by Jen Haeger
Roberto’s face was stern once more. “You can tell him that we were discussing how you managed to escape the fire on your own last night and why you didn’t rendezvous with the rest of us until now.”
Evelyn froze.
“You will tell me all about it later, yes?”
Evelyn was sure that was exactly what she didn’t want to do, especially in light of the conversation they just had. Without facing Roberto, she took a deep breath, willed her limbs to loosen, and continued on to the door. “Of course.”
51
The exodus from the safe-house was a whirlwind and, before she knew it, Evelyn was back in the SUV with David and Kim, only this time heading south and without Clem. Sitting alone behind David and Kim, the car felt very empty to Evelyn, and though still exhausted, sleep eluded her. Unable to take the silence and staring at the passing scenery any longer, Evelyn finally gave in to her curiosity.
“Do we know anything about the other battles? Did Roberto say anything?”
David cleared his throat.
Kim turned around in her seat to face Evelyn. “He told us some things. Not all good news, but not all bad.”
“Okay. Bad news first.”
Kim nodded. “Well, the Ulv refused to try David’s plan. Said it wasn’t in keeping with Wolfkin traditions or something, and…and we haven’t heard anything from them since the last night, and…”
“Roberto thinks that they’re all dead or captured.” David finished.
Evelyn looked down at her lap. She wasn’t close with any of the other Ulv pack members and Sara was dead, yet knowing that Sara’s pack might be gone opened up an empty, aching place in Evelyn’s heart. Swallowing, she hoped that Kim had started with the worst news first. “What else?”
“Um, the Lupoluis?” Kim sniffed and glanced at David for confirmation. He bobbed his head. “And the Merrigang refused to fight.”
“What happened to them?”
Kim wouldn’t meet Evelyn’s eye. “Well, nothing happened to the Merrigang, at least not that we know of. The Vulke didn’t call them out and Roberto doesn’t think that anything happened in Australia or New Zealand or around there. He wanted them to go to Europe and help fight, but they wouldn’t. They said now that the Council was gone, politics meant nothing to them. Roberto was furious, but he couldn’t do anything.”
Evelyn wasn’t terribly surprised by this, having met the Merrigang Alpha, Jim. He’d told Evelyn that members of his pack became Wolfkin to bond with nature and go back to their animal roots. They only interacted with other packs on the Wolfkin Council’s insistence, had no interest in a cure, and might even feel that what the Vulke were doing was a good thing.
“And the Lupoluis?”
David cut in before Kim had a chance to speak. “Those artist morons let themselves be slaughtered.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, just stood there while the strays tore them apart.”
Once the initial shock wore off, Evelyn remembered her encounters with one of the Lupoluis at the Council manor house and could see how Evagio and his other eccentric pack members would see this as a magnificently tragic end.
Kim attempted to downplay the horror. “But Roberto never expected them to fight, so…”
“Anything else?”
“Well, the Anubis Pack and the Chon seemed to have sided with the Vulke again—“
“But that’s not surprising because they did before.”
Kim nodded. “But the Alonso also sound like they’ve sided with the Vulke too.”
“The pack in South America? But I thought that the Wahya were on good terms with them.”
David sighed. “They were until you and I showed up and stirred things up. They got mad about a second pack in the U.S. and then I guess a bunch of old grievances came to the surface again, or something. Roberto acted like he wasn’t that concerned about it, so I think that he’s really concerned about it.”
Evelyn refused to state the obvious, but she couldn’t stop herself from thinking it. We are so screwed. “Maybe I should have asked for the good news first.”
David sniffed. “Not too much of that.”
Kim broke in. “But there is some. There were no other fires or other disasters that we know of, and most of the other packs at least tried some variation of David’s plan. Oh, and the battle in the British Isles was almost a total victory,” Kim raised the corners of her mouth in a facsimile of a smile, “and we all lived, and Clem too…and Madeline…and Roberto…and…and Caroline.”
Kim was trying so hard to lift Evelyn’s spirits that Evelyn couldn’t help but give the girl some encouragement. “You’re right, Kim. Things could’ve been a lot worse.” Her mind raced back to the Vulke Wolfkin rescuing her from the falling tree, and then not killing her later when they were both human again. Much worse.
*
They could have made it back to Lansing by nightfall, especially with the way that David was driving, but instead took a detour along East 72 into the Huron National Forest. Citing that they’d all been through a highly emotional and traumatic ordeal, Roberto had suggested that they choose as sparsely populated an area as possible for the change that night. Evelyn’s concern for David’s mental state had increased ten-fold when he hadn’t argued with Roberto, though if he had argued, she would have brought up Kim’s Wolfkin immaturity as an excuse to follow Roberto’s recommendation.
When they found a deserted trail-head, they ate an early dinner, comprised of safe-house comestibles, at the car, opening the doors to a warm, though overcast, evening. Each lost in their own thoughts, they sat silently. Evelyn wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell David about her bizarre experience with the Vulke, and definitely didn’t want to tell Kim. The whole thing was just so crazy and still raw in her mind. She didn’t know what to make of the encounter, and just thinking of it was making her sick to her stomach, but when her mind wasn’t preoccupied with the battle and the fire, her thoughts turned to the conversation with Roberto about a possible traitor in their midst. This she was dying to tell David, even if his reaction might not be helpful to the situation. Evelyn could see him flipping out, and the truth was that they just didn’t know enough members of the Wahya or Amaruq to have any idea who the traitor might be, so the information would only frustrate David.
“Kim said that Roberto took you aside earlier.”
“Huh?” Evelyn glanced from a pale and wide-eyed Kim to David, all frown and knitted brows.
“What did he want?”
Avoiding making eye-contact, Evelyn tried to come up with something plausible that wasn’t the truth and wasn’t the lie that she was supposed to tell him, which in truth, she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him.
“Was it about me? Is Roberto concerned about my attitude?”
Pursing her lips to stifle a sigh of relief that David had given her an easy out, Evelyn nodded. “You know how he is. He’s so focused on the bigger picture, the greater good, that he can’t see individuals and individual emotion, or at least can’t see how it’s relevant. He just told me that he doesn’t want your emotions to get in the way of what’s best for everyone.”
David’s jaw clenched. “And what did you tell him?”
Evelyn relaxed. Even though the conversation she was relaying to David was entirely fictitious, she knew what her response would’ve been if the situation had actually occurred. “I told him that caring about other people as individuals is how we differ from the Vulke, that it’s one of our greatest assets in this war.”
David’s jaw loosened and he nodded.
Evelyn wanted to add that David did sometimes let his emotions get the better of him, but she knew that the comment would hurt him, so she held her tongue. It was too soon after the hell that they’d been through last night to speak frankly on delicate issues. Evelyn changed the subject and turned to Kim to include her. “So Clem’s alright?”
Chasing down a large bite of sandwich with a swig of Coke, Kim nodded vigorously then hiccup-cou
ghed before answering Evelyn. “Yeah, he’s good. Went to spend some time with his family.”
“Not in Sault Ste. Marie? Aren’t they in danger there?”
Sandwich finished, David stood to stretch his legs and answered for Kim.
“Roberto hired them some serious private security. In fact, I think he was anxious for the Vulke to try something there so that he could get his hands on a couple of them to interrogate, but according to him, it’s been quiet.”
Evelyn’s thoughts went to Karen and Gabe, their sons, and unborn daughter. “Good. They’ve been through enough in the past couple years.”
“Are you gals almost done eating? I think that we should head out soon, get some distance between us and the road.”
As Kim finished off the last few bites of her sandwich, Evelyn stared down at her half-eaten hoagie. Though easy to eat while they walked, she wrapped it up in a napkin as a lost cause. David locked up the car and they headed into the forest. Tension gathered in Evelyn’s shoulders as they walked. Far from welcoming the change, as she had done the previous night, instead apprehension gnawed at Evelyn. She glanced up at David and Kim. Will my wolf know that the fight is over?
52
Wrangling up the strays who’d survived the fire wasn’t nearly as difficult as Nicolas thought it would be. It was amazing how trusting people in shock were when you said that you were a rescue worker. Not all of the strays came quietly, but that’s the reason they’d brought tranquilizer guns. All said, they’d lost around twenty to the fire, the enemy, or the wilderness, less than half, and only two pure-blooded Vulke. There would be hell to pay when Taras found out about the losses, the fire, the whole damned debacle, but that didn’t matter now. Even as Nicolas barked orders for their withdrawal into Canada, all that he could think about was her. Dr. Evelyn Lucia Eisenhart. Nicolas had seen her picture many times of course. She was top of the Vulke’s most wanted list since she was one of but a handful of scientists researching the Wolfkin virus, the most knowledgeable, and the only one not already imprisoned in the Vulke laboratory in Minsk. But he’d never seen her wolf until last night, and was unable to forget the way that the fire’s reflection shimmered in her eyes or the subtle shifts in coloration of her stream-soaked fur.
“Sir.”
The lieutenant’s interruption shredded Nicolas’s daydream.
“What is it?”
“It’s Taras, Sir. He’s asking for your report.”
Silently Nicolas cursed the excellent cell phone coverage of the U.S. Knowing that he could no longer serve with Taras as his master, Nicolas thought he’d have at least another hour before having to confront the irate Vulke Alpha, time enough to craft his words well enough to deceive Taras. He snatched the cell phone from the lieutenant and stalked off further into the woods.
“Sire, regretfully there was a fire. Local authorities are now involved. May I brief you in one hour?”
A beat of silence, then, “Of course, Nicolas. I look forward to hearing from you.”
The line went dead and a terrible chill climbed Nicolas’s spine. He’d bought himself more time, but the cost would be high. Any pleasantries that came from Taras were paid for in pain, and the last time Taras had been so understanding it had cost Nicolas a tooth.
*
The brief surge in conversation that had accompanied their late lunch didn’t last as Evelyn, Kim, and David hiked into the forest. The clouds muted the beauty of the woods, making the colors a palette of ashen greys to Evelyn’s eyes, and the ash reminded her of the fire, and the fire reminded her of everything else that she was trying to forget. The silence between them only broken by the rustle of leaves and the snapping of a twigs, she wondered how they would be able to speak like normal people ever again after all that had happened. Time heals all wounds. It was a phrase that was meant to bring comfort like “this too shall pass”, but the word “wounds” made Evelyn think of another more morbid saying that was a favorite of her father’s dry wit: all bleeding stops eventually.
In the darkening forest the beast within Evelyn stirred. The coming change felt different this time and Evelyn could understand Clem’s fear of losing control. Her wolf, just returned from battle or perhaps still in the throes of war, was angry, sad, hurt, confused, afraid, and bitter. Reflections of her own emotions, but unfettered by logic and sharpened by primal urges. Evelyn longed for the change to come, yet at the same time feared losing the barrier of logic against her emotions. Realizing that Kim and David probably felt the same way, Evelyn suddenly wished she was alone so that she didn’t have to deal with their emotional scars as well as her own tonight. But no, she had responsibilities to David, to Kim, and it would be irresponsible of David and her to let Kim run free, no matter how isolated they were.
“Can we stop here?”
Kim’s words rang out in the silence and David turned to look at her, then glanced at their surroundings. They’d been roughly following a stream for about an hour now, the only feature delineating this patch of forest from the next, a large fallen tree spanning the stream.
David shrugged. “Sure. Good as anyplace, I guess.”
Peeling off his shirt, David folded it carefully and stowed it at the base of a tree. A twinge of petty jealousy that he could be so careless about exposing his bare chest before the change shot through Evelyn. After her encounter with her Vulke rescuer that morning, Evelyn was even more self-conscious than usual, and as David turned his back she ducked behind a tree to take off her borrowed sweatshirt. Though the prickling underneath her skin was only just beginning, it was a tad early for them to be so prepared for the change, but restless and anxious for the transformation to come, Evelyn didn’t really mind. Taking a seat cross-legged about a foot from the trunk of the tree, Evelyn practiced some Tai Chi deep breathing exercises that she’d seen on the internet, attempting to relax her body to make the change less painful.
Either there was more to Tai Chi than one vaguely recalled video from the web, or her wolf was way too worked up to allow the exercises to be successful, because ten minutes later the pain was only slightly better than when she’d transformed as she was falling down a ravine. When the agony subsided, Evelyn’s instincts immediately warned her of danger, and she crouched, ready to spring towards an attacker or flee. Her senses erupted with the scents, sounds, sights, and vibrations of the night, and her gnawing fear dissipated only as she inhaled clean, smokeless air. Recognizing David and Kim’s scents, Evelyn’s muscles relaxed, though her emotions were still on edge. Before she could glance over at Kim to see how the other woman was faring, a mass of light brown fur blurred in the edges of her vision and pounced on her back, knocking her to the ground.
Instincts taking over, Evelyn rolled to dislodge her attacker and to gain better leverage. As she rolled, she saw more movement out of the corner of her eye. Her vision clouded with red, and Evelyn prepared to lash out at this new danger as soon as she regained her feet, but suddenly the weight of her initial assailant was gone and a series of sharp barks landed on her ears. Her feet once again under her, she paused and the message of the barks slowly sunk in as she spied David staring down a snarling Kim. Evelyn’s mind gained control of her body and her vision cleared. The battle was over; this was just Kim experiencing the same difficulty with her wolf letting go. Straightening, Evelyn approached Kim from behind, and as Kim turned to face her, Evelyn back-handed her with a clawless slap. The rage extinguished from Kim’s eyes as shock replaced it, and a whimper escaped from her slack jaw. Placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head to the side, Evelyn stared into Kim’s eyes and barked once.
Evelyn hoped that her human-like actions would bring Kim’s control into focus, and it worked to an extent, though once the shock passed, a twinkle of anxious energy lit up Kim’s eyes. Snapping playfully at Evelyn, she turned and ran past a startled David across the tree bridge to the other side of the stream. Once across she glanced from Evelyn to David, yipped, and then sprinted into the forest. Growling low, Da
vid gave chase, and Evelyn had half-a-mind to just let them go on without her. Without the adrenaline of the fight, she was drained, and pondered that some time to herself to collect her thoughts might help her to come to grips with her encounter with her Vulke rescuer. As images of him both as a Wolfkin and as a human flipped through her brain like a slideshow, skittering spiders of unease danced inside Evelyn’s chest. Deciding it was still too soon to contemplate what had happened, Evelyn scampered across the tree and headed after Kim and David.
*
The night passed quickly and Evelyn remembered little of it: running, hunting, sparring with Kim and David. It was a time that thinking human thoughts while in Wolfkin form would have only gotten in the way, and Evelyn was glad for the blissful release from the weight of reality. When the sun rose the next morning, the change was abrupt and Evelyn felt exposed, though not physically, as she had the previous morning. She felt exposed mentally and emotionally as everything she had buried in animal ignorance was unearthed once again. Walking back to get their clothing and then back to the car, Evelyn attempted to push down the wrongness of the past few days, weeks, months…years. She wondered when, if ever there would be time to deal with it all.
Focusing on just the past twenty-four hours, Evelyn again longed to tell David everything that happened with the strange Vulke. She didn’t know why she couldn’t just talk to David and Kim both about it. They were a pack after all, and shouldn’t keep secrets from one another, but there was just something personal about the experience that weighted down her lips in front of Kim. Evelyn was finding it strange that neither David nor Kim had asked Evelyn about her escape from the fire, or why she was so late in arriving at the safe-house. If she had to guess, she would say that likely David was just glad to see her and didn’t feel like the details mattered much and that Kim was too polite to grill Evelyn. Guilt scratched in her chest and throat. Just tell them. Why keep it a secret? Why am I making such a big deal out of this? The beauty of the sun-dappled forest they hiked through, the chirping of morning birds, and the merry burble of the stream was lost on Evelyn as she continued her internal struggle.