“Most of those converted are parents of children who are still completely human. We learned control quick. We had no choice. I admit a few animals in the woods probably suffered during our learning curve. Some in our group remain omnivores.”
Nodding, Reed held the man’s gaze. “The Black Wolf pack will welcome you and your people. I can’t promise you that they won’t be afraid every moment you’re there.”
“That’s fine,” Jon said, grinning at the reluctant man. “I can’t promise we won’t be scary.”
Stewart listened to the discussion and then walked forward to stand by the bear shifter his mother had hugged. “You’re not scary to me. Before Mom went to rescue you, I saw you in my dreams. I knew you would turn out to be a nice bear. I told her not to worry.”
Jon laughed and knelt down to be more on the boy’s level. “Is that right? So, what do you see about my group and Reed’s pack becoming allies?”
Stewart studied the man to see if he was serious, then looked at his mother. “Can I tell him what I see?”
Brandi shrugged. “Follow your gut.”
Stewart turned back to the bear shifter. “If you go to Alaska, all the bears will want to stay there. That works out best for everyone because Reed’s pack will protect your pack, and you’ll protect them back. Everyone will feel safer—eventually.”
“Except bears don’t normally live in packs,” Jon pointed out with a grin.
“Well… right,” Stewart agreed with an eye roll, “but calling you a ‘sloth of bears’ doesn’t make any sense at all. If you don’t like ‘pack’ as a term, I’d rather say ‘group’ when I talk about your people. If you were real bears, your wife would have run you off by now so she could raise your children all by herself without your input. I’m guessing it works differently for bear shifters because she’s giggling at my comment.”
“It does indeed work differently, which makes me a fortunate man to get to keep my family. How did you get to be so smart, Stewart?” Jon asked.
“Mom told me Grandpa Sheldon put special vitamins in my milk when I was a toddler. I don’t really remember it,” Stewart explained.
Jon nodded his head as he stood. He looked at Reed and sighed. “Let’s take a walk, Reed of the Black Wolf pack. I’ll show you around our humble compound. We’re living completely off-the-grid out here and proud of what we’ve created. Most of our energy is solar now.”
Reed looked down at Katarina and grinned a little. “I’m leaving. Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone, shorty.”
Katarina waved away his insinuation about her height. She could take teasing as well as give it—most of the time. “Go talk man stuff with Jon until the two of you trust each other. Maybe talking will make you more like Russian werewolf who is not frightened of bears.”
Reed chuckled at Katarina’s insults. She loved bossing people around, especially him. “The only thing that frightens me at the moment is you being out of my sight. What happens if you jump in front of someone’s tranquilizer gun while I’m gone? Your bravery will get you in deep trouble one day.”
Katarina snorted as she crossed her arms. “Or it will bring me great honor. Do not forget that I saved you, Temptation. I am still waiting for thank you.”
“You did not save me. You interfered in a fight meant for me,” Reed said.
“Da,” Katarina answered. “And my actions kept you in fight. Otherwise you would have slept through it.”
Reed lifted a hand. “Whatever happened… the bad guys still got away.”
She lifted a shoulder. “The bad guys had weapons. You and your people did not.” Katarina glared. No man was worth this headache. “Fine. Next time, I not interfere. Instead, I let tranquilizer dart find you. When bad guys abduct you, maybe I will ask if they need help.”
Reed laughed at her statement and at the fire in gaze. “Fine. You win. Thank you for taking a tranquilizer dart for me, Katarina Volkov.”
“Your words are too much like Yana’s. One minute this thought. Another minute that feeling. I don’t know why I care about what you think,” Katarina said.
Snickering, Reed reached out and used a knuckle to lift Katarina’s chin. “Guess finding out is yet another thing we have to put off until later.”
Katarina stared in Reed’s eyes. “Yes. Later. Always later.”
Laughing, Reed dropped his hand and stepped away to put some distance between them before he did something stupid—like kissing her senseless the way he kept wanting to.
Stewart watched Reed for signs of aggression as he quietly moved to Katarina’s side. “Don’t worry, Alpha Prime. Mom and I will look out for Katarina while you’re gone.”
Reed laughed at the human boy who so badly longed to be a wolf. All of Brandi’s adopted children were enigmas, as were the unusual beasts growing inside them. “Guarding Katarina is quite the job. Only someone with the heart of a wolf would offer.”
“Thank you,” Stewart said, hoping the man was right.
When Reed and Jon were out of sight, Stewart slowly turned to the woman he’d promised to protect. Katarina was smiling oddly as she watched Reed walk away. Maybe it was a Russian thing. “I don’t know what it means, but Reed’s entire body gets stiff when he talks to you, Katarina.”
Katarina chuckled at Brandi’s soft swearing as she patted a confused Stewart’s shoulder. “Da, I know what it means. That’s why I call him Temptation.”
Jon asked them to stay overnight so they could meet everyone. While Brandi, Gareth, and Reed were talking to Jon about the logistics of temporarily moving his people to Alaska. Katarina roamed the camp with a nervous Stewart dogging her heels.
“Why are you following an old she-wolf around? You should be talking to those here your age. You are not wolf. You are a hybrid human with wolf tendencies. I think you are closer to them as people.”
“It’s too hard. Do you expect me to talk to other eight-year-olds? Or someone who’s a teenager?” Stewart asked with a snort. If his legs grew any longer or bigger, he’d be busting out of the pants he’d worn here. So far his parents hadn’t noticed his recent growth, but once they were no longer focused on bears, they would. It was the downside of having two government agents for parents. “I don’t even know what age I am.”
Katarina stopped and fisted a hand on her hip. “Did we not discuss the wisdom of accepting your destiny? You are growing like special werewolf. Deal with it.”
“We discussed my destiny, but not the specifics,” Stewart admitted as he kicked a rock. “Talking with an adult is very different from talking to humans closer to my body’s alleged age—whatever that is, at any given moment.”
“You whine like the four-year-old you were last week. Wolf up, boy.”
Stewart burst out laughing. He was eight last week, not four. But it was still funny. “Wolf up? Is that a Russian saying?”
Katarina grinned. “No. That is Katarina saying.”
They wandered by a group of teenagers who were hanging out. A blonde with blue eyes and a long braid running down her back to her waist waved at Stewart, who immediately ducked his head and pretended he hadn’t seen her greeting.
Sighing, Katarina grabbed the boy by the arm and forced him to go with her as they headed toward the snickering and giggling teens.
“Privet vsem vam. My name is Katarina Volkov. This is Stewart Longfeather.”
“Dobro pozhalovat' v nash dom,” the pretty blonde replied with her gaze fixed solidly on Stewart.
Katarina’s mouth quirked at both corners. The girl had welcomed them in decent Russian, but she knew all that effort was not for her but to impress the handsome yet too-quiet boy at her side. “Bol'shoye spasibo. Your Russian is good. We are happy to find such a warm welcome here.”
“Thank you. Mom and Dad studied abroad in St. Petersburg before I was born. They happily passed along what they learned because that’s what they do. It wasn’t much,” the blonde said as she reluctantly moved her gaze back to Katarina. “My name is Terra spe
lled like terrain. Dad said he was in a weird place when he helped Mom name me. My older brother’s name is Brett.”
Katarina smiled at the girl. “We were taking a walk. We did not get tour earlier. Now everyone too busy.”
“No problem. This place is not that big. I can show you around,” Terra said, rising from her seat.
Katarina lifted an eyebrow when the others grumbled at the girl’s leaving. So much for this off-the-grid experiment, she thought.
Perhaps it proved something about resource sustainability, but that was all.
Humans were social animals every bit as much as werewolves—or normal wolves, in her opinion. Humans also formed their little packs, and always one turned out to be the leader. She imagined Terra’s newly formed breasts, shiny blonde braid, and muscular legs had much to do with her current occupancy of the leader role.
The three of them set off walking with Terra choosing to walk beside Stewart who was nearly her height.
“Are both of you wolf shifters?” Terra asked.
She was once again looking at Stewart, who still seemed unable to speak. Their childish drama had Katarina rolling her eyes.
“Yes, but I am natural wolf. Stewart is created wolf like Brandi. She and Gareth are Stewart’s parents.”
“Awesome,” Terra said happily with a genuine smile lighting her face. “Brandi and Gareth saved my Dad and now he’s a bear—like a GIANT bear. He’s huge when he shifts.”
“They’re not my actual parents. I’m adopted,” Stewart blurted out.
Terra chuckled. “They’re like the coolest people I’ve ever met. Lucky you to get adopted by them.”
Katarina elbowed the boy until he yelped. “See? It is like I said.”
Stewart rubbed his side. “Okay—I wasn’t disagreeing.” He finally looked at the girl. “Did you hear me disagreeing?”
“Nope,” Terra confirmed, grinning at him. “Are you some kind of geek? Because you sound way too smart to be someone normal. And you’re barely talking. I don’t mind quiet people, but everyone sort of had a bet going on about you when you climbed out of the plane. I went with geek.”
Stewart sighed and shook his head.
“He is very smart,” Katarina declared, putting all the passion she could muster into her voice.
Stewart glared at Katarina before looking at Terra. “I’m not really smart. Well, I am smart, but not that smart. I’m just…”
“Always curious?” Terra suggested.
“Always,” Stewart admitted.
“Me too,” Terra said. “We’re going to be best friends. I can tell.”
“How old are you, Terra?” Katarina asked.
“Sixteen. Do they have lots of cars in Alaska? I really, really want to learn to drive. Dad is so reluctant. He wants me to wait until I’m eighteen. That’s like a whole two years away.”
Katarina laughed. “I remember when I thought same. Now I see two years is merely whisper of time.”
Terra giggled. “A whisper of time—that’s pretty.”
“Just like you,” Stewart said, then stopped walking. “Uh… did I just say that out loud?”
Terra giggled harder. “Say what, Stewart?”
Stewart blew out a breath and dropped his gaze to the ground.
Terra’s head swiveled on her shoulders when she heard people talking and laughing nearby. “Hang on a moment. I need to deliver a message for my Dad. I’ll be right back and I promise to go into tour guide mode then.”
They watched the pretty Terra jog off.
Katarina elbowed the boy again and chuckled.
Stewart made a face as he moved out of reach. “Oww… what did I do now?”
“All the right things to intrigue a pretty girl. Where did you learn slip of the tongue trick? Question after was flash of brilliance.”
Katarina laughed loudly when Stewart’s face crinkled in confusion again. Brandi had no idea how fast her little hybrid wolf was growing up. Should she warn the nano wolf? Or just quietly inform Gareth that perhaps he should have ‘the wolf talk’ about females with his hybrid son soon.
“Are all girls naturally punchy?” he finally asked as he rubbed his arm. “Geez… I figured it was only Aggie when she got in one of her moods.”
“You have a lot of destiny to accept in very short time,” Katarina said. She patted Stewart’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I will remind you without punching next time.”
Stewart rolled his eyes but grinned when Terra jogged back to them with a smile.
5
The next morning Stewart sat with Terra and the rest of the children during breakfast, which was spread out on communal picnic tables.
Katarina grinned when Brandi filled her plate and brought her food to the adult table and purposely sat where she could monitor her son. “You are good mother.”
Brandi sighed. “I know I’m being obvious about watching him, but it’s necessary. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to see Stewart interacting with others, but he was mentally and physically eight a short while ago. Jumping from that young age to being a teenager is a big span for so short a time.”
Katarina nodded. “I moved out of my pack at Terra’s age. It was hard transition, but I was mature enough. Many werewolves grow fast. Stewart is optimist about changes. I do not see real problem for anyone but his mother.”
“Thank you,” Brandi said quietly. “I think I really needed to hear that from someone other than Gareth.”
“Gareth is good father. Time for Gareth to have talk with Stewart though,” Katarina added as she dug into her food. There was no meat, but the eggs and vegetables were good.
“What kind of talk?” Brandi asked.
Katarina laughed at the innocent demand in Brandi’s question, but chose not to illuminate her. Brandi was sharp. She’d figure it out as soon as she heard Terra and Stewart flirting with each other.
“Are bears coming to village?” Katarina asked.
Brandi nodded, wrenching her gaze away from her smiling son. It was strange to see Stewart smile so much.
She brought her attention back to Katarina. “The quick answer is yes. There are some logistical issues to work out. The two or three full human adults living with the bears are not keen on relocating to Alaska, even temporarily. I think we may be under forty-five total by the time it actually happens. The cargo plane I ordered can haul a hundred so they’ll have plenty of room to bring stuff they’ll need for the next few months. We’ve tentatively asked them for a six-month stay.”
Katarina nodded as she continued to eat. “Will you fly big plane full of bears home?”
Brandi laughed. “I could fly it, but I don’t think Gareth could handle it if I did. No, I’ll fly the little plane back. We arranged for our cats to deliver the bears to Alaska.”
“Cats?” Katarina gave a shiver. “Such messy creatures. You own cats?”
Brandi chuckled. “No. They’re panthers who don’t shift. Very good-looking and totally devoted to each other. You’ll like them. They’re Nordic but have worked all around the world. They say they love Russia.”
“Panthers…” Katarina shook her head. “Soon village have whole zoo. We charge tickets and make money.”
“You’re joking about the zoo, but I’m still debating where to put the monkeys. They’re great at Intel, but they’re incredibly messy and like to party a little too much. Reed’s got his plate full with accepting the bears. I’m thinking hybrid monkey shifters would send him over the edge.”
Katarina stopped eating to stare. “You shock me again. Who made monkey shifters?”
Brandi stopped eating too. “I can’t tell you that because it’s super classified, but I can tell you what the cats told me when I asked them the same question.”
“Because cat men are smart like Stewart?”
“No,” Brandi said with a grin. “My son is smart. The cats are smart-asses. Totally different skillset.”
When Katarina laughed at her joke, Brandi’s grin widened. “The cats
told me that turning humans into monkeys was reverse engineering and easily done. After that, I stopped asking questions about the new shifters I met.”
“Reverse engineering,” Katarina repeated, chuckling as she shook her head. “Makes good plot for horror movie.”
Brandi nodded as they both put their entire focus on their food.
“I need a favor,” Brandi said, nodding to the smiling Terra before focusing on her son who was sitting very close to Jon’s charming daughter. She’d never seen her shy son sit that close to any female except her and Aggie.
“Sure,” Stewart said, sliding off the picnic table to stand.
When the boy ended up eye-to-eye with her, Brandi sighed and dropped her gaze to the ground. “Whose clothes are you wearing?” She didn’t know whether to be proud of him for accepting help outside of his family or be appalled that he hadn’t felt he could tell her he was growing again.
Stewart shrugged. “The shirt’s mine, but the pants belong to Terra’s brother, who’s eighteen. I outgrew my clothes again. Nothing I brought with me fits now. I knew Dad’s clothes would still be too big.”
Brandi nodded, dropped her head, and sighed again herself. It made her wonder what was happening to the other two. Ryan’s parents might say nothing because they adored the kids, but surely Ryan and Heidi would call her.
To ease the moment, Brandi shoved her son’s shoulder and laughed at his shocked expression. “I knew I should have bought the next two sizes up when we went shopping. You’re growing so fast I can’t keep up. At least slow down until we get home.”
Stewart chuckled at his mother’s teasing. It relieved his mind to know she wasn’t mad about his recent changes. “Everything important is covered now. No one’s seeing my… ankles.”
Brandi’s eyebrow lifted at his snarky joke. “And it better stay that way, Stewart Longfeather. Nobody better be seeing your ankles but me and your father.”
Both of them turned to look at her when Terra laughed loudly.
“Sorry. Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth. “It’s just really nice to hear how normal you both sound.”
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