True Nature

by Jae

  Before she could see more of his room, Danny was there, right in her face.

  He snapped his hand back in the sign for “get out,” the rapid speed of the movement indicating how quickly he wanted her to go.

  Kelsey stepped back until she lingered in the doorway, no longer in his immediate territory, but also not completely leaving the room. “I rang the doorbell, but you didn’t answer,” she signed.

  “What the fuck do you want?” His expressive face left no doubt that she wasn’t welcome in his room, maybe not even in the house.

  Fighting against the habit of backing away from confrontation, Kelsey stood her ground. “I’m your tutor.” She moved her hands calmly, forming the signs with precision. “There are lessons we need to go over, so if you would please—”

  “I do not need a nanny!” He slid his thumb over the underside of his chin so forcefully as if he was indicating slitting her throat and not just signing “not.”

  Kelsey’s blood rushed through her ears. Her skin began to tingle, but she forced herself to stay calm. “Good,” she signed, “because I’m really bad at changing diapers.”

  Danny’s hands froze in midair. He stared at her.

  Clearly, he hadn’t expected such a quick-witted reply. He wouldn’t be the first dominant Syak to underestimate a nederi. Just because Kelsey normally avoided making comments that could cause conflict didn’t mean she was lacking wit.

  “Come on,” Kelsey said, barely holding herself back from giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Let’s get today’s lessons out of the way. The sooner we get started, the sooner you can go back to texting your friends.”

  Danny glanced back to the phone on his bed.

  “What subject should we start with?” Kelsey continued as soon as he looked in her direction again. She guessed that he would do better if he had some control over the learning process.

  “Math,” Danny answered. One side of his mouth curled up into a lopsided grin. “I like curves and angles.” His hands painted an hourglass figure into the air.

  Kelsey suppressed a sigh. Teenage boys. “All right. Math it is. I’ll get the textbooks I brought, and maybe you could get something to drink from Mrs. Mangiardi. Let’s go outside to the patio for our lesson.”

  The temperatures were unusually mild for March, and she wanted to see how he reacted to the smells of the lake and the woods behind the house. It would give her at least a rough indication of how close he was to his First Change.

  She got the math textbooks that one of Griffin’s many cousins, a teacher, had given her, pulled open the French doors, and stepped onto the patio.

  A fresh breeze from the lake teased her with the scents of nature. It had been far too long since she had gone for a run through the forest in her wolf form.

  She settled down onto a beautifully carved wooden porch swing and placed the textbooks on the table in front of her. Then she leaned back to wait for Danny.

  The chatter of birds and the smell of earth getting ready to bring back new life kept her entertained, but she was aware of how long it took Danny to join her. She resisted the urge to get up and look for him. Let him come to you.

  The French doors creaked open, and Danny sauntered outside. His nose lifted and his nostrils flared as he caught the same scents Kelsey had eagerly breathed in too.

  His senses are much sharper than a human’s, but I don’t think he has any idea that he’s Wrasa.

  Danny attempted to settle into a wicker chair across from Kelsey, but she waved at him. “Please, come over here and sit next to me.”

  Not looking very enthusiastic, Danny ambled over and sprawled next to Kelsey. He set two cans of soda onto the table with a loud thump.

  Kelsey didn’t flinch. She was used to it. Deaf teenagers were as noisy as hearing ones. “How about we start with word problems? I checked with your old school, and they said you need some help in that area.” She opened the textbook and thumbed through it until she found a math problem that looked as if Danny might be able to handle it. She placed the book on the table to free her hands for signing. “All right. Let’s start with this one so I can see where you stand. A school starts summer vacation on June 17 and reopens on September 2. For how many days did the school remain closed?” She looked up from the book and grazed Danny with a questioning look.

  He sneered. “Not long enough.”

  Kelsey sent a glance to the woods at the horizon and suppressed a sigh. “Can we agree not to play games with each other? It’ll only waste your time. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than sit here and drag your heels about math problems that I bet you already know the answer to. Rue said you’re good at math.”

  “She said that?” For a second, an eager glimmer appeared in his eyes before the mask of boredom was back.

  Actually, Rue hadn’t said any such thing, but Kelsey had wanted to see his reaction. Now her nose gave her a clear answer: Danny wasn’t scared of Rue. He might resent her at times, but a part of him he kept hidden wanted to please Rue.

  She’s the authority figure in his life, almost like a natak. Kelsey winced when she imagined how much Rue’s betrayal would hurt Danny should he survive her attempt to kill him.

  Danny took a silver Zippo lighter from one of the many pockets of his cargo pants and started fiddling with it, flicking open the lid, then snapping it closed again. He no longer looked at Kelsey or the book.

  At the next flick of the lighter, Kelsey covered his hand with hers. She felt his higher than human body temperature, matching the warmth of her own skin. “Can you do me a favor and stop playing with the lighter, please?” she said with quick, one-handed signs, then added a self-deprecating smile. “You know hearing people get distracted easily.”

  Under the pretense of slipping the lighter into his pocket, Danny pulled his hand out from under hers.

  “Want to try the math problem again?” Kelsey asked.

  “Not particularly.”

  “You don’t like school, do you?”

  He shrugged.

  “I didn’t like it much either.”

  Now he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, even as he pretended to ignore her signing.

  “I liked some of the subjects well enough, but having to sit in a room with a dozen other students, being forced to stay there and not move much for an hour, just because some teacher said so...” It wasn’t true. Doing what was expected of her had never been a problem for Kelsey, but she knew it was for more dominant Syak. She tapped his shoulder to make sure she had his attention. “That’s often difficult for people like you and me.”

  Danny blew air out of his mouth in a snort. “People like you and me?”

  “Yes. We’re...special. Different than Rue and Mrs. Mangiardi and most other people. You know?” She watched him closely.

  No reaction.

  So I was right. He has no idea who he really is.

  “Special?” He rolled his eyes. “That’s what people usually call it when they talk about deaf kids like me, isn’t it? But you are not deaf. You and I have nothing in common, so don’t try to buddy up to me.” He got up and walked to the French doors, then turned back to sign, “The answer is seventy-seven days, by the way. There, lesson over.” Clearly about to stride through the French doors, he froze and stared at something to the right.

  Kelsey tilted her head to see what it was.

  A duck waddled along the lake’s shore.

  Danny’s muscles quivered, making his whole body tremble. He leaned forward as if he would give chase and hunt down the duck any moment. Something wild and unrestrained glimmered in his hazel eyes.

  Oh, Great Hunter. He’s much closer to his First Change than we thought.

  Finally, Danny wrenched his gaze away from the duck with a visible effort. The French doors swung closed behind him.

  Kelsey stared after him. The situation was even more complicated and dangerous than she had realized. She had to protect him not just from Rue, but from the ticking
clock and from himself. If his First Change overcomes him and he thinks he’s turning into a monster, he’ll panic.

  He might run to the nearest hospital or police station, hoping to find help. Or he might hide until the change overwhelmed him and then get stuck in his wolf form because no one had taught him how to shift back.

  One misstep from Kelsey and either Danny would lose his sanity or the Wrasa would lose their secret existence and possibly their lives.

  Chapter 7

  Kelsey looked at the rippling water of the nearby lake while she pressed her cell phone to her ear and waited for Griffin to pick up.

  “Yeah?” Griffin’s voice came through the phone.

  Kelsey tried to relax her tense shoulders. “Tas, it’s Kelsey. We need to act fast. Danny is closer to his Awakening than we thought—and he has no idea that he’s Wrasa.”

  The sharp breath of surprise Kelsey had expected didn’t happen. “I was afraid of that,” Griffin said. “I didn’t have enough time to check his birth certificate before you flew to North Carolina, but now I did and it seems he doesn’t have one.”

  “No birth certificate?”

  “Well, a foundling report serves as his birth certificate.”

  “Foundling?” Despite her excellent Wrasa hearing, Kelsey wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “You mean someone abandoned him when he was a baby?” She had never heard of Wrasa parents abandoning their child.

  “Seems like it. I’ll try to find out more, but so far the information is limited.” Griffin’s voice sounded grim. “The birth certificate was worthless. The place and date he was found were used as his birth info. The rest of it was blank. No father or mother listed.”

  Kelsey shuddered at the thought of not knowing where you came from or who your parents and ancestors were. While she wasn’t overly close to her family anymore, she couldn’t imagine what it must be like to not have those roots. “So Ms. Harding adopted him when he was a baby.”

  “No. Daniel spent the first few years in the foster care system. He was placed in half a dozen foster homes before he even entered school, but none of his foster parents wanted to take him permanently.”

  No one but Rue Harding. Reluctant respect flickered in Kelsey, but she quickly smothered it. Don’t give her the mother-of-the-year award just yet.

  “Ms. Harding adopted him when he was seven,” Griffin said.

  “Just Ms. Harding? Not her partner, Paula, too?”

  Griffin huffed. “You know the humans’ foolish laws. Joint adoption for gay couples wasn’t allowed back then. Most states still don’t allow it.”

  “Right.” So why had Rue, not Paula, been the one to adopt Danny? Was it simply because Rue was more financially secure? Curiosity stirred in Kelsey. But in the end, it probably wouldn’t matter.

  “I’ll fly down to North Carolina tomorrow and help you take the boy to safety,” Griffin said.

  Part of Kelsey was relieved that someone would take the heavy burden of responsibility off her shoulders. The bigger part of her, though, wanted to prove that she could handle the assignment on her own and be worthy of Jorie’s trust. More importantly, she worried that getting Griffin involved would do more harm than good. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Tas. At least not yet. If we take him away from his home by force, his adrenaline and mutaline levels will spike. The risk of him shifting is too great. And if we give him drugs to make him sleep—”

  “His system might go into overload,” Griffin said. “Do you think you can win his trust and get him to come with you? And you need to do it fast. If you’re right, we don’t have much time—maybe a month, maybe a week or just a few days.”

  Kelsey inhaled a lungful of air and exhaled slowly. “I can do it.” Her voice shook, and she hoped Griffin didn’t notice.

  “All right. But if you need help, call me immediately,” Griffin said. “In the meantime, I’ll try to find out more about the boy and send you the information. But with no other Saru to help me, it’ll take some time.”

  When Griffin ended the call, Kelsey put her cell phone into her pocket and wandered back inside.

  Danny was sprawled on the couch, a wireless game controller clutched in both hands while he drove a dirt bike over the track that filled the TV screen. He ignored her when she wandered over.

  Calmly, Kelsey placed herself between Danny and the TV. “Listen,” she signed.

  With his trademark smirk, Danny set down the controller and pointed at his mouth, then his ear, signing, “I’m deaf. I can’t listen.”

  Growing up with a deaf brother had prepared Kelsey for this. She was no longer embarrassed by little gaffes. “You know what I mean. It’s just a figure of speech. So listen, if we—”

  The ringing of her cell phone interrupted her.

  Did Griffin find more information so soon?

  Kelsey circled her fist on her chest to sign an apology. “My cell phone is ringing. I need to take this call.” She walked over into the kitchen area and turned her back to Danny for some privacy before she lifted the cell phone to her ear. “Yes?”

  “Kelsey, it’s me.”

  The baritone voice needed no further identification.

  Kelsey winced. She’d forgotten to call them. “Hello, Dad.”

  “We called your apartment several times, but you didn’t answer,” Franklin Yates said. “Your mother was worried.”

  The familiar words made Kelsey smile. Right. Mom was the one who worried. Sure. That’s why you’re calling me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry you. I’m not in Michigan right now, but I forgot to let you know.”

  “You’ve been sent on a mission?” If he had been in his wolf form, her father’s ears would have perked up.

  “You know I can’t talk about my work,” Kelsey said, neither denying nor confirming that she was on a mission.

  “Are you at least lead on this investigation?” her father asked.

  “Yes, Dad,” Kelsey answered before she could stop herself. She squeezed her eyes shut. Giving in to her father’s authority was still second nature. Well, at least it wasn’t a lie. Since she was the only Saru on this mission, she could probably be considered the lead investigator.

  Her father gave a satisfied hum. “Make sure your commander lets the council know what a good job you’re doing.”

  “Yes, Dad.” Now that was a lie. If she did a good job, the council would never even know of this mission.

  “You’re long overdue for a promotion. You should be a commander with your own unit by now.”

  Kelsey rubbed her temples. He said the same thing every time they spoke. “Dad,” she said softly, “maybe I don’t want my own unit. Not every Saru can be an officer, you know? Someone has to follow the orders, not just give them.”

  “Nonsense.” Her father growled. “What kind of Syak wouldn’t want to be a tas?”

  “A nederi,” Kelsey said.

  The sudden silence cut Kelsey like a knife.

  “You don’t need to be a nederi anymore.” Her father’s baritone rumbled through the phone. “You are my daughter. You can be whatever you want to be.”

  Just not a submissive Syak. Her father’s stubborn refusal to accept her nature hurt. Kelsey hung her head. “All right, Dad.” She turned and pressed her hands to the maple countertop, letting the cool wood soothe her churning emotions. “I’ll try.”

  “If you get your act together, you could one day lead one of the most powerful packs in America, like generations of Yateses before you.”

  The weight of the family responsibility pressed down on Kelsey, and she struggled against its burden. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for that,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  “Of course you are. It’s in your blood. You’ve got so much potential if you would only try.”

  Kelsey never had anything to counter the force of her father’s formidable will. She had become a Saru because he encouraged it, and she still hadn’t learned to say no to him. “Dad, listen, I need to go. Don’t wor
ry if you don’t hear from me for a while. I don’t know how long this mission will take.”

  Her father chuckled. “So it is a mission after all.”

  Kelsey winced. She wasn’t used to top-secret undercover assignments.

  “You take good care of yourself, girl. Your mother couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”

  “I will,” Kelsey said. “Give my love to Mom.”

  When she put away her cell phone and looked up, her gaze met Danny’s across the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. With slow steps, trying to settle her skittish nerves, Kelsey walked back into the living room.

  Apparently, Danny had finished his video game, so maybe she’d have better luck talking to him now.

  He watched her as she settled into an easy chair across from him. For the first time something other than bored indifference shone in his hazel eyes. “You said something about a mission. Were you talking about me?”

  Oh, Great Hunter. She had forgotten that Danny would be able to lip-read since no walls separated the kitchen from the living room.

  Her thoughts raced as she tried to remember when she turned back toward the living room. Had it been before or after talking about being a Saru and a nederi?

  She remembered the feeling of smooth wood beneath her fingertips. I think I turned after saying all those words in the Old Language. And even if Danny were the world’s best lip-reader, he probably hadn’t understood every word she had said. Her muscles loosened in relief, and she slumped against the back of the easy chair. Don’t relax just yet. You’ll mess this up for good if you’re not more careful.

  “Well,” she signed, “with the way you treated me so far, I feel like a soldier sent on a mission into hostile territory.” She added a soft smile to take the sting from her words.

  For a heartbeat, a grin curled Danny’s permanently sullen lips, but then it disappeared. “You only took this job because your old man wanted you to.” Danny’s signs had a hard edge, but Kelsey couldn’t tell whether disdain or hurt hardened his movements. The lingering aroma of peanuts kept her nose too busy to identify the smell of his emotions.