“Yeah,” Dale finally answered. There was no energy in his voice.
Evie unbolted the door on her side, and opened it when Dale unbolted his side. He was squinting in the light from the small basement windows as the door swung open. His dark hair was a rat’s nest, his eyes swollen, his clothing a wrinkled mess hanging loosely from his thin frame.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey. I figured you might be hungry.”
“I am. Thirsty too.”
“You can have water upstairs.”
Dale stood still. “Is that a good idea? Me going up there?”
“No one’s gonna bite you,” she said, holding out the plate of roast beef. “Here; it’s not fancy but it beats starving.”
“Thanks,” Dale said, and he walked along several steps behind Evie, eating fast as he went. Entering the kitchen from the basement door, he squinted as he chewed; the upstairs was very bright after being in the basement. Then he looked into the great room at the three other Ludlows. They were watching him closely. “Good morning,” he said tentatively.
“Morning,” Joe replied.
“Here’s your water,” Evie said, handing him a glass.
“You know where the bathroom is,” Joe said, motioning toward the short hallway beyond the kitchen. “Nature calls us all.”
“Thank you,” Dale said. Where in normal circumstances he might have smiled, he now set down his empty glass, turned and walked uncomfortably through the kitchen to the hall.
Evie rejoined the family in the great room. “Do you really hate him, Gram?” she asked when she heard the bathroom door shut.
“Oh, maybe not as much as I let on. But I can’t say I enjoy him much either. I know a scavenger when I see one.”
“Motherly instincts are strong,” Janie said. “Add the wolf on top of it, and we can get a little … uh … let’s say feisty.”
Evie raised her brows. “You mean … B—”
“Very much so,” Grammy Evelyn said. “You’re wise not to use that word in my house. And if you’d raised as many kids as I have, and helped with more grandkids, you’d understand the impulse thoroughly. A mean mother bear has nothing on us once we’re rubbed the wrong way.”
“You’ve never been the slightest bit aggressive,” Evie said to her mother. “I’m way more aggressive than you.”
“Where we live, I’ve never really had to be. I am capable of it, though, if I’m pushed.”
Evie’s face suddenly lit up. “That’s why you would never take me to the zoo! And no pets! None of y’all have pets.”
“Oh no.” Janie frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t do zoos. I can’t. I refuse.”
Evie looked to her grandmother. “I begged and begged her to go to the zoo. But no, I had to wait until my friends’ parents finally took me.”
“Don’t look at me for sympathy,” her grandmother laughed. “I’m with her on this.”
Evie tried her grandfather next. “Does it freak you out or what?”
“It’s … one of those places best avoided by a wolf,” he said. “There’s a little too much temptation packed into a very small area.”
“You’re surrounded by animals here.”
“Animals we’ve lived alongside of for countless generations,” Joe explained. “You’ll be hard-pressed to find a screeching monkey on a Snow farm.”
The sound of the bathroom door opening from down the hall halted the conversation, and Joseph Snow stood from the couch saying, “That’s my cue.” He hugged his daughter and said goodbye, did the same with his wife, and walked to the kitchen with his arm around Evie. Dale stopped near the main entry. Evie sat on one of the bar stools.
“My mom,” Dale began nervously.
“She’s all right,” Joe assured him. “My sister, Lynda, put her up comfortably for the night. I know this seems like overkill, but we’re better safe than sorry.”
“Thank you, sir,” Dale said with a weak nod.
“Let’s get started,” Joe said with a nod of his own. “We’ll pick up some food from The Kitchen, swing into Cold Springs and give you both a few minutes to collect some valuables from your place, and then we’re off.”
“I’m sorry again for the trouble,” Dale said, partly to Joe and partly to Evie. He could make full eye contact with none of them. “You’re good people, obviously. Things could have gone much worse for me than they have. I—”
“You’re welcome,” Joe cut him off, as the women in the great room stared silently.
“Good luck,” Evie said from her seat at the island bar. It wasn’t a terribly warm wish, but it wasn’t completely hollow either.
“Thank you,” Dale said. “It was nice meeting you, Evie. I wish the circumstances had been better. Maybe we—”
“All right,” Joe said, opening the front door with one hand while steering the young man with the other hand. “Out you go.” He stopped in the doorway and locked eyes with Evie. “Stick around close to home until I return. Erica will be here to start you on your schooling.”
“Ugh, Papa …”
“Just do it,” her grandfather said with a wink. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He stepped out and closed the door.
Evie spun around and faced her mother. “And you’re leaving too?”
“In a few hours, yes. I’m flying commercial,” she said with a play frown.
“You needn’t worry about being bored, dear,” her grandmother said. “Once you get your school work done, I’ll be glad to assign you some chores.” Then she made a shuddering sound. “Bless your grandfather’s heart; he controls the wolf better than anyone I’ve ever known. Every drop of my blood wants to tear that boy to shreds.”
-14-
Evie returned to the great room and flopped on a couch, smirking at her grandmother’s wrath. The old woman stood up, flustered, and walked to the kitchen muttering something under breath.
“Listen,” Janie said to her daughter. “Erica will be here soon. While we have a quiet minute, let me fill you in on my plans.”
Listening to her without distraction then, Evie suddenly realized that her mother had already begun losing her southern drawl in the matter of the few days spent in her old home. For a moment Evie wondered how long her own accent would last in the north. “Besides going home and back to work?” she asked.
“I am going home,” her mother began slowly. “But as for the hospital, I’ve decided to give my notice. There’s no point in staying down there anymore. Although I will miss those mild winters, and having those Gulf beaches so close by.”
“Beaches?” Evie muttered. “What about our house? Our stuff?”
“I’m putting the house on the market. The things we care about the most I’ll pack and ship. The other stuff I’ll yard sale. We don’t need it.”
Evie stared into the fireless fire place. She had no intentions of going home anytime soon; the first minutes of her first shift into the wolf had decided that for her—she was addicted. But still, southern Alabama had been her home for all her life. She liked the idea of the house still being there, being hers, if for nothing more than a backup plan or a place to visit during the long northern winters.
“I know it’s going to feel strange,” her mother said. “I’m a little torn over it myself. But Ludlow is where we come from, and it’s the best place for you now.”
“At least you’ll be here,” Evie said.
“That’s right.”
Evie took a long breath and perked up slightly. “Does this mean you’ll … start changing into a wolf again?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. For sixteen years it’s been my priority not to.”
“It’s not like riding a bike?”
“It’s a little more complicated than balance. Sometimes, when we forget the wolf, the wolf forgets us. I don’t know if your grandfather has told you yet, but some wolves reach a point where they forget the human, and they never change back. That’s why he’s so special to so many; he’s the master of both.”
“I don’t know,” her mother said. “It won’t be easy. You don’t need to figure it all out today, though.”
“I haven’t even checked my phone since yesterday morning. They’ve probably been trying to get ahold of me.”
“Don’t stress over it now. None of this is your doing. That’s why I told you to blame me.”
“I don’t blame you, Mom,” Evie said. “I’ve just never had so much to think about in the space of one weekend. Ever. It’s like … holy crap.”
“Well, get ready,” her mother said. “I have one more bomb to drop.”
Instantly Evie felt something sinking within her. “Now what,” she muttered.
“It won’t be fun, but we might as well get it over with.”
Evie stared at her mother, trying to guess what else there could be. “Well?” she finally said.
“Your father,” Janie said difficultly. “Well, to start with, Brooks is an alias. Forget the name. Your father was a McClain, a pack family.”
“The nice old couple from church?” Evie asked after a moment’s thought.
“Yes, that’s them ... your grandparents. They are wolves, as well as their daughter. But their son was one of the rare ones that never make the change. He remained fully human.”
“Why?” Evie asked.
“None of us know. It just goes that way sometimes.”
Evie said nothing. Her mind was working hard. Had she met her grandparents as the wolf that first night? Or were they among the wolf circle around the cats?
“Listen, honey,” her mother went on. “This is the hard part.”
Evie watched her mother’s face begin to change.
“Your father wasn’t killed by an accident,” Janie said. “Yes, he was an avid hiker, but Mt. Washington wasn’t the true cause of his death.”
“A cat,” Evie cut in, sitting up straight, instantly angered. “They did it, didn’t they?”
“No,” her mother said and paused. “Worse. A pack member killed him. One of our own murdered him. That’s why it was so difficult on everyone.”
Evie sat back with a blank face, the energy of anger quickly leaving her. The thought of internal rivalry within the pack hadn’t dawned on her until then. Within seconds she felt a sick ache beginning deep in her stomach as she imagined the man she’d known only by pictures being killed by one of her kin—one of those beautiful, noble wolves she’d come to know and love.
“Marriages are tricky for our kind,” Evie’s grandmother said. She’d entered the great room to take over for her visibly shaken daughter. “All human relationships are strained, but with wolves the complications are that much greater.”
“Why?” Evie asked, though she could guess the answer.
“Your mother picked a boy who wasn’t a wolf,” her grandmother said flatly. “You know how it goes when two boys are interested in the same girl. And you now know how it feels to be a wolf, how volatile its emotions can be.”
Evie nodded but said nothing. It made terrible sense.
“Just imagine how messy it could get,” her grandmother continued, “when two boys fight over the same girl, one is a wolf and one is not. Imagine how much worse the wolf’s rage when the woman he’s set his heart on turns him down, in favor of what he deems to be an average human, a lesser creature.”
Tears had started in Evie’s eyes only seconds after seeing her mother’s tears. As she listened to the story, she began to see her sweet, seemingly careless mother in a more tragic light than she ever had before. She wanted to say something, but there was nothing to say. All she could think to do right then was stand, go to her and squeeze her tightly. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Janie said, hugging her daughter in return.
“You had to hide this … all this time.”
“I had no choice, baby.”
Evie’s heart ached more for her mother than herself. The loss of her father had been far less than ideal, but her mother had been the one to actually suffer through it, and then carry it for nearly twenty years. For a few minutes neither could say anything.
“What happened?” Evie asked after a while, pulling back from the hug. Her sorrow was beginning to transform into anger once more. “Was the wolf that killed my dad … punished?”
“Severely,” her grandmother answered in a somber tone. “It was a bad time for The North Pack all around. Your sweet mother gave him a lot to think about. Tore him up nicely in fact. But it was your grandfather who carried out the execution. Nicholas had been a good wolf until his passions took him over. He was given the option of banishment but refused to leave. So by law he was killed for the preservation of pack order and the honor of your mother. His family, the Halsted’s, were good people, good wolves; they left the pack sadly but willingly. No one desired any more bloodshed.”
“Papa killed him?” Evie said breathlessly, wiping her eyes.
“There was no choice. He hated to do it, but the killing of a human is strictly forbidden but for last resorts of self-defense. It risks exposing the entire pack to outside investigations, which it did then. And of course the McClain’s were rightly outraged by Luke’s murder. Pack members should not harm one another, regardless of their differences.”
“So I left,” Janie said, trying to regain her composure. “Three months pregnant, with no idea what would happen with you, I left the pack and its life behind. I just couldn’t be here. And I had to wait until you were old enough …to see what would happen … before I told you everything.”
Evie couldn’t speak. Her life suddenly made sense in an awful sort of way.
“There are wolves who marry humans,” Evelyn went on to explain. “With the limited number of pack members, it sometimes becomes necessary. When the two have children, it becomes a guessing game as to what will happen with their offspring. Rarely, even two wolves produce a child that does not change. There are no guarantees.”
“I understand,” Evie said softly. Then, to her mother said, “I don’t blame you, Mom. Not for anything.”
With the worst over, the three Snow women talked quietly while they prepared a big breakfast. Then Evie went upstairs to shower while her mother packed. By the time she came back downstairs her mother was waiting on the couch; her bags were near the front door. Aunt Ruth and Uncle Earl were to drive her mother to the airport. Evie sat on the couch to wait with her mother, spending every last minute with her that she could.
“Well,” Janie sighed as her daughter got comfortable, “things won’t be dull around here. You’ll barely have a chance to miss me for the next few weeks.”
For a moment Evie thought she was kidding. “What?”
“There’s more news.”
“Since I went upstairs?”
Janie nodded. “For such a quiet place, it gets awfully busy around here sometimes. Earl called. Apparently they had quite an exciting night over at their place. Erica will be here shortly, but she’s in no shape for school work.”
Evie’s eyes opened wide. “The change?”
Her mother nodded with her lips pressed tight. “She’s in the fever now. I guess it’s a bad one. She was out of control for several hours during the night, until the fever knocked her unconscious.”
“And Papa’s away ...”
“I can handle her,” Evelyn said, entering the great room. “Don’t worry about a thing. Erica’s not the first wild child I’ve had under this roof.”
“Seeing her through the fever is the priority now,” Janie said.
“Is it dangerous?” Evie asked.
“Very. I lost a brother and two cousins to the fever when I was growing up.”
“I did,” she admitted. “It was not my finest hour, I’ll say that much.”
“I’m sorry,” Evie said softly. “I’d never heard that.”
“They’re in the family plot out back,” Janie explained. “The cemetery you always avoid. That’s why Papa likes to visit.”
“Oh no.” Evie cupped her face in her hands. The memory of iron fencing around the plot of old head stones flashed before her mind’s eye. “Just the idea of that place scares me. When Papa brought me there, something about it just …”
“Don’t worry,” her grandmother said. “You won’t be in there for a very long time, as long as you keep your nose clean. To be honest, I avoid it too.”
“It’s not that,” Evie said, struggling to find the right words. Before she could proceed, her grandmother turned her head alertly.
“They’re here,” she announced.
Evie jumped to her feet and hurried to the main entry. As she opened the door her aunt and uncle’s SUV was just cresting the last rise in the driveway approaching the house. She turned back to her grandmother. “Did you smell them or hear them?”
“Both,” she answered with a grin. “You might be quick, girly, but I’ve still got you in every other department.”
Evie gave her a quick smile and then stepped outside to meet her aunt and uncle. She was surprised to see Matthew with them as well, given the injury he’d sustained the night before. He stepped out from the back seat wearing his typical smile.
“Everything’s more exciting when Red’s in town. Damn, what next?”
“This is serious, Matthew. Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he said, lifting his shirt to reveal the dark scars marking his left oblique. “We heal faster than normal. Considering how deep they were, this isn’t bad. I won’t look quite so pretty for beach season next year, that’s all. But then again,” he thought aloud. “Some ladies like scars, don’t they?”
Normally Evie would have laughed, but by now Uncle Earl had taken Erica from the back seat and was carrying her to the house. She stepped away from Matthew and walked alongside of her uncle. Erica’s face was very pale. “She’ll be okay,” Evie told her uncle. “I know she will be.”
Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1) Page 14