Thus, was Myrna surprised to find Wilma in the foyer with a very pregnant she-wolf and a man, who looked like a much younger version of this land’s most popular action star, a human who was oft referred to as “The Rock.”
However, the male towering over both the pregnant she-wolf and Wilma, was definitely not related to that human.
“Nago,” she realized with a sniff of the air. “It pleases me to see you again after so many winters.”
“Hot Valkyrie Babysitter!” Nago grinned, reminding her much of the pup she used to babysit, even as he bent down to envelop her in his tree trunk arms. “I still can’t believe you and Rafes are a thing. I keep saying it’s like Wonder Woman deciding to get with Lex Luthor.” He drew back to look over his huge shoulder at the plump woman who carried his mate scent. “Don’t I keep saying that, baby? By the way this is my mate, Halle.”
“Yeah, he does keep saying that, but girl, you are so much cooler than Wonder Woman,” Halle assured Myrna, reaching out to shake her hand. She was a plump and pretty she-wolf with long braids, a wide smile, and what a matchmaking mother might have called good hips for not dying in birth. “Though from the look on your face, I’m thinking you probably have no clue who Wonder Woman or Lex Luthor even are.”
“I do not,” Myrna confessed with an apologetic look.
And for some reason this made both Nago and Halle laugh. Not meanly, Myrna noted, but like two people who somehow managed to find humor in everything together. The complete opposite of her and Rafesson.
Myrna must have let the resting pleasant face she'd been taught by her media trainers slip, because Wilma eyed her grumpily before asking, “What’s the matter with you? You look all sour, even though everybody on WolfNet’s talking about that Audrey Hepburn act you pulled off last night.”
Audrey Hepburn…
That was a name she did know. And strange how she would have been so delighted to be called such by those beyond “Project Fair Lady” only twenty-four of this time period’s hours ago. But now she just murmured, “My apologies to you, Grandmother Wilma. I did not mean to interrupt. I’ve only come downstairs to inquire about the midday meal, which I’ll take up to my rooms.”
“Are you kidding me?” the pretty and plump she-wolf asked with a shake of her head. “That’s a hard no. The only lunch you’re going to be having today is with us.”
“Yeah,” Nago agreed. “We’ve got like twenty years to catch up on, especially since Rafes decided to bail. You can tell me all the dirt—”
Nago cut off suddenly, his face lighting up. “Wait, wait a minute!” He turned to his mate. “Baby, are you thinking what I’m thinking, now that Rafe’s not coming out?”
Apparently, she was, for Halle’s face also lit up. “Oh my God, that would be so cool. I mean it would totally blow her mind. Your grandma would probably like it, too, right?”
“I don’t know,” Nago answered. “She used to always make us turn it off when we tried to watch it at the house.”
Wilma frowned hard at the both of them. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
“You know what, Grams, no spoilers,” Nago answered with a wicked grin. “We’ll get there, and if you don’t like it, we can leave, okay?”
“Not okay. I didn’t even want to go out to lunch with you two happy fools in the first place,” Wilma answered with a harsh scowl. “That was something you and Rafes planned out, and now he ain’t even here.”
“C’mon, Grams, all you gotta do is give it a chance,” Nago coaxed.
“Boy, I don’t got to do anything but be black and die any day now, Lord willing,” Wilma answered, as stern as her youngest grandson was jovial.
“Alright, Grandma’s in!” Nago announced with a fist pump.
“You, too, right?” Halle said, turning to Myrna before Wilma could give grumpy protest.
Myrna hesitated, sensing that she should say no. Her melancholy still had not lifted, and if they’d decided to go to this surprise place because Rafesson was not here, then that must mean they were doing so, because he would not approve of such activity if he hadn’t bailed on their lunch.
No, he wouldn’t approve, a small, mean voice said inside her. Not like he approves of Layla Rustanov, the perfect and now, no longer human, woman…
“C’mon you’ve got to go,” Halle said, tugging on Myrna’s hand. “Please! I’m begging you. It’s going to be so much fun.”
Fun…
It had been so long since Myrna had done something she considered fun that the word almost sounded foreign to her. Like a concept from childhood that she’d left behind.
And suddenly, despite her melancholy, she said, “Is it okay if I wear my leggings to this no spoilers place?”
Yes, it was okay, and as it turned out, there were many females dressed similarly in the place Nago and Halle had decided to take her and Wilma.
It was an arena within what Nago called walking distance. Only five or so blocks from The Wolf House. Inside the large enclosed space, they found cheering humans in all manner of dress, gathered in uncountable numbers around what looked like a very large animal pen. Except the pen was raised off the ground on top of a platform, and instead of wooden boards, were there four heavy white ropes laced around the square. Also, she could see no animals contained within the pen.
Why then had so many people gathered around the space, including Nago, who’d seemed so very happy about having gotten them good seats in the very front row before walking into the stadium?
“You’ll see,” Halle promised, rubbing her hands together with a wicked smile.
Indeed, soon did Myrna see. And she could hardly believe her eyes. For Nago and Halle had brought her to an event that seemed familiar to her. The fighters who came out and yelled at each other before engaging in feats of great prowess and displays of might, were much larger than most of the males in her village. And they fought inside what a voice in the ceiling called a “ring” instead of encircled by their fellow wolves as they did in her village. Still did Myrna recognize what was happening as soon as the first two fighters seized each other about the neck and shoulders.
Why they were wrestling! Just like the men and a few times the she-wolves in her village did, but with much more complicated moves and for way more emotional reasons it would seem.
One of the fighters in the first bout did accuse his opponent of insulting him behind his back before they began to grapple.
And it would seem the second set of fighters dressed in nothing beyond a pair of tight underwear, regarded each other with even greater ire. The dark-skinned fighter, who was called Savage Gualla, had stolen the mate of a yellow haired wrestler called, Ivor Dollar Emoji. But according to Savage Gualla, he’d done so fairly, because Ivor Dollar Emoji had not been giving his former mate “what she needed at home.”
What she needed…
A dark cloud once again settled over Myrna’s mood as she recalled her last conversation with her mate from the previous night. She had not gotten what she needed. And though Rafes’s coloring was darker than the yellow-haired fighter’s, she couldn’t help but feel reminded of her mate when he pulled himself up to his full height and regarded the smaller man arrogantly down his nose. But then, truly proving he was nothing like Rafes, the yellow-haired wrestler launched himself at the smaller, darker man. And thus, did they settle their grievance, as the North Wolves would have, with hand-to-hand combat.
As soon as the men began to grapple, Myrna jumped to her feet. The memory of Layla Rustanov faded away as she cheered on Savage Gualla in his bid to keep the mate for whom he obviously had much heart if he were willing to fight so large a man for the keeping of her.
Eventually, Savage Gualla felled the bigger fighter with a truly impressive launch off the ropes and flying punch. However, Myrna paused mid-cheer when she noticed that unlike Nago and Halle, who’d also jumped to their feet, Wilma remained in her chair. Though, not exactly dull-eyed as she so often looked at breakfast. More like she was
frozen in place, with an expression of great shock upon her normally grumpy face.
“Most Honored Grandmother, have you wish to return to The Wolf House?” Myrna shouted worriedly.
But though Myrna yelled to be heard over the deafening crowd, Wilma responded not. Only stared upon the fight, which had concluded with the vanquish of the now unconscious yellow-haired fighter.
“10…9…8…” the throng began to call out around them.
And Myrna tried again. “Grandmother, if you have wish to leave this place, of course I will escort you back to our…home.”
That last word stuck in her throat, and saying it felt like swallowing a stone, after Rafesson’s hasty departure to see to the well-being of another last night.
“7…6…5…”
Wilma still didn’t answer. However, just as Myrna turned to ask Nago what they might do to aid the woman to whom she’d given her solemn vow of honor, he, Halle, and what sounded like the entire stadium broke out in a noisy chorus of boos, effectively ending their countdown.
Myrna soon saw why when her attention returned to the roped off ring. For now the one called Savage Gualla was staggering around the stage with a woman upon his back. She was blonde, and though she seemed to be about the same height and age as Aunt Alisha, Myrna marveled at her body. Dressed in what appeared to be some manner of two-piece swimsuit, she sported more muscles than many of the male warriors in Myrna’s village. “I vill avenge my nephew, you dirty American zasranec!”
This strange woman also had a very strong non-American accent, Myrna noticed. Closer to her father’s tone than her mother’s. At the same time, the far-off voice in the ceiling, announced, “Ivor’s aunt, Sana the Terrible, has unexpectedly entered the fight! What’s Savage going to do now?”
As if in answer to that question, loud Trap Metal guitars suddenly filled up the space, twanging with glee as another wrestler who looked exactly like Savage Gualla materialized at the top of the ring’s runway. The lookalike wrestler struck a heroic pose before charging down the aisle and taking a running leap into the ring.
“Awwww, crack-crack!” cried the announcer. “Savage’s twin brother, Wrath Gualla has joined the fight!”
The throng cheered with noisy delight, when Wrath pulled the muscular woman off his twin brother’s back. But Myrna could not cheer with the rest of the crowd when both brothers were forcefully restraining the older woman.
“How can you cheer for such treatment of an elder?” Myrna demanded of Nago and Halle.
However, the couple she’d thought was kind merely laughed at her question. “Relax, Myrna,” Nago said. “It’s not—”
Myrna charged forward before Nago could finish that sentence. No, she could not relax! Not when the two brothers turned on the woman and started kicking her with such fervor, that the older woman’s body bounced upon the boards as she writhed in pain. Myrna would not stand by while two large men were beating a woman right in front of her.
She shoved past several men, wearing suits and sunglasses, ignoring their shouts of “Hey, get back here!” as she made her own running leap into the roped ring.
“What the hell?” the one called Savage said when she entered the fighting pen.
“Who the hell are you?” the one called Wrath demanded. Their voices were much amplified, she noticed and carried throughout the entire stadium.
“I am Myrna, Daughter of Fenris!” Myrna answered. “And you will step away from that elder woman right now!”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You know what, microphone off!” A microphone must have been whatever was responsible for his voice’s god-like amplification. For when Savage turned to his brother, Myrna had to strain her wolf ears to hear him ask, “Who the hell is she? I didn’t see her in the script, did you?”
Wrath shook his head and Savage stomped toward her. “Thanks a lot, CrayHead. Now we’re going to have to retake this whole fight because of you.” He reached out to grab her arm. “You’re definitely not getting an autograph---what the fuck! What the fuck are you doing?”
Strange. Though a warrior, Savage seemed to be taken completely aback when Myrna knocked his hand away from her arm, then grabbed him and using her wolf strength, hoisted him above her head.
“Wait! Don’t!” he yelled. “This isn’t in the script! This isn’t in the script! And you can’t do this me. I’m Savage Gualla—”
Myrna yelled, “You and your brother will leave that elder woman be!” Then did she use her animal to bodily throw him out of the ring as she’d seen one of the previous fight’s wrestlers do.
The crowd gasped as a whole, then cheered. And when Myrna turned to confront Wrath Gualla, he quickly backed away from the body of the fallen woman.
Keeping a warrior’s eye on him, Myrna ran to Sana. “Sana, Respected Elder. Fare thee okay?” she asked, bending over the woman’s body.
“Mycrowfonoff. Yoowerntindescriptbuhgohdjobkid,” the woman answered, her eyes still closed, and her lips only imperceptibly moving.
“I do not understand,” Myrna said, leaning in closer.
And this time, the woman opened electric blue eyes to say in a perfect American accent, “You weren’t in the script. But good job, kid.”
Myrna shook her head. She understood the word script all too well after the training she’d undergone in the last three months. But… “Do you mean to say these men did not really hurt you? It was but playacting for the benefit of the crowd?”
“Well, me, Ivor, and the Gualla Twins were definitely acting. You, on the other hand, probably broke a couple of our star wrestler’s bones when you threw poor Savage out of the ring.”
Sana sat up, grabbing on to her side as if she’d broken a rib. Yet her voice sounded not strained at all when she asked, “What? Are you one of them kids who grew up in a cult and was never allowed to watch TV?”
“I have watched much TV on the wall of my room,” Myrna assured her. “And I like very much the dramas about hospitals and movies starring, the one they call The Rock.”
The woman looked at her confused, but then snorted. Though outwardly she grimaced, still pretending to be in great pain. “The Rock, huh? Okay. Good work, kid. Your crazy stunt got our attention. Now it’s time to talk with my dad. But don’t hurt the real security guards. Unlike the talent, they’ll actually sue.”
Whatever did she mean by these words? Before Myrna could ask, two sets of hands grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away.
“Microphone on…Nyet, you vill not take my savior,” Sana screamed, her voice once again booming loud enough to be heard throughout the entire stadium.
Then despite the injuries she seemed to have abstained earlier, Sana easily climbed to her feet and came to stand next to the body of her fallen nephew, Ivor Dollar Emoji. “I know not who this strange woman is, but I can feel connection. Perhaps…”
A truly confused Myrna watched Sana address the crowd as the guard pulled her away from the ring to the nearest set of double doors. And the last thing she heard Sana say was, “Perhaps I have some connection to her. For when I look into her eyes, I remember my long-lost love, the Notorious African…”
That last utterance, as it turned out was something called a “set-up” for a story. And one amazed hour later, Myrna found herself back outside with Nago, Halle, and their Most Honored Grandmother, telling them the tale of meeting someone called Bohdan the Terrible, who did make to her the most astounding proposal.
“I can’t believe they offered you an IWF contract, playing Sana the Terrible’s long lost daughter!” Halle cried as she, Myrna, Nago, and Grandma Wilma walked home a few hours later.
“Neither can I,” Myrna said, shaking her head as they neared the Wolf House gates. “In truth, the man who runs the company, Bohdan was very angry and severe. He did yell at me for a good deal of your minutes about how I had no business interrupting that fight. And he has a real accent, you know. It is not pretend like Sana’s. Yet after he gave me such words of anger and chastiseme
nt, did he say, ‘But Oksana has painted me into a corner with this secret daughter storyline of hers, and I must admit you have something special’—then he said he would see what he could do with all that special, and he told me to report to the training center on Monday morning at five a.m.”
“That’s right on Kolisnychenko Street, I think,” Halle told her. “Just a couple of light rail stops past your house. And if you get lost, all you have to do is ask someone how to get to the Bohdan Kolisnychenko training center. It takes up, like, a whole city block. You can’t miss it.”
Nago snorted. “Like Rafes is going to let her wrestle,” he said to Halle.
Myrna frowned at Nago’s words, her excitement diminishing as she considered how Rafesson might regard this opportunity.
“He doesn’t own her,” Halle replied with a light scowl. “She’s her own woman. If she wants to take the job, that’s her choice.”
Nago snorted again. “Hey, Myrna Warrior Princess, is tonight the first time you’ve gone anywhere without Rafes’s permission?”
Myrna thought about the question. “Indeed it is.”
Strange, she had so chafed at the idea of being owned by any of the males who had asked her father for her hand in marriage, and here she was, in a city she could not navigate, because she’d yet to be allowed beyond grounds of The Wolf House.
“See, no way he’s going to let her wrestle,” Nago said as he nodded at the outside guards who hit the gate's open button as soon as they saw the group coming up the sidewalk. “Especially during an election year.”
“Bohdan…Bohdan…he’s still alive? And he has a whole street named after him?” Wilma suddenly asked.
They all looked over at the older woman who hadn’t uttered a single word until now. “Yeah, Bohdan Kolisnychenko doesn’t fight anymore, but he became a total Baltimore celebrity after taking over the IWF,” Nago answered, staring at her worriedly as they walked across the lawn of The Wolf House. “You okay, Grandma? You seem really out of it.”
The Brothers Nightwolf Trilogy Page 56