Howl About It

by Donna McDonald

  Elenora saw Harkin look their way and back. Finally, he turned to Jared. “I swear I will lead the pack well,” he said instead.

  Jared stepped close, bared his teeth, and growled low. “Hear me well, old man. If harm comes to any of my pack while you are in charge, I will not show you the mercy our previous alpha did. Do you understand me?”

  “Go with the dragons, Jared,” Harkin said in return, his gaze unflinching. “Leave the pack to me.”

  Jared turned to Elenora. “I will go with you, Red Dragon. You have my word. Send the black fire breathers away from my people.”

  Elenora nodded and lifted her gaze. The black dragons all lifted away but one. He was a smaller dragon and he flew down to land beside her. “Still want to do this, Jacob?” she asked him.

  “Oh, yes, please, Elenora. This is so much better than being bored.”

  Elenora patted his dragon shoulder. “You’re such a good…” Could she consider him a grandson? She enjoyed the boy immensely.

  “Good dragon?” Jacob supplied when she didn’t finish.

  Elenora laughed. Still smiling, she turned to Jared. “My grandson, Jacob, will give you a ride, Wolf. We’ll return you here in a few days—if all goes well.”

  “I would prefer to run to your council,” Jared said, eyeing the black dragon with a feeling close to panic. Flying? She’d said nothing about flying when they’d concocted this plan.

  “How do I know you won’t run away, Wolf? I’ve known a lot of werewolves. Sometimes their words mean nothing,” Elenora said, her gaze moving to Harkin who had yet to address her directly. She would greatly relish roasting him.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Zenos said, interrupting. “The wolves I’ve known were mostly good lads who enjoyed sipping a pint as well as I do. I’ve had some fun times hanging out with packs in my long life.”

  “Yes, but how many of those good lads ended up in your stomach?” Elenora demanded in as loud a voice as she could.

  “Not all that many,” Zenos protested just as loudly. He chuckled at Elenora’s arched eyebrow. “Ya hurt me with yer accusations, lass. Ya said this was a peaceful overture we’d be making to this pack. I didn’t say a thing about eating anyone and now ya have them all worried. Shame on ya.”

  Jared heard the intake of concerned breaths. He snorted and glared at the dragons for their overacting. “Stop tormenting my people. I’ll ride the black dragon. Wait here while I collect my things.”

  “Hurry,” Elenora encouraged, rubbing Jacob’s shoulder again. “I need to get home. It’s going to be time for dinner soon and I’m starved.”

  She smiled when Harkin’s eyes widened at her words. By the Ancients, this was the most fun she’d had helping someone in a long, long time.

  6

  After Elenora sent Jacob home, she transported herself and the now unconscious wolf inside Willa’s house. Moona was stirring something at the stove that smelled like a stew. Her stomach growled in anticipation. The spoon dropped into the pot when Moona realized who they were.

  “Happy Birthday, Moona,” Elenora said.

  “Jared! What have you done to him?”

  “Nothing. Jared got a bit airsick and I gently spelled him to help him deal with it. I’m sure my dragon grandson is busy washing wolf cooties off his back as we speak.”

  “Jared rode a dragon here? Why didn’t you just transport everyone the whole distance? I’ve seen you pop in and out of places plenty of times,” Moona said.

  “The reasons are complicated. Trust me though, flying here was necessary. Can Willa make him a stomach cure?”

  “Willa’s not here,” Moona said. “She took off to get some elusive herb I didn’t bring back with me yesterday. I sent Sha along to keep an eye on her. She has trouble getting around sometimes.”

  “Can you help him?” Elenora asked.

  Moona nodded. “Of course, I can help him, but Jared shouldn’t be away from the pack. Why did he come with you?”

  “I convinced him that he needed to get away for a break. He confessed that Harkin and his family are planning to kill him. There’s an alpha challenge happening two days from now.”

  Moona frowned. An alpha challenge? Why hadn’t he told her? “Jared will win.”

  “Will he?” Snorting, Elenora chanted a levitation spell and moved the sick wolf to the bed. “You think one wolf can win against an entire family who wants both of you dead? I think not, Moona. Jared needs to recruit those who would stand with him before he returns to fight. I’ve bought him some time.”

  “No one in the pack is more powerful than this wolf,” Moona insisted, her hand on Jared’s shoulder.

  “No one wolf might be more powerful, but when Jared returns to the pack, it will be to face a whole group despite what Harkin says. Do you think Jared could survive an organized attack from within his people? Even if his beta dies trying to help him, Harkin’s family is determined to see him dead. Then after Jared is dead, they’ll come for you and Willa without mercy. Magic will not be enough.”

  “No. No. No. This level of rebellion was supposed to be behind us. Jared is alpha. Can’t you do anything about this situation?”

  Elenora fisted her hands on her hips. “With Harkin alive? No. I could help Jared win the challenge, but will the pack follow an alpha hiding behind a dragon or a witch? I think not. They already question Jared’s alliance with them because of his fondness for you.”

  Moona frowned and looked back at Jared. “What can I do? You can’t expect me to just let him die.”

  “Of course not. You could both run away and start over.”

  “Never,” Moona said firmly. “Even to save Jared, I couldn’t run from the very people my parents died to save. If that means my death while fighting by his side, so be it. Gaia knows I’ve lived the best life I could even though I haven’t lived it the way I wanted.”

  Elenora dropped her fists and nodded. “I suggest you make the most of today and tomorrow. That may be all the time you have with your wolf.”

  The dragon-witch was right. The new challenge changed everything. Moona let go of Jared and stood to face the only magical so far to even try and keep her word to her. It was time to make a new deal.

  “Willa doesn’t magically transport as many witches do. That power never manifested. Will you find Willa and take her to the land of the dragons with you? She won’t live much longer, and in the meantime, her healing talents might be useful to your kind. I will gladly trade your promise to help me for your vow to save Willa.”

  Elenora narrowed her gaze. “My instincts tell me your answers are now within our reach, Moona. After this crisis passes, we can resume our search. Don’t you still want that?”

  Moona shook her head. “Given the alpha challenge? No. Willa is more important than me solving my shifting problems. That witch has always cared for me. There is no price not worth paying to know Willa will be safe if anything happens to me. I would even let a dragon make a meal of me to save her.”

  It was the pathetic statement about becoming dragon food that broke through Elenora’s attempts to treat this whole thing like a lark. Moona badly needed the power of her wolf to make her genuinely brave and strong. “No dragon I know would ever eat a human or a werewolf. They have ethics about their food just like every species does.”

  “Your disclaimers don’t impress me as much as a dragon’s size does. Can I have your word to save Willa and keep her safe for the rest of her natural life?”

  “Yes,” Elenora said. She put her hand over her heart. “You have my most solemn vow to do so—Witch’s Honor.”

  Moona nodded tightly. “Good. I will ask nothing more of you. Thank you for bringing Jared to me. We have some unfinished business between us. I’m glad to have this chance.”

  “Let me suggest you finish that business between you before it’s too late,” Elenora advised.

  She studied the humbled female debating whether to say the rest of what she thought was important. The stakes of the challenge were mu
ch higher than Moona knew. Not living with the pack for a while, Moona wasn’t aware of the growing tensions among werewolf packs in general.

  “There is one more thing for you to consider, Moona. If your pack becomes a problem for the rest of the magical community, my replacement—the Baba Yaga—will get involved. I can promise Willa’s safety among the dragons, but I cannot protect your entire pack from the consequences of whom they choose to support as alpha. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Moona nodded and frowned. “If Harkin becomes alpha, and the pack comes under his rule, then the whole pack could die for his sins if they go along with him.”

  Elenora nodded. “Yes. Dealing with consequences is the price of free will. I learned that early in my former career. Any time I chose to intervene, my will had to be stronger than the will of my enemies. In my lifetime, I’ve seen that level of genuine power manifest even in very young, untrained witches. Power—the kind that evokes change—is more about what the witch has inside her. That’s where the real magic resides.”

  Moona grunted. “There is no magic in me. I’m not a witch.”

  “Only because you do not choose to be one. You’re more witch than wolf in my opinion,” Elenora told her sternly. “But magic won’t obey a person who won’t defend it as a way of life. If you weren’t magical, your healing would never work. You may or may not ever connect with your inner wolf, but you can willfully, purposely choose to be a witch and tap into that power. I am both dragon and witch, but it took many years to accept both were in my destiny. You simply don’t have that kind of time, Moona. You only have a couple days.”

  Moona shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of practice at not being what I wanted—or what anyone else wanted me to be,” she said, looking at Jared. “But I will think on your words.”

  “See that you do,” Elenora commanded.

  “Will you give me another moment more of your time? I need to send something to Willa.”

  Moona walked to a chest of drawers and dug until she withdrew a small black velvet bag. She took the amulet she’d worn all her life off her neck and dropped it inside. Carrying the package to the Jezibaba, she handed the amulet over.

  “My mother gave me this amulet for my thirteenth birthday. Willa and my mother were very close. I want Willa to have it.”

  Elenora took the bag. She could feel the magic of it. Moona had worn it so long, she probably had no idea how much it had held her back. “You treat Willa like she’s your family.”

  Moona nodded. “I’ve always seen her that way. I’d have been dead long ago if it hadn’t been for Willa teaching me how to save myself. After my parents died, Jared watched over me. When the pack grew restless about my presence among them, I moved in with Willa.”

  “Family isn’t always made of blood, but sometimes the bloodlines of people you love cross your own in a synchronistic way that only the gods and goddesses can bring about.”

  Moona made a face. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but truly all I heard in that statement was blah, blah, blah.”

  Elenora snorted at the irreverence. “Okay. Let me make this clearer. Zenos is not just one of my red dragon pack. Though I was born a witch, Zenos of the One is my actual great-grandfather. His original dragon form skipped several generations before choosing to manifest in me. Zenos is why my dragon is red.”

  Moona blinked in shock. “Wow. He’s the most ancient person I know. I can’t even imagine how old he is in dragon years. Talk about being well-preserved though,” she mused, shaking her head. She looked at Jared and felt her face flush over her comments about the dragon. “Sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve had a male. I meant no disrespect to your mated kin.”

  “Zenos would only be flattered that you thought he was attractive. He stays young because he gave up his dragon to become a firebird. I have his original dragon. He now has his immortal father’s. That’s our connection. We are an unusual family, but I’ve grown fond of the sneaky bastard. Perhaps you and Willa cross blood somewhere along your life paths as well. One day you should look into it.”

  “Maybe,” Moona said, not really caring. She knew what she felt for Willa. Her hand went to her throat. “Sorry. It’s going to take a little while to get used to the amulet being gone.”

  “Do you want it back?”

  “No,” Moona said, dropping her hands. “Beth might steal it from my dead body and wear it. I would hate that.”

  Elenora bit her lip to keep from saying what the amulet would do to the mean she-wolf. Better that Moona sent it off though. “Okay then. I’ll see Willa gets it. Your bobcat will probably return to you once I take Willa back to my lair.”

  “If Sha knows what’s good for her, she’ll keep her distance from me and Jared. Wolves hate cats. The pack would not be kind to her if something happened to us.”

  Elenora smiled. “Don’t underestimate your familiar. Sha’s real name is Sharada. She was named after Saraswati, the Indian Goddess of Learning and Knowledge. In her original incarnation on this earth, Sharada was bred as a liger, which is a lion-tiger animal mix. She was five times the size of the largest known tiger or lion when she was only half-grown. I doubt a bigger liger would ever have existed if she’d been allowed to become full size.”

  “That bobcat is not a tiger.”

  “Not tiger—a liger.”

  Moona waved the comment away. “Tiger. Liger. She’s still a cat, isn’t she?”

  “More like she used to be a cat,” Elenora explained. “The scientist that made Sharada grew to fear her so they had her put down. Before her death, Sharada swore loyalty to any goddess who would find her spirit another life. That’s how she got her a job as a familiar. The other familiars thought she was nuts to take on a wolf who may or may not be a witch, but she said you were the most fearless creature she’d ever met. She considers it an honor to be your familiar.”

  “Willa might need a familiar, but I promise you, I don’t need one. I’m not a witch…” Moona sighed. “How do you know these things about Sha? Did you make them up just to get me to feel empathy for her?”

  “No. She told me her story. Talking to animals is something most witches can do. I imagine Willa can do it as well, but it seems like she keeps a lot of her skills secret from people. Your healing mentor thinks werewolves, in general, aren’t trustworthy about magic.”

  “I would say that was a truth,” Moona agreed. “If Sha comes back, I’ll probably tell her I know what she is, thank her for coming, and then send her away before she loses her life this time around as well. My chances of living more than two more days are kind of small at the moment.”

  Elenora rolled her eyes. “Get down off that cross, Moona. Use the wood to build a fire so you can see some real possibilities in your dark world. Don’t you want to be as brave as your bobcat thinks you are?”

  Moona snorted. “Is that your idea of a witch joke?”

  “No,” Elenora said. “It’s me trying to show I give a shit about your outcome, though I don’t know why I’m working so hard to convince you when you’re so reluctant to face your fears. And now I’ve said too damn much. See you. I’m out of here.”

  Moona blinked and found herself looking at nothing but air.

  7

  “So you’re a witch. Where the hell was I when that happened?” A growly, drowsy voice said from the bed.

  Moona turned back to Jared. Even sick, he looked like every male fantasy she’d ever entertained. “I’m not a witch. You were just dreaming.”

  “No, I wasn’t,” Jared protested. He rolled his head and smiled. “My dreams are always about us having sex. Keeps me horny as hell for you.”

  “How is your stomach feeling?” Moona asked, glossing over Jared’s flirting.

  Jared laughed low and rough. “Wolves are meant to run on the ground but I flew here on a dragon’s back. I felt sick the moment we took off. The rest was just me screaming and being ill. I’m glad no other wolves were there to witness it.”

  Despite
herself, Moona laughed at Jared’s story—one she knew he would never, ever have shared with anyone else. “Knowing dragons as I do now, I doubt you were given much choice about the flying. It was brave of you to even agree.”

  “There was no other choice and the dragon was a kid. He laughed every time I called out in fear.”

  Moona chuckled. “Well, the good news is that your dragon ride didn’t kill you. Just rest a while longer until the sickness passes.”

  “Rest is not going to save us from what’s coming, Moona. I had to leave Harkin in charge to come here. At least the whole pack is watching his every move while I’m gone. Your dragon-witch helped me come up with a cover story and a plan to leave. When I return though, I will have to fight Harkin, and probably his people.”

  Moona sat down in the chair by the bed. “I know about the challenge. The Jezibaba told me.”

  “Why don’t you call her Elenora? Everyone else does. She seems very different from the stories wolves tell about her.”

  “I continue to call her the Jezibaba because I like thinking that she’s still a bad-ass witch instead of a politics-loving dragon.”

  “Tell me you didn’t say that to her face.”

  Chuckling, Moona shook her head. “No. I just thought it. I have learned to exercise a little self-control over the years.”

  Jared laughed. “Yes, but your mouth still often moves faster than your brain. Oww…” He rubbed his arm where Moona smacked it. “You know it’s true.”

  “Yes, but it’s not the kind of thing you tell a female you’re supposed to be in love with.”

  Jared chuckled. “It’s about damn time you acknowledged my feelings. Now say it back to me,” he ordered.

  “No.” Moona jumped from the chair when Jared rolled upright to sit. She hustled to get a glass of water and sprinkle a couple herbs in it before returning to Jared. Her long reach allowed her to stay nearly three feet away from him. She hadn’t stopped growing until she was forty. She had long arms, long legs, and a body that was meant for sharing.