“So that makes you...” I thought for a moment before turning to face him. “Jesus, dude, that makes you eighty!” I laughed lightly. James joined in and shook his head.
“Is that how old I am?”
“I’ll tell you this much,” I laughed. “You look damn good for an old man.” I watched as he shook with soft laughter in the seat next to me. I hadn’t known him for long but this was the first time I had ever really seen him laugh like that let alone smile. “Okay so about Sam,” I continued as I followed their car around a steep turn off. “What else do you know?”
“Well she lived in New Orleans until she was about twelve with her parents and three sisters. Told me her dad was a real son of a bitch.”
“How so?” I nearly growled. It amazed me how protective I was feeling over a woman I hardly knew.
“It’s okay,” he spoke as though reading my thoughts. “She’s your sire.” I looked at him for a moment before turning my eyes back to the road.
“Jonathan used that word before, what does it mean?”
“Who?”
“The guy that attacked me the day you showed up.”
“Oh you mean the big blond guy.” I smirked.
“Yeah that one.” He nodded thoughtfully.
“Anyway a sire is the wolf that made you. You want to protect her, that’s normal.”
“How did you know?” I glanced to him, my eyebrow raised in question.
“We’re a pack now I can read you pretty well.” He smiled.
“I thought you said you weren’t psychic?” I smirked. James shook his head and turned himself to the side, resting his elbow on the back of my trucks worn bench seat.
“I’m not and it’s not a psychic thing it’s more like an instinct thing. Like you can look at someone and just know that something’s wrong.” I nodded.
“Yeah okay.”
“Well I heard you growl and your voice changed when the subject of her jackass father came up so I assumed your reaction was one of concern for Sam.”
“Okay, okay you’re good.” I chuckled.
“You’ll learn how to do it in time.” He smiled, turning himself forward in his seat. “But anyway as I was saying her dad was angry that he had all girls, blamed her mother for it. Sam says he used to beat them pretty bad, even took to touching the girls when they got older.”
“Did he-”
“No.” He interrupted me. “Sam was promised to some rich diplomat or something, he wouldn’t do anything to compromise a paycheck.”
“So he sold his own daughter?”
“Well yeah, that’s kind of how things worked back then. She was married off at sixteen, had a few babies and did her duty as a housewife at least that’s how she tells it.”
“So when was she turned?”
“Well it gets kind of fragmented here. She doesn’t give too much detail but from what I’ve managed to piece together she was having an affair with this cotton farmer’s son. She said they were madly in love and he was saving his money so that they could run away together.”
“That sounds nice.” James winced and shook his head.
“Maybe at first but it gets weird. See you can be born like this, if you have kids its likely they’ll be wolves like us. That was the case with the farmer and his son.”
“So daddy was turned and his son just inherited it?” James nodded.
“Something like that.”
“Okay so what happened?”
“Well this was around the time that people still believed in things like us and we were being hunted like dogs so the smart ones kept it quiet and tried to blend in you know.”
“The farmer and his son? That’s what they were doing?”
“Yeah and when he finally saved enough money to leave he took Sam into his barn and showed her what he was. The way she tells it, she was okay with it and allowed him to change her. She said anything was better than where she was.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “After a few days of healing up she went back home to gather her things and her husband was waiting for her, drunk as usual. He came after her and beat the hell out of her for fooling around on him. She said it was when he went after her daughter that she changed for the first time and ripped him apart.”
The truck was silent. I couldn’t even bring myself to breathe as he told me the story of the woman that had brought me into this life. “It didn’t take long for the village to come running, we’re not exactly quiet when we kill, you know that.” He smiled slightly. “When they got there she was in the process of changing back, her husband was mutilated and she was standing in front of an angry mob so she took her daughter and ran.”
“Where did they go?”
“To the farm but so did the mob. The details are a bit fuzzy but from what I know the whole family was strung up along with the slaves that worked the field. Even her daughter was killed for good measure, Sam barely made it out alive and she’s been wondering around ever since.”
I sighed quietly and shook my head. As far as stories went that one was harsh and I was beginning to feel bad for ever thinking that the hand I had been dealt was unfair. Here was this woman who had lost everything so violently and somehow she managed to find the strength to go on, helping others when all I could do was complain. I decided right then and there that it made no sense for me to feel sorry for myself and I wouldn’t any longer.
“Everyone deals with things differently you know.” I looked to James and smiled, a slight chuckled escaped me as his expression turned to one of apology.
“Can you control that little habit of yours or do you just enjoy reading people?” I laughed lightly. He smiled and looked down at his hands as he played with his fingers nervously, a habit of his whenever he needed time to find the right words to say.
“I’m sorry, you just fascinate me. You didn’t go feral, you should have but you didn’t and I can’t understand why.” I shrugged and put my eyes back to the road.
“Maybe because I didn’t have some self-righteous jackass telling me it was my right to slaughter people like sheep. I heard Jonathan’s little speech. I can see how it would be easy to fall into that. I can understand why some go feral,” I spoke quickly and quietly. It was a convincing speech, even if it was bat shit insane, I did have to admire the elegance of his words.
“But the ones who are left alone go that way too, it’s kind of strange.”
“You studied psychology right?” I asked with a smile. He nodded and looked to me, waiting for me to get to my point. “So you should know what happens when a man is desperate, what they’re capable of.”
“Well yeah but-”
“But nothing.” I interrupted him. “I remember when I was first turned. All I wanted to do was eat. A week out of the hospital and I marched into a supermarket and began ravishing the meat department.” I looked to him, a smile on my face. “I tore into six steaks and two pot roasts before I realized what I had done and I was still hungry after all that. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be that hungry in the middle of nowhere, you’ll eat the first thing that comes along and if Jonathan was right and if humans taste as good as he says, I can see why someone would stick with that. Combine that with the fact that eating people is psychologically messed up and I can’t see someone handling seeing a werewolf and eating a person all in one short period of time too well.” I paused for a second and took a much needed breath. “Well it kind of makes sense if you think of it that way.”
“Wow,” James exclaimed, a smile on his face. “I never thought of it like that. How did you come up with that anyway?”
I laughed lightly and shrugged. “I just think way too much about crap that doesn’t really matter.” After a long pause, James went back to his book and I went back to the long stretch of road that was laid out in front of us. The truck went silent as we put the reservation and the horrors of the day far behind us and it wasn’t until the sun began to rise over the horizon that I realized just how tired I was becoming and just how far
we had traveled.
I thought about what was to come, how we would get through this and if we would find my sister alive, a thought I wanted to banish as quickly as it had come.
Sam had come to my rescue just when I needed her and I had to trust that she would do for Cordillia what she had done for me in my time of need.
As they pulled into the parking lot of a rundown gas station, I pulled up next to the little silver car and killed the engine. I crawled out of the cab and smiled as I stretched my legs and relished in the feel of sweet relief that came with the much needed and overdue break from the open road.
Sam walked over to me as I lifted my arms over my head and groaned happily as my back cracked loudly and readjusted itself into a more comfortable position.
“I got a call from some friends of mine,” she spoke sweetly, stopping just in front of me as James stepped out of the truck and rubbed his eyes.
“Yeah?” I nodded, shoving my hands deep into my pockets.
“There’s a pack out in Richland, they want to help us.” I laughed lightly and leaned back against my truck, turning my head to the sky and closing my eyes.
“Help us how?” I scoffed. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the help and it wasn’t even that I doubted their abilities, I didn’t know them but things had gone to hell so quickly that it was hard to believe they would ever go back to a place that even closely resembled normal.
“Don’t do this, Ethan. I know you’re tired and I know you’re frustrated but we need numbers if we’re going to be safe.” I looked down as she pleaded with me eagerly. She was right, we were small and it wasn’t hard to see that if shit really hit the fan there was no way we would be able to stay alive as just the five of us.
“I trust you, Sam, and I know you’re right it’s just…” I trailed off. She knew enough about me and what I had gone through to be able to finish the train of thought for herself.
“I know but they can help.” She smiled. I couldn’t help but return her gesture, something about the way she smiled was so sincere and for a moment I felt like everything would be okay. A flash of inspiration crossed my mind and I stood from my truck and reached into my pocket pulling out the piece of paper that Robert had given me.
“What about this guy?” I asked as I handed it to her. She looked it over and shrugged.
“Bryant Lockley?” she questioned as she read it over and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of him. Have you called him yet?” She asked handing the piece of paper back to me. I shook my head and shoved it back into my pocket as Logan tiptoed toward us, careful not to spill the two large coffees in his hand.
“Good, don’t just yet.” She smiled, taking a cup from him and handing it to me. It felt nice to have something warm in my hand and the smell that wafted up from the large paper cup seemed to put a stop to the tiredness I was feeling. “I’ll have James do some digging before we go calling up a stranger.” I nodded as I took a sip of the bitter brown liquid. Gas station coffee in my opinion was never preferable but at this moment it was heavenly and I sighed happily as it warmed me and brought a smile to my lips.
“So where we heading?” I asked curiously.
“Richland, like I said.” She chuckled. I nodded and leaned back against my truck once again. “A few miles outside of town there’s this abandoned weapons factory we’re supposed to be looking for. I’ve never been there myself but I trust Grant with my life so we’ll check it out.”
“Grant?”
“Yeah he’s a friend.” She nodded.
“Why do you trust him? If it’s okay that I ask.”
“He’s saved my life on more than one occasion.” She smiled brightly as she traced the rim of her cup with her fingers. “We go way back, I used to be part of his pack until I decided to start looking for people like you.” She looked up at me with a smile.
“Like me?”
“Lost pups.” I nodded and pulled a cigarette from the pack in my pocket, lighting it quickly. I didn’t want to get into the habit of smoking but after the day that had just passed, something about the idea teased my senses and as I felt the warmth of smoke fill my lungs and calm my nerves I realized that somewhere in my line of thinking I was right.
I watched quietly as Logan and James wrestled with each other in the parking lot, Logan gaining the upper hand and critiquing James’ style with every move.
“Don’t turn your back, man.” He laughed as he brought James to his knees in a headlock. “Never turn your back.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Boohoo!” Logan laughed as he released him and tossed him to the ground. Sam laughed softly as James got to his feet and took a defensive stance only to be pinned against the Trans Am and brought to his knees once again.
“Do they do this a lot?” I chuckled. She turned back to me and shrugged with a smile.
“Logan was feral once.” I nodded. “He still has that fighter in him.” She smiled brightly as their shouts echoed all around us. “He’s a good soldier and the only person I’ve ever seen take down Matt in a fight.” She smirked. I watched her closely as she watched them, Matt pushing the boys away while he chatted on a small black cell phone, stopping only to knock Logan to the ground after running into him one too many times.
The way she laughed and the way she smiled as the boys played made her seem more like a mother to them than anything else and in a way I was right. She had taken them in, trained them and cared for them when no one else would. Isn’t that what a mother does?
“I swear to God if you two don’t knock it off-”
“You’ll what?” Logan teased as he stood on the tip of his toes to meet Matt face to face. He turned to us, tossing the cell phone to Sam as he grabbed Logan around the throat and held him still.
“Grant’s gonna have someone waiting for us at the gate,” he shouted and Sam waved in thanks. Almost immediately Matt changed his grip on Logan, spinning him around and lifting him into the air as he squealed and squirmed.
“Put me down!” he shouted as Matt lifted him over his head. One hand placed under his neck and the other resting at the base of his spine as Logan flailed against his grip. “Come on, man, this isn’t funny!”
“Matt, come on, you know he’s scared of heights.” Sam called over as she leaned against the truck next to me. He laughed loudly as he dropped Logan to his feet.
“You gonna listen when I tell you to piss off?” He smirked. Logan nodded and took a few deep breaths as Matt turned his back to him and began walking toward us. He shouted as Logan jumped on his back, wrapping his legs around Matt’s waist and his arms tight around his neck. Matt growled as he reached behind him, attempting to throw the kid off of his back.
“Never turn your back on your enemy!” He chuckled before Matt threw his back against the car, slamming Logan into it with a loud groan.
“Okay you two that’s enough!” Sam called across the parking lot.
“What?” Logan shouted as he dropped to his feet. “I’m fine.” He lifted his arms and turned around quickly to prove his point.
“It’s not you I’m worried about.” She laughed lightly. “Don’t go messing up my car.”
“Really?” Logan pouted as Matt reached over and pushed him into the car door with a laugh.
“Come on you guys, we got a long way to go.” The boy’s nodded and as if on cue began climbing into the silver car. She turned to me and smiled as I tossed the dying ember of my cigarette to the ground and cracked my neck loudly. “That sounded like it felt good.” She chuckled. I nodded and pulled open the door to my truck, ready to climb in when she placed a hand on my shoulder.
Wolves among men Page 17