TALA

by Laura Ryles

  “It would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for you,” Liam belted out from the back. The rest of the pack clapped their hands and nodded their heads in agreement. Tala looked down, a little embarrassed, then raised her hand to quiet the crowd. Ander moved closer to her and put his arm around her waist.

  “I just want to say that I’m sorry. That it was a lapse in judgment on my part in the first place, that brought all of this to our door. Furthermore, I want to tell you all, that the rest of our pack will be coming home in six days. They know what happened today, and they know that we are holding the three traitors to await their tribunal. I do not believe that the rest of the rogues will be back any time soon. I think they got an eyeful today and with any luck, won’t be back until they can figure out what Ander and I are. However, if any of you feel unsafe returning to your own homes tonight, you are welcome to stay here in the great hall. I will make sure that there are enough blankets and pillows for everyone.” When she was finished speaking, the crowd started moving out of the great hall. Only a few felt the need to stay in the mountain for the night.

  Tala was about to go in search of blankets and pillows, when a small hand tugged on her pants leg.

  “Kelly? Hi, Sweetie. Where’s your mom?”

  “She’s over there,” Kelly raised a small, pudgy finger and pointed across the hall.

  “Oh, okay. Well, what can I do for you?”

  “Umm, Alpha, I was just wonderwin’, are you sleeping in the great hall wif us?” Kelly tucked her hands behind her back and swayed cutely, waiting for an answer.

  “Well, no. I had planned on sleeping with my, uh, well, ... in my room.”

  “Then, can I sleep in there wif you?” Tala looked at Kelly, puzzled.

  “Huh? Why do you want to…?” Kelly’s mother walked up and interrupted Tala’s train of thought.

  “Kelly,” the woman scolded, “I told you not to bother the Alpha. I’m sorry Tala.” The young mother grabbed her daughter’s arm and started hauling her away.

  “Oh, no. She’s no bother,” Tala said, smiling. The little girl pulled at her mother’s grip.

  “Wait, Momma! I need to know where Alpha is sleeping,” Kelly pleaded.

  “Any idea why she’s so worried about the sleeping arrangements?” Tala looked at Kelly’s mom curiously.

  The woman’s face blushed red. “She thinks you’d make a good night light.” Tala burst with laughter. Ander doubled over by her side.

  Chapter 12

  Six days later, on the day that the Timber pack and the rest of the Tundra were supposed to arrive, Tala woke up feeling energized. She took a lap around the lake, just to wake herself up, then went inside to make herself and Ander some breakfast. When she came back to their room with the breakfast tray in hand, Ander was just getting out of the shower.

  “How was your run?” he asked as he walked out of the bathroom.

  “Invigorating!” Tala answered.

  “Did you make us breakfast?”

  “Yes, I did. Toast, eggs, and bacon. I would have made grits, but I couldn’t find any. Which is too bad because I really wanted some.”

  “Grits?” Ander looked at her with a mouthful of toast. “What are grits?”

  “You’ve never had grits?” Tala asked as she sat down on the bed with the breakfast tray and dug into her food.

  “No, I’ve never even heard of grits,” Ander said as he sat down at the opposite end of the bed.

  “Oh, wow.” Tala put two pieces of bacon in her mouth. “I’m going to have to see if I can find them in town and make them for you.” She swallowed the bacon and buttered a piece of toast to take a bite. “I guess it is kind of a southern thing. They’re like little pieces of corn, I think. You boil them in water and they get soft and you can put butter and cheese in them, or some people do butter and sugar.” Tala finished the toast and started on the eggs. “You are the first person I’ve ever met who didn’t know what they were.” Tala laughed and shoved another spoonful of eggs into her mouth. Ander laughed at her.

  “You look like a chipmunk,” he chuckled. “Are you hungry, Tala?”

  “I’m starving. It seems like ever since the other day, when we, you know...” Tala shoved more eggs into her mouth.

  “Lit up like a couple of Christmas trees,” Ander finished her sentence, sarcastically. Tala grinned.

  “Yeah, that. Well, ever since then,” Tala bit off more bacon, “I have just been so hungry. It’s like I’m burning it up more quickly or something. Like my body is set on the high setting. I have so much energy, but I’m always hungry.”

  “Well, you can have the rest of mine too, I’m going to check on the new houses.” Ander walked around the bed and kissed Tala on the forehead.

  “Do you mind if I take your car for a while?” Tala said as Ander made ready to leave.

  “Sure. Where are you going?”

  “I thought I’d go to town for a couple of things before the rest of the pack gets back, and now I want to see if the grocery store has grits, too.” Tala smiled and brushed the crumbs from her face.

  “Yeah, sure. That’s fine. Be careful.”

  “Yay. I will. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” When Ander had left the room, Tala decided to shower and get dressed to go to town. When she hopped into the driver’s side of Ander’s little red car, she had to move the seat up so that her feet would reach the pedals. She was glad that Ander couldn’t tell what had really been on her mind this morning. It certainly wasn’t grits that she was going into town for. At least, it wasn’t the main reason. She started the car and headed toward the town. Hopefully she’d be back before Drew and Lark and all the rest returned.

  When Tala pulled back up a few hours later, the caravan had just arrived. She could tell they hadn’t been there long, since there were still people giving directions about where to take truckloads of things to be unpacked. Tala parked the car and got out. She ran past the first few vehicles and then she saw it, a beat-up old Ford, that could only belong to one person.

  “Lark!” Tala cried.

  “Tala!” The two women ran up to one another and wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.

  “Oh, wow! I missed you,” Tala said as she held Lark at arm's length, looking into her eyes.

  “I missed you!” Lark said excitedly. “But I think I know someone who might have missed you even more. Drew walked around from the other side of the truck.

  “Drew!” Tala clapped her hands and ran forward to give her best friend a hug. Drew hugged her neck for a second and then put her in a head lock and started rubbing his knuckles on her head.

  “Argh! Drew, get off!” Tala grabbed his hand and with a simple twist of her wrist had his whole arm paralyzed behind him. “Admit defeat,” Tala laughed.

  “Ow, ow, ow, okay, I give! I’m defeated, you win.” Tala smiled and when she let go of his arm, so did Drew.

  “Guess those lessons with Liam are paying off, huh?” Drew said as he shook the cramps out of his fingers.

  “Guess so,” Tala smiled like she had just gotten away with something. Oakley came around the front of the truck and gave Tala a big bear-like hug too, before wandering off to speak with Liam. The rest of the afternoon was spent assigning new housing, both permanent and temporary, and assigning jobs for the newcomers to make sure that the plumbing and electric on the new homes could be finished as soon as possible. Once all of that was settled, and most of the families had been able to unload their most important things, the entire pack gathered at the great hall for a meeting.

  Once again, Tala found herself sitting with Ander by her side, in front of all her pack members. She looked around the room with pride. She could hear the Tundra members that had been there for the fight, telling those who had just returned all about it. There were hushed whispers and loud ‘oohs and ahhs’ coming from all across the room. Not to mention the stares that she was getting from all manner of pack members both young and old. She stood up, cleared
her throat, and held up her hand for silence. A hush fell across the room.

  “I feel so blessed to have you all here with me tonight. Tonight, we are all finally back together in one place, and this time, it’s for good. The new houses are built, and tomorrow we will start installing the finishing touches. This has been such a long hard week, and I know that so many of you have given everything you have already, but I’m afraid I must ask one more thing from you. As you all know, we have prisoners. Pack justice must be rendered.” At this moment, Cindy, Orin, and Dag were brought in. They weren’t frozen anymore, but it was obvious that they didn’t have it in them to run. “This cannot be just my decision. Therefore, I leave it to you as a pack. This will be the first ruling that we make as a unit. I ask that you make the best decision for our pack, and for our future.” Tala looked over at the three people standing before her, bound and wretched looking. “Do any of you have anything to say to the tribunal, before they pass judgement?” Orin spat at her feet, Cindy cowered before the pack, and Dag never even lifted his head.

  “Very well. Oakley, will you take the count?” Tala asked. Oakley nodded his head.

  “My fellow pack members, these wolves before you were granted mercy and pardon by our Alpha and look how they repaid it. Tonight, we vote as a pack, if there is anyone here who will speak on any of their behalves, do it now.” Oakley’s voice waved over the crowd. No one spoke. Terra looked over at Cindy one last time, before she left the great hall without speaking a word for her daughter. “All those in favor of these three meeting pack justice, raise your hand.” One by one, every pack member of age raised their hand and bowed their heads. Oakley looked at Tala. “That’s it then. Alpha, do we have your permission to carry out pack justice?” Tala nodded solemnly. The three prisoners were led out of the great hall and the pack followed, all except the children. Anyone under eighteen stayed in the great hall with Drew. The pack walked out of the mountain and then only the men and the elders of the pack led the three prisoners into the woods. The rest waited just outside of the great hall. They stood watching the treeline where the prisoners had been led into the forest. Tala walked over to where Lark was standing.

  “So, how does it happen?” Tala asked quietly.

  “The men and the elders take them into the woods and let them go one at a time. They can turn wolf or stay human, but either way, they don’t come back out of those woods.” Tala nodded her understanding. Suddenly there was a great howl from deep in the woods, and the pack members still standing around her echoed it back. It was strange to hear the howls coming out of human mouths, Tala thought, as she joined in with a howl of her own.

  “It’s over,” Lark said. Everyone started heading back inside. “Tala, can I ask you something?” Lark whispered.

  “Yeah, sure,” Tala said, leaning in to hear what Lark was going to say.

  “Do you think they’ll ever change the rules about humans and wolves?”

  “You mean so you and Drew can…?” Tala smiled as Lark shrugged at her.

  “Maybe.” Lark’s grin widened into a full toothed smile. “I think it could be something. Something big, maybe even epic, if it wasn’t against the rules.” Lark smiled shyly. Tala liked Lark. She could see her being married to Drew one day. In fact, she couldn’t imagine it being anyone else.

  “Come with me,” Tala said as she took Lark by the hand and led her back into the great hall. After about fifteen minutes the elders walked back into the hall. Tala raised her hand again, and everyone’s head lifted to see what the Alpha had to say now.

  “I have one more thing for you to vote on tonight, pack.” The members of her pack looked around at each other in confusion. “I’m sure most of you know, I’m half human. My father was Clay Woods, the Alpha of the Timber pack, but my mother was a human, just your ordinary, everyday human. For many years it has been said that mating with humans was wrong. The Tundra pack frowned upon it and the Timber pack had forbidden it. Mostly because it was said that any offspring from such a union would be weak, small, and virtually un-wolflike. My father was driven away from the pack because of this rule. He fell in love with my mother, and she became pregnant with me. Yet here I am. I am proof that what they said is not true. I would humbly suggest that my mate and I are the strongest wolves in this pack.” Tala paused, giving time for her last statement to sink in. “Tonight, I would like for this pack to rescind its laws against wolf/human relationships.” Lark who was still standing beside Tala, made a small squealing noise. Drew, who was standing right in front of them, smiled at Tala like she had just given him the best gift he had ever gotten. “If anyone objects, give me a legitimate reason and I will rethink it.” Again, no one said anything. “The laws are abolished then.” Tala said.

  Lark jumped for joy and then ran into Drew’s waiting arms. Ander walked over to Tala and rubbed his hand down her arm.

  “That was a wonderful thing you just did. You are never more gorgeous than when your true heart shows through.”

  “He would do the same for me,” Tala said, smiling, as she watched the joy on her best friend’s face. She could feel Ander staring at her, while she had her eyes on Drew. Feeling him smiling at her, she knew how much he wanted her. Suddenly she felt the need to be very close to him. It was like he was calling her to him. She pulled in as close as she could to him and wrapped her arms around him. Ander raised a cup in the air and waited for the pack to quiet down again.

  “One last thing, before we all go to bed for the evening. My wife and I have been discussing the fact that we have two different pack names. We are no longer just the Tundras, and we are no longer just the Timbers, it is time for us to make a new name for ourselves. A strong name for our pack’s future. We wanted to pick something that would honor our new friendships, our new alliances, and our new brotherhood. So, we picked a name that means ally. From this day forward, we will all be known as the Koda pack.” The great hall erupted with applause. “One Alpha, One Pack!” yelled Ander. He lifted his cup to the crowd. The rest of the pack members echoed.

  “One Alpha, One Pack! One Alpha, One Pack! One Alpha, One Pack!” After the noise died down Ander took Tala by the hand and led her from the great hall. He marched purposefully down the hallway and into their living room. He led her straight past the couch and into their room. He took her in his arms before the door even closed all the way, and when it did close, he slammed the lock into place.

  Chapter 13

  Tala and Ander awoke at the same time the next morning. Tala rolled over and wrapped her arm around Ander’s chest and laid her head on his shoulder. He reached his arm around her and caressed her close to him.

  “Would you like to go for a walk with me this morning?” Tala asked shyly, looking out from beneath her lashes.

  “No run this morning?” Ander said, peering back at her with his beautiful glacial eyes.

  “No. Not today. I’d rather go for a walk with you. I want to be close to you today.”

  “I would love to go for a walk with you,” he said running his hand down her side and sending shivers through her body. “Anywhere special in mind?”

  “I was thinking we should walk down to the lake. I love the way it looks out there in the morning. There’s usually a nice fog coming off of the water and it’s so quiet before everyone else gets up.”

  “Well, let’s go then, before everyone else gets up.” Ander smiled down at her and Tala chuckled in return. They both threw their feet off the bed on opposite sides and got dressed. Tala grabbed her drawstring bag and threw it over her shoulder. Ander raised an eyebrow at her.

  “You never know,” she answered his questioning stare. As they made their way down to the lake, Tala entwined her fingers with Ander’s. A few early birds were whistling in the trees but other than that it was incredibly quiet. They reached the lake, and it did not disappoint. There was a soft fog hovering a few feet above the water and a few yards down the shoreline, a deer drank from the edge. Tala stood there, hand in hand with Ander. S
he could feel the energies flowing back and forth between them, connecting them to one another and to everything else, the lake, the trees, the fog, the deer, even the birds high up in the branches, and she wondered if he could feel what else she was feeling. She let go of Ander’s hand and walked to the water's edge.

  “It is beautiful here,” Ander said as he breathed in the heavy scent of damp forest, “even more beautiful with you here.” He smiled at her. Tala turned back to look at him. Biting her bottom lip, she began wringing her hands together nervously as she gave him a concerned look. “What? What is it? I thought you said this place made you happy and gave you peace? Do you want to go?” Ander said as he made to walk toward her. Tala held up her hand to stop him mid-stride. Ander stopped; he didn’t come any closer. Tala held up a finger as if to say, ‘hold on’, then she bent down and picked something up from the ground and turned back to face the water. She drew her hand back and then flung it forward and let go of what was in it. Ander watched the small stone fly across the water and skim the top, making ripples along the way. The rock skipped smoothly five times before sinking to the bottom. Tala turned around to see Ander’s face. He was staring at the water with his jaw hanging open. Slowly his head turned back to Tala’s face, but he still didn’t close his mouth. She walked back over to him and pushed the bottom half of his jaw up to meet the top half.

  “Ander?” she said quietly.

  “Mm-hmm,” was all Ander could get out.

  “Are you okay?” Tala asked.

  “Mm-hmm,” Ander replied.

  “Could you say something to me besides ‘mm-hmm’,” Tala said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the mm-hmm. That seemed to snap Ander out of it.

  “I’m sorry. Yes. Sorry.” Ander put his hands on Tala’s shoulders and looked down into her eyes. “Just came as a shock, that’s all. Are you sure?” Tala took her bag from her shoulders and pulled out a small box. She emptied the contents into her hand and then gave it to Ander. Ander looked down at the two pink lines on the piece of plastic in his hand. “Wow,” he whispered. “When did you take this?”