Goldilocks

by Patria L. Dunn

  “Time passed, and humans begin to populate the area once more, but sparingly. Most branched out further across the earth, never to be seen again. Once the mine was built, a flood of new humans came, and it was no longer safe for the council to live together in one area. They were hunted many times over, and once rumors of the Kind’s immortality began to spread, they were subjected to treatments even worse than being hunted. If caught, they were tortured, only to live on in excruciating pain, locked in cages, and put on display for all to see. They were becoming experiments, and something to be feared as well, and every time the council had to go in and rescue one of its brothers, they risked being captured themselves. So they decided to leave. But because the abyss had to be guarded, my father volunteered to stay and keep watch over the woods. It was also because of his love for my mother that he couldn’t go. Regular Kind are not immortal, and she was too old in her age to make a journey required to leave the area. It was a selfless act by my father, and as a thank you, it was the last time the council agreed to use its joint power. They restored her youth, and gave her the gift that man had so desperately wanted. My father had his mate, and as he watched each of his brothers leave, he vowed never to bring another Kind into such a world as this. But surprises happen,” Jake smile wryly, gesturing to himself. “My father never wanted a child. He never wanted this…” he let his hands spread outward to the woods around them. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but the mine has been one problem after another. While Creed and his army remain contained within the four passes by the curse, the curse only extends but so far, at least not miles and miles down into the earth, like we’ve come to find out. What started off as a tiny gold mine, has flourished over the last few years, sending the humans deeper against the walls of the abyss. Now while the wolves would never be able to climb their way to the top, they have certainly managed to pass through some of the newer tunnels. There are probably thousands down there now,” Jake whispered, stiffening at the horrified gasp Hannah let out.

  Her head was shaking, and he didn’t want to admit anymore but the truth came tumbling free anyway, his eyes searching her face for some sort of understanding of their dilemma.

  “My father has been the one blowing up the tunnels in the mine. He’s trying to keep them sealed in. It has resulted in a few human deaths, yes, but compared to the entire town, its worth it isn’t it?”

  “No! Not if it’s my dad!” Hannah couldn’t help the tears that pricked her lids at the thought, her mind racing to wonder of his whereabouts right now.

  “Creed’s pack is born directly from him. We can’t kill them; all three of us are council born. So when one escapes, the most we can do is maim and cast them back. It’s the only way Hannah, don’t you see. We are trying to preserve human life! I spend hours upon days out here on patrol. My father works in the mine simply because he wants to save man’s breed, not destroy it.”

  “So if you can’t kill them, then who can?!” Hannah demanded, her head shaking as she tugged her fingers from Jake’s. “There has to be a way.

  It was only theory. His parent’s overheard private conversations when they thought he was sleeping. He had no right to give her false hope, but it slipped, his need to make her understand, stronger than his resolve to keep her as much in the dark as he could.

  “A human,” Jake whispered, grabbing her wrist as she shot up from her cross legged position on the boulder.

  “That’s all! All this time!”

  “It’s more complicated than that Hannah,”

  “How?!”

  “I don’t know but it is!” Jake snapped, frustration seeping into his voice. “I don’t have all the answers. I’m only telling you what I’ve been told over the years. I’m still trying to figure all of that out myself!” he nearly shouted, immediately reaching for her again when she moved to jump down from the rock. “These aren’t regular wolves Hannah,” Jake said quietly, releasing her wrist just as suddenly as he’d caught it.

  The pull was there again, sparking between them, heat circling around her entire body and exploding into his chest when she brought her tear filled green eyes to meet his.

  “I lost one parent Jake. I’m not about to lose another.”

  He felt every fiber of pain that formed that one declaration, her sorrow his own for a split moment as their emotions somehow joined. She felt it to. He could tell in the way that her breath caught, her hand covering her heart as she took a step back from him. The connection was broken just as suddenly has it had formed, Jake’s words so quiet that they were almost just a breath.

  “This isn’t your battle Hannah.”

  “I’m the only human standing here,” Hannah squared her shoulders, refusing to back down. “And I’m the only one that knows aren’t I?” she questioned, grabbing for Jake this time when he jumped to a stand.

  “I won’t let you get involved. You promised if I told you everything…”

  “But you haven’t!” Hannah exclaimed, following him off the rock and back onto the trail. “I have so many questions. Like what just happened a second ago?”

  Jake shoulders stiffened at the question, his feet stilling as he turned to look at her. He’d done enough speculating for one day, and once again didn’t know himself what had just happened between them.

  “Okay…” Hannah took the set grim line of his mouth as a refusal to answer. “Something easier… How did you get your name? And how exactly do you shift? Does your father and mother walk around as humans all the time too? Are you immortal? Where…”

  “Enough!” Jake laughed despite the anger that had sparked inside of him at her audacity.

  “Show me,” Hannah whispered, her breath holding when he froze, his head already slowly shaking.

  “Show you…?” he nearly choked on the words, his curled fists tight against his sides as he met her stare.

  “I want to see it. Right now. Right here. When I’m not running for my life. Shift. Show me.”

  **********

  It was a request that he would have never expected from her. It was something he’d never even wanted her to see. It was his true nature yes, but he didn’t want her to look at him as an animal. He’d never felt more human as he did right now, and he didn’t want to ruin it by scaring her like he knew he would.

  “No,” he answered quietly, his jaw tightening as a hurt look crossed her face.

  He’d answer every question that she had, but he wasn’t ready to share this part of himself, not yet.

  “I don’t want you to see me like that,” he tried for honesty, hoping that she wouldn’t make him explain further.

  “It’s not something to be embarrassed about Jake,” Hannah shook her head, reaching for his hand. “Do you know how incredibly unique you are. You’re the most amazing person that I’ve met, and will probably ever meet in my lifetime. I would never laugh at you, or…”

  “I’m not worried about you laughing,” Jake squeezed her fingers lightly before pulling away. “I’m worried about scaring the living…”

  “I’m not scared of you,” Hannah stopped him, jerking her thumb behind her in the direction of the cabin. “I’m scared of what’s happening in that mine. I’m scared of what’s going to happen to all the people of Hinsdale and Lake City when the wolves become too much for you and your father to handle. I want to help, and this is the first time that...” Hannah’s words stopped short, the ache in her chest from her mother’s death keeping her from continuing. She wasn’t ready to tell him about her past. “Maybe it’s time for your secrets not to be so secret anymore,” she whispered, stepping forward to catch his chin, just as he tried to look away.

  The warm sable coloring of his eyes had darkened to almost black, uncertainty and doubt meeting her earnest stare as he let her turn his face back to hers.

  “I’m not like any other human that you’ve met Jake,” Hannah smiled slowly, letting her fingers grazed the fine stubble on his cheek. “I wouldn’t change you for the world… But…” she adde
d quickly when he started to shake his head. “I would change the world for you, if you’d just let me. These woods don’t have to be your life. You said it yourself. There could be a way.”

  “Maybe,” Jake murmured, his thoughts clouded as his skin warmed under her touch.

  He couldn’t concentrate with her so near, and he could once again hear her thoughts even before she spoke them. She was telling the truth. She wasn’t afraid of him, and she thought he was…beautiful.

  He almost laughed at the word that floated through her mind to connect with him. He saw her memories of the attack on the ridge. He felt the fear that had pounded in her chest, and then the awe when he’d shifted in front of her. She’d been afraid for him, not afraid of him.

  It was happening without him consciously thinking it, his feet moving him back and away from her to give room to the expanding girth he knew would come. Shaggy brown hair grew from every follicle on his body, covering his legs, chest and arms in no time. His fingers spread as his palms thickened, razor sharp claws pointed downward as they slid free of his now hidden tips. He watched her face as his own changed, his nose and mouth elongating into a snout that barred bone crushing teeth meant only for harm.

  The moss green of her eyes seemed to brighten, widening as her gaze lifted with the sudden height he gained on just his hind legs. On all fours he would have still towered over her, but now he felt like he was looking down at a doll, her frailty even more obvious from his creation state. She was no match for a wolf that was almost his size, and had at least his amount of strength.

  He lowered slowly, his head bowed slightly as his front paws touched just inches from her bare feet. He could hear her inside his head now, her intrigue more palpable than the ground beneath him. She wanted to touch him, he realized just as she did, the tips of her fingers lifting his muzzle, just as she had his chin. He was violating her privacy by listening to her thoughts, but he didn’t know how to stop it. He didn’t even know why it was happening. She was praying that he wouldn’t resent her, and he wanted to tell her that there was no way he could. He’d shown her because he wanted to, not because she’d made him.

  I can hear you… Jake tried willing the thought forward, his eyes meeting hers as they searched his in surprise.

  “Did you just…?” Hannah let the question trail off, shaking her head at the soft vibration she suddenly felt.

  It’s something my parents and I can do, Jake explained, keeping his eyes locked with hers. We talk to each other this way, mainly for discretion, but we can communicate even when we’re far away from each other so I guess with no pockets for cell phones…it’s just easier, he shrugged.

  He could tell she saw the smile in his eyes when her lips turned up into a smile too, her fingertips rising to her temple in question.

  You’re the only human that I’ve ever been able to hear or speak to this way, Jake admitted with a shake of his head. I truly don’t know why, and as far as I know, my parents have never been able to either. That connection that you asked about… he paused, glad that she couldn’t see the blush that seemed to be creeping over his entire body. I’ve never felt that either and I don’t know why it’s that way with you. Something about you… He stopped, his ears suddenly alert.

  He’d been so focused on Hannah that he hadn’t been paying attention to the sounds of the woods, like he normally did. A vehicle was nearing the cabin, pop music filling his ears.

  Hannah heard it too, spinning around, just as a grey SUV pulled into the spot ‘Big Red’ normally rested in.

  “Oh no! Beth and Lindsey! I forgot! They…”

  “HANNAH!!!!!!!!”

  Beth’s piercing scream matched Lindsey’s as they both scrambled from the truck, their arms waving frantically.

  “RUN HANNAH RUN! IT’S A BEAR!”

  Go! Jake growled low in his throat, nudging Hannah in the side, so that she was jolted out of her shock.

  She was moving before he’d spun on his heel, her locks streaming behind her as she pretended to run for her life.

  I’m not done with you! Jake heard her thought just as he disappeared over the first hill.

  Later… he laughed in response, letting loose a roar loud enough for Lindsey and Beth to hear.

  Stay out of the woods, he added, his thoughts flashing back to their agreement.

  He wouldn’t see her hurt; not now, not ever. And even though the internal connection was suddenly severed, he still heard her last whispered word to him, leaving him at peace for the moment.

  “Promise.”

  Chapter 20:

  “Are you okay?!”

  “I’m calling my dad right now! He’s on the hunt patrol; they’ll be out here in no time, just…”

  “NO!” Hannah shouted louder than she’d intended, snatching Lindsey’s cell phone from her hand before she could press the call button.

  She could only imagine how she must look, her morning bed hair wild about her head, sheer panic on her face as she looked from one girl to the other. She had to think fast. Beth was checking her over for injuries, while Lindsey was shaking her head in disbelief and still pointing up into the woods.

  “I know this is going to sound crazy,” Hannah gulped a breath of air to ease the pinch in her side from the sudden sprint she’d just taken. “He’s…IT’s!” she corrected quickly. “Not dangerous,” she shook her head at Beth’s incredulous look, grabbing both of their wrists so that their attention was on her completely. “That bear is friendly I swear. It comes down from the woods to eat the vegetables in the garden. I was just following it up the trail to see which…”

  “Are you crazy?!” Lindsey snapped, jerking her arm from Hannah’s grasp, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Did you see the size of that thing? I’ve never in my life!”

  “It’s probably really old; I hear they can get pretty big,” Beth finally said, shrugging her shoulders as nonchalantly as she could. “Probably harmless,” she added, noticing the pleading look in Hannah’s eyes.

  “The both of you are insane. That thing was towering over you. Well over what…eight or nine feet, maybe more! Bunnies are harmless, not bears! That thing could have snapped your head off in a split second and…”

  “Lindsey please!” Hannah interrupted her, sighing as she let part of the truth slip. “My father told me to stay out of the woods. If he finds out I was anywhere near the woods, he won’t let me be on the cross country team anymore.”

  “So he knows about the bear then?” Lindsey asked, barely able to contain her smile as Hannah’s confession processed.

  “Why else would he tell her to stay out of the woods?” Beth snapped, rolling her eyes as she linked her arm through Hannah’s. “We’re not going to say anything, are we?” Beth looked pointedly at Lindsey before pulling Hannah towards the house.

  “I didn’t say that I wasn’t… Someone needs to know about it. What if…”

  “What if I told your father about that weekend before school started, when you…”

  “You wouldn’t!” Lindsey stopped Beth, her cheeks reddening when the stares were directed at her now.

  Hannah’s brows lifted as she looked over her shoulder from Lindsey and then to Beth, wondering what kind of secret could change Lindsey’s mind so fast. Hannah being taken off the cross country team would be a golden prize for Lindsey, but the tight lipped grimace Lindsey wore as she marched past them up the front porch stairs of the cabin said that she wouldn’t be claiming that prize anytime soon.

  “I brought everything we could possibly need for mani-pedis,” Beth changed the subject, giving Hannah a wink as she followed Lindsey through the open door.

  “Just what I needed,” Hannah forced a smile, pushing Jake from her thoughts for the moment.

  She could feel Lindsey watching her as she moved about her tiny kitchen, grabbing saucers and napkins for the cupcakes before switching on the radio. It wasn’t the best reception, but it instantly eased the awkward silence that had settled between them, putting a smile o
n Beth’s face as she hummed along to the popular tune.

  Hannah joined in, swinging her hips in time to the music, a real smile tugging her lips into a grin as she thought about what Monday would bring. She felt honored to be trusted with such a secret, and couldn’t wait to have the rest of her questions answered. But first she had to get through the rest of the weekend.