Wolf-Way (Wolf of my Heart)

by Linda Palmer

  My temples began to throb.

  When Rhyan-wolf materialized from the shadows, I leapt off my root with a cry of relief. He endured a choking hug before trotting a few feet away and waiting, clearly my cue to follow. So I put on the backpack, hugged the boots, and did. The path, difficult to walk on a good day, proved to be doubly challenging in the wind and snow. When we finally cleared the trees, I realized just how much they'd protected us from the elements. I could barely make out the cave through the blizzard swirling around me. Ducking against the wind, I grabbed a handful of Rhyan's fur and let him lead me into shelter.

  I stomped my boots at the opening so I wouldn't track in snow that would melt and make me more miserable before walking in far enough that the entrance couldn't be seen, about thirty yards.

  "This'll be a piece of cake."

  I whirled around to see Rhyan already in human form again. He took the flannel shirt from me and knotted it around him as before. He looked like shit.

  "I need to check your injuries."

  "I'll be okay."

  "Rhyan, a couple of hours ago you were bleeding to death. Maybe you still are. I need to see how badly you're hurt."

  "Fine then." He sat on a ledge, or tried to. "Damn! That's cold."

  "Turn the shirt around."

  "No freakin' way--"

  "I've seen one before."

  "Not mine."

  "Actually, it was yours." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever! Just do something."

  Rhyan somehow managed to sit on the shirt and hide body parts. I took a bottle of the water out of the backpack as well as some gauze and began to clean his bites. He had several, all of them already bruising and one of them bad enough to need stitches. The mud on his skin made the whole process pretty unsanitary.

  I told him so.

  "Any alcohol or Steri-Strips in that first aid box of yours?"

  "Yeah, but what your really need is a blood transfusion and a bath." While he hissed in pain and held the edges of his torn shoulder flesh together, I cleaned and taped them in place as best I could. A big bandage reinforced the makeshift mend and made me feel a little better about the whole thing. I made him drink the rest of the water to help his body produce more blood.

  When I zipped the backpack and tossed it aside, I noticed something in the shadows a few feet away--a big OD green trunk locker I remembered Chief purchasing at a military surplus store. I pointed it out to Rhyan, but didn't let him get up to go through it. I worried he'd pass out. The trunk had a combination lock dangling from it. After a couple of guesses that got me nowhere, I smashed in the lid.

  "This is a good survival kit," I said seconds later, tossing Rhyan another bottle of water. "We've got more first aid, matches, starter logs, and a flashlight with extra batteries." I pulled something else out of the trunk. Sweats. And a T-shirt. Clothing left there for shapeshifting teens, I guessed.

  Damn the luck.

  A naked boyfriend actually worked just fine for me.

  I gave the stuff to Rhyan. He dressed in a flash and handed me the flannel shirt. I didn't bother to turn around when I took off the shredded tank top and slipped it on. Rhyan blatantly watched every move. I next tackled making a fire using timber I saw stacked at the back of the cave. By the time golden-red flames licked at the dry wood, I'd mentally thanked Chief a dozen times for insisting his guys keep the cave at the ready.

  I began to take in my surroundings, something I'd been too upset to do earlier. The cave appeared to go much farther into the mountain than we'd explored so far. I told Rhyan I wanted to check out the place, got the flashlight, and crawled through what looked like a rock tunnel. As I did that, I stayed ready for anything. An animal could easily take shelter here, just as we'd done.

  About fifty more yards in, I heard the sound of water. Seconds later, I eased into a small opening with a pool fed by a steady trickle of it. Since steam rose from it, I walked over and knelt to test the water. Warm. I'd heard about natural hot springs, but never seen one. Fascinated, I directed the beam of my light all around. The moist rock wall and low ceiling sparkled like diamonds in the glow. Nature lover me couldn't remember when I'd last seen anything so pretty. I found another trunk in there, this one unlocked and packed with scratchy wool blankets. It didn't surprise me that Chief and his wolves used this area for sleeping. It felt very safe. Peace settled over me for the first time in many hours, and by the time I returned to Rhyan, I hummed whatever song I'd heard on the radio last.

  But I didn't find my boyfriend by the fire, where I'd left him.

  "Rhyan?"

  No answer. I looked back, wondering if there might be another wing of the cave I hadn't noticed. I didn't find one.

  "Rhyan?"

  Still no answer. My heart rate kicked up a notch. Where could he be?

  My head filled with horrifying images of what might have happened. A wild animal had dragged him off. Cam had come back. I abruptly ran out of ideas.

  "Rhyan!"

  Just as I yelled his name at the top of my lungs, I noticed new wolf prints in the snow--these heading out of the cave. I also saw Rhyan's clothes lying to one side. So he'd shifted and left me.

  All my insecurities--both acknowledged and un--crashed in. He'd had second thoughts and realized he didn't want me, after all. Possible, of course, but why leave me here alone? I'd linked with him. I knew him to be incapable of that kind of meanness. That meant he must've left to pee or something and passed out under a tree somewhere. I'd never find him alone. As for help...another peek at my phone revealed a dead battery, something else to worry about. I could feel my panic rising.

  "Get a grip." My words echoed eerily in the cave. I made myself take a deep breath and sit on the ledge to wait.

  He'd come back.

  He had to.

  Chapter Ten

  And of course he did, as a gorgeous, blood-flecked red wolf and with a dead rabbit in his mouth.

  I rushed him and threw my arms around his neck. "Never, ever do that again!"

  Rhyan-wolf dropped the rabbit, shook me off, and shifted into naked Rhyan again. "It's not like I could write you a note." He bent and scooped up the sweats, staggering forward again when he did. That reminded me how much he'd bled. He had to be lightheaded. I noticed he'd lost the bandage I'd worked so hard to get right.

  I sighed my frustration. "Don't dress yet. There's a tub of warm water waiting on you."

  He looked at me in surprise.

  "A natural spring." I handed him the flashlight, which he refused with a shake of his head, then gave him a little shove in the right direction.

  Rhyan didn't look very happy, but he crawled into the rock tunnel and left me.

  When he returned, dressed except for the shirt, he sat nearby. I reached up to pop the top of his head with my hand.

  He ducked too late. "Ow! What was that for?"

  "What were you thinking? You aren't up to hunting."

  He finger combed his damp hair. "I want to take care of you."

  "Could you please, just this once, let me take care of you?"

  "Does that mean you're cleaning the rabbit?"

  Ew. "Yes."

  After re-bandaging him, I tackled the wild hare with a hunting knife from the trunk, a first for me. So the whole time I skinned and gutted it, I thought of Peter Cottontail. But I managed to finish the job without hurling, and then cooked it on a stick over the open flame. The resulting smell made my tummy rumble.

  "Com'ere." Rhyan said while we waited for it to get done. He patted the cave floor next to him. I shifted position, sitting so close that two shadows looked like one on the smooth cave wall. I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek on his chest.

  "Chief's going to be pissed at us, at least until we get home."

  "Yeah." I shared my ideas about Cam's motives for attacking.

  "That dude's a wack job."

  "He's also malicious and cruel. Just wait until I tell Chief. Who could ever trust him? Imagine what kind of shaman he'd
make."

  The rabbit tasted like grilled chicken to me once we dug in. I just needed some barbecue sauce to make it perfect. Rhyan and I shared a Coke.

  "Do you think it would be safe to sleep near the hot springs? There were blankets in there. I'm thinking that must be what Chief does."

  "Good idea. It's warmer, and I'd sense intruders long before they got to us."

  "Then we should to go now. You need to sleep."

  "I'll stash our gear." Rhyan started to get up.

  I stopped him. "Repeat after me: I'm the patient. You're the doctor."

  Rhyan rolled his eyes. "I'm the patient. You're the doctor."

  "Perfect. You go on. I'll stash our gear. But first I've got to pee."

  "Talk to me while you do it so I'll know you're okay."

  Realizing he wouldn't go anywhere until I got back, I stepped outside the cave to do my thing, singing "I've Got A Feeling," my favorite Black Eyed Peas tune. Of course, Rhyan ignored everything I'd just said and cleared up our mess while I did that. We didn't douse the fire, thinking it might help keep predators outside.

  I slipped my hand in his when we started back to the spring. Though I had my flashlight, Rhyan clearly didn't need it. That reminded me of his refusal to use it earlier.

  "You can see in here, can't you?"

  "Yeah."

  "So you have nocturnal eyes."

  "I guess."

  Good to know. When we got to our destination, I got a blanket and spread it out. I sat on it, but he didn't.

  "Doctor Tehya says 'lie down.'"

  He shook his head. "I won't be able to sleep."

  "Will you at least try?"

  "You're scared I'll leave again, aren't you?"

  I shrugged instead of answering.

  "The only reason I'll step outside this cave is to piss or hunt, okay? I'm not used to accounting for myself, which is why I forgot to tell you when I left earlier."

  "So you did forget, huh? You said you didn't tell me because you couldn't write a note."

  "That, too."

  Hm. "So are we going to lie down or what?"

  He grinned. "'Or what' sounds great to me, but we'd better not."

  That made me smile, probably his intent.

  Rhyan did settle down on the blanket. So did I, snuggling up to rest my head on his shoulder. He draped his free arm over me. We lay like that for a while, both of us on edge and restless. I didn't know what might be going through that head of his, but I knew what went through mine.

  Without warning, I sat up and crawled onto him. If he could hunt injured, maybe he could... Carefully straddling his waist, I brushed my lips over his. I felt his body respond. I smiled to myself. Maybe it would be a good night. We'd never be more alone.

  "Tehya...."

  My kiss smothered whatever he meant to say.

  Rhyan resisted for a heartbeat, then returned my crazy kisses, his arms wrapped so tightly around me that I couldn't have escaped if I'd wanted to. My hair fell like a curtain around our faces. He tangled his fingers in it. He slipped a hand under the shirt and touched me. Kiss after sweet kiss set my heart to racing. I pulled up his tee and touched my mouth to his tattoo.

  "Ahh."

  "You like that?"

  I did it again, this time lapping at it with my tongue.

  With a shudder and a wolfy growl, he flipped me flat on my back and rolled to his side of the blanket.

  "You didn't like it?"

  "Don't be stupid."

  "So why'd you stop?"

  "Because we're stuck in a cave and lying on a scratchy blanket in a blizzard and you're probably a virgin and I'm almost one myself not to mention part wolf which is biologically confusing and we'll freeze our butts off if we undress, but I’d still want to do things right your first time and—“

  “I get it! I get it!” I flopped onto my back with a groan.

  “And you’ll stay on your side of the blanket?”

  “Haven’t decided yet.”

  Now Rhyan groaned.

  I charged through the dense, dark forest. Brambles snagged my jeans; low limbs slapped my face. A branch snapped just behind me, and I whirled around in horror. He’d caught up. Before I could get away, he shoved me into a tree. I felt his hot breath fan my face and his cruel hands grab my body.

  I woke screaming, my heart pounding in my chest.

  “Tehya!”

  Rhyan flicked on the flashlight. I saw that he still lay next to me. With a gasp of relief, I covered my eyes, but I couldn’t block the nightmare.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No.”

  “Were you dreaming?”

  “Yes.”

  “About today?”

  “Yes.”

  Rhyan wiped the tear trailing down the side of my face. I scooted as close as I could. He played with my hair.

  “You’re safe with me.”

  “I know—“

  A loud thud echoed throughout the cave. Rhyan covered my mouth with his hand to keep me from screaming. He motioned for me to stay put, then shut off the light, and rose to crawl out of the cavern. Of course, I followed—or tried to. While he might have nocturnal eyes, I didn’t. When my knee sent a rock skittering, Rhyan looked back. With a sigh of defeat, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me beside him. We waited, listening.

  I heard sniffling and shuffles. Though I didn’t really fear the pack we’d so often observed, my heart rate became as erratic as his, a deafening drumbeat that blocked out all other sounds. Suddenly everything caught up with me—the fight, Cam’s attempted rape, Rhyan’s injuries, that poor dead bunny. The cave tilted; my arms buckled. I grabbed for Rhyan as I collapsed on the ground and the cave went from black to blacker.

  I came to slowly. It took a while to reorient, but I finally realized I lay on our blanket, but in the front of the cave, near the fire. Rhyan exhaled in relief when he saw me awake. I sat up.

  He grabbed my face and gave me a hard kiss. “You scared the shit out of me. You okay?”

  “I’m fine. What was that noise?”

  “Some of the pack we tried to watch.”

  “What happened?”

  “The alpha—“

  “Sniffed your butt?”

  “Huh?” Rhyan caught my grin and grinned back with obvious relief. “You’re feeling better.”

  I realized I actually did. “Yeah. What time is it?”

  “You’re the one with the watch.”

  I glanced at Levi’s hand-me-down, a Fossil too big for my skinny wrist. The luminescent readout said: Wed. Apr 10. 5:14 a.m. “I really need to call Chief. He’ll be nuts by now.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe we should hike out of here today and find a phone. There’s got to be something nearby—a gas station, a grocery store, even a house.”

  “Are you up for it? There’s nothing for a good five miles, and you have to be weak.”

  “I’ll be okay. Is your cell phone still charged?”

  “Nope.”

  “Hungry?”

  “Starved. And the good news is we still have snacks in the back pack.” I started to get up.

  “Let me.” Rhyan did the honors, tossing it to me. “Gotta piss. I’ll be right back.”

  When he returned, he found me stoking the dying fire. After a breakfast of chips and cookies in shared silence, we drank the last of the bottled water.

  I tried to leave the cave as we’d found it, minus the clothes and blanket Rhyan now used as a coat, but plus the hole in the trunk. My mood lifted the minute we got out into the open and began our trek through the woods. Just being in fresh air felt wonderful. And even though it still snowed and we had to negotiate knee-high drifts until we got to the road, I relished the crisp, clear day.

  A two-hour hike later, we finally came within sight of Barlow’s Gas and Groceries, a mom and pop station with two fuel pumps and selected junk food. Jubilant, I began to run, leaving Rhyan behind, which surprised me. I’d struggled to keep up with his long stride at f
irst. Now he seemed to be dragging his feet.

  I glanced back. No, he didn’t drag his feet, he limped. I jogged back to him.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Damn blister on my right foot.”

  I remembered he had no socks. Ouch. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Why would I? It’s not like we can stop.” By now, we’d reached the station. Rhyan sat on the concrete ledge and pulled off his boot. I saw blood trailing from a huge blister on his heel. I dug bandages from the backpack and tossed them to him before turning to enter the store.

  Mr. Barlow got up from a chair and met me at the counter. I greeted him by name, hoping he recognized me from past stops, then asked if I could borrow a phone.

  “For a long distance call?”

  “Yes, but I’ll pay for it.” I pulled my driver’s license and my money out of my pocket. “My boyfriend and I ran into some trouble. I need to call my grandfather.”