Circle of Wolves

by Jacqueline Roth

  Kira rose and stepped toward the girl. The small heart-shaped face shot up, fury in her eyes. “Stay away from me. I hate you too. You just want this to be so you can leave. So you can be free from the curse. You can’t do that if there’s not someone to take your place. Now you can run off and pretend to be normal.

  “I won’t do it, do you hear me? I won’t be what you are.” The small figure disappeared from sight and they could hear her steps running deeper into the woods.

  Alexi went to follow her but Kira stopped him. “She doesn’t need us right now, Alexi.” Her eyes met Evan’s and his question lit the blue-gray depths. She nodded. He skirted around the big man and into the tree line after the girl.

  “Him?” Alexi looked at her stunned. “You stop me, her father but you send him after her?”

  “Who better? Who better to show her that the two worlds can be blended? Who will she hear now? You? Me? No, our words would do her no good. Believe me in this Alexi. She likes Evan. His words she’ll hear. Maybe he can even leave her with a bit of pride in what she is. That’s something none of us can do.”

  * * * * *

  Evan found the young girl curled up, knees under her chin crying into her arms. He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t move or pull away from him but just continued to cry. He rubbed his hand across her back and simply sat with her.

  Long minutes passed and her sobs turned into soft hiccups. It was then he slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his side hugging her. “It will be all right, Katerina. It will.”

  “How can you know that?” She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

  “Because it has to be. We won’t have it be any other way. Your father, your mother, everyone loves you. They will let nothing hurt you that is in their power to stop.” He tucked her head under his chin and rocked her gently. “You know your aunts will move heaven and earth to make this as easy for you as possible.”

  “I know,” she gulped. She was silent for a minute and then asked in a hushed tone, “Is it so bad to be gadje? Is it so bad to be what you are?”

  He smiled into her hair. She was so like Kira. If only someone could have reached Kira at this age, how much pain could it have spared her? “No, my dear, I don’t think it a bad thing. In my world it is a normal thing to be gifted. It is those without the ability who are pitied. The truth is the magic is normal for you too. Once upon a time all your people had magic. They have simply forgotten that it can be used for good as well as evil.”

  “Then I wish I could go with you. With you and Kira to your world.”

  “No, little one, you don’t. You don’t understand what you have here. In my world it is okay to be gadje but it is not okay to be a wolf.” He paused to let this sink in. “You wanted to hide that you are gifted. In my world I’ve spent my life hiding that I was a werewolf. When I go back I will once again have to hide it.”

  Her face lifted to his and he saw the shock there. “They don’t like that you are wolf?”

  “No,” he brushed her hair back from her wet cheeks. “There are some who would see me imprisoned or tagged and marked like an animal. Some would see me hunted down and destroyed.” He wished he could tell her it was different but she was too old to be told fairy stories. “There is no perfect world, Katerina but what you have here is close. For the wolf in you, it is close. As to the magic, it is new to them, frightening. It will take time, more than the few hundred years since it reappeared among you. It will take more people like your Aunt Kira to change perceptions. It will take someone like you to stand up and proudly be who you are. All of who you are. Only then will it change.”

  She looked at him shrewdly. “Then why do you hide? In your world? If it takes people standing up and being recognized, why do you hide?”

  Her question shouldn’t have been unexpected but it still startled him. She was a great deal like her aunt. He thought carefully about his response, then gave up and just answered. “It is different. In my world I am nothing special. Just a man. Just a poor, quiet, bookish dreamer. Just Evan Forester. I may one day lead my master’s circle but I would be only a figurehead for the man whose body will not let him lead. In your world you are Katerina Gregoravitch, granddaughter of the Alpha. You, like Kira, have the power and the authority to demand they recognize you. I’m afraid that is something I don’t have. I’d lose my place in my world and many of the people I know would pull away from me. I could even lose my freedom. It is a horrible thing to be powerless, Katerina. It is a terrible thing to seek power at all costs but it is hard to be powerless.”

  She seemed to consider his words. He sat silently, his arm around her small shoulders as she stared out into space. The dim pink light was fading fast. Just when he was about to suggest they return to the others she spoke. “Evan, I don’t want my life to be wasted. I don’t want to be like Aunt Sasha. She doesn’t have a purpose.”

  He sighed. “Katerina you have to find your own purpose but there seems no doubt that one exists for you if you are willing to take it on. I’ve seen what Kira does as your family Archivist. It is impressive. It is an awesome responsibility. Without a doubt it is the kind of work you could be proud of. It serves more than just your Family, it serves those who need help and don’t know that there is help available. Do you know about the school? The one outside the gate?” She nodded. “How do those children come to be there?”

  “Some are brought by frightened parents but mostly she brings them to Althea from all over.” Katerina’s words filled in the last blank. He had guessed at something like this when she told him about their having watched him as a child and when she had shown him the scrying.

  “A noble purpose, don’t you think? And do you know the story of Elena? The risks Kira and your parents took for them?” She nodded. “Does that sound like a life without purpose?”

  “No and there is even more than you know. There is what Grandmother calls her damned radical interference.” She blushed a bit at the oath she had repeated. “I’m not sure what she does but I know it has to do with helping the curse wolves and it takes her away a lot.”

  Evan filed this away for later. He could feel Kira’s curiosity and tension in his mind and tried to focus on calming, reassuring thoughts. Her tension eased. He turned to Katerina and lifted her chin. “Come now, we must get back to the others. Remember, chin high. You are Katerina Gregoravitch, the blood of the Alpha flows in your veins. You are the daughter of Alexi and Sonya, niece to Nakira. Could anyone have more right to take pride in who they are?” Her smile was the greatest reward he could have received.

  He led her back to her waiting family. She went to her father and wrapped her arms around him, telling him she was sorry and that she loved him. Alexi closed his eyes as he held his little girl. When the eyes opened they focused over her head on Evan, whose arm was around his own blue-eyed witch. The gratitude was palpable and he nodded to the big man. Katerina turned and crossed the clearing to throw her arms around her Aunt Sasha’s neck. Her apology was accepted with a warm loving embrace and Sasha moved to lead her away. The small girl stopped and looked back at Kira. Kira smiled at her. “You don’t have to say it, darling. We are family. Some things do not need to be said within a family.”

  The older woman led the girl from the wooded area and Alexi fell into step beside Evan and Kira. “Thank you, my little friend. I am in your debt.”

  “No, Kira’s right. There are some things that pass between family members that do not need to be commented on. We do them because we are family. This is new to me, Alexi, so I may not always get it right but it seems to me this is one of those things. I went to Katerina because she is my friend’s daughter but also because she is my family, as you are my family now. Gods help me.” He smiled the last line.

  A thunderous clap on his shoulder made his step falter and Alexi strode ahead of them, moving to catch up with his daughter.

  As they cleared the line of trees, Evan could see the last of the
sun’s feeble light streaking the sky. The darkness would descend soon and with it would come the rising of the full moon. His first among these people. His first as a mated wolf.

  Kira squeezed his arm. “Looks like it’s starting, let’s go. More than Katerina will be presented to the family tonight.” She grinned wickedly at him. “This time, however, all you have to do is stand still, smile occasionally and nod.” She led him over to where her father stood. She met his eye and he nodded. It was time.

  Kira saw her father nod to the two men who stood waiting at the fire. On his signal the torches were tossed in and the blaze slowly began. He stepped into place before the fire and his wife moved to his side. Kira leaned to Evan and whispered, “Okay, here goes. Everyone will pay their respects to the Alpha and take their place in the family order. When we are all in place, the transformations should begin and then the hunt.” She turned to look at him. “We can slip away after the last of the people have taken their place if you do not want to transform in front of them. The greeting should be finished before moonrise.”

  “I think I’d prefer that. I can’t say I relish writhing about on the ground before strangers.” His mouth was clenched tightly and the full lips pressed into a thin line.

  She winced. She had seen Valeri transform. It had been horrible to watch. The thought of Evan suffering even a bit of that hurt deeply. His arm moved up around her shoulders and pulled her into him. Laying his head sideways he touched it to hers. “It’s fine, Kira. I’m accustomed to it but I’m sorry it will hurt you. I wish we could avoid it. Don’t worry for me. There is an element of almost pleasure involved. It comes at the end but it does come.”

  Leading him, she stepped up to her father. Her mother stood to his right. She met his eye and then lowered her head. After repeating the gesture to her mother, she then took her place just behind and to the right of the tall blonde woman. She motioned to him and Evan stepped forward and looked into the man’s eyes. He held them a moment then lowered his gaze respectfully. There had been a hint of a smile on Gregoravitch’s face but there was none in the eye of the Wolf’s mate when Evan turned to her. He kept his face blank and repeated the gesture.

  The Alpha female met his eye and fired daggers at him with her gaze. He felt a rush of defiance and must have held her gaze a fraction too long because he felt Kira grow uneasy. Lowering his eye he moved to stand next to Kira on her right side. Evan watched Alexi approach his parents with Sonya and Katerina behind him. One by one they met the Alpha’s eye then lowered their gaze. They turned to Kira and repeated the same action. When Alexi met Evan’s gaze he smiled slowly. “Don’t look away from him,” Kira whispered in his ear. “Hold his gaze.” Evan did as she said and sure enough, Alexi lowered his eyes and moved to stand on Evan’s right, Sonya repeated the gesture and took her place next to her husband then Katerina on her right.

  “It is your status, Evan. You outrank most of the members of the Family. Their actions set your status,” Alexi hissed softly to him. Even Nico was forced to lower his gaze to him. An odd element of satisfaction burned in those eyes as if the mind behind them knew some terrible secret.

  Slowly, the people filed past, each stopping to make eye contact then bow. Again and again blood Wolves caught his eye and then averted their gaze, some looking frightened and some with barely contained anger. They did not like having to do this but they were doing it. They were recognizing his status as Kira’s mate.

  The moon was getting close to cresting the horizon and he could feel it. The familiar itching began up his spine. His clothing began to feel tight. His skin ached. He looked down the line and saw the remaining people, the lowest of the Family in rank, stood before the Alpha. Kira’s hand grasped his and squeezed. “Almost. Almost Evan, just a moment longer.”

  He held the eye of the last man but his body was trembling. When he had passed Sonya and was moving down the line, he heard Kira whisper something to her father. He caught the look of surprise. “Of course, why didn’t you say so earlier? Go.”

  He let Kira lead him. He had no idea what direction they walked or where she was taking him, he only knew it was becoming increasingly harder to think about anything but scratching, anything but the pain that was bursting in his skin cells as if each tiny pore was being penetrated by a hot needle.

  She stopped them and she began to unbutton his shirt and pull it from him. Yes, he thought, the power of speech gone. Yes. Off. Get it off. He began to pull at his pants, kicking off the boots and tearing away the socks and briefs that covered his body. The night air was cool against his skin, easing the burning sensation. He was aware of an echo of his own pain and looked to find her grimacing, hands fumbling with her own clothing. Her hands shook and he moved to her, helping her pull the cloth from her body. She paused to press her face to his. His pain writhed in her and made him ache in more than his flesh.

  “I’ll be here, Evan. I’ll be right here.” She stepped back and he saw her body reflect the moonlight as it peeked over the horizon. Her head tilted back, her eyes closed and a silent cry seemed to form on her lips as the woman he knew melted away before him. Her transformation followed the same pattern as his but happened so quickly it seemed instantaneous. Before him, looking at him with vivid, ice blue eyes was a large dark wolf. She was beautiful. Her face was marked with a white mask and it extended in a white stripe down her neck and chest. The fur on her back was a deep brown brindled with patches of red and gold. The She-Wolf approached him and lay on the grass at his feet.

  The ache in his hands and legs won out over his awe. The bones of his fingers contracted and shortened as his hands transformed into paws, his thumbs shifting back and moving up his wrist to form the dew claw. He dropped to the ground, panting. The pain from the extending claws washed into insignificance as his ankles shifted and elongated. The scream came then, as his pelvis tilted and he became a quadruped. Breathe Evan, he tried to focus but it was becoming harder to hold on to coherent thought. Breathe and don’t fight it. It’s easier if you don’t fight it.

  Something whimpered nearby and he felt a soft muzzle touch his face. He looked into the eyes until the pain in his gut wrenched him away and another scream tore from him as his interior shuffled and changed to fit the external changes. Light brown hair was pushing through the skin to cover his upper body. Soft white hair was forcing its way through, burning the protesting flesh to cover his underbelly and lower legs. His muzzle was white, or would be as soon as the pressure behind his skull pushed his nose and jaw outwards to form the snout. The last cry came from him, not from physical pain but from the dark pleasure that swept him as his transformation completed and Evan slipped away into the darkness.

  He was panting. A soft, warm tongue was licking at his muzzle, his ears. The scent made his eyes open and they fixed on the blue-eyed She-Wolf that stood before him. Pulling himself up he stood before her looking down at her. She straightened and backed off slightly. Her snout held high, she looked at him and waited. Something pulled at the back of his mind then burst forth.

  Mate. She was his mate.

  Joy. Belonging.

  He was no longer the lone wolf, left to hunt a dark cellar from which even the rats had fled. He’d been so completely alone. He’d had no pack but now, as if by a miracle, he did. He had a mate and he had a pack.

  He approached her slowly, his head down slightly. She did not move nor make a sound. He came close to her and nuzzled her face. He nipped at the hair of her neck, then circling her, caught the hair of her sides in his teeth and pulled it through them, affectionately grooming her. Standing before her once more he sat back on his haunches and whimpered softly. He raised one paw and batted it at her playfully. Come, he called her. Come, let’s run, let’s hunt. Together.

  A sense of her acceptance reached him before her body reacted. It touched something in his mind and he recognized a sense of her within him. He read her instinctively on the most basic of levels. His mate.

  She walked toward him and again n
uzzled his face and licked at his ears. Then she walked off. The message in his mind clear. Run. Run with me. Pleasure burst forth from him and he trotted after her.

  He sped along at her side, his body stretching to its fullest as he moved over the ground with a speed that was unmatched by any other predator in these woods. She darted between trees and over small streams and he followed. He seemed to know before she changed direction where she was going. They covered a great deal of ground moving in a great circle, as the moon rose higher and higher in the sky. They stopped to drink from a softly running creek. He found a patch of stiff grass and rolled on his back satisfying the itch that tickled at his spine.

  She yipped at him in amusement and he could feel her humor. Scrambling to his feet less than gracefully, he leapt toward her. She dodged him in mid leap and came up beside him, jaws grabbing for his neck. He backed off and lunged at her again, she yipped again and darted away, turning at the last moment to come up behind him and grab his rear leg in her teeth. For several minutes the play continued. Never had he had someone with whom to play. And she knew the rules of battle, knew what was correct in the mock fight. His mate knew. Satisfaction swept over him. She was a good mate. She would breed strong pups. Their pack would grow and prosper if she could hunt.

  It was the scent of the other animals that broke off their play. Her head lifted and she drew in the breeze deeply. Hunt. Prey. Her mind spoke to his. He sniffed the air and tried to find the scent of prey but could find only that of small animals and one or two larger herbivores. No smell of true prey was upon the air. Prey for him walked on two legs. Man was his prey. She began to move away. He stood confused, watching her. She stopped and looked back at him. Hunt. The need, the desire to hunt spoke in his mind again. She wanted to hunt one of these animals, one of the larger herbivores. He didn’t understand but he followed her.