by T. S. Ryder
Andre opened his mouth, but Mary put her hand in his. "I can do this."
He nodded.
"I know you're all excited to see me," Mary began awkwardly. "But you have to remember that I don't remember any of you. So just… behave, okay?"
"But why did you leave at all?" the kicking boy whined.
Maybe because you think it's acceptable to kick your sister, Mary thought, but only said, "I don't remember."
Between Julia and the older boys, the younger children were soon herded back to the camp. A few of them ran towards the lake and Julia chased after them. The older boys, throwing glances over their shoulders, grabbed their fishing gear.
Mary turned to Andre. "I'm not staying here."
"It'll only be for a little while," he promised.
"At least leave me the truck so I can get away if I need to."
"I can't. I rented it with a stolen credit card, and I have to get rid of it before it's tracked down." He wrapped his arms around her. "I can stay for a little while, Mary. And I will be back for you. I promise."
***
That night after the little children had been put to bed, the rest of them sat in a circle with flashlights. Mary sat next to Andre, keeping distance between herself and her siblings. The Bear kept an arm around her, worried that this would all be too overwhelming for her.
So far she had made no indication that any of it sparked any recognition. Hoping it would bring back memories was the main reason to return her to her siblings. At least it had been, until the full moon. Now they had to learn to deal with that, if she never got her memories back.
Maybe this was a bad idea, Andre thought. Maybe we should have just cut our losses and run away, leaving all this behind.
Andre made the mistake of glancing at Peter's wife Amy. She was staring at him, as though waiting for information about her husband. He looked away again.
"Our mother died right after your trial," Julia was saying. "She's always been rather fragile. I guess between Father and you…"
Mary tensed. "So you're saying that I killed both of them?"
"No!" Julia's eyes widened. "That's not—"
"We're not angry," Philip interrupted.
Andre refused to look at him, his hand curling into a fist. Even though he made the decision not to kill the two Locke brothers long ago, being next to one of the men who murdered his wife and child never got easier. And I'm going to rescue one of them, too.
But Andre knew now that the two boys hadn't known that Isadore and Eve had been Bears. They thought they were animals that were a threat to their family. Knowing that the Locke brothers didn't act maliciously didn’t ease the pain. But at least he was able to direct his anger more so to where it belonged–to their father, Paul Locke.
Mary had killed her father when he had tried to kill her and Andre both. It was over.
"Father was not a good man," Philip continued. "We all talked about it, after… you said he was going to kill you. We knew he would have. It's not your fault. As for Mother… given her state, it's surprising she didn't pass years ago."
Mary frowned but didn't answer. Her hands sought Andre's and he sighed. Things were cautiously optimistic between Mary and her siblings and he had delayed too long already. Besides, the sooner he left, the sooner he could return.
Amy continued staring at him, her arms wrapped protectively around her large, pregnant belly. Peter's child. Andre longed to say he didn't deserve to see his wife or child again. Had he deserved to have Mary returned to him, to know that they would have a child together?
He was not guiltless. He had very nearly killed Julia once, simply for being Paul Locke's daughter. That was also a crime he must atone for.
"If I am going to stop Peter from being killed, I have to go," he said abruptly. "Mary…"
She looked a little paler than normal, but she nodded. A stab of panic hit him as he looked into her eyes. How could he do this? This was his love, his soulmate that he was leaving behind. The mother of his unborn child. How could anything be worth walking away from her?
"I understand," she whispered, as though sensing his dilemma. "You have to bring him back."
He kissed her and stood, his gaze flickering over the gathered Wolves. "Watch after her. Especially during the full moon. Her Wolf is buried, but not so deep that it doesn't feel the call of the moon. And if any of you hurt her, believe me, you will regret it."
Julia looked indignant, but Andre turned away before any of them could respond to his threat. He headed for the truck. He'd take it to the nearest town and leave it there, traveling north with his Bear. Peter was being held near the border. With the twists in the roads, it would be just as fast to travel straight through the forest to his destination as it would to drive around it.
"Wait."
Andre tensed. He turned to see Philip following after him. The Wolf's eyes were wide, his steps hesitant. The Bear could almost see his pulse pounding in his throat. Philip stopped several feet away and stood fidgeting.
"What is it?"
"I know that you know. About what I… When all of this is over, are you going to kill me?"
Andre turned away. "No."
"Why?"
"Because you didn't know and Mary loves you."
"Mary doesn't even know me."
Andre shrugged, raising one shoulder and dropping it again. "Someday she'll remember. But even if she never does… There is still a part of me that wants to kill you, Philip Locke." He turned back to the Wolf. "But for the most part… I have let go of my hate. My need for revenge. I don't want to kill you anymore."
Philip's brow furrowed. "But—"
"I said that I don't want to kill you, not that I want to talk to you." Andre slid into the truck and turned it on. His hands trembled and his Bear growled, but it wasn't as angry as he expected. Instead, he felt a sort of peace spread through his limbs and he knew–this was the right choice to make.
He glanced over to where Mary sat and found her staring at him. He smiled once. I'll be back. And then nothing will ever separate us again.
Chapter Fourty
Andre did not travel unnoticed. On the third day when he emerged from the forest to buy some food and water in a gas station, a woman approached him. She was almost as tall as he was, with strong features and dark skin. She had a lithe, well-formed body. He eyed her, recognizing her Bear straight off.
"Andre Mitchel?" Her voice held traces of a Spanish accent.
He nodded. "And you are?"
"My name is Ibeth. You knew my cousin, Zoe."
Andre tensed. Zoe was the Bear who had introduced him into all of this mess to begin with. It wasn't her fault–she had been trying to help him and Mary escape from the country to be safe from her community. Zoe had hoped, one day, to open a dialogue with the Wolves in order to strengthen all Shifters with the Wolves' knowledge of how to ensure each of their children were born Shifters as well.
Paul Locke had killed Zoe. Shot her in the head for the sole reason that she was with Mary and Andre.
He's the one who started it all.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he said stiffly, eyeing her. Would she be like Grant Easton, the Polar Bear who had attempted to destroy the Wolf community? Would she be out for blood?
He wouldn't blame her if she was.
"How did you find me?" he asked as she moved closer.
"After your rather violent escape from our last facility, your description and picture were sent to several other bases. After a few sightings, we were able to extrapolate your destination."
Her expression was calculating. Anger swirled in her eyes, but she seemed to have it well in hand. "Tell me, why is that you fought your way out of our custody to go help a bunch of Wolves that have a reputation for killing other Shifters?"
Andre bristled but glanced at the cashier. "Is here really—"
"The human knows about us, don't you Marcus?"
Marcus nodded.
Ibeth folded her arms. "Answer the question."
&
nbsp; Andre hesitated. How much truth should he tell? If he told them that he had warned the Wolves, helped them escape, what were his chances of survival? His heart sank. Would he ever see Mary again? I promised. So I will find a way back to her before the next full moon.
"If you know about me, then you know about Mary."
"Your Wolf girlfriend?"
She's more than just a girlfriend. Andre nodded. Let's not quibble about semantics.
"She was manipulated into going back to the community. She had killed her father, I knew that the Wolves would punish her for that. I had to try to get to her before they killed her. And as for your invasion, Easton told me that everybody over the age of six was going to be slaughtered. I couldn't let that happen!"
Ibeth's eyes narrowed. "The Wolves are planning an all-out attack on Shifters and humans alike. We were not going to slaughter children, no matter what that buffoon told you. We were going to ensure that their soldiers and hunters could not reveal the presence of Shifters to the human populations. We hoped to do so with minimal loss of life."
Andre's eyes narrowed. His Bear growled, but he couldn't trust Ibeth's words at face value. Easton had manipulated him and Mary both. He couldn't trust other Bears simply because they were Bears, any more than he could trust anybody else. But perhaps it was best if he acted as though he believed. Then he might be able to get to Peter's location. Once he was there, he could determine if it was worth trying to free him.
Or maybe he should give it up and get the hell out of here. Go back to Mary and the baby and take them far away from this place.
"What happened to your Wolf? Did you make it in time?"
Andre glared at Ibeth.
Her expression softened. "They killed her, then?"
"Not exactly. But good enough." He would not tell this Bear about Mary! "What's it to you?"
"Zoe thought she could be very useful in our quest." Ibeth tilted her head to one side. "What are you doing here, exactly?"
"Peter Locke killed my wife and daughter. He let his community take Mary from me and then swore he'd tell me where she was if I helped his family get away. He didn't, Mary is gone forever and I want to kill him."
If Ibeth was surprised, she didn't show it. "How did you find where he was?"
Andre produced a worn business card from his pocket. "Easton gave this to me last time I saw him."
Ibeth took the card. She narrowed her eyes, but after a long moment nodded. "We can't allow you to kill him. He has information about the Wolf strategy for when they attack. He has refused to say anything about it, though, other than to laugh at us and tell us that our doom is upon us."
It was Andre's turn to narrow his eyes. Could it be true? Were the Wolves going to attack? He had observed the community for some time, he hadn't seen any indication of such a thing. But he hadn't been looking for an invasion force.
"Perhaps I can convince him to talk."
"Perhaps you can. The real question is whether I should believe you. You had a chance to kill him before if that was what you really wanted to do."
"Not if I wanted to find Mary."
Ibeth nodded. "Well then. I'll give you a ride. We'll see if you can make Peter Locke tell us what the Wolves have planned."
***
Mary woke to the sounds of angry screaming outside her tent. She groaned, rolling over to her other side and pulled her pillow over her head. If the number of times she had been called in the night by a child needing to go potty was any indication, she wouldn't have long until—
"Mary! Simon bit me!"
She groaned, kicking off her sleeping bag. Little two-year-old James had crawled into her tent sometime during the night. He cracked open an eye and gave her a sleepy grin.
"Try to stay asleep," she whispered to him.
"Okay." James pulled the sleeping bag over his head.
Mary couldn't help but smile, her heart melting. James, she decided, was her favorite. He did everything she asked him to do. Even when he pouted, he was adorable.
Why had she left him behind when she ran from home? Maybe I could only think of myself. Maybe I was going to come back for him.
Was her baby going to be so even-tempered?
She emerged from the tent to see five-year-old Simon pulling seven-year-old Tabitha's hair. Julia was trying to mediate a dispute between the eight-year-old and nine-year-old while cooking breakfast. Meanwhile, John and Thomas, twenty-one and nineteen respectively, sat on a log whittling, looking bored.
Mary marched over to the fighting youngsters, detangling Simon's fingers from Tabitha's hair. She took their hands and dragged them over to John and Thomas. The boys looked up when she stopped in front of them, glaring.
"John, you are now in charge of Simon. Thomas, you are in charge of Tabitha. From now on, you make sure they eat, wash, go to bed on time and don't fight."
John laughed a little. "Mary, that's not how we do things. Taking care of kids is for women to do."
"And that's the exact reason I left last year."
Both boys flinched.
"You are both grown men. You can handle taking care of children." Mary nodded, hoping that her words would sink in.
"But you're here," Thomas argued, "and we have to gather wood and go fishing!"
"You're sitting on your asses whittling, expecting your sisters to feed you and take care of all the children. And I'm not staying. As soon as Andre's back, I'm gone." She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to stay calm. "While we're at it, I'm going to make a schedule for who cooks and cleans up. Everybody is going to take their turn and you two need to learn how to take care of yourselves."
The boys looked uncertain, but Mary walked away before they could argue further. How had she ever managed to survive this before? It had only been three days and she was already wanting to tear out her hair.
She quickly ran through her siblings. She was determined that she wasn't going to be the one everybody constantly ran to for everything. Julia could handle Lydia and Susana as they were both old enough to help out with basic tasks. Mary could help with them as well. Matthew was thirteen and didn't need much looking after, so he wouldn't be too much for Amy. Philip could be responsible for little Andrew. Mary would watch James and pitch in with all the others when and where she was needed.
When she told Philip his responsibilities, he shook his head. "I can't."
Mary narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"
"Amy and I are going back to the community."
Her jaw dropped. She had been expecting more of this ‘woman's work’ bullshit that her brothers had been throwing at her for the past few days. But she had not expected this. They had left the community because it wasn't safe! "Why are you going back there?"
A look of surprise crossed Philip's face. "Right. I forgot you wouldn't remember. There is a ritual that expectant mothers go through, to ensure their babies are born with Wolves. Amy was not able to do it yet. Her delivery date is approaching and without a Wolf, her baby will be born dead."
Mary's hand drifted to her stomach. Her gut twisted with unease. Was it true or just what the women were told to make them go through this ritual? Not worth risking it. Besides, isn't this something Andre wanted to know, how Wolves ensure their children are also born Shifters? "When are you leaving?"
"Right after breakfast."
Mary nodded. "I'm coming too."
"What? Why?"
"Because maybe if I go with you, I'll remember and I'll get my Wolf back. I won't have to fear the full moon and the… pain and fear it brings." She shivered. She hadn't even told Andre exactly how she felt while the Wolf had her, with that fear that permeated everything. "Maybe I'll be able to control it."
"That's not how it works—"
Mary didn't want to argue. "Then it's because I'm pregnant and I don't want my baby born dead."
Philip's jaw dropped. His eyes widened and he seemed to be unable to form a coherent sentence. He spluttered for so long that Mary turned away and headed bac
k for the others. She would need to figure out a new system for keeping the little ones watched after since three adults were leaving. Just as long as everything doesn't end up falling on Julia again.
Her arms wrapped around her abdomen. She'd worried for her baby after the full moon. She'd wondered if it would be born a Bear or a Wolf or neither. Well, now I know. It has to be a Wolf, or else…
She straightened herself. Whatever this ritual was, she would do it. She was not going to lose her baby!
Chapter Fourty One
Mary and Amy waited in the car staring out at the empty buildings that once housed elderly Wolves. Amy sat in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped protectively around her belly while Mary gripped the steering wheel.
They had arrived at the old community fifteen minutes earlier. Philip was off searching the area for any threats and the seconds stretched by like something was about to snap. Amy didn't know how to drive, so it was up to Mary to get them away if they were attacked.
"So what is this ritual exactly?" Mary finally asked, unable to take the silence anymore.
She had hoped to recognize the buildings they drove by, but nothing looked familiar. It was frustrating and there was something inside her that was almost snarling. She wanted to stomp on the gas and get out of there right away.
Is it my Wolf? she wondered. Is it remembering what happened to it here?
Amy stared straight ahead and didn't speak.
Mary sighed. "I'm going to have to do it too, you know. I have a baby that I don't want to lose."
"A Bear's baby," Amy muttered. "Why don't you want a baby Bear?"
"Maybe I do," Mary snapped. "But the most important thing is that I have a live baby! So tell me. What do I need to do?"
Amy's shoulders slumped. "We have to start in the tombs."
"The tombs? Why?"
"Because that is where the moon mushrooms grow."
Mary stared at her. "We're going to eat magic mushrooms? How the hell is that safe for a baby?"
Amy flinched. "Must you swear? You were never this crude before."
"My Wolf wasn't purged before."
Amy flinched again.