Psyche Shield

by Chrissie Buhr

  Psyche Shield

  Psyche Moon Three

  Chrissie Buhr

  Psyche Shield

  by Chrissie Buhr

  Amazon Edition

  Copyright 2014 Treasure Valley Writing Services

  ASIN: B00N9B6394

  Psyche Shield is a work of fiction and a construct of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, businesses, organizations, locales, or events is coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased solely for your use, then please return to an online retailer and purchase your own copy. No part of this ebook may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Thank you for respecting my creative efforts!

  Table of Contents

   Begin Reading Psyche Shield

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  About Chrissie Buhr

  Preview Psyche Chorus

  “It must be a hard winter when one wolf devours another.”

  ~ As quoted in Henry G. Bohn, A polyglot of foreign proverbs, (1857) ~

  Chapter 1

  The hunter walked in near silence. His rifle rested on one arm, ready at a moment’s notice. The crisp dawn air carried the chirping of birds and chatter of squirrels. Alert, his eyes darted amongst the trees, looking for his prey.

  Something moved in the brush ahead and he raised his rifle closer to his shoulder, the barrel still trained at the sky. Again he heard movement, but he couldn’t tell what animal stirred. Stepping closer, he spotted a patch of grey. He hunted deer, so he settled his rifle into its resting place again. Still he advanced, curious.

  A small grey wolf with light brown on her chest and belly lay curled in the brush, peeking warily at him from twenty yards away. “Don’t worry, cousin. I don’t hunt wolves,” he told the animal, softening his voice and posture to illustrate his claim.

  The wolf relaxed and rested her head on the ground. She continued to watch the hunter warily, but her apprehension eased perceptibly.

  The hunter, noticing the change in demeanor, stepped a few yards closer and crouched close to the ground. “You’re injured.” From his new vantage point, he could see dried blood across the wolf’s chest and one back leg twisted unnaturally. “You’re no ordinary wolf, are you? Did you know it’s wolf hunting season?” The wolf’s eyes narrowed slightly, an expression so subtle many would have missed it. The hunter saw her comprehension. He stood, placed his rifle against a tree and walked deliberately out of its reach. “That’s what I thought. I don’t think anyone’s around. You’re better at that than I am. Why don’t you tell me what happened? I can probably help.”

  The injured wolf looked closely at him for a few long moments with her deep blue eyes. Suddenly, with a rapid shimmer, she transformed. A young woman, thin with dark hair, lay naked in the brush. She panted in pain, her left leg bending in one too many places. He could see bones protruding from her calf, an agonizing wound. Blood covered her chest and dripped down her arm from a laceration across her right shoulder blade.

  “You’re not Wolf,” she said fearfully, looking up vulnerably from the ground. She’d known the hunter was Human before shifting into her human form. She’d taken an enormous risk transforming in front of him, jeopardizing her own safety as well as that of other Wolves. But somehow the hunter knew what she was, and all her instincts said he meant her no harm.

  The hunter showed no surprise towards the naked woman and smiled reassuringly. “Nope. But it runs in the family. Are you local?” He stood and removed his bright vest and long jacket, donning the vest once again.

  She watched him carefully but did not wince at his movements. Agony carried through her voice as she responded to his question. “No. I’m from Montana. I was driving through and my car went off the road.”

  “My grandma’s one of the local pack. Let’s get you somewhere safe, and I’ll call her.” He threw the coat around the Wolf, steadying her so she could put it on without hurting herself further. Even so, she cringed with every movement. “I can’t take you home. My wife doesn’t know about Wolves. But we’ll figure it out. My name’s Leroy.”

  “I’m Sierra. I’m glad you found me.” She looked out of place with a light coat draped around her and bare legs sticking out, one of them broken. She looked less conspicuous than without it.

  “Me too. Lots of people around here have wolf tags, and most haven’t filled them yet. You came close to being a trophy on someone’s wall.” Leroy told her grimly. If killed in wolf form, she would remain in wolf form. Whenever he saw a wolf pelt, he wondered sickeningly if he looked upon the flaunted corpse of a relative or friend.

  “I didn’t have much choice,” she replied with thin lips. “My car was down a ravine, and I couldn’t see the road. I didn’t think anyone would find me. I couldn’t walk on one leg, but I made it this far on three.”

  Leroy nodded at her leg. “That looks bad.”

  She bit her lip. “It hurts.”

  “I’ve never set a broken bone before. I can try if you want, or we can get you out of here and call for help.”

  She thought for a moment before deciding. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He nodded and retrieved his gun, hanging it off his back. She flinched as he picked it up before remembering he wouldn’t hurt her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she draped hers over his shoulder, gripping his vest tightly. “Ready?” She nodded and closed her eyes. Together they heaved her up onto one good foot. She whined slightly but didn’t call out. Leroy admired her fortitude.

  “How far is your vehicle?” she asked, pale and trembling but standing solid on her one good leg. They walked along the trail slowly, looking like a strange adaptation of a three-legged race.

  “About a mile. It’s an easy trail most of the way,” he apologized.

  “I can make it.” She gritted her teeth. “Thank you for not shooting me.”

  “I’d never shoot a wolf, not even an ordinary one. Keep your nose up,” he suggested. “It’s deer season, and hunters are out. I’ll never hear the end of it if people find out I found a naked woman in the woods.” He chuckled lightly.

  Her lips twitched in a near smile despite the amount of pain she endured as they stumbled along. “It would make a great story. You’d be a hero.” She had a sense of humor. “But I’d rather not explain to the police why I’m naked.”

  “I’d rather not explain any of this to my wife. She’s got more teeth than some Wolves I know.” Leroy agreed.

  The conversation distracted her from the pain, and he knew it. “Why haven’t you told your wife about us?”

  Others had asked him the same question, and Leroy gave his usual simple answer. “I love my family, but it’s not the life I want.”

  “Pack life isn’t for everyone.” Sierra could understand that.

  For some reason Leroy decided to elaborate with this woman. “My grandma who’s Wolf is really my Great-Great-Great Grandma. My Grandma Sara was her Great Granddaughter. Grandma Sara used to tell me stories about Wolves. S
he lived in Pack as a child, and her dad moved her away from all of that when she was young. But when she grew up, she wanted it back. She never became Wolf, but she was Pack. She loved it, and I loved the stories she told me. But it’s a crazy world, and all that craziness belongs in stories not real life. Not in my life, anyway. I never had kids, so there’s no one to pass it on to. There’s no reason to drag my wife into it.”

  “I can’t imagine not being Wolf,” she said through gritted teeth as her foot hit against a root.

  “I can’t imagine being anything but a silversmith,” Leroy replied.

  She tried to laugh, but it hurt too much. “Silversmith. That’s funny.”

  “Yeah,” he replied, enjoying the irony. “I’m glad that myth isn’t true. Grandma would never visit.”

  “What’s your grandma like?” Sierra didn’t know anyone from the local pack. Meeting a strange Wolf in such a vulnerable state unsettled her.

  “She’s a fine woman. The best. As soon as we get somewhere with cell service, I’ll call her.”

  Sierra’s eyes darted off to their left, and she tensed. “Wait.” Leroy froze and searched with his limited vision. “I smell a wolf.”

  “A Wolf like you?” Leroy’s hopes lifted. Even if he didn’t know the Wolf, they could use some help.

  “I can’t tell yet, but he must be. He doesn’t smell like a grey wolf.” Only grey wolves lived in these mountains. They searched for the Wolf among the trees, and Sierra spotted him first. “There. That’s an Ethiopian Wolf.” Leroy couldn’t make out what her sharper eyes saw, but few Ethiopian Wolves existed in the world, and only one lived in the area.

  “It must be Kato. Don’t worry. He’s friendly.” He assured the nervous woman as a reddish wolf with white markings leapt at top speed towards them. The lanky Wolf skidded to a stop in front of them and shifted into his human form. An ancient black man with long tangled grey hair and beard appeared, fully naked. Sierra gasped as she looked upon the legend.

  Leroy greeted the Wolf warmly. “Hello, Uncle. This is Sierra.”

  “Greetings, Nephew. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sierra. I am relieved you found your way safely into my nephew’s care.” Kato searched the young Wolf’s face with unconcealed interest, his nearly black eyes revealing his great age.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Sierra replied automatically, unsettled by the old Wolf’s attention.

  “We must hurry. Hunters are near.” Kato took the Wolf gently in his arms and carried her as carefully as possible while rushing through the woods. Leroy trotted beside them, his Human legs struggling to keep up. A shot rang out, echoing through the hills, and he thanked the stars that Kato had appeared. They reached the pickup much sooner than anticipated and miraculously without drawing any attention. Leroy opened the truck door and Kato placed the young Wolf tenderly inside, her face white with pain.

  “Thank you, Elder. Aren’t you coming with us?” she asked the legend as he shifted back into a red leggy wolf.

  Leroy answered for the one without vocal cords. “Kato won’t ride in cars. Thank you, Uncle. I’ll get her safely to your packmates. Be safe out there.”

  Kato blinked and lowered his head affectionately before turning and bounding into the trees. Leroy trotted briskly around the truck, grabbing a cooler from the back before climbing behind the wheel. He placed the cooler between himself and the Wolf and pulled a throw blanket from behind the seat. They tucked her bare legs out of sight before he retrieved a set of keys from beneath the seat. Sierra sat stunned from the encounter and gazed into the forest where the Ethiopian Wolf disappeared. Absently she buttoned the coat higher around her neck so no one could see she wore nothing under it.

  “There’s food and water in here,” he nodded at the cooler. “Help yourself.”

  She opened the cooler and pulled out two sandwiches, offering one to Leroy. He waved it off. “You eat it all.”

  “Thank you.” She breathed an enormous sigh of relief and ate ravenously. “I didn’t know how I was going to get out of that mess,” she said between bites.

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad I found you and not some other hunter.” With the injured Wolf safely in the truck, he began to relax. If he managed to deliver her to his grandmother’s pack without one of the local gossips spotting him, he’d call it a miracle.

  “That was Kato,” Sierra said out of nowhere.

  “Yep. You’ve heard of him?” Leroy asked curiously as he maneuvered the truck gently along the rough forest service road.

  “Everyone’s heard of Kato. He’s your uncle?”

  Leroy nodded, surprised to hear about his uncle’s fame. “His brother and my Grandma were mates. Kato comes to see me sometimes when I’m out alone. What do you mean everyone’s heard of Kato?”

  Sierra gaped at Leroy with a stunned expression. “Kato’s a legend among Wolves.”

  “Huh. I didn’t know.” Before long they reached the paved road. “There’s a cell phone in the glove compartment. Would you pull it out?” She did as he asked and set it in his hands. “I’ll bet you’re tired. It’s an easy drive now. Why don’t you sleep? I’ll call for help as soon as we have cell service.”

  Once able to relax, exhaustion set in. She nodded and leaned her head against the window, asleep in moments. Her forehead glistened with sweat and she trembled slightly with spent adrenaline and pain. Still, she slept deeply and Leroy breathed a sigh of relief.

  They reached a stretch where cell reception came through sometimes, and he pulled off onto the gravel. Sierra woke with a start and looked around. “Where are we?”

  “Near Idaho City. I can call from here.” Thankful for a little reception, he placed a call. Sierra heard both sides of the conversation, as Leroy knew she could.

  “Hello, Leroy. How are you?” The woman on the phone sounded distracted but pleased to hear from him. Her voice crackled with the poor reception.

  “Hi, Grandma. I’m just fine, but someone needs your help. She’s from another pack, and she’s injured.”

  He had his grandmother’s full attention with the news. “Thank the Gods you found her. Billie and Amy are already headed your way. Where are you?” He described the location and heard her relay it to someone else. He only had to wait a moment before she responded. “Stay where you are. They’ll be with you soon. How is she?”

  Leroy appraised the pale woman beside him. “Lucky. Her leg is badly broken, and she’s exhausted and hungry.”

  “I’m very glad my grandson found you, my dear.” She spoke to Sierra, knowing the Wolf could hear everything she said. “I’m Kathryn. Our Beta and Medic will be there in a few minutes. They’ll take good care of you.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Sierra replied politely. “How did you know I was in trouble?”

  “Kato contacted us this morning. Billie and Amy left immediately.”

  Sierra couldn’t piece together how that was possible, but she didn’t know this area or these Wolves. “Your grandson is a good man. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of this. I didn’t think I was going to make it out of this one.”

  “He’s a very good man. And you are very welcome,” Kathryn replied warmly.

  “That might be Billie.” Leroy and Sierra saw a black Jeep slow as it approached. “Yep. They’re here. I’ll talk to you later, Grandma.”

  “I’ll come visit you soon, dearling.” Kathryn said goodbye.

  Sierra strained her eyes for her first sight of the approaching Wolves. The Jeep stopped and two women exited. A tall, beautiful redhead jumped over the side theatrically while a shorter brown-haired woman opened the door. Both appeared around thirty years old, but Wolves aged slowly and Sierra couldn’t guess their real ages. The shorter woman snatched a bag from behind the seat and made a beeline for the truck.

  Sierra impulsively focused on Billie, dominance and strength displayed in every movement. Even without Kathryn’s comment, Sierra would have guessed the redhead was the Boise Beta. She’d heard gossip about the Wol
f, most of which focused on her age and fighting ability. Young and powerful, she’d earned a reputation in neighboring packs quickly. Deep bruises marked the entire left side of the Beta’s face, the yellowing borders indicating a recent fight.

  The injured Wolf felt very vulnerable in another pack’s territory and shrank into the seat as they approached. The Medic opened the door and smiled brightly. Sierra, unable to pull her attention away from the Beta, barely noticed the shorter woman until she spoke. “Hi. I’m Amy. Pack Medic.”

  “I’m Sierra.”

  “I’m Billie, Beta of the Boise Pack. Hi, Leroy.” The redheaded Wolf introduced herself politely and appraised her curiously from several steps behind Amy. Sierra shrank even more after meeting Billie’s dominant gaze. “Relax, Sierra. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”

  “Yep. I’m going to patch you up. Don’t worry about a thing.” Amy’s quick hands and acute senses checked the woman over. “I need to set your leg. It’s already starting to heal wrong and I don’t want to wait. Ever had a broken leg before?”

  Sierra shook her head. “Not like this.”

  “I have to re-break it a little, so it’s going to hurt a lot. I need you to trust us. Leroy, would you let Billie take your spot?” Billie waited for Leroy to move out of the injured Wolf’s reach before taking his place. Sierra cowered, wishing her Human friend still sat beside her instead of this daunting Wolf.

  Billie spoke firmly from beside her. “Sierra, look at me. You don’t know me, and you don’t know Amy. But you can trust us. You need to trust us. I’m going to hold you down so you don’t accidentally hurt yourself or anyone else. Understand?” Sierra met her green eyes, still afraid. Leroy circled his truck to stand beside Amy. Billie broke contact with Sierra’s eyes briefly to look at the Human. “Leroy, step back at least ten feet and stay back until Amy’s done.”

  Leroy looked at the woman he’d pulled out of the woods with blatant concern and obeyed. “Is she going to be okay?”