For he’d asked her to tell a story she’d shared with exactly one other person over the years, and she would not resent him for it. After all, what better way of breaking the ice than exchanging war stories? Unpleasant though it was, she found herself picking up a third sandwich and starting on it, instead of wanting to bolt out of the room. Maybe because he wasn’t horrified or full of pity. Well, most likely his life story wasn’t a walk in the park either.
Besides, he remained suspicious, even as he shared more information. “Storm’s father was never around. A young, callow man who took off before he was born. Not interested in being a dad. Storm’s mother stayed for his first year. Also young, maybe callow. She’s studying at university and has decided it’s best if she doesn’t see Storm at all. I think it scares her to know she has the wolf gene. Connie, Storm’s grandmother, looks after him, with the help of her husband.”
“Who isn’t Storm’s grandfather?”
“Not biologically, no. But de facto, he’s involved, caring. Storm perhaps adores his grandmother the most, but he’s attached to Arch who likes to take him hiking.” Zach hadn’t relaxed, but there was something like hope in his face. That maybe she wasn’t sentencing him to endless trouble from wolves. Clearly he wanted to reassure Wolf Town that Storm was well cared for.
“Good.” She smiled down at her plate for a moment then looked up. “I don’t ordinarily confide in someone like this. The town’s doctor is the only one who knows how my mother died. I’m telling you now because, if you’re like other shifters, you can sense truth.”
Zach grimaced. “I’m not like other shifters. I didn’t even ID you as werewolf at the piano lessons.”
“So…you’re not sure I’m being honest with you?”
His look was assessing. “I think you are. I’m usually right about that.”
“Exactly.” She sighed, hating this story as much as the previous one. Maybe worse because she’d walked into it. “I came to Wolf Town last spring after a wolf tried to take me as his mate. His idea being we’d make wolf babies together. I had trouble defending myself, and some people from Wolf Town rescued me. And later killed that wolf. I’m telling you this, not so you can feel sorry for me, but because I understand about not trusting wolves, or being threatened by them, as you and Storm have been.”
She finished her third sandwich in silence, and at the end he said, “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“You’re welcome. And now, I’ll leave you alone. But I’m going to admit I was hoping you’d continue the piano lessons. I’ve rented the house for four months, and I don’t want to desert my other students.”
“Next week is the full moon.” He added, “As you must know. It may be too tiring for Storm.”
“You do what you think best.” She rose. “Can I steal your clothes? I think I’ll just walk home.”
He looked down at her feet. “I don’t have any boots to fit you.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Her metabolism could cope with running barefoot through the snow this distance.
“I don’t drive, I’m afraid.”
“No problem. I’ve imposed on you enough.” She was dying to ask him about himself but sensed it would be a mistake.
He gave her a warning look. “Connie will want to meet you.”
“That’s great.” In truth, Sally had no desire to meet this formidable grandmother who would probably give her the third degree, but she forced a smile.
Zach eyed her. “You’re lying.”
“Well, social lie, white lie. I should be happy to meet her, I just, uh… I’m not the best at social skills sometimes.”
“Really?” Zach appeared dumbfounded at this. He rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re probably a genius compared to me. And Connie’s not too bad. The important thing is she loves Storm.”
“That is important,” Sally agreed. They gazed at each other, and Sally felt a longing she hadn’t experienced in many, many years. She looked away. It was time to go. “Again, thank you for your forbearance.” She reached for the back door.
“Good night,” he said.
Chapter Seven
Zach paced for half the night, weighing his different options. It was no surprise to him that he wanted to run. It had been his modus operandi for at least ten years—run, run, and run again.
His role as Storm’s protector trumped his fight-or-flight response. He couldn’t fight Sally, not after the stories she’d told. He set aside whether or not she had lied to him—it was possible. He had good instincts when it came to people, but he wasn’t infallible. Still, the fact remained she might have told the truth, and if she had, it had been a kind of peace offering.
He shrugged off this line of thought, the way he was taking her visit personally. He had to put Storm’s welfare first.
And he had to speak to Connie. He opted to wait until morning to put a phone call through. It was unusual; she was the one who always called him.
“Zach, is everything all right?” Connie skipped right over the preliminaries.
He paused, the words sticking in his throat for a moment. He didn’t want to speak about wolves, and he didn’t want to speak about Sally.
“Zach?” she said more sharply.
“Another wolf came by here last night.”
“Associated with Stewart Hambly?” Connie also feared Hambly had spoken to others about Storm, given lone wolves were rare, and a new wolf would appear on their doorstep. Then Sally had appeared. What were the chances?
“I don’t think so. The wolf was a woman. To be specific, it was Storm’s piano teacher.”
A long pause followed before Connie said, “Are you sure Sally Walcott is a wolf?”
“Yes. She told me she’s from Wolf Town. They’d heard of Storm—” Zach broke off as he wasn’t sure how they’d heard of Storm. He hadn’t pinned that down. “Maybe you should go talk to Sally yourself.”
“I will be phoning her, you can count on it. However, I don’t know if it’s wise for me to go to her house. Are you suggesting I do that?”
“No. But…she doesn’t seem dangerous.” All those things Sally had told him last night, she hadn’t wanted to. She’d found the telling of them painful—unless his senses were completely shot.
“Female wolves are rare,” Connie mused. “I’m surprised she’s living on her own. Male wolves don’t usually let them go.”
Zach frowned. That jibed, somewhat, with Sally’s history, but… “Wolf Town sent her here, to make sure Storm is being properly cared for.”
“They have no say over Storm.” Connie’s voice rose, her composure shaken. “He is mine to care for.”
“She claims to be happy with Storm’s situation.”
“Good for her. I’m sure I’m most grateful.” Now Connie was irked as well as threatened.
“Here’s the thing.” Events were moving more quickly than Zach liked, and he had to speak now before he became an issue. “They, that is Wolf Town, might not like that I have amnesia or that I’m not educated.” He found it hard to say but wanted to put it out there. “They might want you to have someone else, a wolf, looking after him. I think—”
“We have a deal, Zach. You are the best thing to happen to Storm, and Wolf Town can just take a hike if they say otherwise.”
Despite himself, Zach smiled. He wanted to tell Wolf Town to go fuck themselves, but being told to take a hike by Connie would do.
“This is why I want Wolf Town to stay out of our business,” she continued in her take-no-prisoners tone.
“Okay. I suggest you don’t tell them my background, that’s what I wanted to say.” He didn’t agree Storm should have nothing to do with Wolf Town, but it didn’t mean he wanted to display all his flaws to them.
“I have no intention of doing so, because it is none of their business. I am phoning this Sally right now.” She made a noise of frustration. “To think I bought Storm a piano!”
Connie hung up without saying goodbye, also out of character. While Z
ach was still worried about his place in Storm’s life and what Wolf Town could do to him, he did feel heartened by her reaction, her support of him. He never knew quite what she made of his being a half-feral horse shifter. He just hoped they didn’t talk her out of her apparent high regard for him. Wolves, in general, don’t have a lot of respect for horses.
Where had that thought come from? Zach shivered, the past pressing up against him, black and heavy. A hazy vision of his brother rose before him—taller, darker and skinnier than himself. An apparition, and yet Zach wished he was someone he could reach out to. For who would understand him better than his twin and fellow horse shifter?
But Zach didn’t know where he was from or even if his brother still lived. From out of the past, he’d carried out his name and his body, and so very little else.
“And just who is your boss again?” demanded Storm’s grandmother.
“I don’t have a boss,” Sally said, instead of doing the smart thing and handing over Angus’s phone number right away to let him deal with this irate woman. Still, Angus was not her boss. She had to say that much.
“Someone told you to carry out this charade, and I want his phone number. Now.”
Giving in, Sally rattled it off. Boss or not, Angus would be a hell of a lot better at smoothing ruffled feathers than she was.
“One more thing, young lady. How dare you insinuate Zach is not the best possible guardian for Storm?”
“I—”
“You are going to pay for that with your job.”
“Uh—”
“I will not have you meddling with my grandson’s well-being, and under the guise of a piano teacher too. Could you sink any lower? Do you even play the piano?”
“Yes,” Sally burst out. “Ms. Larson, please, I think Zach is wonderful, and I’ve told Wolf Town exactly that.”
Silence for a moment before her next careful sentence. “You think Zach is wonderful.”
“Zach and Storm clearly have a strong bond, and we all believe that is so important for a shifter child.”
“Oh, so you’re the self-appointed shifter social services now, are you? I didn’t know such an agency existed.”
“No, not at all.” God, Sally wished she could explain Mala and her dreams, but that was beyond her, and unwise. She chose to fudge the information. “We were concerned because of a gray wolf who was terrorizing and killing other wolves in the area. During our investigations, we discovered the existence of Storm. We simply wanted to make sure he was all right, and—”
“How, exactly, did you discover Storm’s existence?”
Sally stared out her kitchen window for a moment. “I think you’d better ask Angus to explain the situation.”
“I’ll have you know I have political ties, Ms. Walcott. I am connected.”
“Ms. Larson, I assure you we pose no threat to Storm or Zach or you. But it’s a great idea for you to speak to Angus.” A terrific idea.
“Well, I hope you’re leaving now that you’ve done your assessment of Storm.”
Sally cleared her throat. “I’m here for the four full months. I have students enrolled for lessons and the house has been rented for that amount of time.” Plus, someone needed to be on the lookout for Hambly’s associates.
“I see.” Ms. Larson’s voice became even frostier, which Sally hadn’t thought possible. “Well, I’m going to advise Storm’s classmates’ parents against taking further lessons with you.”
“Please don’t.” Sally sighed. “It will draw undue attention to Storm and to you. My leaving abruptly would also be strange behavior. Let this play out as planned, let it be unremarkable. It’s safer for all concerned. Especially for Zach and Storm who are flying under the radar here.” Just because shifters were known to exist didn’t mean you painted a bull’s-eye on them when they lived in suburbia. Plus, Zach being a horse shifter would be a novelty. That had never come out in the regular news.
“I don’t happen to believe Wolf Town”—Connie Larson labored under the mistaken impression Wolf Town was some kind of entity made up of similar-thinking people—“knows what’s best for my grandson. Goodbye.” She hung up with a click, and Sally let out a long breath even as she hit Angus’s number to reach him before Connie could.
He picked up after two rings, and Sally said, “You have an incoming phone call from Storm’s grandmother. She’s furious and frightened.”
Good thing Angus knew how to handle people.
Sally rather expected a phone call back from Angus, or news from Jancis. When her doorbell rang, for a brief moment she wondered if they’d somehow arrived on her doorstep. Never mind that it was a three-hour drive, and while werewolves could do some pretty fantastic things, they couldn’t materialize out of nowhere.
Instead, another shifter had arrived.
Zach stood outside in clothes—close-fitting, dark blue—which indicated he’d just gone for a run. His chest heaved slightly, as if catching his breath, but she wasn’t sure if that was from the run or seeing her.
Not that he was swooning for her—or the male equivalent—but because she was a threat.
She planted her hands on her hips. “I believe you’re a wonderful guardian for Storm. Is that unequivocal enough?”
He frowned.
“I had a call from Connie Larson.”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes. Of course.” She threw an arm out expansively as she backed up. She knew he had real reason to be wary of wolves, so she needed to batten down this reaction of feeling misused and misunderstood. After all there had been some subterfuge on her part.
He stayed in the foyer, pinning her with his gaze. “The alpha of Wolf Town and his daughter are on their way here to meet with Connie. She wants me to be there.”
“He is?” Goddamn Angus. He could have phoned. So could Jancis.
Something flickered in his expression. “You didn’t call him down?”
“No.” The word came out too loudly, and Zach stiffened.
“Is he dangerous?”
“No.” Sally ran her hands through her hair. She was fucking this up. “Angus is one of the good guys. Not dangerous. I am not frightened of him or anything of the sort. I am annoyed.”
Zach searched her face, trying to understand.
“I had just wanted this to be between you and me.” She waved a finger between them. “I wanted to keep it simple. Because you haven’t had good experiences with wolves.”
“So now it will be a bad experience.”
“No.” She threw out both hands before she clasped them together in front of her. “Male wolves can be pushy and think they know everything. But,” she rushed on, seeing how this could be interpreted, “Angus is not going to try to change Storm’s living arrangement with you or anything of the sort. He just likes to meet everyone, glad-hand, make friends, convince you to be his best friend…”
He was watching her as if she were speaking an alien language. “Glad-hand?” he repeated. “I don’t think I understand.”
“I don’t get along with male wolves all that well. They put me on edge. I was planning to try being friends—with you and Storm—for a while, quietly, you know. Not dragging half of Wolf Town into it.” She’d wanted Wolf Town to stay in Wolf Town.
“Being friends?” he asked, incredulous.
She fought back a smile, even though she should have been insulted he found the idea unbelievable. “Do you have any friends?”
He blinked, one rise and fall of his lashes, like he wanted to not react at all but couldn’t quite. “Why?”
“It’s easy to be isolated when you’re a shifter. I know.” She was speaking too quickly, kind of staccato, and needed to stop before she scared him off. “I’ve lived the life, wolf in the suburbs teaching piano. Not here, farther south. Thing is, it’s not very healthy.” For wolves, at any rate. Her wolf had pined for company. Maybe it was different for horses, but if they carried over anything from their animal nature, they were also social creatures.
“You’re worried about how our living arrangement affects Storm?”
“No. He has you, his grandparents, his schoolmates.” She glanced down and away, unsure how he’d take her next words. “I worry about you, Zach.”
He was floundering, he knew that. His face heated, because he didn’t understand why she’d be worried about him, and Sally appeared so intent. Connie looked at him like that occasionally, but the accompanying pity churned his gut. There was none here. Sally thought she understood him, thought their common shifter nature created a bond.
Of course, she knew nothing about him, and couldn’t know about his amnesia, his having been horse all the time until recently. She might change her mind about thinking he was a “wonderful guardian”. Yet his throat thickened slightly, that she was concerned about him. Interested.
Christ, he was out of practice in terms of how to interact with people. If he became too obvious about his problems, he’d make himself look bad.
“I’m fine. There is no need to worry.”
“Worry is the wrong word. I’ll admit I’m a little flustered.”
A relief to think he wasn’t the only one flustered. He rubbed the back of his neck, and while he liked her, despite everything, it was time for him to go.
“What I mean is, uh…” She bit her lip, and Zach couldn’t help it, his gaze was drawn to her mouth. At that moment her phone rang. She turned to the coffee table and picked it up, tucked hair behind one ear, and he could see the curve of her cheek as she spoke. “Hi, Jancis.”
Zach sometimes tried to be polite about phone calls, since his hearing was so good, but he didn’t bother to attempt to not listen. Too much was at stake. The gist of this phone call was not very complicated. Jancis was arriving at Sally’s in an hour or so. With her father, Angus the alpha.
“Thanks for letting me know,” Sally said at the end, her tone sarcastic, and Jancis’s answer was defensive. Unless this entire call was staged for his benefit—unlikely—Sally had not called Jancis and Angus down for a visit.
Something in Zach unwound, a small release of tension. Sally might not be his enemy, after all. He mustn’t make the mistake of thinking of her as his ally, but it felt better this way.
Running Free (Northern Shifters) Page 6