.”

“If you sleep together, love each other, and spend your time together… how are you not lovers?” I tried my best not to sound too incredulous. Amorie’s mild shift in expression told me I’d failed.

“Vampires are not like werewolves, little wolf. Nor are we like humans, any more than werewolves are. Our society, and our socially accepted norms are not the same as human society anymore than werewolf customs are. Please try to understand that it is different.”

“I’m really new to the werewolf customs too, you know? I’m not sure I know what’s so different about it.”

Amorie arched an eyebrow at me. “Oh really? Werewolves fight one another to decide who is in charge and maintain power dynamics not seen outside of intimate relationships in human society. You really think there is no difference?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Okay, point.” I rubbed at my hip idly. “Especially after yesterday.” I muttered.

Amorie tilted her head. “What happened yesterday?”

Oh. Crap. I had forgotten to tell her about the fight. “Heh, about that…” I considered the situation and tried to think of a way to explain it that wouldn’t sound like I had done something incredibly dangerous and stupid, but I doubted I could manage that. “I got into a fight at the pack house, that’s all.”

Amorie arched a brow at me. “That is all? You say ‘that is all’ like it is a matter of small concern to get into a fight with a werewolf.”

I grinned sheepishly and mocked out a nervous little laugh. “What can I say… I was defending a lady’s honor.”

Amorie smiled despite herself. “Oh, it sounds like you have a story for me.” She circled her arms around my waist and made a show of snuggling into the bed beside me.

“Sure. Well, it started with the run. Lots of wolves came in for the weekend to run with the pack and there were a lot of them I hadn’t met before. Unfortunately, there was one in particular who rubbed me the wrong way and we got off to a bad start.”

Amorie listened quietly, a soft, happy smile in her eyes. I explained the situation with Jack, how he was treating Raelya, and how I managed to piss him off. Amorie frowned as I described the way he’d threatened me, then gave me a flat expression when I repeated the snarky responses I’d given him against all better judgment. “Dakota, you had to know that was not wise.”

I nodded. “In retrospect? Of course I did. At the time? I guess I didn’t have a sanity meter handy or maybe I’d have reigned it in.”

Amorie shook her head. “I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to be more careful in the future?”

“It wasn’t that I wasn’t being careful. It was that I was angry, and that bastard deserved a lot more than I was capable of giving him.”

Amorie smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up with pride. “Then I suppose I can not fault you for it. Go on.”

I explained the fight, the handful of minutes that had seemed to last an eternity, mixed with the ones that had flashed by in an instant. Amorie’s face twisted in worry and concern as I told of Jack’s claws raking my hide, and the desperate scramble to escape an angry werewolf bent on destroying a whole truck to get to me.

Finally I came to the end of the tale and the punchline I’d come up with to end it on. “So I put it in reverse and slammed on the gas. The truck threw up gravel in his face as I tore down the driveway and tried to turn it around. Just as I was starting to get worried about Jack catching up, Andrei came out of nowhere and slammed into his side, knocking him into the trees. And that’s how I learned to drive.”

Amorie blinked a few times looking baffled. I grinned at her broadly and spread my fingers in a wide gesture and mouthed “ta-da”. Amorie burst out laughing, and squeezed me tightly against her. “Silly little wolf, you could have been killed.”

I hugged her gently. “I know but I learned my lesson.”

“Good. I am fond of you, little wolf. I do not wish to lose you, so please be more careful.”

I smiled at her warmly. “I will.” I kissed her gently and she pulled me close. A few minutes later, I lay back from her wonderful kisses to continue my earlier train of thought. “So vampires are not like werewolves. I get that. But what is your relationship with Mira?”

“I love her. She loves me. We used to be closer, but… I am with you now, so we are not sleeping together anymore.”

I blinked. “Oh. Well now it all makes sense.” Amorie tilted her head. I rolled my eyes. “Of course she hates me.”

Amorie shook her head gently. “I do not believe she hates you. She is just… jealous of you. And it is very much in her nature to be so. But do not misunderstand, what we had was ended for many years before you came along. It is not as if you stole me away from her.”

“She certainly seems to take it as if I did.” I considered the situation for a moment quietly. Amorie played her fingers through my hair, petting at my head tenderly. It felt good, and I could have drifted off like that if I hadn’t desperately wanted to spend every possible waking moment with her.

At length, I finally decided to voice the thoughts I’d been mulling around. “So you said you are not with her like that anymore because you are with me. Does that mean if we were not together, you would be?”

“Do not be jealous, Dakota.”

“I’m not.” I said honestly. “Just answer the question.”

Amorie seemed to consider then nodded slowly. “I might have. In the past year or so, we had been growing closer again. Miralina had begun to calm, and was making a greater effort at being personable again. I had begun to enjoy her company once more. So it is possible.”

“And my being with you… it’s putting a strain on your relationship?”

Amorie glanced down and met my eyes. “What are you getting at, little wolf?”

I sighed. “Just that I don’t want to be the source of strain on a relationship that matters to you.”

Amorie smiled softly and kissed my temple. The soft press of her lips sent a tingle down my spine. “You are very sweet, my dear wolf.” She nuzzled at my head and I nuzzled back at her. The wolf in me stirred just a little, but seemed almost disinterested despite the fact that she typically tended to perk up at wolf-like affection.

“Perhaps…” Amorie began hesitantly. “Perhaps we should consider that there is something more that both of us desire in our lives… and that this is not a problem if we are both willing to accept this fact.”

I glanced up at her and watched her expression. Amorie’s face was carefully neutral, which meant I couldn’t read her at all. “You mean… you don’t want us to be exclusive?”

Amorie raised her eyebrows emphatically. “Oh, no, not that.” She seemed to consider her words. “I am a silly romantic if anything. I prefer being in a committed relationship.”

“Then what are you saying?” I did my best to keep my expression neutral in return, though I had no doubt Amorie would do better at reading me than I did with her.

“Just that… perhaps it would be easier on both of us if we did not consider ourselves… physically exclusive.” Amorie watched my face cautiously.

I laid my head back and stared at the ceiling. I wanted to be adult about this. An open relationship. Lots of people did it these days. And it’s not like I was religious or anything. There was no particular reason for me to be stuck on old school monogamy, and there was certainly no reason why my stomach should be knotting so tightly at the mere mention of the concept, especially when I had inadvertently directed the conversation this way in the first place.

Amorie petted my hair softly. “Dakota?” She asked cautiously. She sounded small and vulnerable. My heart panged and I glanced up at her just in time to catch a fleeting specter of worry in her eyes.

“It’s okay, Am. I’m just thinking about it.” I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Amorie seemed to relax. “You do not have to decide right now. We can consider it. I only thought that perhaps it would be easier on both of us. You would not have to worry about fighting so hard with your wolf over Raelya, and I would be able to comfort my Miralina.”

“It’s reasonable, and I shouldn’t have a problem with the idea.”

“But you do?”

I sighed. “Not really. I’m just afraid.”

Amorie squeezed me gently. “What are you afraid of, ma chérie?”

“Oh nothing really. Nothing I have any right to be afraid of. It’s just… the last person I dated… well, she left her marks. That’s all.” I swallowed hard.

Amorie held me tighter. “Oh, Dakota, of course you have a right to be afraid of being hurt again. There is nothing unreasonable about that.” She kissed my cheek tenderly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I considered that briefly then shook my head. “Not particularly. Not unless you just want to know history.”

Amorie kissed my cheek again. “I would adore to know more about my little wolf.”

I nodded and decided to keep it brief. “Her name was Rhiannon. Her mom was a big Stevie Nicks fan, if you couldn’t guess. I called her Rhi.” I closed my eyes and reluctantly allowed my thoughts to wander back. “She was…” Beautiful, said memory. But considering the woman curled around me at the moment, I couldn’t agree, not really. Pretty, said distance. I couldn’t deny that. But heartache had other words for her. I decided to do my best to remember her fairly.

“At the time, she was beautiful, funny, smart… I met her at Knoxville U when I was a freshman. We ran into each other in the cafeteria, and I asked her about her tattoos. She had so many; turned out, she was a tattoo artist. She was studying liberal arts. I hung out with her at lunch a few times, and I had it bad. She surprised me when she asked me out. I hadn’t even known if she was interested, you know?”

Amorie stroked my hair softly as I spoke. She knew how to keep me feeling safe and warm. It helped the story come out less painfully, for which I was grateful.

“I jumped at the chance to date her; I’d never had a serious girlfriend. I mean I’d wanted to, obviously, but it’s hard being a lesbian in Tennessee. You never know who you can trust and who you can’t. Anyway, it got pretty serious pretty fast. And it was great. We made it to a year, and I was… so in love with her.” I took a deep quavering breath as heartache reminded memory that it hadn’t all been so wonderful.

Amorie went on petting my hair and I found her hand with mine. I needed her comfort for the rest of the tale.

“Then she met Sascha and things started going down hill.”

Amorie frowned and sucked air through her teeth. “She met another girl?”

I shook my head. “No, Sascha was a boy. He was German.”

Amorie blinked. “Oh.” She laughed softly. “America has ruined me. I once would not have assumed…”

I grinned at her. “Yeah well, you win some, you lose some. Anyway, Sascha was also a tattoo artist, and she met him when she started applying for apprenticeships at the local shops. He was only a couple of years older than her, and he accepted her for her apprenticeship so she could work on getting her license. At first it wasn’t bad. They were getting to know each other and Sascha seemed like a nice guy. But it slowly went from Sascha coming over to hang out with Rhi and me after work to Rhi going off to hang out with Sascha instead.”

Amorie frowned sympathetically. “She was cheating on you. This is why you’re so sensitive about fidelity?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know if she was or not. I figure she was. But it doesn’t really matter anymore. Long story short, she left me for the guy, some hard words were exchanged in the end, and she broke my heart.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t think it made me more sensitive; I always believed in being faithful, honestly. I guess, now I just know how much it hurts for someone to abuse your trust like that. So I don’t ever want to do that to someone else. Especially, not to you.”

Amorie smiled at me softly. “I would still say that it made you more sensitive to the matter.”

“Okay, maybe a little.” I smiled at her in return for a few seconds, then heartache and memory ganged up to tug me back into the past. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “She really hurt me. I admit that. But it was more the things she said when she left me than just what she did.”

Amorie tilted her head. “Oh?”

“I think I could have accepted that she met someone else and wanted to move on. But when she left me it wasn’t pretty. Rhi had a hell of a mouth on her, and when she decided to turn it on someone to hurt them, her words were razor sharp.”

“What did she say to you?” Amorie’s voice came out coolly and hard-edged.

I smiled at the protectiveness I read in that tone. “She said she wasn’t a lesbian, that I was just her ‘college experiment’. Claimed that our relationship had never been as deep or as meaningful as it actually was.” I swallowed hard and pride asked heartache to fuck off. “Just pretty much threw everything we had down the drain like so much garbage and flipped on the disposal. I mean, I could accept that it was over, but… it really hurt that she wanted so badly to destroy all the good things we’d had.” I met Amorie’s eyes again, and there was a hard darkness in her expression.

“So, this Rhiannon. She still lives around here, no?”

I blinked and tilted my head. “What are you getting at?”

Amorie put on a perfectly fake smile. “Oh, nothing. Just wondering what became of her.”

I playfully edged away from her. “She got her license and went to work at Sascha’s shop.”

“And she is still there, no?”

“Why do you want to, know?” I mimicked Amorie’s inflection, teasing with the homophone.

Amusement touched Amorie’s eyes. “Oh, because you know, there are only so many tattoo parlors in Knoxville. It would not be difficult to figure out which one is hers.”

I frowned. “What are you thinking, Am?”

“Oh nothing.” Amorie lied. “Just that if you want, I could burn her shop down for you.”

I laughed. “No, Amorie. I don’t want you to burn her shop down.” Amorie’s expression was not humorous. It was very serious actually. I blinked. “I mean, seriously, Amorie. Don’t mess with her. Just let it go.”

Amorie raised an eyebrow seriously. “I do not like how she treated you. I would love to pay her back for it.”

I shook my head emphatically. “Amorie, no. Please. Respect my wishes on this. I don’t want you to hurt her. I just want to finish this conversation and then forget about her again. It’s in the past, and I want it to stay there.”

Amorie sighed and nodded, running the backs of her fingers across my cheek softly. “As you wish, mon amour. I will abstain from delivering vengeance on your behalf.” She smiled deviously. “But if you ever change your mind…”

I kissed her. “I will let you know. Just don’t hold your—”

Amorie grinned at me.

“Ahem. Just don’t count on it.”

Amorie laughed and kissed me again. “Silly little wolf.”

I smiled, nuzzling my head in against her shoulder. “But you love me.”

Amorie nuzzled my forehead softly. “That I do.”

I felt my stomach tightening again as Amorie’s gesture reminded me of Raelya. “We should try the thing.”

Amorie tilted her head. “The thing?”

I nodded. “The open relationship thing.”

Amorie squeezed me gently. “Are you sure you will be comfortable with it?”

I shook my head. “Not sure. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? We’d both be happier. And it’s not like sex is really the most important thing in a relationship.”

Amorie nodded. “There are far more important things.”

I nodded. “And if we don’t like it—”

“If either of us should change our mind, we can call it off immediately.”

I nodded again. “Right. So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t give it a try.”

Amorie smiled at me playfully. “You sound as if you are trying to convince yourself, Dakota.”

I laughed. “Maybe I am.” I suddenly grinned. Amorie’s eyes sparkled as if she detected my incoming joke. “I mean, I’ve tried Amorie, but I’ve never tried poly-Amorie.”

Amorie erupted into tinkling laughter, pulling me tightly against her chest. I giggled into her hair as she held me close. We found each other’s mouths and spent our breath wisely.

Amorie stroked my hair back from my face as the giggles finally tired themselves out. “Come now, let us speak of happier things.”

I grinned at her. “That sounds like a plan. So what about you? What’s your backstory?”

Amorie’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “My backstory?”

“Yeah, your backstory. I know you’re from France; I figured that out by myself. So tell me about the life and times of Amorie the vampire.”

Amorie laughed softly. “You are right, of course. I was born in France—”

“In the middle ages?” I grinned.

“Amorie shook her head. “It was over two centuries ago. I was born to a poor family in the country. We had a farm—”

“Woah, you grew up on a farm? You?” I pointedly eyed her up and down, then shook my head with playful disbelief.

Amorie smirked. “I did indeed, but it was never my idea.”

I laughed. “Sorry, go on.”

Amorie smiled at me warmly. “My life did not begin until I met with my mistress, Dreena Black. I still remember much of the fates of my mortal sisters, long ago... Married off at young ages, or their beauty was stripped from them by long years of hard toil, working the lands.” She laid her head back and gazed up at the ceiling. I laced my hand with hers and rested back against her shoulder, listening to her story. “It is perhaps ironic, but the saying always comes to mind: ‘There, but for the grace of god, go I.’”

“Dreena happened through our lands while I was still rather young. She seemed, to my eyes, surely a princess, or something of the sort, royalty in a grand carriage with many attendants. Whatever happened to cause her to look out the window and see me in those fields... well, suffice to say that without that fortune, I would not be here today. She saw something in me, even in that glimpse, that she wanted to preserve, to keep. And she did just that.”

I pictured a beautiful, young Amorie standing in a field of crops, hoeing at the ground as a carriage came to a stop nearby. The beautiful red-haired woman from Amorie’s phone peeked out as Amorie looked up, dressed in simple clothes, her hair bound in a cloth. My vivid imagination ran away with the scene, and I pictured her cheek smudged with dirt for good measure.

“The world was torn by war at the time, as you may recall. The American Revolution had begun by the time I was ten, though we would not feel the repercussions of it for many years still. However, the French Revolution began about the time I was turned. We were still in the area, despite having traveled all around eastern Europe as she was beginning to educate me. And that's when war caught up to us.”

I blinked as the idyllic farm scene was scattered by old war-movie bomb sound effects and dusty clouds poofing up in the background. I sighed and glanced up at Amorie. “Wait, but what happened when she first found you? I mean, you kinda skipped from her appearing at your house to years later. How did you end up being turned? How did she even talk you into going with her? Why’d you skip all of that?”

She smiled, with perhaps a touch of sadness. “Because, ma chérie, that's how the memory goes.” She brushed her fingers gently against my hair. “In the grand scheme of things, my mortal lifespan passed quickly, and I only reached maturity once it was gone. It was not hard for her to talk me into departing with her, or even into allowing her to turn me. A life of riches, of power, of adventure and knowledge? With the most beautiful woman I had ever seen beside me? Grubbing in the ground for turnips could hardly compare, glamorous though it might have been.” She smirked at me.

I laughed. “Man, I hate turnips. In that case, I guess I’d have chosen the pretty girl too. So what about your family? Was it hard to leave them?”

“My parents were not so hard to leave. Devout Christians both, my father made no secret of his feelings about having so many female children, and my mother was barely a presence at all, most times.” She squeezed my hand. “It was not as if I did not care for them, my mother at least. I believe she loved me, in her own way. But, in the end, others have meant far more to me, had more impact on who I became, and I am the better for it.”

“What about your sisters?” I squeezed her hand.

“My sisters... I cared for them, but I could not deny myself my future in protest of their circumstances. Dreena did not see in them what she saw in me, and I was not willing to lose the opportunity put before me.”

“I don’t blame you.” I pulled her hand to my mouth and kissed her knuckles softly. “Did you ever see them again?”

“I eventually visited them again, years later. Tracked them down, helped them toward better lives. I did what I could for them. Then I let them go.”

I squeezed her hand tightly, then rolled to the side and hugged her instead. “So you went with Dreena and she turned you and you all lived happily ever after. Except there were wars. I imagine the wars weren’t so great.”

Amorie nodded thoughtfully. “War can indeed be terrible, ma chérie. Our part in it was small, really, in the grand scheme of things. Dreena intended to keep us out of it entirely at first, but it did not work out as planned. The Templar used the cover of the French Revolution and the overthrowing of the nobility to hunt and kill many vampires of noble lineage in and around France, even wiping out the entirety of one bloodline. My mistress has never cared much for the Templar.”

“Yeah, I’m not a fan either. Two of ten, would not hug.”

Amorie laughed brightly, filling the room with the melodic sound of her happiness. I flashed her a grin, but anger flared deep down as I recalled Raelya’s poor wrists. She squeezed my hand again as if sensing my agitation. “In our case, my mistress responded by waging war on the Templar right back, mostly by herself. She kept me safely out of the way, except where appropriate for… educational purposes.”

“Good for her.” I muttered irritably. The wolf had stirred uneasily, then settled back down just as quickly, which I felt was somewhat odd. I’d gotten used to her being more active than she had been tonight.

“Mmhmm. My mistress began by using the same cover of the revolution to kill Christian priests by the dozen. An act which immediately alerted and drew the attention of the Templar. Once she had their attention, she then turned the slaughter on them instead, killing hundreds at least.

I whistled. “That’s pretty scary, Am. Did you know? I mean about the priests? They were innocent, right?”

Amorie laughed softly. “Ma chérie, there are few people who are truly innocent. The truth is, they would kill us if they could. If they knew.”

I chewed at my lip a little, considering that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea, but I had to admit that I had no idea how dangerous those priests had been to the vampires of the times either. I’d heard some scary things about witch hunts, the Inquisition and the like, and if anything, people were just as scary as any monster I’d ever heard of. Besides, Amorie had a point. “If one vampire could kill hundreds of Templar, no wonder they wanted to kill the vampires off.”

“The scene was quite different before my Mistress came. The Templar would hunt us during the day, and in our lairs with fire and light and emblems of Christ, then retire to their sanctified strongholds. My mistress, however, is not so easily hunted nor deterred. As I am much more than an average vampire, my mistress is far more than I. They fear her, you know?”

I glanced up to meet her eyes. “Good for her.” I repeated with feeling. “I’m new to this, but crazy assholes running around murdering innocent people for being different has always been one of my buttons. Go figure.” If there was one thing I’d learned so far from my education on the supernatural world, it was that people were people, and monsters were monsters, and their “species” had little to do with it.

“They have propagated human ignorance, repressed science, murdered Fae children… I am not fond of the Templar at all. However, we must keep in mind that it is an organization made up of individuals, and that blanket of sins should not, perhaps, fall upon all of them. Remember the one you met while abroad recently?”

“Yeah. And she seemed pretty cool. But she had also left them for being crazy assholes. She said they’d lost sight of their cause. I wonder how someone who feels that way could have gotten involved with them in the first place if they’ve been at this for centuries.”

“It is not always so clear, Dakota. They defend humanity; they save lives. Perhaps it is not so easy to see their crimes from the inside. I do not know.”

The wolf stirred again as I grumbled irritably. “Yeah… I get ya.” I wanted to leave off the topic so I searched quickly for another question to redirect the conversation with. “So, Amorie is a pretty name. You know what’s funny? We’ve been dating for weeks and you’ve never even told me your last name.”

Amorie laughed softly. “Because I do not have one, ma chérie.”

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Did they not do surnames back then? I mean, I was pretty sure they did surnames back then. Marie Antoinette. Louie the Eighth. Those are surnames, right?”

Amorie laughed again and poked my nose. “Silly wolf.” She smiled at me quietly for a moment. “I am pleased you assumed Amorie to be my real name.”

I blinked. “It’s not?”

“Of course not. It was given to me by my mistress. She named me for what she saw in me. My mortal parents were not so imaginative.”

I grinned mischievously. “Ah, named you something dumb and you hated it?”

Amorie looked amused. “Something like that. My old name—”

“Will you tell me if I guess?” I waggled my eyebrows.

Amorie pretended to consider it for a second then told me flatly, “No.”

I laughed. “Come on… It can’t be that bad.”

“I am sorry ma chérie, but that name died long ago, like the person who once held it. They have no place in this world, not anymore.”

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully. “That’s a mighty good excuse. ‘I can’t tell you my name because I was dead at the time.’”

Amorie laughed again. “I am afraid I must insist, little wolf. To grow, we must let go of the past. It is something that is important to me.”

I smiled. “All right, fine. Then what does Amorie mean? Love something right? Or something love? I know so much French.”

Amorie smiled softly. “Amorie, in German, means ‘industrious leader’. In French, it is a shortened version of Amorette which means ‘little love’, which is more the meaning my mistress put into it, however, I cannot say that either is inappropriate. I am very industrious.”

I kissed her on the cheek. “Yes, you are, and it sucks.”

“My apologies, little wolf. Would that it could be different, but perhaps without me, the world would spiral out of control, no?”

“I have no idea how serious you are.”

Amorie waggled her eyebrows at me playfully. “Best we do not find out then, hmm?” She kissed me softly on the lips. I caught her head with my hand and pulled her back for another before she could escape. Amorie indulged me, then rested her forehead against mine. “Is there anything else you would like to know?”

I chewed at my inner lip. There was one thing bothering me about Amorie’s story, but I wasn’t sure I really wanted to ask about it. I sighed as my curiosity got the better of me. “So Dreena turned you, killed a bunch of Templar, and everyone lived happily ever after. Except you’re here now, and she’s… wherever she is. How come you’re not still with her?” I really hoped I wanted to know the answer.

“I hear your hesitance, little wolf. Rest assured, that path is long closed to me. We did not have some grand falling out or anything of the sort. More…” Amorie sighed, her face falling a little. “My mistress has a tendency to love very intensely, very deeply, and then to move on.”

“I’m sorry. It’s selfish of me to drag that conclusion out of you.” I turned my face away, feeling bad for being so insecure.

“I disagree. It is fair for you to ask if there is competition.” Amorie touched a finger gently to my chin and brought me back to her. “And it is understandable that you are concerned. You were hurt before by one who left you after you had committed very deeply.” She kissed my forehead softly. “I can not say that I do not still love her, Dakota. She is my mistress. She saved me from a terrible, short existence and replaced that slow death with long, happy years, thus her presence in my life, and in my heart is irreplaceable.”

I chewed at my lip again and Amorie pressed a finger to my lip as if acknowledging my tell. “But, I love you, my little wolf. There is room in my heart for different types of love, and the love I have for Dreena is not a threat to the love I have for you.”

I kissed her finger. “I swear, I don’t mean to be territorial.” I narrowed my eyes playfully. “But if I have to, you know I’d fight for you.”

Amorie smiled softly. “Fortunately for us both, that should never be needed.”

I laughed. “Yeah, yeah, hundreds of Templar, I get the message.”

Amorie grinned wickedly. “Oh, she has killed far, far more than that by now.”

I exaggerated a nervous grin. “So!” I said loudly. “How about those Dodgers?”

Amorie laughed and kissed me, and for a while, we had very little breath to spare for speaking.

20

Sunrise

I smiled as I rested my head against Amorie’s bare chest, her body now almost warm from absorbing my heat through extended touching. I gazed at her happily as she gazed back at me. Her eyes flicked to the side and she sighed. “As much as I despise to admit it, I am going to have to go soon.”

I pouted as adorably as I could manage. “Noooo. Don’t go. I’ll miss you too much.”

Amorie smiled at me gently. “I truly must, ma chérie. If I am to get home safely before the dawn, I must leave very soon.”

“How long will it take you to get home?”

“At least an hour between the flight and the drive, and I prefer to have… adequate time to spare.” The faint hesitation in Amorie’s voice reminded me of the time I’d stayed with her in Nashville, of the fear I had seen in her eyes at the break of dawn.

“All right.” I relented easily, not wanting to cause her discomfort. “I guess you can go then, if you really want to.” I pouted playfully as I sat up and stretched. I had been far more active in the past few hours, than I usually was, and my muscles were somewhat sore. I glanced at my nightstand and the digital alarm clock that rested on it then blinked. “Uh, you’re not going off my alarm clock are you?”

Amorie sat up as well and slid her arms around me gently. “I was. Why?”

I grimaced. “Because it’s wrong. I haven’t reset it since I got home, and the alarm light is off which means the power went out at some point.”

Amorie went still for a few seconds, unnaturally still to a degree that was still a little freaky, despite my familiarity with the habit. She tensed as she drew in a breath, then sprang to her feet so quickly her form blurred to my eyes. I flopped over as I lost my balance.

Amorie retrieved her phone out of thin air. Her eyes widened as she flicked on the display. “Oh no,” she breathed quietly; I heard fear in her voice.

I frowned as I sat back up. “You don’t have time to make it, do you?”

Amorie met my eyes, her face illuminated by the phone’s backlight. “Not… safely.”

“It’s okay. You can stay here with me.”

Amorie shook her head slowly. “Much as I would love to stay with you, Dakota… It is not safe.” She glanced around my apartment once then shook her head firmly. “No, I can not. I must go.” She gestured once and her clothing repopulated itself onto her body. “I must go, now.” She strode toward the door.

“Hey!” I hopped up and chased after her, catching her arm as her hand rested on the doorknob. “You said you can’t get there safely.” I frowned at her worriedly. “Wouldn’t it be better to stay than to risk not making it in time?”

Amorie gazed at me for a few seconds before glancing around the apartment again and shaking her head. “Too many windows. I can not abide the sunlight, Dakota. I can not rest here.”

I glanced at my single window, raising an eyebrow at her declaration, then shook off the urge to make a snarky comment as I realized that Amorie was starting to panic; she needed me to be serious right now. I lifted both hands toward her. “Hey, it’s okay! I can fix it!” I hurried over to a plastic chest of drawers and rummaged for tools, suddenly grateful for the things I had chosen to leave behind for moving day round two. I found a roll of duct tape and a staple gun, then rushed over to my kitchenette, opened a drawer and pulled out a box of aluminum foil. I hurried over to the window beside my bed, pushed the curtains open and raised the blinds. Amorie watched me hesitantly as I unrolled long sheets of foil and taped them over the glass, being careful to cover every inch of the window and overlapping the frame.

After I was satisfied that the glass was covered with two solid layers of foil taped off on the edges and seams with duct tape, I lowered the blinds, closed the curtains and taped them together down the middle. Then I took the staple gun and started stapling the curtains to the wall all around the frame. Amorie stepped toward me cautiously, watching me work.

When I’d finished stapling the curtain to the wall, I edged it out in duck tape for good measure, then turned to Amorie and gestured to my window proudly. “Pan pa-ka pan! How’s that?”

Amorie stepped over and inspected the window carefully. As she did, her expression softened, though I noticed that the tension in her shoulders remained. “You were very thorough.” She looked touched. “I really do not have time to get home safely, do I?”

“It’ll be okay, Amorie. The window is covered. I was super careful.” I hopped down from the bed and took her hand gently. “You’ll be okay. I promise.”

Amorie’s eyes rimmed with tears— No, though it was rather dark now that I’d reduced the room’s illumination to the dim light of my open laptop on the desk nearby, I realized that the ‘tears’ were opaque and dark. What’s more, I recognized the smell of blood.

I pulled Amorie against me and hugged her tightly. “Hey—”

She looked down at me suddenly. “Thank you.” Her eyes were still fearful, and her shoulders still tense.

I petted her back softly as I held her. “It will be all right, Am. I will watch over you. Nothing will happen. I won’t let anything hurt you, I swear.”

Amorie nodded slowly, then closed her eyes and drew in a breath which she let out very slowly.

I stepped back from her. “Wait here.” I darted over to my closet and dug out all my extra blankets, grateful again that I’d left some things behind. Amorie watched as I hurried over to the bed, stapled some twine to the wall, then ran it across the bed and stapled it to the other wall. She raised an eyebrow as I stapled one end of a blanket to the wall and then ran it across the twine.

I worked for a few minutes more, stapling and tying the blankets in place, before stepping back from my creation and presenting to Amorie the most epic blanket fort ever. “My lady, your suite is ready.”

Amorie appeared beside me between one blink and the next. I startled slightly, but she caught me up in her arms and kissed me deeply, and I ran right out of complaints. I gave her a dazey, happy smile as she broke the kiss. “You are the sweet here, my little wolf.”

I grinned at her pun. “I do what I can.” I softened my expression and squeezed her gently. “Will you be okay now?”

Amorie closed her eyes for few seconds then nodded and smiled at me. “I can not say that I will not still be somewhat… afraid. But I will be okay.”

I drew Amorie into the blanket fort, and she settled down on the bed with me. I straightened the tangled sheets and comforter, and pulled them up over us. As I settled into her arms, Amorie kissed my cheek. “You know it is not only the dawn, no?”

I tilted my head. “It’s not?”

Amorie shook her head. “It also takes a great deal of trust to rest away from my home, to rest where I am not protected by one such as Miralina. It takes a great deal of trust…”

I kissed her softly. “You can trust me, Amorie. I would never let anyone hurt you.”

Amorie held me tightly and closed her eyes. After a long moment of silence, she whispered, “I believe you, little wolf.”

21

Parlor Tricks

I watched over Amorie from dawn until dusk. I kept my vigil as she slept, sometimes reading, sometimes dozing alongside her, sometimes browsing the internet with my laptop or watching videos online. I started to put on headphones for that so as not to disturb Amorie’s rest, but decided against it. If anyone did decide to crash our little slumber party, I wanted to hear them coming.

From what Ralof had told me, werewolves usually had sharper than average senses which would become sharper still when the werewolf Awakened. Our senses were sharper still in wolf or varulf form. My hearing had always been sharp, and had seemed kinda crazily sharp since I’d regained my inner wolf, but headphones would block out any subtler noises, so that was a no-go.

I could hear my shows just fine at a minimal volume anyway, but after a while, I turned it up just a bit when it occurred to me that Amorie slept like the dead, pun totally intended.

The day lazed by uneventfully and when the sun finally nestled into the horizon, I lay next to my lover’s corpse, stroking her cheek tenderly until she suddenly gasped and startled back to life. “Shh… It’s all right. I’m here.”

Amorie blinked up at me and her expression relaxed into a soft, warm smile. “Of course you are, my little wolf.” She leaned up to kiss me and the quiet unease lingering in my stomach finally eased.

“So I’ve been sitting here with you all day long, which gave me plenty of time to remember one of the questions I’d been meaning to ask you last night.”

Amorie tilted her head, smiling languidly. “Oh? And what is that?”

“How do you make things appear and disappear out of nowhere like…” I flicked my hand in the air, mimicking how Amorie had retrieved her phone the night before. “Is it some kind of vampire powers?”

Amorie’s eyes lit up mischievously. “You mean like this?” She flicked out her phone in just the same manner. I sensed the pulse of magic in the air, though the feeling was still new to me and so unfamiliar that I doubt I’d have noticed if I hadn’t known she was doing something magical at the time.

I grinned. “Yeah. How’d you do that?”

Amorie gestured again and her phone was gone. “Magic. Simple conjuration.”

“You mean it’s just regular magic? Not some kind of vampire thing?”

Amorie nodded. “Simple sorcery I have learned like anyone else could.”

I tilted my head considering that. “Vampires can learn magic on top of already being stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and sexier than everyone else? Isn’t that just a little O.P.?”

Amorie tilted her head. “O.P.?”

“Overpowered.”

“I am not sure I follow, little wolf.”

I grinned. “You know, like in a video game, when the creators fail to balance the classes properly. Like why did they make vampires so much more awesome than everyone else?”

Amorie smiled, amused. “Ah, I get it now. Perhaps it is indeed a little O.P. as you say. But to be fair, werewolves can learn magic too and your kind is also stronger than a human overall.”

I grinned. “You mean I could learn to conjure my phone out of my pocket too?”

Amorie laughed softly. “I use it for more than that, silly little wolf.”

“I never see you use it for anything else.” I accused.

Amorie nodded. “I am subtle with my use of it, but you have seen me use it for more than the phone before.”

“I have? When?”

Amorie smiled at me impishly and reached out into the air, flicking her hand in a simple flourish, and just like that, she was holding a sword. I startled slightly and glanced up at her curiously. “I know you have seen it before. I recall that I drew it the night you were assaulted by Cuthbert behind that club.”

I remembered that moment now. Amorie had seemed to draw the sword from nowhere and then it had vanished just as surely. Thinking back, I figured I’d have paid more attention to the sword’s appearance and subsequent disappearance if I hadn’t been so newly Awakened, and maybe also if I hadn’t been pinned to the wall by a vampire at the time. “Right. So you also use it to carry a sword around subtly. That’s pretty neat.”

Amorie nodded, smiling. Her arm twitched as she started to put the sword away, but I lifted my hand in protest. “Wait! Can I see it?” She smiled and laid the blade to the side, showing me the length of it. It was a long, faintly curved, single-edged sword that seemed to be forged from a single piece of metal with no attachments like a pommel or separate grip. The handle was wrapped in black cord from just below a small notch in the metal that might could have served as an itsy-tiny guard, down to the end of the blade which again notched outward just slightly, as if to replace a pommel. The shape of the blade reminded me of some of the Asian ones I’d seen ninjas carrying. You know, like in movies and stuff. No one knows what real ninjas carry; they can’t be seen.

I whistled. “She’s beautiful.” I reached out to touch the blade, then hesitated. I’d been to the Smoky Mountain Knifeworks a few times before. I was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to touch the blades because of rust or something. Amorie immediately proved me wrong by laying her fingers under the flat of the blade as she turned it slowly for my perusal. “So why do you have a sword, anyway?”

Amorie smirked at me. “Why do you think I would have a sword, ma chérie?”

I grinned. “For saving beautiful damsels in distress from vicious ugly vampires with bad fashion sense?”

Amorie smiled and nodded. “Like all weapons, a sword only really has one purpose: ending lives. And to that purpose, Melhir is especially talented.”

“Especially? Why?”

“Man created weapons as a servant to their need to destroy others, whether in defense, or conquest. Supernaturals are no different.” Amorie raised her free hand and long, sharp, dark talons overtook her manicured nails, growing forth a full inch from her fingertips. “Much as your other forms come equipped with weapons designed by nature, so do we.” She smiled at me broadly, her eyes dancing with a dangerous humor, and her lips parted to show her wickedly sharp fangs. “But ours are not quite so formidable. A good blade or even occasionally a gun, still helps.”

I grinned in reply, then touched my tongue to the dull tip of my canine. “You think ours are better, eh?”

Amorie laughed. “Well, perhaps not in this form.” She poked me gently. “But to answer your question, my Mistress instructed me and assisted me in forging my blade, Melhir, to serve as hopefully the only weapon I would ever need. Its composition contains traces of every metal and material known to serve as bane to any type of supernatural being.”

I eyed the blade suspiciously. “Eheheh… Thanks for the warning.” I retracted my fingers pointedly from where I’d reached out to touch it.

Amorie smirked. “Silver, Cold Iron, Holy Dust—”

“Garlic?” I grinned cheesily.

Amorie shook her head. “I need to be able to wield the weapon myself. And garlic juice is not the best for quenching a blade.”

I laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to quench it in the blood of your enemies?”

“Oh that I have done, many times.” Amorie’s eyes sparkled with the memory of violence, violence she had definitely appreciated at the time. I shivered slightly. The very real edge of her darker side was peeking out from beneath the glamour of perfect refinement I was so used to seeing. One part of me was nervous to draw it out, but mostly, I was glad to see her relaxing with me to that degree. I’d held no delusions about Amorie’s darker nature. She was a vampire, after all, but seeing it was a different matter.

“But you said that Melhir is especially talented at ending lives. Why so?” I prompted.

“You will learn soon enough; every supernatural has some weakness, something you can use against them to end their life. With some of the ancient ones, it is not even possible to kill them without some such bane. All of those things, we distilled into Melhir when we made her. While she may not cut through the defenses of, say, a werewolf, as easily as a blade made purely of silver, she can still defeat them. Not just any old sword could say the same.”

“What’s it mean?” I gazed at the sword as I tried to imagine Amorie, beautiful and soft, hammering a sword with the aid of the equally dainty woman from her photo.

Amorie shook her head slightly. “No exact translation. And the true meaning is mine alone to know. But the word is related somewhat to menhir and—”

“Men? Here?” I grinned cheesily.

Amorie chuckled. “Dead men, perhaps.”

I laughed with her then trailed it off into a nervous sound that made Amorie smile. I was so glad she “got” me and didn’t just think I was crazy. “I’ve never heard that word before.”

“Menhirs are standing stones. It is an old French word.”

“Why’d you name the sword after those?” I tilted my head sideways, trying to relate it to the shape of standing stones I’d seen on Wikipedia.

“Because that was its name.”

I nodded, having expected something like that. “You said a cross between that and something else?”

“Many things. Older things.”

“Secret things?” I grinned and waggled my eyebrows.

Amorie’s eyes gleamed as she smiled at me. “Mysterious, secret, older things.”

I leaned closer, grinning broadly. “Just like you?”

“Just like me.” Amorie pulled me closer with one arm and kissed me gently as the sword vanished with a flourish of her hand.

I all but melted into her arms and groaned out a happy little sound. My head swam with the wonderful feeling of being close with her. I would have simply melted on into her embrace, but for the burning question still rolling around in my head. I pulled back just in time to evade capture by her sultry smile. “Wait, so it’s just simple conjuration, as you say. So anyone could learn this? Vampires, werewolves, me?”

Amorie smirked and nodded. “And humans, and Fae, and anything else that I am aware of.” I grinned excitedly, lifting my fists in front of my chest until Amorie tilted her head. “You are interested in learning magic, Dakota? I had not expected you to walk that path.”

I grinned. “Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t want to learn magic if they could? I mean come on! That’s too awesome!”

Amorie nodded, smiling. “But it is a craft like any other, an art that must be mastered through much work and years of practice. It would take away time from learning other things that you are perhaps better suited for.”

I pouted. “Aww, so I can’t learn magic without giving up points in my werewolf talents?”

Amorie shook her head, smiling amusedly. “You would have to put time and effort into learning magic. Time and effort you could put instead into mastering those abilities that come naturally to a werewolf.” Amorie looked me over consideringly. “However, most older creatures do learn at least rudimentary magic, so you could certainly do so eventually if you truly wish.”

“But I want to learn magic noooow,” I whined playfully.

Amorie grinned toothily. “Well, then learn a little magic, ma chérie. I am not trying to dissuade you, only warning you that there is work involved.” She laced her hand with mine and lifted our clasped hands, eying them speculatively. “It would potentially benefit you more than most young werewolves, to learn at least a little.”

I nodded, leaning my head in against her shoulder. “I do already have lessons lined up for learning to control my Hellfire. Nita assures me that controlling Hellfire and magic is not so dissimilar.”

“So it might not be a waste in your case to pick one school of magic and learn the basics.” She nodded to herself, as if deciding to agree with the idea.

“Yay!” I mock-cheered. “I can learn to conjure my cellphone from my pocket!”

Amorie grinned at me toothily. “I am sure you will think of cleverer uses for it than that, little wolf. You are so very clever, after all.”

I returned her grin, and wrapped my arms around her. “Clever enough for you at least?”

Amorie nodded, pressing her lips against mine once more. “I suppose you will do.” I laughed against her mouth as she kissed me, rolling against me until I lay beneath her. Amorie settled her light form above me, her hair dripping down slowly, like wax on a candle, until it spread around my head. I smiled up at her happy expression, her shining, loving eyes, and I wished she could stay here with me forever. I must have let the disappointment that crept into me show in my eyes because her expression faltered. “What is wrong, ma chérie?”

I pressed my lips up into a smile. “I just wish Nashville wasn’t so far away.”

Amorie smiled, seeming relieved. “Is that all?” I nodded. Amorie seemed to consider then leaned down to kiss me again. “I will see what I can do.”

I laughed, but her kisses stole my breath, and then I was too distracted to wonder about her mysterious proclamation any more. It was for the best, really. I didn’t dare hope that she would move on account of me. Not with knowing how important her business and affairs were to her, and she’d said she needed to live in Nashville for that.

Still, some little part of me hoped it meant something good would happen for us soon. Anything brought us together more would be more than welcome to me.

22

Changes

Amorie returned to Nashville with hours to spare. Despite the fact that I’d provided her with a safe and comfortable haven for the day, I could tell the scare had affected her. It was obvious in her eagerness to get home well before the dawn. I didn’t blame her, even if I’d have preferred to spend more time with her. She left me at the airport with a tight embrace, and a loving kiss. I watched her climb into her private jet and disappear into the midnight sky. She’d promised to improve her availability and to do something about the constant interruptions. For now, that would have to do.

Besides, I had work to do as well. SII had officially accepted me into their ranks as a trainee, and I had to get situated with the local office. Adrian called me on Monday morning to invite me back to the Nashville office to complete some paperwork, then called me back to apologize, saying I could get the forms from the Knoxville office and fax it over instead. I had to suppress a chuckle at Adrian’s old-fashioned habits; best not to tease my boss too much right off the bat.

Nita called me Monday afternoon and informed me she was in town with my paperwork. I caught a ride to Knoxville with Andrei who was heading into town anyway to pick up some parts to finish fixing his truck. I paid for the repairs out of my savings. It was the least I could do after leading a ravenous werewolf through the door, and bleeding all over his upholstery.

Andrei laughed it all off and reassured me that he wasn’t upset about the truck. He even offered me driving lessons that didn’t involve running for my life. I figured learning to drive was a bit overdue, and now that I had no real reason to avoid it, I accepted his offer.

We met Nita at a little hometown barbecue restaurant. It was only mid-afternoon, so it wasn’t too crowded, being a bit late for the lunch crowd and early for the dinner rush. We settled into a booth with barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, and a barbecue pork salad in Nita’s case, and proceeded to discuss the merits of white barbecue sauce versus traditional varieties. We ate, and filled out my paperwork as a team effort which was mostly Nita writing, Andrei offering humorous responses, and me telling her the actual answers.

Nita said she’d fax my paperwork in; she was heading to the Knoxville office anyway to finalize her transfer so we parted ways. I accompanied Andrei to the auto-parts store, then we picked up some milkshakes and headed home. We spent the drive playing a long game of “Hot or Not” which was pretty fun since we both liked girls.

Raelya drove me out to Knoxville the next day so I could settle my lease and move remainder of my belongings from the apartment. She bought me lunch in town and I bought her a milkshake for the drive home. She helped me carry my things inside, then spent the afternoon helping me settle into my new room in the pack house. We hung posters on the wall, and replaced the curtains with my galaxy-print blackout curtains. The blackout curtains were important to someone who worked night shift, but now they had itsy-tiny holes all around the edges from when I’d stapled them to the wall in the name of love. It actually made them look even more awesome since the tiny, back-lit pinpricks looked like stars on the galaxy print. It was almost cool enough to seem intentional.

When all was done, I laid on my bed next to Raelya who had brought a book to read while I read up on my training materials. Technically, these were just the basics of the Supernatural world and something any newly Awakened would be given for elementary education, but I liked to think of it as pre-training. It motivated me to get through it all despite my slow reading pace. Raelya kept me company and brought us lunch and drinks. I loved having her close to me, and it was wonderful feeling like I would never be alone again now that I was here with my pack, but my feelings for her were still confusing.

Amorie had told me it was all right for us to be close, and I had agreed that it was all right for her to be close to Miralina, but despite all the logic and reasoning, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about all of that. I tried to tell myself it was okay. We were both adults; we had agreed that what we truly wanted from each other was romantic exclusivity and that sexual monogamy was not required. We’d made rules and set boundaries, and in the end, we were both satisfied with the plan. That didn’t mean it wasn’t somewhat awkward to me, and maybe even to her. It was the first time I’d been in any kind of polyamorous relationship. I doubted that was true for Amorie.

I ended up having to go to Nashville anyway. Adrian apologized for the inconvenience, but said that his father had insisted on meeting me in person before finalizing the hire. There seemed to be some underlying disagreement inherent in his tone, but it was really none of my business so I just agreed and asked Raelya for a ride; she was happy to drive me.

We drove to Nashville Wednesday morning. A new secretary greeted me and directed me to Adrian’s office. Adrian shook my hand with a polite greeting and handed me a flash drive. “Mr. Simms took the liberty of converting the last of our training materials into digital form so as to avoid any difficulties with our printed reading material.”

“Wow. That was quick.” I accepted the flash drive and dropped it into a pocket.

Adrian gave me a smile. “Mr. Simms is rather talented, as you know. I’ve seen him ‘typing’ without using hands, so I’m pretty sure it takes him less time and effort than most.”

I grinned at that. “Tell Sky I said thanks for prioritizing it. I read easier in larger print, so this will make my initial training so much smoother.”

At the end of our meeting, Adrian informed me that his father, Mr. Michaelangelo Senior would see me momentarily. He looked apologetic.

Mr. Michaelangelo’s office was a little larger than Adrian’s, nicer and more richly furnished. The decor was well-designed, but lacked the warmth and personality of Adrian’s office. The man behind the large black desk explained everything. Jared Michaelangelo looked younger than I’d expected; he looked barely older than Adrian, and in fact, bore little resemblance to him, which made me think they probably weren’t related by blood.

He had medium-length blond hair, stylishly cut, and a neatly trimmed goatee. His features were sharp and clever, and his posture screamed of control. His suit was immaculate, tailored and suitably styled to accent his build which was slender yet strong, powerful without being bulky. At a glance, he seemed elegant and stern, the picture of a perfect leader.

Then he opened his mouth and shot my first impression out the window. “Don’t stand there gawking like an idiot. Close the door and sit down.”

Well, okay then. I closed the door and took a seat. “So, nice to meet you Mr.—”

“Sign here.” He slid a paper across the desk and went back to scribbling on a notepad without looking up.

“Okay.” I noticed a pen standing on my edge of the desk and imagined it was there for people like me, but his attitude had tickled the annoying brat in me the wrong way for playing nice. I spotted a couple of nicer looking pens in a cup on one side of the desk and pretended not to see the obvious community pen at all. I snatched one of the nicer pens and bent over the paper to sign it. The sound of his writing stopped abruptly and it was all I could do to keep a straight face. He said nothing for a few seconds, then put his pen down rather heavily.

“You have been briefed on the training?” His voice was tight with aggravation.

I looked up and smiled as sweetly as I could manage. “Yessir. Your son walked me through it all.” I lifted the paperwork and offered it to him instead of just leaving it on the desk.

Mr. Michaelangelo snatched the papers from my hand and flicked them once, causing a crisp snap as the paper straightened itself before he dropped it into the little in-box tray on his desk. I imagined the display was meant to show me what I should have done instead. “Then good day.”

I smiled obliviously. “So, that’s all you needed me for?”

He tilted his head slowly, pressing his lips into a line. “Yes. You may go.” He pointedly picked up his pen and went back to his notebook.

I stood up and stretched then stuck my hand across the desk just obtrusively enough that he couldn’t ignore it. “Well, sir, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for seeing me. I really appreciate you hiring me and all. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to work in a field where I could help people, serve and protect, you know? Thanks for giving me the chance to be one of the good guys.”

Mr. Michaelangelo tried three times to interrupt me before giving up. He sat back, crossed his arms and glared at me, refusing the handshake. I finally glanced at my hand then back up at him curiously. “That will be all, Miss Shepherd. Good day.” He enunciated his words as sharply as possible.

I smiled warmly. “And good day to you too!” I dropped my hand to my side and crossed to the door. As I opened it, I glanced back. “Oh and Mr. Michaelangelo, sir?”

He lifted his head slowly, turning a glare on me that surprised me by being actually kinda scary. His voice dripped with tension. “Yes?”

“It was a pleasure to meet you.” I waved cheerily and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind me. As soon as I did, I leaned against the opposite wall and shuddered as the raw power of Michaelangelo’s presence finally released me.

I had never been in a room with someone that powerful before, and now I knew it. I figured I’d made a poor impression from his reactions, but his presence had made me downright nervous, and when I was nervous, I generally couldn’t resist trying to make the other guy more uncomfortable than I was.

With Michaelangelo, the plan had failed. But at least being an obnoxious brat had given me some way to justify to myself that I’d at least fought back against his infuriatingly sour attitude. No wonder Adrian did his best to shield people from him. “Not a people-person” didn’t begin to describe it.

I stood there until I felt I could breathe normally again then straightened myself up and walked back down stairs. I had settled down by the time I made it back to the cafeteria where Raelya and Nita engaged in a lively discussion about immigrant rights and American privilege. I grabbed a plate from the buffet and settled in next to Raelya and started eating as I listened to the exuberant cadence of Nita’s colorful opinion on the subject.

“So how did it go?” Nita asked me suddenly.

I smiled. “Uh, great. I mean, I just had to sign a paper. And I did that.”

Nita smirked wickedly. “That bad huh?”

I sighed. “How does anyone stomach that man’s presence for more than a minute?”

Raelya frowned concernedly. “You should have heard Ralof ranting about him after he came home from your first trip.”

Nita shrugged. “I don’t see what everyone’s problem is. He keeps it brief and doesn’t like to be disturbed.”

“I’ve known plenty of people who didn’t like to be disturbed.” I shuddered mildly in memory. “None who disturbed me so greatly for disturbing them.”

Nita shrugged again. “Men are pigs. What difference does it make if he’s a bit worse than most?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Date went that badly?”

Nita narrowed her eyes at me briefly then sighed and stabbed the chicken on her plate rather viciously. “Yeah, well, we’re not going to talk about that.”

I grinned and pushed my luck. “Weren’t you complaining about a bad date the last time I saw you too?”

To my surprise, Nita slumped mildly. “It’s enough to make me want to swear off men altogether.”

I softened my tone and gave her a thumbs up. “I could approve of that.”

Nita rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile. “I thought you said you were taken.”

“Well I am, but there’s plenty of wolves in the sea.” I waggled my eyebrows.

Nita laughed and shook her head. “Right.”

We chatted for a while longer as we ate, then Nita had to run off for a meeting of her own. “Call me okay?” she said as she rose with her tray. “I’m taking you up on the offer to help me find a place in Knoxville.”

We said goodbye and excused ourselves as well.

Once we were on the road, Raelya smiled over at me. “So, it is official?”

I grinned. “It is. I’m an SII agent in training.”

Raelya reached over and squeezed my hand softly. “Congratulations, Agent Dakota.”

I laughed. “I don’t think we get a title.”

Raelya grinned at me then turned her attention back to the road.

I smiled to myself as I settled in for the ride. A lifelong dream had finally come true. I was going home to my pack, to a place that felt like home again. And my girlfriend and I had termed out our relationship in a way that didn’t exclude Raelya from the picture. I was happy and at peace. And not even grumpy Mr. Michaelangelo could take that away.

23

Territorial Disputes

Things were quiet for a couple of weeks after that. Raelya and I talked things out and as it turned out, she was perfectly fine with the situation that Amorie and I had come to. The realization did not change much about our relationship except that I didn’t have to worry so much about the time we spent cuddling, or fret about the division between what I wanted and what my wolf pulled me to do.

It’s not like I wasn’t interested in Raelya at all. I loved spending time with her, and now that I knew Amorie was okay with it, snuggling up with her, whether as wolves or girls, was always enjoyable. I still struggled with accepting that monogamy wasn’t a requirement for a solid relationship, but Amorie reassured me every time I expressed my concerns to her, and pointed out to me that I was mostly just afraid of betrayal. Amorie was not Rhi, and I had to accept that our relationship dynamic was what we’d chosen to make it. It was alternative, sure, but that didn’t mean it was bad.

For several days, I mostly laid on my bed reading my training materials with either a fluffy tan wolf or a golden-haired Raelya for company. Amorie called or texted most nights and we spent as much time as we could together despite the distance via the magic of video calls. After overstaying her intended visit with me before, she had unfortunately had to double down on her work to repair some unfortunate damage that her absence had done to… whatever it was she was working on at the time.

She’d informed me sadly that her mistress was displeased with her for showing such irresponsibility and that she would need to spend more time working for a while to make up for it. As a result, no date nights for a couple of weeks, and we had to take our face-time edgewise. I missed her, but I didn’t want to cause her any more trouble.

Missing Amorie was hard, but I was hardly lonely for once. Living in the pack house was just as wonderful as I’d hoped it would be. Interacting with Ralof and Elisa on a daily basis made my heart happy, there were usually at least a couple of other wolves around beyond them, and Raelya was a constant source of comfort. I fell into the routine of the house with ease and happily accepted my share of the chores, bills, and responsibilities required to make the household work.

It was nice having a real family.

Most nights, if Raelya did not snuggle up to me in my bed, I ended up crawling into hers. Sometimes she was a wolf on the end of my bed keeping my feet warm, and sometimes she was a girl by my side, but always, she was a welcome addition to my life.

As I settled into the house, I learned the natural rhythms of the pack’s regulars. While Ralof, Elisa, Raelya, Steph, Kenneth, and Elliot all lived at the pack house, there were a dozen other wolves who made at least weekly visits, sometimes staying over the weekend. At least a dozen more than that were always present when the pack gathered for holidays, meetings, or the full moon hunt. Andrei was more like that friend who hangs out at your house so much he may as well move in, but he had a house of his own somewhere in Pigeon Forge.

Nita made several trips out to Knoxville in search of a house and Raelya was happy to drive me out to meet her so we could help show her around; I was happy to help her out, also to keep her company and get to know her better. Additionally, we used the time to discuss my training and magical control, and sometimes to practice my command of Hellfire. By now, I was pretty sure we were becoming friends.

The first stage of SII training involved me catching up on my understanding of the supernatural world, which was mostly what I’d been doing for the past weeks. I’d been reading what felt like an endless stream of materials meant to act as a primer to the “real” training I’d be starting as soon as I finished the “basic education” stage. Nita had stayed in touch throughout her house-hunting endeavors, checking in on my progress and updating me on hers. As soon as she settled in, we’d start meeting at the Knoxville SII office for further training exercises and more Hellfire control practice.

All in all, life was going well and I had plenty to keep me busy between training and being part of a large, social household, and stealing time with my girlfriend in Nashville whenever I could.

For a couple of weeks, things were peaceful and quiet.

The last Friday of July rolled around and half the pack had come in for the full moon hunt. I was excited because this was the second time I’d get to go out hunting, and now that I knew what to expect, I couldn’t wait to get out there in my four-legged form and run down a deer with my pack.

The memory of the first hunt was still fresh and exciting and while I kept expecting the fact that I’d eaten raw deer meat and savored the blood in my mouth to bother me at some point, it never did. It had felt incredible and I’d enjoyed every moment, every sight, sound, smell, and taste. I’d savored the feeling of the hunt and I was ready to feel it again.

The hunt was scheduled for Saturday night, right on the full moon, but most of the wolves who would join us for Saturday’s hunt were already present that Friday night. Jack and his crew came in late that afternoon and I’d had to leave the room to avoid a confrontation. I wandered out back and stared off into the woods for a while, cooling my heels, but trouble didn’t let me off that easily. Jack came out back and sauntered right over.

I glared up at the man beside me, dressed once again in the same sort of clothing I’d expect to see in an old Western film with that ancient Stetson on his head. Jack took the opportunity to meet my eyes and our wills began the battle for dominance once again.

Jack was older than me, stronger and tougher, and doubtlessly more experienced. The human part of my mind knew full and well that he was the more dominant between us, but my wolf had decided to side with my feelings about Jack; she didn’t like him one bit, and she was just as stubborn as I was about giving into him. My wolf side and my human side alike battled it out with the old werewolf against all reason, against all odds.

I turned to face him directly, a snarl escaping my lips which sounded way more pathetic coming from my human mouth than it would have from my wolfy mouth. Jack growled and it resonated in his chest, a deep, rumbling sound that I could feel as much as hear. I felt him pressuring me to give in. I felt his wolf’s insistence and the drive to give into that was stronger than I’d imagined.

But I was as stubborn as the day was long, and I absolutely refused to give in to a man who didn’t respect women.

I fought him as hard as I could, and when I realized his wolf was starting to pressure mine back I laughed and turned away, starting to walk back toward the house. “Aren’t you a little old for a staring contest?”

Jack grabbed my shoulder and spun me back to face him. “You keep tryin’ to slip outta this and someone’s gonna get hurt.”

I held up my hands and wiggled my fingers in an immature gesture. “Oooo. I’m shakin’ in my boots.” I mimicked his accent as best I could. Jack’s nose wrinkled and I reminded myself that the last fight with him hadn’t gone so well. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Look, I don’t like you. I don’t like your attitude toward Raelya, and I will never submit to the authority of a man who disregards a woman’s choices.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t have to like it, but we do have to settle this one way or another. As for Miss Raelya, I got nothing but respect for her—”

I scoffed. “Right, if by ‘respect’ you mean you’d pay at least three cows and a goat for her hand.”

Jack growled again quietly then took a deep breath and turned back to face the woods. “Listen here, kid. You’d do yourself a favor if you didn’t go around stickin’ your nose in other people’s business.”

I smiled a humorless smile. “You made it my business when you deigned to threaten me over her. Disrespecting my friend aside—”

Jack wheeled around to face me and growled loudly. I took a step back out of instinct, but I growled in return. Jack tensed as if he were ready to take our confrontation a step further, but then suddenly relaxed and turned away again. He took a deep breath and let it out then shook his head as if something disgusted him. “Heard you’re seein’ that vampire. So what are you doin’ messin’ around with Miss Raelya anyway?”

I took a deep breath of my own and did my best to calm down. “Frankly, it’s none of your business what me and my girlfriend decide to do with our relationship, and Raelya has made it clear that her love life isn’t your business either, so why are we still having this discussion?”

Jack stuck his hands in his pockets. “Just seems to me it ain’t fittin’ for you to go draggin’ her around if you’re otherwise engaged.”

“Well, since you’re not part of the relationship in question, you don’t get a vote.” I turned on my heel and started back for the house.

Jack all but yelled after me, “Hey!”

I turned to face him with a glare. “What?”

“I mean what I said, little sister. You watch yourself. Or there’ll be hell to pay.” He glared daggers behind his words.

I suppressed the urge to shiver and rolled my eyes instead. “Whatever, Jack.” I turned and crossed the rest of the yard to the back door and strolled inside as if nothing was wrong.

To my credit, I made it to my room without breaking the facade, but as soon as I closed my door, I growled in frustration at the exchange. Jack had hit a nerve with me when he’d kept trying to dictate Raelya’s relationships for her, but more than that, he’d managed to press on the issue I’d been struggling with on my own. What was I doing with Raelya if I was seeing Amorie?

I reminded myself that Amorie and I had decided to try this polyamory thing, and we were all adults and had every right to decide on such things for ourselves. It was none of Jack’s big dumb business and everything would be fine if he’d just butt out.

Raelya must have heard me fuming because she stuck her head in a moment later. “Dakota? Are you all right?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah. I’m fine.” I turned and smiled at her as brightly as I could manage. “What have you been up to?”

Raelya stepped in, smiling. “Just reading and listening to Die Walküre. It is lovely.”

I smiled more honestly. I’d bought her a copy of Wagner’s famous album earlier in the week when she’d expressed interest in classical music. I didn’t know much classical myself, but Wagner was classic enough to overrule my lack of musical education. “Awesome. Glad you like it.”

Raelya could obviously sense my frustration. I knew because she came over and hugged me without saying anything more about it. I hugged her back and sighed. Being with pack made everything better, but being with Raelya, my friend, my wolf, the one who I’d claimed… Being with her was just that much better than being with pack. I sighed out my anger and relaxed against her for a moment. Raelya bumped her head against my head lightly and I pushed back against her.

After a moment, I felt better. “You hungry?”

Raelya nodded. “Mmhmm. I was going down to see what is for dinner.”

“Let’s go then.” I took her hand in mine, and as I did, Jack’s criticisms resurfaced. I didn’t give a damn what he thought of us, but his words had echoed my own insecurities on the strange, new kind of relationship I now shared with my girlfriend and our respective… uh, well with Raelya and Miralina.

For the moment, I was content with that. I wasn’t sure I was ready to expand our relationship to more than cuddling, but knowing that Amorie wouldn’t be hurt if we did certainly made life a lot less stressful. Still, I didn’t want to lead Raelya on, and I knew I didn’t have all the answers yet. Fortunately, Raelya hadn’t seemed to need any more than I’d been capable of offering. In fact, she seemed to be handling everything far better than I was. Actually, she seemed perfectly fine with the whole thing.

I wasn’t going to hurt her.

Unfounded as Jack’s concerns might have been, I still enjoyed rubbing my closeness with Raelya in his face. He was standing out at the fire pit with his crew, a handful of wolves, all male, who never seemed to leave his side, when we came down the stairs and crossed to the kitchen, hand in hand. Jack narrowed his eyes at me in passing and gave me a glorious scowl. I grinned and slapped an arm around Raelya as we disappeared into the kitchen. If he was going to be a chauvinistic ass, I was going to make him pay for it.

24

Tresspasser

We found stew in the slow cookers and fresh homemade bread on the counter. Bowls in hand, we returned to the living room where Ralof and Elisa were sitting with Elliot, Steph, and a handful of other wolves who were in early for the weekend. Jack and his crew were no longer in sight, and that suited me just fine. I settled into the couch with Raelya and we joined the others in listening to Steph explain the new anime she was currently obsessing over.

Most of an hour later, the conversation came to a halt when Ralof suddenly stood, raised a hand, and crossed to the mostly-glass back wall which overlooked the back yard. Elisa looked up at him as he glanced back to her. “Something is wrong,” she said resignedly.

Ralof nodded once then stripped off his shirt. “Someone is hurt.” He jerked open the door and started to unbutton his jeans, but paused and straightened, his posture screaming alertness. He glanced back at Elisa and spoke a couple of words in a language I didn’t know, then darted out the back door. He ran across the yard in human form and disappeared into the woods. Elisa stood and hurried into the kitchen.

I came to my feet and took half a step toward the door when Raelya caught my wrist. “If he needed us, he would have called us with him.”

I glanced back at her tensely but nodded acquiescence. My instincts were screaming at me to go help, but I trusted Raelya, and Ralof too.

“Help me clear the couch,” she urged me gently.

I nodded once and resigned myself to helping prepare a place for an injured wolf to rest. We cleared throw pillows from the couch and pushed the other furniture out of the way to give Ralof a clear path. Raelya ran upstairs and came back with a handful of towels which we layered over the couch for the sake of easy cleanup in case there was blood. It didn’t take long and then we were left standing with nothing to do. Elisa came back from the kitchen with a big first aid kit, a bowl of stew, and a bottle of water tucked under her arm.

We watched the treeline anxiously for a moment until Ralof emerged from the woods with a blood-soaked man in his arms. Three wolves trailed along with him as he crossed the yard, and a naked, human-shaped Jack brought up the rear. They came in quickly and Ralof settled the injured man, one of Jack’s crew, on the couch. His arm was a mess. The flesh was mangled, shards of bone were sticking out in more than a couple of places, and his chest was streaked with broad claw marks.

Ralof spoke to Elisa without looking up at her as he gently arranged the injured man on the couch. “He’s lost a lot of blood. Too hurt to shift.”

Elisa opened the first aid kit and started picking through it. “Set bones. I will sew him up to help him along.”

Ralof grunted once as he took the man’s arm in his hands. “Jonas, stay with me. This is going to hurt, but it will be better soon.” Jonas nodded weakly, surprising me because I hadn’t thought him conscious. I hadn’t thought it possible for him to be conscious.

Jack jerked his head toward the door and one of his wolves ran back outside to fetch their clothes. Jack picked up a thicker kindling stick from the basket beside the fireplace and came over to the couch. Raelya and I moved wordlessly out of the way to give him room to stand at the end of the couch at Jonas’s head. “Ain’t as good as a belt, but…”

I whipped the thin leather belt from around my waist as quickly as I could. “Jack!” I tossed the belt to him as he glanced up at me. He caught it with ease, dropped the stick and wound my belt around his hands before placing the strip of leather in between Jonas’ teeth.

“Hang in there, hoss.” Jack said quietly.

Ralof’s voice was a low rumble. “Here we go.” He started setting the bones in Jonas’ arm. Jonas cried out and Jack held the belt tightly to stop him from sitting up as much as to give him something to bite down on. Jonas squeezed his eyes shut and panted against the pain between each movement, but Ralof worked quickly and soon finished.

When Ralof had finished setting bones, Jonas practically melted back onto the couch and Jack let the belt out of his mouth. He glanced up at me, tossed my belt back to me, and nodded to me once in thanks.

Ralof stood and moved out of the way. Elisa settled down in his place and started sewing Jonas’ arm shut. The claw marks on his chest were not bleeding despite being rather deep. His regeneration was probably struggling to keep him from bleeding out. He wouldn’t start healing until she finished, and probably then, not until he had eaten and rested.

Elisa jerked her head toward the water bottle and Ralof picked it up, opened it and handed it to Steph who had squished herself flat against the wall to stay out of the way. “Give him some water, slowly.” Ralof spoke soothingly but poor, wide-eyed Steph still seemed somewhat shocked. She nodded and took the bottle as asked then settled in next to the couch and did as Ralof had commanded.

Ralof stepped aside, plucking one of the extra towels we’d left on the coffee table and started drying his bloody hands. He fixed Jack with a serious expression. “Tell me what happened.”

The other wolf had come back in with clothes, and now Jack and the rest of his crew were pulling on pants and shirts. Jack paused with his shirt still in hand and dropped onto the other couch with a sigh. It was only then that I noticed that he was not just covered in Jonas’ blood, but also some of his own. He had long claw marks on his arms and chest as well. Not one of his crew was totally unscathed, in fact.

“Damn thing came outta nowhere, hoss. Didn’t see nor smell anything out of the ordinary til it was already on us.” Jack nodded toward Jonas. “Tore Jonas up right quick, an’ of course we turned on it. Thing looked like some sorta, I dunno… Bear-like thing at first, but it was all wrong. I can’t say even exactly what, just too big an’ shaped wrong somehow. An’ it’s aura was all wrong. All dark an’ twisted in on itself.”

Ralof frowned as Jack spoke. “Must have been strong to take a piece out of the four of you like that.”

Jack nodded. “You got that right, hoss. That thing’s aura…” He whistled and shook his head, then fixed Ralof with a meaningful stare. “That ain’t even the craziest part. Damn thing did its damage then backed off, and while I was decidin’ on what to do, it started… shifting… as we watched.”

“Shifting? Into what?” Ralof demanded urgently.

“Not like you or me would shift, hoss. Not from a’ animal form into a person form. Just as we watched it for a minute, suddenly we realized we were lookin’ at somethin’ else. Some big, black panther-lookin’ thing but there was somethin’ all wrong about it too. Somethin’ in the shape, an’ it was blurred around the edges. Like ya couldn’t look at it straight.”

Ralof’s brows shot up in surprise and he raised his hand to tug thoughtfully at his braided beard.

Jack eyed him hopefully. “Got any idea what that’d be, hoss?”

Ralof frowned, shook his head and grunted firmly. “Other than trouble? And trespassing in our territory? No. I fear not.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and typed out a text. “Have you ever heard of a big bear thing that turns into a black panther thing that blurs around the edges and is hard to look at straight. Something that could take on several werewolves.” I started to send the text to Amorie, then considered and decided to copy it over to Nita as well.

“Whatever it was, hoss, we did our best to harry it an’ run it off. Tryin’ to protect Jonas, but I’ll be damned if I don’t have the feelin’ it just left because it wanted to.” Jack dropped his head into his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. I felt bad for him despite our differences. He was obviously remorseful about his friend getting injured on his watch and that at least told me he wasn’t all bad, even if he was a chauvinistic jerk.

Jonas hissed at the pain of whatever Elisa was doing as she struggled to bring his mangled arm back together, and Jack gave him a furtive look that spoke volumes of his concern for his companions. I realized they were probably “his wolves” in the way that Raelya was “my wolf”, all things considered. “We rushed him back here, but that thing’d have to be blind to not be able to track us.”

Ralof nodded firmly and thumped his fist into his hand, growling, a deep rumbling sound in his chest that resonated through the air and caught the attention of every wolf present. “Good. Saves us the trouble of hunting it down.” He glanced around at the other wolves in the room, commanding their attention and drawing my eyes from my phone as he swept his gaze over me. “We are the Lower Appalachian Pack. And nothing comes into our territory and hunts us.” He grunted as he stood. “I just wish I knew what it was.”

Jack glanced back up at Ralof. “I scented it right as it come in, hoss, and it was definitely the thing that left them tracks we found the other night.”

Ralof frowned. “Then it is no coincidence that it attacked.” He seemed to consider for a few seconds then growled deep in his chest. “It was waiting for an opportunity to ambush us.”

“Seems like.” Jack looked over toward Jonas again with a fretful expression. “And damn sure if we didn’t walk right into its trap.”

My phone vibrated, a ridiculously loud sound to my wolf-enhanced hearing, and apparently to everyone else’s as well, as the room suddenly focused on me. I read the text as quickly as I could manage, then looked up at Ralof. “Here, boss.” I gestured to the phone. “My friend, Nita, says she might know what it is.”

Ralof gestured to my phone. “What is it then?”

I shook my head idly as I typed out his question. “She didn’t say yet—.” The phone started playing the Swahili opening from The Lion King as Nita called me. I glanced around at the befuddled expressions on my packmate’s faces and shrugged as I answered the call. “Hey, so what—”

“Where are you? Are you safe?” Nita sounded urgent despite her hushed and anxious tone.

“Yeah. I’m at home, surrounded by werewolves.”

Nita let out a relieved breath. “Oh. Good. The wards there are strong, right?”

I blinked. “I think so. Also surrounded by werewolves.”

“That might not be enough if it’s what I think it is.” Nita’s voice was subdued. Knowing her as I did, that meant she was scared. And if Nita was scared of something and didn’t think a room full of werewolves were enough to counter it, that seemed like bad news to me.

I glanced up at Ralof and started to repeat what Nita had said but he nodded to me indicatively and I realized he could hear my phone call perfectly well from where he stood halfway across the room. The other wolves standing near me seemed intent on my call as well and I had to wonder just how many of the wolves in the room could hear Nita on their own without my relating the call.

“So what is it?” My phone made a noise in my ear as a text came in, but I ignored it for the moment, fixated on finding out what Nita could tell me.

Nita hesitated for a moment. I could hear her breath through the line and I could picture her taking a breath to speak, then deciding against it several times before she finally whispered, “It’s called a Skinwalker.”

“A what?”

“I’m not going to say it over and over, Dakota. I don’t want to draw its attention to me.”

I frowned. “You can do that just by saying what it’s called?”

“I’m not taking any chances. This thing is bad news in the worst way. It’s ancient, incredibly powerful, and has a hunger for power: power that it takes from others by devouring them and absorbing their skins.”

“That sounds bad.” I grimaced at Ralof who frowned in reply. “How sure are you?”

“I know of nothing else that can do what you described. Those shapes you described, they’re creatures from Arcadia.”

“Fairyland?”

“Right. And none of those creatures can change their shape like you described, however what I’m talking about can take the shape of anything whose skin it has taken.”

“That sounds bad.” I repeated.

I heard a truck pull up in the driveway and the engine shut off. Ralof crossed to the front window quickly and peeked out cautiously. “Andrei. Good.” Ralof glanced at Jack. “Round everyone up. Make sure no one is outside and gather them all here.” He glanced at me as he moved over to the door. “Find out everything you can while we gather the pack.” He opened the door and disappeared outside. Jack glanced at one of his crew and nodded toward Jonas; The other wolf nodded back and settled down next to the injured wolf. Jack stepped out the back door, presumably to make sure no one was still outside.

I turned my attention back to the call. “Okay, so how do we kill it?”

Nita laughed humorlessly. “Much easier said than done, Dakota. In Navajo legends, the Skinwalker is unkillable.”

“Crap.” My phone notified me of another incoming text and I glanced around at the other wolves near me. Kenneth was standing right behind me and Steph stood to my other side, still clutching an empty water bottle. “Either of you have a phone?”

Kenneth nodded and started patting his pockets but Steph whipped her pink rhinestone-covered phone from her pocket first. “What do you need?” Her hand was trembling as she held it out to me. It made my wolf so uncomfortable to see her so scared; I wanted to take the pressure off her and comfort her if I could.

I took her phone from her and typed in Amorie’s number. “Call this number. Tell Amorie I’m on the line with Nita. Tell her there’s a Skinwalker in our territory and it hurt some of our wolves. Ask her if she knows anything about it or how to kill it.” I handed the phone to Kenneth who met my eyes for an instant before nodding sharply. He hit the call button and stepped aside. I glanced back at Steph. “Get Jonas some more water. Looks like Elisa’s almost done.” Steph nodded to me and ran off to the kitchen.

“Nita?”

“Hold on, I’m checking the SII database.” I paced as I waited for Nita to continue. “I’m not finding anything here, Dakota. They’re not something that’s commonly encountered and according to Navajo lore, the only way to kill one is to somehow strip it of the spirit that empowers it, or to destroy all of its forms. All of them.”

I frowned at that. “How many forms can it have?”

“However many it can take.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. If you find anything else, call me back soonest. I’m going to relate what you’ve told me and see what Amorie knows about it.”

“Okay. Dakota, be careful. This thing is big league and I know you’re surrounded by werewolves, but this is no everyday threat. Don’t take any chances.”

“Thanks Nita.” I hung up and paced over to Kenneth. I could hear Amorie’s voice on the line, so I reached for the phone which he readily handed over. “Amorie.”

“Dakota. I am on my way.”

“Uh… You are?”

“Yes. I am making arrangements right now. I will be there in an hour or less. Please stay somewhere safe until I arrive.” Amorie’s tone and inflection told me she was still in business-mode. I could hear a lot of vague background noise that told me little to nothing about where she was, but it was familiar enough that I knew she was at one of her offices.

“I’ll do my best. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Mm. Yes. See if you can find out which airport is nearest to the pack’s house.”

“That’d be Knoxville right?”

“No. There is sure to be one closer than that. Probably some smaller local strip. If there is not one in Gatlinburg, check the emergency landing locations for a stretch of road that is suitable.”

I blinked. “Okay…” I turned to see who was near me and spotted Kenneth still standing nearby. “Grab a phone or a computer and find out—”

“I heard.” Kenneth replied, ducking his head to avoid my eyes. “I’m on it. Give me just a minute.” He turned and jogged up the stairs.

I turned my attention back to Amorie. “Okay. Did Kenneth get you up to date?”

“Mostly, ma chérie. A Skinwalker is hunting you?”

“Yup. Well, the pack. There’s a couple of injured wolves in here and Ralof’s rounding us up to defend against it or hunt it down or something.”

“How sure are you that it is a Skinwalker? Those things are quite rare and not native to this area.”

“I’m not sure personally, but my intel suggests that it is a Skinwalker.”

“Tell me what you know.”

I started relating Jack’s account, closing my eyes and digging into the vivid mental images I had formed from his story in order to recall the details as best as I could. Dyslexia has its advantages, and strong imaging capacity is one of them. I was in the middle of describing the latter form Jack had mentioned when my phone rang again.

“Hold on a sec, Am.” I shifted the other phone to my ear and answered the call. “Yeah?”

“I checked everything I could in short order.” I could hear the clacking of keys in the background as Nita spoke. “The best I can find is a small amount of corroboration to the idea that you can kill it by destroying all of its forms, then killing it in its human form.”

“It has a human form?”

“These things are human to begin with.” Nita took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They are pure evil, Dakota. They attract evil spirits to themselves by killing people they are close to, like family members, children… When they’ve killed enough to taint their own spirit, a spirit will bond with them that makes them what they are. Then… they never stop.”

“Killing?”

“Devouring, taking skins of other creatures, and yes, killing.”

“Okay. If there’s anything else you can find out or do, call me back. I’m checking with other contacts and Ralof’s gathering the pack to face it, I think.”

Nita clacked a bit more on her end. “The only other thing I can say that might be useful at the moment is this. They can only take one skin from each type of creature.”

“Meaning?”

“If he took a werewolf’s skin already, he would have to shed it in order to devour another werewolf. So if he turns into a werewolf, he can’t take another werewolf’s skin unless he sheds or loses that skin.”

“Gotcha. Meaning he’s not here to eat us.”

“Not remotely true. He could be there because he wants to shed his current werewolf skin and devour a more powerful werewolf, such as your Alpha.”

My wolf surged readily to the surface, eliciting a growl. “We won’t let that happen.”

“Considering that you’re all werewolves there, honestly, I’m not sure what else he could be there for. Be careful, Dakota.”

“It’s okay, Nita. I’m taking it very seriously and I’m not alone. Call me back if you come up with anything else that could help okay? I’ve got Amorie on the other line.”

“Right. Dakota?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t get yourself killed. I just found a nice place today and I don’t want to lose my reason for moving out here.”

I smiled because I knew it was Nita’s way of telling me she cared about me. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Nita.” I hung up her line and dropped the phone into my pocket.

Kenneth appeared beside me and handed me a sticky note with some numbers scribbled on it. I nodded to him appreciatively then went back to Amorie. “Sorry, Nita gave me some intel, but it pretty much amounts to ‘Don’t let it eat you.’ And ‘Kill it till it stays dead.’”

“I heard most of it, ma chérie. Something that crossed my mind regarding its motives… Have you considered that it could be after you?”

I blinked. “What? Why would it want me? Ralof’s definitely the strongest werewolf—”

“Not because you are a werewolf, ma chérie. Because of something else that you possess that one who seeks to collect powers from others might desire.”

It slowly dawned on me what Amorie meant and I took a deep breath as the idea that the Skinwalker could be after me in particular sunk in. “You mean it could be after the Hellfire…”

“Indeed, ma chérie.” She sounded worried. Amorie being worried made me worried. That couldn’t be good.

“Oh, Kenneth found the airport. It’s a set of coordinates so I’ll text it to you?”

“Very well.”

Ralof stepped back in with Andrei in tow. Jack and a couple of other wolves trailed in behind him. The room suddenly felt rather crowded. Ralof glanced around the room at the gathered pack members. “Everyone, listen up.” He strode to the center of the room.

I could hear Amorie moving on the other side of the line. That she hadn’t continued talking let me know she could hear Ralof as well. I absently wondered how well vampires heard in comparison to werewolves.

Ralof turned to face the pack. “There is an intruder in our territory. It is a dangerous creature that can shift its form and if we have guessed it right, it can steal the forms of its kills and use them as its own.”

Raelya appeared out of nowhere beside me and curled her arm around mine. I met her eyes briefly; she was not afraid, not really. She was determined, and more than anything, she believed in Ralof. I was inclined to agree with her. I turned my eyes back to the Alpha as he went on with his speech, lifting the phone briefly to whisper. “I’ll call you back in a sec.” I hung up to listen to my Alpha without distraction, though I started texting the coordinates to Amorie so as not to leave her hanging. The first time I realized I’d mixed up a number, I wised up and snapped a photo of the note and just sent her that instead.

“I will take the strongest of us for my hunting party, and we will go out there and track it down.” He glanced around the room. “Those who are less experienced will stay here and protect the house. I will not risk the younger ones with such a foe. Not when it could take down a far more experienced wolf so readily.” He gestured toward Jonas. Steph squeaked quietly. I glanced over her way and noticed she was clinging to Elliot’s arm and she looked scared. Elliot looked calm and ready, pretty much like always.

Ralof glanced around the room. “Andrei.”

“Yeah, boss.” Andrei stepped over to stand near the Alpha.

Ralof glanced at Jack. “Are you up for round two, Jack?”

Jack nodded. “You bet I am, hoss.” There was a quiet promise of revenge in his voice. It echoed in his eyes as they drifted past Ralof toward Jonas.

“Will? Amos?” Ralof looked over at the other two wolves who typically followed Jack around. Will was tall and lanky if definitely toned, with short, shaggy brown hair, dark eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He barely looked old enough to drink, though his accent resembled Jack’s too much for that to be true.

Amos was a bit older-looking, though I figured the mustache was mostly responsible for that. He had sandy blond hair and hazel eyes, a farmer’s tan on otherwise fair skin, and a deal more muscle than Will, though he was average height at best. Being that they both typically hung out with Jack, I hadn’t really spent much time with either of them. Both of them nodded, then Amos glanced over at the couch and added, “We’ll give ‘em hell for ya, Jonas.”

“Toni?” Ralof glanced at a woman I didn’t know yet. She’d come in for a weekend once since I’d moved in, but I hadn’t had the chance to get to know her yet. She was tall, athletic, and generously curved in the hip region. Her skin was darker due to what I presumed to be Italian heritage, and she had the dark brown hair and brown eyes to match that.

She stood and stretched. “I’m in.”

Ralof nodded to her approvingly then swept his eyes around the room once more. “The rest of you will stay here.”

Dismay leapt into my chest. I wanted to help. I wanted to fight, not hang around house-sitting. “Ralof?” I took a step toward him as the others rose to prepare themselves for shifting.

Ralof turned to face me. “Dakota, have you learned anything else that will help us?”

I bit my lip and nodded. “Killing it won’t be easy. If it has a dozen forms, we have to kill all of them. It has as many as it has taken, so there’s no telling how many times we’ll have to kill it to actually kill it.”

Ralof’s chest rumbled in response. “We will kill it until it stays dead.”

“Also, Amorie is coming. She says she’ll be here in under an hour.”

Ralof frowned. “No. Tell her to stay out of this. This is pack business.”

I frowned in reply. “Okay, I’ll tell her, but I can’t promise she’ll listen.”

Ralof made a grumbly noise. “Tell her I said it would be good of her as an ally to the pack to respect our boundaries when asked.”

“Roger that, boss.” I started to type out a text, as Ralof started to turn away, but I couldn’t resist the burning urge in my chest to speak what was in my heart. “I want to go with you.”

Ralof shook his head and said firmly. “No, Dakota. I need you to stay here.”

I flexed my hand indicatively. “But Ralof, I could actually help. I have the Hellfire thing and—”

“Dakota.” Ralof’s voice was adamant. My mouth snapped shut and I dropped my head. I felt immediately bitter, like a scolded child, and it aggravated me that I felt like I was being treated as such.

Ralof sighed and dipped his head low enough to catch my eyes again. I helplessly looked up to meet his gaze. “Dakota, I need you to stay here for that very reason. This thing is clever. It has been hunting in our territory and it has managed to evade us thus far. It ambushed Jack and the others, and it managed to come out on top. Dakota, Jack is one of the strongest wolves here. That was no small thing for it to do.”

“I know, but—”

“You do not have enough experience with either of the forms, or running and hunting with the pack to go out with us. We will be using our knowledge of our territory to our advantage, and you are not familiar enough with that either. We will be harrying it and attempting to wear it down using tactics you have never even seen in practice. It is no insult to your honor or your bravery, Dakota. You are simply too new to this.”

I frowned and sighed. “But I thought you said I did fine with the war form before?”

“You shifted into it just fine.” Ralof agreed. “But you have not used it for fighting before. The varulf suffers from tunnel vision, Dakota. If you are in the war form, you will be focused on killing your foe and nothing else, to a degree that could get an inexperienced wolf killed. You would be a liability at best, and a burden at worst.”

I snarled to the side. I wasn’t angry at Ralof, and his expression showed me he knew that. I was angry that I felt useless, that I couldn’t help protect my pack.

“Dakota, if the Skinwalker comes here, I know I can count on you to help keep everyone safe.” Ralof glanced around the room. “This creature will take more than brute strength alone to defeat, if I understand. If you have not noticed, we do not have another magic specialist in the pack.”

I blinked again. “Magic specialist? Ralof, I can only do one thing. I’m not—”

“You are the best we have. And this is a situation where understanding such things may come in handy.”

I pursed my lips as I thought it over, then peered back up at him. “Why do I have the feeling you’re trying to appease me?”

Ralof sighed. “I heard what Amorie said to you on the phone. She felt that the Skinwalker could be after you in particular. I do not believe that is unreasonable.”

“And you’re trying to protect me.”

Ralof put his hands on my shoulders. “That is what we do, Dakota. We protect each other. Just as you have a need to protect those you feel more dominant than in the pack, so do the rest of us. Let me protect you.”

I wanted to argue. I wanted to protest and demand to go with them. My instincts were screaming at me to go find this thing and destroy it before it had a chance to hurt any more of my packmates. But Ralof was right. He was older and wiser and stronger, and he knew what was best for the pack. I nodded slowly and deliberately. “All right.”

Ralof squeezed my shoulders firmly. “I have to go. We need to find this thing before it has a chance to gain any further advantages on us. Are you all right?”

I nodded. “Go. I’ll stay behind. Just be careful.”

Ralof smiled at me and nodded once, then turned and crossed the room to Elisa. Elisa turned to face him just as he reached her, and he put a hand on her lower back, pulled her tight to him and kissed her. Elisa gripped his hand firmly. “If you stay out all night playing with this thing, do not cry to me if there is no stew left for you.”

Ralof smiled warmly at his mate, laid his forehead against hers for a moment and closed his eyes. She closed her eyes too and smiled one of her rare smiles. Ralof kissed her forehead firmly then turned to join the others. “Elisa is in charge. Elliot?”

Elliot looked up from where he stood leaning against the wall. Steph had found a corner of the couch to curl up on and was now hugging a pillow. Elliot pushed off from the wall. “Yes, Ralof?”

“You take second to Elisa. Defend the house.”

Elliot bowed his head in that serious martial-artsy sort of way of his. “Of course.”

The others had all stripped down and shifted to their wolf forms save for Jack who was standing by the door holding a long rifle he had retrieved from somewhere nearby while I wasn’t looking. Ralof crossed to them, opened the back door, and ushered the others out as he dropped the rest of his clothes and shifted down to his large, silvery-gray, shaggy wolf form. He ran out to the front of the pack and glanced back toward them once, then they took off together across the back yard in relative silence and disappeared into the trees.

I walked over and closed the door, sighing to myself and doing my best to quiet the wolf inside me who desperately wanted to join them.

25

Drums of War

I finished my text to Amorie and related Ralof’s message as a quote. Hopefully that would allow me to avoid being the target of any irritation the message evoked. My phone rang barely a minute later. “Yeah.”

Amorie’s heels clicked on a hard floor as she spoke. “Dakota, I will be on my flight in just a moment. You are still inside the pack’s house?”

“Uh, did you miss my text?”

“I did not. However, this is not merely pack business, and I will not stay out of it.”

I sighed. “Am, Ralof specifically said—”

“Ralof will have to get over it. He does not give me orders.” Amorie’s tone told me she wasn’t likely to budge on the matter.

“Amorie…” I whined into the phone hopefully.

“I am sorry, ma chérie. I can not abide a Skinwalker in my domain hunting my allies, less my lover. It simply will not do.”

“What are you going to do about it that the pack can’t do?” I paced away from the back door.

“Obviously, ma chérie, I am going to kill it.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple, Am.”

“For me, it will be.” Her voice held no uncertainty.

I sighed again. “You’re gonna get me in trouble, you know.”

“Ralof is far too reasonable to blame you, so you need not worry about that. There is nothing further to discuss. I am on my way. Do not leave the house until I am there.” She hung up on me; I threw my hands up.

I handed Steph’s phone back to her then dropped onto the couch feeling utterly useless and thoroughly annoyed.

Steph looked up and gave me a weak smile. I could smell her fear. My instincts screamed at me to protect her, to comfort her. I put an arm around her. “It’ll be all right, Steph.”

She smiled a little more honestly. “Thanks… I know Ralof and the others can do this. I’m just worried about them.”

She glanced toward the other couch where Jonas still lay, now sleeping off his injuries under a thick blanket. “It’s all right to be afraid. Some pretty tough wolves got hurt by this thing, and that’s scary to think about. But Ralof’s with them now, and so is Andrei, and everyone he took is someone he trusted to get his back. They’ll be fine.”

Steph nodded. “I know you’re right. I just… I just can’t stop worrying and I’m so scared that someone is going to get hurt…” Her tone told me that by “hurt” she really meant “killed”. She was trembling.

I glanced up at Kenneth who was still waiting by the stairs and I had an idea. I pushed off the couch and crossed to where he stood. “Kenneth, why don’t you take Steph upstairs and watch a movie? My laptop’s on the desk in my room. If you open the videos folder on my desktop, there’s a bunch of files in there and you’re welcome to my Netflix account too.”

Kenneth tilted his head at first, looking a bit confused at my request. Then his eyes shot past me to where Steph was still huddled on the couch, now pressing her face into a pillow and recognition set in. He nodded. “Right. I gotcha.” He stepped past me and went over to Steph, said a few quiet words and offered her his hand. Steph took his hand with a still shaky smile and I stepped out of the way as he lead her upstairs.

I turned back to the living room and caught Elliot glaring at me sidewardly for just an instant. He flicked his eyes away as he noticed me looking. I stepped over to him. “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know, okay?”

Elliot glanced up at me and nodded seriously. “I will.”

“Cool.” I turned and started back toward the couch, but Elliot touched my arm lightly. I glanced back at him.

“If you find out anything else about our enemy, I’d like to know.” He met my eyes and the tension between us rose instantly. He was being polite. Elliot was more or less always polite. But he was giving me an order and we had never quite settled our rank with each other. I felt the wolf eagerly rising to the challenge, but this was not the time for such things, so I snapped my eyes toward the kitchen as if I’d heard something.

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll let everyone here know anyway.” It wasn’t the same as backing down or submitting; It was almost more like cheating. And what I’d said was basically “I would have done that anyway.” So I wasn’t submitting to his authority in the slightest. Still, I’d do what he said. Ralof had left him in charge.

Elliot stepped back and leaned against the wall again, and I decided to step on into the kitchen where he and I wouldn’t be tempted to come to blows over pack hierarchy when more important things were happening.

Elisa and Raelya were both in the kitchen; Elisa stood leaning against the counter and Raelya sat at the bar. I came over to sit next to Raelya and sighed. She slid her hand into mine and laced our fingers. I smiled at her gratefully. “So Amorie’s on her way.”

Raelya frowned. “I thought Ralof said she should not come?”

I sighed exaggeratedly. “I told her that. But she’s coming anyway.”

Raelya winced. “I do not suppose you can really stop her.”

I shook my head. “Nope. So she’ll be here within an hour.” Thinking about Amorie coming to the pack house gave me another thought. I glanced up at Elisa. “Where’s the rest of the pack, anyway? I thought everyone was coming in tonight? Shouldn’t some more people have been arriving over the past hour or so?”

Elisa shook her head. “I put out call to stop them from coming. Ralof was worried Skinwalker might try to pick off stragglers if we do not stick together.”

I grimaced. “Eech. That’s a good point.” I glanced at Raelya. “So no backup then, other than Amorie.” I thought about that for a second then my eyes widened with another concern. “Which means… if Amorie is coming in from the airport alone… Then she could be in danger.”

Raelya frowned. “That is an excellent point.”

I whipped out my phone and dialed Amorie’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. I cursed quietly. “She’s turned off her phone. Either in flight, or to stop me from trying to talk her out of coming. Which means…” It took me all of two seconds to decide what I had to do next. I glanced up at Elisa. “I’m going to get her.”

Elisa frowned. “What?”

I stood and started for the door. “I’m going to go pick her up at the airport. If Amorie is coming here and I can’t stop her, then she’s in danger just like you said. The Skinwalker could attack her on the way when she’s alone. I can’t let that happen.”

Elisa straightened and took a step toward me, suddenly commanding my attention. “Dakota, no. If you were to go, then you would be alone.”

I met Elisa’s eyes with a pleading expression. “Elisa, I have to. She’s my girlfriend. I can’t let her be out there unprotected with a monster on the loose and not do anything about it.”

Elisa shook her head. “Ralof said to stay here. It would not be wise for you to go.”

I growled in frustration and paced for a moment. I couldn’t help the pack, couldn’t hunt the monster, and now I couldn’t even make sure that Amorie wasn’t walking right into a trap. Trap…

My mind had started putting together a rather elaborate puzzle entirely of its own accord. “Holy crap…”

Elisa stared at me flatly. Raelya glanced over. “Hmm?”

My thoughts were racing to put the fledgling idea together. “It could be a trap…” I glanced up at Raelya. “What if the Skinwalker isn’t here for Ralof’s Alpha werewolf skin, or for my Hellfire?”

Raelya furrowed her brow. “What is your point?”

I paced over to Raelya and caught her eyes. “What if the Skinwalker is after Amorie, and this whole thing is just to get her to come out here so it can take her skin?”

Raelya’s eyes widened. “Oh… Oh my, that is very reasonable…”

I glanced up at Elisa. “Amorie’s no fledgling vampire. She’s centuries old and powerful enough to be in charge of multiple freaking states.”

Elisa looked doubtful, but she didn’t seem to discount my concerns as I’d feared she might. “But is such a thing possible? Taking a vampire’s skin?”

I glanced down at my phone, considered for a few seconds, then called Nita. She picked up right away. “Nita. Can the Skinwalker take a vampire’s skin?”

“What? I don’t know. It’s an interesting metaphysical question.”

“Yeah, well, Amorie’s on the way here alone, so it’s rather pertinent to the situation at hand.”

“Shit. I can’t tell you for sure. There’s a lot that isn’t known about them.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “On the one hand, I’m pretty sure they can’t steal another human skin. They already have a human skin: their normal one. On the other hand, I don’t know if being a vampire changes that and how undeath might interact with… well, with an abomination of which we know relatively little about. Maybe. My educated guess? No. But it’s possible.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t completely convinced, and I still wanted to make sure Amorie was safe, but at least it wasn’t guaranteed that my wicked hunch was right.

“The real problem,” Nita began again, “is what if it’s hunting her anyway?”

“Huh? Why would it be hunting her if it can’t take her form?”

“Look, Dakota. There’s a lot you don’t know yet about the politics of the supernatural world. Your girlfriend is really important, especially in this region. There’s a lot of people that feel they could further their own interests a lot better if she was out of the picture. Such people might be able to, say, offer a Skinwalker something in exchange for a task, assuming she could be gotten alone.”

Elisa drew in a breath sharply at the same moment as I did.

“That sounds bad.”

“You keep saying that,” Nita quipped.

“You keep saying things that sound bad!” I quipped back.

Elisa tapped my shoulder and I glanced up at her, lowering the phone slightly. “Yeah?”

“She has point. Could all be part of scheme to remove Amorie from territory? Possibly. What is worse would look very bad if she were hurt or killed trying to help us. If others are trying to take power in region… This could hurt two most influential groups in the area at once.”

I grimaced again. “That sounds even worse.” I nodded to Elisa and pressed the phone back to my ear. “I think the point you raised has been accepted for consideration, Nita. Thanks for helping me think it through.”

“Of course it has. I know what I’m talking about.” The typical “Annoyed Nita” voice I was used to hearing on better days came through, but then her tone dropped again. “Dakota, do you… need me to come help you?” She sounded scared again.

“No. We’ve got this, and Ralof was worried about people coming in individually. If you came to help, you’d just be a liability to the pack at this point.” It wasn’t entirely true, but I didn’t want her to get stubborn on me like Amorie and try to come out anyway. “But thank you. It means a lot to me that you’d offer.”

Nita hesitated slightly. “You’re my friend. And besides, it’s what we do.”

Elisa gestured toward the phone impatiently. “We need to decide what to do.”

I nodded. “I’ll call you back if that changes, okay? I have to go.”

“Okay. Be careful.” Nita hung up.

I glanced up at Elisa. “So like I said, I’m going to pick Amorie up from the airport.”

Elisa nodded. “If thing is here for Amorie for one reason or another, we can not let it have her. But you will not go alone.”

Raelya put a hand on my shoulder. “I will go with her.” I smiled at her appreciatively and put a hand her hand.

Elisa frowned and looked uncertain. “Then I will tell Elliot to go with you.”

I balked at that. “What? No. Ralof said for you and Elliot to stay here to defend the house. Besides, we don’t need a man to protect us. Raelya and I can take care of ourselves.”

Elisa crossed her arms. “Ralof takes many wolves with him to hunt Skinwalker and you think you and Raelya are enough if it should happen to find you?”

“No… but it’s not like Elliot would make the difference on that or Ralof would have taken him with the hunting party.”

Elisa seemed to consider that for a moment then nodded. “Very well. Elliot can stay here to protect house. I will go with you.”

Raelya and I both blinked. “What?”

Elisa started for the door. “You are right. Elliot will not be enough to defend you if Skinwalker comes. So I go.”

“But Ralof said—”

Elisa turned to me and caught my eyes. “Ralof did not know about situation with Amorie. Ralof left me in charge. In charge means to decide what is best, and I have decided this is best. Elliot will guard house. House has wards. If you and Raelya are going out, then I am going with you.” Her words may as well have been carved in stone for all the room they left for argument. Elisa stalked past me to the front and started putting on her boots. I glanced at Raelya and shrugged. We followed Elisa to the door and followed her lead in shoeing ourselves.

Elisa glanced up at Elliot as she took the keys to Ralof’s truck from the wall. “Elliot, take care of house. Dakota’s girlfriend is trying to come to pack house and we must make sure she is not killed by Skinwalker.”

Elliot straightened and nodded to Elisa. “I will keep them safe.” He said it like an oath.

Elisa nodded to him and opened the door. “Come.” We followed her out to the truck and climbed in. Raelya took the driver’s seat and Elisa crawled into the seat behind her, so I took shotgun.

Raelya revved up the engine and pulled out of the driveway onto the twisty mountain road.

Elisa turned to peer out the window. “Drive,” she told Raelya. “If Skinwalker is out here, I will see it coming. I may have only one eye, but is good eye, and it will not hide from me this night.”

26

Awaited in Valhalla

Raelya put the pedal to the metal. Unfortunately, we were driving in the dark along curvy mountain roads, and it felt to me like we were moving way, way too fast for safety’s sake. Yet Raelya seemed to know what she was doing and I reminded myself that she’d lived here for a long damn time. Actually, since before I was born. Still, I couldn’t help gripping the handle on the ceiling that Andrei generally referred to as the “oh shit handle” as we hurtled around the twists and turns.

A small handful of houses and rental cabins spattered our area of the mountains, but since the area was devoid of businesses or major parks, our section of road was usually pretty light on traffic. That said, as we sped down the twisty paths, I noticed that the roads were all but empty. A weird, almost electric tingle lit the air around me that I noticed as soon as I started paying attention to the odd, wrong feeling of the lack of other cars.

I almost commented on the lonely drive, but realized as I opened my mouth that Raelya and Elisa probably expected it to be just so. My training materials from SII had already taught me that Unawakened humans tended to subconsciously avoid an area where supernatural things were occurring. If something as powerful, scary, and out of place as a Skinwalker in the Great Smoky Mountains couldn’t push their instincts into staying clear, not much could.

“Directions?” Raelya asked idly as if it weren’t all that urgent.

I thumbed my phone on and started reading off the instructions from my earlier research, subcontracted as it might have been to the younger wolves, which would guide us to the tiny airport in Gatlinburg which nestled into the mountainside a short drive below the pack house. It was barely more than ten minutes out as the crow flies, but the crow didn’t have to navigate these twisty roads, so I was guessing it would take us more like fifteen or twenty.

Raelya seemed to recognize the roads I mentioned and looked a lot more confident than I felt about finding it.

I glanced back at Elisa to find her alert and watchful, peering about with her good eye, guarding Raelya’s side as well as the back. I turned to the right and gazed out the window as well. If Elisa felt the need to be watchful, I was going to help her.

At the same time, it felt a bit silly. The Skinwalker was an ancient terror; a monster scary enough to tear werewolves apart and put seasoned SII agents on guard should definitely register on my worry-meter, but the idea that it was coming for me just didn’t fly. I was nobody. Even with green burny hands, I wasn’t powerful or awesome or even super attractive like some of the other likely candidates for Skinwalker targets. I was just a newb werewolf with one neat trick. More likely, it was after Amorie.

The idea that it wanted Amorie did frighten me a little. After all, if that was the case and it intended to catch her out alone, then the Skinwalker might well be on our side of the mountain even now. But with Ralof and the others out hunting, I doubted things would really go according to its plans.

I tried poking Amorie’s contact icon again, just to see if she had landed, but it went straight to her voicemail again. I cursed silently and dropped the phone back into my pocket. She wouldn’t likely turn it on until she was on the ground, then hopefully she’d call me for an update before driving out into the danger zone. Hopefully.

The minutes ticked by painfully slowly as I watched the darkness between the trees for signs of trouble. I didn’t actually expect anything to happen. And that’s why I gave a most unbecoming, startled squawk when something suddenly impacted the passenger side of the truck.

Elisa growled and twisted to face the back window, and the truck skidded to the side, but Raelya kept it on the road, though she had to veer into the other lane to do so. I wondered for a second if we’d just hit a deer or something equally sturdy, but the anger in Elisa’s rumbling growl put me on alert.

I whipped my head around, searching for answers in the darkness beyond the truck. “What was that?”

Elisa scanned the road behind us. “Trouble.”

I peered into the darkness trailing out endlessly behind the truck, but saw nothing save the road disappearing into the deeper dark between the trees where the light of the almost full moon could not follow.

I jumped in my seat as a loud “crack!” rang out from the driver side door, and the metal screamed in protest as the impact drove it inward, denting the door hard enough to drive it into Raelya’s side and scrape against her arm. Raelya grunted stoically, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, her features set with cold determination. Beyond her, I saw nothing but trees zipping past. Nothing but a blur of motion in the air, gone too quickly for me to register what I’d seen.

Elisa growled, “Skinwalker.”

My heart raced along with my thoughts, my breath coming too heavy and too fast, as I frantically considered the situation. “Can Skinwalkers fly?”

Raelya shrugged. “I suppose it could do whatever it wants as long as it has a skin for the occasion.”

“Crap.” I glanced around the truck’s interior. “I don’t suppose Ralof keeps a gun in here?” And would a gun even help?

Elisa pulled her shirt off. “Check under seat. Is weapon.” She unlatched the back window and pushed it open. “I will hold it off. If something happens to me, keep going. I will keep it busy.” And with that, Elisa stripped off the rest of her clothes and squeezed out through the little window, crawled into the bed of the truck, and started shifting into the war form.

I winced at that thought and glanced at Raelya whose expression assured me she shared my thoughts. Hell no. No way were we leaving Mama Wolf behind with an angry Skinwalker. Come Hell or high water, we were in this together.

Just as Elisa’s furry white varulf replaced the naked woman in the back of the truck, I spotted a giant bird-thing with wickedly sharp-looking talons and pointed it out to Raelya, yelling, “Look out!”

Raelya gunned the gas and the bird-thing swooped down from above us, passing just over the roof before landing on Elisa and neatly sweeping her toward the back end of the truck. The impact bounced the rear end of the truck hard, and Raelya swerved again, fighting to straighten it back out and keep us moving forward.

In the instant it had taken the Skinwalker to move from flying overhead to wrestling with the werewolf in the bed of the truck, it had shifted its shape from a flying creature with a very not-bird-like face, to some kind of primitive-looking big cat with a shaggy coat of fur and sharp spines sticking out from its back and the joints of its legs, and a wicked pair of over-sized fangs—

“Is that— holy crap! A sabertooth fucking tiger?” My voice came out squeakier than I’d intended.

Raelya glanced back swiftly then returned her eyes to the road. “Looks like.” Her voice held a little less of the stoic calm she’d maintained until now. My wolf could feel the tension rising in her.

I watched for a moment in shock as the sabertooth-Skinwalker did its best to sink those nasty-looking fangs into Elisa’s side while she wrestled it to the side and regained her footing to throw it off of her. Elisa grabbed the Skinwalker by the legs as she battled her way out from under it and as if she’d read her aunt’s mind, Raelya gunned the gas again just as Elisa heaved her weight into the sturdy-looking beast and flung it away from her.

The sabertooth-Skinwalker slammed into the tailgate so hard it tore the whole thing off just by crashing into it. The metal gate made an awful sound as it cascaded along the road behind us, disappearing into the dark, but the Skinwalker sunk its claws into Elisa’s thigh and managed to stay in the truck.

Elisa howled in rage and pain as the Skinwalker tried to leverage itself back on top of her. She dug her claws into the bed of the truck and held on, but the Skinwalker pushed against her and tried to pull her out of the truck, sinking its enormous teeth into her side. Elisa’s grip slipped as the Skinwalker heaved against her once again, and her claws tore rents in the metal bed. She twisted to the side and sunk the claws of her other hand into the wheel casing, but the Skinwalker had better footing and started leveraging her toward the gateless edge, still ravaging her exposed side as it did.

Elisa practically roared as the Skinwalker tore its massive jaws free from her side, taking a terrifyingly generous piece of her with it and causing her weight to shift toward the the edge of the truck bed. The determination and urgency in her voice spurred me out of my shocked paralysis. I threw myself over the seat and thrust my torso out the little window, extending my arm as I did. I lifted my hand toward the sabertooth-Skinwalker, drew the Hellfire to my palm and unleashed it with all my fury. “Not without my Mama Wolf!” I yelled in general panic.

The sickly green flames leapt hungrily onto my target, like a ravenous demon throwing itself lustfully onto its prey. The lambent fire stuck to the sabertooth-Skinwalker’s coat like napalm, gluing itself to the creature beneath it and feasting on its flesh. The ancient beast made a sound that defied description, a nightmarish yowl that made my skin crawl. Its focus suddenly shifted from Elisa to its own green burny hide, and as soon as it let go, Elisa’s muscles flexed as she heaved despite her injuries and hurled it screeching from the truck. The sabertooth-Skinwalker screamed in rage as it sailed out of the truck and onto the road behind us.

I naively expected, or maybe hoped, for that to stop it, but the sabertooth seemed to recover alarmingly quickly. The spiney cat-terror climbed to its feet in the blink of an eye and chased after us fast enough to almost keep up, but the Hellfire was voraciously devouring its coat, spreading like the hellish wildfire it was. The Skinwalker narrowed its eyes at me in naked loathing as it suddenly leapt into the air, shedding the sabertooth skin which fell limp to the ground as its body twisted grotesquely, mutating in the space of a heartbeat from the sabertooth into the flying creature from before. Something in the way its body seemed to warp itself from one shape into the next was utterly repulsive, the wrongness of it nearly turning my stomach. The winged beast launched itself into the sky with a single, mighty thrust, leaving the now-lifeless sabertooth skin to the asphalt, and the Hellfire to its meal.

“A griffon?” I shrieked. “Griffons are a thing?”

“Dakota!” Fear and desperation had leaked into Raelya’s voice. “Is Elisa all right?”

Elisa drug herself more squarely into the truck, smearing blood along the bed as she did. She flicked her hand almost disdainfully in our direction, growling defiantly as she crumpled onto the metal beneath her.

“She’s still moving, but she doesn’t look so good. We lost the tailgate, so careful we don’t lose her too.” The sky behind us was clear so I climbed up into the passenger seat next to Raelya and peered out the windows, trying to see where the Skinwalker had gone.

The roof suddenly buckled above us as the griffon-Skinwalker punched its talons into the metal and dropped its weight onto the truck. Nasty razor-sharp bird claws ripped the metal like it was paper as the winged horror rose once more into the sky. I thrust my hand into the hole it left behind and funneled Hellfire into the darkness above, but the Skinwalker was already gone.

“Damn it!” I yelled in frustration. If I could just land the Hellfire on it, I could force it to lose another form. Maybe it didn’t have another flying shape, and we could lose it. Hell, maybe if I kept this up, I could actually kill the damned thing.

I scanned the sky through the hole in the roof, and when the griffon-Skinwalker swooped in again, I was ready. I sprayed the Hellfire upward as the giant bird-beast swooped down, gripping the already torn roof once again and ripping the hole even wider. I saw the Hellfire catch on the griffon-beast’s tail-feathers as the expansive wings lifted it back into the sky, but the Skinwalker somehow twisted itself in half and snapped the feather free before the flame could spread and still managed to catch air with its wings and stay aloft. The jerk.

The griffon-Skinwalker roared, an awful off-sounding noise that threatened my stomach’s integrity again as it lifted itself into the sky and vanished from sight.

“I think it left.” I called to Raelya over the rushing wind from the hole over our heads.

“It will be back!” Raelya slowed slightly to take a turn, completely ignoring the stop sign, though the road was clear anyway.

I glanced back at Elisa and saw that her wounds were healing slowly, but she was still ducked low to the truck bed and there was an alarming amount of blood spread beneath her. I started to climb into the back seat to check on her further when a sudden motion overhead announced the Skinwalker’s return. The sound of its wings had changed somehow in the space of a minute or so since it’d left, and the speed at which they thrust air down through the hole in the roof had slowed. I barely had time to wonder what other flying creature the Skinwalker could change into when I spotted the ruby-scaled behemoth just before it landed on the hood of the truck.

Raelya and I screamed in unison as a dragon— an actual dragon landed on the hood of the truck and glared down at us through the hole in the roof.

The dragon-Skinwalker was big. Really big. But not as big as I might have expected a dragon to be. It was easily as bulky as the truck itself, and at least twice as long from head to tail, covered in red scales and sharp-looking spines that accented its cheeks and the ridges above its eyes and ran the length of its spine. The dragon-Skinwalker snapped its colossal jaws down and clamped them onto the edge of the hole in the roof above Raelya’s head, wrenching the metal open wider.

I spread my palm toward the monster desperately hoping to drive it away once again, but I could see the satisfaction in the fiend’s eyes as the Hellfire I called simply rolled over its scales like water off a duck. Realization caught up to my desperation and I cursed as the dragon-Skinwalker somehow managed to grin.

Enormous, wicked-looking teeth snapped at my hand almost lazily and still terrifyingly fast. I jerked my arm back inside the truck just in time, but I had the feeling that the monster could have had my hand if he’d wanted it. Cold fear rolled through me as I stared at a creature that defied everything I’d ever known, a monster of fantasy that by all rights shouldn’t even exist, a terror that no mere mortal could possibly defeat.

In that moment, I wanted to forget everything and run. But I thought of Elisa, bleeding in the bed of the truck from wounds she’d gained defending Raelya and me, and I remembered the scars wrapped around Raelya’s wrists from when she’d fought the Templar for me.

The strength of the pack is in the wolf, but the strength of the wolf is in the pack.

So I decided instead to face everything and rise.

I dropped to my side and reached under the seat, slapping my hand around quickly to find the weapon Elisa had told me was there. I expected a gun case, or a rifle, so I almost missed the thick piece of metal even when my fingers brushed it, but when I realized what I’d found, I wrapped my fingers around it and drew the sword from under the seat.

“Keep it steady, Imperator!” I yelled to Raelya as I climbed up onto the seat beside her and pulled myself up through the jagged wound in the roof and swung the heavy, Celtic longsword at the dragon’s claws that gripped the truck.

The dragon-Skinwalker pulled its claws deftly out of the way of my clumsy strike, and followed it with a swipe of its own. I ducked into the truck as it scraped its claws over the roof once, then again as I started to straighten again. The dragon-Skinwalker gripped the jagged metal edge of the hole and started to tear it further open to get to me. I slammed the sword point-first into its scaly hand, only to have it bounce ineffectually off the monster’s impenetrable armor. The dragon let out an explosive, deafening roar that left my ears ringing as it reared back with mocking mirth in its eyes.

Determinedly, maybe even foolishly, I gripped the sword with both hands and pushed myself up through the roof, stepping up onto the back of the seat to give myself the leverage I needed to pull the sword free. The dragon-Skinwalker’s eyes swam with triumph as it opened its mouth wide, impossibly, weirdly wide, and brought its mighty jaws crashing down onto me. But this time, instead of dropping back, I slammed the hilt of the sword into the roof, wedging it between two jagged folds of metal, and braced it, screaming with all my might. “Witness!”

The dragon-Skinwalker snapped down on me, lodging the sword into the roof of its mouth so hard, it punched the hilt through the metal roof of the truck, and as it did, I let go and fell back into the seat below, slicing my arms on the jagged metal as I fell.

The dragon-Skinwalker threw its head back and roared again, this time in pain, as it shoved off of the truck and beat its massive wings, lifting into the sky with the sword lodged firmly in its mouth. I was sure my wolf-sensitive ears were bleeding by now from the sheer volume they’d endured.

Raelya floored the gas and the dragon-Skinwalker wheeled around to pursue, whipping its head one way and the other, trying to dislodge the sword from its mouth, but the blade was stuck tight. The great beast shook its head violently once more, then suddenly gave up and simply became the griffon once again. The sword fell free as the dragon’s mouth stopped being a dragon’s mouth, and the griffon-Skinwalker caught it in its back claws and transferred it deftly into the curling front talons as it dove at us again.

The griffon-Skinwalker roared in outrage and loathing, swooping once more with its talons extended. I matched its roar with a roar of defiance, and thrust my hand through the hole once again. The griffon-Skinwalker saw the Hellfire coming and tried to change course, but I’d timed it just right and nailed it with a glob of Hellfire that impacted the beast with palpable fury. The flames practically sprinted up the long feathers, spreading like a lambent plague that engulfed the griffon’s wings so quickly it didn’t have time to react and land.

The flaming griffon suddenly lost all lift as the fire devoured enough feathers to ruin its wings, and the now wingless bird-lion lost control and fell like a comet to the ground, slamming into the trees with an impossibly loud, creaking crunch. I watched behind us as several trees fell beneath the supernatural weight of its impact.

Raelya steadied the truck and ferried us away from the point of impact at top speed, and after a few breathless moments, I realized that we really had lost it for now, and I let myself flatten back against the seat to catch my breath, holding my bloody arms to my chest. “Great.” I laughed breathlessly.

Raelya glanced over at me with naked concern. “What? What is wrong?”

I laughed again, possibly a little deliriously. “Oh nothing, just… There’s an angry Skinwalker after us that can turn into a freaking dragon… and now it has a sword.”

27

Flight of the Valkyries

Raelya parked the battered truck right next to the curb at the tiny airport. I gave the parking lot a careful scan as we pulled in but the terminals were closed, and there was no one around that I could see or smell.

Elisa had shifted back into her human form a few minutes after the Skinwalker’s retreat. Her side had knitted itself tentatively back together, but the bed of the truck was covered in her blood and I was deeply concerned about her well-being. I hurried to the back end of the truck to check on her again as soon as we rolled to a stop, and found her propped up and conscious, which seemed generally like good signs. “You okay, Mama Wolf?”

Elisa snorted mildly. “Will be fine.” She moved a bit tenderly, but the look she gave me when I offered a hand told me if she wasn’t actually fine, she would be soon enough. Raelya got out of the truck with Elisa’s clothes in hand. Elisa pulled her dress on quickly, leaving her undergarments in the back of the truck. Obviously, she thought she’d need to shift again soon, and I didn’t think she was wrong.

Raelya waited just long enough for Elisa to get dressed, then threw her arms around her and nuzzled her cheek. Elisa grunted at her stoically, but hugged her and patted her back softly. I smiled to myself as I stepped aside to look for signs of Amorie.

The airport felt abandoned. This was not the McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville where the facility was huge and newly renovated with nine thousand foot runways taking up over two thousand acres of land, nor was it the Downtown Island Home Airport where most of the private and corporate aircraft landed downtown. It was a single landing strip with a little one-story hut of a terminal and a dozen parking spaces that badly needed repainting. I felt like there should be another word for this place, because it barely felt like an airport at all.

I wandered back over to the others when I was satisfied that we were alone. “No one’s here. Let’s wait inside.”

Elisa nodded, starting for the door and Raelya followed her. The door was locked, but we figured a little protection was worth the trouble of picking it. Elisa had a hair pin and I’d seen this once on an episode of Castle, so I figured I could manage. The lock wasn’t very solid or I doubt I could have pulled it off, though Raelya seemed a little more confident than I felt when she offered to do it instead just before I managed it myself. Once inside, we took a seat and waited, watching out the windows facing the strip.

I sighed to myself as we waited. Raelya noticed and slipped over into the chair to my right, sliding an arm around me gently. I nuzzled her shoulder lightly and she nuzzled the side of my head. “Are you all right, Dakota?” Her voice was soft and low.

I nodded. “Just mad at myself and stuff.”

Elisa glanced my way and raised an eyebrow. Raelya tilted her head a little. “But why?”

I shrugged. “It was stupid of me to drag the two of you out here. Elisa got hurt because of me, you got hurt, and my track record with other people’s trucks isn’t looking so great either.”

Elisa harrumphed. “Silly girl. I am not hurt because of you. I am hurt because Skinwalker is trying to hurt my pack and I chose to fight it.”

I smiled helplessly at her, but I still felt bad. “If I hadn’t decided to drag us out here—”

Elisa cut me off with a thwack to the back of my head. “Who is in charge?” I ducked my head a little as heat rushed to my cheeks. “Hmm? Now stop being silly. Skinwalker is still out there and we do not have time for blame or regret.” I smiled again, unable to hold it back, and nodded once. Elisa held my eyes with hers and nodded back. “Good. Remember, Dakota, Skinwalker is intruder in our home. If something must have blame for these things, blame Skinwalker.”

I lifted my chin. “You’re right. Sorry… I’m just…”

“You are afraid you made mistake, but it is silly to think you could have done anything else. It was reasonable that we come here for reasons we did, and Skinwalker was ready for us. At best, we lured it away from home and pack. At worst, we walked into its trap and still hurt it worse than it hurt us.” Elisa grinned fiercely.

I grinned right back. “Yeah? I guess we did. You were awesome, Mama Wolf.”

Raelya squeezed my arm. “You were awesome too.”

Elisa nodded and grunted her agreement. “I could not believe what you did with that sword.”

I blinked. “What? Me? You’re kidding right? All I did was panic and hold up a sword. He was the one crazy enough to stick his mouth on it.”

Raelya laughed lightly and shook her head. “You made it lose the big cat form with the long teeth. And you burned up the griffon’s wings too!” I scoffed mildly and Raelya eyed me seriously. “Dakota, you fought a dragon with a sword and won.”

“Perhaps ‘won’ is putting it strongly.” Elisa added with a critical sniff. “But you are not dead or eaten, so is an achievement.”

I laughed. “I’m not usually much of an achievement hunter, but in this case—”

A distant cry broke the air and the three of us jerked our heads around toward the sound in unison.

Then breathed a mutual sigh of relief.

It was the sound of an approaching jet, not the baleful cry of the Skinwalker in some horrific form.

I spent the next few minutes pacing as the plane drew closer and closer. A car pulled up outside and I wasn’t the only one who went on alert; Raelya and Elisa both came to their feet and joined me near the window to see what business the newcomer had at the tiny airport.

A pale-skinned man stepped out of the car and adjusted his tie before circling around to the trunk. He pulled out a pair of air traffic light-stick-thingies and jogged over to the runway, tucking them under one arm then settling an earbud into place. His aura made it pretty clear who he was and what he was doing here, if his actions weren’t clear enough.

The jet arrived shortly after; the vampire lit up his light stick things and guided the plane in. As soon as the small private jet was on the ground, the vampire rushed around to the side facing the building we were in and helped settle the fold-out staircase and lock it into place. As I watched him work, I hoped he was unimportant enough to the Skinwalker that he’d be safe leaving here alone when his part in this was played.

Amorie emerged from the jet and descended the stairs briskly. She scanned her surroundings, then pulled out her phone. I pulled mine out just as it started ringing. “Dakota?”

“Look at the little building in front of you.”

I waved through the glass as Amorie glanced my way and frowned. “I thought I told you to stay at the pack house.”

“I thought I told you not to come at all.” I shrugged at her.

“Indeed.” Amorie ended the call and put her phone away. I did the same and waited for her to reach us. A moment later, she stepped through the door and I all but tackled her. “Dakota?” Amorie sounded startled as she wrapped her arms around me in return. “What is—” I kissed her. Amorie seemed surprised but kissed me back and gave me a solid squeeze.

I settled back on my heels after a moment and smiled at her shakily. “Shit got real while you were still in the wind, Am.”

Amorie smirked. “In the wind… Very funny. But what happened?” Her expression sobered as she studied my face.

“The Skinwalker attacked us on the way here—”

Elisa cut me off. “We can tell story later. For now, should focus on getting back to house. Skinwalker is still out there. We should not give it more time to prepare for us than necessary.”

I nodded. “Long story short, Skinwalker attack. That thing is scary, Am. We should stay alert on the way back. We don’t know that it won’t come out to play again.”

Amorie’s eyes flashed darkly for an instant as she ran her finger along my forearm which was still coated in dried blood, though it had long since healed. “I certainly hope it does.”

I took her hand in mine. “Let’s go. Elisa’s right. We should try to get back to the pack house.” Amorie nodded and followed us out. As we hurried to the truck, I noticed the other car in the parking lot and remembered the vampire who had arrived to help Amorie’s landing. “What about your posse back there? Aren’t you going to bring them for backup?”

Amorie smiled at me patiently. “Do not be silly, ma chérie. They would likely only die. I may be a monster, but I am not that kind of monster.” She patted my arm gently. “Besides, I don’t need them.”

I smiled at her, but winced inwardly. I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, Amorie…

We climbed into the truck, Ralof’s poor, battered and abused, now complete with sunroof, hopefully still functional truck, and Raelya turned the key. The engine wheezed and whined at us pathetically on the first try. Raelya cursed in her not-English language and tried again. The engine submitted and came to life despite its continued complaints, and Raelya put us on the road home.

“It looks like things were pretty bad, ma chérie.” Amorie noted, eying the jagged edges of the hole in the roof.

I laughed humorlessly. “You could say that again, Am. You could say that again.”

28

Fools Rush In

The Skinwalker’s cry shattered the midnight silence, and even from miles away, it sent tingles down my spine. Elisa growled lowly in the front seat next to Raelya. “Skinwalker is waiting for us to come away from civilization again.”

Raelya nodded. “He is trying to scare us, too.”

Elisa grunted. “Predator tactics.”

I squeezed Amorie’s hand in the back seat. She glanced up at me and smiled slightly, though she seemed distracted. “Do not worry, little wolf. I will take care of the Skinwalker. It will all be over soon.”

I sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing Am. This thing is really bad news.”

Amorie leaned over and kissed me tenderly. I leaned into her and absorbed the comfort of knowing she was right here, close enough to kiss. She leaned back, smiling at me with her clever little smile. “So am I.” Her voice was low and cold.

I turned my eyes back to the road. “Should we call the pack and let them know what’s going on? What if Ralof circles back to the house because the Skinwalker isn’t in the woods out back?”

Raelya looked to Elisa, concern in her eyes. Elisa nodded. “That is good idea. Call Elliot. Tell him Skinwalker is on this side of mountain. If Ralof comes back, he should know where to take hunting party next.”

I whipped out my phone and made the call. Elliot answered quickly, his tone even and quiet as usual which told me nothing especially interesting had happened at the pack house. Good. I told him that the Skinwalker was on this side of the mountain, asked him to tell Ralof that if he returned, and that we were trying to make it back, but the Skinwalker was obviously out there hunting us.

Elliot assured me he would tell Ralof, hesitated, then asked if he could speak with Elisa. I handed the phone over and let them talk, distracting myself by peering out the windows and the newly-installed sunroof for signs of ambush. Elisa spoke with Elliot briefly, confirming his orders, then returned my phone. I tried not to bristle; Elliot and I would have to settle our dominance battle another time.

We were nearly halfway home when the Skinwalker trumpeted a deafening roar of challenge and impending victory, swooping in from the trees and circling the truck in the form of a Roc, the mythical bird of legend. I knew things like that because, well, Dungeons and Dragons.

The bird was huge, much bigger than Ralof’s truck, and Raelya was forced to dodge onto the shoulder to avoid it’s extended talons as it made a grab for us. She flashed me a grin in the dangling rear-view mirror. If I didn’t know there was a terrifyingly powerful monster after us, I’d have said she was enjoying this.

Amorie squeezed my hand, then stood up suddenly and disappeared through the sunroof, climbing neatly out of the jagged hole with such speed that I barely knew what had happened by the time she shoved off from the truck and landed on the road behind us with force. “Shit!” I reached for the door. “Raelya, stop the truck!”

Raelya slammed on the brakes and brought the truck to a screeching halt. I leapt out, closely followed by Elisa who was already shedding her dress in order to shift. I couldn’t see Amorie on the road, and I didn’t have long to look for her.

The Roc-Skinwalker circled overhead and then it was suddenly falling toward us, its form morphed horrifically from the giant bird into an impressively massive, ancient-looking, spiney bear-thing. I knew what it was because I’d looked up the word “Ursa” after Jack had mentioned it the night of my first run with the pack when we’d come across the Skinwalker’s tracks in the woods. I still didn’t know what an Ursa was capable of, but the ground shook with the impact as the Ursa-Skinwalker landed in front of us like a furry orbital drop soldier. The monstrosity thundered out a grizzly roar of challenge.

Elisa stepped in front of me, just finishing her change to the war form and snarled in response. The Ursa-Skinwalker charged toward us and Elisa clashed with it hard, claws seeking flesh. She deftly raked her claws across the Ursa-Skinwalker’s shoulder and sent a tuft of thick, white fur flying. The Ursa-Skinwalker hit her with a heavy blow that staggered her back a step and she rebounded in a flash, snapping her teeth at the primal bear’s throat.

Elisa was strong, fast, tough, and old enough to know what the hell she was doing. But the Ursa-Skinwalker was strong, so incredibly strong, and unimaginably tough. It’s thick hide seemed to shrug off Elisa’s blows, and while its claws weren’t as sharp as hers, it put enough force behind its blows to prove that her hide was not nearly so thick. In a fight against a werewolf, the Ursa had an advantage in that bears were generally good at fighting alone, and a wolf was meant to fight with a pack. Facing it one on one, Elisa wouldn’t stand a chance, and I knew it.

They traded vicious blows, Elisa landing half a dozen cruel cuts for each attempt by the slower Ursa-Skinwalker to land a single one. But when one finally connected with her, I could almost feel the fearsome force of the impact in my teeth as a massive paw slammed into Elisa and she, in turn, slammed into the ground. I heard something snap, but Elisa was back on her feet in a blink, snarling and diving back into the fight. Watching her fight was awe-inspiring, but I had to get in there and help her now.

My mind raced as I contemplated the idea of shifting into war form myself, but my earlier track record was two-and-oh with the Hellfire, so I decided to go with green burny hands for five hundred. As soon as I saw an opening, I unleashed the wicked flames from my palm, hoping to set the monster on fire. The Ursa-Skinwalker seemed to expect my attack, however, and rolled to the side, dodging in a manner that would have been impossible for a normal bear. I mean, I’m no bear expert, but I was pretty sure bears couldn’t roll like that and just come right back up swinging.

I expected it to go for Elisa again, and that combined with the oddity of its movement left me off guard and unprepared when it leapt for me instead. Raelya, in her wolf-shape, barreled into my side, hitting me hard enough to take the wind out of me, knocking me out of the way and bringing us both clear of the Ursa-Skinwalker’s path just in time.

Elisa roared in challenge from behind and I instinctively understood; she was trying to draw its attention away from her pack. Raelya circled around to the side opposite Elisa and started harrying the Ursa-Skinwalker as best she could all on her own. Elisa forced the beast to turn its attention back to her by getting in close and digging her claws into its side, hard. The Ursa-Skinwalker couldn’t ignore her anymore, so it wheeled on her viciously and tore into her in return.

Raelya snapped at the backs of its legs, darting out and back in, then drew a line across its flank when her teeth found purchase and the Ursa-Skinwalker jerked free. The beast repaid her with a sharp kick backwards that sent her flying with a yelp as she slammed into the pavement a few yards away. Elisa was driven back by the Ursa-Skinwalker’s renewed vigor as it plowed forward, doing all it could to keep her off balance. I started to level my hand, readying for another shot with the Hellfire, when a flash of pale announced Amorie’s entrance to the fight.

The silvery blade of Melhir flashed without hesitation or mercy, diving repeatedly into the Ursa-Skinwalker’s exposed flank. It roared and turned to face her, but she was gone in a flash of movement before it could even get her in view. Suddenly, she vaulted to its other side, lashing it with a savage series of slashes across its ribs. I heard a sickening splish as a globule of Skinwalker blood plopped onto the asphalt. I felt my lip curling; even its blood seemed somehow wrong and awful. I didn’t think blood was meant to sound like that, or smell like that either.

My wolf was pushing so hard that I had to fight myself not to shift and join the fray directly, but Ralof’s earlier warnings echoed in my head about not being familiar enough to fight with the pack. I damn sure didn’t want to be a burden to them. My friends were too close and moving too quickly for me to dare the risk of launching Hellfire onto the monster, so I bided my time, hand blazing green in the dark, and waited for an opportunity.

I found my opening soon enough. The Ursa-Skinwalker, bleeding from dozens of lacerations and unable to catch up to Amorie, turned instead on someone it could catch: Elisa. I’d noticed her beginning to slow from the wounds it had inflicted, and apparently so had the Skinwalker. It might be a wicked, evil, awful, horrible monster, but it wasn’t stupid. It reared up and swiped hard, forcing Amorie to dodge acrobatically out of its reach. She moved so fast, her form all but blurred to my sight, deadly yet graceful and elegant, landing on the pavement in her flowing split skirt and high heels.

The Ursa-Skinwalker wheeled on Elisa, making use of the brief reprieve from Amorie’s assault. It twisted to the side and slammed its weight down with supernatural strength, the force of its blow reverberating through the ground, which was terrifying as that force had to go through Elisa to get there.

The sickening sounds of bones snapping and flesh impacting the asphalt drew a cry of shock and fear from Raelya as I shouted, “No!”

Dread sank into my stomach as Elisa crumpled beneath the massive white beast. As the monster raised its paws to turn on Amorie once more, my heart lurched at the sight of my packmate on the ground. Her torso looked wrong, misshapen by the crunch of bones and tearing of tissues when the Ursa-Skinwalker’s weight had fallen upon her. Blood pooled quickly beneath body. She twitched once, but I didn’t have time to decide if I thought she would make it, because I launched myself, hands blazing, at the dead son of a bitch that had hurt Mama Wolf.

Of course, tiny, mere mortal that I was, the Skinwalker saw me coming. Those eyes twinkled with malevolent glee as it turned to face me, mouth open, widening its jaws ominously and unnaturally. The Ursa-Skinwalker lurched closer as I charged, but something made it turn away. A flicker of supernatural white and silver, Melhir raked hard across its throat and I hoped with all my heart for the clever blade to take its head.

In the opening Amorie had just given me, I darted in and slapped my hands onto its face, pouring the Hellfire out with all my fury. The lambent flames did not disappoint my vengeant rage. They poured forth like a dam had burst, hungrily lapping up the Ursa-Skinwalker’s fur and flesh as if my hatred for the monster before me had become the fire’s own fury.

It would have been a really awesome moment for me if the Skinwalker were just a bear. I’d have set that bastard on fire and made a clever quip about pic-a-nic baskets, and that’d have been that. But the Skinwalker hadn’t survived this long by accident. The massive white bear fell on me with murder in its eyes, its skin bubbling up grotesquely around its face, and suddenly, everything went dark.

I was completely confused for an instant as the darkness around me brought no pain or dismemberment as I’d expected. It took me a few beats to realize what had happened. And by the time I figured it out, the Hellfire started biting into my skin as it spread across the Ursa’s discarded shell.

I made horribly unflattering sounds as I struggled with the heavy, gruesome blanket of the Ursa’s empty skin, shoving and clawing at it, desperately fighting to get it off of me. My heart was pounding, racing, and I could barely breathe with the smothering blanket of abandoned flesh clinging to me vengefully.

I started to panic as I feared the Skinwalker would take advantage of my position and fall on me while I was trapped and helpless, crushing me with its dragon form or slicing me apart with some horrible claws I would never even see coming. It was all I could do to keep steadily pushing, hand over hand, folding the deadly, fiery blanket to the side until I managed to finally shrug it off. Raelya was dancing back and forth in front of me, trying to find a way to help without grasping the Hellfire-covered skin herself, and I was grateful she hadn’t done anything crazy like grabbing it anyway.

I gasped for breath against the pain as the Hellfire seared into my arms where it’d licked onto my flesh, and now it seemed to gnaw at me like a living thing. I screamed as I closed my eyes and focused as hard as I could, willing the fire back into my palms. Reluctantly, the flames crept along my skin, meandering across my forearms, my wrists, and the backs of my hands like a belligerent child taking the longest possible path to his room.

Finally, the flames vanished as they touched my palms and I collapsed to my knees, pressing my charred arms to my chest as they screamed at me in agony. I glanced at the Ursa skin and saw that it was engulfed in Hellish green fire, and I knew the Skinwalker wasn’t getting that form back. A ragged grin crept onto my face despite the searing pain in my arms. Raelya nudged my shoulder with her nose and gave a high-pitched whine. “I’ll be all right.” I said with as much certainty as I could muster.

I scanned the area around me, but to my horror, Elisa was nowhere to be found, though a too-large pool of blood still marked where she’d been. I whipped my head from side to side, fear rising in my heart, mixed with hope that Elisa was up and fighting again, but as I followed the sounds of combat, I still saw no werewolf save for Raelya.

I spotted the Skinwalker a few dozen yards down the road and my eyes grew wide. It seemed even a dragon was no match for my Amorie.

“Holy crap.” I watched as she danced from the dragon-Skinwalker’s arm to its shoulder, leaping onto the armored beast with a skillful flurry of blows that sent a scattering of red scales flying. “I should never have doubted her…” Raelya whined at me again and I got to my feet. “Right. I have to help.” Raelya huffed and I glanced down at her. “I don’t speak enough wolf yet to know what that means, but you have to go find Ralof.”

Raelya tilted her head slightly then growled at me. “I’m serious.” I said firmly. “We need the pack. Amorie is amazing, but I don’t know how many forms that thing has, or how long she can keep this up. If she weren’t a vampire, I’d be even more worried, but seeing as she is, I think there’d be time for the pack to get here and help if we hurry.”

Raelya swiped her paw at my leg. “No. I have to stay and help her.”

Raelya’s frustration seemed to reach a breaking point. She gave up trying to convince me in wolf form and shifted back to her human self. “Dakota, I can not leave you to fight this thing without pack!”

I put a hand on her cheek. “Raelya, you have to. Someone has to bring the pack to the fight. And someone has to help her hold it off until they get here.” I closed my eyes briefly, summoned all the strength of will I could, and then met her eyes and beseeched her wolf to heed me. “Go.”

Raelya’s expression hardened with concern and the obvious desire to say no to me, but she shifted back into her wolf form, threw her head back and howled, then ran off down the road toward the pack house.

I turned back to the fight, took a deep breath, and jogged toward the ongoing battle between nightmarish enemy I hated and the vampire I loved.

The dragon-Skinwalker launched its jaws at Amorie, mouth bristling with fangs as long as my forearm, but my girlfriend ducked under the strike and smoothly sidestepped as that deadly maw snapped shut. Twenty feet of spiked draconic tail raced in, whipping across the ground, but Amorie back-flipped gracefully over the deadly arch at the last moment. It was all too obvious that the dragon form was far faster than the Ursa had been, but still not nearly fast enough to keep up with Amorie. I kicked off my shoes and started shrugging off my shirt as I approached.

A familiar voice came suddenly from thin air beside me. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“What the—” I whipped my head to the side as my heart flipped over and I stumbled a couple of steps back. “Mira?”

Mira’s disembodied voice responded. “Amorie told you to stay out of it. She knows what she’s doing.”

I glared at the nothing where Mira’s voice seemed to be coming from, and as my eyes fixed on that spot, I found I could see the faintest ghostly image of the irritating vampire standing just slightly out of my reach. A crumpled Elisa in human form rested just past her on the ground, similarly transparent, but blessedly still breathing.

Seeing what Mira had done for me, I swallowed a few choice words I might otherwise have used, and decided that the best course was just to ignore her and do what I had to do. “I have to help her. Thank you for taking care of Elisa for me. Please… Please keep her safe.”

I turned my attention back to the fight and started jogging toward it again.

The dragon-Skinwalker reached in with its claws, grabbing for Amorie. She leapt deftly onto its arm, seizing it firmly and sawing brutally at it with Melhir. Scales parted as easily as Ursa hide had, and the dragon-Skinwalker roared and reared back, forcing Amorie to hold on for the ride. I lost my pants and underwear, hopping awkwardly out of them both as I watched the dragon-Skinwalker trying in vain to shake Amorie off. It seemed to give up when its efforts proved useless.

I saw the dragon-Skinwalker’s belly swell as it inhaled, and its underside started glowing ominously, but by the time I realized what it was doing, it was too late to shout a warning. Flames fountained forth from the dragon-Skinwalker’s mouth and my heart skipped a beat as the inferno washed over Amorie’s position. My sensitive wolf eyes were blinded for a moment by the sudden glare of light in the darkness. I didn’t know much about dragons from my SII training manual, but I knew some pretty relevant facts about fire and vampires.

“Amorie!” I screamed in desperation as I blinked my eyes furiously, trying to clear the spots from my vision. Tears streaked down my face in fear despite my brimming anger and I felt myself starting to shift. I broke open the jar of rage that lived deep down in my chest and let it mix with the terror and fury of the moment and that was all it took to call the varulf out.

For a moment, everything went still as my eyes clouded over with red. The dragon didn’t rush me, instead lowering its mighty head and scanning its surroundings with ancient, intelligent eyes. I howled in rage and stalked toward it, ready to tear it apart and feeling as though nothing could stop me.

Amorie suddenly appeared from the darkness and fell on the dragon-Skinwalker’s head. Melhir struck deep, deep enough to stay anchored in flesh as the dragon-Skinwalker roared and whipped its head to the side in anger and agony, Amorie’s dress flapping from the motion like a victory flag in the wind.

The dragon-Skinwalker settled back to the ground, lowering its weight onto all fours as it readied for some kind of attack. The logical part of my brain seemed to have retreated so much that trying to name what the monster might be doing seemed impossible. All I knew was that it still wanted to fight, and I would oblige it as soon as I could reach it.

As the dragon-Skinwalker settled itself down, however, its savaged front leg gave out and it slammed to the ground. Amorie wasted no time, and I could see her fangs prominently through her bloodlust-driven grin as she seized one of its horns and tugged Melhir free, stabbing the great monstrosity again and again through the top of the head, each blow going deeper than the last.

The beast within me surged enthusiastically and I found myself howling eagerly as I hurried toward the fight. Had I been in my human form, I would have been stunned by the sheer brutality of Amorie’s showing. In the war form, I was simply thrilled by it.

The supernatural reptile breathed a gout of flame and arched its neck, eyes rolling back wildly in its head. Just as I crossed the last dozen feet to its side, the dragon-Skinwalker spread its mighty wings and beat them rapidly, sending a powerful gust of air in my direction which threw me back half as far as I had come, and sent me sprawling to the ground. Enraged, I came up snarling and ready to tear the Skinwalker apart, but the dragon was gone, and it took my eyes a few seconds to find the small form that had taken the great beast’s place.

I sprinted for the tall, spindly form that this foolish creature had chosen to take next. Somewhere nearby, my Alpha’s voice rang out in the night and I paused just long enough to answer him back with a howl of my own before rushing my prey. I could see the vampire still fighting with her little sword, and the now puny Skinwalker seemed to have a little sword of its own. I was not concerned with tiny pieces of metal, however. I was ready to tear this pathetic intruder apart and show it the price of daring to set foot in my territory. I finally reached the fight and threw myself on the Skinwalker’s puny back, sinking my teeth triumphantly into its shoulder.

Distantly, I heard Amorie crying out as something small and sharp bit hotly into my side and I felt something tearing deep inside. I stumbled back as the Skinwalker raised the blood-drenched sword and my vision narrowed and swam.

Amorie’s sword slapped the Skinwalker’s sword aside, and he turned his back on me as she forced him to face her. I tried to growl in anger at the dismissal, but my breath caught in my throat. I heard my pack howling nearby. They were close; so close. As soon as they showed up, we would tear this intruder apart. My head swam dizzily, my pulse pounding in my ears, and the ground suddenly flew up to meet me.

29

Little Love

Amorie

I had always loved to dance. My earliest memories were of dancing with my older sisters, and many were the times when my father had whipped me for dancing when I was supposed to be working. When Dreena had taken me in and turned me, I had danced with nobles, and queens, mages and devils. I had danced arm in arm, cheek to cheek, back to back, and blade to blade, with my beloved mistress for centuries.

And now I danced with the Skinwalker.

The Navajo abomination was an uncouth, brutish partner. I imagined it usually solved its conflicts via supernatural strength, and the almost unparalleled survivability and utility of its form-shifting ability. But against me? It was only a matter of time. As it lost skin after skin to my Melhir and Dakota’s Hellfire, no doubt priceless relics each, it grew both more desperate and more enraged, more committed to the prize it had come here to claim.

That was the idea.

My claws dug into one of its horns, anchoring me to its head as I plunged Melhir into its massive skull over and over. The blade, forged as bane to any supernatural and quenched in the blood of my mistress mingled with my own, had never failed to kill, and I knew it would not fail me this night. Dragon-Skinwalker blood sprayed out, splashing my face and soaking my dress, and my vision reddened as Hunger fought discipline to drive my actions.

I watched with amused detachment as it spewed deadly flame harmlessly into the air only a few feet away. I knew if it didn’t change soon, I would kill it regardless, and wondered idly what form it would choose to die in. Then I saw the werewolf coming, and that was almost enough to shake me from my battle trance.

A seven foot monstrosity, a blend of wolf and woman built for war, this one sporting predominantly white and light gray fur with a striking sable jacket and mask, rushed for the fray. I recognized those little white spots under both eyes and knew it could only be my Dakota’s war form, despite never having seen it before.

Damn it, Mira. I told you to keep her out of this!

I’m sorry, Mistress! My daughter replied through the mental link we shared. Your wolf-girl is too dumb and wouldn’t listen to me!

I had no time to respond to Mira’s overly harsh criticism of my lover, a fact she was no doubt all too aware of. I cursed again silently, but could do little at the moment but ride out the momentum of the beast as it reared beneath me. I lost sight of Dakota momentarily as it spread its wings and buffeted the air in agony.

Then, suddenly, I was falling, the dragon beneath me seeming to bubble and boil inside its scaly hide as it shifted into a much smaller form. I hit the ground and rolled, coming to my feet with Melhir transposed between myself and where my senses told me the Skinwalker had gone.

What I saw there elated me. The Skinwalker stood nine feet tall, a deformed and twisted parody of a young Navajo man hidden in its distended torso and too-long limbs. My sources had told me during the flight to expect this possibility, that its original, human form was warped from having been so long bonded with the evil spirit that gave it its powers. Now you are mine, mon ami. I felt the surge of minor magic as it summoned a great, etched blade of its own, brandishing it at me with pride and anger roiling in its dark, inhuman eyes.

It swung the ancient, silver-edged greatsword at me easily with one hand and I ducked under the blow, careful to keep my hair from arching up into the blade’s path. In return, I stuck Melhir into the meat of its thigh and twisted, unable to keep a fang-showing-grin from splitting my face. It really had been too long since I’d had a good fight.

A roar from the side drew both of our attentions for an instant, as Dakota’s war form regained her footing and threw herself furiously at the Skinwalker. There wasn’t time to kill the creature before she entered the fray; I could only hope she had learned how to fight in this form. I rushed the Skinwalker, fast enough for it to lose track of me for a moment, and pressed my blade against its own. Not the most ideal maneuver considering its strength and leverage, but I hoped to distract it from Dakota’s heedless entry.

To my dismay, Dakota barreled forward in a display of predatory brute strength, sinking claws into the chest and back of the ancient Walker and biting deep into its extended shoulder. Her attack lacked the finesse a more experienced werewolf would have brought to the fight, and I knew she was in trouble.

Unfortunately, the Skinwalker knew it too. The fiend grinned at me over our crossed blades, pain mixed with naked victory in its eyes. I felt my own eyes widen as I read its coming actions in the movement of its body.

The Skinwalker tore free from Dakota’s grasp, sacrificing strips of ragged flesh as it did so, crossing its feet and spinning in place, pivoting with enough force to send me stumbling back. I was forced to drop prone and roll as its follow-up arc split the air where my torso had just been, and though I threw myself back to solid footing in an instant, it had more than enough time to swing its heavy blade around, carving through empty nighttime air and werewolf alike.

No!

The blade, silver edged as it was, split Dakota’s tough war-wolf hide without resistance, cutting into her at an upward angle and only barely stopping at the spine. The Skinwalker didn’t want to kill her, not yet, not outright. With a heart-wrenchingly perplexed expression, Dakota’s mighty form crumpled to the ground, trails of smoke reaching lazily upward from the burnt edges of the life-threatening wound. An alarming amount of blood gushed readily from her side.

The Skinwalker wasted no time in leaning over her, jaws distending and stretching in an unearthly, horrid way that made even my dead stomach wish it could turn. It’s trying to take her skin. In desperation, I threw myself forward, intending to let Melhir take its face off as I planted my feet on either side of my monstrous, heavily bleeding lover. The Skinwalker howled, an unearthly sound that did little to dissuade me as he brought the massive blade overhead in a massive chop.

Mistress!

Mira’s concern was not unwarranted; a straight stand off with a much larger, stronger supernatural was not my forte. But neither could I move and let it have Dakota. So I blocked, and while Melhir and the creature's unnamed sword both held, I was forced to brace the blade across both hands as the raw strength and force behind the blow bent me backward over her unconscious form.

We clenched for a long moment, and my opponent had the clear advantage, slowly bending me back to an uncomfortable, then painful degree. But still I did not give, and I answered its distorted snarl of victory with one of my own. I still intended to kill it tonight.

After a moment, the Skinwalker’s howl was answered defiantly by echoes of another one from the treeline, and, for the first time tonight, I saw headlights on the road in the distance, breaking the curve of the road off ahead of us.

Mistress, the wolves are here! They’re going to ruin everything!

I knew that, but I was currently too busy to even think a proper response in Mira’s direction. I felt my dead flesh straining as my spine creaked under such great strain, and my auric senses told me that beneath me Dakota’s life force waned. Finally, I could bear no more, and was forced to fold and fall to the ground under the greater pressure of the Skinwalker’s might.

I rolled immediately to the side, the great blade of my enemy splitting the asphalt where I landed, barely missing me. I heard the screeching of automobile brakes, as lights approached and swerved to the side of me. I heard the roaring challenge of what could only be Ralof’s war-form trumpeting a challenge from the treeline. But victory was within my grasp.

I rolled on the dirty ground, then braced myself, lashing out with a sharp, precise kick. Normally, such a strike would pose no threat to a creature like the Skinwalker, but the ambient discomfort of the anointed-silver stiletto heels I’d suffered all night finally paid off. The deadly spike bit into the Skinwalker’s leg, splitting its flesh and cracking a mutated femur, my own supernatural strength driving the heel in. One of the creature’s alien legs buckled, and handed me a moment of shock to capitalize on.

I let the smell of Dakota’s blood sink in, and released myself to the bloodlust of the fight. Flexing and flipping to my feet, Melhir ripped into my foe between its ribs, once, twice, deeply before it could react. When the Skinwalker recovered enough to counter, it threw a powerful backhand at me with the greatsword still in its grip, but I would have none of that. I stepped into the blow, blocking its momentum with a sharp open-palm strike to the Skinwalker’s elbow. Bones in my palm cracked from the force, but I didn’t need them right now anyway. The Skinwalker stumbled, and I ducked under its extended arm with a graceful pivot, and drove Melhir straight up into its throat and on into what passed for its brain.

Well, that was how I saw it going in my head, anyway. Instead of letting me have my graceful killing blow I could brag about to Dakota later, the dirty abomination stumbled and stepped back, Melhir carving a fissure into the side of its ugly face, its life spared by a fluke of luck more than any skill.

No matter. I was just about to leap upon it, rend its flesh with my claws, sink Melhir into one of its vulnerable eyes and drink its lifeblood, when suddenly it was gone. I watched helplessly as the Skinwalker was spirited away by the barreling force of Ralof’s war-wolf form, carrying a massive warhammer and impacting the Skinwalker with the force of a vengeful, protective, runaway train.

I almost snarled at him, encroaching on my kill and getting in my way, but I fought the blood haze back just enough to reign myself in to the necessary level of propriety. Ralof’s hulking form glanced my way, giving me a lingering look that would have chilled any living mortal to the bone. But he managed, barely, to do the same, reining himself in though the back of his lips still quivered and lifted as if he wanted to snarl.

Meanwhile, at least thirty feet away, the Skinwalker tumbled, coming to a stop on the open ground near the far edge of a curve in the isolated highway. Analyzing it with my veteran’s eye, I could tell it had more broken bones than I’d given it, no doubt from the terrific impact of Ralof’s arrival. Its aura was also weakening, and I could see the colored threads of a warrior’s greatest foe, fear, snaking its way through the muted, dirty lights.

Vehicle doors slammed nearby, and growls from more lupine throats than Ralof’s merged with his in an ominous rumble. I threw myself at the Skinwalker, desperate to deplete the reprieve the pack leader had unwittingly given the creature and, yes, still eager to taste its blood on my fangs. But the Skinwalker proved capable of overcoming its own pride at last.

It took one long look at me, sprinting toward it with Melhir hungrily extended, then glanced around at the swiftly-closing circle of snarling, furious war-beasts, and it finally did the sensible thing. It leapt into the sky as its form bubbled and warped. I skidded to a stop in the dirt alongside the road, watching the massive silhouette of a Roc flap away into the night.

Sang de ma Maîtresse! It was all I could do to restrain myself from snarling or giving into my rage and frustration, even as I willed away the red haze fighting to govern my vision. My planning had been for naught; the Skinwalker survived, and I had no doubt it would return. I’d read that promise in its eyes before it departed.

Why can’t everyone just listen to you, Mistress?

I sighed. I know, right?

Like me.

You are hardly a good example, Mira. But the exchange still left a smile growing helplessly, clearing the lingering bloodlust from my mind. At least until I remembered Dakota.

30

Hero's Luck

Dakota

“Dakota?” I heard my name being called and distantly recognized Amorie's voice through the fuzzy haze my thoughts had become. "Dakota? Dakota, please…"

"Amorie, could you please stop yelling… My head is killing me." I groaned dryly.

"I… Dakota, I was whispering."

I struggled to pry my eyes open, and wondered who had glued them shut. I lifted my hand to scrub at them and hissed as a pain suddenly shot through my side. “Ow!” A rather pathetic whining sound escaped my lips.

Amorie pushed my arm down. “Be still, my silly little wolf. You are hurt. Here.” A soft, warm cloth swiped delicately across one of my eyes then the other. “Is that better?”

I peeled my eyes open and blinked a few times to clear the blurriness away. Amorie’s face hovered over me, and behind her, I could see the ceiling of the pack house living room. I startled and tried to sit up reflexively, but a pain screamed through my side and Amorie put both of her hands on my shoulders, holding me down. “The Skinwalker!”

Amorie sighed and shook her head. “Gone. It retreated before I could kill it, I am afraid.”

I frowned. “The pack? Elisa? Holy crap, is Elisa okay?”

Amorie nodded. “Elisa is fine. She is far better off at this point than you are, I should say. And the pack is all here, Dakota. You’re home.”

“Better off than me? What…” I looked down and saw that my torso was wrapped in a thick layer of bandages from my ribcage to my hips. Someone had slipped a pair of boxers and a sports bra on me at some point which meant I had been really out of it since I had no recollection whatsoever of anyone maneuvering me around to dress me. “How did… Oh…” I suddenly remembered the Skinwalker’s gruesome human-shaped form and the glinting silver sword slicing through the air before me.

Amorie laid her forehead against mine. “I was so worried about you, my little wolf. Why… Why did you not listen to me? To Mira?”

I closed my eyes again and considered that. Pain was starting to reverberate throughout my body from the doubtlessly nasty wound in my side. “To Mira? If I listened to Mira, I’d have donated myself to the vampire’s equivalent of a soup kitchen by now.”

Amorie snorted mildly. “Fair.”

“But… As for you… I’m sorry, Am.” I sighed heavily and found that my right arm didn’t cause massive pain when I moved it just enough to lay my fingers against Amorie’s arm. “I had no idea what you were capable of.”

“I tried to tell you.”

“I know. But I was afraid for you. I love you, you know?” I opened my eyes to read her expression. Amorie’s sapphire eyes sparkled back at me.

“I love you too, silly little wolf.” She pressed her lips to mine tenderly and I kissed her back. As she pulled back from me, I became aware of my Alpha’s presence on the other side of the couch and glanced up to see Ralof standing over me.

“Welcome back.” Ralof rumbled quietly.

I smiled. “Thanks.” I chewed at my lip a little. “Are you mad at me or are you really, really mad at me?”

Ralof snorted and crossed his arms. “Should I be mad for some reason I am not aware of?”

“For dragging Elisa—” I clipped off my confession as I remembered Elisa’s earlier argument on that same topic. “Just in general, I guess.”

Ralof bent enough to put his hand on my shoulder and give it a squeeze. “No, Dakota. I am not mad at you. In fact, I am proud of you.”

I blinked. “Proud for what?”

“For doing what you believed was right, for facing an unthinkably powerful opponent and surviving, and for having the head to send for help when you needed it.”

I mulled that over for a few seconds. “I guess… that makes sense.”

Ralof nodded. “I assure you, it does. It does not mean that you did not make any mistakes.” He eyed me sternly, raising one bushy eyebrow. “For example, it was rather foolish of you to attack the Skinwalker alone in your war form which we had already established you were not practiced enough to handle effectively.”

“I wasn’t alone. I was with Amorie… And I wouldn’t have attacked it in my war form if my war form hadn’t insisted on coming out suddenly.”

Ralof grunted. “Then that is another thing to work on. Do not worry about it over much right now. You are alive, and so is everyone else. I can always lecture you on what you could have done better when you are well again.” His eyes twinkled with humor.

I groaned. “Copy that, boss.”

Ralof smiled and nodded. He pressed his lips into a line as he glanced up at Amorie then apologetically back to me. “I hate to say this, but it would be better if Amorie was not stationed in the living room just now. The full moon is tomorrow and the pack is rather stressed. Having an outsider in their inner sanctuary when another outsider has just intruded in their territory and hurt some of their pack is not the best idea.”

Amorie nodded without seeming offended. “I understand that, Ralof, but Dakota needs me right now.”

Ralof nodded to Amorie as genially as could be expected. “I understand you want to stay with her, but I assure you we will take care of her.”

Amorie opened her mouth to speak again but I cut across her. “Hey Am?” She paused and looked down at me, raising an eyebrow in query. “I’m kinda hot. Would you mind carrying me to that hammock in the back yard? I think I’d feel better there for now.”

Ralof and Amorie exchanged a look, then he nodded lightly and squeezed my shoulder once more before turning to move away. Amorie extracted me far more gently than humanly possible and carried me smoothly out into the back yard. The air was a bit warmer than inside the house, but that wasn’t the point, and she knew it as well as I did.

Amorie settled me against her and laid us both into the hammock. At first, I wondered if this had been a terrible idea considering how much movement goes on in a hammock, but as soon as Amorie settled us in together, her movement ceased entirely. I laid my head against her shoulder and closed my eyes as she held me in the slowly rocking hammock. “Thank you for not making a big deal of it.”

Amorie kissed my temple softly. “Anything for you, my little wolf.” Her voice held a note of fear, something I had not heard from her often.

“I’m okay, Am. Really.”

Amorie’s breathe caught slightly as she inhaled to speak. “You didn’t see what he did to you. At least, not from my point of view. You… You didn’t see your body laying there still, drenched in your own blood, so much blood Dakota… And…”

I made a soft shushing sound. “I’m sorry, Am. I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you.”

Amorie’s mouth quirked up. “But everyone keeps telling you that you can not trust me, no?”

I shook my head slightly. “Really, I’m just very, very new at all this supernatural stuff, and I’m not some superhero who has all the answers right away. I’m just a newbie werewolf with freaky fire-hands who… still has a whole lot to learn about the supernatural world.”

Amorie smiled at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Oh? If you knew all of that, ma chérie, then why did you attack the Skinwalker?”

I considered that for a moment, eyes closed, resting against my girlfriend’s side, grateful to be able to feel her against me after watching the Skinwalker try so hard to take her away from me earlier. “Benjamin Franklin.”

Amorie blinked. “What?”

“All that is necessary for evil to win is for good men to do nothing. Or something like that.”

Amorie’s expression softened and she pressed a kiss softly to my lips. “I believe that was Edmund Burke, my love.”

“Was it? Well, some smart guy said that, and I guess that’s why I did what I did.”

Amorie nuzzled against my cheek softly. “Then I guess I can not hold it against you.” We laid silently together for long enough that I started to doze. As I was drifting off to sleep, I heard my Amorie say, “You are a silly, sweet, brave little wolf.”

I sounded almost drunk as I murmured, “I love you too, Am.”

31

Making Peace

I woke up in my bed with Raelya curled up on my feet in wolf shape. I didn’t remember being moved from the hammock to the bed, but it was easy enough to guess how that might have happened. Raelya lifted her head as soon as I reached for my phone. I groaned a little at the pain in my side, but it was a mere shadow of the pain it’d caused me the night before. Which is to say, it was still bad, but the night before was far, far worse.

Raelya moved gingerly up to my side, flopped down against me and started nuzzling my face. I bumped back against her face with mine until she seemed satisfied and laid her head down against the side of my head while I thumbed the lock on my phone and found the expected message waiting.

“Had to go for the obvious reasons. Call me as soon as you can. I love you. -Amorie.”

I smiled at that and glanced at the clock with a sigh. It was a few hours before sunset; I’d slept most of the day away. I laid my head down and thought back on the night before and fuzzy memories of the aftermath of the fight with the Skinwalker started coming back to me.

I vaguely remembered Andrei sitting near me in the back of the truck, speaking to someone about coming to clean up the evidence and make sure the area was safe. No doubt he was on the phone with SII and they would be responsible for making sure no Unawakened folks in the area would be harmed by obvious evidence of a fight with a dragon or a spare griffon beak laying around in the road. Not that there’d be a griffon beak left. The Hellfire would never have left without cleaning its plate.

All things considered, I was really lucky just to be alive. The Skinwalker could have done a lot more damage if we hadn’t been so lucky. In fact, I wondered if we could have beaten it at all without Amorie. I had no real concept of what Ralof and his hunting party were capable of. Whatever they had brought to the fight, they had brought it just after I’d checked out.

After seeing what Elisa was capable of, however, I didn’t doubt that they were awesome. A whole pack of werewolves working together like that must be really dangerous. The more I considered it, the more I felt we could have taken it out without Amorie after all. Just probably not without casualties.

Thinking of Amorie reminded me of swords and my side started throbbing as if on cue. I looked down and started picking at my bandage but Raelya glanced up and nipped at my hand. After a moment of glaring and staring me down in wolf form, she shifted to her human self and glared at me some more.

“It will be slower to heal than a normal wound, Dakota. The blade was silver. It will heal more like how a normal human heals.”

I pouted. “But it itches… I just want to—”

“You pick those bandages apart and I will have to wrap you up all over again. Keep your hands away from it. Or else.” Raelya gave me a stern expression that reminded me of Elisa. I laughed, regretted it, and went on laughing anyway.

My laughter petered off as I suddenly put two rather important facts together in my head. I chewed at my lip for a beat before glancing over at Raelya with a thoughtful expression. She tilted her head curiously. “I was just thinking. You know that wolf-thing that was stalking me at work? And then the scrying magic?”

Raelya frowned, nodding. “What about them?”

“Well, when it was put forth that the Skinwalker might have been after me in particular, I considered that the wolf-thing could well have been the Skinwalker.”

Raelya nodded slowly. “And then, perhaps, the Skinwalker could also have been the one who stole your hairbrush to scry on you for more information. If it was hunting you to steal your skin, that would make sense.”

I nodded. “Or it could have been working with someone else, like we considered with Elisa. Regardless, I had figured that those events were connected.”

Raelya tilted her head. “But…”

I shook my head. “But I scented the Skinwalker out in the woods the night of my first run. I didn’t know what it was then, but thinking back, I know it was the right scent. And the wolf-thing wasn’t the Skinwalker.”

Raelya frowned deeply. “You are right. Andrei would have recognized it from the run if it had been the same.”

I nodded. “Didn’t connect that at the time, but it makes sense now.”

Raelya leaned her head on my shoulder, frowning worriedly. “That means something is still after you.”

I shrugged gingerly. “Or at least, something is watching me. Something other than the Skinwalker.”

Raelya pursed her lips. “Perhaps the Skinwalker was working with someone else and the wolf-thing was yet another associate.”

“Maybe. But my gut says there’s something we’re still missing in all of that.”

Raelya nuzzled my shoulder softly. “Then we must be on the look out for further clues. But whatever is stalking you, at least you will not have to face it alone.”

I blinked against the warm tears in my eyes as I nuzzled Raelya back. “I know.”

We snuggled together for a few minutes in contented silence before Raelya started giggling. I tilted my head and she shook hers. “I was just thinking back on the fight in the truck—”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “It’s been a bad month for trucks.”

Raelya snorted and shook her head again. “No, just, the things you said while you were fighting the Skinwalker. You are so crazy, Dakota.”

I grinned. “What can I say? When I’m scared, I run off of adrenaline and bad jokes.”

Raelya nodded. “That! You started making those Mad Max references and—” She giggled again. “Dakota, I was trying to drive!”

I laughed, wincing at the pain in my side. “And you were witnessed, Imperator. You shall ride eternal, shiny and chrome!”

We devolved into helpless laughter that left me gasping for mercy by the time I got it under control. Raelya hopped up to get me some painkillers. She assured me they wouldn’t last long, but they should take the edge off for a while. She smiled at me warmly as she stepped out into the hall.

I called Amorie as soon as the sun went down and languished in the velvet purr of her voice for a while. Her work was busy as ever and I wouldn’t likely have a good chance to see her again for a few days at least, but we could always talk. After watching her fight the Skinwalker, I had a dozen questions or more, but I could wait until I could ask her in person. I wanted to see her eyes sparkle and her sly little smile when I asked her for the story from her point of view.

I hoped she would be as excited about that as I thought she might.

Raelya and Elisa had me on bed rest for the next several days, and I might have gone crazy if not for the pile of reading material I still had left over from SII training, and the company of Raelya and Nita who dropped by repeatedly to check on me throughout the week. We spent a deal of time talking about the Skinwalker and what had happened, and I had the chance to thank Nita in person for the information she’d given me, but as soon as we’d run that circuit once, I stopped talking about it. I could tell that Nita still found the whole thing disturbing and I liked to see her smile and rant far more than I liked to see her frown and shudder when she thought I wasn’t looking.

A couple of weeks of rest did me plenty of good and the nasty cut that ran from just below my rib cage all the way to my hip went from a deep, life-threatening wound to something that looked nasty, but reasonably survivable in those few days. It still looked like someone had tried to steal my kidney for drug money, and the bruising was truly spectacular all around it, but it could have been worse. I was going to have an impressive scar and no amount of werewolf regeneration was going to stop that. Elisa was proof that we could scar, and I knew silver was one of the prime reasons why we did.

I was going stir crazy by the time Mama Wolf and Raelya started letting me move around the house again and I found myself wandering out to the back yard to take in the fresh air more often than not. I was sitting on the grassy hill, watching a few squirrels playing at the tree line when Jack sat down next to me out of nowhere, chewing at a long piece of grass.

“Don’t get yer tail in a twist, girl. I ain’t here to pick no fight with ya. ‘Sides, looks like y’already lost one of those.” Jack nodded toward my still bandaged side with bit of respect in his eyes. “I came to talk.”

I eyed Jack suspiciously for a moment then turned my attention back toward the squirrels with a shrug. “You have a mouth, so talk.” I said in my best impression of Tevye, which was a really, really bad impression. From the way he tilted his head and scrunched at his eyes, I imagined Jack wasn’t a Broadway kind of guy. I shook my head and gestured dismissively at my own joke.

“Been thinkin’ about some things while you’ve been down an’ I got an offer for ya.”

I cut my eyes to the side and narrowed them slightly. I might have grown a modicum of respect for Jack in seeing how he’d stood up to the Skinwalker on behalf of his pack, but I still didn’t like him as far as I could throw him. “Can I refuse it?”

Jack huffed in mild amusement. “I actually understood that one.” He shook his head and kept his eyes focused on the blade of grass he’d plucked from his teeth to fiddle with in favor of actually facing me.

I shrugged. “Gotta happen sometime. So what is it?”

“Well, kid, you don’t seem to like me none, and I can’t say as I care for you very much neither. But the way I figure it, the pack working like it ought to is worth a hell of a lot more than any little feud we got goin’ on. ‘Specially since, you bein’ so far down an’ all, it ain’t gonna go good places if we keep throwin’ down every time we’re in the same house or out for a run. Y’hear?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, so what do you propose we do about it?”

“Well, I reckon I’ll go about my business and you’ll go about yours. You keep from gettin’ in my way an’ settin’ me off, an’ I’ll do the same for you. Assumin’ you got what it takes to work your way on up through the pack, you an’ me, one day we’ll settle stuff for good. I figure that saves us both a mess of trouble in the in between.” He cut his eyes toward me without really trying to make eye contact. “So what d’ya say? Deal?” He stuck his hand out toward me and I was mostly just grateful he didn’t spit on it.

I made no move to reach for his hand just yet. “So… I avoid snarky remarks that will set you off, and you don’t flip your shit if a girl you like would rather spend her time with me?”

Jack inhaled deeply and let out a slow, heavy breath. “Somethin’ like that. Though you could start by shuttin’ up about things that ain’t none of your business.”

I nodded like I agreed with him. “Well as long as we’re talking about things that aren’t my business, and not say, Raelya who is my friend, I guess that works.”

Jack shook his head and gave a little humorless laugh. “You ain’t got a lick of sense. I don’t reckon this is gonna work out after all then?”

I took a deep breath and did my best to calm myself down. The werewolf temper was easy to set off, and Jack was capable of pushing my buttons just by breathing in my general direction. But the pack meant more to me than that, and I wasn’t going to unsettle the pack over something like that.

Besides, he had a point, at least a little one. “Nah. I can handle that if you can.” I stuck my hand out. Jack looked slightly surprised, but shook my hand and stood up, settling the dusty old Stetson on his head as he did.

“Welp, I guess there’s nothin’ more to say then. You hold to it, an’ I will too. ‘Sides, I ain’t much worried about you challengin’ me anytime soon. There’s a hell of a lot of wolves, friends of mine even, in the way, and plenty of them’s made of tougher stuff than a—” Jack bit off his word and grinned at me humorlessly. “Well, than you anyway.”

“We’ll see.” I shrugged as casually as I could manage and turned my attention back to the squirrels.

“Yeah, I reckon we will.” Jack turned and walked back toward the house and I spent the next ten minutes thinking of things I would have enjoyed saying to him if I hadn’t been desperately trying to keep the peace with the misogynistic old bastard.

32

Wake Up Call

It took most of a month for Elisa to declare me well enough to go back to a normal life, though she still glared at me regularly if I tried to lift something heavy or if she caught me rough-housing with one of the other wolves in a way she deemed unacceptable for my condition. She’d healed up far faster than I had at any rate. None of the wounds she had taken in her fight with the Skinwalker had been edged in silver the way mine had, and she was a hell of a lot tougher than I was.

As soon as I was fit and able, I started meeting up with Nita again on a regular basis and we started transitioning from reading and conversation to more practical training. I was ecstatic about the career I had landed with SII. It was exactly the sort of thing I had always dreamed of doing; protecting people and making a difference. I had finally found a way to take up that path I’d always wanted, and there was finally nothing standing in my way.

Amorie’s work settled down again after a few weeks of sparse contact and irregular visits, and we started making plans for her to take a night off so we could catch up. I didn’t mind so much that most of the dates we’d had so far were interrupted at one point or another with a phone call at best, or her having to run off to deal with something at worse. I was in a relationship with a wonderful, loving woman who had shown me that I could trust her no matter what others thought of her kind; nothing else mattered next to that.

I settled into life with the pack and my new work schedule which would have me working mostly afternoons into late evenings if things stayed regular, which Nita assured me, they wouldn’t. Not entirely. Nothing was ever that simple.

But we shifted our training sessions to the time of day that would most likely encompass my new shift whenever I was deemed ready enough to start minor field work and I fell into the routine of meeting Nita every day at the SII Knoxville office so it wouldn’t be so hard to adapt when my real work began.

Nita spent extra time working with me on my willpower and magical control. She figured it’d be doubly useful for me considering that training my willpower would not only help me master the Hellfire, but being a werewolf, a little extra control never hurt anyway. I think I surprised her when I asked if I could learn how to conjure things like Amorie. She assured me it was possible, and sent me home with yet another pile of books to read.

We found a nice clearing in the mountains not too far from the pack house where I could practice my Hellfire without much threat of setting the forest on fire, or the SII building, or someone’s house for that matter. Nita had me meditating every night to increase my discipline and awareness, and I had been learning to control the amount of Hellfire I released at a given time.

She had me practicing on some rock formations, honing my precision and ability to call the fire back. It was going pretty well right up until the point when the lambent flames decided to flare suddenly and a gout of fire rushed forth from my palm, bigger than any I’d seen since the dragon-Skinwalker.

“Woah. What the hell was that?” Nita crossed her arms, assuming I’d botched my control.

“I have no idea.” I frowned. “It was really weird.” I turned my hand over and stared at my palm as the Hellfire munched happily on the rocks nearby. Well, I’m not sure “happily” is the right word, but it made me feel better than other adjectives I could have ascribed to the way it chewed at the stones. “It was almost like something just… shoved at the Hellfire. Like something other than me.”

Nita stiffened slightly and stared at my hand. “That doesn’t sound good, Dakota.”

“I know.” I lifted my hand toward the rocks and called the Hellfire back into my palm. It came as willingly as it ever did, which was encouraging for the moment. “What do you think it means?”

Nita considered for a moment before bending to scoop up the small cooler of drinks we’d brought. “Nothing good.”

“I figured that much.” I fell into step with her as she started down the little wooded path that would take us back to her car. “Any thoughts?”

Nita paused mid-step and turned to face me. “It could be nothing. The Hellfire almost has a mind of its own. Maybe it was just… eager or something.”

I frowned. “But that’s not what you think is most likely.”

Nita smirked at me and rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not, Sherlock.” She pressed her lips into a tight line. “It could be Her.”

“I was hoping you weren’t going to say that.”

Nita met my eyes and gave me a long, serious look before speaking any further. “It may be best for you to go and meet with her, like you were considering.”

I nodded. “It may be best for everyone’s peace of mind if nothing else.”

Nita hesitated, then set the cooler down beside her, straightened back up, and grabbed my hands. “You’re my friend, Dakota. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

I smiled at Nita and squeezed her hands. “Thanks, Nita. That means a lot to me. But I may not have a choice in the matter.”

Nita nodded. “I know, and it pisses me right off that you got stuck with this in the first place. I mean, you didn’t ask for this! You shouldn’t have to worry if you’re going to be okay, or if something’s just going to happen to you because some asshole sorcerer decided to go rogue and meddle in things no sane person ever—”

“Nita.” I put a finger up to shush her, waited to see that I had her attention, then smiled at her earnestly. “Thank you for caring.”

Nita quirked her lips to the side and let out a breath. “Sorry. Just… If you do decide to go see Her… Please be careful.”

I nodded as I bent to scoop up the cooler which I promptly settled onto my shoulder like a 90’s boom box. “I will.”

“No, I mean really careful. Not ‘Dakota decides to fight the Skinwalker in her war form’ careful. I mean serious, actual, ‘dealing with a demon and walking out alive’ careful.” Nita fell into step with me again as I continued down the path.

“I promise, I’ll be as careful as possible, given the circumstances.” I glanced up at my friend with a smile. “Besides, what’s the worst that could—”

Nita glared at me. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

I grinned at her instead, and changed the subject. “So who do you think would win in a fight between Deadpool and Alucard from Hellsing?” We argued about superheros and anime vampires all the way back to the car. It was a silly little game, but we enjoyed it. Nita was great at arguing, and I enjoyed mentally sparring with her on a topic we both enjoyed. But in our line of work, it was important to be able to think outside of the box.

And with our job, knowing the difference in powers and abilities between an immortal assassin and an ancient vampire might actually come in handy.

Want More Dakota?

The story continues with Hunted

(Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd #2)

Hunted is the second book of what I expect to be a long series that I’ll be writing for years to come. If you want more of Dakota’s snarky wit and heartfelt antics, be sure to check out the rest of the series, coming soon from DarksbaneBooks.com.

Auralight Codex :

Dakota Shepherd Novels:

- Awakened (#1)

- Hunted (#2)

- Driven (#2.5)

- Blooded (#3)- Coming in 2016

- Risen (#4) - To Be Announced.

- And many more…

Auralight Codex is the cultivation of many stories that I intend to explore in the future with multiple series, so be sure to sign up for our mailing list at DarksbaneBooks.com to always receive our updates on upcoming releases, promotions, and special offers.

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Learn more about Shei Darksbane and her stories at DarksbaneBooks.com.

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More from Darksbane Books:

Annathesa Nikola Darksbane’s

Starlight Saga Starting with:

Destiny Abounds

On the prison world of Urebai, a notorious Prisoner breaks free of her chains once more. On primeval Fade, a decorated warrior flees her home for the stars to escape her past. And under the light of a distant star, a solitary pilot prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice for her people.
This is how the tale begins.
Branwen Hawke left behind the swords and castles of her homeworld to take solace from the war that consumed most of her life. After stumbling into the role of captain of a one-of-a-kind starship with an unlikely crew, she must find a way to keep them together and thriving. But even with years of experience commanding troops, Branwen has her hands full with a lost pilot from a distant world, an engineer with crippling anxiety, an innocent young medic with a secret, a renowned Kala, and her insanely dangerous baggage.
Now tasked with an important mission that could make or break the crew’s reputation, Branwen must face her inner turmoil and find some sort of peace despite the struggles she can’t escape, while safeguarding the lives that have fallen so fatefully into her hands.

Acknowledgements

I remain grateful to my Wifey for continuing to put up with all the things, and to my daughter, for continuing to be awesome and kind, and for learning to make me coffee. That was so cool of you, kid.

I remain grateful to my sister, Jen, for becoming an editor just for me and Anna, and for reminding me to breathe.

I remain grateful to all the friends who have supported my first book, and who continue to support my dreams, encourage me, and share funny cat pictures with me on Facebook.

I remain grateful to Eris, even if she wouldn’t quit capitalizing random words in my manuscript when I wasn’t looking.

I remain grateful to all those who inspired me to begin writing, and taught me how to cope with my daily struggles.

I remain grateful to my awesomeness-penpal, Robert Dahlen, for constantly cheering me up, cheering me on, and cheering me in general.
I remain grateful to Kboards, and wish to specifically add my gratitude for Annie Bellet, Amanda Lee, and Cindy R., all of whom have contributed immensely to my progress with their incredible advice. There are many other people who deserve such thanks, but these in particular, I must add directly.

Thanks to “Damham” Knut Ivar Hellsten, a patron of my arts for many years, for seeing the value in a human soul as few would, and for holding my life in honor as few have.

Thanks to everyone who bought Awakened and thanks again to everyone who left a review, shared my book with a friend, shared a post, or helped in any other way!

And finally, thanks to Dakota Shepherd for writing all the jokes for me.

Pronunciation Guide

In case any of you are as much of a geek for these sorts of things as I am, I’m including this pronunciation guide for the names of major characters in the story.

Names of Major Characters:

(CAPS indicate which syllable is accented.)

- Dakota Shepherd : “Duh-KOH-tah SHEHP-erd”

- Amorie : “AM-or-ee”

- Raelya : “RAIL-yah”

- Ralof : “RAY-loff”

- Elisa : “Eh-LEE-sah”

- Andrei: “AHN-drey”

- Miralina: “Meer-ah-LEE-nah”

- Taya Nitana: “Tie-yah-Nee-TAH-nah”

- Or “Nita” : “NEET-uh”

About the Author

Shei Darksbane is a blue-haired geek with a love of awesome stories of all kinds whether they come in the form of books, shows, movies, comics, roleplay, video games, music, art, theater, etc. She is a proud lesbian and feminist, a human rights activist, and a passionate person in general who loves the wonderful, beautiful world and the incredible creativity of humankind. She refuses to give up believing in magic, fairies, and monsters under the bed, and she feels sorry for those who do. She lives with her wife who has been her partner for over 15 years, their awesome daughter, and one really cool cat named Velvet.