Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Shay stared at her. “I’ve got no idea what you are talking about, Tess. I am not Mr. Gee’s employer, or yours. Where the hell did you get a hare-brained notion like that?”

  Tess tightened her lips. “I’m not at liberty to tell you that information.”

  He laughed suddenly. “Okay. Since you are so committed to finding the truth, perhaps you could do me the same honour.” He paused. “Agent Tess Nolan, that is.”

  She paled, staring at him. “How the hell do you know that? Oh, of course! You are the criminal mastermind behind this whole enterprise. I should have realised that you had me pegged from day one, when you decided to play with me for your amusement.”

  He frowned. “I’m not playing with you,” he said in a low voice. “I know that you aren’t a real art forger. I found out because I’m not a real criminal either, Tess. I’ve been working undercover on this case just as you have been.”

  Her eyes widened. “What on earth are you talking about? What agency do you work for?”

  He stilled, watching her carefully. “I don’t work for any government organisation,” he said slowly. “But I do work with a pack called the Wild Keepers, who are sworn to protect the city.”

  Tess blinked. “The Wild Keepers? What the hell is that?”

  Shay sighed, running his hands in his hair. “Look, I’m just going to tell you. We’ve obviously moved beyond everything now, and both our covers are blown to pieces.” He took a deep breath. “But I’m warning you. It’s going to be hard to believe.”

  Tess’s eyes narrowed. “Try me.”

  Shay took another deep breath. “Okay, here goes,” he said. “The Wild Keepers are a pack of five wolf shapeshifters. We live in the city in a secret location. The pack has existed since the city was founded, sworn to protect it from a race of demons. The Vilgath.”

  Tess stared at him, then burst out laughing. “Wolf shapeshifters? A race of demons? Are you completely insane?” She stopped laughing abruptly. “You really could have done better than that, Shay. A fairy tale about shapeshifters and demons!”

  He stared at her, his eyes intense. “It is true.”

  She put her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Okay. Let’s say it’s true. You are telling me that you as a member of this… pack became suddenly aware of this art forgery operation and decided to go undercover to investigate it? Am I right so far?”

  He nodded.

  “And while undercover,” she continued, “you just happened to see me and want to reconnect. By pure coincidence.”

  He nodded again.

  She stood up, staring down at him. “And now, for some unfathomable reason, the middle man in this operation called you out to a remote village on the coast to kill you.”

  “It seems that way,” he said slowly.

  She kept staring at him. “Oh, does it? Well, I’ll tell you how it seems like to me. I think you are a lunatic, who can’t keep one lie straight in his own head. Do you even know what is real, Shay? Or are you running so many parallel storylines in your own head about what you are that they are all starting to blur together?”

  He stared at her sadly. “I’m sorry you believe that of me, Tess. And you know what? I don’t even blame you. You thought that I deserted you all those years ago, running off into the night. You’re still angry. I get it.” He took a deep breath. “And you have been thinking I am a criminal this whole time since we met each other again. But I’ve been thinking the same about you.”

  She gazed down at him, almost pityingly. “This is all just another pack of lies, Shay. The worst thing about it is that you aren’t even being clever anymore. Did you really think I would swallow a fantasy story about shapeshifters and demons? I’m disappointed. I would have thought you could do better than that.”

  A silence descended over the room, shrouding it like a mist.

  His voice cut through it, suddenly.

  “You know how you thought I deserted you that night?” he whispered. “It’s true, I did. But not intentionally. I had only started to shift at that age, and it often happened spontaneously. When I was angry or upset. Strong emotion could bring it on.” He paused. “That’s what happened that night. I didn’t want to leave you. I shifted suddenly, and my wolf ran off into the night.”

  Her eyes widened. “A wolf?” She suddenly saw the vision of a large dog sprinting off. It had always been part of the mystery of that night. Her blood suddenly ran cold, and she stared at him.

  “If it’s true,” she began slowly, “do it now. Show me.”

  He took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Only for you. But I can’t do it here, in a house. Maybe we could go to a private beach, or some woods? I can’t predict how the wolf will behave, and it needs to run.”

  Tess nodded, her heart starting to thud so hard it was like thunder in her ears.

  Was she insane to agree to this? Could it be true?

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was after eleven at night by the time Tess parked the car near the isolated beach. It had taken half an hour to drive here, on winding dirt tracks that she could barely see to navigate in the dark. They had not spoken a word the whole way.

  She still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to this. That she was actually entertaining the notion that he might be telling the truth. Every logical bone in her body screamed that it was a story; and such a fanciful story that it beggared belief. Shapeshifters and demons. There was still a strong part of her that was angry with him that he thought she was so gullible that she would swallow this nonsense.

  But there was an equally strong part of her that wanted to know for certain. As soon as he had told her about the wolf running away that night all those years ago. She had always wondered how Shay had so quickly vanished that night. One minute he had been there, and the next she had turned her head and he was gone. But she had seen what she thought was a large dog running away. A dog that she had neither seen nor sensed prior.

  A large dog…which equally could have been a wolf. In fact, it had looked more like a wolf. But her mind was conditioned that it couldn’t possibly have been a wolf she had seen. How could a wild wolf have wandered into suburbia like that?

  Tess turned to Shay sitting next to her in the passenger seat.

  “What now?” she said abruptly, breaking the silence between them.

  He turned to her. “Now we get out and find a spot on the beach. You should probably stay a distance away.” He took a deep breath. “I have no consciousness when the wolf takes over. So I can’t tell you that you will be safe around it, although I think you would be. It is primed to sense and hunt down evil, particularly demons.”

  Tess smiled. “I’ll keep my distance, then, but not so far away that I can’t see you. You have to prove this to me, after all.”

  Shay smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll see. And hear. You won’t be able to miss it.”

  They got out of the car. Shay carried a small bag with some of her largest clothes in it, the only things that she could find that might possibly fit him. An oversized sweater and track pants that would probably only barely reach his shins. But he had told her that the clothes that he was wearing would probably be shredded during the transformation and that if she didn’t want him butt naked on the return trip she would have to offer him something.

  She had raised her eyebrows at the picture he so vividly presented. The thought of Shay Sullivan butt naked in her car wasn’t distasteful at all. She tried to shake it off, but the image had remained.

  The waves crashed against the shore violently as they walked to a distant point. She had chosen this beach because it was so remote; people rarely came here, and she was fairly confident that there wouldn’t be anyone here at this time of night. She shivered, clutching her parka tighter around her. What on earth was she doing, even entertaining this notion? She should have called Frank Walker or Paul Hopkins immediately, as soon as she had ascertained that it was Shay on that pier. Why hadn’t she? This was not like her. She usually did
everything by the book.

  Except where Shay Sullivan was concerned, obviously. What kind of mad spell had he slowly woven over her that she was walking on an isolated beach with him committed to watching him turn into a wolf?

  She quickly glanced at him. She could barely see his face in the darkness, and he didn’t say anything. But she could hear his breathing; regular and even. He didn’t seem fazed by this. He hardly seemed fazed by any of the strange things that had happened this evening. The fact that somebody had tried to kill him, or at the very least hurt him badly.

  Tess shivered suddenly. Someone. The inhuman face of his attacker suddenly lurched into her mind. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen. Twisted and horrible…

  Tess took a deep breath, feeling a coldness enter her soul. Almost demonic. Oh, dear Lord, could it be true, what he was telling her? For she couldn’t rationally explain what that face was. She knew that it hadn’t been a mask. That grey, leathery skin had been real.

  She was about to tell him about it, then stopped herself. Not yet. If he successfully changed into a wolf, then she would mention it afterwards. It was all too strange and bizarre for now, and she didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t anymore.

  She had to see it with her own eyes. Only then would she believe.

  He stopped. “This is as good a place as any.”

  She looked around. Yes, he was right. They were far away, and the only thing she could see were distant coastal shrubs behind them and the sea stretching into infinity into the other direction. She took a deep breath, staring at him.

  “Okay,” she said. “How does this work?”

  He smiled. “You should go and sit over there. I’m going to concentrate and transform.” He stared at her. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, Tess. Only you.”

  She shivered, suddenly apprehensive.

  “Don’t be scared,” he said softly. “Although I’m not going to lie. The transformation is pretty violent. But like I said, the wolf shouldn’t hurt you. It probably won’t even notice you if it thinks you aren’t a threat. It will probably just run along the beach or go into the shrubs.”

  “All the things that wolves do,” she murmured. “I hope it doesn’t attack a bird or something.” She couldn’t believe that she was calmly speaking about this as if it might actually happen.

  Had she gone crazy? Had she taken leave of her senses entirely?

  She took a deep breath, her heart starting to thud uncomfortably. Well, she might as well see it through now. She was the one who had suggested this, after all. And if she sat back and watched a lunatic trying to transform into a wolf in vain, then at least she would know he was a lunatic once and for all.

  He gazed at her then walked slowly away. She watched him, then turned and walked further up towards the shrubs before finding a spot to sit on the cold sand.

  ***

  Tess breathed in the cold night air, waiting and watching. She could hear the sea continuing to crash in violent waves in the distance. Other than that, all was silent.

  She watched him. He crouched down, his face hidden from her. For at least five minutes, nothing happened. She frowned, suddenly feeling almost embarrassed for him. Of course nothing was going to happen. What had she been thinking even entertaining the notion that something would?

  She was just about to stand up, brush the sand away, and call out that she was cold and this was ridiculous, when she heard the growl.

  The same growl that had emanated from him on the pier.

  It became louder, filling the night air. It was guttural and deep, rumbling like thunder. Goosebumps swept over her, pinpricking her skin.

  And then, she heard the tearing of cloth. Her eyes widened as she watched his clothes breaking apart at the seams. He writhed and twisted as if in the throes of agony, rolling around on the sand. She could see long strands of fur start to appear all over him—his arms, his legs, his back…everywhere. To her astonished eyes it looked like he was being consumed; as if he was being eaten from the inside by some unknown force.

  Afterwards, she could never remember the exact moment when it occurred. When Shay stopped being himself and the wolf appeared. It was both agonisingly slow and astonishingly quick. A lengthening of time and a shortening of it, as if it were warped.

  But it had happened. A wolf stood where Shay had once been. He had morphed into the animal, just as he had claimed he would.

  Tess could barely breathe. She watched the wolf slowly turn towards the sea, tilting its snout upwards towards the sky. It howled, long and mournful. She felt tears spring into her eyes at that desolate, broken sound.

  A sound that she would never, ever forget for as long as she lived. A sound that would haunt her dreams.

  Her eyes travelled over the animal. It was magnificent. A rich coat of fur, with various shades of tan and beige, that rippled like waves in the wind. Long limbs. Ears that were upright, twitching vigorously. He turned his head from the sky and stared straight at her.

  Tess held her breath for one long, agonising moment. Was it going to attack her?

  He kept staring, turning his head to the side, as if contemplating her. She could see his eyes shining in the darkness like pools of light. Then he abruptly leapt up, running swiftly away from her towards the sea. He hit the water with a crash, yelping in delight.

  Tess exhaled slowly. The wolf had seen her, but he hadn’t attacked her. She was safe.

  She kept watching the wolf, wonder filling her every pore. It was true. Everything that Shay had said was true. He was a wolf shapeshifter—she had seen him transform with her own eyes. It had been both violent and beautiful; like some choreographed dance all its own. The fact that she had witnessed this amazing thing was simply beyond her wildest dreams. She felt as if she were an explorer who had suddenly discovered some lost species in the jungle.

  Tears suddenly streamed down her face. It had been the most terrifying experience of her life. But it had also been the most incredible.

  Tess tasted salt as the tears slid into her mouth. She didn’t feel like she was the same person anymore. It was as if something had reached deep inside her soul and twisted it; shaking it so hard that the sediment had yet to settle. Who would she be after this moment? Who could she be?

  ***

  It seemed like hours had passed, but it could have been only minutes. Some kind of a trance had taken hold of her, lulling her mind.

  She watched the wolf sprinting along the beach, running as if he were being pursued. The joy of it! She could feel his delight as he stretched his legs further, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth like a fat pink grub. Then the wolf turned abruptly, heading into the shrubs just behind her. She could hear him foraging in the brushes, as if searching for something.

  Suddenly she heard his panting breath just behind her. It was so close she could feel the warmth of it on her neck. She resisted swivelling her head around, forcing herself to keep staring ahead. What was he going to do?

  Out of her peripheral vision she saw the animal suddenly appear alongside her. He sat down. Dare she turn her head and look at him? If she did, would he perceive it as an aggressive gesture? She had no idea of the behaviour of wolves, or how to behave around them. She did know that they were wild animals, and that you should approach them cautiously, or preferably not at all.

  But she couldn’t resist. She turned her head slowly and stared at him.

  He was even more magnificent up close. He had a long snout that was black on the end. He turned large blue eyes on her and studied her. Tess gasped. They were Shay’s eyes staring out of the wolf’s face. And its coat of fur was exactly the same shade as Shay’s hair: sandy, with flecks of brown and gold.

  They truly were one and the same.

  Almost against her will, she reached out a hand towards him. He watched her carefully but didn’t move. She touched the luxurious fur, feeling its warmth and softness. She continued stroking it, basking in the feel of the fur beneath her hand.r />
  The wolf gently whined beneath her touch. And then, to her amazement, he gently lowered his head onto her lap.

  She held her breath, stroking his head. The long ears had the texture of velvet. He stared up at her with his shining blue eyes for a long time, until they slowly started to close. The wolf had fallen asleep on her lap. She heard the low rumble of his breath as he slept beneath the slow stroking of her hand.

  Once again, Tess felt tears coursing down her face.

  Suddenly, a quote from Mr. Gregory’s English class popped into her mind. What had they been studying? That’s right. Hamlet by Shakespeare.

  There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio/ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

  Yes. There were more things in this realm and beyond than she had ever dared imagine. The world had cracked open for her, abruptly and completely. A man could change into a wolf. A wolf could sleep and dream beneath her hands on a cold dark night by the edge of the sea. The world that she had known was gone forever.

  Tess felt her eyes closing. A wave of delicious tiredness washed over her. She slowly laid her head upon the sand, still stroking the wolf’s head.

  ***

  She opened her eyes, abruptly. How long had she been asleep for?

  Her hand was still on the wolf’s head. Except it wasn’t the wolf anymore. It was Shay. He had transformed back to himself sometime while she had been sleeping.

  And he was as deeply asleep as the wolf had been.

  Her eyes raked over him. His sandy hair, neither golden nor brown, beneath her hand. The profile of his face. And then the length of his body. He was shivering underneath the night air, curled up to get warm.

  He was completely naked.

  She gasped, averting her eyes for a moment. Then she slowly drew them back.

  He was as beautiful as the wolf. Long limbed, muscular and pale. She could see the hairs on his arms and legs erect with the cold. And as she watched a warm orange glow started to spread over his skin.

  The sun was rising. They had been asleep on the beach the whole night.